Do you remember the last time you were discouraged? I’m not talking about a minor disappointment or frustration. This kind of discouragement is not about your favorite sports team experiencing an unexpected loss. I’m talking about a deep, personal pain. The discouragement I am talking about you and a…

In the words of Charles Dickens, “It was the best of times; it was the worst of times.” Never had a family been given greater promises yet had to endure such privation. This birth was like no other. The angels of God sang at the birth of Jesus; yet the only men who came were dirty and humble shepherds…

ME: Superficial conversations - How are you? Fine! Good . Okay. I try to answer honestly. But sometimes it feels easier to tell a simple lie. There are some moments, some days, some seasons where when someone asks me how I’m doing I should say, I’m Not okay. I may look fine, talk/act normal. But if I’m…

True and Proper Worship 1. The mission is a statement of what the church is supposed to be doing, while the vision is a snapshot or picture of it. 2. The mission is used for planning where the church is going; the vision is used for communicating where the church is going. 3. A mission statement must…

Introduction: I would like to begin today’s message with a poem I found online this week. This poem reminds us of the mountains we sometime face in our lives. It speaks of despair and sorrow, as well as courage. It talks of trouble and of blessings. It speaks of weakness and strength. So it is with life.…

Prayer 16 Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. 18 I said in my heart…

HOW GOD USES SUFFERING IN OUR LIVES Grace: The Truth that Transforms - Part 12 of 36 Romans 5:1-5 Rick Warren In our last session we did an overview of the "Six Benefits of Believing" that are discussed in Romans, chapter 5. Today we will take a closer look at one of those benefits. PAUL MENTIONS 3 THINGS…

Jesus Christ abolished the Law of Moses, to bring us the Law of the Spirit and give us the Law of Liberty.

Prayer If you were with us last week, we spent our time looking at the JOY OF THE LORD... And I was grateful that we were able to do that... Not only because of what came before it... But also for what’s coming today... Today, we’re going to begin making our way through the book of Ecclesiastes... and…

Just stay positive? A student athlete was contemplating the height of the bar on the high jump. “I don’t think I can make it,” he said. “Think positive!” said a friend. “All right,” the athlete said boldly, “I’m positive I can’t make it.” During this time I find my Facebook page and feed flooded with…

With God in your life there should be no fear. Be still....and Know!!

Since our final inheritance is certain, secured by God himself, we can be marked by unwavering hope through faith in Christ.

Not by might nor by power, but by my spirit saith the Lord of Hosts.!!!!

Daniel Webster once said, If we work upon marble, it will perish; if on brass, time will efface it; if we rear temples, they will crumple into dust; but if we work upon immortal minds, and imbue them with principles, with the just fear of God and love of our fellow men, we engrave on those tablets something…

A lot of people think that since God designed us with a purpose before they were born that every detail of their lives is preset and that there is nothing they can do about it… we have no choice in the matter. That’s not true. That’s not what the Bible teaches. Yes God has a plan and a purpose for your…

Intro We have had an interesting couple of years here. First there was a virus we began to hear about and in almost no time, the world shut down. President Trump shut down the borders and had everyone stay home… we along with the rest of the world went into a 2 month lock down… some longer. The isolation…

Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. After this many of his disciples turned back and no longer walked with him. So Jesus…

Suffering often shocks the Christian and non-Christian. Our culture tells us we can find happiness in the world. But experience and this passage teaches this world brings futility, corruption, and pain. This wonderful passage teaches us not to hope in this world, but in the one to come. This life is not without hope when we believe in Christ because we are promised a day when sin and death will be no more.

Intro - 2020 What a year. It’s been crazy and this is our last Sunday of 2020. Everything was going great in many ways AND THEN the Pandemic hit. No one was ready NOR could anyone have been ready for what this pandemic has done to our world, our nation, our communities and our lives. People have lived…

Failures Why is failure an area of life so hard for us to fight through? How do you get back up after falling down in your spiritual commitments? Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended. Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee,…

The resurrection of Jesus offers us unshakable hope because we have God’s peace, presence and power!

Grace to Endure - 1 Peter 5:6-9 INTRO [series title slide]: In our study of the first letter penned by Peter in the Biblical canon, we are drawing near to the end of this treatise for the comfort and courage of God’s people in the face of suffering. In fact, Peter seems to believe that the persecution…

Intro 3 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God,…

The twenty-year old imagines death will not be imminent until they turn at least 60. The sixty-year old imagines easily living another twenty years. The eighty-year old knows that few make it to one-hundred, but they imagine themselves being among those few. No one denies the reality of death, but almost…