Don’t you just love summer. Typically, summer is the time that we take vacations. We pack the car and the kids and head out for destinations that, often, we have never been to before. But, how do we get there and how do we know when we have arrived? In my earlier days, we used to carry this large book in the car called a Road Atlas or Road Map. Remember them? Today, we travel with the maps or GPS on our phones. We type in our destination and the phone tells where to go. It ever offers us alternatives if they are available. Our spiritual lives are a journey also. But, how do we know where to go and how do we know if we are evening going the right direction. Peter gives us so great indicators of where we are and where we should be going in the passage today. The question is: “How far have I come?”
How Does God Reflect His Grace to the World Today? (1 Peter 3:1-7)
God is still active today all around us. Sometimes it doesn’t seem like it when we see all the evil playing out around us. But, God is still active and constantly revealing His grace all around us. God’s ways are not man’s ways. However we would choose to reveal God’s message of grace, God has a different and better way. Today, He has chosen to reveal much of His grace through the marriage relationship of a man and a woman. Today’s marriage foundations continually seem to crumble but God still reveals Himself through marriages that honor and glorify Him.
How Can We Help Our Country? (2 Chronicles 7:11-22)
We live in the greatest nation on the face of the earth. We are facing times that are growing increasingly difficult. Today is the birthday of our great nation. But, we are facing enemies within our country that want to shred and destroy the country that we were and are. Unless we stand up for Christ, we face dark times for the Gospel. God warned Solomon after he dedicated the temple to stay focused on God and His blessings because when God’s people forget and wander there was a price to pay and there will be a price to pay.
How to Look Beyond the Negative (1 Peter 2:13-25)
We live in a extremely challenging time. For those of us in my age bracket, we are quickly becoming the last of a dying breed. I remember a time when Christianity, morals, and pastors were held in high regard. That is not the case today. We have moved into a time when evil is called good and good is called evil. I don’t believe that it is going to get any better. If the Lord continues to wait in coming back, it will get worse. How do we hold up under the mounting pressure? Peter challenges us to look beyond the negative and project Jesus to a world that needs to see Him.
How to Be God's Man (1 Kings 2:1-3)
How to Be God’s Man (1 Kings 2:1-3)
Happy Father’s Day! I find it interesting that we often praise and hold up high “mom’s” on Mother’s Day but we have a tendency to dump on dad’s on Father’s Day. I confess that I have probably done that in the past as well. In today’s message, King David is about to die. He has passed the throne on to his son, Solomon, and he gives Solomon some very sound and practical advice for being a “godly man”. God desires that we all would be “godly men”. May the Lord bless you with His wisdom as you listen to this message.
What Does God Think of Us? (1 Peter 2:4-12)
What is your view of God? How do you see Him? Many people see God as a detached deity somewhere a million miles away in outer space in heaven. How could He be interested in mere mortal like me when He has to oversee all the events of this huge world. After all, I am small and insignificant. But, God cares of each one of us deeply. Today’s message speaks of God’s care and thoughts for each one of us.
Why God Wants Us to Walk Together (1 Peter 1:22-2:3)
People really want to find something to hold on to that has reality. They want to find a place to belong where they can find people that are real. The church was designed by the Lord to be that place. Somewhere the church lost its way. Peter gives us instruction on why and how we are to walk together so that we can impact the world for all eternity. Unity is the key and love is the catalyst.
How to Stay Clean When Everything is Dirty (1 Peter 1:13-21)
I remember it just like it was yesterday. My mother worked really hard to get my sister and me ready for church. We had on our Sunday best. The last thing she said to me, “Don’t get dirty, we’re going to church.” As any little boy would do, I said, “Ok!” But, as fate would have it, it had rained during the night and the mud puddles were so inviting. Within moments I had fallen into the mud. Needless to say, my mother wasn’t happy. Our spiritual lives are much the same. God says, “Don’t get dirty!” And, we say, “No problem!” But, the mud of the world is so inviting. How do we stay clean when everything around us is dirty? Peter addresses that very issue in today’s passage.
The Most Powerful Force on the Earth (2 Timothy 1:1-5)
God has blessed every one of us with a mother. God designed the mother to be a very powerful and impacting influence in the lives of her children. As a matter of fact, a mother is the “most powerful force on the earth”. She has the unique ability to influence and shape the generations to come. Today’s message talks about Timothy’s mother and grandmother. They really impacted his life for all eternity. They serve as wonderful role models for all of us.
How to Look Up When Things Look Down (1 Peter 1:1-12)
We come from a variety of backgrounds. If you look at any crowd, you can see how different we all look. Some are tall. Some are short. Some and thin and some are thick. And, everyone comes in a variety of colors. There is one thing that is common to us all, we all experience and pain and difficulty from time to time. Peter addresses his letter to a group of believers that have been scattered because of persecution. He wants to encourage them. The reason that we can keep our eyes on Christ is because He has done so much for us. Today’s message reveals some of the Lord’s special blessings for His children to hang onto when they are going through difficult times.
What Does Jesus Want from My Life? (John 21:17-23)
If you know the Lord as your personal Savior, there will eventually be a “Come to Jesus” moment in your life when the Lord calls on you to move from salvation to commitment. It happens at different moments for every believer. Maybe you have experienced that moment maybe yours is still coming. Peter’s “Come to Jesus” climaxes with his walk with the Lord away from the beach and fire which I believe is symbolic for Peter moving from his old life to his new. When your moment comes, will you be ready?
Coming to Terms with Your Calling (John 21:1-17)
When you accept Christ as your personal Savior, you receive a life-long calling to follow Him, love Him, and tell others about Him. Sometimes we lose sight of that call and even the love that we felt when we first came to know Christ. But, Christ never gives up on us. Peter had denied the Lord three times. This is a very moving scene where the Lord addresses Peter again and calls him back into service and into following Him. Have we ever been like Peter? This is message is for each one of us who has questioned that calling.
How I React to the Resurrection Reveals Whom Christ is to Me (John 20:11-31)
How I React to the Resurrection Reveals Whom Christ is to Me (John 20:11-31)
You are standing next to the hospital bed looking at your loved one who is at death’s door.Your mind is reeling.All of your hopes and dreams have been wrapped up in this dear one that you now are watching fade away.At the last moment, your loved one revives and gets better.How do you feel?How do you react?All those who loved Jesus watched Him die and be buried.But, it is Easter morning and everything is now different.Jesus is alive!Are you excited or confused?Are you elated or frightened?Each of these participants represents how people react to the Resurrection.
The Reality of the Resurrection (John 19:38-20:10)
Good Friday was not good for Jesus. He died on the cross at Calvary on Good Friday. They laid Him in a borrowed tomb. How do we know that the tomb is empty? How do we know that He really died? How do we know that the Resurrection is real? The facts of the Lord’s death and resurrection can be easily established and proven. This message focuses on the reality of the Resurrection.
The Ultimate Sacrifice - Death on a Cross! (John 19:16-37)
Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in a Triumphal entrance. On Sunday the crowd dropped palm leaves in front of Him and cried out, “Hosanna!” and on Friday, the same crowd cried out, “Crucify Him!” On Friday, Pilate delivered Jesus over to be crucified. What did that mean? What did that entail? How did Jesus suffer during the day and what ultimately happened to Him? How does this affect us or impact us? This message answers all those questions and reveals for us the love that Jesus had for us that caused Him to die on the cross and pay the penalties for all of our sins.
Jesus is Coming! Where Will He Find You? (Matthew 21:1-11)
Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday in a Triumphal entrance. On Sunday the crowd dropped palm leaves in front of Him and cried out, “Hosanna!” and on Friday, the same crowd cried out, “Crucify Him!” Every one of us finds ourselves in a position of either crying, “Hosanna!” or “Crucify Him!”. Where do you find yourself? This message identifies which group we might be a part of.
Facing Life’s Ultimate Journey (Genesis 23:1-20
Grief is something that every person will face sometime in their life. It could be the death of a pet, a relationship, or even someone you love. If you are not adequately prepared, grief will defeat you and hold you in its terrible grip. Abraham faced grief as he lost Sarah. We have an opportunity to watch him deal with his grief and, as a result, have an example of what we need to do to move through the grief process.
Who Do You Say Jesus Is? (Matthew 16:13-16)
There is a time that you will come to a “crossroads” experience in your life. It may be your salvational experience where you came to that place where you either had to make a decision to ask Christ to be Savior or reject Him. It could be later on when you have come to that place where you either are moving forward in your Christian life and growth or you decide to stay where you are. But, regardless of where that crossroad is, it is still there. The disciples come to a crossroad experience when the Lord asked them “who the people say that the Son of Man is?” and also, “but who do you say that I am?” Each crossroads calls for a decision from us. What will you say when you get to that crossroad?
What Happens When We Deny Jesus? (John 18:12-270
Peter has followed Jesus after His arrest from the Garden of Gethsemane to Annas’ house who was the former High Priest of Israel. Peter finds himself thrust in an unbelievably awkward situation where he is confronted with his association with Jesus. Bowing to the pressure, Peter not only denies know Jesus but he does so three times. How often are we like Peter when we are placed in the same type situations? The message today goes to the very heart of the believer’s tendency to deny Christ when the heat is on.
How Does Jesus' Arrest Affect Us? (John 18:1-11)
The Lord has gone onto the garden with the disciples. Knowing everything that is going to happen, He still goes to the garden where Judas knows that He will be. The Lord could have gone anywhere and the events of the arrest and the mockery of the trials that follow would never have happened. Yet the Lord shows us how to completely be committed in our walk with God. He is the perfect examples in all facets of life and we should follow the example He sets for us.