Be careful of anything that competes with your loyalty and devotion to Jesus Christ. And one of the greatest competitors of worship of Him is works for Him! Ah, but you say, “God said that faith without works is dead”. Yes, but be careful because the devil wants you dead from exhaustion not exultation! Are you more devoted to service than to Jesus? Only you can answer that question. Live to please God, and if you don’t know what pleases God, just ask Him. He’ll tell you: • Obedience • Prayer • Praise • Forgiveness • Truth • Purity • Kindness • Generosity • Love • Peace • Patience • And things such as these (Hebrews 13:15-16; Proverbs 16:7; 1 Kings 3:9-14; 2 Corinthians 5:9) Let us not only serve God, but also satisfy Him! (Hear the entire message below.) If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS.
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"Love me tender, love me true" were the words of one of the ballads sung long ago by Elvis Presley. As I was thinking on the words of that song, I could picture Jesus singing it to us…and hopefully, us singing it to Him! But, in the real world of today, there is an awful lot of hate, murder, and barbarism going on. How can we then love those who are so full of evil; those who are bent on our destruction? Jesus has the answer. He was a “grace dispensing machine”, and that is exactly what we must strive to be. Instead of being like a bug exterminator, spray-stomp-spray-stomp, when it comes to sin, we must be more like perfume in the room and bring the refreshing truth of a life in Jesus Christ. Jesus never condoned evil – He never turned a blind eye to it – but He was always ready to forgive it. As was once said, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love least”. Jesus honored the dignity of every single person, whether He agreed with them or not, and so must we. Do not let the constant struggle of today’s modern world put you into a divisive existence. Let the complete, pure, “agape” love of God rule in all you do. (John 15:12, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8) (Listen to entire sermon below.) If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. I grew up hearing those words…and most of you probably did, too. If you practice being angry, you’ll get really good at being angry. The same goes for selfishness, impatience, judgment, hatred, etc. God tells us to reject those areas and, instead, opt to practice kindness, trust, self-control, etc. But here is where the warning comes…YOU CAN’T MEET GOD’S MEASURE in those areas! Only the Spirit of God can meet the measure of God. So, in order to meet His expectations, you need to have Him inside of you. He tells us that if we walk by the Spirit, we cannot sin. Whew—that’s a relief. But it will take practice letting Him rule and not your broken nature. So start practicing God’s way…you’ll get really good at it! References: Romans 12:9-21, Galatians 5:1, 16-25 (Listen to entire sermon below.) If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. Jesus told us “the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve.” This reality alone sent the disciples into a state of confusion. How in the world could this be possible? Jesus also said, “He who is least among you all – he is the greatest.” (Luke 9:48) In this world’s thinking, more often than not, we put ourselves first ahead of all others. With a puffed out chest, many do what they do for the notoriety, fame, rewards and adulation of peers. But, “NEWS ALERT!”, we are nothing compared to the One we need to be like. Most everyone seems to “like” Jesus. But they don’t really understand. You don’t just “like” Jesus as you would a “friend” on Facebook or other social media. By the same token, you don’t just “unlike” Him as you would a friend simply because you disagree with Him. We need to “be” like Him. Some attempt to silence the teachings of Jesus by seeking for themselves and omitting and twisting His words. They change the meaning because what He said doesn’t settle well in their souls. Not serving themselves is the greatest wall they cannot get over – they can’t get over themselves. The way of Jesus is the path of servant hood. This is not a test to see if we deserve better. It is God offering us the best of Himself and the best of life. Jesus calls us to the servant way because He was and is a servant to all of us. References: Romans 12:3, 9-13 (Listen to entire sermon below.) If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. We continue with James 4. It is a fascinating chapter in which we are admonished as to what to avoid and then encouraged as to what to practice. It all comes down to our free will and the choices we make. But I would like to encourage you not to be caught up so much with what Christianity is against, but to concentrate much more on what it is for! That way, you’ll be so busy doing the “do’s” that you won’t have time for the “don’ts”! Sin is sin—God will deal with that. You concentrate on what God is for (Galatians 5:22-23):
Previous Messages On James - If you missed the previous three messages on the Book of James, we have included the links below for your convenience. If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. We all have been in situations that we needed help getting out of. Many of us are in some right now. Whom we turn to, or even if we stubbornly try to self-rescue, can be a life mistake. Can you give yourself CPR? Let me see you do your own chest compressions! It’s not going to work, is it? So we call 911 and pray they send someone who knows what they are doing and in time before it is too late. Are you in a place where your heart is turning hard and you can see nothing for you in the way of hope? Caring rescue is there, and it is close. Contact is not made by dialing 911, but by calling out to the one that loves you – not only now, but for all of time, the past, present, and the future. Call on Jesus. Because of His love, we are and can be, forever saved. [Scripture References: Psalm 30:1-4; Psalm 31:1-5; Luke 23:46; Acts 7:59; Psalm 31:21-24; John 17:20-26; 1 Timothy 2:4] If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS.
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Through His creation of dogs and other animals who find a kinship with mankind, the Lord gave us some wonderful examples of how we should live. There is a direct lesson in love, loyalty and patience found in these beautiful creatures that we can learn and follow. Open your heart to God’s love and be a willing student. Like Christ, we should have a servant’s attitude born out of love. But, as humans, we are often weak. Rather than trust our God-given instincts and directions, we often go against them and selfishly serve only ourselves. Let the Master teach you the ways you can glorify and honor Him. Trust, honor, love and obey our Master Jesus Christ. Philippians 2:13, “for it is God who works in you to will and act according to his good purpose.” [Be sure to view the video below that was referenced in Pastor Ted's message.] If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS.
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In the Book of Revelation, God gives some messages to the “churches”, meaning the “called out” ones…not the buildings! Many people glean much information about the end times and its prophecies from that book, but tonight we shall cover some of God’s conversations on what He has observed…sort of His assessment of His followers. Hold on to your hats, it’s not pretty! Revelation 2-3 compiles a listing of what God has seen in each of the churches in the different areas of the ancient empire. It is best not to be seen only as a report card on what happened long ago, but rather as a teaching tool, if not an outright warning, of what is still going on today. I thank God He is not a vindictive and mean entity, for this assessment is pretty accurate; and, yet, He has not annihilated us. Rather, He wants to teach us and guide us out of our broken nature and into His marvelous light…to a better life, with Him eternal. I don’t know about you, but I think I’m going to listen up right about now! If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS.
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We’ve covered this subject many times before and it’s certainly worthy of a repeat performance. 1 Corinthians 13 gives a listing of some of the aspects of “love”, as God sees it. We not only need to review that list, but also realize that this “love” thing God is talking about is active–it is a doing based on a choice made. Can you honestly say that you choose to let God’s kind of love flow through you when you run into a lying dog of a drug addict, an annoying relative who will take all you have and never return the favor, or a co-worker who sabotages your work to assure their advancement and not yours? It seems that our kind of love just runs out when we run into these situations. Well, God’s love does not abandon these people and neither should we. He loved YOU when you weren't too lovable! Temper His love with His wisdom and you will joyfully be able to serve and tend to those who have sinned against you and yours. If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS.
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Remember, it’s one thing to be convinced of the need for the new life, but it is an entirely different thing to acquire the new life! The fruit of the Spirit of God is the key in this whole thing! The fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit are not the same…the fruit of the Spirit is what we ARE and the gifts of the Spirit are what we DO. No one can be or do what God desires without the indwelling of the Spirit. Go ahead; ask Him to come inside…your whole life will change! If you have never put your complete faith in Jesus Christ for your eternal salvation, why not believe what God's word says and call on Jesus Christ to save you right now? Click here and let us show you how you can KNOW JESUS. |
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