Pastor’s Messages (Page 4)

The Power Of Scripture It was the summer of 1984, and I was at Lakeside Bible Camp. I had just accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior the previous day. For the first time in my life, the word of God was important to me. The verse I was challenged to memorize in my devotional time was from the book of Galatians that day. Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ…

Who Will You Trust Most Today?Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. 6 Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take. Who do you trust? The answer to this question can bring heartache or peace of mind. Whether your life has purpose or you whether you’re just spinning your wheels.One of the biggest mistakes we make is trusting ourselves. The problem with…

Trust God To Be Your Defender Most of us waste a lot of time and energy worrying about what could happen if things don’t go as we have planned. Anxiety can take its toll as we strive to defend our plans, decisions, and failures. How can we find peace of mind when things go sideways, and our efforts come up empty? Psalm 25:1-5 In you, Lord my God, I put my trust. 2 I trust in you; do not let…

1) Am I being directed by God’s Word?2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.All of us tend to be controlled mostly by what we want. After we trust Jesus in faith, those things change and we desire to be directed by His will. The only place we can turn to for God’s truth is His…

The Power and Importance Of Mercy From God Psalm 25:6 Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old. Grace means getting what we don’t deserve, and mercy means not getting what we do deserve. Both are true of God’s love for us, and we need both in our lives. We don’t deserve God’s mercy and we definitely can’t earn it, but whenever we turn to God in prayer, we can take comfort in knowing He…

2 Timothy 3:11-12  11 You know how much persecution and suffering I have endured. You know all about how I was persecuted in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra—but the Lord rescued me from all of it. 12 Yes, and everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. These are three cities that Paul visited on his first missionary journey. Suffering was a major part of all of Paul’s work and in Lystra he was stoned and left for dead.…

God Equips Us For His Challenging PathEphesians 3:16-2116 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you withpower through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell inyour hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and establishedin love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasphow wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to knowthis love that surpasses…

Blessings The Hard Ward Way I had only been in Uganda for about ten months. As Missionary Matthew, I had all those romantic ideas about what it meant to serve the Lord deep in the jungle. I was prepared for everything, or so I thought. Rose was an older lady who was under eighty pounds and in a wheelchair. She was dying slowly and was in excruciating pain. On Sunday, after our church service, she had asked to pray with…

Matthew 8:23-27 23 Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him. 24 Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping. 25 The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Lord, save us! We’re going to drown!” 26 He replied, “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. 27…

Ephesians 4:29-3229 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only whatis helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefitthose who listen. 30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom youwere sealed for the day of redemption. 31 Get rid of all bitterness, rage andanger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. 32 Be kind andcompassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in…

Satan Uses Your Emotions To Cause ConflictI love climbing, although the older I get I realize the consequences of a baddecision. The key to rock climbing is to use your legs more than your arms.Every gifted climber knows how to get a good foothold. Satan is alwayslooking to get a strong foothold in our lives. Through relationships, baddecisions, fear, and guilt. He will use whatever he can to lie his way into agood foothold in our lives. The question is,…

James 1:22-25 22 Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says. 23 Anyone who listens to the word but does not do what it says is like someone who looks at his face in a mirror 24 and, after looking at himself, goes away and immediately forgets what he looks like. 25 But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom, and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard, but…

What Words Best Describe Your Character?Genesis 32:27-2827 The man asked him, “What is your name?” “Jacob,” he answered. 28 Then the man said, “Your name will no longer be Jacob, but Israel, because you have struggled with God and with humans and have overcome.”Why did God asked Jacob, “What is your name?” God obviously new his name and everything else about Jacob, so why would God ask this question. In the Old Testament people were named after their character. That…

Building Up Our Community We build from the inside not from the outside. If we want to experience change in our communities, the way we talk to others will make all the difference when it comes time to moving forward in building unity and purpose. Proverbs 11:10-12 10 When the righteous prosper, the city rejoices; when the wicked perish, there are shouts of joy. 11 Through the blessing of the upright a city is exalted, but by the mouth of…

Letting Go Of Hypocrisy Through Confession Matthew 7:5 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye. Having a Godly perspective on others and ourselves is very difficult to see if our vision is blurred by a plank in our own eye. We tend to see confession from a purely negative point of view. It’s connected so closely with us having to…