Face to Face With Jesus

Today we welcomed Dr. Doug Fombelle, Dean of Bethel Seminary of the East. He brought a message from I Corinthians that calls us back to consider the personal confrontation with Jesus Himself in which God communicates to us His truth, love, and instruction. For those of you who at one point came to hear the voice of Jesus as He called you to be his child, that same Shepherd continues to love and teach His sheep according to His ways. Our job is to tune our hearts to listen for and respond to His voice.
Feel free to leave comments and reflections.
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Something Better

Hebrews 11 is often called the "Hall of Faith," a place to go and browse the incredible lives of Old Testament believers who lived by faith. Yet at the end of the chapter, the spotlight turns to each of us, "These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect."
How can that be? These impressive examples aren't given for us to marvel over, but to exceed. After all, post-resurrection believers now know the Name above every Name, have the power of God working in them, and are themselves the holy dwelling places of His Spirit.
Do you feel like your life is "something better" than Abraham, Joshua and Moses? If not, look at how Hebrews 12 describes the life of faith, the race well run, and enjoy the awesome privilege of fixing your life on Jesus Christ.
(Sorry the audio is a bit quiet this week.)
Karl
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My Heart: Cluttered or Clean

In this message, Gary Brennan brings us through an understanding of David's spiritual life as reflected in Psalm 51. May we all consider carefully the condition of our hearts before God.

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Is the Resurrection Hard to Believe?

Happy Resurrection Day!
...but do we ever have a hard time believing that the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead is actual, literal, and crucial? This message takes an honest look at those questions, and in the end we can rest assured that the resurrection of Christ is rationally and historically quite believable.

The Week of Destiny

Jesus fulfilled an enormous list of prophecies, taught some incredible lessons, and performed some amazing ministry in that last week in Jerusalem leading up to His crucifixion. It was truly a week of destiny.
Steve Todaro brings this message.

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Special Service: May 21

Below find the audio from a very special service of prayer and worship with our annointed guest, Troy Bourne. On this day, we sought together the face of the Lord and set as a goal to humble ourselves before Him. I have been thinking since that day of what a wonderful blessing this brings. As James 4:10 instructs, "Humble yourselves before the Lord and He will lift you up." In other words, the blessing of humbling ourselves before God is that God Himself becomes our help, our support, our strength and shield. We don't have to rely on puny resources such as circumstances, health, energy, sleep, or caffeine to be our strength. GOD is! It is always worth it to humble ourselves before Him, since nothing compares with being lifted up by God Himself.

Feel free to visit Troy's website at www.jirehscopeministries.org

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Good Criticism?

The word "criticism" seems to bring a negative connotation most of the time. Yet if criticism is given from a pure heart and received by a teachable spirit, it can end up being a force of great goodness and blessing in our lives, both individually and as a church. This message explores the good, the bad, and the ugly truth about criticism. If we develop the wisdom described in Scripture, then God can use criticism as an instrument to actually build up His people through love and mutual service. Feel free to leave comments.
Karl

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Perfectly United

In I Corinthians 1 through 3, the apostle Paul challenges the church in Corinth to be "perfectly united in mind and thought." Is anyone else impressed by how enormous that is? How is that even possible?
The problem in Corinth was the influence of worldly attitudes toward those who serve in the church, which led to division and ran the risk of "the cross of Christ being emptied of its power." Pretty serious consequences.
So one requirement for the Church to be the Church is that no one person gets elevated to the place where only Jesus belongs.
Feel free to leave comments.
Karl


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The Living Church

In this message Steve Todaro brings a message about the Church as Jesus intended.

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Biblical Eldership

In this message Steve Todaro brings a message on what Scripture teaches about pastors in the local church. As a church devoted to the Word of God, this pertinent message brings us to what God teaches on the subject. Feel free to leave thoughts and reflections in the comments.

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The Church in 3 Directions: Part II

OK, so God has called His Church to live in worship (upward), fellowship (inward), and evangelism/service (outward.) As we study the Scriptures it turns out that all three are not only indispensible, but inextricably linked. And the next question is, if we HAD to pick one as a priority over the others, which would we be most likely to choose? Do you have a favorite?
After answering that question, look at the shocking words of Jesus in Matthew 5:23, 24. Perhaps our priorities don't match up to those of Jesus as readily as we might think. This message is a call to the priority of brotherly reconciliation and acceptable worship. And yes, the order IS significant.
I would love any reflections you may want to leave in the comments.
God bless,
Karl

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Discover, Not Determine: The Church in Three Directions

"Who are we, really?" This question probes the philosophical foundations of our existence, and when it comes to finding an answer there is no better place to turn than the revealed Word of God. As we investigate the Scriptures to see what the Church is all about, we find that God has designed His people to live in three directions: Upward, Inward and Outward. Upward is our holy relationship of worship with God Himself, Inward is the call to love and community, and Outward is the mission of evangelism and service. Each of the three is essential, and this two part sermon investigates what Scripture teaches in these areas. The focus is on Hebrews 12 and I Peter 2. Feel free to leave comments, questions or reflections.
Karl

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