Unity Point Live Podcast Site: Recent Episodes
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Welcome to the podcast ministry of Unity Point Church in Anniston, Alabama with Pastor Nathan Payne. Be blessed and encouraged today. Visit us on the web at www.unitypoint.tv.
Early in 2 Corinthians 3 there are three ministries described from the old covenant, and these are then contrasted to the replacement ministries under the new covenant. What a powerful truth to understand the ministry of the Spirit, the ministry of righteousness, and the ministry of permanence.
So many people have come before us with a testimony of God seeing them through even the toughest challenges of life. Today we dig into Heb 12:1-3 and understand how this impacts us. We embrace being called to lay aside the weight and the sin that impacts how we "run the race" we call life.
Our faith has to endure, pure and simple. Here on this Easter, we continue our walk through Hebrews 10 and talk about enduring faith. And in the midst of it, we remind ourselves that Christ truly is greater than anything else ... including death!
God calls us to become mature believers, demonstrating endurance in our lives. The writer uses one of those four letter words: lazy ... in reminding us that we must have faith and perseverance. We learn today that one of the ways we have endurance is understanding that even while we are doing our best to hold onto Jesus ... He has also taken hold of us. Join us ... dive in ... grow today!
Do you get "saved" but it really doesn't change you? Do you truly receive the God of all Creation as your Lord and Savior ... but nothing in your life is different? Can you get saved and just keep living however you want? What does real repentance look like? This is what we find ourselves thinking through in the first part of Hebrews 6. Join us as we dive in and look at multiple passages of scripture about "repentance".
Hebrews 3 reminds us of the very real danger of becoming "hardened" in our heart ... a heart that can become evil and unbelieving, leading us away from the living God. Like hands with callouses, our hearts can toughen up to where we are no longer sensitive to the things of God or the voice of God. Are you sensitive?
Chapter 2 of Hebrews is such a powerful passage of scripture. We see the position that God original designed for mankind ... but then the need we have of Jesus redeeming that very position for us. Join us as we experience a powerful and stirring review of what Heb 2 tells us Jesus did. "But we see Jesus".
Psa 61 gives us a look at someone who feels a million miles away from God, but who recognizes that God can place them "on a rock" that is higher than they can access on their own ... or that their enemies can access. Lord, place us in that place that allows us to rise above.
Today we celebrated Sanctity of Life Sunday by focusing on the reality that life is not a "choice"; rather, it is a gift from God. This reality will shape how we view EVERY life ... pre-born and already born. Join us as we dive into scripture to understand God's gift of life.
We live in a world where people are wrapped up in things they are passionate about. But do we properly understand how we are supposed to be loving God, and what it means to do so with our heart, soul, strength and mind? What does that look like in our world of social media? How do we move past being "informed" to being "transformed"? Those things and more are what we dive into today.
Keys are used both to unlock and to lock things. Jesus tells us that He gives us several keys that I believe many Christ-followers fail to recognize they have. Today we address some powerful thoughts about the authority Christ gives us regarding: death, hell, the grave, and His kingdom.
Our Anniston community has spent the last two weeks embroiled in controversy regarding a possible homeless shelter, and then the possibility of the CDP sheltering victims from a cruise ship identified as infected with COVID. It has blown up social media, with hostility, fear, anger, and genuine concern on full display. In the midst of all this we find an opportunity to ask the faith community a question: What does it look like to love like Jesus? You see, Christ-followers should be approaching situations like these from God's perspective, regardless of what the best answer turns out to be. It's far less about which solution becomes the end result ... and it is much more about how we demonstrate the love and compassion of God in the process. Today we take a look at what the Bible says about how we should get our "starting point" of perspective when it comes to those in less fortunate situations than ourselves ... whether financially, emotionally, relationally, or any other way.
Life sometimes presents things that put us into situations where we honestly don't know what to do. Yes...we know the right spiritual answers, but our feelings are yelling "I don't know what to do" because we want to SOLVE it! 2 Kings 19 and 20 give us examples of what Hezekiah did when he was faced with two of these situations. Join us as we learn from these examples. And stick around to the end for a little bit of unexpected worship blending a song based on Psalm 3 with some spontaneous worship as well.
There may be things in your life that seem dead: dreams, hopes, relationships, jobs, future, etc. But we can learn a powerful truth from a statement Martha made in John 11 after her brother, Lazarus, had died. Yes...God could have stopped something from occurring...but "even now". Join us for a powerful reminder of the eternal power God has that does not stop when things "die" in our lives.
Many people don't understand the gifts in 1 Cor 12, haven't studied them, or maybe have been "scared away" from them because of what they have been taught. Today we dive into just looking at what scripture says about them. And we end by praying "God, whatever you have for me, I want to receive."
Being filled with the Holy Spirit. What does it mean? What does Scripture say? What are the different belief systems within Christianity about the gifts of the Spirit and whether they are in operation today? This is part 1 in a short series that takes a look at these questions and more. While this will certainly not be the "end of the discussion" for people who stand on one side of the debate or the other, this IS a sincere and studied effort to share what we believe God's Word says and how that applies to Unity Point.
This message was a powerful challenge and call for us to abandon the lesser things that demand our attention, and to return to a fervent love...zeal...for the things of God. We must have zeal for worship, the Word, prayer, and other things of God in our personal lives before we will see our churches change, and then our communities change.
Joy is critical for the spiritual life. In fact, Jesus goes so far as to define two types of joy that can be present in us: 1) HIS joy, and 2) OUR joy (as seen in John 15:11). But why is joy important? What does it do for us, and how do we have it? Join us today as we dig into some powerful insight onto how the joy of Christ flows over into our joy.
What does it mean to love like God loves? This is important to know because our love for one another is how people will know we are His disciples. But what does it look like to love one another as Christ loved us? Join us today as we see ways that Jesus loved people, and as we dig into the reality that how we love others demonstrates what we believe about the love Christ has for us.
People have become wary of churches asking for money. TV evangelists have become the butt of jokes because of their begging for people to give their money, while they promise blessings to the first 100 people who give $1,000. But this is about as far as you can get from what God really wants from us when it comes to giving of our resources, of which perhaps the smallest part is monetary. Let's dig in together today to understand what it means to really give of ourselves and our resources to God Himself, and His kingdom.
Here's a reality: most of us are pretty busy. Here's another reality: most of it is a choice. Today we need to challenge ourselves to consider whether it is "our time" and God gets some of it, or is it God's time and He should direct all of it? And if we determine that it is God's time, what things does He ask us to spend the time on? Dig into that with us in this message.
Talents vs. spiritual gifts: what's the difference? And are spiritual gifts things that don't show up in the daily life of the average Christian unless they have that particular spiritual gift? We tackle these and other questions today as we wrap up our two week look at spiritual gifts.
Spiritual gifts; lots of folks talk about them. Some folks abuse them. Some folks totally misunderstand them. Some folks avoid them. But regardless of where you stand regarding spiritual gifts, and regardless of whether you have studied them much or just totally ignored them...they're still there. The question is "What is God's view and God's plan regarding spiritual gifts?" This is what we dive into in part 1 of our review of spiritual gifts.
Hey...listen up! Yeah, we've all had someone tell us to stop and listen, or focus and listen. Even God wants us to stop and listen to Him. But when we listen, do we find ourselves then being obedient to what God tells us?
Life throws us a curve, but God. Our job takes a bad turn, but God. Our health does downhill, but God. Our finances seem headed for a crash, but God. There are lots of things that don't go our way, but God has something to say about all of them. He steps in, He leads us through the dark moments, He upholds us in our moments of weakness. Life happens...but God does too!
We often ask God to show up in our lives, jobs, relationships, homes, and other situations. But we also usually have an idea in our head of what we think that should look like. What if God shows up in an unexpected way? What if it doesn't look like, sound like, or feel like what we thought it would? That's what we talk about in this message today from John 6.
5 loaves. 2 fish. One Savior. Like us, Philip struggled with being able to grasp that Jesus was able to do something miraculous. So many times we also struggle with believing without seeing. But God works in the realm of the supernatural to effect the realm of the natural where we function in this physical life.
John's followers really took offense to people starting to follow Jesus. Their focus was on their leader (John), but they weren't really understanding his message. John had always pointed everyone to the coming Messiah, but John's followers were missing that John was saying "Here he is!"
Jesus ran moneychangers out of the temple. The amazing response of people around this event was not about whether it was just...but rather, what authority did Jesus have to do this. Are you allowing God to have authority in your life?
In this passage Jesus comes to the temple to find that "junk" had invaded and had taken over from the real intended purpose for the temple. Sometimes our own lives get in that same condition: junk invades and takes up the space that should be reserved for God, worship, and encountering the very presence of God. Join us as we walk through this passage.
In today's passage we see Jesus do His first miracle, a creative miracle. There is a tremendous parallel between this creative miracle that Jesus does and what happens to believers at conversion / salvation. Learn about these parallels today in our continued journey through the Gospel according to John.
Week 1 of our new series on The Gospel Recorded By John. Join us as we dive into understanding how this book differs from the other three Gospels, why it was written, and the great theological statements that John makes from the start.
Prayer isn't just for those you love, care about or consider friends. Prayer is bigger than that. Prayer is for everyone.
There's a drastic difference between saying someone should be thankful "for" suffering (which we are not doing) versus seeing how we can be thankful "during" suffering. At some point in life we all suffer, to varying degrees. But God will still empower us to experience thankfulness even during the intense challenges life can throw our way.
There are many things that have been placed into our lives, yet sometimes they are lying dormant. Just like a fire, stirring the embers can bring a new blaze to these things. Be inspired to stir up the gift of grace in your life today.
Our world sometimes gets to spinning so fast that we simply run from one thing to the next, never really seeing that God is at work in our lives. Today's message reminds us to slow down and see that God truly is working in us...we just need to look to see it.
When was the last time you were truly personally challenged by God and His Word? We're talking about a REAL challenge. A challenge to change. To become something more. To experience exponential growth. This message will ask you to think on this and open yourself up to being challenged by God.
Lots of folks are searching for a service project to be involved with. But the messae today will show us that the most obvious service project we are to be involved with is "each other".
Taking a 25 lb weight in a backpack during a footrace would be foolish! But this is a real illustration of what happens to us in our spiritual race sometimes. Join us today as we dig into understanding how to run the race unencumbered and with patience.
Many of us either tend to live defined by our past, or else don't want anyone to even know about it. But the reality is that our past gives people the proper perspective to ask about the "what" that caused the change to the person we are today. Join us as we learn how to avoid having a "mistaken identity".
Do you have joy? What is the real origin of joy for a Christ-follower? Today we dive into a passage in Romans in order to understand "how joyful" we should be after believing on Jesus Christ.
Have you ever seen someone driving and texting? What tended to happen? Usually they swerve, maybe run off the road, but generally are dangerous while driving because they aren't focused on the right thing. Our lives can be that way unless we are focused on the correct objects and goals. In this message today we will see where we SHOULD be focused.
Are you content? So many times we define contentment by the things that we have or the things we get to do. But where should the Christ-follower find their source of contentment? Join us as we examine a biblical contentment that is Christ-centered, not Americanized or focused on possessions.
Family is sometimes messy, but you're still family. The church is no different. We're all on different places along the timeline of spiritual maturity, but we're still one family. God has called His church to unity, not uniformity. Join us as we learn how to live this out in our lives.
Gideon had a whole host of people to go with him against an opposing army. But God pared that down to just a comparative handful of people. Many of us need to apply portions of this story as we fight "with our heads up" in our daily lives.
Freedom. Everyone will be talking about it during the July 4th weekend celebration. But what is REAL freedom? You see, many people around the world don't experience the level of personal public freedom that we do in America. So REAL freedom must be something that anyone can experience, regardless of government or other external intervention. Join us as we learn about REAL freedom.
Ever seen a toddler open a gift, then find them playing with the wrapping paper and the box about 30 minutes later? Sometimes we tend to treat our faith the same way: we get overly focused on things that were a "shadow" of what was to come and be the "substance" of our hope and our faith. Join us as we see the power of the SUBSTANCE found in Jesus.
It's one thing to know that God has filled us, spiritually circumcised us, buried us, raised us, made us alive. But it is something entirely more powerful to grasp the SOURCE of where this comes from. Join us in thinking through this as we continue in Colossians, beginning in chapter 2 and verse 9.
Join Josh Henderson, our guest speaker (and now our Family Life Pastor), as he shares on Mother's Day about "Leaving A Legacy".
Is the REAL Gospel story just about "Man is bad, God is mad, Jesus died, aren't we all glad"? Our Easter message today helps us see that there is MUCH more to the real Gospel story. And it is this "complete" story of the Gospel that lets us truly understand what God is doing in redeeming us to Himself through Jesus Christ.
As Paul wraps up Colossians chapter 1, we find that God has revealed the greatest mystery: Christ. Then we see two powerful responsibilities that leaders have within the church: warning and teaching, with a defined goal in mind. Hear what that goal is, as well as the power that enables it to happen, as we continue in Colossians.
Those who have received Christ as Lord and Savior of their life have experienced a change in time, a change in mind, and a change in position. We see these things pointed out by Paul toward the end of Colossians 1 in our message today.
Sometimes we feel that we are supposed to "hold it all together". But we see this week in our Walk Through Colossians that Jesus is actually the one who holds all things together. Today, find your rest in letting Jesus hold your life together.
What is truly supposed to be the source of real joy for the Christ-follower? Paul gives us a glimpse at "why" we have joy, "where" we have joy, and "in whom" we have joy in Colossians 1:11-14.
Paul prayed that Christ-followers would be strengthened by God's glorious might for patience and endurance with joy. Wow! But do we really want to experience things that would require us to be strengthened in this manner? That's what we ask ourselves in this message today.
Paul once stated that his goal was "to know Him", speaking of Christ. Today we take a look at Colossians 1:10 that reminds us to walk worthy, be fruitful, and increase in our knowledge of God.
This week we finish up the first list in Colossians 1:9, focusing on being filled with "spiritual understanding". One of the most powerful things we address is "how" we get filled with spiritual understanding. Are you keeping a "lid" on your life that is keeping you from being filled with all that we see in Col 1:9....knowledge of God's will, wisdom and spiritual understanding? You can take the lid off and let God begin to fill you with all He desires.
Paul prayed that the people in the church of Colossae would be "filled" with the knowledge of God's will, as well as all wisdom. But what does it mean to be filled? And how does being filled with the knowledge of God's will affect our lives? And one step further...how does wisdom work with this knowledge of God's will in us? Join us as we work through the book of Colossians.
This week we find Paul sharing about "the truth, the Gospel" and how it is spreading throughout the whole world, bearing fruit. But what is the "Gospel"? What made up the "whole world" that Paul was describing? And, in the end, how is the Gospel bearing fruit today...including in your life? Join us as we continue this Walk Through Colossians.
The book of Colossians is rich with doctrine, instruction and practical application. Join us as we begin our "Walk Through Colossians". Today we lay the foundation for understanding Paul's letter to the church at Colossae, including his introduction of the three graces he often references in his writings, "faith, hope and love".
Every year there are people who hit social media with "This is the year of....". They make nice memes to share, but God is the same yesterday, today and forever. So how do you REALLY need to keep your year "in focus"? Join us as we discuss how to "redeem" the time we are given in 2017.
The birth of Christ had an earth-shattering impact on the world, both at the time and forever. All mankind, all creation...everything was seeing the Redeemer appear. Yes, this changes everything.
I learned the hard way (and the COLD way) that what you wear matters on a recent multi-night camping trip. God also tells us that what we "wear" spiritually matters, as we are directed to put on the whole armor of God. What have you been wearing?
As many prepare for Thanksgiving in America, do we really contemplate the true reason for thanksgiving in the heart of the follower of Christ? Despite what our personal circumstances may be, if we have received Christ we have the greatest reason imaginable to have a thankul heart.
It's just a reality today that we all have "a past". Sometimes it is because of decisions we made. Maybe it is due to things done to us. Or possibly it is about our socio-economic level growing up. Regardless of the cause, we all have a past. But God wants to set us free...to take away the baggage. But will we let Him?
Many people wonder how long their physical life will last in this world. But Jesus called us to the necessity of being willing to die...from a different perspective. This message digs into one of Jesus' most difficult commands that He ultimately modeled by dying for us.
Paul once prayed a prayer for a group of people, asking that God would equip them "to do His will". This message digs into this prayer to find some powerful insights into the God that equips, what He equips us with, and how He equips us.
There may be lots of things that we value in life, some more than others. But Paul writes to the church in Philippians and tells them of the "surpassing worth" of knowing Jesus. I pray that we always place the highest value on knowing Jesus Christ in our lives.
Romans 12:1-2 gives us an interesting command: Present your bodies a living sacrifice; don't be conformed...be transformed.
But what does it look like when we present our bodies a "living" sacrifice? How do we do it? And what about conforming versus transforming? We address all of these things in this message.
In moments of trouble, times of distress, or just while feeling alone...most of us have asked the question, "Where is God?" This message takes a look at this very poignant question and gives us hope. But it also challenges us to respond to "where" God is.
Most people (yes...even Christ-followers) have at some point asked the question, "Who Is God?" It's a simple question that has far-reaching and powerful impact when it is answered. But, in the middle of our most difficult situations, we truly need to know..."Who Is God?"
Ever gotten lost as a child? Maybe it was in a department store, or an amusement park. There's nothing quite like that feeling of being left behind...even if only for a moment.
This week we look at the parable some call "The Lost Sheep". But I think we really could see it as "No Child Left Behind". Jesus shares this parable about a solitary sheep in response to being accused of "welcoming and eating with sinners". Join us as we talk about sheep, shepherds, and engaging the lost.
Psalms 1:1-3 tells us that we can be like a tree. In today's message we learn three important characteristics of this "tree" that we can model in our lives.
Are we ready to surrender everything we have in order to pursue Christ? Is there anything that we would hold onto rather than surrender all in order to have the great treasure found in Him?
That's what the parables for this week cause us to ask of ourselves.
Luke 10:25-37 gives us a recounting of Jesus talking with a lawyer. This lawyer questions what he has to do to in order to receive salvation. Jesus proceeds to share the story of a man beaten, robbed and left for dead on the road.
Maybe you have heard this parable preached and taught many times. This particular message will give you even better insight into the "players" in this story, and challenge you to change "your neighborhood".
Our world and our country are going through difficult times today. Yet it is in these difficult times that the true church of Jesus Christ is needed most. But what happens if the church "loses heart"?
Join us in this message as we find encouragement to not lose heart...but to go into the world with the message of reconciliation found in Jesus Christ.
Freedom is something that we celebrate every Independence Day. But God has provided the ultimate freedom for us through Jesus Christ. But what does Galatians 5:1-5 mean when we see that "For freedom Christ has set us free"?
This is lightbulb #3 of our series, and it is LOVE. Our world is desperately in need of Christ-followers who will show the love of Christ. But we need to understand it and share it, or else it will "rot on the vine". We pray you are blessed by this final step in our series, and that you truly begin lighting up the darkness with Faith, Hope and Love.
We hear a lot of terms thrown about when it comes to "faith", but what is it really? Is Christian faith the same as "blind faith", or a "leap of faith"? Most importantly....what does the Bible say about receiving faith, understanding faith, and sharing faith?
That's what we tackle in this second "lightbulb" of our series, as we turn our attention to "FAITH".
This is the first message in a 3-part series entitled "Light Up The Darkness". Our world has many pockets of darkness: abuse, neglect, pain, heartache, poverty, separation. God has called us to be lights in darkness.
This series, based in Matthew 5:14 and 1 Corinthians 13:13, will give us insight into how we light up the darkness with hope, faith, and love.
What is revival? No...I mean REAL revival? Is it a series of services that you plan? Is it about having special singers and a guest speaker? Just because you had "revival services" does that mean anyone actually experienced revival?
We want to experience authentic revival as individuals....much like Isaiah did. We pray this message spurs you on to personal revival.
God led Joshua and the people of Israel to take a specific action in order to "remember" what He had done in leading them through the Jordan River (their major obstacle in life). This action was to be something that would be shared with their children for years to come.
What is God asking you to remember in your life? Let this message be an encouragement for you to call to remembrance what God has done for you.
Jimmy Barry (Missionary - Uganda) preached our first service in our new facility. His challenge to us? Can you really pray "Thy will be done" and mean it? Do we really know what it means when we ask for God's will to be done in our lives?
What a blessing for our first service to be led by a missionary! Pastor Nathan wanted this to happen in order to reinforce our mission to "GO"!
Luke 5:18-26 tells the story of four friends who take a fifth friend to Jesus because their friend (a paralytic) needed healing. They refused to allow ANY obstacles to get in their way of reaching Jesus. The message today challenges us to examine what kind of friend we are, in light of this story.
Whether we realize it or not, we're all building our lives every moment of every day. But in the end, what materials are we using to build? God has plans for how our lives are to be built, and what material we are to use. The question we have when looking at our lives is, "Where's the materials list?"
It is so important that we are intentionally building our belief system in our lives. It's not enough to know that someone told us we should believe something. Rather, we should believe based on study of God's truth and proper comparison of the Word as a whole.
There are often things in life that become large and immovable in our perception. These "stones" block our view of God, and even the view of things happening around us. But God wants to help us put these "stones" in perspective. And maybe, just maybe, it is time that you ask Him to roll away the stone in your life. What's your stone?
Sometimes our lives are spent trying to achieve our dreams....dreams that are often instilled in us from a very early age. But what if our dreams are focused on something other than what God intended specifically for us? This message challenges us to find the place where dreams go to die....but also where dreams come alive.
"Love" is one of those words that we tend to use pretty freely. We love our pet. We love pizza. We love that song. We love our wife. We love God.
But what do we REALLY love? And how is that love shown?
1 John 2:15-17 gives us a starting point to see what we really love.
God sees things differently than we do. He saw Gideon as what he WOULD be before Gideon ever was. And God sees you as what He wants to make you to be also. But are you willing to get "in it" in order for God to prepare you to "win it"?
We often hear people say "Prayer changes things". But what does that really mean? Is it true? Do we actually understand what effect prayer has on "things"?
This message will address all of those questions. By the end of this message you will have a different understanding of what God wants to do in your situation through prayer.
Our society has long attempted to define what love is. Much like other holidays, Valentines has been promoted as a symbol of what love is supposed to be. But when we take a biblical perspective, we see that GOD is love. And since He IS love, then He defines love. Join us as we talk about love from God's perspective.
Lots of people start things...but a lot fewer actually finish what they start. In writing portions of the New Testament, Paul made it clear that he wanted to finish his mission. In the end, he stated that he HAD finished well.
Let this message make you stop and think about your desire and commitment to "finish well".
As we wrap up our review of Micah 6:8, we address a very insightful question: What does it mean to truly 'love your neighbor as yourself'? When we consider the requirement God has for us to "do justice" we have to see the repeated requirement to love our neighbor...but "as yourself". This one is a game-changer.
"The Sequel" is our continuation of a look into Micah 6:8 and God's expectation that we "do justice". This week we examine how God provided a blueprint for providing for those less fortunate, His view of property, and our view of our efforts and "our" abilities.
Pastor Nathan shares the very personal experience that he and Michelle had with their teenage pregnancy, and the real choice they had to make about abortion. Join us in this podcast as we hear how God provided life in their situation, as well as God's plans for the common objections to choosing life.
We hear so much about what Christ-followers are supposed to do in life. Micah 6:8 explains that we are to do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God. But what does it mean to "do justly"? In fact, what is the biblical standard for "justice" that is part of God's character and that He expects from us? I guarantee you will be challenged as we dive into the heart of what the Bible really teaches on this subject.
People have various ideas about what "makes" Christmas for them. Some focus on decorations. Some focus on gifts. Some focus on family. But what REALLY defines Christmas? Where should our focus be as Christ-followers? Find out as we address the question: "So This Is Christmas?"
Our world is full of hurt, pain and spiritual sickness. Even when they don't see it, they are in need of healing. Will you be the hands and feet of Jesus today, ministering healing to those so desperately in need of help?
As we finish off our study of Galatians we find ourselves focused on the cross. The preaching of the cross is, admittedly, an offensive thing. Jesus said He was "THE" way, truth and life....no plan B. The message in this podcast challenges us to share the message of the cross to those in need.
It's not just enough to tell people to "take your need to Jesus". We, as followers of Christ, have been given a very specific command in Galatians 6... "Bear one another's burdens." Enjoy this thought-provoking message that reminds us of our responsibility to one another.