Three Lakes Evangelical Free Church: Recent Episodes
Tim Beyer
This is the remaining portion of the service that was interrupted by a poor internet connection. It contains the last of the songs and Pastor Tim's sermon.
This is the remaining portion of the service that was interrupted by a poor internet connection. It contains the last of the songs and Pastor Tim's sermon.
Most people think abut Heaven at least sometime in their life. We night wonder what our relationships will be like, whether we will see and recognize each other when we get there, or we contemplate whether we will remember what happened to us during our lives on earth.
Pastor Niall continues his sermon series on our discipleship program "Rooted." Learn how we now have no condemnation through Jesus Christ.
The world is primarily focused on appearance. Matters of the heart are unseen. However, God sees the heart and evaluates character based on that. One of the key pieces of biblical manhood is guarding the heart and making sure that it is seeking after God. Fathers can both model that and cultivate it in their children.
Love your enemies the way God does. The law is concerned with justice and punishing people for the evil they have done. But in personal relationships, we are love our enemies and not seek revenge on them. The result of this love is rewards from the Lord
Speak the truth at all times. The problem with taking an oath is that is presumes that under other circumstances, you might embellish or tell a lie. But Jesus wants us to have honest hearts that make a habit of telling the truth. Ends with John 16:13.
Divorce separates what God has joined. The church is obligated to study, understand, and submit to the biblical commands regarding divorce and remarriage. This sermon will survey those commands in order to bring clarity to God’s purpose in marriage.
Jesus turns sorrow into joy. Mary lingered at the tomb while the other disciples went home. In the depths of her despair, she witnessed the resurrected Jesus and her sorrow turned to joy. God can and will turn our sorrow into joy, either in this life or the next. That is what the resurrection does.
Jesus submitted to suffering. With the cup of God's wrath before Him, Jesus asked if there was another way to accomplish redemption. Because there was not, He accepted suffering for us. We also can accept suffering for redemptive purposes.
Jesus wept over the lostness of humanity. We celebrate on Palm Sunday because we recognize that Jesus is king. And we will celebrate today! But many are blinded to this wonderful truth. Jesus weeps over them, and so should we. Ends with Luke 23:34.
Take drastic measures to fight lust. Jesus gets at the heart issue behind adultery: lust. He names two members of the body that commit acts of lust and adultery and then encourages their removal. Clearly, this sin is so deadly that it leads people to hell.
Anger leads to destruction. Everyone gets angry. But we need to admit the danger of anger is that is seeks the destruction of someone else in the area of reputation, finances, body, etc. Instead, we are to be people of reconciliation, which is more valuable than worship in the eyes of God.
Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law. Everything Jesus is about to teach hinges on this statement. The Law is not abolished, but Jesus does show us the right way to keep the Law. In fact, it is appropriate to now talk about the “Law of Christ.”
Jesus describes his disciples as peacemakers and persecuted. We should also cultivate and rejoice over these characteristics in our lives. The result of living as Jesus’ disciple is that we become salt and light.
Jesus describes his disciples as merciful and pure in heart. We should also cultivate these characteristics in our lives.
Humans are made in the image of God. However, there are ethical dilemmas that Christians face due to sickness and disease. Family members are faced with life and death decisions. How does the Bible help in these circumstances?
Pray like Jesus. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray. These six petitions give the proper priorities in prayer. So Christians ought to prioritize prayer in these six areas. Is there an area that you neglect in your prayer life? Ends with Matthew 6:15.
Get yourself ready for Jesus’ arrival. We plan and expect a great many things at Christmas. Advent is about expecting the birth of the Savior. Like the shepherds, we can listen to God’s plan of redemption and seek the Savior. Like the shepherds, we can tell others about the Savior and continue praising God. Doing this will make us ready for Christmas.
Give grace freely. The Gospel of John doesn’t start with the birth of Jesus, but instead the arrival of light. One of the things this light reveals is grace and truth. Moses brought the Law which. But Jesus brings grace and truth. To be grace-filled, we must get rid of legalism. We must give grace to those who lack it (they need it most right). And we can give thanks for all the gracious blessings of God through Jesus. Ends with Ephesians 2:8-9.
Love others as if they were family. (and often they are!) Joseph was a righteous man faced with a difficult situation. In compassion, he was ready to divorce Mary quietly, but God’s plan was for him to adopt the Son of God as his own. We also can adopt others into our lives as we love them. God will often direct us to do as He directed Joseph. Ends with John 1:12-13.
God makes great things out of the small. The wise men follow a star to Jerusalem. They are seeking the ruler mentioned in Micah 5:2. This great king would come out of the unlikeliest of places: Bethlehem. God loves taking what is small and insignificant and making something great and beautiful out of it. And that is what He does with our small efforts to honor Him at Christmas. Some people treat Jesus like one small ingredient out of many at Christmas, but actually, He is the main ingredient. Ends with John 3:16.
God’s people should be characterized by thankfulness. They should gather regularly to express this. We praise God for His incredibly powerful nature and for the way He shepherds us. And we keep our hearts from accusations against Him as ancient Israel did.
Jesus is the righteousness of God. Revelation 15 prepares the reader for the seven Bowl Judgments. Jesus is sung to here as the one whose righteous acts are revealed. So we can trust that these judgments may be terrible, but they are righteous, and we ought to worship God because of that!
God has revealed Himself in the Bible. Solomon was far from a perfect man. And Ecclesiastes is a difficult book for many Christians. But it contains the wisdom of God, and so should be followed in what it teaches. The summary of its teaching is to fear God and keep His commandments. Why should we listen to the wisdom of Solomon?
Wisdom is better than folly! Period! At the end of the day, no matter what happens to you in life, it is better to live a life of wisdom than a life of folly. And we know the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. So do not become obsessed with the consequences of wisdom or folly, for we know that wisdom is from the Lord and therein is blessing. Why not just live how we want to?
Life is unjust, so persevere in doing good! Sometimes the one who does right is not rewarded. Sometimes the wicked prevail in this life. Sometimes we feel like there is no way to win. We ought to accept that life is unjust, and continue to do good. We should obey the laws of the land. And whatever good days God gives us, we should enjoy them! Why is life so unfair and what can we do about it?
Hard times are not actually bad because we gain wisdom. No one enjoys hardships and sadness and death. However, bad times are not bad for us. If we gain the wisdom hard times offer, we will be protected from many other negative experiences. And no amount of book learning can replace this type of schooling! This message will also connect to our own country’s hard times and what we have learned from them. Why should we not fear hardships?
Fathers provide stability through all seasons of life. God controls the seasons of our life. Godly men trust God and lead their families through these ups and downs. They do this by trusting God, exercising discernment, and celebrating life. Where is God during life's ups and downs?
True joy comes from God. Life is full of good things that grab our attention. But when we make it our goal to enjoy life, we miss the point. We must receive wisdom, joy, and knowledge from God so that we enjoy and understand life correctly. Pleasure, possessions, and work are meaningless without Him. Why are humans never satisfied?
Life is meaningless without God. The problem with looking for meaning in life is that life is completely meaningless. Life is limited, cyclical, and finite, so it is the wrong place to look for ultimate answers. And although we can accomplish some great things in life, it is only in relationship with God that we can find meaning in life. Why is it so hard to discover the meaning of life?
Mothers love in spite of circumstances. Hagar was in an impossible situation. Abraham had a child with her, but now her child is causing problems, so they are sent away. But even though Ishmael is not a child of the promise, God still cares about him. Mothers are often faced with difficult circumstances. And yet, they love and care for their children in spite of them. Their love perseveres.
The resurrected Jesus is supreme! Jesus humbled Himself and became obedient to death on a cross. However, He is now exalted to the highest place! That makes Him supreme over every living thing in heaven and on earth. Is this the way we live? Do we exalt Him the way He deserves?
The humanity of Christ made him vulnerable like us. Jesus cried out on the cross that he was thirsty, which demonstrates his humanity. He was made just like us so that he could suffer and die. So when we suffer, we follow in his footsteps.
We can intentionally choose to bless our children with powerful words. Can we actually shape our children's future with our words? Seems like it! Life and death is in the power of the tongue. Parents and others have the amazing power to bless their children by speaking words of life. On the other hand, we can curse our kids with our words and by playing favorites.
We must make wise decisions to limit the influence of an unhealthy culture. Jacob' family settled near Shechem which caused much trouble for the family. Parents have to make difficult decisions in order to protect their kids from the world. And they have to train their kids how to live in the world. This is a difficult balance. Jacob finally moved back to Bethel and removed all foreign gods from among them. We too can clean up our homes from impure things.
Family wrongs will continue until we unpack our baggage and apologize. When we get married, we bring our baggage along for the ride. This results in major conflict and mistrust. Jacob was the deceiver and now he is being deceived. Our "crazy cycle" will continue until someone repents of the wrongs they have committed and forgiveness is granted!
Worship is what we do when we serve God. Our entire lives are to be offered as a living sacrifice. We stand with the priests of the Old Testament in rendering service to our holy God. So worship goes far beyond singing in a particular style. Mature Christians are ready to glorify God in any setting, singing or not, my style or their style. To that end, we have drafted a statement of vision for the worship at TLEFC.
Church leadership is the privilege of mature Christians. Being an elder, deacon, or deaconess is not a burden to be avoided, but a critical responsibility to be considered by those that meet the qualifications in Scripture. A righteous life is the requirement; perfection is not! In any case, we are all called to lead and to follow in various ways. We should get better at both!
Every believer is absolutely necessary for the health of the church. Some people do not have flashy gifts. That’s OK, because without those gifts, we all miss out. And God Himself chooses which gifts to give, so we ought to be grateful and use our gifts as He intended. There is probably not a definitive list of spiritual gifts since Paul mentions different ones each time he writes about it. The important thing is to discover, develop, and use your gifts for the glory of God.
Membership in a local church is important for every believer. Some people might question the necessity of membership since the Bible does not describe a formal membership process. But membership provides full identification with the church, accountability, care, responsibility for serving, leadership, legal requirements, and having a voice in the denomination.
NIV Ephesians 2:10 For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Installation Service for our new Youth Pastor Andrew Glenn, featuring his dad Pastor Ray Glenn & our Senior Pastor Niall Philyaw
We begin a new series on the book of Galatians, looking at the basic DNA of the Gospel. Join us today for a look at Galatians 1:1-10
Almost everyone likes to see the underdog defeat the “giant.” “David and Goliath stories” are loved the world over. This morning, the real David and Goliath story will show us how we too, can kill some giants, by faith.
Almost everyone likes to see the underdog defeat the “giant.” “David and Goliath stories” are loved the world over. This morning, the real David and Goliath story will show us how we too, can kill some giants, by faith.