God Talk: Recent Episodes
Greg Beutel
Thank you for joining me for this episode of God Talk. In this episode, we delve into the recent controversies surrounding prominent megachurch pastors in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. We discuss the resignations of Tony Evans and the founding pastor of Gateway Church, shedding light on the circumstances and implications of their actions.
We explore how these events highlight the continuous attack on Christianity, particularly how such scandals can shake the faith of many believers. The episode addresses the broader cultural pressures on Christianity, especially during Pride Month, and the double standards that exist compared to other religions like Islam.
Additionally, we reflect on the resilience required by Christians to withstand these attacks, emphasizing the importance of relying on God’s perfection rather than human imperfection. Through all the trials and tribulations, it is crucial to remember that while Christians may fall, God always catches us.
Join us as we navigate these challenging times, understanding the impact of these scandals on the faith community, and reinforcing the need to maintain our faith in God’s grace and mercy.
Much like last week, the title of today’s message is taken from a question Jesus asked of his disciples, “Oh faithless and perverse generation, how long must I endure you?” Jesus is questioning His disciples, the very men He spent time with daily, teaching them what faith is, and how to grow and mature in it. However, it is evident that they struggled to learn the lessons because when presented with a man whose son was possessed by a demon, they were unable to cast it out. After Jesus cast out the demon, He pointed to the disciple's lack of faith as the reason for their failure.
What about us? Are we living a lackluster christian life because we haven’t taken what God teaches us about the power of faith to heart? Pastor Greg provides some key insights on how we can.
Scriptures Today: Matthew 5:17-20, 17:1-9, 14-20 // James 2:19 // Jeremiah 17:7-8 // 1 Corinthians 15:33 // 2 Corinthians 6: 14-16 //
Galatians 2:20 // Phillipians 2:1-5
Welcome to this episode of God Talk, where we delve into a universal experience that touches every aspect of our lives: change. Drawing inspiration from Dr. Spencer Johnson's book, Who Moved My Cheese?, we explore how both humans and animals often resist change and the lessons we can learn from this behavior.
Using engaging anecdotes, including encounters with rats and their dietary preferences, we illustrate the importance of adapting to change rather than stubbornly resisting it. We discuss how change can serve as a catalyst for personal and spiritual growth, keeping life exciting and preventing it from becoming monotonous.
We also examine how religious institutions and practices have historically handled change.
Throughout life's various stages—from career shifts to family dynamics, physical aging, and even cognitive changes—embracing change with a positive mindset is crucial. Ultimately, we emphasize the importance of maintaining a constant relationship with God, who guides us through every transition, making change a blessing rather than a burden.
Join us in this thought-provoking discussion on how to navigate life's inevitable changes while keeping faith at the center of it all. God bless.
The title of this message is found in Matthew 16:26, where Jesus actually uses the term “forfeit” his soul. Does He mean sell your soul to the devil? Well, not exactly, but when our lives become all about chasing the things of this world, essentially, we are doing just that. It’s a serious topic because it is so culturally accepted to pursue wealth with an all-consuming ferocity that ends up controlling our whole lives. And what have we really gained, even if we were to gain the whole world? Nothing! Because we become doomed for eternity when we do. Pastor Greg helps us weigh in on the gravity of the consequences.
Scriptures Today: Matthew 16:24-28 // 1 John 2:15-17 // John 14:30 // Matthew 6:2-3, 9:27-31
In this episode of "God Talk," we delve into controversial topics surrounding grooming, child abuse, and the NFL's involvement in cultural issues. Host tackles the societal impact of Pride Month, examining how it influences children and the broader implications for mental health and suicide rates among LGBTQ+ individuals.
The episode also critiques the role of major NFL teams in promoting Pride Month, questioning the relevance of such endorsements in the realm of sports. Highlighting the resistance from certain teams, the discussion underscores the clash between traditional values and modern cultural trends.
Furthermore, we explore a recent case involving a Texas doctor who blew the whistle on illegal gender-affirming surgeries for minors, facing severe repercussions from the federal government. This segment emphasizes the tension between state laws and federal actions.
Lastly, the episode features an inspiring story of an Idaho bar owner who launched a "Heterosexual Awesomeness Month" in response to Pride Month, demonstrating grassroots resistance and the power of individual action in societal debates.
Last week, we looked at the question Jesus asked His disciples, frustrated by their lack of understanding. This week, we turn our attention to another question Jesus asked them, which is also the most important question they, and we, will ever answer, “Who do YOU say I am?” It’s incredibly important because if Jesus is who He says He is, we are forced to reckon with what He demands of us. People will go to virtually any lengths to disprove or discredit Jesus. No doubt you have had lengthy discussions with unbelieving family and friends wanting to dispute Jesus Christ’s validity as God in the flesh, who walked here among us on earth, lived a perfect life, died on the cross for our sins, then rose from the dead and is now seated on the throne in heaven. Today, Pastor Greg walks us through a deeper look at the question itself and a look at who Jesus indisputably is. You will be able to unequivocally see that Jesus is the Christ, son of the living God!
Scriptures Today: Matthew 16:13-20 // 1 Peter 3:15
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Welcome to this episode of "God Talk," where we delve into how Christians should approach Pride Month. Should we stay silent or actively engage in the conversation? Join us as we explore potential ways to address Pride Month while staying true to our faith.
In this episode, we will examine recent events like the vandalism of a Pride mural in St. Petersburg and the backlash faced by Kansas City Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker for his pro-family, Christian speech. These incidents highlight the societal tensions surrounding free speech and religious beliefs.
Finally, we offer four practical tips for navigating Pride Month: don't ignore it, don't be ashamed of God, avoid inciting more hatred, and always speak the truth in love. Tune in for an insightful discussion that encourages thoughtful and respectful engagement during this challenging time.
Join us as we delve into the ongoing message series, "Questions of Jesus," where we explore the profound and sometimes challenging questions Jesus posed to those around Him. In this episode, we reflect on a particularly poignant question from Matthew 15:16: "Are you also still without understanding?"
We examine the context behind Jesus' frustration with His disciples' lack of comprehension, and draw parallels to the modern-day church. Despite having access to God's Word, many believers and church leaders still struggle to fully grasp its teachings. We discuss how this lack of understanding manifests in various denominations and explore the broader implications for the church today.
From addressing the controversies surrounding Pope Francis to examining the liberal trends in Protestantism and non-denominational churches, we confront the difficult questions and call for a return to scriptural fidelity and deeper understanding. This episode challenges us to re-evaluate our own spiritual insights and strive for a more faithful adherence to God's Word.
In this episode of God Talk, we delve into the unexpected ways God might get our attention. Host Greg shares a personal story about dealing with an embarrassing and persistent muscle spasm, his visit to the neurologist, and an unexpected soccer game incident that seemed to alleviate his condition. Could it have been a divine intervention?
Greg reflects on how God sometimes uses surprising, even painful events to guide us or heal us, drawing parallels from the Bible, including stories from Amos and Jonah. He contemplates the idea that God's 'kicks in the head' can serve to correct our paths, pull us out of unhealthy habits, or shift our perspectives.
Join us as we explore the notion of divine discipline and the ways in which God's tough love can ultimately lead to our betterment. This episode is a thought-provoking reminder that sometimes, what seems like a setback might actually be a setup for something greater.
Last week, we looked at the question Jesus posed to two blind men who came to Him to be healed. He asked, “Do you believe I can do this?” Their answer was a resounding Yes! This week, we look at a very familiar story where Jesus is walking on water and approaches the disciples, who are in a boat in a tempestuous sea. Peter asks to walk to Jesus on the sea, and Jesus invites him. He steps out of the boat onto the surface of the raging waters but then begins to doubt. Like Peter, we all have struggles with doubt, and this message provides helpful insights into how to deal with it effectively.
Why did the duck cross the road? To get to the other side of course. But how we treat a duck crossing the road ought to convict us as to how we treat people who are in harms way because they don’t know Jesus.
Today, we delve into a powerful question Jesus asked two blind men, exploring themes of faith and divine possibility. This sermon highlights the significant moments of belief and healing, drawing parallels between Jesus's miracles and His teachings on faith’s transformative power. We'll also share contemporary stories, because we’re not done witnessing the impossible become possible. This session is crucial for understanding how true faith can lead to spiritual and physical healing.
God’s readiness to act is boundless, but it calls for genuine faith and a heart open to transformation. Join us to celebrate His miraculous works and discover how your own faith can lead to profound changes in your life and the lives of others!
We’re so glad you joined us for this very important message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
View the sermon here: https://youtu.be/gb4o4ZHbXyQ
In this episode of God talk I will introduce you to our new staff members as well as tell you why it is significant that in the Old Testament an axe head floated.
Sometimes God will stretch us with decisions that require a leap of faith. It can be scary to take that leap of faith, but we will never experience the joy of walking on water unless we’re first willing to step out of the boat in faith and follow Jesus.
This week at Light of the World Church, we delve into one of the most misunderstood passages of the Bible—Matthew 7:1-5. Join us as we explore the profound question Jesus poses about judgment, "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and ignore the plank in your own eye?"👁️ Understand the true meaning behind Jesus' words and how they apply to our lives today. We will challenge the extremes of being overly judgmental and dangerously permissive, finding the biblical balance that leads to a healthier, more merciful society.🙏 Whether you've misjudged others or felt the weight of unfair judgment, this message is for you. Discover how to remove the "planks" in your life, embrace mercy, and see the world through a clearer, more compassionate lens. Scriptures Today: Matthew 7:1-5, Matthew 23:12, James 2:10, 1 John 1:8-10, Romans 3:23, Romans 6:23, Romans 5:8, Matthew 10:8, 1 Corinthians 5:9-13, Matthew 16:5-12, Ephesians 4:15
Some people say, God works in mysterious ways…others talk about God winks, and yet others are just out and out miracles you decide which one this falls into, but either way you’ll be encouraged by the story
If you have tinnitus or know someone who does you hear things that just aren’t real and that is exactly how Satan works on all of us. How is he causing you to hear things that aren’t real in your life?
The saga of O.J. Simpson is finally over for us but with his last breath, he now stands before the Almighty and will receive a final last trial. Are you prepared for your final last trial?
At the outset, and throughout this sermon series it should have become clear that God wants man to know who He is, and how he can have a relationship with Him. The Bible, God’s perfect Word, offers everyone the free gift of salvation and eternal life through belief in Jesus Christ, His Son. Once we become believers, we are all sent to share the good news with others. Today we look more closely at Jesus’ instructions after His resurrection on the first Easter. All believers are to share the Gospel to everyone; even to the ends of the earth! And why would we not?! It is the free gift of ETERNAL LIFE! God has even been working in the hearts of some of those right in our midst to share the Gospel on a full-time basis. This message is a don’t miss to see examples of Jesus’ sending taking shape, hopefully becoming the inspiration in your own heart to do the same! Scriptures Today: John 20:19-30 // Matthew 28:16-20 // Isaiah 6:8 // Romans 1:6, 10:14 //We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Have you ever seen a demon? Do you want to see a demon? If you do all you have to do is open your eyes they are all around us. Join us for this episode of God Talk as we explore what a demon looks like and how to guard against them.
As the series has unfolded, it should now become apparent that the story of scripture is not just history, it is also His Story, the story of Jesus Christ the Messiah, who came to redeem sinful mankind. He perfectly fulfilled the law given to Moses and His chosen people and became the once-and-for-all sacrifice that replaced the sacrificial system of the Old Testament. Believing in Jesus’ death and resurrection as the payment for your sins and mine is the ONLY way to heaven. Today, on Easter, we celebrate the most important event in all of history which took place 2,000 years ago. Come and join in as we ponder what Easter is all about and what it means in our lives today!
Scriptures Today: Matthew 21:4-11
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
We all want to know when God is talking to us. Does He really talk to us and if He does how do we know when He is?
Dive deep into the historical saga of Israel—a story of promise, prosperity, and the peril of lost inheritance. From the heights of King David's reign to the depths of captivity and exile, witness how unfaithfulness led to the loss of a land promised by God.
But this isn't just history. It's a reflection on our own spiritual journey. Like Israel, we too stand at the crossroads of inheritance and loss. Through tales of modern excess and ancient warnings, we explore the true cost of squandering what's most precious. This sermon isn't about condemnation; it's a call to introspection and faith. How do we safeguard our spiritual inheritance in Christ? How do we navigate a world that tempts us with temporary pleasures, risking eternal loss?
Join us as we uncover the parallels between Israel's story and our own spiritual lives.
Scriptures Today: Revelation 12:7-9, Matthew 7:21-22, James 2:19, 1 Timothy 4:1, 2 Peter 3:17, Galatians 1:6-9, Ephesians 2:8-9, Isaiah 64:6, Romans 3:20-23, Matthew 7:15, James 4:4, 1 Samuel 15:22, John 14:21
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Word is traveling around social media that this eclipse might be different than all the rest. Is there special spiritual significance about this coming eclipse? We will examine whether there is any special significance to the coming eclipse on this episode of God Talk.
This Sunday, we study King David, the greatest of all of Israel’s kings, and the one whom God Himself claimed was a “man after His own heart. That’s certainly a compliment like no other! As we look at his life, we see that he was anything BUT perfect, but nonetheless, he was a man of great faith in God. He was also one to trust God, even when the odds were overwhelmingly against him. Despite his shortcomings and failures, David became the standard by which all other kings were measured, and today, as we look at his life, find good reason to model our lives after his as well.
Scriptures Today: Judges 21:25 // I Samuel 8:5-10, 17:33 // Acts 13:22 //I Kings 11:4 // Isaiah 40:31 // Psalm 23:11, 119:33-37
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Our natural inclination is to run away from being pruned, but without being pruned, we will be ruined. In this episode of God Talk, we will talk about how to embrace the season of being pruned by God.
As the series has unfolded we see the nation of Israel develop from a promise to Abraham that he would become a great nation, to his descendants becoming just that, but held in captivity. Enter Moses, the great prophet that leads the nation out of Egypt, headed for the land they were promised as an inheritance, but it was Joshua, Moses’ successor who actually brought them in. Despite God being with them, it was not without trouble time and time again. Today we study the story, but also learn an important lesson: when God promises He will be with us He is NOT promising all trouble will vanish!
Scriptures Today: Joshua 1:1-6, 5:1, 5:13-15, 23:6-8, 24:14-15 // 1 John 5:3 // Luke 11:28// 1 Samuel 15:22 // Romans 7:19-25
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Last week we looked at the promise God made to Abraham that his descendants would be like the sand of the sea, and this week we look at how his son’s sons, driven by famine to the foreign land of Egypt, amid twists, turns, and hard circumstances, had still become a mighty nation. As His chosen people, God heard the cries of their oppression and miraculously brought them out of the land of Egypt and set them on a course for the Promised Land. Because of their disobedience, this exodus last 40 years, but eventually established them in the land God had given them. Buckle your seat belts, because this part of the story covers about 450 years of history!
Scriptures Today: Numbers 13:27-32, 14:10-20 // Exodus 32:11-14 // 1 John 2:1 // Ezekiel 18:20
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Some of you may be a fan of the TV show, naked and afraid, but the original episode of naked and afraid, took place in the garden of Eden and the final episode will take place on judgment day. Join us, as we explore what it means to be naked and afraid before God on this episode of God Talk.
God started the Story with perfect creation, then Adam and Eve disobeyed God and sinned and messed it up, then all men became grievously sinful so God wiped all of them out with a flood except Noah and his family. And now we arrive at a pivotal point in the story: After the flood it doesn’t take long for man’s sinfulness to rear its head, so God calls the one righteous man on the earth who follows Him, tests him and he shows himself faithful, so God makes him the father of His chosen people and promises that his offspring will be as numerous as the sand on the seashore. Today we will look at what God asked Abraham to do to prove that he was truly worthy of the promise God was about to make him. Wow! This is some story!!
Scriptures Today: Genesis 12:1-5 // Hebrews 11:1 // James 1:2-3
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Money and debt are a huge problem for our society and creates a huge amount of stress in our lives and in our relationships. What is the Bible’s view on debt and how do we get out of it? Is it really possible to give your way out of debt? These are the topics we will explore on this week’s episode of God Talk.
We’ve all seen, or may have even experienced heavy flooding, but when someone says “The Flood,” everyone knows the event referred to is the most destructive event that has ever or will ever take place on the face of the earth. No event even comes close to the magnitude of a worldwide flood! How could it? That is what we will be talking about today, but the focus will be more on the reason for the flood rather than the flood itself. In a word, the answer is judgement; God’s judgment meted out on man for his rampant wickedness.
But Noah was one man who sought to please and obey God, and God used him to build the ark that would be what spared his life, the lives of his family, and all the creatures of the earth. You do not want to miss this sermon!
Scriptures Today: Genesis 6: 5-8, 6:9-22, 9:12-16 // Matthew 24:36-41 // 2 peter 3:3-10
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
If you watched the Super Bowl this past Sunday, you’ve probably heard some controversy surrounding a commercial that was aired during it. It was a commercial of people washing each other’s feet because they claim that’s what Jesus has told us to do. Is it a good commercial is it a bad one? That is what we’re covering on this weeks episode of God Talk.
We opened our series with the biblical account of God’s creation of heaven and earth, and man, and in this episode turn to the account of man exercising his God-given free will. Theologians describe Adam and Eve’s disobedience to God’s explicit instruction to eat everything but the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil as “The Fall.” It’s a term used to convey Adam & Eve’s transformation from a perfectly holy state to a fallen state overshadowed by sin after listening to Satan and disobeying God. God stated what He had created was “Very Good,” but when man sinned it became “Not Good.” And every man and woman thereafter, including you and me, are innately sinful as a result of that one act of disobedience. Join us for the full story.
The Bible is made up of thousands of different stories, but when studying it we tend to choose individual passages without a big-picture context, and never fully grasp the main story. The series we are launching today is intended to highlight the Bible’s “one story” using many of the individual “parts” that comprise it. And there is no better place to start than at the beginning in the book of Genesis; the name of which means “beginnings.” In the first few chapters God gives us a front row seat and shows us how He put our unfathomable physical universe together! So buckle your seat belt as we open scripture and watch God at work! This series will give us an awesome look at the Bible from 35,000 feet!
Scriptures Today: 2 peter 3:8 // Job 38:4-7 // Revelation 5:11-14 // Psalm 8:3-5 // Genesis 1:1-31 // Genesis 2:8-9 // John 1:1-3, 14
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Our society has become a dumpster fire. If we don’t put it out soon it may be too late!
We conclude our series on the Book of Jonah today, emphasizing Jonah's struggle with God's compassion and his own misplaced anger, presenting an analogy between Jonah's concern for a plant and God's care for Nineveh. Especially important, there are parallels with Jesus's ministry, highlighting the necessity of genuine repentance for forgiveness, which underscores the challenge that the church faces today in balancing God's acceptance and the need for repentance. God's forgiveness is expansive but not indiscriminate, requiring true remorse, a willingness to change, and a transformative shift in direction towards alignment with God's will. Join us today as we praise God for His Forgiveness!
Scriptures Today: Jonah 3:1-10 // Genesis 32:22-32 // Isaiah 46:9-10 // Proverbs 19:21 // Ephesians 5: 15-17 // Psalms 33:10 // Job 12:12
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
There are times in life it seems we are in un-winnable situations. There is hope in whatever situation you find yourself in. Listen to this episode as we discuss how un-winnable situations are in fact winnable.
We’ve arrived at Jonah chapter 3 where God again tells Jonah to go and preach to Nineveh. But this time Jonah has a contrite heart, and willingly carries out God’s instructions. In so doing his message captures the heart of the king of Nineveh, he repents, and in turn influences the rest of the city to do likewise, and there is a great revival in the city! Like in times of old, God can use us in powerful ways today when we are willing to obey Him!
Scriptures Today: Jonah 3:1-10 // Genesis 32:22-32 // Isaiah 46:9-10 // Proverbs 19:21 // Ephesians 5: 15-17 // Psalms 33:10 // Job 12:12
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
We are in the middle of flu, cold and Covid season and many of us have gotten sick already this year and there are clear signs when we’ve gotten physically sick and we do things to make ourselves feel better, but do you recognize the signs when you’re spiritually sick? We will explore those signs in this episode of God Talk
As we continue this series of messages on Jonah, we turn our attention to the most popular chapter of the book, but unfortunately the most often misquoted. Jonah’s attempt to run from God got him tossed overboard by sailors on the boat he was on, who became imperiled because of Jonah’s defiance of God. Although Jonah deserved his apparent fate, we see God’s mercy as He provided Jonah with a great fish that saved his life. Jonah was thankful, repentant, and obedient, and as a result, God was able to use him in a mighty way, providing a powerful picture of what God is willing to do in your life today!
Scriptures Today: Jonah 1:1-17 // Matthew 12:38-41 // Psalm 121 //
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
I recently got back from a trout fishing trip and came upon a sweet stray dog. Hear how our trying to rescue the dog relates to how God may be trying to rescue us from a lesser way of life.
We begin 2024 with a series of messages from the book of Jonah, most well known for the incredible account of how God used a great fish to get His prophet’s attention. God had instructed Jonah to go and preach repentance to the great city of Nineveh, but Jonah rebelled, got on a ship going in the opposite direction, and ran from God with no intention of doing what He asked him to do. Doesn’t this sound familiar?
The book is by no means allegorical. Jonah was a real person, a prophet no less, who ignored what God had asked of him. Whether in times of old, or in modern times we can all identify and see ourselves in the text for today!
Scriptures Today: Jonah 1:1-17 // Genesis 50:18-19 // Romans 8:28 //
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the last Sunday of the year, and the last week in the Shipwrecked series, and in this message Pastor Greg brings us perspective on what he intended to teach us using a story found in 2 Chronicles 34. The people of Israel had forgotten God’s Law and as a result, the nation was in shambles. In a word, shipwrecked. However a priest found the Book of the Law in the temple, brought it to King Josiah, and the king immediately changed the nation’s course so that they followed it.
We think of ourselves as a Christian nation, because we were founded as one, but we have forgotten God, and as we move into 2024, a potentially turbulent year, it is more important than ever that each of us open His Word and live it out whether the country’s leaders do or not. The messages in the Shipwrecked series were not just for 2023, they are also for 2024, and for all time! Pastor Greg encourages us to take hold of them, go back and review them, and be vigilant to make them a part of our daily lives.
Scriptures Today: 2 Chronicles 34:14-21 // John 1:1-14 // Psalm 119:105 // Matthew 7:12-14 // Matthew 7:24-27
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Just as there are certain tools necessary to have around the house to handle all the different things that owning a home require of you, so too are there some necessary tools of a spiritual nature needed for everything life will throw at us. Join me for this episode of God Talk as we talk about what some of those tools qualities and characteristics are
As we gather to celebrate the birth of our Savior, let's embrace the beautiful message of hope. Our Savior, born just like us, was a gift to humanity, sent to help us find redemption for our sins against God and one another. We've all had moments of feeling unworthy and burdened by guilt and shame, but it's important to remember that God is not just a judge; He is also a loving and forgiving God, ready to embrace us when we turn to Him with repentant hearts. Hope is a precious gift, and it's extended to everyone, no matter where you are on your spiritual journey. Will you choose to hold onto this incredible hope? Will you choose to hold onto Him?
Join us this Christmas as we celebrate the hope that brings us together, fills our hearts with warmth, and guides us on a path of redemption and renewal. We can't wait to welcome you with open arms as we share this message of hope and love.
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
In this episode we will take a look at the Pope giving his blessing for priests to bless same sex marriages as well as why it is more people tend to die at Christmas.
Hopefully, by now, you’ve been able to see there are many ways for our faith to be influenced and pushed off course when we aren’t diligent in our focus on God’s leading in our lives. That’s the reason the series has been named Shipwrecked, because when we listen to what the world values and teaches and adopt it in our own lives as believers, even
we will inevitably lose our footing in the truth and begin drifting off course. The results will bring disaster into our lives and make a complete Shipwreck of it.
Today is another big one, and the Bible is very clear that in the last days there will be many false teachers and no shortage of people who will listen to them and be swayed by what they are teaching. Why? It appeals to our sinful human nature, and it’s easy to buy into. Are these people all outside the church? NOT AT ALL! Some of the most prolific false teachers are pastors of huge churches with thousands in attendance every Sunday! As an example, there is a movement known as the “name-it-and-claim-it” crowd who teach that we can name what God needs to do for us, and claim it as if He owes it to us! That’s backward! He doesn’t!
Pastor Greg has a number of other examples of things we need to look out for to keep us on course, so grab your Bible and a notepad for this one!
Scriptures Today: 2 Timothy 4:1-5 // Matthew 24:22-24, 7:15 // Jeremiah 28:1-17 // Galatians 1:6-9 // Jude 1:4 // John 21:18-19 // Romans 4:17, 1:16
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
We are told to be in the world but not of the world. When we start becoming of the world we start seeing ourselves and even God Himself through the eyes of Satan.
It is the holiday season and a lot of us are caring around a lot of pain hurt dysfunction and baggage. The good news is God has not only redeemed us eternally but he wants to redeem us from our hurt and our pain today.
As we move into week 5 of our Shipwrecked series we take a look at things we all encounter in life that negatively affect us and can shipwreck our faith. More often than not, these things can seem inconsequential, or worse, totally harmless or even good, but put us on the road to spiritual disaster. We all know Satan has an evil influence on this world, and most of us picture him as some sort of dragon or monster, but scripture warns us he can appear as an angel of light. His mastery of disguises can fool us and those all around us making his ubiquitous evil sway on this world seem good and even beneficial, when in reality it is dangerous and destructive. The Bible calls him a liar, and the father of lies. That’s not a compliment!
But we can’t forget about our own sinful nature, and inherent propensity for evil. In this sermon Pastor Greg reminds us that the negative influences in our lives come from outside us as well as within, and maps out the steps we can take to identify and safeguard ourselves from the shipwrecked life they can bring. This is an essential message intended to equip us with the tools we need for healthy spiritual growth!
Scriptures Today: 1 Peter 5:8 // 1 Corinthians 15:33, 2 Corinthians 11:14 // Genesis 3:1-7 // Luke 22:1-6, 22:31-32 // John 10:28-29 // Proverbs 13:20 // 2 Timothy 3:1-5 // Deuteronomy 20:16-18 // Matthew 24:12-14
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Society has devalued the role of the male for sometime now and we are seeing the scary results of that. The truth is weak men create a weak country.
This week, we turn our attention to church leadership, and specifically to pastors. There’s an inherent tendency among all of us to judge the pastor, bible study leader, or Sunday school teacher because, after all, he or she is the leader and the one whose life and actions are on display. But that leader is also a human just like you and I, and as such, has faults, and opinions we may not agree with, and of course, makes mistakes. The Bible has much to say about the higher standards of righteousness expected from those in church leadership, and Pastor Greg will provide examples.
But we, too, have a responsibility to not base our feelings toward God or toward the church by solely looking at the imperfect man God is using to preach His perfect Word. God can work through imperfect, broken vessels to accomplish His purposes, and we have the responsibility not to let broken people shipwreck our faith. God will hold us accountable for that!
Scriptures Today: 1 Samuel 2:12-117, 22-26 // Matthew 23:13-15 // 1 Timothy 3:4 // Proverbs 16:5 //
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
As we continue the Shipwrecked series, we turn our attention to the topic of worldly wisdom. Essentially, there are two types of wisdom: that which comes from the hearts of men, which God considers foolishness, and real wisdom that comes from God. Proverbs 14:12 puts man’s wisdom in proper perspective, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end leads to death.”
In this message Pastor Greg will provide valuable insights in sorting out the intricacies of wisdom to help us decipher what to do when common sense and God’s wisdom are in direct conflict. He includes seven qualities of godly wisdom and seven ways to practice and apply that wisdom. This message will shed light on what true wisdom looks like, and how to make wise decisions in the course of living life, and is a message well worth watching, bookmarking, then coming back to again and again as a resource.
Scriptures Today: 1 Corinthians 3:19 // James 3:13-17 // Proverbs 11:2-3, 14:12, 12:15 // 1 Chronicles 21 // Exodus 3:12 // Psalm 111:12 // Collossians 1:9 // 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 // 1 John 4:1 // Ecclesiastes 7:5 // 1 Peter 5:8
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
God promises to work all things for the good those who love him. In this podcast I will share how I saw God in the final days of my dad’s life as he died of complications related to Alzheimer’s and dementia.
As we continue the Shipwrecked series, this week we are going to focus on pain, suffering, and trauma, the things we will all encounter and are most likely to shipwreck our faith. As a prime example, we are going to look at Job, someone who endured and stood firm in the midst of unthinkable tragedy. In one dark day Job suffered the loss of all his wealth, his sons and daughters, and even his health, yet rather than curse God, he responded with “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” Job had the right perspective, and that is what sustained him in his darkest hours. The Apostle Paul was literally shipwrecked three times, yet maintained the right perspective. And there are others.
So how were they able to face overwhelming challenges in their lives, yet do so with the perspective necessary to avoid derailing their faith? Pastor Greg lays out the answers from God’s Word and the choice we need to make to walk through the pain suffering, and trauma we all inevitably encounter.
Scriptures Today: 1 Timothy 1;18-19 // Job 1-2:10 // Romans 5:3-5 // 1 Peter 5:10 // 2 Corinthians 5:5-10 //
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Join me for this episode of God Talk as we look at how well the Israeli defense forces know at least some of the people living in Gaza, and how their ability to be familiar with their adversaries can give us a glimpse of insight, on how God can know us all my name.
We are beginning a new sermon series entitled Shipwrecked, a series all about making sure our faith doesn’t get “shipwrecked.” The term is used by the Apostle Paul in his first letter to Timothy, his protege, a young man whom he mentored to become a church leader, and Paul was commanding Timothy to conduct himself well and not become shipwrecked, as some have done.
What applied then very much applies to believers in current times who are not vigilant in standing firm and have seen their lives and their faith become a complete shipwreck. Most people would agree that life is messy. No one lives a life of such ease that day after day things all fall neatly into place, and problems all work themselves out without difficulty. Although certainly not comprehensive, this series addresses many of the challenges that are constantly bombarded with and provides practical biblical wisdom to guide us. We hope God will speak to you through His Word, and make you better equipped to stand firm in your faith.
Scriptures Today: 1 Timothy 1;18-19, 6:10 // Luke 19:1-10 // Phillipaians 4:11-13 // Matthew 19:23-24 // 2 Corinthians 5:21
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Some people are suggesting God may have interfered with this year‘s World Series and it all has to do with one team doing something different than all the other teams. Join me as we explore this possibility on this week’s episode of God Talk.
It is our hope you are watching Week 4, the last week of “The Challenge” series, because you have accepted “the challenge” and have committed yourself to the spiritual growth opportunity it affords. If you missed Week 1, 2, or 3, we encourage you to take the time to watch it. Visit https://lotwchurch.org/challenge for the full series and the downloadable workbook.
Last week, we looked at the 3-T’s of Time, Talent, and Treasure and how each of us has been given at least some measure of one or even all three. If you haven’t already, carefully examine how God has equipped you, knowing you indeed have been given ways you can be a blessing to the church. God promises He will equip you, then commands you to use it for His glory. No one is exempt. Today you are challenged to “get in the game” with those abilities and aptitudes God has blessed you with. Consider this: when you do, you are an example of Christlikeness that will often inspire others to take your lead and contribute, thus multiplying those efforts. But there are other benefits as well. In the process, there are opportunities for fellowship and relationship building that would otherwise not have been there. And there’s a personal blessing as well; knowing you are following the commands in God’s Word nurtures and deepens our relationship with Christ. It’s not burdensome work; instead, it’s pure joy! So the challenge today is to “Get In The Game!”
Scriptures Today: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 12:14-26
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
It is our hope you are listening to Week 3 of The Challenge series because you have accepted “the challenge” and have committed yourself to the spiritual growth opportunity it affords. If you missed Week 1 or 2, we encourage you to take the time to watch it; visit https://lotwchurch.org/challenge for the full series and the downloadable workbook.
Last week, we looked at spiritual laziness, a tendency that stymies our spiritual development, and hopefully, you have identified your weak areas and made a commitment to no longer allow it in your life. So this week, having agreed you are “all in,” we are going to look at what it means to be a committed follower of Christ. The first question to ask is, where’s the fruit? The Bible says that if we are in Christ, in other words, fully committed to following Him, we will bear spiritual fruit. The amount of fruit we bear is directly related to how committed we are to following Him. It also tells us we can’t bear fruit on our own. So the challenge in this message is to ask yourself, are you serving Him with all you have? Or serving Him with what’s left over, or even not at all? There are also deeper insights Pastor Greg includes that will help give you a clearer understanding of where you stand to enable you to make changes to kick your spiritual growth into a higher gear!
Scriptures Today: John 5:15 // Ephesians 2:10 // Mark 11:12-21 // 1 Kings 17:7-16 // Luke 21:1-4 // Malachi 3:8-12 // 2 Corinthians 9:6-11
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
It is our hope you are watching Week 2 of The Challenge series because you have accepted “the challenge” and have committed yourself to the spiritual growth opportunity it affords. If you missed Week 1, we encourage you to take the time to watch it; visit https://lotwchurch.org/challenge for the full series and the downloadable workbook.
This week we are discussing spiritual laziness, a tendency we as believers are prone to unless we make a conscious effort to not allow it in our lives. It follows the same pattern as physical laziness, a tendency we all agree is definitely NOT positive, and God is very specific about His distaste for those who become spiritually lazy. The Bible calls them “lukewarm” Christians, and God very bluntly says He is inclined to “spit them out of His mouth!” Pretty strong words, but we can rest assured that’s exactly what God meant! So with that as the backdrop for today’s message, listen carefully as Pastor Greg lays out ways we can identify and avoid falling into spiritual laziness.
Scriptures Today: Revelation 3:14-18 // Matthew 6:24, 7:21, 25:15-29, 12:36 // Hebrews 3:17 // Romans 14:12
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
I had the opportunity to talk to a former member who is dying from ALS, and the conversation was inspiring and powerful one that I think all of us can learn from. Sometimes we can learn to live from those who are dying.
We are kicking off a four-week sermon series, which is an updated version of The Challenge series LOTW did as a church in 2008. Today we start by discussing “forks in the road,” times in our lives where we are required to make a decision and choose which direction or path we will take and commit to it. As an example, we’ll look at Joshua, the leader of the nation of Israel, who succeeded Moses and led the nation into the land that was promised to them by God, despite the fact there were myriad challenges in occupying it. It was time for the nation to commit to doing what God had called them to do. As Joshua stood in front of the whole assembly he challenged them to make the decision to follow God’s instruction. He essentially drove a stake in the ground and declared “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!”
Today you will be challenged to make a decision and follow God in your own life. Pastor Greg will lay out The Challenge. Will you commit to it and accept it?
Scriptures Today: Joshua 24:1-15 // 1 John 2:15
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
We are looking at some disturbing news out of the Vatican, some good news about the QB of the Miami Dolphins and a lesson from an ugly soccer injury.
As we wrap up the Potholes sermon series we take a look at the number one issue in all our lives that gets us into more trouble and causes more destructiveness than just about all of the issues we’ve discussed. It’s a look in the mirror because it’s not Satan that is getting us into all kinds of trouble, although he is a party to it, but instead, the problem is really US! When we become undisciplined we become our own worst enemy! We bring endless self-destructive behavior into every aspect of our lives and then wonder why everything and everyone seems to be against us. Before you mentally tune out or dismiss the possibility you could be a victim of your own undisciplined life, listen carefully to Pastor Greg as he describes the issue and gives you practical steps you can take to wrestle with it and wrangle it under control. This sermon is one you’ll find worth its weight in gold.
Scriptures Today: Hebrews 4:12-14 // Proverbs 25:28, 16:32 // Titus 1:7-8 // Deuteronomy 11:26-28 // 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 // Galatians 5:16-25
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
In my 51 years I have seen some uncertainty in this world. The Cold War, Y-2k, Covid but all of these may be insignificant in comparison to what is headed our way in 2024. I have never encouraged prepping but you might do well to prepare for the year to come that will certainly be filled with political, social, economic and religious uncertainty!
Who hasn’t run into situations in life where we respond with fear, or find ourselves worrying, or having doubts about how things will turn out?! All of us! In fact, the Bible specifically mentions fear over 600 times, so it is by no means a topic that it fails to address. Repeatedly we are commanded to “Fear not!” because as believers we have the power of the Creator of heaven and earth behind us! That being the case, there really is no reason whatsoever to fear, but all too often we have to admit it gets us! Two other huge issues we face as we travel the road of life are worry and doubt. They are related in that any one of them tends to breed the presence of the one, or the other, or both! Today’s sermon is as practical as it is insightful. Open your heart and no doubt God will use it to equip you with wisdom to better meet the circumstances in your own life.
Scriptures Today: Romas 8:31-39 // Hebrews 10:38, 11:1-2 // James 1:2-4
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We are very comfortable with the idea that Gcd gives blessings but does he also give curses? This is the topic we will explore on this week of God Talk.
Christian Nationalism is focused on making Biblical values part of America again, but is it really Christian?
We have opportunity to put our faith in to practice at all hours of the day and night. Here is a story of me getting such an opportunity to follow the voice of Jesus and practice what I preach at 2 AM.
Have you ever LARPED? The modern church has been overrun with the new age movement and a lot of the leaders are confusing themselves with biblical characters of long ago. Many people are being sucked into cult like theology and don’t even realize it.
“Dear friends, remember what the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ foretold…” If you knew someone who grew up with Jesus, wouldn’t you want to hear what he has to say about… everything? After all, some things never change; people having nasty attitudes was just as common then as it is now, and it’s just as poisonous for us to ingest as it was then. Let’s explore how Jude intends for us to handle it.
Scriptures Today: Jude 1:17-25 // Romans 8:26-27 // Revelations 3:14-18
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“…grumblers and faultfinders; they follow their own evil desires; they boast about themselves and flatter others for their own advantage.” Do you know anyone like that? We should not rejoice that their judgment is coming, but seek to connect them with the Judge to repent in advance! And in the process, maybe we’ll find a few specks (or planks) of grumbling, fault-finding, and flattering natures in ourselves to seek forgiveness and change from. This stuff has destroyed churches, but worse, it’s destroyed Christians. We have to be better; tune in to this message and tune out from distractions to hear how to lay these struggles at the feet of God and trust His power to change our hearts.
Scriptures Today: Jude 1:14-16 // Hebrews 13:17 // Matthew 7:3-5, 1-2 // Matthew 16:24-26 // James 4:6 // 2 Timothy 4:3
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Jesus tells us the same way we judge we will be judged. When we show favoritism and judge situations inconsistently we are inviting God to do the same against us.
It is not often a pastor gets to go to church. I did today and I was shocked and disappointed by the experience.
Today we shift gears and aren’t talking as much about false teaching as we are about false living. Ironically, false living comes about through false teaching! Sodom and Gomorrah were two cities of old, famous for their degree of, among other things, sexual immorality, and God utterly destroyed them using fire from heaven. Jude is using them to warn the people of his day, but that warning is just as relevant to us today. The church has historically been the rudder that steers society, but in today’s world is tossed around by the wind and waves of popular opinion, ignoring God’s call to live holy lives. Jude reminds us there is judgment for doing so, and we would do well to heed the call!
Scriptures Today: Genesis 1:19-29 // Romans 1:25-27 // Ezekiel 16:49-50 // Matthew 10:14-15, 11:23 // Luke 17:28-30
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Today’s topic has caused considerable disagreement in conservative Bible-believing churches, and essentially the church remains divided on the issue. The debate is whether or not your salvation can be lost. Are you “once saved, always saved?” Or are you able to become saved, yet later in life denounce your salvation and lose it? It would seem that by turning to scripture we could determine what God really says and end the debate. The irony, in this case, is that diligent study by prominent theologians throughout the ages has found enough verses in scripture to support EITHER view! Today we will look at what the bible says and what we have come to believe on the issue, and why.
Scriptures Today: Jude 1:5-6 // Romans 11:17-21 // Hebrews 6:4-6, 10:26 // Revelation 2:10 // James 5:19-20, 2:14-26 // Colosians 1:21-23 // Matthew 10:22, 6:14-15, 21:18-19 //
1 Timothy 4:1-4 // John 10:26-29 // Psalm 103:8 // Luke 15:3-7 //
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Grooming is real and we are starting to see how it is transforming the younger generations of Americans.
The book of Jude, though only one chapter in length, is a powerful indictment of false teachers that had begun plaguing the church 2,000 years ago and have become even more prevalent in modern times. Jude hits the issue head-on beginning in verses 3-4 and immediately encourages believers to contend for the faith because ungodly teachers have slipped in, denying Christ and perverting the gospel into a license for immorality. Jude has a message for those who teach you can be a Christian and live any way you want. He puts the freedom we have in Christ into a God-honoring perspective and blueprint for life that creates the balance needed for those in his day and ours!
Scriptures Today: Jude 1:3-4 // Romans 8:1 // 1 Corinthians 10:23 // Matthew 5:17-19 // John 15:21 // 2 Timothy 4:3 // John 4:14
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Rather than being frustrated by where society is headed, it is important that the church sees an opportunity to harvest unbelievers for Christ.
This is the last installment of the Stranger Things message series and is far more about God’s faithfulness when we trust His guidance than it is about being bitten by a viper. Paul is a prisoner traveling by ship to Rome to stand trial before Caesar. A storm arises, and the ship is destroyed as it runs aground on an island. The islanders were kind and built a fire that drove the viper out, and to the amazement of everyone, it bit Paul’s hand, and he shook it off but suffered no ill effects. Paul wasn’t the least bit distracted by an incident that would have normally been his demise. And that is really the point in this episode: when we trust God to do what He promises, we can be at peace no matter what the circumstances of life!
Scriptures Today: Acts 27:21-26 | 28:1-6 // 1 Corinthians 13:16 // Joshua 1:9 // 2 Timothy 1:7 // Mathew 24:37 // Romans 14:8 / 12:2
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Churches have gone off the rails. They are making God in their own image. Listen to this church as they recite the SPARKLE CREED to their nonbinary god
This episode of the Stranger Things message series is probably one of the strangest, and arguably the most remarkable. Paul’s zeal to teach God’s word a final time before leaving town the following day causes him to preach until well after midnight. A young boy, asleep in a third-floor window, falls to his death. But Paul certainly felt a sense of responsibility for it and throws himself on top of the young man, and the young man’s life was restored. This story is for anyone who might have come to church more than a little sleepy!
Scriptures Today: Acts 20:7-12
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There is always great pressure to say nothing. But we must be willing to speak especially when no one else is.
Paul and Silas were working as missionaries in Macedonia when they encountered a fortune-telling slave girl. Paul cast out the spirit within her causing her master to bring Paul and Silas to the authorities for loss of income from her services. They were thrown in prison, and through uncanny events, the jailer and all those around him come to faith in Christ. It is an amazing story of how God works using unexpected events to save souls.
Scriptures Today: Acts 16:17–34
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Working through the Book of Acts, we’re finally making the major shift from Peter to Paul, with a phenomenal story: the Holy Spirit stops Paul from going elsewhere to share the Gospel, TWICE. This has implications then and now, so let’s dive in and see how this applies to our lives!
Scriptures Today: Acts 16:6-10 // Proverbs 3:5-6 // James 1:5 // Psalm 119:105 // John 16:13 // 1 John 2:15 // Romans 12:2 // Proverbs 13:20 // Acts 7:51 // Job 33:14
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Here’s the story: Peter has been put in a high-security prison by Herod the King and is inevitably going to be tried and put to death the next day. He is also chained to two cell guards to make escape impossible. But God has other plans for Peter and sends an angel who miraculously appears, touches Peter’s chains and they fall off, and leads him out of the heavily guarded prison without anyone noticing! It’s a story of God accomplishing His purposes amid what seems like hopeless circumstances!
Scriptures Today: Acts 12:1-23 // Hebrews 2:6-7, 1:14 // Psalm 91:11
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
For 2100 years, Peter, as a Jew, had been told, you are different, you are better, you are set apart from all other nations. Jesus promised a day would come…after they received the Holy Spirit…that the disciples were to take the gospel outside Jerusalem…all the way to the ends of the earth. But it can’t be easy to break what Jews had believed for over two centuries, so in Peter’s case, Jesus does it with a vision of a sheet being let down from heaven. Join us as we look at what was in the sheet, and how the vision prepared Peter to spread the gospel to the world!
Scriptures Today: Acts 10:9-16 // Acts 10:25-26 // Acts 10:44-48 // Matthew 7:21-23 // Acts 10:25-26
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
What is going right in society right now? It’s time for us to start living like Christians and letting every aspect of our life be influenced by our faith. Only when we live out our faith daily will we see the problems in modern society begin to trend back into a more positive direction.
From Saul to Paul. From enemy to evangelist. From comfortable to hardworking. We often think of Saul as a misinformed but devoted God-follower, but Jesus Himself had firm words against the Pharisees, decrying them as evil. The supernatural appearance of Jesus to Paul completely turned his life around, and the same God is changing lives today. Join us as we dive into understanding who Saul was, and what a stark difference should be noticeable Before Christ and After Christ in our own lives!
Scriptures Today: Acts 6:8 // Acts 9:1-19 // Matthew 12:34 // John 8:44 // Matthew 23:15 // Romans 6:6, 11-14
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Just because a church or denomination calls themselves Christian does not make them Christian. We are in need another Reformation in order to clarify what is Christian and what is not.
We commonly attribute the spreading of the Gospel to the Gentiles to Paul, and it’s true that he did the vast majority of that work (and suffered greatly along the way). However, there’s an interesting story about a non-Jew heading home from Jerusalem, struggling to understand the words of Isaiah, and that’s where Philip is guided by the Holy Spirit to intervene and lead to belief in Christ. Join us for this interesting story and all of its implications in our lives today.
Scriptures Today: Acts 8:26-39 // John 14:26 // Deuteronomy 23:1 // Isaiah 56:3-5
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
If we’ve learned anything from the Marvel movies recently, it’s that people getting caught up in their own power never really ends well, as there’s something more powerful coming to right their wrongs. Of course, to Marvel, it’s usually something banal like the power of friendship that defeats evil in a humorous way. In Scripture, however, it’s always God, and He’s always right, and it’s always at least a little bit amusing to see power-tripping prideful smarmy know-it-alls try to face off against the Lord of Creation. This week, we’re talking about a sorcerer named Simon who messed up so badly, the early church named a heresy after him: Simony. The lessons from then are still applicable now, so let’s open up and learn today!
Scriptures Today: Acts 8:9-23 (Simon’s story) // Acts 8:4-8 (Philip’s story) // Matthew 13:47-50 (Jesus explains the kingdom of God like a fishing net) // 2 Timothy 3:1-2, Proverbs 6:16-17, 1 Corinthians 1:28-29 (the Lord is not a fan of selfish pride)
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
It is time to save the “Christians” and if they won’t convert then we need to excommunicate them.
Advancements in science have led to “safer” ways to grow and treat the food we eat — but along with that have come a lot of unhealthy practices. “Processed food” is the enemy of a healthy diet, but why don’t we treat “processed faith” with the same wariness? We strip away less pleasant passages and focus on what tastes good, but we’ve lost so many vital nutrients along the way. Today’s message is one of them: lying to God has consequences, and going through the motions of your faith without actually putting in the effort is incredibly detrimental to you and everyone around you. It’s uncomfortable, but it’s true: stop pretending and start contending if you want to live!
Scriptures Today: Acts 4:32-37 // Acts 5:1-11 // Mark 3:28-30 // Leviticus 26:14-20 // Proverbs 1:7 // Proverbs 8:13
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
The fear of the Lord is the basis for understanding and recognizing evil. Hear how the loss of the basic understanding of the fear of the Lord has led to the explosion of evil in this world.
It’s one thing when Jesus does something miraculous, but it’s another thing when God works through a regular human, right? So far in our “Stranger Things” series, we’ve talked about some of the supernatural things that God did, either in the form of Jesus or the Holy Spirit. But today, we shift to the theme of the rest of the book of Acts: what His disciples did. Today, we see Peter heal a man who had been lame since birth, and the testimony of both that man and the disciples as they share Jesus’ story. You don’t want to miss this!
Scriptures Today: Luke 9:1 // Acts 3:1-10, 11-16 // James 4:2b-3 // Mark 11:22-24 // Matthew 5:16
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Before ascending to Heaven, Jesus tells His disciples to stay in Jerusalem until they receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and wow they did not expect that! But what did it mean for them? What does it mean for us? What the heck are we supposed to believe about speaking in tongues? There are a lot of teachings out there on this topic, and we want to affirm both the context and the logic of Scriptural truth, and explore how it affects our lives today.
Scriptures Today: Acts 2:1-12, 17-21 // 1 Corinthians 14:18-19 // 1 Corinthians 12:3 // Philippians 2:13-14 // Ephesians 2:10 // Galatians 5:22-23
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
In this episode we will explore how mental illness and gender confusion is destroying the very fabric of our nation.
A couple of days after death, if they could be afforded, the tomb would be opened and the body would be treated with spices and perfumes as a way of honoring the person. But one Sunday, two ladies were not at all prepared for what they would experience: an earthquake, an angel, and the powerful announcement that “He is not here, He has risen as He said.” His death was final and absolute. His resurrection and the following month of ministry was witnessed by hundreds. THIS is the most important story of Christianity, and you don’t want to skip this part of our “Stranger Things” series because today we’re really talking about what we DO with this knowledge. He has risen! He IS risen! He is alive, and He is calling you into the kind of life He lives. Amen!
Scriptures Today: Acts 1:3-11 // Ephesians 2:1, 4-5, 8-10
We are to accept God by faith, yet our faith is rooted in history. In this episode of God Talk we are going to explore proof that exists for the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
Today, we launch a new sermon series on “Stranger Things” from the Bible, understanding things that we’d find strange today, from Old Testament practices to miraculous events. Today’s topic seems odd at first, but it’s something we tend to do, even subconsciously: casting lots. That’s right, a kind of ‘gambling’ to try to determine God’s will. This is even how the remaining 11 disciples decided who to replace Judas with after Jesus’ ascension. You don’t want to miss exploring this topic and learning how to reverently seek God’s will in your life today! Join us!
Scriptures Today: Acts 1:23-26 // Isaiah 7:4, 10-13 // Deuteronomy 6:16 // Malachi 3:10
We’re so glad you joined us for this instructional message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Is it possible for a society to become mentally ill like an individual can? If society can become mentally ill would society even know that it was? Join me as we explore the possibility that in fact society has become mentally ill.
As we conclude our “Weak Links” series, we must be aware of distractions that can lead to spiritual dysfunction and even eternal death. We must not let life’s busyness or possessions distract us from putting God first (that is to say, where we spend our treasure and time is where our heart lies). To learn more about prioritizing our relationship with God and avoiding distractions, join us for this incredible sermon.
We often think being a Christian is about being good. But more than being good we are called to follow the will of God. Most of the time those go hand in hand but on rare occasions they don’t.
In a world where truth seems increasingly difficult to discern, it's more important than ever to understand how doubt can impact our beliefs and actions. That’s why today, we'll dive into the topic of Doubt and its impact on our lives, from questioning what is real or best to its destructive effects on our faith and spiritual well-being. Don't miss this opportunity to identify one of the weakest links in your mental, emotional, and spiritual journeys!
Scriptures Today: Judges 6:11-12 // Judges 6:36-40 // 2 Timothy 4:4 // Luke 18:18-27
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of encouragement! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
We are looking at over the next few weeks some powerful and impactful quotes from Dietrich Bonhoeffer. This episode deals with a march to nothingness in the West. God created something out of nothing and we are reversing that and taking something and making it nothing.
Today’s topic is possibly the most important one in our lives. C.S. Lewis once wrote that “Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison.” What sin, what weakness is so powerful that lust, anger, greed, and drunkenness would be fleabites next to it? PRIDE. “Pride leads to every other vice: it is the complete anti-God state of mind.” Yet we dismiss it so casually! In some areas, we CELEBRATE it. To be clear, there is a massive difference between taking pride in work well done vs. being proud, and today we’ll explain where to draw that line, as well as how and where pride infects us, so we can deal with it at its root.
Scriptures Today: Proverbs 6:16-17 // James 4:6 // Psalm 101:5 // Proverbs 16:8 // Exodus 18:6, 13-24 // Matthew 7:3-5 // Matthew 23:12 // James 4:10 // 1 Peter 5:6
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Bethel church movement, Oneness Pentecostalism and the modern liberal church. We will delve into each of these, and look to see if in fact they count as Christian cults.
The Bible has all kinds of encouragements and warnings about the power of patience. Let's explore them together!
They come to our homes and knock on our doors to convert us, but it isn’t to Christianity. Listen to some of the beliefs that make Jehovah Witnesses a Christian Cult.
Last week we talked about Bitterness and Resentment, and if you missed it, you should absolutely go back and catch it. Today, though, we’re moving from embers to flames: ANGER is the topic, and we all need to talk about it. From lashing out in fury to quietly simmering and acting out in spite, there are tons of issues that anger can cause, and we’re going to explore biblical examples of how to handle each of them now.
Scriptures Today: Proverbs 16:32 // James 1:19-20 // Ephesians 4:26 // Colossians 3:8 // Romans 12:17-19
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Do you know what Mormons really believe? In 25 minutes I cover some of the most disturbing and heretical teachings of the Mormon church. Listen to this podcast and pass it along to your Mormon friends so they can be aware what their church teaches too!
Bitter people are like porcupines: there are a lot of cool things about them, but they can be hard to be around, and they are certainly hard to stay close to. The interesting thing is that they may not even be wrong, per se: they can be completely justified by their story, ENTIRELY in the right… but the feelings that they carry have changed them as a person, resulting in that painfully prickly exterior. This is not how God has called us to live, and we certainly don’t mean that as an admonishment, but as an encouragement: there is more, there is better, there is fulfillment for the bitter person, and today we want to explore God’s promises around what happens when we trust Him enough to let go.
Scriptures Today: Genesis 4:2-8 // Genesis 25:28 // Ephesians 4:31 // Hebrews 12:14-15 // James 3:13-15 // Deuteronomy 32:35 // Luke 6:27-28
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
We have as a society become hyper afraid to offend people we won’t even call those things out that are utterly ridiculous.
You are not alone. The struggle to make it through is sometimes dwarfed by the struggle to even see the other side, but you are not alone. In fact, some of the greatest people to ever walk the Earth (David, Elijah, and Jesus) struggled with depression and despair. Of course, their journeys highlight important steps to making it out alive, so today let’s explore what they did and what we can learn from their mighty examples.
Scriptures Today: Psalm 0:1-2 // Psalm 22:1-2 // Mark 14:34 // Psalm 34:17-19 // 1 Peter 5:6-7
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of hope! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
We may wonder what Satan looks like. That is not easy to always answer because Satan is a shapeshifter and expert illusionist. At the beginning he took the form of a serpent. What form does he take today and how can we even know?
People often think that this passage means to bear the circumstances before you, i.e. a bad marriage, a job you hate, or a particular health struggle. Jesus means more than those things, though, as evidenced by the verse immediately after this quote, but He also includes another very important instruction: deny yourself. In fact, the whole quote is that one who wishes to follow Jesus must “deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.” We talked about what it means to follow Christ last week, but this week we need to talk about we have to let go to make room for the cross.
Scriptures Today: Mark 8:34-38 // Matthew 26:41 // Romans 7:19-25 // John 3:30 // Galatians 2:20 // Matthew 28:16-20 // Matthew 5:14-16
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of direction! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Why do Catholics have more books in their Old Testament than the Jews have in their Bible or the Protestants have in their Old Testament? It comes down to a disagreement on a series of “hidden books.” We will discuss these hidden books on this episode of God Talk.
Oscar Wilde wrote that “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness,” and if anyone is mediocre, it’s us. Greatness, true greatness, is found in the life of Christ, and today we’re exploring three areas where we can imitate Christ: His leadership, His obedience to the Father, and His trust of the Father. These topics are infinitely deep but we have a limited time, so tune in, take notes, and make changes now!
Scriptures Today: Philippians 2:5 // Ephesians 5:1 // Mark 1:21-22 // Matthew 20:25-28 // Luke 22:39-42 // 1 John 2:15 // Luke 14:33 // Philippians 2:8-11 // Genesis 15:1-6
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
People are more biased than ever and a world filled with bias is a world filled with dysfunction. In what ways are you battling your own biases and how can removing those biases from your life lead to a happier life?
We have been on a mission for over a year now to talk about all of the aspects of God that we can, even (and especially) the unpopular ones. Today we open the books on a very unpopular topic: ritual animal sacrifice. MANY religions have held this view as standard for millennia, and we have to talk about the importance of THAT blood being shed to really understand the importance of Christ’s blood being shed for us all. We have to go through THAT to get to THIS, and THIS is worth eternity.
Scriptures Today: Isaiah 53:6-7 // John 1:29 // John 14:6 // Luke 17:3
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
If God is love, and God wrapped Himself in flesh to live among us and teach us His way, then we have a perfect example of what Love looks like on earth: feeding the hungry, helping the hurting, sheltering the homeless, and changing lives with the power of the Gospel through the means of love.
Scriptures Today: John 1:1-4, 14 // Genesis 3:14-15 // Luke 1:26-35 // John 20:26-28 // Acts 1:7-11 // Philippians 2:5-8 // John 14:8-9 // Galatians 2:21 // Matthew 5:17 // Romans 10:13-14 // Matthew 5:16 // Ephesians 5:1
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Christians often wonder how God feels about suicide, cremation and euthanasia. We will tackle all three in just 22 minutes!
Events of this past week with Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills suffering cardiac arrest on the football field made us all consider our own mortality. In this episode we talk death and talk about why we must all talk about death and come to terms with our own mortality because through that we will ultimately turn to God.
There is a common message today about a Jesus who accepts everyone and everything. The thing that people DON’T talk about is how forgiveness requires repentance, and that’s what we’re seeing Jesus talk about today. In one of these towns, Jesus healed a blind man with mud, yet they refused to hear His message and repent. How much proof do we need? How many blessings do we want before we consider salvation a ‘fair’ trade? Woe to the unrepentant who knew better and did not turn. Woe to those who know and do not turn. Today, as we begin a new year, may we have ears to hear.
Scriptures Today: Matthew 11:20-24 // Matthew 10:11-15
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Join me as we explore 4 different mind sets that can truly make a huge difference on your 2023!
Jesus said he did not come to bring peace but division. Insanity continues in our country as a Stanford comes out with a list of 400 words that are no longer to be used in our language. We must continue to push back against such woke nonsense.
Forgiveness in the Bible is tied to repentance. When forgiveness is offered without any sorrow it is simply acceptance. One of the huge problems in society is we are just supposed to simply accept everyone and everything regardless of there is acknowledgment of wrong doing. In this episode we will talk about what forgiveness truly is and how it cannot be understood apart from repentance.
“You aren’t horrible, you just aren’t good.” That’s how Pastor Greg summarizes Jesus’ words to the church in Laodecia in Revelations. Of course, this passage is more commonly referred to as the “lukewarm” passage: “neither hot nor cold - I will spit you out of my mouth.” Not a pretty picture, especially when you compare the context of Laodecia to the content of America. Stay tuned for a healthy, uplifting warning about complacency.
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Evil continues to become ever more normalized in society. You may feel like it is useless to stand up against it, but stand up against it we must.
There was a period of history where God, Yahweh, claimed the people Israel as His people, as other nations had forsaken Him over time. Jesus upended that tradition, as the Scriptures teach us that salvation is for all who are willing to receive.
Christians tend to throw around the phrase of being “born again,” but we seldom talk about what that really means; whether it’s the transformational aspect of new life breathing in or the working aspect of a faith lived out, today we want to explore what Jesus means when He says “no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water AND the Spirit.” Stay tuned for this important message!
Scriptures today: John 3:1-8 // Acts 2:38-39 // Acts 8: 14-16 // Jeremiah 5:20-21 // 1 Corinthians 2:10 // Ezekiel 36:26 // Acts 7:1-8
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
When a nation forgets God the nation will continue to descend into more dysfunction and moral chaos until it ultimately destroys itself. That is the path we are on. Is there still hope?
We don’t tend to like people who don’t like us. We can sense it, right? All the subtle cues add up to make us feel like someone is avoiding us, like they’re trying to end conversations early, and like they’d rather be somewhere else… every time. So LIKING people can be challenging. But LOVING people, especially those we’d call enemies?
It would be easy to believe Jesus is talking about foreign nations and wartime enemies… but that’s not what He means. It would be nice if we saw our enemies suffering for their sins and we could pray for their deliverance. But to watch enemies prosper while we suffer and still pray for them is… well, it’s our command.
Scriptures today: 5:43-47 // Romans 2:3-4
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Jesus has some famous sayings that people like to quote: “Do unto others…” and “Judge not…” but these fall short of a real understanding of who Jesus is and how He guides us to live. As we transition from Biblical Mantras to Lesser-Known Quotes of Jesus, we wanted to cover a well-known but seldom-contextualized verse: “Do not be anxious about anything…”
A staggeringly high (and alarmingly increasing) number of Americans are struggling with stress, worry, and their result: anger. Anxiety comes in many forms: specifically-focused, generally-abundant, mild to severe… but all anxiety is met with Jesus’ words, and we want to help you choose the voice of Jesus over the voice of worry. Let’s dive in together.
Scriptures today: Matthew 6:25-34 // 1 Kings 19:7-14 // Matthew 11:28-30 // 1 Peter 5:6-7 // John 14:27
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
The holidays can be a challenging time, but there’s things we can do to make them quite a bit better. This podcast will give 11 practical tips for making this holiday season your best one ever.
We speak on this verse a lot, here: throughout the pandemic, we preached it, and our Executive Director brings it up every week… but today instead of the bolstering call to be courageous, we’re looking at the flipped side of the coin: what happens when we aren’t?
The American Church has gotten a little soft, a little pandering, a little happy-go-lucky. “Peace and comfort” are shouted from modern pulpits, but that’s not what this verse says. Power. Love. Self-Control. Which of those are you lacking? How can God grow that in your life? Tune in and find out.
Scriptures today: 2 Timothy 1:7 // Hebrews 10:38 // Ephesians 4:15 // Deuteronomy 1:16-21
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
In this podcast we will take a look at the events of the last few days…the coming holidays and give an encouragement that even when life gets tough (and it will) we are called to fight the good fight, finish the race and keep the faith.
Today we set the record straight: this Scripture is one of the most commonly-mis-quoted verses amongst wishful thinkers and agnostics. Often from a place of despair, they’ll mutter “the Bible says everything works together for good, so where’s my good?”
The end of the verse is arguably more important than the first part: “God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and who have been called according to His purpose.” (emphasis ours). Do you love Him? What does that look like? How are we called? Today, we’ll explore exactly that, and discuss how to rest in waiting for ‘good’ to come (when ‘perfect’ already has).
Scriptures today: Can we just say Romans 8? No, you want actual references? Okay. Romans 8:28, then Romans 8:22-25, 26-27, 31, 32, 35-39
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
We all think we have a firm grasp of reality but are we sure? In this episode of God Talk we’re going to talk about how we live in a day and age in which we understand reality better than any other time in human history yet more than ever people are out of touch with reality. Do you have a firm grip on reality? Are you sure?
We live in a very negative time: depression and self-harm rates post-Covid are at an all-time high, our country is divided and convinced that the other side is sending us to hell in a hand basket, drug use is on the rise again, and people are changing their jobs, relationships, and genders in pursuit of that elusive and ephemeral ‘it’ that will change how they feel every day.
Instead, we find this Scriptural command: “let us rejoice and be glad…” The question that remains is “how?” With all that we face every hour, how can we rejoice for ‘today?’ How can we be thankful for ‘today?’ Tune in and take notes as Pastor Greg guides us through Scripture and circumstance so that we can find a daily place of gratitude.
Scriptures today: Psalm 118:24 // 2 Timothy 3:1-2 // 1 Thessalonians 5:18 // James 4:1-4 // Matthew 6:34 // Exodus 20-8-11
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Elections are coming. We must make our voices heard. That is the only way to make the insanity stop. We will take a look at some of the madness going on in politics right now...and I will make predictions for the election results and for the next two years to come.
It is easy to believe that God created the world and stepped back, like spinning a top and watching it go until it falls. However, this week’s mantra states differently: Psalm 145:18 says “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on Him in truth.”
The Bible is full of stories of God being near to His people: Hannah, Hagar, David, the Apostles, and then all who receive the Holy Spirit… God is near, and we need to talk about what to do with His presence today.
Scriptures today: Psalm 145:18 // 1 Samuel 1:1-20 // Genesis 21:14-20 // Psalm 6:8-9 // Psalm 3:4 // Psalm 34:15-19 // James 4:8 // 1 Timothy 2:5
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
One of the worst things you can do to Scripture is to apply it out of context. Everything God said was couched in a rich history, a grand story, and with implications for the time and place it was spoken. Our job is to understand God’s character through all of the guidance He has provided and apply who we see He is to how He wants us to live today.
One of the most misquoted and poorly-understood verses in Christianity is today’s topic: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” We don’t need to stop bullets or make money magically appear; we need to learn peace and contentment in every aspect of life, and when we put God first, other things are added to us. It all starts with priority, and our priorities are getting straightened out even more starting now.
Scriptures today: Philippians 3:13-14 // 2 Corinthians 11:24-27 // Romans 10:17 // John 20:29 // 2 Corinthians 5:7 // Mark 4:19
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
The world is more polarized than ever. As a result we surround ourselves with people who see things exactly like we do. Though this is natural to some extent we have to be careful that we are not living in an echo chamber of false reality.
Psychology Today publishes a page (right now) on their website claiming that the goal of life is to be happy, to have meaning, to have success, and to live in integrity. Of course, being happy and being successful can often contradict one another…
Rather than pursuing happiness, what if we pursued holiness? What if every day, before our feet hit the floor, we reminded ourselves that we reflect God into the world? Today Pastor Greg explores the implications and the outcomes of taking this passage seriously.
Scriptures today: 1 Peter 1:14-16 // 1 Corinthians 6:19 // Romans 8:9 // John 14:23 // 2 Corinthians 7:1 // Colossians 3:1-10 // Deuteronomy 22:5 // 1 Timothy 2:9-10 // 1 Peter 3:3-4
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
The question most Christians and non believers struggle with the most is why God allows bad things to happen to good people. Why doesn’t he just remove all evil from the world? We address that topic on this issue of God Talk.
We have short attention spans and too little understanding of history. For example, during the pandemic, many pundits asked how the “homeschool experiment” was turning out for families. If we zoom out on the timeline, public high schools were not commonplace until the 1970s. It’s the SCHOOLS that are the experiment, historically speaking.
Truth is blurry, humans are trying to hack their limits, and artificial intelligence is rapidly developing. Mankind is increasingly convinced that it does not need God, and God historically has not responded well to that kind of flippant arrogance. How do we move forward in faith? Listen to Pastor Greg’s guidance for your next step.
Scriptures today: Genesis 11:1-9 // Genesis 1:26-27 // John 14:1 // Matthew 6:25-34
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
On this episode of God talk we will look at the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church offering forgiveness of sins for fighting in Ukraine, the politicization and weaponizing of the FBI and a presidential gaffe that ought to scare us all. It truly is a smorgasbord of insanity!
In this episode of God talk we will explore the history of Halloween as well as look at whether or not Christians ought to participate in it.
When we hear that someone is “content” we often attribute it to “laziness” — they don’t put in the work to go above and beyond, they don’t try to make things any better; everything is fine just as it is. Contentment, however, is a state of mind, and the longer things stay the same, the more dissatisfied with them we become.
Truly appreciating something a powerful mindset: choosing to see blessings in what we have instead of seeing frustrations in what we lack changes our perspective. Most importantly, that’s how God wants us to see the world and our relationship with Him. Today, Pastor Greg explores the ways we are tempted to be discontent, and how to appreciate magnitudes of grace instead.
Scriptures today: Proverbs 13:4 // Colossians 3:23 // Proverbs 10:4 // 1 Timothy 6:6-11 // Philippians 4:11-13 // Revelation 13:11, 18
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Most people don’t know the full story or the full reason why God destroyed Sodom. We will explore that in this episode of God talk. We will also look at how Sodom has been rebuilt right here in America today.
“Start with the end in mind” — how often have we heard that advice for projects and tasks? But what if we applied it to life? “Memento mori” and all?
Scripture is clear that this life is not the end, so why do we work so hard to be comfortable and prosperous here? That’s not the example Christ gave us. Rather, the abundance on the other side is worth our striving and seeking. Join us as we explore Biblical mandates on this life and the next.
Scriptures today: Genesis 11:1-9 // James 4:6b // 2 Timothy 3:1-2 // Philippians 2:1-4 // Philippians 2:21 // 1 John 2:15-16 // Luke 12:33-34 // 1 Corinthians 9:24 // Philippians 3:14 // 2 Timothy 4:7 // Matthew 16:24-27
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
There is a lot of pain headed our way. This fall will be quite ugly literally as well as financially and politically. As Christians we must be prepared to follow God faithfully no matter how ugly things get!
“Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it” - wise words from the past, but often ignored. For example: when humans try to unite the earth and rebel against God, they’re going to have a bad time.
Today, Pastor Greg tackles the past, present, and future to convey a holistic view of God’s plan. We’ll learn what to avoid, what to be aware of, and what to actually do as we navigate forward in life.
Scriptures today: Genesis 11:1-9 // 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 // Revelations 13:11-18
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
During prime time on Sept 1 the president of the United States will come after the super duper ultra maga semi fascist people of the US. The problem is…he is really coming after the conservative Christian’s in this country. Don’t think so? Listen to this podcast and see if you feel the same.
Big things get us talking: when the cops get called on a sports game, when a dictatorship tries to invade an independent country… we are fairly fascinated with things that show a stark difference in orders of magnitude. Of course, it’s usually big stuff that’s bad for someone. But what if we were fascinated with the good?
Evangelism is all about the good, good news of eternal salvation. Just those words alone should inspire awe: eternal. salvation. Can we say we really appreciate what God gave us? Do we share how good He has been to us? Today, Pastor Greg encourages and inspires you to be proud of one thing and one thing only, Christ Jesus: what He’s done, what He’s doing, and what He’s going to do.
Scriptures today: 1 John 3:18 // Ephesians 6:14 // John 14:6 // 1 Peter 2:7-8 // John 15:18-20 // Ephesians 4:15 // Matthew 5:14-16
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
The church is rotting within. In this episode we will take a look at some of the most corrosive and toxic teachings found in the church today.
“How can they know if they have not heard? And how can they hear if we do not tell them?” Powerful words from Scripture, of course. But WHAT do we tell them? Just like weight-loss advice says “eat less and move more,” many are left wondering EXACTLY WHAT eating less looks like. The same is true for evangelism: EXACTLY WHAT do we tell them?
Today, Pastor Greg shares more of his story, and highlights how personal reflections of God’s goodness speak louder than simple platitudes. Join us for this powerful message!
Scriptures today: Isaiah 40:13 // Romans 11:33-35 // Isaiah 55:8-9 // Exodus 3:13-14 // Colossians 2:9 // John 3:16 // Ephesians 2:8-9 // 1 Peter 3:15
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-08-21. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/bSxGfXFDI4E&t=305s
Join me for this episode of God Talk as we tackle the most controversial issues in the church today in less than 20 minutes.
“Go and make disciples of all nations” was the last thing Jesus said before returning to Heaven, but we’re often mystified on how exactly we’re supposed to do that. Let’s uncomplicate it: stand for Truth, and tell others about the Truth. There you go!
Many call the internet age “the greatest communications shift in 500 years” and it’s hard to argue that point. So while the internet is used to share all sorts of information, why aren’t we using it to share Good News to the greatest extent? Today we explore what it means to be Not Ashamed of the Gospel in the modern age, in Bethlehem and Judea and to the ends of the earth.
Scriptures today: Romans 1:16 // Matthew 10:32-33 // Acts 1:7-8 // 1 Peter 3:15 // Romans 10:13-15
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of purpose! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-08-14. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/7sZAPSRNW8U&t=305s
The right is in an uproar over the search of President Trump’s home. There are many attacks that continue against the true followers of Christ in this world, but you must ask yourself…Do you belong to Big Brother or to The Heavenly Father?
Both of these are important, but in vastly different ways. Those who are Treacherous set out to harm you and others, often through lies and backstabbing. The Fake, though? Those are tricky. They make you believe what they want you to believe, and in following their version of the truth, you stray farther and farther from your goal.
Be on guard, Christian. Love always. Guard still.
Scriptures today: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 // Matthew 20:25-28 // Jeremiah 23:16
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of direction! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-08-07. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/dLOBGminWZ4&t=305s
Covid is making a comeback, China is raging, and some claim the climate is on the brink. It appears it may be the end of the world as we know it, but the question is do you feel fine?
The effects of a lack of self-control are obvious: when we don’t control our eating, we gain weight. When we don’t control our spending, we go into debt. When we don’t control our emotions, we become a wreck. The list goes on and on.
There’s a reason Self-Control is listed as a Fruit of the Spirit - it’s vital to our success and our testimony. Today, Pastor Greg explains the biblical basis for growing in our discipline, running to win the prize, and walking by faith (and not by sight).
Scriptures today: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 // Romans 7:17-24 // Galatians 5:22-23 // 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 // Galatians 5:16-17 // Galatians 6:8
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of direction! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
If you don’t like the truth just change it. We live in a world in which reality has been redefined. We will explore how reality is being redefined every day and also thank God that He has redefined our reality too through the blood of Jesus Christ.
The Bible warns in the last days pride will abound. We all know people struggle with pride. Is it possible you do? In this podcast we will look at the impact of pride in our lives, in our country and in the church.
Do you know anyone who doesn’t appreciate what they are given, but instead feel like it was owed to them all along? It’s rampant! The scary thing is the creep of it: we can all start out grateful for our job, our spouse, our car, our house — but in a matter of time, complacency sneaks in, and we start complaining about little things.
Jesus told an entire parable about ungratefulness, and we see it throughout the Old and New Testaments alike. Today, we’ll explore how God the Father and Jesus the Son both responded to entitled attitudes, and talk about how we can grow into the gratitude He guides us towards.
Scriptures today: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 // Matthew 20:1-16 // Jonah 4:1-11 // Luke 17:11-19 // Philippians 4:11-13 // Luke 6:35
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of direction! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-07-17. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/iLq8WA3U_vc&t=305s
In the last days people will be more slanderous than ever and lies will abound in this podcast we will take a look at how lies have invaded our life, church life, politics and society in general.
Last week we talked about how people can be lovers of self. One vital aspect of that which we need to dig into is the love of money. While money itself is not evil, the love of it is: when healthcare is focused more on profits than healthcare, it’s a problem. When higher education is focused more on profits than education, it’s a problem. The list goes on and on ad nauseam.
It’s easy to point fingers, but we need to take the time to examine ourselves as well. Do we have the relationship with money that we should? Are we generous people? Are we supporting things the way we should? Or are we building our castles on sand? Today we’ll explore Biblical principles for living… adequately. Let’s study and grow in how to say “this is enough” and “how can I use this best, Lord?”
Scriptures today: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 // 2 Corinthians 9:11 // Hebrews 13:5 // 1 Timothy 6:10 // Matthew 6:24 // Luke 12:15 // Matthew 6:19-21 // Matthew 19:23 // Matthew 13:54-55 // Proverbs 22:11
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of direction! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Corporate giants continue to limit free speech. Hear how we have been silenced and many others like Jordan Peterson have as well. We will explore how all of this ties into the Apostle Paul’s warning that in the final days people will act rashly and to have nothing to do with such people.
“Have nothing to do with such people.” We’re not talking about the obvious ones (murderers, rapists, and devil-worshippers), but rather… people who appear relatively good, but have… flaws. Glaring flaws. Flaws important enough to be scripturally highlighted.
Today we start a new series on the things we should stay completely away from. Welcome to a new kind of Quarantine. These viruses can kill you.
Scriptures today: 2 Timothy 3:1-5 // Matthew 23:15
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of hope! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-07-03. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/-R2PPA39Nd8&t=305s
This is the start of a new series, “Quarantine” - our last series, “Broken” received great reviews. You can find the playlist here: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTo_ldEqjsjPtyJNSwIP-E8M2B2mNp6UE
There is an “unholy trinity” on this earth that is at war against the true Trinity in Heaven. Join me as we explore that in this episode of God Talk.
Perspective is a funny thing — what seemed so big to us years ago barely registers as a blip on the radar these days. When we learn to focus on what matters, everything else shifts into perspective and we find ourselves ready to face what’s ahead.
The biggest perspective shift of all, then, is in our faith. 100 years from now, your physical health won’t matter. Your friends won’t matter. Your job won’t matter. How you lived your life will matter, so today we’re expounding on that highest of priorities: God Himself.
Scriptures today: Luke 9:57-62 // Matthew 12:46-50 // Galatians 6:7 // Malachi 3:9-12 // Exodus 20:5b-6 // Matthew 16:24-27 // John 21:18 // Colossians 3:12
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of encouragement! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-06-19. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JhkjgC-lqUI&t=305s
This is a continuation of our series “Broken.” Last week’s message is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=STIwT8ILsbM
The left continually attacks Trump and Maga but if you listen closely they’re really attacking Judeo Christian values, Christians, the church and Christ himself. It’s a culture war and wars can be messy and bloody, but this is a war worth fighting.
Life would be a blast if we knew that this was all a cosmic video game, a virtual reality far beyond anything we’ve created, and we’re just living our lives earning points towards high scores back in the “real world.” It would be easy. Just do good stuff, and the rest will sort itself out, right?
Unfortunately, that’s not how it works. At least, not according to any of the stories and documents regarding the God of Creation. We’re given one path: righteousness. We’re given one way onto that path: Jesus. No other method, no other way, no other belief earns us any score or merit at all. We need Christ, crucified, and nothing else will do. Today, we re-affirm what we stand for amidst a slew and slough of conflicting (and combative) opinions about the world as we know it.
Scriptures today: Isaiah 5:20 // 2 Corinthians 4:4 // Romans 12:3 // Philippians 2:3 // Isaiah 64:5b-6 // Luke 18:18-19 // Hebrews 11:3 // Romans 3:23-24 // John 14:1-3
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of encouragement! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Our country our faith and our children are under attack. Listen to this podcast and hear how some of the largest companies and politicians are behind this intentional attack on our children.
“Correlation does not equal causation.” We know this. There are quite a few things, however, that correlate across recent history with no other clear connection: ever since the traditional family model was fractured in 1970, we’ve seen dramatic increases in crime, debt, and self-absorbedness culture. Today, as always, we stand for living life the way God prescribes in His Word: together, as a family. May we truly be one Body with many parts, and may each part fulfil its role.
Today’s message will not be popular. It will sting. But like an infected wound, step one is cleaning the area it hurts the most. Stay tuned: healing is coming.
Scriptures today: Genesis 5:2 // Ephesians 5:23 // Proverbs 14:1 // Titus 2:5 // Exodus 20:12 // 1 Corinthians 7:10-11
We’re so glad you joined us for this message of growth! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-06-12. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X4ZIvYQg48o
This is a continuation of our series “Broken.” Last week’s message is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUqzsG8QsOY
There is an old spiritual hymn called stand up stand up for Jesus. It is a call to action and a reminder that while on this earth we are called to stand up for God and His Word. In what ways do you stand up for Jesus and how might He be calling you to stand up for him in ways you are not already doing so?
There is an ancient Chinese proverb that says “the best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago; the second-best time is now.” Pair that with our own ancient Hebrew proverb: “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old, he will not depart from it.”
We all agree that the children are our future, right? That’s inescapable. What seems to be escapable is a sense of justice, righteousness, and propriety in the way we are allowing them to be raised in our schools. The best time to correct what our children are learning is “normal” is now. Now is “20 years ago” from the truly chaotic age that’s coming if we don’t step up in the lives of young ones today.
Scriptures today: Proverbs 22:6 // Epheisans 6:4 // Deuteronomy 6:5-7
We’re so glad you joined us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-06-05. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pJBUKpJ2UoM
It is that time of year. Time to celebrate for an entire month the LGBTQIA+ community and their agenda. Unfortunately 70 percent of Americans either don’t know what God’s Word says about it or they just don’t care.
An empire typically has seven phases before they fall, and America seems to be solidly in the sixth. Why is everything falling apart? Well, we have lost the foundations that made us strong from the start.
It may seem strange to talk about our country in church, but the Church at large exists to heal brokenness and provide for those in need. When the largest issues match the smallest issues (such as ‘idle hands’), we who know the Truth should step up and share hope. Today we explore our responsibilities as Christians, here, now.
Scriptures today: 1 Timothy 5:13 // Philippians 3:18-19 // Luke 12:15-21
We’re so glad you joined us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
With another mass shooting in the classroom America’s heart grieves for all the young children who needlessly lost their lives. Beyond that there is great disagreement and what can be done about it. Join me for this episode of God Talk as we explore possible solutions to senseless violence and take a hard look at what is the underlying problem going on in America.
When was the last time you heard someone say “everything is going as intended” about… well, anything? The world is falling apart, both around us and in us. We are all more tired, more stressed, and more confused than ever, and it seems that our leaders are, too. Where can we find rest? Comfort? Peace?
Obviously, we stand for finding those things in Christ. But how? How can we actually accept such precious gifts and live with them? In our new series, Pastor Greg will explore how to survive, pull together, and move forward when everything is Broken.
Scriptures today: 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 // 2 Timothy 4:3-4. // Matthew 7:15-20 // Matthew 6:24 // Matthew 7:13-14
What does racism politics and the church all have in common? Listen this week to find out as we examine a smorgasbord of topics going on in our country today.
We saved this story for last because it’s one of the Bible’s most famous and familiar passages to us, but also because the way we want to sum up the entire Biblical Battles series is with a message of Faith. Faith is like a foundation: a house here in Texas has a foundation of 4-6 inches, but skyscrapers require a foundation 90+ feet deep! The taller WE stand, the stronger our faith needs to be.
Today, Pastor Greg explores the necessity of faith and discusses how to build it in our own lives.
Scriptures today: Hebrews 11:5-6 // Ephesians 2:8-9 // 2 Timothy 4:1-8
We’re so glad you joined us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
The radical left has decided to up their game. This past week churches became fair game for protesting. As Christians we need to be willing to stand up to the tactics of fear and intimidation and it’s only gonna get worse before it gets better.
The tale of Gideon is legendary: attacking 135,000 men with only 300. This is entirely different from the story of 300 Spartans defending against the Persians — a shield wall in a narrow pass rendering the march useless. No, this is 300 ATTACKING a much larger force… who retreats, terrified.
“How?” we ask, over and over. “By faith,” God answers, over and over. And that faith is born of trust: trust in an almighty God, trust that when He says He has a plan, it’s worth listening to, and trust that He will deliver us no matter the difficulty, disappointment, or danger ahead.
Today, we hone our trust, and in doing so, we hone our faith.
Scriptures today: Judges 7:1-25
We’re so glad you joined us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-05-08. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/XieD841wMFQ
This is a continuation of our series on “Biblical Battles.” Last week’s message is available here: https://youtu.be/GHpldQCwGes
Truth continues to be under attack in America. Hear how someone who left parts of the Bible out in 140 AD and Thomas Jefferson’s version of the Bible all lay the framework for many of the truth defying events of today.
Today we dive into one of Pastor Greg’s favorite stories… but we won’t spoil it for you. In fact, you may be looking at the title of today’s sermon and thinking that we’re talking about Goliath: nay nay. Today we’re talking about when David became king and the Philistines rose up to oppose him. David asked God what to do, and God… well, we’ll let you find out.
In any case, there are important lessons to learn here. Our God, who is admittedly the same yesterday, today, and forever, does something amazing here, and it sets a precedent for how we may see Him move in our lives, too.
Scriptures today: 2 Samuel 5:17-25 // 1 Samuel 13:8-14
We’re so glad you joined us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-05-01. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/gO62xnDhcJk
This is a continuation of our series on “Biblical Battles.” Last week’s message is available here: https://youtu.be/Xa7_7FWRKao
We took God out of the schools in 1962 and we were replaced God with a mouse and a awoke one at that. Join me in this podcast as we discuss the current dust up between Governor DeSante of Florida and Disney Studios. And as always we look at how it all impacts our Faith.
In our faith, we’re pretty fascinated with miracles: a flood to wipe out evil, a man surviving in a fish’s belly for three days, two she-bears mauling forty-two kids for cursing a prophet, a man coming back to life three days after being killed quite thoroughly, just like He said He would… and yet NONE of these stories spark our disbelief quite like the time A GUY TOLD THE SUN TO STAND STILL, AND IT DID, until their battle was won.
We don't have to be experts in cosmic science; we know the One who set the universe’s laws in motion. If He wants to do something, who can stop Him? Today we wrestle with that infamous story, full of incredulity and awe, and what it means when we pray for the unbelievable just like Joshua did on The Day The Sun Stood Still.
Scriptures today: Joshua 10:13-14 // Psalm 8:3-5 // Matthew 7:7-11 // Ephesians 3:20
We’re so glad you joined us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-04-24. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/PNCH_Lo4XDA
You won’t want to miss this one as we explore how culture, religion and reality all intersect.
“It is finished.” We struggle to accept that; our lives still feel full of battle, of struggle, of finding the next best step. We feel precariously perched. But “it is finished.” How can we really live that way? The simple answer: perspective.
Today we celebrate Easter: the ultimate victory over Death itself, our God who laid His life down for us risen from the grave. Even so, evil persists, and God is not finished with us or with Earth yet. We have a job to do, and to that end, God has given us a glimpse and revealed the story of the final battle that will end it all: Armageddon. On that day, Satan will bring the kings of Earth to wage one last battle against God, and we know how this story ends: with empty graves, with grateful hearts, with every knee bowed and every tongue confessing what we celebrate today: Jesus is Lord!
Scriptures today: Ephesians 6:12 // Isaiah 5:20 // Revelation 19:11-21
*Despite the holiday, this is a continuation of our series on “Biblical Battles.” Last week’s message is available here: https://youtu.be/ot9QhTgkr2U
We’re so glad you joined us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.*
Imagine being promised an inheritance of a wealthy relative’s home, a dream house with all of the space, money, and food you could ever want, and working towards it for 40 years. Then, when you FINALLY are told to move in… someone else is there, and they’re pretty rude about owning the space. They claim it’s their garden, their yard, their garage, their workshop, and their REALLY big walls. You have all of the documentation, but they’re occupying your promised land.
That’s what the Israelites faced when they reached Jericho, and the story of how the promise was delivered is absolutely fantastic. Join us for a historical and faith-based view on how God follows through on His word.
Scriptures today: Joshua 2:1-21 // 2 Corinthians 5:17 // John 3:3-6
We’re so glad you joined us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
In war it is hard to determine what is real what is not what is good and what is wrong. Spiritual war can be much the same. In this podcast we want to explore the concept of the fog of war and its affect on our ability to understand what’s good and right.
We underestimate sorrow. The power of regret can lead us to incredibly dark places. Paul even claims that sorrow leads to death, and we have to take that seriously. Thankfully, there is an abundance of hope offered throughout the rest of the Book!
Today, Pastor Greg unpacks all kinds of triggers than can start these sorrowful spirals, and meets each one with examples of God’s grace, mercy, and hope.
Scriptures today: Romans 8:28 // 2 Corinthians 7:10-11 // Isaiah 43:25
We’re so glad you joined us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
“There has to be more to life than this.” It’s almost the rallying cry of humanity; emptiness and dissatisfaction seem to be universal. Living with purpose can’t be impossible, right? But then again, if chasing our own goals worked, surely it would’ve worked by now.
The critical question, then, is “what if it isn’t about us?” We believe that we’re part of a bigger picture, a grander story; finding our place in the infinite puzzle brings peace, comfort, and purpose. Finally, we can rest in our purpose. Join us for the discussion on how to find it!
Scriptures today: Genesis 2:15 // Luke 12:15-21 // Exodus 4:2-4
Thank you for joining us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-03-20. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/QvxbDByNU2A
This is a continuation of our current series. Last week’s message is available here: https://youtu.be/Kqm2GvzA26Q
Virtual Reality has destroyed our perception of reality. This has huge societal and spiritual implications.
According to a Barna Research study in 2019, 47% of Millenials think that sharing their faith is wrong. To be fair, we’ve all seen examples of how NOT to do it: Christians have been pushy, arrogant, and dismissive.
Even so, it’s literally the last thing Jesus said before leaving Earth: go make disciples. So how can we effectively do that? Today Pastor Greg dissects our excuses and encourages to follow the command of our Savior.
Scriptures today: Acts 1:4-8 // Matthew 28:18-20 // 2 Timothy 4:1-2 // 1 Peter 3:15 //
Thank you for joining us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-03-13. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/Kh2JFBPAWw4
See what happened behind the scenes This Week at Light of the World: https://youtu.be/pm9Ln1fJT9Y
As we go through life there are the easy choices in the more difficult choices. So often times the difficult choices are the ones that we should follow but these do come at a cost. When you’re tempted to take the easy way out remember if there’s no pain often times there’s no gain.
There’s a popular cliché in the business world: “Seeing is believing.” In other words, someone’s bragging and blustering can sound great up front, but we’re going to wait to see their results before we actually trust them.
God, famously, does not play by mankind’s rules. In fact, we see many times in Scripture that faith without sight is more valuable than proof. In fact, Jesus Himself told Thomas that “those who have not seen and yet have believed are blessed.”
Why is faith so important to God? That is the question we’re diving into today, and we’re excited that you’re joining us for the discussion.
Scriptures today: Ephesians 2:8 // 2 Corinthians 5:7 // John 20:29 // Hebrews 11:1 // Hebrews 11:6 // Matthew 12:38-40 // Matthew 8:5-10 // 2 Timothy 3:15 // Matthew 7:24 // James 1:22-24 // James 4:7-8 // James 4:10 // James 1:3-4
Thank you for joining us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-03-06. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ryEVFzZs7Nw
See what happened behind the scenes This Week at Light of the World: https://youtu.be/m5oqZCvAX7A
Most people would say that God is a priority in their lives, but is He the priority we say He is? Is God really the core of your purpose for being? Today’s illustration includes Rice Krispie treats: if we are the bar and God is the chocolate, is He sprinkled on or is He baked in?
The process of “baking in,” the process of making him part of the recipe instead of a final addition, is difficult to navigate but ultimately more important than anything else. If He is first, all else will fall into place. Today, Pastor Greg helps us navigate the steps required to really make Him our center, our home, our purpose, and our greatest joy.
Scriptures today: Luke 9:57-62 // Matthew 21:7-11 // Luke 23:13-20 // Romans 2:4 // James 3:9-12 // John 13:35 // 2 Corinthians 9:11 // 1 Corinthians 15:12-20
Thank you for joining us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-02-27. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/_arpMbwq-pU
See what happened behind the scenes This Week at Light of the World: https://youtu.be/UUlFPJQs3XE
This week, we launch a new sermon series called “How To”. YouTube is a wonderful resource for figuring out how to do things you don’t know how to do, but where do you go to figure out how to do life and do it well? We argue that the Bible and our relationships with God are invaluable tools for how to do life and do it well. Today, and for the next several weeks, we are going to be trying to make us all more proficient in obedience to God and the living out our faith.
Scriptures today: Proverbs 14:12 // Hebrews 4:12 // 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 // 1 Corinthians 6:18 // 1 Corinthians 15:33 // 1 John 2:16 // James 4:7-8 // 1 Corinthians 10:13
This is the core message from our live service on 2022-02-20. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/qE1i6o9wiAU
Thank you for joining us for this special message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Life at times is challenging at best. As the old saying goes “sometimes we are the dog and other times we are the hydrant.” If you are getting beat up by life right now remember these promises of God as you navigate the messiness of life.
There is always the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Is it possible that we’re finally getting to that point with the woke and far left agendas of today’s elite? It seems there is an increasing push back against those leaders and corporations who have been trying to destroy our country and western democracies through policies that silence dissenting voices and the traditional values that this country has always held true. It is more important now than ever that the silent majority speak loudly and clearly as insanity and those who endorse it brace for what could possibly be their last stand.
For the last two weeks, we’ve examined the Beatitudes (“Blessed are those who…”) — and we see the kind of people God wants us to be through the lens of those He called blessed.
But what IS the blessing of God? What does it actually do in our lives? Today, Pastor Greg unpacks the Biblical concept and context of blessing, both in Hebrew families and directly by God’s hand, and we’ll better understand the power and purpose of seeking God’s blessing on us.
Thank you for joining us for this awesome message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Scriptures today: Genesis 27:18-41 // Numbers 6:22-27 // Ephesians 1:3-9 // James 1:12
See what else happened behind-the-scenes This Week at LOTW: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2cgWwjTOSpQ
(This is the core message from our live service on 2022-01-30. The full service, including worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/Ib9R2bHP9rk)
Some people are risk adverse while others have a high tolerance for risk. It has always been said no risk no reward, but is that really true?
Who does God bless? Last week, Pastor Greg started unpacking The Beatitudes, which is a core element of The Sermon on the Mount, which in turn is the longest recorded message of Jesus Christ Himself.
Jesus, addressing the people, begins explaining the heart of God: “Blessed are the poor in spirit… those who mourn… the meek… those who hunger and thirst for righteousness…” And in all of our posturing and postulating, humans tend to overthink and overanalyze every word and phrase. Let’s step back together. What did Jesus mean when He said those things? Pastor Greg dives into that today.
Thank you for joining us for this awesome message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Scriptures today: Matthew 5:7-12 // 2 Timothy 2:22 // 1 Samuel 16:7 // Matthew 15:18-20 // Matthew 12:33-34 // Luke 6:27-31 // Luke 6:24-25
(This is the core message from our live service on 2022-01-23. The full service, including "This Week @ LOTW" announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/8W3pyiw5nIY)
Are you stressed and overwhelmed with life right now? We need to make sure we take time to embrace silence in our life and through that silence listen for the voice of God.
The word “blessed” gets thrown around a lot these days. Just scroll through social media and you’ll find post after post:
“Got accepted at my first choice college! #blessed”
“I love my crazy family! #blessed”
“After months of hard work, I’m proud to announce my new position… #blessed”
— but what does it really mean to have the blessing of God?
Is it a healthy body? Obedient children? A successful career? Are these the hallmarks of blessing? Is that what God promised?
Join us for the next five weeks as we dive deep into the teachings of Christ on the heart of God and how He rewards those who diligently seek Him, both now and in eternity to come.
Thank you for joining us for this awesome message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Scriptures today: Luke 12:15 // Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 11 // Luke 6:20-26 // Matthew 5:1-6 // Luke 18:9-14 // John 15:18-21 // Matthew 4:4
(This is the core message from our live service on 2022-01-16. The full service, including "This Week @ LOTW" announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/6FqmNEJhqag)
There is a new law in Canada that makes it illegal to encourage people to repent of sexual sins and to conform their life to a biblical definition of morality. Get ready it will be coming to America soon.
Last week we looked at how justice has become skewed and we re-educated ourselves on what Biblical justice looks like. But one thing supersedes justice, and that is mercy. Mercy is seen all throughout scripture, and today we dive into many ways to not only show mercy to others (as God has done to us), but to love the process of doing so.
Thank you for joining us for this awesome message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Scriptures today: Micah 6:8 // 2 Timothy 3:1-2 // Proverbs 16:18 // Proverbs 6:16-19 // Matthew 23:15 // Numbers 12:3 // Philippians 2:3 // Genesis 3:19 // Isaiah 6:1-5 // Matthew 23:12
(This is the core message from our live service on 2022-01-09. The full service, including "This Week @ LOTW" announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YDuvxDMiBqU)
With a growing positive view of socialism and the limiting of religion and increasing of government that comes with it we see the prophecy of Revelation 13 coming to potential fulfillment in our lifetime.
Last week we looked at how justice has become skewed and we re-educated ourselves on what Biblical justice looks like. But one thing supersedes justice, and that is mercy. Mercy is seen all throughout scripture, and today we dive into many ways to not only show mercy to others (as God has done to us), but to love the process of doing so.
Thank you for joining us for this awesome message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Scriptures today: Micah 6:8 // Luke 6:36 // Romans 9:14-21 // 1 Timothy 2:3-4 // James 2:13 // Matthew 5:7 // Matthew 6:14-15 // Matthew 18:21-35
(This is the core message from our live service on 2022-01-02. The full service, including announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/AGzckM9w1sg)
Break ups are hard. We often hold on to things long after we should have let them go. Too many people and leaders continue to hold on to fear and an unjustified over reaction to Covid. With Omicron being admittedly the most mild strain of Covid to date fear holds on and restrictions are still increasing. None of this will stop until we break up with fear and let our unhealthy fixation with Covid end.
"This is what the Lord requires of you..." A verse that leads starts that clearly REQUIRES our attention, and we are thrilled to dive into it: "do justly, love mercy, and walk humbly with your God."
Today, we're looking at scripture passages that describe justice, because what we call justice is more than a little different from how most of America perceives justice to be. God is Just, and we're asked to imitate Him. Join us as we study how to do that.
Thank you for joining us for this awesome message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Scriptures today: Micah 6:8 // Isaiah 30:18 // Proverbs 21:3 // Ephesians 5:1 // Isaiah 1:17 // Proverbs 29:7 // Proverbs 31:9 // Leviticus 19:15 // Proverbs 21:15 // Proverbs 28:5
(This is the core message from our live service on 2021-12-19. The full service, including "This Week @ LOTW" announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/48JFdoEH5hQ)
When was Christmas really and why do we celebrate it on December 25 anyways? In this episode we will delve into the history of Christmas and also make sure we don’t lose sight of its true meaning.
What do Joel Osteen, Christmas and our purpose in life all have in common? Listen to this week’s episode to find out!
This is an important message: when Christ returned to heaven, He promised to send an Advocate, a Helper, to us. Then, as evidenced throughout Scripture and history, He did! But what does that mean today? “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you,” does that mean we will wave our hands and mystical things will happen? Well, no… not likely, at least.
Pastor Greg takes a tour through both Old and New Testament examples of what happens when the Holy Spirit moves in someone’s life, and what you can expect in today’s world. Let’s study together!
Thank you for joining us for this powerful message. Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Scriptures today: Acts 1:8 // Judges 14:5-6 // Judges 16:18-21Numbers 11:10-17 // 1 Samuel 10:6-7 // John 3:3-8 // 1 Corinthians 12:7-11 // Luke 2:25-35 // Acts 16:6-7 // Acts 4:23-25, 30-31 // Romans 8:5-9 // Galatians 5:16-25
(This is the core message from our live service on 2021-12-12. The full service, including "This Week @ LOTW" announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/rMzyaYpo-J0 - thanks for joining us!)
The holidays can be a challenging time for many. Life gets busy. Life gets expensive. Life gets filled with drama. How do we navigate it all without becoming depressed angry or bitter? Join me for this podcast as I explore 9 practical tips for successfully navigating the Christmas season.
Today's message needs no introduction. There is enough propaganda, misinformation, and outright lying in the world around us. The problem we face is that it isn't just an intellectual or an ethical issue, but at its core, it's a spiritual issue. Pastor Greg explains how, and why, today.
Thank you for joining us for this all-important message. Music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to us and we will make one available for you. God bless.
Scriptures today: John 8:44 // John 8:31-32 // Psalm 25:4-5 // Proverbs 30:5 // John 17:17 // John 14:6-7 // 1 John 1:5-10 // 2 Timothy 4:2-5 // Ephesians 6:14 // Romans 1:18 // 2 Timothy 3:13-16
(This is the core message from our live service on 2021-12-05. The full service, including "This Week @ LOTW" announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/-wi2q1vveUM - thanks for joining us!)
Evil can be battled against a whole lot easier than stupidity. There is a whole lot of stupidity in the world today. The question is, “who will free us from it”?
Have you ever bared your soul to a close friend or a trusted advisor about a struggle you’re facing, just to get back the trite answer “well, God will work it all out, just be patient” or worse yet, “you just have to let GO and let GOD, amen?”
In the midst of difficult circumstances, with consequences looming and judgments imminent, it feels like this is the worst advice you could get. AND YET, JESUS HIMSELF said “do not be anxious about your life… tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” JESUS HIMSELF says “come to me, all you who are weary and burdened and I will give you rest.”
Can we trust that? DO we trust that? What does that look like in real life? What’s the process of letting go and letting God? Today, Pastor Greg shares some personal and some professional struggles, and how to Biblically walk in faith: neither blindly, nor arrogantly, nor flippantly, but trusting in the words and the ways of Christ Jesus.
Thank you for joining us for this important message! All songs are performed under an active CCLI license referenced in the video; further details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved: share this message with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it, help point them to love and hope and Truth.
Scriptures today: Matthew 6:25-34 // Psalm 55:22 // Matthew 11:28-30 // Psalm 56:3-4 // Psalm 37:5 // Romans 8:31-32 // 1 Peter 5:7
(This is the core message from our live service on 2021-11-28. The full service, including "This Week @ LOTW" announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/8N4fi4KcI98 - thanks for joining us!)
Sometimes we mean things for good but actually they have unintended negative consequences. From time to time we must reevaluate how we are doing things and “clean out the garage” to get rid of things that are not as helpful to our lives as we thought.
Mankind has been continually disobedient: from the Garden, through the flood, after Egypt, in the time of the judges, the time of the kings, the time of the prophets, ALL throughout the time of Christ, and clearly afterwards as the apostles wrote numerous letters to churches in need of correction.
We're not all that different today, and the terrifying realization is that the God who is the same yesterday, today, and forever admonished through Amos that He is willing to punish His children into obedience. "To obey is better than sacrifice," so let's study God's own Word together and learn how best to follow Him today.
Thank you for joining us for this important message! No rights are reserved: share this message with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it, help point them to love and hope and Truth.
Scriptures today: Amos 4:6-12 // 1 John 5:2-3 // Luke 11:27-28 // 1 John 3:24 // Exodus 23:20-22 // Luke 6:46 // Acts 5:29 // Romans 5:19
Man’s propensity is always to disobedience of God. When man has been obedient it is almost always because a strong leader led them in obedience and they followed. This podcast encourages and urges all of us to lead in that way.
"Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you," wrote James. Today, many ask "but where is God amidst all of this, then?"
In the Old Testament, God's presence was in one place: with the Ark of the Covenant, in the Holy of Holies, only truly worshipped by Israel and only approachable by the High Priest. Thankfully, God made a New Testament with His people: the veil was torn and the presence of God is now among (and within) us, His people worldwide.
There is no greater hope than knowing that the Spirit of God Himself resides here and holds us fast through every storm. Join us today as we study how we got here and what to do as we learn to be Anchored in Him.
Thank you for joining us for this important message! No rights are reserved: share this message with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it, help point them to love and hope and Truth.
Scriptures today: John 4:19-24 // John 15:1-15
(This is the core message from our live service on 2021-11-14. The full service, including "This Week @ LOTW" announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGcSTn35GQ0 - thanks for joining us!)
We have all heard it said you can’t fix stupid but there is a glimmer of hope that politically and in the church stupid is starting to be fixed just a bit. Are you willing to fix stupid in your life and your “world”?
People will take what you are willing to surrender. It is only when we get “sick and tired” of the garbage of this life that we are willing to take a stand against it. Take a stand for what you know to be true and right.
Vilfredo Pareto, an Italian economist in the 1890s, noticed a strange trend while gardening: about 80% of his great crops came from about 20% of his seeds. By taking the plants that actually produced well and planting more of only THEIR seeds, he quadrupled his yield. This was particularly interesting to him because he'd just published a paper proving that 80% of Italy's wealth was held by 20% of its people.
There's something to be said about 20% of people doing 80% of the work, or 20% of people carrying 80% of the load... and we see that happening in the church, too! We JUST studied in 1 Peter where we're admonished to share whatever we have: our time, our talents, and our treasure. Can we become some of the seeds that produce in the church? Stay tuned to learn how.
Thank you for joining us for this important message! No rights are reserved: share this message with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it, help point them to love and hope and Truth.
Scripture today: 1 Peter 4:7-10 // Matthew 25:14-30 // Galatians 5:13 // Mark 10:42-45
(This is the core message from our live service on 2021-10-31. The full service, including "This Week @ LOTW" announcements, worship, upcoming events, and prayers, can be found here: https://youtu.be/_rGWLCgjk1o - thanks for joining us!)
Dysfunction will continue in life, in our country and in our world as long as we we keep making excuses. Real change only takes place when we stop making excuses and do something about it.
It’s not hard to see that the world is falling apart. Common sense is less common, values have tanked, and people are searching for any answer that will bring them peace.
We have an answer! And yet, we hold back. Afraid of being outcast. Afraid of being made fun of. All for what, our comfort? Scripture never asks us to be comfortable, it asks us to spread the Good News. Today, Pastor Greg dives deep into how that matters in today’s world.
Scriptures today: Acts 17:14-34
We all have frustrations in life. You can either live with them or overcome them. This episode explores how to handle life’s difficulties in a God pleasing way.
The flames of societal unrest continue to be fanned. Where will it all lead and what are you willing to do about it?
Last week we talked about Peter’s instructions for a blessed life on Earth, but this week he gets into the nitty-gritty of it all: you were wretched, and you can’t act that way anymore. Further still, he makes it clear what happens when you change (hint: “no pain, no gain”). Don’t miss it!
Thank you for joining us for this important message! All songs are performed under an active CCLI license referenced in the video; further details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved: share this message with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it, help point them to love and hope and Truth.
Scripture today: 1 Peter 4
We used to have standards in this country and the loss of those standards has destabilized our country to the breaking point. In this episode we examine how we lost our standards and how it is we can get them back.
As we dig into 1 Peter 3, we acknowledge that the Bible teaches things that make us uncomfortable. We also acknowledge that that's our problem, not God's. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
"Wives, submit to your husbands..." Oh no.
"Husbands, be considerate..." Ugh, right?
"Repay evil with blessing..." But Lord, they...
"Always be prepared to give an answer..." You mean to everyone?
"Whoever would love life and see good days must..." wait wait, okay, NOW you have my attention!
Peter lays out a list of instructions for a blessed life, but we have to remember to take the WHOLE chapter and the WHOLE book. Let's look at this chapter together, regardless of which part makes us feel good, bad, or ugly.
The firings have begun of the unvaccinated. Heath care workers have gone from heroes to villains in just a year’s time. In this episode I explore reasons for a religious exemption to the vaccine and the power grab and freedom grab that is happening all across this country.
War movies are popular: the director's ability to guide our emotions through the rigors, terrors, and dangers of war helps us both to partly understand and wholly respect what soldiers have experienced for our sake. Yet, we regard them as entertainment; surely WE would never be called to fight, to be disciplined enough to stand our ground, to hold the line against an invading force, right?
In First Peter, it is made clear to us that sinful desires wage war against our souls, and the terminology used there is neither a mistake or an exaggeration. Today, Pastor Greg explores the Biblical standard for living "as foreigners" in this world, being citizens of a faraway land.
Increasingly things in this world are not what they seem. This is true in the whole global warming debate. It is important that as Christians we are informed in truth so we can make informed decisions based off of truth and not just people we choose to trust.
Jesus: the name alone has inspired hope and faith for millennia, and yet many find Him to be a barrier. He is a barrier against sin and selfishness, and if you insist on running at Him while carrying those things, you'll find that He doesn't budge. It's better to build everything on Him first, and let the rest go. Enjoy Pastor Greg's illustration of these scriptures!
If America had simply developed a Covid vaccine and made it available to all it would have been a great accomplishment in such a short time. Instead, we have moved beyond good and into the realm of evil by mandating a vaccine that is neither well tested or highly effective on a population that is not thinking rationally because of the lies and hysteria that have been thrust on them by their own government. See link below for more information. https://stateofthenation.co/?p=79970
This week, a movie trailer was released for a new Matrix movie. The Matrix movie series was wildly popular at its release, and while it missed a few points, it got one major thing right: this world is not home.
The overarching theme in the book of 1 Peter is the way we live here now; our God is bigger and better than we can comprehend. It’s important to understand our parts and how to best play them, which is exactly what we’re studying today.
Scripture today: 1 Peter 1:13-25
Government overreach, tyranny and intrusion into our freedoms has just reached an all time high with president Biden’s new mandate to make employers with more than 100 employees force their employees to be vaccinated. It is time to stand up, push back, and if needed even polish the pitchforks.
Texas’ “Heartbeat Law” has created a huge backlash among many in government, corporations and the media across this country. In this episode we will take a look at what people are saying and how we should view this debate from a conservative Christian perspective.
That which we inherit has always been hotly contested — do people deserve blessings they didn’t earn? Can anyone truly appreciate something they didn’t work for?
The wonder of wonders is that God chose us to receive His inheritance — and it will never fade or run out. Today, as we dive into the book of 1 Peter, let’s explore God’s desires for us to live out.
False prophets abound in Christianity today. We have to be on our guard as they will lead the church astray. Judge a self proclaimed prophet by what they say and if they are wrong then they cannot be trusted as a true prophet because God is NEVER wrong.
In venting to our parents (at any age) and angrily pointing out the flaws and failures of those around us, the wisened folks commonly chuckle and reply warmly, “well, it takes two to tango.”
We’ve all been bad at managing our time, our emotions, our relationships, and our responsibilities at some point. Maturity steps forward and says “this is where I messed up my part,” while accusations and victimization are the playgrounds of those who have some growth ahead of them. Today, we dive into Scripture’s admonishments to us: accept responsibility and move forward.
Ghosts…demons…the paranormal…is it real? If our battle is not with flesh and blood how might the battle with the unseen be impacting our world today?
Have the words “calm down” ever successfully ended an argument? We all know what a mistake that phrase can be. When emotions are high, logic goes out the window… yet, we allow our emotions to cloud our day-to-day judgment.
From the way we handle tension to the things we allow our children to be taught, emotions have been allowed to dictate the decisions we make about our lives and the lives of our children. Today, we explore Biblical reasoning to eschew emotional reasoning and embrace faith in God’s plan.
It really isn’t a completely political podcast but I do go deeper into politics than normal so proceed at your own risk. There are many concerning issues going on in our country and beyond. In the end God doesn’t call us to follow a political party but to follow Him. As we do follow God that will directly impact our interactions with politics. Join me in this thought provoking podcast where religion, life and politics all intersect into one.
Nothing holds us back so much as anxiety; it's a form of fear that grabs us and holds on. Today, Pastor Greg explores Biblical examples of people who conquered it, and how we can learn from their example.
Thank you for joining us for this important message! All songs are performed under an active CCLI license referenced in the video; further details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved: share this message with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it, help point them to love and hope and Truth.
Fool me once shame on you. Fool me twice shame on me. Inform yourself on the surge facts and not the full court press brainwashing that is going on AGAIN.
Skepticism and cynicism are rampant today, and often for good reason. On both large and small scales, we’ve been misled, misdirected, and outright lied to in our lives.
When it’s allowed to take root, Doubt has been one of the enemy’s most powerful tools. Even Eve fell prey to Satan’s “did God REALLY say…” However, some of the most powerful stories in Scripture and in life are the ones where God has overcome our doubts and proven His power.
Walking on water! Routing 135,000 enemies with only 300! Raising the dead! Over and over, we see the powerful results of doubt abolished when we have faith enough to allow Him to move.
Scripture today: 2 Timothy 1:7 // John 20:24-29 // Matthew 14:22-33 // Matthew 8:23-27 // Judges 6:36-40
Logic, reason and critical thinking has become a lost art. Our ability to navigate life in a healthy and functional way has much to do with our ability to use reason and logic to make sense of this world and to make the best decisions for yourself, your family and society in general.
Inspired by George Orwell’s book 1984 you don’t want to miss this podcast as a book that was written 70 years ago nails what is going on in society today as government controls truth and our ability to think rationally
Amidst his excommunication from the Catholic church, Galileo passionately argued for the use both faith AND logic: "I refuse to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect has intended us to forgo their use."
Our mind, however, has just as much power to harm us as it does to help us. For every stroke of genius, there can be a lightning strike of doubt. For every reason to hope, a reason to fear. However, God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and love, and a SOUND MIND. Our new series, Mind Field, explores the traps and trials we all face, encouraging us to navigate clearly with the help of a solid map and an experienced guide.
Scripture today: 2 Timothy 1:7 // Exodus 15:1-2 // Exodus 15:24 // Exodus 16:2-5 // Exodus 16:8 // Exodus 32:27-28 // Numbers 11:1 // Numbers 21:4-6
It's easy to dismiss ideas as "alarmist" or "extreme" if they're uncomfortable or if taking them seriously would require us to change. We're comfortable creatures, and we're willing to believe that we can just be careful and resist Satan as one who deceives and accuses (as we've recently covered). There's no sidestepping his role as a destroyer, though. He is out to devour. He is out to obliterate. He is out to remove hope, purpose, joy, and faith. This is not a joke, this is not a drill; this is important, this is both now and eternity, and how seriously you take your enemy determines how victorious he will or will not be.
Scripture today: 1 Peter 5:8-9 // Revelation 9:11 // John 10:10 // Gnesis 3:1-6 // Isaiah 14:12-14 // Ezekiel 28:15-16 // 1 Chronicles 21:1-4, 7, 14 // James 4:7 // James 4:4-6 // James 4:10 // 1 Peter 5:6
Life is like a giant hamster wheel at times. We all look for meaning, purpose and fulfillment. It is time to get off our hamster wheel and find real meaning in life.
We all know that the "sticks and stones" adage is a lie: words can hurt us quite a bit. Worse still are lies and accusations that maybe have a little bit of truth behind them; it gets hard to separate the truth from the rest of the mangled mess it's presented with.
Today we dive into Satan's activity as the Great Accuser - how he has accused all manners of people of all manners of things, and how thankful we are for an Advocate to defend us, lift us up, and make us new.
Scriptures today: Revelation 12:10 // Ephesians 6:12 // Zechariah 3:1-5 // Psalm 10:1 // Psalm 22:1-2 // 1 John 2:1 // John 8:9-11
Our world is suffering from a failure of true leadership and as a result families, society, and the church itself is falling into disrepair. Learn to lead in a God fearing way and then have the courage to do it.
It takes a lot, and we mean a LOT, to be SO DECEPTIVE that the author of a book would refer to you as "the father of lies," and yet the Bible does exactly that when it refers to Satan.
Today, as we launch our 3-part series, "The Devil's Triangle," we explore how the rebellious fallen angel Lucifer employs tactics that he's refined (over millennia) to coerce, skew, scheme, and slander, all to deceive and distract us from the Truth.
The father of lies still whispers today, but so does the Comforter, the Advocate, the Helper we were promised: "Don't enter the triangle."
Scriptures today: John 8:44 // John 14:6 // Matthew 6:13 // 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 // Ephesians 6:11 // Job 1:9-11 // 2 Timothy 3:1-9 // 2 Corinthians 4:4 // 2 Peter 2:1-2 // John 8:31-32
America will be 245 years old this Sunday. I have been around for 49 of those years and a lot has changed in those 49 years. This podcast reflects on an America that used to be. As we prepare to celebrate another 4th of July join me on a trip down memory lane and a time when things seemed a lot less dysfunctional than they are now.
If you were asked to name the profession of a person described as "Indecisive, wishy-washy, seems confused about the truth, a real not-my-problem kind of guy," would you pick "politician" pretty quickly? Yeah, well, you'd be right. 🤣
Today we wrap up our series on "Learning from Others' Mistakes" with one of the most memorable mistake-makers of all time, a man who loudly and proudly pontificated, "what IS truth?!" (emphasis ours). Pontius Pilate, the man who ultimately ordered Jesus' death, has a lot to teach us, even from before that moment. Let's explore together!
A week ago I challenged myself that my next podcast would be one with positive news rather than negative. It took a few days longer to come up with something to talk about, but here it is some positive things worth talking about in our world today!
Mark Twain famously said "when you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect." Naturally, there are times when the majority is right. The encouragement from Twain is to ask ourselves, "am I doing this because it's what God wants, or am I doing it because it's comfortable?"
Today we study the 12 spies who were sent to scout out the Promised Land. 2 came back and said "with God's help, we can win," but 10 said "there are too many obstacles." Relying on what they could see instead of relying on God's promise caused a huge storm and a heavy punishment, and frankly, the same may be true of us today. Join Pastor Greg as we dive into this story and see what God's response is to our doubt.
When you drive by a farm you can smell the stench of manure. As we go through life...there are many things in politics, in religion and in life that have that all to familiar smell to them.
Hiding from God is never a smart idea, and today we learn that lesson from the best of the best: Jonah! From the heights to the depths, we'll be covering his ministry and his calling, learning what we can from one of the most memorable Bible stories of all time.
Scriptures today: Genesis 3:8-10 // Psalm 139:7-10 // Jonah 4:5-11 // Job 1:20-22
It is likely persecution will continue to grow against Christians in this country. What is God doing? What are we to do about it? Do we prepare for revolution or should we prepare to be refined by the pending persecution?
"Psychology Today" offers the 'helpful' advice that you should just accept that things are going to be terrible and that you may as well put the "fun" into being "dysfunctional." What?! At what point does God say "well, you'd better just learn to live with it"? Where in Scripture (or ANYWHERE) does God say "you were designed to be broken"?
We were made to inherit a perfect creation. Dysfunction is not the plan. Today we dig into one of the greatest stories of a wondering wanderer, Lot, and how his choices create discord, disharmony, and dysfunction in his family. We also dig into why those choices were made and how we can learn to re-function and function well after dysfunction strikes (spoiler alert: give it to God).
Life can be disappointing at times. No matter how hard we try...things rarely turn out the way we would want them to be. We need to always try to better ourselves, but we (and this world in which we live) will always be "broken" as a result of sin.
Usually when we say someone made a "mighty big mistake," we aren't actually talking about someone who was mighty. Not so, today. We're diving into Samson's story: how God made use of his weaknesses, and how his weaknesses teach us to rely on God.
Cancel culture seems so alive and well in today’s world, but is it really? People on the right and on the left seem to oppose it...so who is for it and is it even real? That is what we will address in this week's podcast.
There are two ways to think about growth: what do you want more of, and what do you want less of? We've spent the last few weeks, as a church, exploring the greatest-of-all-time disciple, prophet, believer, and more, as inspiration and models. Now, we explore the other side of the coin: the mistakes of literally Biblical proportions.
We aren't pulling punches, either: today's story is one of the hardest to swallow. Some people lied, and God struck them dead. Why? How could He? How does He have the right? Pastor Greg explores these questions in depth as we discover what we can learn from their mistakes.
Today's Scriptures: Acts 5 1-11 // Isaiah 55:8-9 // Acts 4:32-37 // Acts 5:12-16
Life is filled with lessons. What about when your car steers itself into a cement barricade at freeway speeds. Tune into this episode to hear lessons learned when your car tries to kill you.
Here we are, the last sermon in our series of GOATs - the GOAT Believer! Who would you say is the greatest believer, ever? Who had the most faith? Who really went above and beyond in their actions? Better yet, how does God relate to those who really, fully trust Him? This, and more, in today's message.
The United States has had another hoarding situation this past week as people have made a “run on the pumps.” Are you a hoarder? Are you sure about that?
What were you doing in your early teen years? Making friends in high school? Playing video games? Fighting bears and lions to protect your sheep and being anointed future king of your entire country? Hm. One of those three began the story of a major Biblical character (you can probably guess which one) - and for good reason! Today, we dive into the highs and lows of David's life, exploring the lessons that come from both power and humility as we seek God's will.
Today's Scriptures: 1 Samuel 16:4-13 // Acts 13:22
To do nothing in the face of evil is evil. As Christians we need to recognize what evil is and stand up against it.
It would be easy to give the "greatest commander of all time" award to Patton or Sherman, but let's be honest: they had tanks. Who else in history can claim that they conquered a small fortified city-state with marching and trumpets? THAT takes some divine intervention. Of course, today we're exploring the life and story of Joshua.
Joshua has a fascinating story that extends far before and beyond Jericho's walls coming a-tumbling down. A river that stops flowing, supernatural fear in the hearts of foreign kings, an angelic messenger, and an incredible number of monuments and memorials -- there is SO MUCH to learn from Joshua's story. Today, Pastor Greg unpacks all of this and more as we learn today's lessons from history's greatest.
Today's Scriptures: (you might notice a theme) Joshua 3:15-17 // Joshua 4:1-7 // Joshua 5:1 // Joshua 5:13-15 // Joshua 7:24-26 // Joshua 24:14-18
Life teaches us lessons every day if we are just willing to listen. This podcast will address a few lessons I learned from a simple morning drive.
This was a DIFFICULT decision. Who (apart from Jesus) is the Greatest Leader Of All Time? It's got to be someone who rallied people, who overcame adversity because of following God's will... Joshua? Ezra? No, let's look bigger. Abraham? Amazing story, but also he did a good job leading his family. Can we get bigger? Like, a whole nation? Sure we can: MOSES.
Almost killed at birth, raised in a foster family, spoiled, had anger issues, became a fugitive, oh and did we mention he was "slow of speech" so he struggled to tell people what to do? Yet this is the guy through whom God chose to SPLIT A SEA OPEN. What was so special about Moses? What can we learn from him? Today, Pastor Greg explores the history and the legacy of one of the pillars of our faith.
Today's Scriptures: Exodus 3:1-13 // Exodus 34:29-35 // Exodus 33:11-23
Shame is a powerful tool used by Satan and many wicked people in society to try to control others. Don't allow yourself to be controlled by shame.
Continuing our series on Biblical GOATs (people who deserve to be called the Greatest of All Time), we're looking at (arguably) the greatest follower of Jesus: Paul. A man who once was wicked but came to know Truth and changed his whole life to follow. A man who suffered for the cause of Christ constantly. A man who continually encouraged, corrected, and supported righteousness.
How does Paul's life affect us today? What can we learn? How can we model him? Today, Pastor Greg digs into the things that made Paul exceptional, and what we need to do in our lives in order to live as Christ calls us to.
Most people struggle with seeing the world and their lives objectively. The greatest quality we should strive for is loving the Lord our God with all of our heart mind and soul and loving our neighbor as yourself. Another critical skill is learning how to view life and the world with an objectivity that can only be gained through God's Word.
Here's a twist of terminology you may not recognize if you're over 30: today, it's a good thing to be called a goat. That's right, G.O.A.T. is now an acronym representing the "Greatest Of All Time" -- who's the GOAT basketball player, Lebron or Jordan? Who's the GOAT boxer? Who's the GOAT DJ? Arguments and theories abound in every category. Only one thing is consistent across the board: there's something uniquely worthy of admiration and emulation from everyone nominated for the title.
Here at Light of the World, we're taking a Biblical view: who's the greatest prophet? The greatest disciple? The greatest disciple-maker? We're going to make a few educated guesses, and support our hypotheses with scripture. More than that, though, we're excited to dig into those qualities and attributes of GOAT-hood worthy of our study, learning how to better represent Jesus on earth.
Today's Scriptures: 1 Kings 17:1-16 // 1 Kings 18:1-2 // James 5:17 // Matthew 5:3-12
It is time to celebrate the end of the pandemic! It is over! How do we know? This podcast will address all you need to know to be certain it is officially over.
He is risen! But can death really be overcome? It seems unbelievable at first. Today, Pastor Greg explores the invitation to move beyond what we consider believable.
Covid-19 has shown us how easy the minds of American's can be programmed and controlled. The same tactics that were used to control thought on Covid are being used to control thought on race. The left won't stop because it secures them a voting block and will ensure they keep in power. The church must call it out for what it is. Fair minded people of all races and both political parties must speak up or we will stoke the flames of hatred and distrust and do permanent racial damage for generations to come.
The list of things that Hollywood gets right is short indeed, but one story element remains consistently well-portrayed: the end of the world is not going to be rainbows, sunshine, and picnics. It will be messy. Crude. Violent. Invasive. Inescapable.
We know it's coming. We know what it will look like. We need to be aware, be vigilant, and be ready. Today, Pastor Greg explores the final signs and what we need to do to line ourselves up with Scripture.
Today's Scriptures: Luke 21:25-28 // Matthew 24:6-8 // Matthew 24:26-27 // Amos 5:6-9 // Joel 1:15 // Isaiah 13:9-11 // Luke 21:27-28 // Philippians 3:18-21
How are we to stand up for truth and God's word in today's world? The extreme left is trying to shout down and shame anyone who does not align themselves with their progressive views. This podcast addresses how we can speak truth in today's world and not be shouted down by cancel culture and all those who would have us be silenced.
"While people are saying, 'peace and safety,' destruction will come on them suddenly." Scripture is pretty straightforward about this sign of end times approaching: we are called to live here with the hope and expectation of life hereafter, and if doing the right thing means forfeiting our comforts here and now, so be it. Now more than ever, "peace and safety" has been a rallying cry. While we never encourage recklessness or irresponsibility, we need to seriously examine scripture's urgings to live righteously regardless of the costs.
Scripture referenced: 1 Thessalonians 5:1-11
Everyone is worried about Covid-19, but there is a far more deadly sickness taking over humanity. This one will kill a thousand fold more than Covid-19 ever will.
One of the most interesting signs of the end approaching is found in the testimony of Daniel, who experienced visions of heavenly beings declaring what was to come. Today, Pastor Greg dives into some of Daniel's key revelations and explains what each interpretation may mean, as well as comparing them to today and encouraging us to live righteously in light of all we see.
Have you ever lived in a place that has rats? You can either ignore them or deal with them. Our lives are much the same. There is a process to removing the rats of our lives...are you willing to do the hard work to get rid of them?
"Things just aren't like they used to be." Well, you've got that right -- especially when it comes to society's understanding of what's morally acceptable. In 2 Timothy, Paul warns that in the last days, people will lose sight of the eternal for the sake of what's temporary, and the gap between the projection and the actuality is getting slimmer and slimmer. Today, Pastor Greg dives into this scripture to acknowledge what's happened, where we're at, and what we can do.
Thank you so much for joining us for this timely message! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and Truth with all who need to hear it. Help point people to hope.
Today's Scripture: 2 Timothy 3:1-7
Cancel culture is in full swing. Not a Seuss fan...? It doesn't matter. Cancel culture is real and you better start caring.
As verbal communicators, America is fairly isolated linguistically. 75% of Americans only speak American English, while most of the rest of the world usually speaks 2 or more languages intermediately. Yet, the Bible is clear that one of the final signs of the end is that the Gospel will be preached around the world. Every tribe, every nation, every tongue will have the opportunity to declare Jesus as Lord -- so, where are we on that? The answer, thanks to technology, is shockingly close.
How did we get here? What comes next? Pastor Greg explores these topics and more today as we study the Scripture to understand today's calling.
Thank you so much for joining us for this timely message! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and Truth with all who need to hear it. Help point people to hope.
Today's Scriptures: Matthew 24:4-14 // Hebrews 6:4-6
Having lost use of my middle finger it is clear when things are broken they need to be fixed if you ever want to have full functionality. We need to get the "middle finger" working again in our broken society so that it would become functional again.
For all of its benefits, modern media and the accessibility of information has done plenty of harm to the moral code of our society. Truth used to be pursued, researched, and distilled by people who dedicated their lives to seeking it, and we would seek out those who knew the most in order to learn the best. Now, even the most respected resource on a subject can have their information released side-by-side with anyone with a bone to pick.
We know Christ is returning, and there is plenty of Scriptural evidence to show that He's coming soon. Sadly, the Truth is a lonely voice amongst the slew and slush of naysayers, anti-theists, and skeptics galore. In our new series, Signs of the Times, we quiet ourselves and focus on what God has said about the days to come, and how we are called to live in them.
Thank you so much for joining us for this timely message! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and Truth with all who need to hear it. Help point people to hope.
Today's Scriptures: Matthew 24:6-13 // 2 Peter 3:3-10 // 2 Peter 3:11-15
Many in the charismatic movement are still claiming Trump will be president in a month or two. Christians need to beware of false prophets. If they are wrong on some things they will lead them astray on others. Our voice and our witness is being tainted by false prophets in the Church.
James 1:13 says "God tempts no one," but we see in the Bible that Jesus was led out after His baptism "to be tempted." Jesus also teaches us in the Lord's prayer to pray "lead us not into temptation." In this podcast we will stretch our understanding of God and how He works in our lives and world as we look at 2 Chronicles 18 and see that God used a "deceiving spirit" to trick King Ahab to go into battle where he would ultimately die.
Evil is all around us in this world. Too many of us simply remain silent, but remaining silent to evil is evil.
Culture changes, but Truth does not, and today's message is a perfect example of that. Today, when we read the Parable of the Talents, it's easy for us to apply our lives to the text and argue that the man given one talent of gold was at a heavy disadvantage; we want to blame the master for being stingy. It's dangerous to read ourselves into the Bible. Rather, we seek what the Bible says in its own way and learn how to apply it to our lives. The lesson is to use what you're given, or lose it in the end.
Thank you for joining us for this inspirational and timely message! No rights are reserved; share this message with anyone you think needs to hear it, help point people to hope.
Scriptures today: Matthew 25:14-30 // John 14:10-14
A liberal anti Christian agenda is once again in full force. If we care about this country we MUST start speaking out and pushing back on the false narratives.
Since time immemorial, groups of people have cried out "the end is near!" We're familiar with images of old men on street corners with cardboard signs just in the last few decades, but writings throughout history have always shown marks of being concerned with the end of all things. How could we possibly know? Scripture says that the end will come like it did in the days of Noah: unpredictably, unexpectedly, and fiercely. Today, Pastor Greg offers wisdom for reading Scripture as it was written to bring both comfort and impetus for change in your life.
We are so glad you joined us today for this timely message! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Matthew 24:36-39 // Matthew 28:38-41 // Matthew 24:42-51 // Matthew 25 // 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
It is time for pastors to be uncool and for churches to be uncool. It is time to speak ant teach truth rather than what pop culture wants to hear.
"This is fine, but that is not." We see it every day in both the large and the small things: people (ourselves included) give preference and permissibility to things we like but come down hard on things we don't like. Since when was that okay? Jesus says that judgment will be given to you in the same manner we give it to others. Should God play favorites? If not, then why should we? Let's examine areas of our lives where we've held double standards so we can let go.
We are so glad you joined us today for this encouraging message! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Matthew 7:1-5 // 1 Corinthians 5:12-13 // Matthew 7:12
When Faith and life intersect amazing things happen. Here is a story of another "Mysterious Encounter" I have experienced in my lifetime. In this "encounter" I "heard God" tell me to stop praying for a sick family member...so I obeyed and stopped praying. The result was an amazing and mysterious encounter with the Almighty God of the universe who chooses to interact with the simple and ordinary of His creation.
We have known for millennia that you can't plant watermelons if you intend for that field to harvest cucumbers. Tomato seeds don't grow into elderberry bushes, wheat doesn't spawn redwoods, and sin doesn't grow a relationship with God. Every day, we choose to spend our hours planting, watering, and feeding things in our lives, and the things we spend that time on matters to God. He makes it clear: you reap what you sow. Today, Pastor Greg shares some spiritual gardening tips to cultivate what matters in the light of eternity.
We are so glad you joined us today for this encouraging message! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Galatians 6:7-10 // Galatians 5:19-21 // Philippians 2:3-4 // Job 4:8 // Ecclesiastes 11:4 // 2 Corinthians 9:6
Misinformation and lies abound. People pass along information without thinking through it or fact checking it. Google, Twitter and Facebook believe it is their responsibility to censor speech and determine truth but they are blinded by their own biases. As Christians we have a moral obligation to know the difference between truth and lies and to only speak in truth.
Today will be a difficult topic, but we ask you to stick it out and listen for God speaking through His Word to your life today. We're talking about the Christian response to government and authority as described in Scripture: rendering back to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and rendering to God that which is God's. What does that mean? How does that change us? "Hold on, does that mean we're supposed to..." Wait. No, really, listen. The Word of God speaks, if you choose to have ears to hear. Ask for guidance. Ask for clean hands and a pure heart. May the God of grace and peace and justice rule the day.
We are so glad you joined us today for this timely message! Excerpted audio from the "awoman" prayer appears courtesy of TheHill.com - no other rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Matthew 22:15-22 // Ephesians 6:1-8 // Romans 13:1-7 // Deuteronomy 12:8
Understanding the triune God is beyond us: just like a 2D sheet of paper would struggle to grasp a 3D cube, we don't have a frame of reference for the nature of the God we worship. We relate to the Son, but it's only by the power of the Spirit that we do so. Today, Pastor Greg unpacks how we do that and what steps to take to know the Spirit more deeply.
We are so glad you joined us today for this exciting message! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Acts 7:54-55 // John 6:7-15 // 2 Corinthians 13:14 // James 4:8 // 1 Corinthians 12:7
I am ending 2020 with a full out rant over some of the things that are bugging me the most as we close out 2020. If you are easily offended don't listen.
How would you describe God? He's not an easy concept to explain because... well, He's more than a concept! The God we serve is eternal, all-powerful, and all-knowing, and we finite beings can only understand a tiny bit of who He is. Even so, He has chosen to reveal key aspects of His nature to us, and in our new series, we're going to explore who we know Him to be.
Today, in the spirit of the season, John Alvis shares an exciting message of who Jesus is and gently reminds us that knowledge requires action.
We are so glad you joined us today for this exciting message! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Matthew 1:20-23 // John 1:18 // Colossians 2:9-10 // John 8:57-58 // Ephesians 2:8 // 2 Corinthians 9:15 // Galatians 4:4-5 // Romans 6:23 // Romans 15:13 // John 3:16 // Hebrews 10:25 // Matthew 10:28 // Philippians 1:21 // John 12:25 // Matthew 5:14-16
How would you describe God? He's not an easy concept to explain because... well, He's more than a concept! The God we serve is eternal, all-powerful, and all-knowing, and we finite beings can only understand a tiny bit of who He is. Even so, He has chosen to reveal key aspects of His nature to us, and in our new series starting today, we're going to explore who we know Him to be.
We are so glad you joined us today for this exciting message! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Deuteronomy 6:4 // Matthew 11:27 // John 17:25-26a // 1 John 3:1 // Romans 8:14-17 // Psalm 103:13
Revelation 13 speaks that a time will come that people will have to have a certain mark on them in order to be able to buy or sell. Are we headed in that direction?
People often refer to the God of the Old Testament versus somehow he is a little more chill in the New Testament. Is this true?
We have a fine line to walk, here. On the one hand, Galatians 6:2 says that we should "carry one another's burdens," but three verses later is a reminder: "each man should carry his own load." We strive to strike the balance between helping those around us and not letting them take advantage of us. How do we find the right solution to each problem?
Jesus was surrounded by opportunities to serve, and He did. In examining His ministry on Earth, we can catch a glimpse of what it means to have healthy compassion. Join us for a dive into scriptural application for your life!
We are so glad you joined us today for this message of encouragement! No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Ephesians 4:32 // Colossians 3:12 // Matthew 20:29-34 // Mark 1:40-42 // Matthew 9:35-37 // Matthew 5:43-47
“It all started in a living room…” Today we celebrate twenty full years of ministry through Light of the World Church! Pastor Greg shares his heart for our area and even a glimpse ahead at our goals for the next twenty years.
Scriptures today: Ezra 10:4 // Revelation 2:10
What is your "Bulwark"? A bulwark is a defense wall. During times of high anxiety and storms in life our normal defense wall is not based upon God so the results of our defense wall will not be effective. But a bulwark is most effective when it is based upon true faith and an understanding that God is "near."
One of our favorite 'revelations' around the church is realizing that if God calls you out to use you, it's probably not a compliment. We look throughout the Bible and see Him constantly choosing from the least likely candidates. Why? Of course, only God knows why, but we still struggle with reasoning through all our best guesses based on the clues He's left us.
Today we're exploring our struggles with insecurity and unworthiness through the lenses of two pillars of the faith: Abraham and King David. We don't tend to think of their legacies as unworthy or weak in any way, but it's because they trusted in God and struggled through their insecurities that God was able to use them as He did. Together, let's explore how you can find faith amidst doubt as well.
We are so glad you joined us today for this important message of hope. No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: 1 Chronicles 21:1-2 // 2 Samuel 24:1 // Genesis 12:10-13 // Judges 6:36-40
Rather than shelter in place God has called us as Christians to rise up against all that is going on in the world today. Rise up for truth. Rise up to the task that God has called you to. Ezra 10:4 Arise, for it is your task and we are with you; be strong and do it.
How broken are you? How comfortable are you with how things are in your life? These questions, and many more, need to be asked more often. Jesus didn't teach that pain and suffering are the only way to heaven, but He did teach that "foxes have dens, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head" (Luke 9:57-58).
We would be remiss to allow or encourage a false Gospel claiming that faithfulness will result in God 'taking care' of us. Too much is dependent on you getting comfortable being uncomfortable. Today we'll talk about why.
We are so glad you joined us today for this important message of redirection. No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Galatians 1:6-9 // Galatians 1:10 // Matthew 16:24 // Luke 14:27 // John 15:20 // 2 Timothy 3:12 // Luke 9:57-58 // Luke 14:26 // Matthew 19:21 // Galatians 2:20 // Matthew 3:8-9 // Matthew 7:21-23 // Matthew 7:24-29 // Revelation 3:15-22 // Matthew 23:37-38
Is it safe to celebrate Thanksgiving in 2020? A look back to the first Thanksgiving of 1621 gives us insight and answers.
Emptiness.
That word, alone, brings a series of emotions to the forefront of our feelings, because we've all felt it in many forms over the years. We thank and praise God who reminds us that you were not made to dwell in emptiness. Even in your struggles, His yoke is easy. You have been redeemed, and today we want to look at Biblical proofs for dealing with these feelings: "For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors..." - 1 Peter 1:18
We are so glad you joined us today for this important message of encouragement. No rights are reserved: share this message of hope and life with those who need it. Help point people to the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
Scriptures today: Psalm 143:1-4 // Numbers 11:10-15 // Psalm 70:1 // Philippians 4:8 // Matthew 11:28-30 // 1 Peter 1:14-18
Will things ever go back to "normal" ? Should we as Christians want them to? Dr. Greg Beutel and John Alvis explore the possibility of if and when things will ever go back to normal in light of the complacency and evil that exists in the world today.
2020 has put everyone on edge, and everyone is dealing with a heightened sense of feelings. Today we explore Confusion - where it comes from, the worst kinds to deal with, the most dangerous ones prevalent today, and how to overcome these fleeting distractions through the Word of God and by the example of Jesus.
Scriptures today: Genesis 3:1-6 // John 8:44 // Revelation 12:9 // Luke 4:9-12 // 1 Timothy 4:1-2 // 2 Timothy 3:1-5 // Matthew 7:15
2020 has put everyone on edge, and everyone is dealing with a heightened sense of feelings. Today we explore Anxiety and Worry -- originally intended to keep us safe from dangerous situations, we tend to amplify these feelings to an unhealthy degree and apply them to situations we have no control over. Let's look at how ancient Israel missed God's promise to them, how faith brought them to a place where they could receive God's promise, and how you can apply these lessons to your own life.
Scriptures today: Numbers 13:27-33 // Luke 12:25-31
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There is always a bit of a debate over what place Halloween ought to have in the life of a Christian. Join me as I examine that topic in this week's podcast.
2020 has put everyone on edge, and everyone is dealing with a heightened sense of feelings. Feelings are a blessing from God, but too many feelings can distort reality and our ability to see our lives clearly. Today we begin a new and exciting message series called “Dealing With Feelings” - stay tuned for Biblical guidance for handling doubt, stress, anxiety and more!
Scriptures today: James 1:5-8 // Matthew 21:18-22 // 2 Thessalonians 3:2-3
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Many good farewells have something in common: it places responsibility in your hands. In other words, a farewell that doesn't leave people changed (for the better) is a sign that their time together lacked depth.
Today we bid farewell to our "Words to Live By" series, and our hope and prayer is that you've found each message useful, applicable, and inspirational for change in your life. We wrap up with an encouragement: you've been given this knowledge and wisdom, so now you have the responsibility of handling it well and doing something with it. You just have to have the self-discipline to move forward, and that's exactly what we're talking about in this powerful message from Pastor Greg.
Special thanks to USAA and Whistle Sports for the footage (audio) used in today's message.
Thank you for joining us today! Video clip audio belongs to USAA/Whistle Sports, all rights reserved. No other rights reserved; share this message of hope and growth with anyone and everyone. Point people to the way of Jesus.
Scriptures Today: Proverbs 21:17 // Proverbs 25:28 // Galatians 5:22-23 // 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 // 2 Timothy 1:7 // Matthew 16:21-23 // Galatians 5:16-25
For as bad of shape our country is in the church is in worse shape. I cant pray for the country because I must first pray for the church. If things have to get far worse in this country to get the church to do what it should be doing than that is what we should be praying for.
We often hear that "the road to Hell is paved with good intentions," and it's true that good intentions alone are not enough. However, we too often abuse the cliché as an excuse to dismiss focusing on intentions at all. Why you do something matters, according to God, and today Pastor Greg explores exactly why, while prompting you to examine areas of your life where the ends may not have justified the means.
Scriptures Today: Proverbs 16:2 // Genesis 4:2b-5 // Psalm 51:10 // Colossians 3:17-24 // 1 Corinthians 4:5
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Worrying won't stop the bad stuff from happening. It just stops you from enjoying the good.
Why is it "better to give than to receive?" Today, Pastor Greg explores biblical foundations for living a generous life towards God, others, and those in need.
A Masquerade is when someone or something pretends to be what it is not. Masks as our protector from getting sick has become a masquerade for our culture and a false sense of health security.
Have you ever been surprised to discover what someone was really like after knowing them for months, or even years? In hindsight, we often see little clues that should have given us warning long ago, but we were too blinded by the show played out for us. Today, Pastor Greg shares the wisdom of Proverbs regarding how a person's life reflects the true state of their heart, and how you can develop your own heart to reflect things that truly matter.
Thank you for joining us today! We hope you're blessed by this message and find impetus to grow.
Scriptures Today: Proverbs 27:19 // John 14:9 // 1 John 3:16 // Proverbs 4:23 //
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All throughout our lives and throughout history it looks at times like God is not in control only to realize later that He was in control all along.
One thing Christians talk about is not trying to fight the enemy on your own: they've had thousands of years of practice, and you need God's help to make it through. We so seldom flip the switch and talk about how God has had thousands of years of practice, too, and how He proves over and over again that He's worthy of our praise, admiration, adoration, and trust. Today, Pastor Greg lays out examples of both Scripture and life to show God's faithfulness and trustworthiness to us. Thank you for being here to grow!
All music is performed under an active CCLI license; all rights reserved. No other rights reserved; share this message with anyone and everyone, and help point them to hope.
Scriptures Today: Proverbs 28:26 // Proverbs 3:5 // Mark 14:27-31 // John 20:19-20 // Galatians 2:20 // Acts 27:13-26
Proverbs 18:2 A fool takes no pleasure in understanding. Fear, fun and friends can skew our grasp on truth and reality.
How many times have you heard the phrase "it seemed like a good idea at the time" -- or worse, how many times have you had to say it? God's Word explains that there are MANY things that seem good to us, but actually lead to detriment. Today Pastor Greg talks about various paths we can find ourselves on that don't end where we want them to and how we can readily get back to the Way we should follow.
Thank you for joining us! Worship is performed under active CCLI performance and streaming licenses; all rights reserved. No other rights reserved: share this message with anyone and everyone; help point them to hope.
Worship today: God's Not Dead (Newsboys) // Way Maker (Sinach, Leeland) // Great Are You Lord (All Sons & Daughters)
Scriptures today: James 1:5 // Proverbs 1:7 // Proverbs 14:2 // Matthew 7:13-14 // John 12:2-6 // Romans 3:23 // Galatians 2:21 // Romans 6:23
What this world needs today is people that have courage and integrity and justice. It is time for us as a society to lift these qualities and characteristics up and celebrate them rather than the garbage we normally celebrate.
When you think of Samson in the Bible, you picture a buff guy fighting: bulging muscles, bronze tan, long hair, angry face... except the Bible never describes Samson except for the part about cutting his hair! What the Bible DOES say is that God's Spirit filled him with power.
Wherever you are today, whatever you're facing: God is able and willing to give you the guidance and strength (in more ways than one) to overcome your struggles when you rely on Him and focus on maintaining a temple that's ready for Him to reside in. Today we study how Samson did that, and how you can, too.
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Today's Scriptures: Judges 13:2-5 // Judges 15:9-15 // 1 Corinthians 6:19 // Acts 4:29-31
God encountered people in a variety of ways in the Bible. God still encounters people today. What does that look like and how does that happen? We will explore that in this introductory podcast.