Freedom River Church: Recent Episodes
Freedom River Church
Wondering about God and how knowing Him can make your life greater? Listen to a weekly inspirational message from Pastor Keith Thrash, Freedom River Church.
The major truth of this series is the fact that it is impossible to get closer to God than your concept of God will allow. If you don’t believe God loves you and desires the best for you, then you are not going to come close to Him. You are not going to seek God. […]
Jesus tells us in Luke 21 as the end approaches it will be an intense but short period of time. When this list of things begin to happen, look up because your redemption is near. The reason many people don’t get overly excited is because they don’t understand the concept of redemption. The word redeem […]
Genesis 2:20-25 As we begin this series concerning “Biblical Marriage,” let me share a couple of broad statements: First, marriage is the safest relationship on earth when God’s design for love is honored. Secondly, you have a 100% chance of success and happiness in marriage when you honor God’s laws of love! If half of […]
Most of us like appointments. Even the organizationally inept like appointments. Appointments create a sense of predictability in an unpredictable world. Down deep we know we control the future as much as a caboose controls the train, yet our Day-Timers give us the illusion that we do. A disappointment reminds us that we don’t.
How to Enjoy the People in Your Life Philippians 1:3-11 Paul begins, right off the bat, talking about people. Do you ever have problems with the people in your life? People problems put a real GRIND on the joy of life, don’t they? However, to experience “The GOOD Life,” we must learn how to ENJOY […]
Congratulations! You’ve made another year. Who said it couldn’t be done? Has it been the kind of year you thought it was going to be? As we stand only one week into the new year, let’s consider two questions: 1) What kind of person would I be if I had kept ALL the resolutions I […]
I have been thinking for the last couple of weeks that far too often Christmas is a negative experience for many folks! People are going to church at Christmastime and the Preacher’s going to get on them…about…Not giving enough mission offering…wasting their money on themselves…not keeping Christ in Christmas…and the people are going to go […]
In this series I want to examine one of the most “negative” passages of scripture in the Bible. God gives us ten commands that all begin with thou shalt not.” Hey, what’s up with this? Is God trying to spoil all our fun? Let’s see if God has a “positive” purpose in mind. How to […]
In the Old Testament, the reigns of four powerful kings – Nebuchadnezzar, Belshazzar, Darius, and Cyrus the Great – stand out as significant symbols during the 70-year captivity of Israel in Babylon. Although each of these kings came from pagan backgrounds, all were ultimately used as instruments in the hands of God. Each king brings […]
Do you consider yourself a better Christian than others? Do you enjoy pointing out others’ faults while ignoring your own? Do you fail to practice what you preach? If so, you might be a Pharisee—a modern-day version of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day. Pharisaism is one of the sins that angered Jesus the most. […]
The Bible is God’s revelation of Himself. Why should we believe this? Are there reasons for us to confidently trust and obey?
Ruth ― is the eighth book of the Bible. In Scriptural numerics eight is the number of “new beginnings”. Could you use a new beginning? Have you been praying for a new beginning? Our Heavenly Father is the God of fresh starts!
Let’s begin with this understanding: IT’S NATURAL FOR GOD TO BE SUPERNATURAL! Everything He does is Supernatural! Jesus walked this earth for 33 years and much of His work was completely NATURAL, but He did many miracles when He was on this earth. The bigger the problem the more majestic the miracle. Let’s look at […]
Jesus Brings Me Strength Seven-hundred years before Christ was born, Isaiah prophesied the arrival of a Messiah who would make a way in the wilderness and bring a dry, barren, and desolate land back to life again. Jesus, of course, is the fulfillment of Isaiah’s prophecies about the coming Messiah; and, because we have placed […]
The Consequences of Sin Psalm 51 is tremendously insightful concerning the consequences of sin in the life of a child of God. This is what happens to us when we choose to sin. These 7 consequences result from OUR CHOICE to choose the “SAWBRIERS and BUSHES” of the path of life! The Cleansing of Sin […]
Most of us like appointments. Even the organizationally inept like appointments. Appointments create a sense of predictability in an unpredictable world. Down deep we know we control the future as much as a caboose controls the train, yet our Day-Timers give us the illusion that we do. A disappointment reminds us that we don’t.
The essence of the Christian life is to consistently become more of what we should be and less of what we used to be. The result of this life will be revealed at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
Stop Believing Lies We open a door to the enemy when we believe his lies. Satan has been trying to gain access to our lives through lies since the beginning. The door to the enemy stays closed when our words and thoughts align with the truth of God’s Word. The first step to sin is […]
Single people dream of being married. Married people fantasize about being single. The truth is most of us like the idea of being in a relationship more than the reality of what it takes to make it work. When we look to other people to satisfy our deepest desires, we end up disappointed. Disappointment leads […]
Ezekiel 38-39 tells of a future invasion of Israel by a vast coalition of nations that surround it. As we watch the images in news reports and witness the conflict in the Middle East, it’s not hard to imagine that this invasion prophesied over 2600 years ago could be fulfilled in our lifetime. IS THIS […]
He Provides Psalms 23 is a revelation of what our Good Shepherd does for us in the battles of life. “Yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death….” This is a context of scary death stuff! This is not a walk through a field of dandelions. According to the Psalm, our […]
Demystifying Marriage As we begin this series concerning love, let me share a couple of broad statements: First, marriage is the safest relationship on earth when God’s laws for love are honored. Secondly, you have a 100% chance of success and happiness in marriage when you honor God’s laws of love! If half of the […]
I’m convinced that the Christian life is not intended to be a mountain-top experience followed by drifting until the next mountain-top comes along. God wants us to GET on course and STAY on course, and He’s given us principles and promises in His Word to assure us that we can!
I think God likes to surprise us! He must. Just look at the Christmas story. I say this respectfully (I don’t want to become a crispy critter), but the events of the first Christmas seem to be a case study in poor planning. There has to be more to it than that. What happens when […]
The God of Grace – Part 1 Christianity is the only set of beliefs in the world that has the concept of a gracious, personal, loving God. Thank God that we don’t have to relate to Him based on our merit or our works. That’s what grace is all about! God is a God of […]
Unmasking Lucifer God has given us the capacity to live in total victory and freedom from the power of our enemy and to overcome him at every opportunity. The question then becomes, why do we have so much trouble defeating the devil? Could it be that our difficulty lies in our lack of understanding his […]
Israel Attacked! Is this the End? Ezekiel 38-39 tells of a future invasion of Israel by a vast coalition of nations that surround it. As we read the headlines on internet sources today and witness the bombing of Israel by the terrorist group “Hamas'”, it’s not hard to imagine that this invasion prophesied over 2600 […]
My Glorified Body! (Part 1) When God created Adam and Eve, they were perfect. They had everything that God created for them. When they sinned, they lost it all, including the Glory of God. Paul tells us that this is the essence of sin. Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned and come short of […]
Can I Really Be Happy? Can you REALLY be happy in a world like we live in today? What would it take to make you happy? The popular idea of happiness is that you must have the right circumstances. God’s way to be happy involves something that is much more attainable than any of these […]
Ten Facts About Spiritual Gifts Welcome to a study on the nature of spiritual gifts. I believe this short series can be one of the most beneficial and exciting times of your Christian life! To be able to see your spiritual gifts and see just how important you are to the body of Christ. The […]
1 I Am Anointed It’s quite normal for us, as humans, to desire something new for our lives. New dreams – new endeavors – new circles of influence. We pray for God to give us new areas of life that will have impact in our environment, but what if something new isn’t what God wants […]
The Five Laws of God’s blessing Matthew 25:14-29 The good news about living a blessed life is that it is not particular to an individual. God is not fickled. Some people are not just lucky and live blessed because they have something that other people don’t. God wants to bless all of us. When we […]
John 14:1-6 Have you ever wondered why the Scripture is so full of references to family relationships (bride, groom, father, children, etc.)? Well, God wants us to understand the nuances of the unique kinship He has created for us. The disciples of Jesus are listening to Him assure them of their future home in the […]
Luke 18:35-43 Mark 10:46-52 There are few phrases in Scripture that arrest your attention any quicker than this one in Mark 10:47, “Jesus of Nazareth” was passing by. Imagine what it must have meant to blind Bartimaeus as he sat by the roadside begging. He had probably heard of all the mercy and compassion, kindness […]
How do you know for sure you’re not a false Christian? One of the most profound and thought-provoking parables Jesus told is known as the Parable of the Ten Virgins. The ten virgins in this parable represent the Church. The Bridegroom is Jesus. What Jesus is saying, very clearly, is that half of the Church […]
It was in the plan of God, even before the world was formed, to create two distinct genders of mankind: MALE and FEMALE. The problem with this is that to whichever side of the human race you belong, the other half is something of a mystery to you! We are different by design! God wants […]
The Greatest Sermon Point Ever! If you try to wait for all the bad stuff to go by before you really start to live – you’ll never start! Life is filled with good and bad you can’t live life always waiting for the bad to go by.
Oh, the games people play! We are experts at the game of hiding our true self behind illusions that mask the REAL us. This is what happened one night with Jesus and a man named Nicodemus. Nicodemus was a ruler of the Jews (a religious Pharisee) that had a burning question for Jesus but didn’t […]
The essence of the Christian life is to consistently become more of what we should be and less of what we used to be. The result of this life will be revealed at the judgment seat of Christ (the BEMA Judgment seat – Romans 14:10; 2 Corinthians 5:10). This IS NOT the same judgment as […]
Crisis creates a void that God comes to fill with His power and show Himself strong in your life! God has no interest in filling an area of your life that is already full. He wants to fill that part of you that is empty, depleted, and hungry. You don’t have to accept defeat and […]
What area of life do you want to change? Maybe it’s your spending habits or that pessimistic view of people? Do you wake up on the wrong side of the bed every day? Could it be those pack rat habits that some might have labeled “hoarding?” It might simply be that disagreeable nature that keeps […]
Seasons change; times change; nations change; and technology changes. In our personal lives, our marriages, ministries, and financial situations – there is a need for change. Although God never changes, He is constantly moving His church toward perfection from glory to glory. We must be led by the Holy Spirit and sense His moving us […]
The writer of Hebrews declares that faith is an essential ingredient in knowing and experiencing God. With your faith you must believe that God is active in your life and rewards you with His presence as you diligently seek Him. This is critical to believe, because when God invites you to join Him in His […]
One critical point to understanding and experiencing God is knowing clearly when God is speaking. If you do not know when God is speaking, you are in trouble at the heart of your Christian life! One truth that is evident throughout the Bible is that God speaks to His people.
Jesus said, “And this is the way to have eternal life–to know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the One You sent to earth” (John 17:3). The heart of eternal life and the heart of his study is for you to KNOW GOD and to KNOW JESUS CHRIST whom He has sent. Knowing […]
The word Self-Control comes from the Greek word enkrateia (en-kray-tee-uh), which literally means “controlled by power or strength from within.” It suggests the control or restraint of our passions, appetites, and desires. Self-control isn’t simply knowing what you should or shouldn’t do. Most of us, generally speaking, have a good idea of what we should […]