The Rock Hesperia: Recent Episodes
The Rock Hesperia with Pastors Jeff and Jennifer Little
We make disciples. While we could simply leave that sentence to say it all, because of our culture, and the Church's departure from a devotion to fulfill The Great Commission from Jesus - to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything He's commanded His followers - clearly, cannot leave it there. So what you'll hear here is us teaching the uncompromised Word of God (The Bible), and engaging our local faith community to participate towards understanding and application of God's instruction. Be discipled here, with pastors Jeff and Jennifer Little.
Because of Mark's desertion of Paul and Barnabas and his abandonment of the good work laid before him, we never get to see what great things Paul was prepared to build into him. Thankfully, Timothy (& Titus and others) "put their hands to the plow and didn't look back" and so were able to receive greatly from Paul the apostle. You and I can learn much by watching these relationships and modeling our lives after them. Initial views:
Jesus... needy? Needful? How can that be? Tune in and find out what about the His needs.
Imagine looking back over your life and sheepishly admitting you didn't engage with Jesus' mission nearly at all. "What Can I Say? I was casually disobedient."
Jesus' wants and our wants are not necessarily the same thing... but shouldn't they be(come) the same? For His sake?
"If you love Me," Jesus said, "you'll obey My commandments." Today, we challenge you to fill in the blank of any area He is calling you to, as a disciple and therefore a disciple-maker. What blanks need to be filled in your life?
We look deep, internally, today, discovering God's design and plans, His intent and commands. Whatever holds us back from accomplishing all He intends must be dealt with internally first, before it ever manifest externally. And YOU CAN DO IT!
With all our prayers and requests of/from God, in the name of Jesus, ever wonder how often anyone actually asks Him what He wants? Purpose and fulfillment are found through exactly that... asking Jesus - What Do You Want?
Do you ever feel exempt or excluded from the group benefits package? Would you like, instead, to be right up in the front for all the blessing? THAT'S WHAT WE WANT FOR YOU, AND WHAT GOD COMMANDS! He's telling us, "Everyone Must Cross" in order to get all HE has for you. Let's (all) GO!
Ever feel like you're just managing your days and not living your life? "How can things be like this? Is this all there is for me - for my family? How will I make it?" There is a message directly from God that you need to hear... and not just as a bumper sticker, but in its entirety... "YOU GOT THIS!" Devote your attention to this message and let God's Word wash over you and wash you clean from all the doubt and mess of the world, so you can possess your promised land as God has always intended for you!
What if God promised that He would provide such an incredible, blessed, overflowing life of purpose and fulfillment, but He made all the promises conditional - so IF anyone took the terms seriously, they would definitely receive all His goodness, and IF not, they would not receive? Because that is exactly what God did. As we begin this new series, we each must ask ourselves how we are doing at humbly following His direction. Because if we do, all His best plans and promises are on the other side of The Humble Test.
Yes, Jesus is the answer, but Jesus isn't here, so what are you gonna do about it? :) He says YOU are the answer WITH HIM! See how.
When life hits - and it always tends to hit hard - we need relief, we need support, we need answers. Thankfully, The Bible shows us exactly what the answer is for any situation you find yourself in. Give attention to what God has said, and what He backs up - and the answer will be yours.
Hearing God is something that He makes so possible and simple for every one of us, but unless we create space and spend time with Him, we can (and do) limit how much interaction we have with the Almighty. As unfortunate as that current reality is, we are not those who rest in old realities, but respond to God's call closer and closer to Him.
There is an entire 3rd Person of the Godhead/Trinity called The Holy Spirit. Jesus was baptized with The Holy Spirit and also Himself baptizes others with The Holy Spirit to this day. Discover what that infilling and overflowing looks like in the life of a disciple of Jesus today as you give attention to God's Word and will for your life.
Our King on His throne in His Kingdom expresses His will for His subjects (and friends). He intends for everyone to live an abundant life, and gives each one the opportunity to become free from anything that has kept them bound.
God, throughout all history, has given given given so much to people, wooing us to Himself, only to be met with contempt and rebellion time after time. Despite us grieving His heart, He still pursues us - and Jesus expresses how we show Him we love Him... unlike so many before us. As we repent and become obedient, may your heart be open to hearing God's plans for you... what to keep and what to ditch... what to start and what to stop.
When God makes a move and invites His devoted people to a specific time and specific place to receive incredible things from Him, GET READY... and that's exactly what He is doing right now, so that is exactly what we are doing right here.
What would you do if obeying God was against manmade laws of the land where you live? As we look at Jesus, we see clearly what He would do... what He DID... and even what it cost Him. Are you willing to pay a price to obey The Lord? Does Jesus' model give you faith and strength to obey in the face of criticism and penalty? Watch what Jesus did...
Could it be that we are still waiting for an angel to come stir the waters for us so one can get healed at a time? What if we all took responsibility to STIR IT UP and got active in our own pursuit of Jesus, The Healer, and got everything we needed?
No sermon today, just discussion - about where we start with divine healing and God's will and Jesus' instruction... and while not exhaustive, it is a decent primer into a Greater Things filled life, because we get to honestly and openly discuss what we've experienced, have been taught, and what may have been holding us back from experiencing the blessing available by the faithfulness of God.
Everyone has struggles and needs and questions... Jesus is the answer to all that, but do we really know that to be true? Have we experienced it? How would someone come to fully know and live in that reality of GREATER, when most people tend to live out "LESSER THINGS THAN THESE?" We must start by getting TO Jesus, then listening and follow all the way through to obedience.
Who ever has that confrontational conversation about the complacency of someone else's spiritual life? Well, despite being devastatingly absent in our contemporary American Church, it happens during the episode with the woman at the well, when, as she proceeds from her encounter with Jesus to evangelize her hometown, He confronts His own disciples' lack of activity with these words, "Don't YOU say, 'there are still four months and THEN harvest?'" What do we do with such a confrontation? Find out in this message, "Time's Up."
Joining Jesus on His mission, the Samaritan woman at the well, immediately proceeds from Jesus to call others to Him because of what great thing He did for her. Our lives must reflect the same sort of passion and commitment to living on purpose with our Lord as hers.
Jesus comes to the Samaritan woman at the well with a request to give Him a drink. Jesus asks from us today as well. Will you give Him a drink? Will you do what He says and show Him you love Him?
There were certain things in the life of Jesus that were not optional... and as His disciples, as God's children, there are things that aren't optional for us either. Jesus had to do certain things. We have to... too!
God SENT His Son Jesus with a mission. Jesus lived on mission. Jesus commissioned believers to be on His mission with Him... Jesus Sent Us. Thus, "He Sent Me."
When John the Baptist claps back at those frustrated about Jesus' increasing popularity with "He Must Increase and I Must Decrease," what are today's disciples to do except adopt and model that sentiment and lifestyle with vigor. With the unmistakable growl of a HEMI engine, we must vigorously decrease and seek to increase Jesus' fame, popularity, worship, etc. And when we do, we will surely see Greater Things Than These... what we've seen up to this point.
Continuing to process how judgment, condemnation, love, and humility work, we continue digging into the scriptures surrounding these concepts to discover how to interface with believers and the world in presenting God's preferred option for everyone... Come To The Light.
Our culture uses words from the Bible with some liberality that may not be warranted... such as judge and condemn. Today, as our study comes to the middle of John 3, we look all together at these words and discuss their Greek roots and implications for God's spiritual family on this earth, all in the context of our celebration of Jesus coming to earth, particularly how He explicitly didn't come to condemn the world but to save it. So... HOW THEN?!?!!?!
While delivered during Christmas, we're continuing in our verse-by-verse study of the gospel of John, and how he lived to inform and encourage us along our journeys as the MESSENGERS we each are called to be, because People Must Know that God is real, Jesus is alive, and they are so loved and the rescue has come. Will we speak? I hope your answer is a resounding "YES!"
Jesus and Nicodemus continue in conversation regarding this second birth, being "born again," and we consider what may have been troubling Nicodemus, teacher of teachers, rabbi in Israel... both these men had thoughts about this. How interesting it is to see the language each uses and how similar circumstances in Luke 1 are brought to mind as well.
Jesus knew/knows EXACTLY what is in man's heart (and it ain't always good), so He didn't entrust Himself to people, even when they were believing because of the signs He was doing. No, it takes more, more that we explore in today's message asking, "Are YOU Trustworthy?"
God is precise on what He chose to include in the Bible, and when events happen, etc. It's no wonder that Jesus made predictions and prophecies that are so perfectly aligned and connected with His overall redemptive plan. Confounding the religious leaders at the time, Jesus zealously and righteously answers their question in the way that only Jesus could!
When Jesus starts flipping over tables and tossing money all over the place, you KNOW something's up. And He was RIGHT to do it! Not only that, but the God-man took the TIME to braid His own WHIP to crack in the temple. This is what we call, PREMEDITATED... See Jesus in action from John 2.
Jesus split time in two when He was born on earth. Jesus changes everything He touches. Jesus performed a miracle at a wedding in Cana and the change was immediately and pleasantly positive. From water to wine, from death to life, from old to new, Jesus transforms those who want to be transformed. Your old life, your old ways need not apply any longer, when you diligently follow Jesus with all your heart.
Jesus performs His first miracle at a wedding, turning water to wine... what kind of water? The kind Jesus wanted. What kind of wine? The kind Jesus wanted. The big question is, who will welcome that transformational process and allow Him to "Fill Me Up, Lord!"
Jesus guarantees greater things... yeah, but greater than what? What are "these?" Today, we explore what Jesus likely meant in these final two verses of John chapter 1... greater things for any and every disciple following Jesus.
Jesus guarantees His obedient, committed followers will see greater things than even He supernaturally performed on the earth... if we will expect it and declare it by faith... OPEN HEAVEN - ANGELS back and forth on our behalf... AMEN!
Whoever wants Jesus will get Jesus... not just someone named Jesus, but the real Jesus in all His fullness. He is not interested in lip service, or mere proximity, but obedience, and life more abundantly because of it. Jesus wants your life lived in the fullness of The Holy Spirit and all that entails. We are beginning from the beginning, laying the foundation of our faith and not sugar-coating or side-stepping any of it... because that would be unprofitable for us all. When you follow Jesus, He tells you, "you'll see" greater things than you've ever seen before in your own life.
Asking Jesus, "how do You know me" is kind of like asking the sun, "how are you so hot?" Nevertheless, Nathanael asks this question and we process together in this message that brings clarity to just how well Jesus knows each and every one of us - and how we are meant to engage because of it.
Philip answers Nathanael's good question about Messiah with the words, "come and see" and immediately we read about Nathanael being on his way... to see Jesus!
Switching formats to include The Rock LAB on a regular basis, giving people the chance to ask real-time questions, we focus our attention on how to actually get out there and make disciples, following Philip's humble example of using three little words... "Come and see."
Now that we understand and embrace the invitation to follow Jesus, we look at what it means, what it takes, what it requires to actually do the following. We hone in on something so profound as following so well as not to need a command or even explicit direction. Watch Jesus and His true disciples in action as we see what Following Him looks like.
When Jesus says these two little words... well, people generally ignore them. When he says those three little words, though (YOU, follow Me), most people do the same thing... not much. Today's message is a poignant look at the reality and a strong Biblical call back to the basic tenet of discipleship... actually following Jesus. While we have some fun with this, prepare yourself for an honest call to action from several accounts with several people from the One and only God-man, Jesus.
What's your name? Do you know it? Does it matter? Today, Karla Luther discusses this from verses 40-42 of John chapter 1.
When John the Baptist declares, "Behold, the Lamb of God!" his disciples leave him and start following Jesus. We discover how that struck John and also what similarities and differences there are for us, present day.
John the Baptist was given clear instructions by God, listened for them and obeyed them because "He Who Sent Me" made it clear. You have also been given general instructions by God, and whether you've invested in hearing them yet, personal instructions are awaiting you, too. You may or may not be obeying yet, "But He Who Sent [You]" has great plans for you. Don't stop short of any single one of them.
The Holy Spirit not only breathed or spoke the Scriptures out to John the Apostle to write down (and eventually be added to the canon of our Scripture - from which our Bibles are printed with everything God intended for us to have as holy instruction), but The Holy Spirit also moves in the life of every believer today - at least He wants to. And He will... if we're open to Him.
John the Baptist, still being questioned by the priests and Levites (sent by the Pharisees), answers questions including the clencher... "What Do You Say About Yourself?" This, for all of us, is the main thing. As a man thinks, so is he... who does John think he is - and who actually is he? What does his life prove? Consider John's life and your own as we ask, "What Do You Say About Yourself?"
In John 1:18-20 we see a strange occurrence, a confession, from John the Baptist... what is he confessing? And who's askin'?! What prompted such an encounter... and why deny when you can confess. All this in 3 verses of John 1... "Alright, I Confess."
Jesus dwelt among us, living as a man on the earth He created, tempted in every way we all are, and still He remained (and remains), in all His glory, full of grace and truth.
The government where you reside isn't the only entity granting rights... GOD ALMIGHTY gives you certain incredible rights... one of which we discuss today!
Ever see those T-shirts... "I [Did a Thing] and All I Got Was This Lousy T-shirt" Well, this passage in John 1 speaks to that in a profoundly troubling way, at least if You're Jesus. Imagine, the God-Man Master Craftsman Creator, Who is so in love with His creation that He gives everything for them only to be rejected by most of them... It is horrifying. But alas, we cannot skip over the uncomfortable parts of scripture, so here we go. (Next week, the good news... so check out #5 for some encouragement...)
As the apostle John writes his gospel, he introduces a man with the same name... but we mustn't confuse the two, merge them into one, combine their calling or focus. So we learn who John the Baptist is from the perspective of the apostle John.
(Incidentally, children brought up that in The Chosen, they actually refer to John the Baptist as "Creepy John," not "Crazy John," which is funnier!)
God made everything, and He made you to be loved by Him and to love Him in return. Devoting yourself to learning about Him through His Word - The Bible - spending time with Jesus, yields tremendous results and will change your life for the better once you commit to Him.
In the aftermath of California COVID lockdowns, we gather back together with a new ministry model, teaching verse by verse through the book of John, as part of The Apostle's Teaching, we look at how John describes The Word, and will follow through to our relationship to The Word. May we delight daily in The Word, just as God our Father does.
(The God Seed, K.O. Johnson-Luther, DTh - mentioned during the message - available at Amazon.com - https://amzn.to/2TTxmGj)
The Rock Lab - discussions proceeding the weekend sermon.
In this first Little Bible Conversation, following the kickoff to our church's Verse By Verse teaching in the book of John, Pastor Jeff Little and Ally Jefferson discuss John 1:1-3 and the message, Take It From the Top.
While God is truly giving us the promised land to possess and enjoy all the benefits, we must remember that it is God Who owns it all and we must honor Him first and foremost, to truly live out all the blessing He's prepared for us.
There are many steps to take in obtaining our promised lands, but thankfully, we don't need to know every step, just the next one... and God is faithful to lead us every step of the way.
In the same way that The Good News doesn't mean as much without understanding The Bad News, having presented a description of Your Promised Land last week, we must also appreciate what Your Promised Land ISN'T. Beware of and Reject Fake Promised Lands... the enemy would love to get you to settle for far less than God's best. Don't let him rob you.
We live in a generation that most of us have lived in the wilderness and don't have a scope of the vast, lush, beautiful, vibrant, blessed promised land that God is bringing us into... so we need to take time to hear from God's faithful spies who have seen the promised land and are bringing back word and instruction for how to possess all of it. THAT is what we do in this message.
God creates and maximizes moments, particularly when we embrace His leading with obedience. Now is such a time. It's time to cross over into the promised land God has prepared for us... but we must each, individually, choose to follow His direction. We show you how.
The conclusion to our series, The Good Life, our Senior Pastor, Jerry Dirmann, describes how our God operates, as he outlines the remaining benefits of this passage.
God promised to execute righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed and call out to Him for help. He is VERY PRESENT... to make good on all these promises, which comprise THE GOOD LIFE.
Continuing with more blessings from God to receive and eagerly share with others, we explore how God rescues and provides.
*Disclaimer for families with young children: in the discussion of God's forgiveness of even extreme sins, rape and other violent crimes are referenced at appx 29:00.
Two main benefits of following Jesus - He forgives and He heals. Not just some, not just a little, but ALL! All sins can be forgiven... All sicknesses can be healed. Place your faith in Jesus, based on the truth of the Word He's given, and embrace The Good Life.
Jesus keeps reminding us that we have an enemy who's plans for us are meant to "steal, kill, destroy" us, He doesn't want us to fall into the deadly shortcuts the devil offers us. Instead, He invites us to abide in Him and His Word, to "lose our lives" and find them in Him.
The same processes, the same investment, the same lifestyle, all get you the same (old) results. And if you're paying attention, "same old" isn't working anymore... if it ever really did. It surely is time to be DIFFERENT. Different than the world, different than the church used to operate, because we aren't rescuing nearly enough people, and we aren't making disciples of them nearly enough. Let this be your time. Learn how in this message.
No one ever says, "I want to live a hard, terrible, difficult life," but somehow many people end up living so far below their potential. God has way better in store for you, if you will give yourself to His plans to give you The Good Life.
God gives His people THE WAY to Start The Year Off Right. Join us as we all commit together to make 2021 the best year yet... and show 2020 that it didn't beat us!
What's the answer? The secret sauce? The ticket to ride? What will usher us into the abundant life Jesus promised? We discuss God's answer in this message... not our theory or our preference, but God's divine plan to get all the blessing He has planned FOR you TO you.
Disconnection is devastating. It is likely that we are all experiencing that to some degree during this pandemic. The Bible has much to offer us in the way of real help in the midst of these trying times. Engage with this message and discover how to avoid the devastation of disconnection.
PARODY: "I'm In A Boat" - Jeff Little | https://vimeo.com/22408514
Amidst all the disappointment that 2020 has brought (and continues to bring), it can be easy to fall into despair, and begin speaking about all these things in a defeated way, like Jacob did in Genesis, but we have an antidote - words of life and light in this dark time, that you can speak over your life and those around you to live in the fullness of God's blessed plan for you.
Amidst all this darkness and hopelessness and concern, what part can I play? How can I help? What does God have for believers during these uncertain times?
There is so much (more) we could do/see/enjoy if we would only allow it... if we, as believers, filled with The Holy Spirit and fully authorized to release miracles on this earth, if we would simply Let There Be Light... Discover how.
With all this national turmoil and unrest over the hotly contested election, what do the people of God do RIGHT NOW - in the midst of uncertain times? God has answers from His Word and we mine the scriptures for how we should live and what we should do in this fight for our nation.
We believers, having learned how we win, must engage in two major battles to become the blessed nation whose God is The Lord. Learn how in this message.
The only way to win is to know which enemy you're fighting and on what battleground. For the believer, we must engage our actual enemy (not human) and fight where it counts, in the spirit. Anything less is defeat already - and we never have to lose, so why would we ever forfeit by not properly engaging?! The Bible gives us clear instructions on How We Win.
This engaging and thrilling conclusion to our series, The Plan, will take you from passive attender to passionate participant in less than an hour. You'll see God's vision come alive from the pages of The Bible like never before. The Plan has always been there, but we've just read over God's instructions too fast and never got around to doing it... until now.
With all the talk surrounding the upcoming presidential election and the state of our nation, it could be easy to mistake voting for our top priority. As The Lord speaks His Word to us in this message, our focus will be directed to the real answer for our country in message #5 of our series, The Plan - America's Only Hope.
It can be an exciting thing to make a self-assessment based on criteria The Lord gives, if you approach it with an open heart, willing to make whatever adjustments He gives. THIS is Following Jesus. Our prayer for you is that you would become fruitful and multiply, bringing our Father great glory.
Our new ministry model, the 10 phase plan God gave us as strategy to reach our communities for Christ and how to be fruitful and multiply like never before, Pastor Jennifer shares all this in message #3 of The Plan.
In the midst of all this chaos and crisis in our nation, with the pandemic, the social unrest and the financial decline, many would say now is NOT the time to plant... however, God is saying IT IS - and so we will operate with joyful and willing obedience and expect Him to come through for us, making our ministries fruitful and multiplying.
(In our first outdoor service in the pandemic, we experience some audio and video challenges, but the message from the Word is solid. Stick with it and be encouraged.)
In a major shift in The Rock's ministry, we discover and describe God's plan for us as we walk through the pandemic and these incredible times on earth. God has a plan for us, and our obedience to that plan will determine whether we honor and please The Lord or if we waste this precious opportunity to win over as many people as possible to the immense love of God.
There is a way God's family is meant to behave... and we aren't just preaching preferences or niceties, but the Word of God. If you want to see transformation in yourself, your children and family, and your church and community, we'll show you how. After all, we are family.
We, The Church, don't do life like the rest of the world. Our way is completely UNnatural - and infinitely better... if we'll only live as God intends us to, showing supernatural level love to one another.
Christians are meant to live differently from everyone else. The world should see our love for one another and be drawn into the family of God. Often, we see far less than that, with spiritual siblings withdrawing from or being in contention with one another. It is our responsibility charge to "behave as Christians," as the text says. What a glorious sight that will be, when we decide to live out the Scripture in love toward our spiritual siblings.
God's heart is adoption - He's invited and made the way accessible for anyone who wants in to join His family, to not remain orphans. He remains committed to providing safety, security, structure, care, love, help, blessing, instruction for our good. Anyone CAN receive all these benefits. The question is: WILL we? Will you?
In this first message of our new series, A Spiritual House, we look at the role of spiritual fathers. These crucial relationships must be welcomed in the heart of each believer in order to grow and develop the way God intended us each to grow. Whether you have had a good earthly father or not, God is interested in giving you the blessing of a spiritual father in His Church.
In an interesting play on words God is both serving us and serving us, by giving blessings to us and giving us to the world as blessings. Will you be served?
It is always time to ensure you are ministering well to your family/household. In this time of chaos, uncertainty, fear, etc. we take a moment to reflect upon how well we are doing on our primary ministry fields... our families.
Even as Jesus Himself may very well ask you and me, "So, Where IS This New Wine?" we wrestle with the answer, because we are too often dismayed by our lack of fruitfulness in the task He gave us - to make disciples of everyone, all the way from winning/reaping someone into the Kingdom through the rest of their lives, lovingly speaking truth into their lives. Will you answer His call today, and not just call yourself a follower of Jesus, but actually FOLLOW Him as He has called you to make disciples? We hope you will join us on this journey.
Jesus told His followers (and even those who were critical of Him and His methods) "the poor you have with you always," and encouraged them to give generously to their neighbor/brother/poor/needy all around them. We must learn to do the same. Clearly, Jesus believes we can freely give, open-handedly, at any time we want, so we say, "the POUR you have with you always." START POURING!
Jesus explains to us that the "new wine" He is trying to pour out to people in our generation can only come from "new wineskins," which means that we must be made new... willing to operate in new ways, and go beyond our old normal. We are disciple-makers, according to His Great Commission. And we are honored to labor in this world to win souls.
While much of the Christian world is distracted from living out Jesus' Great Commandment and Commission, The Rock is being led by The Holy Spirit to invest more than ever in our neighbors, showing them love by the abundance of time we spend with them... because THEY ARE THE MISSION - and they are worth it all. As we become new wineskins, look, pray and take every opportunity God gives you to show love to your neighbor.
Having traveled through (what seems like) gobs of wilderness, we turn our attention to the transition from wilderness to promise, having given ourselves to God to teach us His ways so He can lead us and we are prepared to follow Him confidently into the battles to come as we dispossess the giants currently occupying our promised land. Drawing us to Himself is not only the heart of God, but also part of the strategy He created to see His people live the perfect plans He has for each of us and all of us, together.
Without love, God describes us as clanging cymbals and sounding brass. (I like to think of that like chintzy cymbals, sounding like trash can lids... in a bad -non-Trashing The Camp-way.) Yes, the contemporary church needs a rebirth, especially in America, but as with everything, always IN LOVE.
As we celebrate this historic Pentecost Sunday, we remember the birth of The Church with the outpouring of The Holy Spirit on those who obediently and patiently waited in unity for the promise, and expect God to move powerfully through us as we see His Body reborn as He designed and communicated in His Word.
Pastor Jennifer describes the prophetic significance of this moment in our history and leads us to consecrate ourselves, consecrate our homes and fast distractions as we find ourselves preparing for Pentecost, a reBirth of The Church.
When God does something, it is well and truly DONE! He wants to completely rebuild you from the ground up... from the foundation of His Son/His Word. Perhaps things in your life right now will remain. Perhaps other things will be added or removed. Simply invite God to do the work, then allow Him to show you the way forward - HOW to live your life, organize your schedule, fill your days, and in joyful obedience, experience the fullness of the life He planned for you! JUMP ALL-IN TODAY!
It is good to remember we are not alone, especially in times like these when we may feel isolated and separated more than ever before. But God tells us He will never leave us, nor forsake us. When we need a friend, we have One - Who sticks closer than a brother. Hear the testimonies of God's faithfulness in this message, With Others In The Wilderness.
Now that we've taken the time to get ourselves situated and our souls quiet from anxiety about uncertain times (wilderness), with all that we see God providing, we turn our attention to serving others, by sharing in the wilderness... As we show supernatural love to our families and our neighbors, we lay a strong foundation for our eventual release into the ends of the earth to make disciples there.
Message 5 in the Supernatural Development series brings sharper focus to God's gameplan for His people, back in the deliverance from slavery in Egypt and for His people today (you and me) in the wilderness of COVID-19 and the cultural shift we're experiencing as He attempts to draw His people TO Himself. May your posture toward Him be one of motivated, passionate pursuit of His ways... because it is safe to trust Him with your new life moving forward from these days.
In the midst of the wilderness, God teaches His people how to be His people. Anyone who "has ears to hear," as Jesus says, will hear the voice of God, be prompted to reflect on their own circumstance in the wilderness, and do whatever God instructs to live obediently and blessed in Him.
Never in our history have we had a better time or reason to arise and shine the light of Jesus into this dark world. People are filled with fear and panic, and we have the antidote to anxiety and sickness, even to sin and death. It is time to arise and shine.
God envisions a time of REVIVAL through this RESET of our lives. If we believe He wants our future days to be immeasurably better than our past days and we obey, we will discover our best is yet to come - starting TODAY!
Commitment 1. Intentionally spend significant TIME reading the Bible, and praying…
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Discussing the powerful and important words you’re reading with others in our church family
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Teaching others when you have the revelation of God…
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Joining this unprecedented MOVEMENT of God where the end-times harvest is ACTUALLY brought in BY YOU!
God is revealing His plan to His people and we are listening to obey! The very best thing we can do is to STAY CLOSE to Jesus and to our church family, coming alongside each other with constant encouragement and sharing, demonstrating the love that Jesus intends for us to the world that will see true love and be drawn to our Savior.
Today, amidst the coronavirus concerns, our Senior Pastor, Jerry Dirmann brings us a message of hope and clarity from the Scriptures. God has something to say for the times we live in and today, we incline our ears to hear Him in this.
You are not forgotten... you are not too far gone... your dreams matter to God - and HE has dreams for YOU, TOO! Today we explore how God conceives the supernatural in each of us, looking at Mary's acceptance of the invitation, her encounter at Elizabeth's house and the supernatural conception of the Holy Spirit there... along with Mary's song and a PROPHETIC SONG IN SERVICE!
God instructs His people to run with the good news of Jesus to those who need it, but not in error... as directed by the whole counsel of His Word. Too often, we get ahead of God (or we don't run at all) which leads us to be out of alignment, not experiencing or giving God's best. He has given us everything we need to live abundantly, serve excellently, and please Him with our lives, if we will proceed circumspectly, taking all into account.
No matter where you go, you are designed and intended by God to SHINE - so don't draw back because of fear or unfamiliar circumstances. Instead, RUN towards the darkness and shine brightly with the goodness of Jesus.
There's a feeling one gets when it's time to run... that excitement, the potential energy ready to burst forth into kinetic energy, moving the body forward. When you have the most to give, the clearest direction, don't hold back; in fact, sprint first. Start strong and with intentionality.
When God has given you a word, a prophecy, a sense, and you are CERTAIN that it is from Him, run to speak it out. Perhaps to an individual in private, perhaps publicly in a small group setting or on a huge platform. Wherever God sends you to speak, get there quickly and start speaking only that!
Sharing good stuff with people is nothing new. Great restaurant, great movie or tv show, great recipe, we love sharing excellent things with those we care about. In this lesson, we see Biblical examples of sharing goodness, as well as real-life examples of God's goodness from those in our church family. Sharing God's goodness is easier than you think.
In-message-link: Matt Redman - Here For You - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nD7w0QT4YRo
Pastors Jeff and Jennifer invite some guests to bring their unique approaches to communicate the power of testimony and God's gracious gift of not only the initial blessing, but the blessings that come from sharing His goodness.
Remember that department store commercial... "RUN, don't walk! RUN, don't walk!" The worst thing we could do is be lackluster in our obedience to The Lord. After all, God said He will vomit the lukewarm out of His mouth and that He'd rather a person be cold toward Him than indifferent or complacent. WOW! Run after what you hear from God.
Remember that department store commercial... "RUN, don't walk! RUN, don't walk!" The worst thing we could do is be lackluster in our obedience to The Lord. After all, God said He will vomit the lukewarm out of His mouth and that He'd rather a person be cold toward Him than indifferent or complacent. WOW! Run after what you hear from God.
We've adopted an adage around here, "Don't move until you SEE it." And subsequently, as soon as you see it, RUN AFTER WHAT YOU SEE! When God shows you your next step... run after it.
Ever find yourself in a pit... maybe you even dug it yourself and fell in... or, worse, jumped in? Well, God didn't intend that for you, and He's not intent on you staying there either. So He offers you the way up and out.
God has a way to live a solid and blessed life, but it sure isn't "one and done." See that it takes application of "Do Not Grow Weary" to receive all the best things God has for you.
Preaching isn't enough to change a life. Truth isn't enough to change a life. Doing what God says by faith changes lives - things get done in our lives that NEED doing when we speak out in faith, according to God's promises, found in the Bible.
There's two kinds of hearing... hearing and HEARING. You know the difference - like when your kids "hear you" but they don't HEAR you. God is speaking and in order to get our prayers answered, miracles happening in our lives, a distinction made between our lives lived in covenant with Him and those outside that covenant, we must HEAR. This is the hearing of faith.
Jesus gave the greatest Master class on prayer in Luke 11... what we now call "The Lord's Prayer," and we walk through it step by step, taking time to enjoy the nuance throughout each word and line.
WHAT ARE YOU SAYING?! What are you PRAYING? We can't do anything more than pray UNTIL we've prayed. Only THEN will we have God's perspective on the situation, and His direction, so we can move forward with confidence that His plans will carry us through.
Faith unlocks God to do the otherwise impossible. Nothing is too hard for God. What are your words saying to and about God? Change your words and you might just change those "impossible" situations you're facing!
Ever wonder what God has in store for your life? He'll tell you - in fact, He HAS! Listen to hear just how great great is!
Discover and begin implementing Steps / Milestones 5-7 into your life on the Road to Greatness. Don't stop at #4... continue on your road.
You are CALLED TO GREATNESS, and we want you to see your destiny. In this message, we offer you steps or milestones 1-4 on The Road to Greatness. You must "pass" each of these milestones on your way to greatness. And we hope you will. Check out part 2 of The Road to Greatness to find steps 5-7.
In this last message of our RUN! series, we hear the successes and victories experienced by us who are running after people around us, to win them to Jesus.
Discover what YOU have to offer ANY TIME and how giving what you have leads to winning the prize you want.
Pastor Monica has said that being given a word from God for someone and not delivering it quickly is like filling up an armored car full of precious things and parking it in your driveway, essentially stealing from God and others... the opposite of love. Today we learn how to run as an ambassador, with the precious things of God entrusted to us.
We run to people to win their hearts for Jesus. Branamier and Mariah Courtney call us to get inspired and invested in winning souls, telling us that "everything we have is everything we need." Don't wait to activate with the gospel to those around you. God has equipped you well already and you have enough to change lives right now!
In this third message of our RUN! series, Pastors Jeff and Jennifer reveal our need for endurance and also teach us how to get it so we can Keep Running.
Part 2 of our series, RUN, Branamier and Mariah Courtney show us what it takes to live as a Christian doesn't sit back and never even reach the starting line, but who steps up to it equipped and bold, to win as they Start To Run.
Ever try to run or exercise without stretching? You quickly discover you're meant to warm up, because your body tells you - in no uncertain terms something is out of order. As we begin our new series, RUN!, you'll learn how important it is to prepare to run. Because YOU ARE MEANT TO RUN!
In this first in the new series, "Our Declaration," we discuss our identity in Christ, based on what God instituted and describes in His Word. So few Christians actually live in the fullness of their identity. Today is your day to begin living like God has always intended for you to live as a believer.