Impact Fellowship Podcast: Recent Episodes
Impact Fellowship
Being "weighed down" describes a feeling of being burdened, slowed down, something heavy placed on something as to causing it to bend or sag. Made less effective.
We explored the multiple warnings in the Bible regarding what weighs us down and how to navigate those challenges.
2 Corinthians 1:3-5 (NIV) says Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, 4 who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. 5 For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
In part one of this two part series, we discuss the ways that God reveals himself and then jump in to God revealing himself as a comforter.
Today we examined Jesus using the least likely person with no means to help, to perform one of the biggest miracles recorded in the Gospels.
After the resurrection, Jesus used his scars to prove to his followers who he was. In this lesson we examined the power of embracing our scars.
In Matthew 7:15-20, Jesus give us an important lesson regarding how our lives speak volumes about who we are.
Matthew 14:22-32 gives us one of the more miraculous stories in the Bible. We discuss how this "come" by Jesus was initiated by Peter's request to come.
We've all faced acceptance and rejection. In John 6:37 we see Jesus offering acceptance to all who come to him.
In part 2 of the series "When Jesus Says Come", we examine the "rest" that is promised to those who come.
Jesus said that he is the true bread from Heaven. Anyone who comes to him will never hunger or thirst again. We examined how only in Jesus will we find true satisfaction.
When we mention Joseph from the Bible, many think of Joseph in the old testament, and for good reason. However when we talk about Joseph, the father of Jesus, we think of the man who married Mary after the immaculate conception but his story for beyond that.
We looked further at Joseph's important role and his example in humility and obedience .
Continuing our Christmas series, we discussed the experience of the 3 wise men and it's application to us today.
In part two of the Christmas 2024 series, we studied how the birth of Jesus revealed to man several attributes of God's character that man never saw before.
In our 2024 Christmas series we look at the story lines surrounding the birth of Jesus Christ and it's application to our lives. In part one we study how the Christmas story reveals that God is prepared and always has a plan.
God used the same King that was oppressing Nehemiah and his people, to be a resource for provision. If we open our eyes, put our pride aside, perhaps we'll see God's provision in the hands of people our pride tells us to discount.
After the 2024 Presidential election in the U.S., people have been operating in anger, fear and all over the emotional spectrum. In this Bible study we re-established who has our trust and allegiance.
We discussed how the enemy uses the material things of this world to as a distraction tactic.
As we continued our series on learning the tactics of the enemy we discussed how he uses isolation to try and defeat us.
In part two of our series on learning the schemes of the enemy, we looked at how the enemy will use guilt and shame to trap up and prevent us from becoming what God is calling us to be.
The devil is a schemer, his plans against us are large scaled and well thought out. In 2 Corinthians Paul encouraged the church to not be outsmarted but the devil but understanding of his scheme. We're starting to unpack the schemes of the enemy.
In first Kings 18 we see Elijah physically operating in special strength once the hand of the Lord was on him.
Several times in the Bible we see the all knowing God asking questions. If he knows all, then why is he asking questions? We'll explore!
In Numbers 22 we see the story of Balak and Balaam which is rich with principles regarding hearing God's voice & obedience to his word.
Some times life can feel like walking on a tightrope. However we read in 2 Samuel how God is able to provide a wide path.
Things change in life constantly. Things we used to depend on one day can be gone the next. We learned how to have stable faith in a shaky world.
In Luke 5 we see Peter disappointed, yet he still obeyed Jesus. We learned how to say "yes" even when discouraged.
We examined the harm complaining causes and what our response should be when that urge rises up within us.
When we closed our teaching on fear, we reference Ephesians 6:10-18 where Paul lays out "the armor of God". Today we took a deeper look.
What if the very thing you desire is actually the worst thing for you? In this message we examine the value of God's "no" even though it can be a hard pill to swallow.
Brother Brian Hillard encouraged us to not be idle and stagnant but to walk in our calling into action, God's way.
In March we are focusing on the resurrection of Jesus as Easter Sunday is March 31. In part one of our teachings focused on the resurrection we discussed how the reality of God's plan and will for our lives can be a hard one to accept but it is necessary in order to live out what he's calling us to do.
Continuing our series on Bible stories you never hear, we looked at Judges 11 to hear the story of a man named Jephthah. What do you do when the same people who treated you unfairly now need you?
We read a story about a man only described as "The Man of God" and how distractions led to tragedy.
Colossians 3:12-14 tells us to clothe ourselves in 7 virtues as God's chosen people. We examined the first three in part 1.
In part 2 of this series we discussed the final four virtues in Colossians 3:12-14 and how we should "clothe ourselves" in them.
We are introduced to the daughters of Zelophehad in Numbers 27 and we examined how God moved in their lives and how God will do the same in ours.
We can accomplish a lot on our own, but that is exponentially increased when we partner together. However, who we are partnered with matters.
Coach Prime said something on his Amazon Prime series that is biblically sound and we explored it at IMPACT.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us that our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit and we are to honor God with our bodies; but what does that mean? We explores this at IMPACT today.
Is Christmas a pagan holiday? Is Christmas Biblical? How did Christmas start? We took a historical approach to address Christmas this holiday season to find truth and freedom in celebrating the birth of Jesus.
Psalm 23:5 says the Lord prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. There's a lot of work & benefit from sitting at a prepared table.
Heading into Thanksgiving week we explored the notion of being thankful "in" everything just as much as we are thankful "for" things.
As we continue with our Ephesians 4:29 challenge we took inventory of words and how we can make sure our words edify and uplift those who hear.
Being treated unfairly does not give us permission to act outside of our value system. Instead of plotting revenge or retaliation, Jesus gives us the example to follow.
Brian Hilliard encourages us to acknowledge the "But God" moments in our lives and the implications regarding how we live and treat others.
Waiting is hard even when we know a delivery date and time. Walking by faith requires us to wait without knowing the date and time of those prayers being answered. We examined Isaiah 60:22 and learned how to trust God with his schedule.
We jumped into 1 Corinthians 9:24-27 to discuss the importance or discipline, purpose and intentionality.
We examined the story of Daniel to learn how we can standout even while in less than ideal situations.
Sometimes the blessing is in something empty! We talked about changing our thinking to see the "big" that God is trying to do in our lives. If God can do exceeding, abundantly above all we can ask or think; let's think and ask big!
In Genesis 13 when Abraham separated from Lot, he allow Lot to have first choice regarding the land. Lot chose the well - water, fertile land. Abraham was not worried or anxious because he knew either way, he was good because of his promise from God.
We looked at Luke 5:18-20 to see how a man was healed because of the faith causing action of others.
Life is full of temptations. The complicated thing is we are tempted, as the Bible says, when we are drawn away and enticed by our own desires. How do we win this inner struggle?
God has placed something special inside you and values what can not be seen. However, we live in a world that disregards what's in us and values what they can see. We examined 1 Samuel 16 to encourage us to value what's in us, what's in others and to further grow from the inside out.
We looked at Luke 15 to learn how to recover from a bad decision. The enemy, other people and sometimes we tell ourselves that we messed up to bad and there's no way to rebound. Thai is a lie and we can recover!
John 5:1-9 gave us an excellent example of how Jesus changes everything when he shows up.
In Mark 8, Jesus touches a blind and his sight is partially restored. Instead of leaving him in need, Jesus touches him again! Do you need another touch?
In 1 Peter 5 there is a great lesson taught to us regarding the importance of humility.
We examined Ephesians 5:17 to pull out wisdom regarding how to utilize our most valuable resource; time.
When Daniel was confronted with a dangerous, irrational and life threatening situation in Daniel 2:14 the Bible says he reacted with wisdom & discretion. We discussed how we can react to things in our lives with this way instead of acting a fool.
For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. This is a popular verse, but God spoke this to Judah as they were in exile to Babylon. He gives them instructions for living while in exile. We examined those and how they apply to our lives.
In James, it says that a double minded person is unstable in all their ways. We discussed how not to let hard times make us double minded regarding God and his heart towards us.
In Luke 18 the blind man shouts out to Jesus for healing. Those around him asked him to be quiet but he kept getting louder. We examined lessons from this story to learn what to do when life causes us to get loud.
In Numbers chapter 14, God dealt with Israel based on what they said in the wilderness and it turned out to be the worst thing they could have asked for. We examined the things we say and desire against what is actually best for us.
Jesus told his followers multiple times that he would be betrayed and killed but would rise again on the third day. However, when it happened, they didn't believe it. IMPACT's focus this Easter season is believe what God said.
On Good Friday as we reflected on the sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, we examined the compassion of Jeusus.
When Jesus went with Jairus to heal his daughter it seemed like things were looking good. However, she died as they were making their way to the house. We looked at this story in Luke 8 to learn what to do when God says yes and things get worse.
There was a pop-up Friday night devotion where we looked at Mark 4:3-8 and examined whether we are ready to leave some of our harvest for other to glean.
Separation from anything is not a comfortable thing to experience but it is natural. Today we discussed how God works through separation to get you where he wants you.
When Jesus called Levi, he left his tax both and followed Jesus. We looked at his story and asked which booths in our lives do we need to leave.
Abraham instructed his servant to go back to his homeland to find Isaac a wife. However, Abraham made it clear that he should never take Isaac back there because of God's promise. We looked at areas of our life that we should "never go back" to this morning.
Is not hiding or keeping himself a mystery. He wants to reveal himself to his people and today we looked at two different occasions that the risen Jesus revealed himself.
In John chapter 9 we discussed all the talk surrounding Jesus healing the blind man. These conversations revealed a lot the man, the people around him and Jesus.
We started Thanksgiving week setting the tone by adjusting our mindsets to things above and not on earthly things this Holiday.
Since we just turned out clocks back because of daylight savings time and enjoyed an extra hour of rest, we decided to take a look at what the Bible considers real rest.
In Exodus 32 & Numbers 14 God told Moses he would wipe out Israel and make a great nation through him (Moses). However, Moses declined. What caused Moses to walk away from God doing something greater in his life?
In Exodus we see Moses on Mount Sinai in God's presence, receiving instruction for Israel. He experiences this amazing time with God only to return to foolishness. We examined how to take what God gives us on the mountain and apply it to the valley foolishness.
In part 2 of "What Do I See When I See Me" we discuss the struggle of seeing the good in everyone else but not seeing it in ourselves.
In this two part series we examine Jesus' words in Luke 6:41-42 and try to avoid missing the "plank" in our eye and not to focus on the sawdust in someone else's.
The religious leaders constantly tried to set Jesus up. In Luke 6, Jesus turned the tables and "trapped the trappers".
Jesus stressed to his disciples the importance of prayer and persistence in a parable told in Luke 18. We examines this story and pulled out lesson for us to apply today.
We continued our verse by verse Bible Study of Job starting with Chapter 2 verse 11 through the end of Chapter 2.
We love the word "yes", but in John 7:1-10 we learned from Jesus the power of a strategic "no".
We continued our verse by verse bible study with Job chapter 1 verse 6 up to chapter 2 verse 10.
We began our verse by verse Bible Study of the book of Job with an introduction and studied Chapter 1 through verse 12.
Sometimes you feel (spiritually, mentally and emotionally) that you are in the middle of nowhere. In part three of our series "From This To That", we discuss how we should conduct ourselves while God is moving us from Glory to Glory.
We finished our study of Habakkuk in part 3. Studying Chapter 2 verse 4 through the end of chapter 3.
Sometimes you feel (spiritually, mentally and emotionally) that you are in the middle of nowhere. In part two of our series "From This To That", we discuss how we should conduct ourselves while God is moving us from Glory to Glory.
We continued our verse by verse Bible study of Habakkuk looking at chapter 2 verses 1 - 4.
Deliverance "out" of something is not the end of the story. It's often the beginning. God calls us out of something to bring us in to something else. However, the "you" that God brought out will not be the "you" that he takes in. He changes us in the process.
Romans 8:13 says For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. We discussed what it meant to put to death the flesh.
This resurrection Sunday we found encouragement from Jesus' encounter with the disciples that just because we missed it the first time, he will give us another chance.
Sometimes we look at love as a hard and complicated way to live. We examined how simple love is and ways we can walk in love even when life gets complicated.
The Bible says trials tests our faith and produces patience. Trials can be hard and uncomfortable to go through. Is patience really worth it? Absolutely.
Verse by verse Bible study of the book of Malachi from the introduction through Chapter 1.
Verse by verse Bible study of the book of Malachi from the Chapter 2 verse 1 through verse 10.
What does it mean to be a "cheerful giver". We discussed how being a "giver" is a matter of the heart.
We started the book of Jonah for our verse by verse Bible Study. This covers the introduction through chapter 1.
In Genesis 16, Hagar, Sarai & Abram found themselves in a big mess. We examined this story to learn how we can deal with our mess.
We examined 1 Samuel 16 and asked ourselves the question, "are we mourning what God has rejected".
Just because we approach a new year doesn't not mean God is done with what we said to you previously, In this lesson we are encouraged to not give up on what God promised, but to hold fast to our faith.
We discussed how Christmas is a great time of the year to connect, reconnect or check your connection to God.
In Luke 1, Zacharias and Elizabeth were described as righteous before God and walking in the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. However, they still had disappointments and doubts. In this message we are encouraged to not let the disappointments and struggles make us question our standing with God.
It's Thanksgiving week and we examined what it means to live out 1 Thessalonians 5:18; to give thanks in all things.
We continued our verse by verse bible study of Colossians. In these chapters we study the revelation of who Jesus is and tie it into the book of revelation.
We examine the importance of taking what we learn and doing it repeatedly as the key to our spiritual growth and maturity.
There are time when you feel as if you are overlooked, isolated or ignored. Be encouraged because Jesus has a track record of looking out for "the others".
We examined Jesus' encounter with a man who had leprosy to learn valuable lessons regarding coming to Jesus just as we are.
In John 15 Jesus explains that God is like a gardener who will prune the vines in order to produce more fruit. The cutting in our lives can be uncomfortable but it's needed. How do I live while God is cutting?
When David & his men came back to their city to see it in ruins and their families taken away, the Bible says the wept until they had no more power to weep. When we get to the point of "doing all we have the power to do", what's our next move?
After the deaths of actor Chadwick Boseman and legendary coach John Thompson Jr., we examine the biblical mandate to use our time here on earth wisely.
The Bible instructs us to not love the world, not to love anything in the world, to not be friends with the world and not to expect the world to be friends with us. However, what do I do when the world is inside of me?
We continued our verse by verse Bible study of the book of Ephesians picking up from chapter 1:19 through the entirety of chapter 2.
In part 7 of our verse by verse Bible study on the book of James we wrap things up starting at chapter 4 verse 11.
We continued our verse by verse study of the book of James picking up at chapter 4:1-10.
In Luke 19 Jesus wept over Jerusalem because their time of salvation had come but they didn't recognize it. We wanted to make sure that we are in the right place, position, posture and have the right perception to not miss God's work in our lives.
Are we more concerned with how we appear or the reality of who we are? Pastor Claude uses King Saul as an example of how we often times try to "keep up appearances".
In part 4 of our verse by verse bible study of the book of James we read and pull lessons from chapter 2.
In this lesson Pastor Claude shares important lessons from Peter's example of getting out of the boat and walking on water.
We continue with our verse by verse Bible Study of the book of James starting with chapter 1 verse 19 through chapter 1 verse 27.
When God delivers us "from" to take us "to" there will be new obstacles & challenges on the path there. In Exodus 15:22 we learn that God is more than able to carry us through whatever we face on the journey.
In part two of our verse by verse study of James, Pastor Claude takes us through the first 18 verses of chapter 1.
Pastor Rick begins our verse by verse study on the book of James. This lesson provides background information on the book of James.
What do you do when the same people who mistreated you now need you? Pastor Claude looked at Jephthah and Joseph as biblical examples.
We pick up our verse by verse bible study of Galatians from Chapter 1:8 - Chapter 2:15.
We began our Bible Study of the book of Galatians. We discussed Paul's reason for writing the book and examined the first 7 verses.
Psalm 37:23 says the steps of a good man are ordered by God. We examined Israel's journey through the wilderness to see how God directs our steps even through our mess.
God has called us all to the ministry of reconciliation where he is making his appeal to man through us. However we sometime feel as if we are not qualified. If we release what we have into God's hands it is more than enough.
What happens when there's a delay in the manifestation of things you prayed for? Can you continue to believe and speak your faith through the delay?
A man who was lame from birth was carried to a place outside the Temple daily where he begged for money. Money wasn't what he really needed, he needed a miracle.
There is a part of our release that is God's plan to move to a safer place. Pastor Claude explain in "Evacuation".
Releasing things that we consider valuable is not an easy thing to do. However we learned that whatever we "release" for the Jesus' and the Gospel's sake we will receive back 100 fold in this life and the next.
As we speak from our authority, faith and the Word of God, things in life may try to get us to be quiet. We learned how to speak and expect beyond the noise of life from the story of Bartimaeus.
God has work for us all to do as laid out in 2 Corinthians 5:18-20 and Ephesians 2:10. God is releasing us for Kingdom work "now".
In Part 4 of our release series Pastor Claude explains that the release may get uncomfortable but it's for our good.
As we boldly "speak those things" pertaining to our authority, faith and the word of God we must now live in expectation of the manifestation.
In release part 3, we look at the things we need to release in order to move into what God has for us.
In part 2 of our series on release, Pastor Claude discusses the keys to us receiving and recognizing what God is "RELEASING" to us.
Pastor Claude emphasizes the importance of what we say. We must speak from authority, speak our faith, speak what we believe and speak the word.
**SCRIPTURES
The power of the tongue is undeniable (Prov. 21:23; Prov. 18:21; James 1:26 & James 3:1-12).**
We Speak Over Things Which We Have Authority Over (Matthew 8:5-10)
We Speak Our Faith/What We Believe (Mark 11:22-25 & Matt 9:27-31)
We Speak The Word (Isaiah 55:10-11)
We Don't Ignore What I See, I Just Don't Speak. I Set My Attention On Things Above, That's What I Speak (2 Corinthians 4:17-18 & Colossians 3:1-4)
Pastor Claude explains that God revealed IMPACT is going through a period where they will experience "release".
Hebrews 11:6 says God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. Pastor Claude studied Mark 5:25-34, Matthew 8:5-11 and Luke 5:18-20 for examples of individuals who faith caused them to seek Jesus diligently.
Pastor Claude pulled lessons from the 2 followers of Jesus walking to Emmaus in Luke 24:13-32.
Pastor Claude examined the various reactions people had to Jesus' work and miracles in John 12.
Part 3 of the series "I'm Planted" focused on the importance of being planted by the waters.
In Matthew 21:1-6 Jesus sent two disciples to untie a donkey and a colt. He said if anyone asked them what they were doing to tell them "The Lord needs them". Pastor Rick examines our need to be untied in order to be used because "The Lord Needs Us".
For our weekday devotional, we continued in Jeremiah 17:7-8. Our focused in this devotion was being people who never cease to produce fruit!
In Revision Pt. we continue to examine God's plan for his people that no ear has heard, eye has seen or mind has conceived.
Jeremiah 17:7-8 says those who trust in the Lord and has confidence in him will be like a tree PLANTED by the waters. In part one of this weekday teaching on Jeremiah 17:7-8, we discuss what it means to be planted!
God still has things in store for his people that no ear has heard, eye has seen or mind has conceived. Are you willing to be "revised" in order to receive it?
In Patterns Part 4 Pastor Claude dives into Jesus' example on how to pray mirrored his life and teachings.
Part 3 of our series on patterns covers the prayer. We focus on Jesus' example of how to pray.
Pastor Rick teaches on the 3 mission staples of IMPACT Fellowship, GROW in our faith, GO tell the world about Jesus and IMPACT the world with good deeds in Jesus' name.
In this episode Pastor Claude goes over some of the notes from Saturday, May 18th's fellowship about obedience.
In 1 Kings 19 we see the once powerful prophet Elijah afraid, on the run and ultimately in a cave. The Lord spoke to him and asked a simple question, "What are you doing here Elijah". In this lesson, IMPACT Fellowship examines how Elijah got here and uses this as an example to come out of our "caves".