2018

December 16, 2018

Living Water and Loving Worship, part 2

Sometimes we fall into the same trap of thinking that worship is about a place, practice, or posture. It is not. It’s about the Lord. We call this the Worship Center, but there’s nothing more holy or sacred about this place than your prayer closet where you worship the Lord all alone. Or there’s nothing more sacred about this place you’re your kitchen table where you have family devotions. My automobile is a worship center, because every Sunday morning on my way here I am singing praises to God.

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December 2, 2018

Living Water and Loving Worship, part 1

Whether you are looking for satisfaction in possessions, pleasure, prestige, or power–you will never be satisfied. All those pursuits are like the liquid water Jesus spoke about: You can drink it and feel refreshed momentarily but you will still get thirsty again. But He offers something so radical and powerful that once you experience it, you will find absolute and total satisfaction.

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November 25, 2018

Three Strikes and You’re NOT Out!

To borrow some baseball lingo, the Samaritan woman wasn’t close to being in the ballpark of the Kingdom of God. She was socially, racially, and morally way off base. But Jesus knocked it out of the park by telling her about living water. And for the Samaritan woman, it was a whole new ball game.

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November 18, 2018

The Great Commission or the Great Omission?

What is your part? Everyone can pray. Everyone can love lost people. Everyone can give something, some a little and some a lot. And some of you are hearing God’s call to leave your comfort zone to discover the adventure of being on mission for your Creator.

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October 21, 2018

Three “Musts” You Can Trust

The Pharisees not only had to keep the laws of the Torah, but also obey all the laws written to explain the laws of the Torah. For instance, it was determined that tying a knot on the Sabbath constituted work. But there was an exception. A woman could tie a sash around her waist to remain modest. So this exception led to a loophole. If a man needed to get water from the well on a Sabbath and the bucket wasn’t tied to the rope, he couldn’t tie the rope; that was work. But he could tie one end of a woman’s sash to the rope and the other end to the bucket. That’s a loophole.

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October 7, 2018

Attitudes for a Successful Life

We don’t want to follow the example of these lousy best men. We want to be like John the Baptist. We are friends of the groom, and we should commit our lives to making the bridegroom famous. Remember it’s not about me and it’s not about you—it’s all about Jesus. And when you come to understand who you are in relationship with Jesus, all your other relationships will be healthier.

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September 23, 2018

Come to the Light

Once we hear the truth about the good news of God’s forgiveness, it is like someone turning on a light in our soul. We’ve all seen the cartoons where a light bulb flashes on above a character’s head when they have an idea. That’s what happens when we receive the truth about Jesus. It’s like walking out of the darkness into the light. Suddenly, we can see everything clearly. Salvation occurs when Jesus moves us from the darkness into His glorious light.

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September 16, 2018

Bad News–Good News

As Christians, we sometimes take devious pleasure in condemning the behavior of those who are living in sin. Let’s be like Jesus. We don’t condone their sin, but neither do we condemn them. We point them to a God of mercy who wants to forgive them.

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September 9, 2018

The Turning Point of Human History

The reason the Bible is such a long book is because God never gave up on us. It is the story of His repeated efforts to restore this loving relationship that our sin had broken. Otherwise the Bible could have been a short book. God created human beings because He wanted to love them. They didn’t love Him back. The end. But instead He kept trying and wouldn’t give up—and He won’t give up on you.

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August 19, 2018

Look and Live!

Here is one of the best examples of God’s grace in the Old Testament. The Israelites, who had a proven track record of rebellion, unbelief, and nagging didn’t deserve a cure for the snake bites. But because it is God’s nature, God graciously provided a means for healing. He had Moses make a brass snake and put it on a pole. Then God said, “Whoever looks at the serpent will be healed.”

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August 5, 2018

How Many Times Have You Been Born?

Education can help you get a good job, and earn degrees, but it won’t get you into heaven. You can have more degrees behind your name than a thermometer, but if you aren’t born again that just means you’ll go to hell as an educated person, one who never found the truth.

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July 22, 2018

The Third Temple Exists Today

Jesus cleaned house. He had the right to do it. It was the right of ownership. It was His Father’s house. If I come over to your house and it’s dirty, I’m not going to start cleaning it up. But I see something in my house that needs cleaning up I will take care of it as soon as my wife tells me to!

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July 15, 2018

Jesus Saves the Best for Last

I like the fact that this was a quiet miracle. Because miracles don’t have to be loud to be miracles. There was no word of command, no hysterical shouting, no laying on of hands, or the binding of Satan. There was no hocus-pocus or mumbo jumbo. Jesus didn’t even touch the water. The water simply became wine.

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July 8, 2018

Jesus: A Man’s Man

Jesus looks at you today and sees your true spiritual potential. He sees men, women, boys and girls who can become champions for Christ. You may think you don’t have many abilities or skills to serve God, but He will shape you and mold you to do whatever He calls you to do.

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June 17, 2018

Look to the Lamb of God

There were two miracles that occurred at Jesus’ baptism. First, the Holy Spirit could be seen descending on Jesus like a dove. The next miracle was the voice of God affirming Jesus as His son.

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June 10, 2018

John the Baptist: The Great I AM NOT

John the Baptist was a curious looking preacher. His attire was unusual, too. There was much about him that created curiosity as well. He had never cut his hair or beard. He wore a camel hair coat with a leather belt. He ate locusts and wild honey. Matthew and Mark tell us that huge crowds flocked out into the desert to hear him. Yet John the Baptist was so humble even he didn’t realize the full extent of how God was using him as the forerunner of the Messiah.

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June 3, 2018

Full of Grace and Truth

When Jesus appeared, God’s grace appeared. And in verse sixteen it says that we have received grace upon grace. That carries with it the idea that God’s grace keeps being poured out into our hearts.

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May 27, 2018

Receive to Believe

Now what does it mean to “receive Jesus?” The word “receive” simply means to welcome in. It’s like when someone comes to your front door and you invite him or her to come in.

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May 20, 2018

Light and Life to All He Brings

Everyone you meet this week is in one of three positions regarding the light. Some are walking in the light as He is in the light. Those folks know the Lord. Some you meet aren’t walking IN the light, but they are walking TOWARD the light. They are interested in knowing the truth about Jesus. Your job is to lovingly point them to Jesus. But then you are going to meet some people who have turned their backs and are walking away from the light. And they are at risk of dying without ever finding the truth about salvation.

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May 13, 2018

In the Beginning

Ornithologists estimate there are about 100 billion common sparrows on the planet and that about 40 million sparrows die every day. In Matthew 10 Jesus says not a single sparrow falls to the ground outside the Father’s care. And we are worth more than many sparrows.

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April 29, 2018

Yesterday: What Do You Believe In?

When you drive you have a tiny rearview mirror and you have a huge windshield. Which one are you spending most of your time looking into? Living life looking in the rearview mirror can be dangerous. Yesterday is a great place to visit, but a terrible place to live.

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April 15, 2018

Let it Be

Mary submitted to God’s plan for her life. But her submission to God also led to God initiating the salvation of the world. There were three powerful forces at work in the conversation between Gabriel and Mary and these are the same three forces at work in personal salvation.

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April 8, 2018

Offering the Sacrifice of Praise

When it comes to praise, we can’t just THINK praiseworthy thoughts about God, we must express these thoughts with our lips—it must be verbal and vocal. It’s not enough to have a feeling of gratitude to God; you don’t complete the praise requirement until it is sung or spoken. An inner attitude of gratitude is the root of praise, but it doesn’t become praise it until it becomes the fruit of praise expressed by our lips.

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April 1, 2018

Jesus Christ is the SAME Forever!

Is death the end and there is no afterlife as Dr. Stephen Hawking claimed? Or as Dr. Billy Graham said, is there an afterlife where we may spend eternity with God in a place called heaven? Both of them cannot be correct. And the most important decision in your short life is to decide which position is correct.

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March 25, 2018

God’s Promise to Provide

Are you satisfied with what you have? That’s contentment. And contentment is the greatest tent you’ll ever live in. There are some people who can never be content or satisfied. They are always wanting more, so they can never enjoy what they have today.

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March 18, 2018

Putting Your Faith to Work

God put us in this world to deliver his message to others. And we do this by putting our faith to work. Hospitality, prison ministry, and marriage may seem to be three random topics. But they all show us how believers relate to others. First, our relationship to strangers should be one of hospitality. Second, our relationship with prisoners and those mistreated should be one of compassion and caring. And third, our relationship in marriage should be one of commitment and purity.

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March 11, 2018

The Unshakable Kingdom

This planet has experienced thousands of earthquakes, but according to the Bible, there really will be a final “Big One.” But it won’t just happen in California. It will be an event that affects the whole planet—and even the heavens.

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March 4, 2018

Don’t Miss the Mountain!

Bitterness is created when you harbor a hurt in your heart. Love keeps no record of wrongs. Bitterness writes down every single slight and offense. Bitterness is like an iceberg. You can only see the cold top of an iceberg, but most of it is submerged Bitterness exists when you have a cold heart toward someone, yet most of the resentment is still below the surface.

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February 18, 2018

Submitting to God’s Sandpaper

Sometimes God has to use some heavenly sandpaper to smooth out our rough edges. It’s not a pleasant experience. Sometimes He has to use coarse sandpaper, sometimes He uses finer sandpaper. But He is just preparing us for His wonderful finish to be applied to our lives.

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January 21, 2018

Can You Trust the Bible? Part 2

Have you ever had this experience? You’re reading along in the Bible, and you are studying a passage of scripture you’ve read many times before. And suddenly, you see truth in that passage you had never experienced before. That has happened to me hundreds of times. Do you know what is happening? God is breathing life into His Word in your presence.

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