By Stewart Holloway You are going to die. You can live forever. Both statements are true, but the first is certainly made more palpable by the second! During the message I shared with my church recently, we looked at John 5:19-30 as we considered Jesus' claims of himself.  We concluded that because Jesus is Who He says He is you can have everlasting life and avoid condemnation. Jesus’ bold claim in this passage is that He is equal with the Father. Such a powerful claim has powerful implications. First, it means Jesus has the power to give us life (v. 21) - life both now and later! Second, it means Jesus has the authority to judge us (vv. 22-23).  Verse 24 reminds us that how you are judged then depends on what you do with Jesus now. Not only can you have life now and later. But your now determines your later. This life determines that life. This life determines eternity. There are three facts about the final judgment that come out clearly in this passage: There will be life after death. Every person will be affected by the judgment. Humanity will fall into two, and only two, categories – saved and condemned. Into which category do you fall? Do you believe Jesus is Who He says He is? Are you … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey Children and adults alike want to know: “What is Heaven like?” The Apostle John wrote of the impossibility of knowing all things and the assurance that we will be with God and that we will be changed: “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:20). What will heaven be like? What can we know for sure? First, heaven will be a place where all the former things will pass away. “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning 0r crying in pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:4). We will no longer deal with the issues caused by our fallen, sinful nature. Our bodies as well as our relationships will be different. Second, we shall be in the presence of perfect love. The Apostle John also describes how perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18). When we are with God we will be in the presence of perfect love because God is love 1 John 4:8). Heaven will be a place where love, joy, and peace will be not only abundant but also complete in every way. Can you imagine a place with perfect love, … [Read more...]

By Rick Warren “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature” (Luke 8:14 NIV). You can’t hear God if your mind is crowded with other thoughts or concerns — particularly worries, plans, and activities. If we’re always listening to the radio or watching tv, the circuits are going to be busy when God calls us. We have to eliminate distractions. Jesus says in Luke 8:7, “Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants”(CEV). The kind of soil with weeds in it was actually planted with a crop that begins to grow. But as it grows, weeds grow up around it, and the weeds begin to choke out the life of the vegetable or the plant, so it never bears fruit. Here’s what Jesus says is the meaning of Luke 8:7: “The seed that fell among thorns stands for those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by life’s worries, riches and pleasures, and they do not mature” (Luke 8:14 NIV). There are three things that choke out hearing God: Worry. Worries are weeds. When you’re so busy with the problems and pressures of daily living, it makes it harder to hear God. Riches. You can … [Read more...]

By Rick Warren “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.” - (Psalm 139:16 NIV). God knows everything about your faults and failures and your feelings and frustrations, and he also knows what your tomorrow holds. He knows your future. The Bible says that even before you were born, God knew all of your future: “Your eyes saw my unformed body; all the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be” (Psalm 139:16 NIV). From his perspective, God can see past, present, and future all at once. That should give us great confidence in God. It’s comforting to me that he knows everything that is going to happen in my life. He not only knows about the future, he’s also there in the future. He not only walks with us day by day, he can also walk in our future. God is already prepared for everything you’re going to face tomorrow, next week, and next month. What the future holds may surprise us, but it doesn’t surprise God. Nothing ever catches him by surprise or makes him say, “Oh, really?” Next month or next year, you may be faced with a crisis, and you may ask, “What’s happening? Where is God?” God’s been there all … [Read more...]

By Steve Horn Five miracles happened as Jesus hung on the cross. The day became night, symbolizing Jesus taking the sin of history upon Himself. Next, the temple veil was split from top to bottom, symbolizing a new covenant of salvation available and accessible to all. Today, we examine the third miracle. Matthew reported an earthquake. I believe that this “splitting of the rocks” points back to a statement Jesus made to the Pharisees as He was welcomed into Jerusalem on the Sunday before that Friday. Luke provides the details of the entry into Jerusalem as recorded in Luke 19: “And as he went, they spread their clothes in the way. And when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen; Saying, Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest. And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” When we collaborate the accounts from Matthew and Luke, we … [Read more...]

By Stewart Holloway Face it. As a leader, you are going to to get frustrated . . . aggravated . . . and just plain out mad. Some preachers might say, "I am so grieved in my spirit", but they're just trying to cover the fact that they are ticked off! Things aren't going to go as you had hoped. People are going to disappoint. Nay sayers are going to say. Complainers are going to complain. "Haters gonna hate, hate, hate, hate, hate." (Thank you, Taylor Swift). It happens to all of us. Preachers have "preacher Mondays." That's when we want to quit because Sunday didn't go quite like we had hoped. Maybe bankers have banker blues, and lawyers have lawyer lulls. I don't know what you call it when you've had enough, but you have those times. And, guess what? It's o.k. Really? Yes! On Wednesday nights at our church, I've been teaching through Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers. These books of the Old Testament cover the story of God, with the assistance of Moses, leading the Israelites out of Egypt and toward the Promised Land. I've been interested to notice how many times Moses got ticked at the Israelites. I mean, sling some spit, kick a cat, scream in a pillow mad! A couple of times he even tells God, … [Read more...]

By Waylon Bailey Jesus taught revolutionary ideas. Because of this, even His own disciples had to ask what His parables and teaching meant. They also seemed to be bothered that the Pharisees had been offended by the teaching of Jesus (Matthew 15:1-21). What did Jesus teach that seemed to turn everything upside down? Jesus defined religion differently from the Jews of His day. They saw religion as rules and regulations to be followed. They wanted everyone to conform to their teachings–even those which did not come from Holy Scripture. For example, they were disturbed and agitated that the disciples of Jesus did not wash before they ate. It’s important to note that this was not a cleanliness requirement. They didn’t know about disease and germs. What bothered them was that the disciples of Jesus did not follow the decrees of man! Jesus instead pointed out the decrees of God. The Pharisees were much better at keeping man’s laws than God’s laws. In fact, the teaching of Jesus made that clear. They also seemed to want to keep man’s laws more than God’s. For that reason, Jesus called them out for their hypocrisy. Jesus reminded His own disciples that it is not the outward but the inward that is most important. It … [Read more...]