- Isaac, Jacob, Esau, and Joseph all persevered in their faith until the end of their lives, even though they did not see the fulfillment of God's promises to make their descendants a great nation or bring them to the Promised Land (vs. 20-22).
- Moses chose to obey God rather than men, rejecting sin and embracing righteousness. He recognized true riches are not earthly but spiritual, and he focused on God rather than worldly things (vs. 23-28).
- The document discusses the examples of Isaac, Jacob, Esau, Joseph, and Moses, explaining how their faith persevered until death and how Moses chose obedience to God over men and earthly
It Is For Freedom: Religion Minus Grace Equals CaptivityCompassChurch
If you could work your way to heaven, if there was a bunch of hoops you had to jump through, then who really gets the glory? You do! But I have news for you, God isn’t interested in your glory. He’s interested in his own glory, because he’s the only one worthy of glory.
This is the second message of Pastor Chuck Bernal's new series TRACTION. This message discusses how we can get "unstuck" from the things that keep us from moving forward. Using the nation of Israel as a case study, Pastor Chuck reveals 6 principles that will lead us to seize the future God has planned for each of us. This message was delivered on Sunday, January 17, 2016
It Is For Freedom: Religion Minus Grace Equals CaptivityCompassChurch
If you could work your way to heaven, if there was a bunch of hoops you had to jump through, then who really gets the glory? You do! But I have news for you, God isn’t interested in your glory. He’s interested in his own glory, because he’s the only one worthy of glory.
This is the second message of Pastor Chuck Bernal's new series TRACTION. This message discusses how we can get "unstuck" from the things that keep us from moving forward. Using the nation of Israel as a case study, Pastor Chuck reveals 6 principles that will lead us to seize the future God has planned for each of us. This message was delivered on Sunday, January 17, 2016
Winning is the American way... We are obsessed with it, whether is our favorite sports team, political figure, war etc... You name it, as Americans if it can be dominated, we want to do it...
Unless it's us.
This mentality, however, flies in the face of the Gospel of Christ.
In Mark 8:34-36 Jesus said “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel's will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul?
To win, we have to lose.
The world around us does not truly understand what love means separate and apart from God. God himself is love and without that model, mankind is left to construct its own definition which falls terribly short.
When we love as God instructs and models, then we understand its true sacrificial nature, contrasted to the selfish gratification of the world's definition.
Recognition of the difference will demand one of two outcomes - To either pick up your cross and bear it or be crushed by the weight of it...
Which will YOU choose?
This sermon will deal with Mercy, Justice and the simpleness of God's Grace that is often complicated by man.
As a society that has become driven by "rights", we find ourselves among many who demand equity, equality, and rights to whatever our heart desires. The cry is often " We want what is fair - We want Justice"...We should be very, very careful, for what we demand… God may just grant us what we have demanded.
I hope you can be with us tomorrow as we unpack a small portion of this topic to better acquaint ourselves with the Justice we deserve , but the Mercy we are granted and how that should motivate us to do accordingly.
No doubt, 2016 was a rough year for many and the turning of the New Year offers hope that better days will be ahead. Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, gives us an admonition in Ephesians 5:15-20 to help us see the truth about time, and a recipe for making the most of each day by recognizing the qualifiers of what a true Good day really is.
So often, we get caught up in looking for the better days, we fail to see that sometimes the hardest of days were actually the good ones.
Holy Matrimony - Marriage wont make you happyKeith Stonehart
Our culture loves nothing more than the Hollywoods depiction of love and marriage and that the most important thing, is happiness. If Happiness being the be all to end all of the institution and if happiness cannot be achieved - then move on and simply divorce and start over ...
But , this is not what God intended.
I hope you will be us as we unpack the the bible's simple and clear message in the purpose of marriage and why happiness is NOT the priority but should be the by product of a healthy one.
https://soundcloud.com/the-church-at-fultondale/marriage-wont-make-you-happy-by-keith-stonehart
Atheism is on the rise in America.There is nothing worse than living without hope , yet there are many who choose a belief system that offers no hope , no purpose , no value or meaning to the believer's life. Faith is a fragile thing. If you’re looking for reasons not to believe, they’re all around us. War. Poverty. Disease. Famine. Suffering. Tragedy.
The list goes on. .. But the faith it takes to believe in nothing is much more exhausting than the simple faith God requires ... Aren't you tired yet?
We hope to see you as we try to get to the "Heart of the Matter" regarding Atheism.
We harden ourselves to the effects of sin and call it strength , when in reality strong hands are not those that are calloused and tough , but tender and bleeding - but able to endure the pain…
True strength is found in our weakest moments.
True freedom is found between the safety of boundaries
True compassion is found in deliberate vulnerability…
What have we lost?
Racism is not new , yet abounding.
Chaos is not new , yet increasing .
Rage is not new , its as old as Genesis …
And these exist , because sin still exists and fighting sin with without Godly weapons is just warfare - but for who?
For You , and for me.
Our text paints a picture of a church; A picture which in many ways shows us why so many congregations today are in decline; a picture, not only of a church but of individual Christians who somewhere along the way allowed the mediocre to replace the best , in their spiritual lives.
We've accepted things as they , instead of how they SHOULD be.
I hope you can be with us , there will be room for you.
Come as you are , leave changed -
In 2 Chronicles 29 through chapter 31, Hezekiah reopened and cleansed the temple in Jerusalem and he invited all Israel to come to Zion, to the holy temple, to worship God.
After rededicating themselves to serving God, the people purged the land of idols.
Oh, that we would have the courage just to purge our hearts !
To purge ourselves of prejudice ,and the poison of pride !... To empty ourselves of ourselves and be filled with God and his Spirit!...
For the sake of peace , for the sake of unity , for the sake of saving the lost – what would you be willing to do?
Most of us are racist and don't even realize it , or prejudiced and don't see it , divisive or sectarian and deny it. In our rejecting to face our flaws and fix them , we reject the very Gospel that saved us!
How can we "be all things to all men" when we esteem ourselves better than others? How can we "live peaceably with ALL" when we look for bridges to burn , rather than mend? How can we possibly "Go into all the world and preach the Gospel" when we have made our world ,a small familiar circle?
If the Gospel confirmed anything other than the obvious , it confirmed that there is NO PLACE for racism , or prejudice in the Lord's body , mission, and purpose... NONE.
What have we become?
What have we let the media , politics, and FEAR do to us ,church?
Titus 2:11-12 " For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for ALL PEOPLE, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age ..."
Come join us tomorrow , and lets "Purge Our Temples" and give thanks to our mighty God that his salvation is for ALL people , EVERYWHERE.
Come as you are , leave changed...
"Breaking the Cycle of Selfishness - The Death of Me".
When I say "Me" , In part I really mean Me - I have been at times in my life very selfish and still struggle with the emptying of "self" to be full of "Christ"(Galatians 2:20) ... But , I also mean the mentality of the current generation - the "Me Generation" , or "Generation Y"...
1 Corinthians 13:4-5 says "Love is patient, and kind . It does not envy , or boast , it is not proud... It is not rude or self-seeking ,and not easily angered and keeps no record of past wrongs"
It is patient and kind - but it is not proud... It is not rude . nor selfish (self-seeking.)
Selfishness goes against everything that Jesus taught, but we are currently living in the most self-conscious society that has ever existed.
People are more concerned about themselves and their happiness than at any point in the history of our country. The promotion of homosexuality , transsexuality , the desire for Socialism , etc. expresses without question the concept that what matters most is what we "feel" , despite what is right or true.
The fact that I could be (and probably will be by some ) labeled a hateful bigot for the last sentence is just further evidence of the truth.
Looking at our society as a whole, we are seeing an entire generation - An entire culture , that puts the needs (but mostly wants )of the individual first , nor understand the concept of duty or sacrifice before self ...
The focus is all on "Me"
The Gospel of Christ then, should be "The Death of Me".
"It is not I who lives , but Christ who lives in me" - Galatians 2:20
There are 59"one anothers" in the bible. I think God is trying to tell us something.
God believes in community , because he is a community unto himself.
"The Unsaved" and the conversation that so many never get to have .
We live in dangerous times. Because of that , the excuses we make for not having the "uncomfortable"conversation simply can not exist anymore. Unsaved people are dying DAILY... and while we can not stop the cause of it , we can share the only truth about the result of it and where you can be , if you choose it.
Yes , Heaven is real , because GOD is real ... So it MATTERS.
It never fails to humor me the lengths that some in our country will go to in order to pin Christians as hateful and bigoted people ,when in fact , we are the complete opposite. This tactic has done wonders for diminishing the desire to share the Gospel of Christ with the Unsaved and lost , due to fear of being accused of such untruths.
No more.
The only truly evil we CAN do , is say nothing of Jesus Christ and him crucified , so that one can continue in their sin ,unbothered.
Yes , it is a free country... But freedom is not the RIGHT to do whatever you wish , but that have the freedom to do that which is RIGHT.
from the text of Acts 2:36-40 and Acts 7:51-54 to compare and contrast the necessity (yes , I said necessity) of being Offended.
It seems as though everything is offensive these days , and most often it comes in the form of a few demanding that all others submit in order to keep peace. Most recently , it would seem that many of our liberal friends have been offended by the show of concern , compassion and genuine love and care for the victims in the Orlando massacre due to the view of homosexuality that Christians hold in view of the Bibles teachings.
But as I and others have said and proven over and over again - disapproval of someones actions does not require me not to love that person. In fact - its quite the opposite.
IF I truly love , as the bible says I should ,then warning those that I believe to be in danger is not HATE as we are so often wrongly accused of , but the sincerest of expressions that I do in fact love and care for the individual! How hateful would it be, to see a truck barreling down the street and me allow it to run someone over without me screaming MOVE OUT OF THE WAY?!!!
But that is the truth , like it or not. We don’t like to hear the truth.
Today, truth is under fire. Today everyone gets to be right – and no one wants to be wrong.
But here is a fundamental problem: Everyone can’t be right.
In order for truth to be truth, it must be objective. It must come from something outside of individual preference, or truth is determined simply by the feelings of every man.
We don’t like to feel guilty. We don’t like to think we’ve missed the mark.
But where there is no wrong, there can be no right.
As comforting as it might be to think we can each determine truth for ourselves, the very nature of truth denies us that right.
And if truth comes from something outside of man, man then answers to that standard. Man answers to a higher power.
That offends us.
Come , and be offended with us as we look to God's standard , to the truth and let it affect us at our core!
One group of men heard the truth on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 , and they were moved to change...
Another group of men heard the same truth when Stephen was seized in Acts 7 ,and they were moved to kill him...
Both groups of men were offended , but one responded in humbleness and humility - the other in pride and selfishness.
Which will you be?
No doubt , this is and always has been a controversial topic. One perspective says we should be led by our hearts and feelings and the other says to trust our brains and logical choices. What I think we tend to miss , is the answer is neither one alone - but the perfect union of the head and the heart together- this is where your soul lives - right in the middle of you.
In David’s great psalm of repentance after he had committed adultery with Bathsheba, Psalm 51, he continually calls for God to return and awaken emotion within him.
He prays, “Let me hear joy and gladness. … Restore to me the joy of your salvation.”
Part of repentance is returning to a delight in the Lord; it is also mourning the places we have grieved Him.
Grieving , mourning and delight are the emotional part of repentance – turning away from sin and doing something else , something better - That is the decision part.
For the most part , it's impossible to separate how we “feel” about something and what we “choose “to do about it... But understanding the difference is what the wisdom of God's word provides , because he never intended for us to live life"Numb" .
If you've lost your "joy" ,he is the only one who can restore it
God's law was given out of his love for us ...Our response to love is to obey it. Clearly , the bible is not about law,but love... Too have painted Gods love into a box labeled law , but we are not to be lawyers , but lovers. Lawyers look for loopholes , lovers look for opportunities .
Which will you be?
In Jude 17-23 Jude shifts from piling up examples of false teachers from the Old Testament to a series of practical exhortations that flow from apostolic instruction. He preserves for us what may well have been part of the apostolic catechism for the first generation of Christ-followers. In these instructions Jude exhorts the believer to deal with 3 different groups of people: scoffers who are "devoid of the Spirit", believers who have come under the influence of scoffers and believers who are so entrenched in false teaching that they need rescue and pose some real spiritual risk for the rescuer. In all of this Jude emphasizes Jesus' call to rescue straying sheep, leaving the 99 safely behind and pursuing the 1.
Homily: The Solemnity of the Most Holy Trinity Sunday 2024.docxJames Knipper
Countless volumes have been written trying to explain the mystery of three persons in one true God, leaving us to resort to metaphors such as the three-leaf clover to try to comprehend the Divinity. Many of us grew up with the quintessential pyramidal Trinity structure of God at the top and Son and Spirit in opposite corners. But what if we looked at this ‘mystery’ from a different perspective? What if we shifted our language of God as a being towards the concept of God as love? What if we focused more on the relationship within the Trinity versus the persons of the Trinity? What if stopped looking at God as a noun…and instead considered God as a verb? Check it out…
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way.pptxCelso Napoleon
Lesson 9 - Resisting Temptation Along the Way
SBs – Sunday Bible School
Adult Bible Lessons 2nd quarter 2024 CPAD
MAGAZINE: THE CAREER THAT IS PROPOSED TO US: The Path of Salvation, Holiness and Perseverance to Reach Heaven
Commentator: Pastor Osiel Gomes
Presentation: Missionary Celso Napoleon
Renewed in Grace
The Chakra System in our body - A Portal to Interdimensional Consciousness.pptxBharat Technology
each chakra is studied in greater detail, several steps have been included to
strengthen your personal intention to open each chakra more fully. These are designed
to draw forth the highest benefit for your spiritual growth.
The PBHP DYC ~ Reflections on The Dhamma (English).pptxOH TEIK BIN
A PowerPoint Presentation based on the Dhamma Reflections for the PBHP DYC for the years 1993 – 2012. To motivate and inspire DYC members to keep on practicing the Dhamma and to do the meritorious deed of Dhammaduta work.
The texts are in English.
For the Video with audio narration, comments and texts in English, please check out the Link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF2g_43NEa0
What Should be the Christian View of Anime?Joe Muraguri
We will learn what Anime is and see what a Christian should consider before watching anime movies? We will also learn a little bit of Shintoism religion and hentai (the craze of internet pornography today).
The Book of Joshua is the sixth book in the Hebrew Bible and the Old Testament, and is the first book of the Deuteronomistic history, the story of Israel from the conquest of Canaan to the Babylonian exile.
The Good News, newsletter for June 2024 is hereNoHo FUMC
Our monthly newsletter is available to read online. We hope you will join us each Sunday in person for our worship service. Make sure to subscribe and follow us on YouTube and social media.
4. “By Faith”
• Isaac , Jacob, Esau and Joseph (vs. 20-22)
– They persevered to the end of their days and their
faith did not waver even in the face of death.
– They did not live to see the fulfillment of God's
promises to make of them a great nation and to
bring them into the Promised Land.
• Isaac died a Nomad (Genesis 35:27-28)
• Jacob died as an exile in Egypt ( Genesis 47,48)
• Joseph died as a great figure and a stranger in
a foreign land as well (Genesis 50:22-26).
5. “By Faith”
• Moses – (11:23-28)
- Faith chooses obedience to God over Men
- We Must choose to obey God over man! – (Acts 5:29)
- Faith chooses righteousness over Sin
- Refuse to allow the world to define you - (vs. 24)
- Reject sin and embrace righteousness - (vs.25)
- Faith recognizes true riches and not earthly gain
- Count things as they really are (vs.26)
- “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial for
when he has stood the test ,he will receive a crown that
has promised to those who love him.” – (James 1:12)
6. “By Faith”
• Moses – (11:23-28)
– Faith focuses on God (vs. 27)
- Moses as well as the Apostles serve as examples
- Our focus is on what the world cannot see
- By staying in the word – (Psalm 119:11 ,50 )
- Draw strength from prayer –( Colossians 1:3-11 ,4:2-3)
- We see him by his faithfulness – (Psalm 143:5)
- “I remember the days of old;
I meditate on all that you have done;
I ponder the work of your hands ”
7. “By Faith”
• Moses – (11:23-28)
- Faith follows the path of Victory!
- The path of victory is the path of obedience (v. 28).
- We must obey even when obedience does not appeal
to us.
- God’s way is repulsive to the physical senses.(Blood …)
- We must obey when religious culture says otherwise
- Current religious mindset wants salvation its own way
- God’s way is by faith (Ephesians 2:8-10)
11. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me
your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my
works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons
believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person,
that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father
justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You
see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed
by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham
believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was
called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and
not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the
prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent
them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is
dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
James 2:18-26