Description:
Worshipping in spirit and in truth!
40 Podcasts:
 1. 2010-02-24T10_54_42-08_00.mp3 (played times)
2. 2010-02-16T10_12_32-08_00.mp3 (played times)
3. 2010-03-09T10_59_36-08_00.mp3 (played times)
4. 2010-03-17T11_14_00-07_00.mp3 (played times)
5. 2010-03-24T08_03_14-07_00.mp3 (played times)
6. 2010-04-06T12_25_25-07_00.mp3 (played times)
7. 2010-04-13T11_20_29-07_00.mp3 (played times)
8. 2010-04-20T06_31_01-07_00.mp3 (played times)
9. 2010-04-27T10_29_58-07_00.mp3 (played times)
10. 2010-05-04T09_42_02-07_00.mp3 (played times)
11. 2010-05-11T06_51_09-07_00.mp3 (played times)
12. 2010-05-18T12_55_01-07_00.mp3 (played times)
13. 2010-05-24T07_35_04-07_00.mp3 (played times)
14. 2010-06-03T06_14_48-07_00.mp3 (played times)
15. 2010-06-07T12_17_25-07_00.mp3 (played times)
16. 2010-02-07T07_21_24-08_00.mp3 (played times)
17. 2010-02-02T10_46_25-08_00.mp3 (played times)
18. 2010-01-19T07_33_43-08_00.mp3 (played times)
19. 2010-01-07T06_35_41-08_00.mp3 (played times)
20. 2009-11-24T11_16_18-08_00.mp3 (played times)
21. 2009-11-18T06_54_35-08_00.mp3 (played times)
22. 2009-10-28T07_36_12-07_00.mp3 (played times)
23. 2009-09-17T07_43_20-07_00.mp3 (played times)
24. 2009-07-30T07_29_43-07_00.mp3 (played times)
25. 2009-03-30T07_33_04-07_00.mp3 (played times)
26. 2009-03-23T07_18_17-07_00.mp3 (played times)
27. 2009-03-17T08_54_04-07_00.mp3 (played times)
28. 2009-03-10T11_36_10-07_00.mp3 (played times)
29. 2009-01-27T07_06_44-08_00.mp3 (played times)
30. 2008-12-17T11_04_19-08_00.mp3 (played times)
31. 2008-12-09T07_57_37-08_00.mp3 (played times)
32. 2008-12-02T07_27_17-08_00.mp3 (played times)
33. 2008-07-25T10_57_42-07_00.mp3 (played times)
34. 2008-08-20T06_00_15-07_00.mp3 (played times)
35. 2010-06-30T06_45_36-07_00.mp3 (played times)
36. 2010-07-07T07_48_34-07_00.mp3 (played times)
37. 2010-07-13T07_42_02-07_00.mp3 (played times)
38. 2010-07-16T06_25_42-07_00.mp3 (played times)
39. 2010-07-21T11_07_56-07_00.mp3 (played times)
40. 2010-07-27T11_41_01-07_00.mp3 (played times)
Content:
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Preaching IS Worship -- 1 Corinthians 1.17-31
Is preaching really worship? You hear me say often that life is worship. Every aspect of life reveals what Christ is worth to you. The principle may be applied to preaching. The goal of preaching is to exalt Christ so as the make the hearer a worshiper or to refine the hearer's worship. The aim of true preaching is to encourage and instruct the hearer to make Christ of supreme value in every area of life. The Biblical principle behind this is the law of the seed and the fruit: you reap what you sow. If the result of true preaching is worship, then preaching itself must be worship.
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Creation
We are confronted every day with the reality of the universe and thus a Creator. People today are concerned about our environment. Politics have turned our attentions in recent years to the issue of environmentalism, we must be sure that we understand exactly what is at stake in the discussion. Genesis 1-2 addresses man's responsibility in this matter. We must turn to the Scriptures to find answers for man's responsibility. How are we to understand this world in which we live? How are we to use the resources that this earth contains? If use of the earth's resources is an issue revolving around origins, so also do many other issues. Do we believe the Bible? Can we know for sure right from wrong? How do we relate to each other? Can we even have a relationship with our Creator? Genesis 1-3 answers all of these legitimate questions.
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Psalm 55 -- It Is Not My Enemy Who Taunts Me
I do not know for a fact, but I am sure that there are several people in this room today who are hurting because betrayal at this time or in the very recent past. I am going through such a time at this moment in my extended family. If you have ever been betrayed, you doubtlessly remember the time all too well. You may find a little comfort in the knowledge that your thoughts and emotions are ordinary. We will discover that David thought many of the things that you are or were thinking. Times of betrayal ultimately point us to our betrayal of Gods love, and His love seems to shine all the brighter because of our treachery against Him. Such times of gloom and despair ought to cause us to draw closer to the One who never has and never will betray or abandon us. One author writes,
The heart-rending passages on the betrayal give us added insight into the sufferings of Christ, and at the same time into His self-mastery and redemptive attitude, in such a situation as gave David every reason to appeal for judgment.
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Why Should I Believe the Bible: The Inspiration of the Bible -- 2 Timothy 3.16-17
When we approach the Bible, we may ask four basic questions, assuming the existence of God. First, can I know the mind of God? The answer is, 'Yes, but only if God reveals Himself.' The issue at stake with the first question is called revelation -- God's self-disclosure to mankind. Second, can I trust the mind of God? The answer is, 'Yes, but only if what God told us about Himself is true.' The issue at stake here is inspiration -- God's accurate revelation to mankind. Third, can I understand the mind of God? The answer is 'Yes, but only if God explains Himself to you.' The issue at state with the third question is called illumination -- God's self-clarification to mankind. Fourth, can I guarantee that my descendants will have the mind of God? The logical assumption is that we already know and possess God's thoughts. The answer is 'Yes, but only if God protects His Word.' The issue at stake with the fourth question is known as preservation -- God's self-conservation for mankind.
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Jesus Did As Much for Me
It was the crucible of freedom in Valley Forge which gave our military hardened resolve to endure hardship for the cause of freedom. After surviving the harsh winter in Valley Forge, enduring the hardship of battle seemed almost to be a cakewalk in comparison. One incident in the Valley Forge experience shines a brilliant spotlight on the reason why America is indeed still a free country.
This is part four in a series of messages called God's Sovereign Hand in Our Sovereign Land.
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How Do We Know What Is Fundamental?
Why are the doctrines that were listed the fundamental doctrines? After all, godly men and women disagree on the application of these doctrines. For example, we may have fellowship with a church who disagrees with our beliefs about the mode of baptism, but we cannot have fellowship with a church who believes that baptism is an avenue of salvation. What makes these doctrines so essential? How do we determine what the lines of demarcation and separation are? Over the next few minutes, we will look at a few Biblical principles by which we may know what is essential.
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Things Can Only Get Better: The Bible's Story
Since the Bible records God's dealings with humanity, the Bible tells us how God's glory intersects human existence. Revelation 4:11 says, Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created. You and I and everything that we can see were created to exist exclusively to glorify God. The Bible also tells us how mankind rebelled against his purpose, plunging himself into judgment. The story does not end there. God saw mankind in his need and offered Himself to bring man back into a position where he can willingly glorify God. We call this offering of God redemption. The majority of the Bible tells us this story of redemption. Redemption is not the end of the story though. The end of the story is the restoration of all that exists to a place where God is once again the center of all worship. While all things will ultimately focus upon the all-glorious God, there is one truth that impacts the way you live today. If you take one truth from this message, I want you to take the following: You must do all to the glory of God.
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The History of Love (The Bible's Story)
If we are going to mature in our Christian walk, we must do so through a progressive growth in our love for God. We cannot know God without possessing love for Him. John wrote, We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4.19) The purpose of this message is simple. I want to encourage you with the revelation of Gods love. As we look at God as He reveals Himself in His Word, we learn that God is indeed a God of love. We also learn that our purpose on this earth is to reflect the love of God. As we learn of Gods love, we can only respond with love. You must give your undivided love to God.
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Don't Get Too Excited! -- Hosea 9
When we imagine God as we want Him to be, He becomes, as one commentator writes, 'distanced from consciousness.' Because we must imagine God to be something, our contrived conceptions of God stir hatred in us. When we hate God, He will depart from us. In other words, God departs from us because we have lost our passion for Him. If you take one truth from this message, I want you to take the following: You must be passionate about Christ.
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We Would See Jesus -- John 12.20-26
Greeks wanted to see Jesus, and Christ spoke cryptic words in response to the Gentile believers. The words Christ spoke were in essence Christ's self-portrait. How can we know what revival looks like? How can we know when revival occurs? We will know revival has occurred when we simply obey Jesus because we have seen Him exalted. Your measure of faith and obedience will only come to the measure that you see Christ. If you take one truth from this message, I want you to take the following: You must see Jesus.
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Rizpah: The Undying Devotion of a Mother's Love
2 Samuel 21 records for us the second occurrence of Rizpah in the Bible. Fourteen verses tell us a tragic and heartbreaking story of this mothers love. We will see that Rizpah did something very extraordinary on behalf of her deceased sons. There is one simple truth that you may take from the tragic story we will study today. You must learn from the devotion of Rizpah to her sons.
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Your Calf Stinks: The Danger of God-forgetfulness -- Hosea 8
We can forget God; we can put Him aside as if He ceased to exist in our knowledge. We are sadly deluded if we think that we never could forget God. As a matter of fact, we have all forgotten God at one time or another. Sometimes we have forgotten Him for long periods of time; sometimes we forgot Him for just a second or two. No matter how long, each person in this room has forgotten God at some point or another. So, if you take one truth from this message, I want you to take the following: You must not forget God.
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An Overheated Oven, a Half-cooked Pancake, and a Broken Bow -- Hosea 7
We have big things in our lives for which we pray: big problems and important situations. We need for a important situation to go our way, so we pray. We are faced with an overwhelming problem, so we pray. The problem is that we do not pray for the small things also. We take those things under our own control. Like Oscar, we never put our full weight on Christ. We give God certain things, but we keep certain things for ourselves. The fact of the matter is that we either trust God or we don't.
We have a Christ who is sufficient to meet every situation we will face, whether it is in our church, our country, and even our personal lives. Christ is Lord of all, not just Lord of the big and significant. If you take one truth from this message, I want you to take the following: You must trust only in the Lord.
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I Delight in Your Knowledge of Me -- Hosea 6
There can be no real, permanent change unless repentance occurs. Repentance means to turn 180 degrees from an original course of action to do the opposite. Repentance is all well and good, but that is what you were already doing. You were not doing wrong, but were you doing the right thing in its place? What is the right course of action? The right course of action is not merely not doing wrong; the right course of action is the pursuit of the knowledge of the Lord. If you take one truth from this message, I want you to take the following: You must know the Lord in all that you do.
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In Your Presence Is Fullness of Joy -- Psalm 16.8-11
The psalmist declares that the resurrection of the Messiah, who we know to be Jesus Christ, is a source of great joy. This is an amazing statement to make when you read the first part of the psalm. Look at verse one with me. Preserve me, O God, for I take refuge in You. The psalmist fled to the Lord to find refuge from his problems. Look at verse seven. I will bless the LORD who has counseled me; Having fled to the Lord for protection, the psalmist also found wisdom in the Lord's counsel. Although you can sense the tension in the first seven verses, you can also find a serenity that cannot be attributed to anything but the Lord. The same is true of every believer this morning. Though we may face many troubles in this life, the Lord is the only source of our joy. If you take one truth from this message, I want you to take the following: Because of Christ's resurrection, you can have joy in times of trouble.
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The Hope of a Tree -- Job 14.7-15
We find a man in the Old Testament whose eyes were ever lifted upward. He knew quite well of the power of Christs resurrection. Job said in chapter nineteen, I know that my Redeemer lives. He possessed a settled assurance that his Redeemer awaited him in Heaven. A man who lived approximately 4,000 years before Christs death and resurrection knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that a resurrection awaited him after death because his Redeemer lives. If I were to use one word to summarize Jobs life, it would have to be the word hope. This is a rather ironic summary of Jobs life when one considers the immense suffering and loss that Job experienced. Despite the tragedy which surrounded him, Job maintained a vibrant hope because he knew that this life was not all there is to human existence.
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The Cross and Prayer -- Hebrews 10.19-22
The Puritan preacher Thomas Watson wrote, Christ went more readily [to the cross], than we do to the throne of grace. Christ went to the Cross knowing with divine omniscience exactly what it all meant. Christ went to the Cross knowing that the Cross meant full surrender. You must surrender all you are to Christ to have an effective prayer life.
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Keep Out! Polluted by Ignorance! -- Hosea 4
In Hosea 4, we see an ignorance which should have caused great shame. Israel was ignorant of Jehovah. As shameful as Israel's ignorance was, even more shameful was that Israel was ignorant that they should have been ashamed in the first place. Israel was ignorant of the extent of their own ignorance. Israel's ignorance affected everything around them. In a manner of speaking, their ignorance was moral or spiritual pollution.
We may learn a valuable lesson from Hosea 4. You must value God's Word because it reveals Christ. Your attitude toward God's Word, towards the preaching of God's Word, and toward Bible reading reveals your attitude toward God, and hence, all of life. Let us see what rejection of God's self-revelation means for us.
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The Humiliated Hero -- Hosea 3
You will love either God or self. There are no other choices. Gomer did not have undivided love for Hosea, which is why she found herself in such a humiliating position. While Gomer was an illustration of Israel's love for Jehovah (or rather, the lack of it), she stands as an illustration of what happens every time we do not love God according to the first and primary commandment. The only possible result of lack of love for Christ is suffering. Amazingly, the only possible escape from our suffering was for our Lord to suffer with us and in our place. So, what eternal truth should we learn from Hosea 3? If you take only one truth, I want you to take the following: You must not hold anything back from the Lord.
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The Hope of Unconditional Love -- Hosea 2
We act based upon our hope. If we do not believe that Christ is our only source of hope, we must turn elsewhere -- work, hobbies, family, etc. So, the moment that we have the choice to watch a television program or read our Bibles reveals where our hope lies. The choice to attend church or to enjoy an evening at home with family or friends reveals where our hope really lies. These are only two examples, and I use them because they are simple illustrations of the reality of our choices. We could use a hundred other illustrations of how our choices reveal what we think will satisfy us. My point is simply that what you choose reveals the source of your hope. What you choose reveals whether or not you truly believe that Christ can be your only source of satisfaction or not. This applies to every decision you make in every area of your life, no matter how peaceful or troubled your life may be at that moment.
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You Named Him WHAT? (Hosea 1)
Hosea and Gomer had three children, and they were each given very unusual names. As a matter of fact, I can imagine Hosea's relatives and friends saying to him something to the effect: 'You name him WHAT?' Jehovah instructed Hosea to give his children specific names, names intended to attract the attention of the people of Israel, as if his marriage had not already done so. To what did Jehovah wish to draw His people's attention? Jehovah wanted His people to remember what we know to be the first commandment: love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. The names of Hosea's children speak to the tragedy that always occurs when we wander from our single duty in this life. If you take one truth from this message, I want you to take the following: You must not abandon your fellowship with Christ.
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The Cross and the Spirit -- Galatians 5.22-25
We find in our text what we call the fruit of the Spirit. When we say fruit, we mean that the elements listed in the passage are the practical out-workings of the Holy Spirits power in our lives. When we yield to the Holy Spirit, we will find that we possess the characteristics of love, joy, peace, etc. As we study these results known as fruit, we find that all of these characteristics were true of Christ. Since they were true of Christ, they were true of His redemptive ministry, for the Cross was a practical out-working of the Holy Spirits empowerment of Christ. All of the elements of the fruit of the Spirit were powerfully evident at the cross.
SUNDAY, FEB 7 SERVICE WAS CANCELED. THIS MESSAGE WAS THE FIRST MESSAGE I PREACHED AT GRACE BIBLE CHAPEL IN 2008. IT HAS NEVER BEEN POSTED ON PODOMATIC.
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Hosea -- The Lovingkindness of God
What can we as twenty-first century Christians learn from Jehovah's covenant with Israel? The compilation nearly forty years worth of Hosea's sermons address national prosperity as well as national disaster. Regardless of the extreme changes, God remained unchanged in His infinite, matchless love for all of His people.
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Caleb: Fully Following the Lord (Joshua 14.6-15)
Caleb fully followed the Lord. What does it mean that Caleb fully followed the Lord? We typically have a lofty view of the heroes of the Bible. We tend to think of them as giants of the faith, as men and women who were more godly than any other human being could ever hope to be. Actually, Caleb was a mere mortal. I dare say that if he were alive today and we had met him, we would probably think of him as an ordinary guy. Caleb was certainly a godly man, but he was far from perfect. He had the same weaknesses and faced the same temptations as we do. Caleb fully followed the Lord simply means that he had a close fellowship with God. One commentator explains the idea in more picturesque language: In the Hebrew that is quite a striking word -- more striking than in the English. It is a pictorial word in the Hebrew, and describes a ship at full sail. What does all of this mean? Caleb believed, as another commentator writes, if the Lord deserved to be followed at all, he deserved to be followed in full. We need to follow the Lord our God fully as well. As a matter of fact, to follow the Lord fully is simply another way to say that we love the Lord our God with all of our heart, soul, mind, and strength, the first, the primary commandment. If you take only one sentence from this message, I want you to remember the following: You too must fully follow the Lord your God.
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