Advancing Word Podcast

Samson would never be a poster child for Great Fathers of the Bible; in fact, there is no record that he ever had children.  But here we are!  Parked at this text.  Why?  Because Samson demonstrates for us the power of a praying man; no matter how finite, fractured or flawed he was!  For most of the narrative about him recorded in Chapters 13 - 16 of the Book of Judges, he is playing and not praying.  And yet, at the end of his life, he prays, and God answered in a mighty way. 

As Jesus’s public ministry comes to an end, he intensifies the training of the disciples.  He teaches them that genuine faith can move mountains!  Faith does not retreat from impossibility but trusts in God. The principles in this message will encourage believers today to talk to and conquer our mountains no matter what forms they take!

In Chapter Thirty-Six of Exodus, Israel upsized their giving with an “over-the-top” offering.  Fresh out of Egyptian bondage and responding to an appeal to support the construction of the tabernacle, they gave so much that they were restrained by their leaders from giving.  The means, motive, measure and model of their giving is a challenge to believers and churches today and is a powerful precedent for what constitutes authentic biblical stewardship.  

During the Twenty-Third Pastoral Anniversary and Church Birthday Celebration at the Christ Way Missionary Baptist Church in Louisville, KY, Dr. Stubblefield preaches from Isaiah, Chapter 52, verse 12 and reminds Pastor and People that there are “assurances for the journey”.  On our journey with the LORD in life and in ministry, we can be assured of His promises, His presence and His protection.  Because of these assurances, we don’t travel economy but First Class!  

Dr. Stubblefield shared this powerful message on Father’s Day in 2022 at The Still Useable Ministries Church in St. Robert’s, MO.  In many homes in America, the voice of the father has been muffled, muted, maligned, misrepresented or gone missing altogether.  This reality is deeply damaging to the fabric of our society of which biblical marriage and family is the foundation and the father and husband is the chief cornerstone. In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter One, verses 62-66, Zacharias, a Jewish priest, found his voice after losing it because of a lapse and lack of faith, We can too!

The Parable of the Good Samaritan recorded in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 10, verses 30 -37, is Jesus’s response to an expert (scribe) of the Law, who came to Him attempting to justify himself.  The parable leverages one of the frequently used metaphors in the Bible of the spiritual life, that of a journey or a road trip.  The journey that is the life of the child of God involves dangers seen and unseen.  There are steep mountains to climb and deep, desolate valleys to go through.  Like the man in the parable, we can find ourselves broke, bent and beat down on the side of the road of life and in need of assistance.   This sermon reveals the need for and the nature of God’s roadside service.  

The questions asked at many places in the Bible opens and pushes back the panoramic horizons of spiritual reality and truth.  Whether, God asking Adam in Genesis Chapter 3, “Where are you?” or the disciples on stormy sea in an act of desperation asking the Lord, “Care not that we perish?”, questions can be profoundly provocative and redemptively revealing.  One of those questions is recorded in the Gospel of Luke, Chapter Twenty-Two, verse 71.  “What need we any further witnesses?”  This sermon offers three responses to that question and is a reminder that Christian witnesses are needed in our world today, but experience is necessary.  

One of the Apostle Paul’s favorite metaphors for Christian life and ministry was the military.  2 Timothy, Chapter 2, verses 3 – 4, is one of many places in his writings where this image and analogy is used.  One gets the sense when reading his letters in the New Testament that Paul was all too familiar with the clank of armor, the thump and thud of soldiers’ feet as they marched under command and in formation, brandishing swords, shields and spears.  As we celebrate the contributions of those who paid the ultimate price for our freedom, this sermon leverages the Apostle words in the text to develop a “biography of a good soldier” for the Christian life is not a playground, but a battleground and every Christian is a soldier in the Lord’s army. 

The final installment of the sermon series “Improving Our Serve” focuses on the call of Isaiah to the prophetic ministry recorded in Chapter Six, verses 1 -8 of the book that bears his name.  This passage reveals that before the prophet committed to be a servant before his Sovereign, he also acknowledged being a creature before his Creator and a sinner before his Savior.  God requires the same from any of us who are serious about ministry. 

A mother who could quality as the poster child for “bad luck magazine” is driven into Jesus's presence because of a personal crisis.  Her faith will not allow her to settle for crumbs from the Lord's table because she believes she can have the crust.  She learned, as can we, that "Jesus is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we ask or think!"