Many people would like to have more influence in the lives of others.  And if we take Jesus' words in Matthew 5 at face value, we have to acknowledge that God wants us to be people of greater influence.  However, there are biblical principles to master to help get us there.  This teaching provides the first three of many key practices in helping you to become a person of greater influence.  

Our late brother Bill Compton, who was a vital part of our church, graduated to Heaven recently.  This teaching is not only a tribute to his memory, but also a lesson taken from the many godly attributes that Bill practiced in learning to live life well.  This teaching pays honor to a great man of God, but will also inspire you to be a better person that you've ever been and to learn to enjoy life to the full even in the midst of challenging circumstances.  

In this final teaching of the series, Pastor Andy discusses the powerful results of praise.  In doing so, two deadly opposite attitudes that go unnoticed by a lot of God's people are also identified to help us live lives that are truly devoted to worshipping God in spirit and truth.  

Did you know that praise and worship isn't just a warm-up for the preaching at church?  Rather, God has a very strategic initiative in mind for His people when He commands us to praise Him.  Get ready to see a side of worship that you may have never been taught or considered.  

How does God feel about expressive worship?  And how should we feel about it?  Does God prefer somber worship only?  Or does He provide a guideline in the Bible for various expressions of praise and worship?  And are there benefits to us regarding worship?  All these questions and more are addressed as we center our discussion around King David's wife Michal, who messed up terribly one day when she saw her husband dancing before the Lord.  This story provides some vital lessons for us as we learn about re-discovering the heart of true worship.  

The account of the formerly sinful woman who crashed the party and barged in uninvited to worship Jesus with an alabaster jar of perfume has many lessons regarding the heart of true worship.  We learn in this teaching the attitude that forms the foundation of worship that truly honors God, and several other accessory lessons about worship that the woman with the alabaster jar teaches us.  

In this last teaching in the Faith Like Noah series, we explore what it was the kept Noah faithful all those years in a world where everyone else was going in a different direction.  What kept Noah in close relationship with God amidst such a totally godless world?  These are principles and insights that can keep us faithful in a faithless world as well.  In doing so, we take a first hand look at signs of backsliding and false converts.  Are you one?  Find out here. 

Did you know that Noah was one of the only people in the Old Testament that God apparently appeared to only once?  And yet that one appearance kept Noah going for decades building the ark and serving as a preacher of righteousness to his generation.  Learn in this teaching the importance of seeing through the eyes of faith in order to see your vision come to pass.  And the first part of this teaching also deals with answers to several questions about the biblical account of the flood, providing credibility to this much-maligned account of one the greatest men of faith ever.  

Did you know that Jesus' resurrection wasn't just for Him alone, meaning that it wasn't just for that time to consummate the plan of redemption?  Jesus' resurrection power is alive and well today and relevant for our lives every day, especially if you've been flattened by life.  If you are down in any area of life, this teaching is for you, because Jesus' resurrection provides stand-up power for all those who are defeated and discouraged.  

In Pastor Andy's hiatus, the teaching time today was brought courtesy of John Bevere's recorded sermon on The Bait of Satan; an update to his classic book from 30 years ago.  

You can also watch the video version on YouTube here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X7xcOtqpQGQ