1 Samuel 15:22 (ESV), “And Samuel said, “Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams.”

One of the hardest things about being a parent is learning how to discipline your children in a way that leads to obedience instead of rebellion. There is natural bent in the human heart against authority. It started in the Garden of Eden when Adam and Eve rejected God’s authority, thinking they knew what was best. They believed Satan’s lie that God was trying to keep them from enjoying their lives. This initial act of rebellion opened the floodgates of sin, leading to chaos and destruction. The current condition of the world around us demonstrates how catastrophic that decision was for the rest of mankind. The saddest part of this whole story, is that simple obedience to God’s commands would have given them everything they were looking for, and more. One of the most important things we can learn as Christians, is that nothing has changed. God still has our best interest at heart. When we live our lives according to the teachings in God’s Word, we find everything we are looking for in life, and more!

Christ's ministry began with prayer (Luke 3:21) and ended with prayer (Mark 15:38-39). Jesus prayed before every major turning point in His life. Before every major crisis, He slipped away to pray. The busier Jesus became, the more he prayed. Prayer was central to him being fully human. A way for him to renew His energy and determine His next step. Prayer was a priority that at times demanded that He withdraw from crowds to communicate with the Father. In this message we study some examples from the life of Jesus that will help us learn to "pray as Jesus prayed", so that we can walk more like Him.

John 15:5 (NLT) “Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.”

Jesus called his disciples to "follow me". This command makes it clear that if we want to walk with Jesus, we must be willing to follow where He leads. The Christian life is journey, taking a person from death to life, from infancy to adulthood, and from immaturity to maturity. Jesus is our instructor, and we are His students. The way forward is to follow in His footsteps.

In this sermon podcast, we look at the four stages of the disciple-making journey laid out in the Gospels. It is here that we find the foot prints we need to follow, if we desire to complete the journey, by becoming a disciple who makes disciples.

When a young man or woman enters the military, they are placing themselves in an environment that is designed to break them down, then build them back up again in the image of a soldier. There is a proven method of training in place to move them through the necessary process of change. In a very real sense, each soldier leaves behind the person they used to be and becomes someone new. Something similar happens when a person places their faith in Jesus Christ and become one of His disciples. The Scriptures say, they must be willing to leave their old life behind, and become someone new. Someone with a new set of skills and priorities. In this message, we will focus on the method Jesus used to successfully move people through the growth process of discipleship.

What's your motivation? What drives you? What guides your decisions?

In this message, we look closely at Jesus' example in this area! If we want to live like He lived, we need to know what His motivation was and how that impacted His life.

When we look at our own abilities, it seems impossible to do what the Bible says!! But by studying the life of Jesus, we can learn to do the Father's will and accomplish His work.

In Matthew 28:18-20 Jesus gives us our mission as believers. Jesus is clearly telling us that it is our mission to make disciples. This is our purpose in life. To live an intentional life of pouring God's love into others in a way that lost people are lead to him, they grow in a relationship with him, and they will go out and lead others to him.

Jesus is commanding this of us! He has all authority over our lives! How mush authority over our lives does that leave us? Accept this mission.

In 1 John 2:6, believers are challenged to “walk the way Jesus walked.” In John 14:12, Jesus tells His followers that those who believe in Him will do even greater things than He did. These things seem almost impossible to believe. After all, Jesus was God in human flesh. He turned water into wine, walked on water, and fed over 5000 people with a few fish and a couple loaves of bread. On top of all that, He lived a sinless life. How is it possible that we could ever hope to walk like Jesus walked, or do great things for God’s Kingdom? In this lesson, we’ll find the answer to those questions in a surprising place, the humanity of Jesus Christ. His willingness to empty himself of His divine nature, made His divine power available to those who place their trust in Him. Jesus literally came to earth to demonstrate to fallen human beings that a person, willing to live in full dependence on God, can walk the way He walked.

In His Service,

Pastor Steve

Few things make Christians more uncomfortable than dealing with the subject of sex, especially in a church service. In this message, we’re going to look at the first chapter of the Song of Solomon. From this book of the Bible, we will discover that God not only cares about sex, He designed it to play a vital part in a healthy Christian marriage!

In this message, we will look in the Book of Ecclesiastes, at Solomon’s struggle between the wisdom of the world and the wisdom that comes from God. The longer you live, the more you understand how unpredictable your time here on earth really is. One day things can seem to be going great, the next, the rug gets pulled out from under you. Whatever it is, it can cause you to wonder if there is any way to make sense of life here on earth. Those who offer answers are often considered wise. But the Bible warns us about the limits of human wisdom. It says that when we try to find meaningful answers without reference to God, our wisdom becomes foolishness.