This week, Missionary and Evangelist Charlie Brown with Open Hearts Ministries shares with us his own testimony of how God can do miracles and change lives when Christians answer the call to take the message of Jesus Christ to the least, the last and the lost around the world. As we grow in our faith as a disciple of Christ, the Holy Spirit reveals within us the desire to follow Jesus with a new focus and goal in life. To make Jesus Christ know to every person we come into contact with. We have been commanded to “GO” to share the message of Jesus Christ so that all may come to know the saving power of Jesus’s death and resurrection, the most important message a person can ever hear.

Due to a sound equipment issue our recording starts a few minutes after Charlie begins. Please listen as Charlie shares about a heart, changed by God, sent out to change hearts with the love of Christ.

What can God do in my trusting of Him?

What could God do through us if we let every part of who we are be for the purpose of the things that God calls us to? This week, the last week of our Stewardship Series for 2020, we look at the account of Moses, who trusted God to do great and wonderful things. Things that no person would ever consider or be successful in apart from a divine lead and power. As we think about what it means to be a “steward” of the things that God has given us, do we ever consider our very lives as something to be managed for the purposes of God? How does God use our story, our life, to share the Kingdom of God with other people?

What is a Biblical Understanding of Stewardship? Is stewardship all about our financial understanding of supporting the church? As Disciples we grow and discover each day where we need to give God control of our lives. The deeper source of our understanding of stewardship begins in our heart. The world tells us that we are number one, but the Bible tells us that because of the sacrifice of Jesus, we realize that we were created that God might be number one in our life. As we learn to re-prioritize our time, talents and resources to make God first, God pours out on us the grace and joy that He has always intended for us. How we spend our time and order our priorities are a direct reflection of the heart...

What will we leave behind for future generations. Each generation must ask themselves what will they do with their time and resources to pass down the faith that they claimed throughout their time here on Earth. If we are truly convinced of what Jesus Christ has done our understanding of a new life will lead us to trust God, even before we know what He is up to. As God led Israel across the Jordan into the promised land, He didn't just let them cross and be done. God ordered Joshua to have a monument erected in order that Israel would remember the faithfulness of God and that for generations after them, their children would be able to hear the story of what God does for His people. 

We begin our Stewardship Campaign for 2020 this week. But this year our focus is not so much on our finances but more at what is the root understanding of our Finances. Looking at Matthew 6:19-24 we see that where our money is, there our heart is as well. In planning for our 2021 ministry year, we are challenged in our understanding of what it means to be a cheerful giver. Do we give to God the same that we give to ourselves? Do we give out of cheerful participation or guilty obligation? One way to know the condition of our giving is to  see how our time is spent. Do we give, but do not serve? Do we not serve or give? These are the questions we will be exploring each week in our series as we seek to be cheerful givers in ALL areas of our lives and grow in our understanding that God had called us to make disciples of Jesus Christ to change the world and invest in the next generations of believers! 

Thy Kingdom Come-Thy Will Be Done. If you are a Christian you have prayed these words. Most likely you have prayed them thousands of times in your head. But do we really understand what we are praying or what Jesus meant when he gave us this example of how to model our prayer patterns. As we look at current political and societal currents, what does it mean when a Christian prays the words, Thy Kingdom Come, Thy Will Be Done? Join us this week as we uncover the meaning behind Jesus' prayer.

Some of the material used in creating this sermon borrows from N. T. Wright's book, "The Lord and His Prayer"  part of a sermon series he preached at the Lichfield Cathedral during Advent of 1995. In his study he uncovers the intentions of Christ's message of these words, not only for Himself, but for all who would call themselves a disciple. 

We finish up our Don't Be OK series where we have followed the Prophet Elijah as he confronts King Ahab and the way that Israel has been led away from worshipping God to worshipping the false god of Baal. As Elijah seemed to have claimed victory on Mt. Carmel, the situation for Israel, and Elijah, did not change. As Elijah retreated from the wrath of Queen Jezebel and from his own inner feelings of defeat, Elijah was led to a sacred place where God has encountered His people before. On Mt. Carmel, Elijah experienced the true presence of God and soon realized that through everything, His God was always there.... 

We have cut down on the length of our podcasts by beginning to only have the message portion of the service uploaded. This has cut down greatly on our processing and uploading work necessary to produce our podcasts and youtube videos each week. 

Its the main event....everything Elijah has been being prepared for has finally come. Ahab, the prophets of Baal and the nation of Israel have come to face this prophet, who brought the deadly drought upon them, on Mt. Carmel. Today will be the day that Israel finally must make a decision of whether they will follow Baal, who has failed to bring the rains that he is supposed to have power over, or will they turn back to the One True God. 

The situation that Israel has found themselves in is not that much different than where the American Church seems to be headed. Listen in as we discover how the life of Christians today seems to be traveling the same path that Israel did so long ago. The saying is true...if you forget your past, you are bound to repeat it...

We move into 1 Kings 18 this week as we continue following Elijah's story as he confronts King Ahab who has moved the nation of Israel away from worshipping God and instead following the false god Baal. This week we are introduced to Obadiah, a faithful follower of God who serves in the Court of Ahab. His secret is out and now he must rely on the faith he has held onto to keep him safe. Join us as we seek to grow on the foundation of God's Word!!

This week our District Superintendent, Rev. Mark Norman shares with us the need for retreat, even in the midst of a pandemic, so that we may be the hands, feet and image of Jesus in a world so desperately in need.