Greg Laurie: A New Beginning

Special effects companies are masters at building small models of railroads or high rises or mountain ranges. But in the movie theater, they seem huge – they fill the screen! Could it be that our problems only LOOK big? Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us see our challenges through the lens of faith. And we’ll see, whether our problems are small or big or incalculable, nothing’s too hard for the Lord. Glad you’re along for our series in Joshua.

Learn more about this year's Harvest Crusade!

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Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org

A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

 The United States has just hit the nuclear reactors Iran through a very successful military authorization. Immediately afterward, President Donald Trump did a press conference. He thanked our military, thanked the Israelis for their cooperation, and he thanked God. But then he did something surprising . . . . 

Hear Pastor Greg Laurie give an update on Operation Midnight Hammer and give encouragement for what Christians can be doing today. 

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Learn more and subscribe to Harvest updates at harvest.org

A New Beginning is the daily half-hour program hosted by Greg Laurie, pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. For over 30 years, Pastor Greg and Harvest Ministries have endeavored to know God and make Him known through media and large-scale evangelism. This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Greg Laurie shares a message for anyone who has ever wondered, "How can I give what I never got?" While some never had an earthly father to learn from, our heavenly Father is here to fill what's missing. He helps us break the cycle.

Notes:

Focus verse - Ephesians 6
 
1. A child from a fatherless home is 68% more likely to use drugs or alcohol.
2. 85% of all youths in prison are from fatherless homes.
3. 63% of teens who attempt suicide are from fatherless homes.
 
We desperately need fathers doing what god has called them to do.
  
“A child that is left to himself brings shame to his mother.”
Proverbs 29:15
  
Passive fathers avoid conflict.
Godly fathers resolve it.
 
Passive fathers go with the flow.
Godly fathers lead with conviction.
 
#1 you are not defined by your past.
 
God can break the cycle of sin in your family.
 
“If anyone is in christ, he is a new creation.”
2 Corinthians 5:17
 
God promises to be a Father for the fatherless.
Psalm 68:5
 
You are always on God's mind.
Jeremiah 29:11

#2 Even if you did not have a father, you can be a good father.
 
#3 Children are on loan to us for a short time.
 
“Children are a heritage from the lord, the fruit of the womb a reward.”
Psalm 127:3
 
Children are not ours to keep, but to nurture.
 
Live in such a way that your child will want to emulate you.
Proverbs 20:7, 1 Corinthians 11:1
 
A good father reflects God’s character.
Psalm 103:13
 
Read: Ephesians 6:1–4
 
Train up is a phrase used to describe breaking a horse.
 
Train up also means to “create a thirst in.”
 
“and you must love the lord your god with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength. and you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that i am giving you today.”
deuteronomy 6:5–6
 
“repeat them again and again to your children. talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.”
deuteronomy 6:7
 
#4 Start reading the Bible and imprinting your children early.
 
“give me a child until he is 7, and i will show you the man.” —aristotle
 
god is a loving father who loves his children but gives them a free will.
even when they sin against him, he does not stop loving them.
 
#5 godly fathers don’t have to be biological.
#6 in the church, we can find and be father figures.
 
#7 leave a godly legacy.
 
if both mom and dad attend church regularly,
72% of their children remain faithful in attendance.
 
if only dad attends regularly, 55% remain faithful.
if only mom attends regularly, only 15% remain faithful.
if neither attend regularly, only 6% remain faithful.
 
you may be fatherless today, but you have a father in heaven.
a father in heaven who loves you unconditionally.
 
“for god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.”
john 3:16

Learn more about this year's Harvest Crusade!

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Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org.

This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Pastor Levi Lusko takes us through the grief he faced after losing a daughter, what it’s like to be a preacher, and what facing a midlife crisis taught him.

Topics covered:

• Greg’s influence on Levi - 0:00
• Grief and child loss - 09:32
• Learning from loss - 21:45
• Having a strong marriage - 31:43
• Being a preacher and writer - 35:25
• Learning from midlife crisis - 45:14
• Reaching young people - 56:43

Learn more about this year's Harvest Crusade!

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Become a Harvest Partner this month and receive Life Hacks, Pastor Greg Laurie’s thoughtful book in which he imparts years of wisdom gathered as a Christ-follower, pastor, evangelist, husband, and more.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Ever tried fixing something with the wrong tool . . . like using a butter knife instead of a screwdriver? That’s how some people live their lives. They keep trying to fill the emptiness with stuff – money, relationships, success – but nothing really works. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, from a recent Harvest Crusade, Pastor Greg Laurie points out that Jesus is the one who can actually fix what’s broken. If you’re tired of pretending you're fine, this is one message you need to hear.

Learn more about this year's Harvest Crusade!

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Become a Harvest Partner this month and receive Life Hacks, Pastor Greg Laurie’s thoughtful book in which he imparts years of wisdom gathered as a Christ-follower, pastor, evangelist, husband, and more.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Kids learn early on the playground that if a bully is bigger than them, it’s good to have a friend who’s bigger than the bully. A bully who’s met his match is no longer a threat. Well as Pastor Greg just said, greater is He that is in us than he that is in the world. Our adversary is no match for our Almighty God. We stand in victory when we stand with the Lord. A good lesson on that today on A NEW BEGINNING as Pastor Greg continues his series: Joshua: Living in the Land of Promises.

Listen on harvest.org

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Become a Harvest Partner this month and receive Life Hacks, Pastor Greg Laurie’s thoughtful book in which he imparts years of wisdom gathered as a Christ-follower, pastor, evangelist, husband, and more.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

We don’t take our young kids to the shoe store to learn to tie their shoes. W e don’t take them to the dentist to learn to brush their teeth. W e don’t take them to a nutritionist to learn to eat their vegetables. No, there are certain things parents teach their kids. It’s just part of being a parent. And today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie points out those things that go along with being a Christian parent . . . namely to pass along our faith . . . to train them up in the way of the Lord . . . to disciple them.

Listen on harvest.org

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Become a Harvest Partner this month and receive Life Hacks, Pastor Greg Laurie’s thoughtful book in which he imparts years of wisdom gathered as a Christ-follower, pastor, evangelist, husband, and more.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

When we go to a restaurant we’ve never been to before, do we test the chair before we sit down? Do we send the main course for chemical analysis before we take a bite? When we give our credit card to pay, do we follow the server to the register to make sure it’s not charged inappropriately? We exercise a certain amount of faith everyday. And coming up on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us exercise our faith in the God of the universe, the One who loves us and only has plans for good and not to harm us.

Listen on harvest.org

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Become a Harvest Partner this month and receive Life Hacks, Pastor Greg Laurie’s thoughtful book in which he imparts years of wisdom gathered as a Christ-follower, pastor, evangelist, husband, and more.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Christian life has been compared to a race. And it certainly is that. But given the opposition we often face, it could also be compared to an obstacle course. It’s a tough assignment to “run to win” when our adversary is trying to trip us up and stop us in our tracks. Well today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie offers biblical advice on keeping our focus and priorities where they should be. God can give us the spiritual power, but we need supply the determination to succeed.

Listen on harvest.org

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Become a Harvest Partner this month and receive Life Hacks, Pastor Greg Laurie’s thoughtful book in which he imparts years of wisdom gathered as a Christ-follower, pastor, evangelist, husband, and more.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Erase your doubts when it comes to life’s ultimate question: Do I have eternal life? In this message, we’ll see what fruits those who really have Heaven awaiting them bear.

Notes:

Focus verse - 1 John 5

READ: 1 John 5 (NKJV)
 
#1 Marks of a True Believer
 
The Greek word John used here is “nikao.”
 
Conquering will not be proven by your arrogance, words, or feelings, it will be proven by your actions.
 
Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.
Romans 8:37 (NKJV)
 
READ: 1 John 5:1–2
  
• Faith that Jesus is the Christ, and that He is the Son of God 
• Love for God and His people 
• Obedience to the Word  
 
READ: 1 John 5:3 (NKJV)
 
How you know:

Faith, love, and obedience ... These are not prerequisites to being saved. They are products of being born again.
 
#2 The Evidence for Our Faith
1 John 5:6–12
 
The Water, the Blood, and the Spirit 
 
Incarnation is the doctrine that Jesus was fully God and fully man.
 
You don’t just know about the truth… you feel it, sense it, and live it.
 
Do you have the Son?
1 John 5:12
 
Jesus is not a step in the process.
He is the whole process.
 
#3 Standing in Victory
1 John 5:13–21
 
Confidence in salvation gives you confidence in prayer.
 
Prayer isn’t about getting what we want; it’s about aligning with what God wants.
 
READ: 1 John 5:16–17
 
If you are standing in victory, you need to help pull others out of defeat.
 
READ: 1 John 5:21
 
Whatever you do, don’t let anything take Jesus’ place in your heart. 

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Learn more about Greg Laurie and Harvest Ministries at harvest.org.

This podcast is supported by the generosity of our Harvest Partners.

Support the show: https://bit.ly/anbsupport

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.