Greg Laurie: A New Beginning

There are questions Christians should be prepared to respond to. One of them being, “How could a loving God send someone to hell?” Pastor Greg Laurie helps us answer.

Notes:

Focus verse: Revelation 20

Two questions to be answered in this message:
If God is so loving, why does He send people to Hell?
How can you say that Jesus is the only way to God?
 
Jesus, the author of grace, spoke about Hell more often, and in a vivid, blood-curdling manner than anyone else, so it must be a crucial truth.
 
We decide in this life where we will spend the afterlife.
 
There is a lot of misinformation about Hell.
 
Know this: Hell is not a party, and the devil does not rule over it.
 
Jesus spoke more about judgment and Hell than about any other topic.
 
Read: Revelation 20:11–15
 
John sees “a great white throne.”
The white throne is called “great” because of its awesome power and ultimate purpose.
 
There will be no debate over their guilt or innocence.
There will be a prosecutor, but no defender.
There will be an accuser, but no advocate.
 
What happens to the non-believer when they die right now?
They go to Hades.
 
Death is no respecter of persons.
 
“So it was that the beggar died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's bosom. The rich man also died and was buried.”
Luke 16:22
 
Prior to the death and resurrection of Jesus, the believer also went to Hades.
 
Now when believers die, they go to Heaven.
2 Corinthians 5:8
 
Jesus told the thief on the cross, “Today you will be with Me in Paradise.”
 
Only non-believers will stand at the great white throne judgment.
 
Anyone who has been exposed to the truth of God's law is held responsible.
Romans 3:19
 
“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.” All that are in Hell, choose it. Without that self-choice, there could be no Hell.” ―C.S. Lewis
 
God does not want people to go to Hell. Our eternal destination is determined by our choice, not His. God does not “send” anyone to Hell.
 
Hell was not even made for people, but for the devil and his angels.
 
God loves you and wants you to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.
If you reject God’s offer of forgiveness, you have charted your own course.
 
God sent and sacrificed His own Son so you could be forgiven and go to Heaven.
  
How does one get to Heaven?
 
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6
 
How can Jesus be the only way to Heaven?
 
We would not even know of Heaven if He had not told us.
Our sins keep us separated from God.
 
Jesus, who was fully God and fully man, was uniquely qualified to bridge the gap. He was God’s sacrifice for our sin.
 
Jesus said He was the only way to God.
 
Jesus came to die for our sins. The work has already been done by Him who died on the cross for our sins.
 
Hell is therefore a prison in which the doors are first locked from the inside by us, and therefore are locked from the outside by God.
 
Jesus faced Hell for you on the cross 2,000 years ago.
Jesus was forsaken that we might be forgiven.
Jesus entered the darkness that we might walk in the light.

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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.

Singer Michael Bublé has experienced global fame and success. But is it all it's cracked up to be? In a recent podcast, Bublé gave an amazing statement on what really matters in life and talked about his own experiences as someone you might say "has everything." Listen in as Pastor Greg Laurie gives his take on it all.

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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.

Sometimes, we just can’t hold back the joy. When our favorite sports team wins the big game. When our young child takes his first steps. When you hear the words, “You may kiss your bride.” Well, when we get to heaven, we just may not be able to hold ourselves back from worship. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie helps us see what we’ll be doing in heaven . . . and what things will be different from this life, and what things will largely be the same. Fascinating insights ahead.

Listen on harvest.org

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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.

Ever fallen for that ruse at the supermarket? You see a package marked new & improved and so you buy it. Then you get it home and taste it and . . and . . (Sfx) It isn’t new or improved! Well, as believers, there’ll come a time when we’re new and improved. For real. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie points out just how we’ll change personally when we get to heaven. Some things will stay the same, and so much will be radically upgraded.

Listen on harvest.org

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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.

Imagine sitting down for a fine meal. It may be the finest meal you’ve ever experienced. The service is first class. The chef is world renowned. His culinary creations will leave you speechless. But you can’t get your eyes off the shiny silverware. You ignore the food and gaze upon the utensil. Behold the spoon! Ridiculous. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie points out the folly of being so enamored with the world we miss eternity.

Listen on harvest.org

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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 revealed last time that 81% of Americans – churched and unchurched – believe in heaven. More than three quarters. Even more hope to go there! But what’s it like there? Is it even possible to know? Yes, it is. Today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg brings a biblical travel brochure about our eternal home. It’s beyond our imagination, but we’ll see today the Bible gives us some good information. Let’s open our minds and open our eyes to God’s Word.

Listen on harvest.org

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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.

Each year, about 27 million people in this country move . . . relocate. That may explain why there are 17,000 moving companies across the fruited plain. When we move, we try to find out some details about our new home. Well today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie provides some details about our eternal home. The Bible gives us more detail than you may be aware. And none of us knows our moving date, so it’s a good idea to get that information now and be prepared.

Listen on harvest.org

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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 opens our new series with a sermon surrounding the subject of gender, identity, and the family. In a rapidly changing culture, we must look to our unchanging God for answers. Get the biblical take on these hot cultural topics.

Notes

Focus verse: Exodus 20
 
A true Christian bases their ideas and opinions on a biblical worldview.
A nonbeliever bases their ideas and opinions on a secular worldview.
 
ABC Culture: Anything But Christ.
 
Jesus told us to be light, which means we speak up for what is true.
 
If you recoil from what God’s Word says or it makes you uncomfortable, that would indicate that you don’t have a biblical worldview.
 
The Ten Commandments can be divided into two sections.
 
First, God deals with sins against Him.
1. Have no other gods before Him.
2. Have no graven images.
3. Don’t take God’s name in vain.
4. Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy.

Second, God deals with our relationship with people.
 
God starts with the family because He created it.
 
Our very existence as a society is contingent on the success of the family.
That is probably why Satan hates it, so he has declared war on it.
 
Almost all social ills are a result of broken homes and a lack of fathers.
 
We talk about how to reduce homelessness and sending less people to prison.
 
95% of all homelessness and runaway children are from fatherless homes.
 
71% of high school dropouts are from fatherless homes.
 
85% of all youths sitting in prison today are from fatherless homes.
 
A child from a fatherless home is 68% more likely to use drugs or alcohol.
 
63% of teens who attempt suicide are from fatherless homes.
 
Fatherless daughters are 111% more likely to have children as teens and 164% more likely to have an out-of-wedlock birth.
 
God’s order is to honor your father and mother.
 
God is anti-sin no matter how it is expressed.
 
1 Corinthians 6:9–10
 
God’s order is for the family to be a man and woman, a husband and wife.
 
As sinners, some may struggle with temptations that others do not.
 
Transsexualism and gender dysphoria is the feeling that your biological gender does not match what you perceive yourself to be.
 
There are bigger issues in play here. Young people want to find identity and be celebrated as well.
 
Deep down, this is a search for meaning in life and a search for God.
 
You don’t need to change your sex; you need God to change your heart.
 
Having attraction does not mean anything more than you are a sinner.
 
You are not defined by your sin.
 
God’s order is a man and woman in a monogamous relationship in marriage.
 
You are not born gay nor are you born a different sex than your biological gender.
 
If you turn from this sin, God can and will forgive you.
 
Sex in and of itself is neither bad nor evil.
In its proper context, it is good and can even be blessed by God.
Hebrews 13:4
 
Proverbs 5:15
 
God gave us sex as a way to create a unity between a man and a woman.
1 Corinthians 6:15
 
Sex is not some casual toy; it is a gift from God to be saved for that person you want to become one with.
 
The topic of abortion or killing a pre-born baby is not a debatable topic.
 
Life begins at conception, not at birth.
Psalm 139:13–16
 
“You were deliberately planned, specifically gifted, and lovingly positioned on this earth by the Master Craftsman.” —Max Lucado
 
Abortion is taking the life of an innocent child in the womb.
 
Whatever sin you have committed can be forgiven by Jesus.

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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.

Keanu Reeves is one of the most successful actors in Hollywood today. But as he nears 60, he shares that he's been thinking about his own mortality and the topic of death. Pastor Greg Laurie goes over a recent interview Reeves did covering this topic and gives a response.

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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.

It may come as a surprise to some . . . it may be welcome confirmation for others . . . but believers can get depressed. Yes, there are numerous Scriptures about joy and contentment, but we’re humans living in mortal bodies, in challenging times. Well today on A NEW BEGINNING, Pastor Greg Laurie focuses on a depressing time in the life of the great prophet Elijah, and highlights a number of practical principles to help us in our times of challenge. You might want to take some notes.

Listen on harvest.org

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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.