Living Faith Christian Church: Messages, Studies, & Stories

In his book Miracle on the River Kwai, author Ernest Gordon retold a true story about POW’s in WWII. During one work detail, a shovel was missing, and the guard put all the prisoners in a line, threatening to kill everyone until the person who stole it stepped forward. As the guard cocked his rifle and pointed it at the head of the last person in line, another man stepped forward, stood at attention, and said calmly, “I did it.” After he was subsequently beaten to death, the prisoners picked up his body, shouldered their tools, and marched back to the camp. When the tools were counted again at the guardhouse, no shovel was missing. He died to save everyone. When we hear stories like that, we are inspired and think, “I want to be like that guy.” But where do we get that kind of courage? Matthew 17:1-13 addresses 3 fears that are common to all people and shows how Jesus provides the courage we need to face these 3 fears.

One day long ago, a church goer asked his pastor how he was doing. The pastor replied that he was overloaded, but he said it with a smile. Puzzled, and still with some concern, the man asked a follow up question, simply, “Overloaded, pastor?” The pastor responded, “Overloaded with all the blessings of God!” What a great attitude that is. To walk around in life, counting your blessings every day. But sometimes that’s a challenge. Some days or even seasons of life, we just don’t feel blessed. It’s hard to consistently maintain the attitude that pastor had, isn’t it? To encourage us, especially in those times, Matthew 5:1-12 proclaims 4 truths about the abundance blessing there is for anyone who puts their faith in Jesus Christ.

For most of my childhood and teenage years, I was going through an Identity Crisis, struggling to find myself and my place. I know many people struggle, because of their culture, upbringing, environment and other influences of the world, and lose sight of who God created us to be. I am using the imagery of India, the most populous nation in the world as a visual of being lost in a crowd of billions. It can be scary and we can wear masks to look one way on the outside while struggling on the inside. I will share various masks that I wore throughout my life as I struggled with figuring out who I was. Then I learned who God is and who I now am I Christ.

Perspective changes everything. What appears safe at first glance may, in reality, be far more dangerous when viewed from another angle. In Genesis 3:1-24, the story of Adam and Eve reveals how temptation can be deceptive, sin carries consequences, and how Jesus offers redemption. Join us as we explore how to stay rooted in God’s Word, establish healthy boundaries, and trust Christ as our ultimate Savior.

In today's message, we're taking a journey to Antarctica, a place most wouldn't think to visit due to its harsh, icy conditions and isolation. This remote continent might feel unimaginable, much like anxiety—a place we never expect to find ourselves, until it becomes our reality.

In 2010, after the birth of our first child, anxiety took hold of me. Juggling work, finances, and the pressure to provide, I began to fear losing control. The panic attacks were overwhelming, driven by "what ifs" and the fear of failure. I realized my trust was in myself, not in God.

Through a powerful moment of reflection, I knew I needed to shift my trust from myself to God. Just like King David in Psalm 139, we can find comfort in knowing that God understands our deepest fears and walks with us through our anxieties. We’re never truly alone.

When Ronald Reagan was a kid, his aunt took him to a cobbler to buy a new pair of shoes. At the shop, the cobbler asked him, “Do you want square toes or round toes?” Unable to decide, Reagan didn’t answer, so the shoemaker replied, “Your shoes will be ready in a couple of days.” When the future president returned, the cobbler handed him one square-toed shoe and one round-toed shoe. Reagan said later, “I learned right then and there, if you don’t make your own decisions, someone else will.” This is true in the Christian life. To be passive about your life means you will become a person the world wants you to be. 1 Kings 18 has 3 truths to strengthen our resolve to become the people God wants us to be.

A missionary by the name of Aretta Loving was washing her dishes when she saw Jimmy, the five-year-old neighbor, headed straight toward the back porch. “Come around to the front door, Jimmy,” she shouted. “There’s wet paint on the porch rails.” “I’ll be careful,” Jimmy replied, not turning from his path. “Jimmy, stop!” Aretta shouted. “I don’t want carefulness. I want obedience!” As the words burst from her mouth, she thought to herself, “How often am I like Jimmy! I rationalize that I will be careful as I proceed with my own plans and sometimes flirt with sin. But God doesn’t want carefulness. He wants obedience.” Deuteronomy 11:26-32 describes our need for consequences, containing 4 principles we can apply to our life in order to obey God more.

If you set aside a glass of clean water, put a little waste in it and left it undisturbed for a few days, the particles would settle to the bottom of the glass so that the water would begin to look drinkable. However, we all know that it would still be dangerous to drink, even though it appeared safe. If you took a sterile spoon and stirred the water, it would become readily evident that the water was not clean. God’s law is a bit like the sterile spoon. We need it to know what we are dealing with regarding sin. Exodus 20:1-21 gives us 3 purposes of God’s law in our lives as it relates to sin.

When a young man was studying to become a pastor, he went to hear him preach and spoke to him afterwards. He said, “I confessed that I was not quite sure that I was saved.” Moody responded with words that helped the young man through that insecurity. We all have experiences like that. It is common to feel insecure in your relationship with God. In Exodus 3, Moses met God on Mt Horeb, and he was feeling quite insecure. He needed assurance and the Lord gave him 5 reasons why he could be assured. All of those reasons were because of God, not because of Moses, and they are for us too.

The story is told of a politician who, after receiving the proofs of a portrait, was very angry with the photographer. He stormed back to the photographer and arrived with these angry words: “This picture does not do me justice!” The photographer replied, “Sir, with a face like yours, you don’t need justice, you need mercy!” We all need mercy, don’t we? Not just for our looks, but for our souls. And not just from each other, but from God himself. In Genesis 22, God met Abraham on a mountain. The story plays out in 4 acts that reveal how God has the mercy we all need in Jesus Christ.