Minutes of Mercy

Recorded Live, Sunday Morning, 08/16/2026

Part of our Doctrine Matters Series

The Reality of Heaven

• Heaven is not a religious idea. Heaven is a real place, prepared by a real Saviour, for a real people with a real future.
• John 14:1-3, “I go to prepare a place for you.”

Heaven is God’s promise to His children

The Bible describes Heaven as…

• A City- Heb. 11:10
• A better Country- Heb. 11:16
• The city of the Living God- Heb. 12:22

An inheritance Reserved in Heaven- 1 Pet. 1:4

The Residents of Heaven

• John 14:6, John 3:16, Acts 16:31, etc
• There is only one way to heaven: Through Jesus Christ

Heaven is for those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ

The Resurrection of Heaven

• Phil 3:20-21, 1 Cor. 15:52-53
• Our present bodies are corruptible, mortal, weak, subject to the effects of sin
• Our resurrected bodies will be incorruptible, immortal, raised in power, perfectly suited for eternal life
• We will not be ghosts or spirits. Our bodies will be physical, like Christ’s resurrected body

The Removal of Heaven

• 1 Cor. 2:9- We can’t fully imagine what God has prepared for us
• Heaven is the land of “no more’s”
• Rev. 21:4, No more death, sorrow, crying, or pain
• Rev. 21:27, Nothing that defiles will be in heaven

Rev. 22, No more curse, night, and we will see His face!

The Reunion of Heaven

• 1 Thess. 4:17- For the believer death is not the end. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord, Forever
• Heaven does not erase our identity

2 Sam. 12:23, 1 Cor. 13:12, Matt. 8:11- In heaven we will know and be known

The Worship of Heaven

• Heaven is not about what we get, it’s about who is there on the Throne!
• Continuous worship around the Throne (Rev. 4:4-8)
• Crowns cast before the Throne (Rev. 4:10-11)
• Continuous worship of the One who made it possible for us to be there

The Reward of Heaven

• Matt. 6:19-20- Lay up treasures in Heaven
• 1 Cor. 3:8- Our works will be tested. Some remain, and others burn up
• We don’t live for crowns to put on our head. We should live for crowns because we want something to cast at His feet
• Live for what will matter forever

The Permanence of Heaven

• Matthew 25:46- Two real, eternal destinations, Heaven and Hell
• 100, 1,000, 100,000 years from now, you will be somewhere and you will be conscious of where you are
• Heaven is only for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ alone for their salvation.
• Are you prepared?

Recorded Live, August 16, 2026

Prominent Love- vs 7-8, 16

God IS love

Do not measure God’s love by what you’ve experienced at the hand of others

Purchasing Love- vs 9-10

Calvary answers the question, “Does God love me?”

Powerful Love- vs 13-16

The greatest evidence that God won’t walk away tomorrow is the fact that He didn’t walk away yesterday

Permanent Love- vs 17-18

He will not fail me!

Although fear is real, it does not have to control me

I can live fearlessly because of the perfect love that God loves me with!

Recorded Live, August 12, 2026

The thorn was not a failure of Paul’s faith.

God used it as a tool to make Him more like Jesus.

The Thorn Keeps us Humble

• Vs 7
• If the thorn was taken God couldn’t use my life like He is right now
• The thorn keeps us dependent upon God instead of becoming self sufficient

The Thorn Remains an “unanswered” prayer

• Vs 8
• When God’s answer doesn’t match what we requested, we can still trust Him!
• He answered with Sufficient Grace (vs 9)
• What God supplied in sufficient grace was greater than if He had removed the thorn

God answered with Perfect Power

• Vs’s 9-10
• Our weakness and limitation when it comes to the thorn is an opportunity to see God for how strong He truly is
• The power of God rests upon those who place their total dependence on Him

The Thorn Changes Perspective

• Vs 10, “ I take pleasure…” vs 11, “I am become a fool in glorying”
• I’d rather look like a fool to the world than to rob God of the glory He will get through my thorn
• What I asked to be removed became a treasure that God used to draw me closer to Him

Recorded Live August 9, 2026

Faith Behind Bars

Matthew 11:1-12

The Reality of the Prison

Faithfulness to God does not exempt us from the prisons of life

God is still with us in our dark times

The Troubled Response vs 3

Even strong faith will experience weak moments

Truthful Reminders

Remember Christ’s Works vs 5…

Remember Christ’s Word (Christ quoting and fulfilling a passage from Isaiah)

Remember Christ’s Worth vs 6

Testimony of John

His character vs 7-8, “a reed shaken with the wind?” “man clothed in soft rainment”

His calling vs 9, “a prophet”

His commendation vs 11, “not risen a greater…”

The truth about pressure

Conflict, cost, courage

The prison will be real, but so if God’s presence in the midst of it

God works in the dark times of life!

Recorded Live, August 9, 2026

Notes:

Incomplete Instruction, Acts 19;1-7

They were not ignorant

They were called disciples

Their problem was incomplete instruction

We understand the Holy Spirit through the Word of God, not through assumptions, traditions, or experiences

When do I receive the Holy Spirit?

At the moment of salvation; Rom. 8:9, 1 Cor. 12:13

We’re Indwelled- 1 Cor. 6:19

He seals us- Eph. 1:13-14

He abides with us forever- John 14:16

We don’t work for Him, He’s given to us and dwells in us forever

Who is the Holy Spirit?

The Holy Spirit is God

Co-equal and Eternal (Heb. 9:14)

Omnipresent-everywhere (ps. 139:7)

Omniscient- all knowing (1 Cor. 2:10-11)

Omnipresent- all powerful (Lk. 1:35)

What does the Holy Spirit do?

Convicts (Jn. 16:8) Regenerates (Tit. 3:5)

Indwells (1 Cor. 6:19) Seals (Eph. 1:13-14)

Baptizes us in the Body of Christ (Jn. 16:13) Teaches (Jn 14:26) Guides (Jn. 16:13) Helps us Pray (Rom. 8:26) Helps us understand the Bible (1Cor. 2:12-14) Empowers us to serve God (Acts 1:8)

What does “Filled with the Spirit” look like?

Eph. 5:18, “…be filled with the Spirit”

If you’re saved, you have the Holy Spirit

The question is whether or not you’re surrendered to Him

The Spirit Filled Life is…

Christ Centered- Always pointing to Christ not self (Jn. 16:14)

Obedient- (Rom. 8;14, Gal. 5:16) It’s more than feeling something, it’s about obeying Someone

Scripture Led- (Jn. 14:26, 16:13) The Holy Spirit will never contradict the Word He Inspired

The Fruit of the Spirit

The evidence of the Holy Spirit is not just one moment. It’s what the Spirit produces over time

Galatians 5:22-23

Fruit may grow quietly, but it’s also undeniable

The Test of the Spirit Filled Life

Not, “Did people notice me?” But “Does my life point people to Christ?”

Not experiences but Fruit

Not emotion but obedience

The Holy Spirit indwells us not to make us look more spiritual, but to make us more like Christ

Life has a way of leaving us standing with questions we can’t answer, circumstances that confuse us, timing that makes us ask, “why?” We’re reminded here though that because of the treasure inside our earthen vessel that although perplexities of life are real. We don’t have to live in despair!

Sometimes you will be troubled on every side, but you don’t have to live controlled by it. Jesus has overcome the world and we can rest in the truth that the power that’s sustains us is not our own but His. Sometimes trouble cracks us because it’s the way in which the treasure will shine more clearly.

As we step into a new series of devotionals today, we’re reminded of the dynamic truth that God has chosen to place His glorious treasure inside us who are ordinary, fragile vessels. He does so so that when pressed, squeezed, and cracked the power that shines through our ordinary vessel produces an unmistakable conclusion to those around us. That the excellency of the power is truly of God and nothing of us.

Recorded Live, Sunday Night, 07/26/2026

“The light that shines the farthest will shine the brightest at home”-Oswald Smith

Am I shining the Gospel where God has placed me?

See the Multitude- vs 36

Ask God to help you see past faces and see souls in need of Him

Sense the Misery- vs 36

Does the condition of others affect you?

See the Shortage- vs 37

The world is not short on those who need the Gospel. It’s short on those willing to take it to those who need it.

Surrender to the Saviour- vs 38

When we pray for laborers, it increases our own self awareness to surrender ourselves.

Recorded Live, Sunday Morning, 07/26/2026

Our seriousness about living for God often does not match the intensity in which the devil seeks to destroy us.

The Origin of Temptation- vs 13

God will test our faith

God will never tempt us to sin

God tests to strengthen

Satan tempts to destroy

The Obsessive Totality- vs 14

Nobody is Exempt

Temptation is universal in its presence, but personal in its presentation.

Are you prepared for when temptation comes to you?

The Oppressive Tactics- vs 14

Temptation is like bait used to lure someone into a trap

The bait is shown, but the hook is hidden

The Observed Tailspin- vs 15

Lust—Sin—Death

Sin will always take you farther than you intended to go, cost you more than you intended to pay, and keep you longer than you intended to stay

The Ordered Tip-off- vs 16

The warning is given because the temptation is coming

Don’t wait until you stand before God to get serious about what He’s telling you right now