- Temptation comes to everyone - Jesus himself was tempted by Satan just as He was about to enter his ministry, right after He was baptized. Why does God allow temptation? After all, we wouldn’t ever sin if we weren’t tempted. And even when we don’t give into temptation, Satan lies to us and tries to say that just being tempted - having fleeting thoughts of doing wrong - is a sin. Far from being a sadistic game, the temptation God allows us to experience helps shed light on areas of our life that still need some work. And, God promises that we will never be tempted without Him providing a way of escape (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). Don’t let temptation discourage you - Pastor Doug explains how every temptation can be faced and overcome by claiming God’s promises.

- In the concluding message of this series, Pastor Doug teaches us about the one additional ingredient that is so important to the breakthrough recipe: the exercise of our patience as we wait for God’s perfect plan to come to fruition in every tough situation we face. And, while we wait in patience, exercising our faith that God does have a plan that is better and higher than our own, we need to spend our time, as David did, asking God what His will is and what direction we should go. With faith in Him, we should never give up. We should always run the race set before us, until we experience the breakthrough we so desperately need.

- If you’ve ever felt like you are at the end of your rope and something has to change, or else...you are right in the same place that Elijah was when he was forced to leave his oasis in the desert and seek the help of the widow who - like him - was at the very end of her rope as well. In this powerful story, we see how God took the impossible circumstances of both of these people and worked His perfect will and plan in their lives, providing a way of escape. In this message, Pastor Doug encourages us that: God always has a plan; it takes faith and obedience on our part to walk in that plan; we must put God first; when we walk in faith and obedience, it unlocks a provision of grace; when we follow God’s plan, we step into history, no matter how important or unimportant we may think of ourselves as being.

- The Bible says that Jesus has been given a “name that is above all names.” In order to be held in the highest regard, Christ had to be willing to go to the very lowest depths: He gave up His place in Heaven; He suffered and died a horrible death at the hands of the people that He created; He was made to be sin, on our behalf. In His example we find the same pattern that we need to follow in our own lives. In order to save our life, we need to be willing to “lose” it (give it over to God). On virtually every level, the way forward spiritually is somehow found in the opposite direction of where we intuitively think we should go. Pastor Doug explains how we need to learn and follow the pattern that was given to us through Christ.

Sermon Notes

- The work of the cross lies at the very center of God’s plan to form an eternal relationship between Himself and the human race. What really happened that day? What did Christ mean when He said, “It is finished”? Why was this redemptive plan even necessary? In this message, Pastor Doug explains the wonder of the cross, and how it was the perfect plan to confuse Satan and make everything right between God and man.

Sermon Notes

- When Christ rose from the dead, He became the first member of an entirely new race: The God-Man Race. He overcame death and had a resurrected body, filled with God’s presence through the Holy Spirit - the first such being of this type ever to exist. As we become Christians, we join this new race, with the same types of rights and responsibilities as Christ, as Kings and Priests in the spiritual realm. It is important that we learn about our legacy as members of The God-Man Race and embrace the new sense of purpose that this brings to our lives.

Sermon Notes