The Five Pillars of the Christian Life

David shares the truths of the Scriptures and their impact on our life.

Shinji Mae shares about Jacob and letting go of being control freaks!

Daren Lindley sharing from Matthew 15:22-28

Hezekiah had done everything right but now faces a ruthless enemy and the fight of his life. It might have been tempting for Hezekiah to think that God had abandoned him or that he had messed up somehow, but that wasn’t the case at all. Hezekiah faced this enemy even though he had done what was right.

It seems like the scariest tests come when we’re serving God and seeing huge changes in our life. When those tests come we can get confused and start to question whether or not we’re on the right track. Part of that lies in the false teaching we’ve heard over the years that if you’re serving God He’ll make take care of all your problems and you won’t suffer or be in need. I wish whoever said that stuff would actually read the Bible. 

Hezekiah was in a real difficult spot and he needed courage in order to stand up to this invading army. So how did he, and how do we, find the courage stand up when we feel like backing down?

1 Kings 8:23 and he said: "LORD God of Israel, [there is] no God in heaven above or on earth below like You, who keep [Your] covenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts.

This verse is part of a longer prayer of Solomon at the dedication of the temple in Jerusalem. God had promised David that it would be built but He had forbidden David to build it instead God selected Solomon to do it. This verse reveals the truth that the God of the Hebrews is unique among the other gods and is the one true God. God is truly unique and His covenant reveals a special quality about Him.

The prophet Elijah appears suddenly, almost out no where, in 1 Kings 17. The only things we know of his origins are that he was a Tishbite from Gilead. There’s no introduction at all and the first thing we read is that he’s telling Ahab, the king of Israel  that God is sending a drought and it won’t end until Elijah says so. Looking at this man of God you’d be surprised to think that he was afraid of anything. But even after all of this the next thing we see is that Elijah is afraid, running for his life and wanting to give up and die. 

It seems to me that we can be a lot like that too. If it can happen to a guy like Elijah it can happen to anyone. After all of the things God does in our life, the amazing power that He gives us and the promises He keeps we still can fond ourselves rolled up in fetal position, complaining that no one cares and life isn’t fair. There are times on our walk with Jesus that the climb seems to steep the terrain too rugged and the way to narrow and we just want to quit trying and give up. The question is: “How do we turn it around? How do we find the courage to get back up and get going? How do we stand up when we feel like backing down?

Gideon was one of those who had heard the promise of coming deliverer and imagine his surprise when he found out it was him! When God called him he was threshing wheat in a winepress because he was afraid that he'd attract the attention of the enemy.

That's how people often live their lives. They're so shell shocked from the attacks of the enemy that they start to give into the fear by trying to avoid attracting the attention of the enemy. In fact in some ways we might be tempted to back down and give in just so he’ll hopefully leave us alone. Living to avoid attracting our enemy’s attention is not God's plan for us.

This is a short introduction to the series "Profiles In Courage: Standing Up When You Feel Like Backing Down."

1 Samuel 16:7 But the LORD said to Samuel, "Do not look at his appearance or at the height of his stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."

This verse also shadows the difference between Saul and David. The Bible describes Saul as being head and shoulders above the other people around him. He looked like a king but his heart was far from God. This time God chooses a man who didn’t look like a king but had the right heart for the job.

This verse reveals the truth that God’s ways are not man's ways. God sees people and things differently than we do.

Special guests Teen Challenge Int'l Ministry Institute from Lebanon, OR

Ruth 1:16 But Ruth said: "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; For wherever you go, I will go; And wherever you lodge, I will lodge; Your people shall be my people, And your God, my God." Ruth is the story of a young Moabite woman who follows her Hebrew mother-in-law to Bethlehem,and ends up being the great-grand mother of kind David and listed in the genealogy of Jesus. This verse turns out to be a promise and a prophecy. It summarizes the purpose of the book of Ruth to show how a Moabitess could become one of the roots of David.

Like the prodigal the things we hunger for will determine where we go. They will demand our attention and they will ultimately demand all that we have in return. The reason sheep get lost is because they see that the grass is greener somewhere else, and then somewhere else, then somewhere else until their hunger for something else leads them away from the shepherd. The prodigal's hunger is what got him into trouble in the first place and interestingly enough it's his hunger that leads him home.

Even though the people of Israel rebelled against God and did what was right in their own eyes, God still responded to their cries for help which demonstrates His mercy, compassion and love in action. Judges 3:9 When the children of Israel cried out to the LORD, the LORD raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel,who delivered them: Othniel the son of Kenaz, Caleb's younger brother.

In this parable the lawyer asked 'Who is my neighbor?' The way Jesus answered the question seems to tell us that the lawyer wanted to define a neighbor very narrowly by nationality but Jesus defined a neighbor by need.

This One Verse Wonder reaffirms that God is with His people. Joshua 1:9 "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."

As human beings our programming is all messed up because of sin so our natural state is to be stony, weedy, and hard which makes us very resistant to God's word and His ways, but when the we believe in Jesus the Holy Spirit plows up the soil of our life and RE-creates us to be fruitful and reproduce what God has done in our life by sowing the word to others. The good soil of our heart is RE-programmed by the Holy Spirit. 

This One Verse Wonder reveals the love that God desires from us. Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 

Jesus doesn’t give us all the same responsibilities, but He does expect us to be faithful and serve to the best of our abilities. What that means for us is that we have to train and prepare to be good stewards.

The parable of The Wedding Feast is the story of our entry into the kingdom of God is pictured in two ways: The first is that God has paid a price in order to offer us as the Bride to His Son. The second is that God has called us to be gathered together with Him from every tribe, tongue, and nation. He calls the sick, the lame, and the broken. He calls the outcasts and losers. He’s even called us to Himself.

This One Verse Wonder reveals the truth about substitutionary atonement for our sins. Leviticus 17:11 ‘For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.’

We're searching for meaning in the parable of "The Mustard Seed." On a couple of occasions Jesus used the mustard seed as an example of something small but ultimately powerful. The one we probably think of first isn’t actually a parable it's when Jesus tells His disciples that if they had faith like a mustard seed they could cast a tree into the sea or move mountains. But, The parable of the mustard seed is different than that. It's found in three gospels: Matthew, Mark, and Luke. It's one of the shortest parables and yet it's packed with rich insights into the kingdom of God.

This One Verse Wonder reveals three great themes of the Bible-deliverance, rescue, and redemption. Exodus 6:6 "Therefore say to the children of Israel: ‘I am the LORD; I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, I will rescue you from their bondage, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with great judgments."

Missionary Guests Rick & Laurel Ellis share about their work in the country of Chile

This One Verse Wonder tells us that God is the preexistent creator of all things.

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We're searching for meaning in the parable of "The Lost Sheep." Anyone ever lose anything important? We've all experienced this same thing at some level, but we've also experienced the disappointment of not finding what we were looking for. I think this parable captures both of those feelings and in addition reveals one of the most important insights about God's kingdom that we will ever know.

This One Verse Wonder shows us that Scripture is reliable and useful in our life.

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Jesus tells this parable at the end of the Sermon on the Mount. So when Jesus says "Whoever hears these sayings of Mine..."; He is referring to the things He has just told them, now we know that this applies to all of His sayings, but in this passage He's talking about the things He specifically mentioned in this sermon. With that in mind it might be a good idea for us to take a quick review of what Jesus covered in this talk.

If you're tired and weary then this One Verse Wonder Bible study is for you!�

Jesus had noticed that some people trusted in themselves and were very self righteous and He used two opposite and unexpected characters to emphasize the point. This parable shows us that self help will lead to self worship, which is another way to describe self righteousness. The Pharisee stands and prays with himself. Even though he mentions God his prayer is all about himself and exalting his ability to help himself. He is the picture of a self made man; he did it all - alone. He did it alone because Self righteousness is like spiritual body odor.

This verse defines faith yet we are left with the truth that faith is real yet can't be fully grasped by human understanding. It is so mysterious that it is beyond our ability to fully explain, yet it is so basic even a child can posses and exercise it.

What looks like divine injustice is actually an opportunity for people to do the right thing. The rich man had everything he needed in order to ease the suffering of Lazarus in this life and that is the reason God had given him good things. So the problem was not divine injustice because God had provided what was needed, it was the rich man’s injustice that proved what he really loved.

Isaiah 55:11 God’s word is powerful and effective and purposeful

Why did Jesus use parables when He spoke to the people? Over the years I have heard a few explanations and most of them focus on the effectiveness of stories to help people retain the important truths. The parables are often compared to stories like Red Riding Hood, or Hansel and Gretel.�It’s true that stories do help us remember important truths but that’s not the primary reason Jesus gave.

Jeremiah 29:11�God’s thoughts and plans for us are good even when it appears otherwise

That something else is the reason that the movement Jesus started in the gospels is still going strong today. That something else is the reason we have a witness in our hearts that seals us and connects us to the reality of our risen Savior.

Galatians 3:11 is one of the verses that sparked the Reformation! Dynamite in a small package that exploded in the heart of Martin Luther

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Can you imagine what it was like have the best news EVER and not being able to share it with people? That is a picture of how the women who found the empty tomb must have felt on that first Easter Sunday.

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1 John 1:9 is unique in that in context is applies to those who are disciples of Jesus, but it is just as true for those who are not yet disciples.

Guest Speaker Pastor Jeff Wong

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This talk looks at Jesus’ death on the cross. I mentioned last week that the crucifixion stories communicate the central point of our faith in Christ that Jesus took on our sins and died in our place. He was our substitute, the scapegoat who took the fall for us and He did it all without even trying to defend Himself.�Mark, and all of the gospel writers, included the details that were needed to assure the future followers of Jesus that His death had both physical and spiritual dimensions.�There are three things that are stated by Mark that point to the meaning of Jesus’s death on the cross.

The passion of Christ gives us a brief glimpse into the depths of unrestrained human cruelty. I think it is important that we understand that what we have just read are not simply words on a page. Real human beings really did subject Jesus to unspeakable acts of cruelty. Mark is very brief and simply mentions that Jesus was scourged. In fact none of the gospel writers explain what it meant to be scourged. They did not have to because in their day it was so common that people knew how hideous and cruel it was.

Jeff Wong sharing

The people chose Barabbas over Jesus. What blinded these people so that they would reject Jesus for a robber? Why would they substitute a robber for the real thing? I guess we could ask the same question today. Why do people reject Jesus for the robber who comes to steal kill and destroy lives? Why do they make this terrible substitution?

Lessons from the Acts 2 Church.

Deep down we all care about what other people think about us.It eats away at us when we are misunderstood or falsely accused. We have seen the fall out from this kind of thing and we know its not pretty. People talk and they almost prefer to believe the rumors and accusations. Guilty until proven innocent may be true in the eyes of the law but its not true for the court of public opinion.

This is one of the darkest points in the entire story of the life of Jesus; His agony and betrayal in the garden of Gethsemane. While we’ll never quite endure what Jesus did there is a lot we can learn from the example of Jesus in the garden of agony that night.

Wild Heart: Mark's portraits of a radical Messiah
In this episode we are going to look at Mark 14:12-31. This passage tells us about some lasts; the last night before Jesus would be crucified. Its the last Passover he would celebrate and its the last night He would be with the 12 original disciples together in one place ever. But it also marks a first; its the first time the Lords Supper is observed.