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Each week a new verse-by-verse Bible study podcast given in expository style. Join us and see the Bible come alive as we study the truths that God‘s Word has for us.
Episodes
Sunday Oct 24, 2021
Sunday Oct 24, 2021
This is a message that talks about a subject that weighs heavily on my heart as I read and see what is happening in our country today. We live in a time when the very foundations of our nation are being challenged, and in many ways those foundations have already been unalterably changed. The proverb that is the focus of our message today is very fitting for the subject at hand, because we are speaking today on this subject: Righteousness Increases Freedom.
Prov 14:34
34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.
KJV
I believe the American Dream was placed into the bosom of our Founding Fathers by God Himself—I believe that with all of my heart. I believe that this is a Heaven-rescued, God-blessed land. I like what the Declaration of Independence says, “We hold these truths to be self-evident … that all men are endowed by their Creator, with certain unalienable rights.” This means that, our very nature—the very nature of this land—is rooted in a belief in Almighty God.
When George Washington was sitting in the gallery amongst the members in the Continental Congress, somebody wanted to know which one he was. And, a friend said, “Well, if you want to see which one Washington is, when Congress goes to prayer, he’ll be the tall man who gets on his knees.” Washington was the one who went aside in the snows at Valley Forge, and got down on his knees, and prayed, and asked God to bless his little ragtag army. God did bless those revolutionaries, and out of that came America as we know it.
Thomas Jefferson said, “The God that gave us life, gave us liberty at the same time.”
Alexander Hamilton said, “People get the kind of government they deserve.” This means that the government that we have is a reflection of the character of our people. You see, God ordained three institutions: the home, the Church, and the government. And, all three—the home, the Church, and the government—are but a reflection of the character of those people.
Now, here is another truth: if the government reflects the character of the people, then you are going to find that the greater the character of the people, the more freedom, the more liberty, those people will have. The less the character of the people, the less freedom, and the less liberty, those people will have. Another word for character is responsibility, because character is responsibility assumed.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how the righteousness of our people will determine the freedom and liberty that we enjoy as citizens of this great Heaven-rescued, God-blessed land.
Amen.
Sunday Sep 26, 2021
Sunday Sep 26, 2021
Everybody wants to be wealthy, but God tells us that there are different kinds of riches. There are true riches and there are false riches. True riches are the things that you have that when you share them, they increase. They become more. False riches, are the things that when you try to share them, they decrease. Anything that is of real value, anything that is of lasting value, anything that is a treasure in heaven—the more I give of it, the more I have of it. But with false riches, you hold on to them because if you give them away, then you have less.
If you want to know how rich you are, then add up everything that you have that money cannot buy and death cannot take away—then you will know how rich you are.
You see, with the riches of this world, if I think you’re trying to take what I have from me, it’s going to make me miserable. But if I have something that I want you to have, it’s going to make me happy to give it to you. With true riches, you’re not trying to keep everyone else from getting it. True riches are the kind of riches that I can share; and the more I give to you, the more I have for me. Isn’t that wonderful?
A man is impoverished if he is not rich toward God, if he does not have riches in heaven, if he has not made deposits in that safe deposit box in the glory.
Prov 11:4
4 Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death.
KJV
Who is our righteousness? Christ is our righteousness. Why is that important? Because it is the righteousness of Christ that “delivereth from death.” If you want to live for eternity with Christ in heaven, then you need Jesus Christ in your heart. Then, Solomon says, “riches profit not in the day of wrath.” What does that mean? It means that no matter how much money you have in the vault, you’re going to die.
There’s a life to live; there’s a death to die, and there’s a judgment to face.
It means that you will not be able to bribe the Judge that you stand before on that Judgment Day that all men will face. You’ll not buy God off. You’ll not buy your way into heaven. When you die a Christless death and stand before the Great White Throne of Judgment of Jesus Christ, your money is not going to profit you one little bit.
True riches are the things that you have that when you share them, they increase. They become more. The thing that is of most value, the thing that has the most lasting value, the thing that is a treasure in heaven, and the thing that I most want to give to my children are the true riches of God. And the more true riches that I give of it to them, the more I have of it. That doesn’t mean that they will all take that inheritance and make it their own, but it does mean that you have given them the key to having true riches. Loving God.
2 Cor 8:9
9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.
KJV
This means that Jesus Christ died for you, that you might be rich, and the Bible says,
Rom 10:12
12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
KJV
This is God’s way to real wealth. If you will call upon Jesus Christ today, then you will have true riches. Based on the Word of the almighty God, I can promise you that this is true. God’s way to True Riches, riches that will last for an eternity, is to call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and make Him your Lord and Savior.
Amen.
Sunday Aug 15, 2021
Sunday Aug 15, 2021
Gods’ wisdom is evident everywhere in God’s creation. The promise of God’s Word is that if we seek Him, then we will find Him, and when we find Him, then we will obtain life everlasting.
Deut 4:29
29 But if from thence thou shalt seek the Lord thy God, thou shalt find him, if thou seek him with all thy heart and with all thy soul.
KJV
God is not hiding from us. He can be seen in all the wonders of the world we live on.
Rom 1:20
20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
KJV
Then, when we find God, we find life everlasting.
Prov 8:35
35 For whoso findeth me findeth life, and shall obtain favour of the Lord.
KJV
There is a God sized hole in every individual. We were created to have God living in us to fill that hole. You can spend your entire life trying to fill that hole with the things of this world, but you will never be satisfied, you will never be complete, until you find God and make His Son, Jesus Christ, your Lord and Savior. Now, all you have to do to find God, is to seek Him with all of your heart.
Where do you look for God? God’s Wisdom tells us that God is all around us in the universe that He has created. God’s Wisdom is available to be seen and found by whosoever chooses to love God and seek Him. God promises that if we will love and seek Him, then we will find Him and find life.
Amen.
Sunday May 23, 2021
Sunday May 23, 2021
This week my wife and I celebrated our 43rd wedding anniversary, and if you add the years that we dated before we got married, it has been 47 years. At the age of 16, I fell in love with a young lady that I met in church, and then we happened to go to the same high school as well. She was the first girl I ever dated, in fact, she has been the only girl I have ever dated, and the only girl I have ever wanted to date. There has been no other in my heart, but her. God’s special blessing has been on our relationship from the very beginning.
The topics of love, and romance, and marriage, and all of the things associated with them, are subjects that everybody is interested in. At least, you ought to be interested. It is a universal subject, no matter who you are, or where you live; and you never really outgrow it. Now, the girls get interested a little bit before the boys because they mature a little earlier. This means that the girls start thinking about the boys before the boys start thinking about the girls. That is a good thing because the girls need a head start before the hormones start raging in the boys. But, it is not long before the boys are catching up with the girls, and from then on it is “neck and neck.”
Love, romance, and marriage, are very wonderful things, and we need to find out what God has to say about them, because God has some very definite wisdom on the idea of romance and love, and how to be blessed by your marriage. Now, contrary to popular belief, God is not some kind of “cosmic killjoy.” Don’t get the idea that God is against love and romance and marriage. He is not. Yet, when God says, “Flee fornication, and “Thou shalt not commit adultery,” God is not trying to keep sex from us. He’s trying to keep sex for us. Because it is a wonderful gift of God.
God has a special blessing for you when you allow God to choose your mate. God wants you to be fulfilled. God wants you to have sexual fulfillment. God wants you to have real joy. God doesn’t want you to miss His best. Don’t miss God’s special blessing for your life.
When God says, “Thou shalt not,” what He is really saying is, “Don’t hurt yourself.” When God says, “Thou shalt,” He’s saying, “Help yourself to happiness.” God wants you to have satisfaction. God wants you to have joy. This is God’s plan. This is the design that we should follow.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how you can receive this special blessing by finding the right spouse, and then how to keep from destroying, or ruining, this wonderful gift of God.
Amen.
Tuesday May 11, 2021
Tuesday May 11, 2021
When your children were growing up, did you have certain lessons in life that you wanted to share with them? Perhaps, it was a work ethic, the value of morals and integrity, to be kind, yet strong, and to have the convictions of their faith. Most of all, a love for God that surpasses all other things. A parent shares with their children the things they value the most. Our love of God is what we should value the most, and it is that love that we need to share with our children.
The book of Proverbs is God giving parental advice to His children. He is sharing with us the things that He wants us to value the most, wisdom, humility, honor, integrity, a kind and gentle spirit, a love for others, and most of all to know how much He loves us.
Click on the link to below to hear a message on the value of holding tight to God’s wisdom that He shares with us through the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives. God has told us that there is nothing that compares to His wisdom, and that if we will put Christ first in our lives and hold onto His wisdom, then God will bless our lives as we work for His purposes.
Amen.
Sunday May 02, 2021
Sunday May 02, 2021
God wants us, as believers, to be free from the bondage of the world so that we might live a life that follows God’s chosen path for us. But, have you ever asked yourself, how do we walk that path, and what should we expect as we walk that path? That is the focus of today’s message, what does God’s Word say about what it is like to walk God’s chosen path for each of us. God wants you to know that it is a peaceful life. It is peaceful in the good times, and it is peaceful in times of stress.
God’s path requires that you give the Lord your love and loyalty, and to put Christ first in all that we do. If we do these things, then we will have God’s peace. As a result, we know that, come what may, all will be well. There is no greater gift this side of Heaven than to have the peace of God standing watch over our hearts.
Phil 4:7
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
KJV
When we walk along God’s path for our lives, His wisdom tells us that we can have peace in good times and times of stress because we know the place where faith stands:
Prov 3:26
26 For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.
KJV
Faith takes its stand in the Lord. Never believe that this struggle between good and evil, light and darkness, and truth versus lie, is a mighty battle between equals. It is not. It is not even close. God is the omnipotent, omniscient, Creator of all things. He has but to speak and all evil is defeated.
Click on the link below to hear a message on what we should expect when we walk God’s path for our lives. The answer is that God does not ask us to walk that path without His promises to bless us with His wisdom and power to succeed on our course. The key to finding these promises, and to accomplishing His will, is to put Christ first in all things, and to hold dearly to the wisdom that comes with the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts.
Amen.
Sunday Apr 18, 2021
Sunday Apr 18, 2021
Last week we started talking about what it means for a believer to be in financial bondage to the world, and how that impacts their ability to do the work that God has for them to accomplish. We said that God has a plan for every aspect of our lives, and our finances are part of His plan. In fact, God promises that if you will follow His amazingly simple plan, then you will find true financial freedom.
Prov 3:9-10
9 Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:
10 So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.
KJV
Look at the promise the Lord has given us in these verses. He says, “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase: so shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.”
God wants you to know that He has a plan for you, and His plan for you is not to be in bondage; God’s plan is for you to have liberty and freedom. God does not want His children in bondage to anything or anybody other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And when you’re in bondage to the Lord Jesus Christ, that’s perfect liberty.
Click on the link below to hear a message about six principles from the Word of God that you can use in your life to find financial freedom. If you want to get out of financial bondage, or better yet, if you want to keep yourself out of financial bondage, to enjoy the freedom that comes from serving the Lord, then these six principles from the Word of God will make that happen for you.
Amen.
Sunday Nov 01, 2020
Sunday Nov 01, 2020
I am going to tell you a little secret about me. When I dream, I am always the hero. I am the one who saves the damsel in distress. I am the one who charges into the fire and carries out the little baby, and I am the one who captures the bad guy and puts him into jail. In my dreams, it’s me who is the one doing everything wonderful. In my dreams, I am the hero. Yeah, I know, I have watched way too many John Wayne movies.
However, in reality, if something bad happened, I know that I could barely save myself. I would put up a good fight, especially if you threatened my family, and that includes my dogs. But, I have learned from experience what my limitations are. No, I know that in real life, when real danger comes, that it is the real heroes of our society that do the saving. It is the fireman who climbs that ladder to save the damsel while the building is burning all around him. It is the policeman who puts his life on the line to catch the bad guy and put them into jail, and it is the soldier who stands on the line between tyranny and freedom. These are the real heroes.
Now, truth be told, I am really glad we have these heroes because I couldn’t do it. Not anymore, and probably never could, but that is not what I tell myself in my dreams. Hey, a man can still have his dreams, right?
In today’s lesson, we are going to talk about dreams, and what happens in the dreams that God gives us, and who the hero is in God’s dreams. You see, sometimes God will put a dream in our heart. Sometimes God will lay something on us and give us a vision.
I firmly believe that God speaks, God leads, and God will plant things down deep in your heart. But, I want to be clear that when I say the word dreams or vision in our lesson today that I don’t mean that you will see movies in your mind, but I do mean that God will lay things on your heart. Things that He wants you to do.
I’m also not talking about human schemes, or carnal ambition. I’m talking about things that God lays on us that I believe from my heart of hearts are from Him. I believe that God gives a dream to everyone, that is, if they’ll listen. God didn’t just put us here to waste time and idle away. God made us for something very wonderful, and the Bible says,
Eph 2:10
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
KJV
The word workmanship means that we are His work of art, and God built us to work for Him.
Click on the link below to hear a message about a dream that God laid on David’s heart, and how God expounded and expanded that dream beyond anything that David could imagine.
Amen.
Sunday Jan 27, 2019
Sunday Jan 27, 2019
Have you been looking for true happiness, true joy, true peace, and just not been able to find it? It is because you are looking for the wrong things in the wrong places. If you want true happiness, and joy, and peace, then trust in Jesus Christ.
Happiness, joy, blessedness, and satisfaction, are never things that you find by searching for them. They are the things that you stumble over when you serve the Lord Jesus Christ. You are to seek Him preeminently. It is Jesus that you need, and it is in Jesus that you will find all that you have been searching for.
The people of this world want fame. They want fortune. They want friends. They want fashion, and they want fitness. Jesus tells us that they are seeking after the wrong things. Yet, these are the things that most people want. They are what they seek most of all in their lives. Jesus tells us that they are looking for satisfaction in the wrong places. Listen now, none of these are wrong in themselves. Fame and food and fashion and fitness and friends, they're all fine in their place, as long as that place is second place.
Matt 6:33
33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
KJV
Jesus tells us to seek God first, seek God preeminently, and all the things that God has planned for you shall be added unto you.
Click on the link below to hear a message on how to find the satisfaction, the happiness and joy, that you have been searching for. Most people today are working hard at changing their lives, trying to make them better using the things of the secular world, but all they are doing is rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. All they are interested in is making the world a better place to go to hell from. What our Lord Jesus Christ is offering, is everlasting life. He is talking about getting a person saved. Jesus is spiritual bread that gives everlasting life.
It is in Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone, that you will find what you are looking for.
Amen.
Sunday Sep 17, 2017
Sunday Sep 17, 2017
If you become a believer, will God reward you?
How will God reward you? Will you have lots of money? Lots of power? A happy life?
Why will God reward you? Do you have to meet certain standards of goodness?
When will God reward you?
Where will God reward you? Here on earth? In heaven?
A mistake that many people make when they become believers is that they expect God to give them their rewards while they are alive on this world, and that may be true for some, but not for the majority of believers. Your life will not magically turn into all happy, pleasant, problem-free moments. There will be problems in this life. A Christian’s life is not measured by the problems that they receive, but by Who you face those problems with.
Many people view, preach, and teach, about the Christian life in the negative. They say, accept Jesus because you may die, and if you don’t you will go to hell for all of eternity. While this is certainly true, and I have said these words myself, it is only part of the truth, and we must teach all of the truth, if it is to be the truth.
The other half of this truth is that one of the great rewards of being a Christian, is being alive with Jesus in your heart, living each moment with Him supporting you, strengthening you, and loving you. Each moment with Christ in my life is sweeter than any secular reward that I could receive. The gospel message is truly a positive message, accept Jesus and you shall live.
But, without question, I look forward to the rewards that we will receive in heaven. A believer’s most fervent hope is the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, because we will be with the Lord for the rest of eternity. A believer’s most gracious reward will be eternal life with God in the new heaven and the new earth.
Click on the link below to learn that we serve a mighty God, who has a plan for this universe, and that plan is right on time.