EternityChapel+

Difficult to love! How many of us in this room are “difficult to love” people? … You don’t have to raise your hand.

The flesh…second to the devil, I’d call this one of man’s greatest adversaries.

Plans, plans, plans. Everybody’s got plans! But why do these plans come into our lives? Why do they ever get made?

Now, don’t everybody head for the door at once, just because I said the unutterable word…

Is He pruning you?! I mean, seriously! Look around at your life—in a human condition where we’re all about stacking up belongings, treasures and riches…is God…taking some of that away, for the betterment of your soul? 

Just like a soldier preparing for battle, we have to be ready to face life’s trials with full expectancy that there will be a battle. A trial! A challenge of our faith that pushes us past the previous edge where our faith was tested before. It’s just the way sanctification works! 

Forgiveness…wow. What a blessing to live in! You can’t think of that word, without imagining being released from something…a debt, a wrongdoing…a lifetime of guilt...

Trials…don’t ya just love trials? … Yeah, that’s what I thought…nobody. Trials will come, in the life of a Christian! No, the existence of these trials does not mean that God has ever abandoned you…but rather the opposite.

How do we know when we’ve repented of a sin? … Is it when you’ve cried your eyes out at the altar, or to whomever you’ve hurt otherwise? Is it when you buy a gift basket to apologize to your best friend, loved one, or coworker? Is it when you’ve finally bent down on one knee, pushed your head to the floor, and said to the Lord, “I’m sorry”. ? Friends, the funny thing is...Scripture would exposit, that true repentance is none of these things! 

“Following your dreams” can be a dangerous thing. Sure, Disney, and every Billboard music hit told us otherwise, but that doesn’t make this statement any less true...

Let’s begin today’s lesson with a lesser-quoted scripture, from the book of Matthew. In it, Jesus rebukes the actions of the Pharisees before the multitudes, declaring this...

Many of us have fallen into this rhythm…and it could be a semi-modern development...

Why on earth…do we gather? No, really! Why are churches even called to assemble together in the first place?

Have you ever wondered why God doesn’t “part the Red Seas” anymore? Or why most signs and wonders found in the Bible, don’t seem to happen too often in our modern day?

We don’t always get it right! No, I’m serious! How many of you have been to a church before, or have at least heard of a ministry…that was practicing…weird, or unbiblical practices alongside its “Christian” ministry efforts? And instead of love these people, we’re tempted to shame, blame, and condemn their leaders for allowing this confusion to enter their ministry?

Y’know, a lot of folks across cultures, social classes, and nationalities share this common goal: to someday never have to work again...

Ever have a struggle, or a trial in your life, that just kept coming back? It’s like no matter how hard you try, this thing, or this problem, keeps resurfacing, whether it’s through people, repeated events, or an uncanny coincidence that seems to keep occurring. Sometimes the struggle can be with other people, sometime’s it can be with ourselves…but if we’re keen enough to watch, we’ll see one common denominator...

When you’re getting ready to leave from somewhere, you tend to worry less about what happens after you’re gone. You tend to look forward instead, to wherever it is you’re going...it’s just our natural tendency as human beings!

Contentment can be an elusive thing, for the believer who doesn’t know God. I mean sure, many of us know who God is, but do we have a relationship with Him? Or are we just accepting Him…to fulfill some sort of standard in our lives?

Why in this world, when we have the Creator of the Universe, living our souls—those of us who have accepted Jesus Christ—do we still clamor for riches, success, and fame? If we only knew the depth and breadth—the magnitude of the true gift living within our souls right now, we wouldn’t want for another thing on this earth. 

Some of us may scoff at a small gesture, such as saying “God bless you” to the cashier at McDonald’s, or offering to pray with a homeless man on the street—thinking, “Oh, what use will something so small as that be?

Fear…is a tricky thing to master in this life. Fear of the dark, fear of the unknown…but what about practical fears? Like fear of the future? Or fear of financial downfall? There are a myriad of fears in this world that one may be tempted to elevate above God…but the only way to master each and every one of these fears is to obtain a new fear, that surpasses all of these fears…the fear of the Lord.

Put me on display! Has anyone ever said that for something they really cared about? I’ll go and fight! I’ll speak up! I’ll stand up, for what’s right...the Bible teaches us to stand up for our faith, in a way that counters world culture.

Don’t reject Him, folks! Who is this Helper? Could He be the one whispering over your shoulder, giving you wise counsel in the midst of a trial…could He be the One who drew you to faith in the very first place? Could He be the very One holding the earth together, restraining it from descending into chaos at this very moment? 

People from all over the world think they’ve got it figured out! Grand palatial church buildings, global church families, endless nonprofit outreach, benefitting their local and global communities! But what’s so great…about Christianity?

The Israelites had a problem, back in the Old Testament. They couldn’t get past the fact that they did not have a king to lead them. They so much wanted to be like all of the other nations around them, that they forgot that God had been leading them all along...

What a common lie, used to tempt people, old and young, into thinking they are powerless against sin. Of course you were born this way! We all have wicked flesh! But the real deception, is Satan’s attempt to make one believe that sin, is their only option...

Esau sold his birthright for one morsel of food! He had the chance to inherit his father Isaac’s total blessing for the firstborn son, but out of a lustful craving to satisfy his stomach, gave it away to his younger brother Jacob...

When the Lord calls you to His assignments, you’d better be ready to answer the challenge. Because for some, this call can take a lifetime to respond to...

A lot of us wake up in the morning, or at least start the new year, with the same goal in mind: how am I gonna outdo myself this time? How am I gonna live up to my expectations for what I can accomplish in this life? 

Many people have this hang up…what happens to those who die in their sins, without ever hearing once about Jesus?

Whether you’re a user of heavy drugs, pornography, or simply have a hard time breaking away from doom-scrolling on social media…you all may have one thing in common…an unhealthy attachment to the natural dopamine release that happens in our brains.

Apart from the Vine…what is this status in which both believer and unbeliever can live within, thus opening themselves to the evil influences in this world? 

The Spirit and the flesh…mortal enemies, waging war between the body and soul. Why did God allow these two forces to cohabitate in one person? Why not, when one gets saved and born again, eliminate all of our sinful desires, and make us perfect?

Your life is not king…I mean, sure, most of us can readily agree with the title of this message, but what are the implications of such a statement? I mean, how deeply do we actually let the imperative to abandon worldly pleasures and fleshly desires impact our life?

This is one slippery sin. It’s so slippery in fact, it’s weaseled its way into the doctrines of several fallen church denominations out there. Coveting, in short, is idolatry. 

Now, this is a tough topic for many out there. But I feel led to bring clarity to this all too obscured issue in our day and age. To put it simply, you’re not crazy!

Christianity is fun! No, I’m serious! For some, finding this hidden family of faith in the midst of a fallen world is like happening upon an oasis in a desert! But we must be careful, however, not to make this newfound family, the object of our faith. 

Drunkenness. A word that may inspire the image of a character, in one hand gripping a half-consumed bottle, and with the other, stumbling around while groping at the walls just to keep balance. But there are so many substances in this world that bring on drunkenness, that the enemy has so cunningly snuck into our day to day lives, scott-free of the label of committing sin.

The Sabbath. In some cases controversial, in others, a point of spiritual freedom. In some cases obscured by time and tradition, and in other cases an unbreakable mandate. What is the Sabbath command from God, and where does it stand today in the life of a Christian?

Have you ever been facing a trial, and prayed to ask God to just take it away? I think this is the natural tendency of not just believers, but of anyone! If we could all have our wishes, we’d rather not face the trial at all, am I right?

In the book of Hebrews, there lies a pivotal command—not to be taken lightly, or redirected. In it exists a command, that when followed, benefits the lives of its adherents. And that’s the command for the church to gather...

Have you ever noticed, those of you who’ve been in love, that when you finally receive that love in return, and your feelings are reciprocated by your crush...all of the warm fuzzies that come with it?

We as Christians ought to lovingly rebuke sin without delay, but often times, we are tempted to take a position of anger and judgement, while pointing to a certain Biblical passage as an excuse to do so...

When a believer comes to Christ for the very first time, something special happens…no, I’m not talking about when your parents drag you to get baptized at 6 years old, or when you repeat after your Sunday School teacher and say the Lord’s prayer…but when one truly gives their heart to the Lord, a supernatural change happens in the core of that person’s soul...

This is a widely accepted topic among believers in the Christian faith, yet it seems as though it’s hardly acted upon by those who understand its significance. Why is that? Why is burying one’s talents acceptable to the Christian believer?

Dreaded words with a dreaded judgement attached. Jesus warns us so thoroughly of those who say they walk with Christ…yet are no more than posers, acting for their peers.

Walking in complete obedience to God’s law, from the outside, seems like a daunting challenge. Every Law, every jot and tittle, boy, that’s a lot of rules and regulations! But did you know that Jesus plotted a course for us to be able follow all the Law and the prophets, without having to do all of that, so to speak, detailwork in our lives?

At the beginning of every day, there is a necessary action that takes place. An action that not only prepares you for the trials of the day, but also the toil that it can take one one’s own body…

Why did God need to create divine judgement? I mean, why not snap His fingers and wipe out all evil from the face of existence?