Second At 10 @ Forest Lake Church Sermon Podcast

The heart of spiritual growth and the heart of spiritual life with God is growing to the place in your life where you trust God enough, where you love God enough, to trust Him with your life.

We are stronger when we are connected to Jesus.

Part of spiritual growth is putting aside our differences and preconceived ideas and simply being a follower of Jesus.

Spiritual growth also requires that we work together as a team, helping each other grow.

No matter what our circumstances are, our lives still speak. The Bible teaches us that everybody matters, so even if someone doesn't have the appearance of success, if they are a widow, is to young, is to old, or handicapped, or divorced, or just seem to be someone that society has thrown away...their lives--our lives--still have a story to tell.

When our lives overflow with the love that Jesus has for us, we can't help but to share that love with others.

We all have a story. Some parts good, some parts difficult, but we should not be afraid to share it with others because Jesus may use our story to enrich the lives of others.

A father's love is a love without end, and that is exactly how much God loves us.

God is building a bridge between you and Him, and the cross is the foundation pillar of the bridge. And one day Jesus will come to take us back home to spend eternity with Him.

Often times we don't hear God because we've either filled our lives with so much noise we can't, or we're afraid to hear what He has to say. But if we're still and open to His voice, we'll find He's right there with us.

We may not always know what the voice of God sounds like, but if we turn our hearts to Him we can be sure to hear Him when He speaks to us.

From even the smallest seeds can come great things. We should always be ready to listen to God when He wants us to do something, no matter how insignificant it might seem or how far out of our comfort zone it might send us.

We can't explain all the contradictions of this life, all the intricacies, and all of the problematic issues that we face. But one thing we know, one day all that is wrong will be made right through the name of Jesus.

Have you ever found yourself not giving as much grace to the poor as you do to others around you? We pass judgment and make assumptions about the poor, yet Jesus says our voice towards the poor must be one of grace, of favor, of not judging them, and not trying to "fix" them. Jesus shows us undeserved and unmerited favor, and if we follow Him we are to treat people with that same grace and favor.

Are you living in the wilderness? Trust that God is working all things together for your good, and even in the most desolate part of the wilderness, God is with you.

Communication isn't always easy, and sometimes things like technology can get in the way of real communication with other people. Even more so, what is it in your life that might be preventing you from hearing what God is saying?

In this world we live in, on this spiritual battleground we're on, we need to be fit to don the armor of God by being intentional in our relationship with Him.

The Forest Lake Academy Cantabile and Solid Bronze musicians lead us in worship through the beauty of song.

We will go on through many trials and troubles, but our story isn’t over. And if we give ourselves fully to Jesus, all our pains, all our trials, all our sorrows, all of it; every reversal, every deliverance, every disaster; every piece; if we endure in faith and hope and love, God will take our story and use it as proof that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Living the gospel means that we can't just be hearers of the word, we should be doers. We invited two local organizations involved in foster care, adoption, mentoring, and working to end human trafficking to share the real needs they have and ways that we can get involved.

Jesus humbled Himself to save us, and His example is the one we should strive to copy in our own lives.

Your testimony, the way you live your life, your faith in Jesus Christ, has the power to change the world.

The Enemy wants to steal our joy, because without joy we forget to be thankful, we miss the divine interruptions, and without joy the world can't see a loving God who sticks with us through every circumstance. So no matter what life throws our way, we should strive to choose joy.

There were several witnesses to Jesus' resurrection, are you a witness today?

Maybe the greatest risk in life is not to risk. In risk we can find joy in life no matter our circumstances here on earth, and it can help us find who God is, and who we are in Him.

Extending compassion and kindness to those who don't deserve it, THAT is the business that the Father is in. And Jesus is in His Father's business, and calls us to join with Him.

We often find ourselves in situations that may be dangerous, sometimes in physical danger, sometimes in relationship. But God is our ever present hope in trouble, and will help us find our way back to safety.

Jesus showed us what it means to live in the culture of His Kingdom, but it is our choice every day whether we want to align our lives with His or not.

Jesus calls us to do hard things like accepting that He is in control of everything, including the government and its officials. And if the earthly government collides with God, He asks us to have the courage to stand with Him still.

Love must be the foundation the Church is built on. Nothing else is strong enough. Love is the identity of the people of God.

Outside of your relationship with God, there should be nothing more important in this world than protecting your relationship with your spouse. Then you as a couple become a living example of God's relationship with the church.

It is possible for us to spend our entire lives in church, proclaiming the coming of Jesus, sharing how much God loves us, how merciful He is...but if we don't have love for everyone and always, we've completely missed the point.

God calls us to live it every where, every time, with every one because the world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.

Worship is a decision, it's a state of mind, an attitude, a posture. It is our heart and our mind making a decision for Christ, so we can't help but have Him overflow from our lives. That is what it means to worship in spirit and in truth.

Being sure you are right, and purging those who are wrong, sometimes seems like the road to peace. But it isn’t. Only love, as revealed through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, brings peace, and joy, and harmony. We are here to build the Kingdom of God by each of us, alone and together, living the Gospel in everything we do. And step one to achieving this goal is: we must love one another.

The thing the world will know is by is our love. In our lives, our conversations, our Tweets, and our online posts we should be showing the love of Christ as He would.

If you give your whole heart to Jesus and make Him Lord of your life, He has promised that He will guide your path.

Jesus wants to give us a wonderful gift that we can share with others. Even when we're at what seems like our lowest point, He's by our side and we can turn a hardship into something to rejoice over. What gift does Jesus want to bring to you right now?

God loves us so much that He sent Jesus to deliver us. Have you let Jesus save you from your sins? Have you done the hard work you need to do today?

Finding favor with God does not mean the hardships will vanish. It simply means now the hardships have meaning, for they, even more than the blessings, become the means by which you bear witness that God is with us.

When Satan tells you that you are a sinner, and cannot hope to receive blessing from God, tell him that Christ came into the world to save sinners.

We are all temples or reference points to show the world the God who is love. The Spirit will use us as a way for God to reveal Himself to people as a God who wants to be with them.

The Bridge says thank you and farewell to Pastor Bernie and his family as he embarks on his new role with the World Vision organization.

If we don't jump in and desire to experience the fullness of what God wants to do in our lives, we run the danger of just "faking it until we make it" which means we will never make it spiritually.

When we work together, we can be wings of hope in our community. Sometimes we can even be that hope for those outside of our community as well.

What’s the RESULT of a conversion experience? How do we know that something has happened or is happening? A way to live life to the fullest.

How long have you resisted the Holy Spirit in your life? Is today the day you need to stop resisting?

Pastor Bernie shares an update on his family's future as he transitions to work with World Vision.

As Christians, we are to be witnesses to the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, how bright will our witness be?

We experience profound and significant community when we work together with purpose under the Holy Spirit's leading.