Prezi

We had a great time worshiping with Highland Christian Fellowship yesterday. God has been using us and helping us grow. We even doubled in size in 2010. God is putting together a strong, healthy body that I hope will do much effective work in building the kingdom. Yesterday I taught from Isaiah 9:1-7: When Christ Rules. I used a new presentation aid called Prezi. It is a creative new way to present text, images, and video during a speech (instead of Powerpoint). To see how it works and the main principles of the Isaiah 9 message, you can click through the presentation below.

When Christ Rules on Prezi

How God Uses Resources in Our Lives

I just upload a message from Sunday, July 11 from 1 Kings. You can subscribe, download, or listen from the audio player in the right sidebar. Following the story of how God provided for Elijah, we observe several principles of how God uses resources in our lives:

1. God uses resources in our lives to provide for our needs (vv. 1-6).

2. God uses resources in our lives to direct us (vv. 7-9).

3. God uses resources in our lives to increase fellowship with others (vv. 10-16).

4. God uses resources in our lives to demonstrate his power (vv. 14-16).

Entrusting Ourselves into God's Care (Psalm 16)

I just uploaded the sermon from July 4, Entrusting Ourselves into God's Care from Psalm 16. Listen to it, download it, or subscribe to the podcast in the audio player in the right sidebar. 1. When we entrust ourselves into God’s care, our security is in God instead of our circumstances (v. 5). 2. When we entrust ourselves into God’s care, we trust God to work out our circumstances (vv. 5-6). 3. When we entrust ourselves into God’s care, he will lead us in the right way (v. 7). 4. When we entrust ourselves into God’s care, we can live with joy (v. 9, 11). 5. When we entrust ourselves into God’s care, we will be resurrected to eternal life (10-11).

A Godly Generational Vision

I have uploaded the teaching from Sunday: A Godly Generational Vision. This message was primarily inspired from our visit to the North Carolinians for Home Education Conference we attended last week. I was especially encouraged by Kevin Swanson of Generations with Vision. I had been memorizing and meditating on Deuteronomy 6 preceding the conference. This passage two basic principles related to a generational vision:

• The vision is for God’s people to live in loving, faithful obedience to him (vv. 4-5).
• Parents are responsible for teaching their children to live in loving, faithful obedience to God (vv. 7-9, 20-25).

As usual, you can listen to this message in the Teaching Audio player in the right sidebar. From the Player you can also download it or subscribe to messages from Highland Christian Fellowship as a podcast.

Defeat the Devil . . . Be a Mom

On Mother's Day I taught on the interesting relationship between being a mother and the spiritual war against Satan and the testimony of the church (Titus 2:4-5; 1 Tim 2:8-15; 5:9-16). There were two basic principles we discussed. The first, which is particularly despicable to our culture, is this: In general, God intends for women to be mothers. This is the assumption of Scripture, especially the passages in view. Excepted, of course, are those that God calls to be single and those who are not able to have children. The second principle is this: When women live out their role as mothers, they are less vulnerable to the attacks of Satan. There is also in this message a lengthy discussion on modesty from 1 Tim 2:9-10. You can listen to it in the audio player on the right side bar.

Are You "In the Ministry"?

The American church has professionalized and glorified ministry. So much so that it is no longer seen as the responsibility of us regular believers. What does the Bible say about ministry? I have uploaded the next part in the series on Doing the Work of the Lord from 1 Corinthians 16:5-18. You can listen to it in the Teaching Audio player on the right side bar.

The Power of Discipline and Love

I just uploaded my teaching from Sunday at Highland Christian Fellowship. It is a continuation of the series from 1 Corinthians 16 on Doing the Work of the Lord. In it I share some of my most life changing moments in learning to be disciplined and learning to love. I also explain the vision and purpose of our fellowship. Listen to it in the Teaching Audio player on the right sidebar or here.

Be Strong and Courageous!

Serving God is not easy. There are visible and invisible enemies of God that come against us. There are temptations, distractions, discouragement, risks, threats, fear. This is obviously not an advertisement for serving God (although I love giving those too--there are many, many benefits of serving God that far outweigh these negatives). The teaching I just uploaded from yesterday is encouragement for those who are committed to serving God. It covers three ways to stay strong in doing the work of the Lord from 1 Corinthians 16:13. When doing the work of the Lord,

• Be watchful
• Stand firm in the faith
• Be courageous

You can listen to this message in the Teaching Audio player in the right sidebar of this site or go here. Don't forget you can subscribe to future messages by clicking on the iPod icon at the bottom of the audio player.