How can we strengthen our faith in troubled times when we sometimes have a difficult time under normal conditions? Sometimes we feel a sense of being overwhelmed when things start coming at us from all directions. When pressures increase, we often find that our faith starts to waver. Is it possible to strengthen our faith…

Astronaut Jim Lovell in real life shared a harrowing story about a landing he made after instrument failure aboard his plane.  This story was retold on the movie “Apollo 13.”   Listen to the words of Jim Lovell as he is telling the story. “I remember this one time – I’m in a Banshee at night…

Death was walking toward a city one morning and a man asked, “What are you going to do?” “I’m going to take 100 people,” Death replied. “That’s horrible!” the man said. “That’s the way it is,” Death said. “That’s what I do.” The man hurried to warn everyone he could about Death’s plan. As evening…

“A heart without a pulse is dead. You can try to fix the problem by duplicating your pulse using artificial means, but it won’t bring your dead heart back to life. Instead, you must turn your attention to the real problem. Ask God to Revive your heart – Only then will your pulse return. A…

Use your imagination with me for a few minutes: You’re a kid again, and you want to sell lemonade in your neighborhood. So you set up your little lemonade stand with your cardboard sign written in crayon and get to work. The first day, one person comes and buys some lemonade. Then the second day,…

“In my hands a golf club is a worthless piece of metal, but in a pro golfer’s hands such as those of Tiger Woods,’ a golf club means fourteen major championships. In my hands a paintbrush is a doodle brush but in the hands of Michelangelo it is the Sistine Chapel. In my hands a…

“Charles Spurgeon spoke for many Christian leaders when he wrote, “Some years ago, I was the subject of fearful depression of spirit. Various troublous events had happened to me; I was also unwell, and my heart sank within me. Out of the depths I was forced to cry unto the Lord. Just before I went…

“Luigi Tarisio was found dead one morning with scarce a comfort in his home, but with 246 exquisite violins, which he had been collecting all his life, crammed into an attic, the best in the bottom drawer of an old rickety bureau. In his very devotion to the violin, he had robbed the world of…

Emmanuel.  God with us.  What does that mean?   We’ll explore that concept on today’s podcast entitled “Emmanuel.  God with us.”

The trappings of Christmas.  The Shepherds.  Three Wise Men.  Or were there just three?  Well, there were three gifts.  Frankincense, Gold and Myrrh.  How ever many there were, they all took great risk, expense and severe inconvenience to follow that star to the house of the young Child, Jesus Christ.  They believed God’s Word.  They…

Can anything good come from Nazareth?  Yes, indeed.  It certainly Can.  Mary, the Mother of the Messiah hailed from that tiny little town.  And, of course, Jesus Christ Himself hailed from Nazareth.  Today, we’ll take a look at an extraordinary young woman named Mary.  Just a child herself at 14 years or so, Mary had…

I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving Day celebration!  More than that, I hope you have a Thankful Heart all year long!  God wants us to be thankful!  We have so much to be thankful for today! The best day of my life was when I actually began to give God thanks for 23 years…

We live in the day and age of the “self made man.”  Many wealthy business people think they did that.  Their hard work and ingenuity is the single thing that took them to the top.  But, in reality, who did that?  Who gave them the ability to climb the ladder?   In reality, it is…

It has to be the most unusual battle plan in the history of mankind. The year: 850 BC. The place: Jerusalem. The king: a godly man named Jehoshaphat. He was a good king, and he reigned during a period of prosperity and happiness for the people of Judah. God smiled upon him because he was…

A minister from a century ago once told the story of two paddleboats. They left Memphis about the same time, traveling down the Mississippi River to New Orleans. As they traveled side by side, sailors from one vessel made stinging remarks about the snail’s pace of the other. Words were exchanged. Challenges were made. And…

Sometimes, it comes down to a showdown.  Two opposing forces collide and cause massive confusion to the people around them as the lies and propaganda go forth along with the truth.  When it comes to the Messiah and Absolute truth verses the enemy of our souls and all his propaganda come to blows because of…

Freedom.  It’s the most precious gift God gave to mankind.  God could have made man to be nothing more than a robot or a puppet on a set of strings that obeyed His every whim.  But, He didn’t do that.  Instead, God gave us the choice to serve Him or to hate Him.  And, He…

This weekend, I’m still recovering from my hospital procedure.  It’s taking longer than I anticipated, but healing is coming!  God is in control.  So, once again, we will have a “best of the rest” sermon that I preached about a year ago.  I pray it speaks to you! It’s amazing to watch people as they…

“Follow your heart” the world says.  But, should we follow our  heart as we trek through this world or guard it from the world? This week, I continue my recuperation from that hospital procedure, so we are, once again, doing the “best of the rest” sermon.  Here is an excerpt from that message: “One thing…

Today, I’m recuperating from a hospital procedure, so we are doing “the best of the rest” sermon.  I originally preached this sermon about a year ago as the pandemic related government lock downs started and many people were afraid. Life is full of struggles.  What do you struggle with?  I struggled with self esteem as…

From the Christiano Brothers movie “Time Changer,” a synopsis of what happens when you remove Christ from His teachings. “Without the authority of Christ, mankind is merely left to compare ideas, and morality becomes a matter of opinion.   One person says it is wrong to steal, the next person says it is not.   No standard…

Are you away from Christ?  Longing to come home?  God will meet you on the road if you will just take that first step.  He’s sitting on the porch or standing at the roadside watching and waiting for you to come walking towards Him.  God will RUN to you.  Come on home!  You’ll be glad…

Today’s message is one I consider a “legacy message,” in that I have preached this sermon all over the Southeast US over the past 4 decades. Every time I preach this message, people respond to it and are blessed by it. That gives me more satisfaction than you can imagine to see God using this…

Have you ever been confronted by a skeptic who challenges your belief in God?  That scenario is more common these days than it has been in over  a century.  With the advent of the Internet, atheists and all manner of Christian skeptics have come to the surface challenging our faith in God.  Can you provide…

Former atheist and journalist Lee Strobel has written a powerful book that is also a Bible Study entitled “Faith Under Fire.”  We will take a look at some of the things he reports on his journey to discover the truth about God and living the Christian Life over the next few weeks. Do you believe…

What is the difference between the wise man’s house built on a rock and the foolish man’s house built on the sand? The foundation. What was it that revealed that difference? The storm. For all their differences the wise and foolish man have some things in common. They both are home builders. They both have…

Can you list the things that are “essential” in YOUR life? Most would say things like, “Health, family, love, education, a nice home, a car to drive, a good job, etc.” Would you be honest for a minute and answer one more question? How did God and your relationship with the Creator of the Universe…

When a storm hits us in the middle of our lives, there is often devastation followed by depression and lots of grief.  But, there’s hope!  After the storm will take a look at life once the storm passes and how  there is hope to rebuild our lives.  Listen as pastor Ed brings us hope from…

Standing In the Storm – The Cares of Life.  Standing in the center of God’s will while the storms rage is often a hard thing to do, but it is necessary.  God will bring us through the storms.  Just take His hand and never let go.  Today, we will seek ways to find Peace in…

The death on a cross was a cruel, agonizing and slow death. Torture would also be an appropriate description. Once the Messiah was dead and His side pierced, the “blood and water” (medically, the red blood cells and the clear plasma that had separated – a true sign of death), His body was removed and…

When you think about the Messiah’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey without the usual pomp and circumstance that accompanied a Roman General coming back home after victory in battle, why do you suppose we call it a “Triumphal Entry?”  After all, Jesus Christ: Jesus wasn’t a military general or commander…

Wouldn’t it be great if all Christians and all Christian Churches understood and practiced Brotherly Love? There are some who do, and those are the churches that get God’s most abundant blessing! Join us today for “The Church of Brotherly Love” (The church at Philadelphia) as we conclude our series on the seven churches in…

Are you lukewarm?  Is your church lukewarm? Today’s message continues the seven churches in Revelation as we take a look at the church at Laodicea.  Compromise was the word of the day in that assembly as they sacrificed God’s Word and His teaching for that of the government and the culture of the day.  Catch…

Jezebel was a wicked queen who practiced witchcraft, Idolatry and persecuted God’s Prophets to the point of causing them to stumble by buckling their knees. So what does this have to do with a woman the Messiah called “Jezebel” in Revelation?  That’s the topic of today’s message entitled “Jezebel in the church; the study of…

When a church is a “good church” but allows evil and false doctrine to take to the stage in that venue, that church is compromised. Is that a problem? Find out in today’s podcast. It’s the latest in the series on the seven churches in Revelation.  Don’t miss this important message!

A woman in India watches as her sister is dragged off by Hindu nationalists. She doesn’t know if her sister is alive or dead. A man in a North Korean prison camp is shaken awake after being beaten unconscious; the beatings begin again. A woman in Nigeria runs for her life. She has escaped from…

The Dead Church.  Part 2. If something dies, it is appropriate to bury it.  But, sometimes, for whatever reason, we can’t let go when a church dies…..and it will be like a dead person’s body strapped to the back of his killer during New Testament days….the penalty for murder.  The person you murdered will literally…

Does everyone around you think you are very much alive when you feel dead on the inside?  Well, that happened to a church.  Once upon a time there was a church that died and nobody noticed.  Tune in to this week’s podcast for the details……

Today, we begin a series of sermons on the Seven Churches in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. Today’s church is Ephesus.  The Church that misplaced love.  Actually, they lost their “first love.”  Stay tuned for more….right now.

Sp