God Talk

Pain, Suffering, and Trauma (“Shipwrecked” Week 2 of 6)

As we continue the Shipwrecked series, this week we are going to focus on pain, suffering, and trauma, the things we will all encounter and are most likely to shipwreck our faith. As a prime example, we are going to look at Job, someone who endured and stood firm in the midst of unthinkable tragedy. In one dark day Job suffered the loss of all his wealth, his sons and daughters, and even his health, yet rather than curse God, he responded with “The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away; blessed be the name of the Lord!” Job had the right perspective, and that is what sustained him in his darkest hours. The Apostle Paul was literally shipwrecked three times, yet maintained the right perspective. And there are others. 
So how were they able to face overwhelming challenges in their lives, yet do so with the perspective necessary to avoid derailing their faith? Pastor Greg lays out the answers from God’s Word and the choice we need to make to walk through the pain suffering, and trauma we all inevitably encounter.    
Scriptures Today: 1 Timothy 1;18-19 // Job 1-2:10  // Romans 5:3-5 // 1 Peter 5:10 // 2 Corinthians 5:5-10 //
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to ⁠tech@lotwchurch.org⁠ and we will make one available for you. God bless.

Can God really know us all by name?

Join me for this episode of God Talk as we look at how well the Israeli defense forces know at least some of the people living in Gaza, and how their ability to be familiar with their adversaries can give us a glimpse of insight, on how God can know us all my name.

Life Is Messy! - (”Shipwrecked” - Week 1 of 6)

We are beginning a new sermon series entitled Shipwrecked, a series all about making sure our faith doesn’t get “shipwrecked.” The term is used by the Apostle Paul in his first letter to Timothy, his protege, a young man whom he mentored to become a church leader, and Paul was commanding Timothy to conduct himself well and not become shipwrecked, as some have done.
What applied then very much applies to believers in current times who are not vigilant in standing firm and have seen their lives and their faith become a complete shipwreck. Most people would agree that life is messy. No one lives a life of such ease that day after day things all fall neatly into place, and problems all work themselves out without difficulty. Although certainly not comprehensive, this series addresses many of the challenges that are constantly bombarded with and provides practical biblical wisdom to guide us. We hope God will speak to you through His Word, and make you better equipped to stand firm in your faith.
 
Scriptures Today: 1 Timothy 1;18-19, 6:10 // Luke 19:1-10 // Phillipaians 4:11-13 // Matthew 19:23-24 // 2 Corinthians 5:21
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to ⁠tech@lotwchurch.org⁠ and we will make one available for you. God bless.

Is God a Texas Rangers fan?

Some people are suggesting God may have interfered with this year‘s World Series and it all has to do with one team doing something different than all the other teams. Join me as we explore this possibility on this week’s episode of God Talk.

Get In The Game! (“The Challenge” Week 4 of 4)

It is our hope you are watching Week 4, the last week of “The Challenge” series, because you have accepted “the challenge” and have committed yourself to the spiritual growth opportunity it affords. If you missed Week 1, 2, or 3, we encourage you to take the time to watch it. Visit https://lotwchurch.org/challenge for the full series and the downloadable workbook.
Last week, we looked at the 3-T’s of Time, Talent, and Treasure and how each of us has been given at least some measure of one or even all three. If you haven’t already, carefully examine how God has equipped you, knowing you indeed have been given ways you can be a blessing to the church. God promises He will equip you, then commands you to use it for His glory. No one is exempt. Today you are challenged to “get in the game” with those abilities and aptitudes God has blessed you with. Consider this: when you do, you are an example of Christlikeness that will often inspire others to take your lead and contribute, thus multiplying those efforts. But there are other benefits as well. In the process, there are opportunities for fellowship and relationship building that would otherwise not have been there. And there’s a personal blessing as well; knowing you are following the commands in God’s Word nurtures and deepens our relationship with Christ. It’s not burdensome work; instead, it’s pure joy! So the challenge today is to “Get In The Game!”
Scriptures Today: 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, 12:14-26 
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to ⁠tech@lotwchurch.org⁠ and we will make one available for you. God bless.

Apocalypse Now?

Have we entered or are we nearing the time of the Apocalypse?

Committed Followers of Christ (“The Challenge” Week 3 of 4)

It is our hope you are listening to Week 3 of The Challenge series because you have accepted “the challenge” and have committed yourself to the spiritual growth opportunity it affords. If you missed Week 1 or 2, we encourage you to take the time to watch it; visit https://lotwchurch.org/challenge for the full series and the downloadable workbook.
Last week, we looked at spiritual laziness, a tendency that stymies our spiritual development, and hopefully, you have identified your weak areas and made a commitment to no longer allow it in your life. So this week, having agreed you are “all in,” we are going to look at what it means to be a committed follower of Christ. The first question to ask is, where’s the fruit? The Bible says that if we are in Christ, in other words, fully committed to following Him, we will bear spiritual fruit. The amount of fruit we bear is directly related to how committed we are to following Him. It also tells us we can’t bear fruit on our own. So the challenge in this message is to ask yourself, are you serving Him with all you have? Or serving Him with what’s left over, or even not at all? There are also deeper insights Pastor Greg includes that will help give you a clearer understanding of where you stand to enable you to make changes to kick your spiritual growth into a higher gear!
Scriptures Today: John 5:15 // Ephesians 2:10 // Mark 11:12-21 // 1 Kings 17:7-16 // Luke 21:1-4 // Malachi 3:8-12 // 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to ⁠tech@lotwchurch.org⁠ and we will make one available for you. God bless.

Spiritual Laziness (“The Challenge” Week 2 of 4)

It is our hope you are watching Week 2 of The Challenge series because you have accepted “the challenge” and have committed yourself to the spiritual growth opportunity it affords. If you missed Week 1, we encourage you to take the time to watch it; visit https://lotwchurch.org/challenge for the full series and the downloadable workbook.
This week we are discussing spiritual laziness, a tendency we as believers are prone to unless we make a conscious effort to not allow it in our lives. It follows the same pattern as physical laziness, a tendency we all agree is definitely NOT positive, and God is very specific about His distaste for those who become spiritually lazy. The Bible calls them “lukewarm” Christians, and God very bluntly says He is inclined to “spit them out of His mouth!” Pretty strong words, but we can rest assured that’s exactly what God meant! So with that as the backdrop for today’s message, listen carefully as Pastor Greg lays out ways we can identify and avoid falling into spiritual laziness. 
Scriptures Today: Revelation 3:14-18 // Matthew 6:24, 7:21, 25:15-29, 12:36 // Hebrews 3:17 // Romans 14:12 
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to ⁠tech@lotwchurch.org⁠ and we will make one available for you. God bless.

An Inspirational conversation with someone dying from ALS

I had the opportunity to talk to a former member who is dying from ALS, and the conversation was inspiring and powerful one that I think all of us can learn from. Sometimes we can learn to live from those who are dying.

A Fork In The Road (“The Challenge” Week 1 of 4)

We are kicking off a four-week sermon series, which is an updated version of The Challenge series LOTW did as a church in 2008. Today we start by discussing “forks in the road,” times in our lives where we are required to make a decision and choose which direction or path we will take and commit to it. As an example, we’ll look at Joshua, the leader of the nation of Israel, who succeeded Moses and led the nation into the land that was promised to them by God, despite the fact there were myriad challenges in occupying it. It was time for the nation to commit to doing what God had called them to do. As Joshua stood in front of the whole assembly he challenged them to make the decision to follow God’s instruction. He essentially drove a stake in the ground and declared “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord!” 
Today you will be challenged to make a decision and follow God in your own life. Pastor Greg will lay out The Challenge. Will you commit to it and accept it?
Scriptures Today: Joshua 24:1-15 // 1 John 2:15 
We’re so glad you joined us for this powerful message! Any music performed live is performed under all appropriate licenses from CCLI, and all musical rights remain reserved by their respective artists; license details are available upon request. No other rights are reserved; share this message of hope, light, direction, and peace with anyone and everyone who needs to hear it. If you cannot find a shareable copy, reach out to tech@lotwchurch.org and we will make one available for you. God bless.