God Talk

Let God redeem you in this life and not just the next

It is the holiday season and a lot of us are caring around a lot of pain hurt dysfunction and baggage. The good news is God has not only redeemed us eternally but he wants to redeem us from our hurt and our pain today.

Negative Influences (“Shipwrecked” Week 5 of 6)

As we move into week 5 of our Shipwrecked series we take a look at things we all encounter in life that negatively affect us and can shipwreck our faith. More often than not, these things can seem inconsequential, or worse, totally harmless or even good, but put us on the road to spiritual disaster. We all know Satan has an evil influence on this world, and most of us picture him as some sort of dragon or monster, but scripture warns us he can appear as an angel of light. His mastery of disguises can fool us and those all around us making his ubiquitous evil sway on this world seem good and even beneficial, when in reality it is dangerous and destructive. The Bible calls him a liar, and the father of lies. That’s not a compliment!
But we can’t forget about our own sinful nature, and inherent propensity for evil. In this sermon Pastor Greg reminds us that the negative influences in our lives come from outside us as well as within, and maps out the steps we can take to identify and safeguard ourselves from the shipwrecked life they can bring. This is an essential message intended to equip us with the tools we need for healthy spiritual growth!
Scriptures Today: 1 Peter 5:8 // 1 Corinthians 15:33, 2 Corinthians 11:14 // Genesis 3:1-7 // Luke 22:1-6, 22:31-32  //  John 10:28-29 // Proverbs 13:20 // 2 Timothy 3:1-5 // Deuteronomy 20:16-18 // Matthew 24:12-14
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.

Dad’s Gone Wild

Society has devalued the role of the male for sometime now and we are seeing the scary results of that. The truth is weak men create a weak country.

Imperfect Pastors (“Shipwrecked” Week 4 of 6)

This week, we turn our attention to church leadership, and specifically to pastors. There’s an inherent tendency among all of us to judge the pastor, bible study leader, or Sunday school teacher because, after all, he or she is the leader and the one whose life and actions are on display. But that leader is also a human just like you and I, and as such, has faults, and opinions we may not agree with, and of course, makes mistakes. The Bible has much to say about the higher standards of righteousness expected from those in church leadership, and Pastor Greg will provide examples. 
But we, too, have a responsibility to not base our feelings toward God or toward the church by solely looking at the imperfect man God is using to preach His perfect Word. God can work through imperfect, broken vessels to accomplish His purposes, and we have the responsibility not to let broken people shipwreck our faith. God will hold us accountable for that!   
Scriptures Today: 1 Samuel 2:12-117, 22-26 // Matthew 23:13-15 // 1 Timothy 3:4 // Proverbs 16:5 // 
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.

Worldly Wisdom (”Shipwrecked” Week 3 of 6)

As we continue the Shipwrecked series, we turn our attention to the topic of worldly wisdom. Essentially, there are two types of wisdom: that which comes from the hearts of men, which God considers foolishness, and real wisdom that comes from God. Proverbs 14:12 puts man’s wisdom in proper perspective, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end leads to death.” 
In this message Pastor Greg will provide valuable insights in sorting out the intricacies of wisdom to help us decipher what to do when common sense and God’s wisdom are in direct conflict. He includes seven qualities of godly wisdom and seven ways to practice and apply that wisdom. This message will shed light on what true wisdom looks like, and how to make wise decisions in the course of living life, and is a message well worth watching, bookmarking, then coming back to again and again as a resource.
Scriptures Today: 1 Corinthians 3:19 // James 3:13-17 // Proverbs 11:2-3, 14:12, 12:15 // 1 Chronicles 21 // Exodus 3:12 // Psalm 111:12 // Collossians 1:9 // 1 Corinthians 3:18-19 // 1 John 4:1 // Ecclesiastes 7:5 // 1 Peter 5:8
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.

Trusting God in the pain of losing a loved one.

God promises to work all things for the good those who love him. In this podcast I will share how I saw God in the final days of my dad’s life as he died of complications related to Alzheimer’s and dementia.

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.