Fr. Larry Richards is the founder and president of The Reason for our Hope Foundation, a non- profit organization dedicated to ”spreading the Good News” by educating others about Jesus Christ. His new homilies are posted each week.
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A tartalmat a Light Of The Nations biztosítja. Az összes podcast-tartalmat, beleértve az epizódokat, grafikákat és podcast-leírásokat, közvetlenül a Light Of The Nations vagy a podcast platform partnere tölti fel és biztosítja. Ha úgy gondolja, hogy valaki az Ön engedélye nélkül használja fel a szerzői joggal védett művét, kövesse az itt leírt folyamatot https://hu.player.fm/legal.
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Welcome to the Enjoying Everyday Life TV podcast with Joyce Meyer. To learn more, visit our website at joycemeyer.org or download the Joyce Meyer Ministries App. By supporting Joyce Meyer Ministries, you can help us reach hurting people around the world. To find out more, go to joycemeyer.org/donate
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Your online home for leadership lessons for both the church and the workplace.
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Love God, love people, and change the world. We believe the life and lessons of Jesus aren’t just good advice, but are Good News for us here and now. As a church, we are all about following Jesus and know there’s no end to that journey—we’re more about becoming than arriving. We are committed to becoming a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, multiplying movement of Christ followers, equipping and empowering our kids and students to not only be the church of tomorrow, but the church of today.
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Catholic Answers LIVE is a daily, call-in radio program of Catholic apologetics and evangelization airing live from 6-8 pm ET.
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When a young Eva Kollisch arrives as a refugee in New York in 1940, she finds a community among socialists who share her values and idealism. She soon discovers ‘the cause’ isn’t as idyllic as it seems. Little does she know this is the beginning of a lifelong commitment to activism and her determination to create radical change in ways that include belonging, love and one's full self. In addition to Eva Kollisch’s memoirs Girl in Movement (2000) and The Ground Under My Feet (2014), LBI’s collections include an oral history interview with Eva conducted in 2014 and the papers of Eva’s mother, poet Margarete Kolllisch, which document Eva’s childhood experience on the Kindertransport. Learn more at www.lbi.org/kollisch . Exile is a production of the Leo Baeck Institute , New York | Berlin and Antica Productions . It’s narrated by Mandy Patinkin. Executive Producers include Katrina Onstad, Stuart Coxe, and Bernie Blum. Senior Producer is Debbie Pacheco. Associate Producers are Hailey Choi and Emily Morantz. Research and translation by Isabella Kempf. Sound design and audio mix by Philip Wilson, with help from Cameron McIver. Theme music by Oliver Wickham. Voice acting by Natalia Bushnik. Special thanks to the Kollisch family for the use of Eva’s two memoirs, “Girl in Movement” and “The Ground Under My Feet”, the Sophia Smith Collection at Smith College and their “Voices of Feminism Oral History Project”, and Soundtrack New York.…
Light of the Nations' Foursquare Church in Denver Podcast
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A tartalmat a Light Of The Nations biztosítja. Az összes podcast-tartalmat, beleértve az epizódokat, grafikákat és podcast-leírásokat, közvetlenül a Light Of The Nations vagy a podcast platform partnere tölti fel és biztosítja. Ha úgy gondolja, hogy valaki az Ön engedélye nélkül használja fel a szerzői joggal védett művét, kövesse az itt leírt folyamatot https://hu.player.fm/legal.
The official podcast of Light Of The Nations Foursquare Church in Denver Colorado. Light of the Nations is a Multi-National, Multi-Ethnic, Multi-Generational, Multiplying, Mission-Minded Church serving in Denver, Colorado.
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152 epizódok
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Manage series 2289924
A tartalmat a Light Of The Nations biztosítja. Az összes podcast-tartalmat, beleértve az epizódokat, grafikákat és podcast-leírásokat, közvetlenül a Light Of The Nations vagy a podcast platform partnere tölti fel és biztosítja. Ha úgy gondolja, hogy valaki az Ön engedélye nélkül használja fel a szerzői joggal védett művét, kövesse az itt leírt folyamatot https://hu.player.fm/legal.
The official podcast of Light Of The Nations Foursquare Church in Denver Colorado. Light of the Nations is a Multi-National, Multi-Ethnic, Multi-Generational, Multiplying, Mission-Minded Church serving in Denver, Colorado.
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152 epizódok
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Ferne Millar speaks to an AGLOW chapter on the power of prayer.
Ferne Millar discusses the blood of Jesus and the miraculous powers of it.
Ferne Millar and her husband Campbell Millar describe how God's grace is sufficient and how He has shown that to be true through out their missionary lives.
Ferne Millar speaks about the Holy Sprit and fighting His prompting.
Ferne Millar speaks about depression.
1 (3) Trusting The Lord In All Things 1:09:28
1:09:28 
Lejátszás később 
Lejátszás később 
Listák 
Tetszik 
Kedvelt1:09:28
Lejátszás később Lejátszás később Listák Tetszik KedveltFerne Millar speaks about trusting the Lord.
The Holy Spirit is a game changer. When the Holy Spirit come into your life, it changes everything. It fills you with a spirit of power and life and love. In the Old testament the Holy Spirit would come on people but it would not come on everyone. The first person mentioned in the Bible that became full of the Spirit was Bezalel. He was an artist and built the first temple. He was a construction worker. Then there was Joshua. Then Gideon. Then Samson. Then Saul. They were all filled with the Spirit and when the Spirit came in, it was a game changer. Everything changed. The early church exploded when the Holy Spirit came. Look what happened to Paul/Saul. In 1 Corinthians 2:4-5 Paul accredited his message and preaching with a “demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” That is good news. It isn’t resting on you if you have the game changer with you. Your faith should be based on God’s power through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit wants to come on us. He wants to move through us. We can’t be content with just having the Spirit fill us. He wants to move through us to fill others. Jesus wants us to partner with the Holy Spirit. In John 14:12 Jesus says “Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing. And they will do even greater works than these because I am going to the Father.” When the Holy Spirit fills us, He changes the game. He changes the situation. He changes our schools, our jobs, our families and the way that we think. God is love. There is nothing more powerful than God’s love.…
It is God’s purpose in this world to bring people together. In the beginning, God created the universe with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not point to himself. One of the first mentions of the Holy Spirit was by a king that didn’t even know him. Joseph foretold to Pharaoh that there would be famine. Pharaoh knew Joseph was right because he had dreams and he knew that the Spirit was in Joseph. So even someone that does not know God can recognize the presence of the Holy Spirit. We want to always evidence the Spirit here when someone visits us. Jesus told us that He had to go away so that the Spirit could be in us and with us. We should make use of this each day. The Spirit helps us even to pray. How can we be unified in a world where there is so much trouble? The Holy Spirit will help us with that. When you have trouble with a brother or a sister, what is the trouble. We have original sin. Original sin means you are born with it. There is a worm in every apple. Even if you think a person has no faults, they have original sin. Without the Holy Spirit and the blood of Jesus we cannot have unity. God doesn’t want to make us weird or peculiar. What God wants is to make us holy. Throughout the New Testament we see the work of the Holy Spirit to make us holy. One of the ways is the fruit of the Spirit described in Galatians 5:22. There are also the gifts of the Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:8.…
Immersion is taking something a dunking it in water. It needs to go under the water. Completely covered. We practice water baptism but we also believe in spirit baptism. To be baptized in the spirit you must be thirsty for the Holy Spirit. We need the Holy Spirit. We just don’t know it. The Holy Spirit comes in different ways in the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit would come upon certain chosen people. It would come upon a prophet and the prophet would prophesy. Or it would come upon a king and enable the king to rule. But Jesus said He had to go to His Father to send the Holy Spirit to us more directly. Jesus died on the cross to forgive our sins but also to send the Holy Spirit to us. The sacrifices in the temple in the Old Testament were a preview of Jesus’ death and sending the Spirit. We have a new relationship with God. The law is written on our hearts and we are a people of priests. The Old Testament is looking forward to this time. No longer is it just that prophet speaking Gods word. We have the Holy Spirit to help us with the work God has set out for us. We talk about the baptism of the Spirit and we say that the Spirit comes upon us and gives us power to heal, to speak prophesy and knowledge and to speak in a language we don’t know. We recognize two baptisms, with water and with fire and the Holy spirit. The baptism with water is conversion. Symbolically dying with Christ. The baptism of the Holy Spirit which brings power and other gifts. There is also the baptism of Moses which brings people of for deliverance.…
Are you thirsty? Then you need to take a drink. When you don’t drink enough water you get dehydrated and all kinds of things can go wrong. Pain, infections, all sorts of things. We are dehydrated as a church. We are not drinking enough or the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is kind of like the fluids you put in the engine of your car. We all know about gasoline, but you also need oil and antifreeze. The Holy Spirit serves many roles and we need them all. If you don’t have enough water in your engine you will see fire and it will be bad. The oil keeps things moving smoothly. We need the Holy Spirit in our lives in order to function properly. The Holy Spirit gives us power to do ministry. Power to cast out demons and pray for someone to be healed or to speak a word of knowledge into someone’s life. We need the water of the Holy Spirit to keep us regulated so we don’t burn out. We need the oil of the Holy Spirit to keep us working smoothly. In John, Jesus talks of the Holy Spirit and says that it will come after He is Glorified. What is He referring to? He was glorified when He was lifted up. Lifted up on the cross in crucifixion, into heaven in resurrection and onto the throne in ascension. Jesus was redefining the ceremony where the priests were pouring out water. He said that He was the water that you need. Jesus went to heaven to send back the Holy Spirit for us. Everyone needs the Holy Spirit. So, are you thirsty?…
1 2019-06-30 – Commandment 5 1:00:45
1:00:45 Lejátszás később Lejátszás később Listák Tetszik Kedvelt1:00:45
Lejátszás később Lejátszás később Listák Tetszik KedveltThe first commandment is "“I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other gods before me." This puts God firmly in His place as the Lord of everything and the deliverer of His people. The second commandment is “You shall not make for yourself an image in the form of anything in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments" This makes it clear that we should not put anything before the Lord. The third commandment is “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name." What is the meaning of this? Most people think it only means using His name as a curse, but it is more than that. It also means using His name without meaning or in a frivolous or insincere way. It also means the common practice of using His name as an exclamation ("Oh My ...') should be avoided since this would be frivolous or insincere. Don't use His name as part of a pagan incantation. What are His names? "I AM" is His answer. Or in Hebrew Yahweh. Respect His name! It is a strong tower in which you can take refuge.…
We need to beware of worshiping other gods. A god can be anything that you put ahead of God. It can be money or statues or even a car or a house! It makes no sense to worship something that is made by man.God transcends all of that.
A discussion of Christian life in Pakistan. Presented by the founder of Shining Light International Ministry.
As a church we need to know the ten commandments and to understand them. Our religion is based on them. Our country is based on them. They are the rules that show us how to live our lives. When we stop following them we open ourselves to all sorts of problems and begin to fail as a culture. Sometimes people say the they are part of the Old Testament and therefore don’t matter. We must have both the Old and New Testaments. They strengthen each other. Israel entered into a covenant with God and said that they would submit to His authority. The law that came from the commandments was how Israel was supposed to live. If they followed them, they would be blessed. If not, they would be abandoned by God. God spoke the commandments Himself. No human made them up. He starts off by saying who He is and why He can make these laws.…
Over 2000 years ago Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a donkey and the people laid down their coats and palm branches to cover the ground and they shouted “Hosanna.” But what they were shouting is different than what we shout today. What they were saying was a plea to be saved. But when we say it, He has already saved us. For us it is a declaration! It is important to realize which side of the cross you are on. The kingdom of God is advancing! Whatever you are looking for, you will find. Even in the midst of the worst desert God will provide what you need. Philippians 4:8 says “whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” Our country is going through some struggles. If you are looking for bad things, you will find them. And if you are looking for good things, you will find them. Even in the darkness, the light is shining brighter. I am filled with hope because the Kingdom of God is expanding. In John chapter 7 it tells us that during most of Jesus ministry His brothers rejected Him. He was completely misunderstood by His blood relatives. Since He went through it, He can lead us out of it. Adam and Eve rejected God. He was their father and they broke the family relationship. Ever since then, brokenness has been part of families around the world. Except Jesus came from an unbroken family to reestablish what family is and to reclaim what Adam and Eve had given up. During His ministry he said some pretty radical things about family. Because the more broken something is, the more radical the fix needs to be. Whoever Jesus says He is, has to become our foundation, because He is the embodiment of our Father. In Matthew 12:46-50 Jesus shifts the whole definition of family. When we become Christians, family changes. We used to know the family rules but when Jesus came He changed the rules of what family looks like. Is Jesus giving permission to dishonor parents? NO! He is redefining what family is. When Jesus says “who are my mother and brothers and sisters?”, He is not downgrading his loyalty to them. Rather He is upgrading His loyalty to someone else, God the Father! If He is upgrading His loyalty to the Father, what should we be doing?…
What is the role of a bridge? Connection! The bridge is there to help connect two sides easily. Maybe it is a river or a ravine. Sin and disobedience put a barrier between humans and God. Man is lost because of sin. Man is living far from God. But God is full of grace and mercy. So even with this barrier, God continued to love man. No matter who you are, Jesus loves you. We must stay away from sin so that we can attract the glory of God. God has made a way for us to approach Him. It is Jesus. Only through Jesus precious blood can we come close. Christ took our place at the cross. But we rejected Him. But for everyone who believes in His name, He gave them the power to be the children of God. People are living without Christ in their lives. When you don’t have Christ, you are lost! There are two verbs by which you can be saved. To receive and to believe. Have you ever done the two verbs in your life? Many people believe in God but they never receive Him as their Lord and Savior. If you are in that category, you are not a son of God. Christ wants to rule in your life. He wants to live in you. The bridge is there for everybody, but there is a condition. You have to believe and receive. Life is in the Son and whoever has the Son has life but whoever does not have the Son does not have life. The time to give your life to Christ is now. Not tomorrow. Because You don’t know when your life may end. Then it is too late.…
Installation of Loth Lanongo as an elder of our church. This is very important in the life of our church. Elders help guide the pastor and the congregation in prayer and counseling. In this episode, Pastor Andy spends some time discussing elders and talking especially about Loth. Joshua was told by the Lord to be bold and be strong. And very courageous. Be careful to obey all of the law that Moses gave you. If you obey the law, you will be successful. Keep the law on your lips. Meditate on it day and night. Speak it.…
Achan hid treasure that he stole from Jericho. God had said they were to destroy everything and not loot. When Israel got to Ai, they were defeated. Humiliated. So after prayer and investigation, Achan’s sin was discovered and he and everything he had, including his family, had to be destroyed. In chapter 8, God had a new message for Joshua. Really the same message he had all along. Don’t be afraid. God is with you. Sema usiogope. Fear is a terrible prison. It keeps you in bondage. Whatever challenge you are facing, God is already there for you. Do not be afraid. You must do what the Lord has commanded. God tells you what he wants you to do and you need to follow. Joshua built an altar to commemorate the victory at the second battle of Ai. He built it according to the instructions that Moses laid out in the law. Gather stones and build it. Don’t cut or break the stones. Just use what you have. This is how God works with us. He takes all of our past experiences, the good and the bad, and puts them together into something better than what we would ever see. All of the little pieces fit together just right. God wants you to come to him as you are. Just come. You don’t need to become perfect to come to church. That part will be taken care of by God. Satan wants you to stop coming to church. God just wants you to come. We also need to know the rules. We get those from God’s word. He is very clear. And we need to teach them to each other and to the children. Both the rules and the blessings. The blessings and the curses. We also need to teach them how to pray.…
A very short message following the annual business meeting of the church. The importance of tithing is discussed.
The city of Jericho was destroyed and the people were instructed to not take anything for themselves. No looting! Looting was the norm after a battle at that time. But God said “NO!” It was forbidden. Many of the soldiers didn’t like that. Achan saw some things in one of the houses that he wanted to keep. He decided that it would not hurt and no one would know. That day Achan become the enemy of Israel and God and himself. God knew this but held off on punishment. The next city was Ai. At Ai the army of Israel was defeated. It should have been an easy victory but God wanted to get their attention. God wants us to move forward. But only if we are moving with Him. If we are not moving with Him, we must repent! God told Joshua that He would be with him but only if he obeyed. God says that we must not take that which belongs to Him. Achan had disobeyed and stolen that which the Lord said was his. This is like not tithing. Don’t withhold your tithe! Tithing unleashes God’s blessing in your life. In the case of Achan, he and his whole family had to die to pay for this sin. When you sin, you impact everyone. The answer is to turn from your sin and repent. There is hope and salvation through Jesus! Jesus will take the punishment for you if you repent and accept Him.…
If someone says something three times it means it is very important. God is not holy three times. He is holy more than three times. Three times is not enough for Him! He is holy so much we can’t even say it. But jewish people say it three times. Even Jesus on the cross said “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” That is how serious it was. When we talk about holiness we talk about seriousness. But let’s talk about a joke. In a joke there is nothing serious. Some people don’t like jokes. So why is Pastor Fils putting these two opposite things together? Sometimes jokes cross the line and bring bad things. So some people don’t like jokes. Paul tells Ephesians to be careful and not cross the line. So what is Pastor Fils doing when the Bible tells us not to do it, putting the two words together? A word from God is holy, but the reaction of a man can make it a joke. An angel comes to Gideon and calls him “mighty warrior.” Gideon says, “What are you talking about?” God’s word is holy but to man sometimes it sounds like a joke. When Lazarus was dead, Jesus told Martha to take him where you put him. That is holy. But Martha said he had been dead for many days and thought Jesus was joking. God is telling us things but how are you taking it? You can keep it holy or make it a joke. It can look like a joke, but if it is coming from God you should think of it as holy. That is when you will see a miracle. In Joshua 6 God gives specific instructions on how to take Jericho. But the instructions sound like a joke. March around the city for six days with seven priests with trumpets. It is hard to take these instructions seriously. But they came from God so they must be serious. Imagine what the defenders of the city thought when they saw the Israelites following the instructions. But the miracle happened just like God had said. Perhaps the most important part was praising God at the end with a shout. Praise Him when you have nothing left. Praise Him when you are tired. We need to obey God no matter what He tells us to do. God has a plan and it will only work when you obey. The first step is to come to Jesus.…
| We need to take this land for the Lord. Denver is not going to give up its people for nothing. Moses is dead. God has told Joshua to be bold and strong. He was to take the nation of Israel across the Jordan river. The Jordan was about a mile wide and was in flood stage. God told Joshua to just walk in to the river. The priests were terrified. But the water stopped flowing upstream a mile or more and two million people were able to cross on dry ground. God want us to take the land. It will require us to be bold and strong. We will encounter resistance. But God will be with us and we won’t be alone. This is what God told the people they had to do to take the land. 1. Get circumcised. (WHAT?!?) What does that have to do with winning the battle. 2. Have a Passover. What is God asking of us? 1. Have communion together. 2. Have prayer together. 3. Have praise and worship together. You won’t see the real battle on the news. The real battle is in your neighborhood and even in your mind and in your heart. We are never going to conquer the spiritual forces surrounding us unless we are submitted to Jesus Christ. We are not trying to kill the enemy, we are trying to bring them to Jesus. We need to have circumcised hearts. Let’s look at our lives to see if there are things that need to be cut off so that we can be holy. We should also practice the communion in our homes.…
Joshua and all of the people were on one side of the Jordan River. On the other side lay the Promised Land. The river was at flood stage. It was flowing fast and wide. It’s going to take a lot of miracles to get the people across. But God said “Be bold!” You have to be careful not to go out ahead of God. Wait for His timing. Then be bold. When we are going to do something big for God we need to let God go ahead. We need to watch God. Keep your eyes on God. Don’t be discouraged or afraid. You also need to purify your heart. God insists that our hearts are pure when He works with us. Next, you must take action. Do as God directs. Step out in faith. It may be scary but this is where the boldness comes in. Finally, God wants us to remember when He acts. Remember when He performs miracles. Start a Miracle Journal.…
How can we see God as a bigger God. Send up bigger prayers. Move from listening and knowing to doing. Putting your faith into action and making it your own. People who strengthen their faith are those who actually put it into practice. You don’t have to be perfect. It is ok to fail when you step out in faith. Your faith, your story grows anyway. God wants your story to be heard. There are a lot of people in this church who have powerful stories. With our faith are we actually practicing or are we just learning. Learning is good but doing is better. When you act on your faith, it opens a door and encourages others to start thinking about acting on their faith. And actually doing it! What are we building our faith on? Sand or rock? We should have limitless faith because God is a limitless God. It should be exciting to be a Christion. We server a powerful God! He is always amazing us and others. How can we put our faith into action today. We should pray that God will strengthen us and encourage and guide us. We need to believe that God is a great big powerful God. We need to see God alive in our lives. We need to pray that fear will not stop us from stepping out and putting our faith into action!…
Joshua has recently become the leader of all of the Israelites. About two million people. God had told him to be bold and strong because God is with him. Joshua had been one of the spies that Moses sent to spy out the promised land. So Joshua sent two spies to Jericho to the house of Rahab. Rahab was reputed to be a prostitute but that might not be an accurate translation. Rahab hid the spies on her roof and she covered them with flax. But first she had a conversation with them. Rahab had come to understand what was going to happen. She told the spies that she knew the Lord was going to hand the land over to the Israelites. She wanted to be on the right side. So she betrayed the people of Jericho. Whose side are you going to be on?…
Jesus taught that we should not judge so that we will not be judged. We have a tendency to see all of the problems that other people have but are unable to see their own problems. Life is not fair. Only God is fair. We expect more from others that we are able to give. We what people to be perfect and we are ready to punish them when they fail. But these people are not perfect and they don’t even notice that. This is the year of restoration. But restoration requires change. We need to listen to the Word of God so that we can see the changes that we need to make in our own lives. We need to judge ourselves prior to judging others. None of us are perfect so we need to work on ourselves before we work on others. Everyone can fall into temptation and sin. Only Jesus can be perfect. We need to develop a heart of forgiveness and repentance and love. Not judgement! We need to forgive because we are forgiven. We also need to ask for forgiveness if there are things we have done to others. It works both ways. Go and forgive and be forgiven.…
We see a river flowing from the throne of God. This isn’t like a river in Colorado It is deep and wide and flows a long way. It flows through the city of God. And there is a tree alongside of it and it is the Tree of Life. We also saw the tree of life in the garden of Eden. This tree brings life. It has 12 crops per year, one per month. The fruit is for the healing of the people and the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The curse is the labor that we have to do and the sickness we get. In Heaven there will be no more night and no need of the sun because the light of the glory of God will light the whole place. The Bible says the end is coming soon. We know it is true because the Bible says so. We don’t know when, only God knows that. But we know it will be soon. The church that is looking for the coming of Jesus is a church that is experiencing revival. John is experiencing this revelation and he is so overwhelmed that he falls down to worship the angel. He is rebuked because we are not to worship created things, only the creator. The angels of God work with the people of God. They are God’s servants, just like us. We are not to worship them but God only. We need to tell others that we are not to worship other people or things. People worship rock stars and all sorts of celebrities ot things. This is very dangerous. Jesus is coming soon! He will come without warning. You need to come to Him now because later will be too late. The time is now! This is true for you and your friends and relatives. Jesus will reward each person according to what they have done. When we all get to judgement day, we will probably be surprised by the rewards that we, and others, receive. Only those whose robes are washed clean will be able to take from the Tree of Life. There is a list of people who are outside. The list goes in reverse order of how bad the sins are. Surprisingly, witchcraft is not the worst. Sexual immorality and pornography are worse. Murder is worse than that. Then idolatry is worse still. Finally on the list is practicing falsehood (Lying). Come to Jesus. Everyone, come to Jesus!…
God is with us! When things are going great, God is with you. When you hit a rough patch, God is with you. When you are tempted, remember that God is with you. When you take on a big challenge, God is with you. One of Jesus’ names is Emmanuel which means God with us. In the garden of Eden, God was there with Adam and Eve until sin separated Him from us. The Israelites spent 40 years in the desert and one of the most important lessons was that God was with them. He gave them explicit instructions on how to build a tabernacle so that His presence could be right there among the people. He was with them as a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. God was with them. God sent His son to live with us and to be with us. He wants to be with us always and will do amazing things to accomplish that. He sent His Holy Spirit to dwell within us. The Bible is full of examples of God reaching out to us to be with us. When we accept Jesus into our lives, He comes to live in us. You are a temple for God! This is really important. But it isn’t the end. We live as believers that the holy Spirit lives in us and gives us power and goes everywhere we go. At the end of Revelation, God sends the holy city down for us and God finally comes to live with us forever. God wants to be with you! We need to be bold and strong because the Lord is with us. We need to take back our cities and our countries to correct the work of the enemy. We need to be bold and loving to do so. God told Joshua that He wanted the Israelites to take the land. Throughout the beginning of the book of Joshua God told him to be bold and strong and courageous because God was with him. Why did God need to tell him that so many times? Because things had changed. The cloud that went before them went away. Every day you need to step in boldness because the Lord is with you. We need to be bold for the people who are with us. There are people in your life who need your boldness. Your boldness can help them to be bold. It can help them to be confident and strong and courageous. People rely on you to have faith. Even people that you don’t know are relying on you. Your boldness needs to go with obedience to God. This is vital. If you don’t go with obedience to God, you may lose His favor. Sometimes this is difficult. It can go against your desires. But you need to be bold and obey the Lord! You need to meditate on Gods work all the time. This is your path to prosperity. We need to speak the word of God. We need to speak what is true to the people around us. How else will they learn? Do not be afraid. Do not be dismayed or discourages or depressed. God is with you. God can drive out the fear. Boldness doesn’t need to be big and strong. It can be gentle and kind. It can be loving.…
In Rev. 21 the devil has been conquered. The false prophet and the beast have been thrown into the lake of fire. Now comes the good part! This is where the victory comes. A new heaven and a new Earth because the first heaven and the first Earth were passed away. God has never given up on us! He hasn’t even given up on the Earth. Not even during the flood. God is taking all that has been corrupted and is making it new. The New Jerusalem comes down from heaven and is prepared like a bride. It is made totally beautiful. The church is getting ready for Jesus Christ. It is made holy for Him. We can’t make ourselves holy. Only Jesus can make us holy. Every day we should come before the Lord and ask for forgiveness and to be made pure. In this chapter of Revelation we see that God’s desire, God’s plan is to come and live with us. This is a little picture of what heaven will be like. More and better than we can ever imagine. There will be no more sorrow or pain. No more sadness or disease. No more death. WOW! Everything is made new.…
The Christmas story in Matthew chapter 2. This story is different from the story as told in Luke. They are told from different perspectives and intended for different audiences. By reading both we actually get a better view of the whole story. Matthew 2 to told mostly from the perspective of Joseph. In Luke it is more from the perspective on Mary. The magi were not really “wise men”. They came from what would be modern day Iraq and they were famous for reading the stars. They travelled about 1000 miles to Jerusalem. They went to Jerusalem because they didn’t know exactly where to go but they knew they were looking for the “King of the Jews”. There may have been more than three, we don’t know. That journey would have taken a lot of resources. Herod was a man obsessed with finding and killing his enemies. This even included his family members. We would call him paranoid. He was also short. E was a great architect and builder. He was very disturbed when he heard about the Magi’s search. He wasn’t the only one who was disturbed. All of Jerusalem was disturbed. He called the chief priests and the teachers of the law and asked where the messiah was to be born. Herod sought to know when the baby was born. He told the magi that he wanted to worship the child and asked that they tell him when they find him. The magi knew this was a trick so that Herod could have Jesus killed. In the traditional nativity scene, we have it wrong. The magi were not there for His birth. They probably didn’t show up until He was about two years old. When it was time for them to leave, the magi had a dream about Herod’s treachery. So the left by a different route. About that time Joseph also had a dream and he took he family off to Egypt. Jesus’ birth disrupted a lot in Jerusalem and in the Roman empire. He still disrupts the world today. We need to have a relationship with Him that goes beyond how He can help us. We need to focus also on how we can stand up for Him and spread His love and His message.…
Revelation 20 is kind of like the new testament version of Sodom and Gomorrah. This talks about judgement. That is when God is deciding what is going to happen. Some people think they should just live the way they want to and when they get to heaven they will reason with God and convince Him that it is OK. The bible teaches thet God is true and that every man is a liar. Judgement is real. Everyone is going to have to stand before God. No sin will go unpunished. Actually, there are two judgements. Every sin will be punished. Either by Jesus on your behalf or by you. You have the choice over which way it will be. God wants everyone to be saved. That is why He sent His son to take the punishment for us. But we need to repent and believe. We have seen the false prophet and the beast thrown into the lake of fire. Now we see the dragon punished. First, an angel ties him up for a thousand years. Then the people who have been martyred for their faith are resurrected and rule for a thousand years. These are the ones who refused to take the mark of the beast. The rest of the dead do not come back to life yet. There are two resurrections. The first where the righteous are resurrected. This include believers and martyrs. It goes on for a thousand years. The second is where everyone else is raised. This is kind of like the garden of Eden again. In the garden, there was no sin. At the end of the thousand years, the devil (dragon, serpent) is freed and allowed to deceive people again. The final judgement of Satan comes next. He is then thrown into the lake of fire. After Satan is thrown into the lake of fire comes the final judgement. This is for those who have rejected Jesus. They go before a white thrown. There are books that reveal all of the good and bad that each of these people has done. All is revealed. We all think there is more good than bad, but this simply isn’t true. In fact, only one sin is enough to put you in hell. There is also a book of life. In that book are the names of everyone who has confessed that Jesus is their Lord and Savior. If your name is in the book of life, there is no further judgement. However, anyone whose name is not written in the book of life is thrown into the lake of fire.…
This is the testimony of Loth Lanongo. I was the first born of 12 children. My father was a pastor and was in the army. When I was 15 years old we were in the city named Bunia. I was sleeping and woke up at 5 am to go to school. But I was so tired that I remained in bed and I saw a light coming through the roof and it filled the room. And there was someone in the light who was full of glory. He had a belt and a crown. And He said my name and said that He had chosen me to take His gospel far. I was only fifteen years old and before the glory of this man I could not even move but only look at Him. He said He would be with me and then He left. My parents thought I was already at school when I came out and my father questioned why I was not at school. I told him I could not go to school because Jesus came to speak to me. He didn’t believe me and said I was talking crazy. But I insisted and told him what Jesus said to me. Since that time I have felt that I am not alone and I have someone at my side. I was schooled in a Roman Catholic school. In my country we have big cars that get loaded up very high and after they are loaded people go up on top and catch rides on them. One day I was coming home from school riding on top of a car like that with about six people. The driver was speeding down a hill and he lost his brakes. We came to a turn and the car rolled and we all fell off. But an angel took me very quickly and lifted me off the car and stood on my back and we watched the car roll over. Some villagers came to rescue us and they were asking me what happened but I could not speak. Then I told them what happened and pointed out the angel who rescued me but they could not see him. My father was frustrated because I was seeing things that no one else could see. I was in a village called Kasenyi which is near Lake Albert. This is the lake that borders Congo and Uganda. My uncle was in charge of all of the troops stationed there. People told me that there is a confluence of two rivers that are different colors and it shows that this is Congo and that is Uganda. So I was very curious and my uncle sent me with five soldiers to go see it. There were soldiers from Uganda and Cong and they were talking. A storm came and we left there but it was raining very hard with a strong wind. It was so bad that our boat broke in two and we were all in the water. Out in the middle I found some shallow water and I thought I was standing on a rock in the middle of the river. I was scared and crying but I started singing. I stood there for three hours and then I heard a sound of an engine coming. Soldiers came and were wondering who this was standing in the middle of the river. As the boat got closer, the rock started moving. It wasn’t a rock. It was a hippo! The hippo saved me. From that day on I thought the name of Jesus was hippo! If you go to Kesenyi they all were talking about this. Hippos are very dangerous. The most dangerous animal in Africa. After that my father was transferred to Kinshasa which is about 2500km from Bunia. So I thought this was what Jesus meant when He said He was sending me far. Eventually, my father passed away. Since I was the oldest, I became the father of these eleven children. So I went looking for a job. I found a security job. They asked us to complete a test. There were several circles various sizes. We were to pick out the largest of the circles. Everyone had trouble with this. I heard a voice behind me telling me to choose the smallest looking circle. I thought for sure that the angel was wrong this time. So I wrote that the smallest one was the biggest one. I was the only one to get it right. The man in charge was from America and asked me to explain my answer. I told him I didn’t know and that I just chose it. He took me to the US Embassy and told me there is only one job open. Did I want it? I took it because I didn’t know any better. The next day 9 people came from the US to…
In the beginning of chapter 19 we saw the three hallelujahs showing that God is God and there is no other. They started right before the final battle. At the end of the hallelujahs it was so beautiful that John fell down and worshiped the angel. But the angel stopped him. We are not to worship angels. We are to worship the creator and not the created. Jesus accepted worship because He is God. In our modern world we are enticed to worship all sort of things and people. Rock stars, sports stars, money, cars. Even ourselves. That is the ultimate sin. We are constantly tempted to worship anything but God. Throughout the old and new testaments we are told not to worship idols. We get confused because we don’t have “idols” but the devil is so crafty that he has created all sorts of idols for us to worship that don’t look like idols. In chapter 19 Jesus comes out of heaven to fight the devil. He is riding a white horse. He is referred to as faithful and true. Why would Jesus do that? He already dies for our sins. In the old testament the messiah comes as a lion and as a lamb. One messiah that comes two times. First as a lamb and then as a lion. He comes to bring justice. He doesn’t come alone. He comes with the host of heaven and they are all dressed in white. Pure, clean and white. He is the Word of God. With a sword coming out of His mouth. The sword is His word. A two edged sword that cuts us to separate what is good from what is bad. He is carrying something in His hand. An iron scepter that symbolizes ruling. This one is made of iron instead of gold. Iron is a hard metal. He is not messing around. Why do wars start? Sometimes it is because of greed. Sometimes it is for revenge. This final war has another reason. To bring justice on the earth. Every sin that has been done against you will be paid for in one of two ways. Either by the person who committed it or by Jesus himself. We need to get serious about God. We need to tell others! The final battle comes in verse 21. The devil has three parts. There is the dragon, the beast and the false prophet. The beast and the false prophet are thrown into the lake of fire. This happens so fast. It shows how powerful God is. But it makes you wonder what God is waiting for. He is waiting for His people to come to Him. God is patient and kind and doesn’t want anyone to go to the lake of fire but He won’t force you against your will.…
This chapter begins the conclusion of Revelation. We are beginning to see all of the victory that God is bringing. This book is really about worship. The battle between heaven and hell is coming to an end. Even if we don’t have the victory in hand yet, it is time to rejoice and worship before it is finished. When Paul and Silas were in prison they began to sing a song of praise at midnight and then the earth shook, and the cells opened and the prisoners were freed. God is looking for people who will praise Him. You need to praise Him so that He can work in your life. First hallelujah: God has the power. God has the power of salvation. God has the power of glory. The presence of God is the glory of God. All power! No one is beyond salvation. Second hallelujah: The elders bow down. When we understand the power of God, we can’t stand in His presence. Both great and small are supposed to worship God. Families should worship together. Even little children should hear the Word of God. Third hallelujah: The whole multitude of people are worshiping God and giving praise because the bride is ready. Who is the bride? It is the church!…
The message for today is “Going back to the gates.” To summarize, this is the story of Mordecai who found a job to be a gate man. While at the gates three things happened. First, some people plotted to kill the king and Mordecai told Esther about the plot. The only reward he got was to write his name in the book of souvenir and that is all. Even the king didn’t bother to come out and thank him. People expect to get some recognition when they do good deeds. Often this does not happen. So what do you do? Many people will change their way of doing things because of this. Second, Mordecai remained at the gates. He got no promotion or anything. Other people got promoted but not Mordecai. But Mordecai was humble and patient. He stayed at the gate and waited. Third, Mordecai was faithful. He kept doing the same duty as before. Most people could not, or would not remain faithful. They would change how they work. For instance, they might show up late or leave early. Then there was a man name Haman. He was Mordecai’s boss. He was very important. Everyone bowed before him except Mordecai. So Haman did not like Mordecai. Haman went to his wife and asked for advice on how to deal with Mordecai. Haman’s wife told him to kill Mordecai. So Haman went to ask the king for permission to kill Mordecai. But the king asked Haman what should be done to the man that the king delights to honor. Well Haman figured that he was the man the king wanted to honor so he gave the king lots of good advice. The king told Haman to do for Mordecai as Haman had said. Mordecai was there so Haman had no choice but to honor him. If Mordecai had not been there, it might have turn out differently. The time may come when your enemies will be forced to bless you. Amen! How many people, after all of the honor, will go back to the gates? Most people will think they are better than that. Many people have destroyed their lives because of the first honor. But if you go back to the gates, the second honor will be greater than you can imagine! We need to go back to the gates! Remember our origins.…
Chapter 18 contains a lament over a city that has not yet been destroyed. It is a prophetic action. The city is Babylon, the city of the harlot. We know it as Rome. The city of Rome today is not the same as the Rome we know today. How are we supposed to view this today? Today the enemy of the Lord is everywhere, in every city. Today, we need to prophesy and understand that the end of this world system is coming. We should be encouraged by that. When you are suffering and being chased by terrible enemies it is good to know that there is victory ahead of us. One of the reasons the sin of adultery is so bad is that it is a betrayal of trust. This is important to understand because we live in an age when adultery is accepted and we don’t even know how bad it is. In verse 4 we see a message for the people of God. Come out from her people so that you will not share in her sins and receive any of her plagues. We are tempted every day to buy into the world system. Consumerism, politics, etc. We don’t belong there. We are to stand for the truth. As soon as we do, lots of people will come against us. We are to be in the world, but not of the world. Trouble tends to come upon us suddenly. God’s judgement comes upon us suddenly. God says that in the same way you judge, you will be judged. Be careful how you judge others. This is pretty scary. Watch your words and watch how you think. Repent right away.…
In the bible we read about a new heaven and a new earth. That is the picture of how a church or a world should look. What are the characteristics? “The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed the bear, their young will lie down together and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the cobra’s den, and the young child will put its hand into the viper’s nest.” What is God saying here? Different kinds of animals, predators and prey, living together in peace. This is not how things are now. People live in conflict. There are rich and poor. Proud people and people in fear. But isn’t this picture something else? Perfect harmony and friendship. That is what God wants inside His church. So we are not done here. Even in Light of the Nations where we have many different types of people worshiping together. We can still do better! The bible says we should live in perfect love and harmony. No Jew, no gentile, no rich, no poor, no black nor white. We will all be one in Christ! In Revelation 21:4 it says there will be death no more. God wants a living church! Not a dead and dry church. Dead churches don’t attract anyone. Live churches do. God wants to have us live in perfect harmony and love. The He wants to fill us with His word and His spirit so that we can be truly alive.…
In chapter 17 we see an illustration of some of the judgement from the previous chapter. It is illustrated by a prostitute (named Babylon). Babylon is a picture of the sin of the world. Babylon was a great kingdom that ruled over much of the world and destroyed Jerusalem. They took the holy items from the temple and desecrated them. We need to respect those things that God says are holy. Your life is holy so you must respect it. We learn in this chapter that the leaders of the world are committing adultery with Babylon. Spiritual adultery is anything that take away from the worship of God. When you and I become addicted to something other than the worship of God, we enter into spiritual adultery. This could be materialism or money or anything that take you away from God. Why adultery? We all are the bride of Christ. We are to be the wife of God and these things would be unfaithful to Him. Instead of being the bride of Christ, we go after the spirit of this world. The text shows the leaders of the world being drunk with this prostitute. But the prostitute is not drunk on wine but on the souls of the people of God. We live in a wicked world. After this we see a war between the Lamb of God and the beast. Whose side are you going to be on? We must choose sides. Choose carefully because we already know the ending. Jesus, the Lamb of God will win.…
The Light of the Nations’ 10th Anniversary celebration. A discussion of the past 10 years and all of the good things that have happened. Also, a brief message from Pastor Sam Rockwell.
We were created to be power assisted. We were not created to do it ourselves. Without the Holy Spirit anything you accomplish will not be long lasting. It won’t be eternal. You must surrender to the Lord so that God can baptize you with fire. You must surrender everything to the Lord. Your finances. Your family. Your marriage. Everything. And God will reward you with power.…
Revelation is a prophetic book that teaches about what God is going to do. Chapter 15 talks about the final 7 judgments of God. These are the seven bowls. Each of the bowls will be poured out upon the earth. The trouble comes to the world that has not accepted Jesus Christ as savior. Before they are poured out there is a song of praise to God. Victory comes through praise. Lord God, All Powerful Just and true are your ways. You are king over the nations Who will not fear You, Oh Lord And glorify Your Name Because you alone are Holy All nations will come and worship You God, Your righteous actions will be revealed Ugly and painful sores Sea turns to blood Rivers turn into blood Sun scorches people Pain and blaspheming Water dries up in great river It is done! Then lightning and thunder and earthquakes! God likes repentance! Not so much good works. The first act of repentance is confession. Confess your sin then turn away from it. But, what if I do it again? The devil wants to make you think you will do it again. But if you make a practice of repenting you can overcome, with God’s help! You must commit to a lifestyle of repentance. Fruitful repentance. Commit yourself to a lifestyle of repenting every time. Until you start repenting BEFORE you commit the sin.…
The devil has one goal and that is to destroy your life. He will do whatever it takes, anything he can, to get to you. He uses all of his weapons, one of the strongest of which is money, to accomplish his goal. We have to be careful to not give too much or too little attention to the devil. That’s what these chapters of revelation are for, to help us better understand our enemy that wants to destroy us. And to know who is gonna win! The next beast came out of the land. He looked like a lamb to look like Jesus. He works be deception to draw away the faithful. This beast looks like a lamb but has the heart of a beast. The devil will look like an angel of light to distract the people and make them focus on him. The point is to get attention off of God. THE NUMBER OF THE BEAST – 666 The number of the beast is the number of a man. For 2000 years people have been trying to figure this out. Throughout history they have found lots of people wh meet the description, but the truth is the number is the number of man. If we worship man, or a man, it puts the mark of the beast on us. Anything that take our focus off of God will destroy us. In the Hebrew language numbers have significant meaning. The number 6 is the number of man. The number 7 is the number of perfection but the number 8 is the number of Jesus. It is the number of new beginnings. It time for a new beginning. In chapter 14 we learn that it isn’t only the devil who can put a mark on you. God can put His mark on you and it cannot be removed.…
As we read through the Bible, there are lots of names. We don’t know these people so often we just skip these parts. But God saw that these names are important because God loves you. God wrote their names in the book! How great is that? God knows you and when God knows you, you are very important before God! God knows how important you are and e wants you to live eternally. He even knows the number of your hairs! There are many people who did important things but their names are not in the Bible. But these people are in the Bible. That is great. God knows us so we must stand firm and serve Him. You can be just a small person, even a slave, and you can change the world. Because God loves you. Three things that you can do to make yourself different from other people: First, the grace of God. You need the grace of God to be upon you. This comes with blessing. If God’s eyes are upon you, you will be blessed. Second, the way you walk with God. How are you walking with God? People live carelessly but if you walk with God, it will make you different, and you will be blessed. Third, a life of prayer. The way you pray will take you far. Many people pray, but some people do it more effectively. That is because they do it differently. Jesus was a prayer warrior! Jabez was a prayer warrior. He has a very small part in the Bible. The Bible is listing names, names, names. And then it gets to Jabez and says some things about him. Wow! Even stars differ from each other. The sun the moon and the stars, and even stars differ from other stars. God’s grace comes to us. Our walk with God makes us different. Pray fervently and often.…
In chapter 12 there is a story of a dragon and a woman and a child. The dragon fights the woman (Israel/ the people of God) and the child (Jesus). The dragon cannot reach the child (Jesus) so all his anger is against “the woman” and her descendants (us) - the true believers. Satan cannot get to Jesus anymore. Recognize that the devil is turning his attention to you - for one reason - to get at Jesus through you! God is in control. He is in control through all of the hard times and the good times. We cannot ignore the devil. He is active and present and he wants to destroy any of God’s creation. You don’t have to believe in him for him to destroy you. He wants to kill and steal and destroy. Modern, educated people don’t believe in the devil. They think he is a myth. But that is part of his trick. If you don’t think he exists, you let your guard down and make yourself vulnerable to him and his tricks. Hyper religious people can be so scared of the devil that they become paralyzed by fear. These are the people who see the devil behind every door. The devil has only limited power. God is stronger. You have no need for fear because God is on your side. Today, there are kings who want to be like God. In chapter 13 another beast comes out of the sea. The dragon gave the beast his power, his throne, and great authority to rule. It has the body of a leopard (represents cruelty and cunning), the feat of a bear (represents strength and power) and the mouth of a lion (which represents a bloodthirsty nation). One of the beast’s heads appeared to have been killed, but the lethal wound had been healed. And the whole world followed the beast in amazement. Bible scholars think this refers to king Nero. The beast was given a mouth speaking proud words and blasphemies, and he was permitted to exercise ruling authority for forty-two months. (limited time) So the beast opened his mouth to blaspheme against God - to blaspheme both his name and his dwelling place, that is, those who dwell in heaven. The beast was permitted to go to war against the saints and conquer them. He was given ruling authority over every tribe, people, language, and nation, and all those who live on the earth will worship the beast, **everyone whose name has not been written since the foundation of the world in the book of life belonging to the Lamb who was killed. If anyone has an ear, he had better listen! The people worshipped the dragon & the beast. This is not the end. God is in charge! True believers will have abundant life. This requires steadfast endurance and faith from the saints. Then there is another beast. Sometimes called a prophet or false prophet. This beast looks like a lamb but is actually the devil. We need to beware of these false prophets.…
God provides things and activities for us to have and do. But it is important that we choose the right time. There is a time for everything that God provides. For example, pregnancy. This is a wonderful thing and a blessing to us. But for a young girl, not so much. In Genesis, there is there tree of knowledge of good and evil. It is beautiful and pleasing to the eye. Genesis actually says the fruit was good to eat. But God commanded that Adam and Eve not eat it. The would likely have been a time when eating of that tree would have been a blessing. But they eat from it at the wrong time and it was a curse for all mankind. They had to grow. They were so young and innocent. The word of God is the only thing that would help them grow. It needs to be understood and a part of them. Then and only then can the next step be taken. When we don’t do things at the right time, we may not be the only ones facing the consequences. God wants us to do things at the right time. But how do we know that it is the right time? We need to go to the school of God. The word of God is the only way. The Bible says faith comes by hearing. And what we are hearing is the Word of God. It is time to receive the salvation and grace of Jesus Christ. To let Him in. This is true for believers and non-believers alike. We need to repent and go back to Him.…
Jesus is fighting to take the world back to himself. At the time of the birth of Jesus there was an invasion of Heaven to Earth. The devil si committed to fight against the Lord, always. When we testify about the Lord, when we pray we are fighting the battle against the devil. We need to go and lift up our prayer in the place where we want the results of prayer to happen. Light is stronger than darkness. Light will always overcome the darkness. Then a great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, and with the moon under her feet, and on her head was a crown of twelve stars. She was pregnant and was screaming in labor pains, struggling to give birth. v 1-2 Where in the Bible do we read about twelve stars, the sun and the moon. Joseph’s dream! The woman represents the people of God, Israel/ Then another sign appeared in heaven: a huge red dragon that had seven heads and ten horns, and on its heads were seven diadem crowns. Now the dragon's tail swept away a third of the stars in heaven and hurled them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. v 3-4 The woman is the people of God. The dragon is the devil. The seven heads of the dragon represent the seven kingdoms on earth. The dragon works through the kingdoms on the earth. The dragon is the anti-Christ and the kingdoms represent the heart of Satan. This vison occurs in the Old Testament as well. In the book of Daniel. The ten horns are the power of ten kings and they are all concentrated in a single anti-Cristian power coming against the people of God. So the woman gave birth to a son, a male child, who is going to rule over all the nations with an iron rod. Her child was suddenly caught up to God and to his throne, and she fled into the wilderness where a place had been prepared for her by God, so she could be taken care of for 1,260 days. So that huge dragon - the ancient serpent, the one called the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world - was thrown down to the earth, and his angels along with him. v 9 There are times when we have to say no to the devil. But the strongest power we have is to say yes to God. To pray and worship brings down the power of God and changes reality. It can be hard to praise God when you are angry, but it can change the world. Then war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. But the dragon was not strong enough to prevail, so there was no longer any place left in heaven for him and his angels. v7 “The salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the ruling authority of his Christ, have now come, because the accuser of our brothers and sisters, the one who accuses them day and night before our God, has been thrown down. But they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives so much that they were afraid to die. Therefore, you heavens rejoice, and all who reside in them! But woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has come down to you! He is filled with terrible anger, for he knows that he only has a little time!” (10 - 12) We have to recognize we are in a war. And we have to decide which side we are on!!! When we lie, steal, commit adultery, we do the work on the side of the enemy - the dragon!!…
We had some technical difficulties the past few weeks so there are some missing episodes. John is commanded to measure the Temple area. He is going out to surround a space that is holy and protected. The temple was a safe place and a place of refuge. He was not to measure the outer space where the gentiles could come in because the city had been overrun. So he was only to measure the inner sanctuary. The message is that there is a place of protection for us from the spirit of this world. But we can only be protected if we go there. You need to have a place where you go to praise God in your home. Have regular times of prayer and devotion at home every day. Revelation is not like a movie telling the events of history one at a time. like a DVD (although many people interpret it that way). The purpose of Revelation is to give people who are facing trying times a HOPE so they will remain FAITHFUL TO GOD. THE PURPOSE OF THE BOOK OF REVELATION IS TO PERSUADE US TO BE FAITHFUL TO GOD (both ancient readers and today’s readers) IN SPITE OF PAST, PRESENT OR FUTURE SUFFERING. There is a single message of revelation: to the people of earth who are threatened by the political leaders and deadly forces, we are assured of heavenly victory!!!!! That’s it. Because our Jesus has victory The head that once was crowned with thorns Is crowned with glory now. The Savior knelt to wash our feet, now at his feet we bow. The one who wore our sin and shame, now robed in majesty. The radiance of perfect love now shines for all to see. Yesu Anakupenda! The security of the church. The church is held secure and safe in the time of the anti-christ. Jerusalem, the holy city, has been given over to the world. Only the temple is secure. The world is trying to overrun us. Parents, beware of what your kids are watching on TV. In fact, beware of what you are watching on TV and the internet! Ask the Lord to show you what is OK. In the Bible, the story of Lot is a picture of how we interact with the world. At first his tents were way outside the city of Sodom. Then he moved them closer and eventually his tents were inside the city. This was Sodom with all of the evil associated with it. We need to not compromise on our morals. God has called on you to be like Abraham and intercede on behalf of your family. In verse three, we read about the two witnesses. Who are they? They speak for God in the midst of the holy city. These witnesses have the power of Elijah and Moses. The olive tree and lamp stands are symbolic of the church in its prophetic and priestly capacity, like Elijah like Moses. You are the prophet and the priest. You need to represent God to your neighbors. We need to use this power in school. in work. in your neighborhood. The people next door. This is your battle. Sodom, Egypt, Jerusalem. = all together rejected and killed the Son of God. But after 3 and a half days the breath of God raises them. This is a picture of a revival so tremendous so as to awe the whole world. The seventh trumpet begins to sound at the end of this chapter. It signals the beginning of the rest of the events of revelation. It starts a 1000 year reign of Christ on the earth. In verse 18 it says “The nations were angry and your wrath has come.” People are angry and God’s wrath is coming. There will be judgment of the wicked and rewards for the righteous.…
After this I saw… Revelation is not written like a story book. It is a repeating of the same events from different viewpoints. There is a list of the twelve tribe of Israel and it states that there are 12,000 from each tribe that gets into heaven. This is probably a symbolic number. The angel puts a seal on the forehead of each person and that protects them from the events of the tribulation. Verse 9 describes a multitude beyond count. These are all of the people who are saved and they come from every tribe and every language. In verse eleven it lists several words. This is what the multitude is saying. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power and strength. Seven words. Remember that the number seven represents completeness or perfection. As Christians we are called to strive for holiness. We are not perfect but we are to try to do better. And our sin is covered by the blood of Jesus. Our sins are forgiven.…
What God is expecting from me? What could this powerful God expect from me, a simple human? Good news! Although we were the people under the leadership of ourselves and the devil, God sent His Son to rescue us! Do you think that God did everything for no reason? NO! We are to serve the Glory of God. In Joppa there was a woman named Tabitha. She was a simple woman but even though she was not rich, she did good things for everyone around her. She became sick and died. Peter came and told her to get up and she did. This was a great thing. But it wasn’t for her benefit, or even for the benefit of those she touched. It was for the Glory of God. This is what people will notice. It is time for us to take action. So people will notice. Do something that has value to God. It is good for you to go to church but God wants more. He wants you to go further. He wants you to touch the people around you. Everyone in church looks so holy, but when you ask the people around them it is something different. This is the face that you are actually showing on behalf of God. This does not reflect well on God. There was a widow with a daughter. She had a sewing machine. During the war she buried the machine. This was very valuable. An evangelist came to her town and preached. She dug up the machine and gave it to the church. Seven months later her daughter became very sick. The doctors tried to help but the daughter died. The woman was crying “My machine!” She was reminding God that she gave away her machine for the church. God heard he pleas and answered. So a man came and prayed for the girl. The doctors were preparing her for burial but allowed the man to pray. She came back to life! God honors those who honor Him! The bible says that we will see the difference between those who serve Him and those who do not. But these days it is hard to see the difference. The church in the world and the world in the church. There is much confusion. The time has come to stand up and show the glory of the Lord. We need to be different from other people. We need to do good things. If we aren’t doing anything good for God, He may see you as useless. This is a big danger.…
When we study the parable of the two sons one big surprise we may come up with is how similar the two sons really are: Both reject the father, both are interested only in their own agenda and not their love for their father ~the father reaches out to both of them What does our church consist of? Will I be attracting younger brothers or are we full of elder brothers? Part two of the story is why he is telling the story because it was the Pharisees who complained -> “this guy welcomes sinners & eats with them!! The other brother is furious with the compassion of the father in bringing him back. Putting on the robe and the ring is now telling me that he is getting back his portion of inheritance. The diminished portion - the portion that the older brother had coming to him!!! Does not treat father with respect. Joyless fear-based compliance. Look at what I have done. I have earned more than you’re allowing me. All these years I have been slaving for you. It is all duty there is no love Why should we be honest? It’s good for business it wins respect it’s good for you What happens when being honest is bad for you? What happens when being dishonest is extremely beneficial for you There is a radical self-centeredness of our hearts. Being a Christian with wrong motivation is one of the worst things there is. The elder brother is only being moral and good for his own benefit. He might be kind to others and helpful to the poor but only to benefit himself… The story of carrot Both brothers actually end up being very similar… Both brothers are estranged from the heart of the father; both brothers want what they want and for the father to do with they want One rebels from the father by being extremely bad the other one rebels against the father by being extremely good. Doing everything right so he can demand what he feels he deserves. They both are lost sons. Neither one loves the father just for who he is. Each one wants only what he wants from the father Even though the elder son is so incredibly rude to his father in his rage. The father still responds with pleading and kindness and earnestness to please come and join the feast. And the whole audience is listening carefully to find out how this will end. Will the older brother turn and change his mind and go in? Will he turn and walk away? And suddenly the story ends. And suddenly we are left with this wondering feeling. What is going to happen? What is the elder son going to do? Is he going to soften and respond to his father’s love or is he going to stay angry and walk away? We are waiting to find out, but the story is over and it is then that we need to realize Jesus is talking about you and me. How are we going to respond to the love of the Father for us? 2 conclusions: 1. examine your own hearts for elder brother tendencies. We need to make a daily practice of repenting from our elder brother 2. rejoice at the return of the younger brother 3. Love our Father for who he is!…
Many lifelong Christian believers feel they understand the basics of the Christian faith quite well and don’t think they need a primer. Nevertheless, one of the signs that you may not grasp the unique, radical nature of the gospel is that you are certain that you do. conclusion: The abundance of His love for us leads to our being able to act out of abundance in generosity and love acceptance and forgiveness for others. Culture wars. Democratic vs. Republicans Liberals vs. Conservatives Whose side is Jesus on? Joshua to the angel: whose side are you on? Ours or the enemy…?? When we study the parable of the two sons one big surprise we may come up with is how similar the two sons really are: Both reject the father, both are interested only in their own agenda and not their love for their father ~the father reaches out to both of them What does our church consist of? Will I be attracting younger brothers or are we full of elder brothers? The lost younger brother This younger brother is asking his father to tear his life apart… And the great surprise is that he does. (The Father surprises us at all stages here.) And He bears the agony. The son comes to himself The son’s plan to work as a hired hand. Apologies are not enough. I want to pay off debt. The father sees the son returning and runs to meet him. The son starts his speech but the father interrupts. Then the father throws a huge party! The whole village is involved… (American’s don’t really have a clue how this goes’) God’s love can pardon or restore any sinful person. There is no sin God’s grace and Love cannot match and exceed.…
There is more that God has to give that we have the capacity to receive. The theme for this year is the abundance of God. Sometimes we close down how much God has to give us for a variety of reasons. Mostly due to our thoughts about what we deserve. God came to give me abundant life. Psalms 16:11 says “You lead me in the path of life.” The path of life is the path that God wants to give to us. The path of life is how God preserves our life and it shows us that there is another way, the path of death. Choose life! God gives us a path that leads to pleasure. If you choose a path of pleasure, however, it can lead to death. What God gives is the pleasure of being with Him. Not pleasure for pleasure’s sake. Timothy Keller – The Prodigal God…
1 2018-02-04 – Doing What Jesus Did 1:05:16
1:05:16 Lejátszás később Lejátszás később Listák Tetszik Kedvelt1:05:16
Lejátszás később Lejátszás később Listák Tetszik KedveltWhen I became a new believer, I found that I had new leadership in my life. I wasn’t looking for it and didn’t even think about it. But as I studied more about Jesus I found myself thinking about things from the perspective of “What would Jesus do?” As I learned more about Him, I started thinking about Doing what Jesus did. I couldn’t perform miracles and I couldn’t walk on water. If you are interested in doing what Jesus did, it means everything He did. Not just the miracles. How He lived His life. How He thought about His life. How He thinks about the world. About enemies. What are His priorities? If you are going to be a follower of Jesus, His priorities should be your priorities. Matthew had two names. A Jewish name and a Greek name. He was a tax collector and he worked for Rome. Jesus said “Follow me” and Levi/Matthew did. He left everything. Then Levi has a party for Jesus at his house. Lots of tax collectors and others. The Pharisees and teachers of the law were there too. They asked a question of the disciples. Why are you eating and drinking with tax collectors and sinners? Levi/Matthew’s caste was tax collector. It was more than a job. Levi was defined by his caste, his vocation and his moral standing (sinner). The house was filled with sinners. They were religious but they were sinners. Non-believers don’t think about sin. Only religious people think about their sins and therefore only religious people are called sinners. He was outside his caste. Why was Jesus hanging out with these people? It is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. This is a universal principle. This is the purpose of His ministry. The call to follow Jesus does not discriminate and does not require cleaning up first. Jesus did not pray the sinner’s prayer with Matthew. Didn’t water baptize him or anything else. Matthew was not required to give any explanation for his previous life. He only had to do three things: hear Jesus, understand what Jesus was saying and then he had to say yes and obey. This was the beginning of following. There are a lot of people who want to follow Jesus but don’t know where to begin. The church sometimes make religion the start of following. But there are people who want to start following Jesus before they start going to church or without thinking about religion. How do we cooperate or serve that? The response to follow Jesus is a lot like going fishing. One new follower suggests that there are others nearby. Sinners hang out with sinners. Unfortunately, Christians avoid hanging out with sinners. Doctors can’t heal from a distance. They have to get close. Doctors have chosen to spend their career with sick people. This applies to different castes, cultures, etc. So we have to get close also. Sinners are everywhere. We need to reach out to them. Jesus was a friend of sinners. He was accused of being that! We can learn from that. We have to find ways of not losing connections with non-believers or new believers. How might God use us in a world of sinning people? How might he use us in the sinners He has brought into our individual lives? Presented in English and Swahili.…
Abundance means you have more than enough. The Lord wants us to think we have more than enough. Thinking this way changes how you deal with people and problems. Jesus said if you have two coats, give one away! My father is a rich king who owns everything. If he wants me to give things away, I should not give only a little bit. This is true for both money and time. Did Jesus ever say he was too busy to help someone? No! He always had time. This psalm speaks to how we are to live life. Don’t be careless with your money or your time and just give it away wildly. Instead give it away as directed by the Lord to help others and further His plans. Presented in English and Swahili.…
A Preview of some future discussions regarding communion. This is a very important topic that has some real consequences. Fortunately, the Bible has good instruction on the topic. Presented in English and Swahili.
Pastor Andy discusses stroke and the consequences and proper response. The Church we have today is the result of our works. The world is in the church. Therefore the church has become a waiting room for hell. All sorts of behavior that is in the world is also in the church. We need to do something about this or surely we will perish. God can fix the problem but he won’t without our request. God will never do anything if we don’t allow him. Regular Rain comes from the Goodness of God and is available to everyone regardless of their faith or lack thereof. This includes blessings, miracles and prosperity. Holy Spirit Rain comes from faith and is only available to believers. It is our right and we need to claim it. We don’t claim our right because we are in confusion. Sins, etc., we are so mixed up. We need to clean the church. (Your life and my life.)…
Twenty-one days of prayer and fasting. A discussion of this initiative from Foursquare headquarters. Fasting does not necessarily mean food. It can be anything that might remind you to pray. Guest pastor Balbin Nzapa and Gladys Nzapa Pastor Balbin is the Senior Pastor for The Lion Of The Tribe Of Judah Church in Aurora, CO. Adam had a responsibility to take care of the garden of Eden. Adam did not do that and therefore had to be sent away from the garden. We live for the glory of God. We are on earth to give God glory. That is our first responsibility. This needs to come before our jobs or taking care of ourselves in other ways. The church needs to put God as priority in our lives. We need to view our time in church and with God as an investment in our future. It is impossible to be wasting time in the presence of God. You have a mission to accomplish for God. Do not allow wealth or possessions to take over that mission. Jesus is coming back soon. Do not cling to useless things. Prayer is an essential part of life. You must spend time with God every day. You can pray while driving in your car if you need to. Or while you are getting ready for work. You cannot begin your day without speaking to God. We are living in the time of grace. But soon the time of grace will end and the anger of God will be manifest. In French with translation to English.…
We need to begin to learn how to lift up praise with people of other cultures and in other languages because it will bring a blessing on us. God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. If we keep doing the deeds of darkness and we say we are in the light, we are lying. We can’t have fellowship with God and do the things of darkness. Jesus is the light of the world and the light of the world is in you. If you believe it then there is no room for fear in your life and there is nothing that will overcome you because the light of the world has come and is in you. In Isaiah 60:6 it states that there is darkness in the land. Have you noticed that there is darkness in the land, there is darkness in our city, there is darkness in you family or even in you? But the light has come over the darkness. It will overcome any darkness. Translation to Swahili in real time.…
Instead of looking at Christmas from the point of view of Matthew or Luke, we are looking at it from the point of view of Revelation. We are looking for Jesus to come the second time. Ancient Jewish scholars thought it might be two different messiahs, but we know that it is one messaiah coming two times. The first time as a lamb and the second time as a lion. We call this season Advent. It is the coming of Christ. Whenever you talk about Revelation you get one of two reactions. Because of the images and the subject it is too frightening and so somepeople won’t look at it at all. Others get into it too much. They try to interpret the times based upon all of the images in Revelation. Both extremes are not good. What we learn form it is that you are blessed if you read it. Revelation show us that all of the evil in this world will be cast down and conquered. There will come a time when there is no more sickness, no more pain, no more tears! Jesus is the word of God, the Holy Spirit is the breath of God. The father gives us the breath to speak the word! Satan exists to accuse you to God and to yourself. He is a liar. Two extremes about the devil. One is that he doesn’t exist or is like a cartoon character. The other is to think he is all powerful. Both are wrong. Don’t focus on the devil, focus on JESUS! When He came, he conquered the devil. The devil is not as strong as Jesus. We read in Revelation 12 that Micael the angel defeated the devil in a battle in heaven. If Michael can defeat the devil, you can be sure that Jesus can! We know Jesus is coming back because he promised that he would in John 14. Jesus has made a place for you and will come back to bring you there. Satan is working against Jesus and all who believe in Him. But his only weapon is through lies. Jesus can protect you from those lies. Don’t believe them. As soon as you do, satan is winning. You have an enemy and his name is satan and he goal is to destroy you. The way to overcome that is to believe the truth which is Jesus. In Revelation 19 there is an invitation to a wedding. The wedding it between Jesus (the groom) and the church (His bride). Let’s look at the coming of Jesus. He is the rider on a white horse. His name is faithful and true. The white horse symbolizes purity. He comes with justice to judge and he goes to war to deliver us from evil. We sometimes think he just wants to crush the devil. But more than that he comes to deliver us from evil. Jesus is described as having eyes like a fiery flame. It is symbolic meaning that he sees eerything. Wherever he looks there can be no darkness. On his head are many diadem crowns. Remember that the devil has seven crowns, Jesus has MANY. Too many to count! He has a name written that no one knows except himself. The name of Jesus contains so many facets that nobody except Him knows it all. He is dressed in clothing dipped in blood. But not the blood of his enemies. It is the blood of the lamb that takes away the sins of the world. And he is called the Son of God. A sharp sword is coming from His mouth. It is not an actual sword. But His word cuts between good and evil with truth. It cuts through confusion. He rules with a rod of iron. It is a sceptre that is strong and cannot be changed. He has another name written on his thigh and on his side. It is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! Translation to Swahili by Fils Ekanga…
Jesus came the first time born as a baby but he is coming again. This time as a King! Some prophesies seem to point to two messiahs, one as a lamb and another as a lion. But NO! It is one messiah coming two times. The jews were looking for the King but instead got the baby.They didn't really pay attention to the baby. He didn't seem important. But we celebrate his coming as a baby! We need to start thinking about Jesus coming as King. We will be looking at the Christmas story as told in Revelation. When the church is looking for the return of Jesus it tends to bring about revival. When we are looking for His return we seem to be more activated. It's the church that is looking for His return that experiences His presence in their services. A woman clothed with the sun and the moon under her feet with a crown of twelve stars. This is Revelation language. Words that mean other things. Revelation is like a book full of pictures. Where in the Bible do we see the sun, moon and 12 stars? In the story of Joseph! (Genesis 37:9) The woman represents the jewish people. She was pregnant and screaming in labor pains ready to give birth. It was through the jewish people that the messiah came as a child. Another sign. A huge red dragon with seven heads, ten horns and seven crowns. What is that talking about? The dragon has a long tail that swept away one-third of the stars (angels) in heaven. The devil is the dragon and he took one-third of the angels and cast them down to the earth. The devil used to be one of the greatest angels. His name was Lucifer and he was in charge of the worship. The he began to notice how beautiful he was and he decided that he wanted to be God. So he stole away one-third of the angels. The seven crowns are seven kingdoms the the devil works through to come against God. The dragon waited for the child to be born and then he was going to eat the child. The child was Jesus. The devil tried to destroy Jesus from the time of his birth. (Herod, with temptations, in Jerusalem, etc.) Finally the devil gets Jesus on the cross and Jesus dies, was buried and rose again on the third day. The devil thought he had won but he lost! The woman gave birth to a son who was going to rule all nations with an iron rod. Suddenly the son was taken up to heaven and seated on the throne and the woman is take to a place prepared for her in the desert. The dragon is still trying to destroy Isreal. The countries around Isreal want to push the jews into the sea. The story is still going on. The jews were spread all over the world. Then in 1947 the nation of Isreal was re-established. They have been surrounded by enemies ever since. This week President Trump stated that the US was going to move the US Embassy to Jerusalem. There are a lot of groups upset with this decision. The arabs do not want Jerusalem to be recognized as the capital of Isreal. War broke out in heaven. (Archangel) Michael and his angels fought agains the dragon. The dragon was not strong enough to overcome the armies of heaven. The devil deceives the whole world. But he is thrown out of heaven, and his angels with him. The devil is a liar and and accuser. He accuses you before God. He is lying to you and trying to get between you and God. The only time the devil gets any power is when you believe his lies. But we have the final victory through Chist Jesus! We do not need to be defeated. The brothers and sisters in Christ overcome the devil by the blood of the lamb, the word of our testimony and the willingness to follow Jesus even unto death. There is victory even in the martyr who dies for Jesus! Simultaneous translation to Swahili.…
You need to have balance when you raise childern. Parents need help! We need to lead our kids into a God-designed destiny. "Honor your fatherand mother" This is the first commandment with a promise: "that it may go well with you and give you a long life." Do not provoke your children to anger but raise them up in the training of the Lord. Train your children to know the ways of the Lord. 1. Don't make your children angry. 2. Don't spoil your children. First rule of parenting: Teach your chidrent o listen. Wisdom means "a listening ear." The father without a dream raises sons and daughters without a destiny.…
The world we are living in today is a consequence of the decision of Adam. It is not the plan of God. Adam decided to hide rather than face God after his disobediance. He is not the only one. We all make the decision to hade rather than face God. The devil is always there to remind you of your sin. When we hide, it takes us away from God. Farther and farther each time we disobey. Then the devil can do what he wants with you. When we repent, it brings us closer to God. Live the life of repentance.…
You will never find a peaceful place on earth. Everywhere you go there is trouble and strife. Sin and murder! But God know a peaceful place, a refuge. Psalms 91:1-4 The refuge is Jesus. He will never let you down or disappoint you. Your faith in Jesus is the key to your refuge! Trust Jesus! John 15 Don't wait for trouble to come before you enter into the refuge. Dwell there always!…
A report on the various Mission efforts suported by Light of the Nations. The church supports ongoing efforts in 5 countries. Included is a report on the recent trip by members of the pastoral staff to visit some of the mission efforts. James 1:27 Psalms 65:5-8 In English and Swahili.
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Hasonló a(z) Light of the Nations' Foursquare Church in Denver Podcast sorozathoz
Fr. Larry Richards is the founder and president of The Reason for our Hope Foundation, a non- profit organization dedicated to ”spreading the Good News” by educating others about Jesus Christ. His new homilies are posted each week.
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Welcome to the Enjoying Everyday Life TV podcast with Joyce Meyer. To learn more, visit our website at joycemeyer.org or download the Joyce Meyer Ministries App. By supporting Joyce Meyer Ministries, you can help us reach hurting people around the world. To find out more, go to joycemeyer.org/donate
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Your online home for leadership lessons for both the church and the workplace.
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Love God, love people, and change the world. We believe the life and lessons of Jesus aren’t just good advice, but are Good News for us here and now. As a church, we are all about following Jesus and know there’s no end to that journey—we’re more about becoming than arriving. We are committed to becoming a multi-generational, multi-ethnic, multiplying movement of Christ followers, equipping and empowering our kids and students to not only be the church of tomorrow, but the church of today.
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Catholic Answers LIVE is a daily, call-in radio program of Catholic apologetics and evangelization airing live from 6-8 pm ET.
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