Pastor Nate brings the message, "Increasing and Abounding in Love” from 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13. What role does your love for others play in your standing before God? That's a question that Paul answers at the end of 1 Thessalonians 3. When we see love flowing through our lives God is establishing us in holiness.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Affliction, Meet Faith” from 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:5. Would it surprise you to hear that in God's wisdom He has so ordered our lives that we would come face to face with affliction? Paul says that we are "destined for this." But we are not left without hope. In our sermon, we will see how faith tethers us to God so that we can remain established in Him.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "A Word that Works” from 1 Thessalonians 2:13-16. When Paul defended his ministry in Thessalonica, he did so by pointing out the changes that happened in the lives of these new Christians. People were changed, not because of Paul's speaking skills, but because they received the Word of God in faith. As believers we can be thankful and confident that God has given His Word to be at work in our lives.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "The Character of a Gospel Witness” from 1 Thessalonians 2:1-12. One of the greatest blessings that God gives us is the privilege of sharing the Gospel with non-Christians. It's a joyful moment knowing that God is very specifically using that moment for His glory. As we long to practice evangelism more and more, Paul shows us four important lessons for being a Gospel Witness.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Life-Changing" Part 2 from 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10. In the opening chapter of 1 Thessalonians we are seeing the power of the Gospel in the lives of believers. Salvation does bring about change. And, as a church we want to be that change for the glory of God and for encouragement and witness to those around us.
Pastor Nate brings the message, “The Renewed Mind” from Romans. “I have never struggled with my thoughts.” Liar! We’ve all had times when our thoughts ran like wild horses and trampled on the truth. In Romans 12:1-2, Paul gives us a path of hope and encouragement that is tied to the mercy of God: the mind can be reined in and you can be transformed.
"Follow your heart!" has become the mantra of a generation. As believers, we want to think we are immune to this temptation, but what if we are only fooling ourselves? What if our hearts are more devious and more treacherous than we believe? We want to biblically view the subtlety and deception of our hearts, and then come to realize the enormity of the solution God has provided in Christ.
Pastor Nate brings the message, “Choose God” from Deuteronomy 32-34. The lesson in Deuteronomy is simple: Choose God, Choose Life. As the book comes to a conclusion, Moses once again teaches that while life is full of decisions, there is really only one choice for God's People: we choose Him! Please pray for the Sunday service and that God will use His Word to bear fruit in your life and the life of our church family.
Pastor Nate brings the message, “Blessings and Cursings” from Deuteronomy 27-28. In one of the most graphic portions of Deuteronomy, Moses unpacks the covenantal consequences Israel will face for disobedience to God. While it's a hard portion of Deuteronomy to read, it certainly helps us understand the rest of the Old Testament and appreciate the curse that Christ bore on the cross.
Stephen Ellison brings the message, "Obedience in Response to the Character of God” from Deuteronomy 12-26. As people who have been saved by grace and not by works, how should we look at the specific (and often confusing) laws given throughout the middle of Deuteronomy? While we have a different relationship to God than the nation of Israel, we have a lot we can learn about His character and what He has planned for us by reading these laws and getting to the heart of them.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Tempted? Choose God’s Word” from Deuteronomy 6-11. As Israel is staged and ready to proceed into the land, Moses continually reminds these people the important lesson of always choosing God's Word. It's a lesson that Jesus teaches us when He enters into the wilderness and faces the temptation of Satan. God's Word will carry you through the temptations.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Love the Lord Your God” from Deuteronomy 4:44-6:9. “Rom-coms” (romantic comedies) attempt to portray the experience of love. Hallmark cars try to communicate love in a few lines. Shakespeare gives us sonnets. But what does it look like when one of god’s children loves his/her heavenly Father? In our sermon this Sunday we see the call to love God “with all your heart, soul, and might.”
Pastor Nate brings the message, "God's People...God's Word" from Deuteronomy 4. Just in case you didn't see it, another mainstream denomination took another purposeful step away from God's Word as their guiding authority. It raises the question: what's going to keep Christians and the next generation of God's people from apostasy? As we look at Deuteronomy 4 it is very clear that God's Word must be kept in front of God's People.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Not Fear...Faith!" from Deuteronomy 1-3. This coming Sunday we begin a new series in the book of Deuteronomy. If this study in Deuteronomy seems daunting, take courage! Deuteronomy is a book that is rich with the character of God and full of life lessons for us. To get a jump on Sunday's sermon, take a look at chapters 1-3 and notice the progression from fear to faith.
Pastor Andy brings the message, "Glorious Weakness" from 2 Corinthians 12:1-10. God has designed a fool proof plan for each of us to bring Him glory. He sees our self-sufficiency, self-reliance, and self-adulation and gives us a gift: weakness. His gift places our accomplishments in their proper perspective by displaying His glory through a gift tailor-made for each of us.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "God is Good.” Do you ever get in a tailspin when you focus on the prosperity of the wicked? Well, join the Asaph-party of Psalm 73. It’s a psalm that presents the envious motives of our souls and the frustrations that follow. But then Asaph shares his personal testimony of how God brought him back into line.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Boasting in the Cross” from Galatians 6:11-18. As Paul concludes his letter to the Galatians, the one testimonial he leaves is his readiness to boast in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. That begs the question: “What are Christians and local churches known for?” As a church family, LBC must be known as a group of people who “gather and scatter” with a message that boasts only in the cross of Christ.
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Who is This?" That's the question people asked when Jesus came into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Is he a prophet? A king? Just a good man in the history books? As we anticipate the arrival of Resurrection Sunday, we first need to know who Jesus is. And Matthew answers that question by using the prophecies of the Old Testament to show that He's the Savior whom everyone needs.
Rich Kolmus brings the message, "Comfort, Comfort My People.” If you've lived long enough, you know that life isn't always easy. At one point or another, we will all wrestle with suffering or sickness simply because we are part of Adam's fallen race. Other times, we face sorrows and pains that are the direct result of sin - our own or someone else's. Often, the adage "God won't give us more than we can handle" will ring completely hollow as we face difficulties that are well beyond our capacity.
When you are at the end of yourself, is God still there? Does He remember you? Does He care? Can He help? Isaiah 40 reminds God's people that the answer is... Yes!
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Sow to the Spirit.” In Galatians 6:6-10, Paul completes his theology of Spirit-led relationships with a picture of sowing and reaping. Our role within the context of relationships can be compared to the planting of seeds. Each seed being a selfless act of love under the authority of the Spirit or a self-seeking act carried out in the flesh. The passage urges us to answer, "Are we living by the Spirit or the flesh?"
Pastor Nate brings the message, "Keep In Step with the Spirit" from Galatians 5. What does a church family look like that is "keeping in step with the Spirit"? A church that is governed by the Spirit will treat others, especially those who have fallen into sin, with a certain kind of care and gentleness. A Spirit-led congregation is also made up of individuals who are worshiping the Lord through their own personal obedience to Him.
