Abundant Life Brookings

Are you ready to learn more about demonic influence and oppression? What's in a name? What power and authority have been given to us in Jesus' name? Before we learn about that, we must get back to the basics - The Bible. This is the first message in a series titled "In His Name".

In the final installment of the Back to Basics Series and on a very special Easter Sunday, we celebrate the Risen Jesus... not the baby Jesus or the teacher Jesus or even the healing Jesus, but the Jesus who died on the cross and rose again. If Jesus had not risen, all that He did in life would have been for nothing. Jesus is no longer on the cross; He is on the throne. What does this mean for us?

As Christians, how should we deal with our past? Some say we should ignore it or forget it. Jesus is Lord of all - our past, present, and future. We must remember something He did to give us a brand new past that determines our present and future: we died with Christ. In our death with Christ, what did we lose? What did we gain? What did we keep?

We see that the world around us is getting crazier, darker, and more dangerous. Are you ready? Trouble is going to come, but it doesn't have to overcome us. How do we prepare to fight against this trouble? The Bible encourages us to CONTINUE in Grace. What might that look like? 1. Focus on Jesus, not rules 2. Remember our first love 3. Gospel is simple 4. You are qualified 5. Freedom 6. Matur...

Following the message, "The Law is Good" comes this message - "Grace is Better". What does a real hyper-grace church look like? 1. Preach nothing but Jesus 2. Reveal God as a father 3. Value the law 4. Obedience is a fruit 5. Live Godly lives 6. His faithfulness

The law is good.......... when used appropriately. We must know the whole purpose of the law. What is the purpose of the law? 1. to reveal sin 2. to increase sin 3. to be the power of sin 4. to point us to Jesus Let us rejoice! We are not under the law any longer. We have been rescued and set free. The law is good. Grace is better!

Acts 20:27 says, "I have not hesitated to declare the whole counsel of God..." What exactly is "the whole counsel"? Here's what we see in the Word. 1. Grace is not part of the Gospel - it is the truth of the gospel. 2. Law is separate from grace and truth. 3. We are not under even a little bit of the law. 4. Preaching the whole gospel is simply preaching about Jesus. 5. It...

Paul speaks about "other" gospels. By which gospel are we saved? What exactly is the true gospel? What role does the cross play in the gospel? Who is the gospel for? What happens when you mix the gospel with the law?

Sometimes it seems easier to define what grace is not than what grace is. Here's what we do know about grace. Grace... is inexhaustible makes good news good news strengthens us until Jesus comes back saves us allows us to bear good fruit makes us holy helps us is radical greatly exceeds norms is greater than anything we can understand comes by faith alone isn't a theology or a concept......

Grace can be like a puzzle. We think we know what the big picture is, but then God reveals another piece and we get an even better understanding of it. Here are a few of the puzzle pieces of Grace we have been learning: 1) We live by grace; we aren't just saved by grace. 2) Grace doesn't include ifs and buts. 3) We are sons, not servants. 4) We receive, not just ask. 5) We are cross-cons...

Matthew 7:24-27 presents two choices on which to build our lives: rock or sand. The foundation on which you build your life is critical - only a life built on the Word of God will stand. What else does Abundant Life believe is foundational?

In this first sermon in the Back to Basics Series, Pastor Joe reminds us of the basics of Abundant Life Church. Theme Verse: John 10:10... I have come so you may have life... and life more abundantly... Purpose: Romans 1:12... When we get together... I want to encourage you in your faith... but I also want to be encouraged by yours... Vision: Find Family. Find Jesus. Find Grace. Mission: We build...

In the final installment of this mini-series, Pastor Joe addresses the question "How do we receive what is already ours?" Sometimes we struggle to receive because we feel as though we don't deserve the good things God has for us or we try to complicate receiving. Learn what types of things we need to receive from God as well as practical examples of how to receive them.

Three extremely powerful words - Hear. Believe. Receive. How do we know what to believe? It starts with asking ourselves what we are hearing. We see both in the Bible and in our own lives that when we hear something about ourselves and then believe it, we will eventually become it - good or bad. This powerful message reminds us that it is important to hear God's voice and believe that above e...

In this first installment of the mini-series, "Hear. Believe. Receive.", Pastor Joe introduces why hearing - specifically, hearing the good news about Jesus Christ - has the power to change your life. Listen to this message to hear what the Bible says about salvation, marriage, sex, abortion, wisdom, money, health, worry/fear, and you.

Are you familiar with Charles Dickens' 1843 story, "A Christmas Carol"? Pastor Joe makes parallels to the classic story when he explains our past, present, and future in Christ. The Spirit of Christmas Past cries out to you that you cannot be separated from God by sin. The sacrifice of Jesus changed that. The Spirit of Christmas Present cries out to you that you are not who you used...

During this special Christmas Eve Service, Pastor Joe points us to the gift that the world has been waiting for – Jesus Christ. Jesus is the culmination of our entire Christmas Story. We ask ourselves: How do we know that this story is true? What do we do with this story? Who do we share it with?

In TV shows, generally we start to see lots of re-runs around the Holidays. This message from Pastor Joe is a re-run of previous messages in the "Christmas Cast of Characters" sermon series. Pastor Joe recaps on things we have learned from Joseph the "Reluctant Dad", Mary the "Humble Mom", and the "Wise Guys".

In this message, Pastor Joe talks about the wise men in the Christmas Story. How many wise guys were there? When did they come to Jesus? What is the significance of the gifts they brought? How does God get wisdom to us? All this and more are answered in this message from Pastor Joe.

This week we cast Mary the mother of the Messiah, in the role of "The Humble Mom".  In this message Pastor Joe discusses the life of Mary and her role in the Christmas story. He shares about why Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus and why she was favored by God. 

In the Christmas story, there are many characters. Almost all the main characters in the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth have lines, but one does not: Joseph, the reluctant dad. What can we learn from this silent character? A lot, it seems. This righteous man, one of the first people to know of God’s plan to save the world, plays a larger role than we sometimes give him credit for.

Miracles do happen, but delayed harvests are more common. Sometimes we run into the "I want what I want when I want it" disease. Jesus spoke in parables not to help people understand, but to hide things from people who didn't have a heart for God.  Pastor Joe breaks down Jesus' parable about seeds on different types of soil in order to help us better prepare the soil of our hea...

Here's what we know: Harvests only come when we plant seed, and harvests only come through rest and trust by remaining in Christ. That brings us to our next question: Are harvests immediate or do they take time? How does forgiveness play into harvests? Why do miracles begin with the gospel? This message brings light to some tough questions about harvests. 

This week, Pastor Joe continues the discussion on things that may be preventing us from receiving a harvest.  Who is in control of the earth? Is it God? Do we really have free will? Is God sovereign? Find out how these questions relate to blocked harvests in this message from Pastor Joe.

This week, Pastor Joe discusses two things that may be preventing us from receiving a harvest.    As God's children, we have a supernatural inheritance that the world doesn't have. God wants you to prosper, however, harvests of prosperity can be blocked. Lack of knowledge and unbelief are two ways harvests can be blocked. Jesus wants to move us from the natural to the supernatural. When...