Greater Life Church

One of the greatest failures of a child of God is a failure to understand God’s favor in our life. If we could understand that God’s attitude toward us is for our good, there is nothing that we could not face. Paul tells us to be transformed. The word used is the same one used to describe how Jesus was changed on the mount of transfiguration. The only way for us to be transformed is through the re...

Paul’s words convey a message of the things that we will encounter in life. Trouble, pressure, and struggle. But he also provides encouragement to help us deal with those things. God wants us to be reminded of something so simple and profound: What is on the inside of us, is greater than what is going on on the outside. God has placed something in us that will see us through all that life has to b...

Change is a constant in life. However, not all change is beneficial. So what changes are good and will bless our life and make it better? Change must be leading us to a better place. In our text, Paul identifies two kinds of change that can occur in a person’s life. Of those two changes, one will bring the best result. Paul says “be not conformed.” There are things going on in our life that are tr...

There is one thing that is paramount in our lives. We must be saved. Our text tells us that the highway to hell is broad and the gate is wide. It seems that our world is paving the highway even wider with more lanes. If we took a poll and ask people if they wanted to go to Heaven or Hell, we would likely get a majority that says they want to go to Heaven. But those same people make choices every d...

God’s word is full of dichotomies. To live we must die. To lead we must serve. To gain all, we must give up all. There is a conflict in God’s work in us that is confusing to us. We come into the presence of God and enjoy his glory, but we are still surrounded by all the weaknesses, problems and challenges that are our human life. No matter how great the Glory of God may be that we enjoy, we are st...

Many of us fail to understand the indispensable value of hope in our lives. Hope is expectation of good. To wait on something better. Hope is all about our future. The bible describes hope as many things. It is described as living, good, a better thing, and a blessed thing. Hope produces many good things in our life, purity, joy, salvation, assurance, salvation, and many more. Hope impacts us in s...

Paul’s writing to the church at Corinth indicates that there were deep-seated problems there. There seemed to be a spirit of entitlement and arrogance. They seemed to have the attitude that everything the did, even if it was sinful, was covered by God’s grace. Paul writes to them to deal with this attitude of arrogance. In our text, Paul reminds the Corinthians of the history of Israel. He reminde...

Our text tonight is David’s second attempt to return the ark of God to Jerelusum. His first attempt resulted in failure because God was not in the center of it. Bro. Hughes preached last Sunday about this first attempt. David had the crowd and the showmanship, but he did not have the blessing of God. Many churches today are consumed with stage presence, presentation, and talent but God is not cent...

Abram and Sarai were frustrated. God had made great promises to them, that had not yet come to past. The promise of God was long in coming. There was no indication of any movement on God’s part in at least ten years. Sarai suggests that Hagar could fulfill that promise of a child that had not yet provided. In their frustration, Abram and Sarai tried to help God fulfill His promise. How often do we...

Bible scholars believe the Peter did not write 1 Peter but dictated it to someone else who wrote down what Peter said. However 2 Peter is very different, and most Bible scholars do not believe it was written by the same person but was most likely penned by Peter himself. In the opening of this letter, the writer refers to himself as Simon Peter. Peter was not Peter’s given name, but one that was g...

We live in a time when some are confused about what church is supposed to be and what produces growth and revival. Many churches are concerned with things that will make their church successful. The definition of success should be what God wants. If man defines success differently than God, he is wrong and God is right. In our text, David made two attempts to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to...

Our title seems like an oxymoron. If it is right, why is it hard to do? If we could answer that question, a great deal of trouble would be cleared up. The trouble is not with the thing, but with the person that is behind the thing. We like to blame our issues and situations on things. But the truth is, that most of the trouble we experience in life is because of us. Our text is a glimpse into the...

Tonight’s text is often quoted: “You have not, because you ask not” and “If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it” The part about that that we forget is that these things have to be asked in Jesus name. There is also the concept that, even if it is asked in Jesus name we have to ask for it in the right context. Selfish and self-service prayers are not likely to be answered. We have a list...

It takes a lifetime of living to appreciate how amazing the word of God is. It saves us from spiritual failure. It becomes a confidence builder and comfort as we deal with the ups and downs of life. There is nothing in the word that is insignificant. Every word is God ordained and inspired. Perhaps the most amazing thing is that not only is it His word, but it is His word to us. Some would say tha...

Jesus uses a sparrow to speak a powerful truth to his Apostles. The sparrow is one of the least significant of all the birds. Jesus begins by addressing fears. Everyone can relate to fear. All have experienced fear and had to deal with it. In the text, Jesus addresses two of the greatest fears that man will encounter in life. First is how we will be treated by others. We are all fearful of how oth...

The great wall of China is an imposing structure. It was built to protect China from attacking enemies. When looking at it, we would expect that it would protect that portion of the country from attack. But the fact is that China has been invaded seven times across that wall. The failure is not the wall, but a failure of the gatekeeper to maintain his post. God can, and does, build a wall of prote...

Our text is familiar and has been used many times in pulpits as a message of encouragement. Living for God is easy when times are good, but when times are tough, our human nature makes it much more difficult. John the Baptist was one of the greatest preachers there has ever been. John’s passion and boldness to speak the truth cost him his life. Some people think they have to hear from God every to...

We all need someone to whom we can confess our secrets. But, no matter how close we may be to someone, there are some secrets that we do not tell others. Some people are trustworthy, and will never reveal a secret. Others cannot wait to tell what they know. The Bible tells us that when we repent, God takes our secrets and casts them into the sea of forgetfulness. God has the ability to forget past...

Sometimes we wonder why we are still here. We question what our purpose in being is. We are in a battle. This is not a physical battle, but a spiritual one. It might be easier if we battled the physical realm. A battle against unseen enemies seems impossible to endure. It is in this context, that Paul attempted to help Timothy in tonight’s text. From other writing, we can deduce that Timothy suffe...

Most of us can quote the 23 Psalm by heart. In the third verse, David says “He Restoreth My Soul.” To restore something is to put something back to how it was; to make it as new. There is nothing more valuable, or important than a soul. When David wrote the 23 Psalm, there was something in his life that drew him away from the innocence of that shepherd boy. In the midst of that, David declares tha...

How we respond to God’s touch is important. We sing songs and have good worship in our church. We are blessed with talented musicians and singers, but if we do not respond to the call of God, we have missed it. We must be easily touched and moved in the spirit. Like the man in our text today, we are waiting on the stirring of the pool. In this familiar story, the first to get into the pool would b...

Our text begins with the word only. This is translated from the original text in various ways, but the consensus is that Paul was saying that what he was about to say as the most important thing no matter what else might happen. He goes on to say, if he came, or did not come, it was important for them to live a certain way. He tells them to live in the present circumstances, rather than in some fu...

The new testament definition of beware is to restrain or guard oneself from anything that may be dangerous. In many of Paul’s letters, he warned the first-century believers (and us) to beware of issues. In this letter to the church at Philippi, he is encouraging them (and us) to be strong in the faith. Then here in the beginning of the third chapter, Paul stops and offers a stark warning: Beware o...

We have all had prayers answered. Yet, we also have some prayers that are, as yet, unanswered. We know that God can, we know that God will and we know that He has before. But, there is still part of us that has doubt. We are believers. We believe scripture, we believe doctrine. We believe the things documented in the Bible. But there is still that other part. In our text, this man was pleading for...

If we set out to drive across Texas, we are in for quite a journey. It is a very large state. But, perhaps the greatest journey ever described was the journey that Israel took from Egypt to the promised land. They followed a pillar of cloud by day and a tower of fire by night. It was a difficult journey. The Israelites had to trust one man: Moses. From Egypt to Canaan was only about 300 miles in a...