Greater Life Church

The book of judges is a chronicle of one of the darkest times in the lives of God’s people. After all the victories and triumphs in Joshua, Judges is a depressing view of what happens when a people stray from God. When entering the promised land, Joshua failed to tear down the idols and strongholds that God had said could not stand. Things that we allow to stand when God tells us to tear them down...

Our text uses the phrase Let us lay aside... This implies that we have a choice in the things that are obstacles in our life. None of us are prisoners to our heritage or circumstances. We can choose to lay those things aside and overcome them. Before we were converted and filled with the Holy Ghost, we sinned because it was our nature. But when we sin after receiving the Holy Ghost, it is by a cho...

Ripley's Believe It or Not! was a newspaper panel (and adapted to Radio, TV and many other formats) written by Robert Ripley that dealt in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims. As believers, we all experience seemingly impossible things: healings, deliverance, making a way when there is no way. If we had not experienced it ourselves, we would not b...

In general, we all desire the same things in life. There are variations in the type of house or job or car, but most people want the same thing: Happiness. It would be very difficult to find someone who did not want peace or joy in their life. We want to live in God’s favor. The problem is that desire is not what separates us. We all desire the same thing. Why then does it seem that some in life a...

Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Oprah Winfrey, and Walt Disney have one thing in common. They are all overcomers. They all overcome great trials in their life to be successful. They refused to be defined by their past. The did not let learning disabilities, abuse, or poverty define them. We must be careful what we let define our life. To be an overcomer, by definition, we have to overcome some...

In our text, the bible says that Job was perfect. David was a man after God’s own heart, but it says that Job was perfect. God is a god of rules and laws. He does not tend to the laws of gravity or the patterns of the weather. He set it in motion and it just is. There are spiritual laws too. The wages of sin is death. There is grace and mercy. God’s law is that if we tithe, we will be blessed. If...

It is not specifically recorded in the bible, but it is said that this Psalm is about Goliath. The 144th Psalm is also said to be about Goliath. In that Psalm, David declares that he has a new song to sing. It is a setting of a new tone and sound for his life. David remembered the fear and cowering of God’s people about Goliath. God gave a great victory that day, and David began to sing a new song...

Bro. Hughes returns to his series on the choices of champions. The use of the word champion here is someone who is an overcomer. The phrase in our text that is key is “let us.” These two words speak to the fact that we have choices. We are not limited by our pedigree or station in life. Our choices determine many things in life. Our text says “let us labour therefore to enter into that rest.” The...

The phrase “It doesn’t amount to a hill of beans” conveys that whatever it is, it is not worth much. Our world values different things. They value things that make them feel good rather than those things that are true and right. Regardless of what they think, biblical prindiples are very big deals when living for the Lord. Our world devalues these things. They say things like “our culture has chan...

Life is full of distractions, interruptions and diversions. There are always reasons for the detours that we take in life. Sometimes it is that God is protecting us from danger. Other times, it is because He is preparing us for something. How often in life do we get off on side roads and then we get distracted? When we are on these detours, it is wise to follow God’s directions, because it will al...

Our culture has been led for some time down a path where once known truths have been questioned and challenged. Today, personal agendas and self-serving ideas rule the day. Truth is costly in that it requires confrontation or it suffers the consequences. Truth is absolute. But it is also possible to hear, repeat and believe a lie for so long, that the lie becomes the truth. Some have distorted tru...

Paul in writing our text tonight speaks of some traits and characteristics of an overcomer. Here is a snapshot of the heroes of faith that we read about in Hebrews 11. These are simple things, but if we incorporate these into our life would make a profound difference. First these heroes of faith surrounded themselves with the right kind of influences. It is all too easy to be brought down by the w...

We are involved in battles both spiritual and in the natural world. At times, life can be hard. During those times, faith can be a struggle. We are in a battle that has eternal proportions and consequences. The devil will attack that what appears to be your anointing. The bible says that when David was anointed King, all the Philistines rose up against him. It goes on to say that David smote them...

Bro. Hughes uses the life of David to illustrate how easy it is to be a prisoner to our past. We all spend a lot of time worrying and trying to change the outcome of our past. The truth is there is no way to change what has happened. Like Paul we need to keep reaching for what lies ahead. We can only do that if we make peace with our past.

The Mona Lisa is one of the most recognized and valuable pieces of art in the world. Van Gogh's Starlit Night expresses the artist’s emotions in vibrant colors and brush strokes. American Gothic is an image of reassurance in a time of great transition. Whistler’s Mother is more than just another family portrait. These works of art have been the subject of much introspection and in depth study thro...

We all have a favorite time. It may be our birthday. It may be an anniversary. It may be Christmas or Thanksgiving. Some of us look back on the good old days. For some of us our favorite time is 30 years ago. We will all have a different answer to the question of what is our favorite time. God also has a favorite time. Some would speculate that creation was God’s favorite time. Perhaps it is durin...

The purpose of the ark of the covenant was to provide a way for God to dwell among his people. The surest presence of God was at the Ark of the covenant. In our text, David is transporting the Ark back to Jereluseum after it had been held captive by the philistines for some time. While in transport, one of the ox stumbled and it began to fall. Uzzah reached up to steady it and was struck down by G...

Life is filled with many transitions, changes, and shifts. These changes in life often drive us to distraction. Often it is not the changes, but the swiftness and unexpectedness of the change that trips us up. One day we are on top of the world, and the next we are on the bottom. Life is unpredictable. We like things to be settled. We like to understand our circumstances. It is hard to understand...

The word champion is only used one time in scripture. The term overcomer us used much more frequently. The root of the word in the Greek means the means (way of) success. The word overcome or overcomer is used twenty eight times in the bible to describe the type of life we should live. In order to be an overcomer, we have to develop the traits of an overcomer. One of the traits of an overcomer is...

Genesis is the book of beginnings. It is more than an history lesson. There are a great many truths in this book of beginnings. The story of sin and failure has not changed since this first one. There is influence from the outside. Then there is doubt and questioning, and then there is rebellion. Sin did not come roaring in to this story, but is slithered in quietly. It succeeds because it never s...

In our familiar text, David was under great distress. Their town had been burned, their wives and children had been carried off and his own men were ready to kill him. Through all of this, David encouraged himself in the Lord. As important as it is to have friends who can help us in time of need, it is equally important to be able to encourage ourselves. How did David encourage himself? How did he...

There is a desire in America to see revival. There will be a great revival, but for that to happen, all of us must be prepared for it. If you and I do not believe it will happen, it will not. If it becomes the desire of our life, we will see what God has for us in these last days. Around the world there is incredible revival happening. Bro. Hughes has spoken to 14 pastors in China who pastor churc...

The Psalmist almost missed it. Here in this Psalm is a good man in a bad place. He knew things about God, but they did not balance with what he saw in life. In this state, he began to say things that he knew he should not be saying: “Look at all I have done, yet the wicked prosper and I suffer” What we see in life affects what we say about life. It is too easy to take on the attitude of the cultur...

Success or failure in life is found in the simple language of our scripture texts. All three talk about One Thing. Choosing the one thing will determine what will have our attention and focus. To focus on one thing is not to ignore the facts of a situation; but by focusing on one thing we control our emotions. One thing implies a single thing, but it also mean that it is the first thing we conside...

Bro. Stanley shares a story of a chance encounter with a former POW from the Vietnam war who was strengthened and encouraged by another prisoner’s expression of faith trough song. The devil tries to steal our song, but we all have a song of praise and victory we can share.