Greater Life Church

Perhaps the greatest revival in the new testament, was the one that took place in Ephesus. There were many churches birthed out of this revival and It is very likely that the Church in Colosse was one of them. According to historians, Colosse was a city that had attained a reputation for being crass and rude. It was into this environment that the gospel came and flourished. The people there were t...

Greater Life Church

A simple reading of the statement in verse 21 of our text does not convey the full impact of what Jesus said that day. The amplified bible says that Jesus kept repeating "How is it that you do not understand?" What was it that was of such importance that He would keep repeating that statement? What was the message that Jesus was trying to convey to the diciples? For the answer, we must look back t...

Wednesday Night Bible Study We live in a time when it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between Christians and non-Christians. We are not speaking of physical appearance, but the difference in philosophy and thoughts has blurred. Christians should live by a guiding principle that is based in the word of God. Our lives should be one that reflects Christ. The world should recognize us by...

Greater Life Church

Fires are part of life's journey. No one is exempt from the fires of life. Note that that is plural. We will all experience multiple fires as we go through life. Fire serves a divine purpose. The fires of trial and adversity are a refining process. Most things that are done for God that are worthwhile are brought out of a fire. The scriptures that encourage us the most are the result of someone go...

Jesus' earthly ministry was astounding. There is a long list of miracles. He would restore the withered hand, He would raise the dead., He would cast out daemons. He opened the deaf ear, He opened the blind eye. He cleansed leapers. He calmed the storm and cursed the fig tree. By the time of our scripture, Jesus had performed at least 11 profound miracles. In our text Jesus returns to His hometown...

When Jesus came to earth as a human, he associated with some unsavory people His ministry took Him to many people who were less than perfect. He would associate with sinners, politicians, adulterers and people who were possessed by demons. God will assocate with all type of people except for one: the one that turns back. In our text, Jesus gives an example of a man who sets out to build a tower. H...

Our text expresses God's very intimate knowledge of us and His deep love for us. God is intimately involved in our lives. There is not a place in this universe that we can go that He does not know where we are. In those dark moments of life, He knows where we are. We may feel alone in those dark places, but the truth is, God is with us even in those times. No matter what the situation, God knows w...

We can easily see the world in which we live while reading Matthew 24. It is plain to see that we are living in the end times. The indicators mentioned in our text have been observed at various times throughout history. But in our time, we can see all of the indicators at the same time. Jesus said that many would come and deceive. He says that the pulpit would be polluted. Polluted by men and wome...

If we listen to current events, talk radio or read on the Internet it becomes apparent that the world is searching for answers. We are searching for answers to the situations that are overrunning our culture and our world. The world is searching for these answers, but the answers are not found in the world. God is the answer to the problems in the world. God has always had an answer. Somehow the m...

Of all that is said about Zacchaeus there is one that motiviated all that he did. There is one word that described him. That word is little. He was too small to see because of his height. He ran ahead and climbed a tree to see Jesus. There is a great challenge in overcoming the littleness of life. The difference in a man's life can be summed up in how he deals with the littleness of life. Littlene...

Faith is much more than a doctrine. It is more than a concept. It is a relationship that we develop with God. Without faith it is not possible to please God. Moses would not have been able to accomplish all that he did without faith. It was by faith that Noah stood out from the world in which he lived. It was the empowering of faith that brought David to the be the king of Israel. The book of numb...

The church is characterized in many ways in the bible. One of the most frequent is the church being a bride to a groom. A bride is to be pure and virtuous for her groom. in our text, Paul was concerned that the church would be corrupted as Eve was corrupted in the garden. Eve believed a lie. There are many people who once worshiped at an alter that no longer do because they believed a lie. The Dev...

Most of us, given the opportunity, would fly first class. However the cost of a first class ticket keeps most of us from that luxury. Simply put, the cost of first class is not worth it to most of us. We would accept an upgrade to first class if offered. We would feel as if we were blessed. We would fly first class if it is given to us, but we are not willing to pay the cost. We would all like to...

There are something about life that hems us in and makes us feel boxed in. In those times, we desperately need a break trough. The dictionary defines it as a success that then facilitates more success. It is not a point in time event, it is a significant change that allows a path forward. Our story is a source of encouragement. It reveals a truth of life. Here is a man who is unable to help himsel...

A couple of weeks ago we reflected on the 14th anniversary of the attack of 9/11. It is one of those days in history that people will remember where they were when they heard the news. Each of us will remember forever the events, thoughts and images that we experienced that day. When things are important, we remember them. Anniversaries, birthdays, wedding days, and birth of our children; are days...

Some historians believe that our text was written by David when he was fleeing from Saul. Others believe that is was written during the time when he was running from Absalom. In either case, it was written about a time of great turmoil and fear. He was being assaulted by fear and his mind was greatly troubled. Fear and faith were in conflict. He was fleeing and thinking of self preservation. He li...

One of the greatest struggles we face is the difference between what we are and what we know we are capable of being. Peter had made a mess of his life. He had denied Christ and even cursed in doing so. He was no doubt down cast about his failure of his master. The interval between the denial and the episode in our text was likely one of the lowest portions of Peter's life. The mixture of regret,...

God had a message that he desperately need to get through to Israel. God went to Jeremiah and sent him on a journey to the potter's house. God sometimes has to get us to the right place in order to get His message through. God took Jeremiah to the right place in order to receive the right message. Jeremiah witnessed a live parable that communicated God's desire for Israel. The potter had a purpose...

Our text is sobering and thought provoking. We have to stop and ask if we understand what we read. The scripture calls Lot righteous. Yet even with this righteousness, he lived in an atmosphere that had an affect on him. How could this man let what happened to him happen to him? Lot was the nephew of Abraham. Lot’s father died on the way to the promised land, and Abraham took Lot under his wing. G...

Nehemiah was stirred by a the vision of Jerusalem, in ruins. Being moved to do something, he marshaled the people of God to rebuild a city left in rubble by the Babylonians. Nehemiah had a burden. A burden is necessary to be used by God. Someone with a burden makes more of a difference than a person with talent. Nehemiah accomplished much in a short time. He organized people and rebuilt the walls...

Sometimes it seems that life is conspiring against us. The events that come at us seem to be a coordinated effort to try to derails our hopes, dreams and prayers. It is easy to play “what if.” What of this had not happened? What if that had gone differently? When everything is in turmoil we look for a sign of hope; for a sign that God has heard our prayers. It is difficult to carry on when God is...

There is no forward moment in life that is without setbacks. Any time a person sets his mind to grow, there will be things to come up and challenge that effort. In our text, a young man lost the head of his ax while working to build a new place for the prophets. Something important was lost. It was small, but it's purpose was great. The lost ax head represented the effectiveness of the tool. This...

We live in curious times. The church has the most liberty in our society that it has ever had, but many have lost their spiritual way. Too many churches are interested in being culturally relevant. They do this however at the expense of being cross relevant. The cross has never been culturally relevant. We must be aware of our culture, but it is more important that we remain rooted not in the cult...