Greater Life Church

To the Romans, the crucifixion of Jesus was just another crucifixion. The practice was to force the condemned man to carry the cross to which he would be nailed though out the city. This was done as much as to humiliate the condemned man, as it was to serve as a message to other Jews about the consequences of violating Roman law. When Jesus stumbled and became unable to continue, the Roman Centuri...

In his message Sunday evening, Bro. Hughes preached to us about going to a higher place. This church is on a journey to the high place. We need to elevate our desires, our effort and our actions. Our media fast will be a season of sacrifice. It will be a season of improvement. Sacrifice is supposed to hurt. If it does not hurt, it is not sacrifice. Our scripture text is the beginning of a group of...

We live in a time when base, trashy and vulgar things are presented as normal and even classy. We live in an hour when low things are promoted at high places. Almost every billboard suggests and displays things that will cause life to continue to take a downward spiral. Even among God’s people there can be a high level of low living. Bro. Hughes has called for September to be a month of a media fa...

Most people try to hide and mask the ugly side of our lives. We are masters of disguise. We hide and cover the problems and issues in our life and act as if nothing is wrong. We carefully disguise our failures, mistakes and shortcomings. Adversity tends to bring out the worst in us. We do not usually show our best side when adversity comes. Trying times have a way of bringing out the worst in peop...

It would be nice in life if God were to remove our enemies and our problems. He does not do that. Rather, He chooses to make us overcomers. He works in us and through us to enable us to survive and to deal with the obstacles in our lives. In verse 5 of our text, we learn that God will prepare a safe place in the presence of our enemies. Bro. Hughes points out those enemies are all around us. We ha...

Jesus used parables to teach lessons. The characters and situations used in parables are fictional, but they are used to teach non-fiction principles. In this parable, a man prepared a feast and invited his friends in to enjoy the meal, but he was not able to convince any of his friends to come. Each of the invited guests had some sort of excuse as to why they could not attend. The master then tel...

We can look at today’s headlines and see many talented and gifted people who are led astray or fall into an immoral lifestyle. This is nothing new. We can look in the bible to the life of David and observe that this has been going on for a long time. The bible describes David as a man after God’s own heart. Even so, David fell into a number of pitfalls in his life. Bro. Tumenello uses the story of...

The fourth verse of the 23rd Psalm is a transition verse. In this verse, the writer changes from referring to the Lord in third person, and begins to speak to Him in first person. It becomes much more personal. David moves from talking about the Shepherd, and begins talking to Him. He describes a journey that we know as life. Most people want to go higher and higher in life. The path to higher gro...

It is said of David that he was a man after God’s own heart. When we look at this statement in the context of David’s life is it very reassuring. David had many failures as a man and a follower of God. Dr. Hughes examines David’s life and observes that if David could fall short in so many areas and still be favored of God, then we all have hope in life that we too can find favor with God. In all o...

Amos was a minor prophet who ministered to a prosperous people. In our text, Amos is addressing a specific problem: Their response to the knowledge of the coming events. The bear was more dangerous than the lion, and the serpent was more deadly than both. The people’s actions in attempting to avoid the trouble would lead them selves into only more trouble. Some even wished for the day of the Lord....

In the third verse of Genesis, God said, “Let there be light”. With those words, He brought order to a chaotic world. Our world has become increasingly chaotic and dark again. We still require that God shed light into our world. In our text, Lot finds himself living in a time of great darkness. Sodom and Gomorrah were two of the most vibrant cities of their time. They were cities of great prominen...

Life can be like an unmarked road; Blind curves, unmarked cross roads. Life can be filled with mistakes. Life passes before us, and we get one chance at it. It is important that we get life right. It can be easy to lose or way, or to be unsure of the next step. Jesus provides us with a sense of direction. When Jesus is leading our life, nothing can happen us that is outside of His divine purpose....

Life is an ever-changing road. No two days are ever the same. Each day brings its own set of uncertainties. Yet we live in faith that we are in God’s care. We do not always understand the path we must travel. Bro. Hughes tells us that if we trust in God, we will be better prepared to deal with what we encounter on our journey. The Psalmist talks about the valley of Baca. Historians are not sure of...

There was no man on earth at the time that was closer to Jesus than Peter. Even so, in the hours just before the crucifixion, Peter fulfilled prophecy by denying Christ three times. Although he had declared only hours before that he would ever deny Jesus, Peter did just that; even going so far as to curse Him. At that time Peter must have felt that he was a failure. In modern terms, he would think...

As children of God we live by a different standard than the world. The world lives by sight and proof. We live by faith. All of us struggle with living by faith at some point. Faith causes many to stumble because the unknown and the unseen intimidate us. It does not matter how long one has been living for God, we are all susceptible to a failing of faith. It is easy to talk about faith; it is more...

As David reflected over his life, he came to the conclusion that his life and relationship with God paralleled the relationship he had with his sheep when he was a shepherd. The 23rd Psalm contains several promises that God makes as the shepherd of his flock. Bro. Hughes focuses on verse three tonight and explores the promise of restoration of the soul. There are times and circumstances when peopl...

What a relief it is to be able to leave a care or concern with someone else. However not everything in life can be given to somebody else. Some things we must bear ourselves. Nobody can walk through our valley for us. Every person must bear some sort of cross in life. Trials and trouble in life is not for people who are being punished, or who need to learn a lesson. All people will experience some...

The word of God is a lifeline to a people that are drowning in doubt, fear, sin and failure. The word of God is an amazing book. Not only is it the actual word of God, it is God’s word to each individual person. Rich or poor, smart or dumb, big or small, the word of God can minister to each individual’s needs at just the right time and in just the right way. God’s word can speak to us at whatever...

If we look at the 23rd Psalm as a way of looking at God, it changes the way that we live for God. The first verse establishes a relationship with God. He is MY shepherd, not a shepherd. He is not only THE shepherd, but he is MY shepherd. Continuing to look at the 23rd Psalm, Bro. Hughes explains that these short six verses require close analysis. This is not a race, but a leisurely stroll. We need...

Hezekiah was very ill, and was at the point of death. He pleaded with God to spare him. Isaiah told Hezekiah that God would spare him, and he ask for a sign. God gave Hezekiah a choice of either having the sun move backwards or forward in the sky. He chose to have the sun move backward. For one man, God performed a miracle that was visible to the entire world. He can make the sun not only stand st...

There are times in life when we get sick. There are times in life when we get sick and tired. Then there are times when we get sick and tired of being sick and tired. We know there is more, but we don’t have it. There are times when we just go through the motions. We simply do the things that we are supposed to do for worship, but there is no true worship: Prayers that are prayed without passion;...

The 23rd Psalm is often used as a source of strength and encouragement. This Psalm contains a truth that should profoundly affect our lives. Bro. Hughes tells us that the 23rd Psalm is so familiar to us that we run the risk of missing the depth of what is packed into these short six verses. The 23rd Psalm contains the secret to a happy life and a happy death. More than that, the 23rd Psalm contain...

Our country has moved far away from its founding principle. Our country was founded on Godly principles. Bro. Hughes tells us that modern churches are under attack from the very Government that these Godly principles founded. Freedom means different things to different people. The freedom we enjoy was not and is not free. There was a price paid for the freedom and liberty we have. When ask to defi...

If we are doing anything halfway decent, the devil will attempt to provoke us. As humans we sometimes fall prey to this temptation. David fell victim to this temptation too and as a result God was displeased with him. As his punishment David had to choose one of three options. He could have chosen famine for the land, or loss in battles. David could have justified these options without much person...

Morning Service Our scripture text is the account of Jesus turning water into wine at the marriage in Cana. This is the first miracle that Jesus performed. Mary called upon Jesus to respond to her need. She realized that if she could get Jesus connected to the problem at hand He could meet that need. No matter how small the need, if we can simply get Jesus connected, He can take care of it. Bro. C...