Greater Life Church

As Christians we must understand what constitutes faith, and what does not. Failure to do this can cause great problems with our walk with God. Many people believe in God, but they do not have faith. As long as our faith is grounded in what we see and experience, it will be shallow and will not hold up to the challenges of life. If we base our faith on current events, we can convince ourselves tha...

For his father’s day message, Bro. Hughes turns to the story of Caleb. Caleb was one of the 12 spies sent into the Promised Land ahead the nation of Israel. The bible tells us Caleb fully followed the commandments of God. He was a man who did not pick and choose, or try to reorder the will of God. Bro. Hughes highlights traits and characteristics of Caleb that every man should strive to possess. C...

We all have heard the story of Jonah and the Whale (or the big fish). Jonah attempted to run away from God. Bro. Hughes uses this familiar story to explain the untold story about Jonah. At an early age, we learn the hard lesson that life is not fair. We can be the most righteous person and still go through storms in life. Living a life for God is not an insurance policy against trouble. None of us...

Our scripture text is David reflecting upon the accomplishments of his life. The text references three mighty men. Most of us when we hear the term Mighty Men, feel that we are not included in that group. Most of us feel like we are just getting through. David was a man of great courage and confidence. Then as now, men were attracted to this type of man. Many of these people were outcasts from oth...

There are times and difficulties that we go through in our lives. These are temporary things and are not meant to stay. If we look at a single frame from a movie, we will see a single still photograph. It is part of the movie, but it is not the entire movie. To fully understand the movie, we must see the entire thing, not just the single frame. Bro. Hughes tells us that we must view our live in it...

The bible is more than just a book. It is the word of God. Bro. Hughes says that the bible should be the most important book in our life. The devil will do whatever he can to distract us and keep us from studying, hearing and reading the word of God. In warfare, it is a good tactic to attack targets that will have the largest effect on the enemy. Our scripture text reveals a fact about the devil a...

Our world has changed the principles that many of us grew up believing. We used to be considerate of and look out for our neighbors. Because of our offenses and hurts, we are no longer connected to our neighbors. The human reaction is to retreat when we are hurt. When we become hurt, we begin to build walls and turn inward to protect us from further hurt. Bro. James Hughes tells us that problem wi...

Our scripture text tells us that with God there is no variableness. He is the same then, now and tomorrow. He is always the same. The God that sustained Moses as he fled from the Egyptians, the God that was with Daniel in the Lion’s den is the same God that is here for us. God desires a relationship with his creation. When He created the garden, he made it perfect for his creation. He created man...

According to John Maxwell, People change when they hurt enough that they have to. He concludes that another way that people change is that they learn enough that they want to change because they see the benefit. The ability to change is one of the benefits of humanity. We can change location, change directions, change vocations, and to adapt and learn. We can change our attitude. The question that...

In all of our lives are things that we would rather forget. We all have things about which we are not proud, and about which we would like to change. The truth is that none of us can change our past, and can only look to the future. Paul extorts us to let the past to be the past and to live our life in hope for the future. Bro. Hughes asks what should we forget. First he says, forget our past fail...

The story of Goliath is one that is familiar to us all. He was a man among men who stood between seven and eleven feet tall who wielded enormous weapons. He stood before the nation of Israel defying them to come to the battle. God’s people cowered in their tents and did not answer the call. After forty days, David stepped forward to answer the challenge. We all know the outcome that David was vict...

There are times in life when we fighting and doing our best, but life seems to be getting the best of us. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth that was very much like our world today. This first century church was divided. The people there rebelled against any authority in their lives. They were consumed in an atmosphere of false teaching. Bro. Hughes sees a great deal of similarity between the Cor...

Often in life the things we think should happen do not. We often have a vision of how life will go, and it does not always go that way. Life can change in a moments notice and life can turn upside down. Life is filled with the unexpected. No matter what we may be facing, we are all blessed. Even though we may be facing the trial of our life, we are still blessed people. As thankful as we are for t...

The God we serve is by no measure small. There are things that God set into motion that He does not need to visit or to tend. He established laws that have become cause and effect. If we praise, He will inhabit our praise. If we pay our tithes, He will bless our lives. God does not look into the offering plate to see how much is placed there. He does not have to. If we obey God’s law, we will rece...

Who can measure the value and power of a mother’s influence? For good or bad, nothing can compare to the influence that a mother has on her children. The bible says that a wise woman builds up her home. On this Mother’s Day 2011, Bro. Hughes uses this scripture in Proverbs to describe the light of a mother’s life.

Bro. Hughes observes current events and declares that we are truly living in the end times. With all the glorious description of Heaven, how could anyone not want to go there? Prophecies’ from over 2000 years are happening in our world today. We need now more than ever be living in such a way that they are ready to go to heaven at any time.

Often in life we worry about the things. We face facts, dilemmas and odds that overwhelm and confuse us. These things confront and confound us, but God is not confounded. Our scripture text is from a journey that Jesus and the disciples took across the Sea of Galilee. This trip takes place right after the miracle of the loaves and fish. These disciples began to be concerned about their lack of foo...

Every man at some point wonders if his life is in vain. We all want to feel that our live matter. People like to see the result of their labor and effort. Often in our prayer life, we do not see the results of our prayers. Bro. Hughes tells us that the result of prayer is never nothing. God may not give any sign of His receiving our prayers, but all prayers are heard. Our scripture text references...

At the turn of the last century, polish artist Jan Styka created two paintings. One of them, the Crucifixion, is an enormous 195 feet long and 45 feet high. Bro. Hughes remarks that one of the messages of such a work of art is that the Crucifixion and the Resurrection are both larger than life events. Jesus did more than just die an innocent death, he blotted out our sin. He nailed our debt to His...

In the subway system in New York and Washington DC, the tunnels and passages crisscross underground in a seeming endless array. There are signs posted in the terminals that point the traveler to their destinations or to the exit. In life, we are often presented with situations that make it difficult to know which path to take. Our scripture text seems to be Paul’s attempt to advise someone who fou...

Morning Service Words are part of our life. It is said that men speak 25,000 words each day. Women speak 45,000 words each day. All of our words have meaning, but not all of our words are thought out. Our text indicates that our words have the ability to build up, or to tear down. Not only do our words affect others, the words we use affect our own lives. Words have power and influence. Because of...

There is no such thing as a self made man. There are those who have done well in life, and have appeared to have done so without any help from others. The truth is that all of us rely upon others in some way. It is common in American society to think that we are owed certain things. Bro. Hughes declares that none of us are entitled to anything in this life, but each one of us owe something to othe...

Bro. Hughes' scripture text is part of Paul's report to Agrippa about how is life changed and he began to live for Christ. He sums up his story by saying from that moment he had lived up to that heavenly vision. Bro. Hughes asks each of us: "Are you living up to the heavenly vision in your life?"

Everyone has faced a situation in life where we did not know where to turn. Bro. Hughes asks "What do you do when you don't know what to do; when we have said all you know to do, and all that you are capable of doing, but nothing changes?" In our text Paul outlines who our enemy is and he makes it clear what we are facing. Then he gives us the needed armor and arsenal to deal with this enemy. Afte...

The most dangerous thing to life is not a poison, a dangerous animal or some physical challenge. Jesus encountered this thing when he returned to his home town. The miraculous work of Jesus in other areas of the country had no power in the place he grew up. The familiarity with Jesus, left the people of his home town unable to believe in Him as anything other than what they had known. It has been...