Jeff Stevens

It is a great responsibility and a great honor for a pastor to see a church that is growing and love and in faith. Faithful expositing of the Word of God, loving, exhorting and teaching the flock are all essentials that go along with maintaining sound doctrine.

It is important to be able to recognize and discern apostasy in the church. Paul is very clear that ravenous wolves will come to tear the disciples away from the faith. It is essential that we write the Word of God on our hearts so that we are able to see clearly and protect our churches from those who wish to harm her.

Understanding the requirements for the family life and character of deacons helps the church to maintain order. Serving people is not easy business and should not be taken lightly. Although the role of deacons is truly an office in the church, all should strive for that good character and a heart to serve.

We should never be hypercritical of our overseers in the church. After all, they are sinful men, just like everyone else. However, We should be careful to place our hearts, the theological education in the scriptures and the safety of our families in the hands of a man who is unqualified to be an overseer. This study will help believers understand the qualifications of their overseers/elders/pasto...

This controversial issue is not really so controversial. What seems to be a problem in the contemporary church was also a problem in the church at Ephesus. As a church, we should strive to understand the scriptures and Honor God's establishment of the church for His glory. Women and men play different roles in the church, in an orderly way that glorifies our Creator. In this study, we look at...

Praying for everyone seems foreign to all believers. But Paul knows that the church cannot stand to simply pray for the people in the church who are already saved. The church is called to pray for everyone in the world. It is essential that we are offering our prayers, petitions and thanksgiving for all people, in a way that recognizes the truth of the Gospel message, while lifting up holy hands!

Paul is going to command Timothy to fight the good fight, keep the faith and good conscience. The church needs good, solid, Biblical leadership that is willing to fight for the Bride of Christ. We do not waiver on our doctrine and we do not give way to sinfulness. Sometimes fighting means leaning in to love and serve, while other times it means putting people out of the church. We fight the good f...

Have you ever felt like you are not good enough, equipped enough or strong enough to share the Gospel? Have you ever felt as though you do not know enough scripture to share the hope that is in you? Well, rest assured, you are not worth it. You are not good enough and you never will be. This study allows us to see just how bad Paul was and how he saw himself as the worst of all sinners. Jesus'...

Paul in entrusting the leadership of the church at Ephesus to his dear friend Timothy. Beginning the Pastoral Epistles means embarking on a journey in doctrine, practical Christianity and church leadership. Today we dig in on the introduction to Paul's letter and how loving from a pure heart is intrinsically tied to our sound doctrine.

There are a lot of self-help videos, books, motivators and articles in the world today. Many of which try to teach believers that they can fix things under their own power. Some have a very unhealthy aspect that teaches people to put themselves before everyone in their lives, including their own family. Our moms need to know that focussing on Christ first is the best way to develop healthy relatio...

In this study, we look at the differences between the continuationist and cessationist views of the spiritual gifts. There are a number of Bible verses used to support both views, but one view definitely has a stronger argument. Closing the two part series on spiritual gifts, we need to be reminded that Paul wants us to have faith, hope and love. With the greatest being love. The biggest take-away...

The Spiritual Gifts are highly debated in the contemporary church. Some believe the gifts ceased with the Apostolic age, others believe they are applicable today. This first part of our study will shed some light on the history of the Spiritual Gifts as they are applied in the Pentecostal or Charismatic church. We explore what the role of the Holy Spirit is in the life of a believer and why He was...

The church... What is it? How is it supposed to function? Why is it called the church? Who was it established by? This study takes a short glimpse at the vast amount of information we get from the Bible regarding the church. We have been called by Jesus Christ to be "the Church" for His glory. If you believe this, it changes everything about the way you see the church, participate in the...

Our Easter study today examines Jesus's question to Martha in John 11, Do you believe this? We serve an amazing God. Sometimes our belief, our understanding and our prayer is very short sighted. The resurrection is not just an event. Jesus Christ IS the resurrection and life! Do you believe this?

The last chapter of 2 Thessalonians reveals some important commands for the church. In order for the church to have order and honor God, people must be held accountable. The Body of Christ is always more healthy when all members strive to honor and serve each other well. As Paul closes the letter, he prays that believers never grow weary of doing good. More importantly, Paul prays for the grace of...

2 Thessalonians 2 is a tough part of scripture to completely understand. There are theologians who will argue whether this is a piece of history or a future series of events. But it is important to keep Paul's message clear and make sure we are staying on point with his intended message. Instead of worrying about the timing of Christ's return, we can focus on knowing we are His first fruit...

One of the things that we learn about, as Paul speaks of Jesus's second coming, is the justice of our God. This study helps us to understand just what it means that we worship a righteous and just God. He is a God that will reward us for our endurance in the faith, but also a God who will punish those who do not obey Him. This message gives us hope in our eternal security, should relieve us of...

The introduction to 2 Thessalonians gives us great advice for our local church. Instead of focussing on how bad everything is getting, we can focus in growing in faith and in love. Not that some bad things do not need addressing. But, when we focus on our family growth, then our church growth, we learn to be thankful in all things. 

What is the measure of a believer's faith? How do you know if you have enough? How do you know if your faith is strong enough? Today we will dig in on the definition of faith, Old Testament foundations of faith, and New Testament evidence of faith. We discuss where we get our faith and what it does for us. This is a message of encouragement and hope.

In the final section of Paul's first letter to Thessalonica, he discusses how the church should treat her leaders, how to deal with difficult or weak believers and how to conduct worship. Paul closes with his prayer for believers and his command to spread the Gospel message. 1 Thessalonians has been an amazing study. The last verse could not be more fitting. "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be...

Christ coming back is not good news for everyone. We must recognize that the Lord will judge those who are not in Him, those who are not awake, those who are not walking in the light. Knowing this should be a call to action for the church. We should recognize that we are not just called to salvation, but that we are saved from God's wrath. If you do not have Christ's peace today, I encourage you t...

This study is intended to give an understanding of the Rapture. Paul is clear in his teaching about the resurrection of the dead, then the resurrection of the living. But we need to keep focus on what the intent of Paul's message is for believers. Today, we cover some of the differing views of the rapture, when it will happen and what happens next. The intent is to be true to Paul's final words in...

Paul does not want believers to be uninformed about the coming of the Lord. In this 2-part study, we examine how the Lord will return to redeem the church. In an effort to remember to keep the main thing the main thing, we will focus on the hope that we have in Christ to return for those who are in Him. 

Unity in the church... How do we achieve it? It is easy to say that we love each other, while our actions may not be evidence of it. The Bible is clear what a loving church looks like. Imagine how good a church could be, when all of the brothers and sisters work to outdo each other in love. 

Who do we please? Do we strive to please man? Or do we strive to please God? In this study, Paul discusses sexual immorality in the church. It is obviously a problem in Greco-Roman culture, as it is a problem today. Why are we called to a life of holiness? This study discusses our identity. Our struggle with pleasing man vs. pleasing God is intrinsically tied to our identity in our Creator, God!