Pinecrest Baptist Church

No doubt, everyone desires to be happy, but we usually try to find it in the wrong things. The Psalm singer shares with us the one thing that will bring true happiness in our lives and the blessed results that follow!

Much of our Christian experience and continuing to ascend requires perseverance in the face of opposition and attack. Certainly Israel knew this! Just how do we do that?

This Psalm of Ascension is attributed to Solomon. If anyone could tell us what a life of self-dependence is like, he certainly could. He finally learned that we need God for everything in life. The second half of this Psalm may describe the most difficult part of life that requires God's help and intervention - raising our children!

This Psalm is a song of revival, of renewal, of Israel making a comeback after 70 long years in Babylonian captivity. We also become captive to our sin, to cold hearts for the Lord, and to spiritual apathy. Let's learn the process for making a spiritual comeback!

Weak faith in a strong object is better than strong faith in a weak object." Our faith is in Jesus, the Son of God! Faith in Him gives us the ability to live victoriously in a faithless world.

In this Psalm of Ascension, the writer is thinking back to the horrible circumstances that could have ruined the nation of Israel, but is reminded that God came through in a miraculous way! We can still trust Him with not only our souls, but with every situation in life.

In this Psalm of Ascension the song writer describes some elements that are present in true worship. Worship that pleases God comes from a passionate, praising and prayerful heart!

When we have a high view of God we'll have the correct view of man. With eyes of faith we must look past the turmoil within us and the trouble all around us to the God who controls all things according to His plan for mankind. Where man rules, God overrules!

From the first of the Ascension Psalms, the hymn writer lets us know that we can still worship in evil surroundings. The very things that made him cry out to God in prayer still attack our lives today. God still answers - sometimes slowly, sometimes swiftly, but always sovereignly.

Where do we look when trouble is coming from all sides? The Psalmist tells us where our help comes from, reminding us that God won't let us slip and will preserve our very souls!

This chapter possibly forms the backdrop for the Psalms of Ascension (Psalm 120-134). David has a great desire to return the Ark of the Covenant to its rightful place with God's people. We examine his worship here, and learn much about worship "God's way" and not "man's way". God takes unscriptural worship very seriously.

In part two of this message, we continue to look at David's worship as it relates to his returning the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. We learn from his example that God's work must be done in God's way if it is to have God's blessing. Once David proceeded scripturally, he could then praise shamelessly!

In life, we all hear or say words at some point that completely change our life and the direction of it. During their early relationship, Simon and Jesus share a moment that would change Simon's life forever.

Many folks are always asking, "How can I know God's perfect will for my life?" God has revealed several things that we can know for certain are His will for our lives. It is in obeying these things that we find our next step on God's perfect path for us. Are you obeying God's revealed will?

Instead of squabbling, stressing, or sulking in our relationships with others, God desires for us to be at peace with all men. That is only possible through the power of the Holy Spirit, as we let the Word of God rule in our heart. How's your heart today?

Today we hear the heart of Jeremiah Castille, chaplain for the University of Alabama football team. From a childhood home of addictions, abuse and violence, God turned around a life bound up in hopeless despair and fashioned a man who is a champion for Christ. It all happened because of the power of the Gospel!

One of the most damaging emotions that hinders our walk with the Lord is resentment. In today's message we see a glaring example in David's trusted counselor, Ahithophel. What made him turn on David and prematurely end his life in such a sad way? How do you and I deal with resentment?

The Christian life is meant to be lived alongside other believers, not on an island by ourselves. Many Christians have closer relationships with their brothers and sisters in Christ than they do even with blood relatives! We are bound together in Christ. Let's discover how we can be of the "same mind" in our relationships and what it will bring to the body of Christ.

There are many damaging emotions that sap us of spiritual vitality and victory in our Christian life. Worry tops the list! Listen to the words of Jesus as He encourages us not to let our mind get fixed on the fear of the unknown, the spirit of anxiety.

Are you growing in your Christian life? What in your life reveals that you are indeed growing? In this passage of scripture, Paul describes some things that are needed in our life if we are to be making progress on the journey to spiritual maturit

"Tender eyed" Leah was the poster girl for insecurity. Rejected by her father, her husband, and enduring trouble with her sister Rachel, she felt she could never perform enough to rid herself of that fear of loss. Let's learn what causes insecurity in all of us and what we can do to conquer it.

The Apostle Paul reminds us that pursuing Christ is the goal that brings joy into our life. Knowing Christ intimately was his passion! Today we view that stance as radical, but in the eyes of our Savior and Lord, it is normal and produces joy and purpose.

The prophet Nahum paints a sobering picture of the destruction of the viciously cruel city of Nineveh, some 100 plus years after Jonah's prophecy concerning the city. But amid the bleak prediction, Nahum gives a glimmer of hope to God's people, a reminder that God is in complete control and that He is always good!