The Epic Life - Bob Hallman

(Pastor Bob's sermon notes can be found on bible.org ) Introduction Introduction to the Bible The Bible: Its Origins The Bible: Its Reliability - Parts I and II       The Bible has been called “The Greatest Book Ever Written.”  It has also been called the Book of Books -- partly because it is the book that surpasses all other books in authority, having God as its ultimate author, but also because...

One of the greatest gifts we can give one another is self-disclosure: Our thoughts, our dreams, our life. Enjoy this audio replay of a message Pastor Bob Hallman delivered from Psalm 19 he titled: Divine Self Disclosure.  Listen as Bob describes the indescribable gift when self-disclosure happens with God.  We pray you'll enjoy this message as Bob shares scripture, personal stories, and personal a...

REPOST: was missing the audio This passage recounts the conversion of Saul: He was a devout Jew from the tribe of Benjamin He was a Roman citizen born in Tarsus of Cilicia He was a tent maker by trade He was taught by Gamaliel, one of the most respected and brilliant men of Paul’s day He was a Pharisee and a member of the Sanhedrin He was a relentless enemy of Jesus Christ and of the newly birthed...

Many people go through life waiting for the“one big break” that will turn their life around and bring them success, riches, fame, and power:1. Insider scoop on a once-in-a-lifetime stock tip2. A call from Nashville, Hollywood or the NBA3. A multi-million-dollar lotto ticket. Because of this we might be tempted to think of Genesis 41 as a record of Joseph’s much-deserved “lucky break.” But we would...

George Fox, the famous author of Foxes Book of Martyrs,  said: “There are three sorts of dreams:1. A multitude of business sometimes cases dreams(Eccl 5:3)2. Then there are the whisperings of Satan in the night-season.3. Finally, there are the speaking's of God to man.” Some 11 years earlier, in Joseph’s youth, he had dreamed two separate dreams: 1. One where his brother's sheaves of wheat bowed d...

n 1995 Dr. Laura Schlessinger, who is the second most listened to talk radio show host in the nation, wrote a book called,10 Stupid Things Women Do to Mess Up Their Lives. It was a best seller! So, she wrote three more: 10 Stupid Things Men Do to Mess Up Their Lives, 10 Stupid Things Parents Do to Mess Up Their Lives, 10 Stupid Things Couples Do to Mess Up Their Lives. Her writing is filled with p...

According to George Fox, author of Foxes Book of Martyrs, there are three types of dreams: ~1. Dreams that result from a multitude of business and an overworked mind ~2. Dreams that represent the whisperings of Satan in man in the night-season ~3. Dreams that come as the result of God speaking supernaturally to man Job 33:14-18 “For God does speak-now one way, now another--though man may not perce...

It goes without saying that this is an awful chapter--not only in the book of Genesis, but in the history of mankind. It is made worse by being the only chapter in the Bible, outside the book of Esther, where the name of God is not even mentioned. Leupold’s homiletical suggestions on this chapter includes the following statement: “We may well wonder if any man who had proper discernment ever drew...

So far in our study of Genesis, we have observed three great tests in Abraham’s life: ~ Chapter 12-to Submit to God’s call to leave his land & family ~ Chapter 13-to Separate from his nephew, Lot ~ Chapter 17-to Surrender his plan about Ishmael and to trust God to do a miracle Growing up on Oahu, I remember that on the first day of every month at noon, sirens all across the island would begin to w...

Genesis 33 is a pivotal chapter in Jacob’s life.  20 years earlier, Jacob had left his home because his brother had sworn to kill him for stealing his birthright and the blessing of his father, Isaac (Gen 27:41-45). Rebekah had told Jacob “when your brother is no longer angry with you and forgets what you did to him, I'll send word for you to come back from there. Gen 27:45. But since she never se...

The course of human history has often turned on events that occur so rapidly and dramatically that life is forever altered. History is punctuated with examples of “What A Difference A Day Can Make!” 1. The day Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit 2. The day Job lost everything 3. The day the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor 4. The day the Berlin wall came down 5. The day the World Trade Towers were...

In Genesis 31, we find Jacob at a crossroads in his life. He must make a choice. https://www.theepiclife.org Either he can stay where he is–in virtual slavery to Laban, but comfortable and well-fed. Or he can respond to the call of God, which involved no small degree of risk and required a great deal of faith in God and His covenant promises. It is the same crossroads that the people of Israel wou...

Every day we are faced with the choice to either trust in the Lord with all our heart (Prov 3:5-6), or to trust in our own resources and ingenuity to get what we thinkwe deserve. https://www.theepiclife.org Trusting in the Lord leads to peace, joy and contentment–it’s called the Spirit-filled life. Trusting in ourselves leads to anxiety, anger and disillusionment–I call it “Waging Worldly Warfare....

Over the years I have come to believe that there is no such thing as “coincidence” for the man or woman who is surrendered and yielded to God. Every conversation, every “chance” meeting, every opportunity to serve is divinely orchestrated by God (Ephesians2:10). I call them “divine appointments.  ”Last week we found that Jacob was a man in transition. Before his encounter with God in Genesis 28, h...

Hitting bottom seems to be a prerequisite for usefulness in God’s kingdom.  Moses hit bottom during his forty years in the desert after attempting to deliver the Israelites by his own power. Joseph hit bottom after his dream of being ruler over his brothers was dashed by repeated false accusations against him. Peter hit bottom shortly after boasting that he would never deny the Lord. The apostle P...

Working the Angles: You may have heard this phrase before. It refers to doing whatever is necessary to arrive at a predetermined favorable objective. I don’t think there is a better way to describe the lifestyle of Isaac and his family. They were a family accustomed to “Working the Angles.” As we will discover, God’s ultimate purposes prevailed. But the story of this family’s life could have been...

I’ll never forget the day I was watching TV while laying on my back on the floor. Johnny was about 3 years old. My legs were crossed, my head was on a pillow and my hands were supporting my head. I happened to look over at Johnny who was next to me–legs crossed, head on a pillow and hands supporting his head–with a big grin on his little face. At that moment it dawned on me what a great responsibi...

James 4:13-14 “What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” In light of life’s brevity, one of the most profound and beneficial questions we can ask is: ~“How would you like to be remembered at your funeral and what steps would you need to take for that to happen?” ~“What kind of memories are you leaving your spouse, your children, and your friends?” ~ “Wha...

An average of 13,500 Americans get married every day. And roughly 50% of those marriages will end in divorce! I wouldn’t describe those as very good odds. Can you imagine getting on a plane with those kinds of odds? Or getting in the ocean if you knew you had a 50% chance of being eaten by JAWS? But it shouldn’t come as a surprise to us considering that most marriages are the result of meeting peo...

Only two things we can be sure of–death and taxes! Most of us live as if we’ll never die. Death, even under the most expected circumstances, always seems to catch us by surprise. But the fact is, death is a part of life. In Ps. 89:48 the Psalmist asked the universal question, “What man can live and not see death; or save himself from the power of the grave? ” As a pastor, I’m often asked how a God...

We live in an era of unkept promises. Nations sign important treaties and then breakthem at will–case in point: Iraq, China, Pakistan, Iran, Saudi Arabia and NorthKorea. Even our own president wagged his finger in the camera while making his stubborn denials of wrongdoing only to be later exposed as a lecherous liar. Even many married couples show little regard for their wedding vows. At times it...

Déjà vu = French term meaning, “Already seen”, or in our terms, “been there, done that!”It’s that strange sense that you’ve said something before or been somewhere before. Unfortunately, I’ve never had a significant déjà vu experience. They are always meaningless and trivial. In fact, as I thought about this message, I couldn’t recall the details of even one of these experiences in spite of the fa...

Sometimes when I’m coming home late at night from meetings or a Bible study, I will turn on the radio and listen to Art Bell. People seem to be fascinated with UFOs, crop circles, Bigfoot sightings, and alien visitations. In fact, our own Garden Island News recently reported alleged UFO sightings right here on Kauai. Several different people reported seeing a “huge orange fireball the size of hous...

Most New Year’s resolutions are earnestly made but rarely carried out.  The top 3 noble, yet usually unattainable, New Year’s resolutions are:  1. Lose weight 2. Exercise regularly 3. Eat healthily Now I find it interesting that the focus of these three goals, while admirable, are temporal in nature. And like Paul instructed Timothy in 1 Timothy 4:8, “physical training is of some value, but godlin...

Some of you may be old enough to remember the game show hosted by Monty Hall called “Let’s Make a Deal” where contestants would be given the opportunity to trade an initial prize for the chance to get something better. Would it be behind door number one, door number two or door number three? As believers, we are daily faced with the choice to hold onto what we have, or to trade up for the promises...