Word of Life

We’ve been given an amazing gift in being able to talk with the God of the universe. He spoke our world into existence and breathed life into our lungs, and He desires for us to use that breath for His glory. As Pastor Richard continues our study of the book of Daniel in today’s message, he’ll explore some of the ways that we can interact with our Heavenly Father. There’s no set formula, but rathe...

Most of us have not experienced visions like those we find described at various times in Scripture. Perhaps one of the reasons God doesn’t use this means of communicating with us is simply that it would overwhelm most of us. As Pastor Richard will point out in today’s message, even for Daniel, a prophet designated by God to speak to humanity on His behalf, the vision he sees in today’s passage was...

Israel is a nation run by humans, susceptible to sin, including pride and hatred. To stand with Israel, as Pastor Richard will explain in today’s message, is not to pretend they’re perfect. Scripture makes it clear that this chosen nation, called to be a blessing to others, has not always lived up to its calling. But that doesn’t change God’s promises or design as laid out in Scripture, and we nee...

Faith in God is essential to stand strong against the attacks of the enemy. He’s no match for our God, but that doesn’t mean he’s not clever. His attacks come in subtle, unrelenting ways that can be easy to dismiss, while doubts start to build and we find ourselves compromising on our values. Today, Pastor Richard will encourage us to reinforce our faith through the Word and time in prayer, as wel...

Faith in God is essential to stand strong against the attacks of the enemy. He’s no match for our God, but that doesn’t mean he’s not clever. His attacks come in subtle, unrelenting ways that can be easy to dismiss, while doubts start to build and we find ourselves compromising on our values. Today, Pastor Richard will encourage us to reinforce our faith through the Word and time in prayer, as wel...

The stage is set for this moment described in Biblical prophecy. Of course, with all the unrest in Israel, it’s hard to imagine a peace deal that would allow for the temple to be rebuilt. While it’s easy to spend a lot of time trying to connect dots and make predictions, ultimately, we can’t know the future. As Pastor Richard continues our study in the book of Daniel today, we’ll be reminded to ke...

When you look at the chaos of this world, with wars, natural disasters, and divisiveness everywhere, it’s easy to be overwhelmed. It can feel hopeless, but if you have accepted Christ as your Savior, you have reason for hope and joy. This world, in its broken state, is not our home. Our home is with Christ, and as Pastor Richard will encourage us in today’s message, Jesus promised to return for us...

Far too often, we write prayer off as the least we can do. While we’re called to go out and share the Gospel and glorify Jesus with our daily lives, prayer is not a small part of that. Jesus – who was one with His Father God – made it a priority to spend time in prayer regularly. As Pastor Richard will challenge us in today’s message, in times when we’re not sure what we can do to serve God and ot...

God doesn’t need any of us. His care and concern for humanity come completely from a benevolent, loving heart. He desires a relationship with us and to restore us to the holiness He designed us for. As Pastor Richard will point out in today’s message, the forgiveness and redemption that God offers reflect how good He is. They point to a gracious heart, not because He needs what we have to offer or...

Once again, Pastor Richard will remind us of the profound significance of fulfilled prophecy and how this builds our faith like no other. Imagine knowing a person who could tell you where a person would be born, in what town, and even which family that person would be born into! It’s ASTOUNDING, when you really think about it! As you listen today, focus your attention on the power behind fulfilled...

Faith in God is essential to stand strong against the attacks of the enemy. He’s no match for our God, but that doesn’t mean he’s not clever. His attacks come in subtle, unrelenting ways that can be easy to dismiss, while doubts start to build and we find ourselves compromising on our values. Today, Pastor Richard will encourage us to reinforce our faith through the Word and time in prayer, as wel...

As we walk through life with Jesus, we can sometimes forget the blessings we already have while chasing after what we want. When we become so focused on our own desires and needs, we may overlook the many gifts God has given us. That’s why, in today’s message, Pastor Richard encourages us to stay rooted in the Word of God and always remember that, although God doesn’t grant us everything we ask fo...

In the last edition of Word of Life, Pastor Richard shared with us numerous prophecies that have been fulfilled in the book of Daniel. And today, as we just heard from Pastor Richard, you’ll hear WHY this is so important. When a prophecy is fulfilled, it bolsters your faith in ways few things can. Faith is hard. But when a prophecy actually comes to pass, it becomes a little bit easier to believe...

Prophecy is one of the most amazing elements of the Bible. If you stop and think about it, it will truly blow your mind! There’s never been another document on earth that had historical declarations about things that were going to happen…and then, THEY ACTUALLY HAPPENED!?!?!?!?! As Pastor Richard takes us through the eighth chapter of Daniel, you’ll hear a few more of these divine confirmations in...

THAT is the hope we have as followers of Jesus Christ. As dark as this world is not, we look forward to a time when Jesus returns for His people and initiates His glorious reign here on earth. Studying prophetic texts like Daniel can be discouraging WITHOUT keeping in mind that we won’t be here AND we will be with Jesus.

Tribulation isn’t a word we use often in our American vernacular. This is more of a “bible” word. Pastor Richard just introduced us to an even more fine-tuned look at the idea of tribulation, and that’s the “GREAT TRIBULATION”. You’ll learn today that you DO NOT want to be someone who is here on earth during this awful time in the history of mankind. You want to be with Jesus in heaven during this...

There are MANY prophecies in the Bible. And MANY of them have come true! As Pastor Richard has been leading us through the book of Daniel, we are learning about some prophecies that HAVE NOT yet been fulfilled. One of them is the one Richard just mentioned a moment ago…this “ten-horned empire” that is understood as an organization that is led by ten kings.

As we walk through life with Jesus, we can sometimes forget the blessings we already have while chasing after what we want. When we become so focused on our own desires and needs, we may overlook the many gifts God has given us. That’s why, in today’s message, Pastor Richard encourages us to stay rooted in the Word of God and always remember that, although God doesn’t grant us everything we ask fo...

As followers of Jesus, we should be characterized by our love for others. One of the clearest indicators of that love is our generosity and hospitality. As Pastor Richard will point out in today’s message, those characteristics don’t come naturally to all of us. We live in a world that discourages these traits and promotes a self-centered existence. Our lives should look different. When we step in...

Do you believe what Pastor Richard just said a moment ago could be true in your life? Could you be like the Apostle Peter or Mary, the mother of Jesus? As Pastor Richard just said, YES…YES, you can! You’ll learn today that walking the talk of Christianity is the best way to be a powerful witness for God’s kingdom. Do the things you say God says to do…and people will line up to learn about the Jesu...

If you want to be an effective witness for Jesus, a great place to start is how you treat others. Are you a jerk on Facebook? How about at the 4-way stop…do you ALWAYS go first? Today, you’ll learn that like Daniel, you can have a HUGE eternal impact not by stirring things up, but by being a living testimony of the grace of God. Your character can lead the way for the story of Jesus.

Right now, the grace of God is on FULL DISPLAY. We see the unrighteousness and what appears to be a lack of justice in our world. But, there’s coming a day when the justice of GOd will rain down on the earth. Pastor Richard reminds you today that the very breath in your lungs is a gift from God, and it’s important to be thankful to God FOR the life that He’s given you.

Like BELT-TA-SHAZ-ARE, we can have that same attitude. We can forget who we are and where we came from. We can forget the lessons that we’ve learned from the elders in our lives. Pastor Richard will remind you today to LISTEN to your elders and HEED their warnings. They haven’t lived the years they have without gaining some understanding that you don’t have.

We’ve all been in conversation with people and heard them say, “When I get to heaven, I’m going to give God a piece of my mind!” People say this, not realizing who they are talking about or to. As we just heard a moment ago…the breath that is used to utter such nonsensical words comes from that VERY GOD!!! Today, Pastor Richard will remind us how important it is to REVERE God and respect Him.

As followers of Jesus, we should be characterized by our love for others. One of the clearest indicators of that love is our generosity and hospitality. As Pastor Richard will point out in today’s message, those characteristics don’t come naturally to all of us. We live in a world that discourages these traits and promotes a self-centered existence. Our lives should look different. When we step in...