Tag: Baptist
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Preparing to be Courageous
Have you considered what it takes to be courageous? Do you think of courage as the exclusive domain of the fearless? Courage isn’t just available to those who don’t feel fear. It is also available to any who will prepare. Prepare. What do I mean by prepare? The simple definition of preparation is to consistently…
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Finding Delight In the Word
Psalms 1:1-2 1 How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the path of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. English is so sloppy. Specifically, how…
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The Poor You Will Always Have With You
Do you have any projects that never seem to end? They just seem to go on and on. Sometimes we get tired, don’t we? When that happens we are faced with a choice: 1) quit and leave the job undone OR 2) rest so that we can jump back in with both feet. When it…
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The Reality of Heaven
Last Sunday I preached about what the Bible says about Hell. It is a heart wrenching topic. To balance that heavy subject, this week I want to think about Heaven. The great struggle in modern Christianity is that both of these great teachings of the Bible are minimized in our pulpits. We need to embrace…
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Do All Things… Through Christ
Who doesn’t love hearing a secret? I am not talking about gossip. Gossip is gross. But, there is something about secrets. Book writers use that in their titles all the time: “The Secret to a Happy Life” “The Secret to Successful Investing” “The Secret Life of Pets”. Paul said that he had learned a secret.…
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The Myth of Security (Part 2)
A profound phenomenon accompanies our problems and struggles – worry. When problems break through our ineffective strategies to be safe, worry is usually our companion. I had written a couple of weeks ago that we would talk about trust in our everyday life. How we worry is the everyday living out of our trust. “Cast…
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The Myth of Security (Part 1)
Storms. Here in central Iowa we have had plenty of them lately. It doesn’t matter if it is wind, rain, hail, or flood waters, they all surprise us with their power. It doesn’t even really matter how often it happens, we are consistently taken aback by how powerful nature can be. It reminds me that…
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The Secret of Humility
I hate just listing a group of verses, but I think that this time it’s necessary. Why? I believe I need to list them because we struggle with actually believing what God has said. Sure, we nod our head and say, “Amen!” However, when it comes to doing this… I just don’t think we really understand…
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Count the Cost of the Life You are Living
We have been talking a lot about the freedom we have in Christ. Sometimes I think that we start believing that living in this freedom has no cost to us. So, we are surprised when God asks something of us. It is true that Jesus has paid our way to God. But, living in His…
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Valuing Freedom on Memorial Day
There are those who don’t understand what the big deal is. They think that the freedom we have in Christ is important, don’t get me wrong, but they act as if the freedom of living by the Spirit instead of living by the law is a great blessing of salvation and not an essential of…
Pastor John D Jakes 