From Judges 16.  This message dovetails off of the message "Hope for Barrenness" presented 2 weeks prior to this one.  This message focuses on answering the question, "How is it that there seems to be so little power in the Church today ... the kind of power that changes lives?"  A look at Samson's demise with Delilah may give us a clue to the answer.

Personal Note:  Admittedly, I (the pastor) took a little time in the center of the message and wound up on a little soap box.  It wasn't planned, and I'm generally diligent not to do that.  Thus, my apologies to those who take the time to listen to this message for doing so.  You'll hear me make note that I recognized such while speaking it. 

From 1 Samuel 1-2.  This message speaks strongly against a barren religious system, while shedding hope that God promises to raise up a godly witness for Himself.  This particular message has a strong prophetic edge to it, and leaves the listener with having to work out issues of the heart with God to fill the barrenness that so many experience.

The message text for this Easter morning is from John 10:14-18, with a significant focus on Jesus saying, "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again."  The depth of Christ's love for us is rooted in His own desire to give His life for you and I.  He gave it freely, because He wanted to, because He loves us ... and thus the Father loves Him even more (see John 10:17). 

Luke 19:28-44: Palm Sunday.  There is significant extemporaneous preaching in this message ... coming from a heart of holy discontent.  Focusing on Jesus' tearful reaction when He enters Jerusalem, this message seeks to move the beleiver to the place in heart where we are not content with a casual Christianity.  If Jesus is our example, and we are genuine followers of Him, we must allow our hearts to weep for the suffering and sin in our worlds.  Seeing His tears over Jerusalem, and His willingness to die for their redemption, moves us to the place of "doing something about it" in our worlds ... this is the heart of this message.  At the end, you'll hear the soundtrack of a very short video that was shown, bearing testimony of God's amazing grace in the life of a young college student. 

You can watch the video mentioned above at http://imagesaes.316networks.com/namb/SEIZE_YOUR_DIVINE_MOMENT_wide.mpg

This is the fourth message in the series "Why Must We Be Born Again?"  This message begins to answer the series title question, giving 10 New Testament reasons WHY we MUST be born again.  This message covers the first 7 of the 10 reasons.

This is the third message in the series "Why Must We Be Born Again?"  This messages focuses much attention on Jesus' specific words to Nicodemus when he says, "Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." (John 3:5)  This messages answers the question, "Does the water that Jesus is referring to, refer to water baptism?"

This is the second message of the series, "Why Must We Be Born Again?"  This message focuses attention to the details of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus in John 3.  It heightens the awareness that Jesus was telling Nicodemus (and us) that we don't need religion, we need life; and that affirming the miraculous does not equate with experiencing it ... Jesus was pointing out to Nicodemus that he needed to experience the supernatural, not just affirm it.