It was early in the morning and I could not sleep. The weight of being the provider of the home was weighing me down. My job at the time was barley meeting the needs of my family. I was given a cut in pay and “politics” was beginning to dictate my future. Something needed to change. As I lay in bed, my mind was going a hundred miles per hour. How was I going to supply the needs for my family? How was I going to fulfill that call if I could not even take care of my family? Oh, I was frustrated and hurting. At that moment I was done with ministry! I needed a better job. Then in the moment of the silence I began to shoot the breeze with God. I remember telling God, “Lord I know you have called me. I know that you are a God who provides. Yet I am done! I am done with ministry! I have listened and I have acted, yet my family still struggles”. Then I threw my fleece out to God. “For years I have followed your direction. Yet tonight I am done with ministry, unless You provide a new way to mee...

Some are loud. Others are quiet. Where one may be bashful, another may be comfortable in front of others. Whatever the moment or time, men and women rise to be great leaders, sometimes without even knowing that the calling of a leader rest in them. Some hide their leadership and some can’t wait to lead. I believe that each generation awaits a leader to lead the call towards greatness. In our culture few leaders have risen and many have fallen. I will admit, in whatever profession it’s hard to be a leader these days. I believe it is because what has been seen as right is seen as wrong. And what has been seen as wrong has now been accepted as right. That can cause a leader to hide and hold back. If there is a time for leaders to rise it is now! We will take a look at Gideon’s fears, testing, and confidence in these next few weeks. Let’s begin our study on Gideon. Introduction. Scripture tell us that the people had turned away from the Lord. If we look back a few chapters we can see ...

“The rich and poor have this in common; The Lord is the maker of them all." Proverbs 22:2 Whether you believe that the clouds opened up and God sent MAC, or believe that MAC is a future conspiracy of the anti-christ…you must admit the success of one who changed the landscape of technology of our time. This past week, as you may know, Steven Jobs, founder of Apple, passed away. After hearing his passing, a sense of sadness came over me. I’ve never known Steve. Never met him. Yet for me and my generation, this was the Thomas Edison of our time. His impact was epic! I remember working on a computer in college with the DOS program. Remember that? The black screen and green lettering! Man we thought we were in heaven! Then I remember working on the first Macintosh! I was blown away! Publishing became easier and you knew that a new era had just begun! A computer was no more for the government or large corporation, ordinary people could have access to technology. The internet comes al...

“Come and follow me, and I will make you fishers of men” These words have been a foundational statement within the church for the last two thousand years. We hear it as a mission statement to go out into the world and share the hope of Jesus with others. I’m sure you have heard many sermons on this passage. Yet what was Christ saying to Peter? Why….”Come follow me, and I will make you fishers of men”? The words “Come follow me…” were powerful at the time, but I believe the words, “I will make you fishers of men”, become more powerful to Peter at the Day of Pentecost. These words have a significant meaning whether you are an employee, business owner or CEO. Becoming fishers of men starts with…”Come, follow me….” “Come, follow me” These words were powerful in the culture that Jesus lived in. I believe when we understand the context of those words, it becomes even more powerful in our culture. To understand those words we have to go back some. Hebrew education in the first century in...

Luke is the author of the book that bears his name and Acts. Each book is very detailed. Acts records the first thirty years of history of the church, where the Gospel of Luke records the life of Christ and the events that surrounded his story. It was very important to Luke to get the story right, because at this time (around 60 AD) many stories were filling the marketplace about this Jesus character. Many stories were being said that contradicted the divinity of Christ, his death and resurrection. Words were being put into the mouth of Christ that never had credibility and for Luke he wanted to set the story straight! The word of Christ acts and salvation were spreading throughout the region, and in just thirty years or so was making an impact in the culture as a new religion sect was on the rise (Acts 11:28). Luke gives us his reason for writing his account in the first four verses of chapter 1… “Many have undertaken to draw up an account of the things that have been fulfilled amon...

                               Through the years I have come to believe that Paul was one of the greatest defenders of the faith. He had to be! In Acts 17 Paul visited Athens. A city that was polytheistic by all means. As Paul was walking the streets he notices altars set up to various god’s. One altar is said to have caught his attention, “The Altar to the Unknown God”. As was custom of the day a group of men, the Council of Areopagus(men who considered themselves as custodians of teachings that introduced new religions and foreign gods, NIV Bible Study), would listen to new ideas. Paul was brought before the council to share with them this "new" idea. The philosophers and others asked "What is this person trying to say?" What happens next is an example of one man using his knowledge of Christ and presenting him in such a way that he di...