This morning, we welcome back Pastors Branden and Veronica Heskett. They became the Lead Pastors of Christian Life in January of 2018. They have been in ministry for 10 years and served all throughout northern CA. We are excited to hear what God has been doing in and through them!!!
Faith in the Power of God
This morning, we look at 1 Corinthians 2:1–5. Paul had spent about 18 months in Corinth on his first visit there. Now he writes his first letter to warn the believers against basing their faith on the wisdom of men instead of God’s power. One of the ways he does this is to remind them of what his aim was in first coming to them and how he came.
What is the Kingdom of God? – Part 11
Why the Gift of Prophecy Is Not the Usual Way of Knowing God’s Will
What I want to try to show today is that this gift of prophecy is not meant by God to be the usual way we should make decisions about the will of God. If God really speaks today, then surely this is the way to know his will about jobs and mates and investments and purchases and travel plans. And pretty soon we tend to forsake the language of wisdom and insight and reason and persuasion, and instead use the language of “God told me to do this,” and “God told me to do that” about almost everything.
What is the Kingdom of God? – Part 10
Last week I tried to show that 1 Corinthians 13:8–12 teaches that the gift of prophecy will pass away when Jesus comes back—the way a dim mirror image will give way to the living face. And I argued that therefore the gift of prophecy is still valid in the church today. I promised that today we would take up the questions: What is the gift of prophecy, and how is it to be exercised?
What is the Kingdom of God? – Part 9
A couple of week’s ago, we focused on gifts of healings, which leads us to next focus on the gift of prophecy. The whole issue of knowing when and where and how to pray for healing, the issue of knowing when to ask God for some sign or miracle, the issue of making decisions when you have exhausted your ability to apply Scripture. All these issues raise for us the question of the role of prophecy. Does God still speak today? Does he still give the gift of prophecy today? If so what is it like? How should we use it?
What is the Kingdom of God? – Part 8
Today we turn to James 5:13–18. And the question is: Do the healing instructions here fit in with what we said a couple of weeks ago? I believe: yes! The text does support it! Today, we will look to James chapter 5 and see that it is a rebuke to shepherds that never had the faith to heal and churches that don’t pray for each other in the spirit.
The Perfect Father
On Father’s Day we try to focus on the good qualities of our dads. The facts are that none of us have had perfect dads. Even the best dad has his flaws. This morning I want to take a look at the Perfect Father, your Heavenly Father. My hopes are that dads would want to be more like Him and that all of us would put our hopes in Him. He’s the best Father of them all.
What is the Kingdom of God? – Part 7
Do we need to keep the gifts of healings and miracles away from ordinary church members because that was the only way the apostles could authenticate themselves? I believe that “gifts of healings” and “workings of miracles” are for the church today—for Mt. Zion Church today and for the mission of Christ in the world today. Once you set your heart to pursue love, you will be in a position to be zealous for all the spiritual gifts.
What is the Kingdom of God? – Part 6
“Grant to thy servants to speak thy words with all boldness, while thou stretchest out thy hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of thy holy servant Jesus.” Were the signs and wonders specially designed by God to confirm the authority of the apostles so that after the apostles have done their work in providing the church with the foundation of revelation in the New Testament the signs and wonders cease?
What is the Kingdom of God? – Part 5
If the kingdom has come in Jesus, what is the power of the kingdom doing? But we must be careful even how we ask the question. It is one thing to ask: how was the kingdom present in the life and ministry of Jesus and another to ask how it is present with us today. Jesus was the embodiment of the kingdom. He was the King. His demonstration of the kingdom was unique.