Former U.S. Navy Seal Michael Imhof returns to LFCC as special guest speaker, delivering a message on the Lordship of Jesus Christ. All too often, the very phrasing of saying "My Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ" becomes so used in the Christian community, that it turns into just a mere slogan, or worse, falls into the danger of becoming a cliche. If you trust Christ to save you from your sins and through Him, reconcile yourself with God, then Jesus Christ is your Savior. However, Lordship has a very different meaning, one that is serious, larger than life, and important, so much so, that we as believers need to get this right if we are going to have a healthy faith, have dominion in our lives and surroundings, and have power over the enemy. This message serves as a great reference on the subject for anyone interested in digging deeper into it, as it is jam packed with scripture to form its overall point.
Special note: For more about Michael Imhof and his ministry, available resources, and mission, visit: https://michaelimhofministries.org/
When Jesus appeared to John, He had eyes like the flame of fire, hair white like wool, and feet like fine brass (as if brass was burning in a furnace). In other words, Jesus came to John with power, authority, and majesty. Dressed as King of Kings and Lord of Lords, John sends messages to seven major churches of which characteristics in today's church resonates. In the church of Thyatira, the church lost sight of what is important. You see, when Jesus addresses us, He sees the end result that He has designed for us. In other words, Christ sees our future, ruling and reigning with Him. The fundamental question is; are you thinking about that now? How you answer that question will reflect the state of your faith and your behavior in regards to that fact. Satan will always work to take our sins down to a deeper level, but Christ watches and observes how we handle that aspect (do we resist or give in) and how we depend on Him to help us overcome, as He is the only one with the adequate power to overcome. Jesus warns that He will make this church's life a living hell unless it repents (i.e. "cast into a sickbed"), and this truth remains relevant to many individuals in His church today. as Pastor Troy Billow explains in this message.
In the letter to the Church of Pergamos, Jesus is seeking His assembly to have love for Him. The problem in this church is that the place where they are has a history of demonic influence (i.e. Pergamos being the place of the throne of Satan). In addition to that, certain pagan sinful behaviors have crept into this church, and Jesus addresses them. Jesus lets you know the reality you face. Do you compromise in the heat of the evil that surrounds you, or do you put on the helmet of salvation (Ephesians 6:17) by knowing your place before the Throne of God, and hold on to your faithfulness when things get tough? This message is ever the bolder today, as it was a serious matter to this church in its day.
Pastor Joel Gilbert from Redeemer Church in Indiana speaks to our Sunday congregation at LFCC. Pastor Joel addresses the reality and challenge about holding fast in a godless culture. Today, it is nor hard to find wickedness so entrenched in our culture that it is mainstream to believe that good is evil and evil is good. And yet for those anchored in the truth, there is a fundamental challenge that faces them; how do you hold fast, strong, and engaged when everything around you is anchored in lies, feelings, emotions, cavalier attitudes, and political pressure? Pastor Joel will explain the importance of confession, why it is critical not to waver, and what it means to be faithful (as He is more faithful to us than we can ever be to Him) in this potent "meat and potatoes" message.
Timothy came from a mixed family. His father was Greek (which was predominantly pagan), and his Mother and Grandmother were Messianic Jews. Timothy was influenced by the faith of his Mother and Grandmother, so much so, that Timothy became a Godly man and a right hand man to the Apostle Paul. What we learn from Timothy's life is an effective blueprint that we need to apply today. In this special message honoring mothers, we learn how and why it is critically important to pass on one's faith to the next generation, to one's children and grandchildren. Discipleship instituted by Mothers is a special blessing, and Pastor Troy, in this message, will reveal why, and what he learned first hand by having a Godly mother.
To commemorate the National Day of Prayer, Pastor Troy Billow brings a dynamic and intriguing message on the importance of prayer in your walk with Christ. We are in a war. We have an enemy that wants to destroy us, and in so doing emits evil, misery, disease, death and despair. Sometimes the "squeeze" of the evil in this world, or the other things mentioned, seems too overwhelming and overbearing to overcome. However, when you pray, you loosen the tight grip evil has on you, and where there may be fear, uncertainty,, and feelings of hopelessness, God lifts you up and does incredible things to combat those forces. This unique message is not like anything you have heard on the subject of prayer. Prayer is a powerful weapon against anything that the Devil, the world, and our weak fleshly nature throws at us, and in these dark days, it is more important than ever to stay in prayer. After all, prayer is your contact to God, and as such, it truly changes things.
Living Faith's own Thom Espinos serves as our Guest Speaker this week, laying out the progress of Peter from flesh-centered thinking to a life of faithfulness. Even in the presence of Jesus, Peter struggled with lack of faith, doubt, confusion, and fear. After Peter encountered Christ after He rose from the dead, and experienced the Holy Spirit, Peter became a bold and dynamic titan whose faith stabilized, strengthened, enabled, and motivated him. Every believer in Jesus Christ has that very same Holy Spirit within him. The question is; are you experiencing the same flow of progress in your life?
After the darkness revolving around the crucifixion of Jesus, came a period of mourning. After that period of mourning came a joy that was never felt before. That joy revolved around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today that same joy revolves around the resurrection of Jesus Christ in so many ways. In this special Easter Message, Pastor Troy Billow explains why the resurrection is so important not only to us as human beings, but also why it is critical for you to understand now, personally. We never know when our time is up, yet because of that, God did something for us to make sure we don't end up on the wrong side when we reach eternity. It's up to us to make sure we accept and receive that gift before we enter into that realm for eternity.
In this special presentation observing "Good Friday" we look at a world in which all of the forces of this world, under the control of Satan, utilizing human weakness, political influence, and evil in general all join together to send the most innocent man of all time to be executed on a Roman cross in Jerusalem. Beginning with a descriptive prophecy from 700 B.C. to its fulfillment in 33 A.D., the day Jesus was crucified ended up as the most consequential day in human history, which we remember in this service. You cannot experience joy until you have experienced the darkness first.
On Palm Sunday, people were very excited about Jesus because they thought he was going to be a political king who was going to defeat the Roman Empire. In other words, the people were looking for something different. Jesus set to build His Kingdom on the foundation of a renewed heart, soul, spirit, and eventually, body, however people wouldn't realize this until after His resurrection. Today people have many different ideas about Jesus, and for the wrong reasons. In this message, Pastor Troy Billow evaluates and challenges you to examine this dynamic in light of the event we call Palm Sunday.