Faith Mountain Church - Old

The past two weeks, we have talked about the practices of Great Christians. We highlighted two practices so far - Thinking Great Thoughts and Making Great Sacrifices. If you read Chip Ingrams' book, you will find that Great Christians also Pray Great Prayers, Dream Great Dreams, and are willing to Take Great Risks. These are practices all Great Christians appear to have in common. But today, we will focus on the one practice that is the key to the effectiveness of all the others - Develop Great Habits.

Last week, we talked about the fact that Great Christians think great thoughts. This week our focus is on the theme of sacrifice. Just as Veterans love this country so much they are willing to make great sacrifices for it, Great Christians love God so much they are willing to make great sacrifices for Him.

Does God want a bunch of average Joe Christians, or do you think He would prefer a world full of people who strive to be the best Christians they can possibly be? Inspired by Chip Ingram, this series looks at four of the common practices of those individuals - historical and modern - considered to be Great Christians. These practices take them from average Joe Christian to a whole other level in their faith.

One of the other methods God clearly uses to help us know and understand His will for our lives is the Church. God speaks through His Church. And sometimes what He has to say is not necessarily what we want to hear, but it is what we need to hear. He loves us the way we are, but He also loves us too much to let us stay that way. So He speaks the truth from an abundance of love.

Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart. The Bible is God Himself speaking directly to us. He is alive and active in the moment. He can and does speak to us as we wrestle with the difficult decisions of life through the pages of His word. He knows our thoughts, our attitudes, our ideas, our questions - and guides us to right decisions with the words on the pages.

When we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior, we make the most important decision of our lives. We fall in love with Him, we want to follow Him, and we want to live lives that honor Him. We read and study the Bible and we find our He has a plan for us, and that He has planned good works for us. Well, what exactly are those plans? What exactly are those good works?

Guest speaker Jerry Schemmel gives his testimony of how his survival of the plane crash of flight 232 in Sioux City, Iowa led him to Christ.

Today's sermon covers the entire 22 chapters of Revelation. We title it Revelation but literally translated it is "The Revelation or Unveiling of Jesus Christ." Hopefully, it will help you to read it in a way that builds your faith and brings you to know Jesus better.

Pastor Ben talks about the Judgement Seat of Christ and the Great White Throne Judgement.

The end of the world. We wonder about it, don't we? Is there really going to be an end, and, if so, what is it going to be like? In this series, we are going to explore what the bible has to say.

We talk all the time in church that a life of faith, Christian faith, is not about religion - it's about relationship; a personal relationship with a personal God. That is true, but...while a relationship with Jesus is personal, it's never supposed to be private. He said we will be his witnesses.

Ephesians 4:1-3 In light of all this, here's what I want you to do. While I'm locked up here, a prisoner for the Master, I want you to get out there and walk - better yet, run! - on the road God called you to travel. I don't want any of you sitting around on your hands. I don't want anyone strolling off, down some path that goes nowhere. And mark that you do this with humility and discipline - not in fits and starts, but steadily, pouring yourselves out for each other in acts of love, alert at noticing differences and quick at mending fences.

The word 'Called' comes from the greek word 'Kaleo'. Literally translated, it means to be invited. It is often used in faith circles in regard to our service for God. Our calling is often what we consider our ministry. When God calls or invites His followers to do something, there is a clear expectation that we will accept His invitation.

Romans 12:5b-8 But in Christ we are one body. And each part of the body belongs to all the other parts. We all have gifts. They differ in keeping with the grace that God has given each of us. Do you have the gift of prophecy? Then use it in keeping with the faith you have. Is it your gift to serve? Then serve. Is it teaching? Then teach. Is it telling others how they should live? Then tell them. Is it giving to those who are in need? Then give freely. Is it being a leader? Then work hard at it. Is it showing mercy? Then do it cheerfully.

Romans 11:25 I want you to understand this mystery, dear brothers and sisters, so that you will not feel proud about yourselves. Some of the people of Israel have hard hearts, but this will last only until the full number of Gentiles comes to Christ. And so all Israel will be saved.

The members of the mission trip to the Navajo reservation show us message of chapter 10 with their recap of this year's mission trip.

Pastor Pat shares how knowing how much Jesus loves you can impact your heart.

The Holy Spirit leads us in life, directs our thoughts, gives life to our dead spirits, seals our eternity with God, guides and empowers our choices, guarantees our adoption into the family of God, carries us through the tragedies, speaks to the Father on our behalf and frees us from the impossible task of living a perfect life in order to gain God's love and favor.

It is absolutely impossible to do what is right and good by your own will and effort, that is, by trying harder. You can only do what is right and good by becoming a different kind of person, one who is truly spiritual, by participating in and with God to apply the whole work of Christ in your whole being.

Can we continue to sin and still know that God holds us dear and invites us to live with him forever after this life? Absolutely! But just because we can does not mean we should. In fact, Paul emphatically says "No, of course not!". While being a follower of Jesus gives us great freedom, it does not make sense that we would abuse our freedom. It's not good for us and it's not good for others.