True Life of Nashville

The Importance of a Vision

Wed, 21 Nov 2007 05:03:00 GMT

"The difference between excellence and mediocrity is vision...period end of story. If you want to be mediocre then don't have a vision." Dr. Jerry Falwell

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others." Jonathan Swift

Is there anything more disheartening than aimlessly living life, no purpose, no goals. I am personally learning the importance of finding, having, owning, and living out God's vision for my own life. As we search the Bible we find great men and women of God who found God's vision for their life, and it was ALWAYS out of reach of human abilities. At some point the strength, resources, or personal abilities fell short and the person had to depend on God to fill in the void where they were deficient. It is in this "place" where God works and where I want to live.

Why is important to find God's vision for your life? Because God's vision for you is what He has created us for, and because it always takes faith to carry this vision out. May every believer seek out, find, and live out God's vision for their life. We are limited, not by our abilities, but by our desire to find His vision for us.

A Test of Faith

Thu, 1 Nov 2007 04:46:00 GMT

We are people that believe that telling a lie is wrong. We want others to tell us the truth and we get really upset when they don't. We are all about the truth and then there are times when we flat out lie. All of a sudden lies are justified and the truth just doesn't seem to be so important. It is in those moments that we truly determine whether the truth is really important. The same is true about living by faith.

Living by faith requires one to find God's vision for their life. Most of the time the vision will be something that we will have no idea how to obtain, but that is exactly what God wants us to realize. We can't do it without Him. It is great to read stories about other great men and women who have realized God's vision for their life, but it is time that we realize God's vision for us, and without faith it is impossible. Let's stop living off the great stories of the past, and create new stories and see what God will do through us!

Dr. Jerry Falwell August 11, 1933-May 15, 2007

Fri, 25 May 2007 13:03:00 GMT

I just got back from Dr. Falwell's funeral and have had some time to reflect on his life, traits that defined his life that absolutely amaze me.

Dr. Falwell believed that there was nothing that he couldn't accomplish as long as God was in it. Even his life verse Philippians 1:6, "Being confident of this very thing that he that began a good work in you will perform it until the day of Christ Jesus." Every time I saw him on TV either CNN, FOX, etc. I always wanted to laugh when I would see New York, Washington DC, and then there was LYNCHBURG, VA. "Can any good thing come out of Lynchburg? Yet I believe that even the place is a testament of God at work.

Dr. Falwell believed in confronting the culture with the truth, the gospel of Jesus. I liked the comment that Franklin Graham made at his funeral (paraphrase) He believed that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven and an Almighty God. Thatâs controversial. He believed in the inerrancy of scripture. Thatâs controversial. He believed in the sanctity of life. Thatâs controversial. He believed in the establishment of the family, and who would have ever thought that would be controversial? He believed marriage should be between a man and a woman. Thatâs controversial.

Dr. Falwell was an inspiration to all who knew him. I realize he was is one of those figures who you either loved or hated. But to me he is one who stood for God's Word and for that I loved him. He will be missed greatly.

When Faith meets Faithfulness

Fri, 11 May 2007 17:03:00 GMT

When our faith in God meets His faithfulness not even the sky is the limit. When we trust God with all of our "things" then he can turn them into resources that God build His Kingdom, but it all starts with "Your Kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is heaven."

The attitude of a Steward

Mon, 23 Apr 2007 20:39:00 GMT

As we look through the Bible and read about the lives of those who served God in a mighty way we see that they all had one attitude in common, they all realized that they were just managers of what God had given them. Are you doing everything for the Kingdom of God based on what He has given to you?

How to win the world for Christ

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 15:31:00 GMT

The book of Acts is more than just a history of how the church began, but gives important insights in to how churches today can use the same principles to win our world to Christ. Listen to find out more...

Is what the Church believes important?

Mon, 19 Mar 2007 17:14:00 GMT

Is what the church believes important? Is what you believe important? The answer is absolutely, positively, YES. In a world that claims that truth is relative and you can believe what you want, Jesus comes out and says, "I am the way, truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father, but by me." Is truth important now? Listen to hear more.

The Mark of a Disciple

Mon, 12 Mar 2007 17:01:00 GMT

What does a Christian really look like? Does he always wear a suit and tie and memorize a 100 verses a year, or is there something different. See how Jesus defined what a good Christian is like in this week's message.

Trading eternity for a moment

Sun, 4 Mar 2007 21:13:00 GMT

Are you trading eternity for a moment in time? In the 3rd temptation Satan wanted Jesus to trade just a moment in time for the whole world, what would you do? More important then just reaching His goal was to have an unbroken relationship with God. In the end He got both; his relationship with God and the world.

I Don't Tempt God, Do I?

Mon, 26 Feb 2007 17:29:00 GMT

Listen as we take a look at the 2nd Temptation that Satan tried to use to knock Jesus off course. Does this happen to you? In this episode we also look and see how the principles that Jesus used and how we can practically use them in our life to keep us from sin and to bring us closer to God.

A Test of Faith

Sun, 18 Feb 2007 21:01:00 GMT

So who is fulfilling your dreams and desires, you or God. Something I've learned is that not only does God give us dreams and "hungers", but he wants to fulfill those things in us. See how Jesus dealt with this issue from Matthew chapter 4.

The Spiritual Battlefield

Mon, 12 Feb 2007 19:07:00 GMT

Do you realize that you are in a spiritual battle? Whether you like it or not, you are. Ephesians 6 says that there is a battle that is fought purely upon decisions that we make, and that these decisions really do have consequence. Listen to hear more about what God's Word says about this invisible spiritual war that is happening all around us.

The Essence of Temptation

Tue, 6 Feb 2007 06:21:00 GMT

Listen here for two principles that could literally change the way that you deal with temptation. When the fog of temptation comes, PAUSE, and allow God to work in you to get through the temptation. Your future depends on it.

For The Lord He Wanted to See

Sun, 28 Jan 2007 22:18:00 GMT

We know the song that say for the Lord he WANTED to see, but what if there is another reason why Zacheus was in that tree? And what if that reason could help you and I in our witness to reaching others as well? Listen here to hear my explanation.

Temptation

Fri, 26 Jan 2007 16:51:00 GMT

In my life I have figured out something, that it is much easier to be thankful for the things that God has given me, than to be thankful for the things that he has not given me. Realizing that everything that I have, I have because He has given me, and everything that I don't have is because God has decided that I don't need it. That is hard for me to swallow. Some of the greatest temptations in my life is when I try to overstep my boundaries and go for things that God doesn't want me to have. It is a lot like the story we find in Genesis where Eve wanted something that God didn't want her to have, and she overstepped her boundaries. God didn't want her to have it because of His love for her and didn't want her to be enslaved by sin. This may be hard to believe but God knows what is best for us, even more so than you and I. Trust Him, he promises that He will never fail you.

Running the Race: Hebrews 12:1-2

Mon, 15 Jan 2007 16:32:00 GMT

Running and winning the race of life is all about one thing, how close do you get in your relationship with Jesus. We may allow weights and sins to get in our way, but ultimate fulfillment in this life, and the next, is about your relationship to Him. So, how are you running these days?

A Great "Crowd" of Witnesses

Mon, 8 Jan 2007 22:09:00 GMT

We cheer and encourage our favorite teams to win because we like to be identified with a winner. According to Hebrews 12:1, there is a "crowd" of witnesses that cheer us on here on earth. The great saints of the past and present, their lives a testimony of what can happen when God truly is Lord ones life. Learn to listen to the victories and even the mistakes of those who have gone before so that we may have the ultimate prize, Jesus.

A New Year's Resolution that you need to keep

Thu, 4 Jan 2007 21:38:00 GMT

It is that time of the year where we make our New Year's Resolution. The big ones are always lose weight, get a better job, even spend more time at home with the family and these are all good resolutions. Let me tell you my personal goal for this year, to lead more people to Jesus. I have just finished a book called "Breakout Churches" by Thom Rainer, and I have absolutely been convicted, inspired, and found new committment to reaching the lost for Jesus Christ through His Church. Rainer started out the book by saying "It is a sin to be good when God has called us to be great...It isn't called the Good Commission, but the Great Commission." This year I challenge all of you to share your faith more bodly and with God's power. Make 2007 a Great year by truly making a difference in someone's life by sharing the greatest gift ever, knowing Jesus as their personal Savior.

The Gift: A Fulfilled Promise

Mon, 1 Jan 2007 19:26:00 GMT

The birth of Jesus wasn't just something that was "cooked" up at the last minute. His birth was just the completion of over 4,000 years of planning. Prophets from more than 1,000 years before his birth foretold who, how, where and even when He would be born.

What does that mean for you? That God makes good on His promises. And just like there were promises that pointed toward His first coming, there are 3 times as many prophecies that point to His Second Coming. Are you ready?

The Gift of Miracles

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 17:15:00 GMT

Phil's top 5 miracles that Jesus performed, and what was really the point of them. John 20:30 summarizes that they were performed that we would believe that Jesus is the Christ and so that we would have life in His name.

The Gift: Friendship with God

Mon, 4 Dec 2006 16:03:00 GMT

The natural attempt when it comes to our relationship with God is to think that you need to do good things to earn his favor, and that really couldn't be further from the truth. The truth is that we really can't DO anything to earn his favor. The only thing we can really do is to BELIEVE what he has already done for us. God seeks to have a relationship with us. The sermon today is about ways that we try to be polite to God when he is seeking so much more from us. He wants to have a friendship with us.

The Power of ONE Life

Mon, 27 Nov 2006 16:39:00 GMT

With 300 million people in America alone what kind of difference can you make? D.L. Moody once said that the world has yet to see what a man/woman who is fully devoted to God is capable of, and I will be that man. What a great attitude! Will you also have that kind of attitude?

Is the Gospel message "unfair"?

Mon, 20 Nov 2006 22:00:00 GMT

Watching TV the other night I heard someone say that Christianity is just so narrow-minded because "they" say that it is the only way to get to heaven, and if you aren't a part of their little Christian "group" then you can't go, that is so unfair to all of the other religions in the world.

It is true that Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father, but through me." (John 14:6). However, a closer look at His plan of salvation may reveal that Christianity is not as narrow-minded and unfair as you may think.

First of all, how unfair and narrow is Christianity if everyone is welcome? God says that He doesn't want anyone to perish, but that all to come to Him. Salvation isn't an American thing or a Chinese thing, but salvation is a message for everyone in the world (John 3:16- "For God so loved the world").

Secondly, the Bible says that everyone gets into heaven the same exact way. This isn't about whether or not you are better than someone else. You don't get into heaven because you went to a "Christian" church; you go to heaven because you trusted in Jesus (Acts 16:31, "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved".)

Finally, the price has already been paid. You don't have to DO anything to become a believer, God will accept you just as you are (2 Corinthians 5:18-21). The price of salvation was paid for on a cross 2,000 years ago, and the salvation message is still the same (1 Corinthians 15:4, 5- That He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures). This is the gospel by which you can be saved.

So if everyone is welcome, everyone gets to heaven the same way, and the price is already paid for, then how narrow is Christianity really?