July 15: Jonah, part 2: Obedience to the Lord

All Jonah had to do to complete God's will and his mission for him as a prophet...was to speak 4 words in their native language. Think about it: The book of Jeremiah and other prophets had years of suffering and torment from those who wouldn't listen to them, or God. But Jonah? All he had to do was say one sentence...repent, for God's wrath is coming...and Jonah fled. That's it...and when he finally did, the people indeed repented. Why do we make life so hard for ourselves? Isn't that God's call for us as well? Repent, and believe the Good News that Jesus Christ came to die for our sins? In Pastor Hodge's sermon today, we are reminded that God tells us to do just that.

Also, we had special music...and Mark Fagerstrom tells us why God is like a turtle. Really? Well, in at least one way, for sure...listen to his sermon, and the other parts of our service above, right here:

http://archive.org/details/JonaahPart2ObedienceToTheLord

May you have a most blessed week in Christ Jesus, serving our Lord today!

July 8, 2012: Obedience to the Lord

We are called to obey God at all times. Jonah has been called by some as the worst prophet ever, because of his direct and flagrant disobedience against God. Instead of warning Ninevah of impending punishment for their sins, he ran to flee from the Lord. But, as Jonah found out...you can run, but you can't hide. As Jonah ran, the Lord brought calamity onto him, and eventually, he gets swallowed up by a whale. It's then and there that Jonah realizes that we must obey the Lord; otherwise, serious consequences occur. As he repents, God gives him the strength and courage to do His will and complete the task he gave Jonah. But what about us? Learn about the lessons learned from Jonah, and how it applies to us today. Pastor Michael Hodge digs us into the first two chapters of Jonah, and what it means for us as believers: namely, actions have consequences.

We also had Mark Fagerstrom give his children's sermon enttitled, "The Weight Of Sin". You can listen to this short ssermon here as well.

You can listen to all of it here:

http://archive.org/details/TheStoryOfJonahDisobediencePart1

May God bless you as you listen to this teaching from God's holy Word.

July 1, 2012: The unity of the Church, part 2

In the second in his series, Pastor Michael Hodge preaches on the unity of the church. We hope you are blessed by his sermon.

Also, we had special music. In the recording, the special music starts, then the offering and hymn that follows is recorded, and then the sermon starts; obviously, you can skip the offering and hymn to follow. I was rather distracted as we had severe thunderstorms moving through during this time, and I wanted to make sure nothing too bad was going to happen, so I just kept the recording going. That said, I hope this blesses you! You can hear it here:

http://archive.org/details/UnityOfTheChurchPart2

And may you be drawn closer to our Lord this week!

June 24, 2012: Jesus' prayers, part 5

In the fifth of his 5 part series on Jesus prayers, Pastor Michael Hodge discusses an issue that is a major issue in churches today: Christian unity. God's word clearly teaches us about the unity of his church (John 17:20). He prays for his disciples, those who were yet to come, and for their unity. But, too often these days unity is done with abiblical doctrine. Learn what Jesus really meant when he prayed for his future disciples, and true Christian unity.

Additionally, the men's quartet sang our special music for us, and Mark Fagerstrom taught our children with his sermon today. You can listen to all of these by clicking here:

http://archive.org/details/JesusPrayersPart5


May you be blessed, and stay blessed in Christ this week!

June 17th, 2012: Love Inc. update and 5 things

On this partly cloudy and pleasant morning, Nathan Scott, director of Love, Inc.'s DeKalb county, Illinois chapter gives us an update on the ministry...and he also shared with us a sermon on 5 things we need to remember in our walk with the Lord. We hope you are blessed by the update on how Love Inc. is changing lives, and by Nathan's sermon today. You can find it here:

http://archive.org/details/5Things...andLoveInc.Update


We hope you have a wonderful week in Christ this week!

June 10, 2012: Jesus' prayers, part 4

On this very warm summer morning, Pastor Michael Hodge preached on Jesus prayer of sanctification from his disciples. Jesus not only desires our salvation, but once we are saved, he prays for our sanctification, or purification, of us to be able to say "no" to sin. How does this happen in our every day lives? Listen to Pastor Hodge's sermon to learn how.

Also, today, we were blessed by the Grace Notes Trio, and the song "Showers Of Blessing". We hope this song brings a heavy shower to blessing to you as you listen!

You can hear both the sermon, and the special music, right here:




http://archive.org/details/PrayersOfJesusPart4

Have a wonderful week in Christ, and may the Lord be with you always!

June 3rd, 2012: Jesus' prayers, part 3

On this partly cloudy and pleasant Sunday morning, Pastor Hodge preached the Word by teaching us about Jesus prayers of protection over us. Did you know that, if you are a believer, Jesus prays for the safety of his believers? To be clear, some are martyred and all must suffer for the faith. But, Jesus prays for his believers and to keep them out of harm's way, as it is the will of the Father. You can listen to this sermon here:


http://archive.org/details/JesusPrayersPart3

Also, Amy Taylor played "The King is Exalted" on flute for our special music today. May you be safe in God's hand this week, and may the Lord strengthen you in Christ Jesus for every work this week!