SERIES

Series: Circumstances Are Arranged Then The Valley of Decision

  • {#1} “Now may the Lord of peace Himself continually grant you peace in every circumstance. The Lord be with you all!” CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
  • {#2}- Overruled by the majority, they set out to sea. “Don’t confuse the will of the majority with the will of God.” Doing life God’s way may be harder for you, but it will be easier on you! CLICK HERE TO LISTEN
  • {#3} Scripture and Song-The Quilt Of Guilt 

    Guilt is often a quilt we weave for ourselves as we remember our past. 

    But “... our Heavenly Father knows us completely. No forgotten skeleton can come tumbling out of some hidden closet…” CLICK HERE TO LISTEN

    SONG: Like I Wished I had Lived CLICK HERE TO LISTEN







Sight Walkers Have Difficulty Seeing And  Faith Walkers See But Stumble

  • Sight Walkers Have Trouble Seeing {Phil and Andy} One never knows when a test will appear. Sight walkers have difficulty seeing behind the circumstances to something eternal.
  • Faith Walkers See But Stumble - “Lord, Don’t You Know Who I Am?” {Jonah}   Jonah was God’s good news Prophet to Israel during the reign of the wicked Jeroboam II. Then his world crashed! God was sending him to Nineveh with a turn or burn message! Their cruelty and brutality was legendary! Jonah was not going, and that was that!
  • Faith Walkers vs Sight Walkers - (The OSN and SAS Are Always Available) Help me add to the list between these two positions. For example, FW talk to God SW talk to themselves!
  • Faith Walkers Can Stumble - There Are Medicinal Properties In The Stumble {Joshua} What a warrior Joshua was! Boots on the ground and battle hardy Joshua was ready for the mission.  
  • Scripture And Song - End Well “Eternity, and not time, is the real gauge of our life’s work”.Faith Walkers stumble but can and do End Well! *Oops! I misspoke. Hebrews 11 is the longest chapter in the book, not the longest chapter in the Bible.
  • I Was 40 And Now I'm 85 Years Old; A Faith Walker Who Didn't Stumble- Not every Servant of the living God stumbled. Caleb was quite a Faith Walker even though he was surrounded by....






Little Foxes
Little Foxes
There are three parts to this series.

  • Little Foxes … The Gunnysacker, Part One
    The Song of Solomon presents problems and obstacles within the marriage as ‘Little Foxes”. These need to be nipped in the bud or else they grow, becoming Bid, Bad Foxes!
  • Little Foxes … The Seesaw, Part Two
    The definition of the word “seesaw in its noun form is an example of a lovely marriage. Defined as a verb is a picture of “little foxes’ run amok.
  • Little Foxes Do Grow Up … Air Castles, Part Three
    Building Air Castles and trying to live in Him is an exercise in futility. Plans that are impossible and unrealistic are little foxes … “And they lived happily ever after” is never achieved on earth.

The Many Shades of Love
The Many Shades of Love
There are four parts to this series.
  • The Many Shades of “Love”, Part One
    I “love” you because you make me FEEL GOOD. What happens when the “feel goods” are gone? Was this REALLY love?
  • The Many Shades of “Love”, Part Two
    I “love” you because you make me LOOK GOOD. What happens when the “look goods” are gone? Was this REALLY love?
  • The Many Shades of “Love”, Part Three
    I “love” you because you are you. Rare is this shade of love, but once experienced, one really knows what true love is.
  • The Many Shades of “Love”, Part Four
    I love you just because I do. This is the ultimate love, the supreme love. There is no higher nor deeper love this this. Do you know this kind of love?


Christian Counseling
Christian Counseling
Secular theories have permeated our world, and tragically, the church. If you are hurting and needing counseling you’ll want to listen to this vignette, as well as the next two , so you can be a ‘buyer aware’.


  • Part One: Looking For A Counselor? Caveat Emptor! (26 Minutes 56 Seconds)
  • Part Two: What Is An ‘Integrationist’? It is extremely relevant that you are aware of the concept.(27 Minutes 37 Seconds)
  • Part Three:Secular Psychology and Its Impact Into Our World, Indeed Our Church, i.e., ‘Christian Counseling”. (27 Minutes 59 Seconds)
  • Part Four: What Is Biblical Counseling? We finish our class on counseling with this vignette. Should you need counseling, I pray you will implement Caveat Emptor! (27 Minutes 02 Seconds)

Forgiveness: What It Is and What It Is Not
Forgiveness: What It Is and What It Is Not

Class #1: What does forgiveness mean? Must we forgive unconditionally? What is the first thing ‘to go’ in any relationship when hurt is in the heart? Things will never be right between you if you ignore the things that separate you. So how do we get it back together?
Class #2: Continuing our class, we look at examples of relationship fractures and the healing balm of forgiveness.


God Writes Straight With Crooked Lines
Abraham
Part One: A Brief Study (1 Hour 0 Minutes 5 Seconds)
Abraham, called by God, for a specific purpose, in a specific time period, had to learn to depend less on himself and to fully depend on God. He made some crooked steps along the way but God was faithful to His promises to Abraham. We can learn a bunch about God and about ourselves in this brief study on the Patriarch, Abraham, “the friend of God”.

Samson: The Peter Pan Man
Part Two: Judges 13 (29 Minutes 31 Seconds)
God’s Intervention, His Promise, and His Fulfillment.


Part Three: Judges 14 (23 Minutes 47 Seconds)
Playing Games with God and Man


Part Four: Judges 15 (17 Minutes 49 Seconds)
Vengeance and Violence ; Self-Centered Self-Absorbed


Part Five: Judges 16 (29 Minutes 28 Seconds)
Sex, Lies and No Accountability Clause


How To Have A Good Marriage
SERIES: HOW TO HAVE A GOOD MARRIAGE


  • *Note: All the audio files are located in the above underlined hyperlink. They are listed in numerical order.
  • Class #1: Marriages Are Like Flies on a Window-sill
  • To finish our title … Some Want In And Some Want Out! We are going to investigate why this is so. We will discuss problems in marriages, seeking to give helpful biblical answers and directions.
  • Class #2: Keep Your Eyes Wide Open Before Marriage and Half-Closed After Marriage
  • Often ‘in-lovers’ will make excuses for bad behavior and mislabel character traits, only to find later, after the emotional blinders come off, much pain. Stop, Look, and Listen, before it is too late! Sex is bonding inside marriage – it is bondage outside of marriage.
  • Class #3: Laying The Foundation
  • Your home is only as strong as its foundation. We are laying a double foundation so it will hold up the weight of the family.
  • Class #4: Getting In Right Alignment
  • God, in His infinite wisdom, has given us His blue-print of a rightly aligned family. His way works!
  • Class #5: Taking A Peek Of A Famous Couples’ Courtship
  • We briefly look at Mr and Mrs. Solomons’ courtship. It was not sexual. Mrs. Solomon tells women today to keep their ‘vineyard’ special. Please No Children!
  • Class #6: Catch The Little Foxes
  • Wisely, Shulamit asks Solomon to work out possible problems, to nip them in the bud, before marriage.
  • Class #7: What Is Your Conflict Style?
  • Have you ever said or heard, “You’re Driving Me Crazy?” Here are a few ‘crazymakers”. Hopefully, you do not find yourself on this list!
  • Class #8: The 3 R’s of Marriage
  • If the couple is not working on soulical/spiritual intimacy, DUCK! There may be rocks being thrown!
  • Class #9: Have A “Good” Fight – You May Be Right BUT You Are Wrong … IF
  • Listed are some usable principles to have a ‘clear the air’ conflict.
  • Class #10: Live So As To Have No Regrets
  • Marriage is Dissolved in death and the one left will have to learn to walk as one. But friends are friends forever if the Lord is the Lord of them. “This is my beloved and This is my friend”.


WHY ME?
For Such A Time As This: Simon Peter (Parts 1 & 2) 2 files: Part 1: 19 Minutes 28 Seconds, Part 2: 41 Minutes 07 Seconds
We are going to be looking at the The Life Of Peter. Do you ever say "Why Me, Lord?" It is one thing to make a good start, it's another to make good progress. Peter made a good start. But there were things in his life, in his character, that needed to be cut out so he could make good progress. I like to think of my life as a book. We have a beginning when we are born, and an ending, when we die, but we do not end there.

For Such A Time As This: The Samaritan Woman (Part 3) (26 Minutes 48 Seconds)
We are going to be looking at The Samaritan Woman in John chapter 4. Some women have made horrible decisions in their lives. This woman came to learn she could never get enough of what you do not need. No matter how scarred your past is, it doesn't matter. God will not turn you away. There is no saint without a past. There is no sinner without a future.

For Such A Time As This: Ebed Melech (Part 4) (27 Minutes 17 Seconds)
We in America have enjoyed blessings for a long time, and we have not been persecuted for our faith. But now we do see the beginnings of persecutions. Some of us may someday die for our faith, so we should not be surprised as our world gets more and more ungodly. It is not popular to say there is only one way to God.

For Such A Time As This: Simon of Cyrene (Part 5) (23 Minutes 30 Seconds)
The cross is a popular jewelry item, but not a popular subject. It is not popular to speak of the cross. That cross means something innocent died for you and me and screams that we are sinners in desperate need of a Savior. One day every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Jesus took all of that for you and for me. You can only imagine how tired and weak our Lord was. Jesus was beaten beyond recognition and so Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry Jesus' cross to Golgatha.

The Woman With An Alabaster Jar (Part 6) (24 Minutes 13 Seconds)
In Luke 7 we find that Jesus can heal and that He has the power over death. Later in the chapter we see His ministry to sinners, but near the end of this chapter we discover that the women with the alabaster jar is Jesus' greatest miracle of all.


WOMEN OF THE BOOK
The Queen of Sheba (23 Minutes 16 Seconds)
Just think … this Queen rode on camelback 1,200-1,500 miles to question King Solomon. That is a lot of effort expended. I’m quite sure I couldn’t make the trip!

Mrs. Job (1 Hour 11 Minutes 37 Seconds)
Mrs. Job is not fondly remembered. But I think she got a bad rap. After all, Job’s losses were hers too. Anyone of us who have buried a child, or children, understand grief.

Mrs. Mom Of Micah (27 Minutes 30 Seconds)
What would you do if your adult son stole from you? Would you bless him upon returning the money and then buy him a corvette? Well, Mrs. Mom did even worse!

Noah, The Woman and her Sisters (18 Minutes 0 Seconds)
The woman Noah and her sisters had a unique never before heard of problem. She bravely presented their issue to the authorities.
Find out WHO GAVE THE ANSWER SHE AND HER SISTERS LONGED TO HEAR.

Part One
Dr. Lacy Couch explains and expounds the theories and theorists of various philosophies and how they affect us in the 21st Century

Part Two
Why "Christian Psychology" and "Christian Psychiatry" are oxymorons and how it impacts us today in such subtle ways we might not even recognize.

Part Three
Dr. Lacy Couch continues the series by examining how Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow theories impacted our culture in ways that are incalculable.


TRIALS BY DESIGN
Prayer
Crises in the Lives of God's People
Jonah's Trial


PRAYER
Part One
We are going to begin a new topic in our Trials by Design series on "Prayer". Prayer is not a magical hocus pocus spell. It is not a demand. Prayer is a relationship with the God who made us and made us.

Part Two
We have to understand the purpose of the book of Matthew. Matthew is written to the Jews and presents Christ as their Messiah. The Jews were looking for their Messiah to come. But they didn't want Christ. They wanted a king who could get them out of Roman rule. They wanted Christ to ride a warhorse, not a donkey. It does not mean the Kingdom is not going to come, but it is delayed for a while. God is not finished with the Jews. They ARE His people. In the meantime we can take all sorts of application from it. The Lord's prayer is to teach the disciples HOW to pray, not hocus pocus. It's not a formula.

Part Three
Join us in our study of prayer in Philippians 4 and how prayer works and fits in our lives to reduce anxieties and worries.

CRISES IN THE LIVES OF GOD'S PEOPLE
Part One
There's not one person who goes through life without sorrows and griefs; even the Son of God had these trials. No one is exempt!


Part Two
We each have something painful in our lives. And we all run to the Throne of Grace. 2 Cor 12 tells of Paul's wonderful privilege as well as Paul's thorn.


Part Three
Trials bring us into conformity with God's will. If we're walking around and breathing we WILL have problems in our lives. Galatians 6.


Part Four
Poor ol' Peter has been through a lot. Now we read how our Lord recommissions Peter into the ministry.John 21:15-25.


Part Five
What is testing? How and why are we tested? Sufferings and testings can be for disciplinary purposes, for a refining process, for preventative measures, for learning obedience. It always provides a better and richer testimony for the Lord.

Part Six
Problems are something that all people have. Things happen in our life that help us to know the Lord and ourselves better: Matthew 14:22

Part Seven
How people of God got through their problems, trials, tribulation, and martyrdom. The Lord put this prayer on my heart, for my friends and for those who listen on the internet...

Part Eight
Proverbs 1, God's Wisdom contrasted with the World's Wisdom.


JONAH'S TRIAL
Jonah's Trial: Part Nine
Jonah's sin did not sneak up on him. Jonah has brought on all of his trials by himself by running away from the Lord. Jonah has to come face to face with himself as well as with the Lord.

Jonah's Trial: Part Ten
Jonah continues to demonstrate the three Rs of Rebellion -- to resist God, to resent God, and to refuse God.

Jonah's Trial: Part Eleven
Continuing the book of Jonah (chapter three). The reluctant prophet (Jonah) was called by the Lord. He went, but he went the other way. Jonah was swept overboard, but God sent a big fish to swoop him up and keep him alive. Jonah made a big vow and trusts in the Lord. Jonah is thankful and understands God supplies for all our needs. Here is Jonah's second call. Did Jonah learn his lesson?

God Meant It For Good (16 files)
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  • STUDY 1: Introduction to the life of Joseph. We must see where this man comes from to understand where he finds himself as a slave in Egypt.
  • STUDY 2: We take a whirl-wind ride through Genesis. We are going toward the study of Joseph's life.
  • STUDY 3: Family favoritism, 'helping God out', Tricks and deception cause great difficulty for the family of Joseph and will ultimately put Jacob's favorite son in great peril. 
  • STUDY 4: From Riches to Rags. Joseph was a rich kid and totally loved by his dad. In a single day his life changed forever. This special one became a slave! Where is God? Does He care? (Genesis 37)
  • STUDY 5: Meanwhile, Back at the 'Ranch".  We know where Joseph is. We know where Jacob is physically and emotionally but there is a lot happening in Joseph's absence back at the 'Ranch'. (Genesis 38)
  • STUDY 6: No Matter Where I Go, There I Am.  Joseph did not 'preach' nor 'pass out tracks' telling everyone about The God of the Hebrews. No, he walked the walk.  Joseph, as well as our own focus will be directed by where we place our affections.  (Genesis 39)
  • STUDY 7: The Mysterious Providence of God.  It has been eleven years since Joseph was taken down to Egypt. He is 28 years old now, serving other prisoners in the prison where he was unjustly imprisoned. He is close to graduation but does not have a clue.  (Genesis 40)  
  • STUDY 8: God's Absolute Sovereignty. Joseph is now 30 years old. He is still in prison but this will change and change dramatically! Joseph had made the 'Roller-Coaster' ride from Riches to Rags. Now he will go from Rags to Riches. What a difference a day makes! (Genesis 41)
  • STUDY 9: Turning Up The Heat And Turning On The Light. Joseph is about 37 years old now. He is second in command of all Egypt. Jacob sends ten of his sons to Egypt to buy grain. That is 'street-level' but God is moving His people, ever so slowly, toward fulfilling this promise to Abram in Genesis 15:13. One must have spiritual vision to see the invisible hand of God in all circumstances. (Genesis 42)
  • STUDY 10: God's Word Stands Forever, But He Uses Time And .... Finally, Joseph sees his brothers for the first time in many years. But he must not emotionally collapse. One more test for his brothers. Have they changed since they sold him? (Genesis 43)
  • STUDY 11: All For One and One For All.  There's ONE more test to come.  Joseph will clearly see if these, his brothers, are changed men. Will they dump brother Ben to save themselves? (Genesis 44)
  •  STUDY 12: A Day To Remember.  This is one of the greatest examples in the Bible of God's Sovereignty and Providence.  Joseph understands that his brothers indeed sold him but God sent him ahead for the saving of lives, most especially his own family! (Genesis 45)
  • STUDY 13: When Where Is There?  We finally know where God will multiply Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob's descendents. We are There!  Predominate is the promise of blessing to the actual fulfillment. God tells Jacob ... "There I will make you a great nation." (Genesis 46-47)
  • STUDY 14: A Life Time To Learn: God's Way Is Best.  Jacob has had a life time to understand that God's way is best. No deception, no 'back-room' deals. He will bless the sons of Joseph but the way Joseph's Dad was blessing them 'was evil in his sight.'  Seems Joseph had some learning to do! (Genesis 48)
  • STUDY 15: Saying Good-bye - The Last Family Meeting.  Jacob, by faith and under Divine Inspiration, speaks to each son about 'near' issues and far future prophecies.  He acts as a Beacon both to guide and warn these, his twelve sons and their descendants. Do you think they listened? (Genesis 49)
    STUDY 16: You Meant Evil ...God Meant It FOR GOOD.  Joseph had a long life of service to God. But now he is dying. He provided for his family for many years.  With his death what will happen to his family? Faith looks upward ... Hope looks forward.   (Genesis 50)

     


Dying To Be Thin (2 files)
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  • Anorexia Nervosa is a voluntary starvation leading to emaciation and sometimes to death. 
  • Bulimia Nervosa is an eating disorder characterized by binge-eating and purging.  


Pilgrim's Regress (4 files)
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  • Judges 13:1-25 Have you ever wondered how Samson got to be listed in chapter 11 of Hebrews?
  • Judges 14:1-20 “Sonny Boy” (Samson) had some issues and that is putting it kindly. Seven times, Scripture records him “going down.” Anytime we decide to do our own will, and not God’s will, we too will be going down spiritually.
  • Judges 15-16 Samson is all about Samson. He toys with people and loves riddles (to tie a knot, so to be intricate). He will get trapped in his own game soon!
  • Closing Thoughts Samson is listed in Heb. 11:32-34. Based on the way he lived his life, how did he demonstrate his faith? We are all ‘Sermons in shoes”. How might our lives demonstrate our professed faith?


The Doctrine of the Hunker Down (2 files)
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  • Part One Caveat! If you do not believe that God is in charge of the weather (and all things) this vignette is not for you. In the Bible I read, The Lord proclaims Himself to be in charge and first cause!
  • Part Two In his book, “Eye to Eye, Facing the Consequences of Dividing Israel”, William R. Koenig catalogs weather events of the USA and our government’s policy with Israel. It’s not pretty. It is eye-opening. Hunker down – God is in charge!


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