Walking In Truth

When you watch a football team play, it’s obvious that what makes it work and what puts them in a position to win is each person playing their part to the best of their ability. Not everyone can be the quarterback. There’s also that clutch field goal point that you need that only the kicker’s qualified to make. In a very similar way today, Pastor Johnny wants you to see how important each person in the church is, working together to function well and be successful in proclaiming the glory of God.

Deception is such an interesting thing because it usually looks so similar to the truth. That’s why lying can be so appealing because it might be close to the truth, but just sounds a little better or more believable. You have to be careful to be on guard not to be deceived by things that look good from the outside, but are bitter and rotten on the inside, like a tainted apple. Today, Pastor Johnny gives you some tips on how to determine the difference. The first test is to look for truth against the lies.

The wind is an invisible force to be reckoned with. When it’s surging powerfully, it can knock out power lines or cause a fire to explode and then rage down a mountain. Even though you can’t see the wind itself, you see how it affects everything around it. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny explains what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. This type of power should be like a hurricane force that stirs in you a call to action that’s beyond your own ability. This type of force is a good thing!

Do you recall going to a concert where all you could hear were the loud crashing cymbals? It might be thrilling for a moment, but if that noise continues for a longer amount of time, it becomes a brash and shrill assault on most people’s hearing. In the Bible and in Pastor Johnny’s teaching today, you’ll be reminded that you can do all the things for God that your heart desires, but if it’s not done in love, it’s like the constant crashing of cymbals that ends up creating something less than a melody.

Maybe you were the type of kid that brought your parents a lot of grief, yet they loved you anyway. You might be a parent now and are on the receiving end of the grief that sometimes comes with the choices your children make. Yet you choose to love them in a way that doesn’t always make sense. Today, Pastor Johnny dives deeper into what love really means and how this directly relates to the love Jesus has for you. True love is loving the unlovable. We can love because of God working in us!

You’ve seen countless renovation shows where an old structure’s restored to something that looks new. But these houses weren’t originally in an abandoned state. They gradually became run-down due to some internal issue….water lines that caused mold, or wood framing that rotted. The inside of the structure caused the outside of the house to be unattractive. Today, Pastor Johnny prompts you to think of your heart being the start of an internal sickness that seeps out to the rest of your body.

The brain is the nerve center of the body, but if the brain has no way of sending out messages to the rest of the body, its capabilities are limited. So then you have the spinal cord that works together with the brain to send out signals to your fingertips and toes and everywhere else in-between. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny helps you understand God being the head of the church. But we need to be reliant on Him sending us the messages that need to be spread to all the ends of the earth.

When you’re in charge of something, it can be an honor and give you a sense of pride in what you’ve accomplished. But what also comes with a higher rank or title is greater responsibility. So when you’re leading something, you’re also going to sail or sink with that ship that you’re leading. Keep that in mind as Pastor Johnny talks today about Christ being the head of the church. It can be easy to want to take over or take charge, but God Himself is willing to take responsibility as the head of the church.

Naturally, a military platoon has a commander, someone in charge of those under him. If everyone was in charge, there would be confusion. If no one was in charge, nothing would get accomplished. So why would things in the church be any different? You might think the leader of a church is its pastor. But today, Pastor Johnny refutes that, pointing you back to the true head of the church, Jesus Christ. He is the ultimate and supreme authority over His people and He knows how to lead well!

If the foundation in your house has a crack in it, it’s going to crumble. No one wants to enter into a house agreement if it has an unstable footing. So what about when it comes to church and its foundation? What do you think that stable foundation even is? Today, Pastor Johnny provides some direction about a solid and sure grounding to put your faith, hope, and energy toward. Rather than dipping your feet into something that’s sinking sand, place your feet on the solid ground of the Word of God!

A nurse checks your vital signs any time you go into the doctor’s office. These are sort of a baseline idea of what’s going on with your health. So what are the vital signs within a church? Today, Pastor Johnny will give some insight into what things make or break the health of a church. You might assume that it’s the number of people or the level of technology to draw the crowds, but these are not the essential things needed. Think about your spiritual health and make the necessary changes today.

When you learn about any type of animal in biology, you come to a realization that all the parts of the body work together. You don’t typically see an ant crawling around without a head or a spider being able to move without its legs. Well take this to-heart today. If you’re involved in a group of believers, you’re a vital part of keeping that church body going. Every piece needs to work together to be healthy and strong. Today, Pastor Johnny introduces a new series and gives suggestions about how to thrive.

Remember in elementary school when you got to bring something in for show and tell? You were so excited to share something that mattered to you with your classmates. Likely, they hadn’t seen it before or hadn’t been to where you found your treasure. You felt like you were bringing something new to their lives. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny makes it clear that telling people about Jesus is the single most important thing you can do in this life. Help them know what you’ve found!

Imagine if you encountered a famous celebrity, but you didn’t realize it was them. You might have a very normal conversation, but at some point, a fan recognizes the person and you suddenly realize you were talking to one of the most well-known people on the planet. After this, you might interact with them a little differently. Well, this is what happened to some men in our passage today. Pastor Johnny will express what Jesus’ heart was toward His followers and how He proved what He’d promised.

Why is it that in so many movies, the hero dies and then comes back to life, but when it comes to believing that in reality, people are resistant? They think your faith is too childish and that you’ll believe anything. They’ll tell you that it’s impossible and that it’s just an empty promise for those who buy into its foolishness. But when you do believe what Jesus has done for you, there’s a freedom that comes with that. Today, Pastor Johnny brings to light the hope that comes with Jesus’ resurrection.

If you’ve been to another country, you’re likely unfamiliar with the roads and how to get from one place to the next. As you’re driving, you get to a crossroads and there are several signs pointing different directions. Once you interpret what the signs are saying, you can figure out which way you need to go to reach your destination. In today’s teaching, Pastor Johnny highlights that Jesus’ death on the cross was the crossroad. What you believe about that will determine which direction your life will head.

Think of one person who stands out as the single most damaging individual who has caused trauma in your life. You might to this day have a seething hatred for them. Have you ever considered forgiving them for the horrible things they’ve done? It’s not an easy road to get to a place of forgiving someone who’s done unmentionable things. But today, Pastor Johnny challenges you to look at what Jesus went through and His response to His accusers. He forgave and because of that, so can you!

If you have a child and you see them get hurt, you indirectly feel their pain. Your heart hurts when your daughter’s been emotionally wounded. You feel for your son when he skins his knee, even though you weren’t the one injured. In fact, you’d rather take your child’s pain than see them have to endure it. Well in today’s passage, Jesus takes and interesting approach and turns the tables on bearing your burden. Pastor Johnny gives some insight into Jesus carrying the cross. He did it for you!

Any type of construction project requires someone to oversee and determine if a structure is built in a way that’s safe and secure. By law, it has to pass multiple inspections. Well when you choose to compromise in your choices, it makes your life insecure and unable to pass the test of pressure and weight, when character-building situations are at-hand. Pastor Johnny wants you to think about this today and consider what’s at stake when you allow yourself to compromise. It says a lot about you!

You’ve tried your whole life to be part of the popular group. You’ve cast other friendships aside and compromised your character in order to have a higher status in this social circle. But then you see this “elite” group do something horrible to a person who was undeserving. Do you do the right thing and tell on the group, risking your position within it? That moment is when you must come face-to-face with the issue of integrity. Today, Pastor Johnny shares about a man who had the same dilemma.