Trinity Missionary Church Podcast

On this Sunday before Thanksgiving, we take some time to reflect on the idea of Gratitude.  What does Gratitude really mean, and where do we see Gratitude in the Bible?  To define Gratitude we have a simple "math equation."  Grateful + Attitude = Gratitude.  In Luke 17:15-26, Dr. Luke recalls a time when Jesus encountered ten lepers outside a Samaritan town.  The ten men cry out to Jesus to heal them, and Jesus cleanses all ten men, but only one takes the time to show Gratitude to the Master.  In the end, Jesus heals this man fully, and he gains far more than skin without disease, this former leper gains wholeness in Jesus Christ.  Jesus wants to heal us completely today, but oftentimes we settle for being cleansed.  Join us as we study the difference Gratitude makes in our lives and especially our relationship with Jesus Christ.  

As we continue to explore the Day of Pentecost, we see the impact the Holy Spirit had upon those present in the Upper Room, and the impact He had on those outside the Room as well.  The Holy Spirit caused the people to worship God as He baptized and filled those that day.  Then we see Peter and the Church witnessing to what God has done through His Son, Jesus Christ.  The amazing thing is, many people found salvation on this Day of Pentecost, and people today are still impacted by the Spirit of God.  Come join us as we continue talking about what it means to be Ignited By the Spirit of God.

The birth of the early Church is chronicled by Dr. Luke in Acts 2, and began when the Holy Spirit entered those in the Upper Room.  Just as the early Church relied on the Holy Spirit for guidance and strength, and we too must rely upon Him today.  U.S. evangelist and revival preacher, Vince Havner once said, "We are not going to move this world by criticism of it, nor by conformity to it, but by the combustion within it of lives ignited by the Spirit of God."  What does it mean to live "ignited by the Spirit of God?"  What sort of a difference would it make in our world if all followers of Christ lived "ignited by the Spirit of God?"  It is safe to say our world would be radically different.  Join us over these next few weeks as we explore what it means to live "ignited by the Spirit of God," as we study the early Church in Acts 2.

We have all used tools at some point in our lives.  In fact, having the right tool for the job makes the job so much easier, but what happens when you use the right tool in the wrong way?  If you want to drive a nail in the wall, you would never use the claw of the hammer to strike the head of the nail.  If your goal is screwing a fastener into a board, you would never run the drill in reverse to accomplish this task.  In both situations the correct tool is there, but they are not being used in the correct manner.  Not only is using the right tool in the wrong way a waste of time and energy, it can be dangerous.  You can get hurt using the right tool in the wrong way.  Money is a tool given to us by God, but many of us are not using it in the right way.  Printing "In God We Trust" on our money is not the same as trusting God with our money.  In the final message in this sermon series on stewardship, Pastor Steve walks us through the Biblical way to view and use mon

Many vehicles currently manufactured today have a special feature called BSD, or Blind Spot Detection.  As many will remember from their driver's training days, we are encouraged to constantly check our blind spots when changing lanes to avoid hitting someone who is just outside of our peripheral vision.  The Apostle Paul acts as a spiritual BSD system when he challenges his friend, and protege, Timothy to check his blind spots regarding contentment.  Many would argue that we are content when we have plenty of money, stress-free jobs, perfect families and good food for our stomachs.  If asked if they are content, many would reply, "I will be content when I have ________."  It is that "one more thing" people are striving to find.  Paul tells Timothy, "But godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6).  Paul continues by saying that as long as we have food and clothing provided by God, we should be content.  Why is it that many people live such discontented li

We all yield to something.  The question is to what or to whom do you yield?  This week we turn our focus to money.  With over 2000 verses in the Bible that talk about money, why is money such a hot topic?  Jesus taught often about money, and He warned that the love of money can quickly become your master.  Money is a wonderful tool that reveals where our trust lies.  Will I trust God in this season, or will I turn to my bank account?  Is God really going to come through, or do I rely on my job to provide security?  We turn to the beginning of the building of the temple in 1 Chronicles 29 to learn some important principles about money.  Join us as we start at yield and watch God provide.  

Pastor Steve begins this message with a simple, but direct question-  What do people "do" with Jesus?  Who was Jesus?  What was His purpose on earth?  How did He interact with others?  Did He really die and come back to life?  Your answer to these questions is crucial to life and eternity.  Paul is clear in his understanding of how we handle questions about Jesus and the Gospel.  In Galatians 1:7-8, Paul writes, "7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed."  Those are some very direct words from Paul to anyone who would seek to distort the Gospel.  Scripture is clear that judgement awaits anyone who does not know Jesus.  You can seen Jesus as a good man, an authoritative teacher, a prophet and wonderful friend, but if you do not know Him as your Savior, Wh

Writer and philosopher, George Santayana, wrote, "Those who do not learn history are doomed to repeat it."  As a country, the United States of America has several places where the history of our nation comes to life like never before!  Arlington National Cemetery in Washington D.C., Gettysburg, Pennsylvania and Pearl Harbor, Hawaii are just a few places where we can relive history and honor the fallen heroes who have died preserving our freedom.  Those who are followers of Jesus Christ also have "spiritual landmarks" that mark important places and moments in our walk with Jesus.  The Apostle Peter wrote of these "spiritual landmarks" in 1 Peter when he wrote to those "in exile" and he gives them hope on their journey.  He writes in 1 Peter 2:5 that we are like "living stones being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood." Peter challenges us to not just speak our faith, but he calls us to live our faith as well.  Do your lips match your faith?  You must live y

Jesus was the master at speaking the truth in love, and He set an incredible example for us to follow.  As Jesus loved the sinner, He never tolerated the sin.  In calling out their sin, Jesus call the Pharisees snakes, vipers, dirty dishes, white-washed tombs amongst other things.  What was Jesus so adamantly against in the Pharisees lives?  One word: hypocrisy!  Jesus hates hypocrisy as much today as He did when He walked on the earth.  It is easy for people to become "religious" and suddenly they think they are more spiritual than everyone else.  Jesus says in Matthew 15:17-18, "Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled?  But, what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person."  It is easy to say the right words to appease a situation/person, but much more difficult to be genuine and mean what you say.  Hypocrisy seeks to build a facade or false narrative, but authenticity shows an i

In the epistle of 1 Timothy 1:5 the Apostle Paul gives us an equation for love.  Paul writes, "The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."  Did you catch Paul's "equation?"  Pure heart + good conscience + sincere faith = love.  What is the conscience, and why does Paul include it in the formula for love?  We are not talking about Jimmney Cricket or the little angel or demon on your shoulder tempting you to do good or bad.  The conscience is that ability within me that attaches itself to the highest standard I know and then reminds me often of that standard.  How is it with your conscience today?  Often our conscience is overlooked, ignored or dismissed altogether, and this should not be so!  God provides the Holy Spirit to guide us in everyday living, and He becomes the basis for our conscience.  Join us this week as we discuss our conscience and the role it plays in our lives today.

What is the Gospel?  Is it a warm comfy blanket on a cold dreary day?  Is it the promise of prosperity and riches?  Is it a "Get Out of Jail Free" card when we do bad things?  No!  The Gospel, simply put, is the good news of Jesus Christ in the midst of the bad news of this world.  The Gospel is relevant to life today.  The Gospel changes everything.  The Gospel is good news for everyone.  The Apostle Paul writes in Galatians 1:6-11, that any gospel other than the Gospel of Jesus Christ is no gospel at all.  The gospel the world tries to peddle is diluted at best and polluted with self as the focus of all things.  The Gospel was never meant to be man-centered, but rooted solely in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  It is only by His blood that we can experience the amazing grace of God.  In this first week of a short message series focused on the Gospel, we discuss what happens when the Gospel of Jesus is not the focus of our lives.

In Luke 9, we find Jesus giving three commands to "Follow Me" and we see three different answers to this command.  Jesus says to the first man, "Follow me."  To which the man answers, "I will follow You wherever you go."  Jesus, knowing his heart, says it is not about comfort, it is about the cross.  The second man hears Jesus say, "Follow me."  This man replies, "Let me first bury my father."  Sounds legitimate, right?  Jesus says to this man, "Let the dead bury the dead.  You come follow me."  In other words, once you have been given a mission, you should never settle for maintenance.  It is all about proclaiming the Kingdom of God.  To the third man Jesus says, "Follow me."  The man asks for permission to say farewell to his family.  Jesus in essence says to this man," I am not interested in a divided heart. You follow me."  We say "Christ is enough for me," but do our lives really reflect this truth?  The Scriptures are clear that

In our faith journey, there should be a progression from the shallow to the deep waters.  We should grow from spiritual infant to mature Christian, but our problem is that few are willing to dedicate the time and effort it takes to grow in Christ.  We want maturity NOW, but moving from the shallows to the deep is a matter of passion NOT time!  To illustrate the shallow to deep principle, take a look at Psalm 73:1-21.  As you read Psalm 73, follow the author's "eyes."  In verse one, Asaph- the author of Psalm 73, and King David's worship leader- has his eyes focused on God.  Unfortunately, Asaph's eyes quickly turn from God (up) and begin to focus inward (in) on himself and his circumstances.  Once again, Asaph shifts his focus from internal to external and the circumstances of others.  He asks, "How is it that the wicked prosper while those who fear the Lord seem to struggle?"  It isn't until verse 16-17 that Asaph fixes his eyes back on God.  We would all do

Pain is something most of us try to avoid.  But, does pain serve a purpose?  C.S. Lewis wrote some challenging and gut-wrenching words in his book, "The Problem of Pain."  Lewis said, "We can ignore even pleasure.  But pain insists upon being attended to.  God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but SHOUTS in our pains; it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."  Isn't it amazing that our good God uses such painful moments in our lives to teach us and help us grow?  When pain enters into the equation, our first defense is to avoid the pain.  But, as we see in the exchange between the Samaritan woman and Jesus at the well in John 4, Jesus knew exactly what pain points to use to bring about a life change in the woman.  Does God still use "pain points" today?  What do we do when our "pain points" are being pushed?  Join us this week as we explore pain points and the healing they can provide.

Have you ever just wanted to throw in the towel and quit?  Has a situation ever rocked you to the point that you simply couldn't see how it could ever be resolved?  Have you ever needed someone or something to intervene and become the game-changer?  Today we examine a very familiar Bible story about three young men who changed Israel's history in the midst of impossible odds.  We are talking about Hananiah, Mishael and Azariah, or better known by their Babylonian names- Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.  You remember the story where the King Nebuchadnezzar decreed that all who hear the sound were to bow down and worship the golden statue fashioned in the king's image.  The three young men refused to bow to this idol and were thrown into the fiery furnace.  What do you do when your world is turned upside down and you feel as though you are being thrown into the furnace?  The three young men did not wait until they were face-to-face with the problem to decide what to do. &n

God is not as concerned with your talent, your gifts, or your actions as He is with your attitude.  Why you do what you do, is just as important (maybe even more important) as what you do.  As the Apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 2:4-5, "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.  Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus."  Paul continued by challenging the church in Philippi to become servants of all to the glory of God the Father.  Servanthood and humility, why is it such a struggle to integrate these attitudes and actions into our daily lives?  Let's not play the "who is the greatest" game as the disciples did on the very night Jesus was betrayed (Matthew 18:1-6).  Our focus is to be on God first, and others second, and let God take care of us in the end.  Join us as we explore humility and being a servant.  

Do you realize that God has not designed us to simply survive?  His will is for us to Thrive in Him!  The Thursday night of Passion Week, this thought was not on any of the disciple's minds as Jesus shared the Passover meal with them.  In fact, we read that the disciples were confused as to what Jesus meant when He broke the bread (His body) and shared the wine (His blood).  Peter even tried to rebuke Jesus and tell Him that He would never go to the cross.  The Passover Meal was designed to remember the great things God did in freeing Israel from bondage in Egypt.  God said in Exodus 9:14, ". . . so that you may know there is none like Me in all the earth."  The Passover reminded Israel every year that they serve the true God in heaven.  We celebrate the Lord's Table for the same reason today.  The sacraments (the bread and juice) are to remind us of Jesus' broken body and shed blood for our sins.  We celebrate today that our Savior is not dead in a grave, He

When you hear the word "rapture" what images come to mind?  Do you begin to think about all of the prophecy and vivd imagery the Apostle John wrote about in the book of Revelation?  Maybe you have read the very popular book series called "Left Behind" by Jerry B. Jenkins and Tim LeHay, and recall that the rapture is integral in the story line.  Maybe you become very uneasy with the idea of "the rapture" because you simply don't understand what it means.  In our study this morning, Pastor Steve walks us through what the rapture is, and why it matters to us today.  Here is a thought; if we believe in Christ's return, why don't we live like it?  Better yet, how should the promise of Jesus' return cause us to live?  When talking about the rapture, we need to remember that our hope is based upon the person of Jesus Christ, not an event fixed in time.  Since Jesus died, we have victory, and the rapture points to that victory.  Because Jesus rose from the grave, the raptu

Does God want you to be happy?  Many would answer this question with a resounding, "Yes!"  But in reality, God is not concerned with our happiness.  He is much more focused on our holiness and conforming to image of His Son, Jesus Christ.  Is there a difference between cultural happiness and biblical happiness?  Culture defines happiness as doing what pleases me and makes me feel good.  Pleasure is the primary pursuit of cultural happiness.  On the other hand, biblical happiness comes when we pursue holiness, allowing God to change our hearts, thus living for His glory.  Pursuing our own happiness has caused nothing but trouble ever since Eve decided to place her happiness over holiness.  So, how do we break this cycle of happiness over holiness?  Psalm 1:1-3 says, "Blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits at the feet of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he medit

Have you ever been desperate?  2 Chronicles 7:14 says, "If My people who are called by My Name humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land."  The key to this verse is desperation!  We need to seek God with urgency and desperation.  Everything issue we encounter as a nation seems to be rectified by this verse.  So, why aren't things better?  Maybe the answer is that we aren't desperate enough!  We need to be desperate enough to receive the deliverance God brings.  Desperate people see deliverance, but it only comes after the darkest hour.  This week, we follow the life of Jacob from his betrayal of his brother, Esau, to where Jacob wrestles God.  So much happens in Jacob's life to bring him to the point where God changes Jacob from "the Heel Grabber/Deceiver" to Israel the "one who has wrestled with God and won."  Jacob's life change hinges on des