Even In The Darkest of Times
Every Christmas season we talk about the shepherds, the wise men, Mary and Joseph, but rarely do we talk about Simeon and Anna. These two seem to be missed most Christmases, but their stories are very important. Why? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he parallels our day and age with the days of the birth of Jesus in his Christmas message, The Quest For Christmas Pt. 3: Simeon & Anna’s Christmas Quest.
Each and every Christmas, we are given the choice to either follow the will of God or back down in fear. 2,000 years ago, 9 months before the birth of Christ, Mary was given that same choice. We often talk about Mary’s part in the birth of Christ, but do we truly understand the intensity of her decision? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he shows us the importance of Mary’s decision in his Christmas message, The Quest For Christmas Pt. 2: Mary’s Christmas Quest.
Two thousand years ago, Jesus came to earth as a helpless baby. This birth wasn’t just random; it was planned and prophesied for thousands of years before it happened. Who was this prophesied to? The Chosen people of God, the Jews. Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he refocuses us on the true meaning of Christmas in his Christmas message, The Quest For Christmas Pt. 1: Israel’s Christmas Quest.
With each generation, it seems as though the world grows further and further from God. Is there a reason for this? Could it have been prophesied in the Bible? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he shows us the importance of a grateful and thankful heart in his Thanksgiving message, Thanks A Bunch.
Today, the Church and the world are both plagued with mental health issues, from anxiety to depression to suicidal thoughts. The entire earth seems to be under attack, but what are we to do? Is there a way to have freedom from this oppression plaguing the world and the Church? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the intense spiritual battle overtaking our nations, peoples, and cultures in his message, A Spiritual War.
10 Finally, be strong in the LORD and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,
Ephesians 6:10-18
There are seven God-ordained feasts; three of those seven are pilgrimage feasts. The final feast of the year is the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles or Ingathering), which is also one of the three pilgrimage feasts. If each of these feasts foreshadows something good to come, what does the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles or Ingathering) foreshadow, and why is it important to us today? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he shows the great importance of the Feast of Booths (Tabernacles) in his message, The Great Day of The Feast.
With each generation, respect seems to dwindle more and more. They respect no one, not even their parents. They use arguments like “they’re grown, and no one can tell them what to do” and “They need to worry about their own self.” But what does God say about the relationship between parents and their children? And what does that have to do with us today? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the importance of our relationship with our parents in his message, Honor Your Parents.
1 And God spoke all these words, saying, 2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 3 “You shall have no other gods before me. 4 “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments. 7 “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain. 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. 12 “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You shall not murder. 14 “You shall not commit adultery. 15 “You shall not steal. 16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 17 “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male servant, or his female servant, or his ox, or his donkey, or anything that is your neighbor’s.”
Exodus 20:1-17
18 Now a certain ruler asked Him, saying, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” 19 So Jesus said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God. 20 You know the commandments: ‘Do not commit adultery,’ ‘Do not murder,’ ‘Do not steal,’ ‘Do not bear false witness,’ ‘Honor your father and your mother.’ ” 21 And he said, “All these things I have kept from my youth.”22 So when Jesus heard these things, He said to him, “You still lack one thing. Sell all that you have and distribute to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
Luke 18:18-22NKJV
Each and every year we lose a little more freedoms. They’re subtle things such as renting instead of owning. Why do we give away freedom so freely and without thought? Is it because we never had to do anything to gain those freedoms? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he reminds us of the cost of our freedom in his Independence Day message, Give Me Liberty.
20 For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. 21 But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. 22 But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. 23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 6:20-23
1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. 2 Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. 3 I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. 4 You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace. 5 For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.
7 You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? 8 This persuasion is not from him who calls you. 9 A little leaven leavens the whole lump. 10 I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. 11 But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. 12 I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves!
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. 14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
Galatians 5:1-15
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With each passing year, the definition and role of a father become more and more blurred. Fathers are no longer deemed essential. Instead, they are deemed unnecessary and expendable by society. But what does God have to say about fathers? Do children truly need a father in their lives, or is that an outdated notion that no longer holds value in our evolved society? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he reminds us of the importance of fathers in his Father’s Day Message, Refocus On Fathers.
16 Then the men set out from there, and they looked down toward Sodom. And Abraham went with them to set them on their way. 17 The Lord said, “Shall I hide from Abraham what I am about to do, 18 seeing that Abraham shall surely become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth shall be blessed in him? 19 For I have chosen him, that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing righteousness and justice, so that the Lord may bring to Abraham what he has promised him.” 20 Then the Lord said, “Because the outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is great and their sin is very grave, 21 I will go down to see whether they have done altogether according to the outcry that has come to me. And if not, I will know.”
Genesis 18:16-21
7 Surely the Sovereign Lord does nothing without revealing his plan to his servants the prophets.
Amos 3:7NIV
13 Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, 14 even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord God.
Ezekiel 14:13-14
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This Monday is Memorial Day. A solemn day of remembrance for our fallen soldiers who gave their lives for our freedom. This freedom is often the subject of debate. Many believe that their sacrifice, along with the Founding Father’s desires, was to keep Church and State separate, but is that true? What freedom did they die for? And are those freedoms at stake today? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he brings an eye-opening, somber message on the state of our world today in his Memorial Day Message, A Day of Remembrance.
13 “Your words have been hard against me, says the Lord. But you say, ‘How have we spoken against you?’ 14 You have said, ‘It is vain to serve God. What is the profit of our keeping his charge or of walking as in mourning before the Lord of hosts? 15 And now we call the arrogant blessed. Evildoers not only prosper but they put God to the test and they escape.’” 16 Then those who feared the Lord spoke with one another. The Lord paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before Him of those who feared the Lord and esteemed His name. 17 “They shall be mine, says the Lord of hosts, in the day when I make up my treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his son who serves him. 18 Then once more you shall see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between one who serves God and one who does not serve him.”
Malachi 3:16-18
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