The Church today has become lukewarm. It’s a Church that has no power and seemingly no moral compass, but why? Maybe it’s due to the lack of judging as we cling to a more tolerant society. Maybe it’s the lack of good shepherds leading us into green pasture. The one thing that is certain is that there is something wrong with the Church. Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the problem and solution in his powerful message, Soar Like An Eagle.
Soar Like An Eagle
28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might He increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:28-31
1 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! 2 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, 3 who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 4 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 5 who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Happy Mother’s Day. The role of a mother can become heavy and burdensome. It can become difficult and tiring to remain a strong, faithful mother as your children rebel and fall into the traps of the enemy. Some mothers have burdens that feel too heavy to carry, while others feel so hopeless they don’t even try to pick the burden up. There is nothing like a faithful mother, but how do you remain faithful when you have the whole world weighing on your shoulders? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he encourages each and every mother in his fiery message, A Mother’s Burden.
2 Samuel 21:8-14 2 Samuel 3:7-8 1 Samuel 18:19 Romans 12:12
A Mother’s Burden
Rizpah and Meraba
8 The king took the two sons of Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, whom she bore to Saul, Armoni and Mephibosheth; and the five sons of Merab the daughter of Saul, whom she bore to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite; 9 and he gave them into the hands of the Gibeonites, and they hanged them on the mountain before the Lord, and the seven of them perished together. They were put to death in the first days of harvest, at the beginning of barley harvest. 10 Then Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it for herself on the rock, from the beginning of harvest until rain fell upon them from the heavens. And she did not allow the birds of the air to come upon them by day, or the beasts of the field by night. 11 When David was told what Rizpah the daughter of Aiah, the concubine of Saul, had done, 12 David went and took the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan from the men of Jabesh-gilead, who had stolen them from the public square of Beth-shan, where the Philistines had hanged them, on the day the Philistines killed Saul on Gilboa. 13 And he brought up from there the bones of Saul and the bones of his son Jonathan; and they gathered the bones of those who were hanged. 14 And they buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin in Zela, in the tomb of Kish his father. And they did all that the king commanded. And after that God responded to the plea for the land.
When the people of God cry out for help, the LORD hears and answers them. He sends them someone to help them, a deliverer, but that deliverer isn’t always someone we expect. When the LORD chooses someone, it’s not always someone we expect. Join Reverend Kenny Yates in his eye-opening message, The Undesirable Deliverer.
Judges 11:1-11 Exodus 2:11-14 Exodus 2:23-25
The Undesirable Deliverer
1Now Jephthah the Gileadite was a mighty warrior, but he was the son of a prostitute. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 And Gilead’s wife also bore him sons. And when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah out and said to him, “You shall not have an inheritance in our father’s house, for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob, and worthless fellows collected around Jephthah and went out with him. 4 After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5 And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 And they said to Jephthah, “Come and be our leader, that we may fight against the Ammonites.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Did you not hate me and drive me out of my father’s house? Why have you come to me now when you are in distress?” 8 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “That is why we have turned to you now, that you may go with us and fight against the Ammonites and be our head over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight against the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be witness between us, if we do not do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them. And Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.
At some point in time, each one of us will experience an event that will challenge our faith. An event that will try to sneak in doubt, anger, grief, etc., in order to separate us from Jesus. So, what do we do to stop the enemy from getting a foothold in our lives? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he shines some light on this in his eye-opening message, Faith Revisited Pt. 9: Four Days Late.
Romans 8:28 John 11:28-37 John 11:3 Matthew 8:5-10 John 11:21-22 John 11:23b-25 Acts 16:25-26 John 11:32-37 John 11:22 John 11:37-39 John 12:27 John 13:21 Acts 3:4 John 11:45-46
Faith Revisited
Four Days Late
1Now a certain man was ill, Lazarus of Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha. 2 It was Mary who anointed the Lord with ointment and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was ill. 3 So the sisters sent to him, saying, “Lord, he whom you love is ill.” 4 But when Jesus heard it he said, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” 5 Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. 6 So, when he heard that Lazarus was ill, he stayed two days longer in the place where he was. 7 Then after this he said to the disciples, “Let us go to Judea again.” 8 The disciples said to him, “Rabbi, the Jews were just now seeking to stone you, and are you going there again?” 9 Jesus answered, “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world. 10 But if anyone walks in the night, he stumbles, because the light is not in him.” 11 After saying these things, He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but I go to awaken him.” 12 The disciples said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.” 13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He meant taking rest in sleep. 14 Then Jesus told them plainly, “Lazarus has died, 15 and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.” 16 So Thomas, called the Twin, said to His fellow disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.”
Many of us believe in God, but mountains still stand in our way. At what point in time does our faith begin to work? How do we put our faith into action? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the importance of action in faith in his fiery message, Faith Revisited Pt. 8: Confident ln Your Faith.
Acts 3:1-12 Mark 1:35 James 2:17 Acts 4:19-20 Mark 16:20 Mark 4:24-25 Acts 3:12 Romans 12:3-6a Luke 6:38 Matthew 13:12-15
Faith Revisited
Confident ln Your Faith
24 And He said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. 25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.”
Mark 4:24–25
35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed.
Mark 1:35
1Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. 2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.
Jesus boldly stated that His sheep know His voice and wouldn’t be distracted nor led astray by another shepherd. So, does that mean we won’t ever be led astray and that we don’t have anything to worry about? If that’s true, then why did Jesus Himself tell us that we have to be careful what we hear? Can Christians hear from someone or something other than Jesus (God)? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the importance of the relationship between the Good Shepherd and His sheep in his fiery message, Faith Revisited Pt. 7: Building Faith.
Faith Revisited
Building Faith
14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.18 But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” 19 But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” 20 Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.” 21 But of Israel he says, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.”
Sometimes it’s easy to take for granted what Jesus did for us on the cross. We’re mere humans who are quick to forget. In some cases, many of us are lied to and told that our actions cannot impact our salvation. We’re told that healing, gifts of the Spirit, and abundant life is no longer for us. So, what was the purpose of Jesus’ sacrifice if all that He did wasn’t for us? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the great price our Savior paid for us in his powerful and sobering Easter Sunday message, The High Price That Jesus Paid.
Mark 15:33-39 Mark 14:36 Mark 14:22-25 John 3:16 John 15:1-8 John 15:10 Acts 1:24b-25 Luke 22:44
The High Price That Jesus Paid
33 And when the sixth hour had come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 35 And some of the bystanders hearing it said, “Behold, He is calling Elijah.” 36 And someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” 37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed His last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing Him, saw that in this way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”
2,000 years ago, the Lamb of God came to take away the sin of the world. God came in the flesh, yet the Pharisees and their followers didn’t recognize this visitation. They didn’t recognize God incarnate as He rode before them on a donkey fulfilling prophecy. They missed all of the signs. Will you? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the importance of the sign of the times in his Palm Sunday message, The Day of Visitation.
Luke 19:28-44 Psalms 50:12 Psalms 118:22 Luke 20:17-18 Matthew 23:37-39
The Day of Visitation
The Triumphal (Triumphant) Entry
28 And when He had said these things, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When He drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, He sent two of the disciples, 30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’”
32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as He had told them. 33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?” 34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.” 35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36 And as He rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.
37 As He was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of His disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” 39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” 40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Jerusalem Missed The Day of Their Visitation
41 And when He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Paul stated that faith came by hearing and hearing through the word of Christ, but what does that mean? What is hearing, and how does it relate back to the word of Christ? How does hearing grow faith? If it’s impossible to please God without faith, wouldn’t it be important how to attain, retain, and grow faith? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the mystery and importance of hearing in his message, Faith Revisited Pt. 6: How to Attain Faith.
Romans 10:17 Hebrews 3:16 1 Corinthians 10:1-5 Deuteronomy 5:23-24 Hebrews 4:2 (ESV) Luke 8:16-17 Hebrews 4:12a 2 Timothy 1:6 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV) Isaiah 55:10-11 Jeremiah 1:12 Luke 8:17 Proverbs 25:2 (NKJV) Deuteronomy 29:29 Luke 8:18 Proverbs 13:22 Luke 16:11 (NIV) Isaiah 53:1 Mark 4:24-25
How to Attain Faith
The Importance of Faith
1 Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.2 For by it the people of old received their commendation. 3 By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. 4 By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. 5 By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. 6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him.
Hebrews 11:1-6
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing His riches on all who call on Him.13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in Him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?” 17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
During Jesus’ earthly ministry, He taught many important things, but He often spoke in parables. These parables are filled with Truth and wisdom, but unless you understand the parable and why Jesus told them, the parables become useless to us. Knowing and understanding parables are the first steps, but after that, you have to put that knowledge and understanding into action. Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the importance of The Parable of The Sower in his message, Faith Revisited Pt. 5: The Diligent Seekers.
Luke 8:4-8 Luke 8:1b 1 Corinthians 4:20 (NIV) Matthew 13:1-3 Mark 4:1-3 Mark 4:10-12 Hebrews 4:2 (NKJV) Mark 7:13 John 8:31-32 John 14:6 Luke 8:11-12 Hebrews 10:29 Luke 8:13-15 Mark 4:33-34 Luke 8:16-18 Acts 4:20
The Diligent Seekers
The Parable of The Sower
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around Him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3 Then He told them many things in parables, saying:
“A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.” 10 The disciples came to Him and asked, “Why do you speak to the people in parables?” 11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand. 14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. 15 For this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear. 17 For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.
Matthew 13:1-17 (NIV)
Jesus spoke in parables so that He could separate those who weren’t diligently seeking Him and the things of God. If He spoke plainly to everyone, all would have the wisdom of God, but if He spoke in parables, then only thought who were diligent seekers of the Truth would find the Truth. They would find wisdom and understanding. This is all so that we might build our faith because, without faith, it’s impossible to please God.
