Beholding His Glory ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 ~ Mothers Show Us the Love and Care of God ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

A mother’s love is one of the most strongest and most mysterious forces in the world and that is why it is one of the clearest pictures of God’s love for us. And it’s one of the clearest pictures of how we are to love one another in the church of Jesus Christ. We are to love one another as Christ has loved us and gave up his life for us.

We love our moms for the good we have seen in them and received from their hands. We love them for the many way they have nurtured and cared for us.  We love them for the ways they have been faithful to us, protected us, and sacrificed for us.

And we thank them that even if might be unaware of it, mothers have provided us with a real tangible picture of God’s love for us.

Psalm 78:1-8 ~ The Power of Your Own Stories of Faith ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

This message contains practical ways to tell your own stories of faith. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are commanded in Scripture to tell the stories of how God has worked in our lives in a way that we declare His mighty works (See Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Psalm 78:1-8). We are to tell stories of who He is and what He has done so that faith might be passed on to the next generation.

Psalm 78:1-11; Romans 15:4 ~ Pass It On: The Purpose of History ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Why do we study and teach history?  Why do we tell the stories of the Bible and stories of faith from history?

Romans 15:4 gives us the biblical purpose of history, “For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, so that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope.”

This is the first message Pastor Bill’s expository preaching series: “The Power of Stories of Faith.”

 

Luke 10:25-37 ~ Developing a Love for Jesus with the Head and Hands ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Many polls show that the vast majority of young adults who are reared in Christian homes are now turning their backs on Christianity. Recent surveys indicate that seven out of every ten Christian kids are leaving their faith after high school.

According to the research from the PEW Research Center, each successive generations of American includes fewer Christians. Older generations of Americans are not passing along the Christian faith as effectively as their forebears. It’s not as if young people today are being reared in a way completely different from Christianity, but as adults they are simply dropping that part of their identity.

This message from Luke chapter 10 shows how to keep our children from being a statistic by helping them to develop a love for Jesus with their heads and their hands.

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-9 ~ It's Not Rocket Science ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Rearing our children is not rocket science, because rearing our children is much more complex than rocket science. With rocket science the drawings and calculations are done by dozens of scientists for each component of the rocket. Then over a period of months or years, each component is tested separately over and over again and necessary changes are made to the design.

The child come pre-assembled at birth with God-given bents, personality, and gifts already built in. Plus, the baby is already in motion. With children, there is no set science. Each child is different with millions of different variables. So how do we target the development of our children as they growing? This message focuses on helping our children learn to love Jesus with all their heart. If they learn to love Jesus with all their heart and soul, they will pretty much stay on track.

Psalm 127:3-5 ~ Like Arrows in the Hand of Warrior ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

How do we know that when our children grow up and leave home, that they will be loyal to God?  How do we know that when they face the giants of life and experience struggles, temptations, and suffering, that they will put their confidence in God? How do we know that they will not forget the works of God and that they will obey Him in spite of their circumstances?

Psalm 78:7 says that the answer to these kinds of questions is the main goal of parenting. That when our kids leave home, “That they should put their confidence in God; And not forget the works of God; But keep His commandments.”

Pastor Bill’s message on "Arrows in the Hand of Warrior" is a must listen for every parent.

Psalm 127 ~ God's Blueprint for a Godly Home of Influence ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

This is the introductory message in a new expository sermon series on Psalm 127 by Pastor Bill Slabaugh. He takes his experience as a licensed architect and applies it to our understanding of God's Word as to what it means when the Lord Builds the House.

Part One of the series is based on Psalm 127:1-2 and is called. "The Lord: the Architect of the Home." In Part One we will look at God's blueprint for a godly home in Paul's Letter to the Ephesians. What is God's pattern for husbands? For Wives? For Children? Psalm 127:1 says, "Unless the Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it." 

Part two of the series is based on Psalm 127:3-5 and is called, "In the hands of the warrior." How do we rear our children to be godly men and women of influence who will impact their community and world for the Kingdom of God? The goal of parenting is not just that our kids will survive, or that they are educated, or they will thrive. The goal of parenting is to rear children who are holy and make a difference in this world with gospel of Jesus Christ.

Romans 8:14-16 ~ The Marks of the Child Adopted by God ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

When we receive Jesus Christ as our Savior, we are immediately adopted into God’s Family. J. I. Packer has a wonderful chapter in his book Knowing God which is called  “Sons of God,” where he writes on the subject of our adoption as children of the Father.

Packer writes,

You sum up the whole of New Testament teaching in a single phrase if you speak of it as a revelation of the Fatherhood of the holy Creator. In the same way, you sum up the whole of New Testament religion if you describe it as the knowledge of God as one’s holy Father. If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father.

If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all. For everything that Christ taught, everything that makes the New Testament new, and better than the Old, everything that is distinctively Christian as opposed to merely Jewish, is summed up in the knowledge of the Fatherhood of God. “Father” is the Christian name for God.

Fatherhood: A Warrior's Tale ~ Pastor Bill Slabaugh

Based on Bruce Wilkinson’s comparison of The Three Chairs, this message answers the all-important questions:

“What can we do to ensure that our faith in God abides and flourishes in the next generation?”

 “What can we do to ensure that our children will put their confidence in God and will be men and women of faith who will not turn their backs on God?"

 As you listen to this message, keep asking yourself, "Which chair do I sit in and what do I have to do to move into the first chair of faith?"