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In The Potter's Hands #1 of 2
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Friday, September 05, 2008
We humans tend to think we're hot stuff. We think we're in control, little realizing that someone else sets the agenda. Many believers have never seen themselves as clay on a potter's wheel, being molded to suit the Potter's purposes. But the sooner we understand that, the sooner we'll be fruitful members of the body of Christ. Today: lessons from a wheel and a furnace, during a trip to Israel.
Series: Is God On America's Side?
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RECENT BROADCASTS
In The Potter's Hands #1 of 2
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9/5/2008
Christ the Lord of Our Affections #2 of 2
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9/4/2008
Christ the Lord of Our Affections #1 of 2
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9/3/2008
Christ the Lord of Our Finances #2 of 2
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9/2/2008
BROADCAST ARCHIVES
To win a major race, runners lose extra weight. They cast off everything that might slow them down on their way to victory. Believers are commanded to love God supremely, and cast off every weight and sin that besets them. Then, they can run life's race at top speed, knowing that the goal line will bring them face to face with the God they love. How's your race going today?
Series: Crowning Christ Lord
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At the racetrack, a runner is driven by the thought of victory. The race is worth all the effort with the prize waiting at the end. Believers are to run life's race for Christ, who taught us that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our hearts, souls and minds. Now that's a tall order, one we'll explore today on our broadcast. Do you and I love God this way? If not, stay with us.
Series: Crowning Christ Lord
When a man or woman is converted to Christ, many deep-seated desires change. We become givers rather than takers. God's desire is that we see our money as a trust to manage, not a possession to squander. Running life's race successfully has a financial component: a component that we'll summarize on today's broadcast.
Series: Crowning Christ Lord
"The love of money is the root of all evil." Christians running the race of life frequently get tripped up by issues of money and those issues revolve around ownership. Whose money is it really? Is it mine to do with as I please, or am I just taking care of it for someone else? Jesus had much to say about money, and if we're serious about crowning Him Lord, we must heed His words.
Series: Crowning Christ Lord
Not all of us can win the hundred-meter dash. But all of us can run to the best of our ability. That's all a coach can expect. For every track star in the Olympics, there are ten thousand runners who will never make the team. But that's no reason to give up. Many believers with few talents approach life with a clenched fist rather than an open hand. Today we'll see why God prefers the latter.
We're not all made the same. Some are more talented than others. But all believers run life's race toward a heavenly goal. We've all been given gifts and abilities. But it's how we use them, not how many we've got, that determines the outcome of our personal race. Rather than jealously complaining about what we don't have, let's focus today on how to best use the gifts we do have.
At the racetrack, coaches watch their athletes, stopwatches in hand. Because for a runner, time is how victory is measured. The same is true for Christians in life's race. How we use our time determines our effectiveness for God. At the end of this life, we'll be judged on our deeds...deeds that took place as the clock ticked off the minutes, days, and years.
In a race, no time can be wasted. Runners pace themselves, knowing that winners only win by a fraction of a second. For Christians running life's race, the clock is also relentless. Once gone, time cannot be reclaimed. The Bible teaches believers to "redeem the time, for the days are evil." Time must be used wisely, because for each of us, one day time will be no more.
Like the serpent that beguiled Eve, Satanic substitutes for God look good...very good. That's why the occult is so popular. But the occult's teachings are the doctrines of demons...doctrines that bring death rather than life. As believers, it's vital for us to understand what the Bible calls "sound doctrine." That way, we can better discern Satanic teachings that try to mask as Scriptural truth.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
The occult: it's more than Ouija boards. It's the kids who shoot up high schools. It's a trap we must avoid like the plague. Our culture is tuned to the frequency of occult phenomena like never before. Whether by internet, TV, movies, or music, the occult is underscoring more and more of our culture's values. Today: what this should mean to the committed Christian.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
We've got a hundred TV channels, 22 theater screens, DVDs, computers, and the World Wide Web. Who needs more? Today's Christians are a wash in a sea of pleasures with time for everything but God. We're tempted to waste our time in a myriad of ways, and the options only keep increasing. On this broadcast: a challenge to all of us to get our priorities straight.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
The TV commercial once said: "You only go around once in life. Grab all the gusto you can." Hmmm, not a bad idea...but the gusto you should grab is probably not what most people have in mind. The media has fed us a lie about what brings real satisfaction. Today, you'll hear a challenge to a pleasure-mad culture that's now infecting the church: a challenge to reach for the real pleasures God offers.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
If we could see the scars we'll bear when we break God's laws on sexual behavior, we'd never break them in the first place. God designed sex at its best to be in a covenant marriage relationship, not in a succession of one-night stands. Today: we explore the allure of sexual affairs, which poison our souls and undermine our ability to make commitments. If you're trapped in this sin, stay with us.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
Watch prime-time TV for two hours. You'll think that extramarital sex and divorce are choices we can freely make. Yes, we're free all right...free to ruin our lives and the lives of others. Driven by lust, too many people, even Christians, find themselves paying a high price in the long run. The sexual revolution has a dark side and we'd better count the cost. Stay with us.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
The Sermon on the Mount is best known for its sublime Beatitudes: like, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven..." But many forget that Jesus went on to give some very pointed teaching on morality: going so far as to tell those in lust to pluck out their eyes. Could He have been serious? Today: a look into Matthew 5 at some really tough love from the Son of God.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
We can't deny it. At root, all of us are sexual creatures, with appetites given to us by God to be used as He intended. Since we all have sexual desires, it's easy to be trapped into satisfying those desires outside of God's will. Today: a probing look at the damage done by the flood of pornography in our culture, a flood most prevalent these days on the internet.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
Alcohol abuse has been with us since the dawn of history. Indeed, the Bible mentions drunkenness as a sign of God's judgment. Like quicksand, alcohol draws in its victims until they can no longer free themselves. The temptation to drink is best handled by never taking that first sip. Today, Pastor Erwin Lutzer wraps up an analysis of alcoholism, telling us why it's almost impossible to say, "I'm quitting tomorrow."
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
Drunk drivers... every day they kill more of our kids. Alcohol: it's the tolerated drug. Alcohol abuse is costing our society billions in lost productivity, lost relationships, and lost lives. And all too may Christians misuse what they feel is their freedom to drink by drinking one too many. Today: the unvarnished truth about alcoholism.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy
People who watch lottery winners on TV say to themselves, "Someday my number will come up. Just buy a few more tickets...." Then a few more, hundreds more, all in the vain hope of instant wealth. Gambling is the shortcut bypassing honest labor, the quick route to cash we all "deserve." Trouble is, for a Christian, it violates all God stands for. Today: a final look at the scourge of gambling.
Series: Seven Snares of The Enemy