Weekly Messages18 Videos

Message by Pastor Paul Karanick Story: Raven's pregnant ewe had been down for four days in pain during her pregnancy. It was pretty obvious that Lindy was probably not going to survive much longer. Raven was not going to give up on her and she researched all possible issues and remedies, but nothing provided much hope. She continued to pray and ask God for guidance, but even that prayer seem to go unnoticed. I believe we all have experienced time when it just seems like God isn't listening or at least responding the way we expect Him to respond. Once you listen to this story, I hope it help you to trust God even more than ever. John 10:25-30 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” ' Isaiah 40:11 'Like a shepherd He will tend His flock, In His arm He will gather the lambs And carry them in His bosom; He will gently lead the nursing ewes. ' Isaiah 66:7-9 Before she travailed, she brought forth; Before her pain came, she gave birth to a boy. Who has heard such a thing? Who has seen such things? Can a land be born in one day? Can a nation be brought forth all at once? As soon as Zion travailed, she also brought forth her sons. Shall I bring to the point of birth and not give delivery?” says the Lord . “Or shall I who gives delivery shut the womb? ” says your God.

As we read the story of Jesus, His death and His resurrection, it is hard to understand why the religious leaders of that time did not realize that His life completely fulfilled all the prophesies of the Messiah. It is a shame that the Messiah was right in front of them and they could not recognize Him. Even after His death and resurrection, which was prophesied as well, and they still would not believe. If we lived in the time of Jesus, would we be like the religious people or the true followers of Jesus? Would we have crucified Jesus as well? From the Bible : Luke 22:14-23,31-34,39-62 When the hour had come, He reclined at the table, and the apostles with Him. And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine from now on until the kingdom of God comes.” And when He had taken some bread and given thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood. But behold, the hand of the one betraying Me is with Mine on the table. For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!” And they began to discuss among themselves which one of them it might be who was going to do this thing. “Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” But he said to Him, “Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!” And He said, “I say to you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.” And He came out and proceeded as was His custom to the Mount of Olives; and the disciples also followed Him. When He arrived at the place, He said to them, “Pray that you may not enter into temptation.” And He withdrew from them about a stone’s throw, and He knelt down and began to pray, saying, “Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me; yet not My will, but Yours be done.” Now an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him. And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground. When He rose from prayer, He came to the disciples and found them sleeping from sorrow, and said to them, “Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray that you may not enter into temptation.” While He was still speaking, behold, a crowd came, and the one called Judas, one of the twelve, was preceding them; and he approached Jesus to kiss Him. But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?” When those who were around Him saw what was going to happen, they said, “Lord, shall we strike with the sword?” And one of them struck the slave of the high priest and cut off his right ear. But Jesus answered and said, “Stop! No more of this.” And He touched his ear and healed him. Then Jesus said to the chief priests and officers of the temple and elders who had come against Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against a robber? While I was with you daily in the temple, you did not lay hands on Me; but this hour and the power of darkness are yours.” Having arrested Him, they led Him away and brought Him to the house of the high priest; but Peter was following at a distance. After they had kindled a fire in the middle of the courtyard and had sat down together, Peter was sitting among them. And a servant-girl, seeing him as he sat in the firelight and looking intently at him, said, “This man was with Him too.” But he denied it, saying, “Woman, I do not know Him.” But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly. After about an hour had passed, another man began to insist, saying, “Certainly this man also was with Him, for he is a Galilean too.” A little later, another saw him and said, “You are one of them too!” But Peter said, “Man, I am not!”

Have you ever forgotten to pray before you eat a meal? There's a Bible verse for that! It may not be what you are expecting though. God actually tells the people to go and enjoy the land that He has given them, eat the wonderful food that He has provided and then praise Him for what He has done. Whew! Praying before or after a meal are both Biblical. This Bible story goes beyond a meal however, it highlights that God provides us great miraculous things and we are not to take it for granted. He demands recognition and praise. There is also a warning to those who begin to give others (even themselves) the glory, instead of God. From the Bible: Deuteronomy 8 “All the commandments that I am commanding you today you shall be careful to do, that you may live and multiply, and go in and possess the land which the Lord swore to give to your forefathers. 2 You shall remember all the way which the Lord your God has led you in the wilderness these forty years, that He might humble you, testing you, to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep His commandments or not. 3 He humbled you and let you be hungry, and fed you with manna which you did not know, nor did your fathers know, that He might make you understand that man does not live by bread alone, but man lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. 4 Your clothing did not wear out on you, nor did your foot swell these forty years. 5 Thus you are to know in your heart that the Lord your God was disciplining you just as a man disciplines his son. 6 Therefore, you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to fear Him. 7 For the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing forth in valleys and hills; 8 a land of wheat and barley, of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive oil and honey; 9 a land where you will eat food without scarcity, in which you will not lack anything; a land whose stones are iron, and out of whose hills you can dig copper. 10 When you have eaten and are satisfied, you shall bless the Lord your God for the good land which He has given you. 11 “Beware that you do not forget the Lord your God by not keeping His commandments and His ordinances and His statutes which I am commanding you today; 12 otherwise, when you have eaten and are satisfied, and have built good houses and lived in them, 13 and when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and gold multiply, and all that you have multiplies, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the Lord your God who brought you out from the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 15 He led you through the great and terrible wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground where there was no water; He brought water for you out of the rock of flint. 16 In the wilderness He fed you manna which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do good for you in the end. 17 Otherwise, you may say in your heart, ‘My power and the strength of my hand made me this wealth.’ 18 But you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. 19 It shall come about if you ever forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I testify against you today that you will surely perish. 20 Like the nations that the Lord makes to perish before you, so you shall perish; because you would not listen to the voice of the Lord your God.

We have all done something in our past that we regret. Many times it results in unbearable shame and guilt, especially when we have hurt someone else. As teenagers, many of us have said hateful things to our parents, that we often regret later on. Roberta had a disease that dis-formed her body and caused lots of pain. She blamed her mom most of her life and at her death bead, she tried to make amends and ask for forgiveness. Her moms response is shocking! We have sinned and rebelled against God, yet His love unstoppable. He loves us more than any love we have ever experienced. His love is an AGAPE love, the strongest of all love (He will die for you type of love!). No matter what you have done in your past, no matter the guilt or shame you feel, He says that if you will turn to Him, He will remember the sin no more! He removes the shame and the guilt, makes you a new creation in Him, and gives you peace! From the Bible: Romans 8:37-39 (NASB) But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 1 John 3:1 (NASB) See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Isaiah 49:15 (NASB) “Can a woman forget her nursing child And have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, but I will not forget you. 1 Kings 3:24-26 NASB The king said, “Get me a sword.” So they brought a sword before the king. The king said, “Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one and half to the other.” Then the woman whose child was the living one spoke to the king, for she was deeply stirred over her son and said, “Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and by no means kill him.” But the other said, “He shall be neither mine nor yours; divide him! ” Matthew 15:22-28 (NASB) And a Canaanite woman from that region came out and began to cry out, saying, “Have mercy on me, Lord, Son of David; my daughter is cruelly demon-possessed.” But He did not answer her a word. And His disciples came and implored Him, saying, “Send her away, because she keeps shouting at us.” But He answered and said, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and began to bow down before Him, saying, “Lord, help me!” And He answered and said, “It is not good to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” But she said, “Yes, Lord; but even the dogs feed on the crumbs which fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus said to her, “O woman, your faith is great; it shall be done for you as you wish.” And her daughter was healed at once.

Christians are called to live a different life than the rest of the world. Christ gave us a great example to live by, yet we see many Christians living their life extremely different than the one that Christ set before us. The Bible tells us that we become a new creation once we become followers of Jesus Christ, "Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come" (2 Corinthians 5:17, NASB). As Christians, we live a new life in Christ, much different from our life prior to Christ. Even our anger changes, it no longer turns evil and hateful. We begin to love on a different level, a love that we can only experience through Jesus Christ. The Bible says that we no longer live in darkness, a.k.a. sin; but rather, we live in Light a.k.a. righteousness. Like Christ. John actually writes that if we say we are following Christ, yet hate our brother, then we lie! That is pretty straight forward. We cannot continue to live a sinful life and be a Christian. I believe the term in the Bible describes it best...a hypocrite...a person pretending to be something they are not. 1) Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12, NASB) 2) So Jesus said to them, “For a little while longer the Light is among you. Walk while you have the Light, so that darkness will not overtake you; he who walks in the darkness does not know where he goes. While you have the Light, believe in the Light, so that you may become sons of Light.” These things Jesus spoke, and He went away and hid Himself from them. (John 12:35-36, NASB) 3) This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. (1 John 1:5-7, NASB) 4) The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now. The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:9-11, NASB) 5) Be angry , and yet do not sin ; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. (Ephesians 4:26-27, NASB)

Praying for each other is a great gift that God has given us. Prayer is a direct conversation with God that we can do continually. Many times we worry about our family and friends who are going through life's battles. We often feel helpless in these situations. As a true believer in Jesus Christ, God's gift of prayer is more powerful than many of us have imagined. In all things, pray, trust God and follow His direction. 'So Peter was kept in the prison, but prayer for him was being made fervently by the church to God. On the very night when Herod was about to bring him forward, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and guards in front of the door were watching over the prison. And behold, an angel of the Lord suddenly appeared and a light shone in the cell; and he struck Peter’s side and woke him up, saying, “Get up quickly.” And his chains fell off his hands. And the angel said to him, “Gird yourself and put on your sandals.” And he did so. And he *said to him, “Wrap your cloak around you and follow me.” And he went out and continued to follow, and he did not know that what was being done by the angel was real, but thought he was seeing a vision. When they had passed the first and second guard, they came to the iron gate that leads into the city, which opened for them by itself; and they went out and went along one street, and immediately the angel departed from him. When Peter came to himself, he said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent forth His angel and rescued me from the hand of Herod and from all that the Jewish people were expecting.” And when he realized this, he went to the house of Mary, the mother of John who was also called Mark, where many were gathered together and were praying. When he knocked at the door of the gate, a servant-girl named Rhoda came to answer. When she recognized Peter’s voice, because of her joy she did not open the gate, but ran in and announced that Peter was standing in front of the gate. They said to her, “You are out of your mind!” But she kept insisting that it was so. They kept saying, “It is his angel.” But Peter continued knocking; and when they had opened the door, they saw him and were amazed. But motioning to them with his hand to be silent, he described to them how the Lord had led him out of the prison. And he said, “Report these things to James and the brethren.” Then he left and went to another place. ' Acts 12:5-17 https://my.bible.com/bible/100/ACT.12.5-17

Pastor receives letter from prison from a man that had cheated the church out of money 14 years prior.

Heather's Friend told her about a nursing opportunity on a Mercy Ship. After a little research, Heather knew that she was meant for this mission. Mercy ships are floating hospitals that travel to locations where people are in dire need of medical care. Romans 8:28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Matthew 25:35-36 For I was hungry, and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink; I was a stranger, and you invited Me in; John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.