Plymouth Haven Baptist Church

Core Truth: Both history and Scripture are filled with examples of the important role mothers have played in teaching the faith to their children, and in today’s message we reflect on “some of the things our mothers taught us.”

Core Truth: The reality of the Empty Tomb has consequences His followers are obliged to do something about. We are called to tell the story, to tell it correctly, and to tell it everywhere!

May the Lord help us live sent lives – reaching people with the message that saves.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.

Core Truth: God has provided us a spiritual wardrobe to wear as we enter into battle each day. Today’s message will show us all the components of that armor and why each piece is essential to our being ready to war effectively in the Spirit.

Core Truth: Waging effective spiritual warfare requires us to understand that though invisible to our human eyes or senses, there is another realm that is very real and portends great danger unless we learn to battle it effectively.

Core Truth: There is a great difference between “working for the Lord” and allowing Him to do His work through us. To promote the cause of Christ in the flesh rather than the Spirit is distracting and even destructive, regardless of how satisfying it might be to our own ego or how good it might make us look in the eyes of others.

Core Truth: The way Christ wants to live His live through us is by the presence, wisdom, grace and power of the Holy Spirit Who upon the day of our New Birth came to abide with us forever.

Core Truth: We truly allow Christ to live His life through us when we allow His Spirit and His Word to guide our minds, our emotions, and our wills.

Core Truth: The key to living a truly effective Christian life is to simply allow Christ to live His life THROUGH us.

Core Truth: When we cannot solve problems, heal hurts, change circumstances or win our own battles, we must kneel in prayer, then stand to see what He will do. We must leave room for God, staying calm and giving Him time to work. – Robert J. Morgan

Core Truth: Christ living within us is God's guarantee that He will never leave us - not even for a single moment - until He has brought us safely home.

Core Truth: Union with Jesus Christ is the central truth of the doctrine of salvation and the whole purpose of God’s plan for every believer.

Core Truth: No warrior enters a battle, a runner a race, or a boxer the ring without intending to win and being willing to prepare oneself accordingly; but being a slave may be the most fitting analogy of what it means to be a true Christian.

Core Truth: Both as a church and as individuals, there is a very real sense in which our willingness to stay close to God and to allow His Presence to lead us will determine what we will experience in 2019.

Core Truth: Whatever the past year may have given us, whether blessings or sorrows or a combination of both, the lessons offered in them can be great help in entering the new year if we are willing to believe that “… all things DO work together for good for those who love God and who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28

Core Truth: God has incredible love for His world and for everyone of us.

Core Truth: God not only usually uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things, He also chooses some of the most unlikely places to accomplish His will. As Dr. Francis Schaeffer has written: “With God there are no little people, and as there are no little people in God’s sight, so there are not little places.”

Core Truth: God isn’t looking for extraordinary people to do great things. Rather, He is looking for ordinary people through whom He can do extraordinary things, and a field full of despised shepherds was about as ordinary as you could get!

Core Truth: While some Christians (even some pastors) argue that we should not celebrate Christmas, I am not among them! Instead, in light of today’s materialistic, secularized and self-centered culture the need to celebrate the impact and meaning of our Lord’s birth is greater than ever.

Core Truth: Streams of living water will flow from within anyone who believes in Jesus.

Core Truth: We need to be as quick to thank God for His blessings as we are to ask Him for His help.

Core Truth: Contending for the faith is not only the work of theologians; it is also the responsibility of every believer and the cost of failure in the task is profound at every level.

Core Truth: Contending for the faith is not only the work of theologians; it is also the responsibility of every believer and the cost of failure in the task is profound at every level.

Core Truth: When Jehovah said "You shall have no other gods before (in place of) Me", He wasn't just talking to the people of ancient Israel; He wasn't just talking to the people of ancient Israel; He was talking to us as 21st Century Christians as well.

Core Truth: “If a person gets his attitude toward money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area his life.” Billy Graham

Core Truth: God owns everything – our time, talents, treasure, relationships, jobs, families – everything, and we get to manage it for Him, and management of all these God-given responsibilities and resources is called stewardship.

Core Truth: God owns everything – our time, talents, treasure, relationships, jobs, families – everything, and we get to manage it for Him, and management of all these God-given responsibilities and resources is called stewardship.

Core Truth: God’s greatest desire for us as His children is that we come into the fullness of the joy and freedom of a life that is fully focused on Him.

Core Truth: If we could ever fully comprehend the benefits of a life completely sold out to Jesus Christ we would wonder why in the world we waited so long to do it, and we would not waste another moment giving everything we have, are, or ever hope to be to Him to do with as He pleases.

Core Truth: God calls us to worship Him and Him alone – not because He needs it, but because He knows that it is the key to our own safety, peace , and fulfillment.

Core Truth: “You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart” (Jeremiah 29:13). Our Creator made us with certain appetites or “hungers” that can only be satisfied by a wholehearted and irrevocable decision to pursue Him and Him alone, no matter what the cost.

Core Truth: In the confusion and uncertainty of today’s world, we can learn to rest in the certainty of our hope in Christ and in the fact that God has already given His final word on all things pertaining to this life to come!

Core Truth: In the confusion and uncertainty of today’s world, we can learn to rest in the certainty of our hope in Christ and in the fact that God has already given His final word on all things pertaining to this life to come!

Core Truth: Without Christ, there is no hope. But with Him, there is hope and enough to spare; hope enough to share with all those who otherwise find themselves without hope, without God, and without Christ in the world.

Core Truth: God is bigger than all our worries and problems, we must realize this if we are to have victory in our lives. Each of us suffers with difficulties; however, the Lord is faithful to lift us out of our troubles.

Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.

Core Truth: Trouble is part of everyone’s life and it comes in all shapes and sizes. And though we cannot prevent its arrival, we can have a strategy in place that will help maximize its divine purpose and usefulness when it does.

Core Truth: Loving God with all our strength means loving Him with all our capacities – our physical energy and strength, our thoughts and emotions, our abilities and talents, and our time and material resources.

Core Truth: “The bland assumption that the Church’s life will continue to be fruitful so long as we go on praying and cultivating our souls, irrespective of whether we trouble to think and talk Christianly, and therefore theologically, about anything we or others may do or say, may turn out to have dire results. The Christian mind is the prerequisite of Christian thinking, and the Christian thinking is the prerequisite for Christian action.” Harry Blamires, “The Christian Mind: How Should a Christian Think?”

Core Truth: Our soul is that invisible and eternal part of us that makes us different from all other forms of life on earth and according to our Lord’s own words is the most valuable of all our possessions. Therefore, it is the one thing above all that should never be up for any sort of trade or barter for the things of this world.

Core Truth: To love God with everything means that I make Him the highest priority of my life and find my greatest satisfaction in doing that which pleases Him.

Core Truth: Fatherhood is an identity-shaping vocation. Whether he does so consciously or not, a father tells his child what to become and those who have been given such a great responsibility are wise to learn from the one Who is the Father of us all.

Core Truth: Worship that is acceptable to God is that which comes from a heart that has been quickened (made alive) by the Holy Spirit and rooted in Biblical Truth.

Core Truth: God has created us and given us breath so that we can worship Him and give Him praise (Psalm 150:6). However, our worship must be born of the Spirit and rooted in the truth of His Word. All else is at best mere religious noise and at worst, an offense to the One we seek to honor.

Core Truth: Those who forget the past are very apt to fall into thanklessness. If we forget the value of our heritage and the source of our blessings, it will become very easy for us to take for granted all that we have and all that we are, and begin believing that we can make our own way without God. We will also then find it easier to forget the great sacrifices of those who have given their all on our behalf.

Core Truth: Within the period of about thirty years our first-century fellow-Christians had taken the gospel to most of the Roman Empire. So why – after 2000 years – haven’t we finished the task? What’s the holdup?

Core Truth: God used a mother’s faith and courage to position her son inside the king’s palace so that one day He could use that very son to save His people from their long years of Egyptian bondage and oppression.

Core Truth: Jesus is The Life - the only life there is. All else is dead, no matter how “alive” it may seem at the time. But the good news is that He has come into a dead and dark world to bring that which is dead to life again!

Core Truth: Many people believe there is a no such thing as absolute truth. For them, “Truth” is simply whatever they think or want it to be. However, Christ allows no such latitude. He alone is Truth and those who are of the truth will recognize and welcome Him as such.

Core Truth: From the Fall of Man in the Garden of Eden, God’s one and relentless objective has been to provide a way back home for all who will repent and believe the Gospel, and the mandate upon every Christian is to share that good news with as many as possible.

Core Truth: “There is one event in history that is unparalleled in its effect upon the world – the resurrection of Christ. Nothing like this is had ever happened before, and nothing since has equaled it. When Jesus rose from the grave, the impact was felt immediately and has continued to reverberate throughout the world. This event has shaken not only religions, cultures, and governments; but individuals, as one by one, believers are transformed through Christ’s resurrection power.” (Dr. Charles Stanley)

Core Truth: The fundamental truth of the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the irrefutable fact that those who live by faith in Him will never die and the implications of that are profound – both for those who have bowed the knee to Him in repentance and faith … and for those who refuse to do so!

Core Truth: “God did not abolish the fact of evil: He transformed it. He did not stop the crucifixion: He rose from the dead. The empty tomb opens before the world, telling us it is God Who still has the last word, not ourselves, that on Easter Day life looks forward, onward, upward, God-ward.” (Dorothy L. Sayers; Elmer S. Freeman)

Examines the attitude of Christ on His journey to the cross.

Core Truth: We have been personally chosen and appointed by Christ to go wherever He sends us and bear fruit that will last for eternity.

Core Truth: The secret of a fruitful life is contained in our willingness to live in unbroken fellowship with Christ, without Whom we can do nothing!

Core Truth: Our Father’s goal is that through an abiding relationship with His Son, He can bring us to a place in Christ where our lives are rich with the fruit of the Spirit and in good works - works that glorify Him daily before a watching world.

Core Truth: The secret of a truly fruitful Christian life lies not within ourselves but in the One Who lives within us and simply seeks our permission to live His life through us in every moment of our lives.

Core Truth: Christ’s command that we “go into every part of the world and preach the good news of the Gospel” was never a suggestion, nor even a polite request. Rather, it is a divine mandate to every believer, carrying with it the “fierce urgency of NOW.”

Core Truth: “We are told to let our light shine, and if it does, we won’t need to tell anybody it does. Lighthouses don’t fire cannons to call attention to their shining - they just shine.” Dwight L. Moody.

Core Truth: While it is easy to criticize the world for its sins, that is not our assignment as Christians. Rather, it is by our daily lives – our works, our attitudes, and our conduct that we are to bear witness to the truth of God’s righteousness and of His generous love and grace.

Core Truth: Throughout human history God’s patience toward man’s rebellion has always had limits – from the time of Noah and the Great Flood to punishing Sodom and Gomorrah and more, it has never been a question of if God will finally say “I have had enough”, it has always been a matter of when!

Core Truth: “If you want to make a powerful and lasting impact on the culture, you’ve got to do more than just consume it, critique it, condemn it, or copy it. The only way to truly change the culture is to create something new for it – something that will inspire people enough to reshape their world.” Whitney Hopler

Core Truth: Nothing could be worse than to one day stand before our Lord and discover that because we have made room for excuses, we failed to fulfill our divine destiny and thereby limited the rewards He had prepared for us.

Core Truth: “Divisions in churches never begin with those full of love to the Savior. Cold hearts, unholy lives, inconsistent actions, neglected closets; these are the seeds which sow schisms in the body: but he who lives near to Jesus, wears his likeness and copies his example, will be, wherever he goes, a sacred bond, a holy link to bind the church more closely than ever together. May God give us this, and henceforth let us endeavor to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Charles Spurgeon.

Core Truth: Scripture says of our Lord, “A bruised reed He will not crush, and a smoldering wick, He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory.” This parable has been rightly called “The Gospel of Another Chance and the Threat of the Last Chance.”

Core Truth: “When God wants to do something big, He starts with something very small. When He wants to do the miraculous, He starts with the impossible.” Dr. Ray Pritchard

Core Truth: While young Mary might have been excused for doubting the angel Gabriel’s incredible words to her, she said what the aged Zechariah should have said – “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord: may it be done to me according to Your Word.” And because he permitted his doubts to short-circuit his faith he had to sit in muted silence for nine long months.

Core Truth: Faith is as important as the air we breathe. It is the fundamental foundation of our existence. People have moved mountains with their faith. Even when situations seemed dire and bleak, it was their faith that carried them through, and it is what will carry us through as we learn to trust God in all things.

Core Truth: Faith is as important as the air we breathe. It is the fundamental foundation of our existence. People have moved mountains with their faith. Even when situations seemed dire and bleak, it was their faith that carried them through, and it is what will carry us through as we learn to trust God in all things.

Core Truth: The Christian life demands faith; not just in the difficult places of life but when we have been tested to the limit and beyond, and all hope seems gone! Such faith only comes through experience and by a consistent diet of God’s Presence and Word.

Core Truth: The question is not whether we should or not, because the fact is that we do! In fact, from the beginning of time, some of God’s greatest servants have had times of real and serious doubts. The real question is what should we do when we experience doubts in our own journeys of faith.

Core Truth: At a time when we seem surrounded by troubles and our world is being shaken on every side, our Lord’s words are meant to remind us that it is all part of His eternal plan and is intended to prepare us for the life with Him that is to come!

Pray. Speak. Act. Silence in the face of evil is itself evil: God will not hold us guiltless. Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)

Core Truth: As certain as the law of gravity or any other of Nature’s laws, so certain is the law of seed and harvest – for whatever a person sows, that and that only is what he will reap.

Core Truth: Everyone understands that ‘you can’t take it with you’ when you die; however, our Lord has also told us that we CAN send a great deal of what He has given us on ahead and He strongly advises us to do so.

Core Truth: This is real love – not that we loved God, but that He loved us.

Core Truth: Christian stewardship does not begin with one’s money, nor is that even its primary focus. Rather, biblical stewardship is so radically all-inclusive that it encompasses everything about us as human beings – even down to the very breath God gives us to breathe.

Core Truth: Everyone has their own definition of what it means to live “the good life,” and certainly no one wants to live a “bad life.” However, our core truth today is that God Himself has already prepared such a life for each one of us and our task is to discover exactly what that is and begin to live it.

Core Truth: Just as with Israel of old, a great danger facing us as Christians today is the danger of allowing the world’s spirit of disbelief and skepticism of God’s promises to shape our thinking, affect our decisions, and govern our lives in these times of difficulty and crisis.

Core Truth: Before the end of this age, God is giving to everyone who believes in His Son a kingdom that cannot be shaken and will never end. This is the message of the whole Bible and He wants us as His children to live each day with courage, obedience and faith as we wait for His return!

Core Truth: The same awesome God whose voice shook the very earth and set it on fire at Mt. Sinai is once again shaking all things, and He wants us as His children to live each day with courage and faith as we wait for His return!

Core Truth: “Who is like You among the gods, O LORD? Who is like you, majestic in holiness, awesome in splendor, working wonders?” Exodus 15:11

Core Truth: The holiness of God is not merely a theological construct fit for the “ultra-religious” who may seem to have the interest and stamina to pursue it. Rather, God’s holiness and our relationship to it should be a matter of serious concern to every person who claims the name of Christ.

Core Truth: Christ has been raised from the dead. We have endless hope!

Core Truth: “There’s a time when God says ‘Enough!’ Enough to a nation; enough to a church; enough to an individual. He gives grace, He gives mercy and He gives space to repent. But when man persists in his rebellion, God will not continue forever to give him space. There comes a time when God draws a line, when God says, ‘That’s it!’ “

Core Truth: God is rich in mercy and grace. He is kind and loving. He has made us alive, raised us, and seated us together with Christ. We should accept the free gift of salvation by faith alone in Christ alone, and live a life of good works.

Core Truth: The purpose of Christ’s disturbing words about the end of his age was never to frighten us as His followers. Rather, it was to prepare us to live our lives in ways that can offer real hope and deliverance to a troubled world.

Core Truth: My willingness to fully trust God with the giants in my life will determine which of us walks off the battlefield victoriously!

Core Truth: Life is filled with “giants in the land,” and as we face the giants in our own lives, a choice always will have to be made: Do I let my mind and emotions focus on my giant’s size and roar? Or do I choose to focus on the God Who has promised to never leave nor forsake me, no matter how big my giant seems or how loud its roar?

Core Truth: “Unbelief never lets us get beyond the difficulties – the impregnable cities and the impossible giants. It preoccupies itself with them, brooding over them, pitting them against mere human resources. Faith, on the other hand, though it never minimizes the dangers and difficulties of any circumstance, looks away from them to God and counts on His invisible presence and power.” David H. Roper in Our Daily Bread.

Core Truth: One of the most potent forces for good in the world is the example of a father who teaches his family by word and by example what it means to live with fidelity and faithfulness to Christ.

Core Truth: Living righteously in an unrighteous world demands that we resist the pressures to be conformed to this present world and remember that we are actually citizens of another world (Romans 12:2)

Core Truth: While we are called as Christians to live in an environment that is intrinsically alien and hostile, Christ intends us to live in ways that are righteous, rigorous, reconciling and redemptive.

Core Truth: True peace is not merely the absence of confusion or turmoil in our lives. It is, rather, an abiding realization that no matter what difficulties we face, God is in absolute control of all things and will never leave nor forsake us.