Of Whom the World Was Not Worthy
Core Truth: “Christians around the world are experiencing severe persecution. The consequences for professing faith in Jesus Christ range from stereotyping and marginalization in the west to enslavement and martyrdom in parts of the east. As unwelcome as it may be, persecution is not surprising. Jesus warned His believers, ‘A servant is not greater than his master. If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.’ (John 15:20). The strange truth about persecution is that it has an enigmatic effect: it strengthens the Church! In Romans 5, the apostle Paul encourages believers to ‘glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope’ (verses 3-4). History bears testimony to the fortifying effect of persecution.” Dr. David Jeremiah.
| Date | Title | Speaker |
|---|---|---|
| 9/28/2014 | Learning God's Ways in the WildernessExodus 13:17-18 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them on the road through the Philistine country, though that was shorter. For God said, “If they face war, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led the people around by the desert road toward the Red Sea. The Israelites went up out of Egypt ready for battle. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/5/2014 | How Long? How Far? How Hot?John 13: 7 (NIV) Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” Luke 18:34 New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/12/2014 | Sowing & Reaping - Challenge & PromiseGalatians 6:7-10 (NIV) Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. Whoever sows to please their flesh, from the flesh will reap destruction; whoever sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life. Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers. New International Version (NIV) |
Dr. Charles Nunn, Jr |
| 11/2/2014 | What to Do When You Don't Know What to Do2 Chronicles 20:1-13 ...Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you ... Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah... Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said: “Lord the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, “If calamity comes upon us ... we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us... New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/16/2014 | I Will Build My ChurchMatthew 16:13-19 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/23/2014 | The Steps to Effective and Enduring Church GrowthMatthew 16:13-18 When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/30/2014 | Was the Grinch Who Stole Christmas Really Right?James 1:7 That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/7/2014 | Giving Shaped by Gratitude2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/14/2014 | God's Agenda at AdventMatthew 12:18-21 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.” Isaiah 42:1-4 New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/28/2014 | In His Hope We BecomePhilippians 3:13-14 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. New International Version (NIV) |
Dr. Charles Nunn, Jr |
| 2/1/2015 | As Grasshoppers in Their SightNumbers 13:33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/1/2015 | How to Know the Will of GodColossians 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/8/2015 | Why Is There Trouble In My Life and What Can I Do About ItJohn 16: 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. I this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/8/2015 | Why Is There Trouble In My Life and What Can I Do About ItJohn 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. I this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/15/2015 | Resting in the Reality of God's FaithfulnessHebrews 13:5-6 Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/22/2015 | Who Is this Man Jesus Christ and What Does It Have to Do with Me?John 1: 14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/5/2015 | An Empty Tomb - Does What We Believe About It Matter?John 20:1-9<>Early on the first day of the week, ... Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one Jesus loved, and said, “They have taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don’t know where they have put him!” So Peter and the other disciple started for the tomb. Both were running, but the other disciple outran Peter and reached the tomb first. He bent over and looked in at the strips of linen lying there but did not go in. Then Simon Peter came along behind him and went straight into the tomb. He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. The cloth was still lying in its place, separate from the linen. Finally the other disciple, who had reached the tomb first, also went inside. He saw and believed. (They still did not understand from Scripture that Jesus had to rise from the dead.) New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/3/2015 | Fishing All Night, But Catching Nothing!Luke 5:1-11 ...When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners. Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/10/2015 | Mary: A Model for MotherhoodLuke 1: 26-38 The Birth of Jesus Foretold In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.” Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary; you have found favor with God. You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to call him Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end.” “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”... “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/24/2015 | The High Price of FreedomGalatians 5: 1 It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/7/2015 | The Wisdom of Waiting for GodIsaiah 30: 15-18 This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: “In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it. You said, ‘No, we will flee on horses.’ A thousand will flee Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/14/2015 | Discovering Our Destiny in ChristColossians 1:9 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives; Proverbs 3: 5-6 - Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/21/2015 | The Power of a Father's AffirmationMatthew 3:16-17 New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/28/2015 | We Have Come This Far By Faith, But Where to From Here? Hebrews 11:1-2 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. This is what the ancients were commended for. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/5/2015 | The Greatest FreedomJohn 8: 28-35 So Jesus said, “When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him.” Even as he spoke, many believed in him. To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” They answered him, “We are Abraham’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/12/2015 | Are We Really Ready for New Wine?Luke 5: 36-39 He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.’” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/19/2015 | To What Are We Going Up? Deuteronomy 1:28 Where can we go? Our brothers have made our hearts melt in fear. They say, ‘The people are stronger and taller than we are; the cities are large, with walls up to the sky. We even saw the Anakites there.’” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/9/2015 | Ready For Battle: Being a Person of Influence For Christ in the WorldHebrews 12: 1-2a Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/23/2015 | The Church's FINAL hour will be her FINEST hour! John 16:18 They kept asking, “What does he mean by ‘a little while’? We don’t understand what he is saying.” Ephesians 5: 25-27 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/11/2015 | The Blessing of Saying ‘Yes’ to God’s Will1 Samuel 15:23 "For rebellion is like the sin of divination, and arrogance like the evil of idolatry. Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/18/2015 | The Value of Christian Influence on the MediaRomans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind." New International Version (NIV) |
Dr. Ted Baehr |
| 10/25/2015 | Bringing Us Out to Bring Us InDeuteronomy 6:23 "And He brought us out from there, that He might bring us in to give us the land which He swore to give our fathers.” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/8/2015 | Knowing the Times of Our VisitationLuke 19:41-44 "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/22/2015 | Developing a Spirit of Thanksgiving1 Thessalonians 5:18 “Thank God in everything. No matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks, for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus.” (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/27/2015 | The Call to Live the Spirit-Led LifeGal. 5:25-26 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Ephesians 5:1-2 Ephesians 5:15-16 New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/3/2016 | Entering the New Year with a Fixed HeartPsalm 108:1 O God, my heart is fixed (steadfast, in the confidence of faith); I will sing, yes, I will sing praises, even with my glory [all the faculties and powers of one created in Your image]! Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/20/2016 | Talking Rocks and a Weeping KingLuke 19:28-30, 35-44: ... They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen ... Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!” “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.” ... New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/27/2016 | If There Is No Resurrection…1 Corinthians 15:12-19 But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that he raised Christ from the dead. But he did not raise him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/3/2016 | Since There Is a Resurrection…1 Corinthians 15:19-20 If we who are [abiding] in Christ have hope only in this life and that is all, then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied. But the fact is that Christ (the Messiah) has been raised from the dead, and He became the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep in death. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/10/2016 | The Purpose and Usefulness of Suffering2 Corinthians 4:17 - 18 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. New King James Version (NKJV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/17/2016 | On Following the Crowd or the CloudExodus 13:17-18, 20-22 When Pharaoh let the people go, God led them not by way of the land of the Philistines, although that was nearer; for God said, Lest the people change their purpose when they see war and return to Egypt. But God led the people around by way of the wilderness toward the Red Sea. And the Israelites went up marshaled [in ranks] out of the land of Egypt. ... They journeyed from Succoth and encamped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them along the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, that they might travel by day and by night. The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night did not depart from before the people. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/24/2016 | Understanding Life’s JourneyJob 23:10 But He knows the way that I take [He has concern for it, appreciates, and pays attention to it]. When He has tried me, I shall come forth as refined gold [pure and luminous]. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/1/2016 | Things That Happen When People PrayJames 5:16-18 The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/8/2016 | The Power of a Mother’s Prayer1 Samuel 2:1 This was Hannah’s prayer: "How I rejoice in the Lord! How He has blessed me! Now I have an answer for my enemies, for the Lord has solved my problem. How I rejoice!” Living Bible (TLB) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/22/2016 | If Life Allowed Do-Overs...Psalm 90:9-10, 12 ... we spend our years as a tale that is told ... Seventy years are given to us! Some even live to eighty. But even the best years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we fly away ... Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/19/2016 | The Parable of the Prodigal's FatherLuke 15:11-32 "... But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him ..." New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/26/2016 | She Has Done What She Could: A Lesson in Giving that Truly Honors Our LordMark 14:1-9; John 12:1-8 "... But Jesus said, 'Let her alone; why are you troubling her? She has done a good and beautiful thing to Me. For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you wish you can do good to them; but you will not always have Me. She has done what she could; she came beforehand to anoint My body for the burial. And surely I tell you, wherever the good news (the Gospel) is proclaimed in the entire world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.' " Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/3/2016 | The Blessing of Waiting and the Sin of ImpatiencePsalm 106:12-15 Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold. In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wilderness they put God to the test. So he gave them what they asked for, but sent a wasting disease among them. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/10/2016 | The Gift of Pain1 Peter 4:12-13 Beloved, do not be amazed and bewildered at the fiery ordeal which is taking place to test your quality, as though something strange (unusual and alien to you and your position) were befalling you. But insofar as you are sharing Christ’s sufferings, rejoice, so that when His glory [full of radiance and splendor] is revealed, you may also rejoice with triumph [exultantly]. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/17/2016 | When God Decides to ActDaniel 4:35 All the people of the earth are nothing compared to him. He does as he pleases among the angels of heaven and among the people of the earth. No one can stop him or say to him, ‘What do you mean by doing these things?’ New Living Translation (NLT) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/24/2016 | Making Our Calling and Election Sure2 Peter 1:10-11 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, make every effort to confirm your calling and election. For if you do these things, you will never stumble, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/14/2016 | When the Master Says "Well Done!"Matthew 25:14-29 “Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money. “After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’ “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’... New International Version |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/28/2016 | The Perfectness of GodJames 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above; it comes down from the Father of all light, in Whom there can be no variation or shadow cast by His turning. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/4/2016 | I Don't Want to Wait - I Want It NowJames 1:4 But let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/20/2016 | On Being Thankful1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 Be happy in your faith and rejoice and be glad-hearted continually. Be unceasing in prayer. Thank God in everything [no matter what the circumstances may be, be thankful and give thanks], for this is the will of God for you who are in Christ Jesus. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/29/2017 | On Becoming All God Intends Me to Be ... (The Serious Business of Living as a Real Christian)Ephesians 3:20-21 Now to Him Who, by the action of His power that is at work within us, is able to carry out His purpose and do superabundantly, far over and above all that we dare ask or think - infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams — to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever. Amen. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/5/2017 | The Meaning & Purposes of the Table of Communion1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ... whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/12/2017 | Has God Given Up on America? (Or Is He Up to Something Big?)Joel 2:12-14 “Even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.” Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/19/2017 | Running Our Race Well1 Corinthians 9:24-25 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run their very best to win, but only one receives the prize? Run your race in such a way that you may seize the prize and make it yours! Now every athlete who goes into training and competes in the games is disciplined and exercises self-control in all things. They do it to win a crown that withers, but we do it to receive an imperishable crown that cannot wither. Amplified Bible (AMP) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/26/2017 | A First Lady's PrayerMatthew 6:9-13 Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.' Amplified Bible (AMP) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/5/2017 | Aslan Is On the MoveNahum 1:3 The Lord has His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/12/2017 | Resting in the Grace Wherein We StandRomans 5:1-2a; Hebrews 4:9 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand ... there is still awaiting a full and complete Sabbath-rest remaining for the people of God. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/19/2017 | Living in the Sabbath-Rest of ChristHebrews 4:9-11 [T]here remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from their work, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/16/2017 | The Most Powerful Force in the World!John 11:23-26 Jesus said to her, Your brother shall rise again. Martha replied, I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said to her, I am [Myself] the Resurrection and the Life. Whoever believes in Me, although he may die, yet he shall live; And whoever continues to live and believes in Me shall never [actually] die at all. Do you believe this? Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/23/2017 | When Life Brings Us Things We Weren’t Expecting… And Certainly Didn’t Want!2 Corinthians 12:7-9 [I]n order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/14/2017 | The Wonderful Gift of Mothers2 Timothy 1:5 I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith ... a faith that first lived permanently in the heart of your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am fully persuaded, dwells in you also. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/21/2017 | God’s Purposes in Our PainRomans 8:17-18 ... if we are His children, then we are His heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, sharing His inheritance with Him; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory. For I consider that the sufferings of this present life are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us! Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/28/2017 | Living Peacefully in a Troubled WorldIsaiah 26:3-4 You will guard him and keep him in perfect and constant peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he commits himself to You, leans on You, and hopes confidently in You. So trust in the Lord forever; for the Lord God is an everlasting Rock. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/30/2017 | The Character and Work of Our GodEphesians 2:4-10 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Tim |
| 8/6/2017 | Walk Empowered by the Spirit of GodEphesians 5:15-21 Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father; and be subject to one another in the fear of Christ. New American Standard Bible (NASB) |
Pastor Tim |
| 8/13/2017 | When God Stops Speaking … and Begins to ActGenesis 6:3 Then the Lord said, “My Spirit shall not strive and remain with man forever, because he is indeed flesh; nevertheless his days shall yet be a hundred and twenty years.” Amplified Bible (AMP) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/20/2017 | (Counter)factual History1 Corinthians 15:12-34 . . . But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. Then the end will come, when he hands over the kingdom to God the Father after he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For he “has put everything under his feet.” Now when it says that “everything” has been put under him, it is clear that this does not include God himself, who put everything under Christ. When he has done this, then the Son himself will be made subject to him who put everything under him, so that God may be all in all. . . . New International Version (NIV) |
Matthew Del Valle |
| 8/27/2017 | Called to Live A Holy Life1 Peter 1:15-16 But as the One Who called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in all your conduct and manner of living. For it is written, You shall be holy, for I am holy. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/3/2017 | The Awesomeness of God!Psalm 8:1-9 O Lord, our Lord, how excellent (majestic and glorious) is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory on [or above] the heavens . . . When I view and consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained and established, What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of [earthborn] man that You care for him? . . . O Lord, our Lord, how excellent (majestic and glorious) is Your name in all the earth! Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/24/2017 | The High Price of SkepticismEzekiel 12:21-23 And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, The days drag on and every vision comes to nothing and is not fulfilled? Tell them therefore, Thus says the Lord God: I will put an end to this proverb, and they shall use it no more as a proverb in Israel. But say to them, The days are at hand and the fulfillment of every vision. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/1/2017 | The Key to Living the Good Life!Ephesians 2:10 For we are God’s handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus, that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]. Amplified Bible, Classic Edition (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/15/2017 | Dying to LiveLuke 9:23-24 Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it. 1 John 4:9-10 New Living Translation (NLT) |
Don Foster |
| 11/5/2017 | Religious PersecutionHebrews 13:3 Remember those who are in prison, as though in prison with them, and those who are mistreated, since you also are in the body. |
Frank Wolf |
| 11/12/2017 | Living Fearlessly in a Fear-Filled WorldJohn 14:1-3 ”Do not let your heart be troubled (afraid, cowardly). Believe in God and trust in Him, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places. If it were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and I will take you to Myself, so that where I am you may be also." Amplified Bible (AMP) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/24/2017 | Mary and Elizabeth: The Amazing Story of Two CousinsLuke 1:36-37 And listen! Your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son, and this is now the sixth month with her who was called barren. For with God nothing is impossible. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/31/2017 | Just One More YearLuke 13:6-9 Then He began telling them this parable: “A certain man had a fig tree that had been planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it, but did not find any; so he said to the vineyard-keeper, ‘For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree and have found none. Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground depleting the soil and blocking the sunlight?’ But he replied to him, ‘Let it alone, sir, just one more year until I dig around it and put in fertilizer; and if it bears fruit after this, fine; but if not, cut it down.’” Amplified Bible (AMP) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/7/2018 | Things I Love About PHBC!Philippians 1:3-6 I thank my God in every remembrance of you, always offering every prayer of mine with joy for all of you, thanking God for your participation and partnership in advancing the good news of the Gospel from the first day you heard it until now. I am convinced and confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will continue to perfect and complete it until the day of Christ Jesus - the time of His return. Amplified Bible (AMP) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/14/2018 | Excuses: Heard Any Good Ones Lately?“A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ But they all alike began to make excuses.” Luke 14:16-18 | Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/18/2018 | It’s Four Months Until Harvest – What’s the Rush?John 4:35-38 Don’t you have a saying, “It’s still four months until harvest?” I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the one who reaps draws a wage and harvests a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together. Thus the saying “One sows and another reaps” is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for. Others have done the hard work, and you have reaped the benefits of their labor. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/25/2018 | Let This Mind Be in YouPhilippians 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
Don Riley |
| 5/13/2018 | Jochebed - One of History’s Greatest Mothers!Exodus 2:1-2; Hebrews 11:23 Now a man of the house of Levi [the priestly tribe] went and took as his wife a daughter of Levi. The woman conceived and gave birth to a son; and when she saw that he was especially beautiful and healthy, she hid him for three months to protect him from the Egyptians… By faith, when Moses was born, his parents hid him for three months, because they saw the child was beautiful and they were not afraid of the king’s edict. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/20/2018 | Mission Possible: What’s the Holdup?Mark 16:14-16, 19-20 Still later He appeared to the eleven disciples as they were eating together. He rebuked them for their unbelief – their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen Him alive from the dead. And then He told them, “you are to go into all the world and preach the Good News to everyone, everywhere. Those who believe and are baptized will be saved. But those who refuse to believe will be condemned…” And when He finished talking with them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at God’s right hand. And the disciples went everywhere preaching, and the Lord was with them and confirmed what they said by the miracles that followed their messages. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/27/2018 | The Importance of RememberingPsalm 105:5 Remember [with awe and gratitude] the wonderful things which He has done, His amazing deeds and the judgments uttered by His mouth. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/17/2018 | The Power of Fatherhood!1 John 3:1-3 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/22/2018 | What to do When Trouble Comes Our WayJohn 16:33 In the world you have trouble; but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world – I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/29/2018 | It’s a Matter of Life and Death1 John 3:11-18 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth. New International Version (NIV) |
Rev. Dennis Williams |
| 8/5/2018 | Jesus Will Lift You Out of Your Troubles1 Peter 5:7 Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. |
Don Foster |
| 8/12/2018 | The Certainty of Death and the Hope of Eternal Life in Christ1 Corinthians 15:51-58 Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed— in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: “Death has been swallowed up in victory.” “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain. New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/19/2018 | A Certain Word in an Uncertain World2 Peter 1:19 And we have the prophetic word made firmer still. You will do well to pay close attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dismal (squalid and dark) place, until the day breaks through the gloom and the Morning Star rises in your hearts. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/26/2018 | How’s Your Foundation?Luke 6:46-49 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed and its destruction was complete.” New International Version (NIV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/2/2018 | God’s Hunger Games!Deuteronomy 8:3 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. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/9/2018 | Service in the Kingdom!Deuteronomy 1:12-13 - How can I bear by myself the weight and burden of you and your strife? Choose for your tribes wise, understanding, and experienced men, and I will appoint them as our heads. John 12:26 – If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him. |
Rev. Isah Abraham |
| 10/28/2018 | Dumb Idols or the God Who Speaks - Which Will It Be?1 Kings 18:26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, "O Baal, answer us!" |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/20/2018 | Where Are the Other Nine?Luke 17:17-18 Jesus asked, “Didn’t I heal ten men? Where are the nine? Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/25/2018 | Living WaterJohn 4:13-14 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life” |
Don Riley |
| 12/30/2018 | Dangerous Grace1 Corinthians 15:10: But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. Ephesians 3:8: Although I am less than the least of all the Lord’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the boundless riches of Christ. 1 Timothy 1:15: Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. |
Dr. Joel Freeman |
| 1/27/2019 | Warriors, Runners, Pugilists and Slaves1 Corinthians 9:24 Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/7/2019 | By Grace You Have Been Saved. It is the Gift of GodEphesians 2:1-9 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our flesh and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature deserving of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. |
Don Riley |
| 4/14/2019 | Push the Envelope: Live the Sent LifeVarious | Tim Pewett |
| 4/21/2019 | When Great Sorrow Was Turned to JoyJohn 16:20,22 The world will greatly rejoice over what is going to happen to Me, and you will weep. But your weeping shall suddenly be turned to wonderful joy when you see Me again … You have sorrow now, but I will see you again and then you will rejoice; and no one can rob you of that joy. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/12/2019 | Things Our Mothers Taught Us2 Timothy 1:5 I remember your sincere and unqualified faith, which first lived in the heart of your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am confident that it is in you as well. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/23/2019 | In Service to Christ, the KingLuke 22:69 But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God. |
Don Foster |
| 7/21/2019 | Fan or FollowerJohn 6:60-71 …Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that You are the Holy One of God … |
Rev. Dennis Williams |
| 8/4/2019 | Did You Ever Have One of Those Days?Luke 8:22-13 One of those days He and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us go to the other side of the lake”. So they put out to sea. But as they were sailing, He fell off to sleep. And a whirlwind revolving from below upwards swept down on the lake, and the boat was filling with water, and they were in great danger. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/8/2019 | Rejoicing in the Lord (and other essential spiritual disciplines)Philippians 3:1, 20-21, 4:1 For the rest, my brethren, delight yourselves in the Lord and continue to rejoice that you are in Him … (for) we are citizens of the homeland which is in heaven, and from it also we earnestly and patiently await the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior, Who will transform and fashion anew the body of our humiliation to conform to and be like the body of His glory and majesty, by exerting that power which enables Him even to subject everything to Himself. Therefore, my fellow believers … stand firm in the Lord … |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/20/2019 | Whose Business Am I About? – A Call to Follow Christ’s ExampleLuke 2:49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/3/2019 | We Are All in This Together - A call to recognize our solidarity with the suffering Church2 Timothy 3:1,12 But realize this, that in the last days difficult days will come … Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/10/2019 | What Kind of Man is This?Matthew 8:23-27 And when He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. And behold, there arose a great storm on the sea, so that the boat was being swamped by the waves; but He was asleep. And they went and woke Him, saying, "Save us, Lord; we are perishing." And He said to them “Why are you afraid, O you of little faith?” Then He rose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm. And the men marveled, saying, “What sort of man is this, that even winds and seas obey Him?” |
Don Foster |
| 11/17/2019 | We All Bleed the SameEphesians 4:1-6 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. |
Rev. Dennis Williams |
| 11/24/2019 | Two Men on a Serious SearchMatthew 13:44-46 The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which the man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, when on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/1/2019 | The Benefits of Having a Thankful HeartPsalm 92:1-2; 107:31 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the Lord, and to sing praises unto Your name, O Most High: To show forth Your lovingkindness in the morning and your faithfulness every night… Oh that men would praise the LORD for His goodness, and for His wonderful works to the children of men! |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/8/2019 | What Really Happened that First Christmas?Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, He shall rule on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from that time forward and forever more. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/15/2019 | What’s In a Name?Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, He shall rule on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from that time forward and forever more. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/22/2019 | Why Bethlehem?Matthew 2:1-6 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” When Herod the king heard this, he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. So, he called together all the chief priest and scribes of the people and asked them where the Christ was to be born. They replied to him “In Bethlehem of Judea, for this is what has been written by the prophet: ‘And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are not in any way least among the leaders of Judah; For from you shall come a Ruler who will shepherd My people Israel.'” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/29/2019 | Joy to the World! The Lord Has Come! | Don Foster |
| 2/9/2020 | A Budding Almond TreeJeremiah 1:11-12 The word of the LORD came to me saying, “What do you see, Jeremiah?” And I said, “I see a rod of an almond tree.” Then the LORD said to me, “You have seen well, for I am watching over My word to perform it.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/8/2020 | Psalm 91 – God’s Answer to the CoronavirusPsalm 91 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” … |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/15/2020 | When God Checks the Books: A Look at God’s Personal Reading List1 Thessalonians 2:13 And we will never stop thanking God for this: that when we preached to you, you did not think of the words we spoke as being just our own, but you accepted what we said as the very Word of God – which, of course, it was – and it changed your lives when you believed it. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/22/2020 | What to Do When Trouble Comes Our WayJohn 16:33 In the world you have trouble; but be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world – I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/29/2020 | The God Who Cares (Even When It Doesn’t Seem Like It)Mark 4:35-41 On that [same] day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us go over to the other side [of the Sea of Galilee].” So leaving the crowd, they took Him with them, just as He was, in the boat. And other boats were with Him. And a fierce (hurricane force) windstorm began to blow, and waves were breaking over the boat, so that it was already being swamped. But Jesus was in the stern, asleep [with His head] on the [sailor’s leather] cushion. And they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are about to die?” And He got up and [sternly] rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still (muzzled)!” And the wind died down [as if it had grown weary] and there was [at once] a great calm [a perfect peacefulness]. Jesus said to them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith and confidence [in Me]?” They were filled with great fear, and said to each other, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey Him? |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/5/2020 | The Gift of Christian CommunityPsalm 133 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for God’s people to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oil poured upon the head, running down the beard, even the beard of Aaron (the nation’s first high priest), coming down upon the edge of his [priestly] robes [consecrating the whole body]. It is like the dew of Hermon falling on the mountains of Zion. For there the Lord has appointed the blessing – even life forevermore (even eternal life). |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/10/2020 | The Darkest Day in History (The Day the Sun Refused to Shine)Luke 22 and 23 | Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/12/2020 | Opened Eyes and Flaming Hearts (The real impact of the Resurrection)Luke 24:31-33 …Then their eyes were opened and they recognized Jesus – and He disappeared from their sight. They asked one another, “Were not our hearts burning within us as He spoke with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?” And they got up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/3/2020 | The Voice of the Lord in the Storm Psalm 29:10 The Lord sat as King over the deluge; the Lord still sits as King and forever! |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/10/2020 | Three Mothers and a Grandmother: Shapers of Destinies2 Timothy 1:5 I am calling up memories of your sincere and unqualified faith, a faith that first lived permanently in the heart of your grandmother Lois and also in the heart of your mother Eunice, and now, I am fully persuaded, dwells in you also. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/17/2020 | This Too Shall Pass… But What if It Didn’t?Habakkuk 3:17-19 Though the fig tree does not blossom and there is no fruit on the vines, [though] the product of the olive fails and the fields yield no food, though the flock is cut off from the fold and there are no cattle in the stalls, Yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will exult in the [victorious] God of my salvation! The Lord God is my Strength, my personal bravery, and my invincible army; He makes my feet like hinds’ feet and will make me to walk [not to stand still in terror, but to walk] and make [spiritual] progress upon my high places [of trouble, suffering, or responsibility]! |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/24/2020 | Walking Safely Upon the High Places of Life Psalm 18:30-33 As for God, His way is perfect! The word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him. For who is God except the Lord? Or who is the Rock save our God, The God who girds me with strength and makes my way perfect? He makes my feet like hinds’ feet [able to stand firmly or make progress on the dangerous heights of testing and trouble]; He sets me securely upon my high places. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/31/2020 | The Glorious Reality & Purposes of His Body, The ChurchMatthew 16:17-19 And Jesus answered and said unto him, “Blessed are you, Simon son of John: for flesh and blood has not revealed it unto you, but my Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto you, that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to you the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatever you shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatever you shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/7/2020 | It’s Time to Pray2 Chronicles 7:12-16 Then the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said to him: “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for Myself as a house of sacrifice. If I shut up the heavens so that no rain falls, or if I command locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence and plague among My people, and My people, who are called by My Name, humble themselves, and pray and seek (crave, require as a necessity) My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear [them] from heaven, and forgive their sin and heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer offered in this place. For now I have chosen and sanctified and set apart for My purpose this house that My Name may be here forever, and My eyes and My heart will be here perpetually.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/14/2020 | Learning to Pray More Effectively: A Biblical Look at Prayers That WorkPhilippians 4:6-7 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God what you need, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/21/2020 | Fathers: God’s Agents of Healing in a Broken WorldJoshua 24:15 If it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell; but as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/28/2020 | Maximizing Our Kingdom Usefulness For Such a Time as This Esther 4:4 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father’s family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/5/2020 | The Greatest Freedoms Of AllJohn 8:31-32, 36 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, “If you abide in My word, then you are truly My disciples. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free… if the Son makes you free, then you are truly free.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/12/2020 | Passing Through the Valley of BakaPsalm 84:5-7 Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/19/2020 | Don’t Wrestle, Just NestlePsalm 37:3,7a Trust in the Lord and do good; so shall you dwell in the land and feed surely on His faithfulness, and truly you shall be fed…Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourselves upon Him… |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/26/2020 | What Kind of People Ought We to Be?2 Peter 3:11-13 Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming. That day will bring about the destruction of the heavens by fire, and the elements will melt in the heat. But in keeping with His promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/2/2020 | Living effectively with the “New Normal” Psalm 91:1-2 Whoever dwells (lives and abides) in the shelter (the secret place) of the Most High will rest (shall remain stable and fixed) under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God; on Whom I lean and rely, and in Whom I confidently trust.’ |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/9/2020 | Trusting A Perfect God in an Imperfect WorldPsalm 18:30 As for God, His way is perfect; the word of the Lord is tested and tried; He is a shield to all those who take refuge and put their trust in Him. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/16/2020 | Vessels in A Great House2 Timothy 2:20-21 But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of clay; and some for honor and some for dishonor. If a person therefore purges himself from these, he shall be a vessel for honor, sanctified, and fit for the master’s use, and prepared for every good work. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/23/2020 | The Preeminent ChristColossians 1:17-18 …He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. And He is the head of the body, the church; He is the beginning and firstborn from among the dead, so that in all things He may have preeminence. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/30/2020 | When The Die is Finally CastRevelation 22:10-12 Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy. Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/6/2020 | Perfect Peace In Troubled TimesIsaiah 26:1-4 In that day this song will be sung in the land of Judah: "We have a strong city; He sets up salvation as walls and ramparts. Open the gates, that the righteous may enter, the one who remains faithful and trustworthy. You will keep in perfect peace the one whose mind is steadfast (stayed upon) You. Trust in the Lord forever He is your fortress, your shield, your banner, For the Lord God is an everlasting Rock.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/13/2020 | Abounding in Hope (Even in what seem like hopeless situations)Romans 15:4,13 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope….May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/20/2020 | The Truth About the ChurchMatthew 16:18-19 And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/27/2020 | Certain Words for Uncertain Times2 Peter 1:19 So we have the prophetic word made more certain (sure). You do well to pay close attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dismal (squalid and dark) place, until the day breaks through [the gloom], and the Morning Star arises (comes into being) in your hearts. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/4/2020 | Getting Ready For the Next Great Event: Investing Wisely in a Very Sure Thing!Revelation 22:10-12 Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy. Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/11/2020 | Christ, The Living Stone1 Peter 2:4 So come to Him, that Living Stone which men rejected and threw away, but which is choice and precious in the sight of God. You, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. For this is contained in Scripture: ‘Behold, I am laying in Zion a chosen stone, a precious Cornerstone, and he who believes in Him will never be disappointed'. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/18/2020 | Religious Freedom / "Drinking of Christ's Cup"Mark 10:35-41 "... James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, 'Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.' 'What do you want Me to do for you?' He asked. They answered, "Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left in Your glory.' 'You do not know what you are asking' Jesus replied. 'Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?' 'We can,' the brothers answered. 'You will drink the cup that I drink,' Jesus said, 'and you will be baptized with the baptism that I undergo. But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom they have been prepared.' When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John." |
Former Congressman Frank Wolf |
| 10/25/2020 | The True Cost of Being A ChristianLuke 14:25-27, 33 Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them He said: “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not carry their cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple... In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be My disciples. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/1/2020 | Drinking Of Christ’s Cup: (THE KEY TO SHARING IN HIS GLORY)Mark 10:35-41 … James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus and declared, ‘Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.’ ‘What do you want Me to do for you?” He asked. They answered, “Grant that one of us may sit at Your right hand and the other at Your left in Your glory.” “You do not know what you are asking,” Jesus replied. “Can you drink the cup I will drink, or be baptized with the baptism I will undergo?” “We can,” the brothers answered. “You will drink the cup that I drink,” Jesus said, “and you will be baptized with the baptism that I undergo. But to sit at My right or left is not Mine to grant. These seats belong to those for whom they have been prepared. When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/10/2020 | Praising God No Matter What!Psalm 34:1-10 I will praise the Lord no matter what happens. I will constantly speak of his glories and grace. I will boast of all his kindness to me. Let all who are discouraged take heart. Let us praise the Lord together and exalt his name. For I cried to him and he answered me! He freed me from all my fears. Others too were radiant at what he did for them. Theirs was no downcast look of rejection! This poor man cried to the Lord—and the Lord heard him and saved him out of his troubles. For the Angel of the Lord guards and rescues all who reverence him. Oh, put God to the test and see how kind he is! See for yourself the way his mercies shower down on all who trust in him. If you belong to the Lord, reverence Him; for everyone who does this has everything he needs. Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those of us who reverence the Lord will never lack any good thing. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/15/2020 | The God Who Always Is!Isaiah 40:27-31 O Jacob, O Israel, how can you say that the Lord doesn’t see your troubles and isn’t being fair? Don’t you yet understand? Don’t you know by now that the everlasting God, the Creator of the farthest parts of the earth, never grows faint or weary? No one can fathom the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the tired and worn out, and strength to the weak. Even the youths shall be exhausted, and the young men will all give up. But they that wait upon 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. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/22/2020 | Where Are the Other Nine?Luke 17:11-19 When Jesus was on the way to Jerusalem, He was going along between the border of Samaria and Galilee: and, as He entered a village, then lepers, who stood far off, met Him. They lifted up their voices and cried out, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ When He saw them, He said, ‘Go, and show yourselves to the priests.’ And as they went they were cleansed (their leprosy disappeared!). When one of them saw that he was cured, he came back to Jesus, glorying God with a loud voice. He fell flat on his face at Jesus’ feet and kept on thanking Him. And this man was a (despised) Samaritan. Jesus asked, ‘Were not ten cleansed?’ Where are the nine? Does only this foreigner return to give glory to God?’ And Jesus said to the man, “Stand up and go; your faith has made you well.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/29/2020 | The Love of ChristEphesians 3:16-19 I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen you with power through His Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love that surpasses; knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. |
Don Riley |
| 12/24/2020 | Why Bethlehem?Micah 5:2 But you, Bethlehem Ephratah, you are but a small Judean village; Yet out of you shall One come forth for Me Who is to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth have been from of old, from ancient days. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/27/2020 | For Such A Time As ThisEsther 4:14b For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance shall arise for the Jews from elsewhere, but you and your father’s house will perish. And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/3/2021 | All Things New!Revelation 21:5 And the one sitting on the throne said, “See, I am making all things new!” And then he said to me, “Write this down, for what I tell you is trustworthy and true.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/10/2021 | A City Built by GodHebrews 11:8-10 It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him to go out to a country which God had promised to give him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a foreigner in the country that God had promised him. He lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who received the same promise from God. For Abraham was waiting for the city which God has designed and built, the city with permanent foundations. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/17/2021 | God of the Darkness; God of the LightDaniel 2:20-22 Daniel answered, “blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him. It is He who changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and establishes kings He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding! It is He who reveals the profound and hidden things; He knows what is in the darkness, and the light dwells with Him” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/24/2021 | It Shall Come To Pass…Isaiah 2:1-2 The word which Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem. It shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be firmly established as the highest of the mountains and shall be exalted above all the hills, and all the nations shall flow to it. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/31/2021 | Called to Action!Deuteronomy 1:6-8 The Lord our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain. Break camp and advance into the hill country of the Amorites; go to all the neighboring peoples in the Arabah, in the mountains, in the western foothills, in the Negev and along the coast, to the land of the Canaanites and to Lebanon, as far as the great river, the Euphrates. See, I have given you this land. Go in and take possession of the land the Lord swore he would give to your fathers—to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob—and to their descendants after them.” 1 Peter 1:13 |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/7/2021 | Lord, If Lord, If You Had Been Here…John 11:32 When Mary came to the place where Jesus was and saw Him, she dropped down at His feet, saying to Him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/14/2021 | A Drink at Joel’s Place (How Thirsty Are You These Days?)Psalm 42:1-2 As the deer pants for water, so I long for You, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. Where can I find Him to come and stand before Him? |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/21/2021 | How's Your Faith?Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever comes to God must necessarily believe that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him out. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/28/2021 | Jesus’ Cure for Our Troubled HeartsJohn 14:1-31 Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me … Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful. |
Pastor Steve King |
| 3/7/2021 | The Benefits of Trusting GodEcclesiastes 7:15-29 15 I have seen everything during my lifetime of futility; there is a righteous person who perishes in his righteousness, and there is a wicked person who prolongs his life in his wickedness. … 29This only have I found: God created mankind upright, but they have gone in search of many schemes." |
Pastor Steve King |
| 3/14/2021 | Maintaining Our Confidence!Hebrews 10:35-39 So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what He has promised. For, ‘In just a little while, He who is coming will come and will not delay.’ And, ‘But my righteous one will live by faith. And I take no pleasure in the one who shrinks back.’ But we do not belong to those who shrink back and are destroyed, but to those who have faith and are saved. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/21/2021 | The Night Is Far Spent…Romans 13:11-14 “….you know what a critical hour this is, how it is high time now for you to wake up out of your sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone and the day is almost here. Let us then drop the works and deeds of darkness and put on the full armor of light. Let us live and conduct ourselves honorably and becomingly as in the open light of day, not in reveling and drunkenness, not in immorality and debauchery, not in quarreling and jealousy. But clothe yourself with the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for indulging the flesh to gratify its desires.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/28/2021 | Raging Storm…A Sleeping ChristMark 4:35-40 (NLT) As evening came, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed). But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with His head on a cushion. The disciples woke Him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?” When Jesus woke up, He rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Silence! Be still!” Suddenly the wind stopped, and there was a great calm. Then He asked them, “Why are you afraid? Do you still have no faith?” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/4/2021 | The Great Reversal1 Corinthians 15:19-21 If we who are abiding in Christ have hoped only in this life and this is all there is, then we are of all people most miserable and to be pitied. But now, as things really are, Christ has in fact been raised from the dead, and He became the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep in death. For since it was through a man that death came into the world, it is also through a Man that the resurrection from the dead has come. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/11/2021 | In Light of Christ’s Resurrection… What Manner of People Should We Be?1 Corinthians 15:38; 16:13-14 Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose]… Be alert and on your guard; stand firm in the faith. Act like men and be courageous; grow in strength! Let everything you do be done in love. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/18/2021 | The Importance of Sound Doctrine2 Timothy 4:1-4 In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage - with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/25/2021 | A Serious Invitation: (The High Cost of Following Christ)Luke 14:25-27, 33-35 Now large crowds were going along with Jesus; and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me, and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sister, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. Whoever does not carry his own cross cannot be My disciple…Any of you who does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple. Salt is good, but if salt has lost its strength, how shall his saltiness be restored? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile;’ it is thrown out. He who has ears to hear let him hear.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/2/2021 | A Call to Real Rest!Matthew 11:28-29 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/9/2021 | A Model for Mothers (Honoring the Ministry of Motherhood)Luke 1:46-49 And Mary said, “My soul praises the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has been mindful of the humble state of his servant. From now on all generations will call me blessed, for the Mighty One has done great things for me – holy is His name.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/16/2021 | An Immutable God in a Mutable WorldJames 1:17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of Lights, with Whom there is not variation or shadow of turning. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/23/2021 | Great Goals and a Grand Exit! - Fighting Well, Running Hard, Finishing StrongPhil.1:20-21 It is my own eager expectation and hope, that [looking toward the future] I will not disgrace myself nor be ashamed in anything, but that with courage and the utmost freedom of speech, even now as always, Christ will be magnified and exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ [He is my source of joy, my reason to live] and to die is gain [for I will be with Him in eternity]. 2 Tim.4:6-8 For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/30/2021 | Hope and Faith Infusion1 Peter 1:3-12<> Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable, undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you … As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries, seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves, but you, in these things which now have been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things into which angels long to look. | Pastor Steve King |
| 6/6/2021 | Shall I Not Drink of This Cup?John 18:10-11 Then Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. Therefore, Jesus said to Peter, ‘Put the sword back into the sheath! The cup which My Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?’ Luke 22:51 |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/13/2021 | Seven Certainties - Seven Things That Will Never ChangeHebrews 1:10-12 You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning, and the heavens are the works of Your hands; They will perish, but You remain [forever and ever]; And they will all wear out like a garment, and like a robe You will roll them up; Like a garment they will be changed. But You are the same [forever], and Your years will never end. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/20/2021 | The Power of FatherhoodHebrews 12:9a Moreover, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we yielded to them and respected them for training us; shall we not much more cheerfully submit to the Father of spirits and so truly live? |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/27/2021 | A Call to Praise & WorshipPsalm 107:1-2, 32 O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His mercy and lovingkindness endure forever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has delivered from the hand of the enemy… O that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and lovingkindness and His wonderful works to the children of men. Let them exalt Him also in the congregation of the people and praise Him in the company of the elders. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/4/2021 | Whom the Son Sets FreeJohn 8:31-35 “Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him. If you abide in My Word, then you are truly My disciples indeed. And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. They answered Him, we are Abraham’s descendants and have never been in bondage to anybody. What do you mean by saying ‘You will be free?’ Jesus answered them, ‘I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, whoever commits and practices sin is the slave of sin.’” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/11/2021 | The Deadly Danger of Mission Drift (A Divine Call to Stay on Course)Acts 20:22-24 And now, compelled by the Spirit, I am going to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there. I only know that in every city the Holy Spirit warns me that prison and hardships are facing me. However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me – the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/18/2021 | These Little Troubles... 2 Corinthians 4:17-18 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/25/2021 | Positive Purposes of PainRomans 8:17-18 “…if we are His children, then we are His heirs also: heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ [sharing His inheritance with Him]; only we must share His suffering if we are to share His glory. But what of that? For I consider that the sufferings of this present life are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!” (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/1/2021 | Things to Remember When Storms AriseMark 4:35-38 As evening fell, Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” So they took Him just as He was and started out, leaving the crowds behind (though other boats followed). But soon a terrible storm arose. High waves began to break into the boat until it was nearly full of water and about to sink. Jesus was asleep at the back of the boat with His head on a cushion. Frantically they wakened Him, shouting, “Teacher, don’t You even care that we are all about to drown?” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/8/2021 | Knowing the Will of GodColossians 1:9-14 “ …since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the Kingdom of Light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the Kingdom of the Son He loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/15/2021 | The Rest that RefreshesIsaiah 28:1 “…To whom He said, ‘This is the rest with which you may cause the weary to rest,’ and, ‘This is the refreshing’, Yet they would not listen…” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/19/2021 | There Your Heart Will Be AlsoMatthew 6:19-20 Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will also be. |
Tim Pewett |
| 9/26/2021 | It's All His - We'reJust in Management1 Peter 4:10a-11 As each person has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s manifold (many-sided) grace… in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To Him belong glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/17/2021 | Then Peter Began to Speak... Matthew 17:1-5 Six days later Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John the brother of James, and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. And His appearance changed dramatically in their presence; and His face shone [with heavenly glory, clear and bright] like the sun, and His clothing became as white as light. And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Jesus. Then Peter began to speak and said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good and delightful and auspicious that we are here; if You wish, I will put up three [sacred] tents here – one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.” While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased and delighted! Listen to Him!” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/24/2021 | True Worship & True Worshipers. John 4:23-25 But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/31/2021 | Celebrating God’s Unchanging WordPsalm 119:1-4 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep His statutes and seek Him with all their heart – they do no wrong but follow His ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying Your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all Your commands. I will praise You with an upright heart as I learn Your righteous laws. I will obey Your decrees; do not utterly forsake me. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/7/2021 | When the Stones Are RaisedActs 6:8-12 Now Stephen, a man full of God’s grace and power, performed great wonders and signs among the people. Opposition arose, however, ... So they stirred up the people and the elders and the teachers of the law. … Acts 7:54-8:1 |
Rev. Elijah Brown, PhD |
| 11/14/2021 | Recognizing & Moving in God’s Perfect TimeEphesians 5:15-17 Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. (ESV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/21/2021 | The Blessing of a Grateful HeartPhilippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/28/2021 | What Is the True Joy of Christmas? John 1:1-5 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. |
Pastor Roger Taneus |
| 12/5/2021 | When It All Seemed Too LateLuke 1:5-6 In the days of Herod [the Great], king of Judea, there was a certain priest whose name was Zachariah, of the division of Abijah. His wife was a descendant of Aaron [the first high priest of Israel], and her name was Elizabeth. They both were righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all the commandments and requirements of the Lord. But they were childless, because Elizabeth was barren, and they were both far advanced in years. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/12/2021 | A Hope Fulfilled: Zechariah, You Are Going to Have a Son! Luke 1:11-17 Then an angel of the Lord appeared to him, standing at the right side of the altar of incense. When Zechariah saw him, he was startled and was gripped with fear. But the angel said to him: ‘Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John. He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth, for he will be great and distinguished in the sight of the Lord; and will never drink wine or liquor, and he will be filled with and empowered to act by the Holy Spirit while still in his mother’s womb. He will turn many of the sons of Israel back from sin to love and serve the Lord their God. It is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, to turn the hearts of the fathers back to the children, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous – in order to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.’ |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/19/2021 | And They Brought Him Gifts: The Mysterious MagiMatthew 2:1-2 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the King (Herod the Great), Magi from the east came to Jerusalem, asking, “Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the east and have come to worship Him.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/24/2021 | Christmas ReflectionsThere were shepherds out in the field … an angel of the Lord appeared to them and … said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” … When the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.” And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger. And when they saw it, they made known the saying that had been told them concerning this child. And all who heard it wondered at what the shepherds told them … And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, as it had been told them. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/26/2021 | Christmas TakeawaysPsalm 107:31-32 “Oh, that men would praise the Lord for His goodness and loving-kindness and His wonderful works to the children of men! Let them exalt Him also in the congregation of the people and praise Him in the company of the elders. He turns rivers into a wilderness, water springs into a thirsty ground.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/2/2022 | Watchman - What of the Night? Isaiah 21:11-12 An oracle (prophecy) against Duman (Edom): Someone calls to me from Seir, “Watchman, what is left of the night? Watchman, what is left of the night?” The watchman replies, “Morning is coming, but also the night. If you would ask, then ask; and come back yet again.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/9/2022 | Unleashing the Power of Prayer in 2022Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/16/2022 | A Better Covenant: Unleashing God’s Power to Live a Godly LifeJeremiah 31:33-34 This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord. I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and teach his brother saying, “Know the Lord.” For I will forgive their iniquity (lawlessness), and I will remember their sin no more. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/23/2022 | Fearfully and Wonderfully MadePsalm 139:14-17 I will give thanks and praise to You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Wonderful are Your works, and my soul knows it very well. My frame was not hidden from You, when I was being formed in secret and intricately and skillfully formed in the depths of the earth Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; And in Your book were all written the days that were appointed for me, when as yet there was not one of them even taking shape. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them! |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/30/2022 | Living the Good Life!1 Peter 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/6/2022 | After You Have Suffered a While…1 Peter 5:10 But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/13/2022 | Peace That Passes All UnderstandingPhillipians 4:6-7 Always be full of joy in the Lord. I say it again – rejoice! Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/20/2022 | Things We Know and Things We Don’tJohn 3:9-11 Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can these things be possible?’ Jesus replied, ‘You are the great and well-known teacher of Israel, and yet you do not know nor understand these things form Scripture? I assure you and most solemnly say to you, we speak what we do know and testify about what we have actually seen; and still you reject our evidence and do not accept our testimony. If I told you earthly things [that is, things that happen right here on earth] and you do not believe, how will you believe and trust Me if I tell you heavenly things?’ |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/6/2022 | Praying Prayers That Actually WorkJames 5:16b-18 The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous person makes tremendous power available [dynamic in its working]. Elijah was a human being with a nature such as we have [with feelings, affections, and a constitution like ours]; and he prayed earnestly for it not to rain, and no rain fell on the earth for three years and six months. And [then] he prayed again and the heavens supplied rain and the land produced its crops [as usual]. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/13/2022 | In That Day…2 Peter 3:1-4 Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues just as it was form the beginning of creation.’ |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/20/2022 | ...Where Are You?Genesis 3:1-13 “… And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, ‘Where are you?’…” |
Pastor Dennis Williams |
| 3/27/2022 | Who do you say that Jesus is? The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus ChristMark 15:1-41 …So Pilate asked [Jesus], “Are You the King of the Jews?” …When the centurion who was standing opposite [Jesus], saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “This man really was God’s Son!”... |
Tim Pewett |
| 4/3/2022 | The Perfect Christ, God’s Perfect Gift to an Imperfect WorldJohn 3:16-18 For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/15/2022 | What Can Possibly be Good About Good Friday?Luke 23:22-56 …When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” … It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last…. Going to Pilate, [Joseph] asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. … |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/17/2022 | The Implications of Christ’s Resurrection1 Corinthians 15:12-19 Now, since our message is that Christ has been raised from death, how can some of you say that the dead will not be raised to life? If that is true, it means that Christ was not raised; and if Christ has not been raised from death, then we have nothing to preach and you have nothing to believe. More than that, we are shown to be lying about God, because we said that He raised Christ from death – but if it is true that the dead are not raised to life, then He did not raise Christ. For if the dead are not raised, neither has Christ been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is a delusion and you are still lost in your sins. It would also mean that the believers in Christ who have died are lost. If our hope in Christ is good for this life only and no more, then we deserve more pity than anyone else in all the world. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/24/2022 | One Thing LackingMark 10:17-22 As Jesus started on His way, a man ran up to Him and fell on his knees before Him. "Good teacher," he asked, "what must I do to inherit eternal life?" "Why do you call Me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good - except God alone. You know the commandments: 'You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, you shall not defraud, honor your father and mother.' "Teacher," he declared, "all these I have kept since I was a boy." Jesus looked at him and loved him. "One thing you lack," He said. "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me." At this the man's face fell. He went away sad, because he had great wealth. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/15/2022 | No More Delays!Ezekiel 12:21-25a Again a message came to me from the Lord: “Son of man, you’ve heard that proverb they quote in Israel: ‘Time passes, and prophecies come to nothing.’ Tell the people, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: I will put an end to this proverb, and you will soon stop quoting it.’ Now give them this new proverb to replace the old one: ‘The time has come for every prophecy to be fulfilled!’ “There will be no more false visions and flattering predictions in Israel. For I am the Lord! If I say it, it will happen. There will be no more delays…” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/22/2022 | Can We Run with the Horses?Jeremiah 12:5-6 If you have raced with men on foot and they have worn you out, how can you compete with horses? If you stumble in safe country, how will you manage in the thickets by the Jordan? Your relatives, members of your own family – even they have betrayed you; they have raised a loud cry against you. Do not trust them, though they speak well of you. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/29/2022 | Why Does Life Have to Be So Hard? Finding God’s purposes in our troubles, trials, and tribulationsPsalm 42:1-5 As the deer pants for water, so I long for You, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. Where can I find Him to come and stand before Him? Day and night I weep for His help, and all the while my enemies taunt me. “Where is this God of yours?” they scoff. Take courage, my soul! Do you remember those times (but how could you ever forget them?) when you led a great procession to the Temple on festival days, singing with joy, praising the Lord? Why then be downcast? Why be discouraged and sad? Hope in God! I shall yet praise Him again. Yes, I shall again praise Him for His help. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/19/2022 | A Father’s Legacy, Fatherhood – A Sacred TrustGenesis 18:17-19 Then the Lord said, “Should I hide from Abraham what I am about to do? After all, Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all the nations on the earth may receive blessing through him. I have chosen him so that he may command his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just. Then the Lord will give to Abraham what He promised him.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/26/2022 | When Christ Returns: A Word of Hope for a Hopeless WorldMicah 4:1 But in the latter days it shall come to pass that the mountains of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and it shall be exalted above the hills, and peoples shall flow to it. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/3/2022 | The End of All Things1 Peter 4:7-11 The end of all things is near. Therefore, be clear-minded and sober, so that you can pray. Above all, love one another deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without complaining. As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another. If anyone speaks, he should speak as one conveying the words of God. If anyone serves, he should serve with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/10/2022 | Dwelling in the Secret Place: Insulation versus IsolationPsalm 91:1-2 He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand]. I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust! |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/17/2022 | A Theology of Prayer, Praying Prayers That Get ResultsPhilippians 4:5b-7 The Lord is near [He is coming soon]. Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God. And God’s peace shall be yours … that peace which transcends all understanding shall garrison and mount guard over your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/24/2022 | The Gift of Inadequacy, Learning to Live in the Sufficiency of Christ1 Corinthians 1:26-29 Just look at your own calling, believers; not many [of you were considered] wise according to human standards, not many powerful or influential, not many of high and noble birth. But God has selected the foolish things of the world to shame the wise [revealing their ignorance], and God has selected the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong [revealing their frailty]. God has selected the insignificant things of the world, and the things that are despised and treated with contempt, [even] the things that are nothing, so that He might reduce to nothing the things that are, so that no one may be able to boast in the presence of God. (AMP) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/4/2022 | Don’t Hang Up Your Harp! Living With Grace in an Ungracious WorldPsalm 137:1-4 By the rivers of Babylon we sat and wept when we remembered Zion. There on the poplars we hung our harps, for there our captors asked us for songs, our tormentors demanded songs of joy; they said, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/11/2022 | Walking With a Limp, Jacob’s Life-Changing Encounter With GodGenesis 32:24-25, 31 And Jacob was left alone, and a Man wrestled with him until daybreak. And when the Man saw that He did not prevail against Jacob, He touched the hollow of his thigh; and Jacob’s thigh was put out of joint ... Then the Man said, ‘Let me go, for day is breaking.’ But Jacob said, ‘I will not let You go unless You declare a blessing upon me.’ The Man asked him, ‘What is your name?’ And he said, ‘Jacob!’ And He said, ‘Your name shall be called no more Jacob but Israel; for you have contended and have power with God and with men and have prevailed.’ Then Jacob asked Him, ‘Tell me, I pray You, what is Your name?’ But the man said, ‘Why is it that you ask My name?’ And the Angel of God declared a blessing on him there. And Jacob called the name of the place Peniel [the face of God], saying, ‘For I have seen God face to face, and my life is spared and not snatched away.’ And as he passed Peniel, the sun rose upon him, and he was limping because of his thigh. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/18/2022 | The Story of the Unblessed BrotherLuke 15:28-30 "But the elder brother was angry and resolved not to go in. Then his father came out and began to plead with him. But he answered his father, 'Look! These many years I have served you, and I have never disobeyed your command. Yet you never gave me so much as a little kid that I might revel and feast and be happy and make merry with my friends. But when this son of yours arrived, who has devoured your estate with prostitutes, you have killed for him the [wheat-] fattened calf!'". |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/23/2022 | The Rapture of the Church: What Is It and Should It Excite or Scare Us? 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 Now we don’t want you, my brothers, to be in any doubt about those who “fall asleep” in death, or to grieve over them like men who have no hope. After all, if we believe that Jesus died and rose again from death, then we can believe that God will just as surely bring with Jesus all who are “asleep” in Him. Here we have a definite message from the Lord. It is that those who are still living when He comes will not in any way precede those who have previously fallen asleep. One word of command, one shout from the archangel, one blast from the trumpet of God and the Lord Himself will come down from Heaven! Those who have died in Christ will be the first to rise, and then we who are still living on the earth will be swept up with them into the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And after that we shall be with the Him forever. God has given me this message on the matter, so by all means use it to encourage one another. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/30/2022 | Entering God’s Rest Hebrews 4:9-11 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. (NKJV) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/6/2022 | Why Should We Defend the Persecuted? Luke 4:18-19 - The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. Hebrews 13:3 - Continue to remember those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering Romans 10:13-14 - Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? Philippians 4:10 - I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. |
Dr. Randel Everett |
| 11/13/2022 | Can He Get a Witness?Acts 1 – 7 | Rev. Tim Pewett |
| 11/20/2022 | The Glorious Future of the Church1 Corinthians 2:9-11 …as the Scripture says, ‘What eye has not seen and ear has not heard and has not entered into the heart of man, all that God has prepared (already made and keeps ready) for those who love and obey Him.’ Yet to us God has unveiled and revealed them by and through His Spirit, for the Holy Spirit searches diligently, exploring and examining everything, even sounding the profound and bottomless things for God [the divine counsels and things hidden and beyond man’s scrutiny]. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/27/2022 | The Hope of a Coming KingSelected verses from 1 Samuel | Rev. Tim Pewett |
| 12/4/2022 | What Shall We Name the Baby?Matthew 1:18-21 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the power of the Holy Spirit. And Joseph her promised husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/11/2022 | What’s In a Name?Isaiah 9:6-7 For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from the [latter] time forth, even forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/18/2022 | The High Cost of Christmas2 Cor. 5:21; 9:15 For our sake He, God the Father, made Christ [virtually] to be sin who knew no sin so that in and through Him we might become endued with the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness]. Now thanks be to God for His unspeakable Gift! |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/24/2022 | The Government Shall be Upon His ShoulderIsaiah 9:6-7 For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and of peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from the [latter] time forth, even forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/25/2022 | Why Celebrate Christmas?Luke 2:10-11 In the same region there were shepherds staying out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. And an angel of the Lord suddenly stood before them, and the glory of the Lord flashed and shone around them, and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will be for all the people. For this day in the city of David there has been born for you a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/1/2023 | All Things NewRev. 21:1-5 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had vanished, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, arrayed like a bride adorned for her husband; and then I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, ‘See! The dwelling place of God is among men, and He will live among them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will be no longer be death; there will no longer be sorrow and anguish, or crying, or pain; for the former order of things has passed away.” And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” He also said to me, “Write this, because these words are faithful and true (they are true and can be trusted).” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/8/2023 | Rich Gifts for a New Year Ephesians 1:3 - All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ James 1:17 - Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow 2 Corinthians 9:8 - And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/15/2023 | God at WorkPhilippians 1:1-6 Paul and Timothy true servants of Jesus Christ, to the bishops, deacons and all true Christians at Philippi, grace and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ the Lord! I thank God for you Christians at Philippi whenever I think of you. My constant prayers for you are a real joy, for they bring back to my mind how we have worked together for the Gospel from the earliest days until now. I feel sure that the One who has begun His good work in you will go on developing it until the day of Jesus Christ. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/22/2023 | Before I Formed You in the WombJeremiah 1:1-5 The words of Jeremiah, son of Hilkiah, one of the priests at Anathoth in the territory of Benjamin. The word of the Lord came to him in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah, and through the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, down to the fifth month of the eleventh year of Zedekiah son of Josiah king of Judah, when the people of Jerusalem went into exile. The word of the Lord came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.’ |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/29/2023 | Church & Culture: A Mandate for EngagementMatthew 5:13-16 You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot. You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/5/2023 | Receiving the Mind of Christ, The Power of a Prioritized Life1 Corinthians 2;10-16 The (Holy) Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit Who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/12/2023 | We've Been Given the Mind of Christ – Now What?Colossians 1:9-12 For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/19/2023 | Transitioning into the Mind of Christ: A Lifelong Assignment & Process2 Peter 1:2-9 By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/26/2023 | Everything We Need…For Living a Life that Really Matters2 Peter 1:2-9 By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory and excellence. And because of His glory and excellence, He has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/5/2023 | Chosen by God: A Look at God’s Plan & Our Place in ItEphesians 1:3-6 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. For He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as His legal heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of His will to the praise of the glory of His grace that He has freely bestowed on us in His dearly loved Son. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/12/2023 | Chosen by God… but for What? A Look at God’s Plan & Our Place in It, Part IIEphesians 1:3-6 Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms in Christ. For He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love. He did this by predestining us to adoption as His legal heirs through Jesus Christ, according to the pleasure of His will to the praise of the glory of His grace that He has freely bestowed on us in His dearly loved Son. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/19/2023 | What to Do When Trouble Comes, The Ultimate Usefulness of AdversityPsalm 27:1-6 The Lord is my Light and my Salvation – whom shall I fear or dread? The Lord is the Refuge and Stronghold of my life – of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, even my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. Though a host encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, in this will I be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek, inquire for, and require: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold and gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to meditate, consider, and inquire in His temple. For in the day of trouble He will hide me in His shelter; in the secret place of His tent will He hide me; He will set me high upon a rock. And now shall my head be lifted up above my enemies round about me; in His tent I will offer sacrifices and shouting of joy; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/26/2023 | The Joy & Wonder of Being in ChristJohn 10:9-10 I am the Door; anyone who enters in through Me will be saved. He will come in and go out freely and find pasture. The thief comes only in order to kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance… 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to Himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/2/2023 | All Hail to the King!Luke 19:28-44 As [Jesus] approached the city, … the whole crowd of His disciples shouted praises to God for all the marvelous things that they had seen Him do. ‘Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!’ they cried. “there is peace in Heaven and glory on high!” There were some Pharisees in the crowd who said to Jesus, “Master, restrain your disciples!” To which He replied, “I tell you that if they kept quiet, the very stones in the road would burst out cheering!” And as He came still near to the city, He caught sight of it and wept over it, saying, “Ah, if you only knew, even at this eleventh hour, on what your peace depends – but you cannot see it. The time is coming when your enemies will encircle you with ramparts, surrounding you and hemming you in on every side. And they will hurl you and all your children to the ground – yes, they will not leave you one stone standing upon another – all because you did not know when God Himself was visiting you!” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/9/2023 | lf Christ Be Not Risen… (The Implications Are Staggering)1 Cor. 15:12-20 …Tell me this – since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. And we apostles would all be lying about God – for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world. But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/16/2023 | He is WorthyPsalm 13 How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day? How long shall my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death, lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him, lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken. But I have trusted in your steadfast love; my heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, because he has dealt bountifully with me. |
Rev. Tim Pewett |
| 4/23/2023 | Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent, and OmnibenevolentIsaiah 9:6-7 For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; And the government shall be upon His shoulder, And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, [He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From that time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will accomplish this. |
Minister Davon Gray |
| 4/30/2023 | The Tomb Is Empty & Christ Is Risen…Now What?1 Corinthians 15:12-20 But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died…. Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when He comes back. After that the end will come, when He will turn the Kingdom over to God the Father, having destroyed every ruler and authority and power. For Christ must reign until He humbles all His enemies beneath His feet. And the last enemy to be destroyed is death. For the Scriptures say, ‘God has put all things under His authority. Then, when all things are under His authority, the Son will put Himself under God’s authority, so that God, who gave His Son authority over all things will be utterly supreme over everything everywhere.’ |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/7/2023 | On Hearing the Word of the LordDeuteronomy 8:3 He humbled you, and in your hunger He gave you manna to eat, which neither you nor your fathers had known, so that you might understand that man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord… Amos 8:11 “Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord GOD, “When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/14/2023 | Six Mothers’ Stories in the Bible2 Timothy 1:3-7 I thank the God of my forefathers, whom I serve with a clear conscience, as I remember you in my prayers. Every day and every night I have been longing to see you, for I can’t forget how moved you were when I left you, and to have you with me again would be the greatest possible joy. I often think of that genuine faith of yours -- a faith that first appeared in your grandmother Lois, then in Eunice your mother, and is now, I am convinced, in you as well. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/21/2023 | The Family That Wouldn’t Drink the WineJeremiah 35:1-8 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: “Go to the Rechabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.” So I went to get Jaazaniah… and his brothers and all his sons the whole family of the Rekabites. I brought them into the house of the Lord… then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rechabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.” But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab gave us this command: “Neither you or your descendants must ever drink wine…then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.” We have obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/28/2023 | The Spirit Within and Upon, Celebrating Pentecost SundayJohn 14:15-17 If you really love Me, you will keep the commandments I have given you and I shall ask the Father to give you someone else to stand by you, to be with you always. I mean the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot accept, for it can neither see nor recognize that Spirit. But you recognize Him, for He is with you now and shall be in you. (JBP). |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/4/2023 | The Cup My Father Has Given MeJohn 18:1-8, 10-11 So Judas, obtaining and taking charge of the band of soldiers and some guards of the high priests and Pharisees, came there with lanterns and torches and weapons. Then Jesus, knowing all that was about to befall Him, went out to them and said, “Whom are you seeking? [Whom do you want?]” They answered Him, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus said, “I am He.” And Judas, who was betraying Him, was also standing with them. When Jesus said, “I am He,” they drew back and fell to the ground. Again He asked them, “Whom do you want?” And they said, “Jesus the Nazarene.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I am He; so if you want Me, let these men go on their way… then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his right ear. … So Jesus said to Peter, “Put the sword back in its sheath! Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/11/2023 | What Is the Life That Pleases the Lord?Selected portions from the Book of Daniel | Rev. Tim Pewett |
| 6/18/2023 | What Does It Mean to Be a Man?Various | Dr. Rodney Orr |
| 6/25/2023 | In Life or Death, What Contributes to Our Joy and Confidence?Psalm 16 Protect me, God, for I take refuge in you. I said to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have nothing good besides you.” … Therefore my heart is glad and my whole being rejoices; my body also rests securely. For you will not abandon me to Sheol; you will not allow your faithful one to see decay. You reveal the path of life to me; in your presence is abundant joy; at your right hand are eternal pleasures. |
Rev. Tim Pewett |
| 7/2/2023 | On Hearing the Voice of GodMatthew 4:4 Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God John 10:27 My sheep know (recognize and listen to) My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/9/2023 | The Safest Place in the WorldPsalm 27:1-5 The Lord is my light and my salvation – so why should I be afraid? The Lord is my fortress, protecting me from danger, so why should I tremble? When evil people come to devour me, when my enemies and foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though a mighty army surrounds me, my heart will not be afraid. Even if I am attacked, I will remain confident. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/16/2023 | The Unpredictability of the Divine AdventureHebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when he was called by God, obeyed by going to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land, as in a strange land, living in tents as nomads with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was waiting expectantly and confidently looking forward to the city which has foundations, an eternal, heavenly city whose architect and builder is God. (AMPC). |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/23/2023 | More Precious than Gold:The Profound Value God Places on Our Trials & Adversities1 Peter 1:1-6 … God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. … All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by His great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance – an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, … beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by His power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. … There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold – though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/30/2023 | The God Who CaresIsaiah 40:27-31; Why do you complain, Jacob? Why do you say, Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God?’ Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. | Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/6/2023 | How Far? How Hot? How Long? Questions Asked by Some of the Greatest of God’s Saints1 Cor. 10:13 (NLT) The temptations in your life are no different from what others experience. And God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can stand. When you are tempted, He will show you a way out so that you can endure. (MSG) No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; He’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; He’ll always be there to help you come through it. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/13/2023 | The Sweet Treasure of Christian Community, Valuing Our Place in the Fellowship of the SaintsEphesians 4:1-7 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/20/2023 | Habakkuk – A Prophet for Our TimesHabakkuk 1:1-4 This is the message that the prophet Habakkuk received in a vision. ‘How long, O Lord, must I call for help? But You do not listen! Violence is everywhere! I cry, but You do not come to save. Must I forever see these evil deeds? Why must I watch all this misery? Wherever I look, I see destruction and violence. I am surrounded by people who love to argue and fight. The law has become paralyzed, and there is no justice in the courts. The wicked far outnumber the righteous so that justice has become perverted.’ |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/27/2023 | A Place Called HeavenColossians 3:1-2 Therefore if you have been raised with Christ [to a new life, sharing in His resurrection from the dead], keep seeking the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind and keep focused habitually on the things above [the heavenly things], not on things that are on the earth [which have only temporal value]. For you died [to this world], and your [new, real] life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/3/2023 | The Blood of Christ: The Most Powerful Force in the World1 Cor. 6:19-20 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is within you, whom you have received as a gift from God, and that you are not your own property? You were bought with a price – you were actually purchased with the precious blood of Jesus and made His own. So then, honor and glorify God with your body 1 Peter 1:18-19: For you know that you were not redeemed from your useless spiritually unproductive way of life inherited by tradition from your forefathers with perishable things like silver and gold, but you were actually purchased with precious blood, like that of a sacrificial lamb unblemished and spotless, the priceless blood of Christ. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/10/2023 | Real Rest for the WearyMatthew 11:28-30: Come to Me, all of you who are weary and who are carrying heavy burdens (burdened by religious rituals that provide not peace), and I will give you rest [refreshing our souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me – let Me teach you as MY disciple, because I am gently and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy to bear and the burden I give you is light. | Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/17/2023 | Our Times Are in His HandsPsalm 31:14-16 I have heard many say things to hurt me. Fear is on every side. They planned together against me. They thought of ways to take away my life. But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord. I say, ‘You are my God. My times are in Your hands.’ Free me from the hands of those who hate me, and from those who try to hurt me. Make Your face shine upon Your servant. Save me in Your loving-kindness. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/24/2023 | Staying Connected and Being Pruned: The Keys to Eternal Salvation and FruitfulnessJohn 15:1-2 I am the True Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. Any branch in Me that does not bear fruit [that stops bearing] He cuts away; and He cleanses and repeatedly prunes every branch that continues to bear fruit, to make it bear more and richer and more excellent fruit. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/1/2023 | There Remains Yet a RestHebrews 4:9-11 There remains, then a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from His. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/8/2023 | Where is Your Refuge?Psalm 46 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging … He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” |
Don Foster |
| 10/15/2023 | The Word of the Lord Concerning IsraelZechariah 12:1-9 A prophecy: The word of the Lord concerning Israel. The Lord, who stretches out the heavens, who lays the foundation of the earth, and who forms the human spirit within a person, declares: “I am going to make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness that sends all the surrounding peoples reeling. Judah will be besieged as well as Jerusalem. On that day, when all the nations of the earth are gathered against her, I will make Jerusalem an immovable rock (a heavy stone) for all the nations. All who try to move (heave it away) will be severely injured. ... |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/22/2023 | The Mountain of the House of the LordIsaiah 2:1-4 This is the message that was revealed to Isaiah son of Amoz concerning Judah and Jerusalem: in the last (latter)days the mountain of the house of the LORD will be established as the chief of the mountains; it will be raised above the hills, and all nations will stream to it. And many peoples will come and say: ‘Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob. He will teach us His ways so that we may walk in His paths.’ For the law will go forth from Zion, and the word of the LORD from Jerusalem Then He will judge between the nations and arbitrate for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will no longer take up the sword against nation, nor train anymore for war. Come, O house of Jacob, let us walk in the light of the LORD. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/29/2023 | It Shall Come to Pass….Isaiah 46:8-10 Remember this, and take courage; take it to heart, you rebellious and disloyal people. Remember carefully the former things which I did from ages past; for I am God, and there is no one else; I am God, and there is no one like Me, I make known the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that have not yet been done and are still to come, saying “My purpose will be established, and I will do all that pleases Me and fulfills My purpose, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done,” saying, “My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish that which I said I would do.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/12/2023 | Living Our Lives in ChristRomans 8:1-4 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. |
Minister Devon Gray |
| 11/19/2023 | Trusting God in the Hard Places of LifeHebrews 11:1-3 Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things we hope for, being the proof of things we do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses]. For by faith the men of old had divine testimony borne to them and obtained a good report. By faith we understand that the worlds were framed (fashioned, put in order, and equipped for their intended purpose) by the word of God, so that what we see was not made out of things which are visible. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/26/2023 | The King Is Coming!Revelation 19:11-16 I saw heaven standing open and there before me was a white horse, whose rider is called Faithful and True. With justice He judges and wages war. His eyes are like blazing fire, and on His head are many crowns. He has a name written on Him that no one knows but He Himself. He is dressed in a robe dipped in blood, and His name is the Word of God. The armies of heaven were following Him, riding on white horses and dressed in fine linen, white and clean. Coming out of His mouth is a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations. “He will rule them with an iron scepter.” He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On His robe and His thigh He has this name written: King of kings and Lord of lords. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/3/2023 | The Hope that we have in ChristJohn 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…. The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. |
Dr. Randel Everett |
| 12/10/2023 | The Terms of Our PeaceLuke 2:9-14 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” |
Minister Davon Gray |
| 12/24/2023 | In the Fullness of Time, An Encouraging Look at God’s Timing and Ways of Working in Our LivesPsalm 18:30 As for God, His way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; He shields all who take refuge in Him Galatians 4:4-7 When the proper time came God sent His Son, born of a human mother and born under the jurisdiction of the law, that He might redeem those who were under the authority of the law and lead us into becoming, by adoption, true sons of God. It is because you really are His sons that God has sent the Spirit of His Son into your hearts to cry ‘Father, dear Father”. You, my brother are not a servant any longer; you are a son. And, if you are a son, then you are certainly an heir of God through Christ. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 12/31/2023 | Looking Unto Jesus… A Great Way to End One Year & Begin AnotherHebrews 12:1-3 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the Author and Perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider Him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/7/2024 | Christ, The Perfect SacrificeHebrews 10:5-10 ”Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You prepared for Me; with burnt offerings and sin offerings you were not pleased. Then I said, ‘Here I am – it is written about Me in the scroll – I have come to do Your will, My God.’” First He said, “Sacrifices and offerings, burnt offerings and sin offerings You did not desire, nor were You pleased with them” – though they were offered in accordance with the law. Then He said, “Here I am, I have come to do Your will.” He sets aside the first to establish the second. And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/14/2024 | The Gospel – God’s Answer to Man’s DilemmaRomans 1:16-18 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation from His wrath and punishment to everyone who believes in Christ as Savior, to the Jew first and also to the Greek (Gentile). For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith. For [God does not overlook sin and} the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who in their wickedness suppress and stifle the truth.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/21/2024 | Where Is Your Faith?Luke 8:22-25 “Now on one of those days Jesus and His disciples got into a boat, and He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side of the lake.” So they set out. But as they were sailing, He fell asleep. And a fierce gale of wind swept down [as if through a wind tunnel] on the lake, and they began to be swamped, and were in great danger. They came to Jesus and woke Him, saying, “Master, Master, we are about to die!” He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging, violent waves, and they ceased, and it became calm [a perfect peacefulness]. And He said to them, “Where is your faith [your confidence in Me]?” They were afraid and astonished, saying to one another, “who then is this, that He commands even the winds and the sea, and they obey Him?” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 1/28/2024 | The Power and Purpose of Thanksgiving, Praise and WorshipPsalm 95:1-6 O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the Rock of our salvation! Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to Him with songs of praise! For the Lord is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the deep places of the earth; the heights and strength of the hills are His also. The sea is His, for He made it; and His hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/4/2024 | Our Ever-Faithful GodLamentation 3:21-26 But this I recall and therefore have I hope and expectation: It is because of the Lord’s mercy and loving-kindness that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion; therefore will I hope in Him and wait expectantly for Him. The Lord is good to those who wait hopefully and expectantly for Him, to those who seek Him. It is good that one should hope in and wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/11/2024 | A Kingdom That Cannot Be ShakenHebrews 12:25-29 See to it that you do not refuse to Listen to Him Who is speaking to you. For if they did not escape, because they refused to listen to him who warned them here on earth, how much less can we, if we reject Him Who is from heaven? Then His voice shook the earth, but now His promise is ‘Once more I will make not only the earth but heaven itself tremble.’ Now that expression, ‘Once more,’ signifies the final removal of the things that can be shaken, to let remain the things which cannot be shaken. Let us, therefore, be thankful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and in this way continue to serve God acceptably in reverence and fear; for our God, indeed, is a consuming fire. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/18/2024 | The God We Serve, A Look at Who God Is and Why He Merits Our Trust and LoveIsaiah 40:22 Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been declared to you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth; its dwellers are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in. He brings the princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 2/25/2024 | The Matrix of Christian MinistryEphesians 4:11-13, 2;10 (AMP) And His gifts to the church were varied and He Himself appointed some as apostles [special messengers], some as prophets [who speak a new message from God to the people], some as evangelists [who spread the good news of salvation], and some as pastors and teachers [to shepherd and guide and instruct], and He did this to fully equip and perfect the saints for works of service, to build up the body of Christ [the church]; until we all reach oneness in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God [growing spiritually] to become a mature believer, reaching to the measure of the fullness of Christ…For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared for us beforehand [taking paths which He set], so that we would walk in them [living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us]. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/3/2024 | The Key to a Fruitful LifeJohn 12:20-26 Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the (Passover) festival. They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus. Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Very truly I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, there my servant also will be My Father will honor the one who serves me.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/17/2024 | A Faith that Withstands the StormsLuke 6:46-49 - Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not practice what I tell you? Everyone who comes to Me and listens to My words and obeys them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and yet could not shake it, because it had been securely built and founded on the rock. But the one who has merely heard and has not practiced what I say, is like a foolish man who built a house on the ground without any foundation and the torrent burst against it; and it immediately collapsed and the ruin of that house was great. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/24/2024 | Cheering Crowds and Talking RocksLuke 19:29-40 - He sent off two of His disciples, telling them, “Go into the village just ahead of you, and there you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet ridden. … So the messengers went off and found things just as He had told them. … So they brought it to Jesus and, throwing their cloaks upon it, mounted Jesus on its back. Then as He rode along, people spread out their coats on the roadway. And as He approached the city, where the road slopes down from the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of His disciples shouted praises to God for all the marvelous things that they had seen Him do. “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” they cried. “There is peace in Heaven and glory on high!” There were some Pharisees in the crowd who said to Jesus, “Master, restrain Your disciples!” To which He replied, “I tell you that if they keep quiet, the very rocks or stones in the road would burst out cheering!” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 3/31/2024 | If Christ Be Not Raised1 Cor. 15:12-20 - But if it is preached that Christ has been raised from the dead, how can some of you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? If there is no resurrection of the dead, then not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith. More than that, we are then found to be false witnesses about God, for we have testified about God that He raised Christ from the dead. But He did not raise Him if in fact the dead are not raised. For if the dead are not raised, then Christ has not been raised either. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied. But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the first-fruits of those who have fallen asleep. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/7/2024 | Seven Steps to a Successful & God-Pleasing LifeColossians 1:4-13, 22-23 Because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have for all God’s people – the faith and love that spring form the hope stored up for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has come to you. … We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son He loves. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/14/2024 | The Unpredictability of the Christian LifeGenesis 12:1-4 Now the Lord had said to Abram, “Go away from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you abundantly, and make your name great; And you shall be a blessing to others, and I will bless those who bless you, and I will curse the one who curses you. And in you all the nations of the earth will be blessed.” So Abram departed as the Lord had directed him; and his nephew Lot left with him. … Hebrews 11:8-10 By faith Abraham, when he was called by God, obeyed by going to a place which he was to receive as an inheritance; and he went, not knowing where he was going. By faith he lived as a foreigner in the promised land, as in a strange land, living in tents as nomads with Isaac and Jacob, who were fellow heirs of the same promise. For he was expectantly and confidently looking forward to the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/21/2024 | The Profound Power of Persistent PrayerJeremiah 29:11-13: I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart … James 5:16b-18: The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 4/28/2024 | The Profound Power of Persistent Prayer, Part 2Jeremiah 29:11-13: I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart … James 5:16b-18: The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/5/2024 | Ways God Answers Our PrayersPhilippians 4:6-7: Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And as you do this, the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus 1 John 5:14-15: … and this is the confidence that we have toward Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of Him |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/12/2024 | Mothers – One of God’s Finest GiftsProverbs 6: 20-22 My child, obey your father’s godly instruction and follow your mother’s life-giving teaching. Fill your heart with their advice and let your life be shaped by what they’ve taught you. Their wisdom will guide you wherever you go and keep you from bringing harm to yourself. Their instruction will whisper to you at every sunrise and direct you through a brand new day. (The Passion Translation). |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 5/19/2024 | Go, Make DisciplesMatthew 28:18-19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. |
Joe Mettimano; Ashley & Heather Holleman |
| 5/26/2024 | Receive Repentant Christians as God in Christ Receives YouPhilemon 1 …So if you consider me a partner, accept him as you would me. And if he has wronged you in any way, or owes you anything, charge that to my account …. |
Pastor Jimy Portocarrero |
| 6/2/2024 | An Irrevocable ResolveMatthew 24:12-13 - There will be more and more evil and lawlessness in the world, so that the love of many will grow cold, but those who keep their faith – who endure…stand firm…and persevere until the end…will be saved. James 1:12 - Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love Him. John 15:33b - In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/9/2024 | Hearing the Word of the LordAmos 8:11-12 Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord God, when I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but [a famine] for hearing the words of the Lord. And [the people] shall wander from sea to sea and from the north even to the east; they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord [inquiring for and requiring it as one requires food], but shall not find it. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/16/2024 | The Voice of the Lord: A Tale of Two ChoicesPsalm 95:7c Today, if only you would hear His voice; Exodus, 15:26 - He said, “If you listen carefully to the Lord your God and do what is right in His eyes, if you pay attention to His commands and keep all His decrees, I will not bring on you any of the diseases I brought on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, who heals you” Numbers 14:22 - Not one of those who saw My glory and the signs I performed in Egypt and in the wilderness but who disobeyed Me and tested Me ten times will ever see the land I swore to give their fathers. |
Rev. Tim Pewett |
| 6/23/2024 | Great Certainties in an Uncertain WorldLamentations 3:21-26 This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions do not fail – they are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The Lord is good unto those who wait for Him, to the soul that seeks Him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 6/30/2024 | The Greatest Reset!Psalm 2:1-6 Why do the nations assemble with commotion [uproar and confusion of voices], and why do the people imagine (meditate upon and devise) an empty scheme? The kings of the earth take their places; the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and His Anointed One. They say, ‘Let us break their bands of restraint asunder and cast their cords of control from us.’ He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord has them in derision and in supreme contempt He mocks them. He speaks to them in His deep anger and troubles them in His displeasure and fury, saying, ‘Yet have I anointed (installed and placed) My King firmly on My holy hill of Zion. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/7/2024 | When God Decides to Go Silent2 Chronicles 32:31 And Hezekiah prospered in all that he did. And so when ambassadors of the rulers of Babylon were sent to him to inquire about the wonder that had happened in the land, God left him alone to test him, that he might know all that was in Hezekiah’s heart. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/14/2024 | Hearing the Voice of GodJohn 5:30; 20:21 I am able to do nothing from Myself [on my own initiative or authority], but only as I am taught by God and as I get His orders. Even as I hear, I judge [I decide as I am bidden to decide As the voice comes to Me, so I give a decision], and My judgment is right (just, righteous), because I do not seek or consult My own will [I have no desire to do what is pleasing to Myself, My own aim, My own purpose] but only the will and pleasure of the Father Who sent Me…and as the Father has sent Me, so I am now sending you. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/21/2024 | You Shall Know the TruthJohn 5:39-40: You study the Scriptures diligently because you think that in them you have eternal life. These are the very Scriptures that testify about Me, yet you refuse to come to Me in order that you may have life John 8:31-32 Jesus said to those Jews who had believed in Him, “If you abide in My word, you are truly My disciples, and you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free. John 14:6 Jesus said to Thomas, I am the Way and the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by (through) Me. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 7/28/2024 | Living and Walking in the SpiritGalatians 5:16-17, 25 But I say, walk and live in the Holy Spirit [responsive to and controlled and guided by Him]; then you will certainly not gratify the cravings and desires of the flesh (your old nature). For the desires of the flesh are opposed to the Holy Spirit, and the desires of the Holy Spirit are opposed to the flesh; for these are antagonistic to each other [continually withstanding and in conflict with each other], so that you are not free but are prevented from doing what you desire to do…if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. If by the Holy Spirit we have our life in God, let us go forward, walking in line, our conduct controlled by the Spirit. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/4/2024 | The Necessity & Benefits of Brokenness, The Key to a More Fruitful and Effective Christian LifeJohn 12:20-26 ”I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains just one grain; … But if it dies, it produces many others and yields a rich harvest. Anyone who loves his life loses it, but anyone who hates his life, who has no love or concern or regard for his life here on earth, but despises it, preserves his life forever and ever. If anyone serves Me, he must continue to follow Me conforming wholly to My example in living and, if need be, in dying, and wherever I am, there will My servant be also. If anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him. Now My soul is troubled and distressed, and what shall I say: Father, save Me from this hour of trial and agony? But it was for this very purpose that I have come to this hour. Rather, I will say, ‘Father, glorify Your own name!’” Then there came a voice out of heaven saying, “I have already glorified it, and I will glorify it again.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 8/25/2024 | A Good Man Who Almost Threw in the Towel!Psalm 73:1-3, 21-24 (NLT) Truly God is good to Israel, to those whose hearts are pure. But as for me, I almost lost my footing. My feet were slipping, and I was almost gone. For I envied the proud when I saw them prosper despite their wickedness…Then I realized that my heart was bitter, and I was all torn up inside. I was so foolish and ignorant – I must have seemed like a senseless animal to You. Yet I still belong to You; You hold my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, leading me to a glorious destiny. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/1/2024 | A Reed Shaken in the Wind?Luke 7:24-28 When John’s messengers left, Jesus began speaking to the crowds about John: “What did you go out to the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? But what did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Those who wear splendid clothing and live in luxury are in royal palaces! But what did you really go out to see? A Prophet? Yes, I say to you, and one far more than a prophet. This is the one of whom it is written by the prophet Malachi, ‘Behold, I send My messenger ahead of you, who will prepare Your way before You.’ I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John; yet he who is least in the kingdom of God is greater in privilege than he.” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/8/2024 | Gathering Storm CloudsLuke 12:49-56 “I have come to cast fire on the earth; and how I wish that it were already kindled! I have a baptism of great suffering with which to be baptized, and how greatly I am distressed until it is accomplished! Do you suppose that I came to grant peace on earth? No, I tell you, but rather strife and division! From now on families will be split apart,… They will be divided, father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law.” He also said to the crowds, “When you see a cloud rising in the west, you immediately say, ‘It is going to rain,’ and that is how it turns out. And when you see that a south wind is blowing, you say, ‘It will be a hot day,’ and it happens. You hypocrites! You know how to analyze and intelligently interpret the appearance of the earth and sky to forecast the weather, but why do you not intelligently interpret this present time?” |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/15/2024 | "This One Thing I Do" - The Call to Singularity of PurposePhilippians 3:10-15a (BSB) I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His suffering, being conformed to Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already attained all this, or have already been made perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers, I do not consider myself to have taken hold of it, but ONE thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly calling in Christ Jesus. And all of us who are mature should embrace this point of view. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/22/2024 | What’s in a Name?Philippians 2:9-11 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 9/29/2024 | The Illogical Peace of GodColossians 3:15-16 Let the peace which comes from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as members of Christ’s one body you were also called to live. And be thankful [giving praise to God always]. Let the word[spoken by] Christ have its home in your hearts and minds and dwell in you in all its richness, as you teach and admonish and train one another in all insight and intelligence and wisdom in spiritual things, and as you sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, making melody to God with His grace in your hearts. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 10/6/2024 | The Profound Power of ChoiceDeuteronomy 30:19-20 I call heaven and earth to witness this day against you that I have set before you life and death, the blessings and the curses; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, and may love the Lord your God, obey His voice, and cling to Him. For He is your life and the length of your days, that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to give to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. (AMPC) |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/3/2024 | The Incredible Faithfulness of God1 Corinthians 1:4-9; 2 - I thank my God always for you because of the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, so that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and in all knowledge In this way our testimony about Christ was confirmed and established in you, so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift, as you eagerly wait with confident trust for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ when He returns. And He will also confirm you to the end blameless and beyond reproach in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful – He is reliable, trustworthy and ever true to His promise – He can be depended on, and through Him you were called into fellowship with His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. 2 Timothy 2:11-13 – Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with Him, we will also live with Him; if we endure, we will also reign with Him. If we disown Him, He will also disown us; if we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot disown Himself. |
Pastor Don Kroah |
| 11/10/2024 | Of Whom the World Was Not WorthyHebrews 12:1-4 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. |
Pastor Don Kroah |