Laketon Bethel Audio Sermons

REPORTING FOR DUTY:  When we report for duty we are no longer enslaved by the culture around us.  The Lord wants to make our ordinary lives extraordinary and bring out the best in us.  Let’s report for duty and watch as he makes our lives immeasurably better.  Let’s make this Christmas extraordinary!

NOT GUILTY: You can’t out-sin God’s love for you nor his acquittal.  We’re all sinners, equal at the foot of the cross.  When we accept God’s verdict of “not guilty” by trusting Jesus to save us, we are made right with him.  Dump your guilt and live in peace.
 

ERR ON THE SIDE OF GRACE:  As followers of Jesus, let's err on the side of grace.  In other words, let's give everyone a break, just as Jesus does.

IMPURE AND UNCLEAN:  We’re all impure and unclean, including our elected officials.  As followers of Jesus, our duty is to respect the government and cooperate with it as much as possible.

HOW TO BE RELAXED AND CONTENT:  Followers of Jesus are called to serve.  We are called to make the world a better place by shining the light of God’s love on our community through service.  Serving Jesus will make the community a better place and you will find that you become relaxed and content while doing it.

RELIGIOUS ATHEISTS:  
Sometimes believers act like atheists who have no accountability to a higher power.  Remember, you have a higher power to which you must answer.  Yes, he gives grace and forgiveness, but he also holds us accountable.  Why not avoid disappointing him?  

MUDDY EYES:  When we think we’ve got it all figured out, we’re wrong.  When we trust Jesus, we can begin to see things clearly.  He loves you and wants you to see clearly.  If you want to get rid of your spiritual blindness, check him out.

IS CHURCH WORTH SAVING? The church could possibly be worth saving, but it needs a tune-up.  So do all its members.

IS YOUR SOUL FIT?  Physical fitness is useful, but spiritual fitness will outlast this life.  Get spiritually fit.

PORK AND PIETY:  You won’t go to hell for eating pork.  When you trust Jesus to save you, you are set free from both archaic and contemporary religious law.  You are asked to use your freedom to love and serve.

GLASS HOUSES: The followers of the accuser, Satan, are quick to “throw stones.”  By contrast, the followers of Jesus are quick to forgive and “throw blessings.”  God’s children see things from God’s perspective.

REPENT AND REINVENT: Let Jesus reinvent you and you will experience constant growth and change for the better and receive eternal life.
 

POSITIVE NETWORKING: Relationships are the key to spiritual growth.  Trust is the spiritual currency in satisfying relationships.  Like Fred the Postman, we can build a great network with enthusiasm and excellence in how we treat people.

WHAT IS YOUR GIFT? You matter.  You have a specific function in the body of Christ and in the world.  So make an excellent difference.

HOW TO PUT FUN IN WORK: Enthusiasm and excellence in work are marks of the follower of Jesus.  Ironically, the more we put into our work, the more enjoyable it becomes.

HOW TO RECEIVE BLESSING AFTER BLESSING: We do receive blessing after blessing.  So quit your complaining and enjoy the good things God gives you.  Know that he loves and blesses you.  Let your daily contacts know that too.

WHY ARE WE ALIVE:  Humans were originally created to be God’s caretakers of the earth.  Now he asks us to be the light-bearers in this fallen world.  So let your light shine and find joy in your life.  You are the crown of creation, God’s finest work.

THE SINNER'S PRAYER.  Cocky people don’t get saved.  Only people who admit they don’t deserve it get eternal life.  So admit and accept your sinfulness and turn to the One who has done something about it.

HEALING FOR CRUSHED SPIRITS:  Crushed spirits are normal.  Realize that the Lord understands and will walk with you.  This life is a test.  The Lord walks with us through it as a parent walks through tests with his/her children.  He can’t take SATs with us but he will be there as we take them.  We can rejoice and be glad in the outcome.

DUMPSTER DIVING AND HOLY JIVING:  This message from the parable of the Good Samaritan teaches us that the two basic actions of the follower of Jesus are to pray and be nice.

THE SHIRT OFF YOUR BACK:  In this speech of Jesus, we get 5 of his core teachings.  When we follow these teachings, it separates us from the animals.  Turning from being self-centered to Christ-centered is our calling.
1.        Your job is to be true, not popular.

2.        Love your enemies.

3.        Treat people the way you want to be treated.

4.        No criticizing the faults of others.

5.        Generosity begets generosity.

ONLY SINNERS ACCEPTED:  Jesus accepted the marginalized and freely associated with them.  Those who can’t accept the marginalized are outside of his blessings while those who freely admit their sins are recipients of his blessings.

CAFETERIA CHRISTIANITY:  Sometimes we only want to follow certain teachings of the Bible without applying all of it.  We can’t follow all of the commandments. Jesus tells us what is most important.  What a relief!

SHEEP AND GOATS:  God blesses us when we pay attention to those who are having a run of bad luck, even if it is self-inflicted.  God blesses us when we help them get through what they are going through.  So let’s get the blessings.

REINVENTING FATHERHOOD: Jesus calls us dads to move from patriarchy to servanthood.  We are called to empower our daughters and seek to reverse centuries of male dominance.

MAKING CHICKEN SALAD:  If you use what you have been given, you will be blessed with more.  If you do nothing, you will lose everything.

BIG SHOT OR BIG HELP: Significance and satisfaction come from service, not salutation. - from Matthew 23.

FINDING GOOD DIRECTION:  All of the world’s problems would be solved if people lived by the greatest commandments.  We can’t solve all of the world’s problems, but we can solve many of our own by heeding these two commandments in our personal lives.  [How you treat people and how you treat God is what matters.]
 

THE LARGENESS OF MARRIAGE: today we look at some biblical principles to add blessings to your marriage.

MERCY FOR MOMS:  not all moms are perfect.  how do we deal with the imperfect ones (that we all have)?

DOES YOUR FAITH WORK?  Tune in to learn the key to vibrant faith.

VICIOUS WOLVES AND SILLY DOGS.  Fake preachers are everywhere.  How can you tell which ones are fake?  Tune in and find out.

MARITAL BLISS:  Tune in and pick up some clues on how to make your marriage more fun.  

WORSHIP THAT MATTERS:  Worship is about expressing gratitude to God and letting him communicate with you.  It is not about earning merit.  We seek to worship in spirit and in truth.

RELIGION UPGRADED: The resurrected Jesus brings us a new covenant based on grace rather than law.  Because of this, we no longer need to have salvation anxiety.  We’re saved because of who he is rather than what we do.

ATOMIC EASTER:  Find out why one old pastor still believes that Jesus rose from the dead.

THE BENEFIT OF THE DOUBT - What if retailers forgave all shoplifters?  Does Jesus command that we do this?  Let’s take a look at some of the key teachings of the New Testament on forgiveness and see how this applies to those who would take advantage of the generous spirits of followers of Jesus.

TAMING THE TIGER - Give up put downs for Lent and forever; tame the tiger that is your mouth.  If you are busy loving one another, you won’t have time for gossip and slander.  So get busy.

Let’s give up bickering and complaining for lent and for good.  Let’s replace our negative words with words of gratitude.  Let’s use our speech to bring light into the world rather than darkness.  Let’s build up and not tear down.

MAKE A PREACHER SWEAR:  Anger is a choice and a result of ingratitude.  We can rid ourselves of our rage by submitting to the Lord’s leading and lowering our expectations.  Like most negative emotions, we can greatly reduce anger by reporting for duty.

HOW TO MELT MELANCHOLIA:  Let’s give up bad attitudes for lent and keep them out of our lives.  The process for doing so includes action on our part and on the Holy Spirit’s part.  The Holy Spirit is willing to his part, so let’s not hesitate to do ours.

BOZOS ON THE BUS:  We’re all equal at the foot of the cross.  We can’t save ourselves, we can only trust Jesus to do it for us.

BIBLICAL REINCARNATION?  When we trust Jesus to save us, we are guaranteed a new, flawless body.  We will be reincarnated, but not in the pagan sense.  Let’s take comfort in the promise that we will be given new, recognizable and eternal bodies.

SMALL POTATOES:  We don’t sweat the small stuff and it is all small stuff.  Bigger and better things are on the way.
A major spiritual problem that we battle with is anxiety.  We sweat the small stuff and it is all small stuff.

HONEST TO GOD: We might as well be honest with God.  He knows us more intimately than we know ourselves.  So let’s quit fooling around and open ourselves up to him.  That is when the real growth comes in.

HAPPY FOR THE LONG HAUL.  You can have happy long-term relationships by following the basic principles found in today’s Scriptures.  Three keys to long-term relationships are 1) Love by action, 2) avoid winning arguments, 3) avoid defending yourself.

SUFFERING SUCCOTASH: Suffering is inevitable in a broken world.  God doesn’t waste our suffering.  He sends people our way who are going through the same thing so we can support them.  Good times will follow.

HOW TO BE CALM IN YOUR SOUL.  Peace in the soul is a matter of focus.  If we focus on building our personal kingdom instead of the kingdom of God, we will have a life of anxiety.  If we focus on establishing the kingdom of God, our lives will overflow with peace.