Awake Us Now

No matter what we have done, God calls us to repent and turn to Him. The example of Manasseh shows how God can use even the most despicable individual to demonstrate His grace and power.

This teaching is from Matthew 23:29 - 24:8. Pastor Dodge finishes up looking at the seven woes today with an exploration of the 7th. Jesus continues in this 7th woe to convict the teachers and phrases of being hypocrites. Jesus speaks this woe about acting like they were so much better than previous generations in their treatment of prophets. However Jesus tells them they are not different and that He sees their hypocrisy. Verses 29-32 are Jesus’ prophetic words of judgement over them. Jesus knows what the next days are going to bring - His betrayal into the hands of the religious establishment, turned over to the Romans, crucified. Their ancestors murdered prophets, but those He is talking to will murder the very Son of God.   Jesus tells them that He will send them teachers and prophets and sages and that some they will kill, others they will crucify, and others they will flog and expel from town.  He tells how they are no better than their ancestors and tells the judgement they will face for this. Jesus te

Paul wrote to his dear friend and colleague Timothy, “I urged then, first of all, that petitions, prayers and intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people and for those in authority. This is good and pleases God, our Savior, who wants all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.” Lord, that is the prayer of our heart that there would be a spiritual awakening in the land, people turning back to you, beginning with the family of God. We pray, Lord, that the Holy Spirit would descend in power upon this nation, bringing people to repentance and to the joy of knowing the Living God through faith in Jesus Christ, our Savior, in whose name we pray. Amen.

We all have blind spots. Wouldn't it be great if Jesus could help us see them? He can... and He will!

Proverbs 14:34 says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people.”  Lord, we pray for righteousness in the land. You are our Heavenly Father and have given us every good and perfect gift. Everything we have comes from You. May we be humble before You, repentant in Your holy presence and desirous of serving You in every way.  Give good wisdom to our nation’s leaders, Godly wisdom. Give changed hearts to Your people and to all people who call on Your name that we may honor You in this land and may experience the joy of following You. In Jesus name we pray.  Amen.

Ever feel trapped in a hopeless situation? Let Jesus Christ surprise you!

Our Lord Jesus taught us to pray these words, Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. That is our heartfelt prayer. May You be honored in this nation with godly leaders, with humble people, with obedient followers of Jesus the Messiah. May Your kingdom come in power in each of our lives that we may do Your will on earth even as it is done in heaven. And may this nation experience a spiritual rebirth, a renewal that comes through the Holy Spirit of the Living God. We pray this in the strong name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

Three thousand years ago the Psalmist wrote, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people He chose for His inheritance.” Psalm 33:12. Lord, You have blessed this land in so many ways. We pray that we may receive those blessings with thanksgiving, with humility and with obedience. Turn hearts back to You, Lord, beginning with our own. Give us a desire to see one nation, under God, blessed by Him. We pray that the body of Christ may be built up, that we may be a bride prepared for our Heavenly Groom. In Jesus name we pray this. Amen.

Some 2500 years ago the great Hebrew prophet, Daniel, prayed this prayer of repentance for himself and his nation. He said, “Lord, the great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant of love with those who love Him and keep His commandments, we have sinned and done wrong.  We have been wicked and have rebelled. We have turned away from Your commands and laws.”  Lord, we are guilty of the same sins and we know that repentance must begin with the household of God. We ask that you would purify us in the body of Christ that we may serve You with joy, with thanksgiving and with holiness.  We do not make request of You because we are righteous, but because of Your great mercy.  In Jesus name. Amen.

Luke 7:11-17: “Death-Defier” Jesus is the TRUE Death-Defier, not by doing things that are wild and crazy but by doing things that destroy death, that defy the power of sin and death and decay and the devil. Today’s story is a death defying story that’s a precursor of what’s to come! It’s a story of Jesus raising a person from the dead. This story is only in the Gospel of Luke. Here’s the story - as Jesus and His disciples are reaching the town of Nain, there is a funeral procession of mourners carrying a boy to burial, an only son of a widow. And that day in Nain everything changed! When Jesus saw the woman His heart went out to her. Jesus walked up to the coffin and said to the dead boy, ”Young man, I say to You, Get up!” Then the dead boy sat up alive and talked and people praised God! Interestingly, hundreds of years earlier, this same kind of miracle took place in nearly this same place where Elisha had raised a dead Shulamite woman. This group of mourners now rejoicing would have know that story and are

John the Baptist preached a message of repentance which asks for a twofold response -- that of turning FROM sin and death, TOWARD God and life!

Heavenly Father, You have given us this good land as our heritage.  May we remember Your generosity, and constantly and do Your holy will.  Bless our land with industry, truthful education and a godly way of life.  Save us from violence and discord, from confusion, from pride and arrogance, and from every evil. May we who came from many nations with many different languages, become one united people.  Support us in defending our liberties and give those to whom we have entrusted the authority of government, the spirit of wisdom that there may be justice and peace in our land. When times are prosperous may our hearts be thankful. In troubled times do not let our trust in You fail.  We pray this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Jesus Christ calls every person on earth to follow Him. Matthew teaches us how to answer His call!

God's promises require faith on our part. But what does faith look like?

This teaching is from Matthew 22:41 - Matthew 23:1-12 In today’s study of Matthew we continue looking at the last week of Jesus’ life before His arrest, crucifixion, death and resurrection.  The religious leaders are continuing their pursuit of trapping Jesus into saying something that they could then bring charges against Him for and get rid of Him. Jesus asks the religious leaders this question: “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is He?” They answer “The son of David,” thinking they had done well in answering!  But Jesus replies, “He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says, “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
    “Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
    under your feet.” In this quote (Ps 110:1) who is the first Lord? It is God the Father.  Who is “my Lord”? David is saying his Lord, meaning this sentence is The Lord (God the Father, Eternal Creator) said to my Lord (David’s Lord - the Messiah) … Then Jesus goes on (verses 45-46), If Dav

When King Josiah could have relaxed and coasted through the remainder of his life, instead he relentlessly pursued revival. Why?

When under attack from enemies, is God our last resort... or our first resort?

Luke 4:14-30: “Hometown Visit.” This story of Jesus going to His hometown appears to be a different trip than those told in the other gospels. This is a story of those listening to Jesus in Nazareth (His hometown) in comparison to those hearing Jesus in Galilee and who willingly received what Jesus had to offer. But those in Nazareth because of their pride and arrogance and boastfulness and being skeptical, did not get to experience what Jesus has to give us! Jesus was born in Bethlehem but Nazareth is the town Jesus grew up in. As He returned home for a visit, He went to the synagogue as was His regular practice on the Sabbath. Here is some information about synagogues in Jesus’ day: 1. Opened with singing (mainly Psalms 145-150) 2. Recitation of the Shema (Deuteronomy 6:4) 3. Recitation of the Tefillah (18 benedictions and prayers) 4. Reading of the Scriptures (torah, prophets and writings) 5. Message of Interpretation of what was read 6. The Aaronic Benediction Jesus comes home to a town that had heard all

When under attack from enemies, is God our last resort... or our first resort?

Are we mere pawns of geo-political forces? Or is there more to this world than meets the eye?