Abundant Life Church Brookings

Are you familiar with Charles Dickens' 1843 story, "A Christmas Carol"? Pastor Joe makes parallels to the classic story when he explains our past, present, and future in Christ.The Spirit of Christmas Past cries out to you that you cannot be separated from God by sin. The sacrifice of Jesus changed that.The Spirit of Christmas Present cries out to you that you are not who you used to be. You are a new creation. The Spirit of Christmas Future cries out for us to start living under the blessings in the New Covenant.

During this special Christmas Eve Service, Pastor Joe points us to the gift that the world has been waiting for – Jesus Christ. Jesus is the culmination of our entire Christmas Story. We ask ourselves: How do we know that this story is true? What do we do with this story? Who do we share it with?

In TV shows, generally we start to see lots of re-runs around the Holidays. This message from Pastor Joe is a re-run of previous messages in the "Christmas Cast of Characters" sermon series. Pastor Joe recaps on things we have learned from Joseph the "Reluctant Dad", Mary the "Humble Mom", and the "Wise Guys".

In this message, Pastor Joe talks about the wise men in the Christmas Story. How many wise guys were there? When did they come to Jesus? What is the significance of the gifts they brought? How does God get wisdom to us? All this and more are answered in this message from Pastor Joe.

This week we cast Mary the mother of the Messiah, in the role of "The Humble Mom". In this message Pastor Joe discusses the life of Mary and her role in the Christmas story. He shares about why Mary was chosen to be the mother of Jesus and why she was favored by God. 

In the Christmas story, there are many characters. Almost all the main characters in the Biblical account of Jesus’ birth have lines, but one does not: Joseph, the reluctant dad. What can we learn from this silent character? A lot, it seems. This righteous man, one of the first people to know of God’s plan to save the world, plays a larger role than we sometimes give him credit for.

Miracles do happen, but delayed harvests are more common. Sometimes we run into the "I want what I want when I want it" disease. Jesus spoke in parables not to help people understand, but to hide things from people who didn't have a heart for God. Pastor Joe breaks down Jesus' parable about seeds on different types of soil in order to help us better prepare the soil of our hearts to produce a bountiful harvest.

Here's what we know: Harvests only come when we plant seed, and harvests only come through rest and trust by remaining in Christ.That brings us to our next question: Are harvests immediate or do they take time? How does forgiveness play into harvests? Why do miracles begin with the gospel? This message brings light to some tough questions about harvests. 

This week, Pastor Joe continues the discussion on things that may be preventing us from receiving a harvest. Who is in control of the earth? Is it God? Do we really have free will? Is God sovereign? Find out how these questions relate to blocked harvests in this message from Pastor Joe.

This week, Pastor Joe discusses two things that may be preventing us from receiving a harvest.  As God's children, we have a supernatural inheritance that the world doesn't have. God wants you to prosper, however, harvests of prosperity can be blocked. Lack of knowledge and unbelief are two ways harvests can be blocked. Jesus wants to move us from the natural to the supernatural. When we fix our eyes on Jesus, supernatural harvests happen.  

Impossible harvests are only possible when we believe God’s word. Learn about consuming God’s Word, believing God’s Word, speaking God’s Word, and how they all work together to produce a harvest. Pastor Joe speaks about three simple truths: 1) Harvest is near to those who are near to God’s Word. 2) Word brings light to darkness. 3) Word is seed and supernatural harvest is the fruit. What harvest are you believing for?

We live in a physical world in physical bodies… but at the same time, the spiritual world is also real. If we rely on just our physical senses to live, our supernatural harvest will be limited. What does it look like to live a life operating in the supernatural? Let’s see what the Bible has to say!

God wants to do something great in your life! Are you excited to receive that harvest from Him? How does your harvest come? How do the logos and the rhema word work together? What does the rhema word have to do with breakthrough? What should we do while we wait for our harvest? Pastor Joe answers all these questions and more.

What is the difference between the hope of the world and the hope of the Word? The hope of the world is empty, but when the Word of God is planted as a seed, it has the ability to produce unbelievable harvests in our lives. How does hope play into this? How does faith play into this? Let this message change your life as you consider where you put your hope!

It’s hard to describe a place that is truly indescribable. Here’s what we do know about this very real place: 1) The Bible describes three heavens: the atmosphere of the earth, where the stars, moon, and galaxies are, and God’s dwelling place. 2) Earth is a copy and a shadow of heaven. 3) Heaven is a real place – a prepared place for a prepared people. 4) Heaven is “up”, just like hell is “down”. 5) We will put on immortal bodies in heaven. 6) What is in heaven? Our Redeemer, our relationships, our resources, our residence, our riches, and our reservations.

Hell – It’s not something we talk about very often, even in church. Why is it important to talk about? Because Hell is a real place and there’s a good chance that people we know and love are going there. Tune in to learn what the Bible says about Hell.

This week, Pastor Joe steps back to check some facts on the end times. Some of the facts are: 1) We are looking forward to Jesus’ return. 2) The rapture and the second coming are two separate events. 3) The end times are not something to be afraid of, but rather to rejoice in. 4) There are lots of signs pointing to Jesus’ return. 5) Our goal in studying this is Holy Spirit transformation. 6) No one knows the date or time. 7) We have been in the last days since Jesus went to the cross.

The Bible gives many signs of the end times. Pastor Joe leads us in a further study of what the Bible says about the end times. In this message, we discuss that people will hate what is good, betray their friends, and depart from the faith, along with some of the reasons that people will depart from their faith.

Pastor Joe reviews the first signs we discussed, scoffers and people who are disrespectful and disobedient to parents (https://subspla.sh/gbp87k4). Do not be deceived by arguments that sound reasonable - know and follow what God's Word says. In God's Word, we see more signs of the end times: ungratefulness, slander, and unholiness.

Are there signs of the last days? Most definitely. This message explores two signs that we see in God's Word - scoffers and children who are disobedient to parents. Pastor Joe reminds us that the end times are good news to the believer, and we can joyously share the gospel with others in these last days.