Running To Win - 15 Minute Edition

Some persecuted believers are spared while others go through torture and death. For three exiles in Babylon, their immediate well-being was less important to them than honoring the one true God. In this message, we examine why Christians, even those with religious freedoms, should expect persecution.  Let’s anchor our confidence in God’s purposes.  Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

Why doesn’t God deliver everyone from harm? When Daniel’s friends refused to offer worship the Babylonian king, they were tossed into a fiery furnace. In this message, we consider what compelled these men of faith to firmly stand, even if God didn’t rescue them from the fire. Do you believe God is in charge, even when the outcome is uncertain?   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

Every day, cultural and civil pressure mounts on the Christian faith. How should believers react? For Israelites in ancient Babylon, there was no freedom of religion as they faced government oppression. In this message from Daniel 3, we investigate the context of a true story of courage.   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

Some situations push us to face conflicting choices. Some other Christians might even have a difference of opinion. Daniel’s friends went along with their Babylonian captors as far as they could but drew the line when their consciences told them “No.” In this message, we learn how to live by biblical principles when we’re faced with questions of conscience.   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

When authorities tell us to do one thing, and the Bible tells us to do the opposite, what do we do? Whenever possible, we should be in the culture, just like Daniel and his friends among their Babylonian captors. But sometimes, we must resolve to take a stand and draw a line in the sand. In this message, we’ll contemplate biblical principles when we face conflicts of conscience.   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

Christians in America are rapidly becoming like Daniel and his friends in Babylon: out of sync with their pagan environment. How do we reconcile what we believe with how to live in such a culture? In this message, we’ll identify three different ways we can respond to a pagan culture. Let’s find out how Daniel participated in the culture.  Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

In our heart of hearts, we have a choice of allegiances: receive God’s blessing or manipulate to our own ends. Lot chose to ally with the King of Sodom. Abraham paid homage to the King of Salem, priest of God Most High. In this message, we perform a heart check on what possesses us at our points of decision. Our choices expose what we really want.     Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

Christians are no longer the dominant cultural force in America. How do we live with lasting peace amid a pagan culture? In this message, we’ll find three vital lessons God gave Israel—seeking the shalom of the city while in exile. How would our jobs or positions change if we lived like ambassadors of God’s peace?   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

If Christians are the minority within the prevailing culture, where do we see God’s blessing? In this message, the surprising answer come from Jeremiah 29, where God guides captive Israel in how to live in a faraway land. When we put our confidence in God’s promise for another world, our prayers for His blessing will be changed.   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

Should Christians separate from the prevailing culture or eagerly participate? The surprising answer comes from God’s instructions to captive Judah living in Babylon. Under the judgment of God, thousands were taken into exile, where they settled into a pagan society. In this message, we’ll hear the first of God’s five instructions for His people that hit close to home.  Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

When we awake in the morning, sometimes the heartache we carry is already too much to bear. In his day, Jeremiah’s eyes were full of tears as he prophesied the righteous judgment of God against a rebellious Jerusalem. Through his sorrow, he declared the mercies of God. Where do you find strength for what today brings?  Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

Are you distressed by our nation’s destruction? Jesus looked upon Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives, weeping over its coming destruction. Centuries earlier, Jeremiah also wept when the city was destroyed. In this message, we’ll ponder further lessons from a city under God’s direct judgment. Though we mourn the destruction around us, God’s loyal love will never fail us.  Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

What makes us think that God can only bless, and not judge, our country? Those who lived in Jerusalem never thought God would bring them to account, since this was where His Temple stood. In this message, we explore lessons for our church and nation from Lamentations. When Jeremiah foresaw the terrible hand of God’s judgment, he rightly wept.  Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

When the judgment of God falls, what we hold dear is often laid to waste. The city of Jerusalem with its temple was sacked by invading armies, acting under God’s ultimate plan. In this message, we’re introduced to the poetry of Lamentations, exposing Jeremiah’s heart as he overlooks this devastated city. Through the grief, we’ll discover God’s heart.   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

What might it be like when God judges America for its personal and national sins? We need to see what God did to Judah in the days of Jeremiah, when both the righteous and the wicked suffered. In this message, we learn more lessons from those ancient days.    Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

We far too easily gloss over the terrifying nature of God. When Jeremiah proclaimed the coming judgment of God, his fellow Israelites paid him no heed. What will we do today? In this message, we explore further lessons of both warning and encouragement for the people of God in a nation under judgment. Let’s point people to a greater country, to another city, whose builder and maker is God.    Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

Throughout history, all kinds of people have suffered for standing against the culture’s immorality. Jeremiah’s warnings to Judah were disregarded so the people paid a great price. In this message, we begin to explore nine lessons of both warning and encouragement for the people of God in a nation under judgment. What will judgment look like under the wrath of God?    Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

When nation-wide events seem out of control, we need clear perspective as the people of God. Israel couldn’t see God’s purposes in allowing their nation to be invaded. Just as they were taken into captivity, America may soon feel that same wrath. In this message, we’ll begin an examination of Jeremiah’s interviews with the king of Judah with three indictments against the people’s sin.   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

God is sovereign, not only in our lives but also over the nations. God’s call to ancient Judah is the same as His call to America: repent of your sins and return to the God of your fathers. Clay on the potter’s wheel cannot control its destiny. Yet we think we can tell the Potter what to do. In this message, we’ll consider life-transforming lessons for us as a nation and even as individuals.   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)

Many of us wonder why our lives turn out the way they do. A lump of clay has no clue what its potter intends to make out of it. Jeremiah 18 reveals how God views Israel: as clay on His wheel. He patiently uses circumstances and people to shape His people into what He desires. In this message, we seek a right view of ourselves and a right view of God. Only then can life begin to make sense.   Click here to listen (Duration 14:35)