II Timothy 1:5 - Timothy was one of Paul’s most beloved disciples. This passage is about as emotional as we see him get. He is writing to one of his sons in the faith. “I know that you sincerely trust the Lord, for you have the faith of your mother and your grandmother.”

Towards the end of his life, Paul starts talking more not just about faith but of the spirit of faith. When you start talking about the spirit of something, you are talking about something someone has on them and something you can catch from them and pass on to others. There is your faith, and then there is the spirit of someone else’s faith. When Paul was raising up leaders, he talked a lot about catching his spirit and his faith.
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 Pastor Dean - March 5, 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

II Kings deals a lot with the life of Elijah and of the lives and history of Israel from which we can learn. A lot of these examples deal with the temple, tithes and money. A lot of times we can over-spiritualize money. I can’t tell you that when you give your tithes and offerings all will be well. We know what God says about money - we bring Him our first and our best. God requires us to trust Him in this realm, believe that He is bigger than our circumstance and believe He will bless you and cause you to overcome despite what you see. We don’t ignore natural circumstances, but there are very clear Biblical principles of how we are to react and act when we are faced with uncertainty - especially with money. This passage deals a lot with this principle.
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 Pastor Dean - February 10, 2008: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Luke 8:22-25 - Where is your faith?

The disciples were not new fisherman. They had been in storms before and had been in the boat with Jesus before. But this time they knew they were in REAL danger. Sometimes we are in REAL danger- our marriage is failing, we are on the brink of loosing our house, etc. In these situations, we come to God because we are afraid. But we have to keep our faith. I would never want God to come to me in a situation and ask me “Where is your faith?”
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 Pastor Dean - October 14, 2007: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download