Timothy came from a mixed family. His father was Greek (which was predominantly pagan), and his Mother and Grandmother were Messianic Jews. Timothy was influenced by the faith of his Mother and Grandmother, so much so, that Timothy became a Godly man and a right hand man to the Apostle Paul. What we learn from Timothy's life is an effective blueprint that we need to apply today. In this special message honoring mothers, we learn how and why it is critically important to pass on one's faith to the next generation, to one's children and grandchildren. Discipleship instituted by Mothers is a special blessing, and Pastor Troy, in this message, will reveal why, and what he learned first hand by having a Godly mother.
To commemorate the National Day of Prayer, Pastor Troy Billow brings a dynamic and intriguing message on the importance of prayer in your walk with Christ. We are in a war. We have an enemy that wants to destroy us, and in so doing emits evil, misery, disease, death and despair. Sometimes the "squeeze" of the evil in this world, or the other things mentioned, seems too overwhelming and overbearing to overcome. However, when you pray, you loosen the tight grip evil has on you, and where there may be fear, uncertainty,, and feelings of hopelessness, God lifts you up and does incredible things to combat those forces. This unique message is not like anything you have heard on the subject of prayer. Prayer is a powerful weapon against anything that the Devil, the world, and our weak fleshly nature throws at us, and in these dark days, it is more important than ever to stay in prayer. After all, prayer is your contact to God, and as such, it truly changes things.
Living Faith's own Thom Espinos serves as our Guest Speaker this week, laying out the progress of Peter from flesh-centered thinking to a life of faithfulness. Even in the presence of Jesus, Peter struggled with lack of faith, doubt, confusion, and fear. After Peter encountered Christ after He rose from the dead, and experienced the Holy Spirit, Peter became a bold and dynamic titan whose faith stabilized, strengthened, enabled, and motivated him. Every believer in Jesus Christ has that very same Holy Spirit within him. The question is; are you experiencing the same flow of progress in your life?
After the darkness revolving around the crucifixion of Jesus, came a period of mourning. After that period of mourning came a joy that was never felt before. That joy revolved around the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today that same joy revolves around the resurrection of Jesus Christ in so many ways. In this special Easter Message, Pastor Troy Billow explains why the resurrection is so important not only to us as human beings, but also why it is critical for you to understand now, personally. We never know when our time is up, yet because of that, God did something for us to make sure we don't end up on the wrong side when we reach eternity. It's up to us to make sure we accept and receive that gift before we enter into that realm for eternity.
In this special presentation observing "Good Friday" we look at a world in which all of the forces of this world, under the control of Satan, utilizing human weakness, political influence, and evil in general all join together to send the most innocent man of all time to be executed on a Roman cross in Jerusalem. Beginning with a descriptive prophecy from 700 B.C. to its fulfillment in 33 A.D., the day Jesus was crucified ended up as the most consequential day in human history, which we remember in this service. You cannot experience joy until you have experienced the darkness first.
On Palm Sunday, people were very excited about Jesus because they thought he was going to be a political king who was going to defeat the Roman Empire. In other words, the people were looking for something different. Jesus set to build His Kingdom on the foundation of a renewed heart, soul, spirit, and eventually, body, however people wouldn't realize this until after His resurrection. Today people have many different ideas about Jesus, and for the wrong reasons. In this message, Pastor Troy Billow evaluates and challenges you to examine this dynamic in light of the event we call Palm Sunday.
Jesus emphasized to John that He is the Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. On top of that He is also the author and finisher of our faith, and the creator and finalizer of this world. However, we have an adversary that has made this world what it is today in terms of hardships, difficulty, lies, murder, etc. The church in Smyrna would experience all sorts of difficulties, as Satan would like nothing more than to have the people of this church thrown in prison or worse. That said, why is Satan allowed to mess with believers? What can we learn from persecution, hardships, difficulties, lies, etc?
Jesus appeared to John, while on the Island of Patmos and assigned him to write letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor. The first one was the church of Ephesus. Ephesus was predominantly the strongest of the seven. Paul preached there, Apollos and John preached there as well. In fact, Jesus gives them a commendation, however Jesus makes clear that He has something against them. He communicates to them that they lost their first love. Sometimes we need to have a heart evaluation and ask ourselves why we are doing what we are doing. Are we doing things out of obligation or out of love. Pastor Troy shares this and much more in this power packed message.
Jesus shows Himself in a big way to the Apostle John to send a string of serious messages to the seven Churches in Asia Minor. These messages hold not only an array of characteristics that are unique to each church in their time, but as we reach the time of the end, these very characteristics are ever reaching a fever pitch unlike anything we have ever seen before in history. Jesus introduces His assignment to John in a very big way, with seven golden lamp-stands, a presence so bright that it's blinding, and a reminder that only Jesus, because of His resurrection, holds the keys to hell and death.
The Apostle John, the last surviving member of Jesus's close circle, who saw Jesus before his crucifixion, saw Him after His resurrection, and experienced the Holy Spirit, focuses on the return of Jesus. While in exile on the Island of Patmos, Jesus appeared to John and instructed him to write letters to the Seven Churches in Asia Minor that "the time is near" and that soon, Christ will return in the clouds, in glory and in great power. What does that mean for us today? Pastor Troy Billow explains how the time is nearer now than ever before, and how the season that is now in progress points that out like never before.