50% of marriages today end in divorce. Many people have been divorced more than once, and many people no longer believe in marriage. Is it because marriage is now seen as an outdated tradition of the past, or is it because we’ve stopped fighting for love? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he shares some secrets to a long, happy, successful, loved-filled marriage in his Valentine’s Day message, The Love Of A Husband.
Ephesians 5:25-33 1 Samuel 1:4-5 1 Samuel 1:7-8
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. 25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 26 that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that He might present the church to Himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of His body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
We all know the old saying, “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me,” but is this true? Do words have any effect on our lives? Are words powerful, or do words have no effect on our lives? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to what truly defiles us in his powerful message, Not Just Mere Words Pt. 4: Words That Defile.
Matthew 15:10-20 Matthew 12:34 Ecclesiastes 10:2 Acts 10:15 Colossians 2:16 Romans 10:9 Psalm 106:39 (NIV) Philippians 4:8 Proverbs 23:7 1 Corinthians 13:13 1 Peter 4:8 Philippians 2:3-4 1 Peter 1:15-16 Romans 12:1 Leviticus 19:11-13a
Not Just Mere Words
Words That Defile
10 And He called the people to Him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” 12 Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?” 13 He answered, “Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be rooted up. 14 Let them alone; they are blind guides. And if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.” 15 But Peter said to Him, “Explain the parable to us.” 16 And he said, “Are you also still without understanding? 17 Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? 18 But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. 19 For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. 20 These are what defile a person. But to eat with unwashed hands does not defile anyone.”
When we speak, our words bind us or release us because we will be judged by those words. In today’s society, we’ve become more and more careless with our words. We say things like, I’ll pray for you, but never even think about that person or their situation again. We make promises and vows that we never keep. What is happening in the spiritual when we speak and break our words? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the spiritual battlefield fought with our tongue in his message, Not Just Mere Words Pt. 3: The Strength of Words.
Genesis 11:1-9 John 17:11 Joshua 9:14 Joshua 10:6-11 2 Samuel 21:1 Deuteronomy 20:16 Genesis 2:7 (NIV)
Not Just Mere Words
The Strength of Words
1Now the whole earth had one language and the same words. 2 And as people migrated from the east, they found a plain in the land of Shinar and settled there. 3 And they said to one another, “Come, let us make bricks, and burn them thoroughly.” And they had brick for stone, and bitumen for mortar. 4 Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city and a tower with its top in the heavens, and let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be dispersed over the face of the whole earth.” 5 And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of man had built. 6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them.7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.” 8 So the Lord dispersed them from there over the face of all the earth, and they left off building the city. 9 Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth.
Every year, we make a New Year’s Resolution, but the majority of us fail to make it to the end of February with that New Year’s Resolution still in mind. Are these plans that we make and fail to fulfill meaningless? Does it matter if we fulfill all of the plans we set for ourselves? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the importance of our words in his message, Not Just Mere Words Pt. 1: Renewing Your Mind.
2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—His good, pleasing and perfect will.
Romans 12:2NIV
5 Those who are dominated by the sinful nature think about sinful things, but those who are controlled by the Holy Spirit think about things that please the Spirit. 6 So letting your sinful nature control your mind leads to death. But letting the Spirit control your mind leads to life and peace. 7 For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. 8 That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.
During the time of Elijah, the nation of Israel was split into two separate kingdoms: Israel, the Northern Kingdom, and Judah, the Southern Kingdom. During the time of Elijah, King Ahab ruled over the land of Israel and filled the land with great sin because he and his household worshipped Baal. The Israelites followed their king and also began committing much idolatry. Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he puts Elijah’s situation into perspective, explaining that we are in the same shoes in his eye-opening message, Time To Choose.
20 So Ahab sent to all the people of Israel and gathered the prophets together at Mount Carmel. 21 And Elijah came near to all the people and said, “How long will you go limping between two different opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, then follow him.” And the people did not answer him a word. 22 Then Elijah said to the people, “I, even I only, am left a prophet of the Lord, but Baal’s prophets are 450 men. 23 Let two bulls be given to us, and let them choose one bull for themselves and cut it in pieces and lay it on the wood, but put no fire to it. And I will prepare the other bull and lay it on the wood and put no fire to it. 24 And you call upon the name of your god, and I will call upon the name of the Lord, and the God who answers by fire, he is God.” And all the people answered, “It is well spoken.” 25 Then Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose for yourselves one bull and prepare it first, for you are many, and call upon the name of your god, but put no fire to it.” 26 And they took the bull that was given them, and they prepared it and called upon the name of Baal from morning until noon, saying, “O Baal, answer us!” But there was no voice, and no one answered. And they limped around the altar that they had made. 27 And at noon Elijah mocked them, saying, “Cry aloud, for he is a god. Either he is musing, or he is relieving himself, or he is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and must be awakened.” 28 And they cried aloud and cut themselves after their custom with swords and lances, until the blood gushed out upon them. 29 And as midday passed, they raved on until the time of the offering of the oblation, but there was no voice. No one answered; no one paid attention. 30 Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come near to me.” And all the people came near to him. And he repaired the altar of the Lord that had been thrown down. 31 Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord came, saying, “Israel shall be your name,” 32 and with the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord. And he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two seahs of seed. 33 And he put the wood in order and cut the bull in pieces and laid it on the wood. And he said, “Fill four jars with water and pour it on the burnt offering and on the wood.” 34 And he said, “Do it a second time.” And they did it a second time. And he said, “Do it a third time.” And they did it a third time. 35 And the water ran around the altar and filled the trench also with water. 36 And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. 37 Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” 38 Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench.39 And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, He is God; the Lord, He is God.”
New Year’s is a time of moving forward and starting over. It’s a time of self-evaluation and creating New Year’s Resolutions, but is this Biblical? Do these New Year’s Resolutions spiritually affect us when we fail to follow through on them? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the importance of the vows you make in his New Year’s Eve message, The Axe Is Laid At The Root.
John 14:15 Matthew 3:7-10 Matthew 3:5-6 Matthew 3:7b Mark 1:1 Acts 1:21-22 Hebrews 10:29 Hebrews 10:31 Hebrews 12:15 Ecclesiastes 5:5 John 15:4-8 Matthew 3:12
The Axe Is Laid At The “Root
4 Now John wore a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. 5 Then Jerusalem and all Judea and all the region about the Jordan were going out to him, 6 and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins. 7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham. 10 Even now the axe is laid to the root of the trees. Every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.
Matthew 3:4-10
31 When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. 32 Before Him will be gathered all the nations, and He will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And He will place the sheep on His right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on His right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ 41 Then He will say to those on His left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’ 44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.
Christmas time is often seen as a time of gifts and presents brought to good little boys and girls from Santa Claus, but there are very few mentions of the ultimate and first Christmas present given to us 2,000 years ago and who gave it. What was the ultimate Christmas present given, who gave it, and who was it given to? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to what love is in his message, Jesus Is The Reason For The Season Pt. 2: Jesus, the Spirit of Love.
John 3:16 John 3:3 John 3:5 John 3:16 Micah 5:2 (NIV) John 17:5 Matthew 7:11 John 5:19 in John 14:13-14 Isaiah 9:6 James 4:2-3
Jesus Is The Reason For The Season
Jesus, The Spirit of Love
6 For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. 7 Of the increase of His government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over His kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.
Isaiah 9:6-7
16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
James 1:16-17
Every good and perfect gift comes down from the Father of Lights. Jesus is the Spirit of Love fulfilling every good and perfect gift that comes down from the Father of Lights.
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
The Christmas season is one of the most beloved seasons of the year. It’s filled with family, friends, giving, receiving, and joy, but it’s also filled with chaos, hustling, shopping, and oftentimes arguing. All of these things make it very easy to forget the true reason we celebrate this special time of year. Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he reminds us of the true meaning of Christmas in his message, Jesus Is The Reason For The Season Pt. 1: Jesus, The Spirit of Peace.
Luke 2:8-14 (NKJV) John 8:12 John 3:19-21 John 4:42 Isaiah 57:19 2 Corinthians 5:18-19 (KJV) Luke 19:42 Isaiah 53:5 Hebrews 12:14a (NIV) Matthew 24:35 Isaiah 9:7 2 Peter 3:7 Ephesians 2:14-17 Job 22:21 Romans 5:1
Jesus Is The Reason For The Season
Jesus, The Spirit of Peace
5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; And with His stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5
8 Now there were in the same country shepherds living out in the fields, keeping watch over their flock by night. 9 And behold, an angel of the Lord stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were greatly afraid. 10 Then the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. 11 For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. 12 And this will be the sign to you: You will find a Babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger.” 13 And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying: 14 “Glory to God in the highest, And on earth peace, goodwill toward men!”
Today, we’re told not to speak about religion, especially Christianity. We’re told that we have to be mindful of other people’s feelings, so we can’t mention sin or differentiate between right and wrong, good and evil. So, if we can’t talk about Jesus and we can’t talk about sin, how are we to reach the lost? Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the role of Christian friends in this world in his message, The Faith of Four Friends.
Matthew 8:6 Mark 2:2-12 Luke 7:9-10 Luke 7:6-8 Luke 7:3 Mark 2:5 John 5:22 Mark 2:9 John 1:4 John 7:37a Isaiah 55 John 6:32 1 Corinthians 10:4 Romans 10:13-15
The Faith of Four Friends
2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And He was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to Him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near Him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above Him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in His spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—He said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
Mark 2:2-12
1After He had finished all His sayings in the hearing of the people, He entered Capernaum. 2 Now a centurion had a servant who was sick and at the point of death, who was highly valued by him. 3 When the centurion heard about Jesus, he sent to Him elders of the Jews, asking Him to come and heal his servant.4 And when they came to Jesus, they pleaded with Him earnestly, saying, “He is worthy to have you do this for him, 5 for he loves our nation, and he is the one who built us our synagogue.” 6 And Jesus went with them. When He was not far from the house, the centurion sent friends, saying to Him, “Lord, do not trouble yourself, for I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. 7 Therefore I did not presume to come to you. But say the word, and let my servant be healed. 8 For I too am a man set under authority, with soldiers under me: and I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes; and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.” 9 When Jesus heard these things, He marveled at him, and turning to the crowd that followed Him, said, “I tell you, not even in Israel have I found such faith.” 10 And when those who had been sent returned to the house, they found the servant well.
Jesus told the Pharisees that they needed to go learn what ‘I desire mercy and not sacrifice’ means. If Jesus thought it was necessary for the Pharisees to learn what God meant when He said this through the Prophet Hosea, shouldn’t we also learn what this means? If it was important 2,000 years ago, it’s important now. Join Reverend Kenny Yates as he opens our eyes to the meaning behind this teaching in his passion-filled message, I Desire Mercy.
Matthew 9:9-13 Matthew 9:13 Hosea 6:6 Hosea 6:6 (KJV) Ezekiel 22:30-31 Psalms 136:1-3 John 10:10 Matthew 12:7 Luke 23:34 Acts 7:60 2 Peter 3:9 2 Peter 3:14-15 Hebrews 10:26-28 Revelation 1:13-16; 2:18; 19:11-16
I Desire Mercy
9 As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and He said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed Him. 10 And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and His disciples. 11 And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” 12 But when He heard it, He said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Matthew 9:9-13
6 For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.
Hosea 6:6
6For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; And the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
