Category: Heaven

Numerous passages in both the Old and New Testaments establish for us the rewards we will receive for our faithfulness in standing with God.

Audio

The sermon begins in Daniel 3, and demonstrates that Our God is able to:

• Give and sustain life
• Save our souls
• Deliver us
• Reward us
• Punish the disobedient

Audio

Powerpoint Slides

Invitation delivered by: Stan Cox

When we look for the invisible rather than the visible, it gives us the ability to handle the despair and pressures of this life. “Our light affliction” is “but for a moment.”

Audio

In my reading this week, I came across the account of James’ martyrdom at the hands of King Herod (cf. Acts 12:1-2). I was struck with the concise, matter-of-fact description of that tragedy, recorded by the Holy Spirit through Luke’s pen. “Now about that time Herod the king stretched out his hand to harass some from the church. Then he killed James the brother of John with the sword.”

As an apostle, James was one of the most important men of the first century. And yet, little is known of his life, character, and even his death. In our day, such an influential man would be profiled, biographied, eulogized and even idolized. His death would be portrayed as a tragedy of immense proportions. There is a lesson here for us. While men are focused on this life, the Holy Spirit is concerned with the life to come.

In His ministry, Jesus promised his disciples, “He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it” (Matthew 10:39). While time may have obscured the influence and accomplishments of James while he lived on this earth, his faithfulness to His Lord secured for him a far greater and more lasting heritage. Because of his faith, he secured a mansion, (cf. John 14:1-3).

We too should live our lives for the eternal goal of a home with God in heaven. Living in such a way may not secure for us any lasting notoriety, but that is no great loss. What it will do is attract the attention of our Lord. May He say to us all, “Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord” (Matthew 25:23).

Invitation delivered by: Ben Schmidt

Ben read from Matthew 25, Mark 9 and Revelation 20 to show the difference between everlasting destruction, and everlasting reward. He made the point that our obedience, or lack thereof will determine whether our names are written in the book of life, as he called for needed repentance and obedience to the gospel.

Audio

The scriptures describe heaven (among other things) as a habitation, a homeland, an inheritance, a rest and a crown. Each of these descriptive terms reveal wonderful aspects of our eternal reward.

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Powerpoint Slides

Lesson 1 of 8 in a series on Awesome Texts.

Revelation 4 and 5 reveals a vision of John, where he describes the throne room of God. The text reveals a most important point. God is the center of the universe, and all of creation exists to offer up praise to Him, and the Lamb of God.

Audio

Powerpoint Slides

Invitation delivered by: Josh Jackson

In this talk, Josh describes the hope, peace and promises that are ours when we are in Christ, and work to add the fruit of the Spirit to our lives (cf. Galatians 5).

Audio

The sermon follows the path of all men, from birth to death to eternity, in chart form.

Note: In addition to the audio link, there is a link to a zip file which extracts to a self-contained Prezi presentation. Also, there is a link to a handout that was included in the sermon as a hardcopy reminder of the material.

Audio

Prezi Zip File

Sermon Handout

Invitation delivered by: Darren Johnson

Darren discusses the fact that Christians should consider heaven to be our home, and celebrate the hope we have after this life is over.

Audio: Click Here .

“We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you, since we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of your love for all the saints; because of the hope which is laid up for you in heaven, of which you heard before in the word of the truth of the gospel” (Colossians 1:3-5).

The Bible often refers to heaven as the final abode of the righteous. Those familiar with the Christian faith understand, of course, that it is intended as a reward for the faithful — a good thing. But, what does the Bible reveal heaven to be?

First, the definition of the term. The word heaven comes from a root word that means “to rise, rear up.” It is used to reference the sky, and by extension, the abode of God. The term implies, as it is used in scripture, happiness, power and eternity.

Continue reading “Heaven is a Wonderful Place” →

This post contains short summaries and links to both audio and Powerpoint presentations of all the sermons Mo Hafley preached for the West Side congregation in the Fall 2010 meeting, November 6-11.

Lesson 1: Looking Unto Jesus

In this sermon, Mo Hafley of Paden City, WV uses the text of Hebrews 12:1-7, to establish the nature of the Christian’s race on earth, and the motivation behind it as we look to Jesus, our Savior.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Lesson 2: How We Worship

This sermon by Mo Hafley is a discussion on proper worship to God, with an emphasis on focus and proper spirituality when we sing, pray, commune around the Lord’s table, give of our means, and listen to the preaching of the Word of God.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Lesson 3: A Few Days with Paul

This sermon by Mo Hafley is a discussion of Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica and Berea, as recorded by Luke in Acts 17:1-13. Paul and the first century disciples showed great courage in the preaching of the gospel of Christ.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Lesson 4: Parents and Children

This sermon by Mo Hafley is a wonderful treatment of God’s word on the topic of Parenting. In it, Mo shows what God expects of Christian parents, and even has some words of admonition for children.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Lesson 5: Preaching Properly

In this sermon, Mo Hafley discusses the proper tone we are to take in preaching. Emphasis is placed upon militance in preaching, as too often in our day and time people heap up for themselves teachers having itching ears. Soft preaching is not God’s way.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Lesson 6: Holy Living in an Unholy World

This sermon by Mo Hafley documents the moral evil that is present in our world, and especially our nation. Biblical advice is given to Christians, explaining how we are to navigate in such troublesome waters.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Sermon Powerpoint: Click Here .

Lesson 7: Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-Nego

This lesson is an expository treatment of Daniel 3, showing the courage of these great servants of God. Regardless of consequence, Christians must emulate them.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Lesson 8: Evidences

This lesson by Mo Hafley is a concise detailing of various internal and external evidences, given to prove God’s existence, and the validity of the Bible as God’s revelation.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

Sermon Powerpoint: Click Here .

Lesson 9: Homesick for Heaven

This lesson was an appropriate ending to our gospel meeting with Mo Hafley. He used homesickness (an emotion we have all felt) to explain the type of desire and expectation we as Christians should have regarding our heavenly home.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

This discussion sheds light on what Heaven is, and what it is like.

Sermon Powerpoint: Click Here .

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

The child of God, though happy with his lot on earth, nevertheless is aware of what will come after. So, he eagerly awaits the time when he can be further clothed with immortality, and rest in the presence of Almighty God.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .

The scriptures teach that the way is strait and the gate narrow that leads to eternal life, and that few will be saved. This sermon seeks to answer why this is so.

Sermon Audio: Click Here .