He is also the coming king who will rule the earth in a kingdom that will never end.  And He loves us. Almost unbelievable. You, Christian, have an amazing future – serving a Supreme King who loves you.

Maurice Roberts said, “There is no higher priority in the believer’s life than to delight himself in the love of Christ.”

Lord, make our love for You increase and overflow!

This Sunday at Calvary Oakville, we begin a study through the book of Revelation. This is something that I have been thinking about, praying about, and talking to friends about for awhile. One of those friends, who also serves on the board of our church, gave his life to Jesus largely because of the witness of Biblical prophecy.

It has been well said that prophecy is God’s signature on the Bible.

The book of Revelation is the only book in the Bible which promises a blessing to those who read it, hear it, and obey it.

It is one of the most exciting books in the Bible. It’s pre-history.

There’s nothing to fear – if you know Jesus.

My prayer for us who will be looking at this book is that it will propel us to a deeper walk with God and a greater excitement for the future. If you are a Christian, there are great things in store for you. If you are not, well, read Revelation.

I hope to see you at church. We will also be posting the audio of the messages on our website, hopefully a couple days after the service.

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near. (Revelation 1:3)

I’ll be getting together with him and a few other Calvary pastors from Ontario. We are gathering together to talk and pray, specifically about a family conference that is being planned for the Calvary Chapel family here later this year.

It’s going to be great.

While I love this area of the country, I am reminded how God calls each of us to different places. He shapes our heart to fit our calling, our city.

I love the GTA, and the city of Oakville where I live.

Wherever God calls you, I believe He will give you a heart for people – the people of the city where you live. It will be a heart like that of Jesus that we see in Matthew nine:

“When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields.” (Matthew 9:36-38 NLT)

I am glad that Dan is here in Perth. I am glad for those 7000 souls. They have a place to go to hear the gospel.

Let’s pray for more Bible teaching churches to be planted throughout the province, the nation, and the world!

This morning I read these words about Jesus:

“But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, ‘The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.’” (Matthew 9:36-38 NKJV)

The kingdom advances through prayer. I am more convinced then ever about the importance of prayer in the life of a believer and in the life of a church.

A friend of mine who pastors a church that has grown quite rapidly was asked how it happened. His answer? “Prayer, bro!”

What would happen in your life and mine if we devoted ourselves to prayer?

Let’s find out! Lord, teach us to pray!

In his chapter on Prayer and Faith, E.M. Bounds in “The Necessity of Prayer” encourages us to persevere in prayer when times get tough. I read this tonight:

“There is bound to be much delay and long days of waiting for true faith, but faith accepts the conditions — knows there will be delays in answering prayer, and regards such delays as times of testing, in the which, it is privileged to show its mettle, and the stern stuff of which it is made.”

In a teaching that I heard Pastor Chuck give on prayer, he said something that I have never forgotten: “Prayer is the deciding factor in spiritual warfare.”

Lord, teach us to pray!

Here is the latest update found on Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa’s website:

Pastor Chuck met with the doctors and they have decided that he will begin Chemotherapy this week (Jan. 16th). This will be followed by radiation treatments, which will continue for a few weeks in the hope of eradicating or reducing the tumor. If necessary, Pastor Chuck will then undergo surgery to remove the tumor. We will post an update over the next few weeks if things change or there are any new updates. Please keep Pastor Chuck, Kay and his family in your prayers, as the Lord is able to do more than we could ever hope and imagine. You are invited to send your well wishes and prayers to pastorchuck@cccm.com.

You can also watch a great video of Pastor Chuck being interviewed by Greg Laurie here:

I grew up in Las Vegas. I went to high school here, rode my bike on the streets, played football in the parks. This is the place I learned to drive, learned to play music, learned to have and be a friend. I became a Christian during my years in high school here. I went to church here, went to Christian concerts here, grew to love the Lord here.

Now, I’m not being nostalgic (well, maybe a little), I am making a point. Here it is. When people think of Las Vegas, they think of “Sin City,” or “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas.” (That, by the way, is not true. Numbers 32:23 teaches us that “your sin will find you out”.)

But, like all cities, Las Vegas is a place of real people. There are kids growing up here; there are Christians here praying for their city; there are great churches doing their best to reach this place.

Cities would not be cities without people. People last forever; people need forgiveness; people need Jesus.

Would you pray today for the city of Las Vegas? How cool would it be for this to become a place where the name of Jesus is famous!

It is such a privilege for me to work with this amazing group of people.

I thought I would share a couple thoughts about what God did last year.

1. God brought us a new worship leader. We were praying about this for awhile. But not only did God bring a worship leader, he brought a band! This enabled me to put down the guitar and focus more on preaching and teaching.

2. We started a youth group. This was never on my radar (at least for the near term.) But God had another idea. It is so cool to see young people coming every Friday night to fellowship, worship, and learn about life and Jesus.

3. We launched a radio ministry! What?! I remember the day that this happened. I was almost in shock at God’s provision. I felt like I was right in the middle of God moving.

4. We moved into a new facility! Wow! We said “Goodbye” to John Knox Christian School. We pray for God’s blessing upon their ministry. We said “Hello” to the AMC 24 Winston Churchill. Meeting at the theatre has been all and more than I thought it would be. It brought a whole new “vibe” to what we are doing, much more reflective of our heart than before.

5. More than all of the above, have been the people that have come to know Jesus through the ministry of Calvary Oakville! That, by far, has made 2011 a landmark year.

As I looked around the room of our leaders, about twelve of them, it brought me great joy to realize that I knew less than half of them a year earlier! What a year it has been! I thank God for the new relationships that He has blessed us with.

If he did all that in 2011, I can only believe that during 2012 God is going to do exceedingly, abundantly more than all we could ask or imagine. I can’t wait.

Fasten your seat belts, and keep your eyes on Jesus!!

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#2:

Teaching: “Don’t Lose Heart“

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#3:

Teaching: “Why, When, and How to Read Your Bible.”

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#4:

CalvaryTalk Radio Program: “In It Together, Part 2″

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#5:

CalvaryTalk Radio Spot: “Comfort”

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Note: The statistics used were from sermon.net. Many of these teachings changed in ranking during the time that these posts were written. Nevertheless, the top five remained the same.