Jesus' three temptations in Luke chapter 4 are not just run of the mill temptations. They are the temptations of someone who is set on serving God and has an anointing and call on their life. So this is true of an earnest believer, a minister full of the Spirit. The devil also has temptations for that person. And the Lord will actually allow it; in fact, it is part of the process. And that's what we are seeing in Jesus' life here. We see the devil going after a person who is following after the Lord.  To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

When people are touched by God through you, they often don't know the difference between you or the Holy Spirit in you. That is a dangerous moment when spiritual pride can come in. John the Baptist had a powerful ministry. He was out calling Israel to repentance, and people by the thousands were coming out to him. This was a move of God. The Romans sent soldiers out to the Jordan River since there were so many people coming out to the river. And as they listened, even those soldiers were repenting under the conviction of the Spirit. With that much anointing, it would be really difficult not to take some of the credit. John the Baptist had to make the decision not to think of himself that way.  To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

The time has arrived for God to work His great salvation. And He has anointed and prepared a young man to be a prophet in Israel. As we look at John the Baptist's ministry, we see John challenging Israel with a call to repentance to prepare Israel for the Messiah. In this message we will define repentance and look at how God goes about bringing us to a place of doing it.  To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

For some reason when we think of the Holy Spirit we tend to think of Him as an emanation from God, some sort of impersonal power He uses to make things happen. But this thinking is wrong. He is not a power. He is not even a power with a personality. He is a Person whose presence is powerful. There is a great difference between an Impersonal force (such as gravity, electricity, magnetism, light, heat, wind or plant life) and a spirit. A spirit is the non-physical part of a person, and a person is the existence of a distinct personality which is made up of consciousness, will, emotion, reason, attitude toward God, recognition, unique potential and expression. So it is impossible for there to be such a thing as an impersonal spirit. A spirit is a person, or it is not a spirit at all. The Holy Spirit is one of the three Persons who make up our God: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These Three minister in complete harmony and unity. The Father has made us and chosen to save us. The Son has come to save us and intercedes constantly for us, and the Holy Spirit abides with and in us, making possible every change in attitude and every obedient action we do (Phil. 2:13). To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

Why does God seem to hide His kingdom? Why does He do things in such subtle ways? You would think if God really wanted to save people, He would be dramatic and do things no one could question.  As we look at the birth of John the Baptist and later Jesus' ministry, we see how Jesus conducted Himself and the way He organized things, and it left John the Baptist frustrated and questioning whether Jesus was the Messiah. All of this is to bring us to the place to ask ourselves: am I disappointed in Jesus? Because He is a clear person with clear values. And He does things completely different than we would expect.   To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

Last time we saw Mary receive the miracle of a supernatural conception. She became pregnant with the Son of God. Suddenly Jesus was living inside her, and the effect that His presence had on her and the circumstances surrounding her is a dramatic illustration of what all Christians can expect. After all, when a person believes in Jesus Christ, He also comes to live inside of him/her (Jn. 14:20, 23; Gal. 4:19; Col. 1:27). We carry Christ inside us in a different way, but like Mary our lives will be deeply impacted by this reality. Unfortunately, there is an unbalanced teaching prevalent today that once a person becomes a Christian everything in life should go smoothly. Along with that is the teaching that when a person is truly in the will of God everything should proceed without hardship. Though this teaching has no real Biblical support it creates false expectations in people which, when unmet, leave them disappointed and alienated from God. There is no event in history which is more surely in the will of God than the incarnation and birth of His Son. It is the essential first step toward the salvation of believing humans. So, one would expect that God would arrange circumstances for Mary so that she faced little suffering as she fulfilled her appointed service. But that was not the case. In actuality, Mary faced an appalling list of heart-breaking events. It seemed that the presence of Christ in her ignited opposition everywhere she went. And yet God was always faithful to guide and provide for her as she needed it.   To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

It's true that the births of John the Baptist and Jesus Christ are unique events in history, so we might tend to assume there is nothing in these accounts that common believers like us can seek to put into practice in our own lives. But though we are reading about a very special miracle of God, the principles which are at work in Elizabeth and Mary, as they receive by faith what God has promised, are truths which should guide any of us as we seek to receive even the simplest miracles God wants to do in our lives.   To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

The angel Gabriel explains that John the Baptist will become a prophet who restores many people to spiritual health. Quoting from the prophecy of Malachi, the angel states that when true repentance and faith comes to Israel there will be a marked transformation in the attitudes of men toward children. Though this is obviously a positive thing to have happen, it is surprising that men's attitudes toward fatherhood would become such an important sign to God. To understand why God would focus on this particular sign, we must first recognize the role He intended men to play in their families. After reading Deuteronomy 6:1-25 you'll see that God puts the primary responsibility for the spiritual formation of their children on the fathers. Of course, mothers have a great role to play in this as well (Prov. 1:8; 6:20), but when men refuse their part in this role it is a sign of spiritual decline. When men become spiritually complacent or ignorant, they tend to pass this duty off onto women and then proceed to teach by modeling how to live for the pleasures of this life and how to rely on self rather than God. On the other hand, after being revived, men once again take their responsibility to teach their children about God. After all, people who are right with God long to teach their children about God.   To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

After having encouraged the Ephesian Church to resist the devil by putting on the armor of God, Paul reminds them that their protection is incomplete unless they make prayer for one another a regular part of their lives. Most of us know that God wants us to pray, but when it comes to our actual practice of praying we may struggle with inconsistency because of nagging questions in the back of our minds. Last episode, we tried to address the question, "Does prayer really make a difference?" Some religious teaching would lead us to a fatalistic view of God's will which takes away our hope that prayer can actually change a situation for the better. Today, we will try to understand some of the reasons why the Lord asks us to persevere in prayer. This is a subject that also raises doubts. If God heard my prayer the first time and nothing apparently happened, what is the point in continuing to pray about that matter?   To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

We are to be people who pray. What is prayer, and what does it accomplish? Does prayer really change things? Pastor Steve will address these questions in this episode on prayer.

Paul has been talking to us about the theme that we are IN Christ. We are now covered and enveloped in Christ. One more important dimension of being in Christ is being able to stand against the devil's schemes.  To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

What Paul is doing in this passage in Ephesians is giving instruction on the attitude of the heart. His ultimate goal for us is to stay free. A person who is in bondage inside cannot be free. People often look to have a change of circumstances. Paul starts by saying, "No, let God change you in the circumstance, and that will transform the situation." He starts inside us; we want the externals changed. To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

In these verses Paul continues on the theme of Christian's expressing the Lordship of Jesus Christ in their lives by submitting to one another. We have just finished seeing how Paul applies this to husbands and wives in marriage (5:22-33), and now, in the verses before us, he focuses on the attitude which parents and children have toward each other. Because he only uses four verses to make his point, it would be easy for us to skim by this passage and not really see its impact on our lives. But, if we'll stop and look more closely, we 11 find principles that make a great difference in all of our lives. After all, it says if we will honor our father and mother that "things will go well with us and that we may live long on the earth." That's a promise worth reaching for.   To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

Something real happens in marriage in which a husband and wife are joined together. There is a deep psychological and emotional tie that forms. Something connects that is deep and normally permanent between husband and wife. It is a tie of the soul, a tie that is intended to form between these two people. But this same tie can form where it is inappropriate, when a tie forms for someone with whom we should not have it.  To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

Our roles for husbands and wives today are in turmoil. Our society has thrown off what it considers to be Biblical roles in favor of an ideal in which two people pursue their own fulfillment while living together. It hasn't worked well and the number of people who ended up suffering and lonely is enormous. But on the other hand, what has been presented to us as the historical Christians model of a family, seems to authorize the harsh subordination of women and children. So even Christians today who wish to be obedient to the Bible are hesitant to turn wholeheartedly to the model of relationship. We find these fearing it will produce an oppressive atmosphere. As we look at this important passage in Ephesians, we need to see the deep transforming principles which Paul explains. Instead of providing an environment for oppression, we will discover a revolutionary view of marriage which, if obeyed, will release both partners to fulfill the ministry calling on their lives. To purchase Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts: Life-Changing Lessons from the Early Church, visit Amazon.  Also check out our website at lifelessonspublishing.com for additional resources for pastors and leaders. We have free recorded classes and other materials offered at no charge.  And check us out on Instagram as well!

I believe that the Lord does financially provide for His people, but I also believe there are some attitudes which must be part of our lives before we can live peacefully in His care. We will look at six such attitudes today. When these are present in us, I believe the issue of our provision becomes a joyful matter. On the other hand, if any one of these attitudes is missing, the process will breakdown. It isn't enough to pick one of them and focus on it. All must be part of our heart.   Listeners, if you would like to order Pastor Steve's new book Understanding Acts, you can find it on Amazon.   Also check out our website for other resources, including free classes and materials for pastors and leaders as well as the other books Pastor Steve has written.

Just about everybody tells the truth when it does them no harm, and this can lead people to think of themselves as basically honest when, in fact, they really aren't. Our true character doesn't show until it's put under stress. The moment that determines whether I am honest or not is what comes out of my mouth at a time when telling the truth will: - Expose unacceptable behavior and thereby lower other's opinion, or subject me to punishment - Give the other person enough information to decide against what I want them to do  - Cause me to lose some benefit - Reveal my negative feelings about the other person which makes me have to face their displeasure - Results in me having to do something I don't want to

When Christ rose from the dead, He gave gifts to His people. Here are five of them: the gift of forgiveness, the gift of redemption, the gift of propitiation, the gift of reconciliation, and the gift of justification.

No Christian is intended to live out their spiritual life in isolation. No Christian is intended to grow in maturity in isolation. No Christian is intended to carry out the ministry God has given them in isolation. Becoming a Christian is not just a private decision between each person and God, it involves being joined into a community of God's people. In these verses we read today, Paul gives us a deep look into what it really means to be part of the Body of Christ. He originally wrote to a diverse church composed of Jews and Gentiles and he told them they had now been formed by God into one new family with God as their Father. God wanted them to love each other and work harmoniously with each other. Most of us today struggle with the busyness of our schedules; with fear of involvement based on past experiences; and with the almost universal, rugged individualism that pervades America. So, this passage holds a special call to Christians like us today. We need to understand why we need each other, and few places in the Bible answer this more clearly than this passage.

The way we see ourselves and the way we see others must change. Even Christians often don't realize how much has changed when they receive Christ. We're not the same anymore. The way we think about things and the way we respond in situations become very different. And the way we see other people changes at least as much as the way we see ourselves. Paul goes so far as to say we are a new creation of God. Our old lives have passed away, and we now live new lives. Jesus didn't come just to help us try harder or patch us up. His Cross has actually destroyed the old things that controlled us, filled us with an enormous  new power, and lifted us to whole new relationships with God, with each other and with those who don't know Jesus yet. Not only is each of us new inside, but we are joined into a new corporate entity, His Church. Old human distinctions have fallen away and we have been made part of a new unified people, with a new mission, a new Leader, a new power at work among us and a new goal.