This last weekend, we had a very special guest minister, Lance Wallnau, at our weekend services. Lance is well known for his revelation of the “Seven Mountains of Influence” and how these mountains of influence shape and change the world. He preached about how God is calling the church to make disciples of nations. And in order to do that, we need strong, territorial churches that are raising up believers to go out and become the “head and not the tail.” Lance basically taught on the same thing at all three services but much of the information he shared in each service differed. So in light of that, if you want to hear his full message, it would be beneficial for you to listen to all three messages.

This past weekend, Living Word’s Guest Minister Dennis Burke taught a message entitled, “A Symbol and a Source of God’s Blessing.” He shared that it is understood that as members of the body of Christ, we have a clear sense that we are living in the last days. And even if these are not the last of the last days, we understand that these are our personal last days. So we must treat this time with a sense of commitment and a sense of design from the Spirit of God for our lives to make an impact, to make a difference. In fact, that’s what we’ve been designed for!

This past weekend, Pastor Lynne shared her excitement about church planting and about world harvest. Sadly, most Christians never even think about world harvest. She pointed out that world harvest was the very first prayer assignment Jesus ever gave His people. It says in Matthew chapter 9 that when Jesus saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them. He turned to His disciples and said, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.” We are to pray that God would send out laborers into His harvest. World harvest… that is the first prayer assignment Jesus gave to the church. Pastor Lynne went on to talk about the 10/40 window, what it is and how we can pray about it.

Last weekend, Pastor Jim gave his third installation of his series entitled, “Welcome, Holy Spirit.” He talked about how people say, “Jesus lives in your heart.” But, actually, Jesus presently sits at the right hand of the Father. It is the Holy Spirit that lives and dwells inside us. Pastor Jim brought a greater awareness to the fact that it is the Holy Spirit that daily guides and directs us. The book of Acts describes the acts of the apostles as they went forth into the world preaching salvation through Jesus, His sacrifice and resurrection. But Pastor Jim illuminated how there was an overwhelming number of scriptures in Acts where the Holy Spirit is mentioned, where the Holy Spirit directed and guided the apostles in everything they did. And it is still the Holy Spirit directing and guiding the body of Christ today!

On the last Sunday of 2023, Pastor Jim presented his second installment of his series entitled, “Welcome, Holy Spirit.” He again used Acts 2:17–21 as his reference. He spoke about how in the last days, God is going to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh. That means that every man, woman, and child will be touched by the Holy Spirit. That hasn’t happened yet, but we know that it will. And we know that when God pours out His Spirit, not everyone will receive and accept Him. God created people to be free will beings and must make their own choices in life. But Pastor Jim pointed out that everyone that calls on the name of the Lord, will be saved. 

This past weekend, Pastor Mac taught his second installment of his two-Sunday Christmas message entitled, “Alpha and Omega.” He reminded us Christmas messages are for the purpose of elevating our celebration of Christmas to the point where the celebration makes a difference in our lives. The things that you celebrate in your life are really the things that you’re giving permission to impact your life. And so it’s important that we understand what we’re celebrating at Christmas time. Jesus declared He is the Alpha and the Omega, meaning He is the beginning of life and the end of death. In the first message, Pastor Mac talked about how Jesus is our Omega Man, in that He destroyed death in the many forms it may take in our lives. In the second message, he talked about Jesus being our Alpha Man, the beginning of life.

Merry Christmas! Christmas is a celebration of the coming of God’s redemption during the darkest of times. And, of course, the light of His love and salvation is through the person of Jesus Christ. When Jesus came to earth, the whole world was under the heel of Roman oppression. The Lord chose to send our Savior into the world during a very dark time. This truth of the Savior coming in dark times can be applied to each of us individually. It demonstrates the universal truth that God will always penetrate the darkest days in your life… if you understand that’s His purpose and are receptive to Him. Thus began Pastor Mac’s two-part series entitled, “Alpha and Omega.”

This past weekend, we were blessed to have guest minister James Tan for all our weekend services. James continued his teaching on the demonstrative side of the Holy Ghost and power. Those two terms—the Holy Ghost and power—always go together. If power is present, it’s the Holy Ghost. If the Holy Ghost is present, there is power. You will never have one without the other. But James taught us another aspect of the Holy Spirit… that, yes, the Holy Spirit works through us, but He also works in us.

In Pastor Mac’s fifth installment of his series entitled, “For His Kingdom,” he talked about how commitment is the final step to the outworking of God’s will and blessing in your life. If you’re not committed to your part of the covenant you have with God, then He can’t perform His part of that covenant. It’s a two-way street! Each part makes a commitment to each other. Commitment must be taken seriously. And one of the things that will help you to be committed is passion… which was the subject of his message.