Thanksgiving has come and gone. All that remains are leftovers from a great meal, the memories of family and friends, excitement or disappointment at the result of a football game or two and the results of Black Friday shopping… Was it fun? Yes! Was it worthwhile? Of course! Did our holiday really focus on the true intention of “Thanksgiving?” Hmmm… Thanksgiving is one thing – “Thanks-Living” – well, that is an entirely different story!
Our world is in great need of many things. We need to learn to listen to those with whom we disagree, we need to be merciful and understanding, yet we also need to be firm and just. We also need to find light. Not just any light, we need to find the purest life-giving and revealing light of truth that is available… As Christians we know that the light of the world is Jesus, but what we need to learn is how to use that light, how to be clear reflections of that light and how to be worthy vessels of that light.
DUE TO THE GRAPHIC NATURE OF THE EVENTS WE WILL DISCUSS, THIS PROGRAM MAY NOT BE SUITABLE FOR CHILDREN. Tragedy is a part of life. We all know those who have suffered through it. Many times it gets the best of people, and sometimes people cope, but occasionally you find those who truly overcome it to a point that the tragedy is merely a memory and can serve as a tool of growth and example. Today we will tell such a story. It is true story of bad things happening and how faith in God, perseverance and the right help transformed those bad things into overcoming lives.
As Christians, we all love to read and recount the marvelous accounts of Jesus working miracles. We are inspired by his compassion and his ability to change the lives of those whom he touched. Today we want to once again find that inspiration, but our path to it will be somewhat different as we will recount the incredible story of a woman who was called a miracle worker in her day. She touched one life – she changed one life and through that change, she touched the world. What a great picture of Jesus!
When you begin to grasp the life and times of Daniel the Prophet, what you find in your hands is pure inspiration, integrity, faith and courage. Here is a man who lived out his entire life far from his home in Israel and who, by God’s grace, turned captivity to a pagan nation into an opportunity to reveal the greatness of the One God and eventually win over the King who made him captive. When we grow up, we should all want to be like Daniel! Stay with us as we continue his story!
Life, death and taxes – those are three things that we as a race have all come to experience. It is a cycle that we accept and a process we adapt to even though the ending is not to our liking. About 2,000 years ago, a man born of a woman came to change all of that. He was Jesus of Nazareth, born to live so that he could die, so that we – all of us – can live again – beyond the cycle that all of human history has documented. Stay with us as we honor his life, his death, and his kingship!
Jesus knew when his time would be up and his sacrifice would be complete. He knew – down to the very hour – he knew. He understood the pain and suffering that awaited, and he also understood the immense difficulty and challenge that would unfold, not only for him but for his followers as well. So, knowing all of this, what did Jesus do to prepare himself to overcome? Where did he go, how did he act and what did he say? Stay with us as we observe what our Master did to prepare to finish his walk of sacrifice, so we can learn how to handle our own…
A few weeks ago we began looking at the life of Daniel the Prophet, beginning at the time he was about 17 years old and taken prisoner by the Babylonian Empire. What we saw was a boy who displayed solid integrity, faith and focus as he navigated his way through the muddy waters of captivity and idolatry to shine out as a light of God in a very dark place. Stay with us as we observe him grow up and grow into a man, a leader of uncompromising strength and passion for his God.
We all want to be inspired. We all want to see or hear a story of someone who was so strong against sin, so courageous against captivity and so trustworthy against temptation that we ourselves become invigorated to follow that example. Daniel the prophet was one such man who lived one such story. Stay with us as we open the book of Daniel and look upon his life to see why he was beloved of God.
We all at one time or another have visions of grandeur – thoughts and dreams about what we can do to be a positive and abiding influence on others for the sake of Christ. In many cases, these ideas percolate a bit and then quietly fade away. Today, we have with us a special guest who had an idea for the furtherance of the Gospel, pursued it, developed it, lived it and today is going to tell us about what has become a 15-year journey of praise and honor to our God. Do NOT go away! You need to hear this!
