Pastor Steven G Lightfoot's Podcast

Pastor Steven continues the Epiphany Series with a look at John 1:29-42.

Recorded at Countryside United Methodist Church on the occasion of the Baptism of the Lord Sunday commemoration.

Today we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord, which is the revelation of the Christ to the world. "Arise, shine; for your light has come," proclaims Isaiah the prophet. The Gospel according to Matthew gives us the account of the Magi traveling from afar, following the star to see the newborn King, and falling on their knees when they find Him. When we seek Jesus, we are the Magi - rising from the darkness of ignorance into the light of discovery and understanding about who He is and who we are in relationship with Him. Be a Magi this New Year - come and see this wonderful thing that God has done for you.

Jesus said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness but will have the light of life.” Pastor Steven proclaims the coming of the light of Christ into the world at Countryside United Methodist Church, Christmas Day 2016.

Pastor Steven's Christmas Eve message recorded at Countryside United Methodist Church.

Paul begins his letter to the Romans just as many letters begin, with an introduction. Introductions are important. They tell the audience who is speaking, where they come from and why they have authority or credibility - they help us understand why we should listen in the first place. Matthew also gives us an introduction in his account of the birth of Jesus. His introduction explains and proclaims who this newborn babe is, this baby born to Mary and Joseph, and why we should pay attention to him.

Is this the Jesus you are expecting? Pastor Steven preaches on Matthew Chapter 11.

Isaiah's prophetic word tells us that "the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, just as the water covers the sea." The Apostle Paul tells us that Christ came to confirm God's promises given to the ancestors. And the Gospel according to Matthew tells us to "prepare the way for the Lord's coming."

Advent is both a season of preparation for the celebration of the coming of the Christ Child to a broken world, and a season of preparation for the Second Advent, the second coming of Christ the King. Nobody knows the hour of Christ's return except God the Father. It is therefore prudent for us to be ever ready.

If you missed the Magnolia Community Thanksgiving Service last night (Tuesday, November 22) hosted by Magnolia United Methodist Church, you missed a great time of worship. Here is Pastor Steven G. Lightfoot's Thanksgiving message:

What have I to be thankful for? Depending on our circumstances, the tone in which we ask ourselves that question may vary. Our circumstances tend to dictate our tone... until we understand just exactly what it is for which we should be truly thankful.

Are we marching toward freedom or are we marching toward captivity? Luke's gospel says we are in for a rocky road. Isaiah's prophesy says that we are due a new heaven and a new earth soon. Interestingly enough, both are true.

The people were discouraged because they could not envision their rebuilt temple having anywhere near the glory of the original. But God had plans to make the rebuilt temple more glorious, more majestic more wonderful then the people could ever hope for or imagine. It's not hard to see the message of their experience applied to our current circumstances.

Me? A Pharisee? After reading Luke 18, the Parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, if we are honest, we'd have to admit that most of us have one foot in the Pharisee camp and one foot in the humble Tax Collector camp. We all have Pharisee tendencies, especially when it comes to how we do church. The thing is, churches and church goers who operate out of the Pharisee camp tend not to have as great an impact in the world as those who come from a place of humility, and mercy and grace. The question then becomes, what kind of church / church goer are you? How big an impact are you making in your community? Let's discuss.

The prophet Jeremiah reminds us that, as believers, the Word of God is written on our hearts. This separates us, in a holy way, from the rest of humanity, who perceives God's law only from the perspective of conscience. In Psalm 119, we see that the Word is the source of understanding, wisdom and guidance, and Paul tells us that the Word is useful for sound teaching, reproof and correction.

When we suffer hardship for the sake of the Gospel, even to the point of being chained like a criminal, the Word of God is not, cannot be, chained. The promise is this: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he will also deny us; if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself. (2 Ti 2:11–13).

We have been given authority over both the natural and the supernatural realms. Not only that, we have been given a spirit of power, love and discipline to stand up in righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. With all of the power of the Trinity for us, who can possibly come against us.

In his letters to Timothy, Paul gives us some good, practical theology that we can apply in our lives as we fight the good fight of faith.

As is often God's timing, my message, written prior to the recent bombings in NYC and NJ, and the mall attacks in MN, became all the more relevant as we awoke Sunday morning to the news while we got ready for church. As in the days of the prophet Jeremiah, our world is spiritually bankrupt. The people are worshipping the false gods of self-centeredness and secular humanist culture. Violence in the name of a false god and his false prophet is unbridled. The world is in need of the same healing balm of repentance for which Jeremiah lamented. Like the shrewd manager in Jesus' parable in Luke's Gospel message, we must be streetwise, creative and get our books in order, and then help others to do the same.

On this 15th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America, Pastor Steven explores three basic questions in the context of Luke 15: What is the nature of God? What is the nature of humankind? What is the nature of the relationship between God and humankind, and between human beings, one to another?