Tag: Val Watkins

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2023-07-16: Children’s Stories — Father Abraham

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:23 — 15.4MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Hebrews 11:8-10

Children’s Stories
Father Abraham
Hebrews 11:8-10

And it was through Jesus that the promise to Abraham was fulfilled that he would be The Father of Many Nations.

He believed and THEN he obeyed. And he obeyed EVEN THOUGH he didn’t know where he was going.

So the question for you this morning is this: IF God called you to do something for Him…would you do it?

If I had a loyal friend who was willing to do things for ME and I found that they needed something…I’d find a way to help them.

That WAY was the only way (because God led him along it) and that GATE was THE GATE that Abraham was going to have to enter to make it to the Promised Land.

If you want to go where God wants you to go, you’ve got to go by HIS WAY, and thru HIS Gate. And Jesus is the ONLY Gate and the ONLY Way!!!!

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2023-07-09: Children’s Stories — A Voyage of Faith

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:34 — 14.1MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Hebrews 11:7, Genesis 6:9-9:17

Children’s Stories
A Voyage of Faith
Hebrews 11:7, Genesis 6:9-9:17

I believe that there was a literal man named Noah who built a huge boat filled with every kind of animal–a boat that survived a world-wide flood that washed the earth clean of all evil. And THEN…God started all over again.

Do you realize that Noah had probably never seen a flood? In fact, the Bible implies that he’d never even seen it rain.

“It’s one thing to say you believe in something, but so much more to prove it.”

But, in spite of the mocking and laughter and even hatred he probably experienced, Noah still had to build the boat.

Noah’s total faith and trust had to be in GOD and in God’s ONE PLAN of salvation.

He gave them over 100 years to repent, but they just didn’t want to change their lives…so they died.

You see, the only thing you need to decide is this:
Are you willing to accept Jesus on his terms?

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2023-07-02: Children’s Stories — Walk Like a Man

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:15 — 15.3MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Genesis 5:21-24, Hebrews 11:5

Children’s Stories
Walk Like a Man
Genesis 5:21-24, Hebrews 11:5

Someone once noted that Genesis chapter 5 is often called the Graveyard Chapter of Scripture.

And Enoch’s desire to walk with God so impressed God that Enoch got to live forever!!!!

The most important thing to God appears to be that we want to walk with Him!

It’s saying that when I walk with God, I can walk through the darkest and scariest things of life without ever being afraid, because He is right there with me!!!!

So, the more we walk with God, the more we’ll sense the presence of that fruit of the Spirit in our lives.

You might mess things up as you walk with God, but once you get a taste of walking with God, you’ll never want to go back to the old way of life.

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2023-06-25: Children’s Stories — A Faith That En-Ables

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:04 — 15.1MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Hebrews 11:1-4

Children’s Stories
A Faith That En-Ables
Hebrews 11:1-4

In other words, Cain’s evil actions didn’t start with murdering his brother.

The problem (for Israel) wasn’t with the gifts. The problem was with the giver.

By contrast, Abel’s objective was to be pleasing to God, and that’s what his faith was all about…PLEASING GOD!

God judges our greatness by the size of our faith, not by the size of our accomplishments.

Instead, it’s the WHY you did what you did! Did you do–what you did–because you loved Him???

What I’m saying is–Abel’s sacrifice pointed forward to WHO Jesus was and WHAT Jesus did at the cross.

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2023-06-11: Labels — The Christ

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:37 — 14.8MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Matthew 16:13-18

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The Christ
Matthew 16:13-18

But when you read “Jesus Christ” in Scripture–Jesus’ last name is NOT CHRIST! Christ was a description of WHO Jesus was.

Well, first, when Jesus Christ spoke, He spoke with AUTHORITY as a prophet would.

But He also was anointed to be our PRIEST–OUR HIGH PRIEST.

And it doesn’t matter what you’ve done, or where you’ve been, or what others may think of you–when Christ’s blood touches your life, you are justified, you’re washed clean.

Sooner or later…every knee will bow to Jesus Christ.

But the fact that Jesus IS our King goes beyond what WE should do for Him. It goes to the heart of what He has offered to us.

In order to receive those blessings, you have to belong to Him. You have to become a CHRISTian.

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2023-06-04: Labels — The Doubting Apostle

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:24 — 15.4MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: John 20:24-31

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The Doubting Apostle
John 20:24-31

You see, DOUBT can be a dangerous thing. And that brings us to the Disciple we’re talking about today–the disciple that everyone knows as “Doubting Thomas”.

But here in Luke, ALL the disciples needed to see the nail prints to help with their doubts.

Time, after time, after time, Jesus drove home the fact that He would DIE…but after 3 days He’d rise from the dead.

It was a tremendous act of faith on his part, but we’re told that he began to sink because he saw the wind and waves.

I’m sure that people rising from the dead after days in the grave violates some law of physics.

What about those of us who would never think of refusing to believe God–but who still struggle with doubts.

The father had doubts. He admitted it; “Help My Unbelief” he says.

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2023-05-21: Labels — The Zealot

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:30 — 14.8MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Matthew 10:2-4; Romans 15:12; Isaiah 11:6-10

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The Zealot
Matthew 10:2-4; Romans 15:12; Isaiah 11:6-10

Someone once observed that if you put these two hazardous elements in your mouth by themselves, they’d either blow you up (sodium) or poison you (chlorine).

Their battle cry was, “No Lord but Jehovah, no tax but the temple tax, no friend but the Zealot.”

Jesus came to transform us so that we wouldn’t be hazardous to those around us. So we would become the salt of the earth.

“Going to church doesn’t make you a Christian any more than sitting your garage makes you a car.”

They didn’t follow Jesus one day and then suddenly become powerhouses for the Kingdom the next.

We are the salt of the earth, but it’s NOT just being in church that makes us that salt. It’s being in Jesus, and loving Jesus.

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2023-04-23: Labels — Sons of Thunder

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 20:32 — 14.1MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Mark 3:16-17

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Sons of Thunder
Mark 3:16-17

There are many people who have read this Sons of Thunder “nickname” and have come to the conclusion that this meant that James and John were angry and judgmental men.

But when Jesus renamed him Peter, He wasn’t looking at who Peter was. He was making a declaration of what Peter was going to be.

It seems the times thunder was mentioned in Scripture, it was a display of the power of God.

But apparently (if I’m right) during that 3 years James became a Voice for God; a man who declared the power of God.

But in spite of the fact that God believes in them, many Christians don’t. They don’t believe in themselves.

Too many Christians settle for less because they don’t think they’re worth that much.

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2023-04-16: Labels — The Tax Collector

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 22:13 — 15.3MB)

Speaker: Pastor Val Watkins
Scripture Text: Luke 5:27-32

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The Tax Collector
Luke 5:27-32

The focus of Matthew’s Gospel was to convince the Jewish people that Jesus was the Messiah.

As far as many in Israel were concerned, there were sinners…and then there was a special class of sinners called tax collectors.

It was only once Matthew belonged to Jesus that he was transformed from an annoying tax collector into one of the most influential men of Christianity.

The world labels people based on what they’ve done in their lives, and their value is tied to that label.

He’s never quoted in any of the Gospels or in any of the letters to the churches.

In other words, Paul was saying: I wasn’t worth saving, but Jesus did it anyway to prove it could be done.