2 Corinthians 4

Come on! Can we really say this honestly? Tom Norvell uses Paul's words to the Corinthians to help us know that we can keep on the journey of faith and not lose heart.

Inspirational illustration of 2 Corinthians 4:7-16 -- We do not lose heart, so we do not fix our eyes on what is seen, but what is unseen, for what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

"Dear Precious Follower, In Paul's day, the Greek language had two words for two different types of pots. One was called an amphiphora. An amphiphora...."

"Dear Father, powerful sustainer, Thank you for putting your treasure in a cracked clay pot like me so that it will be evident that the treasure is..."

"Dear Father, powerful sustainer, You have called me to minister your mercy to the world, so let me never lose heart or give up! May I renounce..."

"You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake. For..."

"Heavenly Father, giver of life and faith, Thank you for the spirit of grace which enables me to believe. May I have the same spirit of faith as he..."

"We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never..."

"For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is....."

"All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is our merciful Father and the source of all comfort. He comforts us in all our..."

"We have small troubles for a while now, but they are helping us gain an eternal glory that is much greater than the troubles. We set our eyes not....."

Some words you just have to repeat until you believe! Tom Norvell reminds us that some times we just have to hang to hope, keep repeating what is true and not lose heart.

Why do we settle for so much less than the real thing? Phil Ware begins a series of messages about Immanuel, God with us, The Presence, in our lives that we yearn, ache, thirst for.

What kind of legacy are you leaving? Little things can bring back memories and reinforce our legacy: what kind of legacy are we are leaving behind.

Treasure among all the garbage? Ron Rose writes about the good things he used to find in the garbage dump and how there are special surprises and treasures that he found along the way and how we can do the same thing with people if we are willing to get messy.

How old are you getting to be these days? We are only as old as we choose to be, since God made us to be eternal.

What good are things when they are broken? Russ Lawson reminds us of broken things and how God uses them to bless us and bless others if we don't hold on to thing that are unimportant.

"Dear Disciple, Paul's words in your verses today are as beautiful as they are powerful. They can help you deal with an inescapable reality of your..."

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

"For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake."

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us."

"In our Christian pilgrimage it is well, for the most part, to be looking forward. Forward lies the crown, and onward is the goal. Whether it be for..."

Inspirational illustration of 2 Corinthians 4:7 -- But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.

Inspirational illustration of 2 Corinthians 4:16 niv -- Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Insiriational image of 2 Corinthians 4:6 -- God said, "Let light shine out of darkness, " made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.

Scripture image of 2 Corinthians 4:16 -- Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day!

Inspirational illustration of 2 Corinthians 4:17 -- For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but

Inspirational illustration of 2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV -- Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.

Our model, our hero, our example of great leadership, must always be Jesus! Demetrius Collins and Phil Ware lead us in a virtual, DIY, worship through words and music using YouTube videos to call us to recognize Jesus' example of being a servant and how we must resist worldly standards for our leaders in the Lord's church.

So what occupies your thoughts and memories? Russ Lawson had his share of tough things and hard roads growing up, but he chooses NOT to dwell on those things, but the positive ones.

When you reach a certain age, every day brings a new ache As we get older, our bodies begin to fail. But what about what is inside of us? God has promised that we don't have to age on the inside

Have you heard this heavenly song lately? Heaven's grace can be heard in the tune that is sung by God's people in worship, fellowship, and sacrifice.

If it's not Nobel, is it ignoble? Patrick Odum tells us about the Ig Nobel awards and reminds us that God uses ordinary folks, ignoble folks, to do great things for His glory.

Can I really be the same person in each place? Ron Rose talks about the temptation to compartmentalize life and live by different standards in different roles and walks in life instead of living with integrity for God.

"Dear Friend, By his own admission, Paul came to Corinth with very little personal confidence. He wrote:I came to you in weakness — timid and..."

That passion to pursue Jesus must never die! Phil Ware continues his series tied to Thanksgiving called "...and thankful" and this week he is thankful for the longing to move toward Jesus and pursue the things of God.

Are you ready? Alan Smith reminds us that we are all vanishing away, our bodies grow older and we face challenges, but understanding this and what it means to us is dependent upon our relationship with Christ.

We are broken vessels, saved by grace and empowered by the Holy Spirit to make a difference in our broken world with the grace that we have received. Demetrius Collins & Phil Ware lead through worship in song, the Lord's Supper, a powerful message from God's word about not being lazy and neglectful of the opportunities God has given us to lead others to Jesus, along with a closing blessing for worship

As long as there is life, we have a mission and purpose to complete. Phil Ware reminds us that we are called to accomplish the mission God has called us to do so that when our days on earth are over we can say we have finished the work he has given us to do.

Can we keep from being disappointed by broken hopes? No matter how desperate things can seem, God has given the ability to hope in him through the power of the Holy Spirit.

"Dear Servant of the Lord, Yes, I have called you My sibling, My beloved, and My friend. I have even called you a child of the King of Glory and a..."

How could we have this completely wrong? Phil Ware concludes his end of the year series called Beginning in Endings by talking about Anna and Simeon from Luke 2 and what they should teach us about aging and what to expect as we grow older.

What are you doing to empower God's word? Prayer empowers God's people and God's message.

He silently slipped out. Exited. Departed. He passed, not away, but on. Yet, on to where? Max Lucado reminds us that Easter, Jesus' Resurrection Sunday, is not just about Jesus being raised, but our life beyond death!

What Jesus' resurrection guarantees about our own. Max Lucado shares insights from the Bible about what happens to us when we die and what Jesus' resurrection means to our hope.

How do we lift our spirits on difficult days? While we don't know why about why things happen here, we do know that one day our sorrow will melt into the joy of the Lord.

We should give thanks? Ron Rose reminds us about the importance of Thanksgiving.

Are you willing to take the time to let God work on you? Soul work takes tiem and in our instant society we must be patient and let God do his work on us.

The surprise of finding joy in tough places! Ron Rose reminds us of the power and importance of giving thanks at Thanksgiving and talks about Anabel Reid's death in the Abilene Christian University bus accident.

Are we really seeing things all that clearly? The abduction and final escape of Natascha from Priklopil, we are given a story about how our viewpoint gets skewed.

So what really makes him great at preaching? The best preachers are not those we know but the ones Steve describes in this article who serve without pay and to bless others because that person wants them to know about Jesus!

What keeps us doing the Heartlight ministry? Request for help and an explanation why we keep Heartlight going.

Without hesitation, no warm-up required, she told her story of betrayal and rejection. Ron Rose is back at Black Rifle Coffee, being the available friend and pastor to folks who drop in with a story to tell, this time it's a lady who's been dumped and betrayed and Ron Reminds her of her need for God, and he will be available to be the skin

The difficulties of yesterday's journey will be forgotten in the joy of the feast. Max Lucado reminds us as we finish up with Thanksgiving that the joys of the feast and the family will swallow up the memories of the journey and the wait.

How do you know there is still time to make a difference? Paul Faulkner reminds us that it's never too late to make a difference in the lives of our family members if we will start today.

He just stared for a moment, then reached up, kissed the forehead, and touched the hand of the women in the casket. Ron Rose reminds us of the value of being family and friends in the face of death and realizing that we are learning as much about life as we are about death!

Can we keep growing, or do we have to stop just because we age? Phil Ware shares an insight on older people in the Bible and today who kept growing and changing through the years because they wanted to be more like Jesus.

Now how much do you REALLY like it? We like a person with kindness much more than a person who has had a bunch of cosmetic surgery or plastic surgery.

We covet your prayers, comments, and suggestions as we begin what we hope will be a blessing to Jesus' people. This is an introduction and explanation of the purpose of ToGather!

Horatio Spafford knew about the storms of life The story of Horatio Spafford and his great hymn "When Peace Like a River" still inspires and encourages all of us who suffer.

Will this Christmas season be lost in things left behind? Little things mean a great deal during the Christmas season. Let's not forget to do them.

Can we ever be more than a lump of clay or a collection of dust? Article on the transformation God can do in our lives changing us from a lump of clay into an object of beauty and usefulness.

How can we learn to put things in the right perspective? Problems that seem so huge can be cut down to size when we look at them from an eternal perspective

Do you choose darkness or light? God wants to place his light inside of us. He wants to make us shine brighter than the sun.

"Dear Believer, Somewhere along the way, My light shown into your heart and changed you. More than just the light from the bright star that guided the..."

It's Been up There a long, long Time! Phil Ware writes about the Christmas star that actually began to shine many years before the Magi found it!

We're done with leftovers and the eggs are put away, but Easter still remains! Rubel Shelly reminds us that Easter is not over as long as Jesus' followers, Christians, his disciples, live out the evidence of his resurrection in their lives by the way they treat others.

Living for today isn't enough "Where there is no faith in the future, there is no power in the present."

Sometimes we have to go beyond what we can see and touch The only way to find God is to step out in faith. If we limit ourselves to what we our senses can perceive, we will always fall short of finding Him.

Do you remember this little boy from the first Thanksgiving? A little boy about whom we know nothing shows us the way to the meaning of thanksgiving.

What are you looking at? Many problems arise when we spend our time looking at church people rather than the One the church belongs to.

If you can't keep something, why not give it up? There is nothing foolish about turning our back on the things of this life in order to gain a life that has no end.

What are you going to do in your retirement? Christians should never retire spiritually, but instead re-fire!

Do spooky things scare you? There are scary things in this world, but we need not fear any of them. The one who is in us is greater than the powers of this world.

What are the achievements that validate your credibility at doing the things you are called to do? Phil Ware looks at the way we chase and give credibility in our world and reminds how Paul showed credibility in his own: becoming a servant, in weakness, and letting God's glory and power be seen in him.