Pastor Steven G Lightfoot's Podcast

As we approach the celebration of American Independence, let us pause and remember that real freedom was won for us more than 2,000 years ago when Jesus went to the cross for us. Freedom is more than the birth of a nation 241 years ago... true freedom is the result of new birth in Christ and we can celebrate it whenever someone chooses to confess with their mouth and believe in their heart that Jesus Christ is Lord!

"The death he died, he died to sin, once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus." Pastor Steven speaks on Romans 6. Get The Mikveh Scrolls book series on Amazon.com at https://www.amazon.com/Steven-G.-Lightfoot/e/B006S4TPYE

God is a covenant maker and a covenant keeper. Part of the covenant He makes with us through Jesus are the consequences of Justification. Consequences? I thought consequences were bad things! Well, no, not always... consequences are sometimes just the ordered progression that occurs from an action... an action like saying "yes" to Jesus. Listen as Pastor Steven discusses the consequences of God's saving grace!

What do the Holy Trinity, creation, and your salvation have to do with each other? The story is both older than time and fresh / new / dynamic. Pastor Steven preaches Trinity Sunday at Countryside.

Have you ever been promised something and then had to wait for it to come? What do we do when we are waiting for something to come to us that has been promised to us? Do we wait well? Do we wait passively? Or...Do we wait actively? Do we wait constructively? Or...Do we wait destructively? Pastor Steven preaches on Pentecost Sunday at Countryside United Methodist Church. Support this ongoing ministry: Get Pastor Steven's exciting novel series "The Mikveh Scrolls" on Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/Steven-G.-Lightfoot/e/B006S4TPYE/

Thursday, May 25th probably came and went for most people without any noticeable distinction that might set it apart from any other weekday. Most of us probably went about our day Thursday without any conscious thought concerning the historical and spiritual meaning of the day. But, last Thursday was in fact Ascension Day… a day of great significance in all of Christiandom and the whole world.

As I read the passage in Acts 17 where Paul addresses the Athenians in front of the Areopagus, it got me thinking two things... 1) What idols do we worship in our time, and 2) are we still worshipping an unknown god… or perhaps better stated, is the one true God still unknown to us?

Pastor Steven preaches on John 14:1-14.

Have you ever stopped to ponder the question, "What makes an abundant life?" Have you ever asked yourself, "Is my life abundant?"Jesus is the good shepherd - The one who leads us to green pastures and still waters. He is the gate to life - abundant life. Abundance is not so much about quantity as it is quality. Pastor Steven preaches on John 10 and Acts 2.

Each month with a fifth Sunday, at Countryside UMC, we celebrate our laity with a special Laity Sunday wherein the laity brings the message and conducts all aspects of the service except the weekly Podcast. April 30 is one of those Sundays. Pastor Steven will return to the pulpit next Sunday, May 7. In the meantime, have a listen to the Apostles' Creed and hear what we believe as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessings and peace to all.

Jesus said, "As the Father sent me, I am sending you." You are missionaries. Are you in your mission field yet? You are evangelists. Are you proclaiming the gospel yet?

He Is Risen! Thanks be to God, His resurrection is our resurrection when we confess with our mouths and believe in our hearts that He is Lord of all!

In order to get to the joy of the resurrection, we have to complete the journey. We have to endure the crucifixion. Good Friday service at Countryside UMC.

Upon Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the people celebrated the arrival of an earthly king. But his kingdom was of a different sort, and in a matter of days, the shouts of praise, the shouts of "Hosanna," would turn to shouts of "Crucify him!"

The account in John 11 of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead is amazing, but not at all surprising. Resurrection is what Jesus does. He brings the dead to life. He resurrected Lazarus, he resurrected himself after dying on the cross to exchange our sins for His righteousness, and He resurrected you and me when we confessed with our mouths and believed in our hearts that He is Lord. He's in the resurrection business.

"Who sinned, this man or his parents?" the disciples asked Jesus as they looked at the blind man. What a different place the world would be if, instead of constantly looking for an explanation of the evil in the world, instead of looking for someone to blame, we decided to focus our attention on what God can do!

While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. That proves God’s love for us. While we were still adrift in the wilderness of sin, with no water in sight, God gave his only Son, who poured out his life, his living water, for you. Thanks be to God. Pastor Steven discusses Exodus 17 and John 4.

Pastor Steven discusses John 3, The Shack, and Truth

We simply have to grasp the seriousness of the human condition of sin we find ourselves in, because of the first man, Adam, so that we can understand just how very much we need the grace, mercy and redemption only made possible by the second man - Jesus.

ASH WEDNESDAY service at Countryside United Methodist. Pastor Steven preaches on 2 Corinthians 5 and 6.