On Marriage...

How is your marriage? Would you say you have a great one? Most people do not. We are in a time where busyness, among other things, is pulling couples apart. Many couples both work and are living independent of each other. They have areas of their lives that the other person is not involved in, does not know about, or does not even care about. We should not have secret lives that are hidden from our mates.


More than half of all marriages in America end in divorce. The truth of the matter is that we all benefit by being submissive to one another and we women are protected by our husbands by doing this. Honest!


Just because a person is married does not mean they are not tempted. Being tempted is not a sin, but giving in to it is a sin. Thus, there is a need for accountability between spouses. I Corinthians 7:5 tells that couples help protect one another from sexual temptation. Ephesians 5 tells of the love and order of a marriage.

When a husband and wife grow apart they become indifferent to one another, then the door is open for one of them to fall into temptation. I want to encourage couples to be accountable to one another and be transparent in sharing your lives with one another. Be visible about what you do. For example, if you have a blog, an email account, or anything like that, make it known to your spouse. Even offer your passwords so your mate is free to check it any time. If you are close to a member of the opposite sex, refrain from sharing details of your life that should be shared with your mate. Don’t allow or encourage another person to flirt with you, or share how their mate does not understand them. Run to your mate when you feel vulnerable to temptation. Be accountable to one another in love and see how your trust can grow. God wants you to be blessed with the one you are with. Having a marriage that has both hearts open to each other and God can give you a marriage that is abundantly blessed.

-Pastor Connie Shinn
Living Free Christian Counseling

God's Word: Our Destiny...

GOD’S WORD: OUR DESTINY

Part 1. “My Plan for You -- Your Heart’s Desire”

--“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105

--“Thy Word have I hid in my heart that I might not sin against God.” Psalm 119:11

--“The Word of God is quick (living) and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

Knowledge of the above scriptures, that many of us have known seemingly all of our lives, should be enough to compel us to faithfully and diligently read, study, know and live the Word of God. After all, this Word of God, your/my Bible, is the representation of Jesus that we can literally hold in our hands, press to our hearts and see with our earthly eyes.

But knowledge of these scripture passages, that we have just recalled, is obviously not enough. If it were, more believers would be spiritually mature and walking in great faith. If most Christians are familiar with these words and have even memorized them, but are still not hungry enough to be diligent to really study God’s Word, then what is the problem? What is lacking? I believe that part of the missing link is apathy toward God’s Word and lack of “revelation.” People need revelation knowledge -- revelation understanding -- of the fact that God’s precious, wonderful Word is life to our bones --- that it holds the keys to finding and living that abundant life that Jesus told us is there for us when He said, “I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.” John 10:10b

Most Christians are not living out abundant life. For example, this is evident in statistics that tell us that the present day rate of divorce is greater in the church than it is outside of the church. This just should not be! The abundant life that Christ wants to give us is a life lived to its maximum. I want to “max out” my life here on earth. Do you? I want to fulfill my greatest potential and to have the greatest success in all aspects of my life that is possible for me to have. Do you?

To be continued...

-Connie Wohlford

On Being Disciples...

During the last few weeks in Kid’s Church we have been teaching about the twelve disciples. The twelve men that Jesus chose to help carry out His ministry on earth represented a broad range of backgrounds, experiences, and personalities. They did not have minister’s credentials, they were not prophets, nor did they possess any special abilities or talents; they were ordinary men. However, there was one attribute they all had in common: their willingness to serve and obey Jesus Christ. In choosing the disciples, Jesus chose men who would follow Him and had a heart to do the will of the Father.

All believers are to be disciples, or followers, of Christ. Jesus also commanded us to go and make disciples of every nation …and teach them to obey everything He has commanded us (Matthew 28:19, 20). As His disciples, it is our job to fulfill our purpose in Him. It is God’s purpose for us to serve, obey and love Him in every aspect of our lives. As believers, this should be easy. We love Him because He first loved us (I John 4:19). God’s word tells us we will be blessed for our obedience (Deuteronomy 8:1). Jesus said that those who love Him will be obedient to Him and will be loved by Him (John 14:21). We serve to give honor and glory to God (I Peter 4:11). Many church-goers believe they are followers of Christ, but their actions, words, and attitudes do not reflect a life of service, obedience and love. Why, then, is it so difficult for people to be true disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ?

Jesus tells us in Luke 14:33 “In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple”. Our love for God should surpass our wants and desires. When we focus on the cares of life around us, those things take priority in our life and consume our love, obedience and service. God should be the first priority in our lives always. Jesus clearly stated that we are not to worry about material things or our circumstances, but we are to seek His kingdom first and everything else will be taken care of (Matthew 6:33).

I love explaining the following concept to children in Kid’s Church. Children understand it much more clearly than adults, because they do not look for shades of gray. When a believer makes a conscious decision to sin, who are they serving? Jesus said that no man can serve two masters. Can you sin and serve God at the same time?

Sin easily entangles us, making it ever more difficult to live the life of obedience and service to which God has called us. Once we receive the gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, we should die to sin. Sin is not our master; we become slaves to obedience, not to sin. (Romans 6:1-18). As we all know, even Jesus’ disciples fell short: Peter denied, Thomas doubted, Judas betrayed. But thank God for His mercy and grace! If we confess our sins, he forgives them and cleanses us from everything we’ve done wrong (I John 1:9). Jesus said in John 8:31 “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free”. In order to be a true disciple, we should always seek a life of obedience and reject even the smallest temptation to sin.


As followers of Christ, we should do all things in love. The world in which we live is consumed in bitter division, anger, hatred, dishonesty, greed, etc. But we are called to love and show that love to all. Love should be the primary motivation for all that we do; it is the love for our Savior that compels us to love, serve and minister to others. As Paul wrote in I Corinthians 13:1, 2 “but if I don’t have love, I am a loud gong or clashing cymbal. I may have the gift to speak what God has revealed, and I may understand all mysteries and have all knowledge. I may even have enough faith to move mountains. But if I don’t have love, I am nothing.” We must possess the love of Christ in our hearts and lives in order to be a true disciple. In our interactions with others, do we sound like a clashing symbol or gong? Or do your words and actions always convey love? When they do, people will know you are a disciple, one who truly loves and follows Jesus Christ. Jesus clearly tells us in John 13:35 “By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another”.

-Pastor Tina Blackburn
Children's Pastor

On Any Given Tuesday.... LifeChange

Tuesday nights around the Radford Worship Center are never boring. LifeChange Youth Ministries takes over the campus to bring the Truth to teenagers in the NRV. The teens who come are treated to night of Food, Hanging Out, and a Service where Jesus is the Center of it all. At 5:30 the vans leave to pick up kids that have called saying they need a ride.











The night starts off with a bang as the doors open at 6:15 pm and the teens are able to eat, play basketball, hang out in the cafe, and play video games in the game room.











At 7:30 everyone heads over to the Sanctuary for service. They just keep coming...



and coming...



and coming...



Inside they are met by the Band and who start the service with Praise and Worship...






and get everyone ready for Pastor Mike and what he has for them.



These are our kids, our heart, come out and meet the ones that keep us going... on any given Tuesday.

This Sunday

Just to let everyone know, Pastor Terence Rose will be speaking in the 10:30 am service this Sunday the 22nd. Make plans to be in the service to hear him.

The Church in Today's World...

I reflect back to when I first received Christ and realized my need for Godly instruction and encouragement. At this time, I had no consciousness of the Scriptural importance of assembly with the saints as referred to in Hebrews. (Heb 10:25) “We should not stop gathering together with other believers, as some of you are doing. Instead, we must continue to encourage each other even more as we see the day of the Lord coming.” It all really came down to, as Pastor Mike made reference to several weeks ago, the importance of this new relationship I had with the Father and the passion I had to grow in knowledge, in faith, and in Godly character.

Today, many in church leadership are clamoring to cater to a world that simply does not see any relevance for the local church. Unfortunately, the main reason for this disdain is they simply cannot see any difference in conduct between those who attend church and those who do not. Paul makes this statement in 2 Corinthians the sixth chapter.

2 Cor. 6:3-4 (GW)
We don't give people any opportunity to find fault with how we serve. [4] Instead, our lives demonstrate that we are God's servants. We have endured many things: suffering, distress, anxiety,

2 Cor. 6:6-7 (GW)
{People can see} our purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit's presence {in our lives}, our sincere love, [7] truthfulness, and the presence of God's power. We demonstrate that we are God's servants


Paul is stating in this text that through the evidence of their Christian character, they left no doubt as to whom they belonged to and who they served.
A large number of Churches today are not promoting Christ likeness or encouraging Godliness. Instead, many churches are compromising the salvation message by softening the truth to make the world feel comfortable through a “culturally relevant” message. This culturally relevant message down plays and ignores the blood of Christ, mocks faithfulness as legalism and simple dogma. They are communicating that the world does not need to change. In the effort to identify with the world, many churches have lost their identity and mission as true disciples of Jesus Christ.

Instead of allowing God to build His church, they are trying to create an image that will attract the world. This is a complete contradiction to the Biblical model. This effort has resulted in many who do not know their true identity in Christ and how a child of God is to behave and as a result, the Church has forgotten her purpose in this current age.

The New Testament makes it clear that Christ is the head of the Church.

Col. 1:18 (NASB)
He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything.

This leads us to ask the question; what exactly is God’s purpose for the Church?

I. The chief purpose for the Church’s existence is to glorify and worship God through an intimate relationship and can only be accomplished through the Holy Spirit revealing truth.

John 4:23 (GW)
Indeed, the time is coming, and it is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. The Father is looking for people like that to worship him.



II. The second purpose for the Church is to edify and build itself up. This happens as the saint’s minister to one another, edifying and increasing itself in love.

Ephes. 4:11-13 (GW)
He also gave apostles, prophets, missionaries, as well as pastors and teachers as gifts {to his church}. [12] Their purpose is to prepare God's people, to serve, and to build up the body of Christ. [13] This is to continue until all of us are united in our faith and in our knowledge about God's Son, until we become mature, until we measure up to Christ, who is the standard.

Ephes. 4:15-16 (GW)
Instead, as we lovingly speak the truth, we will grow up completely in our relationship to Christ, who is the head. [16] He makes the whole body fit together and unites it through the support of every joint. As each and every part does its job, he makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.



III. The third purpose for the Church is to evangelize the sinner. The Church is to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom to the world.

Mark 16:15-16 (NASB)
And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. [16] "He who has believed and has been baptized shall be saved; but he who has disbelieved shall be condemned.

Acts 1:8 (GW)
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes to you. Then you will be my witnesses to testify about me in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

Now more than ever it is imperative for the Church to champion the cause of God’s truth and stress the importance of relationship and Christian character to the Body of Christ.

- Pastor Ted Farmer

Our Passion...

In my recent ponderings, I cannot get away from the question, "Where is our passion for God?" This is a question that I have been asking myself as well as others in the body of Christ. It is not a criticism directed at the body of Christ, but more of a longing, if you will, for the Church to break out of her lethargy. We live in a world where the body of Christ is being lulled to sleep while the enemy is making advances that ultimately will result in the destruction of the things which the body is meant to represent. Pastor Mike has stated for years that apathy is one of the most grievous enemies to a believer. Passion is the opposite of apathy. There are things in our lives that we are apathetic towards as well as those things that bring out our passions. Having a passion for God and who He is will give us a passion for those things that He is passionate about, such as integrity, truth, lost souls, building up of the body, and most of all love for one another.

First, I want to establish that there is nothing wrong with having passions. It is the misplaced passions that get us into trouble. Galatians 5:24 states, "Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires." Those who are in Christ no longer (should no longer) have passions that originate from the old self. Our spirit man desires the presence of God above all else. It is only following desires of the flesh that will keep the spirit man from fulfilling its desires, that is, to do the will of God. The word for "passion" in Galatians means suffering. Does "the passion of the Christ" ring a bell? Why is there suffering? Because a passion is an affection for something, but it is such a strong affection that it will compel you to conform to that affection. When a person has a passion for the things of the flesh, they will suffer to conform to the flesh (read Romans). Jesus Christ had a passion "for the joy set before Him" (Hebrews 12:12), that is the redemption of His creation. He was conformed to that which He created, sinful man. A difference between man and Christ is that sinful man conforms to flesh for the sake of its lust, while sinless Christ conformed out of love which brought about the power of redemption. While there may be suffering at times, ours must be a passion for God that will conform us to His image.

To have a passion for God we must know Him. Deuteronomy 6:5 "And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might." To love Him is to have a passion for Him and the things He is passionate about. I do not have strong passions for people and things that I do not know. If we do not know Him there is no way we can demonstrate a true and lasting love that is full of passion for Him. There are a lot of Romans 1 "believers" in the church. What do I mean by that? It is common to point out to atheists, unbelievers and doubters the facts of Romans 1: that God is demonstrated by nature. If you study nature and look at its wonder in becomes obvious that for a man to deny God requires said man to lie to himself. But this is only the sbeginning of Paul's entire letter which is meant to show that through Jesus Christ the Father has revealed Himself. There are some that stop at Romans 1: Romans 1 "believers". They believe that somehow by acknowledging God through His creation they are demonstrating that they know Him. We must go deeper in our relationship if we are going to have a passion for Him.

Jesus set the example for us. Paul wrote in I Thessalonians "pray without ceasing". Jesus lived this here on earth. He would consistently go off in private and spend time with the Father. He would pray while the disciples slept. He prayed as the hour of His crucifixion approached. Jesus, on earth, had a passion for the things of God. When confronted by the devil He stated, "man does not live by bread alone by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4:4) The sufferings, or passions, of the world were set aside because His passions were set on a higher goal. The Father was focused, and even now focuses, on the redemption of mankind, therefore Jesus set His passion on the Father's passion.

Matthew 6:21 states "for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Do not wait to get a passion for God. It is not going to jump in your lap or come to you as some fly-by-night epiphany. Go out and seize it. How is that done? Begin with those things that you know He is passionate about. Study His Word and ask Him to make it alive to you. He will. He is passionate for people. Pray for them. Pray for the lost. He passionately wants them to come home to Him. Pray for the sick. His desire is to heal them. Conform to His will as found in His Word. This will bring suffering, but it will conform you to His image and your passions for the things of God will grow.

As each of us grow in our passion for God and the things of God there will by a dynamic shift in the body of Christ. A shift that results in bold action and souls saved. Where is your is your passion?

-Pastor Jason Greene