'Words of Life' w/ Pastor Mark D. Ingram

Before a nation, before a crown, before a legacy to pass on to his family—there was a king who bowed.In 1 Chronicles 29:10–13, King David stands at the height of power and declares that everything—wealth, honor, victory, and strength—belongs to God. No pride. No self-glory. Just grateful worship.King David realizes that there will be nobody qualified to take credit (or glory), let alone stand before GOD. No-one.What would happen if we lived our lives like this today?Join us as we uncover why there can be no pride before God—only gratitude for His faithfulness, goodness, and mercy—and how David’s prayer still confronts our ambition, humbles our success, and transforms our hearts in preparation for eternity.Sermon: There'll Be No Pride Before GODSong of the Week: 'YOUR' Hand© Mark D. Ingram / ℗ RevWrite Publishing / RevWrite Music (BMI)

Send us a textWithin this week's 'Words of Life' broadcast / podcast, we examine why empathy is not a mood; it is a 'mandate' woven through Scripture and proven in history. The opening scriptural text (Deuteronomy 10: 18-19) commands care for the fatherless, the widow, and the foreigner (wanderer, immigrant, refugee, oppressed, marginalized), grounding love in God’s character and Israel’s memory as former wandering slaves. Thus, empathy differs from sympathy by sharing another’s burden as one who remembers. The call is practical—feed, clothe, welcome—and theological, because every act toward “the least of these” is rendered unto Christ. When we forget mercy, we forget the mercy shown to us, and God’s will not ignore such willing oversight.We are to empathize with refugees and immigrants because they rarely move for comfort; they flee harm and hope for dignity accompanied by a better life. Jesus sharpens the stakes with a parable (Matthew 25), where nations are weighed by hospitality’s ordinary actions—water, bread, a visit, a welcome. Neglect is not neutral; it is a verdict against love. The church cannot baptize indifference with rhetoric. A tree is known by its fruit borne, and empathy bears such that strangers can taste.With nothing new under the sun, history echoes GOD's warning to those who have ears to hear. Revisited is a nation born by protesting distant rule with their denied rights soon displacing Native peoples and enslaved Africans. And yet, the same cycle of oppression and enslavement is repeated. Yet, the one who loves with mercy and compassion remembers our own deliverance and relies upon the same God who feeds us in our desert wanderings.We are therefore challenged by the symbolic fork in the road to preach what pierces: Jesus crucified and risen, the only way to the Father, the model of mercy expected to be extended to neighbors and nations. Love because GOD first loved us. When we feed a family, when we visit the sick, when we welcome the stranger, we touch Christ. Does our gospel message (or platform) choose mercy, practice empathy, and  preach a gospel that brings strangers home or are we indifferent to the plight of those GOD loves and will execute judgment concerning?Support the showIn lieu of eternity, sermons and musical artists are featured to extol JESUS CHRIST as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity.

Send us a textThis week's message turns on a simple word: calling; and the theme centers on God’s persistent question to humanity, first voiced in Genesis 3: “Where are you?” The sermon frames 'a call' as an intentional summoning that expects a response and then sets the scene in the Garden of Eden. God’s command to Adam was clear, the serpent’s deception was targeted, and the result was tragic: broken fellowship, rising shame, and a reflex to hide. Yet even in judgment, the text shows pursuit. God initiates the conversation, not to discover information he lacks, but to bring accountability to light and invite honesty and restoration. We are urged to examine our own patterns in Adam’s excuses and to recognize the cost of sin on daily fellowship with God.A major insight lands on the difference between relationship and fellowship. Once secured by grace, the relationship stands; unconfessed sin, however, clouds the fellowship. Psalm 139 highlights the futility of hiding from an all-knowing God who already sees the thoughts before they form. That means our evasions—fear, shame, blame—do not keep us safe; they keep us stuck with guilt and shame. We witness Adam’s cascade of excuses, stressing our need for divine help to admit wrong and ask for cleansing. Accountability with God is non-negotiable, and truth is the doorway back into fellowship.Adam and Eve's disobedience does not end with God abandoning his image-bearers. Instead, we see garments of skin, a sign that a life was given to cover nakedness. The banishment from the garden, harsh as it reads, becomes protective love: cherubim guard the tree of life so humanity will not lock itself into eternal separation. This protection is paired with provision—covering now, promise later. A clear line to the cross is drawn, where Christ appears “once for all” to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. The symmetry is striking: once God blocked a 'tree' to spare us from eternal death; now GOD calls us to the 'tree' (the cross) to grant us eternal life. Practical application flows from this revelation. When conviction pricks the conscience, the right move is not hiding but response. The Spirit’s nudge at 3 a.m., the unrest that won’t fade, the word that lands close—these are not random. They are invitations (calls) to confession, repair, and action. reconciles by his finished work.As God beckons, each call becomes personal and present. The ABCs of response—admit, believe, confess—offer a simple path for those not yet reconciled. For believers, the call might be a hard conversation, a confession made, or a task finally embraced. Either way, the phone is symbolically ringing. God, who covered Adam and Eve, still clothes our shame today so the question is not whether he is calling.The challenge is whether we will answer, step out from hiding, and walk toward the voice that knows us, names us, and makes us new—through the sacrificial love of His Son (Jesus), on our behalf.Support the showIn lieu of eternity, sermons and musical artists are featured to extol JESUS CHRIST as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity.

Send us a textIn this week's 'Words of Life' broadcast / podcast...We live in a time where volume is mistaken for value. The message unpacked within Pastor Mark's sermon centers on a single word—noise—and how it corrodes discernment, fractures community, and drowns out the gospel of Jesus Christ. Drawing from 1 John 4:1–3, we explore why testing spirits is not cynicism but obedience, and how guarding the heart is a spiritual discipline, not a lifestyle trend. Noise is any unwanted interference that disrupts peace, clarity, or truth. Noise agitates and disturbs the mind, elevates stress, and blurs our ability to hear God. In our digital age, noise multiplies: negative news cycles, comment and dislike wars, platform branding, and even church politics. The answer is not retreat but discernment formed by Scripture and unconditional, unwavering love towards those within our circle of influence.The first pillar within the message is clear: God’s Word is the standard, not the speaker's vernacular. The Apostle John warns that many false prophets have gone out, and Jesus predicted impressive signs used to mislead. A compelling voice, large following, or flawless branding cannot authenticate truth. The Berean Christians modeled a better way: receive teaching eagerly, then examine the Scriptures daily to verify it. When we compare messages to the entire counsel of God, in context, the fog lifts. We stop chasing hot takes, cute colloquialisms, or posts to engage and start cultivating holy habits. Discernment grows when we slow down, turn down the volume, and let God's Word dwell richly within us.Next comes the fruit test. Not every voice that says “Lord, Lord” is known by Jesus. Examine lifestyle, motives, and message. Does the speaker prioritize Jesus crucified and risen, or do they elevate brand, denomination, agenda or ideology? Do their words cultivate love, repentance, and humility, or do they stoke envy, strife, and self-importance? False teachers are self-referential, while the Spirit points to Christ and pours out love for others. Real ministry may confront sin, but it does not dehumanize people. It carries the fragrance of the Spirit: patience, kindness, self-control. If the content from one's platform is mostly self-help, psychology, politics, or prosperity, with Christ used as garnish, it’s likely harmful, spiritual noise.Thus, guarding our heart is not avoidance; it’s stewardship. Proverbs 4:23 calls the heart the wellspring of life, a source that must be protected from contamination. This means carefully selecting our inputs: less doomscrolling, more Scripture; fewer divisive opinions and arguments, more prayer; fewer platform wars, more quiet obedience. Jesus’ call, “Whoever has ears, let them hear,” urges us to listen with spiritual attention, not just consume His words. If a message cannot confess Jesus as the only way to the Father and refuses to embody love, it fails the discernment test. The antichrist spirit is not always a monstrous one; it is often a polished, pragmatic, and popular one.Finally, we return to the priority which we will be held accountable for: elevate Jesus as the sole means of hope for humanity. Ministry exists to herald Christ, not personalities or agendas. The world does not need a louder church; it needs one with crystal-clear clarity. This week's challenge? Ask yourself..."Does this message line up with GOD's Word or have I wasted time infecting my heart, by listening to unproductive, harmful, spiritual 'noise?'"Support the showIn lieu of eternity, sermons and musical artists are featured to extol JESUS CHRIST as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity.

Send us a textIn this week's 'Words of Life' message...We encounter God’s holiness as the blazing center of Scripture and the thread that ties Leviticus to the cross. When Pastor Mark reads, “You are to be holy to me because I, the Lord, am holy,” he isn’t offering a slogan; he is pointing to God’s essence. Holiness means absolute moral purity and perfection, the total absence of sin. By contrast, we are not just flawed; we are fallen and unable to bridge the gulf. Leviticus reveals God who desires to dwell with His people while still being perfectly holy. That tension drives the entire sacrificial system: if God is near, sin must be dealt with. Yet, Israel is set apart, not because they are better, but because God chose to make Himself known through them and required a way to approach Him without being consumed.The Old Testament way was sacrifice. Blood was not a superstition; it was a stark acknowledgment that sin brings death. The high priest entered the holiest place with blood, not opinions. Bells at his hem reminded everyone that approaching God on our own terms is fatal pride in self-confidence. Day after day, year after year, the altar ran red because the people kept sinning and the sacrifices could only cover, not cleanse. Our primary text, Leviticus 20:26, pulls the curtain back: holiness is not optional; it is demanded. Yet mercy shines through the smoke. God creates a path into His presence, teaching hearts to feel the weight of sin and the cost of forgiveness, preparing history for a better priest and a perfect Lamb.Hebrews announces what Leviticus anticipates: Jesus is the holy, innocent, undefiled High Priest who offered Himself once for all. He does not repeat sacrifices, because His blood actually removes sin rather than merely postponing judgment. Only a true human could represent us, and only the sinless Son could bear guilt without being crushed by His own. At the cross, justice and mercy meet. The penalty is paid, the curtain is torn, and Christ sits down because the work is finished. Where there is forgiveness through Him, there is no longer an offering for sin, which means no ladder of merit, no spiritual treadmill, and no priestly middleman can add a thing.Holiness still defines Christian life, but now as fruit of grace rather than a ladder to heaven. Peter’s call to be holy is not moralism; it is adoption language. If the One who called us is holy, our conduct must reflect our new family likeness. The Spirit applies Christ’s finished work by changing our desires and training our habits. We renounce sin, not to earn entrance, but because we belong to the God who loved us at infinite cost. Holiness moves from temple walls to human hearts.The question is painfully simple: are you prepared to meet God safely? There is no other name given among humanity by which we must be saved. Not sincerity, not spirituality, not tradition, not self-improvement. The blood of Jesus must not be treated indifferently, because it is the one thing that makes sinners safe in the presence of a holy God. The door stands open, but not forever. The time to respond is while you have breath. Have you accepted GOD'S offer of receiving His perfect, sacrificial lamb (Jesus) who bore the iniquities that we deserved?Your answer (or lack thereof) determines your eternity - join us to discern how you are approaching God - now and eternally.Support the showIn lieu of eternity, sermons and musical artists are featured to extol JESUS CHRIST as the sole hope for the eternal souls of humanity.