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I want to Thank God for our friends and close family. My wife and I have been trying to have a baby for well over 12 years. In the summer of 2004, we had our first baby, however, he didn't make it past 18 weeks, but we still delievered him. It was the hardest thing we have ever faced. God had promised my wife that we would have a son. The doctors indicated that we should try again in about a year. We really felt that we had to try a lot sooner than that. In December of 2004 my wife was pregnant with a little boy. In 2 short months God was able to create a miracle. He was born in September of 2005 and is now over seven months old and is a blessing to everyone that sees him. We get many compliments on how cute he is and we say that his cuteness was 12 years in the making. God created our miracle when, according to the many doctors we consulted, it was impossible for us to conceive.
Jesus looked at them and said, "With man this is impossible, but not with God; all things are possible with God." Mark 10:27
God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. I Corinthians 1:27
-Preston
My wife and I are missionaries with YWAM (Youth With a Mission) Thailand. We've been listening to your podcasts for the past couple of months as well as reading Repenting of Religion, Is God to Blame? and God at War - and passing them on to others. I can't tell you how refreshing it has been to our souls. Thank God for technology that can bring us such rich spiritual food from the other side of the world at the click of a button. Blessings to you!
-Phil,Youth With A Mission, Thailand
Thank you for your weekly posted sermons. My wife and I are missionaries in Uganda and have found it very difficult to get good spiritual feeding. We both feel that the sermons are excellent and are helping us to grow in our faith. Thank you again for your timely ministry. God bless.
-John and Lyn
I live in Melbourne, Australia. I attend a very Calvanistic church and drifted into that whole belief system. I hit rock bottom just over a month ago (well, almost) and felt like I had lost my faith in God. My marriage was on the rocks and my wife almost left me. I thought if God is like they say then I don't want to follow Him. I stumbled across your website after hearing a bit about open theology and found some great encouraging sermons that have reinvigerated my faith in the true God. I heard Neil Anderson [January 30, 2005 on sermon archives] on there and bought his books and have been reading those and rediscovering who I am in Christ and how to live for him. I just want to thank you for encouraging me and my wife. She says now she likes God again after going through a season of seeing him as the Calvanists teach - distant, uncaring and judgmental. I will continue to get my spiritual nourishment from the Lord and from your Sunday sermons, my wife and I listen together and we have been blessed. Thanks again and God bless - you are a true encouragement from the Lord.
-John
My wife and I are serving down in Nicaragua. I am from the Twin Cities and use to attend Woodland Hills. I now get your podcast. Your Kingdom message is being heard around the world. Praise God!
-Phil
I am a missionary in Constanta, Romania working with YWAM (Youth With a Mission). I am originally from Minneapolis, and attended Woodland Hills frequently. It's wonderful to be able to download Greg's sermons. He gives such great life changing messages and I am grateful to be able to listen to them even in Romania! Praise God for your ministry. God Bless.
-Sarah
Thank you so much for donating milk tops and Cambell's Soup labels to our school. We use the money to buy new library books and supplies for our neediest students. Thank you so much for your generousity!
-Jessica, Teacher at Hayden Heights Elementary
My brother, sister and I were left with my mom when my father walked out on us in 1989. Mom raised us to be ‘good Catholics’ – we were all baptized and got confirmed. Mom met her first boyfriend through church. He was everything she wanted – nice and respected. After awhile he decided to give up his child to his previous wife, and he moved in with Mom. We saw changes instantly after that. He raped me and my sister repeatedly for two years. He would also beat my brother in front of friends and others in our neighborhood. Nobody understood what happened to that ‘good Catholic’ family.
I would soon realize that I was slowly losing my family because of him. We basically quit living unless he said we could. One day he beat me with a belt because I accidentally broke a plastic window in our old play house. I remember the pain. Mom was so torn and hurt, but she eventually gave in to his cruelty and stopped caring what happened to us. Finally she broke down and admitted to her family that she needed help. She believed that she could not get him out herself and, if she did, he would try something. My uncle offered to help, so the next evening he came with plane tickets to Arizona where my grandparents lived.
It seemed like we lived without the Lord for awhile. Mom had to work two jobs to make ends meet. My sister ran away from home for two weeks. I had a string of bad boyfriends and friends. Then my sister got pregnant at fourteen. Mom and my sister stopped talking because, in our family, people don’t have children out of wedlock. On one particular day, my sister called to tell me she had lost her son Michael to state custody. Michael and I used to do a lot together, and I have not seen him or heard his voice for two years. Once again, something I loved was taken away.
We were living in a house that Mom’s dad had bought for her, but we had to move out when he died. So we moved to Eagan. Unfortunately Mom is in jail right now because she owes money to her apartment complex, and I haven't been able to see her. Where does one turn when there is nowhere to go? A lady that we knew introduced us to Woodland Hills. We went to church with her once and loved it! I love the worship time, Alpha and Beta. I love all the friends that help me through my walk with Jesus.
- Louise
Just wanted to say we love listening to the podcasts of your sermons. We are missionaries in Odessa, Ukraine and the ability to listen to great teaching/preaching in English is a huge blessing! :) We love Pastor Greg's teachings and wisdom. Thanks! :) Keep podcasting! God Bless.
-Paul and Christine |
