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“That's taxpayer’s money that is going to support research and development and pilot projects to develop a food system that is based on environmental destruction and greed and disregard for animals, fish, and any of the other marine mammals that might be around it.” - Andrianna Natsoulas Andrianna Natsoulas is the campaign director for Don't Cage Our Oceans, an organization that exists to keep our oceans free from industrial fish farms. Offshore finfish farming is the mass cultivation of finfish in marine waters, in underwater or floating net pens, pods, and cages. Offshore finfish farms are factory farms that harm public health, the environment, and local communities and economies that rely on the ocean and its resources. Don’t Cage Our Oceans are a coalition of diverse organizations working together to stop the development of offshore finfish farming in the United States through federal law, policies, and coalition building. And, although it is not yet happening, right now the US Administration and Congress are promoting this kind of farming, which would be nothing short of disastrous for the oceans, the planet and the people and animals who live here. dontcageouroceans.org…
Content provided by Jonathan Minter and Eastgate Church Sermons. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jonathan Minter and Eastgate Church Sermons or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
Sermons from Gary Combs and the preaching team at Eastgate Church in Wilson, North Carolina.
Content provided by Jonathan Minter and Eastgate Church Sermons. All podcast content including episodes, graphics, and podcast descriptions are uploaded and provided directly by Jonathan Minter and Eastgate Church Sermons or their podcast platform partner. If you believe someone is using your copyrighted work without your permission, you can follow the process outlined here https://player.fm/legal.
Sermons from Gary Combs and the preaching team at Eastgate Church in Wilson, North Carolina.
Do you worry about the future? Do you ever wonder if God is really in control when the world seems chaotic? Maybe you feel uncertain about your job, your health, or your family. Maybe you're looking at the state of our nation or the world and wondering, "Where is this all going?" The people of Israel in Haggai’s day had similar concerns. They were a small, struggling remnant in a land that once flourished under King David and Solomon. Their temple was in ruins, their enemies were strong, and they wondered if God's promises to them were still true. But through Haggai, God gave them assurance that they could trust Him with the future. In Haggai 2:20-23, God spoke through the prophet Haggai to assure Zerubbabel that he could trust God with the future of Israel. We can trust God with the future.…
What does it mean to be blessed? Everybody’s saying it these days! From the Walmart greeter who says, “Have a blessed day!” To the Hollywood star who wins an Oscar saying, “I feel blessed.” In Haggai 2:18-19, God spoke through the prophet Haggai to help the Israelites understand what it meant to live under God’s blessing. We can understand what it means to live under God’s blessing.…
God cautions His people to understand that worshiping God, both giving and serving, must come from a heart that is pure and devoted to Him, not just outward religious activity. God cares more about the attitude of our hearts than the amount of our giving. He cares more about our motive than our money. He desires that we worship with a right heart. In Haggai 2:10-17, God told the prophet Haggai to help the Israelites to understand that what really matters to God is that they worship Him with a right heart.…
Do you worry about success? At work? For your family? In other words, do you worry about how things are going to turn out? Sure, we can put the work in, but how do we know it will be successful in the end? Is there a more trustworthy way to live? In Haggai 2:6-9, the Lord told the prophet Haggai to tell His people that if they would persevere in building His house, they could trust Him for the end result. We can join God in His kingdom work and trust Him for the end result.…
Discouragement is one of the greatest obstacles to faithfulness in serving God. When things don’t seem to be going the way we expected, we can easily lose heart. The people in Haggai’s day faced this same struggle. They had begun rebuilding the temple, but it didn’t compare to the former glory of Solomon’s temple. Many became disheartened, and some questioned whether their efforts were even worth it. How are you doing today? Are you facing some obstacle or difficulty that has you feeling discouraged, even feeling like giving up, or quitting? We all have feelings of discouragement from time to time. How can we find encouragement during times like this? That’s what today’s message is about. How to be encouraged in the Lord! In Haggai 2:1-5, the people of God were encouraged to overcome their discouragement and to persevere in His work. We can be encouraged to persevere in God’s work.…
Have you heard God’s call on your life? For some, it’s a call to come to faith in Jesus. You’ve never responded to the call of salvation. You’re still trying to live life according to your own priorities and purpose. For others, you’ve answered God’s call to come to Jesus. You’ve trusted Him as your Lord and Savior. But lately, you’ve been feeling stuck spiritually, you’ve lost the joy, the fire that you once experienced in Christ. Could it be that Jesus has called you to more? Could it be that you’ve gotten your priorities out of order and forgotten your true purpose? Jesus hasn’t left you nor forsaken you, but He can’t fully bless you and lead you until respond in faithful obedience to His call. That’s where the people of God in Haggai were. They had been stuck, but now they’re ready to move on with God again! In the book of Haggai 1:12-15, the people of God faithfully responded to God’s call to rebuild His house. We can faithfully respond to God’s call.…
Isn’t purpose one of the most basic questions we ask ourselves? “Who am I? Why am I here? What’s my purpose?” Some look around them and find purpose from the external sources. This is the traditional approach: My family and my community give me my identity and purpose. The post-modern approach is more common today: I look within to find my identity and purpose. But both of these approaches, the outward and the inward, fall short. They both lead to false identities and meaningless lives without real purpose and fulfillment. In the book of Haggai 1:7-11, God challenged His people to consider their ways to bring them into alignment with God’s ultimate purpose for their lives. We can consider our ways to bring them into alignment with God’s ultimate purpose for our lives.…
The pressures, demands, expectations, and tasks that push in from all sides assault our schedules. Do this! Be there! Finish that! Respond to that email! Answer that text! It seems as though everyone wants something from us—family, friends, employers, school, church, children’s sports and activities… Soon there is little left to give, as we run out of energy and time. We find ourselves rushing through life, attending to the necessary, the immediate, and the urgent. The important is all too often left in the dust. Our real problem is not the volume of demands or lack of scheduling skills, but our priorities—what is truly important to us? In Haggai chapter 1:1-6, the prophet challenged the Jews who had returned from Babylonian exile to consider whether they were giving God and His house priority. We can consider whether we’re giving God and His Kingdom priority.…
In this life there will be difficulty either physically or spiritually. Where there is greater physical difficulty, people tend to turn quickly to the Lord spiritually and where there is little physical challenge the people struggle to see God. We are beyond blessed physically but this means we have to actively and intentionally pursue the Lord and His will. Some of us are asking God today, “Can I avoid those challenges, Can I just be a spectator, Can’t someone else do the hard stuff?” But God wants to reveal Himself to us and change us in those times. When He calls you into deep waters will you pursue Him? In Isaiah 43, the prophet shared an encouraging word from the Lord that His people could fearlessly go through the difficulties ahead as they pursue the Lord. We can fearlessly go where God leads us too.…
It can be uniquely challenging to know what to do as a Christian because so much of our Christian faith is based on trust and dependence on God. But there is a distinct line between rightly trusting in God’s will, power, and provision and being spiritually passive or lazy. Maybe you are at a decision point in life about a job opportunity or a relationship or something major like that. Carefully praying and trusting in the Lord is right, but it doesn’t stop there. Pursuit is what follows. When it comes to our walk in Christ this is always the right pattern … prayer and then pursuit. In Philippians 3, the apostle Paul instructed the church in Philippi that the one thing he did was press on towards the goal God had called him towards. We can do this one thing and pursue God’s goal for us.…
The gift of gold points to Christ as King. The gift of frankincense points to His divinity and priestly work. So what does the gift of myrrh point to? It points to the cross. The gift of myrrh points to Christ as Savior! In the Gospel of Luke, he recorded the shepherd’s faithful response to the good news that Christ the Savior had been born. We too can faithfully respond to the good news about Christ the Savior has come.…
In John 1:1-18, the apostle John bore witness of Jesus as the Son of God who came into the world that we might believe in Him and become children of God. The Magi’s gift of frankincense points to Christ’s divinity. We can believe John’s witness that Jesus is the Son of God.
Have you finished your Christmas shopping? Don’t you feel the tension? Don’t you feel the pressure to spend more money than you have in order to give your kids (spouse, grandkids…) everything on their list? You want everyone to be happy and you want to be happy, so you spend, spend, spend… And the more you spend, the less it feels like Christmas. Or what it’s supposed to mean. How can we pull our affection off of the crazy, chaotic spending spree that comes every December and instead focus on worshiping Christ as King? How can we spend less and worship more? In the gospel of Matthew, the story of the birth of Jesus is told within the political backdrop of the times. From the beginning there was a battle between worshiping the true King and the false king Herod. The challenge for us is to remove our worship from the false king and to put our worship on the true King, Jesus Christ.…
So you probably feasted this week and enjoyed family, but did you do this with thanksgiving and prayer to Almighty God? We have tendency to separate the physical from the spiritual and we would do well this morning morning to reconnect Thanksgiving to our Lord. Perhaps today, you feel like you have much to be grateful for. How might you turn that into gratitude and prayer unto God? Perhaps for some, though, it has been a terribly hard season. In those times, thanksgiving can feel completely foreign. However, it is in those times that thanksgiving is all the more necessary for your healing. In Psalm 9, King David wrote of how he willed himself to be thankful to the Lord with all of His heart. We can choose to be thankful to the Lord with all our hearts.…
Do you understand the great possession offered to in Christ Jesus? Perhaps you once did. But you’ve been feeling disheartened? Maybe you’ve been hurt by someone in the church and you’ve lost sight of the prize you have in Christ. Maybe you’ve wondered if staying faithful is worth the struggle. The early readers of Hebrews faced those same doubts. Some had suffered great loss for their faith. Others were tempted to return to the familiar rituals of their old life. They were at risk of turning away from their greatest treasure: their possession in Christ. Disappointment, suffering, or the busyness of life can distract us. The world promises possessions and comforts that seem tangible and immediate, but these things pale in comparison to the eternal and abiding possession we have in Christ. Hebrews reminds us of the surpassing worth of Jesus! In Hebrews 10:26-39, the author warned believers to remember their greater possession in Christ. We can remember our greater possession in Christ.…
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