Greg’s Blog

This Weekend at Harvest

This Sunday at Harvest, I will be speaking once again on the Lord’s Prayer.

I will deal with the last three petitions:

• “Give us this day our daily bread”
• “Forgive our sins as we forgive those that have sinned against us”
• “Lead us not into temptation”

Do you find yourself falling easily into temptation’s pull? Do you struggle with forgiving others? Then you will want to hear this message.

We will have a time of  Communion. Also, you will not want to miss a brand new song that was written that will be performed by the Harvest Worship Band,  titled “Jesus Weeps.”

The service times are 7:45 A.M., 9:45 A.M., and 11:45 A.M. This service will be webcast live at harvest.org.

Video Clips from Last Sunday’s Message!

Check out these clips from my most recent message. To see more clips, or to watch the full sermon, go to our YouTube channel.

What Is A Hypocrite?

Prayer:

Toy Story 3, iPhones, and Bible Prophecy

I thought that headline might get your attention.

No, Ithere isn’t a real connection between these two things and the Lord’s return. I just wanted to muse a bit about our new iPhone app, a new film that I enjoyed a, and s well as tell you about a conference I’m speaking at at the end of this week.

The new Harvest iPhone app.

With the new iPhone 4 coming out, you will want to get our new Harvest app. Since we are on the topic of the iPhone 4, I have to say I’m quite impressed. The HD recording feature will be great for video blogs! You have to also love the “Facetime” video conference feature.

Very cool.

Now, back to the Harvest app. This thing is chock full of killer features, including video and audio messages that I have given, including the Parables from the Beach series as well as the new series I am presently teaching, Worldview: Learning to Think and Live Biblically.

Something you will find really useful on this App is the “Tools” section. There are videos to share, including a gospel message, first steps for new believers, and answers to tough questions. You’ll learn how to share your testimony with others through a One-Minute Message. We’ve also included scriptures to memorize and strategies for sharing your faith with people from other religions. If you help lead someone to the Lord, they can register their decision and request a New Believer’s Growth Packet directly from the app.

There is much more I could say, but just go download it! It’s free!

To download it, click here to go to iTunes.

Toy Story 3 (warning: if you haven’t seen the movie and don’t want to know any plot “spoilers,” skip this section)

I went with my wife Cathe and granddaughter Stella to see this new chapter in the Toy story series.

The little boy in the story, Andy, is now 17 and headed off to college. He packs his toys in a bag, intending to store them in an attic, but they get thrown away by accident by his mother. The toys end up in a daycare center that seems to them like the promised land. They will be played with again!

But soon they realize that “Lot’s-O Huggin’ Bear,” a toy who is in charge, is really evil. The toys find that they are now in a toy prison!

Woody, the cowboy toy who never stops loving Andy wants to return to him. After all, Andy’s name is written on him. So . . .

Hmmm.

Do I see a spiritual analogy here? We are like those toys running from our owner, God? Perhaps I will write about that in another entry soon. What do you think?

Bible prophecy conference

Now to something more important, a conference on Bible prophecy.
Joel Rosenberg, an expert on Bible prophecy and a friend, has invited me to be one of the speakers at his Epicenter conference to be held in Philadelphia this weekend. Other speakers include Tony Perkins, Janet Parshall, Kay Arthur, Lt. Gen. William G. “Jerry” Boykin, and others.

This conference will be seen in 200 churches across North America and aired on 1,000 Christian radio stations.

If you would like to attend and want to know more, click here.

New Harvest iPhone app is here!

You can download it today for free!

After several months of work from the Harvest web programmers and designers, we are launching our new “Harvest: Greg Laurie” iPhone app. We’ve tried to take our best web content and pack it into one place to help you “know God” and “make Him known” to others. It is unlike any other Christian app I’ve seen. Let me give you a “sneak peak” of what you’ll find when you launch it.

Messages
The app includes all of my recent “Messages.” You can play messages from my Worldview and Essentials series in both audio and video formats, as well as Parables from the Beach videos and A New Beginning radio programs.

Devotions
You’ll have easy access to my daily devotions, so that every day you’ll find fresh inspiration to help you walk with God.

Tools
What really makes this app unique are the “evangelism tools” designed to proclaim the gospel and help you share your faith with others. There are videos to share, including a gospel message, first steps for new believers, and answers to tough questions. You’ll learn how to share your testimony with others through a One-Minute Message. We’ve also included Scriptures to memorize and strategies for sharing your faith with people from other religions. If you help lead someone to the Lord, they can register their decision and request a New Believer’s Growth Packet directly from the app.

Connect
Finally, you’ll be able to get “Connected” to all of our social network feeds. You can also share content from the app with your friends on Facebook, Twitter, or by sending an e-mail.

I hope you like the new iPhone app and find it a useful tool to help you draw closer in a relationship with Jesus Christ and for sharing your faith with others.

You can download it for FREE on iTunes: here.

Greg

P.S.
If you like our new app, make sure to write a review in the iTunes store. We are also working on apps for Android phones and one optimized for the iPad. They’re coming soon!

Some thoughts for singles

Tonight in Orange County we will talk about “The Biblical Worldview on Singleness, Marriage, and Divorce.”

Why Divorce?

Because Jesus addressed it in the text we will look at in the Sermon on the Mount. I want to try to help you to do everything possible to avoid that potential divorce, and that starts with the person you choose to be your spouse.

The fact is that  singles often envy those who are married. And married people often envy those who are single. It’s been said, “Marriage is like flies on a screen door; those on the outside want in, and those on the inside want out!”

The fact is there are advantages and disadvantages to both marriage and singleness. Given a choice, I would pick marriage any day of the week. That’s a “no-brainer!”

Advantages of Singleness

However, there are advantages to being single as well. For starters, you have mobility. The apostle Paul wrote:

“When you’re unmarried, you’re free to concentrate on simply pleasing the Master. Marriage involves you in all the nuts and bolts of domestic life and in wanting to please your spouse, leading to so many more demands on your attention. The time and energy that married people spend on caring for and nurturing each other, the unmarried can spend in becoming whole and holy instruments of God. I’m trying to be helpful and make it as easy as possible for you, not make things harder. All I want is for you to be able to develop a way of life in which you can spend plenty of time together with the Master without a lot of distractions.” (1 Cor 7:32-35, THE MESSAGE)

Paul is not critical of the person who wants to “please their spouse”. You are supposed to do that and “love each other.” But when you are single, you can point your affections toward Jesus even more!

Contentment
So, we need to learn to BE CONTENT where we are right now. The Apostle Paul said “I have found in whatever state I’m in to be content” (Philippians 4:11). Hebrews 13:5 says, “Let your way of living be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” David said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want . . . “

Your contentment comes from who you know (Jesus), not what you have, or if you are married or single.

More on this topic later.

For more info on the O.C. Bible study, click here.