Living Above the Sun Ministries

The Christian story begins with creation in harmony, unity, and peace; and it ends with a restored creation. Between these two bookends is the drama of redemption. The covenants are major acts of this drama. Christ’s work is intimately related to and fulfills each of the five covenants that God initiated in the Old Testament. Covenants are about God’s activity and intention to redeem us , and the covenants tell us about ourselves—our condition, our brokenness, our dignity, our role as images of God, our suffering, and our calling. A covenant is a life and death relationship with God on His terms. The Greek word, "diatheke" refers to a person's last will and testament or to other solemn agreements involving benefits and responsibilities to all involved parties. In the New Testament, the word is often used as an equivalent to the Hebrew word "berith", especially in theological contexts. It is a binding agreement, a contract between at least two parties. It ...

In his book, "The Seeking Heart," Fenelon writes "I am inspired by John the Baptist who completely forgot himself that he might think only of Christ. He pointed to Christ with his whole life. What an example he sets before you!" John the Baptist's ministry was all about preparing the way for Jesus. In almost any crowd, John the Baptist would be called unique. He wore odd clothes, ate strange food, and preached an unusual message. He would not have agreed with the habit we have of evaluating people by how the dress-or by how they act. He would have insisted that we listen to what he had to say. What John wanted to do more than anything was to obey God, and he wasn't afraid to ask others to do the same. John realized he had a special role to play in the world. His job was to tell the world that the Savior was about to arrive, and John was totally committed to this purpose. John's message still applies to us today, in that not only do we need to ...

From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked. -Luke 12:48 Yesterday was a day of Jesus Immersion for me and few friends of mine. We traveled down to Anderson, SC for a leadership conference at NewSpring Church. Check out who was there preaching! Perry Noble, Pastor of NewSpring Church, Anderson, SC My Pastor, Steven Furtick, Elevation Church, Charlotte, NC Pastor Craig Groeschel, lifechurch.tv, Edmond, OK Pastor Andy Stanley, North Point Community Church, Atlanta, GA Pastor Jud Wilhite, Central Christian Church, Las Vegas, NV Pastor Mark Driscoll, Mars Hill Church, Seattle, WA Pastor Judah Smith, The City Church, Seattle, WA All these men are great men of God, they are, I believe, some of the best pastors in the world. I'll speak more in this in just a minute, but first I want to point something out about the verse above, Luke 12:48. This v...

"But you are a chosen people [son, daughter], a royal priesthood, a holy nation [son, daughter], God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." -1 Peter 2:9 Last night and into this morning, I was faced with a lot of doubting thoughts. Am I denying myself things I need? Have I really been deceiving myself? Have I been burying myself so deep in my work and things I do to avoid hurts and sorrows? Is God really not enough for me? These thoughts were not easy to think, were they true? But gosh, I think about all the songs we sing about our Savior, and think of all He has brought me through. Why would I want to feel the pain? Have I not thought about it enough? There is no where I would rather be than hiding in Jesus and His work and ministry. Am I wrong for that? Is He really not the answer? What can man do for me? I'd Rather have Jesus than anything. Are things ever going to st...

“Can anyone object to their being baptized, now that they have received the Holy Spirit just as we did?” So he gave orders for them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ." -Acts 10:47-48 This past weekend, and this weekend coming up my Pastor, Steven Furtick of Elevation Church here in Charlotte has been preaching our series "Follow." He gave all of our campuses an opportunity to be baptized spontaneously. 1,426 people responded to this opportunity. 1,426 ran to Jesus, deciding to obey and follow their savior in believers baptism. Do you know why the verse above happened? Because of Acts 10:9 "The next day as Cornelius’s messengers were nearing the town, Peter went up on the flat roof to pray. It was about noon..." Because Peter prayed. Do you know why 1,426 received Christ and were baptized? Because Elevation church and their leaders prayed asking God move and intervene in lives, to change lives. We pray in audacious faith believing that God ...