Pastor Steven G Lightfoot's Podcast

On this 15th Anniversary of the September 11, 2001 attacks on America, Pastor Steven explores three basic questions in the context of Luke 15: What is the nature of God? What is the nature of humankind? What is the nature of the relationship between God and humankind, and between human beings, one to another?

What is the cost of discipleship in today's culture? What does it take to really follow Jesus these days? Pastor Steven takes a closer look at what Jesus has to say in the Gospel according to Luke 14:25-33 and several other passages on the subject.

Luke 16 teaches us that we can either seek the favor of man or the favor of God. Seeking the favor of man is temporal. Seeking the favor of God has eternal impact. Matthew 6 teaches us that we cannot serve two masters. We can choose to serve God or we can choose to serve mammon, we cannot serve both. When we choose God and His righteousness, we have His assurance that He will never abandon us.

The world has been shaken before. The writer of Hebrews tells us that the world will be shaken again, and not just the world but heaven too. But while all of creation is shaken, those covered by the blood of the covenant will remain - we won't be shaken!

Arthur Raymond Johnson went home to be with our Lord on July 20, 2016 after a prolonged illness. A native Houstonian, Arthur was born December 10, 1952 to Bettie Louise and Robert Sidney Johnson, who precede him in death along with his daughter, Donise. Arthur is survived by his wife, Kathy, and his sister Sidney Hill, her husband, Joe and their daughter, Amanda; his children, Justin and Jeff Johnson; grandchildren, Layne, Gabby, Joe and Maddie.

Many Christians are troubled by Jesus' words, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword." The gospel message is one of hope, and of love; yet for those in our culture who have resolved in their hearts that they will not hear, that they will not see, it is a message that often brings hostility. Pastor Steven preaches on this and other related scripture from Matthew and Luke.

Good Church, Bad Church. In our Christian walk, we've all probably experienced plenty of both. The thing is, the one common denominator in all of those experiences, good and bad, is...well...us. Jesus experienced both good and bad in the temples and synagogues he visited. And he turned over a few tables when the experience was less than he had hoped. His desire was that his house should be a house of prayer. How do we get there - that house of prayer? It takes faith. The kind of faith of our ancestors - Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses and Aaron...

When you were dead because of the things you had done wrong and because you were outside the law, God made you alive with Christ and forgave all the things you had done wrong. He destroyed the record of the debt we owed, with its requirements that worked against us. He canceled it by nailing it to the cross. Your debt is PAID and all of its legal ramifications are wiped clean. Pastor Steven preaches on Colossians 2:6-14

Pastor Steven preaches Colossians 1.

Our friend and brother in Christ, Walter Larry Carruthers, 73, went home to be with Jesus on July 7, 2016. He was the husband of Ruth Beebout Carruthers. They shared 54 years of marriage together. Born in Chariton, Iowa, he was the son of Quentin and Theo Carruthers. He graduated from Knoxville High School in 1960. He has been retired and living in the Houston area since 2008. He is survived by wife Ruth Beebout Carruthers, 3 daughters and their families: Laura Carruthers Cheung, Lawrence, Sierra, and Gabrielle Cheung; Jo Carruthers Lim, David, Madilyn, and Chase Lim; Ellen Carruthers Flores, Thomas, Logan, Evangeline Flores; sister Margaret Carruthers, and brother Frank Carruthers. He was predeceased by parents Quentin and Theo Carruthers and brother Gary Carruthers.

In the aftermath of the tragic events in Dallas, Pastor Steven reflects on his visit to the recovering city and reminds us that the way forward is by standing up with our congregations and being the church in our communities. We must be worthy of our calling, made so by the transforming power of Jesus.

Pastor Steven preaches on Galatians 6

It's Sunday at Countryside UMC and we are discussing two things mom always said should never be discussed in polite company - religion and politics. Yep, we're going there... As people of God, the Bible says, we are called to freedom. What does that mean, exactly? What is our responsibility in that?

What can we learn from Elijah? When our circumstances are overwhelming, where can we turn for strength? Pastor Steven takes a closer look at what the prophet Elijah has to teach us in 1 Kings 18 and 19.

Pastor Steven's message this week is about addiction. More specifically how we are ALL of us addicted to the human condition and how no one's addiction is worse than or better than anyone else's. We all need a spiritual recovery program and only Jesus can provide it.

When Paul preached to the churches in Judea, his reputation as a "former persecutor of Christians who now preaches the faith" went before him. This transformation glorified God, and those that heard his preaching glorified God because of it. Like Paul, we believers have undergone a transformation, and our testimony and witness glorify God and cause those who hear it to glorify God in response.

The relationship we have, as believers, with the Holy Trinity should cause us to pause and reflect on the majesty and divinity of God and the dignity of humankind.

What kinds of things do you think about while you’re waiting? What thoughts run through your mind when you are on the other side of a life-changing event or series of events and you are waiting for the fallout or the windfall, the consequences or the reward, and the anticipated timing of the next step? If you’re human, then you probably start to second guess the decisions that got you there; the choices you made along the way; the successes and the failures. You ask yourself questions – What could I have done differently? What could I have done better? What if I had done this or done that or not done this or that? This message, recorded on Pentecost Sunday at Countryside UMC, explores the excruciating anticipation of waiting, and the miraculous relief of a Rushing Wind and Tongues of Fire.

Pastor Steven preaches on the Ascension of Jesus and the ascent of motherhood.

We all have mundane, tedious days when we wonder if we are making any headway at all. But even the mundane "everydays" have purpose in God's plan, and even the un-glamorous roads lead to the holy city. Pastor Steven preaches on Revelation 21 and 22. Special thanks to International Missionary Brittany McReynolds for her article "Un-glamorous Roads," which was the inspiration for this sermon.