The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is given the task of investigating and cleaning up areas of toxic waste and poison to the environment. But that only applies to the physical world. Who will clean up the toxic attitudes that infest our workplaces, homes and entertainment? In this message, the prelude the Thanksgiving week, we embark on an epic journey. From the teaching of Jesus, we will learn what it looks like to live free of toxins in our attitudes and walk in victory through three simple principles.

In our lives, we make decisions and we live by those decisions, but even with the most well-prayed and well-thought out plans, there are delays and detours that cannot be avoided. Some of these delays are from God and some of the detours are not. But there is a process we can enter through regardless of where the changes in plans come from.

Those who have made their living with bold decisions will always tell you that living boldly is the way to go. Those who have thrived with caution and careful planning will tell you that caution is a virtue. But when we look at what it means to live decisively, it actually turns out to be an amazing mixture of boldness and caution. The Bible points out, in the pivotal moment of Jesus' life, what really made him a decisive man. This message explores that moment.

Life is full of difficult decisions: Relationship decisions, health decisions, location, vocation and legal decisions. Many times we think we are making the best decisions only to have them turn out as disasters. In this three-part series we will look at the primary biblical principles involved with making difficult decisions

Builders of new homes in America cannot allow mold to exist in any quantity or form, or else they face the threat of lawsuit. Mold is a greater problem than almost anything else facing a homeowner because it is a living organism, and if left to flourish, it can totally destroy the house. This is very much like sin. In this final message in the series on "The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Soul" we will look at how the soul can be scrubbed clean regularly so that the "moldy" effects of sin can be eliminated or at least greatly reduced.

One complaint of many church-goers is that some in leadership in churches use their authority to control or manipulate others. But the alternative to that is to have a church where there is no authority. In this message we will examine the spiritual implications to authority and how God has designed a unique balancing principle to help prevent spiritual abuse of authority

Do you feel like there are days that you fight an internal battle you just aren't winning? Perhaps the battle isn't against any particular sin or temptation, but ideas, emotions and attitudes that just won't quit and are fighting against the peace we want to maintain. In this series, we have talked about achieving a state of peace, joy and freedom. This message will help with the difficult task of staying there.

Though John 4 does tell us that God is seeking those who will worship in "spirit and in truth", this does not mean that worship leaves out the soul. In actuality, the soul reaps many benefits from worship. Come explore Psalm 103 and see how worship can take an old dilapidated bird and turn it back into a soaring sentinel of the sky.

Back in 2000, one of the most well-read magazines in the country published their annual issue of the 50 most Popular people in the world. On that list were at least 20 people who would not make the list five years later. Popularity is like that; and so are people. One thing that this world teaches us is that everything changes over time. The one exception will be carefully laid out in this message.

Chris Webber, formerly a basketball player for the Sacramento Kings, once commented that the only thing he didn't like about Sacramento is its dearth of good soul food restaurants. That's a problem most of us face as well. Where does one go to find good food for the soul? We'll be looking into this intriguing subject as we study Psalm 1.

Church fights have been precipitated on the issue of the Sabbath. The dividing line between denominations has swirled around the Sabbath. Many of Jesus' most heated discussions with Jewish leaders had to do with the Sabbath. Maybe God's idea of one day in Seven is not such a good one? Or maybe we have a tendency to buck all of God's best plans. The "day", "month" and "year" all have astronomical significance, but the week is the only calendar designation that is purely spiritual in origin. And at the very heart of that week is this beautiful gift for our souls called the Sabbath. Come learn what it is really all about.

There are two kinds of boredom. There is the boredom where there really is nothing to do. That can easily be relieved unless you're in Algebra at 8 a.m. or your radio receiver can only get the All-Polka station. But the other kind of boredom is actually a sign that God is up to something. And when we respond to this kind of boredom properly, times of refreshing can come to us from the Lord.

Not only do people have things for us to do, they have things for us to care about. During the first Gulf War, people were watching CNN 18-20 hours a day, and found they lost jobs, marriages and peace of  mind following the burden of war around the clock. The burdens of other people, the burdens we weren't meant to carry, can get desperately heavy. There is an answer to this, and it is to get rid of the unwarranted burdens and to take the yoke of Jesus upon ourselves. Then it becomes enjoyable.

Pastor Jack Hayford of "Church on the Way" in Van Nuys has said that much debilitating spiritual warfare could be reduced or eliminated if God's people learned to get a good night's sleep. Noted sleep researcher, William Dement has said that 33% of all car accidents, 40% of sports injuries and almost 50% of illnesses have a sleep deprivation element. The Bible clearly shows that sleep is a gift from God and should be protected as one of our most valuable commodities. Yet, most of us treat sleep as at best an annoyance, and at worst, something to be bartered away for trinkets. Is there a way out of this mess? Most assuredly there is. Listen to this message for answers.

Imagine that our desires are like the bull in the field with all the cows. How do you get him to want to leave such a desirable place when he seems made for the occasion? Or your television has so many program offerings and only 24 hours in the day to watch. How do you tell your soul it can't have any more when even continuous watching would not be enough? We won't even talk about buffets: Or will we?

Hopelessness is a cancer to the soul. It feeds off of every good thing in the soul and makes a mockery of it all. But the person who is caught up in the web of this hopelessness usually has no strength left to fight it off. That is exactly why God created a type of Gatorade for the soul. It is called HOPE and it is readily available for anyone.

We have hundreds of home testing kits to let us know what is happening with our bodies. But where are the tests for our souls? The soul is that amazing bridge between the physical and spirit realms. The soul is the central core of our being, the part that separates us from others more completely than any other part. In this first message in the series "The Proper Care and Feeding of Your Soul" we go through the basic understanding of the soul, and how to tell if you have a healthy or unhealthy soul. Subsequent messages will focus on how to make the soul more complete and healthy

A young girl wrote an online advice columnist complaining her parents were opposed to her seeing her much older boyfriend she had met online. "But I get knots in my stomach when we're together. He makes me feel dizzy and I sometimes even feel faint after we kiss" she proclaimed. "It must be love" was her conclusion. Actually that sounds more like the flu. Or malaria.

But that kind of love is easy compared to the real love that God wants us to show. The real love is sacrificial, difficult and demanding. But the real reasons it is difficult may be more surprising than you think.

The Sixties culture told us there were only two alternatives: Make Love, Not War. So is it either love or fight? It is possible to make love and war at the same time...but it's not what you think. We don't often associate love with conflict, and for the most part, that is true. But there is a place where love must have a battle line. When one love in our life meets another love in our life, only one of them is going to win. With that in mind, this message explores one of the most intriguing truths of the first letter of John to the churches. Using music from Etta Jones and a phenomenal testimony of a little white-haired man from Australia, we will delve into the uncharted reaches of love's experience: The only battle line love will draw in our lives.

In this Father's Day message, Pastor Larry Yurk gives us a biblical perspective on the creation of Man and the glory of God

This message is not contained in its entirety on this recording...but almost. We are missing a few minutes at the beginning and a two-minute stretch in the middle. We thought about filling it with light elevator music or maybe something from Flogging Molly, but we were talked out of it. It is almost entirely there however. This third message in the series on "Who Wrote the Book of Love" - studies in First John, deals with the difference between the fickle nature of human love and the steadfast nature of the sort of love we can show by the Presence of God within us.

This seminar was run on Monday June 4 at Gateway Fellowship Church in Sacramento. It is one in a series of messages this year on sexual issues for men. Several illustrations were cut out of the final tape because of privacy issues and an inability to obtain permission from people involved. You may notice a few "continuity" issues with the message because of this. In addition, we use some very graphic descriptions of pornography and sexual addiction, even though there is no profanity. We see nothing wrong with allowing teenagers to listen to this as long as parents are there to answer questions.

If there is interest, we may be willing to put a message on here from a seminar that Pastor Mike did titled "Why Women are Stupid...about Pornography". The seminar directors will not allow us to use the tape made at the seminar, but we might be willing to redo the main points if there is enough interest.

If you are a man who has a pornography problem or feel your husband or son does and want help for them, please email me at:
mikeinsac@sbcglobal.net.

In this very special service from Gateway Fellowship, we feature four of our teenagers who are giving their lives to Jesus in Baptism. Pastor Rick Gall gives the message from John 3 as he explains the simplicity of believing in God. Also during this message we have the testimony of the four teens. At the end of the baptism, Pastor Rick gives an opportunity to receive Christ. At the service, ten people responded, giving their lives to Jesus.

Science has determined that many of the same chemical changes which happen when a person falls in love correspond to the changes found in sufferers with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Schizophrenia. When all of our emotional connections to people can be explained by chemical phenomena, it is difficult to see the moral significance of our actions. That is why the Bible introduces a new kind of love, a love that cannot be explained by any chemical reactions or human emotions. This kind of love cannot be found in those with mental illness: it is Perfect Love.

If you want to download this message, just right-click on the file below here and hit "save link as". This will save the file to your hard drive and then you can listen to it on an audio program such as Windows Media Player.

There are many groups of people with whom we may feel some level of affinity and friendship. We certainly may feel very close to those we share a disaster with for instance. People in the same college course may often spend time together, and even fans at a basketball game can feel close to one another as long as they are close enough to the arena. But there is something about the people of God that goes way beyond all of this. The affinity we have is based upon a person and a changed life that we all share. Come learn about the People of Love in this first message in the series titled "Who Wrote the Book of Love".

If you want to download this message, just right-click on the file below here and hit "save link as". This will save the file to your hard drive and then you can listen to it on an audio program such as Windows Media Player.

At Gateway Fellowship, we have always celebrated all the women in our church on Mother's Day and not just the mothers. In this message, we look at the very first mother in this world (and very first woman for that matter) to determine the challenges she faced when sin came into the world. What we discover is that those challenges are essentially no different than what most women face today.

The second fastest selling book on Amazon right now is "The Most Dangerous Book for Boys". Essentially, it is a book that explains how to teach boys basic dangerous skills such as climbing a tree, making a go-kart, playing with a Jackknife and talking to girls. Each of these skills is best learned by one-on-one mentoring. In the same way, God gives us many hands-on exercises and examples of how He taught people to hear His voice. In this final message in the series on Hearing God we will explore how four people, from totally different walks of life, were able to hear God. We will also see what they can teach us about reacting to what we hear.

So many times we are asking ourselves, "would things have gone differently for me if I had heard from God before making that decision." In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus spent his last night on earth asking his Father about the events ahead of him. He tried to get his disciples to join him in digging in to the mind of the Lord before the momentous events. They chose sleep instead. This message focuses on how not to fall asleep when God is trying to help us with input.

If you want to download this message, just right-click on the file below here and hit "save target as". This will save the file to your hard drive and then you can listen to it on an audio program such as Windows Media Player.

As I mentioned in this message (ie. "Stop Abusing the Bible), there are several sites dedicated to full usage of the Bible for little or no cost. Here they are:

E-Sword.... www.e-sword.net

Bible Gateway... www.biblegateway.com

Bible .... www.bible.com

Esword has programs that can be downloaded to your computer, whereas the other two have programs that can be used right on their site. Most of the resources are free. So make use of them and hear what God has to say to you through the Bible.

When Billy Graham used to say "The Bible Says...." you could be fairly sure that he was was going to make a clear presentation of what the Bible said. But many people today are not as clear or careful with how the Bible is represented. In this message, we look at how many people misuse their own Bibles. In essence, because they do this, they miss out on what might say to them through the Bible.

According to Hebrews chapter four, your Bible is Alive and it is energetic. In one sense, it is like the holographic doctor on Star Trek Voyager...but then again, you may not be a trekkie. You'll just have to listen to the message in order to figure it out.

Every year around Easter, today's media likes to produce special magazines, movies and documentaries trying to reinvent Jesus. After "Da Vinci Code" and the "Lost Tomb of Jesus" people just want to hear the truth instead. This message deals with the implications of the resurrection instead of trying to disprove sensational and stupid theories.

Here is the video that preceded this morning message. An original video produced by Mike Phillips and his wife Kathy "Vanna White".

This is a picture of my dad at age 18. The photo was pretty much destroyed, but through the instrumentality of some great graphics programs (particularly GIMP), it was able to be restored somewhat. This message talks about how much we fear getting it wrong when it comes to hearing God. The primary focus is looking at a man like Enoch who both pleased God and followed hard after God. With his example we can see how to hear God in a way that will change our life and the lives of others.

Within the Family of God, there are some who feel left out. They do not hear God's voice, or feel his presence, or read the Bible with any real sense of freedom. There are real reasons why this is so, and the Bible gives us a clear answer to the problem of a sleepy soul.

Some estimates are that the church outside of North America is one of the smaller manifestations of the church around this world. The Church in China may be five to ten times larger than the church in America. The church in Vietnam has conquered territory that the American military could not hold. The Korean nation now has over 50% professing Christians. The same is true of Nigeria. So with all this explosive growth overseas, do we still need to be sending missionaries? Dr. David Constance, a long-time missionary to Argentina, and now working to produce teaching materials to Latin American churches, gives three excellent reasons why missions is not close to being completed.

As much as we get excited about all the new possibilities connected with hearing the voice of God, the real fear that many Christians face is this question: "How do I know that I'm really hearing God?" In this message, we begin to address this question. God has given us a gift that helps to referee the doubts we have about God's voice...it is called "Peace".

There are some who hear God through dreams and visions, others through emotions and others through straightforward thought patterns. But many people experience God's leading in a completely different way. In this message, we look at a woman who comes up for healing from Jesus but doesn't want to reveal her need to anyone. She receives the healing, but in the process, both her and Jesus hear God through their Intuitive sense. We will learn through their example what to do when we begin to hear things in our 'knowers'.

Are emotions helpful in any way? Can we trust them for anything? In this seventh message in the series on Hearing God's Voice, we explore the ways that the inner voice of God can be translated into our emotions. And this way of hearing will impact some people more than any other way of hearing God.

 God not only speaks to us through thought patterns but also through seeing visions, dreams and pictures. But not only does God show us pictures, but also gives us the ability to interpret and apply the truths He shows.

Just as a way of reminder, if you are wanting to listen to this on an MP3 player other than Ipod, then go below to the "direct download " link on this entry, right click and "save target as". Then your browser will save this file so you can listen to it on your computer or MP3 player through Windows Media Player or another player.

In this fifth message in the series on Hearing God's Voice, we look at the first of the most practical ways that God speaks - directly into our minds. We learn from the Old Testament prophets how they went about hearing God and the real reason God agreed to show them what He needed them to know.

Just as a way of reminder, if you are wanting to listen to this on an MP3 player other than Ipod, then go below to the "direct download " link on this entry, right click and "save target as". Then your browser will save this file so you can listen to it on your computer or MP3 player through Windows Media Player or another player.

In our series on "Hearing God's Voice" we finally come to the practicalities of listening to God. How do you know God is saying something at that moment? And what are the clues that God is trying to convey something of great importance?

Just as a way of reminder, if you are wanting to listen to this on an MP3 player other than Ipod, then go below to the "direct download " link on this entry, right click and "save target as". Then your browser will save this file so you can listen to it on your computer or MP3 player through Windows Media Player or another player.

A mystery in our english language means something strange, unknown and peculiar. However, in the Greek language, a mystery is something that can only be known by Revelation. In this message on hearing God's voice, we explore the spirit of man and how God begins His process of communicating with us by speaking mysteries to our spirits. If this seems like a strange way of saying it, we challenge you to listen to this message and grow in your understanding of how God communicates.

This is the first message in the series on "Hearing God's Voice". In this sermon, we look at what it really means to have an intimate relationship with Father God and to hear what He has to say. We learn that everyone can hear God, and everyone hears in unique ways.

This is the communion and healing message from the January 7 service at Gateway Fellowship.

"It was just a little promise" you might say. But the power of a promise - both the promise we keep and the ones we don't - can magnify many times its original size. In this final message in the series on How to Bring God's Presence into Your Home, we will look a the value of a vow when it is well-chosen by God, and the dangers of a vow that has been left untended.

Mary and Joseph are just some of the people who have had their plans changed. Often when God changes our plans, it is not to make us angry or to deliberately inconvenience us, but rather to bring blessings to our lives that cannot come any other way. We don't often see it that way, but God is determined to show us his blessings. Our response needs to be one of submission; God's response to submission is to supply whatever we need to fulfill God's plan.

There are many people who look back at their Christmases from childhood with great fondness and joy. There are others who regret so many of their Christmas memories that this season of the year is not all that welcome. No matter which a person has experienced, there is always a way to bring the Peace of Christ into the place where you live. And the peace of Christ can make all the difference in anyone's life.

Job is not considered the chief party animal among biblical characters. But the beginning of his book shows us a picture of his life and family that goes against the standard picture of his suffering and misery. Though it would be stretching it to call Job a "party animal" perhaps, he does exemplify one of the primary principles of how to live in the presence of God in our families.

Some people have an ideal in their head that churches should live up to. In one sense, it is an ideal that they themselves do not live up to. Others have given way to cynicism and do not believe that the Church can ever recover the place of respect they once had for it. In this message, we explore the value of Spiritual Fathers in a church and what can happen if we allow those Spiritual Fathers to have expectations of us.