Everyone is thankful when the owner of a large dog walks him with a thick leash. Did you know that God has a leash? And do you know what is on the other end of it?

In Christianity, the phrase "The Imminent Return of Christ" often means that Jesus can return at any time. But the passage we will be studying suggests that certain things have to happen before His return. But the real focus of this sermon is on our attitudes - and the attitudes of the human race at the end of the age. We want to make sure our attitude is not that of the rest of the people who will participate in the Rebellion and follow the Man of Lawlessness. This is the ninth message in the series "Presentfuture".

All of Jesus' followers were ecstatic that He had risen from the dead. Well, not all. One of them, Simon Peter, was morose that he above all had failed Jesus. In this message, we will see how Jesus restored him. That process of restoration can be ours as well.

In Hamlet, the title character asks the question: "To Be or Not To Be?" He is asking himself whether he wanted to live any more or not. And maybe his question is much larger than we think. Do you want to really live? And who can tell us how to do that?

There is so much in life that is "not fair". We can see so many situations that are just not right and so many people who start out in life at a huge disadvantage. Does God care when life is not fair? This message points out the difference between fairness and justice.

The days ahead may prove to be the most challenging to our country in a generation. How will we handle them? In times of crisis, it really shows who is walking in the light and who is fumbling around in the darkness. Which are you?

All the Treasury Secretary had to say were the words "panic in the banking sector" and everyone wanted to throw money at banks to make the panic go away. We often want to avoid that feeling of being powerless, no matter what it costs. But there is another way that works much better. This message focuses on godly panic prevention.

Do you know the guy who has the future all figured out? Or maybe the preacher who is sure they know when Jesus will return? Or the Great-Aunt who is positive the rapture is going to happen in 2012? Well, none of them are going to like this message. For the rest of you, it may be just the tonic you need.

Seemingly, there are no guarantees in life. But in this sermon, a core message in the "Presentfuture" series, we will come as close as possible to outlining how you can experience real joy that will last. This is no hype: This works every time.

Since God has forgiven the sins of all men, why does God still get angry? Or does He? We will explore what God gets angry at and why. More importantly, we will look at what we can do about that. This is the second message in the "Presentfuture" series of studies in 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

Note: The message for September 7, the first in the series on "Presentfuture" was not recorded properly and is missing from this set. We apologize for this.

This is the final message in the series "CSI". In this look at our nature and purpose as humans, we examine the calling and possibilities that we have when others see something of God in our lives. But there is a right way and a wrong way to show "God in Us" to others.

This is a very unusual message. Members of our Encuentro Hispano ministry here at Gateway joined us for the service. Pastor Ken translated as Pastor Mike preaches. This is the 8th message in the series on "CSI: Who Are We" and features the concept of freedom and how we are called to use our Freedom for maximum spiritual advantage

This message is the seventh in the series "CSI: Who are We?" From the outset, mankind has made two mistakes when it comes to transforming our lives to become moral. First, we develop systems where we do it all ourselves - pull ourselves up by our bootstraps - systems where God is not necessary. These generally do not work, and even when they do the changes are cosmetic. The second mistake is to just ask God to change us without any involvement in the change on man's part. This does not work because it means that our choice is not involved. This message goes into detail about how transformation really works and what a church looks like when it makes Transformation one of its priorities.

This is the sixth message in the series "CSI: Who are We?" We have already established that God created us, that he helped us work through the issue of sin and the awful way we think about ourselves and others. We learned that we are his partners. Then we focused on who Gateway Fellowship is. Pastor Rick showed from the Bible that we are a Diversifying Fellowship. Pastor Larry shows in this message that we are an Equipping Community.

We live in a diverse community and our church should reflect that diversity.  Hear what Pastor Rick has to say about achieving that from Ephesians 2:11-22.

Why would God need a partner? Is he running low on cash? Has his ideas well run dry? Maybe God's energy levels are flagging? Obviously, none of those answers makes sense. Yet, God clearly shows us he wants us to partner with him in this Great Venture. What is the venture and how real is the partnership? Those are the questions we answer in this message from the series "CSI: Who Are We?"

Once again, we couldn't adjust the maximum volume on this recording. But if you turn it down yourself, it should be fine. This message is the third one in the series "CSI: Who Are You". Having established that humans are free-choosing creations of God and that all of us have a conscience that is enough for us to be moral agents, now we have to figure out what can be done when our free choice messes us up and our consciences won't stop reminding us that we are in trouble. Here is the answer: We are Atoned For.

Pastor Ray Van Gilst shares with the Men's Ministry  of Gateway Fellowship at this summer barbecue. He shares the truth found in Matthew 19 and the story of forgiveness ... both forgiveness offered and received. This message is for more than just men...but it is given to men because God calls men to lead the way in spiritual skills.

One of the twentieth century's most influential atheists stated that his primary criticism of the church is that it assumes that only believers in God have moral values. He claimed that everyone has basic moral values. Perhaps he thought he was being original, but actually the book of Romans says exactly the same thing. In this second message in the series on "Who Are We" we explore the nature of all human beings as moral agents.

NOTE: We apologize for the quality problems on this recording. It was recorded accidentally at highest volume. We have tried to fix this afterwards, but it makes the entire podcast sound distorted. You may want to lower your volume to listen also.

CSI always starts with Roger Daughtry singing "Who are You". That's how we start this sermon series: "Who are you?" This message is the first in the series where we focus on who we are as human beings. Basic, simple understanding is often hard to come by...so this is where we start.

Two and a half years ago, Gateway Fellowship planted a new church in Roseville which is affectionately referred to as G2; (they actually refer to us affectionately as G1). The pastor of that church, Mike Marczak delivers this message as he speaks from Hebrews 10. This is part sermon and part testimony to what God has done in G2.

What do Jimi Hendrix, shadow boxes, vintage 57 Chevys and Field of Dreams have in common? They all point to one of God's most exciting attributes: He is the Creator. In this final message in the series "Spicy Living" we explore what it would mean to see creative miracles, creative changes, creative words cascading through our world instead of decay and destruction. You can be part of this creating.

Teaching is only one way that we pass on information from one generation to the next. Being salt on this earth means we should become craftsmen in the art of passing good things along.

Second chances in life can be very confusing. Who deserves a second chance? When should it be given or not given? We will learn in this message that Second Chances can be one of life's greatest teaching opportunities if practiced with care and expertise.

We go out of our way to make visitors to our home comfortable. We want them to know they are welcome to be part of our lives and to share, however briefly, in the best our lives have to offer. But the ones who need comfort are often far from us emotionally. They hurt, grieve, and feel the pain of loss. This message speaks of the Spice of Comfort.

Joy and  happiness are not the same thing at all. But they are often mistaken for each other. In this message, we explore how it is possible, and even necessary, to exhibit and experience Joy consistently in our lives. Even in the midst of pain.

The Patriarch Jacob was named 'Deceiver' and it defined his life until one incredible encounter with God changed all that.  God redefined him with a new name and God wants to give you a new name. 

There are many kinds of relational boundaries in this world: Gender, age, race, religion, gang affiliation, language, ... so many boundaries creating so many difficulties in our world. But in this passage we study this morning, there will be a perspective given to us from a Mother where we see what can happen when we cross boundaries the way that God directs.

We are so afraid to ask God to give us patience. This is because we're afraid that he will dump the worst junk into our lives and then tell us to just be patient with it all. But what if that was not patience? In this message we will look at how to be "aggressively kind" and "actively patient".

This second message in the "Spicy Living" sermon series focuses on the Spice of Caring. God gives a privilege to the Righteous Ones to care for His needs as they are found in elements of society that others have neglected. In the end, this spice is to be delivered by pinches, not by handfuls.

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus asks a question for which he expects no answer: "What can salt do if it isn't salty any more?" The reason he doesn't expect an answer is that salt never becomes non-salty. In the same respect, the believer in Jesus Christ, by virtue of their presence in this world is the salt of the earth. If we aren't, then why are we here? This message is the first in a ten-part series celebrating what kind of a difference we can make in  this world.

Today's Christian thinks of themselves in terms of their individual growth and happiness. That is not primarily how the Church was originally designed to run. This message focuses on how the Body of Christ can really build itself up and see growth that lasts and maturity that amazes.

One smart aleck college student asked: "I'm not interested in life after death; I'm interested in life before life after death". That statement represents some of the population. But a much higher percentage of the population want to know what will happen after we die. In this message we start with the words of The Princess Bride and end with 22 people surrendering their lives to Christ. This service is full of salvation.

And Remember these words of Correction:  Energizer Bunny, Energizer Bunny, Energizer Bunny (my children spent the evening torturing me for this).

On what we call Palm Sunday, Jesus came to the Temple in Jerusalem and turned everything upside down - both literally and figuratively. The Bible also tells us that God does not live in temples made by hands. The temple of God now is the believer in God. He lives in us. This message focuses on how God can clean up those things that stand in the way of others finding God.

The tension between wanting to trust someone and not knowing who we can trust can cause many problems. But in this drive to change and be agents of change, there must at least be a faith/trust in God that endures. In this message, we explore why that is hard, and how to make it more straightforward.

The road to change is sometimes smooth, but most often it faces opposition at many stages. The greatest reinforcement we have is the Holy Spirit. This message focuses on the help the Spirit gives us as we pray for change and make the initial steps to change.

The time has come to discuss how we are going to take the real changes that God has placed in our life and engage with the evil we find all around us: Including our own family trees. This message will take up the cause of engaging the evil in this world through strategically assessing the situation and prayerfully acting.

Once God begins to communicate his burden to you (as in "My yoke is easy and my burden is light), it is then time to take it out into real life. In order to make us successful in the fulfillment of His calling, God helps us with the Burdens by giving us guideposts along the way, insights into the mysteries we are called to understand.

Coded orders are given to a military unit because they are for their eyes only. In the Kingdom of God, it is not so much that God wants to keep secrets as much as He wants every person to concentrate on the particular assignments He gives them and not everyone else's. As we consider the kind of changes that God wants to make in our personal world, we would be well advised to learn how to interpret God's coded orders to each of us.

The secret is not so hard to understand. The secret is not that difficult to put into practice...occasionally. The secret to making permanent changes in your life isn't just obvious, it is workable. But so few people really make it work that it acts like a huge "secret". What is the secret? Listen closely to this message.

Our goal is to see changes happen in our lives. God's goal goes deeper than that. Not only does God want to see change, but He wants it to be exactly the right change that our lives need right now. Only God has that kind of intelligence to understand what we need. We don't even possess it. Just as the Army needs the right intel to make the proper military moves, so we need God's intelligence in the process of becoming the Army of God that makes a difference in this world.

This message begins a brand-new sermon series, exploring and explaining the foundation of Gateway Fellowship's viewpoint on personal change as a Christian and the role that Intercessory Prayer plays with that. The series is called "The Delta Force" and this first message explains the role of the commander of the Delta Force. The Delta symbol in scientific circles represents the measurement of change in a given experiment or series of observations. Come experience what it can mean to appoint a new commander to the changes which you and God know must take place in your life.

Pastor Rick Gall of Gateway Fellowship explores the meaning behind Isaiah chapter 6.

This message focuses on the Government of Jesus as He comes to make his Presence felt in the world. We also have two readings from a collection of stories that were never published about God's miracle working power at Christmas.

Angels are messengers sent by God to announce the mighty works of God. They have been in that capacity since they were created. And they know how to party. In this final message on "The Jesus Party" we look at what the angels get excited about and what they have to teach us by example in this world in the throes of anxiety and depression. The angels know how to party and they are willing to teach us by example.

When Jesus performed his first miracle at a wedding in Galilee, the Gospel writer John mentions that this was a sign. The word "sign" means something of importance which has deeper meaning. This miracle, performed at a party, tells us so much about how the Kingdom of God is for blessings and delights. At this party, Jesus brings the wine.

In this second message in the series titled "The Jesus Party" we explore the parable of the Prodigal Son. In this instance, we look not at the return home of the wayward one but rather the celebratory reaction of the father and the poopish reaction of the older brother. In seeing their contrasting emotions we are confronted with our own choices: Do we really love seeing other people changed by God's power?

During this regular service of Gateway Fellowship, the entire second half of the service was devoted to the stories of people whose lives were changed by God and wanted to reflect that by being baptized. After these testimonies, Pastor Mike gave a invitation to receive Christ and 15 people responded by surrendering their lives and being forgiven of their sins. Enjoy these wonderful stories.

From the beginning of time, God has thrown a party for His people. But at the very time when God began to offer the party to us, another party began. This party was unlike God's party. It promised more than it could deliver...in fact, all it delivers is thievery, murder and mayhem. But the God party delivers as much blessing and joy as you can imagine. You have to choose between the two parties...every day.