June 2020 Prayer Emphasis: Government

by Open Gate Ministries

Romans 13:1 “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God.”    When we have an authority over us that is righteous, we are made glad. Wickedness grieves the hearts of men. Our world is filled […]

What Pleases God?

by Open Gate Ministries

Hebrews 13:16 “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”    What does a Christian life look like? I have heard that question in my pastoral life numerous times and have found answering it both difficult and even embarrassing. Difficult because it is a […]

December Advent

by Open Gate Ministries

The Word Made Flesh / St. John 1:14 “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Became flesh. Belief in the pre-existent Christ is a deep struggle for some Christians.  The […]

Year of Prayer November / Renewal

by Open Gate Ministries

2 Corinthians 4:1 “Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart”    The scriptures, unfortunately, are often misunderstood because of the segmenting of the text. Remember the epistle was written as a letter. It was not written with chapter and verse. We must be careful to watch for words […]

Wisdom Prayer

by Open Gate Ministries

Psalm 118:33-40 MSG Wisdom Prayer  God, teach me lessons for living so I can stay the course. Give me insight so I can do what you tell me—my whole life one long, obedient response.    It doesn’t take very long for every Christian to pray this prayer. God, teach me!  I am notorious for my […]

Alpha and Omega

by Open Gate Ministries

Revelation 1:8 Alpha and Omega The Beginning of Wisdom “I am the Alpha and Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.”    One of the first nomenclature we have of God’s name is “I AM”. Of course, there is no way to speak of the […]

Wisdom

by Open Gate Ministries

Proverbs 4:7 “Above all and before all, do this: Get Wisdom! (The Message)    When I read this verse this morning, I was struck by the thought of how much time we spend and energy we exert in getting things. My plan was to write three articles for the website concerning wisdom; our prayer theme […]

Pastor’s Heart August 2019 II

by Open Gate Ministries

Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all. Proverbs 22:2    I have never been more aware of the variances in our culture. Growing up I was quite content with status quo. Go along and get along. My family life was the quintessential conservative Christian atmosphere and the […]

Pastor’s Heart August 2019

by Open Gate Ministries

Not so the wicked… Psalm 1:4    The dichotomy that exists between the wicked and the righteous is often obscured by the misdirected teaching of grace that is not based in Scripture. Proverbs 10 will help you to understand the great difference between the righteous and the wicked. We will give an account to God […]

John Chrysostom AD 349-407

by Open Gate Ministries

One of the great preachers of his day John Chrysostom nicknamed “Golden Mouth” was a bright light in the darkness of cultural disgust for the message of the gospel. One such adversary to the gospel Libanius a learned and great philosopher of the day and an instructor of John was asked on his deathbed, which […]