“Our chief want is someone who will inspire us to be what we know we could be,” wrote Ralph Waldo Emerson. That is the supreme result of leadership. When you step into leadership, you can ignite inspiration in yourself, your spouse, your children, your friends, your coworkers, and countless others to become the person God created them to be.

Are you feeling crushed under the weight of life? Are you wrestling with the suffocating darkness of depression? Do you sense an invisible barrier keeping you from reaching the full potential God placed inside you? You don’t have to remain trapped.

Are you truly fulfilled? Do you long to be? Are you chasing after the passion God has planted deep in your heart? What makes life genuinely meaningful and enjoyable? My answer may surprise you.

Are you about to give up? Ready to collapse under the crushing weight of your struggle? What if I told you that the very problem, person, or pressure keeping you awake at night is no match for God’s solution? The real question is this: will you hang on—will you refuse to quit—until God shows up with His perfect timing and decisive action?

There is one litmus test every true leader must face: opposition. If you’re serious about leading for Christ, you won’t escape it. Let me ask you: what is the biggest barrier standing between you and the next level of spiritual impact? What is keeping you from a life marked not only by success, but by significance? Whatever it is, you can be sure it will involve opposition.

Has anyone ever told a malicious lie about you? How did you react? Regrettably, even within the faith community, some believers are far too eager to both hear and spread poisonous rumors. Men and women who are making a kingdom impact for Jesus Christ are often the prime targets of criticism. Small-minded people will always resist God-sized vision.

What will people say about you? Have you ever paused to reflect on how you will be remembered and what will be said at your funeral? I don’t mean to be morbid—but honest. Ask yourself: What has been the sum total of my life? Who have I influenced for Jesus Christ? Has God used me to transform lives for His purpose and glory? Reflecting on the end of your life can ignite a profound sense of urgency to change your life for God today.

Filled with the Holy Spirit, you are a change agent! As you step into God’s calling as a leader, you become a catalyst for God to use you and move. All it takes is one Spirit-ignited Christian in a family, a church, or even a nation, and dynamic transformation will follow. There is an invisible, unstoppable power available in your life 24/7—the surpassing power of prayer!

Have you reached that defining moment in your spiritual life where you have made written, thoughtful promises to God? If not, why not? There is no better time than now as we come to Nehemiah chapter 10. This chapter is a time capsule of wholehearted surrender—a living example for us to follow.

Are you willing to give and go wherever the Lord calls you? The next step of obedience, after surrendering and sealing our commitments to God in writing, is to ask: “Lord, what do You want me to do for You? Where do You want me to serve?” That service could be as humble as a parking attendant, as an usher, a deacon, as visible as a worship leader or pastor, a compassionate counselor, serving in the nursery, or as unseen yet powerful as being a prayer warrior for your church and pastor.

When the leader is away, people will stray. After 12 years of faithfully serving and leading in Jerusalem, Nehemiah reported back to King Artaxerxes, who was then ruling from what we now know as Iran. In his absence, strategic violations of God’s Word crept in and began to spread. When Nehemiah returned to Jerusalem (13:6–7), he didn’t sit back. He confronted the problems head-on and boldly enacted changes once again in line with God’s Word.

My wife, Cristie Jo, and I have devoted our lives to full-time ministry for decades. As preachers and teachers of God’s Word, we began noticing a troubling cultural shift with the dawn of the new millennium: a sharp rise in biblical illiteracy and growing disaffiliation toward organized religion.

Don’t ever let an atheist intimidate you. Their bark is always louder than their bite! I discovered that firsthand after filming with several of the most renowned atheists. In this message, you’ll uncover nine proofs of God’s existence—truths every Christian should know and be ready to share with those who need Christ as Savior.

Don’t ever let an atheist intimidate you. Their bark is always louder than their bite! I discovered that firsthand after filming with several of the most renowned atheists. In this message, you’ll uncover nine proofs of God’s existence—truths every Christian should know and be ready to share with those who need Christ as Savior.

Building on the nine proofs of God we learned in The Atheist Delusion, Part Two, we now examine nine additional, awe-inspiring proofs of God. We are commanded to “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature” (Mark 16:15). The Good News of the Gospel begins with God Himself.

I began an unforgettable friendship with Florida State University Legend Coach Bobby Bowden after he came to speak at my church. His faith in Jesus Christ was always his first priority.

Thanks for joining me in this preaching series, Spiritual Armor, which includes six sermons that will help you understand the one passage in the Bible you would be wise to know thoroughly, which will guarantee your spiritual victory regardless of the challenge!

Did you know 80% of the 60,000–80,000 thoughts you think per day will be negative according to scientific studies, and most of them are lies? Imagine the impact of letting lies dominate your constant mental traffic. We live in a world full of distractions, doubts, and deception.

One slip in battle could mean a soldier’s life. In the same way, our “spiritual shoes” give us traction, grip, and stability when life feels like a fight.

In the spiritual war, there are far more casualties. Men and women who began well in the race of faith but did not finish. Over the decades in my ministry, I’ve heard heartbreaking stories: young believers who got pulled into destructive habits, adults who gave up when life crushed them, even pastors who fell under relentless attack. What was missing?