Pastor Joe Sugrue Podcast

Theme of Thessalonians: encouragement of believers to endure in godliness at all times, even when suffering. Today we're going to see in chapter 2 how the minister of the gospel endures, despite hardship. Paul makes an issue out of the fact that the gospel has to be taught, and the ones who do must behave in a way that is in harmony with the gospel…

Tuesday March 21, 2023Theme of Thessalonians (1 & 2): Encouragement for believers to live godly despite persecution and pain.As we study the book we will find the ways in which Paul does this. We never see in Paul or in any of the other writers what people think are encouraging but are only platitudes: "You can do it!" Nor...for full notes: https:/…

Sunday March 19, 2023The Rapture for all believers is going to be many things - amazing, exciting, unbelievable, glorious ... and also, a relief.Jesus coming to transfer His church to...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2780Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Thursday March 16, 2023The theme of 1 Thessalonians: Encouragement for the church to live godly despite persecution.for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2779Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Wednesday March 15, 2023 Themes by chapter: Who they are (brethren beloved of God), what they have (faith, love, hope, good works), and where they came from (paganism, idols).Paul begins as he does most of his letters with a salutation of grace and peace, then thanksgiving for them, and that he prays for them. You will see this opening in almost ev…

March 14, 2023 The theme of Thessalonians (both 1 & 2) is the encouragement to live godly despite persecution and in light of our coming Lord....for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2777Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

SUNDAY MARCH 12, 2023We've all heard of suffering for a noble cause. Which causes are noble in God's eyes, whose sufferings are legitimate and in fact good for us?Masada was the last stronghold of Jewish Zealots who revolted against Rome. According to Josephus, the 1,000 or so of them committed suicide before the Romans could capture them (73 A.D.)…

Thursday March 9, 2023The theme of James is living out your faith with good works despite the pressure (trials) that come upon you.This is positive and not negative. We probably respond, at least initially, to this as a negative, meaning - negative commands of don't do this or that, negative exhortations of - you...for full notes: https://www.cgtru…

Wednesday March 8, 2023Pray before you teach. Don't bury the opening. Get to the point and stay there.Whiskey Row fire of 1900 was started by a candle falling off its holder.for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2774Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Tuesday March 7, 2023James is writing to Christians who need to change [in the worst way]. James' theme, to live out your Christianity despite the pressure not to, is not being accepted by most [or so it seems].James' anticipates their response.for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2773…

Suday March 5, 2023Title: The Book of James: The mercy and grace of Sabbath rest.Jam 2:1-7My brethren, do not hold your faith in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ with an attitude of personal favoritism. 2 For if a man comes into your...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2772…

Thursday March 2, 2023Title: The Book of James: Does faith justify the life that claims it?A man is running for mayor of Portland (Oregon). Rail Gib says that he believes in fairness and fair laws. He says that he believes in law and...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2771…

Wednesday March 1, 2023Title: The Book of James: This is a life and death matter.The opening of James' letter, his prologue, is in two sections. The first is our proper attitude towards suffering itself, and the second is our attitude towards God in these sufferings.for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2770…

Tuesday February 28, 2023Book of James:Author - James (half-brother of the Lord)Date - 35-45 A.D. (likely early in this range)for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2769Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Sunday February 26, 2023"The Mirror of Erised is an ancient, ornate mirror in JK Rowling's Harry Potter series. According to Albus Dumbledore, it showed the "deepest, most desperate desire of our hearts." The name "Erised" was "desire" spelled backwards, as if reflected in a mirror. The happiest and most satisfied person in the world would look in …

Wednesday February 22, 2023The believer needs motivation for total commitment.The reality of who you are in Christ is in the gospel.for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2767Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Sunday February 20,2023Long ago in England, a wise and just king ruled the land. His name was King Uther. Times were good and the people lived well. King Uther wanted a magician at court. And so he chose the famous Merlin the Magician. Merlin could see into the future. And he knew those good days were not going to last.for full notes: https://www.c…

Thursday February 16,2023Can you imagine being full and remaining full all the time without having to ever eat again? You would die of malnutrition. It would be the ultimate appetite suppression pill, bariatric surgery (make your stomach smaller), diet regimen. Now imagine this in your soul. The soul content or full all the time. Sounds like heaven…

Wednesday February 15,2023Ignatius was the bishop of Antioch and in 107 A.D., well over seventy years old (born around the time of Christ's death), the old bishop was condemned to death by imperial authorities. The persecution of Christians was not universal at the time. There were several factions in Antioch that Ignatius stood against as heretica…

Tuesday February 14, 2023Michelangelo was a sculptor and not a painter. He despised painting. At the command of the newly elected Pope Julius II, Michelangelo came to Rome in 1505, he was turning thirty. Julius wished to build an enormous tomb for himself containing 45 life sized statues, to be constructed in a manner so grand that nothing like it …

Sunday February 12, 2023People in the past thought Darwin's theory of evolution was a great breakthrough. Some still do.In Darwin's time and for decades after, people were looking at cells in microscopes that would be in museums today and that didn't have the magnification of what we can do today.for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?pr…

Thursday February 9, 2023What happens once that vodka cranberry works its way through your bloodstream and hits the control center behind your eyes?We hear many...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2761Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Wednesday February 8, 2023(video clip: "Filled")Mat 6:19-21for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2760Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Tuesday February 7, 2023Imagine if you were a teenager and your parents trusted you. You matured enough that they weren't helicopter parents. They gave you your space and you made good decisions that pleased them. They even gave you the car keys.Do you know, that if you are a believer in...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&…

Sunday February 5, 2023Is this how the Holy Spirit leads us? Is this how the Holy Spirit makes us know what to do? Is this how we will know what to say?If this were true, our lives would always be spiritual. We would live life in a perfect video. Would you prefer...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2758…

Thursday February 2, 2023In the survival show Alone, each person exists alone in a harsh environment for as long as they can. The latest season dropped the contestants in different locations in North Labrador. The season was called Alone Frozen. It got cold pretty fast and food was very scarce. Each contestant gets a satellite phone. All they have …

Maybe we should take the final petition in the Lord's Prayer, "Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil," and conclude that we should get away from the temptation altogether and get out of the world.Should we leave society and the people of the world and isolate ourselves in the wilderness?In the first two centuries of the...for full no…

Tuesday January 31, 2023One of the ways that we can discover areas in life that are very dangerous to our spiritual lives is to see the major themes of the Scripture. It takes some doing. We have to read and digest and read and digest some more and then pray for insight, and with a humble and energetic mind, we will see main themes jump out. Some o…

Sunday January 29,2023Some three or four decades before the birth of Christ, Rome's first heated swimming pool was built on the Esquiline Hill. The location, just outside the city's ancient walls, was a prime one. In time it would become a showcase for some of the wealthiest people in the world: an immense expanse of luxury villas and parks. But th…

Thursday January 26, 2023The devil will never be proud of you. The world he rules will never celebrate your spiritual victories. He doesn't care and neither do they. Your spiritual growth only makes the devil hunger more to tear you down.Mat 6:13for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2753…

Wednesday January 25,2023How do you feel about sin?In the film Grand Canyon, an immigration attorney breaks out of a traffic jam and attempts to bypass it. His route takes him along streets that seem progressively darker and more deserted. Then comes the predictable nightmare: his expensive car stalls on one of those alarming streets whose teenage …

Tuesday January 24, 2023The laws of God tell us how to get along. In fact, modern western society, swims in the waters of Christian laws of morality. Hundreds of years ago in Christian Europe laws were constructed for the state, which were based on the Bible, and from that biblical perspective came the idea that every human, rich or poor, has natur…

Sunday January 22,2023How many did you commit yesterday? Imagine if we were truly aware of all of them (sins of omission also), and we had one of those clickers that counts. You would check it every day and either rue the day or count it a good day. A good day would be, "Only 490 sins today! High five." A bad day, "987 sins!? What a terrible day th…

Thursday January 19, 2023Mat 6:9-13"Pray, then, in this way:'Our Father who is in heaven,for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2749Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

January 18,2023Paraphrasing something I heard pastor Greg Laurie teach last Sunday, "If your knowledge is not changing you it's not worth much."Col 2:20-22If you have died with Christ to the elementary principles of the world, why, as if you were living in the world, do...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2748…

Tuesday January 17, 2023Review:The first three petitions are adoration and praise of God.1. Praising the Person of...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2747Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Wednesday January 4,2023A little over an hour ago an email came to me from Ariel Ministries (Arnold Fruchtenbaum) including their prayer list. The opening paragraph read:On a hillside outside of Capernaum, Yeshua taught His disciples and followers to pray, "Give us this day our daily bread" (Mt. 6:11). He also assured them that the heavenly Father …

Tuesday January 3, 2023Mat 6:9-13"Pray, then, in this way:'Our Father who is in...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2745Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Sunday December 25, 2022Every day we are to pray that God's will be done in our lives and it is our desire that it is done in all others as well.The will of God has two aspects that are important to us, and which are very closely related.for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2744…

Thursday December 22, 20222Pe 1:1-4 The reason for obedience to divine virtue.2Pe 1:1-5for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2743Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Wednesday December 21,2022Mat 6:9-13"Pray, then, in this way:'Our Father who is in heaven,Hallowed be Your name.for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2742Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Tuesday December 20, 2022Mat 6:9-13"Pray, then, in this way:'Our Father who is in heaven,for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2741Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Sunday December 18, 2022How many throughout the world are celebrating Christmas, but do not know Jesus Christ hardly at all? What child is this? In other words, who is this? And when you answer that, not only do you fall down and worship Him, you will find yourself longing to obey His truth. He is more than His truth. The truth without His worship …

December 15, 2022Prayer is a life-long conversation of seeking God's holiness, of living like His kingdom is your only existence, and loving His will so as to always desire to obey it.Psa 27:4for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2739Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Wednesday December 14,2022"Your kingdom come."The kingdom of God is the only true kingdom."The Lord is King, not borrowing this title from the kings of the earth, but having lent His own title to...for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2738Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Tuesday December 13, 2022Mat 6:9-13"Pray, then, in this way:'Our Father who is in heaven,for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2737Oleh Pastor Joe Sugrue

Thursday December 8, 2022[Summary of Marcus Dods on the Lord's Prayer] When the utmost skill and strength of the child have failed, he runs to his father, never doubting that with him is more skill and sufficient strength. We must not lower the Father to our level. We must seek His level, the words and lovely ways of heaven itself. If we cannot see…

December 7, 2022Prayer is our life-long communication with God the Father. He is our Father in the real sense of that word. Our earthly fathers sired us. After that they may leave us or raise us, abuse us or love us or ignore us, but there is only one father of us.Just like there was never found a king in Israel who was up to the task of being the …

Tuesday December 6, 2022We must always avoid doing what we do to be seen by others.In instructing us about prayer, the Lord told us to shut out all others and to shut ourselves in with God and then concentrate on our relationship with Him.for full notes: https://www.cgtruth.org/index.php?proc=msg&sf=vw&tid=2733…