Jesus says that "My Father's House shall be called a House of Prayer." But it is a real marvel that there is so little prayer being done in the House of Prayer. There is more talk about prayer than there is actual prayer in the Church. Of all the meetings and gatherings within the Church, prayer meeting has very little turn outs. But one of the things that mark a health, vibrant Church is a Church that prays. Pastor Long challenges us to get back to the basic, to start praying in the House of Prayer.

With all the countless self help books out there on how to run the Church, the Church is going through an identity crisis. Competition to grow members and Get Large Quick schemes can confuse the focus of the Church. In this series of “Forgiven Life … Loving Life: the Continual Work of Christ and the Church”, Pastor Long brings us back to the Bible to unfold the direction that Jesus has for His Church. He looks at the work that the Church should be doing.

The Westminister Catechism states that "Man's chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever."  Glorifying God is the purpose of our creation and our salvation.  It is commanded in both the Old and the New Testament.  But what is the "glory" of God?  And if our chief end is to glorify God, how do we do that?  Pastor Long answers these questions and many more as he journeys through the Bible to reveal what the glory of God is and how we are to glorify Him.

The birth story of Jesus is the most amazing story ever told.  God became a child and dwelled with us so that he could save us from our sins.  But much of the narratives are based in tradition instead on the Bible.  Pastor Long opens the Bible to trace the birth narrative of Jesus and the reason of his arrival in this mini-series “A Christmas Story: A Nativity Narrative”.

God is constantly speaking.  God spoke in biblical times and God is still speaking today.  However, hearing God's word is not for the curious but for the committed.  To hear God speaking to us, we need to meditate on His voice and word.  Pastor Long takes us into the world of mediation.  He outlines the differences between Christian meditation and mystic mediation or Eastern mediation.  For those who delight themselves in the Word of the Lord will begin to practice the ancient discipline of meditation.

The type of house we build depends on the foundation we lay.  We cannot build a mansion on a weak foundation nor a skyscraper on shaky ground.  Many of us are trying to build our Christian life before laying down that firm foundation.  For some of us, we try to take short cuts to cut the cost.  For others, we do not know how or what materials we need to use to lay that foundation.  Fortunately, the Bible reveals six materials that are needed to create a strong and stable foundation.  Pastor Long looks at each of these six foundational materials that are necessary to build and strengthen the foundation of our Forgiven Life.