"Welcome to Words To Live By. This is Pastor Warren. Life isn't always easy, and we all face trials that test our faith. But in God's Word, we find promises that steady our hearts and truths that guide our steps."

In this episode we will consider John 14:27 NAS95:

"Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful."."

There are moments in life when our hearts feel anything but peaceful. Illness, loss, fear, and uncertainty can swirl around us like a storm. The disciples knew that feeling well. In John 14, Jesus was preparing them for His departure. Their world was about to be shaken. Everything familiar was about to change. Yet into that rising anxiety, Jesus spoke these tender words: "My peace I give to you."

Jesus didn't promise a life free from trouble. In fact, He told His disciples plainly that trouble would come. But He offered a peace deeper than any circumstance, a peace untouched by chaos, fear, or suffering. This peace wasn't something they had to earn. It wasn't fragile or dependent on outward calm. It was His peace—the very calm of Christ Himself—given as a gift.

When Jesus said, "not as the world gives," He was contrasting His peace with the kind the world offers. The world gives peace through escape, distraction, or temporary relief—peace that fades the moment reality returns. But Christ gives a peace that steadies the heart even while the storm still rages. It doesn't depend on our strength but on His presence.

This Sunday's Inspirational Message is:

The Preeminence of Christ

Today we're in Colossians 1:13–20, one of the highest mountain peaks in all of Scripture. Paul takes us straight to the throne of the preeminent Christ—the One who rescued us from the dominion of darkness, the One by whom and for whom everything exists, the One in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, the One who reconciled all things by the blood of His cross.

Here's the big idea we'll keep coming back to: Jesus Christ is supreme over creation, supreme over the new creation, and therefore supreme over every square inch of our lives. The proposition is simple and life-changing: Because Christ is preeminent in everything, we must gladly give Him first place in everything.

During the next minutes we'll look at three points in the text:

1. He has delivered us and transferred us (vv. 13–14)
2. He is the Creator and Sustainer who holds all things together (vv. 15–17)
3. He is the Head of the church and the Reconciler of all things (vv. 18–20)

Then we'll land on some very practical ways this supreme Christ changes how we wake up tomorrow morning, how we face cancer or any other trial, how we treat our spouse, how we spend our money, and how we speak about Jesus to our neighbors.

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Once again, thanks for joining us in our time of worshiping the Lord through His Word!

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"Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible: New American Standard Bible. 1995. LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation.

The music "Be Thou My Vision" and "Revive Us Again" arranged and played by Don Wigton. Used by Permission.

"Welcome to Words To Live By. This is Pastor Warren. Life isn't always easy, and we all face trials that test our faith. But in God's Word, we find promises that steady our hearts and truths that guide our steps."

In this episode we will consider Isaiah 43:2:

"When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, Nor will the flame burn you." (NASB95)

Life brings moments that feel like drowning. The waters rise, the pressure builds, and the current seems too strong to stand against. Whether it's illness, loss, fear, or deep uncertainty, every heart eventually faces the flood.

But in this promise from Isaiah, God speaks into the storm: "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you."

Notice God doesn't say if you pass through the waters. He says when. Trouble is not optional—it's part of living in a broken world.

Yet the beauty of this verse is not the avoidance of hardship, but the assurance of God's presence in it.