Gospel Light Minute X with Daniel Whyte III

He is a professional basketball player for the Miami Heat. In 2006, he was awarded the Sportsman of the Year Award by Sports Illustrated and soon became one of the most well-known and popular players in the league. After entering the league as the fifth pick in the 2003 NBA Draft, he was named to the All-Rookie team and the All-Star team the following eight seasons. In his third season, he helped lead the Miami Heat to their first NBA Championship in franchise history. Because of this, he was named the 2006 NBA Finals MVP. At the 2008 Summer Olympics, he led the United States Men's Basketball team, commonly known as the "Redeem Team", in scoring, as they captured gold medal honors in Beijing, China. And in the 2008–2009 season, he led the league in scoring and earned his first NBA scoring title. He most recently helped lead the Miami Heat to the 2012 NBA Finals. As a child, he suffered through the pain of his parents divorce and through seeing his mother go to jail for selling drugs. From this difficult point in his young life, he came to rely on Jesus Christ for strength. Today, when he is asked about his faith, he is quick to point out that he believes in Jesus Christ and that His relationship with God has sustained him through life’s toughest moments. In fact, he wears the #3 jersey as a tribute to the Holy Trinity. He tithes 10% of his income and said about doing this, "I’m a firm believer in the Bible. I believe everything in there. I’m given so much, so giving 10 percent back to God is nothing to me. That’s why I do it, and I don’t think twice about it." In 2008, he bought his mother a church building in Chicago which today helps those in the community who struggle with drug abuse and other issues find God. He encourages fathers to stay involved in their children's lives and encourages young people to believe in God and in themselves to accomplish great things in life in spite of what others may say. His name is Dwyane Wade.

Fathers are one of the greatest blessings that children can have. I remember my father when I was growing up, and how he loved to have fun and spend time with his children. He was a hard working man but he never let his work get in the way of loving his children. Even though my father passed away several years ago, I am looking forward to seeing him again in Heaven and I have felt closer to him since he has been dead than when he was alive. Many of you have fond memories of your fathers as well. You remember a man who loved you, cared for you, took the time to instruct you and even chastise you when you were wrong. However, some people, children and adults, do not have those fond memories. Some of you have fathers who died when you were young. Some of you have fathers who were killed in war. Some of you have fathers who were absent in your life for whatever reason -- some because they thought work and career success was more important than spending time with you. And still others of you unfortunately do not know your father at all because he abandoned you at birth or as a very young child. Whatever your relationship is with your biological father, I want to tell you about a father-child relationship that you can begin today -- in fact you can be born again into it today -- no matter how old you are. For over thirty years now, I have enjoyed a relationship with my Heavenly Father that is far greater than my relationship with my earthly father. My Heavenly Father is the God who not only created the Universe, but the God who made every individual, including you. The Bible says in Isaiah 64:8, "But now, O Lord, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." God says in Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee." The Bible also says that "God is love." With God as your Father, you will find a constant companion who will love you and guide you throughout your life from the beginning to your death bed. Do you want to begin a relationship with your Heavenly Father today on Father's Day so that you can have the greatest Father's Day in your life? Let me show you how. + Plus, listen to Matt Redman singing "The Father's Song"

Dwyane Wade Gives Back to God to Help Others Find Him (Gospel Light Minute #57)

GLMX #102: Do You Know Your Heavenly Father?

Break Up Your Fallow Ground: It is Time to Seek the Lord (Part 2-B)

Break Up Your Fallow Ground: It is Time to Seek the Lord (Part 2-A)

Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message #64 Hosea 10:9-13 If we take a look around at our world today, we can easily see where our communities and our culture are mired in sin. Sin is a disease that has crippled our society. It is easy for us to point at the world and say it needs to repent. But I believe that before we point at the world and call for repentance, we need to look at ourselves -- those of us who claim to be followers of Jesus Christ. As I Peter 4:17 says, "the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God." Lord willing, I will be addressing the topic of repentance in the church today and for the next two weeks because I believe that when God's people get themselves together and repent of our sins, we will have the moral authority to tell the world that it needs to repent. Not only that, but God's abundant blessings will be poured out on us if we are following Him without any sin hidden away in our hearts. + Plus, listen to The Sensational Nightingales as they sing "Live So God Can Use You" and Jonathan Nelson singing "Expect The Great"

He is a professional NBA player. He plays the position of small forward with the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association. He was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year and the 2006-2007 Big 12 Player of the Year. After a standout freshman season at the University of Texas, he opted to enter the NBA Draft, where he was selected second overall by the Seattle SuperSonics. There he went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award after his debut season. In 2007, he signed an endorsement contract with Nike. In the 2009-2010 NBA season, he led the NBA in scoring and became the youngest player ever to win the NBA scoring title. He is also a 3-time NBA scoring champion and a 3-time member of the All NBA First Team. He most recently led his team, the Oklahoma City Thunder, to the 2012 NBA Finals. He says the foundation of his faith in Jesus Christ comes from his family. He said, "I went to a Christian school. When I was young we went to church a lot but we didn't go as much when I grew up and got into middle school and high school. I was always intrigued about how we got here. Why do we do the things we do? Who made us like this? My mom often sat me down and talked to me about spiritual things, and I have spiritual teachers that help me out. I'm not perfect by any means. I've got a long way to go to become closer to the Lord, but hopefully, I can continue to stay on the path. I might take a few steps forward, and take a couple steps back, and then take some more steps forward, but I want to get better....I go to chapel before every game. I have a spiritual coach that I talk to and he's helping me out in my walk with the Lord. My teammates do a great job of sticking together and praying for each other. I always try to get better in my walk [with Christ]." He said that it is tough to stay humble in a world that is often hyped with fortune and fame. He said, "I sometimes have to remind myself that any day this can be gone. In the Bible, it says the Lord exalts humility, and that's one thing I try to be all the time. When I'm talking in front of people or when people tell me I'm great, I remind myself that I can always be better. I've just got to be thankful to the Lord for the gifts He's given me. My gift back to Him is to always be humble and to work as hard as I can. I've got to continue to be that way." He helps encourage his teammates to put God first in their lives and to allow the light of Christ to shine through in everything they do both on and off the court. His name is Kevin Durant.

During recent months and weeks, children, teenagers, and adults have graduated from various levels of education. Children have graduated from current grades on toward the next grade. High schoolers have graduated and are moving on to college. College students have graduated and are moving on into the world of work and greater responsibility. Whatever the education level, graduation is a time of excitement, celebration, and change. Graduation marks the completion of a goal, an accomplishment that you worked so hard to achieve. Many couldn't wait to get out of school, to get out from under the pressures and rigors of study. Others, on the other hand, had a great time in school and wished it did not have to end. Whatever side of the track you are on, one thing is for sure. Now that you have graduated, you have a new life and future in front of you. You have more opportunities. You will have more responsibilities. What you considered to be "the future" while you were going through the rigors of school has finally arrived. You may be excited and concerned all at the same time, but the reality is still there, you are headed for a new life. As you move forward into your future, into your new job, your new marriage, your first child, your new home, or even into a new city and state, why don't you consider starting a new life with Jesus Christ? You've graduated from the educational system of the world, and that is a great accomplishment. But will you make it to the ultimate graduation? This graduation is the one that gets you from life to new life. Jesus Christ is the head of this graduation and millions of people have graduated into the family of God. You don't have to read a book, take a test, be on time for class or any of that to graduate into God's family. You can graduate right now, today. Allow me to show you how. + Plus, listen to Salvador singing "Heaven"

Break Up Your Fallow Ground: It is Time to Seek the Lord

Kevin Durant: Walking With the Lord (Gospel Light Minute #56)

GLMX #101: How to Graduate to Heaven

Sunday Evening Evangelistic Message #63 2 Chronicles 20:20 | Jeremiah 18:1-10 | Proverbs 29:18 Many of us are familiar with the oft-quoted verse in Proverbs 29:18 -- "Where there is no vision, the people perish." When the Bible talks about vision, it is talking about not only physical sight, but spiritual insight -- the ability to see happenings in the spiritual realm. Most people have physical sight, but very few have spiritual insight. When a group of people, or a nation, lack spiritual insight they will decay spiritually. The Bible tells us in I Samuel 3:1 of a time in Israel when "the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision." As you see here, a vision can also mean a word from the Lord. The prophet Amos tells us of a time in Israel where God said he would "send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord." + Plus, listen to Shirley Caesar as she sings "Yes, Lord, Yes" and Cece Winans and Delores Winans singing "Great Is Thy Faithfulness"

A recent TIME Magazine cover opens with a story titled "How to Die". In this story, the author, Joe Klein, tells of how he managed to deal with caring for both of his parents after they fell sick in the latter part of their lives. He also shares the lessons that he learned about life and death while taking care of his elderly parents. Like Joe Klein's parents, we all have a set day when we are going to die. That date and time is unknown to us, but it is known to God. Death is a scary thought for many people, but yet, it remains an inescapable part of life. It is a part of life that we all, at one point or another, must face. Whether it is our own death, or the death of a family member or friend, we have or will have to come to grips with the inevitable reality of the end of life. All people enter the world the exact same way - as infants incapable of taking care of themselves. And all people leave the world the exact same way - through death. Unfortunately, thousands of people die everyday without really knowing how to die. You may be asking, how to die? Charles H. Spurgeon said, "When the time comes for you to die, you need not be afraid, because death cannot separate you from God’s love." Dear friend, God wants you to know that He loves you. You and I are but one step away from death everyday. All God has to do is lift His life-giving hand away from our bodies and we would drop dead; and there is nothing that any doctor or emergency technician can do about it. Dear Friend if you were to die today would you be ready and would you be sure that you would go to heaven? If not here's how. + Plus, listen to MercyMe singing "Finally Home"

She is a country singer, songwriter, and actress who won the fourth season of American Idol in 2005. She is a multi-platinum selling recording artist, a winner of several Grammy Awards, Billboard Music Awards and American Music Awards. She is also a Golden Globe Award nominee and a two-time ACM Entertainer of the Year. She is also the first-ever female artist to win back-to-back Academy of Country Music Awards for Entertainer of the Year in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, she was inducted into the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame. And in 2012, Billboard named her Country Music's reigning Queen. Her albums include: "Some Hearts" (which is the fastest selling debut country album in Nielsen SoundScan history); "Carnival Ride"; "Play On"; and "Blown Away". She grew up in the church and began singing at the First Free Will Baptist Church in rural Oklahoma. She said, "I grew up going to church camp and reading my Bible and having different faith books and movies in my life...My songs are sometimes focused on God, Jesus and faith, and that is a part of my "Bible Beltness," where such themes are popular. I was not the first, nor will I be the last, to sing about God." She along with her Christian husband hockey player pray and read the Bible together on a daily basis. She said, "Every Wednesday, my husband and I have a study group with our friends. I attend church. We try to devote time in the morning to say a prayer. I'm not a big reader, though. I have to feel it, hear it, touch it be involved in it." She credits her husband with helping her grow in her faith in Christ, and says that their faith in God is at the very heart of their marriage. Her name is Carrie Underwood.