Saturday, March 29, 2025 -- Dr. Stephen Manley’s Memorial Service

Today, i will preach the memorial service for my mentor of presence, Dr. Stephen Manley, in Lebanon, Tennessee. Nearly a year ago standing in a church parking lot, Dr. Manley and i were sharing tenderly in the wake of his recent brain cancer diagnosis. When i asked if there was anything i could do for him other than to pray, he said, "Yes, you can preach my funeral." i was breathless. 

As i write, it’s about four hours before the memorial service. i have been preparing for weeks and am still shuffling spiritual thoughts around in my mind. 

Surely, these words spoken by Jesus will be part of what i speak: "Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven." (Matthew 5:3) This verse is what Dr. Manley called "The Premise of the Sermon of the Mount" taught by Jesus. In other words, if we forget that we are spiritually helpless apart from Him, we have no hope of living His requirements in the Sermon. So freeing.

i will likely begin my time of sharing about how my first impression and my last impression of Dr. Manley was that he was a true worshipper of Jesus. His personal worship and undeniable intimacy with the Lord is really what made his evangelistic messages so powerfully appealing. He was truly merged as one with the Master. 

We met in December of 1992 at Nazarene Bible College in Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he was my professor of evangelism. That encounter changed the trajectory of my ministry forever. This hero of the faith became my faithful and forever friend. Speaking of forever, we shall meet again on that beautiful shore, because friends are friends forever if the Lord’s the Lord of them. Amen. 

"Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!" 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Our Darkness, Your Light

“Jesus, You embraced our darkness, so we could enter Your Light. You are Faithful. We are grateful. Amen.” -kww

Prophecy about the passion week of Jesus: “You have taken My loved ones and friends far away from Me. Darkness is My only friend.” Psalm 88:18 GW

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!”

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Soul Fulfillment

"To continue in sin is to futilely seek soul fulfillment apart from an intimate relationship with the Savior, Jesus Himself." -kww

"Listen! Whoever is thirsty, come to the water! Whoever has no money can come, buy, and eat! Come, buy wine and milk. You don’t have to pay; it’s free! Why do you spend money on what cannot nourish you and your wages on what does not satisfy you? Listen carefully to me: Eat what is good, and enjoy the best foods. Open your ears, and come to me! Listen so that you may live! I will make an everlasting promise  to you-- the blessings I promised to David." ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55‬:‭1‬-‭3‬ ‭GW‬‬

"On the last and most important day of the festival, Jesus was standing ⌞in the temple courtyard⌟. He said loudly, "Whoever is thirsty must come to me to drink. As Scripture says, ‘Streams of living water will flow from deep within the person who believes in me.’ "Jesus said this about the Spirit, whom his believers would receive. The Spirit was not yet evident, as it would be after Jesus had been glorified." ‭‭John‬ ‭7‬:‭37‬-‭39‬ ‭GW‬‬

"Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!"

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Psalm 91 EASY Translation

“If anyone lives in Almighty God's safe place, the Most High God protects them. I will say to the Lord, ‘You are the strong place where I will be safe. You are my God, and I trust in you.’ God will keep you safe, so that no trap will catch you. He will not let any illness kill you. He will keep you safe, like a bird keeps its babies safe under its wings. Because he is faithful, he will keep you safe like a shield and armour. Do not be afraid of danger that comes in the night, or of your enemy's arrows during the day. Do not be afraid of any illness that comes when it is dark, or any trouble that comes in the middle of the day. A thousand people may die near you. Even ten thousand people may die at your side. But nothing will hurt you. Your own eyes will see this happen. You will see wicked people receive the punishment that they deserve. You have come to the Lord to make you safe. The Most High God has become your home. No bad thing will happen to you. No illness will come to your home. For God will tell his angels to keep you safe. They will protect you wherever you go. They will hold you safely in their hands, so that you do not hurt your foot on a stone. You will win against lions and snakes. You will walk over them! The Lord says, ‘If someone loves me, I will keep him safe. Because he worships me, I will protect him. When he calls to me for help, I will answer him. When he has trouble, I will be with him. I will rescue him, and people will respect him. I will give him a long life, so that he is happy. He will see that I have the power to save people.’” ‭‭Psalms‬ ‭91‬:‭1‬-‭16‬ ‭EASY‬‬

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!”

Pastor Kerry Willis 

A Home in Us

This morning I awoke at 1:35 AM, after dreaming about being in a worship service. The song we were singing was one I had never heard, and so when I awoke, I was careful to write down the lyrics that I remembered. It truly inspired me:

"Who can build a home in us? (3 times) Jesus!"

After writing down the line from the new song, i immediately remembered this verse: 

"Jesus replied, "All who love Me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and We will come and make our home with each of them." John 14:23 NLT

"Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!"

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Scarcity is a Tactic of the Enemy / Trust God’s Provision

 “God’s provision frees us from traps. Simple obedience is our role; provision is God’s. Scarcity is a tactic the enemy often uses to dissuade us from following God’s purposes. God delights in sustaining His children in the work He calls them into.” -Bible App Devo

“Give us this day our daily bread.” -Jesus

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!” 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

“Trust in The Lord!”

“Trust in the Lord completely. Do not think that you understand things well enough for yourself. Whatever you are doing, remember that the Lord is with you. Then He will show you the right way to go.” Proverbs 3:5-6 EASY

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!”

Pastor Kerry Willis 

“To Show Whether You Really Trust God.” Lent Reading

This powerful passage was a portion of my Lent reading, today: 

“My friends, I know that people are causing you to have bad trouble. It is like a fire that is burning you. Do not be surprised about that. These things are happening to you, to show whether you really trust God. Do not think that something strange is happening to you. Instead, be happy when you have trouble. Remember that Christ also received much trouble and pain. If you suffer like He did, then you will be happy when He returns. At that time, everyone will see how great Christ really is. Then you will be very happy with a great joy. People may insult you because you belong to Christ. But God will bless you when that happens. It shows that the Holy Spirit is with you. He is God's great Spirit.” ‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭4‬:‭12‬-‭14‬ ‭[EASY‬‬]

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!”

Pastor Kerry Willis 

"Troubles Can Help You."

"My Christian friends, remember to be happy, even when many kinds of trouble happen to you. Troubles can help you. God wants to see if you really trust Him. Your faith in God will become stronger as a result of these troubles. So you should continue to trust God all the time. Then you will become stronger as a believer. You will become completely how you should be. You will not need anything more." ‭‭James‬ ‭1‬:‭2‬-‭4‬ ‭EASY‬‬

"Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!"

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Jesus, Savior First!

“If Jesus is only a teacher, then all He can do is tantalize us, to erect a standard we cannot attain to; but if we know Him first as Savior, if we are born again of the Spirit of God, we know that He did not come to teach us only, but that He came to make us what He teaches us we should be.” Oswald Chambers 

Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!”

Pastor Kerry Willis 

George Mueller — Life Principles

George Mueller was responsible for caring physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually for 10,000 orphans during his life of ministry in Bristol, England is the 1800s. 

When he died at age 92, the whole city came to a standstill to grieve and to honor his passing. The local newspaper, The Bristol Times, displayed this headline: 

GEORGE MUELLER WAS RASIED UP FOR THE PURPOSE OF SHOWING THAT THE AGE OF MIRACLES HAS NOT PASSED.

These were his life principles:

1. Trusting in God

2. Living by Faith

3. Absolute Belief in God’s Word

When asked if he was a super hero of prayer and miracles, he replied: 

"I (only) live in the spirit of prayer. I pray as I walk, when I lie down, and when I rise. In all my temporal and spiritual concerns, I pray to the Lord, and expect an answer to my requests. Anyone has the same access to God as me."

"Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!"

Pastor Kerry Willis

Jesus Moved With Compassion for The Begging Leper

This has been my saturation passage all morning: 

“A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” Instantly the leprosy disappeared, and the man was healed. Then Jesus sent him on his way with a stern warning: “Don’t tell anyone about this. Instead, go to the priest and let him examine you. Take along the offering required in the law of Moses for those who have been healed of leprosy. This will be a public testimony that you have been cleansed.” But the man went and spread the word, proclaiming to everyone what had happened. As a result, large crowds soon surrounded Jesus, and he couldn’t publicly enter a town anywhere. He had to stay out in the secluded places, but people from everywhere kept coming to him.” Mark‬ ‭1‬:‭40‬-‭45‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!” 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Love this Account of Saul Who Became Paul

“When Saul arrived in Jerusalem, he tried to meet with the believers, but they were all afraid of him. They did not believe he had truly become a believer! Then Barnabas brought him to the apostles and told them how Saul had seen the Lord on the way to Damascus and how the Lord had spoken to Saul. He also told them that Saul had preached boldly in the name of Jesus in Damascus. So Saul stayed with the apostles and went all around Jerusalem with them, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord.” ‭‭Acts of the Apostles‬ ‭9‬:‭26‬-‭28‬ ‭NLT‬

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!” 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Post-Pentecost Christianity / Demonstration > Imitation

“Post-Pentecost Christianity is much less about imitating Christ and much more about demonstrating Christ.” -kww

“But whenever someone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. For the Lord is the Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭3‬:‭16‬-‭18‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!” 

Pastor Kerry Willis 

Continue to Live in Me…

“Jesus said, ‘I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. Some branches that are part of me may have no fruit on them. My Father completely removes all those branches. But other branches do have fruit. My Father cuts all those branches to make them better. Then they will be good and make more fruit. The words that I have spoken to you have made you good already. Continue to live in me, and I will continue to live in you. A branch cannot make fruit by itself. It can make fruit only if it continues to be part of the vine. You are like that. You cannot make fruit unless you continue to live in me. I am the vine, and you are the branches. You must continue to live in me and I must continue to live in you. Only if you do that will you make plenty of fruit. That is because you can do nothing without me. If anyone does not remain in me, that person is like a dead branch. The gardener will throw that branch away and it will die. People throw all those dead branches into the fire so that they burn. You must remain in me, and my teaching must remain in you. Then you may ask for anything that you want. God will do it for you. If you make plenty of fruit, that will give honour to my Father. You will show that you are truly my disciples.”  Jesus’ Words, ‭‭John‬ ‭15‬:‭1‬-‭8‬ ‭EASY‬‬

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!”

Pastor Kerry Willis

Praising Lips, Pleasing Lives

“Lord, i praise You with my lips, empower me to please You with my living. Amen.” -kww

“For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases Him.” Philippians 2:13 NLT

“Fully Surrendered to God’s Agenda!” 

Pastor Kerry Willis