Imagine someone telling you that because you're wearing fabric woven from two different kinds of material, that you cannot possibly be saved. Sound far-fetched? It's part of the law of Moses...{Leviticus 19:19}.

Clearly, I'm over-simplifying here, but this is the topic of Acts 15, that we'll be diving into this Sunday, August 3, in our Contemporary Service.

After all of the struggle, all of the sacrifice, not to mention putting their lives in danger, [Paul even endured stoning]...some self-appointed men decided to tell anyone who wasn't circumcised, that they could not be saved. This obviously outraged Paul and Barnabas, and a great debate ensued.

In our day, I think we're living at the other end of the spectrum, where we're told that the only thing we have to do to get to heaven is...to die. The Bible makes it clear that heaven is not a foregone conclusion for everyone...

John 14:6- Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Acts 4:12 - "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

At the same time, something we can take away from Acts 15 is how they banded together to encourage the Gentiles who were new to their faith...they didn't want to put undue burdens on these new believers...

Acts 15:19, "...we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God."

The result? Verse 31 tells us how encouraged the people were. So it is with us...our mission should be like Paul and Barnabas' mission...to bring encouragement whenever and wherever we can. We have tremendous power...

Proverbs 18:21, "The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit."

EARTHQUAKE!!!

Earthquakes are a great way to take instant stock of our priorities. You can be sitting and thinking about just about anything, and after the shake-shake-shake, you instantly want to put everything else aside and make sure your loved ones are all right.

I felt such a sigh of relief to hear the voices of Lauren, Tyler, and Gary, which took a while...we are so used to being able to get a hold of anyone we want at any hour of the day...but not today...

So, all of my other loved ones...are you all right? I pray you all are...

Psalm 96:9, NIV - "Worship the Lord in the splendor of his holiness; tremble before him, all the earth."

Starbucks Outreach

Here are some of the people who came to hand out cards at our Starbucks Outreach last Friday Night...what an awesome group of people!

Here are Tyler and Lauren handing out their cards...notice people engaging them in conversation! Also notice standing behind Lauren is Tarlan. Tarlan ran me all over the place handing out cards herself...she just wanted me to do the talking...but I was just as happy to have her...no one could have refused the kindness of a 6 year old! But even better than that, I was so thrilled that she was so excited to hand out free $5 Starbucks cards, just to show God's kindness! What a great night! Thank you to everybody who donated cards, and to everyone who showed up, and to everyone who prayed for us!

Can't Wait for Friday Night!!!

This is it! This is the place to be this Friday night! This is where unsuspecting people are going to come to hang out, probably to grab a beverage that they think they can't afford...when suddenly...out of no where...they are going to be invaded...

Invaded by what you may ask?

By a tract? No...

By a guy with a mega-phone proclaiming that they're on the road to hell? No...

By a 'Turn or Burn' sign? No...

They will be invaded by kindness. By a group of people who know the best thing they can be doing with their Friday night is to be used by God. How? Well, by demonstrating a portion of the kindness He has shown to us...to someone else.

So, armed with $5 Starbucks cards and our 'You're Invited to my Church' cards we will set out. We've spent the week fasting and praying, so we feel like we are ready...ready to allow God to love the people at Starbucks through our simple efforts.

If you're reading this...please say a prayer for our Outreach, that God will make it fruitful for His Kingdom.

Romans 2:4, NAS - "Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

Power to Fast

This Sunday, in our 8:30am Contemporary Service, we will be going through Acts 13. This is another quite exciting chapter, because the early Church was now ready...to take the gospel out to all the world. They had listened for the Holy Spirit's voice regarding the timing and exactly where they were to go, and who was to go. But the way they got to the point where they could really hear Him speak...was...wait for it...Fasting. Sorry...I'd like to have been able to say it was something like
carb-loading, but it wasn't.

So, we are also preparing to go out, here in our Contemporary Service. No, we're not going to the edges of the earth at this point, but we are going to Starbucks...to reach out in kindness people who are there. I get so excited when I think of the people who will be coming, having no idea that they are going to have an encounter with kindness, and ultimately, the love of God through us...SO this week...we'll be doing some fasting of our own.

If you're reading this, I ask you to stop right now and say a prayer for our outreach on July 25th...that God will make it effective for His Kingdom....Check out how it turned out (after some persecution, of course) for Paul and Barnabas...

Acts 13:49, "The word of the Lord spread through the whole region."

Power to Pray

This Sunday, July 13 in our 8:30am Contemporary Service, we will be going through Acts 12. This is the last time we'll see Peter in this book. In this chapter Herod has James put to death by the sword, and he arrests Peter, with the intent to do the same to him. But the early church didn't forget about him...

Acts 12:5, "So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him."

An angel of the Lord miraculously delivers Peter from jail, even though he is double hand-cuffed to one soldier on his right, and another on his left, not to mention 16 additional guards taking turns watching over him. Herod evidently heard all of the escape from jail stories.

Meanwhile, people were so impressed with Herod's speaking that they called him a god. But the real God did away with him in a pretty dramatic and gross way...

Acts 12:23, "Immediately, because Herod did not give praise to God, an angel of the Lord struck him down, and he was eaten by worms and died."

This had to have been a challenging time for the early Church. Imagine this Sunday, one of your friends isn't at church because they were put to death by the government for speaking about Jesus. In spite of it all, I love what verse 24 says...

"But the Word of God continued to increase and spread." (see verse 5).

Prayer is SO important...What is it that we can do without prayer??? Oh yeah...NOTHING!

John 15:5, "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.

Power to R-E-A-C-H Lost People

Luke 19:10, "For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

This Sunday, our 8:30am Contemporary Service will be taking a look at Acts 11. Peter had just come to the understanding that Salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit was available to the Gentiles. This was quite a challenge for the believers to wrap their heads around...

So, how does this apply to me? Well, I think Luke makes it clear in Acts that there were many who needed Jesus...as there are in our world today. We may think they are beyond our reach, or even beyond God's reach...but no one is...

Isaiah 59:1, "Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear."

The results aren't up to us anyway. We just need to be sure we're in a R-E-A-C-H posture. This means we're praying, we're talking and we're reaching out in kindness to those around us. I love this saying from Steve Sjogren, who took Mother Teresa's quote and tweaked it a bit...

Small things

done with

great love - -

will change

the world!

The Holy Spirit is the only true evangelist who has ever existed. He is the only one who can compel anyone anyway...which really takes the pressure off of us.

John 6:44, (The Message) "You're not in charge here. The Father who sent me is in charge. He draws people to me - that's the only way you'll ever come. Only then do I do my work, putting people together, setting them on their feet, ready for the End."

Power to Change the Way I Think

It's a very interesting time we live in. Most of us are completely convinced that the way we think is absolutely correct. Which is no surprise, when we take a look at God's Word...

Proverbs 21:2 -"All a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart."

But the Lord weighs the heart...sadly, most of us have a hard time stepping on his scale.

Sunday, in our 8:30am Contemporary Service, I will be continuing our journey through the Book of Acts, focusing on Chapter 10. Peter has quite an encounter with God, which challenged the way he thought about the Gentiles. The great part about this is that God did indeed, change the way Peter thought.

A good question for us to bring before God is, "When was the last time God changed the way I thought?"

I was thinking about Ananias, who was asked in Acts 9 by the Lord to go pray for Saul...Saul who had been persecuting the early Church and throwing men and women into jail. Saul who was doing great damage to the early Church and causing lots of fear...





What would I do?



What if God spoke to me and asked me to go pray for this guy...?

Would I do it?

What did Ananias do?

Well, I love the way the Bible clearly shows Ananias's hesitation...you can almost hear the quiver in his voice...
"Lord, I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your saints in Jerusalem..."

But Ananias went to Saul in obedience.

I just LOVE this story! This is what we'll be speaking about this Sunday morning in our 8:30am Contemporary Service. Join us! GO ahead and invite Osama if you'd like!

Quote of the Day...

So Gary and I were standing in line to see a movie yesterday. There were 2 adults and 1 child standing in front of us buying their tickets. I really wasn't paying much attention, until I heard this...

"Two adults and one child, for Sex and the City".

I looked at Gary, who instantly saw the horrified look on my face. He gave me one of those "please don't say anything" looks. So, I tried to calm myself down by saying, "Nice!"

I just kept wondering why it didn't stick in her throat to say, "and one child for Sex and the City".

God help us! After my initial outrage, I found myself praying for her.

Seriously...this completely blew my mind.

Home Sweet Home!

No, I'm not referring to my home. I'm referring to the apparent mindset of the early church in Acts. They seemed very happy in Jerusalem, which would have been great, had they not been given direct orders by Jesus, that they had other places to go...

Acts 1:8
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

They hadn't branched out to Judea or Samaria, much less the ends of the earth...but they were about to...

What brought on this sudden move?

Courage?

An increase in their witnessing budget?

Nope...

What brought them to the place where they would scatter was...persecution. Saul was dragging believers out of their homes and throwing in jail. So, suddenly Jerusalem didn't seem so cozy to them anymore.

This sounds like bad news, but guess what...it was GREAT news for the Kingdom! Believers who fled Jerusalem went to places like...you guessed it...Samaria and Judea and brought the Word of God with them...

Acts 8:4, "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went."

This will be our topic this Sunday in our 8:30am Contemporary Service. Join us!

Good Times & Bad Times

It's interesting to me as I study the Book of Acts how in chapters 1-4, basically it was all about the Holy Spirit being given, a lot of preaching done by the apostles (sure, they were occasionally thrown in jail, but it's all good), and a lot of people responding to their Gospel message.

Then BOOM...in Chapter 5 - Ananias and Sapphira, but God quickly took care of that situation...

This Sunday in our Contemporary Service @ 8:30am, we will walk through Acts 6 together. This is the first sign of disunity since the Great outpouring...some complaining. But I love the way it was handled by this early Church. They discovered there was a problem, they had a meeting, they decided what should be done about it, and they did it (which was the coolest part so far), and then the result...(this really is the coolest part)...

Acts 6:7,

"So the Word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith (now that's what I call, R-E-V-I-V-A-L!!!)

But hang on to your seat...next week: Acts 7!

Power to {Courageously) Obey the Holy Spirit

This Sunday in our 8:30am Contemporary Service, we will continue through our study in the book of Acts. We've come to that story that can be misunderstood...especially in today's culture. Acts 5 tells the story of Ananias and Sapphira, who were basically both struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit.

I love what William Barclay says about this Bible story..."This is one of those stories which demonstrate the almost stubborn honesty of the Bible. It might well have been left out because it shows that even in the early church there were very imperfect Christians; but the Bible refuses to present an idealized picture of anything. But there is a certain encouragement in this story, for it shows that even in its greatest days the Church was a mixture of good and bad."

Just as in the perfect paradise of Eden, came the serpent, slithering and causing man to look away from God toward what man wanted, so enters Ananias and Sapphira during the days of, what one might call the honeymoon period of the early Church...following the serpent's example.

Peter made it clear, what people still don't understand about who we really sin against...

Acts 5:4, "...you have not lied to men but to God."

Democracy?

de·moc·ra·cy –noun, - government by the people; a form of government in which the supreme power is vested in the people and exercised directly by them or by their elected agents under a free electoral system.

In a 4-3 decision, the Supreme Court of California today overturned Proposition 22. In striking down Proposition 22, the initiative passed in 2000 - by 61.4% of voters - to define marriage in California as only between a man and a woman, the Court declared a right to "same-sex marriage" under the California Constitution.

It's time to wake up! Our votes have been rendered worthless by the Supreme Court's disregard for our democratic system!

PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! PRAY! PRAY!!!
2 Chronicles 7:14, "if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

Happy Mother's Day!

Well, Sunday is the big day when we celebrate mom! In our Contemporary Service this Sunday at 8:30am, my message title is something all moms can relate to, I'm sure... The title is, "We want you to do for us whatever we ask!" I'm speaking out of Mark 10:35-34. It isn't your traditional, Mother's Day message, generally about a mom in the Bible that we can all model our mothering after...

No, this is about Jesus and His disciples. Often whenever Jesus spoke to His disciples, or whenever I read of things that they would occasionally say to Him, I think of motherhood. Because I think they often responded to Jesus in a child-ish way...rarely understanding Jesus, or the Kingdom. The title's quote is taken from verse 35, "we want you to do for us whatever we ask." Sound familiar? I believe this sentence represents the heart of all of all of us, when you think about it. It's the heart of every crying baby, and it's also the heart of everybody on the freeway with road rage...I want this, and I want it now....

But Jesus taught His disciples a different mindset. And all of us moms must teach our little ones {and ourselves} the same one...

Mark 10:43, "...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 44-and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. 45-For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

Power to be Bold

This Sunday in our 8:30am Contemporary Service, I'm going to be speaking from Acts 4. The message title is, Power to be BOLD.

There are some Christians who are so bold they're weird. Some Christians aren't nearly bold enough...how do we find the balance? Especially considering that we're living in the politically correct culture that we do, and all of the added pressure that brings into our lives of being witnesses.

There's a scripture in Acts 4:12 that is so bold, and so non-politically correct, that I would guess if any of the candidates for president dared quote this scripture, they would be run out of their party...

"Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."

Sadly, I am sure we will never hear any of them quote it...

How did the same disciple who denied knowing Christ find such boldness? He plugged into the power of the Holy Spirit...and so must we if we want to do something to impact this world.

Go See This Movie!

Gary and I went to see Expelled - No Intelligence Allowed! What a refreshing documentary this was! In a day of Michael Moore's...I was very excited to be in a crowded theater on Friday and hear people clap at the end of a documentary!

Go see it!

How To Achieve Greatness...

This is from Dr. Charles Blair's message last Sunday Evening at Faith Christian Assembly. I can't stop thinking about this...

"The greatness of a man (or woman) is determined by the cause he lives for and the price he is willing to pay to achieve it."

Do You Know What This Saturday Is?

I just read this...

Show Him the Love!

You've heard of Mother's Day, Father's Day, and even Grandparents' Day.

But did you know there's a Husband Appreciation Day?

The third Saturday of April (this year, April 19) has been designated a day for wives to reflect on the various ways their spouse enriches their lives.

Some ways to show your appreciation:

• Bring him his favorite breakfast in bed


• Treat him to a day of fun (movies, mini-golf, hiking)


• Take over some items from his "to-do" list


• Dine at his favorite restaurant

Still stumped? Ask him, "If you were crowned king for a day, what would your perfect day look like?" Then make it happen!

“And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.” Hebrews 10:24

Power!

Have you ever felt like you didn't have enough power? I think we all feel this way from time to time.

Or, have you ever tried to figure out why something just wasn't working for you...only to discover that it wasn't plugged in?

I think our lives are this way sometimes. We try to live our lives in ways that bring honor to God, only to find that we fall so short in the power department.

That's what the book of Acts is all about. The disciples often seemed to walk around while Jesus was with them...unplugged. And not in the cool MTV way...but unplugged...short of power to do the work they needed to do for the Kingdom...

But Acts 2 changed all of that! The Holy Spirit came on them...that power they needed to be all they were meant to be.

This is the topic for Sunday in our 8:30am Contemporary Service. Come and plug in with us!

Acts 1:8
But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY PRAYER

Happy Anniversary to the Contemporary Service at Faith Christian Assembly! Today marks our very first year of existence. So...what did we do for our anniversary? We went outside and we prayed that the Holy Spirit would use each of us to impact our community for Jesus! Right after the prayer everyone gave a spontaneous little battle-cry..."whoo-hooo!!!" IT WAS SO COOL! I LOVE THESE PEOPLE!!!

Acts 2:42 They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. 43 Everyone was filled with awe, and many wonders and miraculous signs were done by the apostles. 44 All the believers were together and had everything in common. 45 Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

Power to be Witnesses...

This is my topic for Sunday's (8:30am) Contemporary Service...Power to be Witnesses. We're going to take the logical next step after our series about The THIRD DAY, and explore exactly what the disciples did after Jesus Ascension.

I believe we will be inspired to follow in their steps with the passion and purpose to see the Gospel preached to everyone...even to the ends of the earth.

I read a quote the other day that I think is true:
The antidote to despair is purpose.

I believe there is a lot to learn from this so-called unlearned, all-too-human (just like us!) band of disciples. As we study the book of Acts it's clear that they didn't go into all of the world in their own strength...they couldn't have done anything without the power of the Holy Spirit...and neither can we.

Zechariah 4:6, "...'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty."

Drinking Kool-Aid

I've heard many Christians say what a great saint they think Oprah is. I'm very disturbed about the fact that Christians are being deceived by some of the "new" new-age doctrines that she is leading them into. Her influence is clear to anyone.

Click Here for a link to see for yourselves. Please forgive the salespitch at the end...

Matthew 24:24 (The Message)
"Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better."

Final Instructions

Have you ever wondered if the disciples looked at each other with a "Now What?!?" expression on their faces during Jesus' Ascension?

These fishermen, who were unlearned and who had recently been confused by all that Jesus was about...these guys who didn't seem to "get it" a lot of the time, especially when Jesus told them three different times of His impending crucifixion, death, and resurrection...

But something happened before Jesus' Ascension that made them finally understand...

That's what my message is going to be about this coming Sunday in our 8:30am Contemporary Service. Join us!

Easter 2008

Easter came much earlier than last year. Last Easter was our very first Contemporary Service at 8:30am, here at Faith Christian Assembly. What an awesome year it has been, and Sunday was such a great day! We invited, and some came, and some didn't, but the MOST IMPORTANT thing, is that we invited. Whether they come or not is up to the Holy Spirit. It's very comforting to know that we can leave it in His very capable hands!

We had a jammin' band for worship. We were very blessed to have awesome and talented musicians including some new one's to join us on bass and drums.

We had several new people join us as well. It was a great day! I'm so thankful for our church!

Psalm 127:1 - "Unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labor in vain..."

Why do You Seek the Living Among the Dead???

It's amazing to me as I read through all of the different Gospel accounts of the Easter story, how the disciple's really didn't anticipate Jesus resurrection. He had told them about His impending crucifixion, death and resurrection on three separate occasions, but still, when the THIRD DAY came, were they standing at the tomb? No! Instead, we find Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James, among other women. They weren't anticipating His resurrection either, as they came with burial spices...But as you know, they never got to use them. They were surprised by the angels who asked them a question...

Luke 24:5, "...why do you seek the living among the dead?"

Great question! I think it's a question that needs to be asked in the culture in which we live...so many are seeking a fulfilling life among that which is dead.

This is one of the greatest things about the THIRD DAY! We have access to the Living God, who loved us so much He sent His one and only Son to die for our sins, and on the THIRD DAY was resurrected! GREAT NEWS!

The reason He came, was very clear...

John 10:10 (The Message) - I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.

You're invited to celebrate this awesome Easter Sunday with us here at Faith Christian Assembly in our 8:30am Contemporary Service!

Easter is Coming!

A few weeks ago at our Contemporary Service, we all took about 10 invitations to our Easter Service to give to our friends who don't have a church home. MaryAnn took the invitations and started handing them out. She just moved into her neighborhood, so she was out handing out invitations and handed one to a man down the street from where she lives. He told her this was the FIRST invitation to church he has EVER had...INCREDIBLE!!!

If you watched the video of my last post, you discovered that studies show that 82% who are invited to church by someone they already know will say yes.

If you are reading this and don't have a church home...consider this your invitation. If you are reading this and you do have a church home...INVITE SOMEONE to your Easter service. Give them a chance for a brand new life! The statistics are with you...not to mention the Holy Spirit. :-)

1 Peter 1:3-4 (The Message) - Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we've been given a brand-new life and have everything to live for, including a future in heaven - and the future starts now!

82!

Eighty-two is a favorite number of mine, because it was in 1982 that I married Gary! But this video shows a whole new reason to love the number! Check it out!

Romans 10:13-15 - ...for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"

GOT FOCUS???

This is London's answer to prevent injury for those who text while walking. They are putting a few pads on lampposts, because believe it or not, there have been several texting-while-walking injuries. I find this HILARIOUS! Actually, what I find very scary is flying down the freeway watching people who text while driving. I don't know what London's answer to that would be...

This Sunday, in our Contemporary 8:30am Service, I'll be speaking about someone else (just like us) who lost focus...Peter. He lost it so badly in fact, that he ended up rebuking Jesus...

Matthew 16:22 - Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"

The interesting thing about this, is that just a few scriptures prior to this rebuking...Peter eloquently declared Jesus as the Messiah.

FUN PEOPLE...GREAT FOOD...LIFE IS GOOD!!!

What fun we had at Buca di Beppo's last Friday night! I wish everybody could have come with us, but we had a great group of 18! The food was delicious...the company was even better. Did I meniton we even had the Pope at our table??? We laughed and just kicked back and enjoyed trading life stories with each other! WOW! I was in heaven!

One thing that hit me, was as we were all leaving, I sat back and watched as everybody couldn't leave without hugging someone else...OH HOW I LOVE GOD'S FAMILY!!!

IT'S THURSDAY!!!

It's Thursday, which means LOST! I'm so excited. It seems every week now, when the show ends at 10:02, I have more questions than I had last week.

Gary loves to tell people I have a real passion for the "Lost". He knows this really gets under my skin. :-) Seriously though...I do love the show, don't you???

Kid's Day - UPDATE

Kid's Day was GREAT!

Our two FABULOUS greeters for the day were Courtney and Tarlan...

Noah David Aragon was dedicated to God...

Heather, Matt, Andrew and Courtney helped us out with the offering and also helped Sheri teach!

Thank you everyone for helping make our first annual Kid's Day such a fun and great time!

Matthew 18:5, "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My Name welcomes Me."

Kid's Day! February 17, 2008 - (8:30am Service)

Yippee! Kid's Day is almost here!


This coming Sunday, in our 8:30am
Contemporary Service, we will have
our very first Kid's Day! What is Kid's Day?




Thank you so much for asking!



First, kid's will be taking charge of several aspects of our service. They will be our greeters, they will take the offering, and they will participate in the sermon.

Then, we will have a special time of prayer for our kids.



I'm SO excited...I can hardly wait!

Psalm 127:3,
"Children are a gift from the Lord;
they are a reward from Him."

GOD'S VALENTINE TO US...

The (GREAT) Depression of our Day: The Spiritual Depression

The more I learn about the Great Depression, the more I find myself drawing parallels to where we are at here in America in 2008. Of course, I'm speaking spiritually, not necessarily financially. The images of people standing in line for bread...standing in line to be one of the lucky ones who gets to work that day...very hard times. But I have to wonder, if we are any better off, living in our time.

It hit me the other day that we are living in a great Spiritual Depression. The tragedy of a Spiritual Depression, is that people generally don't realize their pitiful state. The spiritual hunger gets filled by things that don't satisfy. There is no standing in line for church...there is no hoarding of God's Word...but a drive toward things that will never fill us up.

One of the scariest things about living in our day, is learning how to raise our kids in the middle of this Spiritual Depression. Beth Moore talks about a little dog she had that was crippled, and how when the dog had puppies, they ended up limping just like their mother. We don't want our kids to take on the 'limp' of this world.

How do we do it? I think God's Word is full of direction for us. I cringe when I hear people say how they wished there was an instruction manual on how to raise their kids. GUESS WHAT??? There is! The Bible tells us so much about our precious little ones and how to raise them. And of course, prayer is key. Those things that arise in our kid's lives that seem to have no solution....God is always with us to guide us, but we must humble ourselves enough to ask Him.

I'm very concerned about the time in which we live. So much so, in fact that we are delegating this Sunday, February 17th - in our 8:30am service, "KID'S DAY". We will be having a baby dedication, a Sermon entitled, "Raising Kids in the midst of a Spiritual Depression" as well as special prayer for our kids.

Before Ezra began his journey to Jerusalem, he says,

Ezra 8:21, "...I proclaimed a fast, so that we might humble ourselves before our God and ask Him for a safe journey for us and for our children..."

Good prayer...good for Ezra back then...Good for us today!

Be Still...Move On!

This is my topic for this coming Sunday evening (5:30pm). Moses had just finished telling the Israelites not to panic, even though the Pharaoh's army was quickly advancing on them, and there was no place for them to go...land on either side, the enemy behind, and nothing but water in front of them.

Ever feel like that?

I must admit, that's the kind of week I've had.

Where do you go? Now, we have the advantage of knowing where they went...God made a way through the sea for them to go. But they didn't know He would do that. God told them to "move on!".

They even thought going back to slavery was an option, but God didn't agree. Move on! Move on where? They must have wondered. Was God going to provide ships?

I don't know if we can even imagine the fear they must have felt. But God provided a way for them, just like He does for us.

Forward is the best way....

Going back is not an option...

Luke 9:62 -Jesus replied, "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."

WE HAVE A PLAYGROUND!!!

Well, we have a playground! Thank you to Dave and Kim Short, Douglas Hammond, Gary Leming, Louise Gardner, LeRae Conwell, Karin Kefalas, Tarlan Kefalas, and Heather O'Hagan!

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and if you look at Tarlan's face...I think it's clear how she feels about it!

Psalm 122:1, "I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD."

Psalm 121

Look at those mountains! YOWZA!!! This is the view out of my office window today...

I couldn't help but think of one of my favorite Psalms...

God obviously knows I needed to be reminded of this today...HE IS SO GOOD!!!

Psalm 121:1-8 (NLT)
A song for the ascent to Jerusalem.

I look up to the mountains—
does my help come from there?
2My help comes from the Lord,
who made the heavens and the earth!

3He will not let you stumble and fall;
the one who watches over you will not sleep.
4Indeed, he who watches over Israel
never tires and never sleeps.

5The Lord himself watches over you!
The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.
6The sun will not hurt you by day,
nor the moon at night.
7The Lord keeps you from all evil
and preserves your life.
8The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go,
both now and forever.

"I WILL GO!"...Rebekah

I've been reading in Genesis about Rebekah this week. You've heard of the unsinkable Molly Brown? Well, I call Rebekah..."I will go", Rebekah! That seemed to be her attitude. What a woman! She possessed a trait that seems to be rare these days...diligence. But what exactly is diligence? How do you get it? Does it have a down side?

Gary took our car into the dealership this week for a repair that he knew was still under warranty. Gary was being merciful by taking it to the dealership, because the last time he was there, the service writer told him that the work he was having done, was not covered under our warranty. But Gary knew that it was, and in the end, turned out to be right, which the service writer in the end, fully admitted. Now, you would think when this same service writer saw Gary coming, he would put his "diligence" hat on...but sadly, no. The exact same thing happened. He told Gary that the work isn't covered under the warranty, and in the end, it turned out that it indeed was covered.

So, in the end...
Gary = Diligent
Service Writer = Not Diligent

This is what I'm going to be speaking about in our Sunday - 8:30am Contemporary Service. No, not about the evils of having your car fixed at the dealership, but about the rare quality of diligence. But when it comes to diligence, as in most other qualities...there's a downside to be careful of that we'll be talking about too.

I CHOOSE!

THIS IS THE ACCOUNT OF ____________.

(Insert your name here)

This is how Genesis 6 begins to talk about Noah. I started thinking about our lives.

What if we inserted our name in the blank? This is my topic for our Sunday 8:30am Contemporary Service this Sunday.

Can you imagine generations of people reading all about your life the way we read about Noah's?

Well, it may frighten us to think about it, but the way we live our lives is impacting our own generation and future generations.

God is faithful to point us to the right path, but the decision to get on that path, and to stay on it is ours.

Calvin Miller says it this way, "When choosing which road we shall travel, we are also picking a traveling companion. Jesus beckons us down one road and Satan down the other. Jesus is poorly dressed and is standing next to His own cross while beckoning toward a second cross that He clearly means for us to carry. Satan on the other road is in a sequined jacket holding bank bags {and whatever else may tempt us} and nodding to us with a 'come hither' look. Christ aims to make us useful, Satan to make us a star. WE CHOOSE!..."

Joshua 24:14-15, "Now fear the LORD and serve Him with all faithfulness. Throw away the gods your forefathers worshiped...and serve the LORD. But if serving the LORD seems undesirable to you, then choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve....But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD."