From Our Pastor | Do you want revival?  I don’t mean a series of meetings.  By “revival”, I mean the experience of God cleansing us, reprioritizing us, renewing us, and drawing us close to Himself.  Yes, I hope you plan to attend and hear what God has to say to us in the services.  We are blessed to have Aaron preaching to us.  I am so thankful for him and excited about his coming.  But I pray that our desire is for God to move in us and among us.

From Our Family And Music Minister | Over the years, I have attended many youth rallies and worship services. These events can be great times of teaching and worship for young people; however, many of the youth just get caught up in the emotion of the event. As a result, they will come down during the invitation, be attentive during Bible study, and even show up for Sunday School the following Sunday for the first time in a year. Unfortunately, this change usually passes within a few days because they were caught up in the emotion of the whole event and honestly had not made a heart change.

From Our Pastor | When we think about our Lord riding into Jerusalem, we usually think about the joy, celebration and excitement.  We often think of it as the high point of His earthly ministry.  What an incredible experience it had to have been!

From Our Family and Music Minister | As adults, it seems like we can quickly get discouraged, especially when it comes to sharing the Gospel, inviting people to church, or helping someone in need. Once we feel like we are unsuccessful or taken advantage of, we quickly become numb to the needs around us and can lose our desire to reach out. We must, however, remember God did not call us to be a witness for Him just when things are going well. Instead, He calls us to reach out for Him even when times are bad.

From Our Pastor | What brings God’s judgment?  This may not be a pleasant question, but we must know its answer.  Our lives and eternity depend upon knowing the answer.

From Our Family and Music Minister | God created us with a purpose:  to love Him, to love others, and to tell others of His love. In the same way, a toaster has a purpose. A toaster takes bread and turns it into toast. It is good at what it is designed for but pretty much useless at everything else. However, as great as a toaster makes toast, it can only work if it has a power source. Without a power source, it is just a bread holder.

From Our Pastor | In 2 Timothy 3:1, we read, “But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come.”  The subsequent verses describe these days.  It is almost impossible to read those verses without realizing they describe these days in which we live.  Evil, wickedness, fraud, and deception surround us.  There does not seem to be an institution that has not been corrupted.  These are truly evil and difficult days.

From Our Family and Music Minister | Some of my friends become “hangry” if they have not eaten in a while. If you are unfamiliar with the term, it is when someone becomes irritable or moody due to being hungry.

From Our Pastor | Do you enjoy waiting?  Most of us don’t!  We would much rather be doing something.  This is especially true if the waiting is in relation to a problem being solved or a need being met.  We much prefer actively working for a solution.

From Our Family and Music Minster
| Shortly after Saskia and I got engaged, she wanted us to get a dog together. Long story short, with a bit of manipulation and the help of Sami and Eilene, I was the proud co-owner of a golden retriever puppy the following weekend. As promised, Saskia took care of him, house-trained him, played with him, and even taught him to ring a doorbell to let us know he wanted to go outside. However, shortly after we were married and he moved in with me, it became apparent that I was his human. Saskia wakes up an extra 30 minutes early to take him outside and play at 4:45 AM. A few days last week, I started back into the routine of going and working out in the morning. Maverick stands and watches for me to come out and tell him goodbye before he plays with his football. No matter what Saskia does or how little attention I give Maverick, he is faithful and loyal to me and always shows it.