From Our Pastor | Alone.  Hopeless.  Helpless.  Defeated.  Have you felt those?  Have you ever been at the point that you thought there was no future?

From our Family and Music Minister | In Ephesians 5, Paul tells believers that we are to reflect God’s change in our lives.  Paul clearly emphasized to the Ephesians that they had been completely changed from their old nature. They had once been living in darkness, but they had become light through the saving grace of Christ.  They were the opposite of what they were, so they should not live as they had before. Paul stated that the desire of their changed lives should be to please God and bear fruit that glorifies Him.

From Our Pastor | “What good is studying prophecy?”  We frequently hear such questions these days.  We even hear these questions from professing Christians.  They argue that Bible studies and sermons should focus more on “practical”, “relevant” topics dealing with the “here and now”.

From Our Family and Music Minister | Looking back over my life, I don’t consider myself a risk taker. Heights don’t bother me, but I will not stand on a broken bridge or jump out of a perfectly good plane. I don’t believe anything in our brain tells us skydiving or bungee jumping is a safe activity. People tend to do these things for an adrenaline rush. Even though it doesn’t threaten our lives, evangelism can seem terrifying enough to us that we don’t truly live out our calling as Christians. 

FROM OUR PASTOR | Have you ever considered the importance of our heart in prayer?  We often talk about the different types of prayer or the elements of prayer.  Sometimes we will talk about the positions of prayer.

From Our Family and Music Minister | There are two types of people in this world: those who never let their car get below a quarter of a tank of gas and others who push it as close to empty as they can. My mom was one that would push it as close to empty as possible since she only drove a few blocks most days. However, I didn’t appreciate it when I had to take her car to run an errand and would run out of gas before getting home. Since it happened to me a few times before the days of cell phones, I got to where, just running a few blocks in my mom’s car, I would check the gas.

From Our Pastor | How can we receive the Lord’s commendation? When our Lord spoke of John, He said, “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!” (Matthew 11:1b). In fact, every word our Lord spoke to or about John was a commendation.

From our Family and Music Minister | This past week, I took Maya to her tumbling class. So that I would be productive with my time, I took my tablet to do some reading. Since it had been a few months since I used it, I got it out, put it on the charger, and decided I should turn it on to ensure there were no windows updates that were needed. Of course, with my luck, it took almost an hour and a half for the computer to update, and it didn’t have time to charge completely. But it was my fault; several programs had to update because I had neglected them for a while.

From Our Pastor | How do you think the Lord responds when we come to Him for help?  That may seem to be a strange question, but it is based on a profound truth.  A large part of our ability to come to the Lord for help is based on the response that we think we will get from Him.  If we believe He will favorably respond, we find it easy to come to Him.  If we think He will respond negatively, it will be difficult to come to Him.

From our Family and Music Minister | Everyone was excited to be back in the sanctuary this past Sunday. Even though it has been expressed several times, I am very thankful for the hard work everyone has put into repairing the sanctuary. As we all settled back into our regular seats (as long as someone else didn’t get it) I am sure somewhat of a comfortable feeling came over some of you. You get the same feeling after you have been away from home for several days and get back home and sit in your comfortable chair.