Love One Another: A Human Impossibility Today?
The Bible is full of references to the subject of love in its connection with faith, so that we receive the correct impression that true love is in direct relation to its Author, God himself. Without God’s nearness true love is not possible, and the greater the distance from him the greater the level of distortion of that love. In the Chapter 13 of the Gospel of John, as well as in Chapter 13 of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church,
Call God: The 24/7 Direct Prayer Line
Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with the full assurance that faith brings, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies
From the Pastor: Grateful to God
Do we have plenty to complain about? Yes, absolutely. Any one of us could create a long list of things of what we want, but don’t have. Very easily, we can enumerate lengthy, detailed reasons why not to be thankful. In any given situation, we can find plenty to criticize and find fault with. But we need to concentrate on what God has given us and how blessed we truly are. An exercise in gratitude will help change our perspective on things and
From the Pastor: The Antidote to a Very Bad Day
We give Jesus our sins to bear and he credits us with his righteousness. So God looks upon us as he would his own Son. Believers get full credit for Jesus’ perfection even though they’re anything but perfect. But there’s more.
We Often Feel Like Losers: Who Will Win?
by Alastair Hayward, Guest Preacher Who will win? I guess it depends on the context. Will Bayern win the Champions League this year? Will Liverpool win the Premiership for the first time in thirty years? Will the Cubs win the World Series? Will Donald Trump beat Joe Biden? Will the coronavirus win or will we defeat it in the end? These verses at the beginning of the book of Acts tell us that in the end Jesus wins and is the supreme
From the Pastor: The Destructive Power of Negative Internal Dialogue
Hatred of self—of the way we look, the way others see us, the way we see ourselves—guarantees misery. Sometimes our own negative internal dialogue can be worse than anything anyone can say to, or about, us. In a Glamour (Shocking Body-Image News: 97% of Women Will Be Cruel to Their Bodies Today) magazine survey, it was reported that young women had about 13 negative body-shaming thoughts a day! Does this survey shock you? It’s not just women; you might be surprised
From the Pastor: How Do We Discern God’s Guidance in Adversity?
For this God is our God for ever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end. -Psalm 48:14 In talking to friends here and back in the USA, through this time of lockdown, stressful situations, and restrictions, it appears many are seeking God’s guidance and help. So how do we discern God's guidance? What we learn from others is that God’s leading “was done in such a way that I couldn’t possibly have missed the point. The whole experience
From the Pastor: Pentecost – Faith, Evangelism, and the Holy Spirit
Paradoxically faith, like love, increases the more it’s given away. Rather than waiting for it to reach a peak high enough to communicate to others (as most believers do), it grows and expands as we do so from the very beginning. Also, once the nature of true faith becomes clear, the character of true evangelism comes to light as well. What the church goes to such great lengths to reinterpret or avoid altogether, and what so many Christians dread so
From the Pastor: Good Mistakes
Are you wondering if you can ever reach a point of joy and contentment when you look back at a life of stupid mistakes, botched relationships, wrong decisions, and seemingly one failure after another? The short answer is: you can, but not by yourself. You need a powerful source and guide: the Bible. Both the Old and New Testaments are packed with the histories of those who made mistakes, serious ones, who blundered through life, and who would have become utter failures,
From the Pastor: How To Be Happy
On my way to an early morning church meeting some years ago, realizing I was 20 minutes early, I pulled off the traffic-jammed El Camino Real, found a place to park on a side street, and turned off the engine. I then sat back to think of the busyness of the day ahead of me. Suddenly, a man about 35 years old burst out of the front door of his small house on the other side of the street, with his
