We are a dynamic church family that encourages all people of all ages, colors, and backgrounds to join us in the spiritual journey toward a more intimate relationship with God.
Our vision is to become a prayerful, diverse, and community-involved church family whose passionate purpose is to help seekers become servants of Christ.
A.W. Tozer wrote: "In a world like ours, courage is an indispensable virtue. The coward may snivel in his corner, but the brave man takes the prize. And in the kingdom of God, courage is as necessary as it is in the world. The timid soul is as pitiable on his knees as he is in society.
When entering the prayer chamber, we must come filled with faith and armed with courage. Nowhere else in the whole field of religious thought and activity is courage so necessary as in prayer. The successful prayer must be one without condition. We must believe that God is love and that, being love, He cannot harm us but must ever do us good. Then we must throw ourselves before Him and pray with boldness for whatever we know our good and His glory require, and the cost is no object! Whatever He in His love and wisdom would assess against us, we will accept with delight because it pleased Him. Prayers like that cannot go unanswered. The character and reputation of God guarantee their fulfillment.
We should always keep in mind the infinite lovingkindness of God. No one need fear to put his life in His hands. His yoke is easy; His burden is light."
Courageous Living Bible Study
Two separate Groups will meet as follows: • Tuesday Mornings, April 10th through May 1st at 5:45 am • Saturday Afternoons, April 14th through May 5th at 4:15 pm
In the new film Courageous, four law officers are confident and focused when standing up to the worst the streets have to offer. But leading their families at home in a God-honoring way? That takes courage.
Based on the movie, the Courageous Living Bible Study will lead men toward living more courageously in four key areas:
Responsibility: serving, protecting, and casting a vision for their family Priorities: focusing on eternal things rather than what is temporary Legacy: recognizing a father’s potential impact as a godly role model Faith: strengthening a father’s identity in Christ, increasing in wisdom
A donation of $7 is requested to cover the cost of the Courageous Living Bible Study Member Book
Courageous Movie Night & Fundraiser for Community Leader • Suggested Minimum Donation $20 • June 9th at 7:15pm
Father’s Day • June 17th during the worship…together we will sign “The Resolution” as shown in the Courageous Movie.
THE RESOLUTION
I DO solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife, and my children.
I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.
I WILL be faithful to my wife, to love and honor her, and be willing to lay down my life for her as Jesus Christ did for me.
I WILL bless my children and teach them to love God with all of their hearts, all of their minds, and all of their strength.
I WILL train them to honor authority and live responsibly.
I WILL confront evil, pursue justice, and love mercy.
I WILL pray for others and treat them with kindness, respect, and compassion.
I WILL work diligently to provide for the needs of my family.
I WILL forgive those who have wronged me and reconcile with those I have wronged.
I WILL learn from my mistakes, repent of my sins, and walk with integrity as a man answerable to God.
I WILL seek to honor God, be faithful to His church, obey His Word, and do His will.
I WILL courageously work with the strength God provides to fulfill this resolution for the rest of my life and for His glory.
As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. ---Joshua 24:15
A donation of $15 is requested to cover the cost of “The Resolution” and a picture frame.
I’ve come to a realization finally that there is so much truth in this song… "All You Need Is Love!" It is sung by one of my wife’s favorite bands. As men of God, we need to love God with all of our hearts, souls, minds and spirits! Also, we need to love our wives the same way! We have become one with our wives (see Ephesians 5:25-33 below). My wife, Anita is the rest of me! She is my precious gift from God! If I don’t love her fully, I cannot possibly love myself. I give all the thanks and glory to God for finally removing a pet sin from my life. My soul is shifting!
I finally believe that if I was in Joseph’s shoes when Potiphar’s wife tried to entice him (see Genesis 39:7 below), that I too could put on my Nikes* and Run! Potiphar’s wife has no name in the Bible. I believe that this is a way of dehumanizing her…making her not real. Guys, this temptation is all around us…we need to run! Temptation will always be a part of our lives. Thankfully, God provides a way out (see 1 Corinthians 10:13 below.) He never allows temptation to overtake us that we cannot endure and overcome! We need to put on God’s armor (see Ephesians 6:10-18 below). We need to be in the Word and to live as it suggests.
As Pastor Rick Warren said in his daily devotional last Saturday, “Satan knows that if he can keep you out of the Word, he’s taken you out of the battle. He has basically removed your sword (Ephesians 6:17).” We need to pray, pray and pray continually. He’s been answering my prayers to remove much trash from me! Each and every day I am learning to love Him more, love my wife more and love others more!
Happy Valentine's Day to my lovely wife, Anita! I will always and forever love you!
Ephesians 5:25-33 (NIV)
25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— 30 for we are members of his body. 31 “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.” 32 This is a profound mystery—but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.
Genesis 39:7 (NIV)
7 and after a while his master’s wife took notice of Joseph and said, “Come to bed with me!”
1 Corinthians 10:13 (NIV)
No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.
Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)
The Armor of God
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.
Before becoming a Christian, Lincoln Brewster worried a lot. One day he picked up a Bible and read the verse…Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? (Matt 6:27)
In order to stop worrying, we need to change some things about ourselves. We need to pray more, worship fully, completely trust and rely on Him. We need to open our hearts and develop a relationship with Christ. So when we worry, we need to pray for God to remove the worry from our lives!
We also need to search the scriptures. Recently, I have been in a group at SWC studying Revelation. The words in Revelation 19:6-8 have hit me and stuck with me! They say, “Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: “Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear.” (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of God’s holy people.)
“Let us rejoice and be glad” means a lot more than the type of glad you normally think glad to mean. It means a lot more than just…hey, I’m glad to see you. It is the glad that is accompanied by complete and utter delightfulness and joyfulness, dancing, shouting and praising Him!
As I was searching the scriptures about “Let us rejoice and be glad,” I came across Isaiah 25:8-9 which states “he will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign LORD will wipe away the tears from all faces; he will remove his people’s disgrace from all the earth. The LORD has spoken. In that day they will say, “Surely this is our God; we trusted in him, and he saved us. This is the LORD, we trusted in him; let us rejoice and be glad in his salvation.” This is just one of the many prophesies in Isaiah about Christ!
Bear in mind, Isaiah lived 2,700 years ago. That’s about 700 years before Christ! Click on the following prophesies of Isaiah to see the scriptures where he predicted with amazing accuracy:
Jesus himself in the most powerful sermon ever Matt 5:1-12, where he gives us the Beatitudes, says “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”
My prayer for the New Year is that I will stop worrying and be more joyful and glad in his presence and that I can open my heart fully to the God who created me and filled me with living water, so that one day I will be with Him in heaven! I also pray that you will join me!
