Pastor’s Blog (Page 4)

My Church Building Experience We have it! After long years of working through the pricey maze that is Los Angeles County to get a building permit, we have it in hand. We are all excited, and we should be. It is a great thing to build a home for our congregation to serve the Lord in our community. My hope is it will used to faithfully serve Christ…

After many years of good AFBC people volunteering countless hours, energy and skill, and many others giving their talents and resources, it appears we are finally ready to “arise and build.”; If the final permits are not in hand when you read this, they soon shall be. Let’s do it together. Let’s arise and build.

Our study of God’s definition of the word love in our recent study of 1 Corinthians 13 has produced some serious thinking for some of us. No doubt hearing God’s definition reveals our own failures and weaknesses as people who want to be like Christ, but who often don’t seem able to live it. How does a Christian change?

One of the most common questions I get during the Christmas season isn’t about Christmas, it’s about Bibles! The reason is because a new Bible makes an excellent Christmas present, but when one gets to a Bible store –Wow! There are so many translations available. And it seems new ones appear almost every year. Which one should I pick? Which are the best?

One of the pleasures of our current study in 2 Corinthians is having the opportunity to remind ourselves how central the Gospel is to the Christian heart and life. It is the greatest news ever entrusted to the hands of men! God has provided for the salvation of sinners in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and freely offers . . .

Brothers and sisters, a gentle reminder in the New Year to be a person of prayer.  Even Jesus sustained his human existence with prayer.  You cannot accomplish anything of value spiritually in the flesh alone.  Prayer is your direct line to God through the death of Christ on your behalf.  Don’t lose that connection.

Although having a happy pastor is not really a biblical requirement or measure of an effective church, I think it must be better to have a happy pastor than otherwise. We are seeing God’s provision in so many areas of teaching, worship, service, fellowship, and assistance to those in need that I believe we can expect great things …

Most of you know I have been adjusting to a rather dramatic loss of hearing recently. But the loss of a gift can be a gift in itself — a different kind of gift … This world won’t last. It is very temporary. Our mortal bodies won’t last. They are temporary. But while decline in this world is inevitable, that coming Day of Judgment looks all the…

Church is boring.”  “It doesn’t do anything for me.”  I don’t want to go anymore.”  “Aren’t I old enough to decide for myself if I wanna go?” Sound familiar?  It’s not uncommon. In spiritual matters, you cannot cure boredom with entertainment.  In making disciples of all nations, it’s best we start at home…

One aspect of the Second Commandment we didn’t address in our recent sermon series was the issue of visualizing Jesus in our prayer life. We discussed at some length representing the incarnate Christ for instruction or inspiration in story books, art, film or drama. What about creating images in the mind?