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Anxious???

Posted by Pastor Adam Pereira
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
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A very well-known Bible verse dealing with prayer is Philippians 4:6-7. This verse states: "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." This is one of those very powerful verses that we just seem to get used to because we have heard it used all of our lives. Yet that doesn't make the truth any less real or powerful! Is it really possible to not be "anxious" when difficult things come into our lives or we have huge burdens on our hearts? The answer is "yes" (else it would not be commanded) but we must get a realization of what it means to be "anxious." 

What it does not mean: to lack feeling or concern; to have something on your mind; to feel the weight of something

What it does mean: to be overly concerned or preoccupied with something to the point that it has a hold or control over you; that the concern has an undue priority in your life

I hope you can see the difference here in meaning. If I am "anxious" I go from being concerned about something yet giving it to the Lord to letting it take over my feelings and intellect and clutching to it to the point I can no longer give it over to Christ. So....how can we keep from becoming "anxious"??? I believe it takes a purposeful process. That process will involve growing in your relationship to the Lord first and foremost. It will also take making a habit of continually coming before the Lord in prayer by sharing your heart with Him, believing He hears and cares about you, and continually giving the cares over to the Lord as you again become anxious. It will even involve going to a trusted friend or spiritual mentor and sharing your heart with him or her to gain a new spiritual perspective that will further train your mind and give you added confidence that the Lord does indeed care and will see you through. Yes, this verse does hold true! You can have true peace! It is not elusive or just for everybody else. Let Christ give you peace! Stop holding onto your anxiety!

 

Devotional Thoughts

God Is Good...All The Time???

Posted by Pastor Adam Pereira
Saturday, July 3, 2010
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"Oh give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; for His lovingkindness is everlasting."

I have recently done a 2-part series on the goodness of God and wanted to share a few thoughts that I hope are a help to you. I think a common, troublesome element within all of us is to have misconceptions of our God.

Some think He is a dictator who governs every move we make.

Others feel He is a genie in a lamp just waiting to give us our every need.

Still others feel He is  a very distant Being who doesn't really take interest or notice as one's so insignificant as ourselves.

All of these views bring confusion, misunderstanding, and discouragement in our spiritual lives. Furthermore, I have found that most of these views are enhanced by emotional baggage that has come into our lives through difficult circumstances in our past which keeps us from laying hold of the God as presented in the Bible (i.e. dysfunctional or disinterested parents, heartache in circumstances, failed expectations, etc.). Whatever your present view of God, realize that the Bible says our God is good. He is inherently and completely good and does not withhold what is truly good from His children (Ro. 8:28). Let me offer you a few helps in thinking through your view of God:

1. Analyze Scripture as to what is says not how you feel--emotions are never a gauge to truth. God's Word is our standard to truth

2. Don't view your opinion of God through your circumstances but view your circumstances through who You know God to be from the Bible.

3. Lose the "it's to good to be true" mentality when it comes to God--remember "child-like faith" is what God expects of us. As long as its Biblical, its not "to good to be true!"

4. Develop your relationship with God--you can't expect to know who God is if you don't develop that relationship! What are you really doing to cultivate that relationship?

I pray that this would be of help to you today. Remember, you are constantly on God's mind. No detail of your life, no matter how small, is insignificant to God! Why else would the Bible refer to us as the "apple of Your (God's) eye?" You are precious in His sight!!

--Pastor Adam

 

Church Events

Connection Groups Part 2: What Could They Mean To You

Posted by Pastor Adam Pereira
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
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Here is part two of our Connection Group videos. We would love to have you be a part!

Church Events

Connection Groups: What Are They All About? Part 1

Posted by Pastor Adam Pereira
Monday, December 14, 2009
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Here is a video explaining what our Connection Groups are all about. We would love to have you be a part of one. Will you commit to get connected this January?

Devotional Thoughts

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

Posted by Pastor Adam Pereira
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
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Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.--Phillipians 4:6

As you celebrate Thanksgiving with family, friends, food, and fellowship, remember the spirit of the holiday which you celebrate. How easy it is for us to just go through motions or to try something for just one day out of the year without taking to heart the ramifications of what we are doing. Thanksgiving should not just be a formal one time event. It should be characteristic of every day of our lives. In Philippians 4:6, Paul speaks of what should be our constant frame of mind, even in the midst of problems and fears! What does he say to do? Note that he does not say to ignore your fears or just to count them as worthless or weird. He says to bring them before the Lord in prayer. That is the issue. It is not whether you have heartaches on your mind, but how you decide to deal with them. Will you take them to the Lord or cling to them yourself. Yet, there is one more key item that Paul brings out to us today. He says that when we bring those problems before God's throne, we are to do so with thanksgiving. Now that is really the hard part! To praise the Lord and to count your blessings in the midst of turmoil is truly a difficult concept to grasp. How many times do we come to the Lord in prayer as nothing more than a pessimistic complainer. These prayers do not honor the Lord. However, when we come to Him with those same burdens but do so in a spirit of worship, dependence, and trust, how that honors him. But how can we do this??? Here are 3 practical suggestions: 1) thanksgiving is not just an emotion or feeling, realize that you can be thankful even when you don't feel like it! Stop listening to your fluctuating emotions, 2) Get your eyes on the Lord. When we decide to look to the Lord and the blessings He really has given us, it is amazing the new perspective that we can gain. We choose our attitudes and perspectives and we need to stop feeding our minds with the wrong things, and 3) share your blessings with others. It is amazing how this can help bring change to your attitude and give you a sense of the reality with which you have been blessed. Everyone has blessings which they can tell others of. Instead of complaining maybe it is time to testify to what the Lord has truly done for you. 

As we gather around the Thanksgiving table this year, I hope you truly have a heart of thankfulness for the blessings and goodness of our God. Remember, when you leave your worries and problems before His throne in prayer, you will be better able to carry away His peace and assurance as you leave that throne of grace each time! Happy Thanksgiving!!



 

General News

Welcome!

Posted by Pastor Ted Rood
Thursday, October 22, 2009
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As you can see in the picture--the oldest and youngest staff persons! We are so excited about our new website! Pastor Adam has done a lot of work coordinating with Brad Bansner, our web-designer. We will be posting information on the site which will help you to catch up on things if you happened to be away some weekend or for the rest of you, who don't pay attention to the announcements (just kidding!). Don't forget to check out the calendar page where we will be posting upcoming events and important information. We will also be using this site to post Connection Group questions and sermons. That way you can just copy and print the questions if you miss our Sunday morning service. If you have any questions concerning our new church website, don't hesitate to send us an email! We are so happy and thrilled about this new opportunity for our church!

Devotional Thoughts

Not A Half-Hearted Promise

Posted by Pastor Adam
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
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“And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19

Have you ever wondered about the “all your needs” part of this verse? Does it not seem that at least some of the times our needs are not met? After all, if all of our needs were met, then what room would people have to get bitter at God over so many things? And, as someone brought up recently, what about all of those people in foreign countries who go hungry and do not have their basic needs met? These are all tough questions, are they not? Did the apostle Paul really know what he was talking about? Do some situations just slip through God’s “radar”? We know, or at least should know, that the answer to this question is “no.” Yet we must be so careful to not let our circumstance or feelings do away with our “theological” knowledge of this promise. After all, it is easy to praise God and say that He is good and provides when things are going well, our bellies are full, and their is plenty of money in the bank. But what about when tragedy strikes? Job said, “Though He slay me I will hope in Him…” That means no matter how things may appear, we must still trust God to be true to what He says about Himself. It’s easy to forget that before Paul ever gets to v. 19 of Philippians 4, He first states in v. 12,  ”I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need.” Now, did you catch the last two words of this verse when he said he had faced times of “suffering need”? Is that a contradiction to v.19 where Paul says God will provide all his needs? How could the both be true? The answer is this. There may be times in all of our lives where we have genuine needs and for a time they may go or seem to go unprovided for. Yet, God’s promise to provide for each and every need that we have still holds true. See, we cannot ever put God in a mental box where we try to direct and expect God to do certain things at a certain time. Isaiah 55:8-9 teaches us that God’s ways and our ways are many times in direct conflict. Who are we going to trust at times of such seeming contradiction: ourselves or God? Yes, there will be many times where we will have to put our own expectations on hold and simply trust a God who promises to provide and do so in His own timing way. After all, He is the one who knows what our true needs are and waiting may just be what that true need is. Always remember, when God makes a promise it is never half-hearted!