March 8, 2012

Have you ever been in a place where everyone seemed to be speaking your language!  Your hearts are stirred and challenged and excited about the same new ideas, curriculum or music.  Maybe you have never met the person you’re sitting next to, but you find that you are fast friends and you end up spending hours sharing together the joys and the challenges of ministry.  Well for the past 3 days that is where I have been.  Right here in rainy San Diego.  I have had the unique privilege to gather with 2000 other leaders and Pastors who love Children’s Ministries.  What a joy it has been to be able to be ministered to by the word of God and the message of song.

Tonight, we were blessed by Jamie Grace, a brand new singer who is out with Toby Mac. She did a mini concert  for us, and oh what a little dynamo powerhouse for our God!

As she sang “Oh how He loves me….”, my heart filled with an abundance of love for our God.

You know what?  It doesn’t matter if you like me, or if a group likes me.  It doesn’t matter if the whole world turns against me…the words “oh how He loves me” are all that really matter.

Please pray for they 2000 leaders who are with me this week.  We are united with one heart and one task, to bring children and families to a saving and growing love for our Savior Jesus!

Thanks so much and I hope you will know how much you are loved!

Because of Jesus,

Becky

March 12, 2012

“When things seem hopeless and life feels meaningless, God might just be getting ready to do some of his best work.”  - The Story

I like to play “Rummy”, it’s a card game.  I like to play it with my brother-in-law, Chuck.  I have played against him for years and have only won a hand or two.  Every time the cards are dealt I usually groan, pick up my cards and mutter under my breath a complaint about how I don’t like the cards I’ve been dealt.  He then reminds me with a smug but ever-so-right attitude, that it’s not the cards that determine whether you win or lose but how you play the cards that does.

Is this true for life, too?  It seems it might be.  I realize that the analogy breaks down at one point or another, but it doesn’t mean there are no parallels.  Is there a card that you have been dealt in life that God can’t do something good with, something redemptive, if you would just lay it down?

Think on these things…and have a great day!

Pastor Michael

March 9, 2012

So…do we live in the BEST of times…or in the WORST of times? After reading Wednesday night’s Union Democrat about conditions in downtown Sonora during the ’50′s with “cat houses and gambling casinos” just about everywhere, not to mention the girls of the “Sonora Rooms,” I thought maybe we really have made some progress! On the other hand, reading the front page about drugs busts, auto thieves, layoffs, sexual perversions, and budget woes, I identify a little more with the Psalmist words that I read in my devotions this morning: “Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in the miry depths, where there is no foothold. I have come into the deep waters; the floods engulf me.’ (Psalm 69:1-2) I have a feeling the Biblical family we begin to study this Sunday might well have had similar mixed emotions.

So…what “cards” have you been dealt in your life? I imagine you could look at some of them and say “God is so good!” And you could probably look at others and say, “Where are you God?”  The book of Ruth, to which we come this Sunday, helps us to understand what we can know and how we can navigate a life that is full of the best…and the worst…of times. Come join us!

Pastor Mark

March 7, 2012

Let’s do this, parents!!  I have been boldly reminded of late that our world needs moms and dads.  Not simply birth moms and birth dads but mothers and fathers caring, loving, stepping up and stepping into the lives of their own children and the children with whom God has privileged them to be in relationship.  In reading and researching for our upcoming ‘Parenting Your Teens’ seminar on March 16^th, I have heard God’s Word say it, experts say it, and the lives of the students in our ministry say it:  “Parents – we need YOU!”  I want to encourage you this morning to do something about it.  Do something!  Write a letter.  Call someone.  Seek forgiveness.  Give a blessing.  To a young generation in desperate need of courage…be an encouragement today.  I know we all have time to do that which really matters.  Surprise your kids(even if they are old) with love today.

Pastor Nate

March 6, 2012

I have been to Modesto a couple of times in the last 3 or 4 days to see Richard Arndt and Slim Soles.  They are both dealing with complicated issues that could keep them hospitalized for a while.

I love how our Men’s Ministry has visited both of these men and are praying for their recovery.  I would encourage you, as a part of our congregation, to put a sticky note in a place where you can see it daily and pray for these two men as well as others that need our prayers.

What a wonderful habit to develop in our lives, to pray daily for those who are struggling.  Might that be a habit we refuse to break!

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

March 2, 2012

Recommending you watch a good war movie hardly seems like an appropriate way to prepare for Sunday morning. But the book of Judges is a book of battles. A Biblical Judge did not listen to opposing viewpoints and seek to render a fair and just decision. A Biblical Judge was more like a military general who led troops into battle against the enemy. The story of Judges is one of repeated military battles as God raises up warlords to lead the people to defeat their enemies. But there is a bigger battle here than what we read in the “story” of Judges. That is the real “STORY”.  From the upper level perspective, the question of Judges is whether God’s people will ever truly follow Him and obey His Word. The answer is not encouraging.  But the STORY also reminds us that God will never abandon His purpose or His people, and if they choose to live obediently to Him, He will fight the battle through them and give the victory. That is our hope…and so we battle on…

Pastor Mark

February 28, 2012

I want to say thank you to all the Sierra Bible people who attended the Mother Lode Christian School Jubilee this past weekend at the fairgrounds.  This Jubilee was the most successful ever!

I personally enjoyed seeing so many of you during the weekend.  The food was terrific, the silent auction items and the live auction were several steps up from what we usually have.  My hope is that each of you brought home something you will treasure and enjoy immensely.

So, thank you for your participation and thank you for your presence.

Blessings,

Pastor Rick

February 27, 2012

“This might surprise you but following God involves engaging in an on-going series of battles to live in His will and walk in His ways…this will always be part of our story.”  -The Story

 

What, are we all supposed to be Christian crusaders?  Are we supposed to be armed for battle?  Are we supposed to be ready every day to strike down the enemies who have moved into God’s kingdom?  Are we supposed to ward off Satan and his legions as they wreak havoc on the innocent and defenseless?  Are we supposed to be involved in ministries of mercy & justice?

Hmmm, seems like too hard of an answer to find on an early Monday morning!

Pastor Michael

February 20, 2012

“God has a great path planned for us that includes joy and intimacy with him; when we choose to take our own route the journey is harder and takes longer.”  -The Story

 

I wonder how much time we waste in our wanderings.  It’s seems to me that to keep circling around the same block seeing the same scenery would compel us to do things God’s way instead of ours.  When I was a young boy, I learned a song about the wanderings of the Israelites that has stuck with me to this day.  It’s really an ode to all those who think their ways are higher than God’s.  The lyrics are something like this:

“Go on and take another lap around Mount Sinai, until you learn your lesson
Until you stop your whining and you quit your complaining
Until you learn to stand in the day of testing
By trusting and obeying the Lord.”

What do you say, another lap around the same mountain today or a surrender to the ultimate tour guide?

Pastor Michael

February 24, 2012

Travel Opportunity:  Come join us and live in the Promised Land flowing with milk and honey or, for the more adventuresome sort, join the battle as we engage the enemy and conquer the land before us! Wait a minute, this is all the same trip! I hope you will  join us as we continue our study this Sunday in The Story.

Pastor Mark

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