Posts by Pastor John

Dear Church, “you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” 1 Cor 12:27 Paul writes, “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.…

“Early in the morning, as he was on his way back to the city, he was hungry. 19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.” Matt 21:18-19 What if the fig tree was meant to represent our appearance? Sometimes, what matters most to us may be how we appear to others. Sometimes, we…

“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” Acts 2:42-43   One of my many joys of ministry is when brothers and sisters in Christ come together for fellowship, breaking of some bread, prayer, and sharing truths that the Holy Spirit has revealed to them as the read and study God’s Word together. Such is the case every Tuesday as the church staff gathers to discuss our ministries, break…

In Acts chapters 8 and 9 you find two stories that speak to me about faith, obedience, and transformation. The first one is found in Acts 8, verses 26 through 40, the story of Philip and the eunuch. An angel of the Lord tells Philip to go to a road between Jerusalem and Gaza, which according to Philip is a desert. Now, how many of us like going to desert places? But, according to verse 27, Philip gets up and…

Believe    Admit     Switch       Express    Believe God made you to love you and live for His purposes. “Everything got started in God and finds its purpose in Him” “Long before God laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, and settled on us as the focus of His love.” 2 Cor 5:5, Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.  …

“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.”   Prov. 3:5-6 When GOD solves our problems, we have faith in HIS abilities. When GOD doesn’t solve our problems, HE has faith in our abilities. God’s accuracy may be observed in the hatching of eggs. Those of the canary in 14 days; those of the barnyard hen in 21 days; eggs of…

Philippians 1:12-26 There’s no such thing as a problem-free life. If we’re going to learn to be full of JOY, we must learn to be joyful in the situation, in the problems, and in the very experiences of life. Joy is internal and can be and should be constant. The background for today’s text is that Paul for the last four years has been in miserable circumstances. He’s spent two years in prison in Caesarea for a trumped-up charge. Then…

Beginning with Romans 12 Paul begins explaining the practical application to truth revealed in ch.1-11. Faith in Christ is the pathway to righteousness. Circumcision of the heart by the Spirit is the real mark of belonging to God & a member of His family. The line of the covenant is by election, not heritage, through God’s call, not works. Righteousness that leads to holiness which assures us of eternal life is God’s gift to all who believe, & completely trust…

To boldly proclaim the transforming love of Christ through acts of mercy and grace – so that we can bring them to Christ.   As we draw closer to beginning the pastoral search process and the transition team continues to seek God’s direction and heart for a clear mission and vision for SFNAZ I want to share with you a devotion I have shared with both the transition team and the church board. The apostle Paul wrote to the Corinthian…

Devotion on 1 Thessalonians 5:19-22            “Do not put out the Spirit’s fire,”. Through the pouring out of His Holy Spirit, God gave life to His chosen people, individually and corporately, and is still giving us life today through that same Spirit. Jesus promised His disciples, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8. …