The two biggest Christian holidays of the year are Christmas and Easter. And each year as each of them approach, I find myself wondering which one is most important, which one should we celebrate most. Of course in our culture, Christmas gets the most hype and the most lead time, beginning these...
As I thought about what to write for the blog this week, I asked myself the question, “What has energized me recently on what God is doing in our own church?” Once I started, I couldn’t stop writing. Let me share! Sunday mornings at 9:15am at Greater Portland is a...
Every Sunday, the Worship Ministry meets from 9:15-10:15am for a time of small group interaction. It gives us an opportunity to check in with one another, pray for one another, and study God’s Word together. For the past couple of months, we have been gradually making our way through the...
Spring Break is here! This is the first year in a long time my family is staying in town. Normally we travel out of state to visit family and friends, but this year we decided to enjoy some rest and relaxation at home! I cannot wait for a week without school, schedules, and all...
As some of you may know last year, at the end of January, Lana and I had a miscarriage. We lost our first child and the grief was unbearable. It was a very deep loss for us. But later that June we found out that we were once again pregnant. What a gift from God after such a deep loss. Yet the...
Several years ago, when facing some difficulty where I didn’t know how things would turn out, I attended a Prayer Renewal at the DreamGivers Inn. The Lord showed me through His Word that I needed to remain strong in Him and be courageous. In Joshua 1:6 the Lord said to Joshua, “Be...
After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation...
There is a new excitement in our children’s program. Teacher Shirley is practicing greeting in Chinese and Teacher Jeff is studying Chinese with the help of JJ and Wendy. Last week the preschool sang Jesus Loves Me in Mandarin, Spanish and Italian. The kids were completely engaged and...
Many people have observed that we are in a season of unity as a church community and that it is delightful. What is even more delightful, and remarkable, is that within that unity there is a growing diversity. We are seeing an increasing ethnic and language and cultural diversity. Generational...
For the past few months, I’ve been slowly (and I mean, slooooowly) making my way through Timothy Keller’s book on prayer, fittingly called—Prayer. In the best way possible, this book has really “messed up” my prayer life. God has used this book to reveal things I...