Balancing Ministry N' Work

Not too long-ago Pastor Don preached on the Parable of the Lost Son. As we read through the Parable something jumped out at me that I thought would be a good follow up to his message. Most of us have read these verses many times and been taught the meaning behind them many times, so you will be familiar with them as we read. Luke 15:11-24 “ 11  He also said: “A man had two sons. 12  The younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of the estate I have coming to me.’ So he distributed the assets to them. 13  Not many days later, the younger son gathered together all he had and traveled to a distant country, where he squandered his estate in foolish living. 14  After he had spent everything, a severe famine struck that country, and he had nothing. 15  Then he went to work for one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. 16  He longed to eat his fill from the pods that the pigs were eatin...

Let’s start by reading a verse that most of us have probably heard before. Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” These words are the final command given by Jesus before He ascended into heaven. He was telling all believers to go out and be His witnesses. Starting in their local communities and letting it spread from there. I remember reading about Canaan Baptist in St. Louis. They broke down this command from Jesus into segments and focused on each part. For their Jerusalem they focused on the St. Louis area, they had trunk and treats, VBS, egg hunts, and more. They viewed the state of Missouri as their Judea and support the Missouri Baptist Convention and other ministries such as Disaster Relief. For their Samaria they send teams to Mexico and for the end of the Earth they minister in Africa. Now they are a big church with a lot of peopl...

Going to start by reading a few verses. Galatians 5:13-14 “ 13  For you were called to be free, brothers and sisters; only don’t use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but serve one another through love.  14  For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement:  Love your neighbor as yourself. ” Romans 12:10 “ 10  Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters. Outdo one another in showing honor.” Colossians 3:17 “ 17  And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.” As I read these verses recently I was reminded of what I have seen here at Crossroads Cowboy Church. Galatians 5:13 told us to ‘serve one another in love.’ Romans 12:10 said ‘Love one another deeply as brothers and sisters.’ Colossians 3:17 reminds us to ‘do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus’ Over the last 5 months I have seen ...

Here is the complete email interview with the Fireside Guard published on March 29, 2017.  1.  Discuss the qualifications you offer to the citizens and staff of the city of Centralia.  Example: your educational background, previous community service, work experience, etc. I graduated with honors on both a Bachelors degree (2004) and a Masters in Business Administration (2010). I have over 25 years of progressive professional experience in Materials Management. I have led teams, reduced costs, and drove overall improvements. Currently I oversee more than $90 Million in purchases and negotiate multi-million dollar contracts. As a Pastor, I have led church revitalization projects that brought new life to the church and outreach to the community. In 2016 I was part of the City of Centralia Comprehensive Plan team focused on Economic Development and want to be part of the future of our great city. 2.  What ideas do you see as being important to the continue...

If you hang around church or church people long enough you are going to hear about something called prayer. They are going to talk about prayer meetings and suggest you pray about things in your life. Prayer will probably sound like something that is really important. Think about it for a moment, to a non-believer the thought of praying seems kind of odd. Who in their right mind is going to sit there and talk to themselves expecting this God person to actually listen. If you catch someone talking to themselves as passionately as some of us pray, you might question if they are all their, if you know what I mean. Prayer is something that does take a little getting used to. I remember a dear bother in Christ, who had been saved for many years never felt comfortable praying out loud. I remember his son, who was our associate pastor at the time, being really excited when his father volunteered to pray during our Good Friday service. It took him years to feel that comfortable with...

When the word 'Real' is put in front of something it tends to get our attention. Marketers use it to sell us things and others use it to try to convince of things. Coke used to be the 'real thing'; real leather is better than fake leather, and they say real men wear pink. This morning we are going to look what James has to say about real faith. We will be looking at James chapter 2, which are probably some of the most misunderstood passages in the book of James, and can be quite controversial. There are a lot of people out there that think they are Christians and really are not. In this passage James, the brother of Jesus, and the man who tells it like it is, talks about the difference between real and counterfeit Christians. The entire New Testament teaches us that we are saved by faith alone. 'By Grace, through faith'. James comes along and says, 'it's not just faith but faith and works.' What is James talking about? Paul teaches faith a...

Thank you for having us back this morning. When we were here last I mentioned that I have a message that is kind of my go to when I visit churches for the first time. It is a message that I believe is utterly important for every single one of us, and it helped me through a challenging time in my life.  Life can be absolutely crazy full of ups that make you feel like you are soaring like an eagle and those downs that make you wonder if you can carry on. Each one of us can look back over our lives and see those good times and bad times. Good times like the first night I danced with my wife at the Disneyland Hotel, our wedding, the birth of our children and so many more. Those are the times we like to think about. Then there are the things we don’t like to talk about, those challenges that knock us on our knees, that seem to make us think life is out of control. Back in 2010 I went through one of the scariest things I have had to face so far in this life. In February of...