God's Promises: INHERITANCE VS POSSESSION

June 5, 2019

Inheritance comes from promise. Possession comes from obedience.

Have you ever heard a sermon about God’s promises and felt a little discouraged? Have you ever read a book or an article about God’s faithfulness and felt just a little bit cheated? Have you ever heard someone else tell the story of how God fulfilled a promise to them and had a little gnawing voice inside you say “why not me too?”

We all have. It’s not easy to appreciate the beauty and splendor of God’s faithfulness when you feel like God promised you something (healing, success, victory over a certain temptation, etc.) and He hasn’t yet provided it.

First in Faith, Part 1 - THE FIRST STEP OF FAITH

March 11, 2019

We kicked off a new series yesterday, one that will carry us through our journey through Lent. The series is called First in Faith: The Life of Abraham. Our goal is to look at how God turned this ordinary man - filled with many of our same weaknesses and shortcomings - into a GIANT in faith.

THE PROMISED LAND, Part 1 (audio only)

July 15, 2018

"What happened to last week's message? Where is the sermon?"

That's the question that I've heard a thousand times over the past week and unfortunately, even though I have an answer, it probably isn't what you want to hear.

Unfortunately, due to technical difficulties outside of our control, last week's message was NOT captured on video. The room we rent went haywire and we almost had to abandon ship midway through the message.

But the good news is that we were able to capture an AUDIO version - albeit a somewhat below average recording - including the moment when things went haywire (go to minute 32 and listen for yourself).

“Come Now, Let Us Reason Together”

January 15, 2016

One of the greatest satisfactions in human life is the ability to reason one with another. To know what one is thinking about, what their plans are and by the same token, for you to share your thoughts as well as your plans with them. It’s what defines a successful relationship.

“Our marriage is wonderful because she always tell me what she thinks would us have a healthy married life and I in turn would do the same.”

“It’s the ability to share our thoughts together as a team that has made this organization to flourish.”

“We have been able to raise our children we keep encouraging them to be open with us about the things that go on in their life.”

It’s through sharing our thoughts together that makes us have good relationships.

Is God a Deceiver?

May 15, 2015

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls." (Matthew 11:28-29)

"Come to me" God says and you will have "rest for your souls". Ok, great. Sign me up! This is a direct promise from God and we God never lies, right? Go to Him and you will have rest. Simple and straightforward, right?

Not exactly. I don’t know about you, but I’ve found myself at times being tempted to call God a deceiver. I’ve found myself angry that the simple truth found in a promise didn’t seem apparent in my life – even as I watched others seemingly delight in the very same words.

Laying Hold of God's Promise [video]

October 20, 2014

Too often, it seems like there's a disconnect between God's promise and our possession. In other words, we hear/read many great things that God promises to His children (peace, joy, power, victory, etc.) but we seldom find any of those things in our possession. Why is that? Check out yesterday's message from The Well - LAYING HOLD OF GOD'S PROMISE - and you'll see why.

The problem isn't that God doesn't fulfill His promises; the problem is that we aren't looking for the right thing.

We're looking for trees, but God is giving out seeds.

The Power of God’s Promise

September 4, 2014

Ladies and gentlemen…I am BACK! Fr. Anthony is now in the building and it’s time to get back to turning the world upside down for the glory of God!

In case you didn’t notice, I was off from blogging for the past two months (pleeeeeease tell me you noticed!). I took the summer off in order to concentrate on two other projects – two HUGE, ginormous, God-sized, set-the-world-on-fire projects which you’ll be hearing about very soon.

But before I tell you about those projects (sorry, but trust me, it’s coming, check back here on Monday morning), I wanted to share a verse that has become very special to me over the past few months. It’s actually my “promise for 2014” – a verse that I randomly selected at our New Year’s Eve party as we all chose a verse from the Bible as our promise for the new year.

Humbled by the Almond Tree

January 11, 2013

Sighh, on the brink of another new year... Naturally, this means I will overanalyze every part of last year and obsessively dwell on unrealized goals, disappointments, or failures. It feels like God has said “no” to me so many times last year; and not just in the “no, but I’m going to let you down easy” kind of way, but in what feels like the most devastating “no” and lead-up to “no” in the whole world.

But during this year’s annual obsession-fest, God taught me a really cool lesson – I am meant to be an almond tree. (How obvious!)

The almond tree is a giant tree which grows to be 15 to 20 feet in height. It is not afraid of the cold and begins to bloom in January, bringing forth beautiful pinkish, white flowers. During the cold season, the tree provides much needed nectar to the wild bees. The hard almond actually forms inside a soft, fleshy exterior. Although the exterior appears to be beautiful, it is unripe, and not preferred; instead, we prefer to eat the strong interior that contains the seed.

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