His Mercy Endures Forever....

"Oh, give thanks to The Lord, for He is good, and His Mercy endures forever." II Chronicles 16:34 When you come across something good it's worth repeating.... When King David brought the Ark of God into Jerusalem he wrote a song about how thankful he was and wanted to have all Israel learn to sing it. The second half of Verse 34 was then repeated 40 other times in Scripture. There is another song (Psalm 136) that used that verse as the repeating refrain. You see the experience of bringing the Ark of God close so touched King David he wanted to lead others into that same experience. The reason King David was so thankful was because on top of the Ark of God was a place called "The Mercy Seat." This was the place that God's mercy was extended to the nation of Israel after a sacrifice was offered in substitution for their sin. You see, the covering over the Ark (The Mercy Seat) was the place where a Holy God and a sinful people could meet after their sin was covered. While archeologists are still looking for the lost Ark, Paul in Romans 3:25 continues this Songs' theme by explaining to us that Jesus is our Mercy Seat ("Propitiation"). So Jesus makes it possible for a Holy God to meet with sinful people.... "Oh, give thanks to The Lord, for He is good, and "His Mercy Endures Forever!" Jesus is where God's mercy is to be found...Forever!

Pray For Haiti

Lord Jesus we lift up the country of Haiti and ask that you would give strength to those in the rescue effort. Please be with those suffering the loss of loved ones and those suffering injury. We pray for Calvary Chapel Port-au-Prince and Calvary Chapel of Caneille. Please use our brothers and sisters for Haiti, even during this most difficult time.

El Pollo Loco And Merry Christmas

The other day I was in El Pollo Loco and a guy came up to me and said “Merry Christmas!” with such excitement in his voice it brought cheer to my heart. As I returned the same greeting I reflected on his attitude in spreading Christmas Cheer. But what does Merry Christmas mean?

Merry Christmas – The word “Merry” means “to be full of cheerfulness or gaiety; joyous in disposition or spirit, laughingly happy; mirthful; festively joyous; hilarious.” You get the idea right? Think of the most cheerful time in your life, and well, you’ve got a personal experience with the definition of “Merry.”

And, the word “Christmas” signifies “Christ’s Mass” meaning the festival of the Nativity (birth of Christ). That is, God become human flesh and was born in a manger to save the world from sin and death. In “The Franklin’s Tale” Chaucer alludes to “Nowel” (Noel) as the “festive cry” at Christmastide. And we have that same festive cry in our culture today. We say “Merry Christmas!”

But I am sure you’ve heard many people struggle with loneliness during holidays. Holidays often bring back painful memories of family failure and broken relationships. Maybe even you are struggling with feelings of lonliness during this Christmas…

But if we take the time to remember the true meaning of Christmas, we will understand how much God loves us. And God’s love, will overshaddow any temporary feelings of lonliness.

So use a merry attitude and festive shout to proclaim the Joy of Christmas. And look for opportunies to explain why Christmas is a Merry time of celebration…even while eating at El Pollo Loco…

Online Church Instead Of Face To Face Fellowship?

Now that we are offering live streaming from our internet site I found the latest article on CNN interesting....

My next post will be my thoughts on this but before I share what do you thing about replacing face to face fellowship with online church?

Online churches draw believers, criticsBy Anne Hammock, CNNSTORY

-- Hjalti á Lava was searching his iPhone for a Bible app when he stumbled across Church Online, a service of Web site LifeChurch.tv. Soon he was regularly logging into the Oklahoma-based cyber-church -- some 4,100 miles away from á Lava's home in the Faroe Islands, west of Norway.

"It allows me to connect with others and have conversations about the message," says á Lava, who shares his faith with other believers in the site's live chat room. "Technology allows us today to have fellowship across borders and cultures."

In doing so, á Lava joined growing numbers of Christians worldwide who are migrating from the chapel to the computer. A map on the Church Online site showed users from 22 countries logged into a recent service.

Online religious services offer convenience to those who are too isolated or infirm to attend a real-world church. But can worshipping via a computer offer true spiritual fulfillment? Internet pastors and parishioners cite their 24-hour access to interactive tools and social-networking platforms to show their online experiences are as meaningful as those that take place with face-to-face congregations.

"We were blown away at how people could actually worship along [online]," says Craig Groeschel, senior pastor at LifeChurch.tv. "The whole family will gather around the computer, and they'll sing and they'll worship together. Instead of trying to get people to come to a church, we feel like we can take a church to them."

But critics believe virtual worship separates followers from a trinity of spiritual essentials found in brick-and-mortar Christian churches: community, Communion and connection with Christ. "Online church is close enough to the real thing to be dangerous," says Bob Hyatt, a pastor who leads the brick-and-mortar Evergreen Community Church in Portland, Oregon. In a blog post for ChristianityToday.com, he writes that calling it virtual church "gives people the idea that everything they need is available here."

The debate is an extension of a wider argument over social interaction in virtual environments versus the physical world. But because practices of faith are involved, both sides are deeply invested in the outcome, seeing it as a statement on the nature of the Christian person's relationship with God.

Supporters of online churches have a common response to their skeptics: Try before you criticize. The virtual experience goes far beyond using live chat rooms to exchange emoticons instead of hugs and handshakes, they say.

Links allow congregants to "raise their hand" and publicly commit to Christ, while prayer requests and one-on-one guidance are a click way. Sermon notes can be shared and discussed. And many online churches are aided by volunteers, allowing them to hold services several times each day.

The Internet campus of the Flamingo Road Church in Cooper City, Florida, pulls in more than 2,000 congregants from around the world during its Sunday services. Pastor Doug Gramling said his three children are part of the Internet generation that will eventually decide the future of worship. They use Web tools to stay in constant connection with friends over vast distances, which Gramling says "gives me confidence that it can happen in online church." But the disconnect from physical closeness is what Hyatt said he's "fighting hardest against." His own church offers online extensions such as podcasts and forums. But he believes "the computer screen is a supplement, not a replacement."

Hyatt and other critics are particularly distressed by the online offering of traditional sacraments, such as Communion and baptism. He believes it is "ridiculous" that someone can grab grape juice and a cracker from the fridge and watch a computer screen, thinking they are truly participating in a gathering of the faithful.

"Something about the physical presence, breaking the same bread, is what Communion is meant to be," he says.

But Church Online participant Donna Coledisagrees. "Knowing that others are also celebrating Communion, regardless of location, makes it an especially wonderful time," says Cole, who believes real-world Communion can ring hollow. "When I've taken Communion in live surroundings, I often got the sense that it was ritualistic and without meaning."

Matthew Bailey, a arishioner in the Franktown United Methodist Church in Virginia, believes that the meaning of the ritual is what matters. "If people are willing to go to the trouble of giving their own Communion, then it is quite probably 'real' for them," he says. While Bailey chooses to remain at his face-to-face church, he believes any person "faithfully attending an online church service, is being more proactive, and thus probably more attentive, than many longtime churchgoers." Douglas Estes, lead pastor of Berryessa Valley Church in San Jose, California, andauthor of "SimChurch," a book about Internet church services, would like to see this debate go away. "The Bible sees church not as a man-made building but as a people gathered to glorify God with their lives," he says. Estes believes the quality of a community should be judged by the spiritual fellowship it offers.

"There is only one substantive difference between an online church and a brick-and-mortar church: The place where they meet."

I’ve Received Christ—What Now?

By Bill Holdridge

Calvary Chapel Santa Cruz

You may be asking yourself the question: So what do I do now? What steps should I take, now that I’ve received Christ into my life?

Read and Study the Bible

The first step every new believer should take is to begin digging into the Bible. Begin reading it, and then study it. The Bible is God’s inspired word to us … every word was literally breathed by Him for our spiritual benefit (2 Timothy 3:16-17). The Bible also tells us to study it, that we might be approved workmen who understand how to rightly divide its message (2 Timothy 2:15). By reading and studying the Bible, you will grow spiritually, just as newborn infants grow by drinking their mother’s milk (1 Peter 2:2).

We would strongly recommend that you begin by reading the gospel of John. It’s the fourth book in the New Testament. It presents a very clear message about Jesus Christ, and is written that we might know Him better, and experience the life that is in His name. After reading John, then just read right on through the rest of the New Testament! Then read the Old Testament. Then do it all over again! Don’t worry about understanding everything at first. Everything will become clearer as time goes on.

After reading, then learn to study the Bible. Coming to Bible study is an important part of learning the Word, so do that frequently. Then take whatever classes you can to improve your study skills. There is no single step you can take that is more important than developing the lifetime habit of immersing yourself into the scriptures.

Pray

Don’t be intimidated by the idea of prayer. Prayer is simply talking with God, and having Him talk with you. You can pray at any time and anywhere, because prayer is not limited to being in church. You can pray on your knees, standing up, or with your eyes open or closed. The eloquence of your prayers is not important—all that matters is that you’re sincere and that you trust God, as you pray in Jesus’ authority.

The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) is an excellent pattern for prayer, given to us by the Lord Jesus Himself. Many have used it as an outline for their own prayer life.

It may also be helpful to remember the following acronym as an aid to prayer:

A: Adoration (Worship)

C: Confession (Of Specific Sins)

T: Thanksgiving (Gratitude)

S: Supplication (Specific Requests)

Do not neglect this vital part of your Christian walk. As someone has said, “Prayer is the breath of the newborn soul, and there can be no Christian life without it.”

Attend and Become Part of a Local Church

One of the keys to spiritual growth is to become part of a healthy local church. In its biblical form, the church should provide biblically-sound teaching, genuine worship, an atmosphere in which Christians are able to use their God-given gifts and abilities, and spiritual leadership that will help keep believers accountable.

There are those who might say, “I don’t need to go to church. I like to spend my time alone with God, and I don’t need to be around other Christians.” The reality is that no Christian can endure or prosper long if he or she lives in isolation without the support of a church. No matter how many Christian books, magazines, CDs, and movies you have, they can’t replace the experience and fellowship you get from attending church and being with other believers.

In the book of Hebrews, it says, “And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching (Hebrews 10:24-25, NKJV). This passage is as valid today as when it was first written.

A healthy church will focus upward (worship), inward (spiritual growth and edification), and outward (outreach). It will believe that the Bible is God’s inspired, infallible Word, authoritative in all areas of faith and practice. It will also focus on the teaching of the Bible, Biblical fellowship, prayer, and breaking of bread together (Acts 2:42).

Witness

One of the greatest blessings of the Christian life is to tell others about Jesus Christ, and lead them to Him. It is a real joy to see someone else experience the same things you did when you became a Christian.

God tells us that it’s important to share your faith with other people (see Matthew 28:20). In fact, it’s not just something He wants you to do; He commands us to do it!

Sharing your faith can sound like a scary thing to do, but it doesn’t have to be. One of the best ways you can do that is by telling them your story. When you share how God has changed your life, it lets people see that you were once in their shoes, but have now been changed by the power of Christ. A changed life is one of the best evidences of what Jesus can do.

Remember the actual message of the gospel as you share with others: “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures” (NKJV).

1 Adapted from the website of Harvest Christian Fellowship. The address is http://www.harvest.org/knowgod/first-steps/four-keys.html. Please go to this site for a more in-depth treatment of each of these four steps.