Whether you're an early riser or you prefer to take Sunday mornings nice and easy, we've got you covered. We offer two morning services, one at 9 a.m. and another at 10:30 a.m. Attending Sunday Morning Worship has never been easier! Join us again on Wednesday evenings at 6:30 for Adult Prayer and Bible Study.
We will return to our original schedule of worship services at 9 and 10:30 am. Small Groups are also happening throughout the week. Click here to view the small group schedule.
There is a real hunger for fellowship among us. Along with worship, evangelism and discipleship, fellowship is a key element within the church. We will be looking for ways to create that fellowship during this time.
WORSHIP SERVICES
Again, I want to thank our music team and technical team who do such a wonderful job week in and week out. Our worship services have been great. I hope you will join us either in person or on-line. There will continue to be preschool care during our worship services. I will continue to preach on the teachings we hold dear as followers of Jesus. I call this series I Believe. It is so important for us to know what we believe and to hold firmly to those beliefs in challenging times. To that point, it has been said that a belief is something we hold. A conviction is something that holds us. My prayer is that we will all know what we believe and those very beliefs will hold us.
THE STOCKDALE PARADOX
I recently listened to a friend of mine talk about the Stockdale Paradox. This is a phrase coined by Jim Collins in his book Good to Great. The Stockdale Paradox was named after Admiral Jim Stockdale, the highest ranking military official in the infamous “Hanoi Hilton” POW camp in Vietnam. Stockdale survived 8 years imprisonment and numerous tortures.
How did he deal with such torture and circumstance?
Stockdale says, “I never lost faith in the end of the story. I never doubted that not only would I get out, but also that I would prevail in the end and turn the experience into the defining moment of my life.”
Who didn’t make it out?
“That’s easy,” he said. “The optimists. They were the ones who said, ‘We’re going to be out by Christmas…We’re going to be out by Easter…They died of a broken heart. Never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end – which you can never afford to lose – with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they might be.”
I know many can’t wait for things to “get back to normal”, whatever that may look like. We can’t say things are going to be better next week or next month. We don’t know what might happen. That type of optimism might not help you.
Instead, let’s remember we will prevail in the end and confront our current reality in the strength and power of the Lord. How is God using this time for my good? What can I learn through this time?
I am praying for you. You pray for me. Let’s pray for one another.