~Posts Upload Delayed~

Yeah Yeah I know the past weeks post have not been uploaded. Things have been getting very busy around here. However I will get things uploaded this week. We will get back to our current study as well as do some daily blog posts as well on how life is going. Stay Tuned.

In His Grip,

-Pastor J

~New MAV~

So after many weeks of searching and praying

reat fit for our family and it's different just as we are. The kids are enjoying having a lot more room then they have had and I think I am going to enjoy the 33 mpg at only $40 to fill up. This may seem high for some but with having a truck that gets about 17 to 19 mpg and cost $80 to fill up this is a great choice. Thank the Lord for providing us with the right needed Car...oops MAV.ove
r what to do about getting a car it seems today was the day that the Lord blessed us with a new car or should I say MAV. Or at least it's new to us. Debbie and I went to the mazda dealership today to look at a car that might would work well for us. However after a test drive and spending some time thinking It was just not the right car for us. Salesman Rob new to the mazda dealership showed us this dark blue mazda 5. At 1st I didn't know what to think as It's something that Debbie nor I have seen before. It was the size of a car, looked like a crossover but had back doors like a mini-van and had 3rd r

ow seating. Once I say it I asked Rob where's the crowns. as It looked really cool but spacey. After doing some research on it I found out is not a mini-van, suv, car, crossover (as I was thinking it was) but a "MAV" ( Multi Activity Vehicle) to be honest I have never heard of a "MAV" before however after reading all the papers and looking it up there it seems to be a new kind of model both Mazda and Ford companies are making now over

the next few years. I looked at the Ford MAV and it looks cool as well they have one that is a bright lime green color. I think it's a g

In His Grip,

-Pastor J

I

Reviving the Church - Part 7

We are told in verse 4 there are a few people who have not been stained by the world. The verse goes on to explain what those people will receive as a result. These are rewards are available for those who walk down the road of revival and on to life.
Let’s look at verses 4-6 to see the rewards of revival for the church. Revelation 3:4 “But you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their garments; and they will walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” The ones who overcome will be clothed in white. Sounds churchy right well here are two meanings of this…one is we will be pure in God’s sight. God will look at us through Jesus. Jesus will be our shield. White has always been a symbol of purity. We can see this over the years and in all our teaching. This is why brides wear white dresses. At least years ago I could go on and on with this topic but I won’t. I am afraid in our society, this symbolism has lost its true meaning. The second meaning deals with being victorious. The winner of a competition would be covered with a white robe. It was a symbol of victory. Heard the song victory in Jesus! Old, but a great song.
Again as we end this short study on the Church at Sardis I want to review. The church at Sardis looked good on the outside, but they were dead or dying inside. Remember that a cemetery looks good, but it is not full of life. Is this a letter that Jesus would send to us? I am afraid that this is a letter that many churches would receive if Jesus wanted to send it. Here are a few things to think about, If we would be one of those churches, we have time to change. The bible lays out the road for revival in this passage. If most of us saw a person dying before us, or if we saw a friend or family member killing themselves slowly with cigarettes, we would try to help them. If we saw a friend or family member pass out in front of us, we would try to revive them. Jesus saw that this church needed something to revive it. I see churches die every day and I my heart break to see this happen. As I was cleaning house today I was listen to Louie Giglio today on his podcast talk about the dying church and I was like wow. I think He has read my mind…. And last week was talking to a pastor friend of mine and we where talking about the dying church… It seemed the point of views all where the same as mine. After thinking on this I came to face it’s not that they stole my point of view but the issues are all the same. The problems dying churches are facing are facing the same things as others. Its what they are going to do with the issue that makes or brakes them. I know I could go on for weeks and weeks on this topic of the dying church. And I do plan on coming back on this topic in a few weeks. However for now I am going to move. If you want to know more or hear more about the topic feel free to write me or comment your questions.

In His Grip,

Pastor J

Reviving the Church - Part 6

In this letter we are currently looking at Jesus is going to give the church some things that will get them on the road to revival or as we can say “Life”. Many people are good at pointing out problems, but they are not so good with solutions. Jesus is going to reveal some solutions that will help breath life back into the dying church. Revelation 3:2 – 3 “Wake up, and strengthen the things that remain, which were about to die; for I have not found your deeds completed in the sight of My God. So remember what you have received and heard; and keep it, and repent. Therefore if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you.” In other words WAKE UP!!
Sometimes this is the hardest thing to do. I am a heavy sleeper, many people live life that way. So when we are told to wake up it takes us some time to really wake up.. and for some of us it takes that pot of cold iced water. This admonition should have struck a nerve with the people in this church because the city had been over run twice in its history because the people were not awake to the real threat. We need to be awake to our weak points, to the things that tempt us to sin and mislead us as a church. When we are asleep we are not aware of what is going on around us. Jesus tells the people to wake up and look at what is happening to them. The church is being challenged to wake up. Sadly some are asleep at the wheel. And don’t even know it.
We need to strengthen the things that remain. During the 6th century BC, the city was very well fortified, so much so that the people did not pay much attention to the threat of Cyrus and his Persian army. As a result of not looking to further strengthen the walls, the Persian army found a small breech and as a result, the city fell. While playing the Assassin's Creed I am reminded of how the walls are built during that time. And I can see how if your not watching you can be breeched at any time. If they had only strengthened what they had. We are the same way, once we are content with where we are spiritually, Satan will find the cracks in our armor, and from there he will attack!
The church here is told to “remember”. We must always remember what we have been taught. We can change our music and our ways however the Word never changes. I believe that we need to also remember our history. We are not to dwell on the past and this is key, but the past can help us to remember what Jesus has done for us. Hello the Cross! Now hold fast to what we have heard. What are you going to anchor your life to? The church needs to anchor itself in Jesus and what is taught in the Bible. Jesus is to be the anchor of our soul. Yes Yes I know this sounds very Sunday Schoolish and preschool but in the end this is true. If the church looses sight of Jesus, it will eventually die.
The road to revival can be a tough road to travel, it will require work and change, and it will require us to move out of some comfort zones.

In His Grip,
Pastor J

~Focus Break~

I know we are right in the middle of a study and topic however I wanted to take a day and do what I like to call a Focus Break. For the ones who are into the our current topic bear with me. And for the ones who wish for change here is a little break for you. Today I was replying to a few emails from from friends and pastors I know who have been facing hard times and while today thinking and cleaning the house... Funny the places and the things you are doing that the Lord speaks to us. I can across some sermons and podcast from Louie's Hope series. One I enjoy. but hey there is not much he does do I don't enjoy. If you want to hear it I am sure you are able to on the passion city church website. It's his set called Hope. It's one he did a few years ago back at North Point I heard and anyway I c

ame across it today and started thinking. One of the biggest that hit me as it does many times before, but a good reminder. Is in life things sometimes look so clear and so beautiful things as times seem so detailed and simple to us. Other times the same picture in life seems just a blur and in defined. We don't really know whats going on or what going to happen. It seems at times life is so big and we really can grap hold of what Gods plan is for us.

We forget in all this the view of life we can see is only a snap shot of what the whole picture of God is. Even in the times of hurt we all face from time to time we focus on the little part of God great big story. It's easy to say Stand firm and hold Fast when all things are going well in life but in those times life hurts the most is the key to standing and knowing there is HOPE. Let this be a reminder to you today to keep your eyes on Chirst. As you can see in these pictures sometimes we only see just a part of God's story. We can see what seems to be a old mossy old wood with a old nail in it or we can step back and see much more. Sometimes in life God only allows us to just see the little times before revealing His Greatness. There is HOPE and that Hope come in the cross!

In His Grip,

-Pastor J

Reviving the Church - Part 5

Lets look at Revelation 3:1 to see the reason revival was needed at this time and even now in this time of the current church. Revelation 3:1“To the angel of the church in Sardis write: He who has the seven Spirits of God and the seven stars, says this: ‘I know your deeds, that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead.” So the big reason for revival is they were dead… Hello! This is where I put the big DUH!
In a church that was on life-support, Jesus is saying that He is the one who holds all spiritual gifts and is therefore able to revive, recover, and restore the church from the brink of spiritual death.
I am a fan of the show parking wars. I came across this true story a few years ago and had to share it. In 1992, a LA County parking control officer came upon a brown El Dorado Cadillac illegally parked next to the curb on street-sweeping day. The officer dutifully wrote out a ticket. Ignoring the man seated at the driver’s wheel, the officer reached inside the open car window and placed the $30 citation on the dashboard. The driver of the car made no excuses. No argument ensued--and with good reason. The driver of the car had been shot in the head ten to twelve hours before but was sitting up, stiff as a board, slumped slightly forward, with blood on his face. He was dead. The officer, preoccupied with ticket-writing, was unaware of anything out of the ordinary. He got back in his car and drove away. Is it that we are missing the point here. Is it that we are so blind we miss that our churches are dying, or even dead?!?!
The church at Sardis looked good. On the outside like the Brown El Dorado Cadillac. The church at Sardis had a good reputation in the community, they may have done many great things, but like the police officer in the story, maybe they were too busy to see what was happening to them. Jesus tells them that He knows their deeds and that they have a great name, but their “character” does not match up with their reputation. Note the Church of the Character is an important thing to note here.
The church at Sardis was a church that because of the overall wealth may have had a nice place to meet; maybe things were well organized. Things must have looked good for this church to have such a good reputation. The problem was that Jesus said that in spite of the reputation, they were really dead!
Have you noticed that there are not too many things that are as well kept and organized as a cemetery? A place for everyone and everyone in their place. The problem with the cemetery is that there is no life in it. The church at Sardis was experiencing the same dilemma, looks nice, but little to no life inside.
The over all point here “Looking good on the outside is not good enough.”
Jesus during His ministry condemns the Pharisee’s for looking good on the outside, but being dead inside. This was a heart check. Matthew 23:27 "Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.” Now it that doesn’t speak to you I don’t know what would. Powerful words.
Now what causes a church to die? There are many things that can cause a church to die, here are a couple to guard against. One Living in the past. Need I say more!
Two when the church gets more wrapped up in programs and buildings than people. Form is more important than substance. 2 Tim 3:5" Having a form of godliness by denying its power. Have nothing to do with them."
The next thing that will kill a church is when the church has no vision! When we do not plan for the future, when we do not have a vision for the way that things can be, we will die. This is a great heart check for church pastors and leadership.
This church was in need of a change, Jesus says they were dead, they needed some CPR. She you can’t change someone who is dead you can only breath life back into them and what is needed here is some CPR.

In His Grip,

Pastor J

Reviving the Church - Part 4

“The greatest criticism of the Church today is that no one wants to persecute it: because there is nothing very much to persecute it about.” – George MacLeod

What a statement this statement could be the story of the church that we are going to look at over this week the church at Sardis. One I think most us know all too well. As you may know the other letters that God have written, you will notice each of the churches this far have been experiencing hard times. They were being persecuted because of their faith. Even though those churches had some problems, they were for the most part suffering for being “different”; (Note that word Different I want to come back to that later in the week) they were suffering for their FAITH.
As we know this was not the case for the church at Sardis, something was happening to them and they did not even know it. The city of Sardis was a very wealthy or can I say rich city. The city was known for its loose-living, pleasure seeking, luxury lifestyle. The city got a great deal of wealth from the gold found in a near by river and from the trade industry. Hello trading! Reminds me of the traders in the game Fable. The church did not face a lot of opposition, there were no trade guilds, rules to deal with, no pressure to worship false gods. The people of this church had it relatively easy when compared to the other churches if you look back in the other letters. Something was happening to the church and for the most part, they did not even realize it! Most of these kind of churches today DON’T realize it. The church was dying; they needed a wake up call or as I like to say a little bit of the Holy Sprit Shake up! The number one cause of death in the USA is some form of heart disease or heart related problems. I know so many people who have died from these problems and I have had even family members face this. Many times we do not even know we have a problem until we drop dead one day. If we see a person who is dying, we usually do what we can to “revive” them (note the wording). If a person has stopped breathing, we will try to beat the life back into them with CPR in an effort to revive them. The church needs to be beat back to life before time is up and the last breath has been given. Hopefully we can take a few days to talk about some ways in doing this and something’s Christ said to the church in Sardis.

In His Grip
-Pastor J

Reviving the Church - Part 3

Before I go any deeper in this set of reviving the church I am currently doing I must stop and take a minute to talk about why I am doing this current set and what I mean about a dying church. Please note as I stated before early this week I am not talking about a dying church as a building or even The Bride of Christ. I am talking about the local and fellowship of believers, but also not I am not talking about ever fellowship and church body either. I was talking with a pastor friend of mine today from years back I did ministry with on Facebook today… Oh the Joys of Facebook and we where talking about this topic and he was giving me some great feedback on this current set I am writing over the next few days. However he stated he felt my writings where speaking to him, here and now. Later he went on to tell me how he is currently seeing and facing issues that I have talked about and will talk about in his current church. He always stated that a church a block away from his just closed the doors. Then we went on to talk about Home Churches and Small Groups however I will get back to that at a later date as that’s becomes on of my healing step I will talk about later next week. He told me of a story he heard many years ago about a pastor who went to a non-Christian artist and asked him to paint a picture of what he saw as the dying church naturally the pastor expected that the artist would portray a ramshackle old structure set in the midst of a neglected yard overgrown with weeds, with broken windows, weather-beaten and unpainted walls, and surrounded by a general air of decrepitude.

Instead, the artiest painted the picture of a stately building with expensive art glass windows, a considerable expanse of richly carved wood, a high pulpit, and comfortable pews. In the foyer or as I call it the hallway, on a conspicuous corner of the wall, a bow was fitted, across the front of which where the words “For Missions”. Over the little opening designed to received the contributions there was a cobweb! There’s a profound truth beneath the artist’s satire. A church may by meeting in a glorious cathedral and yet be in the throes of death. The actual life of a Christian congregation can be measured, not by the building in which the people worship bu by their concern for the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth. By the Heart! I found this story to be very powerful to me and had to share it.

In His Grip,
-Pastor J

Reviving the Church - Part 2

Thom Rainer offers seven primary reasons the church is losing the battle for the hearts and souls of our youth. He calls them the “Seven Deadly Sins”. I have added three of my own to his seven. Each of these sins, to varying degrees, can be seen in stagnant and dying churches.

1. Doctrinal Drift
In a desire to reach more people, churches have often watered-down doctrinal truths believing that they are creating a more inviting environment for seekers. I dislike the term “Seeker Sensitive” the scripture isn’t very sensitive in many ways. Rather, we should think in terms of “seeker intelligibility”. The Word of God may not be very sensitive to an unbeliever, but it should be intelligible. Make o mistake, the younger generation likes straight-talk. They are tired of the mush.

2. Evangelism Atrophy
Most churches in America aspire to have evangelism as a driving force but they have lost their passion. Ask every one of them, however, and they will proclaim it as a core value. Yet, a quick look at their checkbook, annual budget and programs will tell the truth. For most churches in America evangelism is a great thought and desire, but in all actuality very little in the way of evangelism is done.

3. Failure To Be Relevant
I know, many in the church hate this word. But don’t forget, the Gospel was not written in a cultural vacuum. The words we read today were written thousands of years ago. They still apply today, but we must learn to understand them in their cultural context and then find ways to help 21st century people understand.
Church is no different. We have to do church in a way that connects with this culture otherwise the church simply becomes a huddled mass of cloistered believers hiding from a sin-sick world.

4. Inwardly Focused
The new2, unspoken mantra of the modern American church is; “It’s all about me.” While no one will readily admit it, all one has to do is look at the ministries and programs. What can be quickly discovered is that most churches build ministries to satisfy the already fed. These programs are good to keep the flock happy. Not necessarily a bad thing, but too much of a good thing ends up being a bad thing.

5. Personal Conflict
Not sure I need to explain this too much. Church people have found a way to make an argument out of almost anything. Political power struggles rule the day.

6. A Priority Of Comfort
Dying churches refuse to reach out beyond their own comfort-zones. When any real ministry does happen and dirty, sinful people walk in among the righteous, it upsets the apple cart. It simply isn’t comfortable.

7. Biblical Illiteracy
The latest research by Gallup and other pollsters reveal that most long time members of churches don’t really know what they Bible says. Phrases like; “God helps those who help themselves” are regularly quoted as scripture.

8. Hording
It amazes me the amount of money many dying churches have in their saving accounts. The thought is that they are saving it for a rainy day, but I wonder what God thinks about this? Will he be happy if we, like the man with one talent, have not invested his Kingdom resources in the Great co-mission work when returns. Which would be best; Die rich, having saved our resources and done as little as we can get by with, or Die broke with the knowledge that we have done all we can.

9. Failure to Follow
Too many cooks in the kitchen. Too often pastors are treated like hirelings and not called, anointed people of God. The pastor is forced to walk on eggshells to avoid losing their job. Those who are in positions of authority are unwilling to let go of the reigns and follow the leader called to serve them. As many of my reader know and see this daily and are even facing this issue now. It's sad to see pastors leaving churches or as I should say be pushed out of churches. I think the big thing that gets me is when you leave a church under good standing without being let go or being fired. and the Church trys to beat you down with everything they can. Sadly I faced this in one of the last churches I pastored in. Where I left to follow ad new path and call from God and was treated like trash. I think it's even harder to face these kinds of things when you loved so much for that body if Christ and fellowship of people. I could go on and on but I will move on.

10. Idolatry
You may think this is absent from today’s Church, but it is very alive. Beloved programs, versions of the Bible, furniture, paintings on the wall and the placement of objects have caused more quarrels than I care to mention. We have taken these items to god-like levels in the church and forgotten the main thing. It's not about the carpet, pews vs. chairs and donated flowers and keeping the pulpit. You may laugh however these things become a big deal in dieing churches. I can't name names however one of the last church was I did ministry in came face to face with a issue of rooming out of room for small groups and even sunday school. However they had a room full of donated OLD Silk flowers that they like to place in the church hallway. It would have made a great small group meeting room or sunday school class room however they couldn't come to heart to move any of the flowers. I once asked why and I was told "well they have been there for years and it would upset Mrs... if we moved them."

In His Grip,

-Pastor J

Reviving the Church - Part 1

There are few things as sad as watching a once great church grow old, become irrelevant, and slowly die. What is worse is that they either don’t know they’re dying or they simply don’t care as long as those remaining are happy. Sadly, I have witnessed this more times than I wish to count. In addition, I have attended this type of church before.
Here is what I have noticed about many of these churches - at a pivotal point, a decision was made to continue doing ministry the way they always have rather than alter their approach to reach a changing community or the next generation. After months of committee meetings and off-line conversations, the church finally utters the The 10 Last Words Of Dying Churches – “We’ve never done it that way before. We’re not changing.”
Here are just a few powerful statements or questions that come up in a dying church. I am not anti church however I feel as a pastor and someone in leadership it is our duty to stop and re-look at today's structure in the church. As I get some time over the next few days I will try to go into more detail with some current issues churches are facing and then I will look at some steps or as we say at work "remapping practices" to help us from leading into more dying churches.

1. “Isn’t it great that our music is never too loud?”
2. “Isn’t it nice seeing people in coats and ties and not disrespecting God by wearing blue jeans?”
3. “We’re more spiritual and doctrinally pure than that fast-growing, watered-down gospel, baptizing-hundreds-every-year church down the street.”
4. “Can you believe that church is stealing all our people?”
5. “I hear we’re having to cut the budget because giving is not what it used to be.”
6. “Isn’t it great having all this room on the pew to spread out.”
7. “I love singing all four verses.”
8. “Don’t worry about our attendance. Let me tell you how large our membership is.”
9. “Are you coming to Monday night visitation?”
10. “Remember the good ‘ole days.”
11. “Visitors, please stand.”
12. “I hear it’s just a show over there.”
13. "Don't make them mad, they tithe the most."
14. “We just formed a Committee on Committees.”
15. “We don’t talk about money. We preach the Bible.”
16. “Isn’t it great getting out of the parking lot quickly?”
17. “The poor will always be with us.”
18. “I’m really tired about having to hear about lost people all the time.”
19. “Pastor, I think we need to start praying for revival.”
20. "I got SAVED again this week."
21. "All the other churches are a cult."
Do these phrases hit close to home for you? Please note I am not talking about "The" Church but "a" Church. There is a very big difference here. The Church will never die however local bodies of believers are dying daily. And I think this big question here is Why?. I hope over the next few blogs I will be able to address just few ideas on this topic.

In His Grip,
Pastor J

If your a frequent reader to my site bear with me as many of my readers and fellow bloggers are in church leadership and there are even a few dealing and facing with some of these hard topics. Sadly, after 11 years of ministry I don't know everything (Who would of guessed) but can share with you some of what I have faced over the years that have helped and shaped my ministry as it is.

~Happy Fable Valentines~

Well if you know anything about me or my wife you would know we are big Fable fans. Fable is an action role-playing video game that for us came to the Xbox and now Xbox 360 over the past few years. For of the best games made to day. When the Fable II came out I even got a Xbox 306. It wes a very big buy however all of it I would do over again for any of the Fable games. I am told here is a new fable coming out however I am not looking forward to it as it's for Xbox 360 Connect only. I thinks is will kill the game. But I will post more about it later. Happy Fable Valentines! Here is a quick poor job of photo editing I did for Debbie today.

In His Grip,

- Pastor J

Cold Today!

Every few Saturdays I have to work and this is one of those few Saturdays. It's not bad and I enjoy work even on the weekend if I have to work. However at times I feel out numbered as I am the only guy who works today. Anyway in other news It seems everyone around me wants to get sick and I am trying and praying I don't get sick. I think it's the weather from Hot to Cold to Hot back to today where it is freezing! Who knows from one day to the next on whats going to happen... I am guessing we will see snow this year along with hot summer days all within the same week for all I know. LOL Well Off to do things

In His Grip,

Pastor J

Happy Friday!

~Great Reminder~

It's always shocking and heart breaking to me to see and meet people daily who are facing leaving on the streets or in hotels. I came face to face with a sweet lady this afternoon while at work who was buying some bibles for her family and she shared with me her story of her losing their house due life happening and lost of jobs. Leaving them on the street to find money to put into a cheap hotel for them to stay in for the next few weeks. Even as she shared with me this hard story to hear she was full with the grace and love of Christ all over her face. I could tell that even in that hard time her and her family are facing they stand strong in the Faith of Christ and know all things work for His Glory and Power! What a great reminder for me today that even in those storms we all face time to time. It does end and the Rainbow comes in the morning.

"Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God's righteousness."

-Ephesians 6:14

In His Grip,

-Pastor J

~Cool Beans~

Well if you know anything about The Sims games you would know one of the key things to getting job promotions is you do a lot of time in front of the bathroom mirror leveling up skill points. Well I can't say I spend a lot of time in front of my bathroom mirror lately but i did receive a promotion at work today. God is good. With only working in this short time My boss felt it is time for me to take on more of a leadership role at work. Can't wait to see that the Lord does over the next few weeks. I love my job and getting to meet and minister to new people each day!

In His Grip,

-Pastor J

Stop, Pray, Read, and Learn!

Enjoying the new study of 40 days in the Word we are doing as a church. This week we walk down a path daily into a new area of the Bible. Growing and refueling for life. Powerful stuff! It great to take some time outside of me daily study time with Christ to learn and think on His word. Even as I am reading over the word I am finding it very real in my job daily from my co-workers to new people I meet each day. I was even able to share with someone who was in need for God love today.

In His Grip,

-Pastor J

__Pointless Post___

So I know this is a pointless post but I got thinking today... What is the deal with Bacon and everything bacon. Did you know they have bacon ice cream and jelly beans.... and I have heard there is a coffee drink that smells and taste like bacon... So whats the deal people?!?!?! I like bacon however I am not a lover of it.

Get this they even have a Bacon Society for people who love it... check it out at: www.royalbaconsociety.com

See what WebMD says about bacon. Here!

Yea I know this is a pointless post but hey at least it gets one thinking. I am not trying to bash any lovers out there I just was wondering about this fav of bacon.

Pointlessly

In His Grip,

-Pastor J

REjoice!

What a great day of worship today. So today starts the 40 Days in the Word. I can't wait to see what God does over the next 40 days. It seems over the past few weeks I keep sharing some music videos so again today I want to share with you a song we sang in church today... Again powerful! Always

In His Grip,

Pastor J

~Carol Kent~

So while on lunch today I was sitting in my car listen to focus on the family. Carol Kent was the guest today and wow what a power story she shared. I so wish everyone could have heard it. Her and her family have been through so much over the past few years and I wish I could tell you everything however it's a bit harder to share a full program broadcast in a short blog post. However let me share with you this short video with Carol. When you have time please please check out her site at www.carolkent.org It was a great reminder today how great God is even in the storms of life. I think any parents could feel a part of Carol's story. Here is a short overview of the story she shared. Check out her website for a more detailed one.

In His Grip,

-Pastor J

~Be Glorified~

I got stuck on this song this morning. Funny how a song can get stuck in our heads. However what a powerful reminder that even in the storms of life and when we are in our midnight hour He is Glorified! Reminds me of Paul from the Bible.

~Be Glorified~
In His Grip,

Pastor J