The new pastor's class on Resolving Everyday Conflict will begin today 3/26/11. It will be taught in the room to the left of the roster by the piano.

This is my first attempt at a blog.  Hope you will comment and check back often.  As you know, Jeanette and I spent several years in Korea.  While there, we learned that "Appa" is often the first word a Korean child speaks.  For a Hebrew baby it is "Abba" and here in the US it is "dada".  As a father, it was exciting to hear my sons lisp this first hint of verbal recognition.  In like manner, could it be that our Father in heaven experiences joy when we cry out "Abba?"  I believe He does.  The Holy Spirit moves us to reach out to God in this intimate, close connection.  (Romans 8:15-16)   John echoes this, "See how much the Father loves us, for He calls us His children, and we really are...yes we really are God's children and we can't even imagine what it will be like when Christ returns, but when He returns we will be like Him for we shall see Him as He really is."  (1 John 3:1-2)  Even Jesus told his followers that they should pray to God as their Father in heaven.  That fondly connects us to our Creator and to each other.  Paul reiterated the same message "I bow my knees before the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named".  (Ephesians 3:14-15)  When we reach out to God, we discover He has already been seeking us. 

Several years ago, a severe earthquake in Japan leveled a large school.  From anyone's cursory investigation there could be no survivors.  But one man, however, climbed to the top of the rubble and began digging through it with his hands.  He worked day and inght.  His hands became so bloody that the people told him to stop, but their words fell on deaf ears.  You see, that man's son was a student at that school.  This man accepted the food and water sympathetic bystanders offered but he would not leave.  With detemination he pulled, tugged and pushed until with superhuman effort he removed the last covering over the floor where his son, if alive, was supposed to be.  Looking down through the broken concrete and twisted metal, he saw peering up through the dusty veil not only HIS son but other students who had been entombed.  His son cried out, "Dad, I knew you would come", as his father reached down and pulled his son from the grave. 

That's the picture of our Father that I would like you to focus on this year.  May God bless you in 2011. 

Bill B. and Pastor Bissell will be teaming up on teaching a new Sabbath School class called “Faith and Finance”. It will be a continuation of what Elder Carlton began to share with us last Sabbath. If you are interested in faith, getting out of debt, financial planning and so forth please plan to join the class. Space is limited. Please talk to Bill or Pastor if you would like to join. If you have all your questions answered on this topic, you could come and get training to help others. Class will begin on November 13.

The Quest For Authentic Manhood is a captivating journey composed of 24 sessions, this series helps men understand their masculine identity and shows them how to make the pursuit of authentic manhood a lifelong priority that is incorporated into the fabric of their everyday lives. It offers a clear definition of what a man is and challenges each man to develop his own personalized manhood plan.

Our men's ministries has started this series and is meeting at 8:00 AM on every other Sunday, this session will last a year. If you are interested in joining this group please contact our men's ministry leader. Click Here

We have added these video series to our website so that our men's ministries members can watch one when them miss. The first 2 videos do not require a password because they are an introduction to the series, but for the rest you WILL.

The Quest For Authentic Manhood Video Series