Wednesday nights are not just a Bible Study…it’s a growing experience. God tells us numerous times how important it is to study the Bible.  He said to study the scriptures was to show ourselves approved, and that spending time in the Word fuels us for the good works we are created for (John 15).  So, when you come to Wednesday nights you are doing more than just looking up Bible verses…you are growing in God and becoming more useful to Him.

2 Timothy 2:15 (New King James Version)

Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Today’s child lives in a culture where hard-core pornography abounds. Our children are being seduced daily, and we need to bear this fact in mind whenever we have the occasion to redirect them away from pornography.” –Rob Jackson

This blog post is a resource link for parents.  I too have three children and am concerned about the ease of availability of hard core porn on the web.  This is a great article produced by FOCUS ON THE FAMILY and written by Rob Jackson.  It has a series of articles on how parents can approach their children and help them navagate the evils that lurk in our world.

Click here to go to the article, “When Children View Pronography”.

I’ve decided to dedicate my life to Jesus; I want to serve Him, but what should I do as I proceed down this new path?  The first step is to pray because the journey is not going to be easy.  Here is a start to your pray on becoming a minister for God…

• Thank God for allowing you to be part of the building of His Kingdom.
• Ask forgiveness for any part of you that wants to let others do the entire ministry and not do your part.
• Pray for His help in developing such a servant’s heart that you take greater joy in the accomplishments of God’s Kingdom than your own—just as a coach or parent takes joy in the success of those they’ve developed.
• Pray for guidance as you think through the areas of ministry that you can be a blessing in.
• Pray for strength as you face the criticism of those who resist change.
• Pray for patience as you deal with those who believe the ministry of the church is always for someone else to do.
• Pray for His’ timing as you advance down the path that God want to use you in.
• Pray for His’ endurance, as the journey takes longer than most people want.
• Thank Him in advance for the people that He is going to raise up, for all the ways He is going to help you along this path, and for a the great things the people of your church will accomplish as they serve in the ministries for which He created them.

Why I love the church.  I grew up in church.  I’ve had great experiences there.  I love the Word of God, I love the fellowship of Christian brothers and sisters, I love the praise and worship, and I love what the church does for people.  That is the reason I became a pastor and started Heritage Christian Center.  I want as many people as possible to experience the same joy I’ve received from the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The other person who loves the church is–God.  In fact, He says that even the gates of hell will not prevail against the church.  Another reason to get and stay hooked up with a great local church is the promise that God would cause all things to work together for your good if you are called according to His’ purpose.  I challenge you to check it out—everything God is doing is through the church, in fact, He called it His’ church.  You may feel the church isn’t perfect, but I believe God meant for all of His’ imperfect children to be apart of this perfect work He is doing inside all of us.

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them. Romans 8:28

How many fees are we going to have to pay to build? The way we calculate it right now is that we are going to have to pay about $100,000 in fees.  These are impact fees, building permit fees, water and sewer fees, and road improvement fees.  We will continue to update this blog entry as we firm up those costs.