Pastor Prince

This week, we celebrated Ash Wednesday.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent.  Lent is the 40-day season before Easter, the greatest day on the church calendar.  It's a time of prayerful preparation for the celebration of the resurrection of Christ. In our church during Lent, we're going to focus on the book of Romans.  That's because Romans answers the question: Why did Jesus come to the world to die for our sins and rise from the dead?  It's a great guide to preparing for Easter! Romans 1:16-17 is the theme of the book.  Paul says the gospel is the power of God for salvation.  The word "gospel" is the English translation of a Greek word that means "proclaim good news."  The good news is that the Messiah has come, died on the cross for our sins, and risen from the dead.  Whoever puts his or her faith in him will receive eternal life. The word Paul used for "power" is dunamis , the root for our word "dynamite."  Of

  The great theologian Emil Brunner once said, "The church exists by mission as a fire exists by burning."  He meant that a sense of mission and calling gives life and meaning to the people of the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus made it plain to his followers that they had a mission.  He told Peter he would build his church out of people like him, and that church would overcome the gates of death itself!  He sent his followers out two by two on a preaching tour.  After his resurrection, but before his ascension to heaven, he told them they were to go and make disciples of all nations. This disciple-making mission was to take place in the context of churches.  While individuals went out and shared the good news, they always did it in connection with a church or group of churches.   Early Christ followers took up this mission and transformed the ancient world.  But once Christianity become predominant, mission work weakened and nearly died.   Thankfully, in the la

The New Testament teaches that every Christ follower should be a minister (see 1 Cor. 12:1ff).  It also teaches that God empowers us by the Holy Spirit to minister in his name. In addition to all this, the New Testament shows that God designed the local church to be the context in which ministry takes place.  All the ministry of the early church took place through local congregations. In 2 Cor. 1:3-7, the apostle Paul describes the help and strength for ministry we share in the local church.  He praised the God of all comfort who comforts us in our trials.  His help flows into our hearts and then overflows to the people around us.  We comfort others with the comfort God has given us.   In the church, we experience vital connections to each other.  We're a community of shared suffering and joy.  We minister to others in Christ's name, while at the same time receiving their ministry.   The point of the church's internal ministry is to empower us to minist

One of the worst feelings in the world is to want to quit because we feel whatever we're doing is too difficult.  There's nothing more difficult than following Christ.  So it shouldn't be surprising that sometimes you want to give up! Thankfully, God gave us a group to encourage us: the church! Hebrews 3:13 calls us to "encourage each other daily."  The Greek word for "courage" means to call out to someone.  When you encourage someone, you call out to them in love, giving them hope and confidence. Later, in Hebrews 10:25, the writer encouraged Christ followers to be faithful in meeting together, because their fellow Christ followers encouraged them to be faithful. One of the reasons God gave us the church was to encourage us.  Our fellow church members cheer for us, giving us heart and hope.   Acts 2:42-47 provides a snapshot of life in the early church.  It says Christ followers devoted themselves to various activities, among th