This week we were separated, only temporarily, from a couple of loved ones. A few others are very sick. Even so, today's service starts with a slew of testimonies of God's faithfulness and love.

But Pastor John reminds us that the Word says:

"Precious in the sight of the Lord Is the death of His godly ones (Psalms 116:15)."

But we are not abandoned! The Spirit Himself helps us in our weakness.

Returning to 1 Timothy 6:3-21, Pastor John reminds us that money is a wonderful servant but a wicked master. We shouldn't equate godliness to the amount of stuff we have. While wealth itself is not a sin, regardless of our temporal treasures, we need to focus all of our resources on creating heavenly wealth.

Today's message was given by  Pastor Roy "Buddy" Denton - with his wife Cheryl, missionaries to the Slavic communities in the United States. buddy speaks to our need to LUI, live under the influence (LUI) of the Holy Spirit. While things like DUI kills,  LUI brings life. Going to the word, Pastor Buddy lists six characteristics that demonstrate LUI.

Today's service took an unexpected turn. While we waited on the Lord, He reach out to us and said He was waiting on us. He waits on us to turn back to Him. He stopped service - just for you.

Returning to a concept he mentioned last week almost in passing, Pastor John goes to 1 Timothy 6:1-21 to explain what the Bible says about fighting the good fight. The  Word tells us how to fight, what we're fighting against, and, as an alternative, what we benefit from by pursuing it.

Pastor John starts with a word of encouragement to the body.  God wants to, and is, using His people - including you. Therefore, make sure you are grounded in His word and walk in obedience.

Then going to Mark 9:14-29, Pastor John reminds us since God's word will never pass away,  we are  invited to believe, to have faith in Jesus.

Sharing a message birthed during the recent mission trip, Pastor John talks about how the Lord helps us to go to higher grounds and deeper depths in Him. It will take faith - not logic, reasoning, or holding on to the past. Embracing the latter will harden our hearts.

This weekend we welcome back a host of our members who were busy abroad. This includes the Youth returning from the 2023 Camp and the missionaries who served in Kenya. We celebrate their return and all the Lord did while we were apart!

Pastor John Blomberg speaks today about obedience. It's a big deal and subsequently a big problem. John takes us back to the garden so we can understand the impact even today of us listening to something other than what God says.

There is a fine line between obeying and disobedience and we have to decide every day, every minute, how and if we will obey.

Happy Father's Day to our physical and spiritual dads!

Pastor Richard Oti goes to scripture to demonstrate how no one knew God as father in the Old Testament. He was many things and had many names but not father. It was only after He was revealed through Jesus that this changed. Now we know Him and can call Him "Abba, Daddy!"