Hey Family,

How can I get over the depression, how can I cope with my ailments, how can I endure a difficult marriage? They’re all dealt with by picking up the shield of faith. In fact, every struggle, heartache, difficulty and pain that we have to go through can be managed with the shield of faith. But not only are we enabled to go through difficult moments. If we’re going to do something great for God--if we’re a 47-year-old person thinking about going back to college or a 38-year-old woman who’s thinking about having children, for example—if we’re going to do something audacious, something beyond our capabilities, we all need to pick up the shield of faith. In either moments of difficulty or moments of triumph, come to hear how we wield the shield for the glory of God and our own benefit.

There was a lot of discussion after pastor Mark Marchak's message last Sunday. He asked us all to think to ourselves, Am I useful to God, or am I useless to him? I'm glad it made so many people think.

This week Pastor Gus will speak on Sunday at 10 a.m. In the midst of our circumstances, pain, and struggle, God knows, sees, hears and responds. There is a God who cares about you, and Jesus comes to rescue us all. So whatever frame of mind you might be in right now, come on Sunday to hear a word of encouragement and hope.

Are you using the gift of salvation for Gods good

Hey Family,

It was great to see so many of you last week and talk about the topic of peace in our lives. No Jesus, no peace, a lot of us already knew. But KNOW Jesus, KNOW peace is what we learned!

This week our sermon series THE WAR continues by talking about the concept of faith. What do we mean when we say the word faith? Is it confidence that things will go our way? Or is it that God's word guarantees that what we hope for will actually happen? Many times we use the word faith as though it means having a strong feeling. This is different from what the Bible calls faith. When the Bible says to "take on the shield of faith," it does so with a specific goal in mind: so that we can extinguish the arrows of the evil one. This week we're going to learn how we can use the faith that God has bestowed upon us in Christ to experience a greater level of freedom and joy as we guard ourselves from the deadly thoughts that Satan can throw at us.

Hey Family,

All of us struggle with this concept of being a good person. We tell ourselves that we're not that bad, we compare ourselves to people who are worse, we try to persuade ourselves with whatever evidence we have that we are good people... but this is a losing battle. Our goodness is not found in our actions, in our station in life, even with how many people we help. It's not found in anything we do but in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

So am I good? No. But there was one who was good for me, and it's his righteousness that I put on, and therefore I'm able to walk with head held high, not with shame, guilt, and regret, but walking in His goodness. Come this Sunday at 10 a.m. as we continue our series called The War, and find out how to apply the goodness of Christ to your life. Invite your friends and family and I will see you there.

--Edwin

Hey Family,

Truth is not something in our culture that is elevated or celebrated. Far too many people play loose and easy with the meaning of "truth." But God in His word calls us to speak the truth, to walk in the truth, and to worship the truth, for He is the truth.

Last week we started a series called THE WAR, in which we're learning about the defenses we've been given to fight the unseen forces that can ruin our lives. This week, come and hear how the truth really can set you free. I look forward to seeing you Sunday at 10 a.m.

"I feel like I'll never get past this issue . . . It's got me down . . . I'll never get victory over this area of my life". These are some of the common phrases people use when they feel that they just can't win against some hangup, addiction, or weakness in their lives. The fact is, we all deal with issues that we think will get the best of us and will just beat us every time. And we have proof, because we look at our past and see how we've done against these habits and hangups, and we feel like there will never be a time when we get great victory.

God knows we're all going to experience this one way or another, so he's given us armor to be able to defend ourselves from the attacks of evil. Find out more about this by coming to our brand-new series called The War. In this we're going to find out how to live truly free and victorious lives as we put on the full armor of God and seek to walk in the power of His Spirit.

I'm really looking forward to seeing you Sunday at 10 a.m. Bring a friend or a loved one who is struggling.

Hey Family,

A sword is used to defend one person from the attack of another. Join us this Sunday at 10 a.m. as Pastor Gus Rodriguez talks about sharpening our swords for the battle before us. We look forward to seeing you!

Hey Family,

What have you lost in your life? A job, a friend, your reputation? When I think of what I have lost it encourages me to know that Jesus Christ came to seek that which was lost. Join us this week as Pastor Gus leads us in learning about finding our way. See you at 10 a.m. Sunday, and bring someone you love!

--Edwin

Hey Family,

This week we continue with our series titled Gods at War, which is bound to open your eyes. When we struggle with certain problems in life, we tend to focus on getting rid of the visible symptoms of trouble--cracks in our relationships, a lack of stability in our work life, feeling out of control in various situations. But what we're going to be learning over the next few weeks is that nothing will truly change until we look at the ROOT of the problem, not the FRUIT of the problem.