God’s steadfast love never ends, and His mercies are new every morning. Just as Old Faithful reliably erupts each day, we can count on God’s faithfulness to continually pour out His mercy and love. When we open our eyes to Him, we begin to see that God is present everywhere, continually teaching and reminding us of His truth. Jesus, our Rabbi, is always with us, and the Holy Spirit is present to guide us into all truth. The question is: Will you open your eyes and seek His face? Will you ask, “Lord, will You teach me?” Heaven is essentially the presence of Jesus, but eternal life doesn’t begin when we die….

Heaven begins the moment we start dwelling in the presence of Jesus. May we seek the face of God, and perpetually pursue the presence of Jesus.

What does the next generation truly need? The story of Judges shows us that Israel didn’t simply need a better earthly king. Even after kings like Saul, David, and Solomon, the story ultimately leads to destruction, exile, and the loss of the temple. The answer comes through the silence and into the Gospel of Matthew: Jesus, the descendant of David, the King of Kings and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Our children and grandchildren need more than a king who can protect them from injustice; they need the Lamb of God who can save them from their own sin. As Joshua challenged Israel, “Choose this day whom you will serve.” The same challenge stands for us today: As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

In Pastor Gary's message to the church, we're challenged to double down on being the light of Jesus. Whether that's on a mission trip overseas or right in our own backyard with family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Because the stakes are eternal, and it's not okay for even one person to miss out on God's grace. Drawing from a personal, physically challenging mission trip to Japan and the piercing truth of of God's word, we're reminded that as long as we're alive, our work of sharing Jesus isn't finished.

Missions | The Joy of Missional Living by Andy Pearce (Aug 23, 2026) by South Bay Community Church

Paul’s ambition was never promotion, reputation, or more followers. It was that Jesus would be known where He was not yet known. After years of persecution, sacrifice, and more than 10,000 miles of missionary journeys, Paul still looked toward those who had not heard, because a surrendered life becomes an available life. God may send us across the world, across the city, or even across our school, but every follower of Jesus is invited to participate in His mission. We see this through ordinary people like Shane, whose encounter with Jesus led to faith, discipleship, and eventually a multiplying movement that reached the Middle East, India, Europe, and beyond. It all began with a simple “yes.” Church, this is the movement: we SEE, we SURRENDER, and we are SENT. We don’t respond to God’s mission out of guilt, but because we are captivated by His mercy. Jesus saw us when we were far from Him. Jesus surrendered His life for us. Jesus was sent to us so that the Gospel could reach us. And now His love compels us to ask, “God, here is my life. Where do You want it?”

“God is in absolute control of his world and everything that happens, without any gaps, limits, interference, or thwarting of his rule.” The question I have for you is: Do you believe that God is in absolute control of everything? God will never leave you or forsake you. He will walk with you even through the valley of the shadow of death. So when you’re facing a worst-case scenario, always remember this: that God is sovereign.

Psalm 145 reminds us that every generation is called to praise God by telling the next generation who He is and what He has done. David's praise flowed from personal experience as he remembered God's mighty works, His protection, forgiveness, faithfulness, and abundant goodness throughout his life. In the same way, every believer has a unique "song of praise" written through God's work in their own story. While the chorus is the same: God is good, faithful, and worthy of worship, the lyrics are personal, reflecting how He has comforted, healed, provided, forgiven, and guided each of us. As we remember and share our stories, our testimony encourages others to trust God and helps pass faith on to the next generation. The question is not whether God has given you a song to sing, but whether you are remembering it, declaring it, and allowing it to point others to His greatness.

This week at South Bay Community Church, we dig into Psalm 100 and what it really means to worship with joy. Too often we walk in on Sunday mornings feeling dry, distracted, or just not in the mood to sing and it's usually because we haven't been filling up on God's goodness the rest of the week. Just like a strong marriage needs both knowledge and affection, true worship requires both truth and emotion: head knowledge without heartfelt response leaves us with a lifeless intellectual faith, while emotion without truth leaves us with shallow, ungrounded worship. Jesus tells us in John 4:23-24 that true worshipers worship the Father "in spirit and truth", and when we truly grasp who God is, what He's done for us, and how deeply He loves us, worship becomes the natural overflow of that joy. Tune in as we explore how daily feeding on God's Word fuels the kind of worship that can't wait for Sunday.

Psalm 5 reminds us that there are seasons when life feels like a walk into the darkness. David begins the psalm weighed down by grief, opposition, and uncertainty, honestly pouring out his pain before God rather than hiding it. Expressing our emotions can feel like stepping into the unknown. Exposing our vulnerability to others can feel like walking deeper into the darkness. Even entrusting our grief to God may seem like a difficult journey when we cannot yet see His answers. And allowing ourselves the time to heal can feel like an endless path with no sunrise. Yet David shows that faith is choosing to keep walking toward God in the darkness, trusting that He hears every cry, leads with unfailing love, and will ultimately surround those who trust in Him with His favor and protection.

I started with sharing this beautiful wedding invitation from our friends. And I said that the quality and beauty of an invitation tells you a lot about who is inviting you, what you are being invited to, and how much that person values you. Jesus being sent from heaven to earth is the greatest invitation I can think of.

All people are invited by the God of the universe to be in a marriage relationship with Him, and Jesus showed how much God values us by paying the eternal cost for sin with His body on the cross. The invitation of the gospel is not just to go to heaven one day in the future, but it is also to enjoy a personal relationship with God now. If it sounds too good to be true, you’re starting to get it.

And if the Christian life is about relationship and not our performance, then we can freely cling to Him with everything we are and everything we have. We can trust that the same hands that once held nails in them are the same hands that are strong enough to hold us forever.