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“Roadblocks or Bridges?” “It shall be said, ‘Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstacle from My people’s way.’” Isaiah 57:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them.” (Matt. 19:14a)  He said this because the disciples were stopping the parents from bringing their children.  I guess this idea of being a hinderance has really been hitting me lately.  The pharisees often condemned Jesus for breaking the rules.  Sometimes Jesus responded with…

“Los Angeles de Jesus” [And Jesus said to them] “No one puts new wine into old wine skins; otherwise the wine will burst the skins, and the wine is lost, and the skins as well; but one puts new wine into fresh wineskins.” Mark 2:22 Sofía started a dialogue with the new Los Angeles de Jesus leadership team the other day by saying, “Welcome Charlie’s Angels!  Wait.  No.  That’s not right…  Welcome Jesus’ Angels!”  Everyone had a good laugh, and…

“I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.” 2 Timothy 1:5 A couple of months ago, I got together with one of my former youth members (he’s in his 50s now).  Over lunch, he said his 17-year-old son was questioning a lot.  I thought, “Okay… Here we go!” thinking of all the potential questions this teen might be asking. …

And day by day the LORD added to their number those who were being saved. Acts 2:47b Pentecost is a unique day in the life of the Church.  In the Hebrew scriptures, three names were used to describe this holy day.  The most common designation was Hag Hashavuot which means “the Feast of Weeks.”  Sometimes this was shortened to Shavuot which simply means “weeks.”   And the third designation was Hag Hakatzir or “the Feast of Harvest” to mark the beginning…

“Little children, keep yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21) The final verse of the Apostle John’s epistle has always fascinated me: “Little children, keep yourselves from idols.”  After a letter discussing God’s love and forgiveness, God’s light and truth, and our assurance of faith, the Apostle John ends his letter with this short phrase: “keep yourselves from idols.  It just seems so off-the-wall, like it’s out of left field, and such a weird way to end a letter.  No blessing.…

“One generation shall commend Your works to the next, and shall declare Your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4 Our Mission Statement says: Celebrating that which unifies us and that which makes us unique, we are intentionally building an intercultural, intergenerational community of faith in Jesus Christ that cares for, and serves, one another and our city. We are seeking to be intentionally intercultural and intergenerational.  Remember, there is a big difference between the prefix “multi-” and the prefix “inter-”.  In multi-ethnic/multigenerational…

“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” (Galatians 6:9) For those who have been at the church for a while, you’ve probably heard some whisperings about “Del Prado.”  It might sound a bit like El Dorado, the mythical city of gold in the mountains of South American, or the ever-elusive pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. So what even is…

October 30th at 5pm! You don’t want to miss it!

“I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the LORD.’”  Psalm 122:1 Michael Buffer has made a name for himself by calling out the phrase, “Let’s get ready to rumbl-l-l-le!!!”  And as we come into July, I feel like Michael could do his signature phrase as a call to worship.  Can you imagine Sunday worship starting with, “Let’s get ready to rumbl-l-l-le!!!”?  Ha ha hahhh!  Probably not.  But sometimes I wonder if we…

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. 1 Timothy 2:1 Do you believe in the power of prayer? Do you have requests for prayer? We would like to restart our Prayer Network.  We are looking for people who are interested in praying for others.  We will put together a prayer list that will be regularly updated and emailed to our prayer network.  If you are interested in being a part…