Posts by Lance

Posts by Lance

The Year of Evangelism

“2023: The Year of Evangelism” “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, ‘Your God reigns!’” Isaiah 52:7 “How, then, can they call on the One they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the One of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach…

The Heart That Grew Three Sizes

Pastor’s Page December 2022 “The Heart That Grew Three Sizes” “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you.I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.” Ezekiel 36:26 Every year, pastors approach the Advent Season with a competing sense of joy and dread.  Joyful to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the traditions surrounding Christmas.  But there is a sense of dread in…

Healing Waters

Pastor’s Page November 2022 “Healing Waters” “Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever.” 1 Chronicles 16:34 When I was a boy, I remember celebrating the “First Thanksgiving” at my elementary schools.  We would dress up in costumes and put on plays celebrating the hospitality of the indigenous people who welcomed the European immigrants.  I remember hoping to get to play the part of an “Indian” because in my boyish mind, I thought they were…

Roadblocks or Bridges

“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…

Pin reflections 2022

Igniting a Movement Since its inception, the Church has struggled with issues of race and inclusion, asking questions: Who’s in and who’s out?  Who has the power and who does not?  Who makes the decisions and who does not?  The 1960s raised many questions about race and reconciliation, civil rights and institutional segregation and discrimination.  These civil problems were magnified in a Church that was commissioned by Jesus to proclaim the gospel to all nations (ethnicities). I believe most pastors…

Los Angeles de Jesus

“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 SofĂ­a 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…

Summer Fun

“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. …

Adding to Their Number

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…

Celebrating Women in the Church

[The woman of noble character] who can find?  She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.  She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue
 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.  Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate. from Proverbs 31 I remember a few years…

Abundantly

“[Jesus answered] ‘I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10b) Jesus warns, “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy.”  But then He continues, “I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” (John 10:10)  As we’ve been going through our sermon series – American Idols: Reclaiming Our Intimacy with God – we’ve discussed various forms of idolatry in our lives.  Some are obvious, others are more subtle.  At the core, idols…

In God’s Time

“Be still before the Lord, and wait patiently before Him.” (Psalm 37:7a) On one of my trips to Moloka’i, Hawaii, with the Laguna Presbyterian Church youth group mission trip, I met a couple of students who told me they were brothers.  They looked nothing alike.  I asked which was older.  The taller boy said, “I am
 by 5 months.”  I saw what was going on; I wasn’t born yesterday.  I was the guest speaker on this trip, and these boys…

American Idols

“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.…

We’re Seeking to be Intergenerational, Too!

“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…

The Advent of the Messiah

“And His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God,the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.” (Isaiah 9:6b) Advent means the arrival of a notable person, thing or event.  We can speak of the advent of a president, the advent of the internet or any number of events.  In the Christian tradition, we celebrate the coming, or second coming, of Jesus Christ during the Advent season, which begins four Sundays before Christmas.  This year, the first Sunday of Advent…

Del Prado

“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…

The Friendliness Factor

“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.  Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4:8f ESV) It seems there’s a lot of anger in the world nowadays.  The FAA reports that there have been more than 4,000 complaints from airlines of aggressive behavior onboard flights in 2021.  People on freeways seem to be driving faster, more recklessly, and reports of road rage are up.  I’ve witnessed several examples of road rage…