Posts by Lance (Page 2)
Knowing God / Knowing Ourselves
âBless the LORD, O my soul. O LORD my God, You are very great. You are clothed with honor and majesty, wrapped in light as with a garment.â Psalm 104:1f Many years ago, I did a sermon series on the attributes of God. I keyed off A. W. Tozerâs book, âThe Knowledge of the Holy.â Some of Godâs attributes come quickly to our minds: sovereign, almighty, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, eternal, and infinite; others come a little slower: self-existent, self-sufficient, immutable,…
Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant.
âThe master said to him, âWell done, good and faithful servantâŠââ Matthew 25:21a When I first arrived at FPCSA, I often said, âThe church gave me several gifts.â I was speaking, of course, of the staff that was in place at that time; in particular, I was referring to Marcia Griffin, Marion Heatherington, Mary Lee, Paul McNeff, and Dick Williams. Each of these individuals brought particular gifts and talents to their work, but mostly they brought hearts filled with love,…
Letâs Get Ready to Rumble!!!
âI was glad when they said to me, âLet us go to the house of the LORD.ââ Psalm 122:1 Michael Buffer has made a name for himself by calling out the phrase, âLetâs get ready to rumbl-l-l-le!!!â 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, âLetâs get ready to rumbl-l-l-le!!!â? Ha ha hahhh! Probably not. But sometimes I wonder if we…
A Blank Slate
[After Jesusâ ascension, the disciples returned to Jerusalem]âThese all with one mind were continually devoting themselves to prayerâŠâ Acts 1:14a In his book, The Post-Quarantine Church, Thom S. Rainer writes, âWhat did they (the early church) do when they didnât know what to do? They prayed. The Bible indicates that the prayers of the early church were powerful because the people were of one mind: âThey all met together and were constantly united in prayer.â They didnât know what else…
Prayer Network!
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…
The Post-Quarantine Church
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.â Hebrews 10:24f I love that insurance commercial where a millennial couple is stuck on the side of the road with their car, and one of them says, âMost likely, itâs out of gas, but what if we just unplug…
March 2021 Pastor’s Page
âCONVERSATIONS WITH JESUSâ [Jesus said] âFor God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.â John 3:16 At its last meeting, the Board of Elders (session) responded to three questions. 1) âWhat attracted you to FPCSA?â There were quite a few responses, from âwe were looking for a Presbyterian Churchâ to âwe came here quite by accident.â One person mentioned they were looking for a…
February 2021 Pastor’s Page
âHonoring Black Historyâ âNow in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a member of the court of Herod the ruler, and Saul.â Acts 13:1 There seems to be a âNational Dayâ for everything nowadays. Check these out: dogs (8/26), cats (10/29), tacos (10/4), licorice (4/12), friendship (7/30), mushrooms (10/15), slugs (10/29), peanut butter (1/24), brothers (5/24), sisters (8/1), siblings (4/10), martinis (6/19), roller coasters (8/16), etc. etc.…
January 2021 Pastor’s Page
âThe LIGHT at the End of the Tunnelâ âLooking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, who for the sake of the joy set before Him endured the cross, disregarding its shame, and has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of God.â (Hebrews 12:2) People are saying, âWe can see the light at the end of the tunnelâŠâ This is an old phrase used to describe a bad situation that will soon come to…
In All Circumstances, Give Thanks
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,As is the case with all things in 2020, the Thanksgiving holiday will be different this year. Even with all that is going on, I had planned to spend time with friends on Thanksgiving Day, eating in the backyard, socially distanced and practicing safe protocols. But with the recent uptick in cases and the plea from health officials nationwide, we have changed our plans to stay home this weekend and order nice turkey dinners from Mimi’s Cafe in Tustin (thanks…
Pastor’s Letter Nov 2020
âIn All Circumstancesâ âAlways be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is Godâs will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.â (1 Thessalonians 5:16ff) The national news this morning reported that cases of mental health concerns had risen to an alarming rate. People are feeling isolated, abandoned, alone, uncared for, forgotten, neglected, unloved. These mental health concerns were across the spectrum of age, with a strong rise in the number of young people affected. At…
Daylight Savings
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends, We are CANCELING the Trunk or Treat event scheduled for this evening.When we scheduled the event, hospitalizations were on the decline and we had just moved to the more open tier in the state. But recent news is making us more cautious. And we prefer to be cautious rather than sorry. Last night the city of Santa Ana sent out a message strongly discouraging gatherings at this time. Hospitalizations and ICU cases from Coronavirus are currently on the…
Trunk or Treat!
CALLING ALL VOLUNTEERS! Jesus said, “Let the children come unto Me… Whoever welcomes such a one as this in My name, welcomes Me.”At the end of the weekly zoom gathering with our children, Ms. Sandra always asks if there are any prayer requests. Every week, one of our children asks to pray that we have a good Halloween this year. Certainly, COVID-19 has struck us all this year, but it has been especially hard on our children.  So FPCSA is…
New Director of Youth Ministry!
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends, We are so excited to share with you all that we are hiring an interim Director of Youth Ministry: Nancy Galeana. Nancy is an excellent choice for interim because she is known to our FPCSA family. She was a member of the Santa Ana Hispanic Ministry on S. Main St. She worked here at FPCSA in the late 1990s. She’s attended special events here throughout the years. Her sister, Norma, served as a youth leader for…
New series & Hispanic Ministry Growth
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Tomorrow is the first Sunday of the month! Plan to have bread and cup ready to celebrate the Lord’s Supper during worship. And if you have a birthday and/or anniversary in September, please write that down in the comments. We start a new sermon mini-subseries, still connected to the Beyond These Walls theme: The 4 Pillars of the Church. I’m really looking forward to digging into this topic. Six months ago, our Personnel Committee was interviewing candidates for the Director…
Farewell
Dear FPCSA Family & Friends,Last Sunday, Xander Montes met with parents and students to annouce that he was stepping down as Director of Youth Integration. While we are sad to hear this news, we are so grateful to God for Xander’s time here at FPCSA. He’s had an amazing impact on our young people, our staff, and our church family. He and Vanessa will be missed, but we send them forth in the grace and love of God. Xander’s last Sunday will…