Blog for the Heart

NEW BLOG SITE

2009-03-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

I am now blogging at http://lfcbrf.wordpress.com/ Thanks to all who have followed. My archives are over at the new site.

http://lfcbrf.wordpress.com/

God's best to you,
Bernie Federmann

It is a Brand New Year - Any New Commitments?

2008-12-31T12:10:00.000-08:00

This is that time, when resolutions and fresh commitments to things are conjured up. But what spiritual commitments will you make in 2009? What promises of the past will you rekindle in this New Year?

If you have drifted from God during this past year will you get closer to Him in 2009? If yes, what will you do? How will you do it? If you have stopped reading the bible and journaling, how about re-committing to it again on a regular basis? If you never started journaling, how about kicking it off the first full week of 2009?

If you are married and have drifted from your spouse, what will you do? What steps will you take to “fire up” your passion and heart towards your significant other? If you are a parent, what about commitments to your children and if you are a friend – what commitments will you make to those closest to you?

All good things cost us something and all great things cost much dedication and effort.
Our church is what it is due to the commitment of many and the incredible commitment of a few. Where will you become a part of the committed in 2009 that will take LFC to the next level in growth, outreach, impact and service? These are probing questions for sure, but must be asked as you look at the future.

Miracles never happen apart from commitment and movement – Peter gets out of the boat in order to walk on water, and a little boy gives up his lunch in order to feed the multitudes - commitment. Commitment is something we enjoy when we are on the receiving end of it. We enjoy people committed to doing their jobs, serving us, being loyal to us. But when commitment is on us – well that changes the way we view it. For example, we love someone committed to piloting when we are onboard an aircraft and we certainly are grateful for the commitment of Jesus as He went the distance and gave His life for us on the cross. Now that is commitment. The movement of people was often the pathway that God used to do miracles in the lives of others. Sure, God is not limited to me moving in order for Him to move, but sometimes God will not do if we do not move.

The church does not move without commitment.

People committed to praying, giving and serving. It is easy to procrastinate, but the time is now to ask God to assist you in your commitments for 2009. A simple prayer with a listening ear might be: “Lord what would you have me do – Where would you have me focus?”

When it comes to relationships, I sure like this quote from Tom Holliday's Relationship Principles of Jesus:

"True Love sacrifices. The greatest sacrifices may not be the one-in-a-lifetime sacrifices; they may well be the daily sacrifices. You give up your way and seek another person's good. No one else may even know you did it, but you'll know you acted in response to Jesus' love for you."

What commitments will you make to serve God and others in 2009?

I recall the story where Jesus told Simon the Pharisee that the measure of love we feel for God depends on the degree of appreciation we feel for the mercy and forgiveness of God we have experienced: “Therefore I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little” (Luke 7:47). So how much do we feel that God has extended mercy and forgiveness upon us? That is the degree in which we will feel compelled to commit to Him.

Could our lack of commitment to the Lord and His work stem from a lack of appreciation for the commitment of love Jesus showed to us? Could it be due to a lack of love we possess for Jesus? Sometimes we drift and allow the arrows of life to point inward. We become complacent and self-loving because we don’t really understand or fully appreciate God’s love and forgiveness and our commitment is diminished.

CT Studd, the great missionary pioneer said, “If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him”.
Let us spend time with the Lord and allow Him to shape our love for Him into commitments of service and love for others and that we might commit to His heart, worship of Him, serving Him, serving through His church, giving generously and being wholeheartedly obedient.

Let’s commit together to Him and for what He has for LFC in 2009,

Blessed New Year,

Pastor Bernie

Christmas Time Is Here – How about Peace?

2008-12-19T09:21:00.000-08:00

(I wrote this piece and it appeared two weeks ago in the Lompoc Record Newspaper)

As I write this our church sanctuary is being decorated for the most “wonderful time of the year.” But I quickly think of how many people are not going to have the “most wonderful time” this time. Many are overwhelmed with the current state of economics, job status, job security, grocery prices, housing market and a myriad of issues that serve to; if we are not careful, remove any semblance of peace from our hearts. The Christmas season can easily bring heightened stress during a normal season, let alone one deemed by experts to be a “recession.” We must pause and be reminded of the purpose of the season. The Christmas story can be summarized by saying: God’s intention for us is to possess internal peace no matter the season. God does not run from us or from difficulty. The Christmas story takes place while people are in chaos, the economy is unstable and people are looking for an answer to their deepest spiritual needs. Recall if you would these familiar words: “And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them…and said, "Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord… a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (Luke 2: 8 – 14) God came right to people, simple hardworking shepherds. He came into their world and ours as well. He comes to us, right where we are. That is Christmas! Accepting the message and believing in the Christ Child opens up our hearts to the receiving of His peace that moves the “weary world to rejoicing.” It was cause for the angelic choir to sing and make connections in two realms at the same moment: Glory to God in the highest place and on the lowest place (earth) peace to men and woman and boys and girls on whom God’s favor rests upon. His favor rests upon those who have opened their heart and life to Him- those with a small amount of faith have said: “I believe.” Even a Christ-follower can push peace away as we drift from faith and obedience and become overwhelmed by situation and circumstance and forget that Jesus, the “prince of peace” and the “peace of God” who came to earth on Christmas. Jesus who like a sentry, stands at our heart and presses against that which is fierce and turbulent. “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts…you were called to peace.” (Colossians 3:15) His peace keeps you from allowing the outside storms to come inside your heart and sink your life with anxiety and stress. A woman lay dying. A pastor tried to break the news as gently as he could: “They think your time is short.” “Yes,” she said, “I know it.” “Have you made your peace with God?” “No,” she replied, “I haven’t made my peace with God.” The minister did not understand. The woman seemed so peaceful. “What do you mean?” he asked. She said, “Listen! I know I am dying, yet I have no fear of meeting God. I don’t have to make my peace with God for I am resting in the peace which Jesus Christ has already made for me on the Cross – Jesus has become my peace.” He came to earth so He could purchase your salvation and provide you with peace. The peace that the angels announced at Christ’s birth is still available. “Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him and allow Him to become your peace. From my heart to yours, I pray that you and our city will have a very Merry Christmas that is filled with Christ’s peace! Go ahead and seek Him.

Generosity: Our Calling In Life

2008-11-26T12:45:00.000-08:00

Last week I wrote how Thanksgiving is one of the difficult parts of faith for one reason: when things are going great, we tend to forget the importance of giving thanks. Likewise when things are going poorly, we struggle to find something to give thanks for! This is true of generosity. When things are going well, we seem to want more and actually exclude generosity from our hearts and when things are going poorly we tend to not see how it is possible to be generous. “God loves people who love to give.” That doesn’t mean that God loves people who give more than God loves people who don’t give. That’s really not how it works with God. I think that little phrase is a reminder to us that it brings God great joy and happiness when we are involved in giving to those who are in need. It brings God pleasure - gladness – delight, when we, who are God’s own children, imitate God. It’s not unlike the feeling we parents have when we see our children do, or say, what we hoped they had learned along the way. True discussions on generosity is not a church attempting to raise the income, but rather change the outcome of people’s life and cast a vision for the Lord’s work to move forward. As a church that has practiced generosity since its inception in 1940, we continue to give outside our walls and due to many who have determined to be generous and obedient to God’s truth, we are growing and expanding. At LFC we value generosity. That statement says much about our God, about our understanding of Jesus Christ, and so much about our own desires. We value generosity, bigheartedness and liberality.
This week we will be pouring out concrete foundation for our new building and we are paying cash as we go. While we remain hopeful and faith-filled that the balance needed to finish the interior of the building as well as the landscaping will come in, we are moving forward. We know God will release to us all we need to accomplish the vision He has placed in our hearts. Where God guides, He always provides. He has determined to provide through the generosity of people just like you. In a time where we could easily gravitate to a heart of scarcity and tightfistedness, we need to remember that God’s promises are not seasonal or based upon economy. His promises for the generous are the same now as they have always been.

Let’s be generous in this season of giving,
Pastor Bernie

Focus: God – Our Creator and Sustainer

2008-09-30T17:32:00.000-07:00

This morning as I prayed about our country, our church, my family and my day, one thing struck me over and over again. God is our Creator and Sustainer. In Sunday’s message I spoke about the power of Jesus to create and sustain and the compassion of Jesus to hold us close and hold us together. One of our key verses was:

Hebrews 4: 14 – 16
Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (NIV)

The One Thing: Pay Attention Earlier in the book of Hebrews we are told by the writer to pay attention.

Hebrews 2:1
For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. (NASB)

What the writer to the Hebrews is saying here is that in the Christian life we must go on listening to God's Word in Jesus. He has already stated that Jesus is the word and that God spoke in the past through prophets, but in these days, He speaks to us by His Son. We must pay attention to all that God has spoken and in this days of economical challenge, uncertainty, personal challenge, family issues and more, we cannot treat hearing God as something occasional or casual. We cannot act as if we already know all we need to know, or that we have nothing to gain from listening to Jesus.
We are told to pay close attention to what we have heard. It is not just for those who are spiritually mature or for some who have a crisis in front of them. This is a word to all Christians: “we ought to give the more earnest heed…” (King James)
This is not an isolated command in the book of Hebrews. This concern to get the readers listen closely to God is repeated in various terms. Of all of them I love this one.

Hebrews 3:1Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of a heavenly calling, consider the apostle and chief priest of our profession, Christ Jesus, (Young’s Literal Translation)

We are to consider Him. Focus on Him. Stay close to Him and keep Him in your thoughts. Learn more and more from Him every day—what He is like and what He says and the way He cares for you and how He sees the world.
Then again in Hebrews 12:1-2 (another of my favorites) "Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus." There it is again: "Fix your eyes on Jesus." Consider Jesus! Listen to Jesus!
Of all the things you are facing right now, would you focus on God as your creator and sustainer? Would you look to Him so that you do not drift? When pressures come, when uncertainty hits and when the enemy of right and light comes and steps into his tactics, we are faced with the potential of drifting away.
The Christian life is first and foremost a life of contemplation—listening to Jesus, considering Jesus, fixing the eyes of the heart on Jesus. Everything else in the Christian life grows out of this. Without this the Christian life is simply unlivable. – John Piper
My wholehearted encouragement to you is to focus on the Lord. I believe that is a timely word for all of us and the very thing I will be doing. To consider my Creator and open my heart and mind full to my Sustainer. Will you do the same? How could we not want to pay attention to Him, His truth, Jesus the Word and consider Him and fix our eyes on him!
Focusing better,
Pastor Bernie

God Cares About YOU

2008-09-09T19:17:00.000-07:00

This past Sunday was a day for me that was off the charts in my mind. Seeing God touch lives and our church be the expression of scripture, worshipping, praying one for another and God answering my prayer – I had a really big prayer for this past Sunday. Now this is not a rare prayer I pray it all the time, but I was contending deep and realizing that God was and is able to answer my prayer – matter of fact it is a prayer He loves to hear prayed. I asked the Lord for Salvation. “Please Lord, allow me to have the blessed privilege of partnering with you to see people saved!” And since God cares more about the salvation of others than any of us, I was so incredibly happy to see 18 people respond to the invitation to trust God for their salvation. Now, I have done a lot of church in my 30 years as Pastor and my 22 years of being at LFC, but there was something very unique for me about this past Sunday. The Lord had lead us to have a time of prayer in all three services – a simple, “invite people down front for prayer” moment. Our worship team, prayer team members, leaders and others who felt led came and prayed with no less than 100 people who came forward during our three services. We were living out the call of “praying for one another” and modeling for those in the congregation that LFC is a caring and ministering church where people really do matter to God. It showed people that God really cares for them and it reminded me just how much God cares to save lives – eternal hearts, right here at LFC. What a joy to be a part of this. In a couple of weeks we will have people baptized here as well. (September 21st – 6:00 PM)
The One Thing:
I hope you realize today that God cares for you! As I watched people praying for others, as I watched the hands of dear people, of all ages raise in response to salvation, I realize just how much God cares. Some of you are struggling and need to remember, God can keep whatever you commit to Him. This past Sunday’s message centered around the passage, 2 Timothy 1:12: That is why I am suffering as I am. Yet I am not ashamed, because I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to him for that day. (NIV)
Are we anxious, troubled and worried? Paul tells us to "have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And [as a result] the peace of God will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6-7). The Psalmist adds: "Trust in him at all times…pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us" (Ps. 62:8). And the apostle Peter writes, "Cast all your troubles upon God!” And if someone asks why, here is the answer: Because God cares about you" (I Pet 5:7).
By faith, place your troubles, your concerns, your kids, your marriage, your loneliness upon the broad shoulders of our loving and merciful God. When God was here in human form, in Jesus, He experienced the same kinds of issues we face. Now He did not have children but He loved them. He did not do some of the things we do today, but, the same heart-felt issues you deal with, He dealt with. "We have in Jesus, a high priest who understands what we go through, because He did. This should give us incredible confidence to run to the presence of God and receive His mercy and grace to help us in our times of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-6).
He's not afar off - but present with us through every situation. Moses wrote: "The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deut. 33:27). A dear friend recently shared with me: “Of all the things that could happen to me, I never want to be away from God’s presence.” And I know why they said that. They have experienced His presence and transformation in their life. They have seen God in tough times too. Their statement is a reminder of what we need in tough times – we need His presence. The God whose power created the heavens and the earth has also the power to see us through all those dark tunnels through which we wander. His presence is our guide – because God cares.
Let's use every "means of grace", every resource God provides, to receive the truth in our heart – God cares. And let God take upon Himself our cares as He has promised!
I was supposed to tell you today (and I did) that God Cares About You!
Grace and Peace,
Pastor Bernie

Don't drop the Stick

2008-08-27T09:38:00.001-07:00

This past Sunday on the back of our bulletin I wrote a piece in regards to the dropping of the baton (stick) during the Olympics. It was almost surreal as both our men's and woman's 400 meter relay team dropped the stick. Rather than repeat what I wrote, let me offer these thoughts.
THE ONE THING: Think about this one thing: What is in your hand? (Exodus 4) What has God asked you to do? Has He nudged you lately? Of course we know God did not need Moses' help - God knew full well what Moses had, but He wanted Moses to catch it. We could say to Moses ( since we know his story) "Moses, God will use you and as great as you are you do not want to miss the opportunity to pass on your baton to the next generation and currently to the next miracle. God will use you Moses to do great things. He i s even going to use your stick - give it to Him and watch what He does. If you hold on, you will miss it all. But if you let go, God will do great things with what you have."Significance in life does not come from status because there is always someone who has more than you. It does not come from salary, there are others who will always make more than you. it comes from serving. It comes from laying down what God has given you for His usage. It comes from giving yourself away. No matter how great our skills are, if we cannot get the stick handed off to God and handed off to others, we cannot finish our race and live out our calling. No matter how fast our US athletes can run - they were disqualified for dropping the stick. We cannot drop our assignment, our faith and or minimize our gifting and calling.
Giving your life away. If you will only allow God to use what you have available to you, He will make it into whatever it needs to be in order to fulfill the task He has called you to.

The story: Moses throws down the staff and it becomes a snake and then he picks it up and God turns it back into a staff. What do you possess? Moses is a shepherd and he was busy pursuing shepherding and it is in sheep he finds his fulfillment. His staff is also a symbol of his influence. He moves the sheep - that is what he does and his future is contingent upon a good sheep market. But God wants him to lay it down. God wants to do some things through Moses and what he possesses but He cannot do it without surrender. You make the connections here to your own life. What do we do with what we have been given? What are we passing onto God and onto others? Who of the next generation are we impacting so that they might run their race? We have an option, just like Moses did. We can let go and trust or hold on and contend on our own. What if Moses would have held on? If Moses had held on to the staff he would have remained a shepherd of sheep. He would have spent the rest of his life protecting and counting sheep. Here's the bottom line: if you hold on to whatever is in your hand you'll never experience the miracles God wants to perform right in front of you and through your stuff. There is too much at stake to not let go to God and give away to others. There is a race to run and we must run it - TODAY, Tomorrow and equip those beyond us to run it too.

We are running for so much more than Gold, Silver or Bronze. We are running for the Lord. Pastor Bernie

Relational Church Life

2008-08-12T16:06:00.000-07:00

One thing you will notice with my pastor’s weekly is that they will become shorter. While I have enjoyed making the weekly almost like another sermon – I know two things. Sometimes people don’t read it because it is too long and sometimes the heart of the message is lost due to its length. So I asked our staff for their input and some key leaders and friends at LFC and their input caused me to come up with some ideas for the weekly and my blog. (I post these on the blog too, where people can leave comment if they choose)

So here is what I propose.

I will write less and say more.
I entertain answering questions you may have about LFC, our heart and our future. So let me know what is on your heart.
I would love to share some stories of people from LFC who have had their lives changed, grown through connecting with others.

This week I want to underscore a major heart issue for LFC – relationships. If you take a close look at our church you will realize we have done several things to assist people in getting connected to other people. We have Life Transformation Groups (our small group ministry) we have Teams (people serving in teams together) and we established LFC Connections (a simple non-threatening way to get to know others, just show up when the first alphabet of your last name is meeting) led by some wonderful people of LFC who caught the vision and value of these relational opportunities. We also create times within our yearly calendar for you to get with others, through servings, times like 4th of July BBQ and more. It is however, up to each one to cross over the boundaries of time, nervous feelings, personal limitations and jump in to a place of relationship. A new relationship might just be a few chairs away on a Sunday gathering, or be standing out in the parking lot following service times. God calls us into a relationship with Him and to grow in our relationships with others (Matt. 22:37-40). From the very beginning, God has emphasized how important fellowship is by declaring that it isn’t good for man to be alone, and He admonishes us throughout the Bible to love, serve and pray for one another. If you take the time to look around you will find someone who needs you and someone you need. If you look around LFC, you will discover there’s a place for everyone! When we find that PLACE there is a sense of deep belonging that is achieved no other way – but it really is up to you. We will keep working at creating ways to build relationships but it really is about people willing to move out, meet new people, find places to serve and live life together.
THE ONE THING:
Think about this one thing: God’s love is others-centered.
Jesus says that, “No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.” The opposite of this is self-centeredness and its cousin, selfishness, which is the number one enemy of all relationships. It is the number one cause of conflict and disharmony in marriages, in communities and even causes senseless wars. Self-centeredness focuses on what I need and want and think and believe and must be overcome in order for me to reach out and build relationships with others. We are all guilty of it and unfortunately this ‘I focus’ blinds us to needs around us, people who need us and ones we can help.
Who needs you to open your heart?
Who do you need to help you grow?
Where can you team up and serve and thereby build relationships?
Growing with you and others,
Pastor Bernie

Transformed Lives - Transforming Others

2008-08-06T18:59:00.000-07:00

2 Corinthians 5:18
All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation:

The past two weeks at LFC have been incredible. First with Pastor Jack Hayford, then our woman had the joy of hearing Beth Moore teach, live via satellite in our sanctuary and our special guests this past Sunday, all the way from Oahu Hawaii and New Hope Christian Fellowship. A group of ten people, seven of them formerly incarcerated, came to minister during the weekend at the Lompoc Federal Penitentiary and to share with us at LFC during our three AM services. The story of transformation was shared and these who had been transformed were transforming others in return. They were loving out loud in the truest sense of the word. As they left on Sunday, they reported that 40 inmates had opened their lives to Jesus Christ for the first time – more transformation in the works. And speaking of Transformation, how about last night? We turned a street into a faire and watched people enjoy what we were able to provide. More than hotdogs, cotton candy, face painting, crafts and games. They enjoyed the hearts of almost 100 servants from LFC as we partnered with the Lompoc PD for National Night Out. The Lompoc Record had the story on today’s front page and KCOY picked up the story and ran it last night.
As I helped set up, connect with people and wander the street making sure all were doing okay, it hit me.

Transformation is best lived out in generosity.
Gratitude and generosity are key steps to wholeness.
Some people desire to be whole, but it never happens apart from giving away and serving others.
Barnabus was a “good man and full of the Holy Spirit.” He was a Levite from Cyprus, whose real name was Joseph, but Apostles called him Barnabus, or “Son of Encouragement.”
We first meet Barnabus in Acts 4, in the days after Christ’s resurrection and birth of the Church at Pentecost. Here we see Barnabus as a member of the first remarkable group: “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles' feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need. Now Joseph, a Levite of Cyprian birth, who was also called Barnabas by the apostles (which translated means Son of Encouragement), and who owned a tract of land, sold it and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet.” (Acts 4:32-37)
Barnabus was encouraging through his generosity. He sold a piece of land and gave the proceeds to the Apostles for the needs of the Church. But Barnabus’ generosity, and ours, need not be only financial. We can be generous with our time. Barnabus was a servant to the early believers and spent a year instructing the newly-converted Paul of Antioch. In the same spirit, we can visit those in need, teach the children, serve in the nursery, serve our youth and simply find ways to reach out to others.
Like Barnabus, we can be generous with our service. As I watched those from New Hope serve this past Sunday, I thought of the time they gave to travel and serve. The expenses to get here. Coming here for three days with one day of travel on each side had a price, but that is what made their service so generous. At LFC, every time a child is taught, every time the communion trays come in or the parking signs go out, I think that someone did that. Someone puts the paper towels in the restrooms, dusted, vacuumed and more. The more we look around and become aware of these myriad acts of service the more encouraged we become. Generosity serves and serving encourages.
We can be generous with our friendship. Barnabus offered his friendship to Saul, who was being shunned by believers after his conversion. He was loyal to John Mark and in short, Barnabas was a friend to all. We can offer our friendships to others and join a Life Transformation Group and join a team to serve and more. We can all reach out to others in our neighborhood and become relational with people we know that need to know the Lord. We can all do our part to greet new people as they arrive at services here and to encourage all people we see each time we come to church. Time, service, and friendship; all these are ways you can be generous no matter what is inside your wallet. Go for generosity – it will transform others while it transforms you and allows you to be an encourager.
Being Transformed and hopefully transforming others,
Pastor Bernie

The Touch Of Jesus

2008-07-25T15:38:00.001-07:00

This has been an amazingly busy week. The kind in which you just finish one thing and something else comes your way or five things come at once. The kind in which, what you hoped to get done, just doesn’t seem possible because of the unexpected. But, I am not bringing up something foreign to you, nor am I complaining. You know those weeks because you traverse those waters yourself from time to time. What I have needed this week was a touch from God and then it dawned on me: He is everywhere! Most certainly He was with me last night as I spoke to the Rotary Club in Lompoc, or made some major decisions on our building projects, and today as I dealt with some sensitive issues and more. Most assuredly He is with me as I plan for a great weekend with Pastor Jack and Anna Hayford, the Presidents of our Foursquare denomination. Most confidently God will help me get through the next very full days, because He is God. Okay, He is with me and with you! And the words hit me clear and I have preached them to many of you: Look for the presence of God and not His absence! So I am looking and I am seeing Him. I see Him in the people around me and in my friends. I sense Him waiting in the wings – waiting for me to simply reach out to Him. So I pause, and acknowledge the Lord, speak His name and say: “There is no one like you Lord! Lord, I need your touch!’
Then I read the title for Sunday’s service and Pastor Jack’s message: “A Jesus Kind Of Touch” is the title. Coincidence? I doubt it. I know how God works and I know this too, that anyone with a need is a candidate for that touch. Anyone who needs some forgiveness, understanding or compassion is a candidate for His touch. I wonder how you might need His touch right now. I wonder if you are missing Him in the midst of busyness. I don’t know where Pastor Jack will take us, but I wanted to prepare your heart. You may need a THE CLEANSING TOUCH as it was for the leper, when Jesus encountered him. 'Be clean' Jesus said. In a similar story in Matthew's gospel, a leper says to Jesus 'Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.' Jesus reaches out, touches the man, and says 'I am willing. Be clean!' As I pictured Him in the wings, waiting for me, He was ready. He is always ready for us. The Lord is always been and always will be an open-heart surgeon. If we are closed, He won’t force the issue but if we are open to say: “If you are willing, I am ready! Oh Lord, touch us.” In the midst of our stress, pain, and our often selfish world – touch us. We need to know the cleansing touch of Jesus, to have our minds and bodies refreshed by his touch upon them. For some it will be the QUIETING TOUCH. In Matthew 8 we read that Peter's mother-in-law was lying in bed with a fever. Jesus touched her hand and the fever left her, and she began to wait on him. Jesus can bring to us the Quieting touch, which takes away the pain in our lives and brings peace to us. To others, the touch of Jesus is THE REASSURING TOUCH. When Jesus was transfigured and seen in the presence of Moses and Elijah, the disciples fell onto the floor in absolute terror. Jesus came up and touched them. 'Get up,' he said. 'Don't be afraid.' Some of you might be afraid, but Jesus comes to touch you and move you from fear to faith. How often do we need to hear those words 'Don't be afraid.' spoken with the confidence?
There are so many touches of Jesus in the bible, HEALING, COMFORT, INCLUSION, PROVISION.
But that's exactly what the touch of Jesus can bring to our lives when we need it.
As we will sing this Sunday, (a new song to most of you) ‘Because of Your Love.” The song states that because of God’s love we are forgiven and our hearts are clean. Allow Him to touch you and change your heart.I really look forward to gathering with you this Sunday, worshipping with you and our good friend Holger Fath on the guitar and our LFC singers and band and our special guest Pastor Jack Hayford. Come expecting the Lord’s touch. But don’t wait until Sunday. Go ahead and reach out to Jesus who is willing to touch us and waiting for our invitation. Come Sunday, ready to be touched but come having already been touched.
I love being your pastor and I love what God is doing in this season at LFC,
May we all be touched,
Pastor Bernie

God Is Our Shepherd - Today!

2008-07-08T20:01:00.000-07:00

Today I find myself listening for God’s voice and heart. Several times I have attempted to write my weekly piece and have been interrupted by various responsibilities and those “pop ups” that happen to all of each day. As I write our youth band is practicing for tonight’s youth service and their music and heart is getting to me. They love God authentically and simply and it moves my heart. But then again, whenever I see people using what God has given them and serving Him, it moves my heart. A few minutes ago, the youth band was leading the chorus, “Your Grace Is Enough.” I hear my Shepherd say that to me, and I hope somehow you can grasp that for your life and situation no matter what you are facing today or this week.
You may have heard the old story of the Christian gathering in the old country church. A gathering in which various members would display their talents to the congregation. Mr. Jones who had a very good Shakespearean voice recited Psalm 23 for the audience in its entirety. It was so good that everyone applauded. Then Smitty, an old farmer, was asked to do something for the audience. He initially refused saying that he had no talent and that the only thing he knew how to do was to recite Psalm 23 also but declined to do so because Mr. Jones had done such a great job before him. But he was pressed into doing it by the pastor. He began Psalm 23 and also related how it had comforted him when his wife had died. As he continued with, “He leads me beside quiet waters” he told the story of how a drought almost ruined him but God saw him through those dark times. Smitty related how he had wanted to give up his farm in desperation but Psalm 23 brought him instead to a place where he would “lie down in green pastures.” “These pastures” he said, allowed him trust in God and rest in His grace even in trying times. He went on and unfolded his long life before the audience and interwove it with the comfort he received from the Psalm. At the end of his recitation not a sound could be heard. Everyone was awed into silence. Finally, Mr. Jones said, “I may know the 23rd Psalm, but Smitty here knows the Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm and that makes all the difference in the world.”
So, I simply encourage you to trust God today, even now as you read this and know that God is your Shepherd who wants to be known by you.
Now if God is a Shepherd then we are his sheep and you know where I am going with that. Sheep are not the smartest animals. They are prey animals – in other words predatory animals hunt them for food. Sheep need a shepherd because they tend to go astray – like humans do at times.

We need the Shepherd to Guide us and we must Follow.

Dr. James Dobson told a story about how his father would take him into the woods and they would hide near a place where deer came to feed. When the deer came to feed they would be able to take pictures without the deer knowing. His father pointed out that because the deer is thinking it is safe eating that free food he is also vulnerable to hunters who could have brought guns instead of cameras. It is a lot like life – we could be moving into a trap set by the devil. So draw near the Shepherd instead.

We need to trust the Shepherd, especially when we become weak.

As the Bible says, “The Lord … knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust” (Ps. 103:14). In other words, He already knows our weaknesses so “… let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

We need to trust the Shepherd for our restoration.

“He restores my soul; and He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake” (Ps. 23:3). Often we do not want God to bother us. But God we need to remember that God searches for us to restore us. If we remain unrestored we are then vulnerable to the Devil. So let Him find you, call out to Him and let Him restore you.

We need to draw close to the Shepherd so that He can heal us.

I love this line, “You have anointed my head with oil; my cup overflows’ (Ps. 23:5). Always remember, “Jesus said … ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep … If anyone enters through Me, he will be saved …’” (John 10:7,9). Jesus is the shepherd of Psalm 23.
If you follow and let Jesus shepherd you, you will know goodness and loving kindness all your life and will live forever in Heaven. But the Lord asks us to trust Him especially when we are weak and even though we cannot see His purpose. He asks us to trust him in the “sweet and sour” times of life. We must remember that He searches for us in order to restore us not to hurt us. I sensed today, for me and possibly for you, that it would be good for you to remember you have a Shepherd who cares deeply about you. A Shepherd who lives with love and grace towards us. His love is extravagant and His grace is enough for you – right now.
I really need Him today, how about you? Let’s go to Him and allow Him to Shepherd us.
A fellow sheep,

Pastor Bernie Federmann

PS: I trust you will move forward in your journaling each day and to listen to what God might reveal to you through His word. Some on our team at LFC are posting their journal entries online and desire to share them with you. You can access them here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/ you can also learn more about the journaling process here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/how-to-journal/

Summertime: Time for Building Relationships

2008-07-01T17:58:00.000-07:00

The more we fall in love with God the more He fills our hearts and the more He fills our hearts the more we must move towards others. God made us to love us and created us with the capacity to give and receive love and to need love. There is a unique aspect to the church that can easily be missed. It is that fact that we are family, united by Christ, His body with many parts but one main goal. This summer is moving quickly and we have been intentional about our calendar and what we are offering our church family. I cannot urge you enough to make every effort to be with your church family, this Friday at Los Alamos Park and to simply avail yourself of opportunities there, this coming Sunday and the rest of the summer to build upon current relationships and to establish some new ones too. We have some great events too, in which you can serve with others and build relationships, the National Night Out (alongside our Police Department) and the Special Olympics Car Show. I can tell you that we will need additional hearts and hands for these events and I am hopeful people don’t assume we have all the help we need – truth is, we do not and we have had some key families and servants move away so we are hoping others will step up and fill in. The agenda, for sure, is to serve, but also to serve alongside and build up relationships. You have a place in the Body and without you we miss what God can bring through you. No one else can bring your contribution. You are unique and God made you that way. You are a part of the body of Christ – a part of LFC (if you attend here) and the part you play is vital to the health of our church (or the one you attend).
Every member has a function, a place in the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-21). It takes a while to find out what our place is in the local body but by testing the waters and stepping out and moving in a continuity of relationships allows for this to happen best. There are many who will encourage you, as you step out and as you find your place on a team, a Life Transformation Group, some community project or outreach we are working on, or even setting things up or cleaning up at the end.
On July 13th, we invite you to attend our Team LFC – it is open to all to come and check out the heartbeat of LFC and of Doing Church as a Team. Just thought I would plug it one more time! You see, the best thing to do is build relationships with others, to serve together, to open your heart to others who may need what you uniquely offer them.
Relationships aren’t built in the fifteen minutes shared over coffee or a brief greeting time in church or after Sunday morning service. A decision to get involved is your decision and we open our hearts and doors to you. Serving is an excellent way of getting to know people. It offers the chance of chatting, yet the focus is on a task, so that the burden of conversation doesn’t fall on one or the other person. Practice being a good listener; be interested in others, be open to making this summer a time for relationships. You will become stronger and so will all of us.
Let’s keep moving forward, becoming more united and ready to serve as a family,
Much Grace to you all,
Pastor Bernie

Transformed Lives

2008-06-10T19:00:00.001-07:00

Sunday was an exceptional day for us at LFC. Our worship time was touched by the grace and presence of God. All the songs we sang dovetailed into the theme of Jesus, Our Savior. I really loved leading the congregation and having such great hearts on our worship team. People who really "get it" when it comes to worshipping God - serving and not performing and enjoying God's presence while helping people to connect with Him. Singing along with Becca during, “My God, My Savior” was a great moment for me and watching the hands go up in adoration and surrender to God as people recognized that our Savior loves us and is alive was moving to say the least. As we started the worship time, I shared briefly how it is the heart of God that we become a grateful people. As you read the life of Jesus the encounters He had with people, it truly was His heart to leave them with a desire to be grateful. Disciples are people who are generous and grateful for all God has done for them. They are givers and give more than they ever take. They can be trusted with blessing others and helping people live transformed lives. Transformed people are grateful people. It was that gratitude we heard about this past Sunday night as we baptized 22 people in water. They spoke with gratitude of the grace that God had provided for them. Those who were water baptized this morning have demonstrated that for us. They shared publicly of their faith and love for Jesus and clearly identified themselves with Him in His life, death and resurrection. (Romans 6 – which we shared with them prior to the baptism time) They have given themselves, body, soul and spirit to Jesus. This visible was moving and their statements of the value of our church family in bringing them to a place of transformation was simply heart-moving. One person shared how they were saved here just three months ago, others had shared about their return to the Lord or their transformation as they have moved into recovery. If you haven’t been baptized in water yet, you may be feeling
the tug of the Spirit in your hearts, urging you to follow their example and publicly declare that you have given your heart to Jesus. We’re going to have another Baptismal Service in September.

As I listened to the brief statements made the other night during baptism, it was apparent that grace gave birth to gratitude. Gratitude comes from the same root word as grace. Grace is ‘charis’, gratitude is eucharistia. Right in the middle of GRATITUDE is GRACE. And I believe they are inseparable. Grace changes our hearts and it must find expression in our lives. The way we talk and the way we act must reflect that grace that has changed our lives. Grace compels us to be grateful: gratitude compels us to be generous: to give back, to give of ourselves, our time and our substance. It’s grace that changes our hearts and makes us people who are the kind of cheerful givers who God loves.
2 Corinthians 9:8
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (NIV)

God makes His grace abound to us so that we will be grateful and generous at all times and in every way possible.
Gratitude starts with the acknowledgement that we don’t actually deserve anything! Everything we have is a gift of God’s grace. As we invite God’s grace to move in our hearts, we are inviting His empowering presence to transform us, then gratitude rises up, and bubbles over. And the very best gifts come from a thankful heart. Keep allowing God to transform you and keep growing in your heart to be grateful. Several of you have asked about the words to the song we did this last Sunday, so I thought I would post them here for all to enjoy. The song is My God, My Savior and is written by Aaron Shust.
I am not skilled to understandWhat God has willed, what God has plannedI only know at His right handStands one who is my Savior
I take Him at His word and deedChrist died to save me; this I readAnd in my heart I find a needOf Him to be my savior
That He would leave His place on highAnd come for sinful man to dieYou count it strange, so once did IBefore I knew my Savior
My Savior loves, My Savior livesMy Savior's always there for meMy God: He was, my God; He isMy God is always gonna be
Yes, living, dying, let me bringMy strength, my solace from this spring;That He who lives to be my KingOnce died to be my Savior
That He would leave His place on highAnd come for sinful man to dieYou count it strange, so once did IBefore I knew my Savior
I trust you will move forward in your journaling each day and to listen to what God might reveal to you through His word. Some on our team at LFC are posting their journal entries online and desire to share them with you. You can access them here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/ you can also learn more about the journaling process here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/how-to-journal/
I love being your pastor and growing right along with you,
Pastor Bernie

Graduation and Commencement

2008-06-03T16:11:00.000-07:00

This is graduation week for the local schools around here and this past Sunday we honored fifteen graduates, publically during our third service. But something struck me today as I began to write this piece. It is that graduation celebrations speak both of accomplishment and commencement. Graduation is the culmination of effort, yet it is also transition to a new beginning. We stop and celebrate the learning and preparation for life. We recognize the graduates efforts and accomplishments and we realize these students at 17, 18 or 19 have learned more about life than just what showed on a GPA score. During these years of education there has also been much in the character development department. We may stop and wonder where the time has gone from our own graduation day and we may have regret when we see how far we could have gone or how little we moved towards our dreams and goals. John Piper has written a book entitled, “Don’t Waste Your Life.” In it he states: God created us to live with a single passion: to joyfully display his supreme excellence in all spheres of life. The wasted life is the life without this passion. God calls us to pray and think and dream and plan and work, not to be made much of, but to make much of him in every part of our lives. God’s call is to more than graduate from anything – it is the call to commence. Commencement reminds us, no matter what our age, learning does not end with graduation, for life continues to lead us through opportunities for learning and growth. More difficult to grade and score, it is the character of our living that will determine our successes in life.
Life is about much more than the amount of knowledge with which we fill our heads.
Life requires the wisdom of appropriate response to opportunities in front of us.
Life requires the ongoing pursuit of God’s will for our lives.Life requires the courage to respond correctly to the stresses of daily living.
Life must be met with the desire to move forward and not stay stuck!

Moving, responding well, pursuing God’s wisdom and will – that is commencement.

In The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy finds herself in need of direction. She is lost in a land she does not understand, amid creatures who do not behave as she expects. She desperately desires to return to the safety and comfort of home, but does not believe it is within her grasp. She places her energy into a journey to find the Wizard, who might send her on her way home. While the Wizard is unable to help, he does not tell her so. Only after facing various dangers is she to find that along with her friends, she has everything she needs in her own grasp. All they need has already been provided. The only thing they lack is the wisdom to recognize their gifting and accept their provision with confidence.
God has likewise gifted us with all that is necessary for full and meaningful living. God provides wisdom willingly and openly. God gives us the strength to move forward when we feel stuck or lost. God gives us His joy……go ahead and think of all the other things God provides for us so that we might commence in the direction He has called us to move into.
God in wisdom provides for all of our needs, even those things we believe we truly lack. Do we have the confidence to trust God’s wisdom to direct our lives? I pray that you will accept the wisdom God so provides, the courage He brings and the desire to glorify Him by moving forward. May we all graduate to the next thing God has for us and move towards becoming all He desires us to be.

Philippians 4:13
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God
has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

I trust you will move forward in your journaling each day and to listen to what God might reveal to you through His word. Some on our team at LFC are posting their journal entries online and desire to share them with you. You can access them here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/ you can also learn more about the journaling process here http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/2008/02/20/how-to-journal/

I love being your pastor and growing right along with you,
Pastor Bernie

Opportunities Abound

2008-05-27T17:50:00.000-07:00

This week I write with a caring and yet challenging heart. If you have been around the local church any length of time you have heard leaders present challenges to people as needs – like saying “we need you to sign up,” or “you are needed to serve on our team.” But the real issue is opportunity. What I mean is that we present as many opportunities for people in our church to use their gifts and talents, build relationships and connect to what we believe is a compelling vision. I can tell you that we have many great opportunities for each one of you and what you choose to do with them is entirely up to you. We pray, we invite, we bring and we include – that is our summons as a church. But we never force people to come, or to step up or to serve. Not long ago, I was in Starbucks and heard a woman inviting her friend to church with her. I was a bit excited by what I heard, after all, I love the local church and expanding the kingdom. But what I heard next was not someone seizing an opportunity but someone doing the work of a proselyte. You see, this person was already connected with a church, but was being pressured to leave her church to go to the church of the woman making the impassioned plea. While this person was spending so much time and energy attempting to pressure her friend to leave her church for this other place of worship, I began to think of all the people that had no church and may have welcomed a heart-felt invitation. These “opportunities” were being missed by this person because they came with one goal and agenda in mind. This story could easily fit many preconceived notions of what opportunity will look like for you. It may be that you set out to do one thing and in the process find another thing with a more compelling vision for you. Like a woman who stated; “I simply made myself available to this ministry team and then realized that two of the ladies on the team would become dear friends and sisters with whom I could open my life and encourage.” For this woman, it was in taking the opportunity to serve that she saw another opportunity to build relationships. One door opened another. We can all be honest and confess that we have missed opportunities. We have wasted relationships that could have been built, wasted years running from God and have missed opportunity after opportunity to grow closer to Jesus. Some have missed the opportunity to become the Christian man or woman that God wants them to be.The lesson for us is to treasure every moment; make the most of every moment and don’t miss your opportunities. I could list all the opportunities we have for you at our church and into our community and could remind you of all the opportunities you have with your family and friends. I could also list serving opportunities, sharing opportunities or educational opportunities, but what I will do instead is ask a couple of questions and share some scriptures:

Today, have you missed opportunities with God? Did you spend some time with Him today? Did you take time to read His word and journal today?

Are you making the most of the opportunities in front of you?

Are you making the most of the relationships God has given you?

What opportunities to be the heart, hands, feet and mouth of Jesus are right in front of me?

Who can I be of help to in mentoring?

Who needs me to be the answer to their prayer and the opportunity they are looking for?

God is calling on you and me to seize this moment and seize every opportunity we have to grow closer to God. If you have missed opportunities it is not too late to grab one now – change your heart and mindset and focus on what you believe God could be saying in regards to a relationship, open door, serving and giving opportunity and more. As you pray ask God to help you. Tell Him, now Lord, this very moment I want to seize my opportunities with you and for you and with others for you. I want to see what has prevented me from serving you like I should and I want to commit before you that I will not let anything stand in my way of seizing the moment and the opportunity for you. God and this church family that I am not going to let those things stand in the way again.

Galatians 6:10Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

Ephesians 5:16making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

Colossians 4:5Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity.(all verses taken from NIV)

A legend on an old sundial reads:
Look on the day-star moving Life and time are worth improving;
Seize the moments while they stray,
Seize and use them Lest ye lose them
And lament the wasted day.
Leading by following,

Pastor Bernie

Living God's Will

2008-05-20T18:16:00.000-07:00

Last night I spent some time riding along with one of our Lompoc Police Officers who attends our church. It was great riding with him and dealing with issues that we were called to handle. It is a busy city even on a Monday night. While we road, he mentioned Sunday’s service and two things that stood out to him. First, we dedicated his son, Ryan to the Lord, as it was baby/ child dedication day. We dedicated 15 little ones that day. Second, he spoke about the guardrails that God has given us in regard to our lives and knowing God’s will. He really understood the value and the picture language of God giving us guidance by providing the guardrails of His will. I had many positive comments about the theme: God's Will. People stated, I really need to discover God's Will. One man said: "Pastor Bernie, are you reading my mind? I have been asking God to teach me about learning and discerning His will." Well, I am not a mind reader but I do pray and listen to God's heart and listen to the hearts of the people at LFC. As we started on our brand new series: Discovering God’s Will, we shared about the Providential and Moral will of God. What we do is live within the guardrails of God’s known will. We know there are some things He does because He is God and with or without us, He will do them. Life works best when we move forward embracing His Providential will for our own lives. For example: We know that God wants us to love Him and love others. We don’t need to pray about it but rather just live it. Just love God and loves others every chance we get and deny ourselves. We don’t need to pray about sharing our faith and being salt and light in this world. God has already providentially established that as a part of His will for those who become a part of His family. God longs for us to be at a place where we say: ‘Lord, I don’t care what you reveal to me, the answer from my perspective is Yes Lord.’
Remember this: Amazing things happen on the other side of ‘Yes.’
When you and I get to a place where we are willing and obedient and God, He desires to share His will with us. It is essential to remember:
God does not give us direction for consideration but for participation.
So when we live inside the guardrail of Providential will and the Moral will of God we begin to perceive the Personal will of God. The Moral will is one we can begin to live out without much thought or prayer. Just do it Right! Just live Right! We don’t need to hold an all night prayer vigil to discern if God wants us to love others, that is Providential or to discern if we should lie or not, that is Moral.
As we live with a heart to trust God fully He has made an incredible promise to us of leading us in His way.
Proverbs 3: 5 & 6
Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (NKJ)
Trust in the Lord with all your heart (intellect, emotion and will) and do not trust in yourself – don’t lean on what you know or understand, but lean on God. The problem here is that some of you are very capable, intelligent, strategist, and process thinkers. What you have is a problem. The reason, your capability may tell you that you can do it – accomplish it and make it. Well, there are some things you can do but you and I can do nothing without the heart of God and His empowering.
As we trust and acknowledge Him, He will direct our paths. What a promise!
This direction comes out of us doing what God has already told us to do. It flows out of us living our lives based on His Providential and Moral will. As I do all I know to do in all God has taught me so far, then He will direct my path.
Phillip Yancey has said it best:
I do not get to know God, then do His will; I get to know Him by doing His will. (Reaching for the Invisible God.)
May we all trust in Him more and more and do that which we know is His heart.
Leading by following,
Pastor Bernie

LFC - His Church - Living Heart-First

2008-05-14T18:35:00.000-07:00

Our building expansion is coming to the final stretches of finish, fix-its, adjustments and soon our final permits will be in hand. This has been a longer than anticipated journey, but well worth it. I marvel at seeing our congregation have some elbow room and that our future has some "room for growth too. Sunday was an amazing day and we honored our Moms and thanked them for giving us birth and we celebrated in worship, thanking God that He gave the church its birth - as it was Pentecost Sunday - the birth of the Lord's church during a worship service.
Last night was buzzing around LFC with our elevate youth ministries going on while our church council was meeting. It was great to see our fine youth leadership team move into action and then to have opportunity to sit with some incredible people (our church council) that help me lead and guide this church all the while making great financial decisions. This group of supporting people and the awesome team that serve Sunday after Sunday and week after week, made me think of a recent scripture reading and journal entry I made. But before I share that, let me simply say, how grateful I am that LFC is the church it is and the church it is becoming. We are moving forward with God's heart in us and we are more and more becoming His church. To that end let me encourage you to make sure you attend your LFC Connections when it comes around. These have been highly successful times of low-pressure fellowship and the building of relationships. Also, we continue to promote our Life Transformation Groups - our small group ministries here at LFC. These have proven to be vital aspects of health building to our church. It is up to you to decide if growing in relationships with others at our church is important or not. We do all we can to provide a variety of connecting points with you in mind and your heart and health too.
May you realize the value you have in my heart and that of the church and may you join me in applauding our servants!
Scripture
"All these were fighting men who volunteered to serve in the ranks. They came to Hebron fully determined to make David king over all Israel. All the rest of the Israelites were also of one mind to make David king." (1 Chronicles 12:38)
Observation
These warriors were from various tribes of Israel, and had different backgrounds and cultures, but they gave themselves to a common cause and hope. They came to serve their king and leader – David, but ultimately knew they were serving the purposes of God. The support David received was amazing as thousands upon thousands came and voted for David as king. Their votes were cast with the willingness to do more than applaud but to serve with their time, talent and treasures. They gave their skills and lived heart-first. How true this is of our servants who in a sense war to move our church forward. Team LFC is a group of warriors with a heart to give themselves not only to the community and fellowship but to the cause. The characteristics and heart of our servants is incredible! From our staff, to our church council, to our youth team and our children’s team and on and on. Simple amazing. Hundreds of valuable servants give of themselves to serve Jesus our King, and provide support for me to pastor and lead the church under God’s mighty hand of leadership.

Application
I am overwhelmed with a great sense of gratitude for God's work in my heart and a great sense of gratitude for the willingness of gracious servants. May I never take for granted, the work of God in the hearts of others to serve Him – may I always recognize those who live with a brave sense of loyalty, courage, and giving as volunteer warriors.Although I'm on staff, being paid as a pastor, I never want to lose the heart of willingly volunteering unto the Lord both inside and outside the church. It's not the pay that motivates me - it's the understanding of my call to serve Jesus with others. I continue to cast my vote, to make Jesus King of my life and serve side by side with others at Lompoc Foursquare Church and into our community at large. As I volunteer to serve in the ranks of God's army! I commit to advancing your Kingdom's purposes with my fellow soldiers!

Prayer
Dear King and Leader, Jesus! Thank you for allowing me to serve you and receiving my service. Thanks for the wonderful people who serve along side me to make an eternal difference. May you add more to our ranks and build us up with hearts to encourage those who war well, those who are weary from war and those just beginning to join the troops. May we continue to be faithful to You and our fellow warriors in Your Kingdom.Amen

I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie

Risk Taking to Transform Lives

2008-05-06T19:39:00.001-07:00

This is a great and exciting season at LFC and May will be a great month. I am excited about upcoming water baptisms (and our new water heating system) child dedications, collecting food items for our food pantry and most of all seeing lives transformed. As I met with our servants team, 'Team LFC' this past Sunday night, our worship team, communication time, teaching time and break-out sessions were graced with God's presence and power. In my message I challenged (with the help of four incredible video clips) our team, to risk, to invite and include others to use their gifts and to be willing to make room for people to serve on their team. Sometimes our fear speaks to us, doesn't it? It says, 'Do not go beyond this point!' You are locked in and cannot do more, serve, give, share your faith. It will be dangerous to you. But moving beyond the point we are at is not as risky or dangerous as we think. It can be very rewarding. It takes faith to move, to share, to tithe generously, to invite others. Faith is not only courageous but contagious. A dear friend of mine says: "People want to join to team when the team 'gets it' and has momentum and is excited about what they are doing." They went onto say: "What teaming does is provides an opportunity for people to discover their gifts and the joy of serving and impacting others." My friend is right, and they know what I have discovered. There is incredible joy in serving others and watching lives transformed. There is incredible joy in being a part of a compelling vision to personally and corporately become more than we have ever been.
This past Sunday, while Paul Hamlin was teaching, I had opportunity to visit all our children's classrooms following my time leading the worship. What I discovered is that we have a great group of dedicated servants, who 'get it' and see the value and joy in impacting others. What I also discovered is that we need an additional 27 servants each Sunday AM to cover Children's Ministries for our three services. This coupled with an additional 24 nursery workers will help us to bolster our Children's Ministries program. Is it too much to ask a church of our size for 51 additional servants? I don't think so. I am praying for a tenacious heart to be released in our people and a willingness to see the lost and hurting as a valuable investment. I pray that for any of you reading this.
This past Sunday night I encouraged our Team and I encourage you to "get after it." As the Psalmist shared:
Psalm 63:8 My soul followeth hard after thee: thy right hand upholdeth me. (KJV)
Since 1940, people coming to the then called, "Church by the Side of the Road", a small building, a small group of faith-filled, risk-takers, – pioneers, who prayed, gave, sacrificed, purchased our first piece of property and built the original sanctuary. They were following hard after God and His purposes for their lives and this church. Little did they know that we would one day tear the building they built and build the one we have now. Little did they fathom that we would be having three services. Little did they dream, that the building we would build would need to later be expanded. But what they did, and how they did it set the tone and culture for who we are today and we can never loose that. They were dreamers and visionaries, risk takers and servants. We serve a wonderful God who has been faithful to the people who gathered right on this property and additional properties we have purchased. From then to now, roll the clock forward, here we are and God has been faithful!
Go ahead and dream of LFC in ten years, twenty years, thirty years – I will be eighty-one years old, okay stop that dream. But what will be constant to our growth and impact will be prayer, giving, serving and dedication that all flow out of following hard after God and the commensurate risk-taking. How many lives will be changed with the passing of each decade and what are we willing to give, endure and sacrifice to see this happen? Those early pioneers gave it all, they prayed, believed, served. They were risk takers and innovators and we know that same heart has brought us to this place right now.Transformed lives: I think of Saul – one who hunted down Christians and then gives the rest of his life to the Church, planting churches and preaching the good news.I think of Peter, who denied the Lord in the most critical of moments and then later the Lord said, I will build my church with people that 'get it' and know who I am. It is the story of transformed children, youth, adults. It is the face of joy in a sad life and the heart of joy in someone who made a friend at LFC either after a service or through our very successful LFC Connection fellowships. The Church is the redemptive and transformational hope of the world. It is the God anointed means by which the lost are found, the hurting are healed and the marginalized are brought into fellowship, lonely and confused people – finding His love. It is the connection point for others to discover and use their gifts - gifts and talents that sometime have been dormant for years. Now is the time to connect deep to our roots and join in a heart and spirit that was possessed by the pioneers of this place. Jesus said it best.Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."(New International Version)We need to keep on doing what Jesus did – seeking and saving the lost. Let's keep transforming lives whatever it takes.
Committed to transformation,
Pastor Bernie

Joyful- No Matter What

2008-04-29T16:09:00.000-07:00

I am hearing many great reports from people who have been a part of our LFC CONNECTIONS. They have begun to see the value of participating in this simple and new way of building new relationships and connecting with old friends from LFC. If you have missed out, please look for your group meeting again soon. If you have not met yet, your group may be coming up, so check our website and bulletin for upcoming gatherings for your group. As I think back on this past Sunday, it really was a great day for us at LFC. During the evening I was privileged to share in a dessert gathering honoring our Children’s Ministries servants and briefly speak to them. These wonderful people, step up and out and do such a great job, covering three services every Sunday and really touching the hearts of young people with the love of God and His transforming truth.
In our am services, we enjoyed being together and it showed! I love to hear people worship the Lord and there was a great sense of worship in our gathering. The new song: “Amazing Grace” – my chains are gone, I’ve been set free…” was very moving, especially with the elements of communion in our hands. There, in that setting, praises, people with smiles, the warm weather all made it easy to be joyful. But how is your joy today?
Psalm 100 reminds us: To make joyful noise. It actually commands us to be thankful before our God. To sing and have a good SONG going on no matter what is happening. This morning, I was a guest lecturer at Allan Hancock and had the joy of speaking to the speech class. As I drove from the church to the campus, I thought quickly about all the reasons I have to be joyful today. One of which was what I was about to do – speak to students about speaking. A pastor on a Junior College Campus and speaking to students. It really went well and I could have easily viewed it as something “else” that was on the schedule and missed to moment of joy that it really was. Part of the key to Psalm 100 is; Verse 3 Know that the LORD, He is God! It is He who made us, and we are His; we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture. This is our call and our basis for joy. He is God and not you. He is God and we are His people and the sheep that follow Him in His pasture. Today is not all about you and you are not responsible for all of today. It is about God and He alone is responsible for all that happens. We follow and He leads, He carries and we walk with Him. This is the heart of joy. If we miss knowing that God is in control, our joy is diminished. If we miss KNOWING who God is, we miss it all. There can be no true joyful and thankful worship until we know that the One we worship is God - the perfect, holy, sovereign, eternal, omnipresent, omnipotent, omniscient, loving, merciful, gracious, condescending and patient God. Knowledge of such a God will produce a thankful and joyful heart and noise. The word "know" implies usage of our mind to "see" God in His physical creation, in His working in man's lives and in His revelation of Himself in the Bible. It implies we are looking for His presence and not His absence. It implies we are taking note of what He is doing all day long, so that we can simply have fuel for our joy. God who created man with tremendous thinking abilities does not desire unthinking worshippers. He calls us to think and to know and to have joy. Jesus was emphatically clear that the source of a joyful spirit is found by abiding in Him and living one's life for the pleasure of God, our Creator and Redeemer. He repeatedly emphasized that joy is not found in the material things that we possess, but in the things that pertain to God – in knowing God. The world says that joy can be found through a change in circumstances: take a vacation, earn more money, spend more money, or save more money. Or even more popular today is the thought that we should resolve to change ourselves or our circumstances to become happier. Self-help books abound that suggest how we can discover our "new selves" and become more enlightened. Jesus had a different formula for joy. He said, "These things I have spoken unto you that your joy might be full." He was talking about becoming fruitful disciples by abiding in Him as branches abide on a vine. Jesus made it clear that fruitfulness and joy in the Christian life go together. The source of this life is our Lord and Christ. Fruit is the product of what God does in and through us, and experiencing ourselves as channels through which the love and grace and compassion of Jesus flows is a source of tremendous joy. May you see God this week everywhere you look and may it cause you to be joyful.
Be joyful – go ahead and make a joyful noise, Pastor Bernie

Listen To Others

2008-04-02T19:54:00.000-07:00

We listen because we love. Paul Tillich writes, “The first duty of love is to listen,” and yet how rare it is to have anyone listen to us, even in the church. But you and I know that the church is to be marked by love. Ministries spend thousands of dollars and work long hours trying to convince people to listen to them. Our seminaries, colleges, and churches teach how to preach and sometimes even how to lead, but they do not do the best job of teaching us how to listen. A few years ago, I attended a two day – very intensive conference on Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. In it, we did role playing and practiced the art of listening for the pain, the hurt, the question, the difficulty in the comments of others. Recently I lead a session in which people who responded to a traumatic and horrific scene sat and talked about what they had witnessed and the difficulties they had with processing it all. The key here was to listen well and hear more than what was being said. Sometimes listening well to what is not being said opens the doors for great ministry, prayer, and potential evangelism opportunities. Listen with an open mind and heart and not just for information or waiting your turn to speak, but to really listen.
The challenge of listening is that it requires a relationship, whereas preaching, teaching, and programs can be done in various non-personal ways. Jesus and Paul both serve as role models of how kingdom ministry should be done relationally. Jesus lived among His followers for thirty months and called them His friends. Paul loved the disciples at Thessalonica so much that he shared not only the gospel with them but his life as well (1 Thessalonians 2:8). A great question for us is: “Who are we really relational with and who do we listen too?”
Listening is one of the first skills we must learn. If we are in small groups, Life Transformation groups or any type of accountability group it is important that we listen well and learn the stories of others. Our aim in listening is to join in the Lord’s purpose for those we are connecting with and to hear where we might encourage them or pray for them. As with parenting, we can do lots of talking and telling, but listening to the dreams, fears, hurts and pain of our children opens the door for much ministry to take place.
Someone recently shared with me that they were intimidated by having me listen to them. Now they were not intimidated by me – but rather by the art of listening. It really got to them, since so few people ever took the time to listen to them. By asking them, “how they were really doing, or how something really made them feel?” they felt open to respond but yet intimidated. So few people genuinely listen or genuinely desire to know how someone is doing.
James 1:19 tells us: My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,
Here are some keys that might assist you in listening:
1. Pay Attention
This truth seems obvious but with all the distractions it can be tough. If you really want to be a good listener, force yourself to pay attention to the speaker.
2. Listen for the Whole Message
This includes looking for meaning and consistency, or congruence, in both the speaker's verbal and nonverbal messages and listening for ideas, feelings, and intentions, as well as facts. Don’t cut someone off (this is so hard) and don’t just hear the pieces you want to hear. Again, listen for all that is being said and what is not said at all.
3. Hear Before Evaluating
Listen to what someone says without drawing a premature conclusion--suspend judgment while the other is talking. By questioning the speaker in a non-accusing manner, rather than giving advice or opinion, a listener can often discover exactly what the speaker has in mind--which may be quite different from what you assumed.
4. Paraphrase What Was Heard
Paraphrasing the speaker's words, and asking if that is what was meant, goes a long way to keeping communications open and interpretations correct. If you are uncertain about the meaning or intent behind the speaker's words, put the onus upon yourself to clarify, rather than waiting and hoping that the speaker will do that for you.
5. Is there anything else I should know?
What else would you like to tell me? This statement is a gold mine.
Identify your own poor listening habits – the times you jump in, make comparisons or do as someone recently did to me – doodle on paper the whole time I am talking. If you identify areas in which you listen poorly, you can begin to make an effort to change them.
Someone has said that, “That God made us capable of shutting our eyes and our mouths but not our ears.” So let us listen to what others have to say and most of all to God – he that has ears….let him hear.
Thanks for listening.
I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie Federmann

PS: Also, don't miss out on the LFC STAFF JOURNALING BLOG.
Our Staff Journaling Blog:http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/
You can read some of the journaling of our LFC staff members at this site above. It gets updated several times per week, so check back often or add it to your RSS feed list.

Amazing Grace - Amazing Easter

2008-03-25T19:50:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I had so many emotions going! The realization of the Lord’s love for me, the dedication of committed people who have given themselves to serve so willingly, the hard work and above all the presence of the Lord. In all four services we saw many first time guests and we had the joy of seeing 41 people come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior. It was a huge time for us. We’ve been doing multiple services for quite some time now at Lompoc Foursquare Church, and the one thing we fully understand is that you cannot do this, any of this, without a lot of servants. We are so blessed here with a phenomenal core of people who serve the Lord and so many others who joined in to help with everything from the incredible “much more than continental breakfast” to parking cars, running cameras, singing in the choir, dancing with the dance team, playing on the worship team, being a part of the drama (both live and recorded video) and helping with the kids tent and much more. As one of our servants said: “Pastor Bernie, each time a hand goes up to say ‘Yes’ to Jesus, I feel that what I do in serving has a part in that decision.” You know what? They are absolutely right. When we are serving the Lord together, we are workers in the harvest and making an eternal difference. Thanks to all who prayed, served, invited family and friends, you helped open the door (figuratively and literally) for people to meet Jesus. You also opened the door for many to get better acquainted with Jesus. Again, the many new faces we saw were simply amazing. They will, as we always do get a thank you letter, a response card and an invitation to come again, as we launch a new series, this Sunday: The Gap: Living in the Gap when God seems distant. Another thing I was reminded of on Easter was that each service brings with it a unique sense of God’s presence and a different opportunity for an encounter with Jesus Christ. Different moments in different services had different reactions or a different touch from God. At each service, I looked out and realized that although we sang the same songs and I preached the same messages, God did a totally unique work in lives. It is that way because God knows the uniqueness of the lives that are in each service. All kinds of people from all kinds of backgrounds will all kinds of needs. Some really seeking God, some came to watch a family member or friend sing in the choir or dance. But God did something in each of them. Even though some did not respond to salvation today, they are one step closer to Him and were confronted once again with His presence and the power of love flowing through the people of LFC. I am so grateful to all of you. I believe in all that we did, we allowed God to have His way and for anyone who wanted to step up and serve, to do just that. I believe more than 41 were transformed in some way and as hearts were and will surrender to Jesus that eternities will changed.What a weekend for LFC and a great few days for the Kingdom all over the world and what a privilege to be just a small part of what God is doing! Now, I understand that many did much, and some of you have yet to step up and serve. I felt compelled to end our each of our four Easter services with a simple statement of servanthood. I stated: “It took so many people to serve you, to feed you, to provide all you saw here…….and my challenge to you, is that you too would find a place to serve, here at LFC, or at a school, or the hospital or convalescent center or…..but find a place to serve. Since Good Friday and Easter are all about a Savior who gave and served, we too are most like Him when we do the very same thing – serve.” If you are reading this and have not yet found a place of service, we really need you and we commit to helping you find your way and encouraging you in the process – no pressure from us and now excuses from you, just step in and go for it. As a church, we need to be constantly improving, always asking ourselves “What can I do to better myself?” Someone asked, “Pastor Bernie, I think we have done so much, when will you be satisfied?” I thought for a moment and responded, “I will be satisfied when everyone in Lompoc, and our surrounding county areas, those at Vandenberg are all saved, and all those attending LFC are serving!” A tall order and a huge dream, but I say we go for it. Once you reach a place and think it’s static, you’re obsolete. The world will go right by you. Let’s keep going for it. Thanks LFC for the type of church you are and for letting me be your pastor, even one who is banging on the drums on Easter for the King. Let’s keep going for it and seeing lives changed and people find value by living, loving and serving in the context of this local church – LFC. It’s all about Him and all for His glory.
I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie Federmann

PS: Also, don't miss out on the LFC STAFF BLOG.
Our Staff Journaling Blog:http://lfchurch.wordpress.com/
You can read some of the journaling of our LFC staff members at this site above. It gets updated several times per week, so check back often or add it to your RSS feed list.

Remaining a Life Long Learner

2008-03-19T16:49:00.000-07:00

Scripture:
Deuteronomy 32: 1 - 7
Listen, O heavens, and I will speak; hear, O earth, the words of my mouth. Let my teaching fall like rain and my words descend like dew, like showers on new grass,like abundant rain on tender plants. I will proclaim the name of the LORD.Oh, praise the greatness of our God! He is the Rock, his works are perfect,and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he. They have acted corruptly toward him; to their shame they are no longer his children,but a warped and crooked generation. Is this the way you repay the LORD, O foolish and unwise people? Is he not your Father, your Creator, who made you and formed you? Remember the days of old; consider the generations long past. Ask your father and he will tell you, your elders, and they will explain to you. (NIV)
Observation:
God’s way is perfect and His life is stable like a Rock. Rock is more than a name, it denotes the character of God Himself. He is faithful in all He does and never has been or will be wrong. He is the master teacher and life goes best when we follow Him. In this Psalm we see how easy it is to disregard His teachings and believe we know best. We can follow the “warped and crooked generation” and move away from wisdom and become foolish. It is easy to do. But it is up to us to keep an open, teachable heart and always be a student.
Application:
Whenever we loose our way, we must take a look at God once again. Not only is He a Rock, but He is also a Father and desires us to be His children. Children He can teach and train in His ways. He is the Creator and desires that we remember He formed us and that we are the creature. This passage calls us to remember the days of old – to consider what God has done in generations before us. We are not the only ones who have ever been or ever will be. We need to seek out those who have gone before us, both biblical (historical) and those in our lives (present). We need to learn from these “divine mentors” God has placed in our lives and allowed their stories through the bible to be told and retold to us. Others have walked where we are about to walk. The problem is not that the truth is hard to uncover or that there is a lack of wise guidance. The problem is that we are not always willing to be students, and learn from others. We are not always willing to be life-long learners.

Where can I learn today from someone else?
Where have I forgotten the “rockness” or my God?
Where have I ceased learning and growing?
Who can I ask to show me the terrain up ahead, since they have already walked it?

Prayer:
Dear Lord, show me the areas that I am not seeking wisdom and truth. Reveal the areas in which I am allowing the warped and crooked to have place in my mind and heart. Give me the courage to run to you and seek your face and your truth. I will grow Lord and I will remain and learner in all things. In Jesus Name, Amen

Worshipping Other Gods or Diluting Your Worship of the True God.

2008-03-11T20:06:00.000-07:00

Make it glorious - Make it wonderful
Make it excellent - The praises of our King
Make it glorious Make it wonderful
The praises of our King
Make it passionate - Given from our hearts
Sing praises to our King
Make it excellent - Make it beautiful
The praises of our King - Let Him hear how much, we really thank Him
Sing praises to our King
Shout with joy, To our God
All the earth, Give glory to His Name
He deserves nothing less Than our hearts and souls
Our very best. Make it Glorious, Tommy Walker

Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 6: 21 & 22 ; Deuteronomy 17:1 Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar you build to the LORD your God, and do not erect a sacred stone, for these the LORD your God hates.
Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him.

Observations:
God wants to be worshipped and not along with others but exclusively. We know God is a jealous God and as Isaiah prophesied:
"I am the Lord; that is My name! I will not give My glory to another or My praise to idols." (Isaiah 42:8) Now while we may not blatantly worship other Gods we can, if not careful, place other things as our focus either in front of Him or right next to Him.
Moses and the Israelites lived in a polytheistic world, a world where most cultures believed in many gods. They looked at the powers of nature and attributed individual powers to individual gods, such as storm gods, sun gods, earth gods, crop gods, etc. The truth about the one God was known in their hearts, but that truth was pushed aside because of selfishness and sin. (Romans 1:20) The truth is, the sinful heart does not want to bow to the one, true God. The selfish heart has other focuses and plans rather than God and His ways.
The Israelites had left Egypt and were on their way to the Promised Land of Canaan. God warned the Israelites about Canaan. He warned them about the competition they would find there for the loyalty of their hearts. Deuteronomy 11:16: “Be careful, or you will be enticed to turn away and worship other gods and bow down to them.”

Application:
“Do not set up any wooden Asherah pole beside the altar for the Lord.” Don’t let anything else take up space that is reserved for God. Some of the enticement is the allure of other Gods but quite often it is the allure of other things. It is getting caught up in things that may even be connected to God – like being busy working or serving in ministry while missing the one we are called to minister to. Like being so busy in life you forget the giver of life. It is also possible (Deut. 17:10) to give God our left-overs or residue religion, yet this is not what He desires. Some may feel God wants our best because He feels He deserves our best. While this is true, God wants our best, not only for what it provides Him but all the more for what it builds in us. You see when we give God our sacrifices, our time, talents and treasures and not try to skimp or bargain with Him on it, we build some great things in our lives. As we give God our best, He is praised. It is like an accomplished piano player who is able of playing a piece of music with great expertise and choosing to play with only one hand (not both) and only ½ the song. When the conclusion to their piece comes and they stand for applause there will most certainly be disappointment in the hearts of the audience. God is disappointed when I have more to give Him and withhold it – God is disappointed when other things crowd out His will and purpose for my life. God is disappointed when I don’t give Him my best so that He might release His best into my heart. Putting God first builds huge capacity for His blessings and character to become a part of the fabric of my life.

Prayer:
Dear Lord, Help me to order my time and my days with you first in all things and as the key to my life. Let me give you my first and best rather than what is leftover. You deserve my very best. In Jesus Name, Amen.

What do we Value?

2008-03-05T10:49:00.000-08:00

Jesus was clear:
We put our heart into what we value. So I think it is a good theme the Lord nudged me with today – value.
As I looked up the word it listed references to mathematics, standards, economics, theory, law, character and more. But as I thought and prayed the value of time, money, sharing our faith and being a loving person rose to the top of my heart.
We all know what God values more than anything else. God loves people more than anything, He has given believers the task of sharing the gospel.
Acts 4:12 “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.”
We also know that God loves when we follow His values.
Micah 6:8 "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"These are the values of God. We are much closer to the heart of God when these three values are on our hearts. God values our lives being a public demonstration of His valuable work in us. What God requires of us is not closet spirituality, but public spirituality.
God requires that we do justice.
Here is our work. Our God is just, and therefore his people must be just and work for justice. Talking about it is not enough. Loving it is not what he requires. He demands that we “do” justice.
God requires us to love mercy.
For some mercy is not even a part of their vocabulary. As if the only mercy to exist in the world is God’s to them personally, and everyone else is judged. Telling someone they “deserve what they are getting” is amazing when we want God’s mercy to keep from us what we deserve. It is very possible to give mercy and not really value it. When we are reluctant to extend mercy we are not valuing it as God does. God does not value the actions of a man when his heart is not in it. To love mercy means we have the heart of God, desire to reflect his glory and bless our neighbor.
God requires that we value being humble with Him.
God can move to and through a humble heart while He rejects those who value self above Him and above others. I was praying for our church today and thinking of the value of the people God has allowed us to come to know, share truth with and serve alongside. We have some amazing people and if you take time to get to know them you will see the value in them. Jesus encourages us to be cautious as to what we value. He says:
Matthew 6:21 "Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being." When Jesus spoke of our "heavenly Father," he contrasted the power and presence of God in our lives with our own fears and anxieties. He told us, do not be anxious saying "What shall we eat?" or "What shall we drink?" or "What shall we wear?" ...your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well. (Matthew 6: 28 – 34)
Do not be anxious. Do not be afraid. You are already citizens of the kingdom of your heavenly Father.
Jesus spoke directly to our fears of not having enough to live on, and He spoke right to our value system. We often hear that, Home is where the heart is….and I would add your from what Jesus has spoken, your treasure (what you value) is your home.
What do you value most in life? That's an easy question to ask but a hard one to answer. To answer it truthfully, to discern clearly what matters most to you in life, would require a serious effort of personal inventory. As we continue to complete our sanctuary expansion and move into our multi-purpose building, it is clear what we value. We value space for people to congregate, worship, learn, share, grow, have their needs met and more. We have built these facilities because we value together giving to the Lord’s work. People have taken the finances which they value and released them – our council and leadership have taken the time to pray over them and spend them wisely to allow there to be enough to invest not just in now but in future.
You may need to take some time out from your everyday routine to take stock of what you treasure most of all. What do you value most in life? Where is your greatest treasure?
If you're like me, you probably don't have time to think of that very often. You're too busy just living. But if you had the time to take stock of your life, how would you answer that question about your greatest treasure? What matters most to you? Where does your heart live? What do you believe most deeply?
Take a moment to ask God to help you discern what you value most.
I am praying for you,
Pastor Bernie

Pastor Bernie Federmann speaks at One of Americas Premiere Churches

2008-02-27T12:06:00.001-08:00

Pastor Bernie had the privilege of being invited to speak at New Hope Christian Fellowship O'ahu this last weekend. New Hope Christian Fellowship is a Foursquare church with over 11,800 attendees. With there main location at Farrington High School, in Honolulu and other campuses around the island (such as Waianae, Leeward, Hawaii Kai, Honolulu and Diamond Head) this church is impacting many lives and hearts. Pastor Bernie shared at all five service times this weekend, his message was entitled "Loving out Loud - Turn up the Volume". This message is available online for the next few weeks and is currently featured on the main page of the churches website. Pastor Bernie stated: "What an honor to be invited to speak to this wonderful church and to spend face to face time with my dear friend, Pastor Wayne. I am honored and humbled." During pastor Bernie's sermon he gave an invitation to those wanting to say "Yes to Jesus for the first time and many responded! While there, Pastor Bernie was able to not only speak to large numbers of people live but via the live internet stream as well. One of his favorite things was to, as Pastor Bernie puts it; "love on the servants and encourage the staff and team." This was the second time for Pastor Bernie to speak at New Hope, an honor he had two years ago. The reason for Pastor Wayne to be gone was that he was speaking in India to over 1000 pastors.
If you are not familiar with Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, he is the senior pastor of New Hope Christian Fellowship O'ahu and president of Pacific Rim Bible College. As well, Pastor Wayne is one of the worlds most sought after leaders and a prolific writer. We have been fortunate to have him visit us in Lompoc and speak to both our leaders and congregation. In the near future, and as his schedule permits, Pastor Wayne has committed to being with us again for the fourth time.
As we watched the live service; Pastor Bernie was introduced as having a church with the same "spirit and heart" as New Hope and being a dear friend of Pastor Wayne and associate pastor, Elwin Ahu. LFC has the same heart and DNA and it is underscored by the core value shared by both churches: "doing church as a team" as God's design for effective ministry.
After flying in on Thursday, Pastor Bernie had the honor of speaking and encouraging a group of ministry interns and bible college students, on Friday, teaching on the "Power of Staying" and Saturday shared a message with the Men's Ministry group.
We are grateful Pastor Bernie is back from his quick trip to O’ahu and will be with us and leading us in worship this Sunday. What a great joy to hear from Colonel Bob Gibson, a member of our church council and servants team, who spoke to us on the truth of the Gospel - "The Gospel in a Nutshell." His message is available from our resource tent on CD or DVD or you can contact the church office for more information. Below you will find some links on Pastor Bernie's message from New Hope.
As we think about our pastor and Bob Gibson, we realize God is using them, but He desires to use each of us. Where are you making room for Him to use you? Where are you stepping up and out?
Click this link to hear Pastor Bernie's sermon
Click this link to share in what the family at New Hope heard this Sunday in the written weekly sermon summary.
We are enjoying God's work through the life of our Pastor, the ministry of those who have stepped up and the heart of Lompoc Foursquare Church,
LFC Staff Writer

Pursuing God's Heart

2008-02-19T18:35:00.001-08:00

I was really excited about this past Sunday, but I seem to be very excited about our Sundays, don't I? Especially lately. There is a special sense of God's touch and grace upon us in this season of growth and expansion. Our teams have been incredible and are really understanding what it means to live heart-first. Yet, we have room for everyone to join our teams. Don't ever believe for one minute that the Lord and we, do not need you. Recently a man stopped me and said: "Must be great to have all these people serving, you are able to do so much, you probably don't need me." I told him that nothing could be farther from the truth. Since we are larger than many churches, we also choose to do more, give more and serve more and with three services each Sunday, it takes many willing hearts and hands - people willing to pursue God' heart. I think LFC is pursuing God's heart more and more and this thrills me. More people are willing to get into Life Transformation Groups, willing to read the bible and journal everyday and willing to pray for others and step out and serve and give.
"...The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, (1 Sam 13:14). In God's pursuit of the right hearted person, the beginning of the end of King Saul came.
Summarizing the history of Israel in a sermon delivered at Antioch of Pisidia, the Apostle Paul said of the Lord, "...when He had removed him (Saul), He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.'" (Ac 13:22). What a wonderful commendation of a man, from the LORD Himself!
What does it mean, when the LORD speaks of David as "a man after My own heart"? It certainly does not mean that David was always sinless before the LORD, because we know of his sin. It is an affirmation of David's desire to do the things of God. To pursue Him and be after His heart. His heart was to give faithful service to the Lord.
1 & 2 Samuel reveal the desire of David to serve the Lord, and the Psalms time and again express his faith and love unto the Lord. We have in David perhaps the most complete picture the Bible gives of any character's faith and service before God. The Scriptures continually witness to his love for worship, the Scriptures, a genuine desire to communicate with God and wisdom in serving the Lord
David wrote, "When You said, ‘Seek My face,' my heart said to You, ‘Your face, LORD, I will seek.'" (Ps 27:8). Of God's choosing David, another psalmist wrote, "He also chose David His servant, and took him from the sheepfolds; from following the ewes that had young He brought him, to shepherd Jacob His people, and Israel His inheritance. So he shepherded them according to the integrity of his heart, and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands." (Ps 78:70-72)
I believe LFC is becoming more and more a church community pursuing God's heart. By living passionate about God, loving others and treating them with "integrity of heart," the Lord will use us greatly and fill us with more and more of Himself.
Let's turn up our pursuit of God - let us be after His heart with a deep passion. We cannot rest on our past or be hindered by it - we simply move on towards what is ahead in "hot pursuit of the heart of God."

Will you ask Him to give you a greater capacity to turn up your passion for Him?
Will you make sure you are spending time with God in prayer, bible reading and worship each day?
Will you ask Him where you might serve or find a place to use His power and touch in and upon your life?
Will you find others you can bless and treat with "integrity of heart" and brotherly / sisterly love?

In doing so you will realize you are growing deeper and deeper into a place of being after God's own heart.
In pursuit of God with you,
Pastor Bernie

Worship the Lord @ LFC

2008-02-12T18:22:00.000-08:00

This past weekend was filled with lots of life and activity at LFC. On Saturday we held a class for those newer to faith, called Beyond Yes! It was my honor to teach this class and after 3 ½ hours of teaching I raced over to the incredibly decorated Kids Corner, where the balloons and signs were carrying the Valentine’s Day motif and reminding all who entered that Jesus needs to fill their hearts. Games, drama, puppets, hot dog lunch, cotton candy, popcorn and the clear message of Jesus being the one who loves us was clear and crisp. Our servants team did an incredible job, joining forces with our CM team. Seeing so many children and families from the community was an amazing joy and the heartbeat of LFC. Thanks to all who participated and served. We then enjoyed our second week in the sanctuary with the new carpet and new chairs. Though the new foyer entrance is not complete nor the new guest services and resource room. There is so much additional room that I never knew how we handled it and even grew while being so cramped. Studies prove that once you reach 80% capacity, people get that crowded feeling and consciously or subconsciously find it hard to return. Thanks for your giving and praying that make this all possible. Sunday AM was filled with joy as we worship the Lord, the attendance was up (even on an incredible sunny and gorgeous day) and we were graced by two incredible leaders in the body of Christ and our Foursquare Presidents, Dr. Jack and Anna Hayford. Their incredible ministry is known by so many and if you don’t have any clue who Jack Hayford is, you can check him at http://www.jackhayford.org/ I am honored to serve in the Foursquare family and though I don’t have a denominational flag on my car or wave the logo around, I do love this “clan” God has allowed me to be saved into and pastor in. I do not take this for granted. For those of you not in the third service you would be unaware of the Hayfords visit and the incredible and sensitive way in which Pastor Jack prayed for us and lead us in the closing moments of my message. Debbie and Jamie and I were blessed to share an incredible meal with them and enjoy the kind fellowship that the Lord allows around the table. I could personally not be happier that God has allowed Pastor Jack and Anna to lead our denomination for such a time as this and that I am honored to not only serve under his leadership but to be able to have a friendship with he and Anna as well.
As we gathered this Sunday I was reminded that one of the greatest gifts we can give to the Lord is worship. It is what we always do when we gather. We may mix up the songs or the style a bit, but we always come to sing, to speak praise and to applaud the grace and goodness of our God. Though there are many ways in which to express our love, the book of Romans says: “Therefore, I urge you, brothers in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God – this is your spiritual act of worship.” (Rom. 12:1) Worship includes our bodies not just our minds. The Bible also says, “…the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers.” (Jn. 4:23) In other words, God looks for those who love Him so much that they worship with all their hearts. “For the eyes of the Lord are looking throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His…” (2 Chr. 16:9)
I want God to find me and you and our LFC family as He looks for worshipers. I don’t want Him to have to look far when He gazes our way. I want Him to find us and know we are ready, eager and willing to worship Him with all our hearts. I thought about worship and was reminded that the soundtrack to creation was worship.
Listen to how God responds to Job after he questions the Lord about his afflictions. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding…Or who stretched the line on it? On what were its bases sunk? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars sang together and the sons of God shouted for joy?” (Job 38:4-7) There was worship going on as God put His creation together.
As we worship, God moves and does some creative work in us and around us.
I was feeling some writers block the other day as I worked on one of my sermons and then an article for my column in the Lompoc Record. I took a moment and began to worship Him and when I was done, I had three new ideas – amazing!
Worship has always been a part of God’s people. In fact, the Israelites journeyed through the desert, they would stop, build an altar, offer a sacrifice to God, and worship Him. So one of the things worship does is it identifies us as God’s people.
Now I am not contending for us to worship as a display to others, but it is amazing how people realize we have a true and genuine love for God when we worship in spirit and in truth – in sincerity. If we begin to move away from worship and not see the value of our lives being worship to the Lord, we begin to weaken in our faith and simply blend in with the rest of the world.
So how do we worship? There are many ways but let me remind you of a few and these are things you can do alone, with family, in small group settings or when we gather corporately at LFC.
The first is singing.
“…let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” (Heb 13:15). (See also: Rev. 14:3 & Ps. 66:1)
The Bible does not tell us that only those who sing well or have perfect pitch are allowed to sing. If that were the case, I would most certainly be disqualified. But all are called to sing: “Make a joyful noise unto the Lord.” (Ps. 66:1) Consider it a joyful noise when you sing to God from your heart. Catch this: God hears your heart long before He hears a note or a tune. Now, you might sing very well, but with the wrong heart, no true worship will take place. I am so grateful to our singers and musicians at LFC. They will be the first to tell you they are not the most qualified and gifted but I will be the first to tell you they possess genuine hearts of service and desire to worship. So God hears their hearts and loves it.
We also worship with uplifted hands. Not everyone feels comfortable doing this and at LFC we never attempt to make conformists out of people. Some don't do it simply because they have not been taught the biblical reasons for it. “So wherever you assemble, I want men to pray with holy hands lifted up to God, free from anger and controversy.” (1 Tim. 2:8 NLT) One of the reasons that we are to lift our hands is in doing so we are saying “Lord, cleanse my heart”. Lifting our hands to God is not mere ritual, it is that we invite God to purify us. When we lift our hands as a posture to the Lord that says we are ready to be healed. “…lift up your hands to him for the lives of your children…” (Lam 2:19) Not only is it a sign of invitation to the Father to cleanse us, it is also a sign of surrender. It is also a sign of victory as one who crosses the finish line with raised hands signifying victory. We also raise our hands to bless others. “…And the Lord lifted up his hands and blessed them.”( Lk. 24:50) We extend blessings in Jesus’ name by lifting our hands and praying. We should lift our hands to bless our children and family and when we gather to bless those around us.
We also clap alot at LFC. “Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!” (Ps. 47:1) Clapping is an old Hebrew covenant sealer. Clapping is the oldest form of contractual agreement. I often have people clap at the end of a wedding to “seal the deal.” Clapping is to be in agreement after worship or a prayer. It is an outward sign we agree! Not merely some expression of being excited – it is heartfelt agreement. So we sing and proclaim who we are as we express our love for Him and stand with uplifted hands in surrender and victory. And as we do, we must also extend our hands to bless others and applaud the greatness of our God. There are many more ways and postures of worship but these are some that are familiar to us at LFC and some that will stretch you a bit if you currently do not ascribe to the them. Don’t wait until the next time you gather as students at youth group, or as adults this next Sunday at church. Take some time this week to simply raise your hands, clap a bit and bless the Lord. And while you are at it, bless someone else too.
This is a great season at LFC and the future will only be brighter as we continue to follow God and worship Him!
I love being your pastor and I love worshipping our God with you,
Pastor Bernie

LFC - growing, expanding...

2008-02-06T08:47:00.000-08:00

Major milestones in the life of a church family.
For several months the banner out front stated: LFC - growing, expanding and making room for you. It will reappear when we begin the work of burning down the corner house and the grading of the land there to prepare for foundation and underground utilities. The intention of the sign was to let those driving by gain insight into the hearts of the people who attended here and those praying, giving and believing. It is the reality of a vision and as we come to the home stretch, people are excited.

The pictures below do little justice to the look and feel of the expanded sanctuary and the comfort of the new chairs. Certainly they cannot capture the enthusiasm that was in the air. The weekend was great: There was an incredible sense of family and joy, as our staff, many from our leadership team, worship team and council came out and served on Saturday - moving items from the corner house garage, to storage. We also moved our old sanctuary chairs to storage as they will be used in our new multi-purpose building. Then we set up the new chair configuration which allowed for many more occupants and did some clean up and I was not the only one that was overjoyed. Thanks to all who helped.
Sunday allowed for some electric moments and times of great worship, prayer and the message was very well received. With many making personal commitments to running the race God is calling them to run. Below are some pictures of what things are looking like. If you were not here, hope you will join us soon to experience the expanded space for yourself. Though not fully done, we are on the way. After scrolling down to see the pictures, take a moment to read some vision sharing or shedding that I am doing with you from my heart.

What is missing is the people and the heart - which are both really great at LFC.
Vision SheddingMuch like the water shed after the rain, sharing a vision has the power to shed broader than just a page or a stream. I have decided to leave last weeks vision shedding with you underneath a few critical points.
1) Our Life Transformation Groups need our prayers and your participation: I am praying they will see the value in expanding and thereby including room for many more to become a part of this vital way of growing. If you are in an LTG then I encourage you to see about starting other ones by multiplying the one you are in. If you are not in an LTG then I encourage you to get over the reasons for not joining in and find your way to one as soon as possible.
Making relationships with others is vital to your spiritual growth and Life Transformation Groups are key to making that happen. This is a key to growth and you taking responsibility for your own growth.

My friend, Pastor Wayne Cordeiro, was recently sporting a pretty cool tee shirt. I will be seeing him later this month and looking forward to being with him. His shirt said: HUNGRY? feed yourself. It of course is referring to the concept of being in the word, daily bible reading and journaling. Self-feeding is essential for growth and is the second key vision shed I want you to catch. Now you might say, these are not new visions, but my vision of them for you participated is. These are some of the key areas I shared at our recent family meeting: LTG and bible reading / journaling.
2) Spend time each time with God and in the bible and with the simple practice of journaling. These both tie in greatly with what I shared this past Sunday from the Reveal Study. It showed that simply being involved in church and church activities had little or no benefit on a person’s spiritual growth. Activity and programming meant nothing without someone willing to take responsibility for their own spiritual growth. There was no correlation between great services and programming and an effective spiritual journey. This all sets well with me because we have attempted to do more than fill seats, but fill hearts and watch those hearts grow. Best way you grow is to be responsible for your own growth. The Reveal Study revealed four essential elements to growth and all were personal responsibility:
1. Reading and studying the Bible
2. Prayer and solitude
3. Sharing one’s life with friends and mentors.
4. Serving others.
How are you doing in these areas?
Increasing the areas essential for growth will accelerate your growth. Again, read the list of the 4 points above and see where you can increase.
Keep going and growing,
Much Grace to you all,
Pastor Bernie

If you want to catch up on our teachings - here is a link.
LFC MESSAGES

Serving is the Heart behind Living and Loving Out Loud.

Two words for 2008: Relationships and Risk

2008-01-30T18:31:00.000-08:00

This week much is happening on the church - carpet is going in, new doors, more mechanical stuff (not readily seen) and sound connections and equipment. While this is happening here, more work is being done on our multi-purpose building off our site. It is going to be incredible. Your continued prayers and financial giving are essential.
This past Sunday was a great day. Even though the storms were brewing, LFC had great attendance and a great spirit in our worship and communion time. People even came out to hear the “State of the Church Address” this past Sunday night. What a great time with a great many things to report. 2007 was a great year, and our second greatest year financially, off about 5,000 dollars from our all time high and (even with the expenses of the building project taking place). We are totally debt free and our enhancements to our expansion have been paid for with overages from our monthly income. We watched a well done video overview of 2007. I get a bit emotional when I see the faces of people touched by the efforts of LFC and during the water baptism segments - my heart is moved. I shared with the church family about the wonderful things God did in 2007. The greatest of all was to realize that over 220 people had said, “yes” to Jesus for the first time and that almost 1,300 had done so in the past five years through the efforts of LFC. God is amazing! I also shared two big words for 2008 – Relationship and Risk. Under both these themes I asked the question of: who of those who do not have a church home, will you invite to LFC this coming year? And, that we all need to have a desire to bring and include others. As a church family we will work harder at engaging both the marginalized outside and inside our walls. There are many who attend this and any given church who live on the fringe. Their best is never discovered, their heart is never filled and their gifts are never given away. Our prayer is that this will change as we all work together to be the heart and encouragement that God can use to bring about the best in and through others. 2008 will see us working harder at dealing with the largest challenges we face:

Dealing with our staffing needs.

Growing people deep and strong.

Emphasizing Life Transformation Groups (our small group ministry) and Various Life Development Classes.

Bringing and included newcomers.

Growing our various ministry teams.

Involving as many as possible in the major events and outreaches we provide for our community.

Finishing our expansion project and some additional site work.

The removal of the corner house and the first steps in seeing our multi-purpose facility come to pass. (It is currently being built).

Three key areas for us in 2008:
Celebration: We will be more creative and grow the teams which make our Sunday Celebration times happen. From worship to drama, technology to creative ways to collaborate on what happens on Sunday and to simply making more room for team members. Greeters, parking lot greeters, enhancing our children’s ministries and making Sunday all it can be.

Doing Church as a Team: I never weary of sharing this concept because we have seen that it works. Allowing people to have a place and use their gifts in the church in which they attend is a great value. We could never do all we do if we had to wait until adequate staffing was in place. Our youth team, Children’s team, video team, worship team and so many more are making a huge impact on the heart and lives of others. We will continue to “kick it up a notch” in our teaming. We must build greater teams around our Sunday gatherings - and we will. Our tech team has grown and many new things are happening with our camera team (we run three cameras on Sunday to two live techs behind them) and many more enhancements Everything flows out of the services here.

Relationships: I am very excited about our new Young Adult / College Age ministry we are launching in March – illuminate! As well, our Life Transformation Groups will be “refired up” and some exciting time in the word, with our Journaling groups. Our men and woman will continue with their monthly gatherings and our brand new LFC CONNECTIONS will prove to really get people together. This is the dividing up of the church in alphabetical segments and with various leader and hospitality teams in place to provide, no pressure times for pot-luck or BBQ gatherings or simple family times. These gathering will be announced well in advance and our hope is to have everyone in the church participate and gather with their group three times during 2008. From this, relationships will be built and strengthened as these gatherings will allow for a closeness that can move into gatherings outside of the Sunday times, shared life and experiences (if people choose) and moving into teaming together on the various teams. This design is simple yet very exciting and more than I can describe here. In all we do let us remember:
We are not simply here to fill seats and fill an offering plate. But to fill people’s hearts with love and the truth of God’s word.
We are not here to mimic what other churches are doing, but to be to this community what other churches are not.
People’s eternities depend on what we do today.
The Future of the church depends on what we do today.

“The future is purchased by the present.” - Samuel Johnson

We cannot linger in the past … for God desires to do something today that will impact tomorrow. Isaiah 43:18-19 NIV "Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? It will take risk to move forward and make sure that we are not only thinking upon today and tomorrow but for the future of the church in many years to come. Read the heart’s cry for this year:Matthew 9: 35 – 37Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field." (NIV)Please read this text and catch the imagery….sheep without a shepherd, no one to guide them, care for them, protect them. Alert them. It was the heart of Jesus, and still is to care for those who needed care and touch the hurting. It was His heart for them………….It must be our heart too. Let us not miss that – the heart of Jesus for them was and is His heart for us and must be transferred to others. He did not come to condemn them but to see them free. It was HIS LOVE TO BRING AND INCLUDE them into the flock and it must be our heart too. The words must hit us hard, "THE HARVEST is plentiful – We measure our church not by the chairs, or how many attend but by how many are outside. Prayer and Labor that are fueled by love are essential to the harvest. We need each one of you to embrace the Harvest - the Harvest is people and they really do matter to God. It will take a risk and relationships to touch hearts all fueled by love. John 13:34A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. (NIV)What must Drive us in 2008 is the same thing that got us where we are - LOVE.Without LOVE – no one will care. Let us not assume that people know what we know about teaming, about Doing Church as a Team. Let us not assume that people know the things we are sometimes tired of sharing and hearing. We all must welcome and reach out to our newcomers and insure that they feel welcomed. Some wonder if we need them – we must invite them to our teams, make room for them when they come, welcome them with open arms and hearts. Bring and INCLUDE. Some think that because of the size of our church, we have all we need. This is not true! We actually have several teams praying for additional members and we have teams that must expand to increase ministry flow - but again this is not the issue. The real issue is the value of people living out their call and heart and finding the joy of serving and giving themselves away. Some may wonder if they can fit in here – it is up to us to go out of our way to love them.One great area you can help us in is: Our upcoming Children's outreach: Will you help? Come and build relationships with others and risk reaching out to the children of our area.Can I ask you to consider joining us on for Who's Your Valentine? It will be a great day, only if you come out and serve and make an eternal difference with us.
On Febraury 9th from 11:30 am - 1:00 PM on our multi-use / parking corner lot we are inviting the kids of LFC to join with as many kids from Lompoc to come and hear about the Heart of God and have their hearts touched by God's love. We invite you to come and serve with us and to invite children to the day.
I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie

Rainy Days in Lompoc

2008-01-23T12:24:00.000-08:00

I welcome the rain - How about you? For me as a California native, I have always enjoyed the rain. Rainy day schedule at school was always a blast, puddles to jump in, games to play indoors, thumbs-up 7-UP and more. Rain always calls for improvising, changing, driving differently ( I hope) and shifting a bit.
Some observations from my second story window:

Rain allows for a time of cleansing. It makes things cleaner. Even my dirty car is now cleaner and I did not have to wash it. The ground is cleaner and the air is fresh.

Rain allows the dry ground to soak up much needed moisture. It brings to the ground something that it needs.

Rain discloses the condition of our roofs and gutter systems, roadways and more. Rain does not discriminate - it falls wherever it wants. Tarp sells are up and roofers are staying busy.

Rain reminds us of the seasons and the changes in life.
Things change and often what is sad on Monday can turn into happy on Wednesday or visa versa. Okay, you could add many more to the thoughts of rain. But here are some rainy day questions:

Using the analogy of rain, what is needed in your life? Do you need to have your parched heart soak up the water from Heaven? Do you need to repair some leaks in your heart and life? Are there areas in which you need to make some corrections and adjustments?
Even as the rain falls - let us ask God for the rain of His Sprit and life to come to us.

This week, even in the rain, there has been much progress on our sanctuary expansion. Tile is now in our foyer, doors and other trim should be going in the rest of the week, and tomorrow we meet with the carpet company to discuss the carpeting going in next week. February, should be a great month for building completion. Once our carpet is in, our new chairs can be brought over from storage, our sound system can be completed and finally fully dialed in. Once the weather dries up, we will have our parking coated and re-stripped with new handicap sections and additional spaces in the rear of the building.

Yesterday, even in the rain, I had the honor of attending an awards luncheon at Vandenberg. It was for the 381st Training group, of which I am the honorary commander. What an honor to sit at the head table with Col. Bob Gibson, the training group commander and a vital part of the life of Lompoc Foursquare Church. As the awards were given, what impressed me more than the dedication of these fine servicemen and woman, was the heart for people. Col. Gibson emphasized that "people matter," and that "families matter." I was impressed to hear that under Col. Gibson's leadership they had graduated over 1,100 students in 2007. All of which will serve our country making certain we are safe from enemy attack. The 381st has a motto consisting of, 3 P's: Professionalism, Passion and Proficiency. The heart of "people matter," ( I sure love that and have heard that somewhere) and the 3 P's listed above are all points that can be carried over into what we are to do in 2008 as a church.
Professional : in our dealings with people, business, budget and ministry.
Passion: Passionate in our worship, faith, desire to see lost people come to know God and to see people use their gifts and talents for God.
Proficiency: To make sure all we do is in line with what God is asking of us and directing us to do. We need to keep making room for others and finding new and fresh ways to bring and include others.
I know we did not hit Martin Luther King Jr. day on Sunday. I blew that one! With the mentioning of Sanctity of Life Sunday and the desire to raise funds for our pregnancy support center - I missed it.
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. I thought I’d post a quote I found from him.
Martin Luther King Jr. once said, “A genuine leader is not a searcher for consensus but a molder of consensus.”
I think this is true for all leaders who want to see change!

Can I ask you to consider joining us on for Who's Your Valentine? It will be a great day, only if you come out and serve and make an eternal difference with us.
On Febraury 9th from 11:30 am - 1:00 PM on our multi-use / parking corner lot we are inviting the kids of LFC to join with as many kids from Lompoc to come and hear about the Heart of God and have their hearts touched by God's love. We invite you to come and serve with us and to invite children to the day.
I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie
If you missed this last weeks message or the week before you can check for it through this connection.
LFC MESSAGES
Serving is the Heart behind Living and Loving Out Loud.

Team LFC is Amazing!

2008-01-15T17:37:00.000-08:00

What can I say? This past Sunday our attendance was up and many new faces in the crowd and all three services had special moments of God's presence and grace as we are on the journey to being challenged to live the lives God called us to live. I am honored to see so many living heart first! Tonight it will happen again, as we meet for elevate and our youth team and some of our church council will serve the students free BBQ burgers and more. The youth band is practicing as I write and this place is buzzing with life. From 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM much will happen and students will be touched by God. Is that not what this is all about?
Forgive me for wanting to recap a bit but there is so much that happened in my own life as a result of Sunday that I needed to share a few things.
Worship really touched my heart and the upbeat songs were not only moving but allowed for people to connect with God and some to move a bit!
Seeing people we have not seen in awhile meant a great deal to me.
Hearing people ask others what God was calling them to do and sharing what they were getting from the messages was amazing. Having God's help to process the message and deliver the challenges of this series. I don't take His power and presence for granted. One young lady stopped me and said: THANKS PASTOR BERNIE, I NEEDED THAT WORD TODAY!
I sense that God is up to some great things at LFC - He is filling our times with Himself and moving in the midst of relationships. It is up to us to connect with His presence and to take a risk and build relationships with others, with new people as they enter our church or long term attendees you have yet to get to know. Team LFC was amazing. A large contingent of the team showed up and Mike Leach did an incredible job leading us in worship and our video - glimpses of 2007, that all the church will eventual see, was shown. It was moving and emotional to me, to recall all the great things that happened in 2007 because of God's grace and people who have decided to step it up. Our building expansion, our multi-purpose project underway, new lives connecting with LFC, sermon series, dramas and youth and children's ministries and men and woman's ministries......YES, Easter right around the corner, and it is all larger and more than we can handle. But God did not call us to handle it all - He told us he would work in and through us. And we have come to realize He is doing just that! Thanks to all of you who are giving, praying and serving. You are amazing and we make room for all to come and join the celebration of living out our faith. All of this is over our heads! Now that is not a negative insecure statement, but sheer honesty. But remember from Sunday's message: Unless you are attempting to do more, be more or have more, you will not feel inadequate. If we are simply living the status quo, we will always feel like we have the goods - but when God raises the bar a bit and asks us to jump higher than we ever had before - then we come to grips with our humanity and the reality of our shortcomings. But great news, God is greater than we are and is an expert at working with those who are open, attempting and eager. As we surrender to Him, great things will happen. I urge you to step out and move forward, especially when you feel inadequate to do so. I asked this simple question this past Sunday:
What would the difference be if all of us moved one step closer to the Lord and His calling for us and did it now?
Paul the Apostle helps us understand our moments of inadequacy:
I Corinthians 15:9 &10
For I am the least of the apostles and do not even deserve to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me. (NIV)
2 Corinthians 12:9
But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me. (NIV)
God is going to use us in 2008 and He will use YOU. As you open yourself up to Him.
I am so very excited about this church family and the potential inside of each of us. Let's go for, jump higher, connect deeper and let us give our all for the Master - Jesus. Can I ask you to consider joining us on for Who's Your Valentine?
On Febraury 9th from 11:30 am - 1:00 PM on our multi-use / parking corner lot we are inviting the kids of LFC to join with as many kids from Lompoc to come and hear about the Heart of God and have their hearts touched by God's love. We invite you to come and serve with us and to invite children to the day.
I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie
If you missed this last weeks message or the week before you can check for it through this connection.
LFC MESSAGES

Letting others know LFC is a place they could call HOME.

2008-01-10T11:30:00.000-08:00

LFC and 2008
I wanted to write this week from my heart and with openness to any who would take the time to read it. LFC is at a great place and positioned for many new and exciting things. 2008 will be a year of completed facilities both in our expansion and our multi-purpose facility. We still need additional funds to be released in order to move forward with the multi-purpose facility. About 130,000 dollars (not including the funds needed to furnish the kitchen and the LFC cafe). and we need heavy doses of prayer, as God is calling us forward. I am excited and thinking ahead to opportunities to love others heart-first.
In a few weeks, Febraury 9th from 11:30 am - 1:00 PM on our multi-use / parking corner lot we are inviting the kids of LFC to join with as many kids from Lompoc to come and hear about the Heart of God and have their hearts touched by God's love. We invite you to come and serve with us and to invite children to the day. Why do this?

This Sunday marks our first Team LFC meeting of 2008 and if you currently serve on any team at LFC, I encourage you to attend. We will also be showing a short film edited by Kat Moore – Glimpses of LFC in 2007.
Before I share a piece form George Barna on Parenting I wanted to share some thoughts with you.
With so many new faces in and out at LFC each week, we really need each of you who call LFC your home church , to reach out. We want you to be saying, from your heart - "welcome to your new church home." Now, we would never say that to a first-time guest. But we can speak it by our actions and smile and gestures. Sure, the greeters and parking team, do a great job, our children’s check-in team as well. But without each of you making connections with new people we are lost! I encourage you to go out of your way and to make effort to help others feel connected here.

Don’t rely on the welcome tent either – very few people make their way there on their first time visit to LFC. Don’t assume people will call the office or that I will be able to know who is newer to our church and have time to connect with them between services. I do attempt to connect but I am one person. Here is what I suggest:

During greeting time, be on the lookout for people you have never met and greet them.
As service ends, take five minutes to look for those you meet during greeting and connect with them. Be bold, maybe someone you met would want to go to coffee, or join you for breakfast or lunch. Ask God to show you who to connect with – make the effort.

We will be dividing up our sanctuary into at least four invisible segments. We will have zone greeters in each section. You could volunteer and simply be placed on our schedule to greet in the section you sit in anyways. How simple is that. No badge – no name tag, just you living with a heart towards helping others feel welcomed.

I don't want anyone to visit our church without at least five people greeting them in addition to those who work at the doors. This can't be left to chance.
Also, It will be essential for us all to consider how we can live Heart-first in 2008. Not simply sitting back and watching, or giving a token, but living and giving with all our hearts. I invite you to:

Explore one of the many teams we have at LFC. From our office volunteers to our camera team, to our worship team, parking lot greeters, to our cleaning team, our welcome tent team (soon to be welcome room) and much more. Go for it and explore.
Join a Life Transformation Group. Iron sharpens iron and your life will benefit greatly from being with others for prayer, accountability and sharing the nuggets you get from daily bible reading.

Commit to daily bible reading and journaling. You can use our easy link to connect with daily reading or our web to learn how to journal.
Realize that this is your church (if you attend here) and that what happens here happens because of God and people like you willing to step out and up.

Without God - we cannot. Without you - God will not.

Consider how God will use you in 2008 to live heart-first and to be a vital part of this vital church family. Consider who you can invite to come to church with you and hopefully have them feel welcomed in such a way that they will make LFC their church home - welcome them to your home.
I wanted to share something with you on parenting that I found and it may prove to be helpful.
Interesting facts: The 5 Ps of Parenting Most parents want to do a great job of raising their children. However, Barna studies conducted throughout the year among parents of children under 18 revealed that few parents have a strategy or plan for how they will accomplish that goal. There are, however, five primary outcomes that most parents have focused upon and serve as a de facto strategy. George Barna, author of the book Revolutionary Parenting, about parenting strategies, called them the "five P’s of parental hope."

1. Preparation. Millions of parents enroll their youngsters in numerous and varied activities in order to prepare their children for success. Most parents do not see themselves as the key to grooming a well-rounded child; they believe their role is to place their child in developmental environments and under the tutelage of those who can take their prodigies to the next level of proficiency.

2. Performing well. Parents look for measures of productivity that indicate how their child is doing on the path to success. Good grades in school, scoring in sports, and performing well in artistic endeavors are among the measures parents rely upon, as well as feedback from other parents, teachers, coaches, pastors and other experts.

3. Pressure management. Amidst significant parental expectations, stiff academic standards and peer pressure, many kids struggle to stay healthy and balanced. Parents who are cognizant of these mounting pressures attempt to help their offspring learn how to manage stress, competition and disappointments.

4. Protection. The age-old problem of bullies - still considered by kids, parents and teachers to be a significant issue - can be added to such parental fears as kidnapping, drugs, and sexualization, making the security of children one of the top priorities of parents.

5. Public perception. In a society where image is reality, and parents are as anxious about their image as a parent as they are about their child’s image in their peer group, influencing public perceptions is a major concern among parents. Like politicians, many parents hone their skills in spin control and positioning in order to place them and their children in the best possible light. Barna’s surveys point out that most parents underestimate the influence they can exert on their children. Consequently, they often focus on the 5 Ps but neglect emphasis upon activities that would strengthen their relational bond with the children. Many parents, even those who are born again Christians, also overlook the need to foster deeper a connection between their children and God, or to enhance the child’s worldview as a critical component of their decision-making skills.

I love being your pastor,

Pastor Bernie

Serving is the Heart behind Living and Loving Out Loud.

Serving is the Heart behind Living and Loving Out Loud.

2008-01-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

It is very clear to me that the heart of LFC must continue to be one of serving and generosity. It must be an ongoing connecting of giving to living and loving to serving and all of it to be done - OUT LOUD. While we can pray silently it is tough to love silently. It is nearly impossible to express our love to others in low decibels and without action. True love must be heard from the heart and felt in the soul. It must be lifted up. My heart for each of you, is that you find the joy in serving - living and loving out loud. Below we read the greatest synthesis of God's commands to us:
Matthew 22: 36 - 40
Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?" Jesus replied: " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.' This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."
Obeying these commands makes a loud declaration of who we really are:
1 John 5:2
This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. (NIV)
In keeping these commands of loving God and loving others, often God will ask us to give up something valuable in order that He might entrust to us something that is valuable to Him. Giving is connected to life.
When our hearts are pure and strong, God can add influential blessings and blessings of increase and finance and opportunity. Often God desires to add to us but we may not be ready to receive and the blessing could actually ruin us - so by giving and serving, motivated by love, we are obeying the commandments of God and making room for increase to flow to us and through us. If you are going to measure out compassion and generosity with a teaspoon, then that’s the kind of measure that will be delivered to you. So, think about what God would have you give and do and what the generous level of your life needs to be in 2008. If you cannot be trusted with something as small as money or time or gifts or talents how will you ever be able to be entrusted with the most valuable things God has to offer? Are you agreeable to giving up what you consider valuable in order to touch the heart of others and glorify the heart of God? It really is a heart issue.Early on in my life God began to teach me about generosity - I had to learn how to give to others and not worry about every dollar. You see, when I first began to pastor and I got paid 500 dollars a month - and our church was taking in 1,500 dollars a month (that was on a good month too) even though, we committed to giving away 10 % to our denomination, 3 % to missions and 2% to our Bible college. God told me to do that. Man, it really hurt to give when all you had was 1,500 dollars a month. But I recall a few years ago, that on one Sunday, the Sunday before Christmas our church gave our entire offering for the morning away to Ministry in the Sudan. It was 15, 870 dollars. It was amazing. But catch the lesson: God taught me how to be generous when we had 1,500 a month so he could help us lead in generosity when we had more than 15,000 on one Sunday. That is how generous living goes and loving out loud perpetuates His love in great measure. As you study the early church you will find it was very generous. Giving, serving and loving all the time. They even had lots of church gatherings, small home groups, and God was moving in their midst. People were open hearted and open handed. This church, as it should be today was living in dynamic tension: it was both expanding and consolidating - growing and unifying. The Bible tells us that first century believers “shared everything in common” and that “the church was being added to day by day.” We want our church to live in this same tension. Releasing and reaping. It is a great way to live and seems to be a God-given pattern. If we plant, we will reap in due season. A great question to ask is this: What are we planting? What does your life express to others? Do they know your story? Your values? Your priorities? What do you express to others that you love and live for? What does your life shout? What does your church shout? What will be reaped in the coming months and years due to what you are doing and sharing now?
The tension in the local church must be as it was in the early church. It can be illustrated by two biblical images - the body of Christ and the army of God. The body of Christ is centered on community where people are loved and accepted. Within the context of this community people with needs are ministered to and taken care of. The hurting here are often focused upon and those needing encouragement to rise above the rubble in their lives can often find it if that community is driven by love that comes from a deep love and relationship for Jesus Christ, the lover of our souls. The second image of the army is centered on cause. These are the fighters against darkness and those who attack the hill and get the job done with fervor that is also driven by love and here a deep love for the commander and master, Jesus Christ. Here, the people who are aggressively pursuing what needs to be done instead of pursuing having others do for them are rewarded and honored. These Christian soldiers are not spectators, watching from lounge chairs but participators and actively engaged in warfare.
Healthy community flows out of a unified cause - not the other way around. Jesus called his disciples and said, “Follow me. I’ll make you fishers of men.” This was not an offer of community. “Follow me and I will give you something worthy of giving your life to” is a statement of cause. It is in the following and pulling to plow together we grow deepest. When we unite over the cause, we find community like never before. That’s the power of the church. Years ago, as we built a new sanctuary, we needed to build a wall to follow city requirements. Rather than having the contractors handle this, we realized we had two men in our church that had masonry experience. So, with their help and guidance, myself and several guys gathered at the church on Thursdays and Saturdays to build this wall. We worked on Thursdays as soon as everyone could get there and as late as we could stand it with our lights and all and again on Saturday and usually all day. This process was slow and took a few months to pull off. The cost savings to the church was substantial but the dividends of the relationships that were built were amazing. When I see those brothers at church, or connect with the ones who moved away, we reminisce like old men on a porch about the 'good ol' days' of building the wall. Causes do that to your heart. One danger of the American church is that we often try to offer people community without cause. Without cause, you’re just another well meaning organization. Without cause you will not see unification and transformation.At the Willow Creek Leadership Summit, Carly Fiorina, one of the world's most admired business leaders who from 1999-2005 she served as president and CEO of Hewlet-Packard, addressed the crowd of pastors and leaders and said:
"Give people a more compelling vision that what they fear. But let them know the reality of how difficult the vision will be."
Jesus gave us His compelling vision and it must be greater than what you fear. Listen to it, pray about it and get a sense of His heart as He calls you to an incredible cause - a cause that will bring unity and transformation in the context of community.
Jesus said, “I have come to the world to seek and to save that which is lost.” The cause of Christ is accomplished by loving others from our heart and loving them, Out Loud.
Communicating the gospel in a postmodern context can make us feel forced to compete with the entertainment industry. The sound, the lights, the technology, the marketing. You might be able to compete if you have tens of millions of dollars and that level of expertise. Most of us don’t. We have only one advantage that neither Hollywood nor VH1 or Sony possess. We have the presence and power of the living God! We have the power of the most compelling vision guiding us as a compass. Touch hearts and change lives and do it for the good of the gospel.
Why in the world would we eliminate God’s power from our war room strategy? Why would we not allow our cause to be fueled by the one who can love us and love through us? What are you giving yourself to this year? How will LFC be different because of God working in and through you? What relationships can you see built because you are willing to move toward the cause?
It is time for all of us to connect giving to living and live and love, OUT LOUD.
I love being your pastor - out loud,
Pastor Bernie

2008 is Upon Us but Greater Still,

2007-12-27T14:38:00.000-08:00

It is so true, and I am still moved by this phrase:
Amazing Things Happen on the Other Side of Yes
Hopefully it will become a piece of signage for our offices or foyer or in someplace that we can see it and recall it - it is too good a phrase and meant too much to me during the Christmas season to not keep alive into 2008.
As I sit in my office and think through all that happened this past weekend I am amazed! Sunday morning there was a great sense of God's presence as we worshipped and as I shared about the passion possessed by the Magi. I will share some of my "takeaways" from our weekend and three amazing Christmas Eve services. First, let me underscore the Magi passion. A passion that is not simply reduced to history or season - but should be possessed all year long.
Recall the points:
• Possess a Passion to pursue Christ.
1/ Refuse to be distracted.
This is a tall order in our life but as we move into 2008, my sense will be more distractions will pull at us than ever before. It will be our disciplined work to be diligent at staying focused.
Proverbs 4:23
Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. (NASB)
Remember, as with the Magi, the minute you begin to move out and follow God, you will have distractions. Where there is motion there is friction. Where Christ becomes central there will always be distraction. Every time you determine to have a meaningful relationship with the Lord, there will always be people, things and feelings that will distract you from the Lord.
John 10:10
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. (NIV)
Some thoughts on this: The cry of the hour is for people who will passionately pursue the Lord.The magi remind us to move from the fringe – to go and see. To Discover the Savior.
I gave an assignment out this past Sunday and here it is:It would do us well to define the life robbers that keep us from a real relationship with the giver of life. With all the cards, mailings, lists we have made to sit with the master and say: Lord, reveal to me the LIFE ROBBERS in my life. What is keeping me from saying YES TO the Lord and all He has for me?
It is easy to default to doing the good thing rather than doing the God thing.
Everything that looks good to us is not always good for us.
2 / Remain focused.
The North Star represented a place where real hope could be found – the north star represented a place where unconditional love could be found and the entrance of eternal life coming to the humanity – in the Christ Child. They focused on the The Star would get them to the Christ Child. As long as they stayed focused on the star they did not complain about life – about travel or about wanting peace. o When distraction hits reconnect with the goal.Every follower of Jesus needs a North Star strategy.It is impossible to fully know the heart of God without possessing a north star strategy. Guidance by the scripture, Daily bible reading, journaling, Life Transformation Groups, serving on a ministry team. Using your gifts and talents for God.
3/ Rearrange Your Priorities.
This is a great strategy for the New Year. Rearrange your priorities! A passionate pursuit with Christ will cause you to rearrange your priorities – your agenda will change. The interesting thing about the Magi’s trip to find Jesus was their desire not to get anything from him but to present awesome gifts to him. We often come to Christ or the church wanting only to receive when we should be coming to present our excellent offerings to our Lord. To do this we have to rearrange our priorities and our personal agendas and make serving Jesus our main goal. When the Magi got to Christ – they got it. They gave God their full attention.o Determine priorities by possessing a fixed focus faith.They gave God their best – they were fully present to God’s presence.
4/ Reroute Yourself.
Is there anything in your life that you need to reroute? A belief, a way you are going a desire, a relationship?
Matthew 2:12
And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. (NIV)
Like the Magi, when we say YES to God, He directs us in ways previously undiscovered.
They gave their best to God. And God realized He could trust them with more than before.
Luke 16:10
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much… (NIV)
Do you enjoy that verse? As a group of very blessed people we have been given much. And God is saying I TRUST YOU WITH IT…and I WILL GIVE YOU MORE as you prove trustworthy. Once we encounter the true and living God, we are no longer driven by the values of this world, but the values of the Kingdom. It is then that we find true meaning and purpose in living and become the hands and feet of Christ to our broken, dying and lost world.
MY CHRISTMAS EVE TAKEAWAYS:
The excellence in which everything was done was simply moving, but God's presence was definitely sensed. The music and the drama and the dance had so much effort put into them and really came together well. Our new lights were put to the test and our new speakers and it was amazing! I am so proud of our dancers - these fine young ladies danced from their hearts. As I shared on Monday night at both services, they were not simply dancing with legs and arms and their bodies, but with their hearts and presenting a gift - from their hearts. I was so amazed at their determination and the many Saturdays and Sundays they gave to pull this off. It was a moving tribute and a great closing to each of the three services. My message was a bit different in each service - based on level of need in the room and the many new faces and the few seasonal ones too! Our hot chocolate, hot cider and full coffee bar were a great hit along with the nice piece of various cakes provided. One young lady had several pieces of carrot cake along with several shots of whipped cream on her hot first, second and third hot chocolate. What an amazing time for me. I would love to hear from you on your take on the Christmas season at LFC and also your story of what God did in your life in 2007. We want to share people stories in 2008. So you can call the office or email us at story@mylfc.com and simply write how God worked through LFC to touch your life. We want to know!
Back to Christmas.....All in all we had 808 people attend our three services and we had ten people in the morning services say YES to Jesus for the first time. Thanks to all who served, all who sang, played an instrument, set up the tents, coffee, cake and more. Thanks to those who served in the nursery, ushered, greeted, did sound, cameras, lights, fed the screens and more. What an amazing team, what an amazing church and what a very amazing God. Let's keep going for it in 2008 and living heart-first and saying YES to the Lord.
Amazing things will happen on the other side of Yes in 2008,
Pastor Bernie

Christmas time at LFC

2007-12-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

Amazing Things Happen on the Other Side of Yes

The season is a bit magical to say the least - I am so excited about these coming days and our services ahead. Our choir and band, drama team, children and dancers are all working so hard. These days are great and the the chilly nights and the rainfall make us think that winter is here - but turning on the news and seeing people buried in snow makes us realize that winter rarely comes to our area. Someone visiting here recently who was from another part of the country stated: Why are you sharing about the church heater? Where I live we don't even warm the house when it is this mild!"
This week so much is happening in and through LFC.
Free Gift Wrapping takes place, Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Wal-Mart and is provided by the people of LFC to simply share the love of God with no strings attached.
Thursday Night is our LFC Christmas Eve Service Rehearsal.
Sunday am we have Two Services. (no 8:00 AM) and a Christmas Eve Service at 6:00 PM
Monday Night we have two Christmas Eve Services at 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
These events are enough to warm your heart - regardless of the temperature outside. And they are enough to not only become gifts to you but those you can invite to come with you. Think of people you could bring with you this Sunday to our AM services or to our first Christmas Eve service at 7:00 PM or the two on Monday at 6:00 and 8:00 pm. I am certain God has been working on their hearts and they are probably waiting for someone to invite them. I just say someone tonight at a community function I attended and they asked me what our services were about and when they were being held. They said: "normally we get invited by friends, but this year no one invited us!" Wow. You could bring a great gift into their lives by bringing them with you and we promise to do all we can to make them feel at home with no pressure. It may be that these services become the first of many they attend. This would be a great gift to them.
But what about gifts - gifts that are beyond this season:
I began to think about the Savior and how He is the gift Gifts that last the whole year through… You could make a great list I am sure, but here are some I thought of as they pertain to those with families and those who are single as well. Our children and our youth.The Gift of love: People want to know and sense they are loved. I encourage you to ask God to help you find ways to show others you love them. God's love to us at this season is underscored in the birth of Jesus but also all year long. He is crazy about you and the people you attempt to love. Go for it - pour out some love. The Gift of respect: This goes deep - where we respect others and care for them by protecting their name and honor. The old phrase: "I got your back" is a great one and really comes to light in how we respect and protect others. The Gift of serving others: LFC is a place where people's gifts are celebrated and we desire people to use what God has given them to serve others. Gift of relationship: Our design is to create more opportunities as a church for you to build relationships with others. However, you should never wait for relationship to be announced or dependent upon program. Reach out to others you do not know. Invite someone to coffee or lunch after church with you. If you are on a ministry team, let them shadow you in your ministry. Even if their gifts don't match yours or the team you are on - they can still catch the heart behind serving and learn much from what you do.
Every time I read the following passage, it speaks afresh to my heart, what I must do in order to love others. This type of living is a gift that goes beyond Christmas and lasts all year long.

Ephesians 4:29 - 32Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (NIV)

Gift of God's presence : God is always with us! What a gift. I know we pray and ask for His presence but I am well aware, He promises to always be with us. He is a great God.
Questions to ponder: How you can share, and serve and be better connected to others?What teams you can joinWhat ways can venture out of where you are?
Join a small group or Life Transformation Group
Begin to Journal in a Life Journal following our daily bible reading plan. Join with others and journal together.
Serve others by parking away from the church at city hall on Sunday and making room for others who need to park closer to the church or who are first time guests. Go ahead and step out - serve, give, share, pray and say to God: Go ahead and tell the Lord; Be it done to me just as you say! Ask God what He would have you do and keep saying YES to Him. Amazing things happen on the other side of YES.

Saying YES at Christmas

2007-12-12T12:58:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday was an incredible day for us as a church. You see, I have been around church along time and never cease to get excited when church happens. Not just a service or some songs - as great as that might be, but when people connect together and are the church - doing what God called the church to do. Worship, celebrate, encourage, serve and pray. It was happening Sunday and even in the cold room. They are installing the last pieces this week and we should have heat too. Thanks for your patience. But what really got me this past Sunday was the presence of God. Sermons are great and I thought the new series start moved very well and our worship time was great too but all because of God's presence.Without His presence what we do at the church is just religious stuff that anyone can do but with His presence things happen that we could never do on our own.Allow me to use some of the Yes Steps we shared from Mary's Journey this past Sunday as a portion of the teaching:
YES Steps:
Conformity with God
This step is where we agree with God and all that He is asking of us. At this season what is He asking you to do for Him. As we move into 2008 and greater opportunities for ministry and serving one another, what is He wanting you to conform too? His call may be teaching and serving our children and we definitely have need there or assisting us in caring for people in need and time of counsel, prayer, hospital visitation, grief support and more. What is God placing on your heart. Now I did not mention that here so we could drum up more people on our servants team but for the simple reason of reminding you that this season is what it is because Jesus moved in conformity with the will of God as did Mary, the wise men, shepherds and others.
Romans 12:2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. (NIV)
Mary was very open to changing her thoughts to include now and embrace now, God's purpose for her. Read her words below that are so very moving.
Luke 1:38 I am the Lord's servant," Mary answered. "May it be to me as you have said."....(NIV)That is a huge statement. Mary does not seek, security, comfort and prosperity which are so much the mind and heart of today's American Church, but rather she responded to the call of God to the very core of her heart - "Have it your way, Lord."Mary never says: help me, save me or make me look good, Lord.She simply says: "May it be as you have said." This is my prayer for you! And I encourage you to pray it as well.
Conceiving God’s Dream
God gives us an idea, dream or vision and so many times we cast them off as not making sense or not working. So many ideas are lost because the willingness to pay the price is lost. Someone may say: "I will do this" and then after assessing the cost and considering the discomfort of carrying the vision and the potential of labor pains and delivery, decide to let go in the hopes that God will find someone else to carry out His vision or plan. So often people "miscarry" God's dream.Others never bring the dream to reality because they do not see it through with a clear plan - while the dream is with them, it is never brought forth and may even be talked about for months or years to come with no action taking place. Do not forget that God is an incredible creator, visionary and He often uses visions and dreams and creative energy to speak to us and show us a preferable future. God who is the great creator – and has an imagination larger than we can understand. A virgin birth is very creative and was not done simply to wow the onlookers or those of us who know of the Savior. It was to allow the Savior to come through divine means and natural means. Jesus is very much God and very much man, so the Holy Spirit overshadows Mary. Divinity and Humanity together - amazingly creative in the full sense of the phrase.How God acts is by placing the ideas and creative thoughts inside of us. As I stated Sunday, it is amazing to me that one of the places where imagination, creativity and the phrase, Imagineering take shape are at a place synonymous with one name; Disney. Nothing wrong with Disneyland, I love it until I see the prices, but to know that the magic kingdom is not the Kingdom of God and that we could do so much more if we would only embrace, "Be it done to me as you say, Dear God - just as you say."God's Kingdom is made up of people who are in submission to the ruler of the Kingdom.
Luke 1: 32 & 33 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." (NIV)
Connected to Community.
And in Mary’s case she sets the example for us. She did not go it alone. She had others like Elizabeth who encouraged her and Joseph who went the distance with her. True partnerships and people she allowed to be a part of her dream. She allowed some unlikely candidates to be in on it too. The wise men, the rough and tough shepherds and more.God births ideas in people who are connected to Him and connected to community.God works in community. He works in and through teams. DOING CHURCH as a TEAM is not only a great book or a concept we embrace as a church, it is God's idea. He assures us that where two or more are gathered, He is there. He encourages us to connect with one another and not simply at a superficial level, which is so often our default -but deeply and to live out together the dreams that God has given.Who is God nudging your towards? Who can you have become part of your dream or whose dream can you assist in releasing?This past Sunday while great things happened here, a tragedy was unfolding at another church, New Life in Colorado Springs. The shooting that by now you have no doubt heard about, reminds us of the human condition and why we need a Savior in the first place. The shooting also reminds us of God's grace. You see, the services had let out some 25 minutes earlier and 4,500 people had left the second service with Pastor Jack Hayford, our Foursquare President as the guest speaker. It is amazing that so many lives were spared in what could have been so much worse.I hate the impact of sin anytime, but particularly in this month when we celebrate the coming of the Savior to "save his people from their sins."I hope as you celebrate you'll appropriately pay attention to those who are lonely, alone, and broken this season. I hope as you celebrate you will say YES to all that God has for you in this season and beyond.Go ahead and step out - serve, give, share, pray and say to God: Be it done to me just as you say!
I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie

Season of ADVENTure

2007-12-05T13:52:00.000-08:00

What incredible words....
Luke 2:14Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." (NIV)
As we move into the season of Christmas, I am excited about our new series: “Saying YES at Christmas.” And rightfully so, since God said Yes to our need for a Savior, Jesus said YES to coming to this Earth for each of us. We can say YES at Christmas – at the season and at it – the heart and Spirit of Christmas. I am excited about all the progress being made on our church expansion and the upcoming Christmas celebrations and three Christmas Eve Services – Wow! But I wonder what God may be calling you to right now. I wonder what YES, He is waiting to hear from you. Christmas is surrounded with YES statements from angels, shepherds, wisemen, Mary and Joseph. It is a season filled with YES to giving and generosity. It is a season of adventure. Our sanctuary expansion almost done – what a great adventure, our next project beginning the first few months of 2008, what an adventure and lives being transformed one heart at a time – what and adventure! We hear a lot about the Spirit of Christmas this time of year. But you can find yourself exhausted at this time of year and asking yourself, "Do I have the Christmas Spirit?" And do “I have anything left in my tank in order to say, “YES?” Think of this: Many refer to Christmas Season as Advent. Advent is the beginning of ADVENTURE, a time in which the YES statements of many began the generous flow of God’s love and grace and peace to all. I think of the people you and I both know who need to meet the Savior and experience ADVENTure in their lives and have the peace that God intended for them to experience. I think of the lives we can impact at this Season, together. Are you thinking of people you can invite to church during this season? People you can bring to one of three Christmas Eve Services or to a Sunday AM? Think and pray - think and pray about who God would have you reach out to in this season and say YES to the promptings you sense from Him.
I think of all the children right now how are having “adventure” in their minds of imagination – tis’ the season for wishful thinking. Right now most children are developing wish lists for Christmas gifts. Moms and Dads are just wishing they had the funds and strength to make it through the month. Perhaps grandmother is wishing for a happy family reunion time when the whole clan gets together. And then we all “wish” each other a “Merry Christmas.” Hope is more than wishful thinking when it is placed in the Lord of Hope.
Henri Nouwen said it well:
Hope means to keep living amid desperation and to keep humming in the darkness. Hoping is knowing that there is love; it is trust in tomorrow; it is falling asleep and waking again when the sun rises. In the midst of a gale at sea, it is to discover land. In the eyes of another, it is to see that he understands you. As long as there is still hope, there will also be prayer. And God will be holding you in his hands. (Henri Nouwen, With Open Hand, 85)

The blessing for the birth of Jesus was powerfully spoken by Simeon. (Luke 2:25-35) It was Simeon who welcomed Jesus at the time of his dedication and declared how God would use him “in the days to come.” Looking to God’s future Simeon prophesied,
“This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel . . .” (Luke 2:34) He knew that God was at work in the future of this boy . . .and for all eternity! For you and for me. We know about the adventure of the baby Jesus growing up? He fulfilled this prophecy of hope that God is always working just ahead of us “in the days to come.” On a Friday the world reached its darkest moment as Jesus was crucified between two thieves. It seemed like defeat to anyone who watched…..but in it all the love Jesus had been shown, the talk of a new Kingdom, the miracles that he had performed, the teachings he gave all seemed to be dissolving into a pool of blood. We have no evidence of hope there at Calvary. But the adventure of Hope is when we actually believe the words of the angels to be true and the words of Simeon to be true as well. As the writer of Hebrews put it,
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Hebrews 11:1, NRSV)
Life becomes an adventure of faith when we trust in the One who is already ahead of us in the future working for the good of those who love him. What if you lived in that reality this Advent season? Rather than just wishing for the best this Christmas, what if you lived in the belief that “in the days to come” God has something wonderful prepared for you? Mary lived with that hope . . . so did Joseph and Simeon. What about you? Will you say YES to the Lord right now….in this season and turn your future into a greater adventure.
Go for it – join the ADVENTure Season and say YES,
Pastor Bernie

Do Good

2007-11-27T17:31:00.000-08:00

Do good, O LORD, to those who are good, to those who are upright in heart. Psalm 125:4

Today's bible reading contains a piece I used in this past Sunday's sermon. It has to do with heart and life for sure. It was Jesus saying what today's Psalm states as well - DO GOOD! BE UPRIGHT!
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will." - Matthew 26:39
Jesus dealt with the heart of the matter that we all face: will I do my thing or submit to God's will? It is always a matter of 'will' fighting. My will and God's will going at it - deciding who will win. Of course, God always wins but He may use others to win with if I am not submitted to His will and purpose. Jesus won as He submitted to God's plan and was returned to glory to be glorified and to win our salvation.
We are all moving and very busy people - but we must take time in our lives to grow, connect in Life Transformation Groups, do our daily bible reading and journaling and prayer. We must challenge our wills to get up and serve and make a difference in the lives of others and assist in the growth and ministry of our church. Without filling our spiritual tanks and connecting at a deeper sense with God and others - we miss the greatest blessings as God flows through people and He does it through our hearts. Without giving ourselves away in service we miss God's empowering us to allow His love to be extended through us.
The condition of our hearts are essential and are usually revealed only under stress or when God reaches down to ask us to give up something we possess. Like a stress test with heart monitors placed upon us the heart is monitored to see how it functions at higher pace and then rests and comes back well to normal rate. Stress and recovery tell much about our hearts condition. Being a person of release and extension rather than grabbing and reserving allow our hearts to be tested as well.
As believers in Christ, you and I need to deal diligently with our hearts... which involves having a proper attitude about surrender and laying down our wills. So what should that attitude be? For one, as believers we should be sensitive toward the disobedience in our lives. It's like getting something in your eye and not resting until you get it out! You should be so sensitive to disobedience and sin in your life that you can't rest until it is dealt with. Like Jesus' example of the Garden of Gethsemane. The wrestling He did there, speaks volumes to us. you get it out.I've heard all kinds of excuses over the years from people as to why they let sin remain in their lives and why they have chosen their will above and before God's will. But I want to ask you today, are you doing everything you can to remove sin from your life? Are you using every resource God makes available to you in order to say 'YES' to the Lord and grow in Christ-likeness?
Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts! And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting! --Psalm 139:23-24
I also need your assistance in this season. We have been blessed with great military families and other wonderful people who have due to work or various seasons in their lives moved away or moved on. What this means is that there are many new people with which to share God's love that are coming to us but have yet to deeply connect with what God is doing at LFC. So, as others have left, we need many of you to step up and find a place of meaningful service. You are needed in everything from greeting people, to setting up and tearing down our displays in front of our sanctuary, to parking lot greeting, to serving in our nursery or children's departments to office volunteers to cleaning and the list goes on. You are needed!
Also, we continue to seek God's blessing in regards to some of our staff positions that are vacant. Could I ask you to pray for LFC in this season as to the right people getting to the right places. We are confident God has the right people for us - we just need to see them released. Thanks for your consideration in serving and in praying for the needs at hand.
It is a joy to serve the Lord with you and I love being your pastor.
Pastor Bernie

A Gratitude Adjustment

2007-11-20T16:08:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday, I spoke on gratitude. Not only because it is the thanksgiving season but gratitude should be our way of life. Recently, I shared a great truth with the people who were attending my Wednesday night study - A Christ-Like Life. The truth was about privilege and discontent. I spoke with someone who was seemingly ungrateful about their job. It was not that long ago, they had started this job and their exuberance for the role was amazing. They saw their job as a privilege and since they were selected from so many other applicants they were grateful. But now they had allowed themselves to become discontent in areas with the job and finding flaws in co-workers and wanting more dollars on the pay check. If you can picture two large tanks in your mind, it will allow you to see my simple illustration. When the tank of privilege is filled up, excitement running high and a sense of joy filling the tank, it affects everything else about you. But when privilege begins to lessen and negativity sets in, the once positive heart that filled out privilege tank now becomes a negative fuel that flows into the tank of discontent and ungratefulness. The person I cited earlier is living with these two tanks and the diminishing level of privilege is causing a rise in the discontentment. Garrison Keeler, tells a story of a grandmother who was walking with her 5-year-old grandson on the beach, when suddenly a rogue wave comes up and grabs that child and carries him out to sea. She looks up to the sky, holds her fist and says, “God, this is unacceptable, unbearable. You cannot take an innocent child.” And just as those words come out of her mouth, another rogue wave comes and deposits the child smiling back at her feet. She picks up the child in her arms, looks up to the sky and says, “This child had a hat!” We can choose to live with an overflowing tank of privilege and gratitude or spend our time finding more fuel to validate our discontent and ingratitude and miss the blessings and miracles along the way. Helen Keller was an amazing woman who was deaf and blind from her earliest years. She said; "I have often thought that it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time early in adult life. The darkness would make them more appreciative of sight; silence would teach them the joys of sound." The bible reminds us to “…give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” (1 Thessalonians 5:18) John Henry Jowett, a British preacher of an earlier generation, said this about gratitude: "Gratitude is a vaccine, an antitoxin, and an antiseptic." He meant that gratitude, like a vaccine, can prevent the invasion of a disgruntled, discouraged and discontent spirit. Like an antitoxin, gratitude can prevent the affects of the poisons of cynicism, criticalness, and grumbling. Like an antiseptic, a spirit of gratitude can soothe and heal the most troubled spirit and begin to fill the tank of privilege again. Increased gratitude is essential for lifetime growth.

“Gratitude is not only the greatest of all virtues, but the parent of all others.” (Cicero).
Gratitude increases the appreciations and privilege factor in our lives.

It also diffuses arrogance and pride and diminishes entitlement. Henry Ward Beecher said: “A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets what he deserves.” It seems to me that hearts are growing with a sense of entitlement. I think we've all known people whose success in life is held back by a sense of entitlement. Their attitude is: "The government owes me; my parents owe me; the company owes me, my church owes me." We've probably all known children who, after being deluged with extravagant gifts on Christmas Day, look up from the piles of wrapping paper and say, "Is this all?" A lack of gratitude—and the sense of entitlement that often come along with it—drains the life out of a person and our privilege tank – it ruins their happiness and raises discontent. Gratitude and privilege really are the keys to living a rewarding life. Amidst the shopping, the leftovers, the thoughts of all that may be wrong with our world, our community and even your life – look for all that is right and be grateful. “If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never have enough.” “How happy a person is depends on the depth of his gratitude.” John Miller. Enjoy the season.
I am privileged to pastor such a great church and live in such a great community,
Pastor Bernie

Lord I'm Amazed By You

2007-11-06T15:55:00.000-08:00

This past Sunday was truly a great day. Lots of new faces and our team was stellar once again. So many people put their heart and life into all we do at LFC and it is simply amazing. If you are not on a team you should really consider doing so. It not only allows you to give your gifts and talents away and to serve others as Jesus served you but to also develop some great friendships too. Our worship team not only filled the platform but filled the room with sounds of praise and adoration to God. It was a great day! While we are still in the series on Decisions: Divinely Inspired, I thought it good (and I did tell you Sunday you could find these here) to share these great points with you.

In a new book called A New Kind of Normal, author, Carol Kent writes about decisions. Now, I have not read the book but the table of contents spoke volumes of what we have before us. The table of CONTENTS Gives us great value:

When despair tries to take me under…I choose life.
When I wonder what God could possibly be thinking…I choose trust.
When I desperately want relief from unrelenting reality…I choose perseverance.
When I feel oppressed by my disappointment and sorrow…I choose gratitude.
When I want to keep my feelings to myself…I choose vulnerability.
When nothing goes according to my plan…I choose relinquishment.
When I want to point the finger…I choose forgiveness.
When I want to give up…I choose purposeful action.

What great decisions these are for us. I encourage you to read them again and see what great "take-aways" you will have. As a pastor and Police Chaplain it is amazing to me at the decisions people make. Okay, not amazing a bad choice of word since only God should amaze us - people we understand. We understand that without God guiding us and without a dedication to life values based on His word we are doomed to failure. I imagine people who are living a transformational life - in community with others, committed to following God and giving their heart and all to be used by God.
Yes, even in my imagination there is failure, since people will fail but they get up and run again to an amazing God with an amazing love and the power of forgiveness. Some are addicted to the pain they live in and therefore choose more pain, others are open to choosing life, trust, perseverance, gratitude, vulnerability, relinquishment, forgiveness and action. (taken from points above) I would add things like, humility, servanthood rather than entitlement.

Here is the path I want for you and for LFC: It is a path of:

Bold Faith - believing that what God says is really true and acting on it;

Outrageous Generosity - giving our life away in order to demonstrate His Kingdom;
Radical Love - loving God with everything in us and our neighbor as ourselves.

It is a path of liberty, freedom, and healing. It is a path that desires to make decisions that please God. On this path you find significance, purpose, and destiny. This is a path less traveled however - it is not a path only available to those who determine to give themselves to Jesus and allow His ways to become theirs. It is not a religious way or people who come to the church simply to be in a "love club" it is those who are committed to put God first and follow Him. No matter where you are on your life journey, there is room on this path for you! You can jump in now - and by faith, experience the amazing love God has for you. If you have drifted away from what He wants you to do - it is time to get back to the place He calls you. Every since Sunday I have been singing the chorus to the brand new song we learned: "Lord, I am amazed by you and how you love me." His love is amazing! This morning as I prayed with some of the pastors from our city, we were reminded of His love for us and that in spite of us, God was using us.
Ephesians 3:18"...together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, (NIV)
This week we have another corporate opportunity to share the love of Christ with others - the Post Game Party. We anticipate over 800 high school students to attend this all free event. Jump houses, inflatable obstacles, music, food, pizza, fun and our elevate youth team will be hosting a booth to show students what elevate offers.
Let's live in Bold Faith, Outrageous Generosity and Radical Love - it is the least we can do in response to His Amazing Love,
Loving out loud,
Pastor Bernie

Caring for Others

2007-10-30T16:36:00.000-07:00

My heart is grateful today - LFC is making a difference and caring for others the best we can. The we is not me - it is not a few people we call staff - it is Person2Person members, Life Transformation Group leaders and people just like you, who have decided to make a difference in this world. I wanted to simply write some thoughts of what I am feeling today....so here goes:
People just like you, who have signed up to help with our Harvest Party tomorrow night. Others who have decided to volunteer to clean, answer phones, share a prayer with someone (through our prayer team) or with someone in their neighborhood. People just like us willing to throw a party for High School students following the Big Game (Lompoc vs. Cabrillo) - people just like you who have many things to do and other vital places to place their time and attention and yet see LFC as a worthy investment. Thank You. One pastor in our area took his pulpit to a new level by "blasting" anyone who celebrates Halloween or has anything to do with it. Well, I am not blasting anyone, rather I am grateful for the churches in our town and county that are providing wholesome activities for children and families to attend. I may not know theology as deeply as he does - nor have the life experience that he possesses, but I do know that when LFC has a Block Party, we do it heart-first and with a desire to allow people to see the love or Christ in our serving. We don't celebrate Halloween but Harvest. And it really is Harvest, you know. Farmers are working in the fields, and God is working in hearts. In the past three weeks we have seen over 40 people say 'Yes' to Jesus for the very first time. It takes many hands and hearts to pull this type of thing off and it takes many hearts willing to give and serve and release resources to build a great church. People who are loving God out loud. They serve in the nursery, run our sound system, our computers, sweep, clean, serve our children and our youth, lead us in worship, fill communion cups and break the bread into pieces and they sit with others who have lost their way - they are caring for others. I could ramble on about them but I will simply say: thank you.
On that subject:
I had the privilege of meeting with a group of ministry professionals this morning - military chaplains and those who care for others in an ongoing manner. As we shared together it was very clear that people are in need and often times find their way into crisis. We were reminded that our world is hurting and often times people determine to hurt alone. Rarely are we given those gifts in which someone shares their pain and even the dark corner of their heart is opened to us. By nature humans are selfish and closed systems. Those in the clinical world are so vital and I never discount what they provide but they have only come around in the last 100 - 200 years. Prior to that, where did people go? They went to the church and to the pastor / parson who provided some divine guidance and directive prayer for their lives. Often times these churches were very small and it was easy for one or two people to handle the requests. With a church our size, it is impossible for one or two persons to handle the requests and also the needs have grown more complex and the issues more twisted and tangled than years ago. Yet, at the core of all the problems then and now is a need for men and woman, boys and girls to know God.
Ephesians 2:12
remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. (NIV)
Remember that! We all had or currently have a time in which we were or are without hope and without God in the world. Again, I am not against clinical professionals and believe counseling has it's place. But quite often people look for degrees and initials following someone's name rather than check to see if they know God and if their life is giving way to fruit that proves this relationship is real and current.
I pray you will find people you can help and those you can serve. Even if you have no formal training or initials following your name. You have a heart that God can fill and use to minister life and grace to others.
I pray you will find ways to care for others and even yourself. To make sure you are filled with God. Those without hope and without God need our help, so that they may find Him too.
The church at large does not get it all right - but we are making a difference and for the most part we are lead by people who care for others, who go the extra mile and who serve from the depth of their heart. I believe more and more people will be coming to LFC and churches just like her to have their needs met. I pray we can equip you to make sure they are cared for and that their needs are met - their greatest need of finding God and biblical truth to change their lives and eternities.
Needing you,
Pastor Bernie

Sharing LOVE - with smiles, greetings and a readiness to serve.

2007-10-24T09:58:00.000-07:00

What a joy to have Glenn Burris Jr. with us this past weekend. Speaking to our Team LFC servants, following an incredible meal on Saturday Night, then all three AM services on Sunday. We had the honor of seeing 17 people respond to Jesus Christ and say YES to Him. That makes 37 in just two weeks. God is using LFC. Glenn was so impressed with the heart, worship, compassion of our people and the presence of God in our midst. He commended us on our community involvement and also for the expansion project that we are in the midst of. Glenn commented that we are in the top 10% of Foursquare Churches and that number may be higher when you consider the size of our town and surrounding areas. Way to Go, LFC.

Recently, I asked someone who was brand new to LFC in the past two weeks what impression we left upon them. The first thing they stated was the EXCITEMENT! I waited and they said: "you had tents for greeting people , check-in for kids, greeting, smiles and a readiness to serve." What a great reply. You see, the message of Christ's love begins before the service starts! Many churches miss that, but I know LFC to be a church that is capturing that all the time. We are doing all we can to live heart-first in every area of our lives and in all the gatherings we hold and finances we receive and give away. I thought this article in the Fresno Bee speaks well of the difference that servant greeters make. Take a peek at it.
As we keep working on touching lives for God, in a community that often times has a transient nature to it - we must do all we can to connect with people quickly. In the Fresno Bee article, Mark Waltz is quoted. He is the author of a great little book called, "First Impressions, Creating WOW Experiences in Your Church." This is a very easy to read book that has a significant number of useful ideas which can be used and modified in the church environment. He reminds us that people are looking for a reason to return to the church when they are visiting for the first time. We need to keep looking at all we do in the church from the point of view of a first time guest. Customer service can make or break us from going back to a store, restuarant or a bank. Now, I know that people coming to church should not be viewed as customers but to SERVE them is essential. Waltz implies that everything we do at church "speaks" - it sends a message. Are we sending the messages we want to send by having that pile of clutter in the corner? Are we sending the message we want to send by having people walk by us and we not stopping to say hello, or thanks for coming today? Do we scare people away or give them a feeling that they can return and we would be honored and glad if they did?
Questions: Where are you sharing love? Can people see God's love in you before they ever even see God? The message of Christ's love begins before the service starts! What role can you play in helping us greet others on Sunday and make sure the person next to you, in front or behind you knows you are glad they came to church?
As I was reading today: Some other key words I found helpful along the theme of people was what I shared last week in this section of the web and my blog. It is about extending grace and raising the value of others. The truth comes from pastor and leadership guru, John C. Maxwell.
John has taught and modeled leadership to church leaders and marketplace leaders alike for over two decades.
Intentionally add value to people every day of your life.

Be intentional.

We're either building value into people or we're detracting value from people.

Principles to add value to people

Value people.

Make yourself more valuable.

Keep learning, keep developing.

You can only give what you have. Learn, study, put in all you can, so you have something to give.

Know and relate to what other people value.

Listen first.

Learn all you can.

And..... Do what God values.

Read these points again and add your own ideas and thoughts to them. I could unpack them but will allow you to do so.
Sharing LOVE - with smiles, greetings and a readiness to serve. When you live that way you are adding value to everyone you meet.

Colossians 4:5
Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. (NIV)
Go for it - Pastor Bernie

Grace in the House

2007-10-16T11:15:00.000-07:00

For several years, the Hip Hop culture has made simple statements upon the arrival of someone or simply to acknowledge their presence. They will say: "So and So is in dah house." I can truly say that: "God's grace is in the house." He is working in our midst and many great and new things are happening at LFC. Our Wednesday Night Class - A Christ- Like Life has been a great time and is well attended. We have even given a great new book out at each class - Divine Mentor by my friend, Pastor Wayne Cordeiro. We give one book away each week to one winner. So come and maybe you will win. New families and friends are coming on Sunday, and this past Sunday we say 13 people raise their hands in a statement of saying "Yes" to Jesus. Worship and the singing of the old hymn - " I surrender all" were moving. It is God's grace that are in this house and we are grateful to the Lord for all that He is doing in our midst. Our expansion is moving along and much will be taking place this week - it is all being done to make room for our growing church family and for one yet to come. This Sunday we are fortunate to have Glenn Burris Jr. with us to share a great message and simply bring to us the heart of the denomination we are a part of - Foursquare. Glenn is a great leader and we are fortunate to have him with us again - this will be his third time to be with us at LFC. So, back to grace....

And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.
--John 1:16

As human beings, you and I sin. We mess up. Even in our heart to make right decisions we will mess up for sure. And as we have been sharing on Sunday - when we mess up, we go to God and ask for forgiveness and then move into making a right decision - going the right way! Yeah, we mess up - in fact, you've probably already messed up today!
But the Scripture contains an amazing promise for you and me. It's found in the verse above and I believe it to be a great seasonal promise for where we are in the life of our church - right now.
God is big on dispensing grace. His heart is to release; "grace upon grace." It means that as believers, God's grace keeps flowing into our lives like the waves of the sea that just keep coming again and again and again. It's grace upon grace upon grace upon grace upon grace upon grace! Grace did not come to us once and never again. Grace did not come to us only at salvation. It's not as though we received God's grace five years ago and we're still trying to hang on to that grace. No. We keep receiving grace, grace, grace, grace and more grace... We never run out of the grace of God because His grace is infinite! You may be in need of some of God's grace right now. It is there for you. God gives us His grace the moment we're saved... and He continues to give us His grace each day... for daily strength and forgiveness, for power to face the trials and temptations of life and for us to be gracious to others and raise the value of others.
Lamentations 3:21-23 promises us, "The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." What do you need from Him today?
God's grace is new every morning! And it's my prayer for you that you would be encouraged and know you have this daily grace available to you. I pray that as you walk with the Lord today in the midst of all you do - you will sense His grace. May His grace continue to be in dah LFC house and in your house as well.Grace on you,
Pastor Bernie

DECISIONS: Keep Going the Right Way

2007-10-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

In order to have success you must persevere. One worthwhile task carried to a successful conclusion is better than half-a-hundred half-finished tasks.
--B.C. Forbes

I needed that the other day, I was a bit impatient. You see, our expansion is taking longer than originally determined and there are days in which little progress takes place and other days in which flurries of work seem to happen. All is not on the contractor either. There are finishes, chairs, upgrading tile, projection, sound and more. Catch this: Building a building (or expanding one) is a series of little decisions, planning, hard labor, dedicated giving flowing from generous hearts - it is a series of many small things coming together to accomplish a great thing.
Our lives are like that. We make over 300 decisions a day - some are huge and some are done without much thinking at all. The greatest decision we make is to never give up! To keep running the race - sometime a short loop on the coastal way and other times a long hot desert run - but all together it is the race called life. Paul Harvey said that if there is one common denominator of men whom the world calls successful it is this: They get up when they fall down.
Webster defined perseverance as: to persist in a state, enterprise, or undertaking in spite of counterinfluences, opposition, or discouragement . The heart of perseverance is to move forward in the midst of opposition or that which is counter to the direction we sense God wanting to take us. Some obstacles may seem overwhelming and without value - schedules that don't work, building timelines that are not met, finances that you had hoped would have been released but are not. In all of it we need to see the power and purpose of God.
“Every experience that God gives us, every personHe puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for thefuture that only he can see.” —Corrie Ten Boom
Walter Elliot said, "Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another." While some would define perseverance as one consistent day after another, the fact is that no one is consistently consistent in all things 100% of the time. I love Paul's use of the phrase "press on" in Philippians 3. It communicates the idea of not just trying, but trying again. It speaks well of not giving up when others have and not allowing the timelines to through you off, even if others are off. Paul admits that he is not perfect and that he has not yet attained all that he desires to be. He still is trying to embrace why God embraced Him. Ah, the adventure of our lives. (Philippians 3. 13-14) But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal ... Can I encourage you to do the same? Go ahead and run all the races in front of you, but only as they come.

Success seems to be largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go. --William Feather

Perseverance isn't so much a matter of winning one long marathon as it is a matter of completing the short races day after day, hour after hour. It requires us to press on, even after minor setbacks and temporary defeats. To try again! Perseverance is a lifetime accomplishment ... lived out one day at a time.

Mistakes are easy, mistakes are inevitable, but there is no mistake so great as the mistake of not going on. --William Blake

Let's choose the Lord's way and not give up,!

DECISIONS: CHOOSING YOUR WAY

2007-10-01T19:46:00.000-07:00

PSALM 43:5
We have begun a new series and I am very excited about it - we are calling it Decisions - Divinely Inspired. We had some really great services - God's presence was felt and there were some great moments during our worship time as well. I simply think, having the expansion going on has been a great season for us. God is good. During the drama we played a song called: Crazy Maze. The chorus goes as follows:
Cause we´re living, yes, we´re living in a crazy maze
and we´re fighting, we´re fighting to rise above the haze
light´s at the end of the tunnel
the journey may be long
there are many theories
who´s right and who´s wrong?
With all the voices surrounding us and Satan himself making accusations against us and attempting to get into our head and our imaginations it is like we are living in a "crazy maze." Theories - ideals, information overload - who is right and who is wrong. Remember, God gave us His Word and Spirit to guide us and He has also placed some great people in our lives for wisdom sharing and advise. Be guarded though, because we must remember that Satan is a headhunter and our imaginations are his trophy. Victor Frankl wrote, "We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way."
What an amazing statement! We cannot control everything - and even as I shared this past Sunday, that God's intention was for mankind to have dominion over all the earth. Think of all the things you can't control: who comes to Christ, the decisions your children make, your health, your income, among others. You may have some influence over these things, but not complete control. We know we cannot control our boss, commander, friends and family. But what we can do is control our attitude. Life is made up of 10% of what happens to you and 90% of how you respond to what happens to you. You can control how you respond to life. There’s only one thing you truly control: your choices. Most situations are beyond your control, but what you do in those situations is up to you. In his book, The 8th Habit, Stephen Covey says the most important thing he’s learned is that you have the power to choose. When you control that, everything about life improves immediately.
The one thing you can control is how you will respond to the situations you face. With anger, doubt, and self-pity ... or withfaith, hope, and love.
In the Psalms we encounter David quite often in difficult situations -- surrounded by enemies, struggling with sin, sinking in the mud of loneliness and crying out to God to see if He is really there. David dealt with deep despair -- and again and again we see his decision to think right: Why are you so downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. (Psalm 43:5)
David understood what Paul understood: God wants to transform us by renewing our thinking - He too is after our heads. (Romans 12:1 & 2) God wants our thinking to be renewed to realize He is always there with us and for us. This should cause us to have a joy in our heart and change our minds to processing life and making decisions that are divinely inspired.
You and I can't control what happens today, but we can control our actions. Don't let your situations get the best of you today; no matter what you face, you can choose your own way.

You can act your way to healthy thinking faster than you can think your wayto healthy acting.”
Let's choose the Lord's way!

I sure love you,
Pastor Bernie

Go the Distance

2007-09-25T23:07:00.000-07:00

I wonder how many people could have realized their dream if they simply stuck with it and did not loose hope and throw in the towel. Paul Dietzel, former head coach of LSU, said, "You learn more character on the 2 yard line than anywhere else in life." He's got a point. When you're on the 2 yard line you’re either about to score or the other team is about to score on you. But sometimes (more often then we want to admit) we give up or give in. Ask yourself: How many unfinished books do we possess - how many unfinished projects around the home or office or workplace? How many people are just a few classes short of a degree, or just a few blocks short of finishing the wall or some more effort to finish the painting or the poem and the list goes on and on. Sometimes in desperation we feel as though we are at the end of our rope and can no longer see or feel what hope looks like. Insecurity or weariness arise and crush our confidence, shreds our dreams, and will cast a very dark shadow of doubt over what we want to be or do in your life. The temptation to quit, to surrender, to just stop trying is all around us. We may run out of time, money or energy or we just don’t think moving forward will be worth it. However, when the urge to quit is at its strongest, this is when success is just a very short distance away. At the 2 yard line the heat is turned up, and sometimes the soundtrack begins to play – “you are not enough to do this, or you don’t deserve to move forward.” A friend of mine who is a life coach often asks people: “How badly do you really want it?” “Do you want it so badly you are willing to make adjustments in your life that may be uncomfortable or inconvenient?” As we expand our auditorium and another building project is in the works. I can honestly say it makes for extra mess, inconvenience, numerous decisions and of course expense. But when done it will allow us to accommodate our growing congregation and have additional room to welcome new families and friends who have yet to come and hopefully more people will meet the Savior. The buildings will be a statement of God’s blessing upon us and also a statement of the dedicated, generous and committed people that attend here. The second project will more than likely begin just a few months after this one is completed. Sometimes life works just that way - just when you think the break is coming, another hill is up ahead. But don’t give up, rather keep the goal in mind and pursue it. If you are reading this and you feel like giving up, ask God for His help. Call upon Him for strength and then pick yourself up. Think about how good it will feel when you cross the finishing line. Think not only about how good it will feel to finally accomplish your goal, but think about how good you are going to feel about yourself for finishing. I have a young friend who just told me how well she is doing in school. She is really applying herself and it is making a huge difference. I asked her “how it feels, not to get the grades you are getting but to know you are applying yourself and giving it your all?” She stated how “pleased she was with herself” and shared a goal she has with me. But she did not need to say a word because I could see the sense of accomplishment in her eyes as we spoke. When you feel like giving up, this is the time to reach out to God for help and then reach down deep into your soul. Shut off the sound track and replace it with a new tune. That's when it's time to dig in. At the 2 yard line you find out whether you have the fortitude to push the rest of the way through to the end zone and/or make a last minute stand against defeat. "Let us not become weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6:10 KJV) You may be on the two yard line now -- advancing toward success or staving off defeat. Unlike football, in life it's possible to be both places at once. Take a look at the challenges you're facing today. What do you need to do? Push a little harder in one area? Stand a little stronger in another? Keep doing well and accomplish what you have been called to do. Go for it and step up and out - don't let fear grip your heart. You can do it. See you on the field.
Keep going,
Pastor Bernie
PS: Allow me to add a great story I have used in a sermon before:
Long after the crowd had left and the cameras had moved, a lone runner entered the stadium to complete the 26-mile-long marathon in the 1968 Mexico City Olympics. Injured earlier in the race during a fall, he stumbled along, more than an hour after the others had finished. Hurling himself to the finish line, John Stephen Akhwari of Tanzania finished dead last. But before you judge him as a loser, take careful heed of the words he uttered when asked why he did not quit earlier when he had been injured:
“My country did not send me 7,000 miles to start the race. They sent me 7,000 miles to finish it.”

The future is NOW

2007-09-18T23:13:00.000-07:00

Give people a vision that's more compelling than what they are afraid of."
Carly Fiorina (former CEO of HP)

As I looked out over our congregation this past Sunday with the expansion progressing and the new faces - I was moved by all that God had allowed us to realize and also moved by what was to come - more people, greater needs to meet, the need for more of our current LFC family to step up and serve. You see, additional seating means, more ushers, greeters, more bulletins and those who fold them. More people mean more children in our nurseries and children's classes and in turn more servants on the Children's team. More people means more parking issues! This past Sunday we did a quick survey and found that 12 cars were at City Hall during our peak parking times. Only 12! We have the rights to 34 spaces over there each Sunday and at all three services - I love parking there and walking over - it is great, simply 149 feet from our church and it allows me some moments to pray, sing, whistle and clear my mind. It also allows for those new to LFC to park where they think they should - closest to the building. What would you endure to see someone brand new find a good parking space to get to church? What would you endure to simply reach out to someone and greet them - just say hello....have we met? Statistical data shows that this is the greatest impact upon people coming to church for the first time. People expect to be greeted by people with name badges but when we all do it - it touches hearts. One lady recently commented that she came to LFC and was greeted by 8 people before she even sat down and was thanked about 5 times for coming to church as she left - this really impacted her.
As we keep giving and serving together, we are a part of a great vision that is more compelling than anything we might be afraid of. It is often that what holds us back is:
Not feeling needed - but you are! Each one of you have a valuable contribution to make and you are needed. With all we are doing as a church we need as many people as we can embrace to step up and out. If you feel this way and somehow it is communicated by our church (unintentionally) that you are not needed, please let me know. email me at pastorb@mylfc.com

Ephesians 4:16 From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work. (NIV)

I Corinthians 12: 4 -6 There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. (NIV)

Fear - it holds people back. Fear creates blocking, resists buy-in and keeps people in a spectator mode. Fear keeps us from moving from a place in the crowd to being a part of the community, to becoming committed and then moving to the core of the action.
I would enjoy finding out what fears people are dealing with right now - what keeps them from giving their heart to God - from serving with all they have, from living out their calling and using their gifts (both natural and spiritual) for the Lord. If you have a fear that keeps you from serving - giving and sharing. email me at pastorb@mylfc.com I will address it in upcoming weeks and you have my assurance I will not use your name.
I am not only here to bring leadership and teaching but to hear from you. Our team wants to hear from you too.
The future is now: There is a great value in keeping the main thing the main thing. It's easy to follow all types of tangents and miss what the original purpose and design was to be. We are here - the reality of the building expansion, a growing church - new converts to Christ - we had six this past Sunday - water baptisms around the corner and many new people coming who need care and nurture and support. It is time to step up and out and find your place - to keep praying for those in need (we are still praying for over 400 people whose names were giving to us by people at LFC, they simply believed their family member or friend needed a divine intervention from God and so we have prayed and will keep doing so. Let me know what you hear from people - if you have a great story of a life we have been praying for please let me know. email me at pastorb@mylfc.com
Bill Hybels, pastor of Willow Creek Church has stated: "Connect everyone you lead to a compelling cause." Our cause is to embrace the future - get ready for those we have made room for - to pray, to give sacrificially and with all our heart step up and out. There are many teams that need you and need you now. Greeters, ushers, nursery, drama, worship team (we need more musicians - yes we do) creative people, cleaners, handy people, office volunteers, youth team members, children's team, video editors and video creators, harvest party helpers, post game party helpers - people who are stepping up and out right now and living out their call and dream - it is a compelling cause! To be a growing church that is making a difference in our community - it is compelling. To be building, to be planning for more - it is compelling - to see salvation and restoration - it is compelling. What is God saying to you? What will you do? Go for it - and believe. You want to jump in? email me at pastorb@mylfc.com and we (me and our team) will help you get in the water of serving and giving. We need you - it is more compelling than what you are afraid of.

I'm looking forward to the ongoing growth opportunities for me, my family, my team and our church because of what God's up to inside of me and inside of you.
Pastor Bernie

Terrorism Continues

2007-09-11T18:01:00.000-07:00

No doubt you have read, seen or heard some reporting remembering 911. Much has changed and little has changed! We still have enemies - people who will not stop until they can ruin, destroy and infiltrate that which they do not believe in or value. As a nation, we are not valued by many in the rest of the world and by some we are hated, simply due to the fact we are a nation founded (though we have drifted) as One Nation Under God. Psalm 33:12Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people he chose for his inheritance. (NIV)
Some simply hate us and long to destroy us because our God is the Lord. Recently Osama Bin Laden was reported as saying: "If America wants to stop the war in Iraq and be safe, they need to turn to the Islamic Religion." The L.A. Times reported today:
WASHINGTON -- -- Six years after the deadliest terrorist attacks on American soil, the United States is in many ways unprepared to stop another major strike against the homeland, which Al Qaeda appears intent on carrying out in the near future, four of the nation's top counter- terrorism officials told a Senate panel Monday. Al Qaeda's intentions have been underscored in recent days by the disruption of suspected terrorist plots in Germany and Denmark, the first propaganda video by Osama bin Laden in three years, and persistent intelligence showing that Al Qaeda has regrouped in a Pakistan haven and is training operatives there for attacks worldwide. Al Qaeda's media arm said Monday that it was preparing to release a second Bin Laden tape. He is expected to again taunt President Bush and other pursuers, and praise those responsible for the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. "Our counter-terrorism efforts have disrupted some of the enemy's plans and diminished certain capabilities," John Scott Redd, the director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center, told the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. "But the events of the last days and the last weeks clearly demonstrate the clear and present danger which continues to exist."So what has changed? We are still fighting the Global War on Terror - the brave men and woman in uniform who represent various branches of the arm forces of the United States - the bravest and brightest are willing to give their all for us. These true servants must be applauded, supported and most of all prayed for - as their mission is not over. And even when troops come home there is much to do here to keep our homeland secure. The recent terrorist plots (as reported above) remind us that little has changed. Our enemy is lurking and desirous of bringing us down.
Jesus reminds us that spiritual warfare and terrorism are not hyper-spiritual figments of imagination. It is reality!
John 10:10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
Make no mistake: Satan has a plan and he is a terrorist. Although sinful, he is not stupid. He does not act haphazardly or without a goal in view. In Ephesians 6:11 Paul referred to the “schemes” (“methods”) of the Devil. He has cunning stratagems not only for the individual believer but also for the corporate body of Christ. We need a Global War on Terror - in the spiritual as well as physical. Your prayers and willingness to stand strong are the "spiritual security" that we need. My old pastor used to say: You give the devil an inch and he will take a mile - no, no, he will take you." If you give the devil a beachhead he will invade your territory and if you give him a foothold (Ephesians 4:27) he will scale the wall of your heart.
Listed below are areas in which we know the devils terror strikes.The enemy of our soul is a terrorist that never sleeps and is always LOOKING for ways to get at us:

He is often (but not always) the source of sickness (cf. Acts 10:38; Mt. 8:16; Mark 9:17-18; Luke 13:10-17).

He can inflict death as well as provoke the paralyzing fear of it (Heb. 2:14; see Job 1:13-19; John 10:10).

He plants sinful plans and purposes in the minds of men (Acts 5:3; John 13:2; Mt. 16:21-23).

On occasion, Satan will himself indwell a person (John 13:27).

He sets a snare or trap for people, perhaps with a view to exploiting and intensifying their sinful inclinations. He infiltrates the church and plants within it his own people (Mt. 13:37-39).

He tests or tries Christians, the malicious “sifting” “like wheat” of Peter’s faith being an excellent example (Luke 22:31).

He incites persecution, imprisonment, and the political oppression of believers (1 Pt. 5:8-9; Rev. 2:10).

He is the accuser of the Christian (Rev. 12:10).

He performs signs and wonders to deceive the nations (Exodus; 2 Thess. 2:9-11).

He seeks to silence the witness of the church (Rev. 12:10-12).

He promotes false doctrine (1 Tim. 4:1-3; Rev. 2:24; 2 Cor. 11:1ff.).

He influences the thoughts and actions of unbelievers (Eph. 2:1-2).

He attacks married believers in regard to their sexual relationship (1 Cor. 7:5).

He exploits our sinful decisions, (Eph. 4:26-27).

He confronts us with various temptations (1 Chron. 21:1; Mt. 6:13; 1 Thess. 3:5).

He works in active opposition to the gospel, blinding the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the truth about Christ (2 Cor. 4:4).

The devil is looking for weakness in you and me, in our system, in our relationships, in our church. We must stand strong and not act as he would want us to. Not putting others down, gossiping, holding grudges and being offended. Standing by not allowing for people to leave without us expressing care and love - and not allowing the day to end with our hearts in wrath and anger.
I Peter 5:8, gives us a great warning.
Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (NIV)
Just as the terrorists in the past have done and are currently doing, they look for an area of weakness. No one expected commercial aircraft to be used in the bringing down of buildings and the ending of lives. Yet, terrorists who hated the United States were allowed the benefit of being in our country and training among our people to fly aircraft. Hindsight shows us we should have used better constraint and wisdom in allowing this to take place. But like the devil "prowling" they looked for the weakness in the guard and found it. We must be self-controlled and alert as a country and as God's people to not allow a devouring to take place.
Would you join in praying for the fallen - the victims of 911, their families and those in our nation touched in these days by the memory of that horrific day? Will you join me in praying for the families of LFC, our children and youth - our singles and our seniors? Would you pray for protection, guarding of hearts and a strength to stand firm and strong. Will you pray for our President, our leaders, our military and all who are serving to keep us safe and free. Our enemy will not stop - we must not stop praying and standing strong.
God bless you and God bless America,
Pastor Bernie

Winds of Change

2007-09-04T18:42:00.000-07:00

One day the temperature is up and the heat index makes even Lompoc feel like a desert spot - those who attended third service on Sunday can verify. We could all see the exposed duct work which will in short time carry nice cooled air to the warm bodies - we could also see the framed area where the windows will be placed (on the north side of the building) but no windows were yet in place on Sunday. It made me think of the things in our life that might appear a certain way but be another. The things that could be and should be functional but are not! The growth and maturity we should be living out and exhibiting. As with the building these things will come in time - but we must not miss the GROWTH steps today that will help us be equipped with what we truly need tomorrow. In the case of the building, the framing in the wall needs to be ready and correct in order to receive the windows, the ducts need to be positioned just right in order for the decorative vents at the end of the line to blow the cooled air to us. The ducts are simply channels for the air to flow through - by themselves they are useless and if all we had were vents screwed into wood or drywall (the appearance of air conditioning or heating) we would have a facade minus reality.
Life is like the temperature and the wind - one day all is well and smooth and the next day things can rise (issues and situations, troubles and difficulties). As with our church, we are seeing changes to our facilities and also to the lives of people who are coming and receiving and growing (especially in those who are getting connected to teams and in Life Transformation Groups). The key is to be connected in the right spot and to the right person the essential step is to assure that we are building into the fabric of our lives today - the things God wants us to have so that when the "winds of change hit" you are ready for them. The time to build is not when the deadlines come but each and ever day - little by little and step by step.
The right person to be connected to is Jesus. It is in abiding in Jesus that we realize our strength and also have the appropriate gifts and "equipment" we need for our lives. John's gospel is a huge help in this regard and allows us to have the words of Jesus. Abiding requires following Jesus' actual teaching (15:7). Knowing what Jesus teaches and intentionally living toward those teachings is part of what it means to abide in him (8:31). Abiding in Jesus also means to abide in his love (15:9). This is where the right "equipment" is placed on our lives. Loving God and loving others prepares us for the winds of Change that come our way. Those who follow Jesus learn a deep sense of his love for them (14:21-24). This awareness of his love keeps us connected to Him when "the winds of change" come. A love for Jesus does not exist without obedience (15:10, 14; 14:21, 23).
Obedience is at one time the means of expressing love for him and the opportunity to experience his love.
As we obey Him - the proper framing is put into place in our lives and the Lord makes His love real to us. (14:23). He does not love us because we obey. He has and always will love us, rather as we obey, we open the windows of blessings that can come to us no other way. Obedience is an expression of our love. The Lord is the source of our life that we must connect with deeply - so much so that He is called the Vine and we are the Branches. The Lord ultimately hopes to find on these branches is love for each other, sacrificial love like that Jesus demonstrates by laying down his own life (15:12-14). ___We bear this fruit as we depend on Jesus, experience his love and obey his instructions. It is not just fruit, but that which remains and no matter the changes in life - it remains because it is born out of love. This love and fruitfulness are born our of a life of prayer in which we ask the Lord for whatever is necessary to fulfill God's redemptive purpose (15:16). We did not choose him any more than branches choose the vine they are on. On the contrary, the vine gave birth to the branches (15:16). Jesus chose these "branches" for the specific purpose of bearing the eternal fruit of God's redemptive love. "This is my command," he tells them, "Love each other" (15:17).What changes? lots of things - what remains the same? God's love for us and the call for us to love others. This love for God and our obedience coupled with the love He wants us to have for others will build our lives and place the windows in the right spots.

It takes Heart

2007-08-28T17:55:00.000-07:00

We speak much about hearts around LFC. Why? Cause the condition of our hearts individually and collectively as a church family have huge impact on the health of our church and the impact and influence we can have on those around us. We speak about living "heart -first" at LFC and with things like the Car Show coming up this weekend (that LFC assists with each year) - it takes heart, lots and lots and lots of heart. You can do something with “all of your heart” and then on the other hand you can have “a deceived heart” – a bad heart, a wicked heart, a deceptive heart, a worldly heart, a straying heart. Or you can have a consumer heart rather than a "serving heart." How can we begin to make sense of it all? Well, first of all, every human being has a physical organ called a heart. And then you have an invisible heart – the heart from which flow all of your affections, emotions and values - the part that loves or is hurt and gives or takes. This is your “heart of hearts.”
Man’s spiritual heart is what God checks because out of it flow the issues of life.

God searches our hearts and evaluates them as to their relative health. Because, you see, there is more to us than just a physical heart. There is a spiritual heart.
Psalm 139 reminds us of the searching God desires:
O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. (vs.1)
Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. (vs. 23 & 24 - NIV) David who was said to be “a man after God’s own heart.” It’s possible that we, too, can have a heart after God’s own heart. It’s not a physical heart, but it’s a heart in which everything functions perfectly. In fact, the Bible says, “David was someone who walked with a perfect heart before God.” Can you even fathom that there is a way to make a perfect heart? Man looks on the outer appearance, but God looks on the heart. We can all appear to have a right heart or a good heart - but we cannot fake it with God. Having a good or "perfect" heart is all about God seeing us as good before Him. Of course our "goodness" does not amount to much - but allowing Jesus to be our "goodness" and having Him working on us and changing us - that is good. In our nation, one of the top three killers of men and women is heart disease. My doctor just reminded me of that today. Sometimes the natural and spiritual is connected (at least for illustration purposes, like our heart). Scripture teaches us ways to strengthen our heart into perfect hearts. The first thing we must do is to allow our values to keep shifting into His values for us.
ESTABLISH ETERNAL VALUES.
Establish values that are God’s values because they are ones that will last for all eternity.
“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:19-21 NIV).
Value what God values. Put what is near His heart near your heart.

Our heart will attach itself to what we place value on.

Live life with all your heart. Be passionate in life but just make sure you’re passionate about the right thing! As you give, love and serve (living heart-first) do all unto God and for His glory and not your glory.

Have your heart follow God's path and direction. Don’t let your heart direct you; you direct your heart! Don't live on impulse and or the feeling of the moment - look at the compass God wants you to follow. As I write this, our youth band is warming up for elevate youth night. The song they are singing is: My heart is where my treasure lies! When your heart starts to stray, say, “No," my heart belongs to God and He is my treasure. If you go on feeling, it won’t be long until you’re sinking. “Listen, my son and be wise, and direct your heart in the way” (Prov. 23:19).
Scripture tell us to “direct our heart in the way” because it understands that our hearts have a tendency to drift. And sometimes it will go wrong. We have to move it back to God's track.
When you direct your heart according to what God values, that’s what makes a perfect heart – not a straying heart or a deceived heart – a perfect heart. That’s why God said “David is a man after My own heart.” David saw what God valued and directed his heart towards it.
Did David still make mistakes? He sure did. That’s why he said again and again, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” And we must pray the same way, as we remember to:
Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. (Proverbs 4:23 - NIV) God wants us to develop perfect hearts, like David: hearts that follow His own. To do that, we must establish eternal values that align with God’s values. We must give ourselves away - yes! God works His perfection in those who are channels of His grace and living out their purpose.
Move with God - keep in step with His call and marching orders.
Allow your heart to be directed in God’s ways. Doing daily devotions, journaling, spending time in prayer with God (throughout the day and placing commas on the end of each sentence we pray and picking up on our prayer later on) are good ways of getting to know God’s heart and values and ensuring that we are following His ways. And God will say, “Now, you are a person after My own heart.” And He’ll release the grace of heaven to you because you’ll influence your family, your community, and your generation and be living with a healthy heart that will impact LFC too.

It all Starts with God

2007-08-14T16:10:00.000-07:00

The building is progressing nicely and even amidst a few speed-bumps and unforeseen details (you always have this in construction and they result in additional expenses). We are re-roofing the existing sanctuary (approx 30,000 dollars) and upgrading real important things that no one sees but are essential, like roof drains, metal flashing, metal roof caps and more. We even have the smell of hot tar and hot mopping going on - yeah, nothing like that. It may sound odd, but often times God longs to be with us so that He can work on the cracks and leaks and insufficiencies while they are small and before they allow the outside storms to become inside storms. Just as we are taking care of a problem in our almost 14 year old roof - God never wants us to neglect the things in our lives that He draws to our attention.

As He brings things to our attention - we must respond - remember, it all starts with Him.

This last Sunday as we started our worship time - I reminded our congregation that our worship was a response to God's designing each of us with the capacity to worship Him. We worship Him because He calls us to worship - not in a selfish way (though He desires to be worshipped) but He also knows the powerful change that it brings to us.
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. --- John 4:23

Worship starts with God

Our desire to speak to Him, sing to Him and give Him our hearts all starts with Him. We are not going to come up with a longing for God on our own. He places the longing deep within us. God is seeking worshippers and those who will spend time with Him in prayer - listening to God and then speaking what He gives us to speak in our prayers. He placed the desire to worship and to pray deep within us.

Prayer starts with God (that was last Sunday's sermon)

It is all based on the longing God has to be with us and the value He sees in advance in our time together.
We love because he first loved us. --- I John 4:19
Even our love for God starts with Him.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. --Luke 15:20
The parable of the prodigal son in Luke 15 is one of the most dramatic pictures of God's love in all the Scripture. This love started with God and even though the son tried to diminish his father's love for him, by his actions and wandering life - nothing could separate this son from his father's love. What a great picture of God in this story.
It is for us a picture of God Almighty! The love that He has for us that starts with Him. What a picture of God the Father! I like the way Phillips translates the last phrase of this verse. It says, "His father's heart went out to him while he was yet a long way off."
This is not a father who can't wait to punish his sinful son. This is not a father who has written that boy off as wasted and worthless. This is a loving, caring father who cannot wait to embrace his son and to welcome him home! That's why, when the father sees his son off in the distance, he leaves the house and runs down the road to meet him and to embrace him and bring him in.
What I hope you see here is a picture of the Father's love for you. God's love is an aggressive love...a love that's eager and excessive. His love is approachable. And His love is abundant.
The prodigal son's father didn't hold back his love from his child. And God will never withhold His love from you!
If you have drifted a bit in your relationship with God - you can come back to Him. If you have lost your first love of God - He has never wavered in His deep and aggressive love for you. If it has been awhile since you were with the Lord in worship, in the word or in prayer - run to Him.
He longs to be with you and if you sense that longing too, well, know it started with God,
Keep praying as we grow, expand, believe for greater release and see the heart and hand of God in our midst.
Pastor Bernie
GOD IS A LOVING FATHER WHO CAN'T WAIT TO EMBRACE YOU AND WELCOME YOU HOME

God's Heart: Comfort Provided ~ Strength Extended

2007-07-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

As I read today's scripture reading for my own time of contemplation and journaling I was reminded about Gods' incredible heart. It is to COMFORT and extend GRACE.
Scripture:
The God of Comfort
Isaiah 40: 1, 2, 5, 10, 11
Comfort, comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and proclaim to her that her hard service has been completed, that her sin has been paid for, that she has received from the LORD's hand double for all her sins. And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, and all mankind together will see it. For the mouth of the LORD has spoken." See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power,and his arm rules for him. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young.
Who is like the Lord our God?
Isaiah 40: 12, 13 & 14
Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, or weighed the mountains on the scales and the hills in a balance? Who has understood the mind of the LORD, or instructed him as his counselor? Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, and who taught him the right way? Who was it that taught him knowledge or showed him the path of understanding? Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are regarded as dust on the scales; he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.

The God of Strength
Isaiah 40:31
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.

Observation:
As I read these verses today I was given a refresher course on the heart of God. It is His heart to provide us with comfort when we are in need and strength when we become week. It is this God, the one that I serve that is like no other God. He does not need a counselor nor does he seek advise from another. He is all sufficient and self-contained. He alone is worthy of my worship , trust and dependency. In Isaiah's time, people carved idols out of stone or wood; today, people create idols in their hearts: Money, fame, success, social status; pleasure. An idol is anything that replaces God, and for most of us, the most potent idol is ourselves. But if we want to experience true comfort and have a hope for the future, our focus must become less self-centered and more God-ward. Who is like our God? Who can give strength to us? Who is there that knows it all (not who thinks they know it all but who really does)? God alone.
Isaiah went on to emphasis his point about God and it speaks volumes to my own heart. "Do you not know? Have you not heard? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood since the earth was founded? He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers. He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, and spreads them out like a tent to live in" (Isaiah 40:21-22). There are hints, here, of modern cosmology, not that of 700 B.C. - the earth is a "circle," the heavens "stretched out." Wow! As I read this I observe once again (as part of my refresher) God's promises can be trusted because He is above and outside the world. And Isaiah says that these things have been known about God from the very beginning. "Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one,and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing" (Isaiah 40:26).Isaiah's purpose is to convey the hope and comfort offered by the mighty Creator of the Heavens. This hope is grounded in God's promises, which in turn, are established by His power and character to keep them. He is coming to you and me and someday He will demonstrate the power of His rule outwardly - He will establish His rule forever. He will gather those who love Him like sheep and tenderly lead us. These verses clearly set the backdrop for the Savior, Jesus to come to Earth as much of these words are fulfilled and extended in the life of Jesus and His sacrifice for us.
Application:
As I continue to deal with personal growth, ordering my days and my time, our current church expansion (patience with contractors) trusting God and the release of funding for our multi-purpose building (future) these words are amazing reminders to me. I serve a God who is incredible - powerful - all wise and yet is willing to provide me with comfort and strength. This God shares His wisdom and His heart with me as I need Him. He does not hoard His power or His blessing as I live out my days on this "circle." A fresh view of God puts my life in perspective and gives clarity and lift to my faith. When I hear the negative comments, carry the weight of life, watch my own waistline shrink and grow and hopefully now to shrink again - I have a God who is intimately acquainted with all my ways and all my days. I serve the God who rules above all - He is wise and powerful and cares more about me than I know. He cares the same for you.
It is God's heart to COMFORT and extend GRACE.
Prayer:
Lord, help me to trust in you at a new level and to believe in you like never before. You are the God of all comfort and you share your comfort - help me to run to you and teach me to receive from you. Allow me often times like today, where I am able to have a fresh view of you. Help me to wait on you - to get new strength before pressing ahead and to open my heart to you - for there is none like you. Thank you that these verses that remind me too of your Son, Jesus and His love for me. I praise you God for you are my strength and comfort. Amen.
Let God's word speak to your heart each day as you get a fresh glimpse of our eternal God.
I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie

Life and Horseshoes

2007-07-17T15:39:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday our men enjoyed some fellowship, breakfast and horseshoes! What fun, Bob Lillard and Tim Friedrich took first place in the horseshoe tourney, but we were all winners with the message Dave Church brought us. I thought rather than list my weekly writing here, I would include Dave Church's outline notes from the teaching. Thanks Dave.

There are many similarities between the game and life but at least one critical difference.
Horseshoes when played formally is a very structured game being governed by the National Horseshoe Pitchers Association. Formal rules involve 14 pages of rules governing everything from weight of the shoes, scoring, special rules for people with special needs, to the length of time to throw the horseshoe as well many others.
Can you imagine what the game of horseshoes would be like if we played it like some live life? For comparison purposes, think of the stake as God.
Some players would:

Say there is no stake. (There is no God)

Say there are many stakes that could be aimed for and proceed to throw at stakes in other pits. (There are other things or "gods" more worthy of their time and effort.)

Say that there are other rules to get the shoes to the stake. (There are others ways to God)

The resulting game involving the above players with the above "rules" would be chaotic.
There are some similarities between formal horseshoes and a Godly life that are interesting.
They both have a rulebook that should be known if you want to play the game properly - The Bible serves as an official source for not only rules or principles of life but for inspiration and correction.

2 Tim 3:16-17 All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness
Both horseshoes and a Godly life require action and intentional direction in order to be done well. The direction for the Godly man is set by communication with God (prayer), scripture, the Holy Spirit and modeling of Christ but requires faith that he is the "stake". The Bible says that "Without faith it is impossible to please God" The choices or pitches that we make daily reflect the "stake" in which we really have faith. Our faith should provide the direction for our choices. Our trials and experiences, as we trust in him, should build our faith. The Bible shows us choices that are pleasing to him and those that are displeasing and because we have faith in God we live life using Godly principles.
The Bible also indicates that unlike the game of horseshoes we can never on our own get a ringer or even a point – we can never reach God on our own. The "rules" or laws given to the Hebrews weren’t successful in connecting man to God. The Bible says "But now a righteousness apart from the law has been made to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes forth in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference for all sinned and fall short of the glory of God and are justified freely by grace. Romans 3:21-23 Playing by the rules of life we could not achieve the prize of eternal life. However, anyone who has faith in Christ scores with God. The choices that we make daily are counted as righteous if they are cast with faith in Christ.
Some personal thoughts:
We need regular exposure to God’s direction in order to develop our faith in God- this world’s sense of direction, the ones which we have the most exposure to, is mostly directed to success in achieving other goals or stakes which often provide a thrill or trophy in the short term but will not satisfy their deepest need.
We can learn Godly principles through contact with others who put their trust in God.
Others need to know the value of choosing to place their faith in God and often we are the contact point.
Trust in God not only provides the hope of eternal life but also results our needs being met.
Thanks to Dave Church for sharing his notes with us - his teaching under the trees at Miguelito Park was just great!

2007-07-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

Changing Lives begins with Changing Hearts

Recently someone said: “Pastor Bernie, are you out of your mind?” They stated this in response to some statements I had made about upgrading some areas of ministry and service to new-comers (guests) at Lompoc Foursquare. They also shared it in regards to the events we have coming up on our calendar: (such as, the Air Force and Public Safety Appreciation BBQ, our assisting the Lompoc PD with their National Night out on August 7th, and the upcoming Lompoc PD / Special Olympics Car Show. Wow! All of that and a growing number of brand new people at LFC and the expansion going on with numerous behind the scenes details and – yeah, sometimes I am out of my mind. But wait….

2 Corinthians 5:13 If we are out of our mind, it is for the sake of God; if we are in our right mind, it is for you. (NIV)

Sometimes we are just a bit out of our minds – and that is a good thing. Living with a mind that is “Out” means, living beyond, not limited by normal thinking. Since many churches live in normal thinking and thus bringing upon themselves a decline or barely hanging on and since so many churches are just living to fill the seat, we had decided to live beyond that. I spoke with a man this afternoon who attends a church that is barely keeping its doors open. He was at the back of our facilities and looked at our expansion, he had heard of the multi-use space that will take place where the corner house stands and than asked me: “What does your church do in the community?” I of course gave him a watered down and condensed version. I knew he had no frame of reference to understand what we do and more importantly why we do it. I knew if I told him, that he would think I was “out of my mind.”
The bottom line is that if a church wants to impact a community–IT TAKES WORK.
For far too long churches have taken a relaxed approach to ministry and community involvement. They have even been lazy in the care of their facilities and in the greeting of and reception for guests who are seeking God or attempting to find a new church home. We desire that God lead us but we do not want to sit back and ask God to “do it all.” Some have taken that position and claimed that they were being “led by the Spirit.” And then people walk into boring, lifeless and predictable services, students walk into Sunday school or youth gatherings and we give “God all the glory” (or the blame!)
One of the things I have realized in reading Scripture though is that Jesus was far from living in His mind – rather He had God’s mind. He even told us to let His mind be in us.

Philippians 2: 5 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus (KJV)

Think of Jesus - He created experiences for His followers–experiences that they NEVER forgot…do you remember…
Jesus walking on water…don’t think for a minute that Peter didn’t think about that moment every time he walked by a lake.
The mount of transfiguration. Peter & John were both so blown away by this that they both wrote about it in Scripture.

The feeding of the 5,000.
The day of Pentecost in Acts 2.
Bringing back Lazarus from the dead.
Turning water into wine at a wedding.

Jesus was constantly creating experiences that communicated to His followers who He was in a way that they would never forget…
AND THE CHURCH SHOULD BE DOING THE SAME!!!
We will keep going for it – moving forward. Actually the season around the corner will be a Fall Forward time. We will be looking at ways to upgrade things we do at LFC and making room for more and more servants to come onboard too. With all we have going, we need you. Don’t think for a moment we have enough people serving – truth be told, we don’t. We have room for you to join us and we are challenging you to step up and step out. You might be saying to yourself, “Pastor Bernie are you out of your mind – you want me to get connected and serve?” YES! I am out of mind for God, so come and join me.
At LFC, we are doing all we can to take church seriously. Everything you see is done with a purpose and connected to hearts and souls. We are serious about Jesus…and serious about as many people as possible meeting Him. And because of that fact we are willing to do all that we can to reach those people!
We know GOD is in charge–that HE is ultimately responsible for all that is happening…but we also understand that God works THROUGH people…and that He is honored when people plan, pray, work…and then sit back and watch Him make up the difference.
We are serious about making lifting Him up. SO…we are going to always do all we can to make sure that when you attend church on Sunday–that it is the best that it can be and that all we do to impact our community will be the best it can be.
Could God be calling you to assist us in creativity, greeting, parking lot greeting, first impressions and anything that will help people to connect with God at a heart level.
Let God keep changing your heart so that you can be used to change lives.
Let’s keep going for it.
I love being your pastor,
Pastor Bernie

Fourth of July Week

2007-07-03T15:21:00.000-07:00

I look forward to seeing many of you with us at LOS ALAMOS park for our annual LFC Picnic and BBQ. Always a great time to enjoy a relaxing atmosphere with your LFC family, meet some new friends and connect with those which may attend a different service than the one you usually attend. As we approach the day of INDEPENDENCE, let us remember our need to be dependent upon God - and in our independence let us not forget our need to be interdependent upon those the Lord has placed in our lives.
Below I want to share some of my thoughts, some "cut and paste" insights I have found and above all my hopes that God blesses our land as those who live within her borders see the privilege of living here and the value of a relationship with God. 231 years ago, 56 men representing 13 colonies unanimously accepted the Declaration of Independence severing their relationship with Great Britain. John Adams in his letter to his wife Abigail wrote saying, “Posterity, you will never know what it cost my generation to preserve the freedoms that you now enjoy. I hope you shall make good use of it. And if you do not, I shall repent in heaven for even taken half the pains to preserve it”. We know today, far more than John Adams did of the great price of freedom. A friend in the military wrote and said: "...recent events in the UK remind us, we face a formidable foe who seeks nothing less than our, and our allies, complete destruction."
Why the need for INDEPENDENCE? If we step back to 1517. The Catholic Church in Germany began drifting from scripture. It eventually led Martin Luther, who was a priest to protest what was going on. He was "booted" from the church because of his protest. The church called him a protestor and anyone who followed him Protestants. They were also called Lutherans or Methodists and many were persecuted because of it. Later the king of England established a state church for his own selfish reasons, the Church of England. They called it the Anglican Church and it exists today - a part of the church underneath the Anglican banner is the Episcopal Church. Some who did not agree with the (then) power tactics of the Anglican church, left their ways and began to form a group called the Separatists sailing on the Mayflower to America to form the very first colony. Once in America, they put together a Mayflower Compact, which was like the first Declaration of Independence. It was their first attempt for a self-governing, self-determining rule. Then one event after another led to July 4, 1776. That day they, these colonists they decided to make a separate country from England. And pledging their lives they wrote the Declaration of Independence. Although they tried appealing to King George III, the king just wanted them to come back to the church and under his control. Which brings us to why after the Declaration of Independence; they wrote the first amendment to the constitution. It states, Congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of a religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press or the right of the people peaceably to assemble and to petition the government for a redress of grievances. Free speech was for the people in order to hold the government accountable to be just in the eyes of God. We hear of separation of church and state. It was so that the state would not dictate how the people would worship God. At the same time it was so that the church wouldn’t use the political system to endorse their doctrines. However, we’ve drifted far from its original intention today.
Some people say that there is a church and state separation so they contend to keep the church and its influence out of the culture. But, we have never needed God more and to live by biblical truth more. Does the state need the church? YES, but they do not know it. If we all lived our lives as God would have us live - served others (as LFC is attempting to do) and allowed our care, grace and love to be evident, the world would realize our value and the hope of the message we proclaim. Sadly some in the church at large, have become judgmental and pious. Some have begun to misuse authority, families are falling apart, and there is a disconnect in what we say and how we live. On the other hand, God says, for those of you who have this bedrock faith the gates of hell won’t even prevail against you. Think how much of an influence we would be to our state if we lived what we believe. One thing I’ve noticed as I’ve studied history is that whenever the church was strong the nation was strong. Yet when the church started to drift, the government reflected the church. We have a huge responsibility as Christians.
Matthew 5:14 - 16"You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. "Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.
When we live for the Lord, our lives make a huge impact upon others. But the inconsistencies are not helping the cause of Christianity.
How can we expect the government to know what’s right and wrong if the church doesn’t? We cannot be upset at our leaders for not living with integrity and righteousness if we in the church are not doing so. We must look among ourselves.The church is more important to America than we will ever realize.
May we live what we believe - this is our freedom. May we let our light shine - this is our freedom. May we serve others - this is our freedom and may we worship God freely - this is our freedom. You are greatly needed - shine your light, let your heart ring out - we are free.
Enjoy your independence as you remain dependent upon God.
I am praying for you,
Happy 4th, Pastor Bernie

Serving - Smiling - Sharing

2007-06-26T14:27:00.000-07:00

True heroism is remarkably sober, very undramatic. It is not the urge to surpass all others at whatever cost, but the urge to serve others at whatever the cost. -- Arthur Ashe

If someone asked you about the heart of our church, you could simply answer with "people matter to God." Okay, I know you have that figured out by now, but people will never know how much they matter to God until they realize how much they matter to us. To that end, we have had three weeks of service. Not just saying we are a serving church but actually serving. With our Kid's Day in the Park, Our Flower Festival Parade "water giveaway" and our Graffiti eradication / clean up this Saturday, we have created many opportunities for the people of LFC to serve. In July we will serve others by hosting our annual Military and Public Safety BBQ at Beattie Park (for all active duty military and currently serving public safety personnel) and honor others who serve so faithfully and give so much. Of course there are weekly opportunities to serve at LFC, with our "housekeeping" or cleaning team, our office volunteers, our Sunday teams and much more. There are many of our church who also see value in serving to help local agencies and sports teams and the list goes on. We are encouraged and even commanded to serve.

Ephesians 6: 7 & 8
Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not men, 8because you know that the Lord will reward everyone for whatever good he does...(NIV)Why is service so central to Christian belief? Because we follow a God who serves. Do we dare hold ourselves to be greater than God, and hold that what God does is too menial, too difficult, too much beneath us or too dirty? Even more, we follow a Christ who loves others. We must remember that all the people we serve, the new guests on Sunday, the people in our family and our

Elizabeth Delkner & Karen Jacobs give LFC water to Congressmen
Elliot and Mrs. Gallegly and their driver at the end of the parade.

neighborhoods are all treasures of God. If we fail to serve, to care enough about someone else to act in their favor we miss seeing people as treasures. When we connect all we do back to souls and when we see those souls as God's treasures it is easy to serve them from our hearts. I know many who are reading this are servants - you have committed yourself to serving others and not for personal gain, to make a sale, to get a promotion but simply to serve. It's not as if servanthood is hard. You can do it. Jesus wasn't out for self-this and self-that, but rather others-this and others-that. God wants to work through you. Maybe we have to rely on Jesus' character growing in us, as it brings out the fruit of the Spirit, and focuses us on doing right by others.Servants aren't posers. They know they're not superstars or game show hosts. They are real and authentic, living from the heart and giving from the heart. A servant of Christ chooses to be like Christ and serve others. They do it in whatever way is needed, but prefer doing it in person. They see freedom not as a great way of doing something for themselves, but as the freedom to do what's needed to lift someone else who needs it. They forgive those who do them wrong, since God forgave them in Jesus. Most of all, the servant is actually looking for helpful ways to serve, to give, and to build up. They're glad to do it. The Spirit gives Christ's servants gifts so they can build each other up.There's a focus God desires we possess: to ignite certain spiritual gifts - to fan and fire up these areas. Recently in our daily bible reading we were reading Paul's words to Timothy: For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands" (2 Timothy 1:6).
As with Timothy, we must see where our hearts need some fanning! Where is God sparking something inside of us that needs to be fanned into a flame - what gifts of service are areas where God wants me to grow and then burn brighter for Him. If we attempt to be someone we are not, we will miss how we can serve God. The lesson could be: To simply be authentic we must use what God has given us and the focus on what He is focusing on in us. Be sure to fan and use the gifts He's given me - not the gifts we covet.Keep fanning - to develop the gifts of the Spirit. The flames of these gifts won't automatically grow without patience and persistence. Keep using these spiritual gifts - be authentic, faithful and daring. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father in heaven.” (Matt. 5:16).Your good works will lead others to the Father and all His glory. We are ambassadors (representatives) for Christ to a darken world. Astronomers say it this way, in the darkest of space there’s still light. But you can’t see it because there are no reflectors to reflect the light. Some of our team members (others were already at refilling locations on the parade route) stop for a photo op at LFC before moving to the parade. We as reflectors of God’s light need to stand in position of the source of His light and in such a way that will reflect to those you want to see the light. And this is our assignment. The greatest command of all is to love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and strength. And to love your neighbor as you love yourself.

"Everybody can be great. Because anybody can serve. You don't have to have a
college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and your verb agree
to serve.... You only need a heart full of grace. A soul generated by
love."------ Martin Luther King, Jr.

Let us keep on going, growing and serving. I love being your pastor, Pastor Bernie

Including Others in God's Family

2007-06-12T16:40:00.000-07:00

Last week I wrote about Interceding - Investing and Inviting, this week I want to pick that theme up again. Why? Because Jesus called us to do what He did. What did He do?

Luke 19:10
For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."

The Lord wants us to LOOK (the seek) and he wants us to be INVOLVED with bringing people closer to Jesus - (the save) of those who are lost. They are everywhere--friends, family, neighbors, co-workers. Are they seeking God or wondering what it means to be in a relationship with Him, or are they keeping their distance? Have past hurts or experiences kept them from seeking a church or worshipping with other believers? Some are hurt by the past experiences of dealing with people and dealings with God's people. Others are looking for excuses - any excuses to keep them from dealing with church. Some are simply waiting to be asked to attend or to hear about your church and why LFC may not be like another church they once experienced or some other church they have heard about in the past.
It is incredible to know that God is extravagantly in love with you and me and those we love and know. Today, I spoke with someone who does not know Jesus as their Savior and as I shared with them, I realized something I had not sensed before. It was that I sure am comfortable knowing that I am saved. If you are reading this and you know the Lord then think of the comfort that brings you. But then think of those who have yet to begin a relationship with God when they place their trust in Jesus. But what about the people outside the walls of LFC? How can you and I help them understand that God really does love them?
Matthew 5:16
In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven. (NIV)

"Letting your light shine" means different things for different people. But I would simply submit that it means to allow people the honor of seeing God lived out through you. After all, the Lord is light - they need to see His light working in and through your life. Share God’s love. Sometimes you’re given the perfect opening to invite someone to church. Other times, you need to find common ground and cultivate it before you extend the invitation. Do whatever it takes to “open the door” for others.If we truly represent the Lord then we need to think about this:
John 1:4
In him (Jesus) was life, and that life was the light of men. (NIV)

God wants His light to be seen in your life - the light of Jesus. Why? Because God is madly in love with those people who live next door to you…with that guy in the cubicle next to you…the young lady who serves up your Starbucks beverage…with that tired waitress at restaurant. God is madly in love with the guys framing our church expansion or the cop who will go out late tonight and protect our city. And God expects you and me to tell them…AND…to love them too! Good evangelism is the process of being friendly without being judgmental. It is using our influence to move people one step closer to the Lord. This happens through good deeds and good conversations. For a Christian like myself, evangelism means engaging in these conversations in the spirit and example of Jesus Christ. Let’s talk about evangelism as conversation, as friendship, as influence, as invitation, as companionship, as challenge, as opportunity, as something you get to do. Now is the time to INVEST AND INVITE others to a spiritual conversation - to invite them to allow you to pray for them - to invite them to LFC with you. You are more ready than you realize. Get ready for something fresh, something unexpected. God will use you! If you were with us last week, God just might use the YOU MATTER to God card that we placed in each bulletin, but more than that, God will use YOU.

What's keeping you from taking the first step in reaching out to those that God has placed into your life for a specific purpose?Let's keep praying for others, investing and inviting. I am going to pray that you will have success in discovering those that need your heart and God's touch through you.
I love being your pastor and being on the team with you.
Investing and Inviting along with you,
Pastor Bernie

Intercede - Invest - Invite

2007-06-05T18:01:00.000-07:00

Several things I am reading and sensing remind me that the Triple I - imperative is essential for each of us. What is it you might ask? It is to intercede and pray for others, to take time to invest in the lives of others and to invite them to a relationship with God through Jesus (or if that seems way to complex) or to invite them to church with you (providing they are unchurched). This past Sunday I saw this at work. Ten people said, "Yes" to Jesus for the first time and one of them was a man that (as it was reported to me) has been prayed for, invested in and was invited to LFC. To intercede means prayer, petition, or entreaty in favor of another.
I Timothy 2:1
I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone. (NIV)
1 Peter 2:9
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. (NIV)
A priest is one who intercedes before God for a person, a family, a city, or a nation. Some believe that intercession is the call of some Christians and that it was usually reserved for saintly older women in the church. But the call of God is that all of us would sense a desire to pray for those in need, those without God, those who are taking on great challenges or those that God would bring to our heart and mind. Peter's words above remind us that children of God are all called to the ministry of the priesthood and to be a priest is to be an intercessor. It is the heart of an intercessor that becomes the heart of an investor. You cannot pray for people very long without getting a heart for them and a heart that takes a leap of faith to invest in their life.
Invest
Investing in people begins with a heart for people. When we get overwhelmed or wrapped up in our own world, the last thing we want is to invest in people who are far from God. When we connect with the heart and mind of God, it’s natural and almost easy to focus on others and show them God's love. This is the first step of investment. Let them connect with a tangible expression of God’s love through you. I think of our simple upcoming "act of kindness." Giving out free ice cold water to people on the Lompoc Flower Festival Parade route. Simple but a free bottle of water and a smile can allow a heart to be touched. If you have not signed up to join us for this outreach, you really should. Also, think of a neighbor who not only needs your prayers, but might benefit from a word of encouragement or assistance with a yard project, the waiter or waitress who might have you as the best customer of the day (don't forget a nice tip to go along with the kind words). Investing in others needs to be very natural. I’m not condemning the value of door-to-door witnessing; I’ve done my share of that when I was younger. I am not opposed to people who pass out tracts or even those who preach with bullhorns on a busy street corner. It does not seem that effective to me and is not my calling. What seems to work is simply building relationships with people who naturally fall within your circle. Neighbors, coworkers, friends or fellow parents on the soccer field--these are people who are in your immediate sphere of influence and each one of them presents a different opportunity for you to invest in them.What exactly are you investing? You are investing yourself. You give your time, love, energy, compassion and resources. I like to call it the "ministry of presence." It is you showing up. I do this a lot in my role as Police Chaplain. I am there - I ride along, I email, I send out birthday cards to them and let them know, I care. Just be a friend to someone who has yet to meet Jesus. You must intentionally develop relationships with people who are disengaged from church. We all know that the longer we are Christians, the fewer non-Christian friends we have. I believe that a primary mark of Christian maturity is whether or not you are investing in people who are not following Christ. How are you doing? Who are you investing in?
Invite
There will come a time when it’s right to invite someone to pray with you, to invite them to consider coming to God through Jesus or to invite them to LFC - your church. Don’t be discouraged if they say no. And don’t take it personally if you they say yes (in regards to coming to church) and don’t show. Most importantly, don’t dump them as friends if they won’t pray with you or come to church as soon as you would like. You may need to be very patient. It may take months. You may need to ask a number of times. You will need to pray with passion (intercede) that God softens them and that they will eventually accept your invitation.In regards to church attendance: Don't invite them every Sunday, but some frequency of invitation is needed so that those who have been invested in can respond. Again, it may take many more months, even years, so be patient. Different people will come to Christ in different ways. Some will respond to a public invitation in a worship service, others may commit to Christ while on a walk, or after attending a church function, like the 4th of July picnic, or Kids Day or during a special speaker. Watch for series that we will do that might help them. I will be doing one on Prayer soon and in the fall, a series on making decisions. Keep the options alive and invite! By the way, who is it that you have recently invited to church with you?Let's keep praying for others, investing and inviting. I am going to pray that you will have success in discovering those that need your heart and God's touch through you.

2007-05-22T14:09:00.000-07:00

God's Plan and God's Way

Today's bible reading reminded me of that God always has a plan for everything and everyday and everyone of us. The details to the building of the temple were quite amazing and intricate but as you read you will see that even with all the structure and detail, God's Spirit moved in such a way that He "messed with" the order of service.

SCRIPTURE:

2 Chronicles 5: 11 -14

The priests then withdrew from the Holy Place. All the priests who were there had consecrated themselves, regardless of their divisions. 12 All the Levites who were musicians—Asaph, Heman, Jeduthun and their sons and relatives—stood on the east side of the altar, dressed in fine linen and playing cymbals, harps and lyres. They were accompanied by 120 priests sounding trumpets. 13 The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang:
"He is good;
his love endures forever."
Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God.

Psalm 99:5

Exalt the LORD our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy.

OBSERVATION:

As God's people were faithful to the tasks of building the temple (as prescribed) and faithful in heart to worship Him and raise their voices, He was faithful to allow them to be in His presence. God often times only does what He can do after we do all we can do. When we go to the end of our human ability and when we have worked the best laid plans of mice and men - God comes and does what only God can do. Notice what hearts and attitudes were essential in creating an atmosphere of God's presence.

Unity is the atmosphere for God's presence.
All the priests were present and had committed themselves regardless of their divisions - truly how good it is when we dwell together in unity! Unity is the atmosphere for God's presence. The worship was in unison - as with "one voice." They were not unplanned or unorganized but made room for God's plan in their midst.

Worship is the atmosphere for God's presence.
They went to great lengths to plan their worship service. Their garments, their instruments, 120 priests sounding trumpets and the singing. They gave praise to God and recognized His goodness and His love.

Obedience is the atmosphere for God's presence.
God blesses people who are doing the right thing. They have followed His instructions on building the temple, they have untied their hearts in dedication unto Him and now He is arriving to fill their gathering with His presence, so that those who were prepared to do ministry could not stand. God honors those who are diligent to plan and organize but He knows also, who can be interrupted.

APPLICATION:

While some would attempt to make the presence of God happen and others would expect a "I can't stand to minister" occurrence, these types of unusual manifestations are not common place. But there are times when God presence is sensed in our midst and we must respond to Him. Other times those who are leading or ministering must step aside to move in accordance with what God is saying, doing and desiring. Our plans can get in the way of our God. We can do it in church, in our homes, with our families or individually. We can miss the God times and simply walk away saying: "God did that!" We have been fortunate to have many of those times in the history of LFC. Times when God shows up and does what only God can do. Lives that He uniquely touches and anoints, heals and transforms. Times of great grace and growth. These are not to be "worked up" or "fabricated" but rather contended for by the right hearts or unity, worship and obedience. May I be a leader who follows God, leads people into His presence while fostering hearts of unity that are willing to serve and obey the Lord. This will allow God to find the right atmosphere at LFC.

PRAYER:

Lord, you are welcome in my heart and my family and my church. Thank you for the times I sense your presence so near to me and in times when we gather as a church, that you come and touch us. I am willing to work your plan and to change my plan as you direct. You can interrupt me Lord - anytime.

Amen.

Faith for the Journey Called Life

2007-05-15T16:53:00.000-07:00

Hebrews 11:8
By an act of faith, Abraham said yes to God's call to travel to an unknown place that would become his home. When he left he had no idea where he was going. By an act of faith he lived in the country promised him, lived as a stranger camping in tents. Isaac and Jacob did the same, living under the same promise. Abraham did it by keeping his eye on an unseen city with real, eternal foundations—the City designed and built by God. (The Message)

Sometimes we miss a lot of incredible opportunities because of a lack of vision in our lives. If we are not able to catch hold of God’s preferable future for us we can easily miss moving forward in faith. We may set out to travel the wrong road if we are not able to capture the vision that God may have for us. We may miss all the road signs due to preconceived notions or because of the way we’ve already figured things should be, could be or ought to be. We set out to travel where we think we need to go and in the process we block out other avenues, other possibilities, other interesting sites that we might have otherwise seen, that we might have otherwise experienced if it were not for the spiritual blinders that we put on our life. We set out on a predetermined course of action and we miss other things that God may in fact have had in store for us. I don’t want to miss what God wants, simply because I might be walking the same old trail or getting busy sidetracked and wandering. Traveling down the road of life presses us to the making of good decisions in order to enjoy the ride to the fullest and sometimes involves traveling off the map. Why would anyone want to march off their map? Why would we want to leave behind that which is familiar to do that which is uncomfortable? The Christian pilgrimage is all about knowing that I’m not yet where God wants me to be – spiritually I am on a journey – it is lived by faith and followed by faith. It begins by the realization I am not in the place I could be or should be. I’m not completely sure of how to get there, but my trust in the relationship of the One who gives the promises will help me to take the next faith step. What’s the next step for you? What is God calling you to do , be, say, give, share and or move in faith?

What we discover as we get a little bit further down the road of life is this: If we really want to live, we have no choice but to march off the map. Off the map, into the unknown, based on faith in the One who’s called us.

We set out to travel where we think we need to go and in the process we block out other avenues and we miss other things that God may in fact have had in store for us....Faith means you can't see it, if you can see it it's not faith...and it reminds us how sight oriented our spiritual life can be. How seldom, how little, we really take faith steps off the map.

Sometimes God calls us, as we’re traveling down the road of life, to abandon certain assumptions that we had always held about life, about ways that we always assumed life would be, should be, could be, and He says leave it all behind. Abraham is a great example of this as is Noah.

Hebrews 11:7
By faith, Noah built a ship in the middle of dry land. He was warned about something he couldn't see, and acted on what he was told. The result? His family was saved. His act of faith drew a sharp line between the evil of the unbelieving world and the rightness of the believing world. As a result, Noah became intimate with God. (The Message) It is not enough to have the faith to order the lumber. Once it arrives we cannot let it sit in stacks and loose heart. We must take it and build the boat even when it does not rain. It is the faith thing to do. Noah built the Ark – not with procrastination, excuses or disbelief but with faith and works.

As with Noah:

Obedient faith responds regardless of what others may or may not think of say.

Obedient faith responds before it starts to rain.

Obedient faith responds whether anyone else has their umbrella out or not.

Obedient faith responds because of where it gets you.

Follow God in faith - journey with Him regardless of what you see.
Living by faith more and more,
Pastor Bernie

2007-05-10T18:29:00.001-07:00

Hope in the land of Guilt

We have all walked into that land – taken a trip into the land of guilt - it is dark and gloomy and we might forget about where we are for awhile as we get busy and involved in life. But then reality hits us again as we travel in the land of guilt. What helps me is to realize that in this land I have options. Stay here, move forward, leave immediately or invite others into my land of self pity and rehearsals of the past. Instead I must realize that God has a different agenda for me. He has plans that are clearly set forth. He wrote them to Israel and they apply to us too.

Jeremiah 29:11
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

What a wonderful plan. Plans for prosperity and not harm or calamity – plans to make sure we do not stay in the land of guilt. With each new day God desires us to live in hope. It was after the fall of Jerusalem that the prophet Jeremiah reminded himself of God’s hope filled plans.

Lamentations 3:21 – 26
Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

You might be waiting for something great to happen today. You might be longing for God to answer something for you. You may be wandering in the land of guilt or simply wandering and hoping you can make it to the weekend. Many have shared with me of late that they are weary, some have shared that they are feeling as though the messages I have been bringing are right on target – Hope for the Journey of Life. We all need hope but it is encouraging and comforting to know when you are bring a theme or a word that specifically hits the heart and it what God wants to bring to people. Hope helps us when we find ourselves in the land of guilt or the land of waiting.

Psalm 33: 20
We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield.

God is good to those who wait for Him and trust Him. And why not trust Him? He has provided redemption, given us an inheritance, and extended forgiveness to us. We need to rejoice today in all that God is doing and has done and remember clearly that He has accomplished our deliverance, even from the land of guilt.

Col 1: 13 & 14
For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

If you think God is coming down on you, remember He is actually coming to lift you up. His grace comes to rescue you. He has transferred you from the dark land of guilt into the light of the kingdom of His Son. He extends love and grace to you – NOW.

I feel compelled to remind you of all the great promises we have in the Lord. God is not only for us – He is constantly giving us great gifts.

James 1:17
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (NIV)

Our Father does not change – there is not alteration or modification in His care, love, shepherding and grace. Regardless of where you find yourself today – even in the land of guilt.

God is for us! God is for you!

And so am I,

I love being your pastor,

Pastor Bernie

2007-05-01T19:57:00.000-07:00

Facing the Giants
Today, I had the honor of sitting a table with four Lompoc High School Seniors - I was the table leader for our discussions on ethics and their futures. Many other community leaders and pastors were included in this exercise with the entire Senior Class. I began to think of the giants these students will face as they navigate new days ahead into adulthood. There are many giants that loom for all of us - but we need not be afraid and rather follow God. Today's bible reading reminds me to simply trust in God for all things and obey His guidance. I am so excited about the hope we have in God and the hopeful things happening for us at LFC. New families, friends, new life (people being saved) and this past Sunday - the celebration and joy in our midst as we dedicated an entire morning to worship and communion. I look forward to this Sunday and worship, and speaking on the subject: Hope for the journey of your Life.

SCRIPTURE:
I Chronicles 14: 8 - 10When the Philistines heard that David had been anointed king over all Israel, they went up in full force to search for him, but David heard about it and went out to meet them. 9 Now the Philistines had come and raided the Valley of Rephaim; so David inquired of God: "Shall I go and attack the Philistines? Will you hand them over to me?" The LORD answered him, "Go, I will hand them over to you."

OBSERVATION:
David is quick to realize that the victory in life is not Him - but the Lord's doing. Notice His question: "Lord will you hand them over to me?" This question is one I must remember to ask God. What is it Lord that you are doing? Will you hand them over.....will this be done.....will you give us the land.....give us those souls.....give us the leaders and the resources we need to grow......will you? The will you for me is the ARE YOU?, question. What are you doing God? That is what I want to do too. Jesus said in John 5:17; "Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working." (NIV) He was simply saying: " I am doing what my Father is doing? It is what David was saying too. God is this what you are doing? It is not as difficult to face the giants and enemies in our lives when we know God is already warring with them for us and for His gain too.
Focus on giants—you stumble.Focus on God—your giants tumble.

APPLICATION:
I need to listen to the Lord more and know what He is doing and where He is moving. I need not be sidetracked by the distractions of life and the minutia of details that I fail to stop and listen to His voice. As I think about each of you and our church:

I am reminded that:
Nothing is impossible for me because God is my Helper and Deliverer!
I must trust that God always knows best.
I must yield my weaknesses to God and He will be my Defense against doubt and condemnation - especially when I feel weak or feeble, or forget to realize, God is the one who brings victory.
I must believe God despite my inabilities. He is my strength and my faith!

PRAYER:
Thanks Jesus, for allowing me to cast my cares upon You so you can cast out my unbelief and thanks for . Thanks always, I mean ALWAYS, for caring and not casting me aside. I cast my heart upon You - Please grow my faith and let me hear your voice that I might follow you. Amen.

Let us keep moving forward and living as God has called us to live: Heart-first and filled with faith. These are great days to pray, believe, share our faith, invite our unchurched friends to church, to give, serve, join ministry teams and connect with the best of LFC.

Living in the Land of Hope

2007-04-25T10:48:00.000-07:00

A child has the capacity to live in various lands. They amaze me at times with there hope, creativity and imagination. I am reminded of Jesus' words to be like a child in our faith. Not childish or avoiding reality but to be able to as a child allow God to pick us up and hold us. A child believes in their parents and that their Daddy is bigger than anyone's Daddy and tougher too. After a while it is easy to miss the greatness of God and live in a land of the giants or our perceived giants. After the Israelites had left Mount Sinai on their journey to the land of Canaan, they came to Kadesh which was near its borders. It seemed that they would soon reach their new home. From Kadesh spies were sent out to search the land, find out its nature and the difficulties that might stand in the way of their taking it. All the twelve spies brought back the report that the land was a good land and fruitful, "a land that flows with milk and honey"; but only two of the spies, Joshua and Caleb, believed that they could take it. The others were discouraged by the enemies they saw in the land, especially the giants. The story has great inner meaning. We all recognize the image of a pleasant land as a picture of the life God wants us to live now and the heavenly life to come and we recognize that the "giants" that stand in our way are our natural inclinations to live for self and the pleasures of the world but also to not believe we can go the distance as supposed obstacles stand in our way. Just as Israel was called to leave Egypt and go to the land of Canaan, in the same way the Lord calls us to leave where we are and move forward - to overcome the difficulties in our lives and not allow fear or perceived issues to keep us from "taking the land". There are many difficulties to overcome, many enemies to conquer before we can possess this land. I am so proud of Lompoc Foursquare Church, you are moving forward and embracing God's future for us. People are coming to Jesus, many are taking our FastTrack classes right now, others are joining Life Transformation Groups and still others are joining teams and using their gifts and talents for God. We could easily sit on our successes of the past the building and expansion we have done and the growth we have experienced. We could simply say: we have enough, we have reached enough - but we never base the size of our church with how many attend but rather how many are still outside the church and attend no church or have never come to know the joy of Jesus.
Moses was commanded to send spies to search out the land to find out what it was like. Again the meaning is clear. The Lord does not ask us to strive for something about which we know nothing. Nor does He tell us that the way will be easy. Instead, He places the issue directly before us. We are to enter into an inheritance larger and richer than that which we now possess, but not until we have overcome the spiritual enemies that stand in the way. The promise land for us lies before each one of us and before our church. I am so proud of you - your prayers, your giving, your financial release to our expansion fund and your generous hearts to serve and make an eternal difference. I think of the many who come early and stay late each Sunday and the many who have joined teams and serve, always overcoming the giants of self, greed and fear. The brand new families from our community and from Vandenberg Air Force Base - wow.
The lesson of the "land" is same lesson is taught in the parable of the man who, intending to build a tower, first counted the cost to see if he could finish it; and also in the parable of the king who, planning to make war on another king, sat down and counted his forces to see if he could win. And these parables end with the words, "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple."As I write, I stop to pray for those of you who will click and read this and the seeming giants you face right now. The things that stand in your way from living how God called you to live and doing what God called you to do and giving how God called you to give. Some are afraid to accept a new "land" or "territory" God has for them. They think that they will have to give up some things which they like to do. Others think that some time soon they might get clear perspective and see the future as it really is and with commitment move forward. I have driven by the churches in town who are diminishing, their heart is gone and their desire to embrace all that God has is dwindled. We must keep God's heart and Spirit alive in us and increase the love to possess the "land" - no matter the cost. We will not always be victorious; sometimes it may be a long battle; but the Lord will conquer it for us if we are patient and faithful to the end. We have seen great victories all along the way, and we shall find times of rest, happiness and peace. The victory is well worth the price. Some people are afraid to follow the Lord because they think it will cost too much. But it is worth it. Giving God our best even in times of discouragement or when "giants" loom in the land is worth it - well - just go for it. What cost are you struggling with paying right now? What 'giants" do you believe you saw? Are they real? They can cost us from entering our land and making the impact God has for us. What is holding you back? It is forever true that whether a thing costs too much or not depends on what we get in return for what we give up. If we give up self-seeking and self-intelligence in return for learning about the Lord and doing as He asks....Instead of anxiety we get peace. Instead of a barren wilderness we get a land that flows with milk and honey. It is a land of hope. God has more for us to do, more people to reach, more teams to build, more souls to save, more land to purchase, more building to build, more creative ways to communicate and reach out - He is leading us and we will follow.
Let's go for it!
Let's go there,
Pastor Bernie

Living for the Lord

2007-04-20T09:13:00.001-07:00

In life we all make mistakes, errors and can be misguided. The most difficult times are when we are tired, frustrated and emotionally spent – these are times in which we need to stay off the front lines, guard our hearts and watch what we say. It would be best (wow would this not be great) if during such times we were able to be sequestered from life. Reading the Psalms, I find David often times mumbling and fumbling due to the life he has been called to live. The demands upon him were huge, the season in which Saul was after him was intense. At times he spoke of his life as being in a grave, or in the sea with the cable around his neck. 2 Samauel 22, he speaks of HOPELESSNESS and USELESSNESS and feeling like a part of him or more than a part is dying. But God, is faithful to him and even when he sins and is caught in adultery and later the execution of his mistresses husband – God restores him. The hardest part is the people restoration. How difficult it is for them to look past who we are and see our humanity. We all fail – yeah, you and me – yeah even me. But with God there is redemption and hope afresh. Be careful however that when you are weary, moving at a speed faster than light itself and rapidly making decisions, your judgement will be clouded - slow down and think, don’t lash out at others, watch the negative side of you and NEVER make major decisions when you are weary and worn. Stay close to God and hey, forgive others for simply being human -extend grace and mercy and be loving. I love you.

Teach Our Children Well

2007-04-17T21:47:00.000-07:00

In my young days I ran a lot and maybe it helped me to run from fights, violence and a troubled life. I have to thank my great parents more than my running prowess. They taught me great values and morals by both word and deed and their guidance was always consistent. They taught me well. The teaching I refer to cannot be relegated to our schools, it begins in the home with families and neighborhoods caring for each child. The few fights I ever got into were mainly pushing matches, in which I met the guy in a dirt alleyway after school. We both got beat up and a week later we were friends as we had to “make up” as a part of our schools disciplinary directive. Today, the anger has escalated and our time might be dubbed the “age of rage.” Now it is no longer letting the air out of a bike tire, or pushing a guy into the bushes or a scrap in the dirt alley – we now have weapons and a disregard for life itself. Last Sunday night marked another homicide in Lompoc and a night in which families would lose young members. First the family of the victim, a 21 year old from out of our city would be stabbed numerous times and despite the heroic life-saving measures by our first responders and our hospital personnel he would pass away. As a Police Chaplain, I was called to comfort the family and assist the officers in the death notification process and simply be a supportive presence for them. Though I have served in this capacity numerous times, it is always heart wrenching to look into the eyes of a Mom or Dad and to tell them their son or daughter has passed away. Not only the victim’s family looses, the suspect’s lives will never be the same either or that of their families. What a week - Monday was Holocaust Remembrance Day – a day in which we remember the atrocities of hatred and loss of millions of lives during Nazi persecution. This week also marks the anniversary of the Columbine High School tragedy, and now the deadliest shooting rampage in U.S. history – the tragic events at Virginia Tech. I found Bishop Desmond Tutu’s words helpful: “We inhabit a universe -- that is it has order and laws and we human creatures have a precious gift, the freedom to choose which makes us moral agents. Our God who is omnipotent is also weak in that God has imposed limitations on God’s omnipotence to give us the space to have a real autonomy. We inhabit a universe -- that is it has order and laws and we human creatures have a precious gift, the freedom to choose and some of our choices as such lead to incidents such as this tragedy. God could not intervene without nullifying the freedom of the perpetrator. Life is vulnerable and is a pure gift. We are utterly, completely dependent on God for we are fragile and God upholds us gently and caringly. Our God cares, for this God is Immanuel, God with us, who joins us in our dumbfounded speechlessness and bewilderment and this God does not give advice from a safe distance but enters the fiery furnace of our anguish and God wipes away our tears, this God who knows us by name, from whose nothing, not even death can separate us. But we must not pretend we know everything. It is ultimately a mystery…” President Bush also offered insightful words as he addressed those at Virginia Tech this past Tuesday. He said: “This is a day of mourning for the Virginia Tech community -- and it is a day of sadness for our entire nation…it was the worst day of violence on a college campus in American history -- and for many of you here today, it was the worst day of your lives. It's impossible to make sense of such violence and suffering. Those whose lives were taken did nothing to deserve their fate. They were simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. People who have never met you are praying for you; they're praying for your friends who have fallen and who are injured. There's a power in these prayers, real power. In times like this, we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God. As the Scriptures tell us, "Don't be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good." May we all do good and may we hold our children close and teach them well. They are a gift from God and how we raise them, mold them, guide them and shape them is our gift back to God and to the world in which our children will live and eventually become functioning contributive adults.

Running with HOPE

2007-04-12T16:29:00.001-07:00

This Sunday we will begin a new series: Hope / for the journey of life.

We all have time where we need additional hope – hope to run, move and sometimes even get out of bed. Jesus in our lives is the HOPE of glory.

Join us as we celebrate and stand ready to recieve more and more of the hope that God has for us. See you Sunday, Pastor Bernie

2007-04-12T16:23:00.001-07:00

Easter 2007 – Living Heart First

2007-04-10T17:30:00.000-07:00

I am struggling to find exact words to describe our Easter 2007 weekend. I felt like I was living a “Rebirth of Hope,” it was more than a theme – I was seeing my personal hope raised as I looked in the eyes of first time guests – people I had never seen in my 20 years at LFC and watching our teams serve so well. Oh, we had some of our normal two or three time per year people too, but many first timers. I recall looking in the eyes of several first time guests as they raised their hands and said, “Yes” to Jesus for the very first time. This was a thrill and all of heaven rejoiced. We were a part of seeing 22 people decide to give their lives over to the “Stone” they could stand upon, while they began to experience the “stone” being rolled away for them and the forgiveness of Jesus being extended to them. There is nothing like it and to do it all with the team we call LFC was amazing. It was truly living heart first. We all know that God gave His very best – His Son Jesus for us. This was His way of showing us how much He loves us and how we ought to live. It is living heart first from heaven and was the very thing I sensed this weekend. Servanthood was all around us and the team unified well. From the band and choir, drama team, dancers and others who had learned their lines – to the hospitality team who brought to us a great food line – amazing. Those who served in the trenches commented how smoothly everything ran. Those who came to church were amazed and the first time guests I spoke with wondered, how we did it all. One guy asked: “Do you have this food buffet every week?” We had to tell him no, but yes we do have food every week. God feeds our souls as we gather at LFC. From our “service run through” on Thursday night to the set-up on Friday and Saturday – it was near effortless and filled with so much joy. For sure, lots of moving, lifting, cleaning, arranging – the labor is always there but when done with the right heart and with right-hearted people – the labor is joy-filled. I don’t recall ever be a part of a huge event or service like this and having so much joy and camaraderie. You could not only sense it but feel it. The teams clicked together so well and the additional servants stepping in - there was a special sense of grace and purpose – we were living heart first and connecting all we were doing back to souls and to the glory of God. Over 1,320 people attended our Easter services and our children, in their own tent with music and worship and puppets and goodies and a great lesson. There were over 165 children who attended our special services in the tent – just for them. Plus our nurseries and well, you get the picture. People were everywhere and God was with them too. Our overflow venue was the best ever. I have never seen clearer screens and the sound was amazing (with 12,000 Lumens projection – wow they were great and crystal clear and the sound was mixed so well and balanced – wonderfully). But the greatest thing of all (next to salvations) was the fact that we were able to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord.
Jesus points to Himself as the servanthood model. He says, "The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." Do you want to know what servanthood looks like? Look at the life of Jesus. We read about Him in John 13, the scene where the disciples all arrive for a meal. The disciples are so concerned about the pecking order that none of them volunteers to do the work of a servant and wash the others' feet. So Jesus gets up and, going from one to the other, washes and dries. Then He says, "If this is the way that I as your master and your teacher, act, then know that you should do the same." The earliest Christian hymn that we know about was a hymn about Jesus. It's found in Philippians 2.
“Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death--even death on a cross."
He is our model and we are following Him. Thanks to all of you for making this an Easter to remember and for creating an atmosphere of graciousness and love in which 22 adults gave their lives to Jesus. Salvations – heart first for sure. You all made heaven rejoice and God smile.Let’s keep giving our hearts and sharing our joy and living heart-first.
I am proud to be your pastor and I love you,
Pastor Bernie

Good Friday and Easter is Coming

2007-04-06T11:41:00.000-07:00

It is FRIDAY and SUNDAY is a coming.
Last night, our team did a fabolous job running through the Easter service elements, wow! What a great team! Today, the tents for our children and our overflow venue are being set up now, and projectors, screens and more have arrived. Tommorow LFC will be buzzing with activitity, chair set-up and staging and sound and .......wow. Be praying and don't forget to invite someone.
God is amazing and will do what only He can do as we do our best for Him.
Let's do our best and watch what God does from there.
I am so proud to pastor LFC and be your pastor.
I love you all,
Pastor Bernie

The Signs Of God's Grace in our Midst

2007-04-03T17:41:00.000-07:00

I am deeply moved. To be quit honest the older I get the smaller the action to move me. What is discerned quickly is the motivation behind the action. When people live heart-first and connect all they do to hearts and souls, now we are talking about being moved. I become deeply moved when I see this in action and I have seen it a lot around LFC these past months. From our worship team, our children preparing to dance for Easter, to the behind the scenes work on wires and cables (preparing for Easter and beyond) to the people working on our incredible Easter buffet and all done by generous giving hearts of people, I am amazed.This is Holy Week so seeing servants abound is so fitting. Jesus who gave His life for each one of us must overwhelm us to giving and serving and doing all we do with the right hearts. The actions I have seen are in line with humility and the consideration of others:
Philippians 2:3
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (NIV)
As we serve with the right motivations and passions we make room for God to show up. Remember he resists the proud. We know we don't deserve what He brings to us and we know our "operation" is not such that God would be impressed, but, He does respond to our hearts. Who are we that God would visit us and be mindful of us? What do we possess? It is our hearts! Our right hearts in our song, in our messages, in our nursery or our children's and youth programs. The right kind of heart makes room for God's hand of grace. He cannot help We are seeing the hand of God in our midst. This past Sunday we saw 17 people respond with upraised hands to say: "Yes" to Jesus and make the most eternal decision they would every make. The week before we saw 9 people do the very same thing! 26 people saying "Yes" to Jesus. Wow! this past Sunday, our drama team lead us into communion so very well and several people said: "I have been around church so many years and seen many ways of celebrating the Lord's table - but the drama was moving and showed the heart of Christ to me." I would agree. Now what is next: Well we will continue with our plans for Easter and four services - we will also begin our building expansion the week following Easter and we will keep finding creative ways to present the gospel to people, one heart at a time. God's marching orders are clear to us:
Galatians 5:25
Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. (NIV)
Allow me to paraphrase:
Since we have been called to live by a different standard, not our way but living by the Holy Spirit, let us stay close to Him and serve in the right spirit as we are marching in step with the Sprit.
Let us keep serving. Speaking of serving, I will share the following with you that you may find helpful and also the following request. There are still some areas for people to assist us with Easter and it is not too late to contact the church office to see where you might fit. Many people responded to our call for serving this Easter but we don't want anyone left out. Please consider the following:

Who are you inviting to Easter?

Are you praying for our teams for Easter?

Are you praying for our first time guests?

Are you praying for all the churches in our community for Easter?

Are you coming with an expectant heart, a warm smile and a friendly handshake?

A recent survey showed that people were not impressed by church greeters alone (they expected the greeters to greet them) but by the greetings that came from those without badges, titles or bulletins in hand. When we greet people and allow them to feel welcome, we make a place for the grace of God to enter. We assist in making the signs of God grace happen in our midst. (please take time to read the notes below my salutation - S.E.R.V.E. and my closing prayer.
Serving the Savior with you,
Pastor Bernie

S-E-R-V-E
Sift your motives
“If a team is to reach its potential, each player must be willing to subordinate his personal goals to thegood of the team.” —Bud Wilkinson

Embrace humility“God sends no one away but those who are full of themselves.” —D.L. Moody“
For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you. Truly, truly, I say to you, a slave isnot greater than his master, nor is one who is sent greater than the one who sent him. If you knowthese things, you are blessed if you do them.” —John 13:15-17 NASB

Renew your heart of service
“The first responsibility of a leader is to define reality. The last is to say, ‘Thank you,’ and in between,the leader is a servant.” —Max DePree
“You can’t live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repayyou.” —John Wooden

Value conversation"Let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance."- Proverbs 1:5
"Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry," - James 1:19

Elevate the status of others around you
Philippians 2:3-11Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,being made in human likeness.And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himselfand became obedient to death—even death on a cross!
So, may we with right hearts serve also.

PRAYER:
Dear God, I am grateful for the great hearts of people in our church and that you empower us to do your work. Thank you for allowing us to serve you and for empowering us by your Spirit. Thank you for being mindful of us - for caring and blessing us as you do and have done. Help us to impact many lives this week as people are mindful of you. The cross, the Easter time - may all of it be used to reach many for your glory and honor. Bless your church throughout our city, county and country as well as around the world. Bless the efforts of those trying brand new things - reaching out, expanding for Easter. May you oh God, honor their faith and right hearts. In Jesus the Servant and Savior’s Name, Amen

what is the church all about?

2007-03-27T17:09:00.000-07:00

Church was never designed to be a spectator sport but a team effort. Today's reading allowed me to focus upon all the great servants God has raised up at LFC - servants who have stepped forward to give, share, pray and serve. Last Saturday, we had an incredible turn out of people who simply came for the purpose of cleaning their church. I gratefully think of all those who served this past Sunday in so many areas and those who are working hard on Easter preparations as well. What a difference each one made and is making. I thank God for each one who have made a way to using their gifts - and I also pray that whatever gifts God has placed inside of you - will be released for the common good of all and to the praise of God.
Please Take a Read:
SCRIPTURE:
I Corinthians 12
Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant. You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols. Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus be cursed," and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. 4There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. (verse 7)To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines. The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
OBSERVATION:
The main point of this passage is verse 7; “But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good" and also verse 14; "The body is not made up of one part but of many." "To each one is given . . ."--that's you! All who know Jesus, for the “common good.”
"To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good." That's a result of the manifestation of God the Spirit in the life of the church. God’s good comes to people. It is good for people to see God. It is good for us to see the manifestations of God's Spirit in each other's lives. As we pursue God and as we make Him known to others – we cannot do it alone. The church is the place where all this comes together. The world often tries to do good for each other. But they leave God out and no eternal good is done. I am all for good and for even temporary good but the ultimate is eternal good. Even some Christians try to experience God's manifestations alone, but do not do it in the context of an interdependent body. We need each other and God desires His gifts and glory to flow in the context of community. God manifests himself for the common good, not for individualistic religious practice.
Think about this in light of LFC and your unique place in God’s family. Think about:

1. "Each one"
"To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
The "each ones" of verse 7 are people who decided to follow the Lord. Not just call Jesus Lord, but allow Him to be Lord. The essence of who the "each ones" are is the Lordship of Jesus. The key sentence is at the end of verse 3: "No one can say 'Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit." These are people (and I want to be one) --who aim to think the way He thinks, and who aim to feel the way He says to feel and who aim to do what He says to do. These are the people who each have a manifestation of the Spirit, because they cannot live like this "except by the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit's main purpose in the world is to glorify Jesus and make God real in people's lives. Jesus said in John 16:14, "[When the Spirit of truth comes] He will glorify me." That's who the "each ones" are in verse 7--people who have decided to serve and follow Jesus and allow the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit to work in them and through them. That is who God wants us to be, and to be His “each one” right here at LFC and into our community and beyond.

2. "The common good."
"To each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good."
The Spirit is manifest for this purpose:: the common good. The Spirit does not give gifts and ministries so that we can boast or like trophies, put our gifts on display. He gives gifts and ministries for two reasons: to manifest Himself and to help us do “good” to each other in the church. Gifts are for the glory of God and the good of the church. God can work through you and me for the common good of the church and the people He lives and for those outside the church – those who have yet to come to know His love.
APPLICATION:
We have opportunity all around us to manifest the Spirit of God in our lives and to be doing good to others. Think of people to pray for today, think of those to invite with you for Easter, think of the things the Lord has been prompting you to do or give for some time.
Think right now what you need to do to make more room for the Holy Spirit in your life and the goodness He desires to flow through you to others – right now.
Let us live in the power of the Holy Spirit,
PRAYER:
Dear God, Thank you for allowing me to know you. Thank you for allowing your Holy Spirit to fill me. May my life be dedicated to your “goodness” flowing through me. May your gifts be manifested as people encounter my life –for your glory. In the Savior’s Name, Amen

Serving Up the Soup

2007-03-22T08:28:00.000-07:00

Serving is a vital part of the life of Jesus and the life of His followers. Touching our community and being visible is important to me. Some call it the "ministry of presence" - just being there. Being there is essential. In this picture I am serving up soup at the Empty Bowls Fundraiser. People purchase ceramic bowls made by local artisans and then volunteers fill them with donated soups from local resturants and chefs. It is some excellent soup and ladeled up for an excellent cause - our local food pantry. So, this picture is really wroth a thousand words and it made the front page of the local paper. Here are some of the word: Well, it is me serving up minestrone soup at the La Purisma Catholic Parish Hall to our resident atheist, Mr. Hughes. He is a very nice fellow but simply does not believe in God and has been very vocal about about his views. He is attending this local fundraiser and giving his monies to a worhthy cause - he might believe in the ministry of presence as well. Serving and showing up are vital to our impact upon peoples lives. They really don't care how much you know - until they know how much you care. In order to care, you have to show up. In order to speak into people's lives you have to show you care. I get that and I think Mr. Hughes does too. Make sure you are heard by showing up and caring. Soup is a good thing.

Abundant Living

2007-03-13T19:47:00.000-07:00

I recently saw a simple sign that grabbed my attention: Life is a gift - each day is to be celebrated to the fullest. It clearly reminded me of the words of Jesus:
"Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life? "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew. 6:25-33 - NIV)
Abundant living begins with the knowledge that our lives are in the hands of a compassionate and love-filled God.
God loves us and wants what is best for us no matter what happens each day. How often we try to do life on our own, making the best of what comes our way. Yet, God has an abundant quality about Him. We all know that God is so large we cannot contain His size nor comprehend it. Right now, while you read this, stop and thank God for His care over you and your cares. He loves you more than you know. Our God is not sitting on a throne far away – He is in the midst of the good -- the bad -- even the ugly of life. A few years ago I took time for an exercise in which I was asked to draw out a time-line of my life. As we looked at the time-line we were then to go back and see the trials/tribulations areas, the victories/triumphs and the times we knew that God was moving on our behalf. We also saw where He placed people in our lives as, what were called, “divine interventions.’ Upon closer examination we could see God’s fingerprints all over our time-lines and of course all over us. I challenge you to stop and look at your life and how God has been with you and for you. God was there at the best of times in our celebrations and God was there at the most difficult times -- carrying us -- rescuing us when we couldn’t’ make it on our own. He brought people into our lives at strategic points and they were used as His extensions of grace and mercy. God cares about you and desires that you have a relationship with Him in which He is allowed to see His best lived in you and then through you.
Abundant living begins with God, ends with God, is centered in God.
A dear friend of mine used to say: “It ain’t all about you sweetheart.” Then he would go onto say, “It started with God before you were even a thought in your Daddy’s mind or a twinkle in his eye.” God gives us birth and each morning when we wake up He gives us 24 hours of a new day to be lived for with Him and for Him. That day is filled with everything we need -- the choice is ours in how we use the gift of each new day. In our work, in our play, in our relationships, in this thing called living. God offers us opportunity and then empowers us to make the most of it. A simple poem I found online will help drive the point home:
"Give Lavishly! Live Abundantly!"
The more you give, the more you get --
The more you laugh, the less you fret--
The more you do unselfishly,
The more you live abundantly...
The more of everything you share,
The more you’ll always have to spare--
The more you love, the more you’ll find
Than life is good and friends are kind...
For only what we give away
Enriches us from day to day.
Poem entitled Give Lavishly! Live Abundantly!. From Someone Cares, The Collected Poems of Helen Steiner Rice, Fleming H. Revell Company, Old Tappan, New Jersey, p. 54
Within each of us lives God’s presence that can touch our world to make life extraordinary. A smile here, a hug there, a word of forgiveness, a touch of kindness enriches the lives of others and gives us life in abundance. What we give of ourselves every day reflects the abundant life that God has entrusted to us.
Abundant living happens in the present moment.
How many times do we hear ourselves saying things like this: - "If only this would end, then I would be happy." - "When I go on vacation, I’ll feel better."- I can’t wait till Friday." In this moment right now we have the opportunity for God to be near and for us to sense Him. In this moment right now we can think and pray, serve and work, feel and be happy. We don’t have to wait till another day or moment. If we’re worrying about past or worrying about tomorrow - we’re missing life in this present moment.
What’s happening right now -- the person sitting next to us, working across the room, watching television over there - the sounds that we are hearing, what we are seeing with our eyes -- is life in the present moment. Learning to be present in the present moment is the blessing of abundant living. We don’t have to wait for a special occasion to celebrate and we don’t need to wait for Easter to feel God’s power, alive in us. Life in abundance has the potential to be in the moment -- slow down -- take a deep breath and watch what can happen.
Abundant living begins with the knowledge that our lives are in the hands of a loving God today. God cares and is in the present moment. Abundant living begins, ends, and is centered in God. As we give freely we will be blessed in abundance. In the present moment life new life, abundant life is being born. Don’t miss it. May we show up for all the moments of our years.

The Matter of the Heart

2007-03-06T17:35:00.000-08:00

Last week I wrote about the hearts we need for the future. This week I am thinking about hearts again. At LFC all we do must come from God's heart and through our hearts. We are not trying to build a church but build God's heart into the people that come here and live outside our walls - in this community. Our heart is to let people know they matter to God, (yeah I know you got that) but how many times do we allow other things to fill us up and we miss the heart. How many times do we allow people to become a nuisance or intrusion to us rather than those that matter because they matter to God? As a church our hearts are motivated by our Lord and by our theme: People Matter to God. It comes out in all we do and if we start to miss it, well, we need to realign with our purpose. Our hearts can further be summarized by the term 'reaching.'

We are reaching up to God in worship and surrender.

We are reaching out to our world with evangelism.

We are reaching in to those God has brought to us through assimilation and discipleship.

This past Sunday night at our Team LFC Time (where the servants of our church gather for worship, prayer, inspiration and communication) we emphasized heart. I showed a video clip of Pastor Wayne Cordeiro (New Hope Christian Fellowship, Oahu) in which he spoke about "correcting back to the heart." This phrase applies to our lives personally and corporately. When we get filled with too much "activity and programs" and our calendars get "full of stuff" we need to look for the heart. Where is the original heart that birthed something, that joined two people together, that brought them to a place of marital commitment? When relationships go cold - correct back to the heart. When church becomes a thing we do rather than a blessing and enjoyment, correct back to the heart. Our salvation - it too can become something we forget to rejoice over and enjoy.
Psalm 51: 10 & 12
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. (NIV)
Our focus must be on the heart for it is hearts that reach hearts. As Pastor Wayne reminded us, when you sweep, don't do it with the bristles of the broom but with your heart. As you sing or teach or hold your child or do the job that God has allowed you to have - do it with heart. Live heart first! A phrase that hit me early this morning was:

People are still moved by hearts that are moved by God.

If something is missing in your life right now, correct back to the heart. If you have yet to meet Jesus then right now, begin there. Open your life to Him in trust and faith. If you know Him and you have lost your way - return back to Him. If your love has grown cold towards God, worship, giving, serving and reaching out to others - correct back to the heart.
Revelation 2:4
Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. (NIV)
This past Sunday night I shared the following verse with those at Team LFC:
Jeremiah 2:2'
I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown. (NIV)
This is another great verse about correcting back. In this verse we find the Lord assessing where the hearts of His followers are. He remembers how they were devoted, they would follow Him through a barren place, hot and dry - their passion or heart was such that anything God called them to they would follow. But now, something was lost. They needed to do some personal pruning and reconnect with the love and dedication they once had. May you take some time to examine your heart towards God, your faith, your family, your serving, your job, your devotion. Check the heart - if too much is in the way, correct back and prune. Make way for God and all that He has for you. How would you rate yourself in this areas? Has some of your heart grown cold, some of your love been lost and your willingness to follow God diminished? It might be time for some correcting and pruning. It will be worth it.
May we love God all the more and more and more.
I love being your pastor.

The Heart We Need for the Future

2007-02-28T18:12:00.000-08:00

Yesterdays bible reading included the passages in Mark 6 in which Jesus sent out the disciples in 'teams' and later the miraculous caring of the hungry by using a little boys lunch and feeding the multitudes. These verses reminded me of our church. A church in which we have emphasized teaming for many years and know it is essential to our future. A church in which we are making room for the gifts of others no matter what they are or how insignificant they might seem to the natural eye (like the little boys lunch) This past Sunday night, I addressed our church with an overview of 2006 and what a great year it was for us. As I look at the hearts and lives touched, I am simply amazed. As we shared the following numbers of those who had said, 'Yes' to Jesus, the group gave a thunderous applause and rightfully so.
2003: 275
2004: 204
2005: 300
2006: 259
1038 (Total overlast four years)
Since 1940, people coming to Church by the Side of the Road, (the original name of our church) a small building, a small group of people who were true pioneers, builders, servants who sacrificed. I wonder if they every dreamed of the church growing as it has or that we would, one day tear the building down and build bigger ones. Could they fathom that we would be having three services and run out of room. Did they have the faith to believe the very things that God has done with us today? We serve a wonderful God who has been faithful to the people who gathered right on this property. From then to now, roll the clock forward, here we are. God has been faithful – and I wonder, what will be of LFC in ten years, twenty years, thirty years, or the next 67? How many lives will be changed with the passing of each decade and what are we willing to give, endure and sacrifice to see this happen? Those early pioneers gave it all, they prayed, believed, served, gave their time and resources, they were risk takers and innovators and we can be no different now.
Our vision remains clear: It is to see lives transformed.
Luke 19:10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost."
(New International Version)

The Church is the REDEMPTIVE HOPE of the World.

The Local Church is the God Anointed means by which the lost in the world are found. If there was ever a year in the life of LFC that was a year of importance for us and making sure we stayed the course and the call - it is this year. It will be a year of building, expansion, salvations and hopefully renewed passion in the hearts of people. 2006 was a year in which we brought in the highest amount of resources, gave away the most and saved the most. Individuals released financial resources above their tithe to our Hope and a Future Building Fund and I am optimistic that in the next three months work will begin on our sanctuary expansion and our multi-purpose building. We simply need to believe for and see released an additional 286,000 dollars and we will be able to pay cash for both parts of this project. A new facility and our sanctuary expanded and our entire church totally debt free. We are in a great position but we cannot stop there. We realize these new facilities are stop gap measures for our growth and desire to reach our community in creative ways. I shared Sunday night that part of our Hope and Future Project has always been about acquiring additional properties adjacent to us and other facilities locally for the potential of multi-site church and or ministries in our community. Simply stated we cannot assume that God is done with us when we see His hand upon us in so many ways and His open doors before us. It is exciting and it has been faith, ingenuity, creative hearts that have gotten us to this place - we cannot think that anything would be different now. We cannot loose our original culture and DNA. It is still our hearts to:
Connect everything we do back to a soul.
To reach people far from Christ, to introduce people to Savior and to be Jesus to the Lompoc Valley, Santa Barbara County, Vandenberg Air Force Base and beyond. To see lonely and confused people – finding His love. To see people using their gifts and talents to serve God and people.
• Isaiah 61: 1 - 4
The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the LORD's favor...to comfort all who mourn, to help people become glad instead of mourning, and to see them released to praise. (NIV)
These verses which Jesus Himself quoted from are the essential heart of LFC and essential to our future. Our church was founded by an Evangelist and later it became connected with a denomination ( Foursquare) that was also founded by an Evangelist. It is in our roots, lost people mattered to God. The entire mission of JESUS was reaching the LOST. It is what we are to do above all else.
The Hearts we must possess for the Future:
1/ We have to live on purpose and with mission. History has shown that it is too easy for the church to get distracted.
• Our focus is to provide hope and salvation for the human heart.
2/ We have to think with the heart of God.
Compassion and heart and a desire to keep learning and growing and not be afraid to attempt new things.
Our hearts must find passion for those things that enflame the heart of God.
3/ Grow in our hearts as servants.
So many people have reduced their relationship with God down to convenience and the comfortable. But that cannot be what we do. We must press on.
4/ Stay true to what works while being open to God for change.
It is easy to drift and become a church that everyone expects us to be but no church can nor should become that way. We will stay true to what we have done and what we know works and also seek the Lord on where we should change, what we should delete and what we should add.
5/ A future with dreamers and risk takers.
The church was birthed with dreamers and visionaries and today is filled with people who are celebrated for being conformists.
“When our hearts are joined to God, our imaginations can be the
birthplace of the dreams of God in our lives.” – Erwin McManus
Our cry must be, God I want you to empower me and live in me. I want your dreams and passion to fill my soul. I want to join with my church to see all the things that you want for us realized.
During this section, I shared several creative ideas that we must be open to seeing happen. I also know that we must not just plan and dream for these days but to position this church beyond our time - for the future, additional properties and even the thought of relocation as the doors are opened. Some things are scary, but was it not scary for the original pioneers to purchase the first piece of ground and erect the first sanctuary?
6/ A future lived in faith – trusting God for the impossible.
What does it mean to live by faith? The response of faith is nothing more than obedience.
• Faith begins with God speaking and materializes when we respond.
We have some seeming impossible challenges in front of us. God will release to us the people, gifting, staff members, servants that we need to achieve the things He has called us to do. We are reminded that God's calling is God's enabling. Where God guides He truly provides.
7/ Living in success before God, as individuals , families and as a church community.
The definition of success can simply be: More of God and less of me & doing what God has called us to do. We must make the name of the Lord greater than the name of LFC.
Can I ask that you pray for our leaders, church council, staff, team members and the congregation of LFC? Can I humbly ask you to pray for me as we all need God's wisdom and direction and the strength to do all He has asked us to do. We are praying for you that God will use you to be a vital part of what He desires to do at LFC and through you.