In 2 Kings, chapters 22 & 23, the Bible records a time in the Kingdom of Judah when everyone was doing just as he pleased with no regard for what was right or wrong. But there was a young king on the throne who had it in his heart to please God rather than his own appetites. Josiah had been just 8 years of age when he had been thrust into leadership. But somehow, the young king felt differently about righteousness than most of his subjects. Scripture says, "He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord". 

In the 18th year of Josiah's reign over Judah, Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law and gave it to Shaphan the secretary who read it to King Josiah. You see, the loss of the Law had led to the time of lawlessness in which Judah and Israel were now embroiled. The rediscovery of God's parameters for worship and behavior and the positive response of the Leadership temporarily forestalled the judgement looming over the Kingdom of Judah. Chapter 23 records a Spiritual housecleaning overseen by the King himself. Anything he found that smacked of the pervasive ungodliness of the past was removed. His administration purged the polluted forms of worship that had become commonplace and widely accepted. He had found out God's requirements and did his best to enforce them. Sadly, it was too late because the hearts of the people were not really in it.

We live in a time that bears some similarities to the end of Judah's freedom: There are no absolutes. Few seem willing to follow the parameters God has given us in His Word. The 10 Commandments have been scrapped as irrelevant, with some even labeling them hateful. The Old Testament is mocked and ridiculed as a collection of myths. The New Testament is rejected as non-applicable in this enlightened age in which we now live.

The days of miracles are over in the minds of many.

But there is still a hunger for God. And amazingly, that hunger is often in the hearts of the young. Oh yes; they are truly sick up to here with the plastic forms of organized religion. They have watched too many times as their role models have played a part in public that proved to be false in the crucible of everyday life. But they have a certainty in their hearts that the God of the Bible is real. They aren't much interested in knowing more about religion. They want to know HIM.

As this next generation hungers for HIM, they will find Him. "Blessed are they that do hunger and thirst after righteousness for they shall be filled!"

Let's join those seeking Jesus!

Lovingly,

Pastor Rich Orrell

Acts 1:11  (NLT)

¹¹ “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why are you standing here staring into heaven? Jesus has been taken from you into heaven, but someday he will return from heaven in the same way you saw him go!”

Listening to the latest news cycles can cause one to become disillusioned and discouraged.

Friends, don’t let the events of these days cause you to be concerned.   God is NOT surprised by the daily crisis de jour!

His Word assures us that  HE IS COMING BACK, just as He promised.

I encourage you to make it your goal to draw closer to Him with each passing day, with your eye being set on The Goal.

Rejoice in your Salvation and let not your heart be troubled!

HE IS COMING AGAIN !

Love ya, Pastor Phil      

The founding of a nation is a profoundly significant moment in history. And the founding of the United States of America ranks second only to the birth of Israel. As a nation, Israel issued from the heart of God. America began in the hearts of  national heroes who loved the Creator God and sought a place where they could worship Him in freedom and liberty.

Who's to say that God didn't impregnate the minds of our founding Fathers with their insatiable desire for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness? Who could assert He was not the author of the thoughts they put to pen as they crafted the documents creating the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave?  The unfolding of our national character has often underscored the truth that God is indeed blessing America. 

Come on and sing it again:

"God bless America.  Land that I love. 

Stand beside her and guide her

Through the night with the Light from above.

From the mountains, to the prairies,

To the oceans white with foam;

God bless America, my home sweet home!

God bless America, my home sweet home!"

      -Irving Berlin

"If My people..."

With love for our Land and reverence for God who founded us as a nation,

Pastor Richard Orrell

Our God is Awesome

Psalm 66:3 (NLT)

³ “Say to God, How awesome are your deeds! Our enemies cringe before your mighty power.”

Sometimes Christians live a ‘Roller-Coaster” Life.    On Sunday they’re on the top of the world—but by Monday they’re depressed and see no hope for the future.   How disappointed  God must be in their lack of trust in Him.

We serve an awesome God, every day, every hour. He is faithful and able to meet our needs, every day.    His faithful provision is not dependent upon how we feel.    He is in control, and we MUST trust him, always.

So friends, get off of the Spiritual Roller Coaster!  Trust in God and don’t rely on  fickle feelings.   Feelings will fail you, every time. Rest in the assurance that our God is awesome and HE loves you, all the time.

God will provide everything you need, in His time.

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

Oh, the patience it must have taken for Dad to sit quietly behind the oars as he taught me to fish! For hours he rowed the rented boat close to the St Johns river bank as I made cast after cast trying to hook a lunker lurking under the lily pads.  Time after time my poorly cast lure landed in a tree or in the middle of a patch of water plants. Yet again he was forced to pull the boat close enough to disentangle my lure and likely scare away any potential victim of my budding skills.  The lessons learned in the bow of those rented row boats were many and varied.

It was when I forgot to bring the water jug from home that I learned others may be depending on you for something really important.  Dad had finished  the last of the coffee from his battered old green thermos and asked for a drink of water. I reached under the seat and came up with nothing. With a sinking feeling I remembered Dad asking me to be sure and get the water jug from the counter on the way out the door. We were forced to drink river water that day. Not too bad if you're thirsty enough. But I never forgot the water again.

Another day, nothing was biting on the big flashy bass lures we were casting. We had tried everything we had but they were just not interested. I learned the importance of being willing to go back to the basics when Dad suggested we stop at a small island and dig some worms.  We had an old coffee can into which we put a hundred or so big fat wiggly worms. Dad unrolled the long cane poles he always brought along and baited up with the worms we had dug. Soon we had a live well full of beautiful panfish. Simply by changing our methods we turned a day of frustration into a day of success.

But the best lesson of all was the patience I saw role modeled before me every time we pulled up to Highland Park Fish Camp. Dad would clamp his 10 horse Mercury outboard onto the transom of one of their moss encrusted wooden rowboats. In those days before trolling motors, if you wanted to fish slowly, you had to row.  Knowing the oarsman didn't get to fish much, Dad always volunteered to row leaving me free to fish. It was those countless tangles and mess ups Dad always solved that taught me the lessons of kindness and patience that stand me in good stead even today.

Thanks Dad for your excellent example. May I ever follow in your giant tracks.

Happy Father's Day gentlemen!

Pastor Rich Orrell

Rich Orrell

1 Corinthians 13: 12-13

¹²  “Now we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely.

¹³ Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.”

Last Sunday my friend Jerry Tate was in church and heard a wonderful message on faith and grace.    Jerry had struggled with health issues for some time and had prayed for healing.  Wednesday he went to be with Jesus.

Well Jerry, today you know, there is no more seeing things through a glass darkly: being in God’s presence you see everything perfectly clearly.   You see now what your human mind couldn’t completely analyze.

Every promise in His Book was true.  Enjoy eternity with Jesus Jerry, we’ll see you soon. :-)

Pastor Phil      

I don't recall knowing where they came from; those tiny toy cars I pushed around the narrow streets of my little make believe village. In the welcome shade of an old orange tree in our back yard the sand was cool and damp after the daily rain and could easily be fashioned into avenues, tunnels, houses and walls.  There were always plenty of weeds to use for trees and shrubs in my imaginary hamlets. And cars...lots of cars; well, at least five or six.

In my child's mind it never occurred to me to wonder how a poor family had managed to acquire such treasures.  Were they premiums in some product purchased for the home? Had a kind relative passed them on to me when their own little boy had outgrown them? Perhaps a good week financially had coincided with a birthday. Oh; and what happened to them when childhood's days were done? I have no answers to any of these questions I might pose as an adult. I just cherish the memories of those wonderful hours of make believe in the luscious shade of that old orange tree. 

Reliving childhood's idyllic times makes one wonder: What about today's blessings? Where did they come from? Who provided them? How can they be preserved for tomorrow? Should they be passed along to the next generation?

The mature believer has likely come to the accurate conclusion that, "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights..." (James 1:17) One can only hope that our awareness of our Source will lead to a better appreciation of what we have and a willingness to preserve and share it. 

Stewards all,

Pastor Rich Orrell

Honor to whom Honor is due

This week we honor those who have gone   before and are no longer with us.

Memorial Day is a day to remember and honor them for the lives they lived and what they meant to us.

We also honor our Veterans that have given their lives to provide us with our freedom.

Take time this week to thank the Lord for a wonderful church and church family.  We are so blessed beyond measure.

Thank the Lord also for those who have given us our Spiritual heritage:  pastors, teachers, parents and other role models.  We owe a debt of gratitude to many on this special day of remembrance.

Lastly, thank the Lord that you live in      America, the greatest country on earth.

Thank you,  Jesus, for Your many blessings.

Happy Memorial Day,

Pastor Phil      

The ink was still not quite dry on my college degree as I launched into my first pastorate. Wishing to be faithful to preach all the Gospel, I felt I should preach a message on healing. I worked Psalm 103:1-5, Isaiah 53:5, Matthew 9:20-22 into the smooth flow of my treatise on the doctrine of healing. Triumphantly, I closed with the declaration of the unchanging nature of God revealed to us in the life of Christ. Hebrews 13:8 rolled so easily from my lips as I thundered what my head and my heart knew to be the truth: "Jesus Christ the same, yesterday, and today, and forever!"

In my naïveté I spoke into the expectant hush that followed, "If anyone would like prayer for your healing, just come forward."

I was expecting headaches and arthritis to be the healing needs as a few came to the front of the church. Imagine my shock when the first lady in line asked me to pray that God would heal her of a large tumor in her reproductive system.

In the blink of an eye we had moved from the theoretical to the practical. It would either be gone following prayer or it would still be there. 

Simply following the instructions from James 5:14&15, I put a small spot of olive oil on her forehead and prayed a quiet prayer asking God to heal her. She returned to her seat with no fanfare and said nothing to me as she and her husband left the building. 

The following Sunday they were back. She asked to say something and shared how amazed her doctor was to discover that the tumor was no longer palpable. He suggested a D&C rather than the scheduled surgery.  There was nothing there. In response to the preaching of the Word and obedient prayer, God had stepped in and healed her. 

If you need a healing, study what God's Word says about the subject. Pursue your healing through the many means available to us today. Prayer, Doctors, nutrition, technology...if we ever recover from any disease, God certainly has something to do with that recovery. 

Believing for your miracle!

Pastor Richard Orrell

Stop living in the past

Jerimiah 29:11  NLT

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and  not  for  disaster,  to  give you a future and a hope.”

OK—enough is enough!   This scripture promises God’s perfect plan for our lives.   He has forgiven us for our past, so let’s quit revisiting our past hurts and mistakes.

Let’s purpose to begin TODAY to stop looking in the rear view mirror, I’ve never seen a hearse pull a U-Haul trailer.  Let the past go, it cannot be changed. To have God’s best we need to forgive and forget those hurts and those who hurt us, move forward, forgetting what is in the past, strive toward the mark God has set for our future!

Thank Him today for the great future He has  in store for us.   

Love ya, Pastor Phil