Psalm 122: 1-2 NLT

¹Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our Salvation.

² Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with music and song.”

Scripture has numerous references to the musicians and worshipers leading thearmy into battle.

When God’s children worshiped Him in song, God granted them a great victory!

I often think of that when leading worship!  

Worship brings us to the Holy of Holies and God’s  Holy  Spirit draws near.

Welcome Holy Spirit! Please   accept our praise and worship this Sunday.

Thanks for joining in heart-felt worship. He is worthy! 

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

Rounding the bend from junior high into high school, it quickly became evident I would be needing some form of transportation. With Dad at work, Mom at college and my sister and I both in school, who would be available to bring me home from football practice or Glee Club rehearsal? Soon, my very own (well used) Cushman Eagle motor scooter sat among the eclectic collection of two wheelers in front of DeLand High School. It took me everywhere. 

I was amazed at the fuel economy and how long it could go between service times. The gas tank always seemed to be about half full and the oil always looked clean to me.  The tires never lost air and the chain was clean and lubricated. Never once in the three years I rode it did the spark plug have to be changed. When it finally did need some engine work, it was done professionally at the local dealer and oddly, I never saw the bill. When I inquired about it, Dad said something vague about them owing him a favor. Hmmm...

Only as an adult and sadly, long after he slipped away to Heaven did I realize how much Dad had done to keep me on the road in those care free days of youth. 

Kinda makes me wonder how many times our Heavenly Father has bailed me out and I never realized it. 

As we go from season to season in our lives it behooves us to remember the faithfulness of the Father and our inability to see the end from the beginning as He can. It is impossible to overstate the importance of daily trust in Him and commitment to Him. 

"Still guided by an unseen hand..."

Richard Orrell, Lead Pastor

God's Grace toward us

Hebrews 4:16  (NLT)

^16 "So let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most."

Daily we take our needs to the Lord and trust Him to come through for us.   Satan's lies tell us constantly, "He won't hear you, you're wasting your time, He doesn't care."

Well Tuesday, August 4, God brought the full and completely perfect answer to prayers Twila and I have lifted to him for over a year.

100 % of what we had asked Him for, in faith, He supplied on Tuesday, exactly as requested.

A chorus I love so much is  so true, "Every need  supplied",     Don't give up on Jesus friends, He won't let you down.  He answers every prayer perfectly, in HIS time.   Thank you Lord for your faithfulness!

Love ya, 

Pastor Phil      

The long wait was over. Vacation had finally arrived. Daddy and I had gotten up before daylight that early Summer morning hoping to catch a big bass lurking in the cool depths of the St Johns river. We glided along in the gentle northbound current with each taking his turn at the oars, mostly just to keep the boat straight so the other could fish.

During one of my stints as oarsman, I became vaguely aware of a powerful throbbing hum building in the background. It quickly escalated to a level of sound that was both intimidating and frightening to a small boy. I looked at Dad expecting to see my concern mirrored in his face. Instead, I saw only the calm confidence of one who has been there and done that.

He raised his voice just enough so I could hear him over the powerful throb of the approaching tugboat's mighty engine as it pushed the barge against the current.

"Turn the bow into the wake. Face it head-on", were Daddy's words to me that morning. "Get some depth under the boat so we can ride it out".

My own instincts were to get as close to the shore as possible and hang onto a tree or a vine. Had I done so, we might well have lost our boat and perhaps our lives.

It was not pretty but I struggled with the oars and managed to get the boat turned facing the large wake of the barge and tug. The bow rose frighteningly and smacked down solidly as we passed over wave after wave of rolling water. But we made it! Had we been turned sideways to the approaching waves we would likely have been swamped.

Life is rather like that, don't you think? If we will just turn and face the storm we will rise above the very waves that might otherwise crush us. We are designed to rise above them. It is only when we turn and run that we expose our vulnerabilities.

My Dad's wisdom that day came from many years experience on the river. Listen to the wisdom of One who has gone before us and has experienced it all...victoriously.

Jesus says, "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Do not allow the thunder and rumble of approaching trouble to intimidate nor frighten you. Turn into it and ride it out in the deep water of God's provision!

A satisfied participant in the Grace of God,

Richard Orrell, Pastor

John 14: 16  (KJV)

16 "And I will  pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter,  that he  may  abide  with  you forever."

Sunday I  turn  68.   I  would never have  dreamed the changes that have taken place in our country would have occurred in our lifetime.

The words "fundamentally change America"  send chills down my spine.   There are evil forces backing those changes and the changes are frightening!

Every day I look to the Comforter to maintain sanity and peace in the middle of the storms that are crashing against our society and the country we love so much.

It's only just begun, my friends!      Satan has much more up his evil sleeves for God's children.

The political leaders may have plans to destroy our way of life, but God has a different plan.

Let's relax in the loving arms of His Holy Spirit and take comfort in the fact that  Greater is HE that is in me than he that is in DC!

The secular world may think they're in charge; but there's a day of reckoning coming!

Jesus is preparing to take His children home .   Be of good cheer friends;  worship our Lord today and rest in the arms of the Holy Spirit.   He is our Comforter,  and He is in our midst.

There's a Healer, Savior, Comforter and Friend in the House today!

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

Well, we have celebrated our nation and our freedoms one more time as the 4th of July has come and gone. The spectrum of expressions has run the gamut from traditional cookouts and family fireworks to massive gatherings of thousands spending millions, lighting up the sky with incredible displays. The red white and blue of our country's flag have once again thrilled our hearts and challenged us to excellence in our commitments to the land of the free and the home of the brave. 

But our hearts have also experienced a terrible chill as we have seen some abuse their freedoms, paid for with the blood of the Patriots. A few shrill voices were raised in hateful criticism of the very system that gives them the right to protest. Shameful and degrading things were publicly done to the flag most of us revere. 

A battle looms on the horizon for the survival of our way of life. 

In many other countries, when opposing forces meet to decide supremacy, blood runs in the streets and no one really wins. But in this Republic, for which our flag stands, the battlefield is the polling place. 

With important elections already filling our inboxes and airwaves, it is incumbent on us as Christians and as Americans to register as voters, to assist others to register, to study the candidates and issues, and to VOTE. We have no right to complain about the direction our ship of state is heading if we have done nothing to affect its course. 

Finally;  We really need to pray for our great nation. It was birthed on its knees in agonizing prayer. It has come through many crises on its knees. And if we are to remain the strong force for good that God intends, we must remain on our knees in prayer to Him who raised us up!

In faith, believing...

Richard Orrell, Pastor

Psalm 121 NLT

¹ " I look up to the mountains, does my help come from there?

² My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

³ He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. 

⁴ Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ The Lord himself watches over you!  The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade.

⁶ The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night.

⁷ The Lord keeps you from all harm  and watches over your life.

⁸ The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever. "

This admonition from the Psalms is our word of encouragement for the week.

Pastor and Linda are enjoying the great Rocky Mountains this week, but also relaxing in the Lord.  

Our prayers are that they have a wonderful time together enjoying His creation.  Pray that He will  invigorate them, and bring them home rested again soon.

Let's ALL claim this Psalm as OURS this week.    He is our peace, our comfort, our provider and Savior.  He is coming again.

Even so come Lord Jesus!

But until then thanks for covering us with your peace and protection.

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

God will heal our land

2 Chronicles 7:14 (NLT)

^14 :Then if my people who are called by my name will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sins and restore their land."

The recent willful actions of our judicial and executive branches of government must  certainly crush the heart of God, as they do each of us as Christians.  However, as we celebrate this weekend the birthday of our great country let us remember God's promise quoted in the text above.

He will forgive our land, IF we turn back to Him.    If we continue to go further from God, there is a price to be paid.

Praise God, He has a remnant, that will do and stand for what is Godly.  If our country repents, it can be great again as it has been for such a long time.    

Today, July 4th,  America is 239 years old.   Happy Birthday America!  God's word says if we train our children in what is right, when they're older they will not depart from that teaching.  Certainly 239 years of age is old enough for moral clarity and Godliness to return to this nation. if we pray!

As a veteran I'm proud to have served to  protect a great America.   As a Pastor my heart is broken over what some have chosen to do to "fundamentally change" the direction for our nation. God, bring America to repentance and help your children to stand for what is right!

With our votes we have the ability to reverse the course which some have set for our nation.   We can make a difference, if we pray and repent on behalf of our nation's sins.   I'm not giving up hope.  God is bigger than  His enemies.   God Bless America again, as we humble ourselves and repent.

Love ya,  Pastor Phil      

The story is told of a family who wished to bless their daughter as she was leaving for college. An elaborate dinner was prepared. Nothing was spared on the decorations. The guest list included all her many friends from high school and church. Everything was finally in place and everyone had arrived. As dinner came to a close, with a twinkle in his eye the proud dad clinked his fork on the side of his glass. All eyes were on him as he made a brief speech about the family's pride in the young lady's accomplishments. With a grand flourish he produced a mysteriously bulging envelope. Squealing with delight, the college-bound beauty ripped open the envelope, quickly scanned the words of love scrawled in her dad's messy handwriting and held up the key to the car of her dreams. Leading the charge out into the drive the girl exclaimed with confusion etched on her face, "but where IS it??" Joy turned to concern as everyone came to the sad realization it was nowhere to be found! Somehow, a thief had slipped in during the distractions of dinner and the beautiful new car had been stolen. 

Although the dear girl was owner of a wonderful new key on a leather fob with the brand name stenciled on it in gold, it was worthless without all the lesser, smaller, more mundane parts of the new car.  The list of the missing parts sadly and badly overshadowed the value of the key. Without all the parts moving in concert, the key was valueless. 

And so it is in the Church. It really doesn't matter who fills the pulpit or staffs the office. If each person who is part of the church fails to show up, the rest of the church just cannot function properly. 

Suppose someone found the girl's missing car at a dismantling shop. Suppose they were able to recover everything but "a few parts". Which ones would she be able to do without as she made the long drive to the university? The windshield? The transmission? The tires? You get the picture.  

As another Sunday rolls around we should ask ourselves if the church can reasonably be expected to function in our absence. Is the role we play so inconsequential that God really doesn't need us there after all? Or is the fact that we have allowed something to spirit us away from church rather like the girl with the shiny new key...to nothing. God needs each of us to fill our spot. 

See you on Sunday!

Lovingly,

Pastor Rich Orrell

Psalm 121   NLT

A song for pilgrims ascending to Jerusalem

¹ "I look up to the mountains, does my help come from thee? 

² My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth!

^3. He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber.

⁴ Indeed, He who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps.

⁵ The Lord Himself watches over you!   The Lord stands beside you as your shade.

⁶ The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night.

⁷ The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life.

⁸ The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever!"

In today's busy world, with all the difficulties we face from day-to-day, we are tempted to run to 'professional'  sources  for help.

Doctors, lawyers, counselors, for every ache, problem and ailment we have are readily available.  While they may be good, God and HIS provision is our real source of help in time of trouble.

When you're in trouble—don't relegate God to the last solution of desperation.   Let's call on Him first!   He is where our true help comes from.

I take the littlest of problems to Him, and He comes through, saving me time, frustration and money. 

Often I take a problem to Him  before I retire for the evening and when I awake the next morning, the knowledge of how to handle the issue is clear in my mind, firmly planted there by His Holy Spirit. 

We serve an awesome God.   Let's take our burdens to the Lord and trust Him to keep us from all harm, He is our source.

God cares for you, and He does all things well!

Love ya, 

Pastor Phil