Introduction by Pastor Mark:Last weekend in worship we celebrated the first of ten $500,000 Beyond These Walls pay-downs on our mortgage. Huzzah! You will recall that one of our three emphases for our BTW initiative was to “Release Leaders.” Well, one of the most gifted young leaders to come through our church is Michael Bouterse. […]
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The epistles (letters) of the New Testament are arranged by size, largest to the smallest. This puts Paul’s letter to the Romans at the front of the line. But if they were listed in order of importance, Romans would still be in the lead-off position because it is, without a doubt, the most important letter […]
Read More… from Kickoff Weekend in Romans‚Ķand a HUGE surprise.
Ever since we showed Curtis’ story of meeting me in Starbucks and beginning a journey that resulted in him coming to church, joining a LifeGroup and placing his faith in Jesus, I’ve had people ask me: “Ellis, could you teach on how you had those conversations with Curtis?” And starting on September 13, I’m going to be doing […]
Read More… from How to Have Spiritual Conversations Naturally
In response to devastation caused by Hurricane Harvey in Texas, our denomination, the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC), has launched an emergency relief fund to help with recovery efforts. You can read more about the effort HERE. ‚Ä®‚Ä® Here’s more information about the important work the EPC is doing to help those affected by Harvey, including a link […]
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I remember my baptism. It happened in an air-conditioned gym, in front of about 200 college students. I stood in a kiddie pool, and after sharing my own story of faith, Reverend David Burke poured water from a pitcher over me three times. “In the name of the Father…” whoosh went the frigid water over […]
This weekend we will commission our Swaziland Team as they answer that Great Commission call to “go into all the earth.” One of the things that makes this team unique is that half of the team will be here in the Harbor and the other half will be boarding a plane to Swaziland on Thursday. […]
The Lord answered a very specific prayer of mine in June. I have lived in the same house just a mile from church for 4 summers now. I knew the names of the neighbors on either side and across the street for both the kind of reasons you’re glad for and the ones that aren’t […]
If you pour yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. Isaiah 58:10 Feeding Body and Soul This week, God reminded us of his abundance and of the beauty that emerges when his people give in […]
When our Rachel was two or so, I started taking her out for dates. We’d go to Starbucks and get a hot chocolate. More than once, I had to clean up spilled hot chocolate because it was too hot, no matter how carefully I tried to warn the barista. But usually, Rachel would sip her […]
In a little over two weeks, on August 13, 20,000 people from across the (253) area code will be gathered in the Tacoma Dome to hear a message of Hope. Out of those 20,000 people, many will not be believers in Jesus, and many of them will make a decision that night to begin a […]