Preacher Paul's Blogs

  Family, Faith, and Divine Providence      In the forthcoming fourth installment of our "Family Reunion" sermon series, we will explore the story of Isaac and Rebekah. We will witness Divine Providence at work, manifesting in seemingly small details and daily occurrences. This narrative reminds us that God's concern extends to all aspects of our lives, and invites us to become more aware of the divine whispers around us.     We will also learn the crucial role of our active participation in the orchestration of our lives. The story exemplifies how faith-guided actions, such as those of Abraham's servant and Rebekah, intertwine with Divine Providence. This encourages us to trust in God's guidance, reminding us that we are never alone in our journey.     As we prepare for Sunday's sermon, I invite you to contemplate the role of Divine Providence in your life. Can you identify instances of God's guidance? How can you actively co-create with God in y...

  The God that Sees This Sunday, we continue our summer series, "Family Reunion." This series aims to explore the families of Genesis, their struggles, triumphs, and divine encounters, and discover how their stories echo in our own lives. This week, we dive into Genesis 21:8-21 and journey alongside Hagar and Ishmael in their moment of despair and Sarah, who despite God's promise being fulfilled, faces internal conflict. Their stories beautifully capture God's compassionate nature, showing us a God who sees and provides comfort in distress. In our lives, like Sarah, we might experience moments of impatience, trying to quicken God's promises. We may also find ourselves, like Hagar and Ishmael, feeling forgotten and unseen, especially in times of hardship. But, as we explore in this sermon, God is the guiding light in our storm, seeing us, hearing us, and walking with us through all the seasons of life. This Sunday, let's reflect on these truths and learn from t...

  The Not-So-Perfect Family As we continue our eleven-week summer sermon series, "Family Reunion", I invite you to join us this Sunday as we explore Genesis 18:1-15 and delve into how God chooses an imperfect family to do God's work. This week's sermon will center around the story of Abraham and Sarah, an elderly couple living in modest means in the desert, yet chosen by God for a momentous purpose. They may have seemed unlikely candidates, but God saw the goodness of their hearts and their readiness to serve others. In a world that often values outward achievements and material success, we'll reflect on God's contrasting perspective that prizes the condition of our hearts over our worldly status. We'll unravel the significance of Abraham and Sarah's act of hospitality towards three strangers, and how their seemingly small act led to a divine promise fulfilled. Even in the face of impossibility, like Sarah's laughter at the prophecy of childbirth...

  Summer Sermon Series - Family Reunion Dear Church Family: Summer is finally (ok, almost) here!  It’s time for beach trips, shorts, flip flops, homemade ice cream, and having cookouts with our families. Speaking of summer and family, I wanted to let you know that, starting tomorrow, I'll be kicking off our " Summer Sermon Series " called " Family Reunion ." During this summer, we're going to spend some time exploring stories from the book of Genesis that talk about some of the different families covered in Genesis. They will be families with both good times and struggles that we can relate to in our own lives. Topics like sibling rivalry, biblical romances, and even time when faith seems hard to find.  Yeah, we humans really haven’t changed all that much since the dawn of time, have we? By learning from their experiences, we can make our own families stronger and build a community that values the importance of family bonds. Don't forget to invite your f...