The sermon title was "Yesterday's Faith" and the scripture was John 6:25-35 and Revelations 2:1-4. It is so easy for us to rest on yesterday's accomplishments and forget that we need to make new memories and new experiences to battle today's concerns. God desires us to grow and have an adventurous relationship with Him, so that we can face the struggles that come our way.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
What an amazing day in worship yesterday. We had a full sanctuary with loads of kids (from little ones to high schoolers). We also had a special prayer for all of our teachers during worship. I asked everyone who is a teacher, or faculty in our church, our preschool, and anyone who teaches at any age in the community! It was so breathtaking to see so many people from our congregation come up for this special prayer at the Chancel.
After worship - Marie and the Children's Ministry had Popsicle's and Pizza for all the children and their families down in big playground! It definitely was a hot day, but a great one! Every family is attached to a Vine Leader that will stay in touch with their "Vine". It is a great way for our families to stay connected and also ministered too.
We have one of our biggest and most important events coming up this Sunday - Anchor's Aweigh - it begins in worship with our choir back leading us and then immediately after worship we will go to Eden Hall to have some delicious food (smoked brisket and a pig roast), a steel drummer playing for the island feel, all the kids will have their own time back in the classrooms - all the while you will be walking around meeting our ministry leaders. It will be a memorable day that is for sure. See below for all the information regarding these events and ministries.
I hope you all have a great week. I look forward to seeing you all in worship this Sunday. Peace, Love, and Grace.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Preposterous Grace" and the scripture was Matthew 20:1-16. God's grace to us is unfair, undeserved, and definitely appreciated. It is unfair because whether you come to God late in the game of life or be following Him all your life - God loves us equally! This parable speaks to this unfair grace!!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I can't wait! I can't wait! School begins this week. I have thoroughly enjoyed our summer, but having the kids back in school is great for them and us too! As some parents look forward to this week of school, I want to make you all aware of some great things happening here at church. We have a lot to be grateful for and excited about. We have some amazing events like the youth sponsored Peace & Love Dance this Friday. Our Children's Ministry is sponsoring a Popsicles and Pizza time after worship this Sunday at the playground! We have one of our biggest and most important events coming up August 25th - Anchor's Aweigh after worship. We have our mid-week Bible study every Wednesday and of course, we have worship, every Sunday! See below for all the information regarding these events and ministries.
I hope you all have a great week and let's all "Finish Well"! I look forward to seeing you all in worship this Sunday. Peace, Love, and Grace.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Finishing Well" and the scripture was 2 Timothy 4:6-8 and John 13:1. It is so easy to start something, but so hard to finish! We are called to "fight the good fight, finish the race, and keep the faith." We are to do our best in everything from mundane to important. Let's all finish well.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
It is so great to be back at Church By The Sea!! I have been on vacation for a few Sundays and it is wonderful and so fulfilling to be sitting in worship and experiencing life together! As the summer winds down I want to encourage you all to jump feet first into church. Wherever you go to church - get involved. It will make all the difference for you spiritual life as well as your life here and now. Thank your to Brad Schmidt, Mark Pendergrass, and Brian Checchio for sharing God's Word with us and of course, Randy Starr for being the glue that keeps CBTS running! It has been a few weeks since my last email and I have a few things to share with you all.
Anchor's Aweigh is coming on August 25th. Anchor's Aweigh is a day to celebrate all the ministries that you can be involved in here at CBTS. We will have representatives from each ministry to share with you regarding that ministry. The idea is for you all to see all we do and hopefully find a place to serve. Anchor's Aweigh begins with worship at 10am and then after church will be in Eden Hall for lunch. The main course will be prepared by Trevor Carroll and others on the 24th when we will be smoking a pig and brisket all day at church so please stop by to say hello. I hope you will make plans to be in worship with us on August 25th!! We are asking you all to bring a side dish or a dessert. Please sign up on the board on Sunday's!
Habitat For Humanity - August 10th - 7:30am - 12:00pm. Thanks to the Rosemary Duffy Larson Trust which funded the house - CBTS is building another home! Please contact the church office to sign up! The job for this Saturday is mostly interior painting.
Peace & Love Dance - August 16th - 6-9pm! Our youth ministry is putting on this groovy shindig!! The theme is 60's-70's so come dressed and get ready to boogie. The cost is $30 for adults/Free for kids!!
Popsicles and Pizza - is on August 18th after worship!! This is our Back to School event at the playground at the end of the parking lot. This is for all children and their families! It is going to be an awesome day.
As you can see we have a lot in August. I look forward to this Fall and watching God continue to work in our midst! I hope you all have a blessed and amazing week! I look forward to seeing you this Sunday! Peace, Love, and Grace.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Stuck or Free" and the scripture was Genesis 14:5-15. The Israelites were stuck - Pharaoh and his army were behind them and the water was in front of them - They were stuck but God told them to trust and to take a step! God is calling us to do the same where we feel stuck. If God can set people free back then - He can set you free today!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I hope your 4th of July weekend was memorable. The fireworks on our beach was one of the best ever. Thank you City of Fort Lauderdale! On the 4th, Marie and the Children's Mnistry had a Family Game Night (Nerf Gun Battle and Dodgeball) from 7pm until 8:30pm then we went and watched the fireworks together. It was a great time and I look forward to another battle night!!
This past Sunday was communion and it was amazing with a lot of children and adults all excited to be in God's House and grow together. As we approach the middle of summer with its heat and humidity I want to encourage you all to take some time to sit and listen or as the Bible says, "Be Still"! Being still helps us in so many ways and I hope everyone will make some time for that spiritual discipline.
I hope you all have a blessed week and experience God's love and share it daily! Peace, Love, and Grace.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Beauty Secrets" and the scripture was Genesis 29:16-35. Every civilization determines what is beautiful and that can cause a lot of heartache for all of us. As we all know "Beauty is in the eye of the beholder" but God challenges us to make Him the "Beholder" because He created us and loves us. He doesn't create junk or make mistakes but creates us with a unique purpose.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Summer is fully upon us. It is amazingly hot and humid but the ocean and the breeze makes it all worthwhile. I hope you all are having a good summer. For those of you who are able to slow down I hope you will and fully enjoy it. For those whose busy schedule doesn't change then I encourage you to carve some time out to relax. It is so important and this IS your pastor speaking! : )
Worship has been enlightening with our choir bringing us to a deeper place and our summer hymn sing where we sing your favorites. Worship also has been a place of "stillness" where our hearts and minds can be stilled in God's presence. I hope you all have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship. Peace, Love, and Grace.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Hamburger Heaven" and the scripture was Mark3:31-35 and Ephesians 2:11-22. Church ought to be a place where all are welcome and grace is freely and abundantly dispensed because we all are equal at the cross.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
VBS has come and gone and my goodness what a great week!! We had 91 kids with over 40 adult and teenage volunteers helping to make this past week amazing. A huge thank you to Marie and all the team for creating opportunities for the children of this church and community experience the love of God! I was so impressed and honored to be a part of this week. The theme was "To Mars and Beyond" and each day the children had to build-up an element to help rescue the Mother ship and her crew. The elements were faith, boldness, kindness, thankfulness, and hope! A big thank you needs to go to Daryl and Kathy Soderman for designing the out of this world set! Many hours went into it and we are grateful. Another thank you to Rob and Amanda Baumann for making a huge robot for the kids to see and interact with. We are already looking at next years options for VBS!! A much-deserved rest is in order for all those who helped make this past week happen.
I need to share with you all that Dale Lee passed away last Friday (June 14th)! He fought bravely for a long time and now he is home with our Lord. Please pray for God to comfort Marcia and the family as they begin a new "normal". The service for Dale will be June 22nd at 11am with a reception to follow in Eden Hall. It will be catered by their favorite restaurant that they would go to most every Friday evening - Tequila Sunrise! We will miss Dale's leadership and love for this church!
I hope you all have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship. Peace, Love, and Grace.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "The Most Unforgettable Words of All" and the scripture was Luke 3:21-22. I love you, I believe in you, I am proud of you, and lastly, I am sorry! These four phrases need to be repeated over and over to our children and to all those we love!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Summer has finally arrived and goodness are the kids of our church excited! What another wonderful day of worship here yesterday. I love our summer worship schedule with the choir not in robes and having the hymn sing for the whole summer in place of the first hymn. I also love how calm the different sections are as they shout out their favorite hymn to sing: ) Worship is alive and well at Church By The Sea.
Our Children's Ministry began VBS this morning. We have 87 kids and 40 youth and adult volunteers and the theme is "To Mars and Beyond". Marie and her team have a done an amazing job putting this amazing week together and converting Eden Hall to the Mission Command Center in outer space! If you all are nearby the church please stop in and take a look. Please pray for this week as the children of our church and community are experiencing Christ. Have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship. Peace, Love, and Grace.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "What's Your Mission?" and the scripture was Acts 1:8 and 2:1-17. Pentecost was June 9th and that is the day the Church celebrates God giving us the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God's presence in our lives, it gives us power, and it gives us purpose. Our mission is to be His hands and feet in this world.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
What another wonderful day of worship over the Memorial Weekend. We had a spirit of honoring those men and women who have died while serving our country. I hope you were able to take some time to say thank you. I just want to say how grateful I am for our choir and our Music Director/Organist, Christopher Kane. He and they work so hard to bring us into God's presence thru music so THANK YOU!
After worship we had our annual Veterans Appreciation Luncheon. Thank you to Chef Peter and Sous-Chef Cheri for preparing a wonderful meal for us! We had beef brisket, ribs, burgers and dogs. A great time was had by all. Another thank you goes to Andres Gunther for MC'ing the event!
We have an exciting summer planned of worship, fellowship events, a pool party or two at our house and in 2 weeks - VBS is coming (June 10-14). Eden Hall will be transformed into deep space with the theme being "To Mars and Beyond". VBS is completely full and we can't wait. Please pray for Marie, all the teenagers and adults, and all the kids as they will experience Jesus Christ in new and fresh ways.
We also have some great things to be involved in that are coming up soon, so please check out our APP (The Church By The Sea) and sign up for what interests, or challenges you. Have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship. Peace, Love, and Grace.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Jesus Plus" and the scripture was Acts 15:5-11 and Philippians 3:3-9. Is Jesus Christ alone all we need to be right with God? Or is it Jesus plus something else...baptism or going to the right church...No! Jesus Christ is the mediator between God and us.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
What a wonderful day of worship yesterday. It was Youth Sunday at CBTS and my goodness, I was blown away by how amazing the kids are in our youth ministry. Nicholl and Jon are doing a fantastic job ministering to our youth and their families. The kids led worship from start to finish with Nicholl bringing the message about "serving rather than being served". I was challenged to remember the simple truth that God has called us all to serve. We are to serve wherever we go. We also had one family that joined our church - Chris and Kristin Pernicano. They have two children - Navy and Jax! I look forward to you all welcoming them when you meet can.
We finished off Sunday with our annual golf tournament at the Fort Lauderdale Country Club. We had a marvelous time. Thank you to Dave and Jackie Bayer and the golf pro Mark Van Dyck for putting on a great event. The winners were Andrew Stowe, Chris Bates, Rolv Heggenhougen and Will Clemons. Congratulations to you all and I look forward to our next tournament.
The month of May before and after worship we have the Serve 'N Celebrate board out for you all to sign. We are asking you all to sign up for a fellowship event(s) that interests you to either co-chair or be on the committee. Each fellowship event will have support from previous chair's and staff. Please make an effort during the week or on Sunday and sign up to help serve this great church. We want to have as many of you lead or be involved in leadership. We also have some great things to be involved in that are coming up soon so please check out our APP (The Church By The Sea) and sign up for what interests, or challenges you. Have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship. Peace, Love, and Grace.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "To Serve & Not Be Served" and the scripture was Mark 9:35 and Galatians 5:13. God has called us all to serve Him and others. Real joy comes from serving...Jesus first, Others in between, and Yourself last.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I hope you all had a happy Mother's Day weekend and some time to think about your mother and all her contributions! We had an excellent day of worship as we celebrated all the women in our lives who have helped us be who we are today. It was also a great celebration of God's amazing love! After worship the congregation was invited to come to the Pocock Garden where we released butterflies. The butterfly release is always a special time for the young and the not as young.
The Church By The Sea has some great things to be involved in, so please check out our APP and sign up for what interests, or challenges you. If you are feeling that CBTS is the place for you to call home then I welcome you to meet with me after worship for a time to get to know each other and explore becoming a member of this great family. Have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship as our youth will be leading us. Peace, Love, and Grace.