The sermon title was "Twisted Grace" and the scripture texts were Mathew 20:1-16 and Ephesians 2:8. We don't like to feel equal when we work for something and someone else doesn't. In God's unbelievable love we are given grace through acceptance of Jesus Christ into our hearts and because of that acceptance - we are forgiven of our sins and given GRACE. It's twisted because it is not fair, it makes us equal to everyone else, and it causes us to be first in service not in honor.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I hope you all are having a wonderful start to your week. Worship yesterday was one to be remembered! Our choir was amazing. Thank you all for bringing all of us literally to God's footsteps. I do want to encourage anyone who would like to sing to give it a try. You can email our Director of Music, Chris Kane, at cbfortlaud@aol.com. We also had a large children's time and wonderful attendance overall. It was a great day of worship and I look forward to many more.
My prayer is that the rest of your week is full of God's mercy and grace. We are blessed so that we can be a blessing. Let's keep doing that.
I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship, or on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea).
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "An Extra-Large Vision and the scripture texts were Genesis 12:1-3 and 22:17-18 and Matthew 28:19-20. God has always had an extra-large vision for His people and most times in the Bible as well as today, we think too small. Pray that God can stretch us so that we will embrace the vision He has for us and this great church.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I am so glad be at Church By The Sea. I had an amazing experience on my Sabbatical this summer. Thank you all for giving me this opportunity to experience Christ, my faith, and my family in new ways. The word "THANKS" is on the forefront of my mind.
What a wonderful day of worship we had with our choir, as usual, lifting us up to God's presence. I have missed that part of worship. It was wonderful to seeing all the children/youth and you all in worship and afterwards at the potluck. Thank you, Marcia Lee and crew, for creating a wonderful atmosphere in Eden Hall and to all those who were able to bring something. It was a special day so THANKS!!
I am excited about this new season in our church life! I look forward to us all growing closer to Christ and each other. I would love to have breakfast or lunch to visit and re-connect. Please email if you would like and we can set a date. God bless.
I hope you all have a great week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship, or on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea). Be a blessing to someone this week.
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "A Thankful Saint" and the scripture text was 1 Thessalonians 5:13-18. Being thankful is becoming lost in our society. Our passage states, "Give thanks in all circumstances". God wants us all to be thankful - to let those who have spurred us on to love and good deeds to know. I think God also wants us to be thankful for all the blessings of life - even those that don't seem like blessings at first or at all and finally, we should be thankful for God.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
1 Thessalonians 5:11 reads, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing" Being a part of this great church is such an encouragement to me and I trust it is for you as well. When the body of Christ gathers for corporate worship on Sunday morning, God is in the midst of us! If you weren't able to be with us this past Sunday, I hope you'll tune in and watch online.
I want you to know how much I appreciate your trust in me, allowing me to preach so many Sundays this summer. It is an honor to share the Word of God with the children of God and I hope our time together has allowed you to learn more about God and be more like Him. I want to thank Pastor Chris and the Session for allowing me to serve you in this way.
The sermon this Sunday urged all of us to become better students of the Bible. Our salvation is secure and was accomplished by Christ's work on the cross, and our love for Him should drive us to want to study His word. Many of you spoke to me as you exited, or by email and phone, about needing some practical first steps. If you are not already doing so, I would recommend that you begin with carving some time out of each day to study the Bible. Seems simple enough but making the time can be the hardest part for many. Put it on your calendar and treat it like any other commitment or meeting that you might find there. It can be late at night after everyone is in bed, or early in the morning before the day begins, or during lunch at your desk at work. But make the commitment. Then, in those quiet moments, open your Bible and read. Ask yourself what the main purpose of the passage might be; what you learn from these verses about God; what the passage teaches about our nature and service. An orderly approach is best, I think, so just join in the reading below. Or start with the book of Mark.
If you are already in the habit of reading your Bible, consider as a next step, using one of the study-guides I've suggested below. A good study Bible can help you notice things that you might initially miss. And, while your Bible should always be the primary focus of your study, other tools can help you understand and deepen your insight.
I've also included below a list of upcoming discipleship opportunities. I can't urge you strongly enough to take advantage of these classes and events to deepen your knowledge of the Scripture. Our 3-Hour Tours are short, three-week long studies on Sunday morning. You can choose to come before church (8:30-9:30) or stay after church (11:30-12:30). We also have several weekly Bible studies already meeting with plans for new topics in the Fall. Make a commitment to plug in somewhere beyond Sunday mornings. There should be something in the list below that will fit your schedule.
I hope these suggestions help. And I hope you take seriously the need for each of us to be better students of the Scripture. Please reach out to me if I can help or encourage you along the way.
Blessings!
Brian
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
One of my favorite verses from the Psalms is 27:4. "One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek Him in His temple." As a Christian, there is something special about being in worship. As we gather each Sunday to fellowship, pray, praise and learn, it is always a joy to be together. And communion Sundays are even more special as we remember and celebrate at the Lord's table. I hope you were a part of yesterday's service and if not, I hope you'll find some time this week to watch online.
Randy did an excellent job delivering truth and challenge from God's word and the choir was uplifting and encouraging as always. It was great to see so many children back with us now that school is just around the corner. I know our new Youth & Family Ministry Director has wonderful things planned for each age group this fall. There are a lot of Christian education opportunities for adults being planned as well.
You'll get a list of classes and studies to choose from in the next few weeks. Don't forget to make plans to be with us on August 21 as we welcome Pastor Chris back from sabbatical. We're going to gather after church in Eden Hall for a potluck dinner so we can hear about some of the things he learned and experienced. You can sign up next Sunday or call the church office to make reservations. It promises to be a great time! As we get ready for the routine and normalcy that the fall brings to our schedules, make sure you continue to make worship and Bible study a priority in your life.
Blessings!
Brian
Sermon Recap
Our Scripture reading from the classic biblical story of David and Goliath which really illustrates it is not about us but about God. When power and significance is exhibited through someone seemingly inadequate it ultimately honors God as he does not seek those already equipped for His purpose but equips those He needs for His plan. Thus, it is not about us but about God being with us. In this noisy world of bold Statements, or idolizing the celebrities and bigger than life personas, or chasing after extravagance that does not last, we at times can get distracted from what really matters: WHOSE WE ARE. Sometimes we can be worn down or just feel small, inadequate, and/or insignificant in a world that often times is over the top, excessive, and devilish but we can have the peace of knowing that God is with us. That no matter what season of life we are experiencing, in His eyes we are always Powerfully Significant.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Hebrews 10:24-25a states, "And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another." It was wonderful to be together in worship again yesterday. It is always an encouragement to me! The choir was amazing as always and the anthems helped me focus my attention on the greatness of our God. I pray the sermon was used by Him to stir your hearts toward love and good deeds and that you remember this week to be thankful for what He has done and is doing in your life. If you weren't able to be with us, I hope you'll watch online sometime this week.
I've talked with Pastor Chris several times this week, and while he is enjoying his time in Peru, he talks most about how much he misses you and looks forward to being with us again. We are blessed to have him as our Pastor. I hope you are praying for him regularly during his sabbatical.
Today is already the first Monday in August, so please consider attending Theology on Tap this evening, 6 PM at Quarterdeck off Cordova. If you haven't been before, and you're free tonight, consider this your personal invitation to join in. You can also participate in one of our regular Bible studies (in the list of events below) and connect with others as you grow your faith.
Blessings!
Brian
Sermon Recap
Ten men were healed of leprosy but only one made his way back to Jesus to say thank you. We noticed that Jesus' compassion was expressed "from a distance" and reminded ourselves to be thankful that God always meets us with grace and love. We noticed that Jesus' direction to these men was to simply be obedient to what the law already required them to do. We need to remember to be thankful that obedience to the will of God will always lead us to a better place. And finally, we noticed that, regardless of the circumstances we might find ourselves in the middle of today, God has already offered us healing from our sin and the consequences that it brings. We need to remember to be thankful for that! A pretty simple passage really. Don't forget to be thankful!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Did you know that the church is one of God’s greatest gifts to His people? God gives us the church – filled with our brothers and sisters in Christ – so that we might fellowship, pray, study His word, and serve TOGETHER! I hope this past Sunday you were able to gather with us, whether online or in person, to enjoy the gift of one another and to focus on the God who loves you no matter what! I pray that by hearing the Word of God and worshiping alongside those around you, you will be spurred on this week to love and good works. God is doing some amazing things at Church by the Sea and I am so glad we are serving him together!
Please consider participating in one of the Bible studies offered this week. The Tuesday zoom study is learning about the “I am” statements of Jesus found in the Gospel of John. On Wednesday nights, we are continuing our study of parables. If you can’t make one of those, you can always read along with the New Testament reading below.
Don’t forget as you go about your daily routine that you encounter people as an ambassador of Jesus. Be kind. Show compassion. Love others because He first loved us!
Worship… Bible study… service… together! So glad each of you are part of this great church! I hope or service of worship this past Sunday was a blessing to you.
Chris and Marie are now either in or on their way to Peru for a week of ministry there. Don’t forget to pray for them this week. In their absence, please know that I am here to help and serve you in any way I can.
Blessings!
Brian
Sermon Recap
As we continue thinking about the people Jesus met along the way, we considered the example of Bartimaeus, a blind beggar from Jericho. While it may go against conventional wisdom to follow a blind man on his journey, I suggested the Bartimaeus’ journey made him worth following! He demonstrated a knowledge of who Jesus was (the Messiah), an understanding of who he was (desperate and broken), and a desire for a personal relationship with God. Do you know who Jesus is? Do you understand that your sin makes you desperate for a savior? Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ? We can rejoice in the Gospel whether we have just heard it for the first time, or have been hearing it for most of our lives. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.” (John 3:16-17). Follow the path of Bartimaeus and trust and believe!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I hope you were able to join us Sunday for our time of worship! It's always good to gather at Church by the Sea, connect with our friends, maybe meet some new people, and focus on the God who loves us unconditionally. If you weren't able to be with us this Sunday, I'd invite you to watch online at your convenience.
Even though it's summertime, there is a lot going on at our church. We heard Sunday about the camp for our youth and had a special prayer for them before they head out this Saturday. Our Bible study opportunities continue throughout the week. There is still time to participate in our school supply drive. The details are below. And we announced another chance to join Martita to get some help with technical issues and better know how to use our devises. Don't forget to bring yours and join in.
I shared Sunday about someone in our church family in need of a temporary place to stay for the month of August. If you have a private, furnished guest house or apartment that you could make available please reach out to me.
While Pastor Chris is gone, don't hesitate to reach out if you need some help, or a prayer. I am honored to be with you each Sunday and I am always available to help!
Blessings!
Brian
Sermon Recap
Sunday's sermon focused on a familiar encounter Jesus had with a very rich, young ruler. In spite of Jesus' reminder that only God is good, this man thought he was good enough to get to heaven on his own merit. Jesus knew otherwise and challenged him to give away his riches to the poor. Doing so isn't a requirement to salvation but reveals the priority of our heart and our wellness to follow Jesus. When the man walked away sad, Jesus taught his disciples that it's harder for a rich man to get to heaven than for a camel to get through the eye of a needle. Why is that? When we have wealth, we tend to 1) rely on ourselves, 2) miss the work of God in our lives, and 3) focus only on ourselves. Those behaviors often cause us to walk away from rather than follow Jesus. We were challenged together to make sure we consider how our own wealth can affect our relationship with Jesus!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Church family,
Thank you all so much for this Sabbatical. It has already been a wonderful blessing to me, Marie, and my family. The first week Marie and I were in Denver at a beautiful home converted into a retreat facility for clergy and Christian workers. They provided a wonderful host couple, from the Villages, who cooked for us and another couple and provided for our needs. Our day began with counseling each morning from 9 to 12 and then we had the afternoon to be still, read, and refresh!
The kids flew up to Denver on July 1st and we have been together ever since! Marie and the kids fly home on the 16th, and I fly to San Diego for a Bob Goff conference! Please continue to pray for me and us! Thank you all for your friendship, love, and prayers! I look forward to all of us continuing to serve Christ together!
I have often shared with you my favorite verse from Psalms (46:10) that commands us to “be still.” In the busyness of life, I understand how difficult it can be to live out that command and yet, I have learned over these past weeks how truly important it is.
Your gift of this Sabbatical has given me the opportunity to do the one thing God has been tugging on my heart to do… slow down and be still. Marie and I shared a transformational week of counseling, reading and reflecting at a retreat center designated for Christian leaders. What a blessing to have a professional speak into our lives and ministries. Made me think…who is speaking into your life and ministry? Do each of us have a trusted someone to help you navigate God’s call on your life? If not, I hope I can be that person for you or help you discover who that person might be as we seek to hear God’s voice in our lives.
Over the past two weeks we have been blessed to enjoy complete family time in the mountains of Colorado. Here we have experienced God’s peace and presence in the majesty of His creation, sharing daily devotionals and what we are grateful for in our lives. What is one thing you are grateful for today? Do you have a special place that you can retreat to, to experience God’s peace and majesty? Have you been there recently to see God in His creation? I am praying for an opportunity for you to do so.
As I head into my week of solitude next week, I hope you know that I think of you all often and have felt all the thoughts and prayers you have shared with me. I am so grateful for this opportunity to draw closer to God and to my family and look forward to hearing how God has moved in your life during my time away when I get back! “May the peace of God which passes all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Be a Blessing,
Chris
Sermon Recap
Many people make lists of who might be disqualified from heaven based on behavior. Most of us worry at times that our own behavior might be on God's list of behaviors that disqualify us. But the truth of the Gospel is that there is no list! We all owe a debt to God because of our sin. We all are unable to pay our debt because of our continued sin. But we need not despair! For God so loves the world, He gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him (John 3:16-17)! No one is disqualified because everyone can trust in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins! If you believe, your sins are forgiven!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July weekend! Our great country affords us many privileges and freedoms, not the least of which is the liberty to worship God freely and together. If you were able to be with us Sunday, it was a wonderful time of giving praise to our faithful God who loves us unconditionally. The choir was tremendous as always and Dr. Ziemer was kind enough to step in and lead our hymn sing. Many were dressed in red, white, and blue as we gathered to thank God for America and give Him the praise and honor He deserves. Our communion table reminded us again of the broken body and spilled blood of Jesus so that we might be forever in His presence. God is great! And it was great to be together in worship!! If you missed it, you could watch the service online by following the links on our website.
I've talked with Pastor Chris a few times and can pass on that his first week of sabbatical has been rewarding and fruitful. Please continue to pray for him and his family as they break away from the daily challenges of pastoral ministry to reflect and recharge. I will be preaching in his absence each Sunday in July. We are going to take that time to focus on Jesus' encounters with "normal" people - people like you and like me - that He met along the way. Of all those that He met; the Holy Spirit had the Gospel writers record his encounter with only a few. We'll consider each Sunday the uniqueness of the meeting preserved in our text and search for what God wants to teach us through it. I hope you'll make the time to join us
Blessings!
Brian
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Are you willing to push through the crowd?" as we looked at Matthew 8:1-4. In our text, a man with leprosy pushed through the crowd of people around Jesus to get healing. While today we no longer face physical crowds surrounding Jesus, there are many things that seem to crowd him out of our lives. Busyness. Uncertainty. Selfishness. Yet if we push through these things, we can have a personal, life-changing encounter with Christ. Hopefully you are pushing through the things in your life that tend to crowd out Jesus.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
We had another great day of worship as we welcomed summer break for most of our children and teachers. Summer is always a wonderful time to, I hope, catch your breath, to spend time with friends and family, and to create some new ways of hearing God speak. My hope for your summer is that you all will make that happen.
A few weeks ago, Bill Harvey, our Clerk of Session, shared with you all about my sabbatical which will begin June 25th - August 20th. This will be a time of refreshment, rest, restoration, reading, and experiencing God! I am so grateful to you all for granting me this time away to be alone, with Marie, and have some quality time with my family. I want to give you all a little summary of the things I will be doing while I am away. Marie and I begin at a conference in Denver for a week then the kids fly out there and we will just experience Colorado. Marie and the kids fly home and I fly to San Diego for another conference. I leave from San Diego to fly to Lima, Peru for a mission trip with Marie flying from FLL. We have missionary friends who live in Pucallpa, and we are going to help out with their ministry. After that, the whole family will fly to Syracuse for some time in the Adirondacks and then Marie and the kids fly home and I meet up with Mark Pendergrass for a few days to go through the book "Make Your Bed". Eventually, I am back in Fort Lauderdale and will be preaching on August 21st. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart. God bless.
We have a dedication this Saturday, June 18th, at 8:30am (see below for address). This dedication is for the Habitat House that our church members helped build. It was funded by Shirley McCollum, residents of Fountainhead, and the Rosemary Duffy Larson Trust. Thank you Chad Zalman for leading the project from CBTS perspective and to all our volunteers, WELL DONE!!!!
I hope you all have a great week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship, or on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea). Be a blessing this week.
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "What's The Big Deal About The Trinity" and the scripture text was Deuteronomy 6:4-5 and John 14:15-26. This past Sunday was Trinity Sunday. The Trinity is God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. One God but in 3 distinct personalities! The big deal is that we know God as creator, as a Man who lived among, and as the One who lives in us when we accept Jesus as Lord and Savior! The 3 in 1! It is a big deal.