Welcome from the Pastor
As the Pastor of this church, I hope and pray that here at Aliso Creek Presbyterian you meet the living God through the Gospel of his Son. True, meaningful, and unfading life – life as it was ultimately meant to be – cannot be earned by our efforts, spirituality or strong character. Rather, life can only be received as a gift from God through Jesus Christ who died and rose again for his people. Someone once said that while the ladder of power reaches up, the ladder of grace reaches down. It is our desire to know Christ and to make him known, to know the God who gave up his power and reached down so that we might be lifted up from sin and death. We love sharing the Good News that our Maker from whom we were estranged has embraced us on account of Jesus and all that he did for us. We invite you to join us in taking up our crosses and following Christ as we rest in his finished work.
Weekly All Church E-Mail
"Spreading out Our Burdens at the Feet of the Lord" Feb-17-2012
Dear ACPC,
This Sunday I’ll preach from Isaiah 37:14-20 – “Spreading out Our Burdens at the Feet of the Lord.” In this passage, King Hezekiah is a wonderful example of praying through life’s challenges, including the fact that we live in a world that sometimes mocks God and taunts His people. The following reflections on our text convicted and encouraged me; I hope they do the same for you:
Hezekiah’s prayer is a wonderful antidote to pagan prayer. He is far from trying to manipulate God. He does not suggest that God owes him or his people anything. He focuses on God’s character and nature. Neither does he promise to do anything for God if God delivers them [Israel]. He is concerned that God be known properly in the world and wants that to happen in the context of the oppressor’s boast, for that is the level on which this conflict has been pitched. He cannot make God bless them and he does not try. Rather, he commits himself to God without any qualification or caveats.
We, too, can pray and live this way . . . To be sure, God invites us to tell him what we think our needs are because our trust is deepened as we see God providing the very things we asked for. But that does not mean that we demand he work for us. It means we lay our needs at his feet for him to supply as he sees best. This kind of prayer is no longer an exercise in manipulation [like the pagan’s prayer]. Now it is a conversation between a trusting child and a loving Father. (John Oswalt, The NIV Application Commentary)
Liz and I really have been enjoying our Growth Group, especially last night’s meeting! If you’re newer to ACPC and would like to attend a group, or you have been busy but would now like to join in, let me know and we’ll find a group that works for you. Two groups meet on Sunday evenings, two on Thursday evenings.
ACPC member, Dr. Clinton McLemore, will continue his three week series, “What It Really Means to Be a Church.” His second lesson is entitled “Dealing with Difficult Christians: How to Be Part of the Solution.” Buried in that title is a point that I’m sure we’ll hear during the class: don’t be a difficult Christian. :-)
Thanks for being a wonderful church marked by truth, love and grace.
Yours in Christ,
Welcome from the Pastor
As the Pastor of this church, I hope and pray that here at Aliso Creek Presbyterian you meet the living God through the Gospel of his Son. True, meaningful, and unfading life – life as it was ultimately meant to be – cannot be earned by our efforts, spirituality or strong character. Rather, life can only be received as a gift from God through Jesus Christ who died and rose again for his people. Someone once said that while the ladder of power reaches up, the ladder of grace reaches down. It is our desire to know Christ and to make him known, to know the God who gave up his power and reached down so that we might be lifted up from sin and death. We love sharing the Good News that our Maker from whom we were estranged has embraced us on account of Jesus and all that he did for us. We invite you to join us in taking up our crosses and following Christ as we rest in his finished work.
Weekly All Church E-Mail
"Spreading out Our Burdens at the Feet of the Lord" Feb-17-2012
Dear ACPC,
This Sunday I’ll preach from Isaiah 37:14-20 – “Spreading out Our Burdens at the Feet of the Lord.” In this passage, King Hezekiah is a wonderful example of praying through life’s challenges, including the fact that we live in a world that sometimes mocks God and taunts His people. The following reflections on our text convicted and encouraged me; I hope they do the same for you:
Hezekiah’s prayer is a wonderful antidote to pagan prayer. He is far from trying to manipulate God. He does not suggest that God owes him or his people anything. He focuses on God’s character and nature. Neither does he promise to do anything for God if God delivers them [Israel]. He is concerned that God be known properly in the world and wants that to happen in the context of the oppressor’s boast, for that is the level on which this conflict has been pitched. He cannot make God bless them and he does not try. Rather, he commits himself to God without any qualification or caveats.
We, too, can pray and live this way . . . To be sure, God invites us to tell him what we think our needs are because our trust is deepened as we see God providing the very things we asked for. But that does not mean that we demand he work for us. It means we lay our needs at his feet for him to supply as he sees best. This kind of prayer is no longer an exercise in manipulation [like the pagan’s prayer]. Now it is a conversation between a trusting child and a loving Father. (John Oswalt, The NIV Application Commentary)
Liz and I really have been enjoying our Growth Group, especially last night’s meeting! If you’re newer to ACPC and would like to attend a group, or you have been busy but would now like to join in, let me know and we’ll find a group that works for you. Two groups meet on Sunday evenings, two on Thursday evenings.
ACPC member, Dr. Clinton McLemore, will continue his three week series, “What It Really Means to Be a Church.” His second lesson is entitled “Dealing with Difficult Christians: How to Be Part of the Solution.” Buried in that title is a point that I’m sure we’ll hear during the class: don’t be a difficult Christian. :-)
Thanks for being a wonderful church marked by truth, love and grace.
Yours in Christ,