So many people return to church at Christmas time that there’s even a joke about it. One Sunday a man is leaving church, and he says to the minister, “You need to expand your repertoire. Every time I come here, you’re talking about Jesus being born in a manger. He must’ve done more than that!” Why do so many people come to church at … Read More
What to Expect on Christmas Eve at First Assembly
It is my honor to invite you to join us for Christmas Eve services at First Assembly Community Ministries at 5PM and 6:30PM on December 24th. We welcome Christmas by celebrating with carols, communion, and candles. Your entire family, from great grandparents to young children are welcome to join us for the service, that will last one hour. We will sing Christmas carols, listen … Read More
What is Advent?
Advent is the season of expectant preparation that involves the four Sundays before Christmas and Christmas Day itself. Advent literally means “coming”. It involves reading scripture, prayer, and often the lighting of candles. This coming Sunday it will begin and we will be encouraging our congregation to begin a period of Bible reading and prayer in a way to mark … Read More
How My Family Celebrates Advent
Do you suppose the angels in the sky looked at all like this picture on the night Jesus was born? The following is a guest post from my lovely wife about how my family celebrates the season! Advent is a word that has many different meanings to just as many people. For some, it is a season of the church … Read More
STRONGER: Families
Wow! I have really enjoyed this series that has explored the closest relationships in our lives–marriage and family. Today’s message dealt with the challenges of building a household culture full of discipline, submission and honor. To end the message today, we also addressed how to honor adult children and how adult children can honor their parents. Check it out! I … Read More
Celebrating Advent with Your Family
My wonderful wife, Tracy Bradford, has written more on the subject of celebrating Advent with children. Full of practical ideas fueled by spiritual consideration, take some time to see what’s here! ______________________ I remember the first time that my husband and I sat with our two small boys to officially celebrate the Advent season 13 years ago. I had made … Read More
STRONGER–Stronger Men
This series has been great! To see the messages from the two weeks before this one, just look below on this blog. It just started on November 8. On Sunday, we explored what men need to be stronger that their wives are uniquely able to meet. Check out the outline below and then the message below, starting at about the … Read More
STRONGER–Stronger Women
Yesterday’s message at First Assembly Community Ministries taught about marriage and how a man can contribute to his wife’s strength in life. You can catch the message if you start it in the video window below at about the 3:03:00 mark. To see last week’s message that introduced the series, click here. Immediately below here is the outline we used … Read More
STRONGER–4 Principles of Conflict Resolution
For the next three weeks, I’ll be posting regarding some area that touches the present series of messages I’m delivering at First Assembly Community Ministries called “Stronger”. “Stronger” is a series of messages focused on becoming stronger at relationships, particularly relationships in the family. (You can learn more about the “Stronger” series by clicking here. Today, I’m addressing resolving conflict. Jesus talked about interpersonal … Read More