How to keep Christmas in perspective.

With Christmas now behind us what have we learned this year? First, that this years gifts were a bit thinner than in previous years. Second, that this years gifts were a bit more personal and thirdly, that this years Christmas vacation was not as extravagant as before.

It seems that each year we find oursleves asking the same question "What is the real meaning of Christmas?" Well what we do know is that Christmas is never about us but about Jesus Christ. That Christmas is about sharing the love of Christ with one another. That all the fuss of finding the right gift really isn't as important as being with those you love.

Each year we tell our kids that Christmas is all about God giving each of us a gift and that gift is the forgiveness of our sins and life everlasting with Him through Jesus Christ. When we keep Christmas in its real place then it makes Christmas so much more pleasing and with very little stress.

This year our family kept it simple for reasons we didn't see come our way. But today in church I was reminded that Christmas isn't about what I get from people but more about what I am willing to give to God. First, I need to give Him my life. Second, I need to give Him my living and thirdly, I need to let others know of what God has done for them to make Christmas so special. Its Jesus Christ.

I hope that this years Christmas was all about Jesus for you. Because when it is then life gets put in proper order. Thank you God for thinking of me and may I find myself always thinking of You.

How great it is to have a spirital family.

My wife, daughter and I were able to visit with one of our Life Connection groups from church. We had a great time with them. We first ate some spiritual food from the Bible. We were reminded how special the birth of Jesus Christ was for all of us.

Jesus came not just to be born but to bring us life. Thats because within our own lives we as human beings have found a way to mess things up before God. In the Bible that is called sin. As a result of our sin we have separated ourselves from God to an eternal death.

But because God loved us so much He sent His One and Only Son to be born of a virgin to bring us back to Himself. Though sin made us enemies of God, God saw passed that to help us in our need to be rescued from sin and from its penalty.

The birth of Jesus Christ did that for all of us. It doesn't matter whether we are young or old, married or single, English speaking or not. Jesus came for all of us to be rescued back to God the Father.

Then we ate from some delicious Salvadorian food that filled our stomachs. The food and fellowship with the church family and with those visitors who were with us last night was neat. Sitting around the table talking and sharing with one another made the evening awesome.

The wonderful thing about being a Christian is that there is plenty of joy throughout your life that you can share with everyone, especially your spiritual family. Thank you for the great evening we enjoyed with you.

How wonderful is the Christmas season?

Have you ever thought about the Christmas season as being a wonderful time of the year? I know that many of us do but not for the right reasons. We enjoy Christmas because of the gifts we receive and for the time we take off from work. Yes, I know that many people also take time to see family and friends during the Christmas season.

What makes the Christmas season so wonderful is not what we get from each other but what we have received from God. Your life and my life have been so blessed by God for so long that I believe we have missed out on the wonder of the season.

If we were honest with ourselves we would have to admit that without God in our lives we would be wallering in the sadness of our lives and in the sickness of our sins. But with Jesus Christ being born we have the opportunity to have our lives full of wonder over the pain and punishment of sin.

As the saying goes "Jesus is the reason for the Season". If we would only take a hold of that saying and make it real in our lives then we would have to admit that the Christmas season is wonderful. Not because of what we have done but because of what God has done for us.

I hope that as you go through this Christmas season that you will give God the glory for all that has come into your life and the praise for helping you get through life and all that is involved in it. May you join me in saying to God "Thank you for making my life such a blessing!"

Shock in Ft. Hood

What a terrible thing we heard yesterday as one of our military men shot and killed his fellow soldiers as they prepared to depart to the battle field.

My son asked a simple question of "Why?" Why things like this happened is sometimes difficult to understand or to know. Humanity is so wrapped up in its own little world that they don't see the whole picture.

In a tragedy like this people wonder where was God? God was right there seeing all that was going on. For whatever reason this man took life in his own hands instead of letting it rest in Gods hands.

His worries or troubles about the war where not given to God and he didn't give God the chance to help in this time of need. Unfortunately we don't always understand why things like this happened.

But God does understand why these things happen and He is near to help us during these times. For some they may feel it is to late for God to help. But the reality is that it is never to late to let God intervene in your life.

God is near and wants to help us see our need for Him so that things like this won't happen again. I pray that these family members affected by this senseless act will draw near to God for strength and help.

At our church we are praying for you.

Its amazing how God can use a simple toy to make a child so happy.

This past Saturday we had our church Fall Festival at our new church property. We had a Trunk or Treat event that the kids loved. It wasn't anything extravagant but simple games that brought a smile on the kids faces.

Along with the fun we had food and candy that kept the kids running all night long. It was so good seeing the church members use their creativity in the games they brought which fit in the trunk of their cars.

Simple games made the night full of fun for the kids and their parents. Sometimes churches think they need to go overboard in order to bring people to an event they are hosting. But we fail to realize that God wants us doing something with all we have and he will take care of the rest.

God knows each and everyone of us and knows what puts a smile on our faces. As I saw the kids and parents go from trunk to trunk I saw a lot of people having a lot of fun.

I know that the night wasn't just to have fun but I saw that when we took time to be with people even in a simple game out of our trunks they appreciated it. God wants us involved in peoples lives whether we have sophisticated toys or not.

Thank you to all of the church members that took part in putting together a great first Fall Festival out our new church location.

Depending on God for all of your battles.

In my daily reading today I read from 2 Chronicles 14. In this chapter King Asa of Judah found himself and his nation being at war with another great nation. The other nation had 1 million warriors against his 280,000 fighters.

Seeing that he was out numbered 4 to 1 he cries out to God and makes this declaration "Lord, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O Lord our God, for we trust in You, and in Your name we have come against this multitude, O Lord You are our God; let no man prevail against us."
2 Chronicles 14:11

This past Sunday night we did exactly this. We went before Christ on behalf of the church members and those Christians who find themselves under attack from Satan. We prayed and asked God to help us in our time of need as we are in a fierce spiritual battle. Satan has lost and is losing more and more people to the Lord and is trying all he can to slow us down and to defeats us.

But we will not faint nor will we lose heart because our God is great and He will defend His children from all adversaries. As we get attacked within our families, churches, at work and with those around us, we will not give in.

Today I pray for you and your family as you live each day resting upon the Lord. Satan is trying to discourage you and afflict you with pain. I call on the Lord to watch, protect, and lead us in the way that He would want us to go.

Dear Lord, I come before you today asking for help for the members of my church, for my family and for those that we know. I pray heavenly Father that we would not be overwhelmed with the army that is against us but that we will be strengthened in Your presences. Wage this battle for us as we depend upon You and thank You for the victory You give us in Jesus Christ. For it is in His name that I pray, amen.

I pray that today you will find rest in the Lord and that you will depend upon Him for all of your life and its endeavors.

How is a Harvest Pumpkin Like a Christian?

I saw this question posted on a lollipop wrapper. The company that makes these is called Scripture Candy. I thought "How is a Harvest Pumpkin like a Christian?"

The wrapper had on it that a Harvest Pupmkin is like a Christian in these ways.

1. It is Chosen
2. It is Cleaned
3. It is Changed
4. It Cast light

It got me to think about one of my favorite verses in the Bible 2 Corinthians 5:17 "If anyone is in Christ they are a new creation, the old has past away and all things become new."

It is neat to know that we are thought of and wanted by God even though we don't always live like He would want us to live. But in eternity past He saw our lives and said "No matter what you are doing I am already picking you to be in My family." Cool! God wants us and is choosing us.

When we surrender our lives to Him, He then takes us as we are and begins the process of making us as we ought to be. There is the immediate cleansing and then there is a daily activity in our lives to help us be all that we need to be. God doesn't look at us and say it is hopeless but that it is possible.

God takes a life without Him that was on the wrong road and makes it new and puts us on the right path of life. He takes a life that was tattered and dark and makes it new and usable for His glory.

So there is truth in that statement on the wrapper. But the change we need is not something we can do on our own. We are in need of Jesus Christ to take the old and make it new. Jesus loves you and has already set His eyes on you. Will you give Him your life?

Sermon Series: How to Restore A Broke Relationship Psalm 51

Message Four: The Confession of True Worship (14-17), Sunday October 11th 2009

A. Be Delivered (14)

B. Boastfully Declare God's Praises (15)

C. Be Dedicated To God (16)

D. Be Broken, God Desires It (17)

Christians and Halloween

Have you ever wondered why Halloween has become such a big business? Why is it that so many people participate in an evening that is dedicated to the dead? Even churches have made the date of October 31st a big day to put on their calendars.

On Sunday October 18th I will try to answer for you from the Bible what response Christians should have towards Halloween. Is Halloween an innocent day of fun and activity that Christians should participate in or is it a day that Christians should impact in a different way?

Sermon Series: How to Restore A Broke Relationship Psalm 51

Message Three: There is the Confession of Staying (10-13), Sunday October 4th 2009

A. Create a Clean Heart (10)

B. Keep Close to God (11)

C. Celebrate Your Salvation (12)

D. Convert Sinners (13)

Sermon Series: How to Restore A Broke Relationship Psalm 51

Message Two: There is the Confession of Change (6-9), Sunday September 27th, 2009

A. Seek to be Honest (6)

B. Seek Sanctification by God (7)

C. Sing Praises to God (8)

D. Shield Your Sins From God (9)

Something new is always fun and exciting

Today I got my new desk top and laptop computers. I called Jorge to see if they were ready with all the program gadgets we ordered for them. He said they are ready and he'll bring them by in the morning.

So I got dressed and was ready for my new computers, what a kid. But if you think about it we all do this when we get something new. We put everything else aside and we spend the whole day playing with whatever new gadget we receive. We show our spouse and kids and even those that we talk with on the phone. Why? Who knows. Maybe because it is new.

Do you remember when you first gave your life to Jesus Christ how exciting and neat it was? We spent the whole day thinking about it, reading our Bible and trying to find out when the next church service will be.

But sometimes we let that excitement wear off and our new toy or our new faith just becomes like anything else, no big deal. In Psalms 51 David writes "Restore the joy of my salvation." What happened that his joy was not there?

Lets be careful about letting the joy of our slavation wear off and just be another thing in our life. Let it be something that we spend the whole day in and tell everyone who comes across our path. Just like we spend time looking at all of the parts of our new gadgets, lets spend time in all of the aspects of our walk of faith in Jesus Christ. Thats how we keep the "joy of our salvation."

Sermon Series: How To Restore A Broke Relationship Psalm 51

Message 1 - There is the Confession of Sin (vs.1-4), Sunday September 13th, 2009

A. First we must Approach God in Humilty (1)
B. Second we must Ask God for Forgiveness (2)
C. Third we must Admit our Sinfulness (3)
D. Fourth we must Acknowledge who was Truly Offended (4)

Interview with Ken Herman of Austin American Statesman

Last week I received a call from Ken Herman from the local newspaper, the Austin American Statesman. He wanted to interview me about our church now owning and having services at a former car dealership.

I didn't know what to expect. So we set up the interview time at the church that afternoon. Ken was really curious of how a church could purchase a dealership and have religious services in it.

Ken had done some research of our church from our church website http://www.ombchurch.org/ and came well prepared with an assortment of questions. His main overriding question was "What made you picture a church in this place?"

In todays world we see churches popping up in all types of places. There are some that meet in bars, schools, community centers and now a former dealership. Why not? In the Bible, the book of Acts says "That the church (Christians) are to go out into all of the earth and proclaim the "Good news" in Jesus Christ. First starting with our Jerusalem (our location) Judea (our country) Samaria (our continent) and to the remotest parts of the earth.

Well, that's what we are doing. We are in a great location for people from all over the United States and the world that drive through Austin. Like I told the reporter "Beautiful South Austin has for to long had an eye sore as people drove in and out of South Austin. That is because of the 3 adult business that are on south I-35 on the northbound feeder road.

Now with our church in this same area, those who drive into and out of Austin can now see a sign of hope for their lives. A church now sits greeting them as they arrive and praying for them as they leave. The bright lights of the triple x signs are no longer going to be the attraction but a steeple with a cross bringing hope to South Austin.

I know Ken thought it odd for a church to be in a former dealership. But I know that God has blessed us and we want to take this same blessing to those in our new neighborhood and all of beautiful South Austin.

Here is the link to the article and to the video. Video:Former Chrysler dealership becoming a church.http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid1485820904?bctid=39616458001 Here is the newspaper article. http://www.statesman.com/opinion/content/editorial/stories/2009/09/15/0915herman_edit.html

Pray for our Nation and our Troops

This Friday is the 8th anniversary of when our nation was terribly attacked on its soil. Some 3,000 Americans died on that awful day. We will never forget and we will never stop defending ourselves from an enemy that fights cowardly.

We are blessed to have a military that doesn't turn back from a fierce battle and always moves forward in its defense of our great nation. In the Bible Paul writes in joyful memory of those fellow Chirstians from Phillipi who kept him in prayer. "I thank God every time I remember you. And I always pray for all of you with joy." Phillipians 1:3-4

I would like to say to our military men and women that every time I think of you I pray for you and am blessed to have you stand in the gap for me and my family and for our land. What a joy it is for us as Americans to have such a powerful and courages group of people who protect us on a volunteer basis. Thank you so much.

Family Night at Kendra Page Park Sept 09

What a wonderful blessing we enjoyed as we went out into our new neighborhood and invited them to participate with us in our first Family Night at the Park. We had a blast meeting the people from the neighborhood during a night of activities, fellowship, Bible story and food.

Fellowship Church of Houston Single's Ministry Team came for the weekend to help us kick off our first outreach and activity night in our new neighborhood. We really appreciated each of them as they took time out of their busy lives to help us tell people about the love and change that can be found in Jesus Christ.

We met at Kendra Page Park which is located just across from Langford Elementary School. We had 85 people participate in the evening of fun. Earlier that day we went around our new neighborhood and invited people to come to our activity and to worship with us on Sunday morning.

We saw 3 people give their hearts to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior Saturday and we had four come and worship with us in service on Sunday. What a blessing it was as we met new people, prayed with them and shared a word of encouragement to all.

Thanks to all from OMBC who helped in this event, it was a great success. We live at a time in life when so many people are hurting and they need to hear of the hope and help they can find in Jesus Christ. We look forward to being out in our new neighborhood again.

The blessing of a church family

Last nigt I was reminded of what a blessing a church family is to one another. Sometimes we get all caught up in the discussion of whether we really need to be an active member of a church or not. Some people believe church is not a necessary part of their life.

But I was humbly reminded last night of the benefit of having an active church family in the lives of its membership. When we find ourselves in need and we desperately need someone to talk with the church family is a great place to go.

It is in those times of need that we see the benefit of a church family because the church has our best interest at heart. We don't judge, just listen and help. We each realize that we all go through tough times and when we are in need we are wanting others to help us without judgment.

I heard a prayer of thanksgiving last night that blessed me of how our church strives to be a place of help and not hurt. I know our church isn't perfect but I also know that our church does its best to be open to people in need.

Jesus told His disciples "They will know you are My disciplesip by your love for one another." John 13:35

Children are a blessing from the Lord

Today I met a parent that was a blessing to me. She has two children and they have been a handful to raise for different reasons. Even though it has been a challenge she stayed with it and has seen her kids graduate from high school.

She reminded me that children are a blessing in life. The Bible tells us that "Children are a blessing from the Lord." (Psalm 127:3) When I think of the challenges I go through with my kids I still see them to be a blessing from the Lord.

That doesn't mean that I don't get frustrated with them. What it does mean is that no matter what they may do both good and bad I am blessed. When I look into their eyes I see potential, childhood laughter and great joy.

Today I started the day down because of things that were going on in my life with my children. Late tonight I see great joy even though the challenge hasn't changed. Thank you to this parent that blessed me with her committment and joy she finds with her kids.

Hump day is already here

Well I am up late again writing and working on my blog. It seems that there is so much stuff that needs to get done in the day that the days seems longer. This is a reminder that we need to take advantage of every day and of every moment we have here on earth for the Lord.

Late Tuesday night I spoke with an individual who said that someone they knew breifly had just passed away. They said that with their busy life and with other concerns they didn't take the time to share Christ with this person. Now they will never know if that person is in heaven or hell.

The Bible tells us "What does it profit a man to gain the whole world yet lose their soul." (Mark 8:36) These stories remind me to put first whats most important in life. To let people know that Jesus Christ loves them and desires to rescue them from their lostness and that all they need to do is to surrender their life to Him through faith.

My purpose in life is not to be selfish but to be a servant to the Lord and to those I come in contact with. I pray you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior and that you will humble yourself before Him.

Its a refreshing day!

Welcome to my blog. This is my first time doing something like this so please bear with me.

This week has been an awesome week. Why? Well last Sunday morning in church I asked the people of my church to join me in a specific prayer. We prayed that God would let it rain for 7 straight days. We even asked that it would not be a drenching of rain but a simple one to quench the earth and our dry yards. Well so far it has rained in the Austin area each day since that prayer, Thank you Jesus.

I have received calls all week from people as they noticed our prayers answered. We even received a call from one mother that said "On Monday night when we arrived home my son raised up his hands in the air and said 'Thank you Jesus it is raining." Isn't it neat to see our kids praying and how our kids are seeing the hand of God on their lives?

This is going to be our third Sunday service on our new church property and we are very excited about it. We have seen God do some wonderful things in the course of our churches life. I don't know about you but I thank God every day for the blessings He is showing on us. It motivates me to want to worship Him and to let others know of His goodness for their lives.

If you are in Austin, Texas stop in and worship with us in beautiful south Austin. We are located at 6905 S I35 (north bound service road exit 228) and Boggy Creek Dr. Our Bible study service begins at 9:45am for all ages and our morning worship service begins at 11:00am.

May God bless you and may you find yourself to be a blessing to God and others.