Yes I know

I really do know how to spell "role".  Auto correct……..

What is my purpose?

Well that's one of those questions where I would have to say, "It depends on what role you are talking about. When you are at work, you have a purpose that would be different than when you are home say as a parent or as a spouse. We all wear different hats during the week therefore our purposes change with the change of our hats.  However, there is one hat we should never take off and that is our hat of being a Christian. Maybe I should call it a crown.

We should wear our crown proudly in all our roles. Our purpose as a Christian is primarily to worship God. So that raises another question.

 "If my primary purpose is to worship God and I wear my Christian crown at all times, how am I to worship him while at work or in any of my other rolls?"

Answer: "Our purpose as a Christian is to be that of a container or chalice for God's love to dwell in, and a vehicle for Him to bless the world!"  Fill your container with Gods love and allow that love to spill over into all that you do.

I certainly hope I will get the chance to see all of you Sunday however I am aware that there is a winter weather advisory out for this weekend. Keep watching the blog and I will keep you posted on the status of Sunday evenings service.

Love, pastor Kent

There are couple of special prayer requests.

John Fagala is having surgery today on his back and needs prayers of healing.

Stan Rutkowski has been moved to a care facility in Edwardsville and needs prayers of healing.

Please continue prayers of healing for 

Dennis Detoye 

Elizabeth Adams Marks 

Alan Cassens 

Faye Heuchert

Gerry Godin

Right now

Have you talked with God yet today?

See you Sunday. Love pastor Kent

Love

Love is always positioning yourself to be part of the solution no matter what the problem. You are either on the negative or the positive side of a solution.

Real love always has a positive impact on people.


Hope to see you this Sunday.  Love, pastor Kent

Have you Ever?

Have you ever told any one, "You are in my prayers!", but never pray for them?

See you soon. Love, pastor Kent

Big Important Question!

This Sunday, we are going to tackle a big important question. 

"How would you answer this if a non believer asked you the following,“What good is Christianity, if you as professing Christians are not exempt from the many trials, troubles, illnesses, tribulations, and heart aches that everyone else faces?”

Have you ever asked yourself that question? I know I have many times.  And still find occasions when I find myself asking, "Why God?"  "Why?"

I hope you will join us this Sunday as we jump into this huge important question.

See you Sunday.  Love pastor  Kent

Monday Morning Thoughts

The magic of "Subtraction!"

As a pastor I always have one goal in mind when it comes to practicing my walk with God. I want people I know to experience the reality and the benefits of knowing Jesus personally.

That seems simple enough but it isn't. Life here in America today is complicated, very busy, very comfortable and there are hundreds of worldly distractions.  There are just too many distractions for people to get lost in which keeps them from knowing and enjoying the peace and joy that God has to offer those who get to know Him.

So what can we do to get God into the right priority in our life?
Maybe we need to subtract rather than to add something more to our life. Think about it. We want to loose weight so we join a gym or sign up for work out sessions, or we buy a new fad diet program.  These are all examples of "adding" more to our already crazy overwhelmed life.

What if instead of "adding" more things to get what we want, we instead try "subtracting" some things to get what we want?

I decided to subtract something from my life about 8 years ago and I found it easy so I know this works.  My subtraction had to do with a health decision. I stopped drinking soda…100%. That one subtraction takes a large amount of sugar and calories out of my diet each year and I don't miss it.

I also decided to get off Facebook about a year ago. I never miss it, not once. I'm not sure how much time that has freed up because I never did spend that much time on it but even if it was only 5 minutes a day that freed up almost 31 hours a year that I can now use on something else.

We are all busy and I am not suggesting for anyone to give up something they really enjoy like soda or Facebook.  That is not my point.  My point is that I bet there are at least two things on your current daily list that you could "subtract" from your life that would end up improving your life substantially over time.

Send me some of your ideas and I'll post them to get people motivated. Calculate the the savings or calorie savings on things you decide that you are going to subtract.  Ok and one more thing, please don't tell me you are going to subtract church!

God has a plan for your life! See you soon, love pastor Kent

A Better Title!

Tonight I had originally titled my sermon, "How to Move Mountains."

Now that I have completed the sermon I am going to re-title it, "Don't Get Burdened With The Wrong Burden!"

Yes we are still going to be talking about moving mountains but the new title is more appropriate.
Now I'm sure I will see you tonight so you can find out what God has for you!

Love, Pastor Kent

This Sunday at PCF

Sermon:  "How To Move Mountains"

Reminder:  Tomorrow we are collecting blankets for the salvation army. Please bring a blanket to donate, there will be a bin in the church for collection.  Thank You.

Hope to see you all tomorrow evening at 6:30.  Come hear what God has for you.

"Understanding God's plans for the world around you is far more important than telling God what you are planning to do for Him.  He wants to use your life and the church for His purposes!"

Philippians 2:13

13 for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.

Love, Pastor Kent

"The Bottom Line"

All sins are attempts to fill a void in your life.

Sin is a choice. You are free to choose in this life. You can choose amongst many things but you are not free to choose the consequences of your choice. And, all choices have consequences.

See you Sunday!   Love, pastor Kent

The Most Exclusive Club in the World!

Many people want to be part of anything that is considered exclusive. Let me give you the most exclusive club in the world that you can belong to.  But I warn you, the membership dues are extremely   expensive for most people. The dues are not only very difficult to maintain but they also must be paid daily for the rest of your life to remain in good standing and enjoy all the benefits that this club has to offer.

I call this exclusive club, "Club Love."  There is an oath that must be memorized and practiced every day, 365 days a year.

This is the oath you must know and practice to become a member of "Club Love."

I (your name) promise to choose love and forgiveness in all circumstances from this moment on with everyone who enters my circle whether it be in person, in my memory, or by other means. I promise to make the health, happiness, success and wellbeing of every soul with whom I interact as important as my own health, happiness, success, and wellbeing. And I will do so with no expectations of reciprocation.

Revolutionize your business, your friendships, your relationships with "Club Love," the most exclusive club in the world because so few practice it regularly and universally.

"Club Loves" oath is very similar to our mission statement: To live our life as a demonstration of Jesus' hope, love, forgiveness, compassion and healing in all circumstances.

God has a plan for you life!  Garden Club tonight with Jennifer Kaburick, 6:30 at the church.

See you soon.  Love, Pastor Kent

365 Days Gone By

Last year on this day it was 52 degrees here in St. Louis.  In 1999 it was 72 degrees!  Just thought you'd like to know.

"The more you learn to love all people, the more you are worshipping God in truth."

God has a plan for your life but you gotta get to know Him to find out what it is.

See you soon.  Love, Pastor Kent

Mondays Thoughts

"Know the Truth and the Truth shall set you Free!"

But what is the truth? The truth is Love. Because God is Love! The more love you put into your daily life,  the more God you will experience in your daily life. So the next question is,"But what is Love?" 

The love the bible speaks of in 1 Corinthians 13 for sure:

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Basically love is when you make the health, happiness, wellbeing, and success of another person as important as your own health, happiness, wellbeing, and success.  And if you talk about Agape love, Christ like love, it is when you make the health, happiness, wellbeing and success of another person more important than your own health, happiness, wellbeing, and success.

And to my friend Alexa….Christianity is not something that just happens but something we do…something we must participate in for it to be effective and see results. 

Hope to see you all soon. God has a plan for you!   Love, Pastor Kent

Tonight's Money Back Guarantee!

Here is my guarantee for tonights service.  You will feel better after the service than you did before the service or your money back!

I think we are the only church in town with this offer.

Come find out about the power behind two words , Grace and Truth.

Raise the Praise Choir will lead worship and we will come to the table of grace and share communion.

I hope to see you there.  Sincerely, pastor Kent

This Sunday!

Tomorrow evening at 6:30 Praise Community Fellowship will have the Raise the Praise Choir leading worship. This choir has just started practicing for the African Vision of Hope Concert to be held on April 5th.

Besides having the choir back we will be sharing communion and looking at two powerful words that must be practiced together to empower our lives, "Grace and Truth."

I hope you will be able to join us tomorrow evening. Come as you are!

See you then.  Love, Pastor Kent

Tonight…The Garden Club

A message from Jennifer.

I work in St. Louis and commute approximately 30 miles each way every day in rush hour traffic. Admittedly, I find myself frustrated with the way some people drive. (By no means am I perfect, but I just have my pet peeves!) Recently, as I was driving, I thought, “Did Jesus get annoyed at people? Would He be frustrated if He were driving behind this person going slow in the fast lane, with a long line of cars behind her?” and then I thought, No, because He knows all the other things that are going on with that person in her personal life and loves her at her core. Ha --- that thought put me in my place! 

 

So, fast forward and now I’m reading a book by Pastor Jim Cymbala (of the Brooklyn Tabernacle) called “The Church God Blesses” and it’s causing me to do some serious reflection. He quotes Colossians 3:12, 14, “Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion,  kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience…And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”  Then, he spends some time on each one of these virtues – breaking them down, and putting them into a real world meaning. He starts with Compassion and says, “The real mark of Christlikeness is to be stirred in our hearts by what others are going through. It is to be moved in our hearts by the inner battles with sin and the feelings of inferiority and guilt that people fight day after day.”  It’s caused me to realized that, while I think of myself as a compassionate person, I have some serious work to do if I aspire to be more like Christ and to grow in spiritual maturity – and it does not involve thinking “not nice” words when someone is holding up traffic or driving too close behind me in the snow! 

 

Join us tonight at Garden Club – where we can share our thoughts and experiences about being more compassionate, or allow the discussion to go wherever the Spirit leads.   

Jennifer Kaburick

 

6:30 PM at Esic Baptist Church

Amazing RTP Kickoff

Last night the RTP choir and band gathered at the church to begin rehearsals for the African Vision of Hope Concert coming up in April. What a great gathering of people from many walks of life and many different churches all coming together to sing and worship.

Bonni had everyone on their feet with a brand new song you will probably hear this next coming Sunday at Praise Community Fellowship. It will get your smile on and your hands and feet moving.

Get prepared for a wonderful worship service coming this Sunday at 6:30.  We will share communion and gather to experience God. Bring a friend as we live our way toward Easter together as Christians.  We will be looking at what  the apostle John says about being a Christian. I think you will enjoy looking at what the church and being a Christian really means according to someone who walked and and talked and lived with Jesus.

I hope to see you all soon. Love, Pastor Kent

Prayer Time

There is one thing a Christian cannot ignore if he or she wants to experience the power of God in their life and that is prayer. Real prayer is hard. It takes discipline and time. But it is so necessary if you want to be a tool for God.  He wants to work through us but we must listen to His instruction or we will go off on tangents and be very ineffective as His tool. I need prayer from all of you and all of you need prayer from me and others.  But there are times when we need to have focused prayer.  I liken focused prayer to a magnifying glass in the sun.  Sometimes we need to focus in on some very specific needs and just hold the focus there until we can see the smoke, the effect of that focus.

Will you all join me in the following prayer needs. Focus your lenses on these people and let the power of God be released into their situation.  I want to start with an email I received from Lela Detoye.
 Good news and bad news?

"The recent brain and spine MRI was negative for tumor growth and cancer spread.  The doctors are now thinking Dennis's continuing deterioration is due to Parkinson's disease. Probably treatment related. He is on new meds to hopefully reduce some of his negative symptoms - lack of balance, falling, the "getting stuck". We are still on hiatus from chemo at least another two weeks when we return to the doctor. Please keep us in your prayers."   Lela Detoye

Gary Grandidier           Healing

Faye Heuchert              Healing

Cynthia Bastholm         Healing

Allen  Cassens              Healing

Ina and Bob Ponce       Peace

Gerry Godin                 Healing

John  Fagala                 Healing

I will see you all next week February 9th, 6:30 pm.   Love, Pastor Kent