Dear Friends,
What a beautiful Monday morning here in Fort Lauderdale. To be honest the weather has been amazing for a while now! We had a big weekend here. On Saturday morning our parking lot was used by the Fort Lauderdale Garden Club and it was packed! And then about 15 of our members went to a Habitat Blitz Build Day in Pompano which was an excellent day of work. And on Saturday evening we had our 3rd Annual Chili Cook-Off. It was a smashing success. Thank you to Jackie Barnett and Andrew Stowe who chaired this event and their committee made up of Brenda Adair, Debbie Stokes, Jack Finneran, and Connie Tingle. We had about 120 people come out for great evening of fun and some amazing chili! Congratulations to this year's overall Grand Champion Noah Reny and Jim Hand. Other winners were Bill Peters, Andrew Stowe, and Bryant Brabham! Thank you to all 15 of our chefs and to all those who braved the traffic to come out.
We have another great event after worship this Sunday, March 3rd (11:30am - 2pm). Please see below for more information. I hope you all have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship. God Bless.
Sermon Recap
Sermon Recap:
The sermon title was "The Ultimate Makeover" and the scripture was John 15:1-5 and Galatians 5:16-25. Many of us do not like the way we look and go through a lot of effort to change but are we working on our heart from which real change can come. Jesus Christ can truly give you a makeover - the Ultimate Makeover if we "abide" in Him. If we abide in Him then we will bear fruit.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Happy day after President's Day! I hope you all were able to enjoy some if not all of this holiday weekend. We had a great weekend here. It begin with our annul service at St. Laurence Chapel. We had 16 CBTS members attend to support this service and also to bring food for their lunch. Thank you to Kala Gies for leading and Marcia Lee for leading us in our worship. Our Men's Club put on a breakfast and made some great plans for future events. Thank you Bruce Barclay and Dale Lee for organizing this time and Peter Schmidt and Cheri Evans-Schmidt for cooking some amazing pancakes! On Sunday, we had an excellent morning of worship with the ordination of 3 new elders. Celeste Koster, Craige Ayscough-Clarke, and Margo Klein. I look forward to working alongside our newest elders and all of our Session.
I hope you all have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship. God Bless.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "The Search for Compassion" and the scripture was Genesis 4:1-9. Everyone longs for someone to walk alongside them thru the difficult times. EVERYONE!! We are our brother/sister's keeper. We are called to show compassion and love to the world. This church has had a long tradition of being a compassionate church. Let's keep that tradition going.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I hope you are all having a wonderful beginning to your week. I sure did with worship yesterday. It was great to be together in our church "home" as we all experienced God's grace and love through our music ministry, our worship, and our fellowship.
We have some wonderful ministries and fellowships to be involved in this month so make sure you mark your calendar's, or put the dates on your phone, so you will not forget! I hope you all have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship. God Bless.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Weeds in the Harvest" and the scripture was Matthew 12:24-30,36-41. For some reason we just love to judge people, but the Bible is pretty clear that God is the only true judge and our job is too love and show acceptance! Pretty simplistic, but oh so true because when we judge we can and usually do make mistakes. Let's leave the judging to the Lord of the Harvest!!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Happy February 4th - I hope you all had a great week and that this week has started out well. Yesterday in worship - I challenged everyone to read the book of Philippians. It is only 4 chapters, but a book that is full of power and so; I want to encourage you all to read this book in the Bible this week. Who is in?
We have some wonderful ministries and fellowships to be involved in this month and next, so please put the dates on your phone, so you will not forget! I hope you all have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship. God Bless.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Longing for Home" and the scripture was Philippians 1:2-11 and Hebrews 11:13-16. The word home brings up so many emotions! Some wonderful and some painful, but either way they are powerful. We all long for a home and our church is considered a home as well. We all also need to understand that our "real" home is with God! Jesus is preparing a place for us where we will be with him. No tears, no fears just LOVE!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
This past Sunday we had our annual meeting. This meeting is set to approve the 2019 budget and to elect officers to serve on our two boards - our Session and our Corporate Board. When a person is on the Session they are called Elders. The Session is responsible for worship, ministries, missions, any and everything involving the church and serving God's people. The Corporate Board has the responsibility of maintaining the buildings, the grounds, and the house across the street. Just to know we have two budgets - An ecclesiastical budget which the Session maintains and a Corporate budget. These two budgets are separate and independent. All Sunday morning offerings support our budget for 2019 which is $648,000. Corporate Board's budget is $141,000 which is financed through the Christmas Gala, facility rentals, and bequests. Here are the newly elected officers for our Session: Jonathan Daniels, Celeste Koster, Margo Klein, and Craige Ayscough-Clarke. For Corporate Board is Ray Williams, Maggie King, and Edd Helms. I look forward to what these men and women will bring to our church leadership team.
I hope you all have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship. God Bless.
Sermon Recap
Sermon Recap:
The sermon title was "Grace Vol. 2" and the scripture was Luke 19:1-10. Jesus called down Zacchaeus from his hiding position in a tree. He had dinner with Jesus and from that encounter Zacchaeus was a man governed by grace. Grace changed his life.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
What an amazing weekend. The weather cooled off a bit, we had some rain, a super blood red wolf moon, we hosted our missionary Anita Smart and her board (Natik) for the weekend, and we had Fiesta Night at the restaurant Tequila Sunrise! Fiesta Night is a fundraiser for the ministry Natik which works with the indigenous people of Chiapas, Mexico and Guatemala. Thank you to our Mission's Committee and volunteers for organizing this weekend and also Tequila Sunrise for hosting the event as well as15th St Fisheries for donating the meal on Friday night. I will share this Sunday or sooner on how much we have raised for Natik. Thank you all who were able to support this great ministry.
This past Sunday we had 5 people decide to join their hearts with us and I look forward to introducing them to you all this Sunday. After worship this Sunday is our Annual meeting! We will be electing 3 people for our Corporate Board and 4 members for the Session. I am very excited about these men and women and the leadership and GRACE they will bring to our church. I hope you all have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship. God Bless.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Grace Vol. 1" and the scripture was II Corinthians 12:6-10. Grace is the flow of God's power and presence in your life that enables you to do whatever it is that God wants you to do. We need to show grace and we need God's grace and forgiveness. Jessye Norman said, "the world thirsts for grace and when grace descends, the world falls silent before it." Let's all be a people and a church that shows grace.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
It really has been a tremendous week! The weather has been magical, worship on Sunday was filled with energy and love, and God's spirit is moving in us and out from us. I love January! I hope you are also experiencing God moving in our midst.
This past Sunday we had a special guest, Anita Smart, with us. She is our missionary from Chiapas, Mexico. She shared some of the things that she is doing and how lives are being changed. She is having her board fly in this week to meet at our church from Friday - Sunday. We have supported Anita for many years and love the difference that God is making through her. We have a special night this coming Saturday, January 19th called "Fiesta Night" at the Tequila Sunrise restaurant. It begins at 6pm. This is a fundraiser for the Natik ministry. The cost $40 which includes food, a drink, and a great time! This coming Sunday morning in worship we will be having a special offering to support the work in Mexico and Guatemala! I hope we all contribute to this worthy ministry. Have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday. God Bless.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Charting the Course" and the scripture was Psalm1:1-3 and Romans 12:1-2. How do we stay on course to be what God wants us to be in a world that isn't always encouraging of that kind of life? One huge way to read God's Word and meditate on it. The Bible is amazing as is prayer!!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Here we go 2019! Our prayer is that this year we all will strive to be the church. A place where people who are weary, people who are hungry, people who are doing great, feel and experience Your love, mercy, and grace. I am so excited about all that God has done and is doing in our midst. There are times when I am amazed at how God continues to bless and how we respond. We all have a ministry and purpose. Let's be about that.
Let's all pray for God to continue to reveal Himself to us and then we share those revelations. Have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday. God Bless.
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "On a Mission from God" and the scripture was Ephesians 4:1-7, 11-16 and 1 Peter 2:4-10. Everyone of us has something that God has given for us to do. It might be small, or it might be something that changes the lives of thousands. Either way we are all needed and important.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Happy New Year's Eve. 2018 has been a great year. A year with highs and lows, where some great friends went to be with God, and a year where God's presence was experienced. As we look to 2019 my prayer is that we all experience His love and grace, so we can share that with others.
Let's all pray for His guidance as we work together at The Church By The Sea. Have a blessed week and I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday. God Bless.
Sermon Recap
The Sermon title was "The Gift of Sight" and the scripture was John 9:1-12. A man born blind was given sight by Jesus. The man wasn't blind because of sin. Jesus said, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." God has the power to restore.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
It is Christmas Eve and the excitement of tomorrow is in the air! Yesterday we had another amazing day of worship. It felt that all throughout our time together that God was whispering His great love to us and telling us to be a people of grace and love. Thank you CBTS and friends who attend for listening and following God's call to be the church - His hands and feet in this world. Keep doing what you are doing and we can be peacemakers - we can be a people who shower our "worlds" with grace and love.
Last night we had our annual Cookies, Caroling, and Cocktails! About 100 of us met at St. Sebastian Catholic Church and went caroling throughout the neighborhood After that, we all came back to our house for dinner, a movie for the kids, some great beverages, and most importantly, spending time meeting new friends. This night would not have come together as well without the CCC committee: Kevin White, Trevor and Ashton Luk, and Cassie and Andres Carvajal. Thank you all and to the many others who stayed behind to help clean up this holy "mess"! It was such a memorable evening!
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Home for Christmas" and the scripture was Luke 2:1-7. Christmas is a time where the separation of us and heaven is a very thin line. The birth of Jesus is a message from God saying to that us that we have "home". We have a home where love abounds and grace is always present. God calls us all to come home to Him.