The sermon title was “It seems that everyone’s ears are itchy” and the scripture was 2 Timothy 4:1-5. Paul warned Timothy that there would come a time when people would “gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim. 4:3). It seems like we live in such a time. And so we considered Paul’s suggesting for living in a culture where everyone turns away from the truth and believes instead in the myths. We need to 1) preach the truth, 2) do so in season and out of season, and 3) do the work of an evangelist. We should always treat people with love and share the Gospel with gentleness and respect, but we must be diligent in sharing the truth and remaining steadfast in our faith.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
What a week here in Fort Lauderdale. It began with historic flooding that stranded 100's of vehicles all throughout our city and serious flooding in homes and businesses. The church and manse had roof leaks but no flooding damage. Please continue to lift up our Corporate Board as they seek the best way to repair these leaks. We had a school family have their place flooded and have lost most everything! If you would like to help them, please contact me at church. Also, if you have experienced any damage and could use some help, please contact the church and we will see what we can do. The weekend continued with Tortuga Festival. The youth ministry and the Love Little Abaco Mission Team worked together to park cars and cook hamburgers and dogs for the returning festival goers on Friday and Saturday nights. They also cooked out for the church after worship. Thank you, Micah, youth, and LLAMT for all your hard work.
I hope you all have an amazing week and please be a blessing in Jesus' Name! Don't forget if you miss worship, you can watch it on our livestream on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea) anytime.
In His Grip,
Chris
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
What an amazing day of worship we had on Easter Sunday! All three services (7:30, 9, and 11) were well attended and God's presence was definitely felt. If you weren't able to worship on Easter, please go to our YouTube channel and watch our 9am service. A big thank you for Gabby and Chris Kane who helped lead the worship at the 7:30 service and to our choir for leading us at 9 and 11! It was a special day and I hope you all are still shouting..."HE IS RISEN INDEED"!
As the church took a rest yesterday from a busy but wonderful day of worship on Easter - we are excited about this spring and summer. We have some great opportunities for worship, service, and overall, growing closer to each other but more importantly, growing closer to Jesus Christ! Here a just a few opportunities...
Bible study (Sunday 8:30am & 11:30am before and after church, Zoom Bible Study on Tuesday's at 11am, Wednesday night Bible study at 6:30pm in the Green Room.
Sheridan House - Saturday, April 29th.Goliath Gauntlet (Sign up to volunteer with Kathy Tergerson at church or just call the church office)
Help grill out this weekend during Tortuga Fest with the mission team to support the Little Abaco mission trip this summer. Click here to pick a time slot to help out.
Have a great rest of your week and don't forget if you miss worship, you can watch it on our livestream on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea) anytime.
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Which is It?" and the scripture wase John 11:1-6, 17-27, and 38-44. What happens after we pass - is it "That's all Folks or is it He is Risen Indeed?" Jesus rose to conquer sin and death. He rose to give us life and give it abundantly. HE ROSE because He loves us. You can trust Him with this life and the next - for He is RISEN...
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I hope your weekend was peaceful. We had a wonderful day of worship yesterday. If you haven't seen it yet I hope you will watch it on our YouTube channel - The Church By The Sea. We had a full day with children holding palm fronds as people arrived and as the choir and I processed in for worship. We had communion, which was rich with God's presence and our choir, once again, led us in worship. After the sea of children left, they had a petting zoo and an egg hunt which a great time was had by all and after worship, we had our annual rededication of the memory wall out in the Pocock Memorial Garden. It was a wonderful morning of being together and worshipping as a family.
I would like to thank our Corporate Board...Beth Angela Welker, Michael Higgs, Cathie Banta, Harry Rozelle, Mindy Waites, Lynn Rivas, Rhett Wadsworth, Tyler Holt, and John Leon for their hard work on the Memorial Garden. Thank you, Corporate Board.
I look forward to seeing you all in Bible study or Sunday in worship. Have a great rest of your week and don't forget if you miss worship, you can watch it on our livestream on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea) anytime.
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Which Parade" and the scriptures were Matthew 21:1-11 and! Corinthians 1:18-25. There were 2 parades during this last week of Jesus' life. The Palm Sunday parade was joyous, and everyone had a great time and then the other parade was when Jesus carried His cross through town and people laughed and jeered at Him. One parade the words "Hosanna" rang out and the other parade the words "crucify Him" rang out. Two parades with 2 different meanings and experiences happened during this week. I hope you choose both.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
What an amazing Monday here in Fort Lauderdale! The sun is out, the skies are blue, and Palm Sunday is almost here! The celebration of Palm Sunday is just that a... celebration. We are going to have the kids holding palms as the choir processes in, during our worship service (until 12:00pm) the kids will have an Easter egg hunt and a petting zoo on the property, and after worship, we are having our annual rededication of our memorial wall in the Pocock Garden. Palm Sunday is a day we celebrate, and we will but let's not forget Holy Week and all that it calls us to think and do. I hope each of you will mark your calendars to join for all our services during Holy Week!
I look forward to seeing you all in one of our Bible studies and this Sunday in worship. Have a great rest of your week and don't forget you can watch our livestream on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea).
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Pure in Heart" and the scriptures were Luke 11:37-41 and Matthew 5:8. How do we become "pure in heart"? We need a new heart and Jesus promises us just that! Trust Him with your heart and life!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I hope this Monday has begun with enjoying this cooler weather we are having here in Fort Lauderdale. It was so refreshing to wake up and feel the brisk air and the fresh rain. It reminds me of our worship we had yesterday. It was a breath of fresh air as well. If you missed it please tune in on YouTube channel to experience what we all did in-person or on the live-stream.
As we are coming up to our 5th Sunday of Lent - I hope you will continue to seek His face and make time to draw near to Him. Take some time to read His Word, to be still and pray, and to look for ways to serve those around you. I look forward to seeing you all in one of our Bible studies, this Sunday in worship or on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea).
Have a safe and blessed week.
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "Peace" and the scriptures were Philippians 4:4-13. Peace...we all want it - we all pursue it - we try so many things to get it and Jesus says, "Peace, I leave with you. My peace I give to you." It really is available to all if we seek Him and trust in Him.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Happy St. Patty's week! We had a great start to our week with worship yesterday. Thank you, Brian, for bringing a challenging message on staying committed and not asking God how we can skip out on certain commands that He calls us to. God wants our heart and mind - All of us!
This Lenten season let us all continue to seek His face and make time to draw near to Him. Take some time to read His Word, to be still and pray, and to look for ways to serve those around us. It takes work to excel - let's work at growing to be more like Jesus. Amen! I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship or on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea).
Have a safe and blessed week.
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
We can’t “special order” our faith. We are called in Scripture to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength. In our text (Hebrews 10:19-25), we are reminded of the Gospel and then challenged to respond in three ways. Let us draw near to God. Let us hold on to the promises of God. Let us spur one another on to love and good works. We can’t ask God to hold the “let us” as if we are ordering a burger in a fast-food restaurant. We must respond to the Gospel! Those who love Him will be compelled by that love to follow Him!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
I hope you are having a wonderful start to your week. We sure did at Church By The Sea. Worship was rich and meaningful and the spirit around the sanctuary and chapel was contagious. As we finished the 2nd Sunday of Lent and are into the 3rd, I hope all of us will take some time to evaluate and be still. Be still before the Lord - This season of Lent is meant to be one of introspection and sacrifice. Let's do that together. Make more time to be in study and prayer. Make time to be still and listen. Make more time to serve! I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship or on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea).
Have a safe and blessed week.
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "The Mountain Within" and the scripture was Exodus 14:5-27. We have fears and struggles in life but sometimes the hardest struggle in within our own hearts and minds. God promises to walk with us through our mountain tops as well as valleys.
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
What a wonderful weekend we had at CBTS! On Saturday evening we had our "Night of Italy" fundraiser for all the missions we support! A big thank you to Debbie Von Behren and the mission's committee for organizing an amazing evening. Another big thank you to Chef Peter Schmidt, his Sous Chef, Noah Reny and supervisor, Cheri Evans-Schmidt for making some delicious food for all of us to enjoy! There were a lot of people who helped make this evening spectacular, but to Bill and Susan Holzinger (Playing piano and serving our beverages), Marcia Lee, Beth Hand, Marcia Short, Janet Stokoe, Micah and all the youth for serving...THANK YOU! It was a memorable night and I look forward to sharing with you all how much we raised asap.
For the next 5 weeks we have some special things planned for you to grow, to be challenged and to experience Christ this Lenten season. Every Sunday, Pastor Brian leads Bible study before church at 8:30am and then the same one at 11:30am. I encourage you all to attend this during Lent.
Also, every Sunday morning beginning this past Sunday (February 26th) at 8:45am in the Green Room I will be there for anyone who wants to pray. This will be a time to simply...PRAY. It will consist of some guided time, some time to pray together as a group as well as praying alone. Let's make this Lenten season an intentional one of growing closer to the crucified and risen Savior!
Have a safe and blessed week. I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship, or on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea).
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "When God Interrupts" and the scripture was John 21:1-17 and Proverbs 3:5-6. We all have plans that we make and pray about but what happens when our plans get changed. What happens when plan A doesn't happen and we have to adjust to plan B, C or D? Check out the sermon and find out - Sneak peak...God is with us and never leaves us! God will still use us to be a blessing to others!
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends,
Good morning CBTS family and friends! I hope this Monday has started out like the weather...cool and refreshing! I love it when we get a little break in our warm temperatures - it will not last long so go enjoy it.
What another great day of worship we had yesterday. As we celebrate mission's month it is so exciting to hear from our champions of each particular mission on what is happening so we can better pray and support these outreach ministries. This past Friday, I had the wonderful opportunity, along with other members of our church, to have a fun event at Covenant House. This is a wonderful ministry reaching our homeless teens in the area. Thank you to Kim Falcone and all her team for putting together this amazing time.
Have a safe and blessed week. I look forward to seeing you all this Sunday in worship, or on our YouTube Channel (The Church By The Sea).
In His Grip,
Chris
Sermon Recap
The sermon title was "The Room Called Remember" and the scripture was Joshua 4:1-7 and 2 Timothy 1:1-7. Remembering is a wonderful gift God has given us. God wants us to remember/to make a marker so that we do not forget His mercy, love, and sacrifice because it is so easy to forget. It is so easy to focus on what is around us and to forget that God is GREAT and God is GOOD! Amen?
Pastor's Weekly Email
Dear Friends
I hope you were able to join us on Sunday for worship. I know that the sudden storm with heavy rain may have made it difficult to get through the city streets. Mayan Drive was full of water and those who made it to church were sporting their best rain gear instead of their Sunday best! But it was a wonderful communion service filled with beautiful music led by our amazing choir. Each February at CBTS we highlight our mission program. It’s an opportunity to hear what God has done this past year,and identify ways for you to join in and participate in what God is doing throughout our community. Our focus yesterday was our ministry to the homeless. We partner with Hope South Florida; Lifenet4Families; Broward Rescue Mission; and Habitat For Humanity, contributing funds, donating to special projects, and providing labor and hands-on help for many of these ministries day-to-day programs. We also had a special visit from one of the founders of Hope South Florida. Fred Scarbrough gave a brief testimony about how his faithfulness to one family was used to start a movement in his church that grew into the largest homeless assistance ministry in Broward County. How God works when we simply follow his command to help those in need! I hope you’ll pay close attention to the ways you can get involved as we focus on a different area of our ministry each of the next few weeks. In the meantime, have a wonderful Monday!
Sermon Recap
The sermon, entitled “What’s your excuse?”, allowed us to consider the excuses Moses offered when God spoke to him through the burning bush. He was understandable shaken and nervous about the daunting assignment God gave him, and so five times he made an excuse, pleading with God to pick someone else. Eventually, God did just that and Moses missed the opportunity to serve the Lord and experience the joy of God going with him in the task. You and I have not heard the voice of God from a burning bush, but we have been given a great commission to share the Good News with the lost. I wonder if we don’t sometimes miss the privilege of serving God because we make too many excuses. Our mission month provides countless opportunity to get involved. What’s your excuse?