Pastor_David's blog

An article in The Queens Tribune last month reported that there are 726 churches in the borough of Queens (including Roman Catholic, Protestant, Eastern Orthodox, etc.) That sounds like a lot, but with a population of 2.3 million it really isn't. That works out to one church for every 3,000 plus people in Queens. If every church in Queens grew to have 1,000 people (which would require a revival unprecedented in church history), there would still be 1.5 million people in our borough without a church. That's more than the entire population of Philadelphia. Seems to me we need to plant a lot more churches here.

There's an event planned for Astoria Park on Friday, August 14, that I am hoping to go see. A Queens-based anti-human trafficking organization is planning to present the film "Not For Sale", a documentary about human trafficking around the world and what is being done to combat it, in order to raise awareness about this subject. The event is completely free. There will be a pre-screening event at 6:30, with live music, arts & nonprofit organizations that will come to speak to people about how they can make a difference. I recently met Kelly, one of the organizers of the event. She is a member of Grace Fellowship Church in Sunnyside.

Over a year and a half ago our elders announced some goals for our congregation. We began working on two of these immediately by starting an additional worship service at ACC and by strategizing to improve our discipleship program. It is great to see how this new worship service has thrived, and how a number of new people have connected with our church because of it. Our Life-to-Life discipleship groups, launched a few months ago, are proving to be very effective at bringing people closer to Christ. A recently taught Christian education class and the newly launched Marriage Care groups have also made our church more effective at equipping people to serve the Lord.

Some of our longer range goals include ...

Sunday, July 12 -- 9:30am & 11:15am

Over a year and a half ago our elders announced some goals for our congregation. We began working on two of these immediately by starting an additional worship service at ACC and by strategizing to improve our discipleship program. It is great to see how this new worship service has thrived, and how a number of new people have connected with our church because of it. Our Life-to-Life discipleship groups, launched a few months ago, are proving to be very effective at bringing people closer to Christ. A recently taught Christian education class and the newly launched Marriage Care groups have also made our church more effective at equipping people to serve the Lord.

Some of our longer range goals include ...

This coming Sunday (July 5), we will temporarily change our Sunday morning worship schedule. We'll have only one service that weekend, meeting at 10:30am. As normal, nursery ministry & children's worship will be provided. On Sunday, July 12, we will return to our regular schedule, with worship services at 9:30 & 11:15 am.

If I profess with the loudest voice and clearest expression every portion of the truth of God, except precisely that little point which the world and the devil are at that moment attacking, I am not confessing Christ, however boldly I might be confessing Christ. (Martin Luther)

If you believe what you like in the Gospel, and reject what you don't like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself. (Augustine of Hippo)

The last three sermons from the Daniel series are posted now. (Thanks, Brad.) The words of Shadrach, Meshach & Abnego in the text we looked at last Sunday reminded me of something I once read somewhere else. As they stood before a wicked king, faced with the prospect of being thrown into a fiery furnace, they said, "The God we serve is able to rescue us. But even if he doesn't, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods." This reminded me of the words of James M. Boice, former pastor at 10th Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, when he was informing his congregation that he had terminal cancer. He basically told them the he knew God was able to rescue him, but that even if that did not happen his one desire was to see glory given to God. I find such faith inspiring. To read what he said click here.

There are lots of “Romans 14 issues” that Christians face today. What do I mean? In Romans 14 the Apostle Paul addressed a concern that was facing the early church. It involved whether Christians should eat meat that had (prior to being sold) been offered ritualistically to pagan idols. Some Christians had no problem with this: “Food is food. Leave me alone; I’m just eating lunch.” Others were really bothered by it: “Don’t you know that that meat came from a pagan temple? If you buy it you are supporting a sinful industry!”

In other words, this was a matter where there was no clear-cut directive from God’s law and where the consciences of Christians differed. Before summarizing the advice Paul gave them, let me suggest fourteen “Romans 14 issues” we face today: (click on "read more" below)

The song “2080” by the rock band Yeasayer expresses the way a lot of people today feel about the future. The lyrics say, "I can’t sleep when I think about the times we’re living in. I can’t sleep when I think about the world I was born into…. In 2080 I’ll surely be dead. So don’t look ahead. Never look ahead.” With the world’s economy lying in the mud, radical terrorists hiding in the shadows and global warming looming on the horizon, many people are experiencing a deep sense of hopelessness as they think about tomorrow.(read more)