God

The Mother of Us All

Dr. Susan Michael
1 May 2017
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Hebrews 11 is the well-known New Testament Hall of Fame — or as some call it, Hall of Faith — because it lists the great heroes of the Old Testament who exhibited extraordinary faith. One such hero is Abraham. We are familiar with Abraham’s story and the great faith he exhibited when he obeyed the voice of God and left his home, not knowing where he was going. He then lived in the land God promised to him by faith — as a pilgrim in temporary dwellings. His greatest act of faith was offering up his son Isaac, even though […]

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Sensing the Need in Haiti

Chrissie Ferguson
26 Apr 2017
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“You don’t know Haiti until you’ve seen it, smelled it, and touched it.” These were the words spoken to our mission team the night before embarking on a girls’ trip to “the unknown” with Food for the Poor in November 2016. With these daunting words looming over our heads, it was difficult to fathom exactly what we would encounter in Haiti over the next few days. Soon enough we would find out. Sensory overload began on our descent upon the beautiful country of Haiti — full of majestic, yet barren mountains (a deforestation that was the result of the Haitian […]

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Can People Change?

Norm Wise
7 Apr 2017
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Susie and Howard have been married twenty years. It has been a long, hard road. They have fought, made up, separated, reconciled, and fought over again and again. The issues have changed, but they have not changed. What they do to trigger each other and their responses are like steps in a well-choreographed dance. Now, looking at two decades of verbal and emotional abuse, they both wonder if the other person can change. Sometimes at their most honest moments, they even look in a mirror and wonder if they themselves can change. Most of us can relate to such struggles […]

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Together We Are Stronger: Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast Promotes Unlikely Partnerships

Edwin Copeland
3 Apr 2017
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You don’t want to miss this year’s Mayor’s Prayer Breakfast to hear the stories and vision of the Kingdom advancing and collaboration happening throughout our community. Mark your calendars for Friday, April 28th from 7:30-9:30 as we gather around the theme of together. Join innovators such as Jim Daly, president of Focus on the Family, Brad Formsma, founder of I Like Giving, and Immaculée Ilibagiza a Rwandan American author and speaker who survived the Rwandan Genocide, along with Fort Lauderdale Mayor Jack Seiler, as they share how together we are forming uncommon partnerships, unleashing uncommon generosity, and becoming uncommon people […]

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partnerships

Christ in the Passover: Seeing Jesus through a Jewish Lens of Faith

Melissa Presser
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The Jewish roots of our Christian faith run deep. The pinnacle of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ was precipitated by a Passover meal, one that represents the Paschal mystery in the New Covenant. Jesus is the true lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world — the final sacrifice for all humankind, manifested first at the Passover, the Last Supper whose celebration would endure forever. In Passover is every element of who Jesus was, what he stood for and why he came. To dig deeper, we look at all that occurred after God freed the […]

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Empty Tomb… Full Life

Dr. Tommy Boland
1 Apr 2017
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Let’s look back in time to that first Easter morning to celebrate the glorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. One of the greatest gifts of the empty tomb is the full life that has been promised. “I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10, NIV). That full life was to come through the sinless life, sacrificial death and supernatural resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is an amazing truth that death and the grave could not hold our Lord Jesus. The Roman soldiers and the religious leaders could […]

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empty tomb

“The Scarlet Thread” — A Revival Experience!

Chris Alexander
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The long-awaited Christian spectacular, “The Scarlet Thread,” an original musical using local talent right here in South Florida has finally arrived. And now, after months of intense rehearsals and working at a frantic pace to produce a brand new, full-scale production, “The Scarlet Thread” is ready for its premiere curtain call on Thursday, April 6. There will be a total of four performances April 6 – 9 at Hollywood Central Performing Arts Center. The term “scarlet thread” is the redemptive blood of God’s son, Jesus Christ, which runs throughout the Old and New Testaments. Each of us is separated from […]

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Spring Thaw

John Hawkins, Sr
8 Mar 2017
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Many years ago, while pastoring in a small town in Pennsylvania, I remember a winter so cold the frost line went down to four feet. One consequence of this was a backhoe couldn’t penetrate the ground to dig a grave. We had funeral services for people that winter but had to wait for the spring thaw to actually bury the people. Frozen ground can be awfully hard. Sometimes our hearts can become frozen and hard like that ground. Nothing can penetrate it until heat is able to bring about a thaw and soften that heart. What hardens a heart? People […]

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Jesus and Comedy

Dr. Samuel Lamerson
7 Mar 2017
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“The presence of laughter and the comedic imagination is one of the greatest gifts that God has given us, and Jesus certainly made use of it.” How comedic are the sayings of Jesus? Are any of the things that Jesus says meant to be funny or comedic in the Hebrew or Greek sense of the word? To answer this question we must first decide exactly what constitutes the comedic. After all, the Church has been reading these sayings for these many years and very few people have been laughing in church (and most of those who have been were usually […]

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Refugees and the Gospel: A Call for More…from Everybody

John Houmes
1 Mar 2017
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When it comes to refugees, I would be surprised if you didn’t have a strong opinion. Maybe you are calling for a removal of the temporary ban on refugees, including those from Muslim countries. Or maybe you think a temporary ban on refugees from the seven Muslim countries is necessary for our country’s safety. Both the “let them in now” and “temporary ban” positions, even in more nuanced forms, are short-sighted. The “let them in now” position sees Old Testament scripture as a reflection of the heart of God. (enter “sojourner” into an online Bible search). This voice says we should […]

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