God

Control – The Grand Illusion

John Hawkins, Sr
3 Jul 2017
no comments

We want control; that is the human condition. Different personalities can express their desire for independence in various ways. Some will be overt and very aggressive in their words and actions. Others will act more compliant but be passive aggressive. The people pleaser will take years to build up enough resentment to rebel. However, the reality is control is an illusion. There is very little in life we have control over. We can’t control the weather, the economy, other nations, nature, time, people – even ourselves at times. This list could go on. So why do we fool ourselves into […]

-Read More

Elijah’s Call to Pure Worship

Dr. Susan Michael
27 Jun 2017
no comments

  Mount Carmel is at the tip of a beautiful 24-mile long wooded mountain range nestled inbetween the Mediterranean Sea to the west and the Jezreel valley to the east. “Carmel” means “vineyard of God” or “garden of God” and the Bible describes it as a beautiful and fruitful region. Most Bible students, however, associate the area with the famous confrontation between the prophet Elijah and the prophets of the Canaanite fertility god, Ba’al, found in 1 Kings 18. While there are no archeological remains to verify the exact place of this event, the Stella Maris Monastery is said to […]

-Read More

Advent Church Members Impact Lives at Village of Hope in Haiti

The Good News
no comments

  “People always ask me, ‘Are things getting any better in Haiti?’ My reply is always, “At the Village of Hope in Haiti things are getting better every day, grace a dieu (thanks to God),” said Pastor Andy Hagen, of Advent Church in Boca Raton, who is speaking from experience. He has been leading mission trips to Haiti since 2003 and has travelled there over 25 times. “The situation in Haiti was not good even before the earthquake of 2010 that took the lives of between 200,000 and 300,000 people. But the quake and cholera epidemic that followed made things […]

-Read More

The Call for Social Justice

The Good News
26 Jun 2017
no comments

We live in an imperfect world with a huge imbalance of wealth and power. Sometimes when we hear about social justice in Christian circles, we think of liberal theology, left-wing radicals and some denominations that seem to be more concerned with helping their fellow man than following a conservative doctrinal creed. But God is a God of justice and wants his people to make a difference in the world, standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves and sharing what we have with those who have nothing. Caring for the oppressed, the poor, the disadvantaged, and the socially […]

-Read More

Heart2Heart Restores Hope, Love & Purpose

Shelly Pond
no comments

Americans are getting older. More than 10,000 Baby Boomers reach retirement age daily, creating a startling demographic shift. Currently one in eight Americans are 65 or older. By 2030 those numbers will rise to one in five. A popular retirement destination, Florida has the largest elderly population with 19 percent of Americans aged 60 and above. That number is expected to grow to 32 percent. Sadly many aging Americans end up in long term care facilities far away from family, and over 65 percent of those residents never receive visitors. Lonely and forgotten, their spirits fade away. Like all of […]

-Read More

Transitions – Survive or Thrive

John Hawkins, Sr
8 Jun 2017
no comments

It is that time of year when graduates will experience one of the many change points of their lifetime. These transitions happen as we move from one stage of life to another. Navigating life transitions successfully is essential to achieve both contentment and full life potential. Will we just survive or will we thrive through these times of transitions? Transition points of life Life is full of transition points. There are the normal stages of human growth and development. Each stage has its own characteristics, physical and emotional changes as well as good and not so good aspects. There are […]

-Read More

Beyond Bountiful

Elizabeth Mitchell
no comments

“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully” (2 Corinthians 9:6). In all likelihood, nothing fits in a fist closed tight. A clenched hand, fingers turned inward with nails pressed into palm will never hold a thing, will never be on the receiving side. Miserly and meager come to mind. If I view God as a hard taskmaster, I will be prone to measure carefully when asked to share. If I fail to recognize the Father as extravagant and gracious, I will protest and excuse myself from any generous […]

-Read More

Jesus in the Park

Robin Martin
1 Jun 2017
no comments

As the two groups of people stood there, they both asked the same question: “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison” (Matthew 25:37).When? Bewilderment must have begun to set in as every person in the room tried to take stock of their lives and questioned amongst themselves when they could have possibly seen the King, Jesus Himself. When did they see Him and help; when did they see Him and choose not to help? As I stood in Fort Lauderdale’s Stranahan Park on Friday, May 19, the […]

-Read More

Lessons Learned . . . Later

Dr. Tommy Boland
no comments
learn

Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand” (John 13:7). Jesus uttered these words as He was washing His disciples’ feet on the night He would be betrayed. When Jesus came to Simon Peter and knelt to wash his feet, Peter was as confused as he was convicted that he was utterly unworthy to have Jesus Christ — the King of kings and Lord of lords — wash his feet. As Jesus said, Peter did not understand in that moment, but later the lesson was learned: In order to be a leader […]

-Read More

With Your Help the Solution to Foster Care is Within Sight

Shelly Pond
16 May 2017
no comments

  At any given time, there are about 500 children waiting in shelters in South Florida without a family to care for them. For their safety, they have been removed from their homes due to abuse, abandonment or neglect by biological family members, and are innocent victims of a broken world. Faith-based foster care agencies such as 4KIDS OF South Florida, Place of Hope, His House and Mount Bethel Human Services are working hard to solve this crisis. However, kind-hearted people are needed who are willing to take in these children and show them the love of God. While many […]

-Read More

foster