This was a question I asked the kids during children’s church this week. Many of them said yes — they feel alone often. They shared that when their friends are absent at school, when no one sits with them at the lunch table or plays with them at recess, or when they’re being ignored after an argument, they feel alone. One child said, “Sometimes I have to walk the track at school all by myself because no one wants to go with me. I feel very alone when that happens.”

Dear One Hope Church of the Nazarene…

After I graduated from high school I had a friend once tell me that he and several of our friends would hang out and play Dungeons and Dragons. He told me the reason they never invited me was because they thought I would refuse because of my faith. Honestly, he was probably correct. I also know that wasn’t the only time I was left out of something because of my faith.

Waiting can be one of the hardest seasons of life. Waiting can sometimes feel uncomfortable. Whether you are waiting for healing, restoration, financial breakthrough, direction, peace, or answers to prayer, the waiting season often stretches your faith in ways nothing else can.

For the past couple of weeks, I have gotten back into doing a daily devotion. It had been years, too many to count really, that I had done a devotional. Me getting back into doing devotionals really came as a question from Pastor Lou. He asked, who is someone I would be willing to mentor?

Life feels so busy right now. Busy schedules, busy minds, busy hearts. The lists seem endless, the sticky notes pile up, and the to dos never quite seem to get done. Just the other day, I was sitting at my desk right in the middle of all the busyness. Papers spread out, lists running through my mind, trying to keep up with everything. And then I heard a little giggle at my door.

There is a name unlike any other and that name is Jesus. The same voice that spoke to the storm and calmed the waves is the same voice that called the dead out of the grave. His name doesn’t just comfort us. It saves us, completely and eternally. And because of who He is, He alone is worthy of all our praise.

The true meaning of Easter is that Jesus sacrificed himself over everything and got crucified on the cross for our sins only to be resurrected 3 days later reconciling with God.  He has given himself over to us to celebrate eternal life within him. This is a new covenant between God and humanity giving us rebirth into the spiritual realm.

Holy Week begins by shouting, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David! Hosanna in the highest heaven!” It ends with shouting, “He is risen! He is risen indeed!” We as Christians love to celebrate and glorify the King of kings, our Resurrected Savior. There’s absolutely nothing wrong with that! But what happens when we jump from the heights of Palm Sunday to the even higher heights of Easter Sunday is we forget the in between.

Have you ever thought anymore about St. Patrick’s Day other than a day of green, green and oh – more green!  I hadn’t until this week and decided to check into it a little more.

t’s already such a cool experience having a child show you something they’re proud of. The quick speed as they race toward you, the excitement and spark of joy in their eyes, the eager anticipation expressed in fidgeting fingers and tapping toes. That, to me, is such fun to witness. It’s even cooler to see this kind of enthusiasm surrounding their faith.

Change is difficult, this can be any kind of change, from something as simple as a change in where you sit at work or school, to having a pastoral change. As you all know we are going through a huge change as Pastor Lou has come in as our brand new pastor. God consistently brings up how good change is in the world.

We live in an imperfect world where some “things” are just as imperfect. Unfortunately, sometimes, there are simply no just answers. When bad things happen to good people, as a society we often say, “Why would God allow this?” This is a saying I have struggled with in my own life. When we buried our son Jonathan, after being born with a fatal birth defect, I struggled with this a lot. 

This Sunday marks a meaningful moment in the life of our church. Tomorrow will be the final Sunday serving with us for our interim pastor, Bob Flint. Next Sunday, we will celebrate a new beginning as we welcome our new lead pastor, Lou Reyes.

World perspective: loss, brokenness, bankruptcy. Kingdom of God perspective: love, life, comfort.

As we enter the season of Lent, scripture reminds us that we have an example to encourage us for 40 days. Jesus demonstrates how to live in the anticipation of mourning and being comforted. The Father’s plan was the Son to be rejected, despised, crucified. But while fulfilling the Father’s plan, time after time Jesus experiences divine comfort.

Weeks of intense and unrelenting rainfall have triggered catastrophic flooding across parts of southern Africa, including Mozambique, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. The floods have claimed the lives of hundreds and forced hundreds of thousands of people into temporary shelters for those displaced due to the weather.

The Church of the Nazarene is a global denomination, making disciples of all nations and all areas of the world. We not only strive to spread the gospel to every ear that will listen through evangelism, but we also seek transformation into Christlikeness through discipleship. In addition, we care for the sheep already in the flock.

When we find ourselves without the words to pray and we feel as though God does not know what we are going through or if He can hear our thoughts when we are unable to speak, the Holy Spirit takes our words and thoughts that we just can’t get out and advocates for us divinely.

After much prayer and listening for God’s leading, Pastor Lou Reyes has accepted the call to serve as Lead Pastor of One Hope Church of the Nazarene. We truly believe God is guiding us into a new and hopeful season as a church.

Grow up. God has equipped his people for a mission, but to do the job we need to be mature members of a united body.  Mature in our individual faith and mature as a church. That maturity is not measured against each other, or against other churches, but measured against the standard of Jesus.