Pastors Pen Archives - Page 2 of 11

Love Does

Posted on Jan 10, 2020 in Pastors Pen |

I’m excited about a brand new message series coming up called “Love Does!” … According to the Bible, love is much more than a feeling you have, a place you fall, or a treasure you find. Love is something that you do. In this series, inspired by Bob Goff’s book Love Does, we explore what God’s love looks like and discuss how we can reflect His love in our lives.

“I’m With You” – Jan. 19
A big part of love is simply being present with someone. This is why God promises His people, over and over again, “I will be with you.” And yet, God is with us in a special and specific way – through His Son, Jesus Christ. It is only through Jesus that we can safely encounter God. This is what Jacob discovered as he wrestled with God one night.

“Free to Fail” – Feb. 2
When you love someone, it can be difficult to watch them make foolish choices. And yet, sometimes love lets others learn from their mistakes because love wants to encourage people to take responsibility for their own actions. Jesus lets His disciples make mistakes not so He can condemn them, but so that He can grow them.

“Audacious Love” – Feb. 9
True love does not just affirm those the world would deem “lovable,” it befriends those others overlook. This is what Jesus does with a Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John, Chapter 4. How can we love those the world overlooks?

“Be Not Afraid” – Feb. 16
The Apostle John writes, “Perfect love drives out fear” (1 John 4:18). Stephen was a man so convinced of God’s love for him in Christ that he was willing to face even martyrdom because he knew his eternity was secure.

“Follow Me” – Feb. 23
Love ultimately calls for commitment. This is why couples speak vows at their weddings. This is why parents make promises to their children. To love Jesus, we must commit to following Him, even as Jesus has committed to dying for us.

You and I have the wonderful opportunity to live lives that not only talk about the love of God, but demonstrate it. I am proud to be part of a church that “does love.” … it’s one of the many things I love about Redeemer. Hope to see you there!

– Pastor Augie

Dec '19

Christmas Light

Posted on Dec 19, 2019 in Pastors Pen |

Dec '19

One of the favorite sights of the Christmas season is all the Christmas lights! There are Christmas lights on homes and in stores. But for all the peace and serenity Christmas lights may communicate, the Christmas season can feel anything but peaceful and serene. It can feel overwhelming and burdensome! In this series, we look at how to make Christmas light – cutting through the clutter of the season and getting back to what matters most.

Sunday, December 22 – “When Your Travel is Taxing.” Mary and Joseph traveled to the Bethlehem to be registered in a census. But this is nothing compared to the distance the Son of God traveled to be with us on the first Christmas.
Tuesday, December 24 – “When Christ Lightens Your Heart.” Sometimes our hearts are so cluttered and heavy, but when Christ enters our hearts, our burdens are removed, and our heart is lighter.
Wednesday, December 25 – “When Christ Shines His Light.” Christ came to shine His light on the darkest places of our hearts – not to shame us, but to save us.

I am looking forward to our time together as we allow Christ to Lighten our Christmas!

– Pastor Augie

May '19

Ascension Thursday

Posted on May 30, 2019 in Pastors Pen |

May '19

On this Ascension Day, we celebrate that Jesus is not dead. …

Image: Jesus’ ascension to heaven depicted by John Singleton Copley, 1775

It’s not just that He was once raised from the dead, only to die again … but that He was resurrected, appeared to His disciples and many others, then was visibly taken up into heaven where He still resides today! Acts chapter 1 records for us:

“After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.”(Acts 1:9)

What a marvel it would have been to behold! You can understand the disciples jaw-dropping awe as they stared up long after He was out of their sight. (As an aside, we use the word “awesome” in so many lesser ways, don’t we? This would have truly been an awe-inspiring moment!) It’s no wonder that the men/angels/messengers looked at them and said:

“Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? …” (Acts 1:11a)

But here’s the part that not only inspires awe in us, but creates HOPE … the men continue:

“… This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11b)

Because Jesus did not stay dead, but was resurrected and ascended into heaven and is still living and reigning on His throne, at the right hand of the Father … and because He promised to return again, we have hope. It’s as if we are living in the blink of eternity between Christ’s ascension and His return – which will be like a “reverse ascension” … He will return in the same way, visibly in the clouds. Speaking of this event, Jesus himself said:

“At that time people will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with great power and glory.” (Mark 1:26)

And the Apostle John’s records his vision of this event in the book of Revelation this way:

“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”; and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen. (Revelation 1:7)

Which is why we Christians are so adamant about telling people about Jesus – He lives. He reigns. He will return!

As some have said, “it was Christ’s last command, so it ought to be our first concern.” The very last words of Matthew’s gospel are what have been called the Great Commission – Jesus sending us into the world to make disciples:

18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:18-20)

And ending where we began, Jesus last words to His disciples just before He ascended were:

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”(Acts 1:8)

So this Ascension Day is all about witnessing and hope. We have hope that Jesus is still alive! And we have hope that Jesus will one day return to make all things right, and new. And because of this, we witness to others what His life, death, resurrection, ascension and imminent return mean to everyone. We want this same hope for others … and so we tell of this great news – Jesus is not dead, He is alive and reigning on His throne in heaven!

When He returns will you welcome Him?

I look forward to seeing you around Redeemer sometime soon!

Blessings & Peace,

Pastor Augie

Apr '19

What I Love About Redeemer – All Church Bible Studies!

Posted on Apr 11, 2019 in Pastors Pen |

Apr '19

I love that once every year or two at Redeemer we go through an all-church Bible study together. The next one of these is coming up right after Easter (starting Sunday April 28) and is called the “Red Letter Challenge.”

This seven-week study will cause us to take a closer look at the words of Jesus… and then will challenge us to actually live out Jesus’ words in our lives! You may have noticed that in many Bibles, the words of Jesus are printed in red letters. That’s where this study gets its name. But when you combine a sermon series with small group studies and a personal workbook, all focused on putting those red letters into practice, you don’t just have an all-church Bible study … you have an all-church CHALLENGE!

As Christians, we are notorious for “nodding our heads” to God’s promises and commands, but then like a bobble-head toy, we continue to stay stuck in one place nodding our heads rather than moving our hands, feet and mouths in the ways that God directs. In this study, we are going to take to heart Jesus’ words in John 14:15, “If you love me, keep my commands.” We’ve spent weeks looking at what “Love Is” in our Sunday and Wednesday worship services, but now we are going to put that love into action by living out the faith of Jesus.

Why is this so important? Because whether we like to admit it or not, you and I are a reflection of Jesus Christ in this world. More and more people do not read the Bible these days, so the only thing they know about Jesus is what they experience by interacting with Christians. And sadly, as authors David Kinnamon and Gabe Lyons write in their book unChristian: “Many of those outside of Christianity … reject Jesus because they feel rejected by Christians.”[1]

This is really a wakeup call for us as the church, to recognize that we have the opportunity, or better – the necessity, to change the way we reflect Jesus in the world. How are we going to do that? Well, it’s going to take 7 weeks to unfold it all, but in brief we’ll look at these 5 principles that Jesus spent most of His time talking about:

Being: Before Jesus invites us to do things for Him, through Him, and in His name, He invites us into a relationship with Him – one of simply being in His presence. We need more of Him.
Forgiving: So many of us struggle with receiving God’s forgiveness, forgiving ourselves, or forgiving others. To truly represent Jesus in this world, we must understand God’s grace in our lives and extend that grace to others.
Serving: After all that Christ has done for us, we want to serve Him. But as we direct our love toward Him, He directs our love outward – into the community, to help those in need.
Giving: Jesus talked about money a lot. Why? Because how we view money reflects our relationship with God. Jesus followers are generous.
Going: Jesus’ last command to His followers was to go out and tell the Good News of the Kingdom and what Christ has done for us. Doing good works is nice. But what turns those works into ministry is sharing them in the Name of Christ.

And that’s one of the things I love about Redeemer! We’re a congregation that not only talks about Jesus, but we seek to let His Word melt us, mold us and use us as His instruments in the world. My prayer is that you will be greatly blessed by taking the Red Letter Challenge, and by letting the words of Jesus shape you into His image for all to see. I hope that you’ll join us on Easter morning, April 21st (click here for more information) and then join us for the RED LETTER CHALLENGE, beginning Sunday April 28th at either 8:30am or 10:45am.

Taking the Challenge with you,

Pastor Augie

[1] https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0801072719/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i2

Mar '19

Love Is…The Better Way

Posted on Mar 9, 2019 in Pastors Pen |

Mar '19

1 Corinthians 13 is often referred to as the “love chapter.” You hear it a lot at weddings. But weddings aren’t where it was originally aimed. It was aimed at the church in Corinth – a church that was loaded with problems.

Corinth was like Las Vegas on steroids. Not only was sexual immorality rampant, but along with that came every other form of evil behavior. You might ask, “why did the Apostle Paul write such a beautiful message of love to a place like that?” But Paul saw it the other way around. He felt that a community stuck in sin was the perfect place for a message about the power of God’s transforming love.

In fact, that’s how it is with God’s Love – the deeper the sin, the more powerful God’s grace! Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans:

“… But where sin increased, grace increased all the more.” – Romans 5:20

And so the Apostle set out in his letter to the Corinthians to talk about God’s answer to their sin. He spent the first 12 chapters of that letter to them talking about the problems that faced them. Then in chapter 13 it’s as if he took a cleansing breath and said, “can we all agree that your way is not working? … let me show you a better way.” And LOVE is … that better way.

Then he goes on to show that all of the ways that the Corinthians (and we) measure success, achievement or happiness, are actually nothing without love.

1. You cannot measure the value of your words by the impressiveness of your speech. “If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.” – 1 Corinthians 13:1

2. You cannot measure your spiritual maturity by the extent of your gifts.

“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:2

3. You cannot measure the size of your reward by the depth of your sacrifice.

“If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:3

Paul is echoing the upside-down Kingdom that Jesus had ushered in. In Christ’s Kingdom, the main currency isn’t speech, power, knowledge or money. It’s Love. It’s possible to speak in a way that just puffs up self. It’s possible to have knowledge about the inner workings of science – even knowledge about heaven and earth, but to use that knowledge in a way that serves our own power and position. And it’s even possible to give, and give generously, in a way that is more about our own gain than it is about loving the ones that we are serving. But Paul teaches that in Christ’s Kingdom, love of neighbor and love of God is the better way. It may utilize all of God’s gifts of speech, knowledge, faith, generosity and personal surrender … but it must never be about those things in and of themselves; it must be about Love.

Love, after all, is what drove God to send His Son into the world, and what drove that Son to the cross to die for us, isn’t it? (see John 3:16.) Clearly Jesus used words, knowledge, faith, generosity and personal surrender in His ministry … but He did them all with love … with perfect Love. And He calls us, as His disciples, to Love like He does.

The world is desperately in need of more Love, isn’t it? Chances are you could use a little more Love in your life too, right? So, we are spending the next several weeks learning about the “Better Way” of Love that Jesus wants for us. I look forward to digging into this wonderful image of Christ’s Love with you.

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Augie.

Mar '19

What I Love About Redeemer – Christ’s Love Expressed!

Posted on Mar 2, 2019 in Pastors Pen |

Mar '19

Do you remember those one-credit classes in college … the LAB? You would take a three-credit class with all the lectures, reading, homework and tests … but then you’d have this extra one-credit lab assigned where you had to go and do experiments, analysis and reporting. (I also remember the one-credit lab being more work than the three-credit class at times – but that’s an analysis for another article!) The thing about the lab, it always seemed to me, was that this is where the most learning took place. There’s something about having to actually DO the stuff you’re learning about. When you take the head knowledge and put it into practice and see how it actually works in real life – it’s then the learning sinks in.

I often think of our church family as the lab of our Christian faith. We can read the Bible, listen to sermons, go to Bible Studies, even engage in social media discussions about topics of faith … but it’s in the one-on-one relationships of love that we have with others where the real stuff of Christianity takes root. Jesus’ disciples had sat with Him, heard Him, observed Him and learned from Him, but He told them (and us) to put that learning into practice by loving one another!

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.” – John 13:34-35

The Apostles Peter, Paul and John echoed Jesus’ teaching as they each remind us to love one another in virtually every one of their epistles (letters). This is clearly an important topic for us as Christ followers. So we are going to be spending the season of Lent looking at this topic of Love … not just Love “knowledge” … but Love expressed, as we reflect upon the great love chapter of the Bible 1 Corinthians 13, in a new sermon series called “Love is…”

This series is going to cover both Sundays and Wednesdays in Lent, as we look at some of the ways we can reflect Jesus’ love using the Apostle Paul’s description of what love is from 1 Corinthians 13. Lent is a season that calls us to reflect on the great love that Christ has for us – a love so great that it moves Him to die. We, of course, are not only to reflect on Christ’s love, but reflect out His love to the world.

And that’s one of the things I love about Redeemer! We’re a congregation that not only thinks about what Jesus has done for us, we seek to make Christ’s love for others visible and tangible in the world. From our Sunday School classes, to our Growth Groups and service projects, we are actively engaged in loving one another, and bringing Christ’s love to the world around us!

We’ll be talking more about this in the coming weeks. I hope that you’ll join us on Sundays at either 8:30am or 10:45am, and on Wednesdays at 6:30pm. Visit: https://www.redeemerbythesea.org/love-is-sermon-series/ for more information.

In Christ’s Love,

Pastor Augie

Feb '19

Spiritual Battles…

Posted on Feb 8, 2019 in Pastors Pen |

Feb '19

We love superheroes don’t we? I recently dressed up as “Pastor America” and visited the little kids at our school. They were duly impressed.

It’s interesting that the world so readily latches onto the idea of someone stronger, faster, and more powerful than us who can step in battle the evil villain. Whether it’s Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Marvel or whatever… we seem to be insatiable when it comes to dreaming about this battle of good vs. evil – and in particular, the power of good to rescue us from the power of evil. Where’s that come from? It’s actually rooted in Truth. In History. In Reality. In the Bible. Spielberg, Lucas and the others get this idea from the Bible, whether they realize it or not.

The Apostle Paul warns the Christians at Ephesus, and us.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. – Ephesians 6:12

In other words, we are in a spiritual battle – whether we like it or not. The challenge for us is that we often dismiss the spiritual realm altogether. We buy into the greatest trick of the devil as he attempts to convince us that he does not exist. And if we do believe in a spiritual realm, often we just don’t know what to make of the demonic side of that spiritual realm. We don’t want to overemphasize the activity of demons and spiritual forces of evil, such that we blame “the devil” for the fact that our bank balance is low, for example. But we can’t dismiss the fact that the devil and his demons are real and are active causing trouble in our lives – especially because we are believers in Christ. (See: 1 Peter 5:8)

The Bible gives us so many warnings about how the enemy:

tempts us to sin,
distracts us from God’s will,
and inflicts suffering.

Speaking to the young pastor Timothy, the Apostle Paul warns that some of the people in his church had fallen into the “trap of the devil” and that he had “taken them captive to do his will.” (2 Timothy 2:26). This doesn’t mean that the devil possessed those believers, but that he had set traps for them, and they walked into those traps, unwittingly doing the will of the devil.

An interesting thing about our sin is that God uses our sin to get us to repent and turn to Him. He desires to restore our relationship with Him as He forgives our sin. The devil, on the other hand, uses our sin to cause us to distance ourselves from God in shame, and even turn away from belief in God, turning to false religions. Paul told Timothy The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. – 1 Tim. 4:1.

Finally, while I believe the devil cannot possess Christians who have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, through faith and baptism (see: Acts 2:38-39, 1 Corinthians 6:19), I do believe that he can harass and oppress Christians, and that he readily does. Scripture is full of stories showing the activity of the forces of evil against believers and unbelievers alike. (See Matthew 17:15-18).

But what we always see in Scripture is that God is more powerful than the devil. Jesus is always able to cast out the evil spirits (Matthew 17:18). They must always obey Him! In fact, they recognized Jesus and His authority over them before even Jesus’ own disciples did! (see Mark 1:24).

The demons are well aware of the power of the Son of God over them. The question is are you? Do you realize how powerful the Name of Jesus is over any power of the devil or darkness? Do you realize the miraculous authority over darkness that you possess as a follower of Jesus who bears His Name?

When people at our church are baptized, we give them a candle lighted from the flame of the candles on the altar. We tell them that this light symbolizes the Light of Christ that has come into the world … and the Light that they now carry into the world as a follower of Jesus. What I don’t think we often realize is just how powerful that Light is over the darkness.

Friends, if you and I are in a spiritual battle – that cannot be fought with flesh and blood. Then the only way we can “take our stand against the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-18), is to call upon the Name and the power of Jesus. This is the authority that is given to us, and which we take up when we put on the Armor of God.

Imagine a frail elderly person who has been commissioned as a crossing guard at an elementary school. They do not possess the power within themselves to stop a moving car or truck. (Nor does any mere mortal, for that matter.) But the stop-sign that they have been given in their role as crossing guard gives them the authority to stop those moving vehicles. They simply hold up the stop-sign, and the operators of the vehicle recognize their authority and stop.

It’s the same with demons and the devil. When you and I call upon the Name and the authority of Jesus, the powers of darkness must obey!

What spiritual battles are you facing right now? Don’t be surprised if that relationship struggle, or that challenge at work really has an invisible spiritual battle being waged underneath – a battle for your inner peace and joy, if not for your very faith. Don’t let the enemy trick you into trying to win that battle in your flesh. Do what you can in the earthly realm, for sure. But turn over the spiritual battle to Jesus and His angels to fight in the spiritual realm on your behalf.

In the Name of Jesus,

Pastor Augie.

If you’d like to hear my recent sermon on “Miracles of Deliverance,” click here.

Dec '18

Our God Remembers – Zechariah’s Hope

Posted on Dec 4, 2018 in Pastors Pen |

Dec '18

Often the names of characters in the Bible have a specific meaning, perhaps relevant to something in their lives. Zechariah the priest, father of John the Baptist, is no exception. Zechariah’s name means: “God Remembers.” We see God “remembering” in two ways in Zechariah’s life.

First, God is remembering Zechariah and his wife Elizabeth who remain childless at what the Bible describes as a “very old” age (Luke 1:7), by giving them a son. The angel Gabriel meets Zechariah in an area of the Temple reserved for priests, and gives him a message:

But the angel said to him: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah; your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you are to call him John.” – Luke 1:13

Secondly, we see God remembering His promise to His people to send them a Savior. Zechariah knows his son John is being called to be the forerunner of Christ and to point people to Him as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. So as soon as John is born, Zechariah proclaims a long “song” of praise extolling the faithfulness of God in remembering His people and fulfilling His promises. This section of Scripture in Luke 1:68-79, is known as Zechariah’s Song and is sometimes used in the traditional liturgical service of Matins as the Benedictus. Here’s a short excerpt where we see Zechariah proclaim how God has remembered His people:

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come to his people and redeemed them. … and to remember his holy covenant” – Luke 1:68, 72

What’s interesting to note is what transpired between Luke 1:13 and Luke 1:68. You see, when the angel told Zechariah that his wife Elizabeth was going to have a son, Zechariah responded in disbelief:

Zechariah asked the angel, “How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.” – Luke 1:18

For someone whose name means “God remembers,” he seems surprised, doesn’t he? Has he forgotten how God brought children into the lives of the barren wives of the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac and Jacob? God may have a long memory, but Zechariah’s seems short.

The truth is, we worship a God that always remembers. More than that, when He remembers, He acts! That’s important, right? If I just remember our wedding anniversary, but do nothing about it, my wife doesn’t really consider that remembering. And just as I would be insulted if my wife were surprised that I remembered our anniversary, God is not pleased when we act surprised at his faithfulness.

So the angel Gabriel takes away Zechariah’s ability to speak until John is born. But when John is born, Zechariah makes up for lost time, and uses his first mouthful of words to proclaim a beautiful song of praise!

Shouldn’t that be our response to our faithful God who not only remembers, but acts in faithfulness to His promises? Rather than be surprised at God’s goodness, we should be anticipating it with a confident hope! We should reflect our expectation of God’s faithful action in our prayers, in our words to others, and even in our own actions! That’s why the Apostle Paul encourages the Christians at Rome, and us:

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” – Romans 15:13

Zechariah, once he’s able to speak, clearly expresses this confident hope in God’s faithfulness through the Holy Child who will be born to Mary. May we do the same this Advent season, and always.

Trusting in God’s faithfulness,

Pastor Augie.

What I Love About Redeemer

Posted on Dec 3, 2018 in Pastors Pen |

– Advent and Christmas!

I love this time of year leading up to Christmas! One of the things that’s great about it is that not only do we celebrate with our families, but we celebrate in community with our church family! The Advent & Christmas season is perhaps our most festive of the year. We have parties, dinners and celebrations galore. We have special musical presentations like the children’s Christmas choir, and choir cantata – as well as special selections in our praise band and bell choir. Plus, we decorate the sanctuary, lobby and fellowship hall. I could go on, but you get the idea.

In addition to all this, something we do at Redeemer that’s noteworthy is that we use the weeks of Advent leading up to Christmas to focus in on the spiritual significance of our Savior’s birth. What is so special about this “holiday” that we celebrate with decorations, presents, lights and time off work? It begins with Advent (from Latin adventus, which means “coming into”), which is a four-week period of preparation before Christmas. Like the season of Lent, Advent affords a time of preparation for celebrating the fulfillment of the Father’s plan of salvation in the incarnation of His Son, Jesus. This year, the theme of our Advent message series comes from the popular Christmas carol, “What Child Is This?”

The birth of a certain child two thousand years ago in Bethlehem prompted a poet in the nineteenth century to ask a very uncommon question about the birth of a very uncommon child. The angel who announced this child’s birth on Christmas Eve answered the question, “What Child Is This?” this way: “a Savior, who is Christ the Lord.” The hymnwriter answered it this way: “This, this is Christ the king.” They both wanted to make known the identity of this special and holy Child.

The goal of this series is for us to ponder the unmatched blessing of the Lord’s incarnation and birth. The messages draw upon the themes of Holy Scripture found in Luke Chapter 1, and teach us to appreciate the full range of blessings that are ours through faith in the child who is God from before the foundations of the world, and who was born of the Virgin Mary. Confronted and comforted by this reality, with hope-filled hearts, we join to sing: “Haste, haste to bring Him laud,” “Hail, hail the Word made flesh,” and “Joy, joy, for Christ is born, The babe, the son of Mary!” I hope you’ll join us for this special time:

Sunday, December 2: “The Child Who Is Zechariah’s Hope”

Sunday, December 9: “The Child Who Is a Virgin’s Great Son”

Sunday, December 16: “The Child Who Is John’s Joy”

Christmas Day, December 25: “The Child Who Is the Lord”

I look forward to celebrating Advent & Christmas with you at Redeemer!

Pastor Augie

What I Love About Redeemer

Posted on Nov 3, 2018 in Pastors Pen |

– Being Surrounded by Smiles!

You’ve heard it said that Disneyland is “The Happiest Place on Earth,” right? Well, usually I say that about our Kindergarten and Preschool at Redeemer! You can decide for yourself which is in first place, but whenever I walk around our school … whether it’s in the art room, playground, classrooms or office area … I see the same thing – smiles! The students are happy, the teachers are happy, and the parents are happy. It is such a blessing to know that Redeemer by the Sea ministers to more than 200 children and their families with the love of Jesus Christ; and that God’s love is flowing through us to them.

That’s probably because of the underlying Christian philosophy of our school. This is from the About Us page on the school website:

Our intention is to provide daily opportunities for spiritual enrichment and guidance that builds a foundation of faith. This happens in and outside of planned instruction. Our teachers look for and welcome opportunities to teach children about Jesus, His love for us, and our need and desire to serve Him.

One of the things I LOVE about Redeemer is being surrounded by the smiles of all the teachers, parents and students at our school in a loving Christ-centered environment.

But, our school is not the only place you can see smiles at Redeemer. On Sunday mornings, I see smiles on the faces of our choir members, praise team musicians and singers. I see them on our elders, ushers, readers and greeters.

I see them as people gather outside around freshly prepared coffee and pastries.

I see them on the faces of the children in our Sunday School and youth programs. And I see them as people gather through the week around the Word in their homes, or out in the community serving and gathering as friends. We are literally surrounded by smiles at Redeemer … and I LOVE it!

For what is our hope, our joy, or the crown in which we will glory in the presence of our Lord Jesus when he comes? Is it not you? – 1 Thessalonians 2:19

What do you love about Redeemer? Drop me a line and let me know!

Joyfully serving Jesus with you,

Pastor Augie