Taming the tongue

Isn't this a great/weird and kinda gross picture all at once? I showed this in church on Sunday as we all took a look at James 3:1-12. James does a great job of reminding us all of the power of the tongue. Unfortunately, that power can be used for good or evil. I find it amazing that we can say such nice, kind things to each other and then a second later lash out and verbally abuse someone. Taming the tongue cannot be done on our own. This is clearly a passage that reminds us that we need to power of God through Jesus Christ to have victory in this area. Any tips as to how you all control your tongue when you want to let a bunch of nasties fly out?

Celebrating God's goodness

Yesterday we go to celebrate our 11 year anniversary as a church. God is so good, we are truly blessed. A good time was had by all. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. I'll be showing many more pictures like this in church next Sunday. We'll also have a copy of the group photo available for all.

We got to baptize Jason Theil and Eve Nordby. There is nothing like seeing someone commit their life to Jesus Christ. There was good fun, fun and fellowship (my favorite aspect to church life) and great weather.

Thanks to all who showed up and brought all the great food. We got to see God's love lived out in our gathering yesterday. Let's continue to pray that God blesses our church next year as we grow deeper in our faith and in relationships.

"America's preacher"

Did you happen to catch 60 minutes last Sunday night?

They interviewed Joel Osteen. If you haven't seen the video, click here. This will give you a firsthand look at his version of the prosperity gospel that he preaches.

I'd love to hear your comments on this phenomena coming out of Texas, where I guess everything really is bigger.

I'll hold my comments for now if we'd like to get a dialog going. What I will say though, is thank God for Michael Horton.

Faith with feet

James 2:18..."and I will show you my faith by what I do."

What a great verse, my thesis for last Sunday's sermon. There is such a need today for Christians to act out in loving ways. Instead of just walking by (as this picture shows) God has clearly called us to love others. James 2:14-26 offers a great balance and addition to Paul's teaching on grace. Just like the NT completes the OT, James 2 completes all of Paul's writings.

We all heard two great quotes in church on Sunday...and neither of them came from me! How cool is that? I know you all have great thoughts in your heads, so thanks for sharing. I'd love to hear your thoughts/comments on these quotes. What do they say to you?

The first one came from Mike Borders, "Do you believe in God, or believe God?"

The second one came from Rachel Westbrook, "As Christians what are we for and not just

against?"

Give us your thoughts...

Going deep

Now more than ever I have felt the need to preach the words of God. I am glad we are currently preaching through James on Sunday mornings. This book does a great job of reminding us that faith without action is dead. I am thankful that most of the Bible is clear on what God's best is for our lives.

As I preach through James and others books of the Bible, I'm going to do my best to point out God's truths for our lives today. It is my prayer that as we study the scriptures together that God's truths will become evident. From there it will be our job to actually apply those truths to our lives. Please God, let Coastlands be known as a church that faithfully preaches the word of God and lives in accordance to that truth.

Sinkhole

Landslide in La Jolla
Hillside on Mount Soledad fails; 55 homes evacuated

By Mark Sauer
STAFF WRITER

A disaster foretold in July by cracks appearing in pavement and homes along Soledad Mountain Road struck suddenly yesterday morning when a massive slab of hillside broke loose, sending tons of dirt cascading toward streets below. Two homes were destroyed, 15 others were left uninhabitable and three streets were rendered impassable in the La Jolla neighborhood built into the east side of Mount Soledad overlooking Interstate 5. To read the rest of this story, click here.

I can't imagine having my house sink into the ground. This is almost like Old Testament, wrath of God stuff. I have been praying for all these residents of La Jolla/Mt. Soledad. These are our neighbors and deserve our prayers. One lady was quoted in the article as saying, "I went to bed a millionaire and woke up not knowing where I was going to sleep."

Like we learned earlier in our study of James (1:10-11) money means little in this life and is at best transitory. The Bible also tells us in Psalm 20:7, "Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God." Today that could read, "Some trust in their SUV's and houses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God."

These awful disasters remind us to value what God values; our relationship with him, our families and bringing others to God. If I hear anything about how we can practically help these families, I will get the word out.

Temperment

It's so easy for some of us to fly off the handle. It's that thoughtless driver on the freeway, yakking away on the cell phone who cuts us off and forces us to say something not so kind.

It's the (real life story) knucklehead who races his beyond-than-loud chopper up and down our street, literally scaring my 2 year old to tears, with no regard for the safety of other children playing who makes me want to string up a cable about chest high across our street.

Is it really these people who get me so angry? Partly, but mostly it's how I react to it. James is so convicting in chapter 1, verse 19-20. God is telling me to be slow to anger. Boy, that is a tough one.

And if that area in my life wasn't tough enough, God also asks me to control my tongue. James 1:26, "If anyone considers himself to be religious and yet does not keep a tight rein on his tongue, he deceives himself and his religion is worthless."

OUCH! These verses go straight to the heart for me. I'd love to hear how you all handle those situations that make you want to blow up. Also, how do you keep those foul words from flying out of your mouth?

Let's share the pain here!