Planned Parenthood business Posted on July 30, 2015 by Eagle Rock Community Church Planned Parenthood’s business? Psalm 139:15&16 If you have been staying up on current events, you are aware of the videos that are coming to light on Planned Parenthood’s business of selling body parts of aborted fetuses. They claim that they are within the law and are not doing this for profit. What has been uncovered sure sounds like a profit making venture. Regardless, what shocked me is the attitude of those on video as they discuss the precious body parts of developing human life. We are not talking “tissue”, but livers, hearts, etc! Whatever your political position on abortion, I think it would take a very callous person not to be broken over what is being done! I confess that this issue of un-born life has not been on my radar for a long time. The issue affects me deeply for reasons I cannot share. As a pastor, I must speak out and say that we need to be praying for our nation, the many millions of women who have deep scares over choices to terminate life, and for our leaders to take a position that truly reflects a Judeo-Christian world view. We are living in a different era with advanced technology that can reveal the developing life within the womb. We can have a first-hand look at what the Psalmist so eloquently describes as God forming his life in the womb. Can a culture like ours become so broken over the de-valuation of human life that there would be so few abortions to drive that industry into oblivion? I am going to step up my prayers for a genuine revival for life! It must start with repentance. I hope these revelations will convict our culture of the callousness for unborn life. “Lord, forgive me for not praying and beseeching your power to transform our culture as it relates to this issue. I pray that you will heal the emotional, physical and spiritual scares of those who have traveled down the road of abortion. I pray for those who are involved in this industry. They are not my enemies. They are people blinded by a world view that does not take into account the sacredness of human life. Have mercy on them and may the people of God show restraint in expressing anger towards these people and have the courage to share the love of Christ. Forgive us Lord and move in the midst of our culture for your Kingdom’s sake, amen,” Pastor Fred Connect with me * indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name
Water! What is it good for? Posted on July 30, 2015 by Eagle Rock Community Church It seems like water is on a lot of people’s radar these days. I have become a lot more conscientious about water now that we are in a serious drought. I shower less, wash dishes faster and have given up brushing my teeth! Don’t believe the last one. My hygienist would kill me and my wife would never kiss me. My neighbor reminded me as we discussed the idea of water, that the western mind set is that water is a commodity. For many non-western people groups, water was viewed as a sacred gift. People did not take water from other people in order to gain economic advantage. Many of us would not be here in Southern California if water wasn’t taken from other people and other places to make this area thrive. My issue in this blog is not political or economic. It is to reflect on water as a sacrament of God’s Spirit in the world. We use water to quench our thirst, clean ourselves and our environment and to grow our crops and plants in our yards. As a Christian community we continue the act of water baptism as the sign of initiation into the body of Christ. Jesus, in John 7:37&38, likens the Holy Spirit to water that springs up within us as we unite ourselves to him in faith. If you want to be blessed, take some time and go throughout the Bible and trace the theme of water. If you think our water crisis is bad, I have news for you! In our secular culture, we have a much greater crisis of the Spirit! With the rejection of God and the propositional truths of the Bible, our culture is left with a spiritual desert of lost souls. What our culture needs are more spiritual oasis’ of God’s Spirit. This is the role of the local Christian community. We need to pray that God raises up people who will pray for showers of the Spirit to flow into his people. It is all about the Spirit and the Word. This past weekend we received unexpected showers throughout the southland. Let us pray for “expected” showers of the Spirit to water our souls and draw the thirsty to Jesus. Keep praying! Love, Fred. Let’s Connect * indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name
Supreme Court vs God Posted on July 3, 2015 by Eagle Rock Community Church Well, the Supreme Court ruled that same sex marriage is now legal in all 50 states. From what I can understand, the court did not state that the Constitution gives same sex couples this right, but that it reflects the general spirit of the law. For the sake of “equality” and “compassion”, we have now re-defined marriage. I wonder if it stops with same sex marriages? What about polygamy? What about marriage of brothers and sisters? Why not give people the right to marry their pets? The Judeo-Christian view of marriage is based on sacred texts. There was polygamy among some of God’s people, but it was never the ideal. From Genesis to the New Testament, the definition of marriage was between a man and a woman. Now that we have “progressed” to a secular view of marriage based on “love” and not a sacred text, it will be interesting to see how this affects religious institutions. I am no prophet, but my guess is that many groups will suffer and lose their tax exempt status. Businesses are already challenged to bake cakes and photograph weddings, even if it go against their conscience. In Jonah Goldberg’s book, Liberal Fascism, he warned us of this coming movement of cultural elitists , who would shape our culture into their vision of progressivism. Over forty years ago, Francis A. Schaeffer warned us that we would reap the consequences of rejecting revelation and re-build our culture on humanistic values. Well, we are here. If you want to follow our president’s lead, then let your view “evolve” and soon you will see the light! I guess his statement about defining marriage on sacred scriptures no longer applies. I am not picking on the president. He reflects a large number of people in our culture who have chosen emotions and feelings to dictate their values. My attitude towards this issue is two-fold. I want to stay faithful to the revelation of God’s word and have the spirit of Jesus to those who embrace a different life-style. The prophet Jeremiah cried deeply over his culture as he saw them slip into judgment. Jesus did the same as he came into Jerusalem. We need to cry over our culture. We are slipping into judgment. According to Paul’s letter to the Romans, God is giving us over to our unholy desires. We will slip into darkness slowly, and our task is to pick up the pieces of damaged goods! We can’t run away or give up reaching out with the life changing power of Jesus. We may have to suffer and give up our comforts, but we can’t give up our calling as light and salt to the world! Pastor Fred Connect with Me * indicates required Email Address * First Name Last Name
