Category Archives: Blogging

To seek the kingdom of God is to stay present in His presence! Too often my mind strays from the present and either gets focused on the past or future. These are not bad things in and of themselves, but too often they can distract me from what is present.

What is present is what God is doing right now! Right now is the only time that really exists. The past is a memory and the future is a hope. I can learn from the past and I can move with anticipation of a future. The reality though is that God is doing something right now and I need to seek it. He may put someone in my path that needs ministering to and if I have my mind too preoccupied in the past or future, I may miss the opportunity! I also need to aware of the “surprises” of the Kingdom that come my way.

Staying present keeps my spiritual eyes open to what God wants me to see each day. Finally, by being present and seeking God’s Kingdom and righteousness gives me deep contentment in His provisions.

He loves us and is there to provide for our needs. Jesus promises his followers his presence even to the end of this age! Seek his presence and let him surprise you this week!

 Pastor Fred

Jesus raises a very important question that gets lost in our secular culture. The reason it gets lost is because so many people do not believe in the soul. The idea of soul goes to the heart of the Judeo-Christian belief in humanity being created in the image of God. Our secular culture has sacrificed the idea of soul in the name of evolutionary science. A good example of this “sacrifice” was a statement put out by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). They argued that the killing of chickens for food consumption was immoral on par with the Holocaust of WWII. Why? Because humans and chickens both lack soul. Both are simply animals and should be viewed the same. As Christians, we reject the idea that humans are of equal value to chickens or any other animal. The reason is that humans have a soul and have eternal value. “Gaining the whole world” is another way of saying that one lives his or her life solely for their own pleasure and enjoyment. In doing so, one loses their soul. They are “soulless” people and pitiful. Ebenezer Scrooge is a perfect example in the story, Christmas Carol. The good news in that particular story is that he finds his soul at the end! When a person truly surrenders his or her life to the Kingdom of God, they begin to find their soul! There is a great connection to our Father, who made us in His image. We discover God is with us in the person of Jesus our Savior. The Spirit of God breathes new life in us and we can begin the journey of true “soul work”. It is in us that God is dynamically present. He is there to heal and restore. Have you surrendered yourself to your Creator and Redeemer? If so, do the soul work of letting God restore you and make you whole. Have a great week!

 Pastor Fred

God called Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles. He was given revelation and authority to speak God’s truth. This was confirmed in Jerusalem by the apostles and James. Paul went to Jerusalem to share his calling and as a result the early church was unified. Paul would have many detractors in his ministry. In some of his letters we observe how he defended his apostolic calling. The apostle Peter affirms Paul in his second letter. He writes, “He writes, (Paul), the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.” (II Peter 3:16) I thank God for Paul! His letters have inspired my own Christian life for many years. Our current series through Philippians reaffirms the power of his teaching and life. I am struck by the tone of joy as he was in prison and facing death. He actually saw his death as far better than staying on this earth! Yet he knew that if he stayed alive he would continue the work of the kingdom. We need Paul’s attitude in the face of our own adversities. As we live in a culture that is increasingly hostile to Christ, our attitude should be one of increased dedication to the Gospel. Over the last year and a half, the body of Christ has been faced with lockdowns and the absence of face to face interaction. Many have gotten out of the habit of gathering for worship. The good news is that “live streaming” may have reached many that were not connected to any church. It is now time to move forward! I am excited that we are moving forward. We are taking steps to further the work of the Gospel here in NELA. We need the encouragement that comes from our apostle and brother Paul. I hope that we learn from him and here the Holy Spirit as we move forward. It is amazing that after two thousand years the Kingdom of God continues to advance!

 Pastor Fred

We are on our way in preparing ourselves for our new venture in building up Christ’s body here in Eagle Rock. Your leadership team has contracted with Nick Warnes and Cyclical L.A. to help equip us in launching a “new community” within our local church. The goal is to eventually become a healthy and thriving multi-generational church in Eagle Rock. We will be announcing some opportunities for all members and those attending our church to better understand the process and nature of our new venture. What we discover in Paul’s words in Ephesians 4:11-12, is that Christ has gifted certain individuals with “equipping” gifts to help build up His church. Nick Warnes is one of those individuals who is gifted by the Lord to help build up the body of Christ. I am excited to have him work with us as we move forward in our ministry. Years ago, I was a church planting pastor! Back in the day, we did not have the resources that are available now in helping individuals effectively launch new works. I am looking forward to learning from Nick and Cyclical L.A. I believe in parish ministry and Nick and his family are part of our community. We are blessed to have someone in our community that can help us discern what we need. What I need from everyone in our ministry to do right now is pray! Pray that God leads this new work. We want this to be a “God-thing” and not be a work out of our own human energy. The Lord has given us His Spirit to empower us, lead us and give us the wisdom that we most desperately need. I am doing my best to “lay aside” my own pre-conceived ideas and am seeking to be open to the Lord’s wisdom. As stated before, there will be opportunities for all of us to learn and grow from this journey. Please consider the opportunities that will be given in the next several weeks and months. My hope is that all of us want to see Eagle Rock Covenant become a healthy and thriving local church in our community. If there was ever a time for healthy churches it is now! Thank you and God bless you!

Pastor Fred

Recently I re-read a book that was published in 1969. The title is “Death in the City” by Francis A Schaeffer. The book came about from a series of lectures at Wheaton College. Although these lectures were given over 50 years ago, it is even more relevant for today’s culture. In his lectures he puts forth the proposition that the church needs both reformation of biblical doctrine and spiritual revival. If the church can boldly preach and teach biblical truth and lean on the power of the Holy Spirit for living, then it is possible to see constructive revolution. The idea of constructive revolution is what happened 50 years ago with the Jesus movement. Millions of people were transformed by the power of the Word and Spirit. This movement literally transformed much of the evangelical church. It also affected many in the mainstream churches. Out of this movement, many people outside of the Church came to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. New “wineskins” were created as the “New Wine” of the Spirit was poured out in many young people’s hearts. This sign of God’s revolutionary move was most recognized in new forms of worship and praise. God also raised up many new leaders. We need a new “revolution” in our own day! Schaeffer began his first lecture claiming that we live in a “Post-Christian” world. That was 50 years ago! We are now living with the fruit of a culture that has rejected biblical truth. It has left a culture that is intellectually, morally and spiritually empty. This is where the body of Christ can again fill in the gap with truth and genuine spirituality. It is time for courage on the part of Christian leaders to make clear the biblical truths about what is really real, who we are as humans, what is the meaning of life. We also need a new outpouring of the Spirit that will bring genuine revival. Out of confusion can come clarity. Out of emptiness can come the Spirit. Easter is a reminder that Jesus is alive and that he can make all things new! May he renew his church and bring a constructive revolution to our dying culture!

Pastor Fred

We all need clarity when we make plans. These verses in Proverbs gives us some needed clarity. First, it is clear that “plans” have their origination in the “heart” of humans. God created us with the ability to have ideas and from those ideas create plans. All inventions begin with ideas. These ideas are worked out into plans that produce things like light bulbs, refrigerators, automobiles etc. We also have ideas about our personal and corporate lives that turn into plans of action. Last Sunday, our congregation voted to enact a plan that originated from yours’ truly! For many months I was wrestling with the issue of how our local church could best fulfill our mission here in North East L.A. I entered this process from a biblical framework that Christ wants His Father’s kingdom to grow and expand into more people’s lives. As an aging in church place, this biblical mandate would need to include people from all generations. As I came up with the idea of planting a “new community” within our existing community, I spent time letting God weigh the motives of my heart. I realized that a part of this plan was about my own desire to leave a legacy for the future of ERCC. I believe God showed me that this motive is not unwise, but that my own personal satisfaction resonates with Christ’s motive to see his church grow. As we move forward now in enacting our plan, we need to commit this to the Lord. I urge all of you that care about the future of ERCC to commit to prayer our plans to search and find new leadership for a new community. Proverbs 16:3 gives us the promise that our plans will succeed if we are pure in our motives and commit them to Him. What does “success” look like? Honestly, I don’t know exactly. Hopefully, it will take shape around the basic framework of our plans. Will the Holy Spirit have something different for us? Possibly. What we can do is take each step forward one day at a time! We have figuratively stepped out of the boat! Let us keep our eyes on Jesus and we will not sink!

Pastor Fred

These are very sobering words from Jesus. The desire for forgiveness is very deep in the Christian faith. We believe that it is our sins that have separated us from a holy God. The good news of the Bible is that Christ died for our sins and that we can receive forgiveness and be restored to a right relationship to God. Un-forgiveness can block the flow of God’s grace. It is not up to us as humans to judge the eternal destiny of those who harbor un-forgiveness to other human beings. I think what we can say is that un-forgiveness towards others puts people in a place that blocks the free flow of mercy and grace. Un-forgiveness grows in the heart and damages relationships. I witnessed this as one of my customers shared a personal story about her brother and ex-sister in law. Her brother had an affair and subsequently brought on a divorce. Later after the break-up, the customer’s brother sought forgiveness and was denied by his ex-wife. Her un-forgiveness turned into hate and she poured that hatred of her ex-husband onto the kids towards their father. To this day he has not seen his kids and it breaks his heart. Granted, he sinned against his wife and he owned up to his moral failure. But to turn your children against their father is only the result of deep un-forgiveness. I wonder if her “sin” of un-forgiveness has not done greater damage than his sin of marital unfaithfulness? Jesus knew what un-forgiveness can do to people. It blocks the flow of grace and mercy and damages the hearts and souls of people. Forgiveness can “free” us from the bondage of our own depraved hearts. We do not have the ability to forget what others have done to us, but we do have the ability with forgiveness to love those who have hurt us. Our restored love does not mean that we continue to allow people to abuse us. What it does mean is that we can reflect the character of our Father in heaven and move forward in health and happiness! Have a blessed week!

Pastor Fred

Last Sunday I brought out the amazing truth that God “stooped” down from heaven and “touched us” through His Son Jesus. There is no other illustration of this amazing love than when Jesus “touched” the “untouchable” leper and healed him. When lepers came into social contact with their surrounding community they had to call out “unclean!” so that people would not be contaminated by their disease. The picture of Jesus touching the leper is a picture of the holy touching the unholy. The lepers were forbidden to come into the temple and if anyone came into contact with a leper they would have to go through purification in order to enter the temple. God, through Jesus, broke down the barrier of the unholy and the holy and graced us with His touch! This is the same God that desires to “touch” us with His love and mercy. When I reflect on this great love of God, I am filled with gratitude and worship! “Thank you Father for reaching out and touching me with your grace and mercy.” My prayer is that all of you reading this blog will realize how much God cares for you in reaching out through His Son and is willing to touch your life! God bless all of you!

Pastor Fred

There are times when we are called to take an intentional time of seeking rest in God. Our conference provides vocational leaders and their spouses an opportunity to enter into rest. For the next three days Martha and I will be in Santa Barbara for a three day retreat with other brothers and sisters of our conference. We will enter into worship without the responsibility of giving sermons or leading worship. As much as I enjoy leading us in worship and teaching and preaching God’s Word, I look forward to being fed and simply resting in worship. I also enjoy the fellowship and times of just being in God’s presence. Those who lead congregations need times of rest and refreshment. The folks that plan this retreat do a great job in giving those who attend an opportunity to rest. Too often spiritual leaders burn out because of lack of self-care. This “time-out” from our schedules provides an opportunity to get some self-care and reflection. I want to thank our church for providing this gift to us. May God bless you this week as well and hopefully we can all seek to enter the rest that God has given us in Christ.

Pastor Fred

Rome in the first century was the center of the world’s commerce. She was the symbol of Rome’s military and economic dominance in the known world. For the first century church, Rome symbolized all that was contrary to God’s will and purpose for the world. This is why she was known by the title, Babylon the Great. Her greed was greater than her sense of justice. From a futuristic perspective on this vision, Babylon the Great symbolizes every and any “city” that seeks economic advantage through unjust means. Today’s economy is interconnected globally with nations that are totalitarian at their core. China is the major economic player that continues to rule through totalitarian means. With their takeover of Hong King, China is now going back on their commitments to the citizens of this great city. The people of Hong King are demonstrating for the very freedoms that our country is built on. At the same time the NBA and American athletic manufacturers are profiting big time in China. One general manager of the an NBA tweeted his support for the people of Hong Kong. China quickly, as most totalitarian regimes would, by blacking out the NBA pre-season game and taking all of the general manager’s teams clothing lines out of the stores. The general manager that simply tweeted his support for the Hong Kong “freedom fighters” was criticized by players and coaches of the NBA. Why? Because it will cost them money! These same players and coaches openly criticize our country, which is their freedom to do. This should be a lesson to all of us in regards to our God given values. If we are going to be a nation that values freedom over economic gain, then we need to support those who are yearning to keep their freedoms. The reality of today’s global market must be tempered with a commitment to our values. The value of human freedom is what we fought for as a nation. My prayer is that we will continue to support human freedom and not commit “adultery” with all of the “Whores of Babylon” of the world! 

Pastor Fred