From the Pastor's Heart

What a Sunday!! Not only did we hear amazing testimonies from our ladies concerning their retreat this past weekend, Sister Bonnie and I were installed as Pastors at Eastpoint Family Church during the celebration of our first year as a new church following the heart of God. We were also blessed to receive the Word of God from Pastor Bill Baker, the Southern Missouri District Superintendent. This past year we have seen souls turn to Jesus for salvation, healings of all types, and growth from members of the community. Pastor Baker’s message encouraged us and gave us guidelines on how to continue to serve and reach our surrounding community for Jesus Christ. This message was important enough that God communicated with the church body through a tongue and interpretation—God stated to hold onto to the message and the Word delivered, and to set it deep in our hearts; for it was of importance for continued service to God.

Pastor Baker’s message was framed around Matthew 16:18; when Peter is told of his future as the rock upon which Jesus Christ was to build His church. Pastor Baker then gave us 4 courses of action that would enhance the kingdom of God in our community. First, never, never, never stop bringing the gospel of Jesus Christ to the community. The crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus is the most important gift anyone is to receive. Secondly, be soul conscious. There are approximately 3.1 billion people in the world who do not know Jesus as their Lord and Savior; we need to be constantly aware of this fact. Next, embrace the gift of the Holy Spirit. Being Pentecostal is not just a label, but a life-changing event in the life of a Christian; the second chapter of Acts is still active and relevant in the world of today. Finally, present and teach the entire Bible, the whole counsel of God. In order to receive all that God has for us, we need to know everything we possible can about Him. At the end of the message Pastor Baker installed Sister Bonnie and I as the Pastors of Eastpoint Family Church. We concluded the events of the morning with a commemorative luncheon for our first year on Pittman Road.

On Sunday evening, we continued our study of the book of Revelation—chapter 19. At the beginning of the chapter we hear the praises of God after He has reined judgment down on Babylon (see chapter 18 and last week’s blog). Those of us in Heaven are getting ready for a great celebration—the Wedding Supper of the Lamb! At this wedding, the bride of Christ (the Church) is made ready and presented to Jesus Christ. Then we are given an extraordinary image of Jesus; John describes Him as someone of utmost nobility and worth. As Jesus and His army (the Church) arrive on the earth, an angel calls together the birds flying in midair, for a victory is on the horizon. Then with just the Word, Jesus defeats the antichrist and his false prophet. These two are immediately thrown into the Lake of Fire, and the rest of their army is decimated by Jesus. A very short battle.

Items of interest in this chapter include verses 7 and 11. In verse 7, we see that the bride of Jesus (the Church) is ready for the Wedding Supper of the Lamb. Question: What usually happens after a wedding? Answer: A honeymoon. During a honeymoon, the couple goes to a place away from their home to spend time together. In this instance, Jesus and His bride (the Church) go to earth and reign for a thousand years together (chapter 20). The other verse, verse 11, appears to be the climatic verse of the entire Bible. All the prophecy of the Old Testament and the life and teachings of Jesus Christ in the New Testament lead up to the beginning of Jesus’ reign in verse 11. But if you thought this chapter was thrilling, wait until we discuss the last few chapters of the book of Revelation……..Wow!

We are going to be so blessed by God during this time (verse 9); we don’t want to have anyone not be invited. Your invitation is ready to be sent, God is waiting for your reply to His simple request of asking Jesus into your heart. It is a simple, but extremely rewarding act of faith. If you are ready for this next great step in your life, look to the right of this blog page at the section titled, “A Life Changing Prayer.” Congratulations on your commitment to Jesus Christ. You won’t regret following Him; He is just awesome!

Thank you and have a blessed week,
Pastor Claude

Southern Missouri District Women's Retreat

What a wonderful weekend the ladies had at the Southern Missouri District Women’s Retreat down at the AG campgrounds. Lives were changed, bodies healed, and growth abounded during the two-and-a-half day retreat. It was exciting to see our ladies bonding and fellowshipping as one body with 400 hundred other Pentecostal women. Although there were many trials and tribulations both to and from the conference, we can all stand and proclaim that our God is faithful as our protector and guide.

Our keynote speaker, Marigold Cheshier, led several powerful services in which she challenged us to embrace the power and authority we have in Jesus Christ. On Thursday night, several women were baptized in the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in tongues at the altar. Friday night brought many miraculous healings and deliverances from the bondage of sin. Saturday morning concluded with the confirmation for many women at Eastpoint Family Church that we serve a God who is relevant, and worthy of our time and attention every day.

Perhaps the most exciting part of the entire conference was when our very own pastor’s wife was given the opportunity to give a testimony to the entire body of Christ during the Saturday morning service. As Sister Bonnie began to speak, the Holy Spirit anointed the message she was bringing forth. It is so amazing to see how God uses the willing vessel in a powerful and perfect way to preach the Good News. Each one of us that attended the conference is enthusiastically awaiting this upcoming year to see what our God will do next. In addition, we have already marked out our calendars for next year’s conference and are diligently budgeting our check books for the adventure.

From the Pastor's Heart

Do you trust me? As your pastor, I hope I have earned your trust in the past year regarding the direction God is taking our church. Trust in each other helps us maintain our focus on a common goal—to win souls for Jesus Christ. Unfortunately, mankind is not infallible and trust sometimes disintegrates, or is taken away, from the strongest of human bonds. However, there is One who is trustworthy, who will protect us, who will stand beside us, who will keep our path straight (as long as we abide by the path), and who wants to spend eternity with us. Our series, “Under Cover”, continued this week with Psalms 91:1-2. In these scriptures, David writes of being in the shadow of God and finding refuge in Him, the One whom he trusts.

Now if we completely trust God, we should have no problem obeying God; for we understand that God has our best interests at heart (Jeremiah 29:11). Obeying God is a basic fundamental of knowing God—God and His inherent authority are inseparable. The following concept should grab you by the heart: to disobey God is to sin. We see this in the parable Jesus gives in Luke 14:16-24. God has invited many to fellowship with Him, but several have placed Him lower on their list of priorities. They have, in fact, refused His invitation—a simple act of disobedience. The result of this disobedience is separation from God, forever. If you would like to start obeying God, all it takes is an uncomplicated prayer. Just tell God you know you’re a sinner; that He gave His only son, Jesus, over to men; man crucified Him on a cross; but Jesus rose from the dead and gives us eternal life because of His resurrection. If you believe this in your heart and confess it with your mouth, you will be saved!

Christians are not immune to disobedience. We can be silently killed by its subtle nature. New and old Christians, alike, need to spend time with God on a daily basis, and we need to put more of the Word and less of the world in us. This routine preventative medicine for the soul will strengthen our hearts in the daily battles we face by the enemy. To ensure complete health, do not forget to get your routine vaccination of fasting and prayer to build a proper spirit within in you.

We are getting close to finishing the book of Revelation. We studied chapter 18 on Sunday evening, and looked at the relevance of the events that are to take place. In this chapter, John describes the destruction of Babylon. This is in reference to the destruction of the world governmental system and its commercialism, and the city, itself. We are given insight into the soul of this city-state system; “I sit as queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn” (verse 7). This pride is an abomination in the eyes of God, and grounds for her destruction. It is interesting to note that the angel in this chapter illuminated the earth with his splendor. The reasoning for this is simple; he just came out of the presence of God in heaven. By the way, that is also where we will be at this time. While we're on the subject, we are getting really close to reading about the new city of Jerusalem. Of all the incredible things John saw and wrote about, being in the presence of God for all eternity is one of the most exciting.

Have a blessed week,
Pastor Claude

From the Pastor's Heart

Even when we are in the middle of a less than wise moment, it is extremely comforting to know that, as Christians, we are in the hand of God. God is a place of refuge, a place of shelter, a place of protection when we are involved in something that has the potential to cause us harm. This week we began a sermon series based on keeping ourselves “Under Cover”—the cover of God’s protection.

There are two key concepts that have be understood and lived out in order for this protection to encapsulate us. For starters, we have to be submissive to God. And not only God, but to those whom God has placed in authority over us. By placing ourselves in this position, we allow for God to protect us from any number of dangers that we cannot see physically or spiritually. Conversely, if we rebel against those in authority, we rebel against God and bring whatever destruction upon ourselves (see Romans 13:1&2). This isn’t the rebellion against tyranny or wrongdoing, but the blatant disregard for the laws of a society that are meant for the safety of its citizens. An example would be the driving of one’s vehicle at approximately 126 mph in a 65 mph zone; not a wise, submissive decision.

The second concept is similar to the first—obedience. God wants us to simply follow His direction in our lives, families, jobs, ministries, etc. If we follow God’s will in these areas, we will be an unstoppable Bride for Jesus Christ. The interaction of submission and obedience results in an incredible outcome. By giving ourselves over to God, we develop a broken and humble spirit (Psalms 51:16&17). We were blessed by a tongue and interpretation earlier during the worship service that asked this very idea of us. God let us know that He is in control of all calamities; He wanted us to submit ourselves to Him and lay our burdens down at His feet. Submission and obedience are two Kingdom Principles we should place at the forefront of our hearts.

On Sunday evening we continued our study of the book of Revelation—chapter 17. In this chapter John describes a prostitute (a one world religion) that the antichrist uses to secure his power. Over time the antichrist will destroy this religion and promote himself as God. The antichrist will then gather the kings of the earth (10 of them) and make war against the Lamb of God. Jesus “the true” Christ will overcome them and establish His kingdom (later in the book). What is of interest is how God will use evil people to accomplish His purposes and fulfill His Word. God will try to love humanity to Him, but sometimes God allows adversity to occur to bring humanity to Him. A visit from the Holy Spirit, in tongues and interpretation, earlier in the evening was similar. God wants us to come to Him, He desires it.

This is of upmost importance in regard to salvation. God doesn’t want anyone to die not knowing Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Making the decision to follow Jesus Christ is easy. Just tell God you know you’re a sinner; that He gave His only son, Jesus, over to men; man crucified Him on a cross; but Jesus rose from the dead and gives us eternal life because of His resurrection. If you believe this in your heart and confess it with your mouth, you will be saved! The tough part is to follow Him. Just remember submission and obedience—your first two steps after Jesus. Find a church that follows the Holy Bible and teaches what is written in red; this is a good start. And if you said this prayer for the first time, congratulations!

Have a blessed week,
Pastor Claude

Upper Room Ministry Prayer Meeting

As Saturday evening approached, our anticipation grew to a fevered pitch as we came together for our third prayer meeting of the 2007-2008 year. With the evidence of the presence of God in our Sunday services, we each came expecting to hear from the Lord--and WE WERE NOT DISAPPOINTED!! The theme of this prayer gathering was love. We have been studying Mat. 22:37-38 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'"

The service opened with a time of prayer and praise. Each person present was encouraged to enter in and love on God. People freely expressed their love in a variety of ways as the Holy Spirit moved through the sanctuary. In addition to loving on the Lord, each person wrote down the prayer requests, burdens, and needs they entered the church with. As the Lord moved, each person walked to the alter, knelt with those requests in hand, and placed them on the alter. At the conclusion of the service, we came together to corporately pray for the upcoming Ladies Retreat on Sept. 18th, for our church body, and our pastor.

At the end of the meeting, a few parting words were shared including a message from the Holy Spirit. He told us we would have victory in our requests tonight. We were ordered to take this message forth to our friends, families, and neighbors that our God is a loving and faithful God who hears and answers our prayers. I can speak from experience when I say each one of us left church last night claiming those promises the Holy Spirit spoke to us.

I encourage you right now if you have a need, call upon the name of the Lord. He is waiting to hear from you. It is God's desire to have a personal relationship with each person--you are no exception. God loves you! If you have never had a personal relationship with God, it is not too late. Ask Him right now to come into your heart, forgive you of your sins, and walk with you daily. It is that simple, there is no form to fill out, no interview process, no judgements made. God is no respecter of persons, He welcomes all into the Kingdom. God Bless you and walk in victory this week.

From the Pastor's Heart

Isn’t odd how we celebrate work by not doing anything? This past week we celebrated Labor Day. It is a day designed for end of summer do-it-yourself projects, firing up the grill one more time, enjoying a slice of juicy, ripe watermelon with a lingering sunset, and pulling out the Rubbermaid tub full of sweaters. Or is it?

This past Sunday morning we examined the origination of Labor Day. We saw how it began as a time meant to consider the poor working conditions of the American laborer in the mid-19th century. As more and more American factory workers pressed for better working conditions and wages, a holiday to celebrate those factory workers and their efforts was born. Unfortunately, these efforts are lost in the fray of department store sales and “unofficial” end of summer activities that are taking place over a hundred years later. Let’s take a moment in the next few weeks to reflect upon those who put their jobs on the line for the benefit of others who came after them.

After reviewing the history of Labor Day, I asked a few members of our congregation to speak about what they do for a living. We had a nurse, phlebotomist, and a veterinarian describe what they do in the course of an average day. As a side note, we will be changing our name from Eastpoint Family Church to Eastpoint Family Memorial Hospital in the coming year. Just kidding, we need to attract more specialists first. By listening to these job descriptions, we were able to see how God blesses each individual with special gifts and talents that no one else has.

In the next part of the message, I asked an important question—“Why Work?” One doesn’t have to look far to find God’s answer to this question. Numerous times through the Old and New Testament, God tells us that food, necessities, shelter, etc. is only available through work. Solomon and Paul, the apostle, tell us what a righteous individual does receive and what a slothful person does not receive (see Proverbs 16:26 and 28:19; I Thessalonians 4:11, 12 and II Thessalonians 3:6-15). As we extrapolate from Solomon (Proverbs 16:26), if hunger drives the laborer to work, then hunger for God should drive us to work for God and do whatever we can for Him.

In this work for God, we should ask Him to give us “inspired work”. This is work that displays God’s beauty and honors Him. If that is the cleaning of the church, do it as unto the Lord. If that is the mowing of the lawn, do it as unto the Lord. If that is the collection of the offering, watching the nursery, cooking for events, etc, do it as unto the Lord. Honor and glorify Him through your service to Him. Take this same work ethic to your regular workplace, your home, your relationships, everywhere. If you honor God through every aspect of your life, you will not only get the attention of God, but also of your coworkers, your family, your friends, and anyone else you may meet in a public place. The apostle Paul describes this in I Thess. 4:12 when he writes, “…so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders…”. He knew that our daily lives speak volumes, and at a much higher decibel, than our lips every will. We also need to remember that we are constantly sowing seed in our daily lives. How you live your daily life could determine the grade and quality of the soil where you are sowing.

We will leave this Sunday morning on a good note, though. Just as you have been asked to work in the fields of the Lord, so is the Master hard at work, too. Search Philippians 1:6 for one of God’s job descriptions.

Sunday evening we were blessed by the presence of John Heide, a missionary to those folks who reside in their 50’s-plus. This is a harvest field that hasn’t been touched by any of God’s laborers, and John and his wife have volunteered their lives to reaching this ever increasing population within the American borders. Because of illnesses, loneliness, finances, etc., a large number of these people commit suicide. John and his wife are stretching out with both hands in an effort to gather as many as possible for God’s harvest. Remember the Heides in your prayers; ask God to grant them words of wisdom, hearts of compassion, and Godly inspiration for this new and burgeoning mission field.

We have many things coming up these next few weeks. Keep your corneal tissue exposed (“Keep your eyes peeled”) for upcoming announcements and testimonies. We are seeing exciting events take place at Eastpoint Family Church.

Have a blessed week,
Pastor Claude