The Covenant Marriage Ceremony is a lot like a Vow Renewal ceremony in that it is all “in the eyes of God” rather than in the eyes of the state. With recent changes in state marriage laws I am now happy to offer a Covenant Marriage Ceremony for Christian brides and grooms who meet the requirements as listed below. The Covenant Marriage Ceremony is a “church” ceremony not a “civil” ceremony, it is a ceremony … Continue reading →
Over the years I have officiated weddings along side a family member of friend whom the couple wanted involved in the ceremony, but who couldn’t officiate because of not being church ordained. Most of these individuals have been a godly family member or a friend who was active in their Christian church or was in the process of going to seminary. In all these weddings they were someone who the bride and groom recognized as … Continue reading →
Our church fellowship began on January 6, 2011, meeting on Sunday morning at a community room of a Ryan’s Restaurant on Rangeline Road near I-10 in Tillman’s Corner, Alabama. The manager allowed us to use the room at no cost if we ordered their buffet breakfast, which we did and enjoyed, but after several weeks we all seemed to have gotten our fill of that buffet. We moved our meetings to my house in West Mobile, … Continue reading →
Mornings in our home are usually filled with the sounds from a Christian radio station. This morning a caller asked one of the disc jockey’s “What is the reason for Ash Wednesday?” The disc jockey said something to the jest of, “Christians have Ash Wednesday because by placing the ashes on their forehead they are proclaiming the sacrifice of Jesus.” I thought, that’s not biblically correct and that is not even what it means to … Continue reading →
Dear Church Friend in Mobile, Alabama, Have you ever invited the guy you work with or the lady at that office or the couple in your neighborhood to attend your church but they just haven’t? Maybe you have great Bible conversations with someone who doesn’t attend church anywhere. Maybe you’ve heard the same excuses as I have for not attending – burned-out, hypocrites, politics, clicks, personality conflicts, boring, bla bla bla.. However, there really are … Continue reading →
In the morning, thousands of people will wake up and get ready to attend a church of their choice. Some will put on their best clothing, some will happily re-wear something from the day before, and some will be more concerned over their toddlers and children keeping their cloths clean at least until they are checked into their Sunday School programs within a secluded room away from the adults. They will make their way to … Continue reading →
I wanted to share a thought with you about where we have been in 2018, as a church in the Scriptures. We have been in 3 John, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Corinthians. We have systematically and intentionally journeyed through 3 books of the Bible, a total of 30 chapters, and 2 writers…which is not a whole lot in the big scheme of 66 books in the Bible, a total of 1189 chapters, and 40 writers. … Continue reading →
I just watched a documentary video on the issue of children and youth leaving their parents faith and practices behind as they enter adulthood. The YouTube video documentary is embedded below and the link is too, because I am aware now that sometimes the embedded video doesn’t always show. (It is at https://youtu.be/3fKsWait2pE) We’ve all heard that upward of 80% of our youth do not remain in church attendance as adults and the documentary is suggesting … Continue reading →
I am going back to using my English Standard Version. Last August I bought a Christian Standard Bible and really liked it and I still do, but in recent months my enthusiasm for this new translation has developed into reservation. An odd thing about me is that I like to have one Bible that I stick to for personal reading, pastoral teaching, and my own study so that I become familiar with pages and passages … Continue reading →
My connection with Calvary Chapel happened by accident in 2014 while doing a trade name search when changing our church name from West Mobile Bible Fellowship to CrossHope Chapel. In our search, the name Calvary Chapel came up and my memory immediately tied that name to Chuck Smith of Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. As a new believer in Jesus Christ in 1980 I would cling to every broadcast of Chuck Smith on Christian radio in … Continue reading →