Pastor Percipia

       For full message, see link  at bottom   Ephesians, chapter 4, starting in verse four gives us a sense of who teaches in the Church.   There is one body and one spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and father of all who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us [within that all-ness, within that great big one-ness] to each of us, grace has been given as Christ apportioned it.   Skipping forward to verse 11:  Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers. He gave them to equip his people for works of service so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity, becoming mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.  Paul, writing this passage, starts by talking about the oneness of us , the unity of us: the singleness of mind, the singleness of focus, t...

      For full message, see link  at bottom   We pray alone . Like Jesus did.  At the beginning of His earthly ministry—the night before He named His 12 apostles and everything started kicking off (one of the single greatest, most important decisions of His entire ministry)—Luke says,   Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. (Luke 6:12) At the end of Jesus’ earthly ministry—the night before His death on the cross—Matthew records for us that:  Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me...” (Matthew 26:39)  Jesus’ prayer that night was not answered the way He humanly wanted it to be answered. Unanswered prayer can be devastating for us. It’s something that I take seriously enough to not try to address in a few words. Prayers that are not answered the way we hope are a challenge for those of us who follow God, who believe that Go...

     For full message, see link  at bottom   Why is this so important? If mu si c is ephemeral, if mu si c is disposable — it comes and goes , it's just cultural — i f t here's so much about it that comes down to personal preference, why is it important? Why does it matter that the Church si ngs together ?   Let's look at our scripture focus.   Paul and Silas were having a bad day .   It had started well. They were in the city of Philipp i going about their business , and they encountered a young slave girl who was doubly a victim. She was controlled by an evil spirit , and she was being trafficked by humans .   Paul had miraculously set her free. Which was cool, right? Well, her pimps didn't think so. So they accused Paul and Silas of breaking Roman law. They had them arrested, stripped, beaten, thrown in prison to await trial. Paul and Silas had been dragged underground to the dark , dank , smelly, oppressive, secure ...