Read the Bible in a Year

One of my goals for the upcoming year is to start reading the Bible through every year. Ambitious, I know, but is there a better way to familiarize myself with the Word of God than reading it consistently? Of course, I'll just take it one year at a time, but that's my plan, anyway!

In seminary I met a man who had read the Bible through some 80 times or something ridiculous like that. Is it any wonder that he would possess a first-rate knowledge of the Bible?

I have a plan that combines both OT and NT reading at the same time, with assignments on M-Sat. only, with Sundays being a day of rest or for catch-up. If you would like a copy of it, please email me at gregg.morita@tccbc.net and I'll send one out to you.

May God's Word bless you this year!

Where Is Your Treasure?

In these tough economic times, managing money can be tough. However, the Bible has much to say on that subject. The CrossRoads Couples' Fellowship is beginning a six week study on managing finances from a Biblical perspective.

The fellowship meets every Tuesday evening, starting with January 6th. All are welcome, you don't need to be married or engaged to join them.

Please plan to be there for a time of worship, snacks, fellowship, and what it means to be putting your money where your beliefs are as Christ-followers!

When God Says, "No"...

It is easy to see how some people think that God is some sort of cosmic spoilsport, trying to keep everyone from having a good time. It seems like everything that's fun or comes naturally to us as humans are off limits.

But Joshua Harris gives a different perspective. He said that when God says "no" to something, it's really because he's saying "yes" to something better!

What a great perspective! It's great not only because it is a positive way of thinking about God and his ways, but also because IT'S TRUE! God wants to bless us with much more than we can even think of desiring for ourselves.

How often do you settle for scraps and crumbs when God has a sumptuous feast waiting for you? Don't settle for any less than God's best for you - you won't regret it.

Happy Birthday, Jesus!

Happy Birthday, Jesus! Thank you for coming to earth to save us from our sins.

Merry Christmas to you all, and I pray that you don't forget to put "Christ" in your Christmas celebration today!

Joy to the World!

Now why did the picture turn yellow when it was originally blue? I don't know, but that's not important right now.

What IS IMPORTANT is that you come join us for our Christmas Eve Worship Service at 7:30 PM tomorrow night at church to celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ! Refreshments to follow! Yummmm.

God Is Love

Last week I was reminded of another of God's profound truths: his perfect love. There is no way that God can stop loving us. His love is perfect and absolute, and not governed by feelings, as ours is inclined to be.

There is nothing we can do to make God stop loving us because he can't.

Here is a powerful video that makes a valiant effort to capture this great love. Watch it to the end and you will get a better idea of how much God loves you.



The Bible says plainly, "God is love." No matter who you are or what you've done, God loves you; always have, and always will.

Only by the Grace of God...

I found this quote today and wanted to share it with you all.

"Your worst days are never so bad that you are beyond the reach of God's grace. And your best days are never so good that you are beyond the need of God's grace." — Jerry Bridges

Living as a Christ-follower can be difficult, especially because we are not completely free from our sinful nature. But we can take comfort that the grace of God will keep us; in the worst of times and the best of times.

May you experience the freedom and joy of God's grace this week.

The Power of Prayer

I just found this article today on Yahoo News:

Pastor prays over deposit slip, gets $1.5M gift
Tue Dec 9, 9:14 pm ET
LONGVIEW, Texas – A $1 million bank deposit slip wish by a Longview minister to pay for a new church came true — and then some. The Rev. Thomas McDaniels of LifeBridge Christian Center said a businessman, who chooses to remain anonymous, wrote him a $1.5 million check.
Members of LifeBridge, which formed in 2005, had met at a Longview hotel. Their new church opens in a few weeks.
McDaniels described on Monday how in January 2007 he took a bank deposit slip and wrote $1 million, "meaning that one day someone would give us a million dollar gift."
The minister, who prayed over the deposit slip, said a business owner Dec. 2 asked how much was needed to pay for the church.
McDaniels said $1.4 million. The benefactor's check included an extra $100,000.
McDaniels says, in these economic times, that "the Lord wanted to show his power."

I wonder what would have happened if his whole congregation prayed over that deposit slip... What an amazing story of God's provision. What would God do if we prayed

Love Your Neighbor

Recently there has been a new addition to the neighborhood and I can't be more pleased. Her name is "Black Puddy." I don't know what her real name is but she looks something like this:

(Actor's portrayal of Black Puddy.)

She is very sweet and friendly and loves people. She lets me pet her and even tries to get on my lap when I sit on the curb. She is a little purring machine! I lament the fact that I have only been able to meet up with her just a short while before I move.

Ok, so what does this have to do with anything? I realized how much I love acceptance by this little cat. But I am not alone. We all crave love and acceptance from other humans, if not cats as well.

Jesus commands us to love our neighbors as ourselves. Do you crave love and acceptance? Of course you do. Then we also need to love and accept others as we would like to be loved and accepted.

I would like TCCBC to be a church that when a new visitor comes, he or she is made to feel like part of the family. Let's not allow ourselves to think that it's someone else's job to make people feel welcome at church. It all starts with YOU.

I challenge you to ask God to open your eyes and let him see as he sees when it comes to visitors to our church. When you begin to notice people standing by themselves with no one to talk to, then you will know that God is bringing you an opportunity to bring someone love and acceptance.

Celebrate Diversity?

As I was driving to church today, I saw a car with many, many politically themed bumper stickers on it. One sticker caught my eye. It was a white sticker with just two words on it, with each letter being a different color. It said plainly, "Celebrate Diversity."

But what does that mean? What I think the owner of the car meant was, "Differences between people should always be accepted and even celebrated." The irony is that people who generally like to celebrate diversity on that level can only celebrate with like-minded people. If you don't happen to believe that all diversity should be celebrated, you will probably not receive any invitations to their afternoon tea parties.

But God's people really do need to celebrate diversity - but within limits. God made us all different and we need to celebrate those differences. We have different personalities, likes, dislikes, gifts, talents, cultural and ethnic backgrounds, etc. There is room for diversity in the church. Even minor theological differences not explicitly addressed in the Bible can be overlooked between brothers and sisters in Christ.

What the church cannot celebrate is diversity in explicitly stated Biblical teachings, otherwise known as orthodox theology. Some of these would be who God is, who Jesus is, how he wants us to live, how to be saved, etc. When the church deviates from the teachings of God, you can be sure that it is actually deviating from God himself.

God's people need to be God's people; doing things his way or no way at all.