Tim Franklin · “They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of Lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."” Revelation 17:14 ESV Have you ever watched any of the shows starring Chuck Norris? There is always a clear picture of good versus evil, and the bad guy is not only intimidating in his appearance, but he is usually pretty self confident that he will be the one to take down the hero. But in the end Chuck Norris shows himself to be not only the better person, but by far he is true champion who will never be defeated by the villain. I see a similar picture taking place here, all the forces of evil, the beasts, combine to do battle against the lamb. I am sure that they are confident of victory, after all who ever heard of a single lamb having victory over a group of ravenous beasts? Yet, the lamb is victorious, evil is defeated, the King of kings demonstrates the power of God to overcome the evil one. This story is not a fictional plot to a tv show, it is the picture of the end of days, the time when Jesus will return and claim complete and total dominion over all of creation. Satan will be defeated, victory will be declared. And it is said that “those with him are called chosen and faithful.” Who are these followers? They are those who surrendered their lives to Christ, those who chose him over the world, those who honored him with their faithful obedience. The choice to be among the chosen and faithful will not be made on the day Christ is victorious over the enemy, it is a choice that must be made today. We don’t get to chose sides after the war is over, the time is now! Will you chose Christ today? Pastor Tim Franklin Darrell Apffel
Commissioner Darrell Apffel It’s Re-election time! March 5th 2024 Darrell has been super blessed to have y'alls support!! As County Commissioner, he has cut the county tax rate by over 34% while reducing public debt - eliminating over $15M this year alone. He is fighting to make our county safer by hiring more officers and giving them the resources to protect our children and families. And he is fighting to improve our communities by investing in road & drainage projects. Pol Adv pd by Darrell Apffel for Commissioner Campaign
0 Comments
Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of Christians who live in a constant state of Christmas?12/29/2023 Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! (Revelation 5:11, 12 ESV)
Have you ever noticed that there are a lot of Christians who live in a constant state of Christmas? They go around with their wish list and spend their days telling Santa, oops I mean Jesus, what they want him to bring them. Now I want to make it clear, I believe that God can and does give miraculous provision, and I have seen him do so in my own live on many occasions. But what I am talking about are those people who have reduced their faith to a place where it has become, "I want it, I tell God, and He is obligated to give me whatever it is I asked him for." How does that reconcile with passages like we read here? Because of what he has done, we read that he is worthy to receive "power, wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." He is worthy to be honored by us and to have us honor him in these areas. How did we turn Jesus into a lottery pay out instead of revering Him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords? Because we let started letting our flesh control our thinking and we became the center of our universe. What do I do in his presence? Do I crawl into his lap and start reciting our list of things we want, or will I fall to my knees and declare "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" Pastor Tim Franklin WordPower
· Happy New Year - 2024 is the Year of Faith In The 4D (Fourth Dimension) Year End Contributions: If you haven’t already done so we would encourage you to prayerfully consider a special year-end contribution, over and above your tithes. Your gift will make a major impact for generations to come! We believe that this is your year where every abundant door is OPEN and we declare a Speedy Return to you and your family! You can quickly and securely make your 2023 tax-deductible gift in the following ways: 1. Text to Give: Text Any Amount to 84321. 2. Online giving: https://www.wordpowerchurch.com/donate 3. Kingdom Project Building Advancement | https://venmo.com/code?user_id=3381422895136768652... 4. CashApp Giving: $WordPowerChurch 5. Check: you can mail a check as long as its postmarked December 31st. Address: 2711 Texas Avenue La Marque, Texas 77568. Galveston County Food Bank
· 450 Back Pack buddy packs were made by these awesome volunteers. These will provide nutritious, child-friendly food for qualified schoolchildren to take home. We greatly appreciate our volunteers! Contact Kim if you are interested in volunteering. volunteer@galvestoncountyfoodbank.org or Click the Golden Volunteer link below to sign up directly on the calendar: https://x.gldn.io/GALVESTON_COUNTY_FOOD_BANK-77590 #GCFB #GalvestonCounty #communitysupport #volunteer #volunteers #foodbank #nonprofit #COMMUNITYHEROSThe Independence Village. · Texas City, TX · Judy Loney and her family - husband Chuck, son Brian and DIL Lisa, and daughter Ashley, and precious grand children graciously showered the residents with gifts galore and handmade cookies to top it off!!! Many thanks for making their Christmas so joyous! Love you, and Merry Christmas!!! THIS IS DEEP!
Church, Leaders, Pastors, Friends, pay much attention! “So, please, for the love of God stop saying things like this when people need ACTUAL help and ACTUAL advice for their problems and issues. If someone is drowning because of an issue that is plaguing them such that they cannot even think straight, telling them to "just pray about it" is not what they need in this situation. In fact, the Bible says something similar to this in the book of James, "Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead." (James 2:15-17) This is equivalent to saying "just pray about it" or "I will just pray for you." It's important that Scripture actually commands us to not just use our words, but to actually help people and serve them, "Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth." (1 John 3:18) The people in the church are hurting and no one even knows, as Leaders and Pastors it is your duty to help not by just praying but by taking a time and guiding them. SPECIALLY THOSE WHO ARE SERVING!! They are always giving but not receiving, they need that one on one. Don't *just* pray about it. Don't *just* tell them to pray about it. Don't *just* offer words of exhortation. Humble yourself and to actually SERVE and HELP those who are drowning in sorrows, in issues, and in problems. Do not judge but offer guidance and discipline. That's what Jesus did. Keep Thinking! Credits: Kyle Barrington Acts Community Church · Join us as we celebrate King Jesus! Don’t forget to invite a friend! Saturday 12/23 Candlelight Service @ 6PM Activities to follow: snacks, hayride & s'mores ________________________________ Sunday 12/24 Christmas Eve Service @ 9:30AM * One Service Only* (English & Spanish Combined) First United Methodist Church Hitchcock
· Pastor Mike's Homily: December 10, 2023 On this second Sunday of Advent, Christmas is right around the corner. The Season of Advent is supposed to be a time of patiently waiting. Trying to understand what it means to wait patiently; I looked up the definition of patiently. According to the dictionary it is a way that shows tolerance of delays or problems without becoming annoyed or anxious. The way my clock is spinning who are they trying to kid by even implying patience is a virtue. Here it is Sunday morning and I am already out of patience for the week. Others would be wise to stand clear of me the rest of the week! How impatient am I? Just the other day I was in a shop and the cashier asked if I had found everything I was looking for. I stared at her and growled, “What? Are you hiding something?” Walking out of the store my wife offered some very good advice. She told me before I judge anyone with a sarcastic comment I should walk a mile in their shoes. Now that’s really good advice. After walking a mile in their shoes I am a mile away and have their shoes! We just heard a reading from Isaiah 40:1, “Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God.” I am thinking, “Yea Right.” God must be having some kind of meeting warning his people about by my lack of patience. God is impatiently pacing the floor. The whole committee of heaven is holding their breath. Even the archangels have stopped tapping their feet. The cherubim stop eyeing the bagels on the side table. The seraphim put down their cell phones. All gathered are thinking God might be about to lower the boom on me, but they aren’t sure because God has the habit of doing the unexpected. “Comfort,” thunders the voice that made planets and galaxies. “O comfort my people!” The angels Michael and Gabriel exchange furtive glances. Daring to speak they ask, “Did we hear comfort? Comfort and not judgment? No relegation of him to the fiery furnace? ” After the initial shock those around the table begin to nod. In the amen corner a voice pipes up, “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord.” Hmm I get to thinking the roads in heaven must be under construction like the I-45. But the heavenly roadwork is not so I can get out of the wilderness, but rather so God can get in. I am being told to make straight the highway for God so I know God’s gentle presence. But God never goes where he is not welcome. He never opens doors I barricade. He never climbs mountains I build to block access to the deepest parts of myself. But God is telling me to make room for him. Make room for him and know a peace that is comforting, a peace the fulfills every longing of the Advent Season. There is a whole lot of me in all of us. We get really impatient this time of the year. We get short with others this time of the year. We nick and pick at the faults of others while camouflaging our own inequities. But despite all the barricades we throw up, God waits patiently for us to know the peace of Advent. To learn how long we need to patiently wait we turn to Apostle Paul’s words in 2 Peter 3:8. We are alarmed with his answer. He writes, “But do not ignore this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like one day.” Shazam! Doing a bit of math one year would be approximately six seconds and forty years slightly less than one hour! Good grief! We wonder if the wait will be worth it. We wonder what should we do in the meantime! The truth we need to realize only God knows what time it is, and unless one is attuned to God’s time as our faith allows, our timing will always be off. God’s timing is certainly different than ours. The Lord is not slow about his promise for us to know his peace in the same way we think of slowness. It is really a unique patience with us. What looks like delay to us, God looks at it like the incubation of his peace within us. We suddenly realize God has all the time of our lives for us to allow him to fulfill his promise of peace to us. Clearly Paul is telling us God’s timeframe of reality is the only one that counts. And yes, it requires patience to adapt to his timeframe. There is no better time than Advent to practice patience. There is no mistake about it, patience is a skill that requires practice. Otherwise we allow secular culture to define time for us. Then the incarnation of Christ is reduced to a doll in a basket. Commercialism then leads to every obscene form of Advent celebration. Our crassness demolishes any hope of knowing his peace. If we stop and think about it for a moment, something we rarely do, Paul is addressing eschatology in a completely different manner. Here eschatology is a theology of patience, our patiently waiting and while we wait we imitate everything about peace Jesus Christ represents. So we are to wait. And in Paul’s words, “while you are waiting for these things, strive to be found by him at peace, without spot or blemish, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation.” The Hebrew word for peace is shalom. It means the absence of quarrel and strife; unblemished tranquility. I am reminded of an old Jewish rabbi who had been going to the Wailing Wall to pray twice a day, every day, for a long, long time. One day an American tourist watched him praying. After about forty-five minutes when he was through he turned to leave. The tourist approached him and asked how long he had been coming to the wall to pray. He said about fifty years. Fifty years the tourist exclaimed! What do you pray for? The rabbi said he prayed for peace, for all the hatred to stop, and for everyone to live in safety and friendship. The tourist asked him how he felt after doing this for fifty long years. The old rabbi responded, “Like I’m talking to a wall.” We need to be like the old rabbi knowing peace will come to each of us in God’s time and not our own. In the interim we are to be as patient as he is with us. And yes, when we encounter others who are full of impatience and strife we are to offer them a blessing. “Shalom to you now, shalom my friend. May God’s full mercies bless you my friend. In all your living and through your loving, may Christ be your shalom, Christ be you shalom.” By so doing we know more and more a personal state of peace as the Lord gifts us our salvation on his timeframe. Equally important, it transforms the shalom of Advent from me to we. In The Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit May It Be So. Amen Galveston Street Ministry 2023
· It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Come join us for our Annual Christmas Celebration on the Parking Lot! SAVE THE DATE!!! Saturday, December 23rd 8 AM - 9:30 AM Galveston County Food Bank · The Mosaic Company brought the best energy while volunteering today. Together, we’ll make a positive impact on the communities we serve advance and lead the fight to end hunger!!! Thank you for guiding others in the community. We hope you volunteer with us again! #GCFB #communityimpact #endhunger Mosquito Authority (Southeast Texas)
We proudly utilize the most effective mosquito control solutions available. No commitments or contracts and no mosquitoes are Guaranteed. We’ll work efficiently to rid your property of mosquitoes or ticks as soon as possible, and our flexible appointment options allow us to work at your convenience. www.mosquito-authority.com/locations/southeasthouston/ (346) 800-5893 SCHEDULE A TREATMENT TODAY OUR AREAS OF SERVICE: #Pearland #Deer Park #League City #Clear Lake #Dickinson #La Marque #Texas City #Kemah #Friendswood #Houston #Manvel #Rosharon #Galveston #Alvin #Bacliff and surrounding areas |