WONDER-FULL WORSHIP
Our signature Weekend Of Worship (WOW) Event
Imagine being able to take your entire congregation to a worship seminar! Imagine the enthusiasm and energy it would create for worship in your church. Because a WOW Event brings the worship seminar to you, your entire church family will be impacted!
A typical Weekend of Worship might include a pre-meeting with church leaders to discuss principles of worship, an informal Friday night vespers service, Sabbath worship, a Sabbath afternoon worship seminar with small group workshop sessions, and a concert to close the weekend. We tailor each WOW Event to the specific needs of the congregation!
THE RICH MAN AND LAZARUS
Another look at the most confusing story in the Bible
This is the one parable of Jesus that usually gets ignored or, at best, leads to a lot of head-scratching. What does it mean? Who is the rich man? Who is Lazarus? And what was Jesus trying to say to those who were listening? If you've never experienced the absolute genius of God in how He communicates with us, you have to hear this presentation on The Rich Man and Lazarus!
THE UNPARDONABLE SIN
Another look at salvation
One of Jesus' favorite things to say when he was walking the planet was, "Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear." That's sort of odd, since everyone has ears to hear. Or do they? Maybe what Jesus' catchphrase suggests is that spiritual hearing is a commodity that we have control over. Indeed, we have all been given ears to hear, but we have also been given the ability and freedom to destroy that hearing if we want.
HOW TO BE PERFECT
Another look at righteousness and the law
In his famous Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke these words, which have been haunting perfectionists ever since: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." (Mt 5:48)
What do these words mean? We know we're all born sinful, so the natural question is, can sinners be perfect? Is it possible, as Jesus suggested, for our righteousness to surpass that of the Pharisees — some of the most "law-abiding" people who ever lived on the planet?
THE PURPOSE AND MISSION OF THE SDA CHURCH
Another look at the messages of the three angels
With a decline in church membership, especially among the younger generations, there has been much searching and diversity of opinion in the hunt for a new image and identity that would reverse this trend. By going back to the basics of the purpose and mission for which the SDA Church was first raised, we will find answers that will bring focus to our work, rally and unite members around a common goal and make the church grow once again with younger generations leading the charge.
WAR DIARY
Another look at the Bible
For a long time, we've read the Bible as a sort of codebook, a manual for living in this sinful world. When we read it for devotions or when we hear it from the pulpit, we usually approach it with this thought in mind: What is this saying to me? What relevance does this have for my life?
But what if the Bible wasn't primarily written to speak to you about you, who you are, and what you should (or shouldn't) do? What if the Bible was written to reveal God, who he is, and what he has done (and will do) in human history? Maybe we should approach it with this thought in mind: What does this say about God? What does this reveal about the kind of person he is? Imagine if that's what we were thinking about every time we opened the Bible!
THE WALKING DEAD
Another look at following Jesus
In 1972, Nando Parrado and Roberto Canessa did something incredible, amazing, and impossible. They scaled several of the highest mountains in the Andes with nothing but street clothes, threadbare shoes, and minimal amounts of food and water. They did this for one reason: They believed they were already dead and had absolutely nothing to lose.
This was the kind of attitude Jesus had in mind when he said, "If anyone wants to follow in my footsteps he must give up all right to himself, take up his cross and follow me. For the man who wants to save his life will lose it; but the man who loses his life for my sake will find it." (Mt 16:24-25)
A person who carries a cross is a person who is walking to their death. A person who carries a cross is a person who has no plans or ambitions for the future. A person who carries a cross is a person whose life is over, a person who has come to the end of himself. And that's the kind of person God can use to do incredible, amazing, and impossible things!
THE BIG PICTURE
Another look at The Great Controversy
The Bible often appears as a collection of stories and rules, sometimes without much obvious connection. However there is an overarching theme, a story within which all the seemingly disjointed pieces of the Bible fit in. The Bible comes alive as we put together the framework of the Big Picture of the Bible. Things fit together, and many of the puzzling stories finally make sense.
EMBRACING SUFFERING
Another look at giving thanks in all things
Being thrust into the middle of a crisis not only exposes the myth that we're in control of our lives, but it usually also causes suffering. In this world, there is no freedom from suffering, not for anyone. But God wants you to know that you can find freedom in your suffering, as you trust him to work through the unexpected circumstances that come your way. He is not overwhelmed by your crisis, and you don't have to be either.
The more we come to know the kind of person God is, the more we can trust that he is working to bring us out better on the other side than if we had never suffered in the first place, and the more we will be able to say what Joseph said: "Evil was planned against me, but God used those same plans for my good and life for many people." (Gn 50)
TRUST FUND
Another look at the Sabbath
The Sabbath is and always has been only about one thing — trust. That was its meaning and purpose at the end of Creation Week, that was its meaning and purpose at the end of Passion Week, and that's still its meaning and purpose today.
Sabbath is the strategy by which we interrupt our preoccupation with power and control and trust ourselves to God. Sabbath is the time and place that we assign for deliberate rest in God — not because trusting in God is confined to time and place, but because our desire for control is so insidiously relentless that if we don’t deliberately interrupt ourselves regularly, we have no chance of resting in God at all at other times and in other places.
Thus, the Sabbath is the basis for all our trust in God. For it not only provides the foundation for our trust in God, but it is also the only evidence that God is a person who can be trusted — someone who presents truth in love while leaving intelligent creatures free to make their own decisions.
AT THE FOOT OF THE CROSS
Another look at the death of Jesus
It is the mandatory appeal of an evangelist to invite us to the foot of the cross. It is indeed a good place to be. Follow Jesus on His journey to the cross, examine what happened at the cross and the implications that the events at the cross have on eternity. The apostle Peter tells us that "even angels long to look into these things" (1 Pet 1:12), so come and spend unhurried time at the foot of the cross.
INSPIRATIONAL CONCERTS BY KELLEY
The good news about God in song
Kelley is an accomplished pianist, singer, and songwriter who enjoys weaving music and her life's experiences together into an uplifting concert experience that will leave you refreshed and encouraged. You may contact her through this website or find out more about her at her own website: www.kelleylorencin.com