Nehemiah Series - Rebuilding the Wall of Covenant - Sermon 8 (Final Sermon)

In this final message of the Nehemiah series, Pastor Rick urges us all to follow through the steps of revival.  Return to humble worship of God.  Rebuild devotion to His Word as the authority for your life.  Repent of your sins before God.  Receive the gift of salvation by grace.  Rebuild that precious relationship with God for which we were originally created.  But don’t stop there.  Enter into the new covenant: fully surrendered to God, completely filled with the Holy Spirit, walking in holy righteous love toward Him and toward our fellow man.  In so doing, the rebuilding is complete and we are positioned to do the work of the Kingdom.

Nehemiah Series - Rebuilding Walls of Worship & the Word - Sermon 6

After a break of three weeks, Pastor Rick returns to the Nehemiah Series.  In this sermon, Pastor Rick transitions from the lessons learned during the rebuilding of the physical walls of Jerusalem to lessons of the spiritual rebuilding of the nation of Israel.  


"...take hold of the idea that as we work hard to build the walls of strength, integrity, righteousness, and holiness in our homes and communities we cannot expect it to be achieved through work alone.  We also must spend the needed time to rebuild the walls of worship and the WORD individually and collectively.  I urge you to embrace the call to worship privately and publicly.  I invite you to saturate yourself and your life with the WORD of God.  Let it guide every moment, every breath!  This is where Revival and Relationship begin!"

A Letter to Fathers

I forgot to post this in June.  Please forgive me.  Better late than never, I reckon.  :-)

At Water of Life Fellowship, we believe in fathers!  Your worth is inestimable.  Statistically, children who are raised with absent fathers experience far greater potential for crisis and failure than children whose fathers actively intentionally consistently invest in their lives!  This only begins to reflect the importance of fathers like you who embrace the role they have been uniquely designed to fill.

Sadly, our culture has emasculated men and diminished their God-given roles and somehow perpetuated the myth that women can do everything men do as well as they do without exception.  Foolishly, this overlooks the evident fact that men and women are specifically designed on purpose to do things uniquely and specifically suited to their abilities (and I am not talking about who does the dishes here).  These designed purposes can in one form or fashion be accomplished by each other under duress or necessity; but, the machine operates most efficiently when each person fulfills their designed purpose and role.  This is especially true in parenthood.  Fathers and mothers can exchange responsibilities and task assignments.  However, when it comes down to it, dad can never replace mom and vice versa.  The most balanced homes and families have moms and dads who clearly understand that each of them is essential to the equation.  Both of them have an equal essentiality though fulfilling very different roles. 

Dads, this underscores the importance of being present to fill your role as God has designed you.  You bring a unique perspective and set of skills to the table.  Your children will reflect your impact on them for the rest of their mortal lives.  Your influence is far greater than you possibly imagine.  Thus you are duty and honor bound to live rightly and truly as a man of integrity. 

History is full of great men who lived as excellent fathers.  But, I have learned recently a new perspective that we should look most to the Heavenly Father to understand how we ought to live and be. 

“We start with the word Father as describing a human relationship which we want to use to better understand God and how we should relate to him.  This is backwards.  In Christian thought, the word Father first applies to the first person of the Holy Trinity and only in an analogical way to human fatherhood; Father speaks of the divine reality that helps us know what the human relation should be (- Dennis Kinlaw).”  In other words, we must look to God and his relationship with Jesus for the perfect example of what a father ought to be. 

When we look at this relationship we find a Father with an intense love and loyalty to his Son – a father who empowers and protects, guides and directs, chastens and loves, delights and honors, serves and sends his Son when and where it matters most: a Father who always has the big picture in view.  We must strive to do the same with our children.  You see - by granting you the gift of children – God has entrusted you with souls that have an eternal destiny.  This is the big picture and we are called to never forget it.  Please recognize that you are called to be the spiritual warrior of purity, integrity, courage, strength, humility, and servanthood guiding and protecting your children as they embark upon their eternal pathway.  This is a most high calling. We count it a privilege to share your journey as you answer it and fulfill the role God designed you to play!  Water of Life Fellowship Salutes You!  May God’s richest blessings rest upon you today and always.  Happy Father’s Day!

-        Pastor Rick