July 20, 2022
Our elders at Risen Church Westside, Santa Monica, Calif., were challenged to make decisions that addressed the present reality of post-COVID-19 life. To better serve our congregation and community, we decided to conduct a survey to understand the questions and issues being asked and considered by our members, local Christians, and non-Christians in the community. . . .
April 20, 2017
Timothy W. Ross How did the presidential election turn out for you? How are you feeling about the realities of Washington in 2017? Regardless of our politics and preferences, we all have probably been bruised by the news of recent months. As they say in West Africa: “When elephants fight, all the grass suffers.” Whether your buttons are popping with pride at the success of the Trump Revolution, or whether you are still checking real estate prices in Canada, the Word of God has an apocalyptic message for us. Apocalyptic Scriptures are charged, vivid, sometimes hard-to-understand pronouncements that interpret the
October 15, 2016
By Jennifer Johnson I am angry about the state of our union. And I”m not alone. But anger isn”t the core problem. In January, the Esquire/NBC News “American Rage Survey” reported that half of Americans are angrier than they were a year ago. In February, BBC.com reported that 69 percent of Americans are either “very angry” or “somewhat angry” about “the way things are going” in the United States. As I write this, the day after the Orlando nightclub shooting, I”m sure the numbers are even higher. We are angry about climate change, about those who deny climate change exists,
February 26, 2015
By Jay Engelbrecht Is there a link between the way we care for the earth and our closeness to the creator? Put another way, can we serve Christ and sully his creation? The link between mankind”s spiritual health and the vitality of the earth courses through Scripture. John Milton, though blind, saw the connection. In his classic Paradise Lost, Eve, seduced by the idea of becoming a god, disobeys her creator, and nature “gave signs of woe.” A short time later, Adam opts to defy his creator and follow Eve. The rebel couple “fancy that they feel Divinity within them
November 27, 2012
By Jay Engelbrecht I tend to be skeptical, but the facts have convinced me. As new heat records continue to be set, decade after decade, as the evidence continues to mount, I can no longer deny that climate change is real. When my dad was growing up, his family butchered a cow every November, then hung a side of beef outside, and ate off it all winter. The meat never spoiled. I live in the same area, but these days, I play football in short sleeves with my son on November afternoons. Thirty years ago I helped a neighbor put
April 7, 2026
John B. Penrose Jr
April 7, 2026
David Faust
March 27, 2026
Rick Cherok