Who would have thought just two weeks ago that our country would, for the most part, be shut down?

It’s wonderful to be part of a growing family working together to guide people into a growing relationship with Jesus!

God has much to say regarding what we do with what He has given us, and these words from God are intended not to restrict us, but to free us.

Gentlemen, there is coming a day when someone will be writing an epitaph for your tombstone. What would your wife write? What would your children write? What would your neighbor write? What would the person sitting next to you in church write?

We are two weeks away from what promises to be a watershed moment in the life of our church family.

February got off to a super start Saturday night

It’s probably the first prayer you learned, and it’s the most popular prayer ever spoken. Some call it, “The Lord’s Prayer.” If you’re like me, you might have memorized these or similar words as a child:

Whether you’ve been part of the Mandarin Family for decades, or today is your first time here, it’s a great time to connect with the Mandarin Family.

The title of this writing seems counterintuitive: How can one grow larger by growing smaller?

Lord, thank you for another year to serve the Mandarin family. You have blessed me beyond measure to be in a place where I can love and be loved.

Every newborn needs a name, and when Jesus was born, the cultural expectation was that he would take his father’s name, Joseph. But the angel instructed otherwise. In Matthew 1:21, the angel said to Joseph, “you are to name him Jesus.”

On the surface, the idea of peace on earth seems to be little more than a pipe dream. The first son, Cain, killed his brother, and humans have been in conflict ever since. We struggle for peace with those around us. We long for peace within us. Yet there is nothing we can do to bring peace. We can’t earn it. We can’t buy it. We can’t demand it.

What do you want for Christmas this year? Have you written down your wish list? I remember childhood days of rummaging through the Sears Christmas Catalog in the quest for bigger and better toys. Of course, as adults, we’re not much different. We spend our lives on a quest for bigger and better.

As you prepare for Thanksgiving this week, I hope you are blessed by the below words from my friend and ministry mentor, Dr. Calvin Warpula. Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Near the end of the year, it brings to mind the successes and failures, the joys and sorrows of the past twelve months. It blends together all that we hold dear without sham and commercialism.

Have you ever thought about this question: Why did God create children? Out of all the ways God could have chosen to populate the earth with humans, why did he design the world so that the human race multiplies by having babies who take years to become adults?

You might remember a few weeks ago, I preached about what one sees above the ocean waterline and beneath the ocean waterline. When all looks calm and peaceful above the waterline, there is a flurry of amazing, beautiful activity going on beneath the waterline.

We are in such a season in the Mandarin Family, where there is indeed a flurry of amazing, beautiful activity going on beneath the waterline

936. That’s about how many weeks parents have with their children from birth to high school graduation. For those with children still at home, that sounds like a lot of time, until we realize how many weeks have passed, and how few weeks we have remaining. Each week matters! So how do we maximize our limited time?

Today we are starting a parenting series called, “Parental Guidance Required.” As we begin considering one of our greatest human responsibilities…

For the last four weeks, we’ve been talking about ‘Walking Across the Room.’ Walking across the room starts with a realization that the greatest gift we can ever give another person is an introduction to the God who created them, who loves them, and who has purpose for their lives. But that realization means little unless we are willing to leave our circles of comfort for the zone of the unknown.

You may or may not remember last June when I became your preacher, I asked you to pray for me every day, because I would be as good of a preacher as you prayed for me to be. Today I ask you to extend those same prayers to my new ministry partner