God is using all of our teams every week to encourage the church family. It is a tremendous blessing for me to see how you work together in unity to bring about praise and glory to God. What we experience every week at FFC is similar to what the people of God experience in Nehemiah’s day… You may recall the story of rebuilding of the Jerusalem walls in Nehemiah. This is a story that has fascinated me over and over again. Each time I read through this passage, I’m reminded of the power that was displayed when God’s people came together with a common purpose and mind to work. Nehemiah, who was serving as cupbearer to King Artaxerxes I, had received permission to go to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls that had lain in ruins for many years. There was great opposition to the task but because of Nehemiah’s unmatched skills in leadership and organization, and the people’s unrelenting resolve to do the work, the job of rebuilding the wall was successfully complete in just 52 days! … [Read more...]

This week we will study the incredible story of Esther. The story is one that is filled with intrigue, surprise twists and turns, and ultimately vindication. Interestingly enough, the name of God is never mentioned anywhere in this entire book, but you can clearly trace God’s handiwork in His orchestrating of the events as they unfold: Mordecai, Esther’s uncle raised her from the time she was very young when her parents died. Now, they lived in Susa, the capital city of the Persian Empire where Xerxes was King. At this time, the King became very disappointed with his Queen and sought to replace her. So the king sent word throughout the land that there would be a contest to find a girl that would please him more than the Queen. When Mordecai heard about the King’s contest, he urged Esther to enter but not reveal her nationality and family background. So Esther did as her uncle suggested and entered the contest where she was taken to the king’s palace and given special food and … [Read more...]

The book of Ezra records the fulfillment of God’s promise to restore Israel to her land after seventy years of captivity in Babylon. (Jeremiah 25:11) God’s upper story plan was to be accomplished through the help of three Persian kings: Cyrus, Darius, and Artaxerxes along with Jewish leaders such as Zerubbabel, Joshua, Haggai, Zechariah, and Ezra. In 539, King Cyrus overthrew Babylon and made a decree that allowed the people to return to their homelands: “In the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, in order to fulfill the word of the LORD spoken by Jeremiah, The LORD moved the heart of Cyrus king of Persia to make a proclamation throughout his realm and to put it in writing: This is what Cyrus, king of Persia says: The LORD, the God of heaven, has given me all the kingdoms of the earth and he has appointed me to build a Temple for him at Jerusalem in Judah. Anyone of his people among you—may his God be with him, and let him go up to Jerusalem in Judah and build the Temple of the … [Read more...]

Hey  Team! As God's children, it is critically important that we make good choices. We must choose the path of obedience  out  of  reverential  fear  of  God.    The  choices  we  make  may  not  always  bring  about   immediate  pleasure  or  comfort,  but  the  ultimate  rewards  will  be  great  if  we  act  in  complete   agreement  with  with the Father's will. Such was the case with a handfull  of  godly  young  men  from  Judah   who  had  been  displaced  from  their  homeland  to  be  trained  in  the  courts  of  the  Babylonian  king.     Now  in  the  midst  of  this  ungodly  culture,  these  young  men  of  God  were  faced  with  some  very   difficult  decisions. Do  we  stand  for  God  or  bow  to  the  king?  Dishonoring  the  king  would  mean   certain  death.    And  when  the  king  ordered  that  these  men  be  trained  in  the  ways  of  the … [Read more...]

Have you ever gotten yourself in the place where you thought God was no longer near? That can be a place of real despair. It’s in those times that we feel empty and lost; even though we know our theology teaches us otherwise. Such was the case with God’s people in the southern Kingdom. In II Kings 21:1 we read about Judah’s young king, Manasseh, who reigned from the age of twelve. Though Manasseh had the advantage of a godly father with whom he reigned as a coregent for ten years, he became Judah’s worst and longest reigning king. For fifty-five long years Manasseh led God’s people down a path of idolatry and rebellion against God. He built altars to false gods, worshipped Baal, and even sacrificed his own son to false gods! Because Manasseh did evil in the sight of the Lord, God had to discipline the nation to bring them back. So God allowed the southern kingdom to be overthrown and occupied by the pagan people of Babylon. II Kings 24:3 says, “Surely these things happened … [Read more...]

This week we will be looking at a period of about 200 years of the Story. During this time, God allowed a foreign army, the Assyrians, to invade and defeat the Northern Kingdom of Israel. After God’s judgment and their defeat, the Northern Kingdom was never heard from ever again. The Southern Kingdom of Judah also fell to the Babylonians, but had an amazing comeback seventy years later when God brought them out of captivity. What a rescue! We all like a comeback story...I know I do! In this incredible comeback story, the divided nation suffered greatly for their idolatry and disobedience, but God remained true to His promise to bless His people! And it was through the Southern Kingdom of Judah that Jesus, our Savior would came to this world. As we contemplate this week’s amazing story, let’s meditate on the first six verses from the familiar passage in Isaiah 53 that speaks of our Savior, Jesus... “Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? … [Read more...]

In I Timothy 4:7-8, Paul admonishes young Timothy to train for godliness. He said, “...train yourself to be godly. For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” For any athlete who seeks to win a prize or reach a goal, there is a certain amount of “training” and discipline that is needed in order to be successful. The same is true for worship leaders. We learned early on, that if we wanted to play an instrument or sing with any kind of skill it would require discipline and many hours of practice. Se we did...hours upon hours of practice with an instrument, working through the rough parts with monotonous repetition, hoping to eventually gain the technical ability to actually enjoy the song or exercise. Time spent in these kinds of disciplines is never in vain. It can sometimes be hard, but if you enjoy what you’re doing, it can also be fun. Worship leader, Rory Noland says, … [Read more...]

Happy New Year! I trust you had a wonderful Christmas and New Years with your families. The season break is good for all of us and should help us to recharge and refocus for the upcoming exciting events in the New Year! No doubt, it will only take a week or so for all of us to get real busy again...as we do, let’s be reminded of our purpose: “House of Praise’ is a FFC ministry that purposes to magnify God’s name by creating an atmosphere in which God’s people are able to fully worship Him in spirit and in truth and to be challenged to obediently follow Christ and His teachings.” Spiritually inspiring and emotionally uplifting worship and celebration will consistently draw people to God. Consequently, good worship songs not only play an important role in any church service, but also facilitate church growth. Every element of the service should make a significant impact on the people who attend our services. Every song of praise, every testimony, every prayer, projection … [Read more...]

@font-face { font-family: "Cambria"; }p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal { margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt; font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman"; }div.Section1 { page: Section1; } Emmanuel, God with us!   In Matthew 1:23 the angel announced, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son and they will call him Immanuel – which means “God with us.” This prophecy referenced back to the prophet’s words to Ahaz in Isaiah 7:14. God gave Ahaz a sign…a virgin would give birth to a son, and he would have the name Immanuel. The virgin of Isaiah’s prophecy is a type of the virgin Mary, who by the Holy Spirit, miraculously conceived Jesus Christ. Jesus is God incarnate, or God with flesh on! The angel announced the arrival of Jesus into our world. God had come, just as was prophesized years earlier. Many times throughout history God has reminded his people that He would be with them in every aspect of their walk ad life. His arrival in the manger of … [Read more...]

A few years ago, my daughter, Caroline became interested in the “American Girl Doll” collection.  For those of you who are parents of little girls, you can relate, I’m sure. One year, our family took a trip to the Mega Mall.  One of the things on our list of places to visit was the “American Girl Doll” store.  Knowing the lure of these beautiful dolls and all of the accessories that are available with each doll, we told Caroline that we would allow her to have just one thing.  Well...naturally, as soon as I entered the store and saw Caroline’s face, my heart leaped a little, and before I knew it we were walking out of the store with bags full of “American Girl Doll” stuff!  Yes, I’m a sucker, especially when it comes to giving to my children.  But there was more going on here!  Any ordinary doll store would not have mesmerized Caroline, and in turn, swayed my heart to give over and beyond what we had intended.  This store was different.  Not only are the … [Read more...]