SERMONS: Rev.Francis Balla, Pastor

THE ACTS 2 CHURCH: Acts 2:42-47

2012-01-22T12:38:00.000-08:00

A recent Pew foundation research suggests that mainline Protestant churches in the U.S. continue to experience decades-long decline, while the memberships of Pentecostal traditions are on the rise, according to new figures compiled by the National Council of Churches. Mainline Protestant churches that have seen a fall in membership since the 1970s continued their decline. Despite the national

WHAT IS CHURCH?

2012-01-15T08:15:00.000-08:00

Have you ever said to yourself or others, it’s time to go to Church; get ready on a Sunday morning. When you say that one way you are saying that the Church is some place or building you must go to at least once a week. And there is a set time to attend the Church and after that it is all my time. Is that so? What is Church? Is Church a building? Is Church the pastor or the board and the

FRESH START (Luke 13:1-9)

2012-01-01T07:38:00.000-08:00

New Year’s Day is a special day for two reasons. It is special because on this day we can look back at the past year and take stock of the good, bad and the ugly things that have happened in that year. It is also special because it gives us a fresh start like opening a new book. It is also a day to start afresh by making New Year resolutions that are realistic and achievable so that by the end of

A BOY NAMED JESUS (MATTHEW 1:-18-25)

2011-12-25T07:31:00.000-08:00

What’s in a name? Do names carry certain meaning? We had no choice over the names that were given to us. Some of you like your names and others may wish that you had never gotten that name especially if your name is Jabez which means “pain.” I like my name Francis which means “a free man” In the days when the Bible was being written, the Israelites often chose names for their babies based on

A MODEL FOR CHURCH RESTORATION -III (Restoring Communion) 2 Chronicles 30

2011-12-04T15:00:00.000-08:00

The First Sunday of each month we as a Church come together to celebrate communion, the Lord’s Supper. Together we take the elements of grape juice and bread. But did you every think how the grape juice got to replace the wine that was initially served at communion? Here is the story: Dentist Thomas Welch was the Communion Steward for the congregation of the First Methodist Church of

A MODEL FOR CHURCH RESTORATION -II (Restoring Worship) 2 Chronicles 29:20-30

2011-11-27T12:39:00.000-08:00

Mark Matousek is an American memoirist, teacher, essayist, and journalist. He was raised in poverty. He was a child prodigy on a fast literary track. He seemed to have the world at his feet, and his feet were moving everywhere. Mark continued on this path and bought into the typical American linear track: He said of himself: “Like most stout-hearted American men, I was raised to play God, to

A MODEL FOR CHURCH RESTORATION -II (Restoring God's Image in Man) 2 Chronicles 29:1-19

2011-11-13T12:49:00.000-08:00

In 1972 an axe wielding maniac attacked the famous Michelangelo’s beautiful sculpture The Pieta in St. Peter’s Cathedral in Rome. He smashed the nose and breaking the hand of Madonna.[1] In 1975 a Dutch schoolmaster claiming to be on a divine mission made several deep slashes in the world famous painting of Rembrandt called “The Night watch.” He was

BOLD STEPS OF FAITH (Hebrews 11:1-7)

2011-10-30T07:48:00.000-07:00

In an article entitled God Lite, theologian James R. Edwards traces how “The more we obey God, the more real God becomes to us and the greater our love grows. And the more we love God, the more we become like God. It is like a good marriage: People who love their spouses want to please them; and if they do not want to please their spouses, they can hardly talk of loving them. Edwards then shows

Luck Vs Faith: (Genesis 22:1-14)

2011-10-23T13:40:00.000-07:00

During the recent economic downturn, a lot of folks have been cutting back on things you know, eating out less, delaying the purchase of a car, may be even trying to downsize their home, if anyone will buy it. Some people are wisely cutting back on using credit cards and are vacationing at a local park rather than heading to an exotic destination. What Americans don't seem to be cutting back on,

THE DANGER OF UNBELIEF(Hebrews 3:12-19)

2011-10-16T16:38:00.000-07:00

When we were young in years or young in faith we were able to believe almost anything we were told. Our parents, our teachers and our pastors were unimpeachable sources of truth and integrity. If any one of them said something, it must be true. For example, in Sunday school we were fascinated by the story of Jonah in the belly of a whale. No one questioned the authenticity of that story, right?

IT SEEMED LIKE A GOOD IDEA AT THE TIME...

2011-10-09T13:07:00.000-07:00

The 20th century brought us many remarkable technologies, including the automobile, the space shuttle, and, for better or worse, the Internet. But there were other inventions that were just plain stupid. Maybe that's unkind. Let's just say that they seemed like a good idea at the time. Consider, for example, in 1953, the Curved Barrel Machine Gun was introduced with a bang. This was an M3 sub

FAMILY RELATIONS (Colossians 3:18-21)

2011-09-25T13:03:00.000-07:00

The former first lady Barbara Bush was asked to speak at the 1990 Commencement Ceremony of Wellesley College. Wellesley, a women’s college is world renowned as a liberal bastion of feminism. Much controversy swirled around the decision to welcome the wife of a conservative, republican president who was herself, a stay-at-home mom. Mrs. Bush decided to take advantage of the controversy and

DIFFERENTLY FOCUSED

2011-09-18T10:50:00.000-07:00

There is a story circulating in Detroit about the early days of Henry Ford and Ford Motor Company. It concerns a machinist with Ford Motor Company who had "borrowed," over a period of years, tools and other automobile parts. Although it was against company policy, "everybody did it," and management did nothing about it. One day, however, the machinist was converted. He was baptized and became a

THE BATTLE FOR TRUTH

2011-07-17T09:42:00.000-07:00

Life in a post modern world poses several challenges to Christians such as conflicting world views, pluralism, selfish political agendas, compromising churches, worldly Christians, unbiblical political leadership, a hedonistic and Harry Potter culture. In an interview on Christian world view Ravi Zacharias the world renowned Christian apologist was asked, about the uniqueness of Christianity.

CHASING THE HOLYSPIRIT

2011-07-03T13:19:00.000-07:00

Life is either a daring adventure or nothing said Helen Keller who was an American author, political activist, and lecturer. She was the first deaf and blind person to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree. Christian life too can be either a daring adventure or nothing; it all depends on what we make of it. As Christ’s followers who hasn’t gotten stressed out or frustrated over trying to figure out

BE THE BEST DAD YOU CAN BE

2011-06-19T13:15:00.000-07:00

When 1,500 mall shoppers were asked what they wished for most when they blow out their birthday candles, men and women gave vastly different answers. The number one wish of women was "more time with spouse." Among men that wish came in at 27th on the list. What did the guys wish for most often? “A lower golf score." And this is the gender that God has given the responsibility of spiritual

THE BROKEN HEART

2011-06-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

If I were to ask you whether your heart was ever broken I am sure many hands would go up. We are human beings therefore we are prone to get hurt sometimes so badly especially by those whom we trust and love. My heart was broken twice in the past. Our heart is the most fragile and precious commodity that we possess, both at a physical level and spiritual level. We know that any damage to the heart

FROM THE INSIDE OUT ( MATT 5:8)

2011-06-05T10:12:00.000-07:00

In ancient Celtic mythology there was a belief that there are certain places, called thin places, where the world of the seen and the world of the unseen came into closest proximity. In each of the beatitudes, Jesus points us to a kind of thin place, a place on earth where we draw closer to heaven. Surprisingly, these are lowly, humble places, each one of them repulsive in some way to the ego

END OF THE WORLD: WHEN?

2011-05-29T12:30:00.000-07:00

I remember the conversation I had with my ten year old on May 21stshe asked me; Papa do you think the world would come to an end today at 6:00 P.M? Deep in her heart she would not want the world to come to an end that day; at least not as yet. She wasn’t enthused by my Biblical response to her question. I could see a tensed look on her face as she romped around the house waiting for the clock to

FROM PIT TO PRAISE: (PSALM 56)

2011-05-15T12:38:00.000-07:00

The story is told of a farmer in a Midwestern state who had a strong disdain for "religious" things. As he plowed his field on Sunday morning, he would shake his fist at the church people who passed by on their way to worship. October came and the farmer had his finest crop ever--the best in the entire county. When the harvest was complete, he placed an advertisement in the local paper which

BUSINESS AS USUAL (JOHN 21:1-17)

2011-05-01T12:35:00.000-07:00