Pastor's Pen

2009-02-25T20:27:00.002-05:00

Greetings,

Hi - I hope you are having a great week! We would like to invite you out to our service this Sunday morning! Mr. Ira Stiles, one of our deacons will be speaking and I know you will enjoy the service and the message that God gives to him. Have a great week!

Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2009-02-15T08:06:00.004-05:00

Good Morning!

Wow - it looks like it's going to be a beautiful day here in Sparrows Point! I sure hope you had a wonderful Valentines Day yesterday - I know I did. It's great to show love and affection to those we love - but "How is Your Love Life?" Love was invented by God himself and displayed towards us by him first! This morning I will be looking at "Now is the time in 2009 - to Love!" If you can - come join us today at 11AM.

Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2009-02-10T16:01:00.002-05:00

Greetings,

I sure hope your week is going great! How is your attitude today? Are you a positive person? The kind of attitude we have is really important in whether we fail or succeed in this life. I was reading in John Maxwell's book "Today Matters" and he mentions that there are two types of people - polluters and purifiers. Polluters are like industrial smokestacks spewing forth all kinds of ugly stuff. No matter how good things are - polluters can make them seem bad. On the other hand purifiers take in the same things as the polluters, but when it comes out - it is purified and so much better. I want to be a purifier - I want to face each day with a great attitude!
Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2009-02-09T11:27:00.004-05:00

Greetings!

Wow - what a beautiful day we had in Baltimore yesterday - 65 degrees!!! God also blessed us with a great worship service - we talked about "Holiness" - hey - don't run off - I'm not talking about legalistic preaching, dressing a certain way, or talking about places we can't go. First and foremost - Holiness or living a Holy life is a relationship!!! Holiness = being SET APART or DEDICATED to God! Our whole being is SET APART or DEDICATED to God for his purposes - our eyes, ears, tongue, hands, feet etc. for his use. I know - your saying to yourself "this is impossible." Would God tell us to do or be something if it was impossible for us? 1 Pete 1:15 & 16 reads "But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, be ye holy; for I am holy." We can do it - God will help us! Romans 12:1 & 2 tells us to be "...living sacrifices... and not to be conformed to the world, but be transformed..." Through God - we can do anything! Trust Him - he wants all the best for you!
Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2009-02-08T15:48:00.003-05:00

Greetings,

I'm really trying to blog - but something isn't working right.
Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2009-02-08T15:47:00.001-05:00

Greetings,

I'm trying to blog - but something isn't working on e blogger.
Pastor Jim

2009-02-08T07:01:00.004-05:00

Greetings!

Well - it's Sunday morning and I'm trying to post a new blog but I keep getting an error screen. Hopefully this one will work and I can tell you what is going to be happening at our church today. This morning I feel that the Lord would want me to speak on the subject of "Holiness." Holiness has many time been so misunderstood. Some people have felt that they had to dress in a particular way to be holy. Other people don't frequent the movie theaters - what is Holiness or being Holy? Come to Bethel this morning at 11AM and see.

Also, if you have time this evening - we will be praying for our community and our church.

Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2009-02-07T23:28:00.002-05:00

Greetings!

If you are in the Baltimore area we invite you to come join us for worship at 11AM. Tomorrow the Lord has placed a message on my heart concerning "Holiness." Come find out what "Holiness" really is.

Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2009-01-03T14:31:00.002-05:00

Greetings from Sunny Baltimore!

Hey - how's your New Year going so far??? I hope the answer is "Excellent!" I know that for some folks the beginning of this new year is not going so well - sickness, finances etc. are a real concern. Tomorrow we will be focusing on the most important activity we can all be engaged in - PRAYER!!!! Someone has said "the church moves forward on it's knees" - now that's powerful. Tomorrow, we will not only speak about PRAYER, but we will actually be involved in PRAYER! Tomorrow evening at 6PM we invite you to a special time of PRAYER - prayer for our church, our children's ministries, youth ministries, adult ministries, physical healing, relationships and missions. Please - make every effort to come pray with us! For more info - email me at jccaris53@gmail.com .

Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2008-12-31T11:41:00.003-05:00

Greetings!

Wow - its hard to believe that 2008 is almost in the history books!! How was your 2008? Did you meet and exceed your New Years resolutions? I know that many of us have fallen short in the area of keeping resolutions - so for this New Year I'm going to try some more realistic ones - like reading the bible more, praying more and spending more time with God. Why not start this coming Sunday by coming out to church! We are going to spend some corporate time in prayer for the new year - so come on out Sunday at 11AM!!

Oh - and don' forget that we aren't having service tonight (Wednesday, Dec 31st)
Have and safe and happy New Year!
Pastor Jim

2008-12-20T07:30:00.002-05:00

Greetings!

Wow - it's hard to believe that this coming Thursday is CHRISTMAS!!!

Tomorrow we will be having our regular Sunday morning service at 11AM, but at 6PM we will be having our "Christmas Pageant." Please come join us - it's going to be a great time. We will also have light refreshments following the evening service.

Also, just take some time to remember the real reason for Christmas this year! So often we get caught up in the decorations, the gifts, the food, etc. The most important thing about Christmas is "Christ's Birth!" John 3:16 states "For God so Loved the world that he gave his only begotten son - that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Christmas - God giving his only son to the world so that they can be saved!!!!

God Bless you!
Pastor Jim

2008-11-23T07:02:00.002-05:00

Good Morning!

How are you this morning? Well if you live in the Baltimore area - probably a little chilly - its 29 degrees here in Sparrows Point right now! Even though it is a little cold outside, we are looking forward to a wonderful service this morning. As we get closer and closer to the forgotten holiday - Thanksgiving - I ask each of us to give great consideration to all the blessings that we have. Can you walk? Thank God for your legs! Can you hear? Thank God for your ears! Do you have a mortgage payment? Thank God that you have a home! Do you need to see the dentist? Be thankful that you still have teeth!!!!!!! You see - so many of us are so blessed, but too few of us show proper gratitude for the things that we already have. Let's take time this week to really celebrate the forgotten holiday - Thanksgiving - and show and express thanks for all God has done for you! See you in church!!

Thanksgiving Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2008-11-08T17:33:00.003-05:00

Greetings!

I'm so glad you dropped by today! I have a few things to talk to you about today! First, everyone knows by now that the citizens of the United States elected a new President on Tuesday, November 4th! What do we do now? We need to pray for our new President and his cabinet every day!!! 1 Timothy 2:1-4 tells us to pray for those who are in authority over us so that we may live quiet and peaceable lives!!! Let's also pray that God can reach into our new President's life. Second, Sunday, November 9th is the day that the church spends time in prayer for the "PERSECUTED CHURCH" around the world. We may have freedom to exercise our religious beliefs, but for many, it is a crime - sometimes punishable by DEATH!!! Come out tomorrow as we spend some time praying for our brothers and sisters around the world! Third, my beautiful wife and I want to thank our wonderful church family for the love and appreciation they make known to us all through the year, but especially last week on "Pastor Appreciation Day! Thank you so much! We love you and will do our best to serve the Lord and you all through the year.

In His Service,
Pastor Jim & Lorraine

2008-10-25T20:31:00.003-04:00

Greetings!

What a great time we had this evening at our "Family Fall Festival!" I guess about 40 people came by to play some games, eat some hot dogs and enjoy a great time of fellowship. Oh - I forgot to mention that we also had a Chili Cook-off too. All the moneys raised this evening were donated to Speed The Light and we raised $106.62!!! Thanks to Mr. John Boblitz who allowed his head to be shaved and then painted like a pumpkin!!! I sure hope everyone will come out to church tomorrow!

Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2008-09-28T08:23:00.002-04:00

Greetings from Tennessee!

I sure hope that you are doing okay this beautiful morning! My lovely wife and I have been visiting our son, daughter in law and two beautiful grandsons this week and have had a wonderful time. This morning Mr. Ira Stiles will be ministering the word at our church - I know you will enjoy it tremendously. Also today, our condolences go out to Mr. Jim Warfield and his son Ray at the loss of Jim's daughter Linda yesterday. Please hold them up in your prayers.

God Bless you!
Pastor Jim

2008-09-20T18:20:00.002-04:00

Greetings!

Well - I hope your weekend has been a good as mine! I love it when the temperature stays in the low 70's.

What are you doing tomorrow? I hope you are coming to church! Tomorrow we are blessed to have one of our Assemblies of God Missionaries Butch Frey. Butch and his wife Pam are missionaries to Mexico. Tomorrow Butch will be sharing the word of God in our 11AM service - come and be blessed.
In His Service,

Pastor Jim

2008-09-06T16:23:00.003-04:00

Greetings!

What is your Saturday like? We are here in Sparrows Point, Maryland soaking under the effects of Tropical Storm Hanna! Rain, rain and more rain! It's during these kinds of storms that one can be glad that his house is built on a GOOD foundation! I recall back in 1972 when my family lived in central Pennsylvania when hurricane Agnes came through! Wow - it rained so much that it caused the Susquehanna river to over flow it's banks and cause millions of dollars worth of destruction. I stood by that powerful flooding river and watched as a house was washed off it's foundation and floated several yards until it hit another house. All this rain today and the memories of the past have me thinking about how important it is to have a FIRM foundation - not just under our house, but under girding our lives!!!! What is your personal foundation built upon? If the answer is anything other than the Lord Jesus Christ - your life is in danger of crumbling under the storms of this life. Call on Jesus today in repentance - then build your foundation upon HIM today! Hope to see you in church tomorrow.
Blessings,

Pastor Jim

2008-08-24T08:11:00.003-04:00

Greetings!

Wow - it's hard to believe that tomorrow is the first day of school!!! I heard those moms saying "hooray! Please join us in praying for the children as they return to school - we pray that God will protect them both mentally and physically!

Also, if you are in the area today - we will be looking at people who were DESPERATE for God! Are you DESPERATE for God in your life? DESPERATE people do DESPERATE things to get to Jesus! Well - I hope to see you in church!
Blessings,
Pastor Jim

Good Morning!

2008-08-10T08:33:00.001-04:00

I am so glad you dropped by our website today! I hope that you are enjoying a great morning so far and are planning to attend church later. If you are in the Baltimore area - please feel free to come by and visit us. Today I will be speaking on the subject of "Being an Atmosphere Changer!" Each of us can walk into a room and either change it for the better or worse just by the words we speak, how we act etc. Let's be those who would change the atmosphere around us for the good!
Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2008-07-26T19:53:00.003-04:00

Greetings!

Thanks for stopping by our website today! I would personally like to invite you to come join us for our worship service tomorrow at 11AM! We are anticipating a visitation from our Precious Heavenly Father - who said "wherever two our three are gathered together - there I will be in your midst." See you tomorrow.
Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2008-07-13T06:42:00.003-04:00

Good Morning!

I hope you are enjoying this hot humid weather - looks like it is here to stay for a while! We do have A/C at church - so come out and join us and cool off.

This morning we will be honoring two of our teens who have just graduated from high school. We pray that God will direct their present and their future as they look to HIM! I will be speaking today on the topic "Continuing to Learn." Come find out what I mean - we all need to continue to learn every day that we wake up.

Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2008-06-28T23:18:00.002-04:00

Greetings!

I want to take the time to thank every individual who helped out with our VBS Camp Friendship this weekend - we could not have done it without you!!!!!!! Also, thanks to Missionary Leslie Masters who headed up our Camp Friendship - great job. Leslie is a missionary to the children who live in the Ukraine and will be speaking to us in our 11AM service tomorrow. We will also be honoring our Camp Friendship attendees! Oh - I almost forgot - we will be having lunch in our fellowship hall immediately following our morning service.
Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2008-06-22T08:43:00.002-04:00

Greetings!

Hi! Thanks for stopping by our website today! We hope that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Saviour today. If not - all you have to do is ask Him to forgive you of all your sin - believe in your heart that he will do it - and confess it with your mouth! Praise the Lord! This morning we will be looking at Luke 17:5 where the disciples said to Jesus "Increase our faith!" That is our pray today also!

Blessings,
Pastor Jim

2008-06-11T07:36:00.001-04:00

Greetings!

I am so glad that you stopped by our site today! Our prayer for you is that God will meet with you and satisfy your every longing. We pray that God will give you a hunger for the things of God like never before. We pray that you will desire to serve God will all your heart, soul, mind and strength! Amen. This Sunday, June 15th, we will be honoring all the dads and men of our church - come join us.

Just a reminder - we will be having our Vacation Bible School starting Friday, June 27 through Sunday, June 29. If you have children ages 6-13 bring them by for a great time at "Camp Friendship!" For more information - call our office at 410-477-0425.
Blessings,

Pastor Jim

2008-06-01T08:39:00.003-04:00

Good Morning!

I'm glad that you stopped by our website today! Today we will be celebrating Communion. We invite you to come join us at 11AM! This evening at 5PM the Assembly of God churches in our area will be joining with the Church of God in Christ for a special Pentecost Service. The service will be held at Carter Memorial Church of God In Christ, 745 West Fayette Street, Baltimore, MD, Elder Carl A. Pierce, Senior Pastor. The speaker for the night will be Evangelist Joyce Rodgers of Denton, TX, International Youth Chairlady, Church of God In Christ, Inc. and author of the book, "Fatal Distractions." Please make plans to join us there.

God Bless You!

Pastor Jim