Earlier this year we felt called to bring back a beloved tradition called Trunk or Treat. Having taken a year off, and still journeying through a pandemic, we were unsure how many people would participate or attend. We bathed it in prayer, stepped out in faith and boy oh boy did God show up!  God cared for Trunk or Treat from…

So often when we come to Paul’s discourse on marriage in Ephesians 5, the primary questions we are bringing to the text are related to who has the authority and power in a marriage relationship, who leads and who follows, who has the final say in decisions or disagreements, and so on. We tend to focus more on the distinctions…

Where does our help come from? This is the question that Nancy and I are forced to answer on a daily basis as we face the challenges of life. This might be a question you are pondering today as well. The Bible explains clearly that as Christians we are pilgrims on a pilgrimage. This might be difficult for us to conceptualize,…

As I was reflecting on last year and praying and preparing for 2021, the Holy Spirit brought to mind I Corinthians 13:13: And now these three remain; faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (I Corinthians 13:13) Church of the Open Door has a sprawling 43 acres of land that our heavenly Father bestowed upon us…

WorldReach 2021 is now in the books, but the free flow of encouragement we received from our missionaries this past week will stay with us! Angela Shih shared how her elementary students in Hanoi, Vietnam, were caught up in hearing the story of Jesus’ birth, death and resurrection from her. (One little guy was so angry at hearing how Jesus had…

I recently posted this on social media: "This might not seem like a big deal, but I just dropped off Caleb at Raging Waters, for him to spend the afternoon having a blast with friends from church . . . notice I said DROPPED OFF . . . he wasn't nervous or anxious just completely excited, and he had a…

No matter who you are, the Gospel proclaims that you aren't any better than anyone else and you aren’t any less than anyone else. We have all been brought near to God and one another through the blood of Jesus Christ! I was recently drawn into a conflict where both offended parties wanted to share with me their perspective on…

The problem of racism stretches back as far humanity’s origin in the book of Genesis. The Bible dedicates an impressive amount of space to this topic. From Genesis through Revelation, the nations are on God’s heart. Brother pitted against brother, tribe against tribe - fueled by contempt for racial differences, people have warred against one another and hurt one another.…

Our one and true God has been ever-present and faithful throughout the pandemic. In the midst of isolation and closures, God in his lovingkindness gave us a 43-acre oasis to come meet with him and his people. We gathered, heard truth, fellowshipped, interceded for each other and left refreshed. Our heavenly Father did not leave us or forsake us. The…

A few months ago a friend of mine started building a trail from our church driveway to the cross that overlooks the San Gabriel Valley. Through Steve Sidenfaden’s leadership and many other helpful hands, it is almost done! It’s 1.2 miles to the top and about a 1000 foot elevation gain. The hardest part is the beginning—there is no way…