God is doing the miraculous!

Several weeks ago we began a campaign at Hollywood Community Church that we titled, "Rebuilding the Walls!" We recognized four walls that God needed to rebuild in order for us to be the church that God wants us to be.

* The wall of trust
* The wall of emotions
* The wall of leadership
* The wall of provision

In order to rebuild the final wall we felt led by God to take a special offering on Sunday, October 10th. We set a goal of $100,000 which for us was a huge step of faith. For the past three weeks our people have fasted and prayed asking God to do the impossible. Well, today He did just that. Our offering this morning was $93,484 and there is still more coming in. Isn't that amazing. We truly serve an awesome God!

I also want to commend our church family. Many of our people gave sacrificially. Some of them made huge sacrifices. Please pray that God increases their faith and that He supplies all of their needs according to His riches in glory! (Phil 4:19)

God is doing great things at HCC. I am sure that there are many more great reports to come. Stay tuned...

Hundreds turn out to pray for Derek Avilez

This past Sunday at Hollywood Community Church we were honored to host a special time of prayer for Derek Avilez. More than 650 people showed up for the service. Along with the members of HCC, many of those present were family, friends and a large number of Derek's co-workers. At one point, the altar was filled with people that surrounded the Avilez family crying out to God for Derek's healing.

The firefighters and rescue personnel for the city of Hollywood have literally "gone above and beyond the call of duty" in caring for the Avilez family. They have provided food at the hospital; they are working Derek's shifts; they are running the family's bounce house business; and they are moving them into a new house. What an example of godly compassion. They literally have lived out the command of Romans 12:15 which exhorts us to "rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn." Thank you Hollywood Fire and Rescue for your servant's heart and tremendous example!

Please pray for Derek!

Recently, Derek and Priscilla Avilez, along with their three children began attending Hollywood Community Church. Yesterday, as Derek was skim boarding at Hollywood Beach, he had an accident which resulted in a fracture of his C2 vertebrae. He is presently in critical condition at Memorial Regional Hospital. For the moment he has been diagnosed as a quadripoligic because he is unable to move from the neck down.

Please pray for the folowing requests:

1. That the swelling on his spinal column would decrease.
2. That he would once again begin breathing on his own.
3. That he would regain movement as the swelling decreases.
4. That God would give peace and comfort to Priscilla, the kids and the rest of the family.
5. That God would use Derek, Priscilla and the rest of the family to give a shining testimony of Jesus Christ.

Psalm 103:2, 3 - Bless the Lord, O my soul. And forget not all His benefits, who heals all your diseases.

Great in the eyes of others!

I Samuel 18:5 - So David went out wherever Saul sent him and behaved wisely. And Saul set him over the men of war, and he was accepted in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants.

True greatness is measured by God, but it is perceived by those around us. Such is the case with David. As we will see in the next few posts, David was not only great in God's eyes, but he was highly admired by those around him as well.

• The king's perception - I Samuel 18:8-12

Bluntly stated, King Saul hated David and wanted him dead. When he looked at David he looked at him through jealous eyes. Notice several verses in our chapter...

v. 8 - Saul was angry

v. 9 - Saul eyed David

v. 12 - Saul was afraid of David

Saul hated him not because he was unkind, cruel or even disobedient. He hated him because God was with him and not with Saul. David was what Saul knew he should be, and he despised him for it.

• The public perception - 18:5, 7, 16

God divinely gave David favor in the eyes of those throughout Israel's Kingdom. The perception was shared by both Saul's servants (v. 5), as well as his subject (vs. 5, 16, 30). Simply put these people saw how David acted and were impressed with him.

The same could be said of Saul's own children (18:1-4, 20). Both Jonathon, Saul's son, and Michael, Saul's daughter loved David. There was a connection, a like-ability, a God-given attraction that impressed even Saul's own family.

How do others view you? Can they see God working in your life?

Zechariah 8:23 speaks of men that will live in such a way that it will cause others so say, "Please let us walk with you, for we have heard that God is with you." May God help us to live in such a way that others will see Christ in us!

What is true greatness?

I Samuel 16:7 - "...for the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart."

How is greatness measured? Is it measured by how much money a person has? Or can it be determined by the car they drive, the size of house in which they live, or in the status that they have achieved in life? Is true greatness recognizable by one's achievements in life?

Some would say "yes," but I have a sneaking suspicion that God would say, "NO!" I think that God would say, "True greatness is not measured by what you achieve in life, but by how you life your life."

We see than principle perfectly illustrated in the life of David. Let me remind you of some of the events in David's life...

• As an adolescent he was anointed as the future king of Israel.
• He became a national hero by defeating Israel's feared enemy.
• He was brought to the king's palace and became a part of King Saul's inner circle.
• He became best friends with the crown prince.

Wow! Now that sounds like David had, at least, reached a certain level of success, right? It is important to realize that not a single one of those acts made him great. As a matter of fact, I would submit that it was not what he did that made him great, but rather how he responded to each of those situations that demonstrated his greatness.

What a Baptismal Service!

This past Sunday at Hollywood Community Church we had the privilege of seeing 17 new believers follow the Lord in believer's baptism. Yes, you read that right, 17 new believers. In more than 26 years of ministry, there has only been one other time in which I baptized so many in one service. We are so excited about all that God is doing. There is no doubt that God is at work! Let me share some our new member's testimonies.

Marl Osceola was saved as a result of The Hollywood Christian Academy. Mrs. Linda Canott, a former THCA teacher, during a home visit led Marl to Christ. The story does not end there, though, this past week Gloria Ortiz, our children's ministry director and I had the privilege of leading six of his kids to Christ. Then on Sunday, Marl and seven of his children followed the Lord in believer's baptism. How cool is that?

Victory Pabon walked into HCC just four weeks ago. He immedialty felt loved and accepted by our church family. In a few short weeks he had tied into one of our Foundations Bible Study classes and had become involved in our Open Heart Food Pantry. Recently, he realized his need of Christ and trusted Him as his personal Savior. This past Sunday he identified himself with Christ in believer's baptism.

How about you? Have you demonstrated obedience to Christ's command and been baptized? Our next baptismal service is Sunday, October 17. If you haven't been baptized, let me encourage you to "jump in" and identify yourself as a follower of Jesus Christ!

LA CONEXION

Last evening we celebrated my final service as the

Pastor of LA CONEXION, the Spanish ministry of New Testament Baptist Church. For five years we had the opportunity to minister alongside of these tremendous brothers and sisters in Christ. What a blessing it has been for us to see their knowledge of God's Word increase, their faith grow and their passion for the ministry to increase. I truly believe that God has great things in store for them in the future.

In our final service we were able to baptize a new believer, dedicate three babies (and their parents), and graduate 10 from the Foundations Bible Study program. On top of that, we had a traditional Latin "despedida" as our people brought some of the best Hispanic food in south Florida! It was a tremendous night.