The One Who Does Impossible

A teenage girl lays on her bed praying...begging God to help her parents stop the fighting and yelling. Her days are filled with worry that they will divorce and her family will be torn apart. She prays- unsure her words are getting past the ceiling of her bedroom. Her prayers come from a real and deep place of desperation, but she’s never met the One who does impossible, so she has no idea what to expect. Who knows what will happen?

A successful man who is well respected within his church and known as a man of great faith prays for someone who is very sick. His prayer is confident and loud as he boldly states...”I CLAIM healing over you!” and then walks away without giving any more thought to his prayer. Will his extreme confidence move God to heal? Who knows what will happen?

A busy, single mother of 2 young children sits exhausted on her couch after finally getting the kids to bed and the house picked up. No energy to even see what’s new on Netflix. She sits in her exhausted state and begins to think about the bills that are piling up. Some surprise medical costs have her very worried about keeping up with the rent, so she begins to pray. She needs a financial miracle! As she prays, her voice trembles a bit with emotion. She’s scared about her future, but also knows that God has never before left her high and dry. She prays from a place of tension where there are the real questions of “what if?”, but also with confidence, because the One who does impossible has always been good. Who knows what will happen?

In Matthew 11, John the Baptist is in real trouble and he sends his followers to Jesus with this question: “Are you the one who is to come, or should we look for another?”. Jesus’s answer is powerful, fascinating and very important for all of us today who are in need of a miracle!

Would you join me with Sunday as we look honestly into the tension of both expecting our miracle and wondering what happens if it doesn’t come?  The One who does impossible is so good and our miracle might be right around the corner! I look forward to seeking, learning and growing with you on Sunday.

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Rex

Ask! Seek! Knock!

This next Sunday I will again be preaching on New Year – New Miracles, only now I am led to share how the Bible teaches us to step out in faith.  Next week Pastor Rex will be teaching from Matthew 11 on the passage where Jesus tells the disciples of John the Baptist to “go, and tell John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.”  Matthew 11:4  He is helping us to see how to not get trapped in the ‘Name It and Claim It’ theology.  We want people to look at our lives and see Jesus working.  It will be a great conclusion to the series on miracles.  But this week, before Pastor Rex’s dramatic conclusion on Super bowl weekend, I will be preaching on a message that will set up his message;  our role is stepping out in faith if we want to see God work.  Thus the words of Jesus in the sermon on the mount;  Ask – Seek – Knock.  When Jesus healed someone he would say, “do you want to get well?”  That is a miraculous question! Our act of faith plays into the formula for amazing miracles.  Can you imagine a relationship with God where we expect, through magical thinking, that God did everything and we did nothing?  We could live a life in defiance of obeying God, treating God as just a force that did what we told him to.  I would pray, “God make me lose all the weight I need to lose and to be in amazing shape”, and then I walk in front of a mirror and see a perfect body.  That would be weird wouldn’t it? Instead God says, “I will help you but you have to eat less and exercise more.  And it’s going to take a while.”

I pray that we will learn the power of Mountain moving faith.

 For example:

 Last week Washington Cathedral was packed with people who were celebrating the life of Suzette Dalpez.  I have been her pastor for over 20 years.  Just before she died she still had a smile on her face and twinkles in her eyes.  She was the love of Steve Dalpez and they led two TLCs.  For 19 years these TLCs have been feeding homeless teenagers in our community.  It all takes place above and beyond their normal tithes and offerings and it’s just the way these wonderful people lived their lives.  Steve showed me where Suzette had her quiet times in her home doing her daily devotion.  Just a short time before Suzette passed she was at a church Christmas party and after the party she was carrying chairs (which Steve and Suzette got San Michelle Winery to donate to the church).  She was twinkling and loving Steve to the moment she passed to heaven.  Her faith was mountain moving and all her family wanted to report what they had heard and seen in the way Suzette acted out her loving obedience to the way of Jesus Christ.

 Another example:

 Last Saturday night one of my best friends in the world passed on to heaven. Rod Halvorson was just a great man.  He had just read all the way through the Bible before being diagnosed with liver cancer.  Rod was always one of the biggest encouragements in my life.  We would go to the movies together or watch games together and it was always a party.  His eyes twinkled and, like his twin brother Randy, he was a handsome man.  I watched how he ran his business and worked so honestly and forthrightly with his employees.  When I got out of the hospital one time after a massive pulmonary embolism, he told me he was going to kick my butt if I ever went to the hospital again without telling him.  He and Randy are the longest surviving patients with Duchene’s Muscular Dystrophy. Rod had the most generous heart for children and for those whose life was spent in a wheel chair.  He asked me to take him to the tent city village that we are watching after –and we planned on going to a movie together but both were not to be. Like Suzette, Rod always had a twinkle in his eyes. Right up until he walked into heaven holding the hand of Jesus, he was loving everyone around him.  Go and tell about what you have seen and heard in the lives of Rod Halvorson and Suzette Dalpez.  They loved greatly, they dreamed big.  With the power of faith God worked the impossible through their lives.  The way they thought, prayed, worked, and dreamed was faith in Jesus Christ. 

 This is what we are going to learn this week.  Mountain moving faith.  Not just talk or magical thinking, but action. Ask, Seek, Knock.

 Would you join me this weekend for this life changing message?

Pastor Tim

God, Are You Listening?

Have you ever felt like maybe God lost your prayer somewhere along the line, or he forgot to get back to you?  I know I have.

One instance I remember is right after my mom had her second and very severe stroke.  She became paralyzed on her left side and she could barely shift her body from the bed to a wheel chair, let alone stand or walk.  I prayed for her to be healed (the whole church prayed for her to be healed). 

I remember telling her I knew God was going to heal her and that she just needed to keep working on her physical therapy and she would be able to move again.  I remember being her coach at physical therapy encouraging her to do her exercises and that all the pain and effort would be worth it.  I wanted so much for her to be healed that I have to say in retrospect I was almost obnoxious. 

It was a very difficult time for me because I wanted my mom back whole and well.  I knew God wanted that, too.  It didn’t sink in that maybe he had a different plan on how that might happen.  One day I was watching a television movie on PBS and it was a story of a family trying to do whatever they could to heal their daughter of leukemia.  As the movie was concluding and nothing was working the daughter looked at her pleadingly and said something like “I just want to spend the time I have left loving and enjoying being with you and daddy.”  It was like God hit me upside the head with a 2X4.  I felt he was saying to me “Stop trying so hard to fix something that is totally out of your control…leave that to me.  Just enjoy every moment you have with your mom.”

From that moment on that is exactly what I did.  Mom was only with us for about 4 months after that and then she was completely healed – as she went home to be with her Savior.  But in those 4 months we had some of the best times.  We walked around the neighborhood looking at all the beautiful trees, flowers, birds and butterflies (well I walked and pushed her in her wheelchair).  We reminisced about all the things we had done together – we laughed, we cried, we hugged.  It was some of the sweetest memories I have to this day.  I praise God for the time we had together. (It was more than 15 years ago, but I still tear up even writing this.)

God’s answer to me was so different than I thought it would be, but it was so amazingly good.

P.S. This Sunday, Pastor Tim is coming back from an anniversary trip to Hawaii with Pastor Jackie.  He’s going to share a message God has laid on his heart entitled “Unanswered Prayer?”  It is going to be a message I would not want to miss.  How about you?

Pastor Linda Skinner

Miracles, Waiting and Kadosh

A woman waits in a doctor’s office to hear what her test results are. The wait is difficult...

A little boy anxiously waits in his bed for Christmas morning to arrive. The wait seems endless...

A groom patiently stands at the alter waiting to see his beautiful bride walk down the aisle. The wait is sacred...

Waiting - even for the good, happy and beautiful things of life is difficult. Why? Because we simply don’t wait well!

Many of us who might be reading this are in need of some kind of miracle. Healing...a new job...restored marriage...an acceptance letter to that dream university. Miracles place our faith in the reality where we’ve accepted that we’ve done all we can do and now it’s God’s time to powerfully, lovingly and mysteriously make a way for what now seems impossible.

While we wait and endure in the tension of our doubt and hope, we can wait for our miracle in one of two ways: passively, or expectantly.

We passively wait when we simply ask God to do something big for us and then go about life as normal. Work...homework...TV...Facebook...Etc...  It’s not that passively waiting is wrong. But isn't there more?  Shouldn’t we show God and ourselves a little more urgency? After all, we’re talking about miracles here, right?

In the Old Testament book of Leviticus, God tells the people of Israel to be “holy”. The prophet Isaiah once saw a choir of angels singing to each other, “holy, holy, holy”.

The word holy here in its original language (Hebrew) is Kadosh. Kadosh means “distinction”, or “set apart”. Kadosh has nothing to do with being better than (holier than thou), rather it has everything to do with putting ourselves in a place where we have a deep awareness of our self and need for God.

When we need and wait for our miracle, God asks us to be holy. To realize that we can’t fix this...we’re not in control of this. So we set our hearts apart from the busy, mundane distractions and we seek Kadosh.  Holiness.

I hope you’ll join me this Sunday morning as we explore this further and get honest about the struggle of waiting for our miracle; God’s desire for us to be holy and how we can have hearts that expectantly wait for our miracle.

Grace and Peace.

Rex

New Year, New Miracles

There is something very exciting about a new year!  2017 almost seems like “Science Fiction” to me.  We had a staff meeting today and as so many staff were down with the influenza we asked them to call into the meeting so they were not sharing their sickness with those of us who were fortunate to avoid this illness.  So, there we were, sitting in the conference room with a table full of cell phones.  It was surreal.  The people on the cell phones could not understand one another so Pastor Josh had to be the interpreter. It was a really fun meeting and we could all, even the cell phone staff, sense the excitement because of God’s plans for Washington Cathedral this year.

To grow in your Christian life, you need a solid, rational, Biblical definition of what a miracle is and how they work in your life. So, Pastor Rex and I are excited to teach on a provocative and rewarding subject – “New Year, New Miracles.”  I am starting it off with a sermon entitled “Wrestling for a Miracle”. My message is taken from the story of Jacob and how he wrestles with God for a whole night and is changed forever.  Even his name is changed from Jacob to Israel.  His experience that night was emblematic of his whole life of seemingly fighting with God.  That is, of course, the human condition whether we recognize it or not. 

This story of Jacob wrestling with God caused my Grandpa White to become a Christian and to follow God’s call into the ministry just after World War I – so, as you can imagine, it has a special place in my heart.  Even so, as I have been studying it for the last couple of weeks, I must say I have gotten even more out of what God is saying here.  I can promise you it will be funny…because I think the passage was intended to be funny. (I also have a great joke or two to share.)  But most of all, I promise you that it will be thought-provoking and heart warming as you hear the powerful Word of God in this passage for your life in 2017. It is already changing mine.

Join us this weekend and learn to understand how to wrestle with God and come away blessed.

 Your friend for the rest of my life,

 Pastor Tim White

Happy New Year!

2017 – what a gift to enjoy a brand new year! I know that life is not lived on a calendar but this is a new start – a brand new year. Every day is a gift – every morning is a new beginning – life made new, through the power of God. “Even young people grow tired and but those who wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” I am planning on this being the greatest year of my life and for all those I love. (Which is a lot of people.) If this is the greatest year we have ever lived, then let’s grow closer to Jesus Christ. Let’s be intentional about letting His purposes have first place in our lives. Let’s love like Jesus would have us love. Let’s release past burdens, with barrier breaking hope and mountain moving faith.

On New Year’s day our young, enthusiastic youth pastor, Josh Zappone will be preaching a short message for the whole family.  The entire worship will only be 55 minutes and I promise you it will be fun. Not only will you be able to experience great friendship with the amazing people of Washington Cathedral, but you will witness a growing future leader in the cause of Jesus Christ, Josh Zappone.

A new year is a time to set new goals. A new year is a time to dream new dreams. A new year is a time to remember how much we love one another. A new year is a time to surrender to God’s exciting dreams for our lives. Let’s start 2017 out the right way by committing together to let every day be an adventure as we follow Jesus Christ. Let’s follow Him as His disciples in a world desperately in need of His love. If He is to give us another day, another month, a whole year - let’s live it to the fullest!

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Anticipating Christmas

I love the scene from the classic Christmas movie, “Christmas Vacation”, where Clark Griswold has spent an entire day hanging an obscene amount of lights on his house. He’s gathered the entire family outside in the freezing snow to witness the glorious display of his lights. The Griswold family, like most everyone’s has their fair share of characters and bits of dysfunction, and it’s on full display out on the front yard as Clark excitedly plugs in his cords.

The Griswold’s don’t quite share Clark’s excitement and anticipation about the light display. Some are angry because they have to stand out in the cold...most are indifferent to the whole experience. But Clark...Clark is gleaming with anticipation, wonder and excitement over his light display!

Most people are a little bit familiar with the story of the 3 wise men who visit baby Jesus. The story (Matthew 2:1-12) begins with them seeing the bright star and and asking “Where is the newborn king of the Jews?” Their anticipation and excitement is met with anger from King Herod and indifference from others.

Sound familiar? Not everyone gets excited about light at Christmas...

Sometimes it’s challenging to anticipate and be excited for Christmas. Many times the busyness of the season causes us to miss the light all together. Our post-Christian society generally looks upon the light of Christmas with general indifference as sort of an “it’s just another Christmas season” belief.

Are you seeing the light this Christmas? Are you able to slow down enough to let the anticipation of the story reach deep into your heart and renew your hope and faith in the Messiah?

Upon following the star-light with great anticipation, the wise men came upon Jesus and they worshipped him. What happened next is not to be overlooked.

Join me this Sunday as we explore the story of the wise men, the experience they had in worshipping the “light of the world”, what happened next and how we can experience Christmas in a fresh, transforming way.

See you Sunday and make sure to invite your friends!

Grace and Peace.

Pastor Rex

The Vision of Christmas

In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David.  The virgin’s name was Mary.  The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”  Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.  But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.  You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.  He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”  Luke 1:26-33

Every year, as I was going to college and then seminary, I loved Christmas break.  When that last final was taken and the sometimes month long break at Christmas began, it was such a refreshing time of year.  Yes, I had to work but I had more free time than at any other time of the year.  Jackie and I were just nuts about being in the “Christmas Spirit.” It was a time for long detailed research, prayer, and Bible study to take place.  It was a time of refreshing the vision that God had given us as teenagers to someday build Washington Cathedral.  And even though that was many years ago, it has always remained that kind of time.  As we started the church and began to raise a family, Christmas quickly moved from the slowest time of year to the busiest time of year.  But despite the busyness, it remained inspiring and refreshing because it was a season of vision. 

What a metaphor for “Light the Night.”  The darkest time of year is the greatest time of vision.  Isn’t that just like God?  And it is true of all life -- the darkest, hardest crucibles of life are always the times when we dream the most beautiful dreams. Dreams that will revolutionize our lives and our world.  The Christmas story is a season of vision.  Mary has a vision, Joseph has a vision, Elizabeth has a vision, Zechariah has a vision, and almost everyone else involved in Christmas has a vision.

Let me ask you a question as I prepare my message for this weekend on “The Vision of Christmas.”  How much would it be worth to you to receive a vision for the rest of your life from God?  I mean his plan, his purpose, his innovations for you and your family.  Join us this weekend I promise you – your vision will be refreshed.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Light the Night

The Bible, in the book of Isaiah Chapter 9, gives a prophecy of the first Christmas.

“The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned. You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as a people rejoice at the harvest, as men rejoice when dividing the plunder.  Isaiah 9:2-3

I have watched an incredible Christmas celebration every year since I have been a pastor.  People facing death become more fully alive every day of this season as they see a great light.  They are the fortunate ones because they alone really acknowledge the truth that “all of our days are numbered and we are all destined for eternity.”  Their witness increases tenfold and no bad news can eclipse their light because the very presence of the Savior is the source of their light. 

This Sunday is going to be a very special Sunday as we kick off our Christmas campaign to bring joy and light to this world through the wondrous message of Jesus Christ.  I have a very special illustration which expresses our church’s mission to try to build the greatest caring network the world has ever seen.  Our Music Pastor, Rhonda Jones, wrote a beautiful love song for my recent book Ulysses Dream. This Sunday the song will be performed by Keaton Markey and Noe Phillips with the choir backing them up. 

Ulysses Dream captures the story of God’s grace working in the life of a girl living in the city dump of Honduras.  She enters an adventure to become a citizen of the United States and falls in love with a First Nations warrior named Ulysses.  He becomes her champion until she discovers the hero inside of her because of her relationship with Jesus Christ.  The book Ulysses Dream will be available for sale (hopefully to be purchased above peoples tithes and offerings), and all money from the sale of the book will be given to retire the remaining debt that our church needs to resolve before launching our next big dream. The book will also become available in an audio version through Amazon, Apple, and others by December 14^th.  The audio version is read by renowned Spanish actress Yareli Arzimendi who has starred in, produced, and directed many movies and television shows.  We will listen to a two-minute clip from this captivating recording.

My text will be Isaiah 9 which will announce a bold new moment in our lives:

For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Of the increase of his government and peace there will be no end.  He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever.  The zeal of the Lord almighty will accomplish this. 

Every day is a new beginning and every morning is the whole world made new.  Just as described in 2 Corinthians 5:17.

This weekend will be a historic service – one that will never be forgotten.  Maybe the most moving worship in the history of Washington Cathedral.  Don’t miss it.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

What You Talkin' About _____?

One of my favorite childhood shows was Different Strokes. In each episode there was sure to be the line from Arnold that helped make the show so famous. That’s right, I know you remember it.... “What you talkin’ about Willis?”

If I’m honest, sometimes I hear people say certain statements about God that cause me to say to myself...”What you talkin’ about Christian?” 

My favorite phrase is, “God only helps those who help themselves”.  Really?!?  Do we really believe this? Yet, I’m sure that if you’re reading this, you have heard someone say this at some point in your life.

The above statement is a myth. A lie. And it’s hurting people’s ability to believe in an all-powerful God.

Why? Because it’s simply not true. Look at John 5:1-6, for example. Is the lame man helpless? Yes. Does Jesus heal him despite his helplessness? Yes.

Join me this Sunday as I explore this fascinating story of Jesus’s encounter with a helpless man. Maybe you’ve heard me say this before, that when we read the stories in the gospels, we have to ask ourselves...”Who am I in this story?”.  Well, this is surely one of those stories.

You see...we all find ourselves stuck in life at some point, or another. Physically, spiritually, financially and relationally. ALL of us.  The question Jesus asks the lame man in John 5 is a very important question for us to answer as well.

Grace and Peace

Pastor Rex