Fearfully & Wonderfully Made

by Pastor Tim White

"Be yourself - everyone else is already taken.” Oscar Wilde.

When you get to heaven, God is not going to ask you why you weren’t more like Moses. He won’t ask you why you weren’t more like Billy Graham or your dad. He will ask you why you weren’t more like you. Think about it, God designed you. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. Jesus Christ died for you so that you could be free of all the weights which would hold you back. He alone can set us free from sin and the urge to self-destruct. God has an idea of you, and it is a beautiful idea. The struggle against all the pressures that would push you to go down the broad road that leads to destruction are great. But Jesus would love to inspire us to take the high road as we reach to become our best selves.

This weekend you will receive the inspiration in our study of the Faith Chapter in Hebrews to go for it. I have a friend who is a football coach and he is having a tough year. He posted on social media, “heck yes, it is a gol’ darn hard year! But I just need one person to believe in me.” That is translated from coach-speak to preacher-speak. I immediately posted - “I believe in you go for it.” He sent me a note - That is all I needed pastor - we are going to turn around this season.

It was Emerson who said, "Faithful to be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is one of the greatest accomplishments.” I can see it. I can see it by watching kids on the playground. I can see it by listening to the voice of an adult who feels that they’ve lost their way. And I can see it in the Love Chapter. I would be so encouraged to see you in church this weekend. Come with an open mind and heart ready to have God download the inspiration that you need in order to be the person that you were meant to be. The music will be great.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

God's Surprises

by Pastor Tim White

Let me share with you a positive thought for your day. Did you know that every day that you have ahead of you, God will surprise you with a gift that you can rejoice and be glad in? As you know I have so many inspirational stories from 45 years of ministry. One of my favorite stories is of a young marine from our church during the Kuwait war. A young Marine Captain was ordered to Saudi Arabia to prepare for the invasion. No one knew how long this war would take. The young marine was a newlywed and as you would expect, his wife was deeply distressed. So, he went to a local florist and asked them to bring his wife flowers every week while he was gone. You can imagine what a blessing this surprise was to the young wife. I have good news! Your Heavenly Father intends to surprise you with a gift every day for the rest of your life. How do you sign up? Come to church and I will tell you how the rest of your life can be a series of amazing gifts from a loving God.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Faith to Run

by Pastor Tim White

Part of the answer to most theological questions is that it’s not all about you. That was the premise of Rick Warren’s phenomenal best-selling book The Purpose Driven Life. Hurricanes happen, earthquakes happen, diseases happen and it happens that people can make terrible choices. God’s heart breaks when a baby dies but we don’t stop praying. When tragedy happens, we get to work loving and caring the way only God would do. So, the crowd is cheering in Hebrews Chapter 12 when we even think about running the race God has set before us. But why are most people afraid to join this happy minority who enter the great game of life? One of the reasons is that we need more faith to dare to run the race. Most pull up with a loser’s limp, so they have an excuse for never really trying. The disciples once asked Jesus, “We believe, can you help our unbelief?”

This week we will be studying the 11th Chapter of Hebrews -The Faith Chapter. Can you imagine what a blessing our church could be to the world if we all increased our faith by 25 percent? That is what we are shooting for this weekend at Washington Cathedral. Won’t you join us?

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Tim White

Get In The Game

by Pastor Tim White

What an exciting time of year! Students and teachers are going back to school. Some preachers even going back to church. Football, soccer and cross-country participants getting back in the game. We were made to get in the game. It is the greatest hunger of humanity. Our lives were meant for an exciting purpose, but since life is not all about you, then we will be most fulfilled when we are using our gifts to help others. That is God’s way and we will never be happy until we get in the game.

I love Hebrews 12 which teaches us that we are surrounded by a cloud of witnesses so we should set aside every sin which would so easily beset us and run the race. Are you ready to quit being a spectator and become a participant in the great game of life?

Join me this weekend as we begin a new series on Hebrews as I get back into the great game.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Soulful Hospitality

by Pastor Tim White

God’s Life Make Space for Others

The Bible has a lot to say about the gift of hospitality. In the Middle East, ever since time began, hospitality is no joke. I remember when I was living in Jerusalem and my Archeology professor challenged us to try and make friends with some Bedouins. A friend of mine, Dave Hamlin and I, spotted some out in the desert and we made the long hike to meet them. It was a little bit spooky because they recognized no boundaries and their lifestyle had not changed since the time of Abraham. We did not speak very much of their language, but they invited us to have dinner with them. When we told our Professor (who was a famous Israeli General) he replied, “all of the cultures of the Middle East hold hospitality as one of their highest ideals. It’s a little like Alaska where you can go to jail for not showing hospitality to someone in need. Hospitality can be a matter of life and death in the desert.”

Dr. Marty Folsom is preaching this week on Soulful Hospitality. Jackie and I had the honor of being Marty and Cindy’s guests for a dinner and an evening of fellowship. They both worked together to show us “five-star hospitality”. God worked through their gift of being relaxed and encouraging as well as in the excellence of the whole evening.

The church reaches new people when we extend hospitality. Our families become strong when we learn hospitality. And we become more unified and loving when we practice hospitality. Be praying that I will be able to return and preach on Labor Day Weekend, but until then, you are in great hands with Dr. Marty Folsom this weekend.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

P.S. Join us for worship this Saturday at 5:30 pm or Sunday at 10:30 am. Out of town or unable to join us in person, catch us on Facebook Live at 10:30 am Sunday (or view it later on the Washington Cathedral Facebook Page).

When God Calls - Answer the Phone

by Pastor Tim White

Never in all of history have so many of us failed to answer our phones as much as we do today.

Right? We are bombarded by phone calls from people that tell us that we are in trouble with the IRS and you must mail them gift cards to pay to the debt. Surveys, free vacations, amazing investment opportunities (which would cause us to go broke if we fell for their scams). Even spam calls from those selling a product to help us with all the spams. Our home phone (which we have had for 35 years) has not been answered for a couple of years now. Every time it rings it shows up on our TV, but we don’t even have a phone to answer it anymore. We have tried to cancel it, but our Cable Company told us it would cost more to cancel it than to keep it. When I published my Doctoral Dissertation, it contained my Vitae which included my phone number, so I guess I deserve a few international calls every day. The less efficient television, print and radio advertising have become, causes companies to invest in Robo calls.

What if God called us and we did not answer? One of my favorite people in the world - Ron Wilbur, will be preaching this weekend on that very subject. For those who don’t know, Ron, and his wife, Faye, are former members of our church. They were dependable pioneers for Washington Cathedral helping other pioneers to found this church. Ron soon became a reluctant but fruitful TLC leader for us. Their advertising agency grew to include several cities until their office in Orange County became the most fruitful office. As their business continued to grow, they attended Saddleback Church where they met Rick Warren. Rick called Ron into ministry in Saddleback’s small group ministry. Ron advanced to become a Director of Small Groups at Saddleback. Following the DNA of Washington Cathedral, he also started a ministry of his own called Motel Church Ministry ministering to some of the people who are very isolated and living in motels. This ministry became a national ministry.

This weekend Ron will be sharing why Jesus urges us to “Ask, Seek, Knock.” In other words when God calls, we do need to answer the phone. If you want to be inspired, then please don’t miss Ron Wilbur preaching at the weekend services at Washington Cathedral: 5:30 pm on Saturday and 10:30 am on Sunday. Don’t forget if you are out of town or for some reason can’t be at one of our services, you can always attend our service via Facebook Live. Check it out on the Washington Cathedral Facebook Page.

Your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White

Soulful Praise

by Pastor Michael Fernandez

“The soul is the whole person. It connects all the other dimensions or parts (the heart, mind, body, and social dimension) together.” In his book “Renovation of the Heart,” this is how Dallas Willard defines our soul.

Therefore, “Soulful Praise” means we praise God for what’s happening in our Soul, and in every area of our life. Through every weakness and strength, for what’s happening in our heart, in our mind, in our body and in our social life or lack of.

In 1980 I married my first wife and two years later, on our anniversary, she asked for a divorce. This was before any of us knew anything about children of alcoholics. To her love meant daddy coming home yelling and screaming at both her and her brother and having to retreat to her room to hide. This was the case even though her dad had been sober for years before I even met him. For me, love meant my dad adoring my mom and loving her more and more each day. They were married for 59 ½ years up until my dad passed away. Marriage to me meant for a lifetime, and obviously for her it meant something different.

I found myself, the only sibling out of ten who still attended church, getting the first divorce in our family! I could not believe it! I was the one my nine brothers and sisters would call and ask me to pray for them all the time. This was in August., and it was the week before Christmas before I could bring myself to tell my parents. I was devastated. I was too prideful. The next May our divorce was final. For the first time in my life I forgot how to love myself. I liked to jog around Green Lake in Seattle. If on one of those jogs I saw a young couple walking around the lake holding hands, the pain of my divorce would come back to me. The thought would come to me - would I ever be loved again? I felt like my life was a failure.

Even after becoming a Christian in March of 1985, I would experience those same feelings whenever I saw a loving couple holding hands and laughing and enjoying each other. Then one night I went on a walk during my prayer time. During that time a thought came into my mind. Praise God for your divorce! What, I thought. Praise God for my divorce! Praising God would mean I would be thankful for my divorce. Then It dawned on me, that because of my divorce I went back to church and I found a relationship with Jesus. WOW!

I looked down at the ground and I prayed Thank you Lord for my divorce. Because of it I found you!!! Praise God! As I was looking down, I felt all that pain come back once more, but then as I looked up into the heavens, the cloudy sky parted as if the heavens opened to me and the moon was bright and beautiful. I began to smile and all the pain from my divorce left me and I was filled with joy -- that pain has never come back.

“No, I don’t need your sacrifices of flesh and blood. 14-15 What I want from you is your true thanks; I want your promises fulfilled. I want you to trust me in your times of trouble, so I can rescue you and you can give me glory.” PSALM 50:13-15, TLB

Pastor Michael Fernandez

Note: Join us in worship this weekend. Pastor Michael will be sharing with us about “Soulful Praise” this weekend, Saturday at 5:30 pm and Sunday at 10:30 am. If you are traveling, you can catch the service on Facebook Live at 10:30 am (just go to the Washington Cathedral Facebook Page.)

It is Well

by Pastor Linda

One of my favorite hymns is “It is Well with My Soul”. I know those words speak to many people because it is used so often in many of our contemporary worship songs. One of the songs we sing often repeats those words over and over again more like a prayer than a statement or fact.

Is it really “Well with my Soul?” Have you ever wondered that when singing or hearing those words? I know I have and, unfortunately, more frequently than I like to admit. However, I always have a longing for my soul – the part of me that was formed by the very breath of God – to be much more connected to Him. That is what I’m calling “Soul Health.”

Having had knee surgery three weeks ago for a torn meniscus, I’ve been doing a lot of research on how to better care for my knees, feet and other joints that take a lot of impact and stress. There are a lot of things I can do to help strengthen those important areas so I can continue to do agility work with my dog, play golf and go on long walks. It just means adjusting my lifestyle, so my body is better equipped to do the things I enjoy.

Even more important than our bodies, is the health of our souls. Our souls go on with us into eternity, our bodies are only temporary. So, what do we do to nurture our souls? Pastor Tim has asked me to share what God has placed on my heart about this very important topic this weekend. Hope you can join us on Saturday night at 5:30 pm, Sunday morning at 10:30 am or on Facebook Live as we explore what God’s Word teaches us about “Soul Health.”

Hope you are able enjoy this beautiful Northwest Summer week.

Blessings,

Pastor Linda

Something New

by Pastor Linda Skinner

For I am about to do something new.
See, I have already begun! Do you not see it?
I will make a pathway through the wilderness.
I will create rivers in the dry wasteland. Isaiah 43:19

There is something about “new” that can be very appealing. On a new summer day in the morning the air is so fresh and clean. I love to go outside on my back patio and just breathe in the newness. A new baby is probably the most exciting thing. God recently sent our family a new baby girl. She was born to my great niece in California, so I haven’t had the opportunity to hold her and cuddle with her, but just the pictures of her sweet little face and the excitement I see on the faces of her mom, dad and big brother bring tears of joy to my heart.

God is always up to something “new”. New mornings, new babies, new beginnings. He’s all about “doing something new” in our lives.

Well this week, he’s doing something new at our church. If you haven’t heard already, our church has a new Sunday Worship Service. We are calling it a Super Service. It’s “Super” because God is leading us to have one service on Sunday’s at 10:30 am bringing us all together to worship Him in the beauty of newness. We are combining elements of the 9:30 service with the 11:00 service and birthing the new 10:30 service.

Of course, we have to celebrate. So, Pastor David is fixing a delicious breakfast that will begin at 9:30 am for those people who like to get up a little earlier and then again at 11:30 am after the new 10:30 service.

Dr. Marty Folsom will be with us to close out our series “If you’re alive, its time to REBUILD YOUR DREAMS.” Rhonda, Eliot and the entire music team will be there to lead us in songs of worship. It is going to be a “something new.” Hope you are able to join in on the festivities this weekend. (If you are unable to attend in person, you can join us on Facebook Live. Just go to the Washington Cathedral Facebook page to gain access to the livestream.)

Enjoy something new today.

Pastor Linda Skinner

DNA of a Dream

By Pastor Tim White

(The Book of Jeremiah and questions about how God has planned your life)

This is the message that I have to share with you this weekend. “If you are alive, and chances are that if you are reading this, you are alive; then it’s time to rebuild your dreams.” Every dreamer has had to go through the painful and fun experience of re-engineering their lives. Don’t you think God should have a hand in this beautiful project? Well if you do, then come to church this weekend and learn that the Bible has a word to inspire and direct you.

My Special Guest this week is Janson White, Ph.D. He is a Professor at the University of Washington and a researcher for Children’s Hospital, but most importantly, he grew up in this church. I have asked him to join us to discuss some of the recent breakthroughs in Genetics. His interview will lay the backdrop as we ask this great question of Scripture.

I have an important announcement to make. We who are committed to the dream of Washington Cathedral to build the greatest caring network are rebuilding God’s dream. We have no doubt that we will succeed in this all-important endeavor. Step Number One is to combine the 9:30am worship service and the 11:00am worship services into one Super Service at 10:30am for the near future. Saturday night will continue as it has but we need the momentum of a super service. We know this won’t be easy for some of you, but we wouldn’t be doing it if it wasn’t absolutely necessary. So, I ask that you have my back on this one. Our first combined service will start the last weekend in July. Pastor David is going to cook a beautiful breakfast and have it available before and after the service.

This new worship service will be at 10:30 am beginning on July 28th and continuing into the near future -- Super Service at Washington Cathedral.

If you have any questions please call me; because I am determined to be your friend for the rest of my life,

Pastor Tim White