Sunday Splash!

*Word's cannot express all that God did today at Sunset Chapel!

*The month of January has been a total blast!!

*Excitement about what the future holds for SC is spreading!!

*Every week during this first month of ministry in 2011 God has brought numerous new people to our church.

*Along with all the new guests there is a fresh and enthusiastic atmosphere in our services.

*Our series "Framing Your Destiny From God's Perspective" has had a huge impact on people's lives! Many have found their lives re-calibrated by God's affirmation and guidance!

*Watching and listening to everyone worship God with passion has thrilled my heart. I believe that God has favored us with His presence and power.

*Our worship team continues to bring their "A" game each week! Did anyone notice that our drummer was so blessed he lost his socks!!

*Again we observed people in our 10:30 AM service raising their hands and accepting Christ into their hearts and lives. THAT REALLY FIRES ME UP!! Here's an early heads up!! Mark your calendars for February 27th for our next Watermark Water Baptism Experience!!

*Did you know that our Kid's Inc. Ministry had 40 children and 7 volunteers this morning representing 25% of our attendance today!! I was informed that even 5 children accepted Christ into their hearts too!! WOW!!

*I can hardly wait to see what God has next for us!! The month of February will be just as exciting!! We will be rolling out a new series beginning Sunday February 13th! I can't wait to share with you what God has been speaking into my heart! I promise you that it will be good!!

*More life groups start up this week. Be sure to contact the church office to find one near you! *Elevate your life and join the journey of life with others!!

Testimony ... Can Somebody Say AMEN!!

We continue to receive testimonies of miracles and healings! On my way into the office this morning I received another testimony from Marcus Simmonds who has been attending Sunset Chapel for about 7-8 months! And I am re-posting it with his permission . . . Please read the following e-mail and be encouraged to know that God cares for you no matter what! Develop the audacious faith to believe God for whatever it is that you need! Nothing is impossible for Him!!

Many of you many not know but for the last three months I have been having a constant irregularity of the rhythm of my heart beat (I mean constant). I was beginning to have difficulty in focusing on the very basics of life and felt like everyday was a challenge just to make it through the day. My faith began to draw weak and I started feel like I was not worthy to be part of my fathers house . . . . I went to doctors who had no answers, the specialist has hooked me up to an event recorder which I still walk around with as we speak and I am certain it will document my miracle and prove that the real physician stepped in after much prayer of others for me . . .!!! I now realize that anything that causes us to draw closer to the cross is a good cause despite how difficult it is to bear.

Literally in an instant all the symptoms disappeared ... I was taken by such surprise that I had to ask Monique if I was dreaming ... The past 3 days I have been 100% symptom free and feeling like a new human being. As far as what I have felt over the last 3 months and what I felt over the last 3 days this is my miracle that I claim in the name of Jesus!!! There was a hesitation for me to make this claim as I thought I should wait a few weeks to see if it is really gone, but the Lord revealed to me that it is through faith that this claim can even be made.

Well today as I reflect on my miraculous healing, I was drawn to the scripture John 15 vs 1-17 spoken at church on Sunday that teaches us why God allows us to go through what we deem as challenges but he views as pruning our branches to allow us to be more fruitful. If we are obedient to his word it teaches us to love one another as he loves us ... he calls us friends and not servants because a servant does not know his master's business and we know our father's works and business. When we are saved we are branches on the holy vine ... If our branch separates from the vine we whither and die!

I would like to thank my wife Monique whom I know prayed in great faith for my healing and all those in our church community who prayed for me!! The Bible teaches us that where two or more gather in his name he is present . . . . I can't tell you where in the scripture it is but I know it is there!! :-)

I would like to thank God for our Pastor Russ who has been a beacon of strength for me since moving back to South Florida which I am sure he doesn't even know. God uses us as vessels to carry his word to believers and non-believers, but his word lives in certain people, others it flows through them . . . . . his Word lives in Pastor Russ!

All Glory to God! This is my testimony and witness.

Marcus Simmonds

Sunday Splash!

*Today was one of our greatest days at Sunset Chapel! It's very hard to imagine that we could ever have a better service at SC than we experienced this morning!

*There were a number of new faces in the crowd today. I love getting to meet your guests!! Have you noticed the growth that is taking place here at SC??? God is up to something!!!

*From the very beginning of the service you could sense that God was going to unleash His presence in a very special way!

*Our worship team was better than ever... they just tore it up!! Is it me or can you too sense that God is using them in a profound way?? Loved the addition of Ross Walters to the team today. Even if he was here just for one service, his contribution was outstanding! He blessed us with a short performance prior to my speaking and he literally hit a home run!! I love the saxophone and he is an extremely gifted musician!!

*Sometimes we make the right decisions and do the right things... only to experience wrong results. I hate when that happens to me. We looked at Joseph's life a little closer today and discovered that although he was obedient and trustworthy things didn't always initially turn out the way he had hoped. It took some time, some testing and some character building moments in his life before he obtained the destiny that God had in mind for him! BUT HE NEVER GAVE UP!! And neither can we.

*At the beginning of my message I shared with everyone that I believed that God had whispered into my heart that He was going to unlock the personal prison that several felt they were entrapped in. And He didn't disappoint! The altar call was incredible!! It was a sight I won't easily forget! I truly believe that God honored His Word today and we will be hearing some great testimonies in the near future!! Some of those set free today have had to persevere through a prolonged period of time... but today was their day of freedom and healing!! Jeremiah 29:11-14a still rings true!!

*At the conclusion of our service I challenged everyone in the service to get their friend's here next weekend as we wrap up our "Framing Your Destiny from God's Perspective" series! God has saved the BEST message for the last! God's House will be ROCKIN next weekend! Don't you dare miss this service!

*Keep in prayer our brand new Life Group ministry! Our home fellowship's kick off all week long! Get connected soon if you haven't joined one yet. Contact the church office this week and "LIVE LIFE ELEVATED"!!

Sunday Splash!

• My heart wants to explode with joy! It's so obvious that God is blessing Sunset Chapel in AMAZING ways!!
• Prior to today's service I received some much needed anointed encouragement from a dear brother. I love this godly man! Thanks Maurice!!
• I seriously prayed hard over today's message. Not sure I did a good job of presenting it, but I did my best. I do think it hit home with quite a few. God has an awesome destiny in mind for all of us if we will surrender our entire lives to His guidance!
• It's great continuing to see the steady stream of guest's showing up at Sunset Chapel week after week! I am so grateful that so many of our SC people have joined their efforts and hearts to God's vision and we are now seeing our church grow!! Keep this in mind, many are just ONE INVITE away from joining you here at SC. Don't give up--try one more time!! The last two messages in our current series will rock their lives!! God wants to change their destiny's!! Phone, email, text, personally go to someone this week and invite them to SC next weekend!!
• Never underestimate the power of music in a church service. It can change everything! Our worship team under Douglas Flores direction continues to improve week after week. Anybody walking into our building this morning could sense the tangible presence of the Lord. Our worship team did a great job today spreading the atmosphere of heaven in our service!!

• What a thrilling end to our service as we conducted water baptisms!! It never gets old seeing people GO PUBLIC for Jesus!! We need to have more services like today!!
• Don't forget that our Life Groups kick off January 24-29th!! Contact the church to see which groups still have openings! Also we are still looking for additional locations and small group leader's. Resources are available at the church office for your consideration. Join a group today and enjoy building life long relationships, study God's Word, spend some time in prayer and have fun at the same time!! (Shari and I still have some slot's available for our home group. Call me.)
• Before I close let me share a need with you. We have had several guests attend recently who are enjoying our services and ministries but they need a translator. We have a special booth all set up and personal devices that they can use. But we need someone to step up and help us allow them to connect with what God is saying at doing at SC. Call me at the church if this announcement is speaking to you about getting involved!!

Dufflebag Sunday!! Jan 16th

Baptism is a very important event in the life of any new Christian. And I know that we go to great lengths to make sure the celebration is done just right!

At the beginning of the service, we will briefly explain the meaning of baptism. each participant will receive a free t-shirt and a baptism certificate!

Water Baptism is one of the most meaningful events in a person's spiritual journey. The Bible clearly teaches that baptism is the next step after giving your life to Jesus. Baptism is your chance to stand up and tell the world about your personal commitment to follow Christ.

What is the meaning of Baptism?

• It illustrates Christ's burial and resurrection.
• Christ died for our sins...He was buried...and He rose again! (I Corinthians 15:3-4)
• For when you were baptized, you were buried with Christ, and in Baptism you were also raised with Christ! (Colossians 2:12)
• It illustrates your new life as a Christian.
• When someone becomes a Christian, he or she becomes a brand new person on the inside. The old life has passed away and a new life has begun!

Baptism doesn't make you a Christian.

• Only your faith in Christ does that.
• Baptism is like a wedding ring - it's the outward sign of the commitment you have made in your heart.

Who should be Baptized?

• All believers as soon as they have accepted Christ
• A believer is someone who has realized that their sin separated them from God. They have given up all efforts to reach God through good works or religious activity. They have concluded that Jesus Christ's death on the cross for their sins is the only thing that can bridge the gap between them and God.
• A believer is someone who had decided to trust Christ alone for their salvation. If you have come to that point in your spiritual journey, then you are ready to be baptized!
• Those who believed...were baptized...that day! (Acts 2:41)
• There is no reason to delay!
• As soon as you have decided to receive Christ into your life, you can and should be baptized.

Our next Baptism Experience will take place this coming Sunday, Jan 16th.

Can I be baptized with my spouse, child, or their family members?

• Yes! If more than one member of your family is being baptized, we will have you come into the baptism tank together to be baptized.

What should I wear?

• Plan to wear your bathing suit or shorts with a t-shirt into the pool(we will provide you with a free "Watermark" t-shirt you can keep) once everyone has been baptized you will have access to rooms in the main building to change into your dry clothes. Oh yeah, don't forget to bring in your dufflebag a dry towel,change of clothes, blow dryer and a hairbrush or comb.

Can I invite people to attend the baptism if they don't belong to Sunset Chapel?

• Absolutely! We encourage you to invite your friends, family, co-workers, classmates, etc...to be a part of this special day! And don't forget to bring a camera so you can have someone take a photo during your baptism.

I pray that many will take the plunge this Sunday and acknowledge Christ in their lives. It will be one of the most phenomenal experiences of your life!

Is there someone you could invite to church this weekend who could use this experience? Your invitation could initiate one of the most important days of someones life. We will have numerous baptism kits (shirts, shorts, towels) prepared for those who want to spontaneously participate this weekend. This will be a BIG DAY at Sunset Chapel!

Sunday Splash!

*Another TERRIFIC DAY at Sunset Chapel!!

*I am so proud of our ministry teams! Each one of you are MVP's in my book!! Every weekend it seems like you all keep stepping up your game! We had so many first time guests this weekend and our greeters were the extra eyes for me, helping me to make contact and welcome each one to our service!

*One of the best compliments we received was when one of the couple's visiting for the first time stated that they felt so welcomed and at home! Then they told me they were making Sunset Chapel their new church home!! Welcome Oscar and Anna!!

*So many of you actually took up the challenge I gave the previous weekend and you distributed an invite ticket to someone and asked them to be your guest at SC today! You are all so AWESOME for doing that!! Be sure to follow up on that invitation soon! People are more likely to visit a church from a personal invitation than by any other means of church marketing!

*I truly believe that our best and most productive days are still ahead of us!! 2011 IS OUR YEAR OF OPPORTUNITY AND GROWTH!!

*Today I shared the second message in our current series "Framing Your Destiny From God's Perspective"!! It really seemed like everyone was tracking with everything I was saying. I try my best each weekend to make God's message understandable to all who attend our worship experiences. We learned a little bit more about Joseph and the challenges he faced on his journey towards the destiny God had in mind for him. We were able to discover from the scriptures that THE PRESENCE OF THE LORD was with him. And wherever he was in his life, God's favor rested upon him because he was faithful to keep the Lord as his number one focus! This new series is turning out to be one of the most incredible one's we've done yet!

*I can't even describe to you how excited I am to be baptizing people next weekend in our service! If you haven't taken that NEXT STEP and followed Christ's example, then consider participating with us in this service next Sunday! I will post later some info to help you make that decision! Two people made commitments to ask Christ into their hearts and lives at the conclusion of today's service! That was so AWESOME!!

*Our day of ministry was highlighted by seeing dozen's and dozen's of people joining themselves to our brand new "Life Group's!" We conducted our first "Slice of Life Connection Night" at 6 PM and enjoyed a fantastic evening of getting to know one another better, laughing together and eating some delicious slices of pie! We gave everyone an opportunity to hear about some of the great ministries we have here at SC and described for them the current needs and how they could get plugged in! Afterwards we formed 10 "Life-Group's." I'm very excited to watch these groups develop relationships and share life together! LIVE YOUR LIFE ELEVATED and consider joining one of these current groups, or form your own. Contact the church office for more detail's about this new and exciting way to connect and grow! We still have many resources we can provide to those who want to start their own "Life-Group." The official kick off to our new "Life-Group" ministry will be the week of January 24-29.

*My eyes are getting heavy. Time for bed, have a great week!!

Sunday Splash!

Today's service was just superb!! It all started for me yesterday when I was on our church campus prepping for the service by looking over my message notes. Prompted by the Holy Spirit, I entered our main sanctuary and began to walk up and down the rows of chairs praying and anointing each one. In my heart and mind I began to sense that God was preparing the room for a spiritual breakthrough!

Our service today wasn't without some minor challenges. But I tip my hat to all our ministry teams for making extraordinary efforts to see that our First Sunday of 2011 was memorable!! Douglas Flores and the worship team were simply outstanding! And what a welcome sight to see and hear John Kricker up on the stage playing his instrument once again! That dude can play!!

Nearly every seat was taken on the main floor this morning! Our ushers and greeters were getting a real workout! I met so many new people.. some of those I greeted this morning were Rose, Jonathan, Jose, and from Australia, Daniel and Ruchi! Welcome to SC!! During the service I requested that each person take one invite card and use it to share with someone in the coming week! I am hopeful and expectant that we will have to open up our balcony area as an overflow area next weekend!! That would be so cool!!

I shared some of the resolutions I am making as we start the new year and challenged everyone to join me in some of these:

• Read the Bible completely in 2011. I am using the M'Cheyne Plan from YouVersion.com! Go and pick a plan that will work best for you!
• I love to read books but I committed to read intentionally 12 books on developing myself as a better pastor and spiritual leader! I will let everyone know what I'm reading in future updates!
• I am beginning a 21 Day Fast to increase my time spent in Bible study and Prayer! I chose to give up coffee during this time period.. that will be a hard sacrifice for me! I almost shed a tear as we drove past a Starbucks on the way home!
• I also committed to get more physical activity in my life! I have gained so much weight since moving here to Miami 18 months ago! The food here is soooo good!! Already Shari and I have walked daily at least 2 miles and I've played some golf! Not a bad start.

Today we kicked off a brand new series of messages called "Framing Your Destiny From God's Perspective!" Don't stay locked into your past... it's time to move ahead into the specific design, dream and destiny that God has for you!! His favor is upon His children! He doesn't see you imprisoned to your challenges, difficulties and problems. He sees you overcoming, prosperous and living in victory! We looked closely at the life of Joseph and saw how he overcame the obstacles and struggles to become a second chair leader!! Jeremiah 29:11-14 reminds us that God has "a future and a hope" for each one of us! Be sure you make it each week to hear these messages! You and your family are going to get so much help from the insights I will be sharing!

Want To Grow In 2011??

Each day in 2011 I've committed myself to read from God's Word! YouVersion.com has some excellent tools to assist anyone who wants to grow spiritually in the New Year. I've chosen the M'Cheyne One Year Reading Plan to track my daily progress. I even utilized the easy reminder feature to help keep me accountable. Every day I will be reading two passages from the Old Testament and one from the New Testament as well as one from either the Psalms or the Gospels. By the time December 31st rolls around I will have read the the Old Testament once and the New Testament and Psalms twice!

There are over 50 different reading plans to choose from, with 41 great translations to use, in 22 translations!! Take the challenge and join me in stretching your mind and spirit in 2011!!