Sunday Splash!

It was another remarkable day at Sunset Chapel! The worship team started our service with an extended set of Christmas caroling! Smiles abounded throughout the sanctuary as the team presented this wonderful array of Christmas favorites! I have to admit there were a few that were unfamiliar to me. Having John Kricker add his voice and levity to this singing Christmas presentation was over the top hilarious! Where he gets his bursts of energy is totally amazing! He was definitely a crowd favorite!

I completed the series "The Gift of Change" on Sunday and received so much positive feedback that our media team is preparing this three set mini-series of messages for future purchase. When they have the set completed, we will inform those who are interested when they will be available. God extends His ability to "change" our "hearts, circumstances and families" if we will surrender control to Him. His plans and purposes for our lives are incredible! When the pain of the same becomes greater than the pain of change it's at that point we are ready to take the necessary steps to see improvement in our life situations! Sunday's message concerning the "Gift of Change for Families" was probably one of the most needed in sometime for several in our Sunset Chapel church family. If you missed it YOU NEED TO GET A SET OF THESE MESSAGES.

We received our first ever Christmas Gift Offering to assist several struggling families to provide holiday cheer to their children. Our offering totalled $1,948.00!! Thank you so much for helping us bring some joy into the hearts of these children who otherwise were going to have a bleak or no Christmas gifts this year. We have 7 families with 15 kid's that we want to bless. It's not to late to help us. If God lays it on your heart to contribute to this effort there's still time. You can drop your donation off at the church this week by Thursday morning before 10:00 AM or you can make an online donation by going to our website SUNSETCHAPEL.COM and clicking on the giving icon and following the prompts. Be sure to mark your donation "Christmas Gift" so that it can be applied to our efforts to bless these families!

Surprise Birthday Party

After the service the entire church stayed over for an early birthday celebration for me! This Tuesday is my actual birthday. I am overwhelmed by everyone's generosity and love. Thank you to all who gave me so many wonderful cards and gifts. I joked with everyone that they couldn't put any candles on the cake because the fire department couldn't be on standby since I had become an official "fire hazard"!

Beautiful New Baby

After our church activities ended, Shari and I made our way up to Baptist Hospital to welcome into the world and to our Sunset Chapel church family little "Evangeline Elise Lander's". Her arrival was about a month early. Congratulations to Pete and Amanda for this precious gift from heaven! My wife was in heaven holding this beautiful baby!

Sunday Splash!

Sunday was such an extremely encouraging day! It was another fun weekend at Sunset Chapel! I am being blown away at the number of guest's who are showing up week after week. During our "extended" friendship time I made some terrific connections with Maria, Valentina, Edgar, Julie, Chris and Mirta! All these new faces are energizing our church to see ahead to the vision that God has for our church. God is doing something that has everyone sitting up and starting to notice. There is such a great spirit in our church right now. Start inviting people now to next weekend's worship experience. Even if people have turned your invitation down dozens of times...DO NOT GIVE UP ON THEM! God didn't give up on you and it might be your next invitation that God uses to transform someones life forever! When we bring people with us to see first hand what God is doing at Sunset Chapel the chances that they will have their lives changed skyrocket!

 I did my best to unwrap the second message in our mini-series "The Gift of Change." Everyone appears to be tracking with these messages. And the feedback that I'm receiving indicates that it is a series that is resonating with several. God wants us to experience His best! And far to many had been settling for less in their lives. As I've been stating for the past two weeks, change is an "inside job." With God, the great physician transplanting a new heart inside us. Not only do we get a new lease on life we also receive new sensory responses, cravings, and habits. Paraphrasing Ezekiel 36:26 (Living Bible) it basically says, "I will give you a new heart and I will put within you a new spirit. I will take out your stony/stubborn heart and I will give you a tender responsive heart." That's why when you and I surrender our hearts and control of our lives to God... something inside us changes! Change is initiated in our hearts. I love seeing the changes that God is doing in the lives of so many!

I love the Christmas season don't you? This is our family's third Christmas in Miami and our first in our new home. Shari has decorated the tree's and we have been involved in numerous holiday activities already. We capped off our day hosting a Christmas gathering for prayer and fellowship. It was a great evening of connecting with many who attend SC on a regular basis. There was so much food! I had to have gained 3-5 pounds just overnight! My wife made Brunswick Stew for the very first time and it was off the charts "Excellent"!

I announced our first ever "Christmas Gift Offering" yesterday in our service! Please help us bring some holiday cheer to some families with children who are really struggling right now. We will be receiving this offering next weekend December 18th. If your unable to attend there are several ways you can contribute to this offering. You can drop off your donation at the church, mail it, or better yet go to sunsetchapel.com and click on the online giving icon and follow the prompts. All donations will be tax deductible. Thank you so much for helping us put smile on some children's faces this year!

Have a blessed week!!

Christmas Gift Offering 2011

Sunday Splash!

Wow! What a weekend here at Sunset Chapel! I am still trying to recover from all the exciting stuff that's been taking place here on our campus! Last Tuesday evening a lot of us helped a family get moved into their new house. I really appreciated the strong guy's who showed up to do all the heavy lifting! Special thanks to Andrew, Carlos and Jose! We couldn't have done it without you guy's! Wednesday evening we hosted Sunset Christian Academy's "Family Fun Fest" there were a lot of excited kid's and parents on our campus for a fun-filled evening! Games, inflatables, pony rides and a petting zoo were available for all to participate in! Special highlight was the first ever pre-school fashion show! This added element to the Fun Fest was a solid hit enjoyed by all! Our littlest kid's were radiant in their new outfits!! Thursday I met with Tony Isasi and Yvonne Wiscovitch for their wedding rehearsal as we prepared for Saturday's wedding! Friday my wife Shari and I attended SCA's pre-school Christmas program! So many incredible and talented children showcased their talents for all to enjoy as the Christmas season gets into full swing! Saturday was the wedding I already mentioned, which was my fourth one in recent weeks! It's a real pleasure helping people tie "a forever knot" in their relationships together. And on Sunday I dedicated little baby Salome Victoria Cebey to the Lord! i must mention our worship team was spot on all morning! I noticed how everyone was getting their groove on to the new twist to an old Al Green song that they did a remake of. I saw head's bobbin all over the place!! And did anyone else notice.....we had so many guests. I did my best to get to as many as I possibly could! I met new friend's Issa, Martha, John, Ana, Daniel, Sonja, Patricia, Daniel and Kathy! It was so awesome to hear many of them speak of how well they enjoyed the service and felt the presence of the Lord! They elevated my joy as many of them indicated that we would see them again! Yeah God! Then last evening I was extended the opportunity to speak to our A/G pastor's and ministry workers here in the Miami area. Nearly 100 of them gathered together at Central Bible Church as Pastor David Stocker and his volunteer team did a tremendous job hosting this annual event! I tip my hat to them!! Whew as you can see it's been a very busy schedule! Have a blessed week!! I can hardly wait for this next Sunday to arrive!!