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