Back in 2018, through the month of October, our church held a gathering on Sunday evenings to talk through contemporary cultural issues. We called it "Sunday Night Live". Our desire was to see each issue from the vantage point of the Bible. One of those evenings focused on "The Christian and Politics". Since that time our nation's political life has become more and more b...

To listen to our session on the Christian and Politics click here. Keynote files ...

In our Colossians series this week wediscussed the battle for sexual purity. It is a battle that is often a part of the Christian life. So much so, the Apostle Paul addresses it head on in several passages (1 Cor. 5:1-5, 6:12-20; 2 Cor. 12:21; Gal. 5:19; Eph. 5:3; 1 Thess. 4:1-8). In Colossians 3:5-11 we found a vivid description of the supply lines for lust. We are called...

Our missionaries Hoyt and Lois Osborne have faithfully served Jesus in Kenya for over 25 years. This video is a beautiful way for you to visit them in the field without leaving home....

We are in the process of preparation for our Kenya trip. Thank you for checking in to support us in prayer. Without your intercession before God on our behalf to empower, protect, guide and and work through us, we cannot hope to accomplish anything that really matters. But as you lift us up in prayer we are confident God will do mighty things. Here are our most pressing...

4. Omnipotence Definition: God is able to do all His holy will. God exercises complete power over His creation and rules as sovereign. (Jer. 32:17; Matt. 19:26; Luke 1:37) Applied to Creation (John 1:3; Rom. 1:20; Col. 1:16) Applied to Preservation (Heb. 1:3; Col. 1:17) Applied to Redemption (Rom. 1:6; 1Cor. 1:24; Eph. 1:19) Contrast between Man's power and God'...

II. The Communicable Attributes 1. truthfulness Definition - God is the true God whose knowledge and words are both true and the final standard of truth. (Ex. 34:6; Psa. 25:10; Jer. 10:10; John 14:6, 17:3) Considered Comprehensively When God is called the truth, this is to be understood in its most comprehensive sense. (Berkhof, Sys. Theo. , p. 69) Metaphysically "He...

Here are some highlights and quotations from The Attributes of God, session 2: 6. Eternality Definition: God has always existed, having no beginning and no end, and is not subject to the limitations of time, experiencing no succession of moments. (Ps. 90:2, 102:25-27; Is. 44:6; Heb. 13:8; 2 Pet. 3:8; Rev. 1:4) "He does not exist during one period of duration more than a...

Highlights and Quotes from our Attributes of God study....

On Wednesday we visited Ebenezer Church. We enjoyed a time of fellowship, prayer and tea. Many faithful saints here first heard the Gospel years ago when Lois and Hoyt first came to Kangundo. Yesterday we visited Mwala church. It was a long drive to a much more arid area. The people of this church warmly greeted us. We sang together, prayed together and listened as Paul sh...

Yesterday we had the privilege of celebrating the Lord's Day with our brothers and sisters at Victory Evangelical Church. This is the first church Hoyt and Lois planted 27 years ago. They named it Victory because of all of the opposition they experienced from various places. It is lead by Pastor Peter and Pastor Simon, both of whom are in the Christian Leadership Class tau...

We are here safe and sound and very grateful for God's care and our safety thus far. I'm sorry for the delayed update. There are some web and data challenges so far away from Nairobi. Thank you for your ongoing partnership in prayer. Here are some updates / prayer requests: Pastor Chris has been teaching the 4th year Bible college students for the past two days. It has ...

Praying members of the Kenya Team, You might not be getting on the plane with us, but you are going with us in prayer. We are grateful to have you with us in this way. These are exciting days. As Paul and I leave tomorrow to meet with Charlotte in route to Nairobi please pray the following: That our travels will go smoothly and we arrive in Kenya after two long flights...

Counterfeits are destructive and dangerous. In the area of commerce they undermine our business owners' hard work and cost our economy millions of dollars per year. Can you spot the counterfeit here? Yes there are many clues to be gathered here. On the upper bill, did you notice Ben Franklin's raised eyebrow? Or the text declaration to the right of his head that says, "...

This past Sunday we looked at the voluntary humiliation of Christ in Philippians 2:5-8. As we examined this incredible passage, we asked one simple quesiton, "Since Jesus gave up His rights and privileges will you give up your rights and privileges?" It is an important question; the question Paul intends we ask from this passage. It also raises many other questions about t...

Free e-devotional for Passion Week by John Piper and others....

Early this week I came across an excellent quote by C.S. Lewis on aiming our hope at heaven. His point is unless we are properly hoping in the world to come, we will never be effective in living a full, joyful, hopeful Christian life in the world today. This seems to be the exact opposite of what our contemporary culture thinks. A confusion he winsomely and eloquently unra...

I'm a big Sherlock Holmes fan. He is not only a brilliant detective; he's also a master of disguise. One moment he can appear as an old beggar in a dark London alleyway, the next he is disguised as a dashing prince from a far away land. Disguises can be fun, until the "make believe" becomes deadly.We recently spent some time in Psalm 62 where we found David declaring that ...

Anger isn't the opposite of love. Hate is, and the final form of hate is indifference....

One of my favorite fictional works from the pen of C.S. Lewis is "The Screwtape Letters". In it he gives us a collection of letters written by a demon named Screwtape advising an underling tempter, his nephew Wormwood, on how to keep his 'patient' away from Jesus and the good news of the gospel. In this short excerpt, Screwtape advises Wormwood on using time to wear down a...

Last Sunday we talked about bitterness and the way it can take hold of our hearts if we are not careful. Here are some evidences of bitterness shared originally by Lou Priolo in his booklet entitled "Bitterness: the Root that Pollutes". Difficulty in resolving conflicts Trying to resolve conflicts with someone you harbor business like trying to build a skyscraper with...

Enjoy this short documentary celebrating Clayton Valley Church's 50 Years of faithful Gospel ministry....

In 1964 Pastor Bill Herzog along with three families gathered together on this side of Concord in order to begin a new church. They began meeting in the Farm Bureau building on Clayton Rd. and later were given the opportunity to purchase a 2 acre lot on Michigan Blvd. Today in 2014 we celebrate the legacy of those believers who had the vision, endurance and faith to make ...

There are a few books outside the Bible that I put in a special category. They have touched my life in a very significant way at a very significant time. It seems the Lord in His wisdom brings them across my path at just the right moment, when a particular trial weighs me down or when I'm in need of another perspective. Maurice Robert's book, "The Thought Of God" is one of...

God has always shown Himself faithful by carrying out His promises and His warnings. In the book of Lamentations the prophet Jeremiah declares, The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.- Lamentations 3:22-23 This statement of God's great faithfulness comes from the prophet's lips...

This past Sunday as a part of our series "Oh the Depths of the Wisdom of God", we explored the holiness of God together. I promised you that I would post this selection of Bible verses on our blog, because I was moving through them too quickly for those who were jotting down notes. Here are those verses along with their headings. May the Lord put all of us in a state of in...

We recently spent time in the Gospel of Mark looking at Jesus' repsonse to the criticism of the Pharisees. They accused His disciples of doing what was not 'lawful' on the Sabbath (Mark 2:24). He responded to them by saying that the Sabbath was intended to be a gift to mankind for restoration, not a draining burden of man-made rules (Mark 2:27). He concluded His rebuttle o...

In our high tech / fast-paced age it is so easy for Christians to neglect fellowship with other believers. This neglect can be very damaging to our spiritual lives. There are too many wonderful benefits that come from Christian fellowship for it to be habitually cast aside....

We are home safe and sound! Thank you for sending us out to minster in Christ and for all for your prayers, support and encouragement. The retreat up in Jarabacoa was a tremendous success, people were drawn closer to God, and closer to one another during this time up on the mountain. The Lord answered your prayers in several ways: It was obvious that God worked in heart...

It has been a joy to personally witness the way John and Kelly Webb serve here in Santiago. They are wise, humble and compassionate servants of Jesus. And their love for Him and others is contagious. It flows through every part of their ministry. It is amazing to realize that a little over 12 years ago, there was no Vida Nueva Church in this place, only a desperate need fo...

It has been a couple of days since our last update, there is a lot to post on. We spent another afternoon continuing work on the building. It was rewarding to see progress made as cement was mixed, concrete blocks were laid and the area behind the building was further cleaned and leveled. There have also been the many occasions for fellowship with the people of Vida Nue...

We spent most of today at the warehouse the church has just purchased for their new building. There was a lot of demolition work to be done, the tearing out of doors, the removal of roof tiles, along with clean up work as we dug out and picked up a lot of trash from behind the building. The sound of the pick axes and sledgehammers on concrete walls rang out from Vida Nue...

It has been a full day of worship and fellowship with the Vida Nueva church. Your prayers have been answered very directly and clearly. Both Stephen and Thomas shared their testimonies, declaring how Jesus has saved them and is changing them. As they opened up their hearts describing Jesus' work in their lives, the church was moved by their candor. Adrian, Andrew and Sop...

We have arrived in the DR! Thank you all for sending us here and for your prayers. The Lord has already blessed us in so many ways: Everyone is here safe and sound. The Lord got all 11 of us out of the door around 3:30AM and 14 hours later we touched down in the DR. Everything we need in terms of luggage, supplies, crafts and musical instruments is here with us...

Our preparation has come a long ways since our last update. Our team members have each stepped up to care for a certain element of the trip. Some are prepping lessons and activities for the children. Others are planning through the crafts and games for the kids. We will also help with the renovation work on the new building Vida Nueva Church has just acquired. For the ...

Let's be honest, there are times that prayer is a battle. We want to seek God with diligence. We want to pursue Him in prayer not simply out of empty habit, but with true spiritual fervor yet there are times this escapes us. Why? The Bible would tell us that there are many reasons, the primary being this: we battle indwelling sin (Romans 7:15, 18). In other words, we all s...

We are continuing to prepare for our departure to the DR this June....

Do you ever find that Easter comes so fast that you never had the chance to pause, reflect on it, take it in and give thanks? Our daily work grind, the hectic pace of life and our ever growing 'to-do' lists crowd out our days and actively work against us. We need to stop and focus. There are many ways we can carve out the time to do this. We can get up early each day to re...

The grisly murders that took place last Friday have shaken our country to the core. We all stand aghast at the perverted cruelty committed against, of all people, little children....

Everyone is selling you something around Christmas. A good question to ask is, "What do you really want?"...

This past Sunday we took time to pray together for the persecuted church around the world. We saw a video about Bounchan, a Laotian pastor, who spent 13 years in prison for his faith. One of the striking things about this man's ordeal was how much he depended on and loved God's Word. He risked personal safety to obtain it and read it. He went through great lengths to hide ...

Have you ever seen a friend with a problem wanted to help them but then felt like, "I don't know how?" Maybe you said to yourself, "I would really like to care for them, but I'm not sure what to say." Or maybe you felt intimidated or uncomfortable about the issue they were facing. Thankfully the Bible really does have answers the issues we face everyday. Whether it is dif...

As many of you know we are just finishing up our summer series on "The Bible and Sexuality". One of the questions that came up repeatedly was, "What can I read in order to gain a better understanding of God's perspective on this issue?" Aside from the sections of Scripture we covered in the series, the following list might be helpful as you get started: Sex and the Supr...

During Sunday's message, I mentioned a couple of blog posts that I found particularly helpful on the topic of sexuality from a Biblical perspective. They were both written by David Powlison. You can find part 1 here and part 2 here. Be sure to read them. I think you will find them insightful, helpful and encouraging....

As I am sure you are aware, sexuality has been in the news a lot lately. Our President has come forward in favor of same sex marriage. People with varying perspectives have responded in all kinds of ways: some with unbridled enthusiasm, others with hate-filled vitriol. The media has enthusiastically stirred up this circus and covered it from every angle. This kind of passi...

I found an old gem of a book several weeks ago that has been a wonderful encouragement to me. The title of the book is "An Alarm to the Unconverted" written by Joseph Alleine, first published in 1671. Many readers have been helped by this work over the past three centuries. Both George Whitfield and Charles Spurgeon describe the way these pages deeply affected their hearts...

This is such a signifcant week in the life of every Christian. It is the last week of Jesus' life on earth. The week in which He moved with faithfulness and purpose towards the cross. It is important that we stop and remember His path towards Calvary, that we take specific steps with our hearts to meditate on what He did and how that transforms and affects our lives today....

We have talked about the evil of grumbling in our series in Exodus. Our last discussion made me think about how unthinkable it is for us to live that way in light of all of God's blessings. This must be one of the reasons we are commanded to give thanks (1Thess. 5:18). CVC recently celebrated all that God has done among us in 2011. For His many blessings over the last year...

It is a great evil to live in a state of discontentedness while in the midst of God's mercies....

The Clayton Valley Church family had a wonderful time this past Saturday wrapping gifts free of charge in front of T.J. Maxx....

Idolatry is a subtle and fierce enemy of our souls. Last Sunday morning we examined the dangers of idolatry as we continued our journey through the book of Exodus (listen here). Clearly during the first plague as the Nile River turned into blood (Exodus 7:17) Yahweh demonstrated His superiority over the false gods of the Nile. This would be a very disturbing event to ancie...

Riding in the mountains, thinking about Psalm 121...

As I was reading and praying this morning, I came across this prayer in "The Valley of Vision". I read this collection of Puritan prayers frequently because I appreciate their depth and warmth. I hope they will help me learn more how to pray. Try offering this prayer to God from your own heart. Let it stir your affections toward Him as He stregnthens your soul. Resting On...

We began our morning piling into the van and heading out with Edwin on a couple of visits. The first was to the small store owned by his father in the middle of Santiago.One of the things really valued by Dominicans is praying over their homes and businesses. It was an honor for us to spend time visiting with "Frank" (Edwin's Dad) and seeing in his eyes a trust in the L...

Be sure to stop by this blog between Saturday, June 11th and Sunday, June 19th for updates on CVC's summer mission trip to the Dominican Republic. We will keep you informed of what is happening on the ground, how the Lord is at work in our hearts during the trip, and what He is doing in the life New Life Baptist Church in the Dominican. We thank the Lord for your ongoing p...

In our pursuit of a warm and close walk with Jesus we often and easily forget what is central. We are a culture of achievers, more accurately 'over-achievers' who need to feel a sense of accomplishment tethered to something we 'do'. In contrast with this the Bible calls us repeatedly to pursue what we 'do' not for its own sake, but rather to 'do what we do' because of who ...

" The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to Him is not to believe that He loves you." - John Owen This has been my favorite John Owen quote over the past few weeks. He has been recognized by many historians as one of the greatest of all English-speaking theologians. Many of his works have become theological classics. I...

God created us as beings with desires. Our problem is not eliminating desires themselves but fulfilling them in nothing less than Christ alone....