What We Mean by God's Sovereignty
August 20th, 2016
People come and people go. It’s a fact of church life. They come and go for a plethora of reasons. Some of those reasons are good, right, healthy; others, not so much. As a pastor it’s difficult seein...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
After the Attack in Nice, France
July 16th, 2016
The following are thoughts composed on the day after the Nice, France terrorist attack on Bastille Day, July 14th, 2016.It behooves us to resist the axiom spoken by George Santayana, “Those who cannot...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
Why Peter, James, and John?
June 8th, 2016
There is a truth–gem hiding away in the Mount of Transfiguration account about Peter, James, and John. The clue to this gem is found in the two ancient prophets that God sends to honor Jesus: Moses an...  Read More
by Jeff Atchison
A Leadership Challenge: Servant or Service
April 22nd, 2016
There’s a lot of talk in both the Evangelical church and increasingly in the secular business world about “servant leadership.” For many years at Calvary Chapel, Gayle Erwin has poignantly taught us t...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
The Earliest vs the Early Church
April 22nd, 2016
A January, 2014 article in The American Conservative described why some Millennials are leaving Evangelical churches to join more liturgical denominations like Anglican, Orthodox and Roman Catholicism...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
Those Who Fail to Learn from the Past...
March 5th, 2016
...Are Doomed to Repeat It.On Facebook recently, I’ve made a few comments about the parallels I see in the campaign of a certain Presidential candidate and the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1930’s Germany. ...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
Old Earth & Young Earth Resources
February 12th, 2016
We have an ongoing debate in Christianity over how and when God created the earth and, especially, mankind. There are both “Old Earth” and “Young Earth” Christians – who love Jesus and believe the Bib...  Read More
by Jeff Atchison
God Does Not Need
February 6th, 2016
I listen to podcasts. It’s a great way to maximize my time while doing other things like driving, working out, and chores around the house.While on a run recently, I was listening to the TED Talks pod...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
One Day
February 6th, 2016
When you make a vow to the Lord your God, you shall not delay to pay it; for the Lord your God will surely require it of you, and it would be sin to you. Deuteronomy 23:21When you make a vow to God, d...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
The Lifesaving Station
December 31st, 2015
[This well-known and oft-told story well illustrates what can happen when a church loses its grip on the call to evangelism.]On a dangerous seacoast where shipwrecks often occur there was once a crude...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
Flourishing
December 17th, 2015
In John 10:10 Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”This is a good promise to ponder as we celebrate Christmas. Jesus came that we could have lif...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
Prudence vs Fear
December 17th, 2015
God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. • 2 Timothy 1:7Terrorism has become a fixture of the Modern World. Terrorists use it as a means to some political o...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
The Cure to Fear
December 17th, 2015
“Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” Isaiah 41:10Ten times in the Bible indiv...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
A Secular Sacred?
December 17th, 2015
You probably missed the news story a couple weeks ago in The Washington Times about the brouhaha that erupted between France and Iran. The two counties faced a diplomatic meltdown over a dispute regar...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
Reaping the Whirlwind
October 2nd, 2015
It’s Friday, October 2, 2015. There was another school shooting yesterday. Again it’s on a college campus. Seems like a lot of these tragedies play out at our schools. But, you know how it is; sometim...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
WATCH: The Pope's Visit to the US
September 28th, 2015
In Matthew 24:42–44, after speaking of the end times and the signs which herald His return, Jesus told His followers, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is coming. . . . Therefo...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
WATCH: Boehner Resigns
September 28th, 2015
WATCH: Boehner ResignsIn Matthew 24:42–44, after speaking of the end times and the signs which herald His return, Jesus told His followers, “Watch therefore, for you do not know what hour your Lord is...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
Christian, Not Conservative
September 3rd, 2015
I’m a Christian, not a Conservative.Let me explain.As it stands today, the label “Conservative” is primarily an ideological descriptor for a political position that stands in contrast to “Liberal.” Su...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
Should a Christian Attend a Same-Sex Wedding?
April 24th, 2015
Should a Christian attend a same-sex wedding?While the answer to this comes down to a simple “yes” or “no”, arriving there is fraught with complexity. It requires we attempt to think Biblically, rathe...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
"In This Your Day" Sermon Addendum
March 28th, 2015
What follows is a brief (sort of) review of Daniel 9 as it relates to Luke 19 and the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. This is a follow-up to Pastor Lance’s message given on Sun...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
The Bible – Misunderstood Alright; but by Newsweek
January 8th, 2015
During the War of 1813, the USS Constitution won 5 engagements with British warships. During one battle with the HMS Guerriere, when the cannonballs of a broadside bounced off the Constitution’s sides...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
An Angel's Christmas Musings
December 18th, 2014
[Based on Philippians 2:5-7]I don’t understand.  It makes no sense. But then, His ways are often mysterious – even to us angels.For ages my assignment was to worship the Son.  I say “was” because all ...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
Four Ways to Interpret the Book of Revelation
November 30th, 2014
In the Message/Study/Sermon given at Calvary Chapel Oxnard on Sunday November 20, 2014, I mentioned the, “four main camps about how to understand it” and that I would put up a blog post briefly summar...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
The ISIS Take-over of Mosul, Iraq
June 13th, 2014
The story dominating the news right now is the conquest of the Iraqi city of Mosul by a ultra-radical Jihadist group called ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham; Arabic for the ‘Levant,’ or Lebanon...  Read More
by Lance Ralston
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