Calvary Chapel of Silver City

Early Church History Tour

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:16:30 +0000

There will be an Early Church History tour with Calvary chapel rio Rancho to Greece, Turkey and Rome from 10/25-11/8/2010.

Cost will be around $4250 per person and a $500 per person deposit is required by March 15th.

Please see the information on the bulletin boards for more information or call the Church office.

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No College Study Friday March 12th

admin — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 02:13:37 +0000

The college study for Friday, March 12th has been canceled due to spring Break. Related posts:No College Home Study The College Home Study Group at Pastor Joe’s will not...No College Home Study Until After The Holidays The College Home Study Group will not be meeting until...College Home Study Group Put On Hold The College Home Study [...] Related posts:

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The Great Contradiction

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 20:30:16 +0000

“My Testimonies”
Larry Lightner
For: Calvary Chapel- Silver City
March 2010 Installment

The Great Contradiction

“For who can eat and who can have enjoyment without God.” Ecclesiastes 2:25 “There is an appointed time for everything…..a time to give birth and a time to die.” Ecclesiastes 3:1&2

In the past twelve months I’ve had to come face to face with death; oh, not in myself, but in the death of others whom I’ve cherished and loved and known, and I find it a very unsettling and sad enlightenment.

In the past, I’ve always tried to avoid dealing with the death of others as much as possible. Actually, I’ve known very few people and loved ones who have died, and when possible, I avoided going to funerals.

Now let me intervene here a moment and explain that for my own self, I’m not afraid of death; I actually look forward to it and am ready for it, even embrace the thought of it. I feel the same way about my wife and others I know who are “saved”. That’s because I know that I know, that I know, that when I die, I will be going to be with Christ forever.

No, that’s not my problem with the idea of death; my problem is with dealing with the loss that comes with death; my personal and deep loss of a loved one, or close friend or even those I’ve known for a very long time.

I have trouble, and am having trouble, dealing with those losses in the short and long terms. I call that experience the “act of grieving” and it has been very hard on me.

In the past twelve months I’ve lost three very close “loved ones”, a close, long-time friend, and three other long time friends. That’s a whole lot of loss to deal with in a very short time!

At times, I’ve been devastated to the point I wanted nothing to do with anyone; I hold my grief very close to my vest, and it is a very private affair to me.

But through it all, God has been teaching me. Of course, I’ve also been asking the “big question”; Why Lord? Why did you take some of them away from me now?

Now I’m not talking about me whining and complaining over the deaths, but rather, I ask as a seeker of truth; someone who has a need to understand in some small way. I don’t demand of The Lord, but I certainly do wonder.

I needed those loved ones and friends, so apart from it being their “appointed time”, why did God take them from me just now? Why?

Yet as I’ve asked this question over and over, and in some cases, still am asking, the only answer I’ve been given is absolute silence. God chooses not to explain, but then I ponder, “Why should He? After all, He is God!” He owes me nothing.

Then, last week, as I did my usual morning hike, as I still pondered this very subject, this great and profound thought suddenly hit me square between the eyes; a thought that in 56 years of being “born again” had never really impacted me before, and it is this;

Virtually everything I own; everybody I know or have known, and everything I do, is temporary! Nothing is permanent! All of this around me, including the very earth itself, will eventually disappear, whether soon or much later. Why, I’m not even promised the next moment!

For me, this is true revelation; I can depend on nothing or no one, except……..

There is one subject in all of creation and even beyond creation; one subject that won’t ever let me down; one Being that I can always depend upon to be there; and He is The Triune God- Father, Son and Holy Ghost.

The Bible says the He is known as “I AM”. He is eternal; He always was, is, and always will be.

As I pondered the very permanency of His Being, I suddenly realized that my relationship with Him is really the only thing that is important. All else will fail me. It struck me that it is vitally critical for me to work on my relationship with God on an ongoing basis.

After all, didn’t Christ say, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” Joshua 1:5 and Hebrews 13:5. Wow!

You see, through the loss of others and in my experiencing that loss, I’ve discovered the permanency of Christ! Without loss I cannot understand or appreciate what I have in my relationship with God!

Let me put it another way; I don’t appreciate good health until I am sick; I don’t appreciate a full stomach until I am hungry; I can’t understand warmth until I am cold.

And so, even though the losses have hurt me deeply and greatly, I have peace and joy in resting in the fact that until I too die, and when I die, I will always, always have God and Christ!

Which brings me dear reader, to this month’s challenge; do you absolutely, without a single, tiny doubt, know Christ as your Eternal Savior? If not, why not? The Scriptures say, “Now is the acceptable time.”

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Israel’s Idolatry

admin — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:51:29 +0000

Listen to last Sunday’s teaching (2/28/2010)

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About Our Easter Service

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:32:15 +0000

We will be having our service at WNMU Fine Arts Center Theater on Sunday, April 4th. We will need ushers and greeters, counselors, parking lot attendants, people to help in the nursery, set up and tear down, and provide refreshments. Please prayerfully consider serving in one these capacities. Related posts:Join Us As We Celebrate Easter This year our [...] Related posts:

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The Call and the Enablement

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 03:17:04 +0000

Listen to last Sunday’s teaching (2/21/2010)

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Calvary Christian Academy Benefit Golf Tournament

admin — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 13:35:22 +0000

There will be a four-person golf scramble on Saturday, March 20th to benefit Calvary Christian Academy.

The teams can be made up of men and/or women. Registration fee is $50 per person which includes a golf cart, and is required by March 18th.

Hole sponsorships are also available. Information is available at both entrances or by contacting Jarrod Mason at 538-3795.

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Valentines Day Dinner

admin — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 17:40:45 +0000

The Friday night Couples Kinship is sponsoring a dinner on Sunday, February 14, at 6:30. The cost of the event is $20 per couple and features a gourmet meal, special dessert, and musical entertainment by Jezreel. Childcare will be provided.

RSVP cards are available at both entrances. Please return RSVP’s and payment to the reception desk. Proceeds will benefit the youth group.

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Pure Worship

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 01:56:32 +0000

Listen to last Sunday’s teaching (2/7/2010)

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The Flesh Vs The Spirit

admin — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 04:06:31 +0000

“My Testimonies”
Larry Lightner
For: Calvary Chapel- Silver City
February 2010 Column

The Flesh vs The Spirit

“ Having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace” Ephesians 6:15

Virtually every morning in the past 10 years or so, I have prayed on the armor-of-God spoken of in Ephesians chapter six; after all, this is not given to me as a suggestion, but as an order, so that I may have victory against the forces-of-evil and my flesh.

Of all of the pieces of armor, the shoes-of-the-gospel-of-peace are the hardest for me to wear.

That word, “peace” shouts out to me; if I’m to wear these shoes, then I must be at peace with everyone that I come into contact with; men, women, Christians and pagans.

To be truthful, that’s a very difficult task for me. My flesh, my old nature, wants me not to forgive, and wants me to always seek revenge or get even! And when I do that, then I give way to the spiritual forces of darkness to work their way upon me.

My spirit, on the other hand, tells me that I must do just the opposite; that’s because when I accepted Christ as my Savior and Lord, His Spirit came to live within me and be joined with my spirit. His Spirit is the Third Person of the Trinity, God Himself, The Holy Spirit.

Because of that turmoil within between my flesh and my spirit, I can now identify very closely with what the apostle Paul said, “For what I am doing, I do not understand; for I am not practicing what I would like to do, but am doing the very thing that I hate.” Wow!!

Now then, I’m not using this an excuse to cater for my flesh and choose to sin, but rather a motivation to do what my spirit wants me to do!

Getting back to that word “peace”, I had to come up with scriptural definitions for it in order to wear the shoes of the gospel of peace, and then apply them throughout each and every day.

here is what I came up with;
Peace means this to me; Jesus said, “Bless those that curse you.” Luke 6:28 And so, I pray a blessing on those who have offended me and I try to do it by name at the point of time of the offense. Secondly, I verbally choose to “love my neighbor and my enemies.” John 15:12 & Matthew 5:44 Thirdly I choose to “be kind …..and not slander: Ephesians 4:31&32 And lastly, I choose to “forgive and not hold a grudge” Matthew 6:14

I verbally choose to say this aloud every morning while in the shower or taking my dawn hike. That is my way of putting on the shoes of the preparation of the gospel of peace. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always work out that way come the rest of the day.

Years back, I was working with a fella named Earl, and we just never got along; the chemistry didn’t seem to be there. We rubbed each other the wrong way on a regular basis.

Eventually Earl was given the promotion that the boss had promised to me, and I wasn’t aware of it until he got the job. Oh, I had an inkling, and had even asked the boss about it, especially when I found out that I had to train Earl in all aspects of the department, but the boss told me that it was because Earl would be my backup. Hah!

I mean, can you blame me for not liking Earl? Over a period of time, I came to the place where I actually hated Earl; He’d walk by and I’d point my finger at him and cock the “trigger” and go bang, shooting him dead!

As a Christian, I was deep in bondage and try as I might, I couldn’t break that hatred even though I prayed continually for God to remove it. You see, my flesh had overwhelmed me with a goodly help from demonic sources, and it was an everyday occurrence.

One day I was feeling particularly “murderous” after just cocking my finger at Earl, when the Holy Spirit broke through my feelings and said, “Larry, enough is enough. I want you to go to Earl and forgive him, then ask his forgiveness for the way you’ve thought about him and treated him.”

What Lord???? “ I can’t do that! It’s all his fault!”

But the Spirit kept on convicting me like The Hound-Of-Heaven until I gave in. I knew that I had to obey.

I’ll never forget what happened next; I sucked in my gut and walked right up in front of Earl and said, “Earl, I’m a Christian, and I’ve hated you, and as a Christian, I can’t do that. I’m sorry for the way I’ve treated you.” Then I stuck out my paw and asked Earl to forgive me.

Well, Earl just stood there, first looking me in the eye, then looking down at my extended hand. Then slowly, he replied that he would forgive me and we shook on it.

What a feeling of inexpressible joy, relief and freedom flooded over me! All of my anger, hurt and hatred left right then and there and I never once felt a negative emotion for the man after that! God had set me free!!!!

You can take this to the bank; if someone offends you, or even if you just perceive that they offended you, over a sustained period of time these emotional sins will overtake you in the following order; hurt, anger, resentment, bitterness, hatred and then, murderous thoughts and even possibly, revenge!!

The absolutely, only way you can break this vicious cycle, no matter where one is in the cycle, is to forgive the person, confess the sin to God and ask His forgiveness, and then repent right then and there.

I won’t tell you that there aren’t times now when I don’t have problems in this area; I do. Every time that I feel someone has offended me in any way, real or perceived, especially when it involves a brother or sister in Christ, I get hurt and mad! But it is then that I remember the lesson with Earl and I cut it off at the pass; I forgive them, and I ask God’s forgiveness (Matthew 6:14) and then I pray a blessing on them.

I refuse to give the Devil a foothold (Ephesians 4:27 & 2 Corinthians 2:10&11). If the feeling comes back, I renounce it all over again and ask the Lord’s help and forgiveness; sometimes that will occur several times in a day!!

God, always in the end, gives me the victory, but it ain’t easy!

Let add here, that if for some reason I can’t get victory, then I know that The Lord wants me to go to the person and confess my sin and ask their forgiveness (Matthew 18:15-17). Only then will there be relief and healing.

That’s exactly why I try to head it off before it develops and pray on those shoes every morning. It is my sin-weakness (just one of several!) and I need that motivation to help me have the right mindset when the offense comes along.

You see, the responsibility to forgive and let go is first mine, not God’s. He will not help me to do that first step, but He will give me the strength to do it! (Phillipians 4:13)

So here is the inevitable challenge to you; Do you put on the shoes-of-the-preparation-of-the-gospel-of-peace? Do you put on the full armor of God as well each and every morning of your life to help you ward off your own personal demons? (Ephesians 6:12 & Romans 7:15). If not, why not?????

PS. After I finished writing this, I realized that back in April of 2009, I had written a similar column on the same subject; and then The Spirit told me that it needed to be said again, because someone reading this, still had a sin-problem and they needed to hear it again. A word to the wise; I will be praying for you!

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