A special love offering will be taken, following our regular offering, on Sunday, September 6, to help our missionary, Raul Sifuentes, pay for his airfare so that he can participate in an Amigos Sin Frontera mission trip to the state of Durango, Mexico. Raul presents the gospel to those who come to receive medical care.

Audios of the presentations given in Dallas at the district conference are now available online. However, the presentation given by our pastor and that given by John Halford are not available due to technical difficulties.

Inspire Women will be holding its annual conference on Friday evening, November 6 from 630 to 1000PM at the Fountain of Praise Church. This is a truly inspirational event. In addition to a message from founder, Anita Carmen, this years conference features guest speaker Arthur Blessitt, who carried a cross over 38,102 miles to share the gospel. Also speaking will be Carolyn Thomas, a survivor of abuse with 10 major facial surgeries. The program also features worship leader, Lisa Pierre.

The cost is $15, when you register through our coordinator, Karen Quinn. Free t-shirts with the conference logo will be given with the registration as long as supplies last. It's fun to wear the logo to the event! You may email Karen at karenquinn5@comcast.net or call at 281 578 1949.

It is our goal to have ten women attend this year. This is a good outreach event. So, do plan to invite a friend or neighbor who would enjoy attending this evening of inspiration with you.

Hello once again from Community Christian Fellowship, The first time I heard that statement, it was made by a Ph.D. from Liberty University speaking on how to relate with difficult people. When he said it, all of us in the room laughed. Then he began to explain what he meant. You see, when we as humans get angry, we release a stress hormone that has a profound effect on our bodies. Our blood system fills with adrenaline, and the result is the same as being in a critical situation, a crisis, or an unexpected emergency. The "fight, flight, or freeze" response kicks in, and our brain starts working in a way that is like instinct. In other words, it's very difficult for anybody to think in a reasonable manner when they are really angry because the part of your brain that allows you to think in a complex manner is simply not functioning the way that it should. It's like you are literally ready to fight, run, or pass out due to overwhelming stress.

Many people I've talked with can actually "feel" the anger coming on like a "rush" or "pressure" that starts in their chest and usually moves to the neck and face. Becoming angry or enraged effects our bodies in a profound way. Depending on the circumstance, that can be really good or really bad. Unfortunately, it's usually really bad. Now, would you believe me if I told you that the Bible gives us very specific instructions on this very subject; it really does.

In Ephesians 4, Paul encouraged the church to "think" about certain things in a certain way. He says whatever is true, noble, right, pure, lovely, admirable, if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think on these things. Now, Paul knew nothing about the biology of the brain, but God always has. God knows what happens to us when we become angry. We literally get "stupid", our brain chemistry changes, and we don't think as clearly as we should.

When we're angry we certainly don't think about the ideas mentioned above in Ephesians 4! Now don't get me wrong, this anger response can also save us if we're in an emergency where "miraculous" actions have to be taken, like lifting something we normally couldn't lift, or running faster then we normally would. Even so, when this response is brought on by anger, the results are usually pretty bad. We can say and do things we wish we wouldn't have. And when people ask why that happened, we usually answer with "I don't know, I was just so mad".

That's where we as Christians can rely on the Holy Spirit to "renew our minds" and help us think on the good things that God has blessed us with, no matter what we may be facing. So, no matter what, as crude as it may sound, always remember, if we get mad, we'll get stupid. Until next time, Pastor Mark