Serving the community since 1922
Serving the community since 1922
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With the Super Bowl just around the corner, I thought it would be interesting to give you some Super Bowl history. Did you know the Detroit Lions, Cleveland Browns, Jacksonville Jaguars and the Houston Texans have never played in the Super Bowl? Did you realize that it has been 19 seasons since the Raiders last played in a Super Bowl? How about 26 years for the Dallas Cowboys and 27 years for the L.A. Chargers? Every single year in the month of August every NFL team begins their season with the...
Have you noticed that it’s that season again? The season I am referring to is the silly season we refer to around here as election season. Every two years we go to the polls – except here in California where we mail our ballots – and we decide who we want to represent us and which of the 20 million propositions that end up on the ballot we want passed. The wonderful thing about our country is we have the freedom to choose who we want to represent us at the local, state, and national level...
How many of you know what a tattoo is? Before anybody gets defensive, I’m not preaching against tattoos. It is your body. If you want tattoos, more power to you. I don’t. But that’s me. Anyways, do you know how a tattoo is applied? The tattoo artist takes a torture device, a needle, and he runs ink into your skin with it to leave an image on your skin. How long does the tattoo stay on your skin? [BEGIN ITAL]It is permanent!![END ITAL] It stays forever. As long as you have skin, you will have...
My wife and I just returned from two weeks in the Frazier Park mountains for our church organization’s youth camp. The kids arrived at camp with anticipation of seeing friends they haven’t seen in a year, all the activities that have been planned and, of course, the amazing food at the camp snack shack. As campers and workers have all returned both tired and refreshed, it reminds me that the end of youth camp is the unofficial sign that summer is soon to be over. Back to school shopping wil...
I am sure by now most of you reading this have heard about the many mass shootings throughout the last few decades. It is tragic all of the lives that have been lost to senseless violence. Before you stop reading, I ask you indulge me a few more minutes. I am not going to argue for or against gun control or for more laws in regard to gun violence. I would argue that since the Columbine school shooting in the 1990s, we have passed many new laws and had countless hours of debate on this subject....
Has anybody noticed the price of gas lately? I realized that I am now paying close to double what I used to pay to fill my gas tank. Have you been to the grocery store lately? Have you seen the price of bacon? I know we are all feeling the pinch of higher prices on everything we need to survive. As far as I know, we are not being chargeD to breathe the air, but I hear plans may be in the works to change that (just kidding, kind of). Regardless of how you and I are being affected, this is by no...
Have you ever had an argument? Most of us have. It may have been with your kids, a co-worker or your spouse. It is unfortunate that arguments have become a way of life. There are actually people living around us who can’t communicate unless they elevate the volume of their voice. They have to be heard no matter what, so they talk over everybody. If we are to be honest with ourselves, is anything really ever solved or accomplished by arguing, except maybe in a courtroom. I have come to believe w...
SW Pastors Corner Steve Dobbs 9-2-2021 My wife and I just spent two weeks in the mountains in Frazier Park. Those that know me well know I am not an outdoors person. So why did I take two weeks of vacation from my job to spend in a place I would not normally go? The answer is simple. The Pentecostal Church of God has their annual summer camp for kids, junior high and high school ages. The camp this year was truly amazing. We had churches from McFarland to San Diego. We all had one purpose in min...
Is it safe to say that for the past year and a half we have been on an emotional rollercoaster? A year and a half ago we had never heard the word covid before. Since then it has changed lives around the world. Just like everything else in our lives it seems that there are at least two sides to this problem. We as a society can’t seem to come to a consensus on the correct plan of action. Do we wear masks or not wear masks? Do we open restaurants or leave them closed? Do we allow kids back to s...
Have you ever had a problem so big only God could fix it? You may be going through a storm right now and you see no way out. All of us have storms in our lives. You are either in a storm, coming out of a storm or headed into the storm. You are in good company. The 12 disciples faced a storm only Jesus could rescue them from. Matthew 14:22-24 “Immediately Jesus told his followers to get into the boat and go ahead of him across the lake. He stayed there to send the people home. After he had s...
If you have ever watched a documentary about wild life on the Discovery Channel you would have seen the hunting habits of the predators in the wild. When the predator sees his/her prey, they watch, they wait and then at the exact perfect time they attack. The predator does not attack the strongest of the herd, nor does the predator attack the herd as a whole. The predator will wait for the young, an injured, or one of the herd to wander off and isolate themselves from the herd. The predator...
How many of you have somebody in your life that you can say you look up to? It may be a parent, an athlete, actor, teacher, world leader or anybody else in or around your life. Sometimes we try to pattern our lives after our heroes. Let me start by saying this. I’m not against anyone making a ton of money for doing something they love to do. If owners of pro sports teams are willing to pay tens of millions of dollars to athletes to play for their team, God bless them. I would take the money just...
How many of you have ever heard somebody say, "I want to hear something deep in church. I need to get deep?" If you have never been to church and heard this statement that is OK. We are here for you. But for those of us who have heard this before, what are the people saying this really saying? I believe when people say they want something deep, what they are saying deep down is, "Please speak over my head and confuse me so I don't have to live my life any different. If I don't understand what...
Have you ever thought to yourself, “Why did God create me with stinky armpits?” Maybe it’s just me. But I have often wondered what purpose armpit odor has. Before i give you my answer, let me tell you a short story that may give us some insight. A college professor was teaching his class. The professor challenged his students with this question; “Did God create everything that exists?” One student bravely answered, “Yes, He did.” So the professor responded stating, “I guess since evil exis...
I have heard it said that the only constant in the world is change. I have never found that to be any truer than this year. I know I had big plans and high expectations when the calendar flipped to 2020. How about you? Has 2020 lived up to your expectations so far? Me either. I want to be clear. COVID-19 is serious. It is especially serious to those who find themselves in one of the high-risk categories; over the age of 65, preexisting medical conditions, etc. I know that this virus has...
Have you ever been watching a news report on television and heard the anchor say, “In other news…”? The report might sound something like this, “Today the police arrested a suspect in the grocery store robbery. In other news, city leaders were at a ribbon cutting for a new wing of the local hospital.” The phrase “in other news” connects the two stories. We would probably never put the two stories together until the anchor links them together with, “In other news.” Can I encourage you a l...
How many of you have bought a birthday or Christmas gift only to get it home to find out that “Batteries Not Included” was hidden in small print on the packaging. How frustrating is that? You have already bought the gift, now you have to buy batteries, too? It is especially irritating if you didn’t realize it until the person you bought the gift for opens it and can’t use it until somebody finds some batteries. Have you ever noticed when this happens, it feels like you have every size battery ev...
