There once was a day when trophies and plaques were reserved only for those who were the best. The best athletes, the best students, the best salespersons, the best Christians. But then it dawned on someone that the same people were winning the same trophies year after year. The best athletes continued to be the best athletes, the best students continued to be the best students, and so on. So those who rarely won those top prizes tended to give up.

Posted August 4, 2008

There’s something new at The First Academy, and it’s pretty impressive. It’s the Barry C. Lock Memorial Playground and is sure to be a huge hit at the school. That is, for 5 to 12 year olds. Of course, it was imperative that we try it out ourselves — for professional purposes only — and yes, it is sturdy and a whole lot of fun.

Posted July 31, 2008

For Rob Rogers, children’s ministry should provide kids with a generous amount of fun, but the objective should well exceed mere entertainment. “Though what we will be doing on Wednesday nights will be entertaining and exciting, it will be far more than that,” said Rob, First Orlando’s Director of Children’s Music and Arts. “The most important thing for parents to know is that their children are going to learn how to become worshipers of God. They will experience activities that teach biblical truth and musical concepts.”

Posted July 30, 2007

When most people think of the Book of Revelation, they usually have thoughts of frightening global war, large-scale destruction, and various and sundry levels of catastrophe and world intrigue. And for good reason. After all, that’s what much of Revelation consists of. But there is also another aspect of Revelation that is more comprehensible, and that’s the practical truths that apply to believers today as presented in Chapters 2 and 3 of the book — the letters to the seven churches. Though those churches — Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea — were located in Turkey, they speak volumes to Christians right here in Central Florida.

Posted July 29, 2008

Grab the remote and surf through the channels on any given evening. You’re likely to encounter two or three different religious channels dealing with eschatology. Randomly visit any evangelical church on a Sunday morning, and chances are the sermon will at least mention the topic. Drop by any Christian bookstore, and you will find entire sections devoted to it. Or just simply Google the word itself and notice the number of hits it spits back. You’ll quickly come to the conclusion that eschatology — more commonly referred to as “Bible prophecy” — is a hot topic. Everyone wants a glimpse of the future.

Posted July 28, 2008

So, how effective was the First Orlando Student Ministry’s weeklong evangelistic outreach to West Palm Beach? “The kids did everything; they took the lead,” said Student Ministry Pastor Keith Harmon. “They now know that they can do ministry — even an 11-year-old 6th grader knows that he can now do ministry.” Keith was definitely proud of the 52 6th-through-12th graders he and the Student Ministry team took to West Palm Beach during the week of July 12-19. “We did everything from street evangelism to beach evangelism,” he said. “We taught the kids how to go up to people and ask them if they could share their faith with them.”

Posted July 23, 2008

Patience is not one of my virtues. I hate waiting in line. Any line. I despise slow drivers. And I’m the type of person who stands in front of the microwave and yells, “Floor it!” I probably have some form of adult ADD or, if not, it at least provides a plausible excuse.

Posted July 21, 2008

We Christians tend to be a rather proud lot. Whether we realize or not, we can be somewhat self-important. Those times when we do detect pride for what it is — the first of the so-called deadly sins of Proverbs 6 — we may feel a twinge of shame or, better, immediately confess it to the Lord.

Posted July 14, 2008

For Global Impact Pastor Bill Mitchell, First Orlando’s recent mission outreach to Thailand lived up to expectations in numerous ways, but one in particular was closest to his heart. “Almost 50 percent of the people that went had never been on a mission trip before,” he said. “When Pastor David and I first started talking about a mission trip to Thailand, one of our goals was to mobilize new people. We definitely wanted to recruit people from our congregation who had never been on a trip before, and we did.”

Posted July 10, 2008