“For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.” Eph. 2:10
In the very beginning of time, God set into motion a necessary redemptive plan of salvation for all of man in order to once and for all redeem man that we may dwell with him in the far reaches of the heavenly realms giving him praise and honor among the angels for all of eternity. This plan, being made essential for the reconciliation of our corrupt world to the Father, has been revealed to us by Him through his law, his prophets, and his Son: through his law because it condemns us of an unrighteousness that can only be made right through the atoning sacrifice of Christ Jesus, through his prophets because they spoke of the salvation that could only be attained through the coming messiah long before the birth of Jesus, and through his Son because he not only lived according to the law and the prophets, but he carried out a life of obedience to the Father in his ministry, his death, and his resurrection as he offered himself “as a ransom for many.” Upon receiving this message of reconciliation, we as members of the body of Christ become a part of his redemptive plan of salvation. Our calling is to then become Christ’s ambassadors (2Cor. 5) charged with making disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that Christ has commanded us (Matthew 28).
Now, when you bring together a multitude of people who have all taken part in this redemptive plan and have received the grace of God through faith, you give this fellowship of believers a term; church. Church isn’t just a place where people go to sing or hear some guy in a suit holler about a guy named Jesus (both of which are important), church is a living organism where each member is a functioning part of its body and where Christ is head. These things we know, but let me also remind you that it is a place of Christian love. “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.” 1John 4:8. The Palisades Church has shown me nothing but love, encouragement, fellowship, and family. Thank you for answering the call these past years as God has called this church to richly bless my walk. You have been responsible for my spiritual growth and without a doubt have challenged me to become a man of God. This scripture is my prayer for you…
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen. Ephesians 3:14-21.
-Nick Fowler

I was sitting in an 8th grade classroom at Challenger Middle school on this day 10 years ago. We had an announcement come over the speakers calling for everyone to go to their homeroom classes and wait for further instruction. So everyone anxiously rushed to their respective classes for we had not yet been told what was taking place and we thought maybe a surprise assembly or some special treat. We were sadly mistaken. My teacher turned on the TV and we all sat and watched live as the horror and destruction was very quickly overcoming New York City. To be completely honest I remember not being really sure what to think. I knew this was a very bad thing, a scary thing, but it never really hit me that day. Maybe because of my age at the time and all of the action movies that were always on TV I was desensitized to the massacre taking place. Maybe because it was on the other side of the country I had no immediate fight or flight reaction or emotion. I didn’t realize the implications of what had happened right away. I hadn’t let the gravity of that moment sink in until much time had passed. But here we stand 10 years to the day, roughly 8 years into war, just months into long sought after justice, and only hours into reliving that day all over again. Sadly, for many, their hearts can still feel the sting from 0-hour. Families, friends, and those directly affected tragically suffered losses beyond a magnitude that many will never quite comprehend. These men, women, and children weren’t equipped with rifles, helmets, or combat training, rather with innocence, pride, and freedom. Then at the hand of terror they were blindsided and in half a day; gone. “…God, where are you…?”
Jesus to his disciples:
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you….When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning. “All this I have told you so that you will not go astray. 2 They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, a time is coming when anyone who kills you will think he is offering a service to God. 3 They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. 4 I have told you this, so that when the time comes you will remember that I warned you…I tell you the truth, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. 21 A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. 22 So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy. 23 In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name…“But a time is coming, and has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. 33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the orld.” John 15 and 16 In times of terror He has promised us peace, in times of pain He has promised us compassion, and in times of death He has promised us life.
-Nick Fowler

Glenn VanZandt has accepted the minister position at Palisades. He will begin at Palisades on October 30, 2011.
Welcome to our New Minister and his family to the palisades family.

One Sunday afternoon, a few years ago, on exactly January 13th I was pumped because I was about to play the coolest game ever with some of the coolest guys ever. A game called Berzerker. It’s a combination between football, rugby, soccer, and basketball. Awesome! Right!? YA! It was the first play of the game, I got the ball, took one step, and POP!! I was down. I tore a calf muscle and the next 2 weeks of life were the most agonizingly dreadful, exhausting experience over…crutches. Now some of you may think, “oh, crutches, those look easy.” or “I’ve been on crutches before and they weren’t that bad” well I hated them! But of course, I learned something as we all should from each experience. Crutches really made it difficult to get around, especially since I had to get around UAB. For the most part, I just tried as much as I could to suck it up and be tough about traveling multiple blocks. I think what helped out a lot was the fact that people were very thoughtful. They held open doors and were always offering to help carry things for me; however, I nicely rejected the help. I’m not sure why, I just wanted to do everything for myself, even something as simple as carry something up stairs. So I did. I never fell down the stairs or was unable to perform my day to day tasks. I made it! While I crutched from place to place I did have a lot of time to just think. I thought mostly about how tired and sore I was, and I often asked myself what the root of my hard headedness was in not accepting help. But mostly I thought of how all of us want to do everything ourselves when it comes to Christianity. Let’s take a poll (raise your hand if this applies, I will too)….How many of you want to do everything you can each day to ensure a spot in Heaven? How many of you spend time each day reading the Bible and praying because you want to be saved? How many of you think that you will be saved because of your deeds, faith, or because you have committed less sin then someone else? I’m pretty sure we all know that we can’t earn our way to heaven, but don’t we usually revert back to that kind of lifestyle? Things begin to get a little rocky and all the sudden we are at church 24/7, we are constantly praying, looking up scriptures, and trying our hardest to walk the straight and narrow as if our works and efforts are going to save us, or bring us back to a comfortable place. These are things we should be striving to do always, not to earn a spot in heaven, but because we already have obtained that spot and are beginning the heavenly lifestyle here on earth. Jesus prayed “Your will be done, on EARTH as it IS IN HEAVEN.” For the duration of my injury, I had a very hard time moving around. Without my crutches, I would have never been able to move. I couldn’t do it by myself. We can’t do it by ourselves. We need the aid of Jesus and his blood, we need the grace of God, and we need to give up and surrender to Him. Sometimes we need that “injury” to bring us down before God so that we can view Him in the right perspective and see that there’s nothing we can possibly do to get where He sits. All we can do is accept His invitation. It took months to recover from that injury, and I still have a deformation in that muscle. But I’m physically back to full speed thanks to the doctors and therapists. Most of all thanks be to God. I’m imperfect, unworthy, and injured, but His gift of grace allows me to run full speed after Him. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” Ephesians 2:8-9. –Nick Fowler

When was the last time you sat in an airport? Did you ever take a look around at all the people who were also sitting? They were just sitting there… waiting. Then the incoming flight finally gets there. As you wait to board do you ever notice the people coming off the plane? They are either frantically walking out to catch another flight, running out to give someone a hug, or just walking off the plane in their own little world because out of thousands of people no one is there to welcome them. The airport is an interesting place to observe the behavior of others. And it’s also a great place to make parallels with spiritual living which helps me with this article. Chances are you have been at one time or another all 3 of these passengers, and even that one person just waiting. You can remember times in your spiritual walk when you just seemed to do nothing but sit and wait. Sit and wait for God to do something, wait for instruction, or wait for an occurrence in your life. We go through seasons where there’s nothing we can do but wait. But how do YOU wait? Do you wait as if you’re sitting in a terminal, with all the other silent “waiters,” or do you find purpose and action? We have all at one time been that person who gets off one flight only to rush to the next because if we don’t make it, it’s gone! We may not have the opportunity to get to our destination as soon as we wanted, and in the traveling world that’s usually a bad thing. But when living for God we know that God is constantly opening doors and closing others (Rev 3). In fact there are more verses in the bible about open doors than closed doors. Are you a busy body? Do you constantly move without taking a look around at the people surrounding you? The lamp in your living room gives constant light to that room because it doesn’t run around your house as soon as you turn it on. “You are the light of the world, a city on a hill cannot hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on it’s stand and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in Heaven.” -Jesus. One of the best qualities about this church, Palisades, is the love one member has for another. When one of us gets off our “plane”, another is right there to welcome them home, to give them love, and provide a fellowship. I think that’s what Jesus wanted in his church. I also think he wanted us to welcome those who walk off that plane with no where to go, no one to see, no one to care…God cares. We should too. However long ago it was, we were all alone at some point. Then God adopted us as his child, then the church, and now we follow those footsteps. As our church experiences those who frequently “fly Palisades” or those just passing through, let us remember our purpose, and tend to these people who come from so many different places. After all, I know that we all would like to end up together at the final destination.
Nick Fowler( thenick@therockatpalisades.org )

Many people like to ask the question, “Where is God?” There are so many times in which we hurt and suffer. There are other times in which life seems so unfair. God has promised us many things, but He has not promised us that life would always be fair, pain free, or conflict free; however, many people still get the illusion that because they become a Christian life is all downhill from there. Well, yes and no. No, just because you become a Christian doesn’t mean that you get one of those “easy buttons” from Staples. There’s no button you can just push to speed past conflict and find another comfortable area. You will go through a hard time whether it be struggling with sin or the various trials in life that kick you in the butt and you wonder “God where are you in all of this?” Then there’s the “yes” aspect of this. Because you become a Christian and accept Jesus into your life, you no longer have to let sin run your life. You now have a savior who rescued you from death, from eternal suffering. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 5 that God has given us his Spirit as a deposit to guarantee that eternal life, our heavenly dwelling is coming. We receive a God who loves us, who has loved us, and will love us forever. With a God of this magnitude comes an all knowing God who knows your every need, thought, passion, struggle, and pain. O LORD, you have searched me and you know me. 2 You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down; you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue you know it completely, O LORD. 5 You hem me in—behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too lofty for me to attain. 7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you. 13 For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. 14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well. 15 My frame was not hidden from you when I was made in the secret place. When I was woven together in the depths of the earth, 16 your eyes saw my unformed body. All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be. 17 How precious to me are your thoughts, O God! How vast is the sum of them! 18 Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand. When I awake, I am still with you. Psalm 139:1-18 I love this psalm, especially vs 17 because it shows the psalmists surrender to the wisdom and knowledge of God. Instead of taking a stand of pride and self-reliance, he acknowledges God’s thoughts, plans, and will as being supreme to anything we could ever think of. So where is God? From what we have read, He is everywhere and in everything. To feel His presence you must first be aware of His presence. My challenge for you is to go out and find Him. Where in the world is He? But most importantly, is He in you? 1 Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your love and faithfulness. 2 Why do the nations say, “Where is their God?” 3 Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him. Psalm 115:1-3
-Nick Fowler ( theNick@theROCKatPalisades.org )

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
Most all of us should have been able to finish this verse without having to read it. If you’ve spent any time in church, spent time around people who go to church, or watch sporting events on TV hopefully you know about “John 3:16.” I remember when I first read this verse I thought, “how easy is that?! Just believe and gain eternal life!” It kind of makes you wonder why other people don’t believe. I mean we are talking about eternal life here! God has given us a gift, we simply take that gift, and then boom; eternal life! Now, we do know that eternal life is a gift. We did nothing at all to receive it. Well, ok, we did confess our belief that Jesus Christ is the Son of the living God and that he died for our sins and that he conquered death by raising himself from the grave 3 days after entering. We then put Christ on in baptism, spiritually demonstrating our own death, burial, and resurrection. We then rose from the waters as a new creation with no condemnation having received the Holy Spirit and the gift of eternal life. Not that these are works to be done by us to gain entrance into the Kingdom, but acts of faith. You see, no one is cut out to live righteously. No one can stand alone before God and say, “I’m good enough, I make the cut.” We are all broken and incomplete before entering into God’s grace. Even upon entering that grace we sometimes fall short, but the atoning blood of Jesus covers our sins, and God’s grace is made new in us. So why is it that more people are not making a decision to accept God’s grace and live for him? Logically and spiritually it makes so much sense! Live for the world and die to God reaps eternal death. Live for God and die to the world reaps eternal life. I think if more people knew the pure gospel message, they’d make a positive eternity changing decision. But many churches have clouded up that message, and so many “church goers” have missed their important missions to evangelize to the lost. So now what? How do we teach this message? What can we do as “church goers” to change this? I believe God is calling for us to step out of the title of “church goer,” and put on the clothes of “Christ follower.” Then people will be able to see Christ outside the walls of the church and witness the grace of God. The thing about eternity is that we think of it as something far off in the future when we die or when time ends. I believe it begins the moment you confess with your lips, believe with your heart that Jesus is the Son of God, and then put on Christ in baptism. Then is when your eternity begins; an eternal walk with God. –
Nick Fowler

This week’s message is going to be very simple; Greater Than. “More of you and less of me, oh my Father, I want to be”, these lyrics I’ve heard sung by an a capella worship group called “Glad”. How simple are those words? We sing similar songs such as; “More Precious Than Silver”, “More Love to Thee, O Christ”, and “More Like Jesus”. What’s the theme here? More, more, more! Sound familiar? More is the world we currently live in.

I don’t have to go into much detail about how much the world salivates over new stuff, more stuff, and better stuff. I don’t need to elaborate on how much people of the world run after the world and seek more for their own wealth and self-satisfaction. It’s unnecessary to spend much time expounding upon the darkness of this world and those who choose to stay in that darkness, because we all know of that pain, loneliness, shame, and defeat. You see, we view that dark place as such because as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ we have stepped into His eternal light. We can look back and see the darkness in which we once treaded all alone. We can even go as far as seeing how enticing and pleasurable that place once was. But there was still something missing, out of order…empty.

I heard a man on TV the other night say that the world is an intense place, its message is intense, its people are intense, and Christianity is falling behind because Christians are losing their intensity for the message of the cross. Is that true? Are we falling behind? Is it impossible to keep our same soul saving gospel message and communicate it in a way the world understands?

Speaking to Nicodemus in John 3, Jesus says, “we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen but still you people do not accept our testimony.” Why doesn’t he accept Jesus’ message? I think he had a “more” problem. In fact I think most of the people who came face to face with Jesus had a “more” problem. But all of those who came face down to Jesus, they were on to something. You know, those people who recognized who Jesus was. It’s like they got the answers to the test, the tip on how to get their promotion, the extra bonus, the secret to life… they got more. They simply stood before Jesus with their hearts bowed. They reached out only to touch his cloak. They exclaimed, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world”; “He who comes after me has surpassed me because he was before me”; “He is the one who comes after me, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”They had it, and John the Baptist really knew his place. He goes on to say in John 3:30, “he must become greater; I must become less.” How different is that? How intense?

When the whole world is running to increase itself, to bring honor to itself, and glory to itself, there were people like John who lived out a message exclaiming that “He is greater.” Is it time to take a step back and examine who is greater in your life? Do you live as if God is greater than…everything? John 3:31a- “The one who comes from above is above
all…”

Nick Fowler

1. Estamos invitando a todas las mujeres hispanas a participar de un retiro espiritual que se realiza anualmente, sera el dia 27 de Agosto de 20ll.

2. Tambien les estamos invitando a una conferencia biblica a celebrarse los dias 29, 30 y 31 de Julio. Estaremos participando el dia viernes 29 y el sabado 30, los que esten interesados notificarlo antes del viernes 15 de Julio.

3. Estamos planificando, nuestra actividad familiar para el mes de Agosto. Mas detalles proximamente.

Ministerio hispano
Palisades Church of Christ

by Paul Spurlin

It is impressive to note the great influence that Joshua had with those of his generation. We find in Joshua chapter twenty four, verses twenty nine through thirty one some great examples of the leadership of Joshua. “And it came to pass after these things, that Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD, died, being an hundred and ten years old. And they buried him in the border of his inheritance in Timnathserah, which is in mount Ephraim, on the north side of the hill of Gaash. And Israel served the LORD all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders that over lived Joshua, and which had known all the works of the LORD, that he had done for Israel (KJV).” Of course, much of that influence was due to God being with him and doing many “great works.”

Such as the parting of the Jordan River, the fall of Jericho, the day the sun and moon stood still. But credit must also be given to Joshua, from the very beginning the promise of God’s support was based upon Joshua’s faithful obedience to the Word of God (Joshua 1:1-9). Joshua therefore stands before us as an example of what it takes to be a great leader. Every generation needs good leadership, especially in times of struggle and doubt

For those who lead, or who might one day serve as leaders, Joshua serves as a role model. For those who follow, he serves as an example of what we should look for in our leaders. The Church needs more Leadership. Let’s all step up and do our part.