January Newsletter 2023
A New Year. I recently came across this quote from a minister that God used mightily in days gone by. He said, “If you are not making people mad or glad, there is something amiss with your ministry. If there is not a war on, it’s a bad job for you.” This quote was encouraging…
Down is Up
Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. – Matthew 23:12 In the kingdom of God, down is up, and up is down. It is quite opposite of this world, where those who seek success and exaltation often scratch their way to the top. They boast of themselves and…
Why We Fast
And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh… – Joel 2:28 The prophet Joel spoke of God’s promise to pour out His Spirit upon all flesh, a promise that was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost when the Spirit was poured out upon the 120 disciples…
Nov / Dec Newsletter 2022
In the Last Days, Perilous Times will Come. If we can learn anything from the past few years, it is that the unexpected can leap upon us without warning. I think back to when I was writing my newsletter in December of 2019–could I have ever imagined what the world would be like in 2020,…
God will Work it Out
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. – Romans 8:28 This verse, found in Romans chapter eight, should be an ever present source of comfort for us in whatever situation or circumstance that we my find ourselves…
October Newsletter 2022
“Fear on every side!” Jeremiah the Prophet suffered horrible mistreatment in his time. Although greatly honored now by both Christians and Jews, there were very few who did anything with his words except to recite them as mockery. “Fear on every side!” they would say, making sport with his words. I can see these mockers…
How to Withstand the Devil’s Attack.
Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. – Ephesians 6:13 It is revealed to us in the book of Ephesians, chapter six, that we are in a spiritual battle against very real, invisible forces that seek to…
September Newsletter 2022
Prayer is Key. I spent the month of September preaching and teaching on the subject of prayer. It has been deeply impressed upon my heart the importance of prayer, and I’m convinced that no true success in ministry is had without fervent prayer undergirding it. I don’t hear prayer emphasized so much today, but when…
![When Our Prayers are Not Answered [Principles of Prayer – 5]](https://halchaffee.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/88cd626a-32a1-486b-a513-d90c3e5b562b.jpg?w=1200&h=900&crop=1)
When Our Prayers are Not Answered [Principles of Prayer – 5]
Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him. – 1 John 5:14-15 When I read verses like…
![We Must Pray in Faith [Principles of Prayer – 4]](https://halchaffee.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/ben-white-vbd4vy-lau8-unsplash.jpg?w=1200&h=900&crop=1)
We Must Pray in Faith [Principles of Prayer – 4]
If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it shall be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like the wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not…
![We Must Pray with Persistence [Principles of Prayer – 3]](https://halchaffee.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/sincerely-media-uov8vwlbcxu-unsplash.jpg?w=1200&h=900&crop=1)
We Must Pray with Persistence [Principles of Prayer – 3]
Then [Jesus] spoke a parable to them, the men always ought to pray and not lose heart… – Luke 18:1 One of the principles that Jesus teaches us in regard to prayer is that we must pray with stubborn persistence. He gives us two parables in the book of Luke that teach us this. We…
![We Must Pray with Right Motives [Principles of Prayer – 2]](https://halchaffee.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/aaron-burden-lpcu8hngu2e-unsplash.jpg?w=1200&h=900&crop=1)
We Must Pray with Right Motives [Principles of Prayer – 2]
You ask and do not receive because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures. – James 4:3 The Bible, in many places, gives us great and precious promises that God will hear and answer our prayers. “Ask, and it shall be given,” is what our Lord has taught us. As we…
![We Must Ask. [Principles of Prayer – 1]](https://halchaffee.files.wordpress.com/2022/09/ask-in-prayer.jpg?w=1200&h=900&crop=1)
We Must Ask. [Principles of Prayer – 1]
Every Christian should be keenly aware of the importance of prayer in our lives. It is our connection to God. Through prayer we have the ear of the most powerful Being in the universe, and with Him nothing is impossible. Tahis being the case, we ought to understand carefully the principals regarding prayer, that we…
August Newsletter 2022
Growth! I very pleased to report that we have already seen growth in the short time that we’ve been in leadership at Connect Church! Last Sunday our sanctuary was fuller than any previous Sunday, and many children and workers in the other building. Almost every Sunday we have new visitors who find our church somehow…
July Newsletter 2022
Pastoring a church. Pastoring a church is no easy task, especially if one wishes to honor God in all that he does. It may be that those who ignore the sins of their congregation and only speak happy and upbeat thoughts have an easy time. And why wouldn’t they? Certainly the devil would have no…
What does it mean to Fear the Lord?
Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear Me and always keep all My commandments, that it might be well with them and with their children forever! – Deut 5:29 The ‘Fear of the Lord’ is a reoccurring theme in the scripture, and to ‘fear God’ has long been a…
June Newsletter 2022
Pastoring a Church As you may be aware, Katrina and I were voted in as senior pastor at Connect Church on June 12, 2022. I wanted to share with you how this came about: We first visited Connect Church a few months ago with no intention of becoming the senior pastor. My family and I…
The Prodigal’s Father
Then [Jesus] said: “A certain man had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.’ So he divided to them his livelihood. And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted…
What You Can Expect of Me, What I Expect of You, and What We Can Expect of God.
As a pastor, what should you expect of me? And as a congregation, what should I expect of you? And together, what can we expect of God? It’s good to be clear about expectations when anyone is considering entering some kind of relationship. Marriage, for example, can be quite the downer for someone who enters…
Quick Note: Exciting News!
We are excited to announce that, as of June 12th, Katrina and I have been elected as pastor of Connect Church in Lake City, Florida. After much prayer and counsel, we feel like this is the direction the Lord is leading us in. I hope that you’ll join with us in prayer as we walk…
May Newsletter 2022
Since college classes are over for the year, I took most of the month of May to build out a much need office space for myself. We took a 16×10 shed and converted it into a beautiful spot to be able to focus on study and prayer. It took longer than I thought it would,…
April Newsletter 2022
College Season Coming to a Close April marked the end of the semester at the University. I ended up spending almost all of my time at the University of Florida. It was the most convenient school to get to, and, because of a gracious host, I had a place to stay the night beside in…
What Does It Mean to Abide In Christ?
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. – John 15:4 In the first eight verses of John chapter 15, Jesus reveals to us what measures we must take to be fruitful disciples. He…
March Newsletter 2022
Hell No? Is Hell too much? I hear this objection as I am out ministering on the college campus. How can a loving God send someone to hell for all eternity? Does a temporal life of sin merit an eternity of torment? The modern mind recoils at this thought. But perhaps we aren’t considering hell…
February Newsletter 2022
Turbulent times. It seems to be one thing after another in our world today, as if the world is groaning in birth pangs. It’s as a pregnant woman who only gets a short respite before another painful contraction comes upon her. We’ve had years of COVID–now we have war. What will be next? Will things…
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Hal Chaffee 