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April 16, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Women's Ministry Update
Will we be found faithful? We are in the heart of our spring Bible study series, "Rooted," and week 6 through the book of Ruth does not disappoint. This Tuesday, we're sitting with Ruth 2 – the moment Boaz notices Ruth gleaning in the fields and says, "I've been told all about what you have done." Her faithfulness was seen, even when she thought no one was watching. There is so much in that for us. New faces are always welcome. Bring your friend or family member. Printed study guides are available at the door, and you can jump in at any point in the series. Many women have joined mid-series and said they wished they'd come sooner. If you've been on the fence, Tuesday is your week.Sign Up Here We're thrilled to spotlight Dr. Kezia Addo, one of our Women's Ministry small group leaders, who just successfully defended her doctoral dissertation in public health last week. Kezia, you have juggled leadership, study, family, and faith with extraordinary grace. We celebrate you. Volunteer need: We're looking for women with hospitality gifts to help coordinate light refreshments for our Tuesday evenings. It's a small role with a big impact. You’re suited to do this. 📅 Women's Bible Study – Tuesday, March 24, 6:30 PM in Room 104 Upcoming: Women's Spring Brunch – Saturday, April 19, 10:00 AM in the Fellowship Hall. Tickets available at lifeabundant.la/women.
April 16, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Family & Kids Ministry Update
Spring has sprung 🌸 Spring Carnival is this Saturday and we could not be more excited! We still need about 10 volunteers to help run game booths and assist with face painting from 9:30AM setup onward.Sign Up Here Many hands make light work, and honestly, it's one of the most fun mornings of the year. Bring sunscreen. Our Sunday Kids Church curriculum this month is walking through the story of David. We’re talking about courage, failure, grace, and restoration. Big themes, told in ways that actually land for a 6-year-old. Parents, ask your kids about it on the drive home! This week's lesson focuses on 1 Samuel 16:7, "The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." We're teaching our kids early that they are seen and valued for exactly who they are. We also want to spotlight one of our incredible volunteers, Rosa Mendez, who has served in the 4-year-old classroom every single Sunday for the past three years. Rosa, you are the definition of faithful. Our kids light up when they see you walk through that door. Thank you. Is God calling you to take your next step? Join Rosa’s team and start volunteering today. Coming up: Easter Sunday kids programming registration opens April 1. Spots fill fast – mark your calendar.
April 16, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Men's Ministry Update
We sharpen each other This Thursday, Men's Brotherhood meets for the second session of our spring series, "Present" – Being the Man You're Actually Called to Be. Last week's conversation about emotional availability in friendships and marriage hit harder than most of us expected. Several guys stayed an extra hour just to keep talking, and the conversation has continued throughout the week. That's what belonging to this group is all about. This week we're opening up Proverbs 27:17, "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another." We'll be asking honestly: who is sharpening you right now? And who are you sharpening? These aren't easy questions for men who've been taught to go it alone, but they're the right ones. We want to spotlight Tony Guerrero, who quietly organized a work crew of eight men last Saturday to help a widowed church member repair her fence and repaint her front door. No announcement, no social media post — just men showing up. Tony, that's the kind of leadership that changes a neighborhood. Volunteer need: We're looking for two or three men with construction or handyman skills to join our rotating Home Help crew, which serves elderly and single-parent households in our surrounding community once a month.Sign Up Here 📅 Men's Brotherhood – Thursday, March 21, 6:30 AM
Room 201 (yes, we meet at 6:30 AM. Yes, coffee is provided. Yes, it's worth it.) Upcoming: Men's overnight retreat – April 25-26 in Angeles National Forest. Registration now open at lifeabundant.la/men.
April 16, 2026 • 10 Minute Read
Blog Post
Nobody has a perfect family. We know that. But there's a difference between knowing it and feeling it, especially on holidays designed to celebrate what yours was supposed to look like. You scroll through social media and see curated perfection. You sit at the dinner table and feel the weight of everything that was never said. And somewhere in the back of your mind, a question lingers: What do you do when your family is broken and the culture keeps pretending perfection is the goal? Here's the truth that changes everything: God is not looking for perfect families. He's looking for purpose-filled families. And the distance between those two realities is where healing begins. The Family Was Always the Plan From the very beginning, God designed the family as the primary environment for growth, identity, and belonging. Genesis 1:28 records that after creating humanity, God blessed them and said, "Be fruitful and increase in number, fill the earth." Family was not an afterthought. It was the mechanism. And this isn't just a theological claim. Neuroscience and psychology continue to confirm what Scripture has always taught. People who grow up in healthy family environments are less likely to struggle with substance abuse, have lower incarceration rates, experience greater relational satisfaction, and demonstrate stronger emotional resilience. If that feels discouraging because your family wasn't healthy, stay with this. The same Bible that affirms the power of family also tells the unfiltered truth about how messy families really are. Four Generations of Dysfunction Genesis chapters 30 through 40 trace four generations of one family: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. And if you read their stories, you'll find yourself thinking, "This is really messed up." It is. The Bible doesn't sugarcoat it. It doesn't put its heroes in stained glass. It exposes the brokenness we all recognize. Adam blames Eve. Cain kills Abel. Abraham sleeps with his wife's servant. Isaac favors one son over the other, breeding rivalry and competition. Jacob, whose very name means "deceiver," lives up to it. And Joseph, at the end of the family line, is sold into slavery by his own brothers. Through these four generations, the patterns repeat: favoritism, deception, rivalry, manipulation, passive-aggressive behavior, distorted intimacy. Sin doesn't just separate humanity from God; it fractures families, turning intimacy into blame, siblings into rivals, and homes into battlegrounds. The cycle doesn't break until Joseph. And what Joseph did to reverse the curse his family passed down is the blueprint for every one of us still carrying the weight of what was handed to us.Subscribe To These Posts When Your Family Has Failed You, God Has Not Abandoned You The most remarkable thread running through Genesis is this: God's love is not dependent on your family's dysfunction. God made a promise, and no amount of generational brokenness could nullify it. Abraham failed. God was still with him. Jacob was a deceiver. God was still with him. Hagar was cast into the desert by the very people who used her. God showed up and said, "I am with you." Joseph was betrayed, enslaved, falsely accused, and thrown into prison. God showed up and said, "I'm still with you." Your family background may explain who you are, but it does not have to define who you become. When you read the genealogies in Genesis, name upon name, generation upon generation, God's faithful, loving covenant remains. When God makes a promise, not even your family's dysfunction can rob you of it if you lean into it. God even changed the names of these patriarchs to reflect His transforming work. Abram, meaning "father," became Abraham, "the father of many nations." Jacob, "the deceiver," became Israel, "one who wrestles with God." When you let God do His work, He transforms what looks broken into something beautiful. The Soil of Your Heart Think of it like gardening. If the soil of your life has been deeply compacted by the weight of what happened to you, if it's been stripped of nutrients because no one ever told you "I love you" or "you matter," if toxins have been poured in through words that poisoned your heart, then no wonder nothing grows. Maybe you've been trying to grow really good things. You want to be a good parent, a good provider. You want to show up when it matters. But the soil has been hardened by circumstances you didn't choose. The good news is that God is the great Gardener. If you let Him, He'll begin to till the soil again, softening it so that air and nutrients can be poured in, so that light can penetrate the dark places, and good fruit can grow. The Crucible That Refines You Joseph's story reads like a crucible. A crucible is a container that withstands intense heat. You place raw ore inside it, ore covered in debris, dirt, and impurities. As the heat rises, everything melts. The pure metal sinks to the bottom while the impurities rise to the surface. A skilled refiner scrapes away everything that doesn't belong until only the pure design remains. You and I were created in the image of God. The circumstances of life may feel like they've buried that image. But God uses the crucible of experience not to destroy you, but to refine you. The heat turns up not to break you, but to reveal who you were always created to be. If you skip the process, you get a weakened version. It might look like gold on the surface, but under pressure, it crumbles. Joseph grew up in an environment of survival of the fittest. But he chose generosity. He grew up surrounded by rivalry and pain. But he chose forgiveness. When he stood before the brothers who had sold him into slavery, now the second most powerful man in Egypt, he had the opportunity to continue the family curse or break it. And he looked at them and said, "What you intended for harm, God intended for good." Healing Must Interrupt What Dysfunction Repeats The patterns in Genesis are unmistakable. A father favors one son. Rivalry erupts. Deception follows. Manipulation takes root. And then the next generation inherits it all. The question every generation faces is the same: Will I repeat the pattern that was passed on to me, or will I, with God's help, break it? No matter your family background, there are things that happened to you that should have never happened. But if you let God heal you, He can transform it. That's the story of Joseph, and it can be yours, too. As you look at your own family experience, consider: What did your family teach you about conflict? About love? About generosity? These things may explain who you are, but they don't have to define you. And the harder question, especially for parents and grandparents: What patterns am I carrying forward, and where might God be inviting healing? When my wife and I were first married, we had to work through a lot of crucible experiences. We dealt with conflict in completely different ways. My way of dealing with conflict is to say it straight up. You're not going to have to guess what I'm feeling or thinking. Hers was the opposite. She saw conflict as something negative to be avoided. You can imagine how well that went until we made a decision: How are we going to define, as a family, how we deal with confrontation? How are we going to handle generosity and parenting? We had very different ideas, and we had to work through them with God's help to create a new way forward. How to Build a Healthy Family Today If you recognize these patterns and you want something different, here's what I've learned practically in my own life about becoming the parent and family member God has called me to be. Choose Presence Over Perfection Your kids don't need you to be perfect. They need you to be present. It's in being present that the beautiful transformation takes place. You can't script it or plan it. You're just there. When my kids started playing sports, I made a commitment to coach them. Not to be overbearing, but so we could experience everything together. Dance recitals, awards, birthdays. Sometimes it was around a dinner table where we chose to be present, no phones, looking at each other, talking about things we maybe didn't want to talk about. Sometimes it was at bedtime when we would just pray, not out of religious obligation, but out of inviting the presence of God into that moment. "Train up a child in the way that they should go" (Proverbs 22:6). It's embedded into what family is. You don't have to be perfect. You just have to be there. Speak Blessing Instead of Cursing Many of you know the pain of words that were spoken over you. You're dumb. You're ugly. You'll never amount to anything. You're worthless. When those words are spoken into a child's life, they plant seeds that harden the soil. It is never justified to curse your children. Never. Instead, learn to speak blessing. Maybe you'll be the first one in your family line who actually expresses "I love you" on a regular basis, not because someone earned it, but just because. Maybe you'll be the first to speak truth that isn't visible yet: "I see something in you that you don't see in yourself. You are worthy. You are loved. You matter." If you don't know what to say, read the promises of God over them. You are a child of the living God. You are fearfully and wonderfully made. God has a plan and a purpose for your life. When you begin to speak life instead of death, it will break a curse. Practice Repentance and Forgiveness Some of you might need to stand in front of a mirror and say the words: "I was wrong." That is not weakness. That is breaking a curse. I do this now as a grandfather. My grandkids call me Papa. And sometimes I'll say, "Papa shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry." You're modeling something. You're breaking something. You're building something. Invite God Into Everyday Life It doesn't have to be weird. Just begin to talk about what God is doing in you and how you're trying. That was maybe the greatest gift my family gave me growing up. They invited God into most everything we did. And inviting God into everyday life begins to shape and form the people around you. You Don't Have to Come From a Healthy Family to Create One You don't control what happened to you, but you do choose how you see it. And that choice shapes everything that follows. In a world that's increasingly lonely, where abandonment and rejection are common experiences, we need to fight for each other. We need to create spaces of belonging, not spaces where you have to think a certain way or behave a certain way before you're welcomed in. You belong because you were created in the image of God. Jesus said, "They will know you are my disciples by how you love one another" (John 13:35). No one has ever been won over by a slick argument. But people have been transformed because someone chose to love them. Today could be the day of transformation. The day you decide, with God's help, to believe that He is present with you and that you will be present with your family. You can't fix what's broken on your own. Only God can do that. But you can keep showing up, keep loving, keep speaking blessing, and keep inviting God into that space. You are loved. You belong. Your family story, however broken or beautiful, is not beyond God's redemptive grace. And with His help, you can create a different kind of family, one marked by presence and blessing, repentance and forgiveness, belonging and hope.
April 16, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Student Ministry Update
It’s been a week. Middle schoolers, high schoolers – we SEE you. This has been a heavy week for a lot of our students, and Youth Group on Friday is going to be a safe, low-pressure space to breathe, laugh, and talk about real stuff. We'll have food, we'll have some genuinely terrible icebreaker games, and we'll have real conversation. Want to talk to someone before we meet? We’re here. This week's topic is "What do I do when God feels far away?" We're spending time in Psalm 22 – a psalm that opens with "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" – and sitting with the honest, uncomfortable truth that doubt and faith can coexist. No easy answers. Just honest conversation. We also want to celebrate Jaylen Morris, a 10th grader who just got accepted into a competitive summer engineering program at UCLA. Jaylen, we've watched you work for this and we are so proud of you. This community is in your corner. 📅 Friday, March 21, 6:30 PM
📍 The Warehouse (Youth Wing, Side Entrance) Parents – our spring parent info night is Tuesday, April 8. We'll share what we've been teaching, where we're headed, and how you can stay connected to your teenager's spiritual life without losing your mind. We'll also have a counselor on hand to talk through what's showing up emotionally and socially for teens in LA right now. Details coming soon.
April 16, 2026 • 3 Minute Read
Pastoral Letter
I met God the other night while I was washing my car. I made the mistake of buying a black car. In fact, we have two black cars. It’s not an objective mistake in the sense that black cars are worse than any other colour car by any meaningful metric. The nature of black paint, however, is that it almost never looks clean. Any spot of water, dirt, or pollen (of which there has been plenty lately) seems to be accentuated on a black canvas, and frankly, is a glaring sore to my eye. That’s just me, that’s how I’m wired. You likely don’t care too much if your car is spotless or not and that’s good for you - sincerely, it’s good for you. I’m wired differently though, but thankfully I’m also inclined to enjoy washing my car by hand. So I took a look at the forecast to see how long my labour would be worth, and with nothing but clear skies in sight I set out to wash the car. Our kids were asleep, the evening was clear and cool, it was serene. With supplies in hand I made my move towards the driveway and there was God, waiting to met me. There’s a monkish way of moving through the world called liber mundi - “the world as a book”. It’s a way of living that moves slowly through the created cosmos, with eyes and ears open and attentive to see a story revealed through creation, as if it were a book to read. For us Christians, we believe that the world is the Lord’s, and it is a very reflection of his image. A revelation of sorts. God met me in the driveway in the stillness of being dedicated to one singular task, outside of the office and the home, and in the quiet of the evening. Without any external output or stimulus (and even without my AirPods in my ears plugging up my senses from the world around me), I was able to perceive and receive the peace of God while kneeling in soapy water on the tarmac. I’m not great at this way of living, and I wouldn’t even go as far as suggest that I’m good at it - but I’m trying. I’m trying to see glory in potato flowers and dandelions. I’m hoping to move on my feet and my pedals more often than I do on rubber powered by cylinders. I’m attempting to listen to less information (podcasts, sermons, etc.) and listen more to friends, family, and foes. I’m learning that the world is a book. I want to read it. Grace and peace,
Pastor Johnny
April 16, 2026 • 5 Minute Read
Weekly Prayer Update
A Word Before We Pray Prayer is not a last resort at Life Abundant – it's a first response. Every week this update goes out as an invitation: to slow down, to intercede, and to remember that we are not a collection of individuals navigating life separately. We are a body. What affects one of us affects all of us. Thank you for praying with us. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." – Philippians 4:6 🙌 Follow-Up From Last Week – Giving Thanks Before we bring new requests, we stop to celebrate what God has done. These are updates from prayer requests our community lifted up last week: David & Lena Reyes – David completed his first round of chemotherapy on Friday. The medical team reported that he tolerated the treatment better than expected. David's own words: "I felt carried. I don't know how else to describe it." We keep praying for full healing, and we give thanks for every person who interceded this week. The Nguyen Family – The family wanted us to share their gratitude for the outpouring of love following Grandma Rose's passing. Meals, cards, and phone calls came from all over the congregation. Son-in-law Thomas wrote to us: "We didn't feel alone for a single moment. That's because of this church." Please continue to hold them as they move through the weeks ahead, when the initial wave of support often fades. College Students / Spring Finals – Several of our college students checked in this week. The prayers were felt. A few specific notes: Jaylen Morris aced his midterm. Sophia Tran submitted her senior thesis. Marcus Webb - who had been considering dropping a class due to anxiety - decided to stay enrolled and finish strong. Keep lifting our students up through finals season. Pico-Union Neighborhood Drive – Last week we prayed over the logistics and the volunteers. God showed up. Over 400 lbs of food collected, 180 hygiene kits assembled, and as many of you have now heard, a man named George is visiting church this Sunday for the first time in 30 years. Pray he feels at home the moment he walks through the door. 🙏 This Week's Prayer Requests For Our Congregation: 🙏 Elena Sousa – Elena was admitted to Cedars-Sinai on Tuesday following a cardiac event. She is stable and in good spirits, but facing a procedure later this week. Pray for a successful outcome, for peace that surpasses understanding, and for her husband Roberto who is by her side. 🙏 The Patterson Family – James and Nicole Patterson are walking through a painful season of marital difficulty. They have courageously asked for prayer and are committed to working through this together. Please hold them with gentleness and without judgment. Pray for healing, honesty, and hope. 🙏 Pastor Andre Williams – Andre lost his father unexpectedly on Monday morning. He is taking bereavement leave through next week. Please pray for his family as they grieve and make arrangements. Cards can be dropped at the Welcome Table and will be passed along. 🙏 Sofia Castillo – Our Women's Ministry Director is navigating an immigration matter affecting a close family member. Pray for a just resolution, for Sofia's peace of mind, and for the countless families in our congregation and city facing similar uncertainties. For Our City: 🙏 Fire Recovery – Families in Altadena and Pacific Palisades are now eight weeks out from the January fires. The news cycle has moved on, but their need has not. Pray for sustained support, for housing solutions, and for the mental health of children who are still displaced and processing trauma. 🙏 Our Unhoused Neighbors – As temperatures drop this week, pray specifically for the safety and dignity of those living on the streets of Skid Row, Pico-Union, and across our city. Pray for our outreach team as they serve on Saturday. 🙏 Local Schools – Several LA Unified schools in our neighborhood are navigating staff shortages and increased student anxiety. Pray for teachers, counselors, and administrators who are stretched thin and showing up anyway. For Our Global Partners: 🙏 Pastor Hernán & Iglesia Viva, Medellín – Rapid church growth is a blessing and a strain. Pray for wise leadership, Spirit-led delegation, and genuine rest for a team that is pouring themselves out. 🙏 Hope Community Kenya – As the new classroom block opens, pray for the 140 children who will walk through those doors. Pray for the teachers, for the families, and for the seeds of faith being planted in Mathare Valley. How to Receive Prayer Every request we receive is treated with care and confidentiality. You can receive prayer in our community both in-person and online. In-Person – after each service, there’s an open invititaion to receive prayer from a prayer leader near the front of the church. The folks that you rub shoulders with in your seats are also more than willing to pray with you right where you are. Online – we can still stay connected when we’re apart. Submit a prayer request here online at anytime. A real pastor is on the other end of the line.Share Your Prayer Request
July 8, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Align Your Heart With His Will
Align Your Heart With His Will Focus Verse: Matthew 6:10 "Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Think about the last time you prayed hard for something and then added, almost as an afterthought, "but your will be done." For many of us, that phrase is a formality tacked onto the end of a request we have already decided upon. But in Jesus's model prayer, surrendering to the Father's will is not an afterthought - it is placed near the very beginning. It is foundational. When you pray "your kingdom come, your will be done," you are doing something costly. You are handing over your personal agenda. You are asking God to reign over your home, your relationships, your finances, and your plans - the same way he reigns in heaven, completely and without resistance. That is an act of trust. It requires believing that his ways are better than yours even when you cannot see it yet. The goal of prayer is not to bend God toward your desires. It is to bend your desires toward his. That realignment is where peace begins. Today's Challenge: Write down one situation in your life that you have been trying to control or force, and intentionally pray the words "your will be done" over it by name. Prayer: Father, I surrender my plans to you today. Where I have been pushing my own agenda, I ask you to reign instead. Your will is better than mine, and I choose to trust that today.
July 7, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Prayer is for Relationship
Focus Verse: Matthew 6:6 "But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you." There is a moment many people recognize - standing in a circle, someone asks you to pray out loud, and your first thought is not about God at all. It is about the people listening. What will they think? Will your words sound right? Jesus saw this exact impulse in the religious leaders of his day, and he named it plainly: praying to be seen by others is a performance, not a prayer. God is not grading your vocabulary. He is not impressed by polished phrases or lengthy sentences. He is your heavenly Father, and he is looking for you - the real you, behind the closed door, with nothing to prove. True prayer is intimate conversation, not a public demonstration. You can come to him without a script, without the right words, and without fear. He already knows your heart. What he wants is your honest presence. Today's Challenge: Find a quiet moment today, close the door, and speak to God in plain, honest language - exactly as you would talk to someone who knows and loves you completely. Prayer: Father, I confess that I have sometimes been more concerned with how I sound than with actually reaching you. Teach me to come to you as I am, without performance or pretense. Let my prayer today be real.Share Your Prayer Request
April 16, 2026 • 2 Minute Read
Weekly Update
Welcome to the weekly roundup 👋 This is your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, small groups to special events, here's how you can get connected over the next seven days. Sunday, July 12th 11:00 am Worship Service - Join us for Sunday
service in person or online. Kids Ministry - Age-specific programming during the service. Monday, July 13th Prayer Gathering - 5:30 pm Thursday, July 16th Grief Support Group - 6:00 pm in the Kids Praise and Worship Practice - 7:00 pm in the Sanctuary Upcoming Events Family Fun Day - Sunday, July 26th at 11:00 amNew here? We'd love to connect. This Week's Message "Jesus’s Teaching on Prayer"
Pastor Eric | Matthew 6:5-13 Jesus teaches that prayer is about genuine relationship, not performance. He warns against praying for human praise and using empty, repetitive words. Instead, He models authentic communication with God: a humble and private conversation that aligns our hearts with God's will. Watch last week’s sermon 👇Watch Online Community Prayer We carry each other through the spiritual practice of prayer. Here's what our community is lifting up this week: 🙏 The Palmer Family – Grieving the loss of Brad Palmer. Praying for comfort, peace and strength for the family. 🙏 Our City – For renewal and revival across our communities. Submit your own prayer request .here Giving Your generosity makes our work in our community possible. We’re so grateful for you. New to our community? No pressure. Today, just be our guest.Give Now Here Stay Connected 📩 Subscribe to this Collection to get these updates delivered directly to your inbox. 📸 Follow us on , Instagram, and .YouTube 💬 Pastoral care or questions? Connect with us here. Services: Sundays at 11:00 AM
3210 Blue Ridge Blvd., West Union, SC 29696
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