I met a mom on our volleyball team who’s been here since 1989, and I said, “There’s not many of us who have been around since the 80’s. Did you go to Temecula Valley High School?”
It was the only high school around.
Way back in the last millennium, the Promenade Mall was nothing but pastures, and the power plant by our church was a smelly worm farm.
“Where did you live?” she asked.
“Over by Pechanga, before Pechanga was there, on East Loma Linda Road.”
“Wow, that’s right down the street from where I grew up!” Back then, it was the one of the only neighborhoods in town. Most of our church lived there.
Now look at us. We’re spread from Corona to Escondido, from Hemet to South Temecula. People drive in every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night from San Jacinto, Lake Elsinore, Menifee, and beyond, not to mention all the neighbors from the surrounding areas.
Nowadays, Temecula is different, but the Book is the same. Dad preached it in 1987, and we’re still preaching it today. I mean, of course, the Good Book—God’s Holy Word, the Bible—from which we’ll be looking at Joshua’s encounter with God today.
It’s a timeless book, and we serve a timeless God. A few weeks ago we learned that Joshua set up a pile of rocks as a memorial. The same God that brought Moses through the Red Sea was the same God that brought Joshua through the Jordan River. And He’s the same God for you, too.
As exciting as 36 years is, it’s nothing compared to our timeless God! I praise God for two years as the pastor here, but I want God to give us 36 more. Happy Anniversary, church.
-Pastor Ryan