Exodus 34:26 (NASB)

The Skyway family has practiced the biblical principle of the First Fruits offering since 2000. It was then that we learned about this key offering which is different from any other offering in the Bible. First Fruits is an opportunity for every child of God to give a financial offering of faith above and beyond their tithe. This offering is a representation of each person’s belief that God is their source of provision and He will give them abundance this year. This is the first of much more to come! In the O.T. when this feast began, people would take the first ripe crops that appeared in their fields and trees and bring them to the House of the Lord during the appointed Feasts. In this same spirit of faith we bring our offerings before God today to the local church. We trust Him to bring abundance into our finances throughout this year of 2008. This offering is a Promise Land Offering. By this I mean that the fear and unbelief that controlled our thinking in the wilderness season of life is through. We are now committed to living our lives in the power and abundance of God’s provision. We will have homes, lands, vineyards and fields that God gives to us now in our real life experience! We will have good jobs, education for our kids, homes that are debt free and more. Does this sound like the type of life you want to experience? Is this what you want your kids to experience? This offering is special; it is different in this sense. It is the individual’s expression of faith towards God to change their financial future. I encourage every person to pray about your First Fruits offering today. We will begin receiving this offering next week and continue throughout the season of the feasts. I will write more about this next week

Every time we sit down to discuss a big event at Skyway the meeting usually has a portion of time when I try to convince the rest of the staff that we should have a giant blow up gorilla on the roof of the church. You know, like the ones that are at all the car lots and furniture stores? For some reason I find the beast in various locations throughout the Valley to be fascinating. The first time I brought up the idea everyone looked at each other to see if I had lost my mind. But really, did all these businesses around the greater Phoenix area lose their mind? Well, never the less the staff has won out and we had our days without the gorilla. Until last Sunday… When we celebrated our 25th anniversary with all of you we were told to come to church and enjoy the day; beyond that we did not know what to expect. The video greeting to open the day was awesome. Then came the prayers by the kids; did any of you see our future preachers? The presents and presentations were all tremendous. All of you really went way out to make us feel special. We took our treasure chest of cards home to open them after church and were continually blessed by a couple hundred cards. Many were hand made by our kids starting with the two year old class. Dawn and I sat and discussed the wonderful stories you shared about Jesus touching your lives through our ministry. The work of God’s Spirit over the years is amazing when you sit and read about it all at once. We put all the cards up around our house to read them over again. We also were blessed to receive many gift cards and some cash gifts, we probably won’t have to pay for going out to eat for the rest of the year! What an amazing day. When it was all said and done all of you who were with us for that memorable day will be talking about it for years to come. You were at Skyway when the Gorilla and his zoo crew came riding into the sanctuary in a hummer throwing out t-shirts. See, I was right. Nothing beats a gorilla to make an event unforgettable.

Thanks for blessing our lives like never before.

wenty five years of pastoral ministry went by more quickly than I would have imagined when Dawn and I came to Skyway with our six month old daughter Sarrah, our son Philip would be born three years later. When we arrived we did not have a 25 year plan in mind. We simply came following the call of the Holy Spirit. I was impressed by the Spirit that “They were like sheep without a shepherd.” Following that inner conviction was the first steps in a life shaping journey that has now lasted all these years. During this span I have been privileged to see God do many miracles in lives and bodies. I have traveled the world preaching the gospel and building the Church. I have been touched time and time again by the presence of God through someone else and I still live in awe of God’s grace and mercy for me, a man in need of a Savior. By looking back and learning I pray that the life lessons will help me be a better leader for the years to come. Here are a few things I have learned that have shaped me as a person and fellow citizen of the Kingdom of God. The first priority is family. I never wanted my children to grow up with the stigma of being a PK. AKA the Preacher’s Kid! Dawn and I have always tried to live the gospel at home and to provide an environment for our children to love Jesus and pursue him rather than resent the Church for robbing them of their childhood. We never wanted them to behave in a way to impress others. We simply wanted them to really know God. It is our greatest joy that our adult children now walk in truth. The second priority is family; my congregational family. I have learned how precious and fragile the life of a congregation really is. During these years of leading I have seen many congregations, pastors and members alike suffer from within. The apostle John had one message, little children love one another. The local church should be the safest place for finding forgiveness, comfort and restoration. When we lose this sense of security and feel we must wear Christian masks to appease others around us we cut ourselves off from the true purpose of being a part of the local church. It is in our transparency with each other that we find the grace of God through healing prayers and acceptance. No matter how important a person may seem to have become, we are all only one bad decision away from needing forgiveness, grace and mercy. I pray that our congregation will always have this atmosphere of unconditional love so we can continue to grow in Christ together as we all face the trials of life around us. Finally, the third priority is family; the family of God universal. When are we ever going to be too big as a church? Every day someone is leaving this earth without knowing the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as their Lord. Who can stand idly by and say they were not our responsibility to reach? God sent His Son to create a way for a huge family gathering in heaven. It is my greatest desire to continually raise up individuals who bring more people into the kingdom and leaders who will accomplish greater acts of faith than me. If God allows, I pray that in the next twenty five years I would live to see our fruitfulness multiplied one hundred fold. If Dawn and I could prayerfully continue to see these three priorities manifest in our future years we would be eternally grateful to Jesus. We know that all of you are a part of Skyway because you have made a choice. We want to honor that choice with our conduct, prayers and service. Thank you for being a special part of our lives all these years.

-Pastor Greg

Dawn and I had looked forward to the week of January 28th for some time. We had traveled to Dallas to spend a Monday through Friday vacation to celebrate our grandson Bennett’s first birthday. We had a special party with decorations and presents and above all we had quality time with Sarrah, Brandon and Bennett. It was a great week with special memories being shared each day. Suddenly a Thursday afternoon message on Dawn’s phone changed everything. We were driving on the freeway when Dawn repeated what she had heard on the message. “Richard has been shot.” We looked at her with disbelief and then she repeated the phrase again. We sat in silence as Dawn returned the call to her brother to try and gather the details. Little was known but it was clear that her mother Carol’s husband, Richard, had been shot and he was at the hospital. We went to the apartment and immediately began searching the internet to find flights out of Dallas. Within three hours we were at the airport to fly back to Phoenix before driving to California. Then the next call came in. “Richard had died.” Our thoughts went from a hospital vigil of hope to dealing with this tragedy. Carol was now a widow. Their day had started with preparation for a trip to St. Louis. Richard had gone to see his father before the trip. He called Carol to report being shot. She was able to get to him as the paramedics were in route. She said, “Hold on” and he said, “I don’t think I am going to make it. I love you.” With those words, he lost consciousness. In that moment, Carol’s world would change forever.

We see these events on television or in the newspaper so often we become desensitized to the emotional devastation that is connected to death. For those who have personally lost someone they love, they know the pain and anguish connected to it. Words cannot bring comfort and the quest to find out why only leads to frustration. As a Christian it is important to understand that Jesus did not come to remove all suffering, he came to help us through our suffering. Our faith is not an instant cure to sadness; but an anchor of stability. It is there to keep us from washing away with the fear and anger that rush the soul each and every day. God hates death. Jesus hates death. One day this enemy will be under our feet. Until that day, God has sent us His Spirit to give us comfort. He is here to help us walk out of the dungeon that death tries to hold us captive within. The journey out is different for each person who has suffered loss. There is no appropriate time for grieving or for it “to be over.” Little by little we find a new “normal.” It seems that those who stay connected to loved ones get out of the darkness faster than those who become isolated and live alone.

After a long day of many emotional swings I heard one voice of laughter among the many others. Carol had laughed and no one really noticed. I looked her in the eye and told her how good it felt to hear her laugh. Then everyone held back tears once again. Keep praying for Carol and all of Pastor Dawn’s family. Your love and support have meant so much to us during our time of loss.