Upcoming Events
Beach Baptism
Join us for beach baptism on October 4th at 5:00. We will serve hotdogs and drinks at 5:00 and around 6:00 head to the beach so bring your favorite beach chair!
Staff & Leaders
Our dedicated team of pastors and staff are here to provide spiritual guidance and support - as well as resources to help you on your faith journey.
See What’s Happening
Check out this month's events to find out what's happening and how you can be involved. Explore the full list of upcoming ministries and services.
Connect and Grow
At Church by the Sea, we believe that faith is not meant to be lived out alone. We offer various ministries, small groups, and community events to help you connect with others and grow in your spiritual journey.
Whether it's attending a Bible study, joining a prayer group, or participating in a community service project, there are numerous opportunities for you to deepen your faith and build meaningful relationships.
Messages that Matter
View our library of previous sermons.
A Holyish Church #16
1 Corinthians 12:31 ESV But earnestly desire the higher (most helpful) gifts. And I will show you a still more excel...
Pastoral Devotionals
Jesus Wept: Acceptance First | Devotional Three
I'll never forget when I had a participant complete my workshop : "Recovering from the Losses of Life” She came to meet with me following the class to explain the extent of her Grief. "I'm in the Breakout Sessions, and all these people around me are crying about things that happened so long ago, and I don't feel that intense sadness. Is there something wrong with me?” The ironic thing I’m going to say as a Pastor (who is writing you a devotional to help you in your grief) is: No one gets to tell you how to grieve. Not even me. What I will tell you to do is embrace it as a part of your life. What doesn’t often get mentioned is that Grief & Love coexist as parts of each other. Pushing Grief away because it’s uncomfortable or messy doesn’t do anything for you. And it doesn’t fully acknowledge the great Love for which the loss is so devastating. The methods I’ll share won’t matter much if you haven’t given yourself Permission to grieve. It’s not dissimilar to attending any type of recovery meeting. You have to start by saying “Hi, I’m NAME, and I am bereaved.” The five stages of Grief are : Denial, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, & Acceptance. Acceptance comes at the end, but the other four can occur in any order and sometimes simultaneously. I add that Acceptance isn’t just the last stage of Grief; it’s also the first. There are those reading this who just haven’t had time to grieve because of life circumstances. Others whose loss is a year old, and still others who are still in shock from a loss this year. All are experiencing the same Category of Spiritual and Emotional pain, But in different levels of severity and type. So for example … Jane Doe’s grief Journey may look like this: START: Acceptance of being bereaved -> Anger & Bargaining -> Denial -> Depression -> Anger -> Depression -> Bargaining -> CLOSE: Acceptance of the Loss. Notice how I say CLOSE instead of END. Any of these may be reopened even after the loss is accepted. But post-acceptance, you and that loss have become acquainted. The tears may be involuntary … but you still are in a place of control that you may not have had when the shockwave of losing someone hit you initially. Still, John Doe’s may look more like this: START: Acceptance of being bereaved -> Depression -> Denial -> Depression -> Anger -> Depression -> Bargaining -> CLOSE: Acceptance of the Loss. See the variety? I redirected my Counselees to think of it not in terms of asking whether there is something wrong with you. But asking if you feel whole. Have you done all you needed to do to feel and release the pain? If the answer is no, or I don’t know, then likely we’re still in the thick of it and that’s ok. The alternative question would be … Is the burden finally light enough to carry? The time it takes to achieve that lightening can vary. I do think Christians have a unique hope and advantage. We believe in resurrection. Right after Jesus wept over the dead Lazarus, he proclaimed “Even though a Man shall die, yet shall He live.” For believers who have this baked into the fiber of their being, The pain can be greatly reduced and the process of grief even shortened. In light of Scripture ... a separation is a loss, but it’s not a permanent loss in the Kingdom of God. And don’t hear me wrong ... that I’m just telling you to just have more faith; What I’m saying is what St. Paul said: “We Grieve but not as those who have no hope.” So three Scriptures for you today: (1) First Thessalonians 4:13 “We do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” (2) Ecclesiastes 3:11 "He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end." (3) John 11:25-26 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. 26 And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” → Of the stages, which is the loudest right now? → Or do you feel like you're completely off the map? I’d love hear from you. Pastor Jonny M.Min Biblical Counseling Church by the Sea
Blog
Brain vs. Me
I got a little behind on my writing for you all between sessions, including my Tuesday Tidbits, Wednesday Wisdom, and Faith Fridays. We had some of my wife’s family in town from Brazil for Zoe’s eighth birthday! Even with the busy house, I managed to send the first installment in a new series. I believe it applies to all of us walking alongside each other in this new Soul Care Ministry. The core concept comes from Dr. Lee Warren, a Christian neurosurgeon. It starts by acknowledging that our brain is malleable, meaning we do not have to let it command our true selves. In other words, you have a brain, but you are not your brain. This principle allows us to step back from what is happening to us when our brain gets stuck in survival mode. Warren drew on his own PTSD from his time in Iraq. At a certain point, he realized his brain was telling him he was still in danger when he was actually safe. He developed a process using surgical metaphors to excise unwanted synapses and replace them with a newer, truer narrative. That sounds a lot like the Apostle Paul: "Be transformed by the renewing of your mind." My goal is to distill his worksheet and make it more practical for everyone. Some of us navigate ADHD or other forms of neurodivergence. Some of us try to change our partner's behavior before looking in the mirror. Others are trying to break the chains of long-standing habits and disorders we no longer wish to carry, or escape complexes handed to us by parents, bullies, or past trauma. I believe the pattern for confronting these struggles is largely universal. We will all mutually benefit, myself included, as we walk through it together. So, where do we begin? Grab a piece of paper, a journal, or a notes app, and list your chief complaints. (Chief Complaints is a medical term for charting. In this case it’s areas our Soul is wounded. Addiction, relationships, etc.) Write down the subjective aspects of those complaints. These are things like, "I feel bad about myself," or "There aren’t enough hours in the day." It is the complainy stuff, the brain static version of the situation. Next, write down objective truths you have learned from faith: "I am beloved." "Thoughts can become things, but I am not my thoughts." "The idea that others have it better is an assumption, not a fact." The following step involves an assessment and a plan. For now, however, I want us simply to sit with the comparison. Look at what our brain defaults to as an organism primed for survival over thriving, contrasted with what we know to be true in this season where we have faith, community, and a lot to be grateful for. Just sit with that contrast. I’ll be back tomorrow.
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