http://www.tularechurchofgod.org/

Tulare Church of God, 159 S A Street, Tulare, CA (2026)

09/08/2026

From Pastor’s Desk: "Preparing the Way."

“And you, little child, will be called the prophet of the most high, for you will go before the Lord to prepare the way for his coming. It will be for you to give his people knowledge of their salvation through the forgiveness of their sins. Because the heart of our God is full of mercy towards us, the first light of Heaven shall come to visit us—to shine on those who lie in darkness and under the shadow of death, and to guide our feet into the path of peace.” Luke 1:76-79 J.B. PHILLIPS
***
First, it is interesting to note these are the words of Zacharias, the father of the “little child.” Second, they are words of prophesy to one who is to become the “prophet of the most high.” Third, the prophecy contains the purpose of the prophecy and the prophet-to-be, that is, to be the forerunner of his cousin, Jesus, who is the Christ, the Messiah.

What a privileged, honorable position, or status, to assume in life. Not a long life, but impactful, with one purpose, to “go before the Lord to prepare the way for his coming.” A life that would end in tragedy. But the tragic end testified to the fact that he had done what he had been born to do.

John did not assume the role of greatness. He declared that “He must increase, but I must decrease” (John 3:30). John’s gospel was one of baptism unto water, as he said, “I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance. (Matthew 3:11a). But he made sure that it be known that Jesus’ role was more than that, as continued in the last part of that verse, “but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire…” (3:11b).

John prepared the way for the first coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Aren’t we, the church,to prepare the way for His second coming? We, like John, are to testify of Him, of His life. We, like John, are to let the world know that He is coming again. Of course, John was not among the crowd that saw Jesus ascend into heaven, as the angels stood by and told them, “Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 3:11), but we are.

John’s life was short, but his message wasn’t. It rings throughout time! The purpose for his life did not die with him. His purpose is the same for the church. His purpose was to declare and to make way for the coming of the Lord. The purpose of the church is to declare and make way for His coming again!

Everything else John did in his life was subservient to the one thing for which he was born. Should it not be the same for the church?

09/06/2026

9-6-26 SUNDAY SERVICE: "Without Love." Part Two

09/04/2026

From Pastor’s Desk: "Give God Your Little!”

But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. Micah 5:2
***
Not meaning to take away from the greatest significance of this verse, that being the prophesy of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and thus our celebration for this Christmas season, but “…though thou be little…” jumps out at me.

We have the tendency to think that big things (whatever) get the job done better than little things. We place such an emphasis on big things that we usually are not impressed, nor even satisfied, with little things.

Quite the contrary, however. Paul, to the Corinthian church, (2 Corinthians 8:15) quotes Exodus 16:18 to the Corinthians: “He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.” The wise king, Solomon, wrote that it is the “…little foxes that spoil the vines…” (Song of Solomon 2:15). In 1 Kings 17, we find the story of the woman who had nothing left but “…a handful of meal, and…a little oil…” When the man of God found her, she was gathering sticks to build a fire and cook one last small meal for her and her son. When she did what Elijah told her to do, the final outcome was “…the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail” (1 Kings 17:8-16). Elijah’s successor, Elisha, had a similar experience with oil. 2 Kings 4:1-7 gives that account: A little oil left in the house, a debt left by her deceased husband, and the probability of her sons being enslaved to pay it off. When she obeyed the man of God, the final outcome of her story was Elisha telling her, “Go,sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.”

There are many people who thing they don’t have much, if anything, to offer the Lord, that He might use them in Kingdom work. A look at great, successful people will readily dispute that. If questioned, they will assure you that they weren’t always so successful. They will tell us that it took many endeavors in small, or little, things, that finally turned into one big thing.

One thing is certain. God only expects from you what you have to give. In Acts 3:4-6 is a marvelous account of what God can do with little: “Peter, fastening his eyes on him with John, said “Look on us…”6 Then Peter said, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.”

Give your “little” and see what God will do with it! The barrel of meal will waste not, and the cruse of oil will not fail.

09/03/2026

From Pastor’s Desk: "Mary’s Song."

And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord, 47 and my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour… 49 For he that is might that done to me great things; and holy is his name. Luke 1:46-47, 49
***
As with many verses, one must consider the entire passage wherein they are found, such as is found in the J.B. Phillips New Testament translation: 46-55 Then Mary said, “My heart is overflowing with praise of my Lord, my soul is full of joy in God my Saviour. For he has deigned to notice me, his humble servant and, after this, all the people who ever shall be will call me the happiest of women! The one who can do all things has done great things for me—oh, holy is his Name! Truly, his mercy rests on those who fear him in every generation. He has shown the strength of his arm, he has swept away the high and mighty. He has set kings down from their thrones and lifted up the humble. He has satisfied the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away with empty hands. Yes, he has helped Israel, his child: he has remembered the mercy that he promised to our forefathers, to Abraham and his sons for evermore!”

Travel back in your mind to the time when Mary uttered these words within her dialogue with her cousin, Elizabeth. Sometimes, as we are experiencing certain situations, everything is rather surreal until something, someone, or some word, prompts the reality of it. The full impact of what was happening may have come when Elizabeth, full of the Holy Ghost (v. 41), cried out to Mary and proclaimed, “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.”

Maybe the most precious aspect of Scripture is that it can relate to anyone, anywhere, at any time. Verse 50 speaks to that: “…his mercy rests on those who fear him in every generation…” That means all those who have gone before, all those who come after, and to all who living now! No one will ever experience what Mary experienced, but over and over have we not experienced great things from God? Things that tend to make us magnify the Lord and cause our spirit to rejoice?

We often sing a chorus that might offer a summation:
Look what the Lord has done, look what the Lord has done
He healed my body, He touched my mind, He saved me just in time
O I'm gonna’ praise His name, each day He's just the same
Come on and praise Him, look what the Lord has done[i]

He’s still doing great things! He name is still holy. How glorious to know that we were included in Mary’s song!

[i] Look What the Lord Has Done, Mark David Hanby © 1974 Exaltation Music (Admin. By Ministry Management Associates) CCLI License # 958694

09/03/2026

BIBLE STUDY
9-2-26

09/02/2026

From Pastor’s Desk: "Spiritual See-Saw."

And through your descendants all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me. Genesis 22:18 NLT
***
Obedience is the key for each, any, and all of God’s blessings. The diametrical opposition to it is introduced in the first few chapters of the Bible, and was, and continues to be, the reason people are not blessed as they should be, and the way that God desires to bless them. You remember (may I offer paraphrased edition?), she (Eve) said, “God said that we will die if we eat the fruit on that tree.” He (the devil) said, “You’re not going to die, He wouldn’t do that to you!” She said, “It does really look good to eat.” He said, “Well, go ahead and taste it and see.” She said, “Yum, it does taste good. I think I’ll give some to my man.” He (Adam) said, “Wow, that really tastes good!”

Notice that all consciousness of obedience no longer existed. Now, they were walking only in the darkness of disobedience. That is, until they heard God asking, “Where are you?” Oops! Here comes the Light of Obedience, shining into the darkness of disobedience. The ultimate consequence of their disobedience resulted in being cast out of the perfect utopia created for them into the world outside. Sadly, we’re still there, see-sawing back and forth between obedience and disobedience.

No matter how much we deliberate and/or meditate, trying to understand the root problem of sin, we so often miss it. We see people doing this or that, ofttimes we ourselves do this or that, seeing this or that as “by-products” or “side effects” of the root problem of sin, which is nothing more or less than human nature, that is, “…there is none righteous, no, not one.” (Romans 3:10), and “…all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23), just to mention a couple of verses.

While all that is certainly true, we miss, as said, the root, or that which all else is based on. The challenge would be to look back (don’t stay there too long) at your life and try to ascertain why you did, or didn’t do, something or another. You, if you’re honest, will find that it stemmed from disobedience to what God wanted you to do, or not do.

If you will take time to read the passage in Ephesians 1:15-21, you’ll find that Paul is praying for them to arrive at things, still available to us today, that only come through obedience to God’s word: “…that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give… the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him…that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe… (vs. 17-19 in part).

By definition, “see-saw” is: …an alternating up-and-down or backward-and-forward motion or movement. It’s time we get off the spiritual see-saw and quit see-sawing back and forth between obedience and disobedience.

09/01/2026

From Pastor’s Desk: "End of All Prophets!"

The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear… Deuteronomy 18:15 NKJV
***
According to theologians, this is Christ Jesus to whom “Prophet like me” is referring.

“…a prophet, a legislator, a king, a mediator, and the head or chief of the people of God. This was the very person of whom Moses was the type, and who should accomplish all the great purposes of the Divine Being. Such a prophet as had never before appeared, and who should have no equal till the consummation of the world.

This prophet is the Lord Jesus, who was in the bosom of the Father, and who came to declare him to mankind. Every word spoken by him is a living infallible oracle from God himself; and must be received and obeyed as such, on pain of the eternal displeasure of the Almighty.”[i]

“This prediction was fulfilled fifteen hundred years afterwards and was expressly applied to Jesus Christ by Peter (Ac 3:22,23), and by Stephen (Ac 7:37).”[ii]

“…standing, as Moses did, at the head of a new dispensation, and being, like him, a mediator between God and his people. Compare Heb 3:2-6.”[iii]

“Christ was truly, and in all commendable parts, like him, in being both a Prophet and a King, and a Priest and Mediator, as Moses was, in the excellency of his ministry and work, in the glory of his miracles, in his familiar and intimate converse with God, &c. And this place is expounded of Christ alone by God himself in the New Testament, Ac 3:22; 7:37. See also Joh 1:45; 6:14.”[iv]

There were hundreds of years between the prophecy and its fulfilment. Another commentator adds to the others by saying that there would be “a continual succession of prophets, till Christ, the end of all prophets, comes.”[v]

I like that “…end of all prophets…” don’t you?

[i] Adam Clarke’s Commentary, Power Bible CD, 5.9
[ii]Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary, ibid
[iii] Family Bible Notes, ibid
[iv] Matthew Poole Commentary, ibid
[v]1599 Geneva Bible Notes, ibid

08/30/2026

8-30-26 SUNDAY SERVICE: "Without Love." Part One

08/28/2026

From Pastor’s Desk: "Bearing / Bringing Forth Fruit."

I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing…8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. John 15:5, 8 NKJV
***
There is one certainty about vines and branches: There’ll never be a branch without a vine. Well, maybe two: There’ll never be vines growing out of branches. Drawing a spiritual parallel, will we ever arrive at the cognizant fact that we, as the branches, can do nothing, without Him, the Vine?

Without the Vine, we don’t exist. Without the Vine, we will never grow, and thus, we will never produce the fruit of the vine. There is no great mystery to the word fruit. It comes from καρπός karpos (kar-pos), that means exactly that; fruit, (as plucked), literally, or figuratively.[i] The same word is used later in the chapter, verse 16, with the intention that we “…go and bring forth fruit…”
The association between the verses can be lost if we’re not careful. Notice that verses 5 and 8 are referring to us, who abide in Christ, bear(ing )much fruit. Verse 16 then says that we are to go and bring forth fruit.

One commentator offers on the verses 8 and 16:
v. 8 Bear much fruit] Are fruitful in good works; are faithful, zealous, humble, devoted, always abounding in the work of the Lord. This honours God.

v. 16 Bring forth fruit] That you should be rich in good works; faithful and successful in spreading my gospel. This was the great business to which they were set apart, and this they faithfully accomplished…this is the great end for which Christians are chosen…[ii]

In Galatians 5:22, the same word is used, there listing the fruit of the Spirit, with, of course, the admonition being that we produce said fruit.

Verses 1, 2, and 4 are the qualifying verses for the entire chapter: I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine-dresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit…4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.

For those who do not bear fruit, or bring forth fruit, be sure and observe the stringent message in verse 2. We must be careful to bring forth fruit! If we don’t produce fruit (of the Spirit), we’re never going to be the person God intends for us to be. We must be careful to bear fruit! If we’re not, well, you can see what happens. If you are, there is going to be a pruning process. Don’t be afraid of the pruning process; it is of vital necessity.

[i] Strong’s Concordance, e-Sword
[ii] Albert Barnes NT Commentary, Power BibleCD, 5.9

08/27/2026

From Pastor’s Desk: "Follow the Right Voice!"

I am the Good Shepherd and know my own sheep, and they know me,15 just as my Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. John 10:14-15 TLB
***
David, long before he became King, testified to King Saul that he had protected his father’s sheep to the extent of killing a lion and a bear with a club and his bare hands (1 Samuel 17:34-37). Though he was but a lad, David certainly had to have known that with a bear and a lion it could have easily gone the other way. We have only glimpse of guidance to suggest that it was his faith in God that enabled victory. That being in the words he shouted back at Goliath, “You come to me with a sword and a spear, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of the armies of heaven and of Israel—the very God whom you have defied” (1 Samuel 17:45). Seems like it may have been an inherent faith, or at least a faith instilled in him through teaching from his father, as was the custom, and his many experiences while tending sheep.

I realize my thoughts/comments may seem to be awry of the message of the verse, but bear (no pun intended) with me.
Although the sheep belonged to his father, David took personal responsibility of them. It would have been understandable if he had just let the bear and/or lion take them. After all, he was just a boy. His father would surely understand. We’re given clear indication that he didn’t stop to think about it. His father’s sheep was being taken and he wasn’t going to let it happen. End of story.

I’ve seen reports on how much sheep rely upon their shepherd’s voice, and how the shepherd knows each of his sheep. If someone other than the shepherd stands at the entrance of a place where sheep are gathered and calls to them, they will pay no attention and continue to graze. Let the shepherd, however, call once, and immediately the sheep will leave their grazing and come and follow the shepherd, wherever he may lead them.

Another Shepherd, we are told in today’s verse, lay down His life for His sheep. It is the voice of that Shepherd that we must follow. Stands to reason, doesn’t it, that we must know His voice if we’re going to follow. Remember, the shepherd knows his sheep, each one. It may sound a little far-fetched to think that shepherds could know each by name, but one article on the subject offers:

First, he presents the Bible thought: To him the gatekeeper opens; the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out (John 10:3). He then continues, “During the time of Jesus, shepherds would often leave their sheep in sheepfolds for safety overnight. Now a sheepfold was a walled enclosure with a door in it, and it usually had no roof. Several flocks would be kept in one sheepfold with one shepherd guarding the door. Each shepherd knew his own sheep and his sheep knew him. Jesus even tells us in John 10:3 that when a shepherd entered in the morning, he would call his own sheep by name. By name! Think about that for a minute. The shepherd knows each sheep individually and knows his name. Now when Jesus talked about the shepherd and his sheep, he was really talking about himself and his followers. In John 10:14 he explained, "I am the good shepherd; I know my own and my own know me." Jesus knows me and you and all his sheep, and more than that, he knows us all by name. How comforting! "All we like sheep had gone astray until the shepherd came. He brought us to the one sheepfold, and there he calls our name."[i]

The chorus of a song puts it this way: “He knows my name, He knows my every thought, He sees each tear that falls, and hears me when I pray.”

Be careful who you follow! Make sure it’s the Chief Shepherd’s voice!

[i] He Calls His Sheep by Name, John 10:1-10by[Bruce Terry]([http://bible.ovu.edu/terry/index.htm](http://bible.ovu.edu/terry/index.htm

Tulare Church of God

09/08/2026

09/06/2026

09/04/2026

09/03/2026

09/03/2026

09/02/2026

09/01/2026

08/30/2026

08/28/2026

08/27/2026

Address

Telephone

Website

Alerts

Contact The Place Of Worship

Shortcuts

Share

Category

Listing takedown request