![]() ![]() So, in addition to regularly reading the Bible, I was reading A.W. Pastor Hartland took me under his wing and recommended solid Reformed books for me to read. I was baptized in 1991 and added to the membership of the church. I realized that this was because I had only recently been born again by the Spirit of God. My language changed I wanted to go to church and be with God’s people I began to regularly read my Bible and my marriage began to improve. After several months, I noticed that areas of sin that used to have me in bondage no longer had controlling power in my life. As I continued to sit under the faithful preaching of God’s word and the personal discipleship of Daniel Warda, I embraced the message that sinners are justified by faith in Christ alone, but saving faith is never alone it is always accompanied by the fruit of obedience to the word of Christ. At first, I was resistant, but I was impressed with Daniel's knowledge of the Bible and his ability to answer my questions straight from the Bible. ![]() In addition, the associate pastor at the time, Daniel Warda (now my fellow elder), did a Bible study in our neighborhood. His preaching was rational, coherent, understandable, and yet very passionate. Anyway, after we arrived and the service started, we both quickly realized that we had never before experienced anything like it: Pastor Steve Hartland actually opened the Bible, explained the meaning of the passage, and made real-life applications that flowed from the text. I was angry because our former church was within 10 minutes of our home and I thought we must have passed 100 churches by the time we drove all the way to RBC. The first time we visited, I remember getting angrier and angrier as we seemed to drive forever to get to the church (RBC was located approximately 25 minutes from our home in south Corona). Based on the recommendation of a neighbor, we visited Riverside Bible Church on a Sunday in September 1990. This was a biblical truth that I do not recall ever hearing in our Baptist church but even if I had heard it, my heart was too wicked and enslaved to sin to embrace it.Īfter it was disclosed that the assistant pastor of our church had engaged in adulterous affairs with six women, we decided to look for another church. I did not know that faith in Christ meant freedom from the bondage of sin. Also, even though I was a member of the church and taught 5 th & 6 th grade Sunday school, I continued to practice sin. I was more interested in watching football and baseball on TV than attending church on Sundays. I was very sporadic in my church attendance. We joined a Baptist church where we were members for about 3 years. I still did not grasp the gospel.Īfter we got married, we moved to Corona, CA. ![]() But, I was still dead in my trespasses and sins and committed to my sinful lifestyle. Compared to my Lutheran childhood, I was more exposed to the Bible and genuine examples of sincere, personal faith in Christ during my Church of God experience. While attending that church, I responded to several “altar calls ” I was baptized I became a member and I tried to speak in tongues. Just before we got married, Denise and I were attending church at a Church of God congregation in Anaheim. I am very thankful that about 10 years later, in the providence of God, she became my wife. I was attracted to her from the first time I saw her. Denise’s family moved into a house across the street from my house when I was 11 and she was 10 years old. When I was confirmed in the Lutheran Church, I was dead in trespasses and sins I loved my sinful lifestyle and I did not understand the gospel.Ī very important event occurred during my childhood years: I met my future wife, Denise (then Denise Gierman). When I was in junior high school, I attended Lutheran catechism classes for three years leading up to my “confirmation.” I am thankful for my parents and all that they did for me growing up, but I was never taught about sin or what salvation through faith in Jesus Christ meant. My family occasionally attended a Lutheran church near our home in Anaheim. Not pictured: Billy Foster (Amanda's husband), Caitlin Whitcomb (Andrew's wife), Sarah Whitcomb (James' wife) The Whitcomb Family, from left to right: Blake Whitcomb, Lyn Whitcomb, Denise Whitcomb, Andrew Whitcomb, Amanda (Whitcomb) Foster, Joel Whitcomb, James Whitcomb.
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