California church burns down, but “we can worship anywhere”: The transforming power and hope of grace
The Daily Article
The Denison Forum
4.9 • 576 Ratings
🗓️ 13 January 2025
⏱️ 8 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Request your copy of Wisdom Matters today!
Article Description
More than twelve thousand structures have burned so far in California’s devastating wildfires, including many houses of worship. One was Altadena Community Church, built in the 1940s and known for its colorful stained glass. Even though the building burned, parishioners sang outdoors. “WE are the church! We can worship anywhere.” They’re right: “The God who made the world . . . does not live in temples made by man” (Acts 17:24). His transforming presence is as close as your next prayer. But there’s a catch—a temptation that many of us fall to in our lives.
About Denison Forum and The Daily Article
Today's Daily Article was written by Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins. You can read this article on our website. You may also receive it in your inbox by subscribing to our newsletter.
NOTE: Denison Forum is a fully donor-funded nonprofit ministry. To support our calling, please donate today.
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | Greetings and grace to you on this Monday, January the 13th, 2025. |
| 0:07.7 | Welcome to the Daily Article podcast. I'm Chris Elkins, narrating today's daily article |
| 0:13.0 | written by Denison Forum co-founder and CEO, Dr. Jim Denison. |
| 0:19.1 | At least 24 people, including child actor Rory Sykes, have died so far in California's |
| 0:25.6 | devastating wildfires. |
| 0:27.6 | Sixteen more remain missing. |
| 0:29.6 | More than 12,000 structures have burned, including many houses of worship. |
| 0:35.6 | One was Altadena Community Church, built in the 1940s and known for its colorful stained glass. |
| 0:42.6 | It was destroyed last week. |
| 0:44.6 | It's shocking, said their pastor, it's a reminder to us all of the fragility of life. |
| 0:49.8 | The congregation's Facebook page showed images of the building engulfed in flames, |
| 0:54.7 | but another showed parishioners singing outdoors. |
| 0:57.8 | The caption read, |
| 0:59.1 | We are the church. |
| 1:00.8 | We can worship anywhere. |
| 1:02.5 | They're right, as we read in Acts 17, verse 24, |
| 1:06.0 | The God who made the world does not live in temples made by man. |
| 1:10.6 | His transforming presence is as close as your next |
| 1:14.3 | prayer. But there's a catch. I recently read a sermon by the 5th century French bishop Faustus of |
| 1:21.1 | Rees on the time from John 2, verses 1 through 12, that Jesus turned water into wine. He interpreted this miracle as symbolizing the work of Christ by which we're saved, |
| 1:32.7 | not by the Old Testament law, but by his atoning grace. |
| 1:37.0 | Quote, by Christ's action in Galilee, then, wine is made, |
... |
Please login to see the full transcript.
Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from The Denison Forum, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.
Generated transcripts are the property of The Denison Forum and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.
Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.