A Day of Highs and Lows

Sunday was one of those days filled with highs and lows.  We begin with the sermon.  How much lower could we go than talking about the shame of the cross?  Our sins made the crucifixion of the Son of God necessary.  Ironically, it was the shame that lead to the high - the glory of the cross and Jesus Christ!  Your comments about the lesson were encouraging.  While attending Polishing the Pulpit I heard a lesson similar to this one that inspired this one.  The biggest different was singing pieces to several songs that emphasized the points.  The congregation was as much a part of teaching and admonishing as I was.  It was one of those times I felt I was the one who received the greatest benefit as I witnessed the Spirit of God in the faces of the audience.  I could see pain, joy, tears, etc. throughout the sermon.  Thank you all for following along with me, even during those bad pitched songs and the couple I had to stop on.

I'm thankful for David Brooker for getting everyone warmed up for the lesson.  David is really doing a good job, not to mention going to the Gifford church of Christ that afternoon for one of his singing classes, before being back for our services on Sunday night!  Every Tuesday night he leads the singing and service at Horizon Bay.  I know he would love for you to join them.

While we are on the topic of singing, this Sunday night is our monthly Circle-Up Singing.  Every month I wonder how we top the last one, or at least be as good as the last one, but somehow it always does.  Last month we tried something new by giving people an opportunity to make song requests through a survey.  We will be sending another one out in the next day or two, so start thinking of songs you would like to hear.  Last time we barely got in everyone's request, so if we have much more requests than last month we may have to do only one verse of several songs.  We will have to see.  Either way, we want you to let us know the songs you would like to hear.  Having them early allows us to have them pre-loaded onto PowerPoint, which saves time and negates the need for songbooks.

Yesterday we had two ladies come forward who have been struggling in their families.  Marisa Mackey is back with us and we welcome her and her children.  So many of you talked with and hugged these ladies afterwards and last night.  Their is nothing like that feeling of a church family loving on you.  What a high!

Last night Arthur David talked about the lows of an entire nation - Liberia.  He provided updates of what is going on in the country and the church.  It is a terrible time.  It was encouraging to learn that this church has given more money for relief than any other church he knows.  Not to brag, but to know we were able to bring something positive to hurting Christians.  Please continue to pray for the entire country.

 

As far as prayers are concerned we have many we need to remember.  Last night, it was brought to my attention Peggy Stevens is having a difficult time.  Drop her a card or give her a phone call this week.  Of course, the bulletin is filled with others who are in need of our continued prayers.  Check these each week.

Finally, we are beginning a new series called Strapped.  So many people in our country would say they are strapped for money.  This series is designed to help us move from paycheck to paycheck to a more stable situation.  To go from working for money to your money working for you.  This is an excellent series to invite friends, family and co-workers to attend.

An Especially Great Day!

It was one of the most uplifting Sundays I can remember.  Let's start with the biggest news.  Chuck and Cindy Kirby were baptized into Christ!  I have been studying with them for some time.  The first study I learned they didn't have a Bible and gave them one the next day.  They had so many great questions about God and the church.  One of my favorite moments was when Cindy, for the first time, made the connection that baby Jesus was God!  She was amazing and excited!  Our last study was two hours - one hour of our regular study and another hour of answering questions.  It was just a neat experience for all three of us.  Chuck came over yesterday afternoon to tell me "thank you"... again.  Of course, all I can do is reemphasis it was the Lord who did the work, but they were so glad someone told them the Good News.  One of my favorite questions they asked, during our studies, was "what is expected of us when we become a Christian?" They were not looking for a quick fix to their sin.  They were not trying to find out how little they can do and still go to heaven.  I could go on and on, but I am really excited about this couple.

Also, Steve announced the Porter family as desiring to be apart of this church family.  They are another couple I have been talking to.  They have been very impressed with our youth and children's program.  They moved to this area recently.  John and Tina have a deep faith in God and have been active in churches they attended in the past.  We want to welcome them to the family.  Get to know both of these families or any of our newest members of this church.

I knew the other two were taking place Sunday, but there was one more unexpected blessing yesterday.  Mike and Shelly Pickerill came forward calling on the church to pray for their marriage.   Many in the world would give up but they truly love each other and want to make sure their relationship grows stronger.  Begin praying for them each day.  They have begun individual help.  And let me say this, I appreciate their openness.  So many will let these things go until they find themselves in serious trouble, and in some cases in the land of no return.  I commend them for their decision.

By the time I got home I was emotionally exhausted, but in a good way.  After a nap I was refreshed to hear one last lesson on Proverbs from Joe Wild.  It was a good day all the way through.  I thoroughly enjoyed teaching my class that morning.  The singing in worship was so good.  This morning I woke up, before my alarm clock went off, ready to get the day started.  I'm joyful.

This week: My family still has a Jamaican in the house.  He got back from Ohio Saturday night.  He was also able to speak with a church in West Virginia.  He was supposed to go to Texas but it fell through.  That being said, he will be going back home Friday.  If you would be able to take him to the airport in Fort Lauderdale please let me know.  Bob Brackett has taken him to breakfast this morning and the Warrens are feeding him Thursday night.  If you would like an opportunity to treat him to a meal let me know.

As far as next Sunday is concerned, we will have Arthur David speaking to us Sunday night.  Brother David is back in the states but he has been a missionary we have supported from Liberia.  He continues to be in contact with the brothers and sisters there and the struggles they are facing on a daily basis with the Ebola virus.  I believe this is something we would all be interested in hearing.

Finally, thanks for the kind comments many of you made about our series on Creativity.  This Sunday I will deliver one lesson on the shame and glory of the cross of Christ.  We will use songs as a means of teaching this powerful account in Scripture.  Hope to see you.

Continue to remember those who were unable to be with us yesterday.  A special prayer for Gay Stanley has she was struggling last night over the loss of her niece.  I know the families would appreciate your remembering Reagon Brackett and Amber Roe as they are doing mission work in Africa.  Continue to pray for our sick and give praise for blessings God is giving you daily.  Have a great week.

Life's Roller Coaster

This weekend has been a roller coaster of positives and negatives.  Positive: The wedding of two Christians.  Sammy and Andrea Livingstone are now hitched and beginning a new life together.  I was fortunate to do premarital counseling with them and was looking forward to their big day.  Negative: I received a text the night before from Dave Osbourne that he would be flying into Fort Lauderdale at 11:05 am and I would be picking him up, which also meant I would be missing the wedding.  I had planned for him to come in, pick him up and for him stay with me while he is in Florida, but the details were not known until Friday night.  I heard I missed a great time at the wedding.  I did get to speak to the bride 10 minutes before she walked down the aisle, so that was a plus.

Positive: My friend Dave Osbourne is here from Linstead, Jamaica.  He is such a neat guy who is passionate about his work.  I love it!  Many of you mentioned to me how much you enjoyed hearing him speak last night.  When you find out the few resources the Caribbean preachers have access to it is encouraging when you hear them preach.  They are amazing guys.  Limited technology, limited books and limited monies to get those things if they had access to them.  This is one of the reasons I did the 2 for $20 on my books so I could provide them (and Bible majors) with a copy at my cost.  Dave was the first recipient!  You never really hear them complain, only that they feel privileged to speak for the Master.  If you would like to spend some time with Dave let me know.  Tonight and Tuesday morning lunch is already booked, but if you are interested in another time we will try to work it out.  He flies out early Wednesday morning for Ohio but will be back on the 24th before flying back on the 26th.  Negative: I have a predicament.  Missy is flying out to her mom's Tuesday afternoon and Dave flies out Wednesday morning.  His flight is at 8:30 am from Orlando International, which means he will need to leave my house around 5 am.  Here is the problem, I have to get Micah and Bella up, ready, breakfast and to school.  So (here it comes), I was wondering if we have any early birds who like to take Jamaican preachers to the airport.  I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important.  Please let me know if this is something you can do.

Positive: Joe Wild broke down yesterday morning telling us about all the good news of those we have been praying for - Peggy Stephens, Jerry Cutshall, the two little girls who were dealing with serious issues this past week.  The fact is, Joe could have made those announcements for the sermon and we would have been given a powerful lesson on prayer.  So encouraging.  Negative: People hurting in our world never ends.  Last night we announced several prayer requests of Brandy Brackett - her grandmother in hospice, her brother's surgery, and dad who has been diagnosed with kidney cancer.  When I got home last night I received an email about the Crisis Relief International in Iraq.  "We lost the city of Queragosh.  It fell to ISIS and they are beheading children systematically.  This is the city we have been smuggling food too.  ISIS has pushed back Peshmerga (Kurdish forces) and is within 10 minutes of where our CRI team is working.  Thousands more fled into the city of Erbil last night.  The UN evacuated it's staff in Erbil.  Our team is unmoved and will stay.  Prayer cover needed!" We celebrate the positive results of prayer, but may we not let up!  This is a spiritual battle we are dealing with (Eph. 6:12) and prayer is of the utmost importance (6:18).  Don't let the negatives get you down because the positives show that prayer is working.

Enough of the roller coaster.  Let's end this thing with positives!  Amber Roe made it safely to Africa for her mission trip.  Reagan Brackett is growing in amazing ways during her time in Africa with the Harding group.  Dave Osbourne will be speaking to the Tuesday morning class, which will consists of questions and answers about Jamaica and the work there.  I have two Bible studies on Tuesday.  The teens had a great start to selling out their fish fry coming up.  Add to that, Mike Wiley has been going out to catch enough fish for 100 people!  Our attendance was up Sunday.  The singing was encouraging.  All of our new Bible classes are getting great feedback.  Our children's program continues to amaze our visitors and the kids are learning more and more every week.  Our teens seem to be more united and excited than ever.  And finally, I got a free coffee this morning at Panera before I began this blog.

Let's carry these positives into our roller coaster world.  When you are coming down into the negatives it is hard to remember all the positives at the top.  Help others see them as well.  Don't dwell in the valleys.  Philippians 4:8, Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (ESV)

New Beginnings

When I laid my head on my pillow last night, I couldn't help but smile thinking about the day we just had.  It was a day full of new beginnings.

It all began with two new classes.  Based on what I heard from others, people were excited about their new study on the Book of Mark.  How can you go wrong when you study one of the eyewitness accounts of the Christ?  Personally I'm excited about my new class on personalities.  We got started with a personality test.  You will be happy to know everyone in the class has one!

We also began a new series on Creativity as we looked into the Author of our subject - God!  Many of you came to me afterwards and last night to let me know you are excited about this series.  Personally, I am too.  Someone sent me an article they found and sent it to me about the subject, which will probably make its way into this weeks lesson - The Creative Church.

Along those lines of new beginnings was our Circle Up Singing.  Not necessarily the singing as our newest addition.  Many of you suggested songs from our survey and this allowed me to get request on PowerPoint and disperse them in a good mix of older and newer/fast and slow songs.  We did not have to break out the books and barely finished on time.  Also, some who do not receive email got their early to give me their song and I was able to add it into the PowerPoint before we began.  What was even better was our attendance, which continues to prove this is one of the favorite nights of the month.  Personally I thought we might have a lower number because I knew of some "regulars" who were out of town and a storm was moving in right before we were getting started.  We filled the Hebrews Coffee Shop!  I want to give a "shout out" to Lonnie Ledford, Mad Money Mike, and our ministers Joel and David, for leading this week.  We were short of our two all-star song leaders David Brooker and Bill Raikes and they really made this night go.  Along with that we added our newest edition of celebrating our monthly birthdays at the end.  We had a big cake, they received a gift, and of course, we sang to them.  Below is our blurry picture of the birthday folks.  Look at all those smiles!

 

 

What else can I say, it was just a great day!  We had some good visitors Sunday morning, a great day of worship and praise and ended with good fellowship!  We are blessed at this church!

 

Now let us share the blessings with others this week.  Go out and visit or call one of our shut-ins.  Send a card to someone who is sick or has been struggling.  Go have coffee with someone you think may be lonely.  Tell a friend or co-worker who is lost spiritually about the Redeemer.  And pray, pray, pray for all of these things and others who need the help of God.  Pray for those suffering Christians in the Middle East.  Pray for the Christians suffering in Liberia from Ebola, as well as others in that region.  Pray this disease is contained.  Pray for our missionaries, our own Reagon Brackett in Africa and Amber Roe who will be going to Africa on missions soon.  Pray for our Celebrate Recovery program tonight as they continue to help others who struggle with various hurts, hang-ups, and habits in their lives.  Pray!  If you struggle in your prayer life, its okay, we have a class for that on Wednesday night in the Hebrews Coffee Shop.  Now go out and be Jesus to a lost and dying world.

Labor Day Report

Happy Labor Day!  I'm hoping you are having a nice relaxing day with your family/friends.  The office will be closed today.  However, the ministers and elders are meeting tonight if there is a something you would like for us to discuss or pray about.

As far as Sunday was concerned it was a sort of a down day without your youth.  I agree with the comments by David Brooker that we really miss having our teenagers on the front.  With that said, it is wonderful they have events like Sonquest to attend each year.  All the reports have been positive, although the adults looked a little tired when they arrived yesterday afternoon.  They really need a Labor Day break.

Wednesday begins our new classes.  Two great adult class choices: 1) Prayer taught by Steven Wilson in the Coffee Shop and 2) Early Church Father's taught by David Paladin in Lynn Center #105.  And what a better way to kick off the new quarter than our first Wednesday night Oasis since Spring.  The meal will begin at 5:30 PM.  We also have a group who have a time of prayer before classes at 6:30 PM in the LC #103 (women) and LC #105 (men).  It should be a great night.

Add to that, we know some are unable to attend on Wednesday nights, especially as the sun begins to go down earlier.  So we have a Tuesday morning Bible class we would like to encourage you to attend.  This class has been going on for some time.  Those who come seem to enjoy themselves too much!  Seriously it is a great group of people.  The class begins at 10 AM and those who want can go to lunch together afterwards.  They are studying the Minor Prophets.

Keeping with the "new" theme, Sunday morning will also begin the new Fall classes.  The Book of Mark will be in the auditorium.  For those who signed up, the Personalities class will be in the Lynn Center room #105.  This class is filled but will be offered again soon.

This Sunday I will begin a new sermon series entitled Creativity.  Churches should be some of the most creative places on earth but many times can be the least.  In this study we will notice many Biblical examples of why this is true.  We will be looking at three lessons in particular: 1) The Creative God; 2) The Creative Church; 3) The Creative Leader.

One last thing, this Sunday night will be our monthly "Circle-Up Singing".  This had been intended to go through the Summer, but we have received so much positive feedback it will be around a while longer.  Men and boys who would like to lead a song get it ready this week.  You don't have to be a professional song leader to lead a song.  We will also have the whiteboard up for songs others would like to request.

I hope you are up for some new things this week as it all begins Wednesday night!  Hopefully I haven't forgotten anything.  Check on those who were unable to be here Sunday or you know are sick.  Let the elders and ministers know if someone is needing some special attention.