A Big Weekend

For most churches, Easter Sunday is the biggest day of the year (the crowds, excitement and focus), but I believe we surpassed last weekend.  It was one of those special Sunday's.  To begin with, we had four people respond to the lesson.  The attendance was good.  The singing was uplifting.  Many of you encouraged me about the sermon.

I have been looking forward to this new series - The Untold Story.  The parables of Jesus are masterpieces.  We got off to a good start by studying "The Parable of the Fig Tree" (Lk. 13:1-9).  Based on your comments, I know the Spirit of God was working.  All praise and glory goes to Christ for anything positive that came from this sermon.  Next week we will study "The Parable of the Older Brother" (Lk. 15:11-32).  That is not a typo.  We know what happened to the prodigal son.  The untold story is about his brother.

To top off our Sunday many of us met at Round Island Park.  We told everyone to use their discretion, based on the weather.  Well, it didn't rain a drop!  It rained at my house and at the church, but not the park.  I'm not going to say God kept the rain off of us, but I am more than happy to give Him the credit.  It has been so hot the last couple of days and the overcast skies and breeze made it a very nice afternoon.  Many of you brought your kayaks and canoes.  Several of us took advantage of the nature trails.  Some of you sat at the pavilion enjoying each others company.  Here are some pictures that speak louder than words.

 

 

 Lonnie doing what he does best - catching mullet

 

Joel doing what he does best - teaching young people

David doing what he does best - making children row for him

 



Bill doing what he does best - getting lost (where is Linda?)

 

 

 

Some of the scenery

 

 

 

I love manatees



 We ended the night with a devotional thought about God's creation and worry

 

Go out today and share the light of God.  We serve a great King who pleads for us before the Father.  Open yourself up to the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control the Holy Spirit offers to followers of Christ.  How do these live out in your life?  Take time to meditate on God's Word.  Find a quiet place and speak to the Father.  Take time to offer up the names of the people in this church you know are struggling - physically, emotionally, spiritually.  Who sits around you that hasn't been to worship in a while?  Call them.  Invite them to lunch.  Send them a card.  Whatever you do, let it be done in love.

Easter Weekend

One of my favorite times each year is Easter weekend.  Beautiful weather (usually), big crowds, smiling faces, and of course, a focus on the risen Lord.  Not everyone feels up to celebrations, but this day reminds people of the hope that surpasses all the junk they deal with daily.  I don't know about you, but when we came to the chorus of "Low In The Grave He Lay" I got chill bumps.  Bill had us stand as the volume went to a whole different level!  It was powerful hearing the voices of God's people singing those words, "Up from the grave He arose".  It was an encouraging day.  Here is the greatest part - Jesus is still alive today!

That being said, we lost an important part of our church this week.  Michael Mooney, if you do not already know, worked with our benevolent program.  Besides the needs of our church family, we get calls every week from the community wanting help.  This is one of the most difficult ministries in the church, especially when dealing with people we don't know.  People who come off the street will lie to you most of the time, many want to take advantage of you, some will even be verbally abusive, and other things that makes this work hard.  It takes a special person to be wise in knowing how the Lord's money could best be used to help the needy and trying to maintain the spirit of Christ, while no allowing their hearts grow cold.  I did benevolence for years and understand this too well.  Mike always treated people with respect, he listened, tried to be fair, and represent Christ and His church in a godly manner.  He will be missed.  Please pray for our elders as they pray and seek guidance from Holy Spirit to find a replacement.  And of course, pray for Fran and the rest of the family.  But also praise God for resurrection and the reunion we will all have with the redeemed one day.

I would like to commend this church for sending around 100 cards and letters to the Swindleman family, who lost a baby recently, in our community.  You didn't have to do it.  No one would know if you did or not.  We really didn't expect to be given a number of cards sent.  It is times like this you love being part of a body of people.  May God receive all praise.

Yesterday we prayed for the persecuted Christians.  We are hearing more and more about believers being martyred for their faith in Christ.  It doesn't look like this threat will end anytime soon.  When you hear something about ISIS this week, take time to say a little prayer for these Christians.  Let us turn it this negative name into a positive that reminds us to talk to God.  If you want to see the testimonials of some of these Christians in other parts of the world click here http://sundayiscoming.com/  The resurrection of Christ is what gave the early believers hope in such trying times, as well as His coming again.

NEW SERMON SERIES: Recently I heard a preacher talk about a parable of Christ that didn't give a conclusion.  In other words, it left it open ended.  We don't really know what happened.  In my studied opinion, when you find something like this their is probably a reason.  So I began to seek out other parables that may be similar.  I found two more.  Beginning next Sunday we will begin this series entitled, The Untold Story.  We will begin with Jesus' parable of the barren fig tree. (Lk. 13:6-9) Invite others to join us.  Can you think of anything greater for anyone to hear than the words of the Messiah?

This coming Sunday evening we will be meeting at Round Island.  We will begin eating at 5 pm (bring your own picnic).  If you have a kayak, canoe, SUP, raft, some of those blow up floats for your arms, etc., come out at 3 pm to do a little sight seeing with the group.  Also you can come out early if you want to fish, watch the manatees tip over our kayaks or just hang out.  You may want to bring bug spray, chairs, or anything else you think you might want to bring.  In the spirit of the humor of Mike Mooney, here are a few pictures of "boats" you can use.

 

Go out today and live like Jesus is alive, because He is.  Do not fear death.  Do not fear a world filled with sin.  Take time to praise God.  Read the "red letters" of the Bible, that is the words of Jesus.  Pray for those around you, I mean really pour out your heart.  Love God with all your heart.  Love others through your actions and words.  Be an encouragement to someone at work and be an encouragement to someone during our Wednesday night meeting together.  Most of all be Jesus to the world.

 

Refreshed

This has been a refreshing week on so many levels.  To begin with David Paladin and myself were able to attend the Tulsa Soul Winning Workshop in Oklahoma.  It was my first experience and it was amazing.  Normally, when I go to a lectureship, workshop or conference, I like to take a break every so often by going to the book room or just sit down for a cup of coffee.  Not this time, I did not want to miss anything.  The only lecture I missed is when I received a distraught call from someone in our community.  The worship was so uplifting.  I won't bore you with a lot of details, but you leave spiritually full and at the same time wanting more.  Here are a few pictures.

My brother, Slate, and I enjoyed time together

Here is the pavilion, at the Fairgrounds, where all the main events took place.  And yes, it looks more like a medieval castle.  

Here are a couple of the speakers. Dr. Kent Brantley (first Ebola case in the US) and Rick Atchley

Here is a sculpture being made of Christ as we sang songs about the Potter and the clay.  It was later auctioned off and the proceeds went to a mission work.

 

Some of the fellowship I enjoyed with preachers, youth ministers, worship ministers, elders, a writer for the Christian Chronicle, etc.  The bottom picture is a pie fellowship with some friends in ministry each night.

This is the Children's chorus on Friday night. These little guys put out some volume.

Ok, enough family photos.  Moving on to Sunday.  I had a refreshing talk with someone in our community about Jesus Christ during Bible Class.  I can't give you details, but I do ask you to pray.  It really seems as if the Spirit of God is doing something in this situation.  I love the Good News of Christ Jesus.  Don't you?

Sunday worship was another time of refreshment.  Maybe some of it was coming back from Tulsa, but it just felt so good to be together with each of you singing praises to God.  It was refreshing seeing Micheal Kolinar (a.k.a. Mad Money Mike) reading Scripture.  He was so excited!  He mentioned to me a couple of times, "This is my third time to get to be up there." He loves this church so much.  Someone sent me a picture of him reading.  If nothing else puts a smile on your face today, this picture should.

It was refreshing to not only see those who courageously stood before their peers, asking for wisdom, but also everyone who moved about or stood with those who wanted prayer.  It was just a great day.

I am excited about the future of this church.  We are moving and progressing in a positive way.  Even negatives are turning into positives recently.  The Holy Spirit of God is moving within His people.  All I can say is continue to encourage others.  Every time we meet together come in with an attitude of edifying someone.  Don't just tell people you love them, really show it.  Be considerate of others.  Put a smile on your face and speak kind words, because it may be the only act kindness they receive all week.  Everyone needs it.  Let the love of God burst forth in every avenue of your life - church, work, home, neighbors, etc.

Some of you may already know about the college group from the University of Kentucky who came back to Vero to do service projects during their Spring break.  That is refreshing!  They did many things in our community as well as some projects around our building.  They worked on our newest room in the Children's ministry (the Surf Shack).  Here is a couple of pictures of some of the work.

We are only a couple of weeks away from Easter Sunday.  Who is on your list of people to invite?  Let us prepare for a great day.

Here I Am To Worship

Here is a picture from my seat Sunday morning.  It was taken as the talented Hartman Road song leaders lead the church in "Here I Am To Worship." That definitely summed up that moment.  It is always a blessing to fellowship with these brothers and sisters in Christ.  They always find a way to encourage me.  Of course, I was there because of the preacher swap.  Brother Jackson was brought in to inspire you for our Mission's Sunday and I was to inspire Hartman Road for their upcoming day of service.  After a two hour worship service and a battle with allergies, I was wiped out Sunday afternoon.  No complaints, it was a good day.

Speaking of good days, Mission's Sunday is always a special time for this church.  We raised around $66,000!  This is a little short of our goal, but we also anticipate some, who were not able to be here, to give.  So we feel confident the goal will be reached.  I want to thank everyone who participated.  The Lord will use this money to spread the Good News in many places throughout our world.  Also, a special thank you to everyone who cooked, helped to set up, clean up, or served in any capacity.  If you were unable to be here and would like to give you can bring your donations by the church building or give to Bob Brackett or Tim Dean.  I wasn't able to be there to take pictures, but I found this one on Facebook with a caption I thought was very uplifting.

Last night our young people had a surprise party for Joel Soumar.  It wasn't his birthday, it wasn't a special anniversary but the youth wanting Joel to know how much they appreciate him.  As a parent, and a co-worker, I also appreciate everything he and Ann do for our youth.

Construction on the "Surf Shack" is under way in our preschool department.  Our crew of artists, handymen, and the like, are doing what they do best - creating.  The other rooms they build - the Aquarium, the Boat, and the Dock, continue to bring smiles to the faces of our kids and amazement from our visitors.  We are all anxious to see this building completed.  Here is a glimpse into what is coming.

Wednesday David Paladin and myself will be traveling to a soul winning workshop in Oklahoma.  We will return Saturday.  We ask for prayers for safe travels, spiritual renewal, and a wealth of information that would help us in our ministries.  I'm looking forward to being back in the pulpit next Sunday.

This week count your blessings.  Look around you and be thankful for the small things, as well as the big things.  Things like running water, a house with air conditioning, enough clothes in your closet you have to make a choice in the morning, etc.  Thank the Father for those blessings.  It doesn't have to be a long prayer, it can be short ones throughout your week.  Who knows, it might become a habit.

Do something nice for someone.  It can be someone you know or someone you have never met.  Smiling is free and you can give those out all day without it costing you one cent.  Allow the love of God to overflow in your life to people you encounter.  Do you know someone in the church who has had a difficult week?  Find a way to encourage them.  I can tell you I was a recipient of encouragement from many of you this week and it was a much needed blessing.

Tracy

Great Weekend

The strawberry pick finally happened Saturday morning.  The weather was still overcast but evidently missed the rain.  Sunshine or rain, they were going for the luscious treasures they found.  Here is a small pile of what they picked.

Sunday was a great day all around.  Our morning singing was good, the visitors were many, the Cope family placed membership and we completed our two part lesson on "Building Bridges." By the way, don't forget to make up a C.A.R.E. list (Co-workers, Associates, Relatives, and Everyone else) of those who need Christ Jesus in their life.

Sunday afternoon was a great time of singing and fellowship with the Hartman Road Church of Christ.  It has been a blessing getting to know this congregation better.  Also, I want to commend this church for helping represent our church family.  Despite losing an hour of sleep and the singing beginning at 3 pm, many of you made the trip. Huge thanks!

Some of the crazy people who rode the bus. Always fun times.

Our bus driver with the fancy sunglasses

A picture of most who attended

Our own Ladell Young, not only helped with the singing, lead "This World is Not My Home"!  Joel Soumar brought down the house with "Get Right Church."

THIS WEEK is our Missions Sunday!  Last year we raised $75,000 for our mission works.  This year the goal is $70,000.  Take time to pray about this day throughout the week.  Pray that the Spirit would help you determine what you can contribute.  Many souls will one day be with the Lord because of our support of world missions throughout the years.  All adults will be in the auditorium for Bible Class to hear a representative of Mount Dora, one of our mission points.  The sermon we be brought by Ervin Jackson of the Hartman Road Church of Christ.  He is a great preacher and motivator.  Afterwards we will have dinner on the grounds.  The church will supply the meat and drinks if everyone else will bring the sides and desserts.  A busy day but there will be no Sunday night services.

Take time out of your week to spread the love of Christ to those around you.  Do you know someone sick in your neighborhood?  Take them some homemade soup.  Do you know someone struggling financially?  Put a $20 (or whatever) on their stirring wheel.  Do you know someone having a hard time spiritually?  Meet them for a cup of coffee and just listen.  Find ways to serve others in the name of Christ.  Tell others of the goodness of God.  Study God's holy book and pray that you may grow closer to the one who saves us.

Tracy

March Madness

March is finally here and filled with some great happenings.  Sunday opened the new month with two new adult classes, a new sermon series, new monthly birthday celebration, and most importantly, a new brother in Christ.  Everything went off great.  We heard good comments about the new class materials and you can't help but love sermons on the Good News of Jesus Christ.  If you haven't heard already, Daniel Piggott was baptized into Christ.  We are all very proud of Daniel and his faith in the Messiah.  Everyone give him words of encouragement and love.  Maria Cope came forward as well, asking for continued faith for she and her family.  Please say a special prayer for both of these this week.

Look at that smile!

WEDNESDAY: Speaking of new classes, I will begin a new Wednesday night study on the books of 1st & 2nd Timothy and Titus.  These are letters written to young preachers.  It is an important study for everyone as it explains the work and teachings of these special servants of Christ.  It also deals with the false teachers Timothy and Titus were facing.  It helps us to understand spiritual leadership and the organization of the church.  It all begins Wednesday night at 7 pm.

NEXT SUNDAY NIGHT: We will be going to the Hartman Road Church of Christ in Fort Pierce for a singing.  After our singing with them last month many approached the leadership about doing this again.  Hartman Road also approached us about doing this again.  Their preacher, Brother Jackson, said the people are excited about us coming to their building.  They had a great turn out when they came to Vero, so let's do the same for them.  The singing begins at 3 PM.  We will be taking the church bus, for those interested, and leave the church parking lot at 2:30 PM.  If you get there at 2:31 you will see the tail lights getting onto 20th Avenue.  In other words, don't be late.  Others of you may want to ride together, which can create some great memories.  The address is 1010 Hartman Road, Fort Pierce.  There will be no meeting at our building that evening.

MISSIONS SUNDAY is less that two weeks away - March 15th.  Last year we had, what I thought, was the best one since I came to Vero.  Dominic Dos Santos did an amazing job and we raised $75,000 (our goal was $65,000).  This year the goal is set for $70,000.  Once again we have a special speaker to motivate us - Brother Jackson from the Hartman Road Church of Christ.  You know it's a big event when we have a meal.  More to come, including a handout of all the works we are trying to support in 2015.  Also, we will not have Sunday night services on this day.

FAMILY HOMELESS CENTER: Speaking of missions, some of the people in this church helped with the renovation of one of the bathrooms at the Family Homeless Center on 4th Street.  George Blanton, Bob Brackett, Christin Paladin, David Paladin and John Pickerill had a part in this renovation in one way or another.  The staff and residents were excited about this much needed facelift.  We are beginning to partner with organizations that helps us to get out and serve.  If you are interested in doing this type of work let us know as there is much work to be done all over our city.  It goes along with David Paladins new Sunday Morning class - "Do Something." Here is a before and after picture.

Now the bad news: Next Sunday we will lose an hour with the time change.  Don't forget to set your clocks an hour ahead Saturday night.  Or if you like to pay attention to detail, get up at 2 AM Sunday morning and set your clock ahead.  I prefer Saturday myself.

Yesterday marked the completion of my 6th year with this congregation.  It has been the best work I have been apart of in my almost 24 years of ministry.  This is saying a lot because I have been apart of another work that I never believed could be beat.  This is the result of great elders from the day I began to the present.  The family of Christians who meet here have a huge part in why Missy and I feel this way.  During this time I have also grown a lot spiritually, which is the direct result of this church.  We want to thank you and to let you know we are excited about beginning our 7th year.  Ministry has its ups and downs, but you make it more bearable.

As we go into our week, remember to think of others.  Do something good for someone you struggle to get along with at work.  Write a heartfelt card, email, or text to someone who has been apart of your spiritual growth.  Encourage someone who is down.  If you tend to gossip, stop it and replace it with positive words of the blessings around you everyday.  Find a "closet" and pray to the Father in secret.  Worship Him with everything you've got.  Let's prepare ourselves for our meeting together Wednesday night as a family of God.  The work week is always filled with stress, so be prepared to show kindness and love when we come together.