Pray Without Ceasing

I Thessalonians 5:17, Pray without ceasing. (ESV) One translation says, Keep on praying. (NLT)  One of the shortest, simplistic and yet powerful verses in the Bible.  There is so much in our world that needs the petitions of God's people.

Let's begin with Nepal.  So far 2,430 people are confirmed dead after the catastrophic earthquake over the weekend.  I know of at least one facility of the Churches of Christ that has been completely destroyed.  Many homes, businesses and churches are in ruble this morning.  Countless funerals will be conducted over the next few weeks filled with grieving families and friends.  The survivors are left to pick up the pieces, both literally and figuratively.  Let us keep on praying for the people in this country.  Here are a few pictures to demonstrate why we need to keep these people in our prayers.

On this day, in 1865, the worst maritime disaster occurred in the history of our nation on the flooded waters of the Mississippi River.  Unfortunately greed was the major cause.  The U.S. government was offering money for the safe passage of Union soldiers recently liberated from Confederate POW camps.  You could get $5 for enlisted men and $10 for officers.  One steamboat captain, of the Sultana, piled 2,350 people (2,150 were POWs) onto his boat that had a safety rating of 400.  People were crammed onto the vessel, to say the least.  During the trip one of the boilers, that had not been properly repaired, blew up just a few miles north of Memphis, Tennessee.  1,800 of the 2,350 people on board died.  Among those were many from our Restoration Heritage.  They were also instrumental in saving countless lives.  Many rescues were contributed to a well-known Restoration Heritage family, the Bartons, who are also married into another restoration family, the Edmunds.  Another survivor was John C. Maddox, of the U.S. 54th Indiana Infantry, who years later, founded a Church of Christ in Paynesville, Indiana.  As well as being a history lesson about our heritage, this also serves as an example of another tragedy that has plagued our world.  It demonstrates the need to pray without ceasing.  Here is a picture of the boat as it was leaving.

Yesterday we concluded our series on The Untold Story.  So many of you expressed how much you needed these parables of Jesus.  They are convicting.  Many times the Spirit of God has humbled myself through these studies.  The more I try to live like Jesus the more I realize the need to pray without ceasing.  My Lord has brought me a long way in my life and He still has a long way to go.  Take time out to read and meditate on the parables of Jesus.  Pray to the Father about those things you struggle with and submit your spirit to His will.

As far as yesterday was concerned, it was encouraging to have one of our teenagers, Troy Wiley, read the Scripture before the sermon.  I appreciate the young man he has become and continues to grow in his Christian life.  He has emerged as a leader.  Keep on praying for our teenagers.  They live in a world filled with weeds, more than I remember at their age.  Pray for Joel and Ann, and certainly us parents, as we try to guide our youth in a right path with God.

This Sunday the sermon will be looking into Biblical baptism.  What does that mean to me?  What is it all about?  If you know of others who would benefit from this study, please the time to invite them.  Baptism is one of the most beautiful topics in Scriptures.  I can only ask that we pray without ceasing this week for those who may be wrestling with this decision.  The Spirit of God can touch the heart.

This Sunday night will be a "Circle-Up Singing".  We haven't had one in a while, so I'm hoping everyone will make an effort to come out and join us.  We will have a theme, mixed with Scriptures and prayer.  We might try one or two newer songs, but the purpose is to build up.  We will meet in the Hebrews Coffee Shop at 5:30 p.m.

I want to end with a poem I have had framed in my office for about 20 years.  It is called "A New Day"

"This is the beginning of a new day.
I have been given this day to use as I will.

I can waste it, or use it.
I can make it a day long to be remembered for its joy,
it's beauty and its achievements,
or it can be filled with pettiness.

What I do today is important because I am
exchanging a day of my life for it.
When tomorrow comes this day will be gone forever,
but I shall hold something which I have traded for it.

It may be no more than a memory,
but if it is a worthy one I shall not regret the price.
I want it to be gain not loss, good not evil,
success not failure."  - unknown author

Begin your new day with prayer and go live for Jesus.

Tracy

A Good Day

Yesterday was a good day.  Sunday morning began with a new six week study on the subject of the Good Samaritan.  I wasn't able to attend, but heard positives from those who attended.  It is also great to have Ken Acker as a teacher.  Let these teachers know how much you appreciate them.

Worship had a few pops and crackles in the sound system, which is being looked at this week, but the overall worship with uplifting.  Adam Chrzan did a good job reading the three parables of Luke 15.  We continued our sermon series, "The Untold Story", as we dealt with the parable of the older brother.  This week we will look at a final parable of Jesus - the story of the wheat and the weeds.  (Matt. 13:24-43)

Speaking of upcoming sermons, here are some topics coming up.

1. May 3rd - Baptism
2. May 10th - Mother's Day lesson
3. May 17th - New series on prayer
4. June 7th - Summer series on the great stories of Jesus

As always, let me know if there are things you would like to hear preached.

Work on the new parking lot will begin soon. We want to give everyone a heads up on what will be happening.  The parking lot on the east side of the building will be under construction.  It is going to be beautiful when completed.  As with any good changes, there is always frustrating transition.  We want to reserve the west side of the building and behind the preschool building lot for our older members, handicapped, and visitors.  This means the rest of us will be parking along 33rd Ave.  There is a property (blue house) beside Bob Ragon house that belongs to the church and will be used for parking.  Another lot beside the two rental houses on the north side of the building.  We are planning to have things marked off to help you identify these places.  We are also hoping to have people in place to help you find a spot in the first few weeks.  Thank you in advance for your patience.  The result will be worth the aggrivation.

I know David and Joel would like for me to mention Morgaine Elmore, who cooked lunch for us this past Thursday.  She made a really nice roast with potatoes, carrots and rolls.  It was delicious.  She also made us a special cake that read "Love to Serve." The food was great but her attitude was even better.  We certainly didn't deserve it, but she wanted to use one of the talents she has to serve us.  What talents do you have to serve others?  Doing something is great, but doing out of a spirit of love surpasses the gift (actually that is the gift).  Here is a picture of the really cool cake.

Go out today with a servant heart.  Let the love of God fill your heart.  Who do you know that needs encouragement?  Who are people you appreciate?  Most of the time is isn't having your eyes open to those in need but to have your heart open to respond.  Take time to learn more about your Messiah.  Read of His goodness.  Meditate on His love.  Celebrate His grace.  Come to the party.  Spend less time judging others and more time celebrating with them.  The Good News of Jesus Christ is the most power story in the universe.  Be quick to forgive and longsuffering with those who hurt you.  Don't let the world get you down this week.  Have a party.

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