Can you believe that Sunday is August 1? Students and teachers are now preparing for the new school year. USC is preparing for another banner year with a record number of freshmen entering college life. Families are trying to take one final break before the busy fall schedule begins. We have had a great summer! Of course the warm weather will continue for a few more days. I’m looking forward to stepping outside one morning very soon to feel that autumn is on its way.

Remember our annual ALL NIGHT SINGING here at St. Andrews Road, this coming Friday night, August 6th beginning at 7:30 p.m. We plan to sing well into the night. SAR members: Bring “finger foods,” desserts, and drinks for ourselves and our guests. This will be a time of singing that you will not soon forget. The very best singers from all around the state in addition to many who will be coming in from many miles away will meet to sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs in praise and thanksgiving to God. I look forward to our singing all year long.

Immediately following the singing youth grades 6th through 12th, parents, and friends will be arriving for our annual youth rally; BREAKOUT 2010 scheduled for Saturday, August 7th. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. with the program continuing into the afternoon. Brother Caleb Colley will be our special speaker for BreakOut this year. We are excited to have him speak to us on the subject of ACTIVE DUTY. Please make plans to come out on Saturday for this very special event.

This Sunday morning we will consider FAITH and what it means to be a faithful Christian before God and before our fellow man. Proverbs 20:6 asks the question; “Who can find a faithful man?” In Proverbs 31:10 we find the question; “Who can find a virtuous wife?” We will describe faithfulness and consider what it means to be “faithful” in terms of LIFESTYLE, LENGTH OF DAYS, LOVE, and LEGACY. I am looking forward to sharing this lesson from God’s word with you this week. If you would like to read ahead, read Hebrews 10:19-25 in addition to the list of the faithful in Hebrews 11.

On Sunday evening we will continue our consideration of FAITH with a lesson entitled; “Increasing Our Faith.” When others look at you or me, what do they think? What do they see? Well, we can’t always know what others think or what others see, but we can know what God thinks and what God sees when He looks at us. He sees that we are acceptable. He accepts us as we are but will not leave us there. We are valuable, worth more than all the world. We are lovable, so much so that God gave his only Son to provide for our needs. We are forgivable. God’s promises are true. We are capable…not in ourselves, but in Christ Jesus. Too often we listen to Satan’s lies: “What is wrong with you? Why can’t you be more like him or her? You’ve been nothing but trouble since you were born! Can’t you do anything right? No wonder you don’t have any friends! You’ll never amount to anything!” If you’ve heard these lies before, know that these words did not come from God. I hope you will come out on Sunday evening to have your faith strengthened and increased through the study of God’s word, the Bible.

If you will look around you will see new faces at just about every service. Sometimes we get so caught up with our own plans that we forget to welcome our guests. Please consider it your personal service to meet every guest with a warm smile and a hardy handshake so they know that we love them and welcome them.

Can you believe it? Our Annual All Night Singing is now only 2 weeks away scheduled for Friday evening, August 6th beginning at 7:30 p.m. It is a great privilege for us to host this event year after year. I hope you are planning to come and be a part of such a wonderful time of fellowship as we blend our voices together to sing praises to God. We will sing together until…

Immediately following the singing (the very next day, Saturday, August 7th)) teenagers will be gathering together at St. Andrews Road for our annual youth rally, BreakOut 2010. Brother Caleb Colley will be our special guest preacher this year. Brother Colley is a staff writer for Apologetics Press and is the producer/director of AP’s “Digger Doug.” He is a faithful Christian at SAR and is currently a student at USC in the doctorate program. We are very excited about our theme: ACTIVE DUTY. I will be speaking to the adults in one of the “breakout sessions” on the subject “Arming Our Children.” We are encouraging our fellow Christian teens and their chaperones from around the area to come for the annual all night singing on Friday night. Several SAR members have opened their homes to host any who would like to spend the night on Friday night and be ready bright and early for BreakOut 2010 the next day. Pick up a brochure from the lobby for further information about BreakOut 2010! Register early if you can!

Friday, August 6th 7:30 p.m. All Night Singing
10:30 p.m. Meet with Host Families

Saturday, August 7th BREAKOUT 2010
8:30 - Registration
9:30 - Welcome and Singing (Wow! Simply Beautiful)
10:00 - Session 1 – Caleb Colley
10:30 - “Active Duty” Activity
11:00 - Singing
11:15 - Session 2 – Caleb Colley/Mickey Burleson
11:45 - Singing
12:00 - Lunch
12:45 - Singing/Activity
1:15 - Session 3 – Caleb Colley
1:45 - Closing

This Sunday morning at SAR we will take a look at “GROWTH.” Think about it. Growth is God’s plan for every Christian and for His church. Growth is good. As a matter of fact, we really don’t have to “try” to grow. Growth is natural, necessary, and expected. We will consider our own relationship with God and check to see if we are growing as we should. If you would like to read ahead, read Ephesians 4:1-16.

Sunday evening at SAR is always a very special time of worship, study, and fellowship. We will ask and answer the question “How Can I Grow?” Growth happens when we “keep on keeping on” in patience, in diligence, in faith without worrying about the measure of men.

Are you currently attending one of our Bible classes here at St. Andrews Road? We have great teachers, great subjects right from God’s word, the Bible, great facilities, and great opportunities every Sunday morning at 10:00 and every Wednesday evening at 7:00. Come and study. Think and decide. Grow!

Our Vacation Bible School was a great success this past week. Thank you to Brother Bill Young and the entire team from St. Andrews Road who gave so much of your time and talents to this year’s VBS. We had good attendance each evening. The children, teens, and adults were reminded about God’s wonderful gift of creation. God created the heavens and the earth, the sky, the sun, moon, and stars, the plants, the fish, all the other animals, and man. It took Him six days to create everything and then He rested on the seventh day. This is not a theory. This is a fact! Many in our world today reject this truth. They are mistaken (Matthew 22:29). They are “untaught and unstable people” who “twist” the Scriptures to their own destruction (2 Peter 3:16). Of course, God loves you, me and every person who loves Him and also every person who doesn’t. Though some deny Him and/or reject Him, He is. Though some mock, laugh, and sneer, He is. Though some refuse to obey Him, He still is.

Next up we have our annual All Night Singing scheduled for Friday night, August 6th beginning at 7:30 p.m. here at St. Andrews Road. I hope you will mark your calendar, invite a friend, and come out for a great time of singing with your fellow Christians.

Our annual youth rally “BreakOut 2010” is scheduled for Saturday, August 7th. That’s right! The very next day following our all night singing, we will have an all day youth rally. Come for the singing. Spend the night with one of the members at St. Andrews Road. Then arrive early for a day that you will not soon forget. Our theme this year is “ACTIVE DUTY.” Caleb Colley will be a special guest speaker for the day. I have the privilege of speaking to the parents during one of our “breakout” sessions. This event is for teenagers grades 6th through 12th. Registration for “Active Duty” is at 8:30 a.m. BreakOut 2010 will continue until 2:00 p.m. Lunch will be provided.

Congratulations to LACEY LAMBERT. Lacey obeyed the gospel of Christ on Wednesday evening, July 7th. It was such a great joy to hear her say those beautiful words; “I believe that Jesus is the Son of God” and then to stand with her as she experienced the new birth in baptism. Make sure you meet Lacey and welcome her into the church of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Our Sunday morning series “Repentance: A Command for All” continues this week with our final lesson “Fortifying the Must of Repentance.” We have looked at identifying the meaning of repentance. We have looked at clarifying the motivation of repentance. Now let us understand that repentance is a must. Paul said it best in Acts 17:30-31. Luke wrote “Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but NOW COMMANDS ALL MEN EVERYWHERE TO REPENT, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.” Read this passage again. God now commands all men everywhere to repent. This isn’t too difficult to understand. Repentance is a must. If you are reading ahead, read 2 Timothy 3:1-5 and 4:1-4 to see that society has a desperate need, the need to repent. What does Luke 13:3 say to us about the necessity of repentance?

This Sunday evening we will look at “Five Affirmations on Life and Living” from only one verse – Job 1:21. I hope you will come for worship, fellowship, and a very important lesson that will truly help you with the foundation principles of life.

Four years! That’s right! Can you believe that I have been working with you as your minister and friend for four years? We have accomplished much together during these four years. Sometimes it seems that I’ve always been at St. Andrews Road. Then at other times it seems that our work together has just begun. We have accomplished much and yet so many opportunities and challenges stretch out before us. It is my desire and prayer that God will grant us many more happy and prosperous years of service together in His kingdom. Please keep me and my family in your prayers as we labor together with you. We pray for you, your family, and every family in the church daily that we will continue to be the salt, the light, and the city that is set on a hill that cannot be hidden.

Our VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL begins this Sunday evening at 6:30 p.m. We will have everything ready. There will be workers at the building just about all day Saturday (10th) and also on Sunday afternoon (11th) setting up our classrooms for Bible study, story time, and games. Some will be getting things ready in the fellowship hall for snack time and crafts. Others will be decorating the lobby and the auditorium. We are very excited about our VBS this year and hope that you will be a part of this very special event. Check out the front of your newsletter again for all our VBS activities. ADULTS: VBS is for you too. There will be a different guest preacher each night presenting lessons to the adults in the auditorium. Please make plans to come and learn.

Our Sunday morning sermon series “Repentance: A Command for All” continues this Sunday. Last Sunday we looked at the definition of repentance. It is true that too many of us have become desensitized to the effects of sin in our lives and in society as a whole. The prophets’ cry to the people was “Repent!” John prepared the way of Jesus by preaching “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Jesus began His ministry preaching repentance. The apostles were commanded to preach repentance and remission of sins. The church of the first century preached repentance. Today, we too must heed the Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20). We must repent and then cry out to others, “Repent!”

This Sunday we will look at another aspect of “Repentance: A Command for All” with a lesson entitled “Clarifying the Motivation to Repentance.” Do you know of someone who has sinned and desperately needs to repent? You can see what sin has done and is doing to them, to their family, to their influence, to their lives. They cannot see what you can see. What can possibly motivate a person to repent? We will look into God’s word, the Bible to clarify the motivations to repentance. If you would like to read ahead; read Romans 2, 2 Corinthians 5 and 7, and 2 Peter 3. After reading these passages pray that God will give us all wisdom and greater faith in the power of the gospel (Romans 1:16-17).

On Sunday evening we will look at what some have labeled “The Prosperity Gospel.” According to many of the preachers you hear on TV, on the radio, and even from the pulpit worldly prosperity always follows righteous living while depression and loss always follows sinful living. According to those who preach this “gospel” (which is not from God) if someone is in pain, if someone suffers a loss, if someone loses job, if someone dies, if someone has to go though a divorce then that person must be sinful. This type of preaching is simply not Biblical. Don’t get me wrong. Sin is the cause of every problem in the world. However, being rich or poor, healthy or sickly, happy or unhappy, alive or in the grave, prosperous or just “surviving” according to the world’s standards is not always a matter of a person’s decision to be one or the other. Let us think on these things.