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.