The new school year is now underway. I’m looking forward to my fellow Christian brothers and sisters being home again, back from family vacations and visits. It will be great to have a full house again when the church meets together for worship on Sundays and Wednesdays.

Our area monthly Men’s and Preachers’ Meeting on Tuesday was a good one. This fall we will be studying “Faithful Elders in Every Congregation.” I introduced this series with a lesson on the need for faithful elders in every congregation. Next month we will take a look at the qualifications of faithful elders. Brother Bill Young has served as a gospel preacher and also as an elder of the church for many years before his retirement. He is well qualified to present our program in September. If you have a couple of hours available, we meet every third Tuesday in the month at 10:00 a.m. in the fellowship hall. After the meeting we have lunch together at one of our local restaurants.

Lately we have had much to pray about. Sister Mary Dennison remains in the Providence Heart Hospital. The doctors are working to bring her system back into balance. Sister Elma Berrier is working hard every day at Heartland Rehabilitation Center trying to improve enough to go home. Brother Jerry Satterfield is doing much better after his sinus surgery a few days ago. One of our teenagers, Kyle Holton has had a tough battle with food poisoning and is on his way to recovery. Sister Teresa Reeves is improving after her fall and then her surgery to repair a broken elbow. Another one of our teenagers, Shila Johnson is improving after surgery to repair a dislocated knee cap. The past few days have been rough on Brother Jimmy Gist as he continues his battle with cancer. There may be others that I do not know about. Please remember last Sunday evening’s sermon from Luke 18:1-8. The widow was persistent in prayer, persistent in hope, and persistent in her faith in someone who didn’t care. The judge didn’t care for her. He didn’t care for anyone. He didn’t regard man or God. Yet this unrighteous judge helped her because she kept on keeping on.

Our faith and our hope is in the living God, our Father. He cares for us, hears our prayers, and is ready, willing, and able to help us according to His will and purpose. Our challenge is to keep on keeping on in hope, in faith, and in persistent prayer. Jesus said it best in Matthew 6:33; “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

This Sunday morning we will focus our attention on WISDOM – Why Do I Need It? We will consider what Solomon wrote in Proverbs 3:1-18 and make a list of the reasons every one of us should earnestly desire wisdom from God. Then on Sunday evening we will again look at WISDOM and ask the question; How Do I Obtain It? If you would like to read ahead, read James 1:5-8, 2 Chronicles 1:7-12, 2 Timothy 3:14-17, and 1 John 2:1-2.

Cindi and I will be attending the Polishing the Pulpit Workshop in Sevierville, Tennessee from August 27th through September 2nd. Brother Alan Larmon and Brother Allen Hutchison attended this workshop last year and really benefited from the lessons that they heard. I am thankful to have the opportunity to attend this year. Please pray for us as we make the trip to the Smoky Mountains for PTP.

Mark you calendar for September 25th. It is a very special privilege for us to have two wonderful missionaries visiting with us on Sunday, September 25th. Joey Treat from Chuuk will be with us on Sunday morning and Patrick Swayne from Melbourne, Australia will be with us on Sunday evening.