October! Can you believe it? The rain we received this week was refreshing and much needed. Did you know that this was the first rain we have had in 28 days? We are thankful to God for His providence.

Wasn’t last Sunday great? We had the honor of hearing two great gospel preachers tell of their commitment to Christ and His church in the mission field: Joey Treat in the South Pacific Island of Palau and Patrick Swayne in Melbourne, Australia. Wow! What a day! It is certainly a great joy to know that we have a part in reaching out to the world with the gospel of Christ through our prayers, encouragement, and financial support of these fine Christian men.
Thank you for all the delicious food we had at the potluck luncheon last Sunday. We had enough food for a multitude. It was good to see so many members and guests sitting together laughing, talking, visiting, and sharing some time together. The Bible refers to such meals as “love feasts.”

I’ll be back in the pulpit this Sunday teaching and preaching again. We will begin a lesson series this Sunday morning entitled “Fully Committed to Christ.” Am I fully committed to Christ? Are you fully committed to Christ? Jesus was fully committed to His Father. The twelve were. Even Judas was committed, not to Christ…to money. Paul was definitely fully committed to Christ. He wrote in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Time and time again Paul instructed Timothy to be fully committed to Christ (I Timothy 1:3, 18; 3:12-16; 5:21; 6:11-16 for example). Think about the full commitment Moses made to God when he stood in bare feet before the burning bush. Think about Noah’s commitment to build the ark and save his family. Think about the spies that went over Jordan to take a look at the Promise Land. Two were committed to God. What about the other ten? The church at Ephesus lost their first love. They were not fully committed. The church at Laodicea was lukewarm. They were not fully committed, either to God or against Him. Their lack of commitment made God sick. God expects and accepts only our full commitment to His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus said it this way. “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon” (Matthew 6:24).

On Sunday evening we will continue in our series “I Know That I am a Christian Because…” with a lesson from Acts 26. Paul is talking to King Agrippa about becoming a Christian. He sought to persuade him to obey what he believed. I know that I am a Christian because I AM PERSUADED. Are you persuaded? God created everything. Are you persuaded? Jesus Christ is His Son and the promised Messiah, our Savior and Lord. Are you persuaded? The Holy Spirit of God revealed God’s word to selected men so that the entire world may believe and obey the gospel of Christ. Are you persuaded? Jesus shed His blood to purchase and save His church. Are you persuaded? The one and only source of God’s instructions and commands to mankind is the Bible, God’s holy word. Are you persuaded? God alone has the authority to say who, what, when, where, how, and why mankind can please Him in life and living. Let us consider these things.

Mark you calendar for a very special gospel meeting at the Winsor Lake church of Christ just across town scheduled for Friday evening and Saturday evening, October 15th and 16th at 7:00 p.m. and then on Sunday afternoon, October 17th at 3:00. I will be sharing three lessons from God’s word on the theme: “The Lord Knows Those Who Are His.” Come and grow in your faith.