67th Annual Carolina Lectureships
St. Andrews Road Church of Christ
Sunday through Wednesday - APRIL 3 – 6, 2011
9:00 a.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Theme: “What it means to Preach the Cross of Christ”
Key Note Speaker: Winford Claiborne of Fayetteville, Tennessee
Light Breakfast and Lunch Provided. Dinner on your own.

Brrr! I believe that winter has finally arrived just in time for Christmas which, by the way, is only two weeks away. We will be saying “Happy New Year” in less than 21 days whether we are ready or not.

I was thinking about all the changes that have taken place at St. Andrews Road in 2010. The church has grown with the addition of ten new Christians through baptism and thirteen new members through identification. Our nursery has grown by three with the births of Becca Pyle, Lily Burleson, and Ava Canon. Of course we have had eleven of our members to move away from us, some to find jobs and others to be closer to their families. Three of our precious family members have passed through the valley of the shadow of death: our sister in Christ, Christine Sheets and our brothers Larry Bailey and Jimmy Gist. Life is always happening.

This past year God has provided us with the means to renovate our auditorium, educational wing, fellowship hall, and offices. As you have noticed, we have just completed the installation of a new projection system and improved lighting that will enable us to place the announcements, sermon points, and in the near future, Lord willing our song selections in clear, easy to read format. We will begin using this new system as soon as we have everything in order.

What does 2011 hold in store for us? There will be changes and challenges for sure. There will be victories. There will be joys and sorrows. We will plant. We will water. We will trust and obey and wait. God will give the increase in His time and in His way. We will welcome new Christians to the church and say goodbye to some who will be called away, some to other adventures on this side of death and others to rest on the other side. Through it all God will always be with us and we will remain steadfast to our commitment to always be with Him.
Thank you for allowing me to adjust my sermon topics this past Sunday. This Sunday morning we will focus our attentions to our theme “Following the Footprints of Jesus.” The faithful walk in the footprints of Jesus. In our lesson I would like to look at several of Jesus’ footprints and check to see if we are following in His steps.

On Sunday evening we will take a look at 2011 and ask; “What shall we do?” For me, in the coming year, I would like the entire congregation to have a greater appreciation and a greater respect for the Bible. We will look at five ways we can show God that we have a great appreciation and a great respect for His word. If you would like to read ahead in preparation for this lesson, read Acts 17 about the Thessalonians and the Bereans.

A new Bible class has begun on Wednesday evenings at 7:00. This class is for “young professionals” ages 18 to 30 or so. We are using the Bible as our text and focusing on 13 challenges that young adults face every day. Each word begins with the letter “F.” This past Wednesday we looked at “FEAR” and learned that though fear is a challenge and a reality in life, we must not succumb to its power. If you are not involved in a Bible study on Wednesday night, please join us!