• Our annual Ladies’ Day has finally arrived, SATURDAY, APRIL 30th. This is a “ladies only” event planned by our ladies for ladies. I hope our ladies and their guests enjoy this very special time of study and fellowship. Thank you to every one of our ladies for the work you have done toward the success of our Ladies’ Day.



• This Sunday morning we will continue in our series “Growing in Gladness” and study about the place of prayer, the power of prayer, and how we can grow in gladness through prayer. When the church meets for worship and fellowship, prayer is an integral part of our assembly. We begin every assembly with prayer. We close every assembly with prayer. Throughout our assembly we pray. This is the way our assembly should be. If we are not careful we can be distracted and lose focus. Let’s make sure that the time we spend in prayer is purposeful, powerful, and meaningful to the church and to God. When I was a boy my mother would “see to it” that my head was bowed, that my eyes were closed, and that my mind was focused when someone was leading the church in prayer. Mothers are different. They can be totally in tune to prayer and at the same time watch out for and correct little boys who are not. Thank God for mothers.



• I am excited about our lesson this Sunday evening. We are looking at our salvation in various ways. We are saved by grace through faith. There is something to do to be saved. This “something” must be done. I must do whatever God commands in order to be saved. This Sunday evening we will ask the question: Will many be saved or few? The false idea that many, if not all will be saved regardless of their belief or lifestyle is comforting (and frightening). And our modern worldly culture views those who espouse this belief as tolerant and loving (How can I say “I love you” and allow you to believe a lie and be lost?). Yet, Jesus taught the very opposite of this view of salvation. After our study from the Scriptures we will see that Jesus taught that few, not many will be saved. He taught that there is only one way to be saved. There is only one truth. There is only one life. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. He taught that no one comes to the Father except by Him. Jesus taught that only those who trust Him and obey Him will be saved. I hope you will consider the Scriptures and believe and obey Jesus Christ. He said, “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for if you do not believe that I am He, you will die in your sins” (John 8:24).



• May is graduation month for many of our graduates. The Burleson household will certainly breathe a sigh of relief this year. My wife, Cindi will graduate from USC with her Master’s degree in Business Administration. My son, Ben will graduate from USC with his Bachelor’s in History. My daughter-in-law, Lyndsee will graduate from USC with her Bachelor’s in Psychology, and my grand daughter, Faryn will graduate from Morrilton Primary School from Kindergarten. My daughter received her Master’s in Education from Arkansas Tech University in August of last year. I am so very proud of my family for their dedication to education. I can still hear my mother’s words to me, my sister, and my two brothers, “One of the most important things to me in life is to have my children graduate from college.” She dropped out of high school in the tenth grade to marry my dad. When my sister was a senior in high school, my mother took night classes and later received her GED. Going to school is hard work. Finishing, graduating requires planning, preparation, dedication, patience, strength, money, faith, and a strong commitment to a brighter future for yourself, your family, and society as a whole. Congratulations to every graduate! May God bless you as you begin your next adventure, further education or a career of your choosing! I think this “career of your choosing” is called a job. Another word for it is WORK.