Hot, hot hot…Dry, dry, dry…That’s how it is here in the country.  Our prayers go up to our Father for some much needed rain.  He hears our prayers and will answer according to His will and purpose.  Everything will be okay.  Jesus has told us in the His Sermon on the Mount about God’s care for us and the rest of His creation.  Jesus asks us to consider the lilies of the field; their beauty and the fact that God takes care of them, the birds of the air, their growth and the how they never need to worry about anything and then consider our own needs and note that God knows what we need and how to provide for our need.  No need to worry.  God will provide in time.

     A huge thank you to Brandon and everyone who helped in any way last Sunday with our Graduation Banquet!  What a wonderful day we enjoyed!  I am so very happy to be a member of the Enola Church of Christ.  I am so happy to be your minister.

     When you pull into our parking lot, you will notice that we are in the midst of reorganizing and repaving our parking areas.  Be careful and patient as we continue to improve our service to the church and to our guests.

     We began a new series of sermons last Sunday entitled “Be Useful and Fruitful.”  Jesus was always useful and fruitful in His life.  He still is.  He is our example in every way.  This coming Sunday, June 3^rd our lesson will center on the first of four obstacles that keep us from being useful and fruitful in life and living:  EXCUSES.  Our Bible text is from Exodus 3 and 4.  Moses tried to excuse himself from being useful and fruitful in God’s purpose for him.  As a minister I often hear my brothers and sisters try to excuse themselves from their work for God.  How is it that a Christian can sit in a deer-stand or in a boat on the lake on Saturday, but not be able to sit in a church pew on Sunday?  How is it that a Christian can make the drive into Conway on Friday or Saturday to get their hair and/or nails done but not be able to make the short drive to church on Sunday for worship?  How is it that a Christian can drive his tractor around the farm, but not be able to come to Bible study and worship on Sunday?  How is it that a Christian can get up when the rooster crows on Monday and be at work on time and yet cannot get up in time for church on Sunday?  And our assemblies begin at 10:00 o’clock!  Enough on that.  I will try by very best to make our lesson on Sunday morning a positive one.  You know me!  Always looking up!

     We will conclude our sermon series “God is Able” on Sunday evening when we take a look at the final four reasons I want to go to heaven.  Just think about heaven: no sickness, no pain, no sorrow, no tears, no temptation, no fear, no bills, no leaving, no death; only peace, joy, happiness, and fulfillment in every way.  And the singing!  Wow!  …Ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands singing with perfect voices.   We will have perfect knowledge.  No faith required.  We will see God.  Our hope will be fulfilled in Jesus Christ finally and completely.  Love forever remains just like Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 13:13.

     May God help us to continue on from where we have been to where we are to where we will be in the coming days as we live and work and wait for His return.  I look forward to our time together this Wednesday evening when we meet for Bible study and then to Sunday, the Lord’s Day when we meet for worship.

     Summer is now upon us.  School is quickly coming to a close.  Our high school graduates have now crossed the stage into a brand new world, a world of adventure, challenges, and opportunities.  We are so very proud of our graduates and in celebration of their achievements the church of Christ at Enola will honor our graduates with a Graduation Banquet this coming Sunday, May 27 immediately following our morning worship hour.  Please be here to share in this very important time in the lives of our youth.  Following the banquet we will return to the auditorium for our evening service.  Brother Brandon will be preaching at this service.   We will then dismiss for the day.

     We just completed the sermon series; Growing in Gladness. We have studied the assembly, the Lord’s Supper, singing, prayer, giving, and preaching.  This past Sunday we looked at growing in gladness through our Bible Classes.  How can we grow in gladness through our Bible Classes?

In order to grow in gladness through our Bible Classes we must:

1. Attend – If I am not in Bible Class, I miss out on a great opportunity to learn, to encourage and be encouraged, to be transformed in my mind and then in my life.  When I choose to attend Bible Class, I am saying to God, my family, and the world that I am serious about my commitment to Christ.
2. Be Prepared – I prepare myself for Bible Class when I think ahead, when I am on time, when I choose to make Bible Class a priority in my day, my week, my life.  Preparation is a very important aspect to any successful endeavor.
3. Participate – I must think, open my mind to old ideas and to new ones, principles that I may not have considered.  It is good to share my personal insights with the class. 
4. Volunteer - It is true that the best way to learn and grow in knowledge of the Bible is to teach a class.  It is my conviction that every Bible class needs an assistant.  Paul wrote in Romans and in First Corinthians on the comparison between the church, which is the body of Christ and the physical human body.  Every member is called to work together with other members for the furtherance and edification of the church.
5. Pray – We all can pray for our teachers and students, for wisdom, strength, and their commitment to teaching and accepting only what the Bible says.

     God continues to bless us at Enola with spiritual peace even in the midst of our trying times.  We are so very blessed to have such love and friendship among brethren.  I am thankful to be a member of the church of Christ at Enola.  I am thankful to serve under the authority of our eldership.  I am thankful for our six deacons who are always on the job seeing that everything that needs to be done at Enola gets done. I am thankful to preach the life-changing gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  May we all commit ourselves to living the Christian life every day with the knowledge that God will work everything out for our good according to His will and in His time (Romans 8:28).

     Dry, dry, dry!  We could really use some rain up in the country.  God will provide just as He always has and does.  May His will be done is our daily prayer.

    Last Sunday was Mother’s Day.  We had a great Sunday with a good crowd of members and guests (168) here to worship God and honor our mothers.  Sunday morning we focused on Jesus’ mother’s relationship with Him.  She dedicated Him to God.  She took Him to worship.  She allowed Hi freedom.  She worried about Him.  Sometimes she didn’t understand Him.  She treasured His life in her heart.  She expected great things from Him.  We would do well to follow her example of motherhood.

     Last Sunday evening we looked at Jesus’ relationship with His mother.  He submitted to His mother.  He honored his mother.  He provided for His mother.  What a wonderful example Jesus is to us today.

      This week has been another one of those weeks.  Two more Christian women were laid to rest this past week; Sister Ellen Goodsell here at Enola on Monday and Sister Florine Siddall from the Morrilton/Downtown congregation on Wednesday.  May God bless these families with comfort and strength during these troublesome times!  They fought the good fight.  They finished their race.  They kept the faith.  They are now waiting in Paradise until the Day of Jesus’ return.  May we live our lives with the knowledge of the brevity and volatility of our physical bodies and the eternal indestructible nature of life after death!

     This Sunday morning we will conclude our series of lessons entitled “Growing in Gladness.”  We have considered how we can grow in gladness through our assemblies, the Lord’s Supper, prayer, singing, giving, and gospel preaching.  Sunday’s lesson will be about how we can grow in gladness through our Bible Classes.  We know what the Bible says about God’s word:  “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).  The strength of our faith is in direct proportion to our knowledge of God’s word.

     On Sunday evening we will consider heaven.  I want to go to heaven because 1) I want to see God.  I want to go to heaven because 2) I am looking forward to a grand reunion with my family and friends.  I want to go to heaven because 3) I am excited about my mansion.  I want to go to heaven because 4) I want to live in a land where there is no tears and no pain.  Do you want to go to heaven?  Heaven is a prepared place for a prepared people.  Are you prepared?  Now, there is only One way to heaven:  Jesus Christ.  His invited everyone who wants to go to heaven to come to Him, take His yoke, and learn from Him (Matthew 11:28-30). 

     Our Graduation Banquet honoring our high school graduates has been scheduled for next Sunday, May 27^th.   We are so very blessed to have so many fine Christian young people who are committed to honoring Christ and the church in their lives every day.  Let us show our love for them with our presence, our prayers, and our continued support for them at this most important turning point in their lives.  Brother Brandon is doing such a fine job with our youth group. 

    Remember to check in on our website – http://www.enolachurchofchrist.com and stay up to date on the activities of the church.  Get involved.  It’s great to be a Christian and a member of the church of Christ at Enola.

      We enjoyed another exceptional Lord’s Day this past Sunday up in the country at Enola.  We had a great attendance (144) for our assembly together.  We are truly blessed people, people of God living every day growing closer to God and closer together, growing in gladness.  When the gospel is preached we are blessed.  Our faith is strengthened.  We become more fruitful as Christians both inside the church and also in the world.  When the gospel is preached we become better equipped to handle the trials and temptations of life.  Of course, when the gospel is preached we must listen gracefully, carefully, attentively, and completely.  I hope you now have a better understanding of the special benefits everyone receives when the gospel is preached.

     We hosted the Area-Wide Youth Devotional last Sunday afternoon.  What a joy it was to see so many teens gathered together to sing, hear the good news, and enjoy a meal together.  Our building was packed.  Brandon did an outstanding job with his lesson about the clichés “Ignorance is bliss” and “What you don’t know won’t hurt you.”  These two statements are totally wrong.  Sin will take you further than you wanted to go.  Sin will keep you longer than you wanted to stay.  Sin will cost you more than you wanted to spend.  When you are ready to let sin go, sin is not ready to let you go.  Ignorance will hurt you, even kill you.  When we stand before the judgment seat of Christ we will not be able to claim ignorance as an excuse for living a life opposed to God’s will.  Romans 1 teaches us that men are without excuse before God because His invisible attributes are clearly seen being understood by the things that are made.  The Holy Spirit of God wrote concerning the Bible in 1 John 2:1; “My little children, I write things to you that you may not sin…”  Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 3:16-17 concerning the inspired Scripture that is able to make every person wise to salvation and is able to make one fully equipped for every good work.  Thank you to every member of the Enola church of Christ for your generosity.  We had plenty of Bar BQ, drinks, chips, and desserts for everyone.  God will certainly continue His blessings upon us as we offer the sacrifices of our time, talents, and treasures in His name.

     Sunday is Mother’s Day.  Don’t forget to call your mother.  Of course there are many among us who would love to talk to their mother and hear her voice but cannot.  Death has visited their family and taken their mother from them.  Death may take those we love from us, but death cannot take the memories we cherish.  Our hope rests in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ that we will one day enjoy a grand reunion with our mothers, fathers, children, and loved ones who have gone on before us.  When Jesus returns, heaven will be our home.  Our lessons this Sunday for both the morning and evening service will be about the relationship Jesus had with His mother.  Jesus’ mother loved Him.  She showed that love in many ways.  We’ll take a look at just how she loved Him.  On Sunday evening at 5:00 we will take a look at how Jesus showed His love for His mother.  I hope you will be gathered with your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ for these two lessons.

Another Wonderful Sunday!

     We had another wonderful Sunday this week with a good crowd (130), many smiling faces, and Christians with hearts and minds focused on Christ Jesus.  Bryan Beene showed up early for worship on Sunday riding his roping horse all the way from Barney.  Fortunately we have 12 acres and plenty of parking spaces for horses.  Our greeters in the parking lot this past Sunday were two beagles and a small terrier walking up to every member with wagging tails and faces that said, “Please, show me some attention.”  What a life we all enjoy up in the country.  Cindi and I have never been happier.  I hope every member at Enola understands just how blessed we all are in every way, even in the midst of the everyday trials of life.  May God help us to stay close together as the family of God as we grow closer to heaven!

     Our sermon series on Sunday morning continues.  We are “Growing in Gladness” through our assembly together, the Lord’s Supper, prayer, giving, and singing.  This Sunday we will focus on how we can grow in gladness together through gospel preaching.  I am a gospel preacher.  I love the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  The gospel is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes.  The gospel never changes.  I preach exactly the same gospel that Paul preached.  The gospel does change the heart, mind, and life of every person who embraces it.  The gospel has certainly changed me and continues to do so.  I preach because I know the terror of the Lord.  I preach because I know the love of Christ.  I preach because people need to hear good news.

     This Sunday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. the Enola congregation will host the Area-Wide Youth Devotional.  We expect about 175 young people from our area.  Brother Brandon and our youth group will be leading the program.  I look forward to this very special time of fellowship.  We will have an abbreviated evening worship hour at 5:00 then walk over to the fellowship hall for supper together with our youth.  We are asked to provide a few items for supper.  There are sign-up sheets on both front doors.  Stop by and sign up to bring an item or two if you can.

     Thank you for your prayers for Cindi and me lately.  We made the trip to Alabama for my grandmother’s funeral less than a month ago.  On Monday we made the trip again to lay my uncle Clyde Avery to rest.  Death has been very busy lately at Enola.  We must not let our hearts be troubled by death.  We believe in God.  We also believe in Christ.  He has gone to prepare a place for us and will come again to receive us to Himself.  Where He is we know and the Way we know.  John 14:1-6 is such a comfort in times of sorrow.  He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.  We will go to heaven because we are following His footsteps.

     Life certainly is busy right now as the school year is coming to an end and summer approaches.  Let us remember what is most important in these busy times.  Our family and friends need to see us putting the kingdom of God and His righteousness first in our lives just like Jesus said in Matthew 6:33.  When we put His kingdom and His righteousness first then just as He promised, all “these things” will be ours.