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).