The Christian Life - The Only Way to Live

     Hot, hot, hot!  Have you had a good week?  I hope so.  We’re doing well up in the country, and I’m not just saying that.  We really are.  Today (Friday, June 28), we had a great “Young at Heart” meeting at the Enola Church of Christ annex building.  For some reason today was “bring your grandchild to the young at heart meeting” day.  We had a great time visiting, sharing memories of our salvation in Christ, eating lunch, and playing games.  It was a joy to hear each person share the memory of their baptism into Christ.  I found it very interesting that out of the 15 adults who shared their experience, nine made their decision to become a Christian during a “Gospel Meeting.”  One of our three elders at Enola, Brother Larry Arnett was present to hear this statistic.  I looked at him and said, “Well, when is the last time we hosted a “gospel meeting” at the Enola Church of Christ?”  His statement was refreshing and exciting.  We will be planning a Gospel Meeting in the near future.  Amen to that!  After lunch I had the privilege of sitting at the table with six of the group’s grandchildren; teaching them to play dominoes.  Just think about it.  In the same room, at the same time, in the same decade there were people over the age of 65 and people under the age of 10 playing the same games having a great time and without cell phones, Ipads, Iphones, tv, or video games.  God is good.  Life is good too.  I’m glad.  Oh, and the big winner at our table was Abby Ingram, age 3.  By the way, just before we played games, Abby stood up and with very little help said the books of the Old Testament.  Can you see why I said above that we are doing well up in the country?  Thank you, Callie for coordinating our “Young at Heart” program this summer.  And “Thank you” Larry Newland (last Friday) and Kim Mooningham (this week) for providing the delicious lunch for the group.

 

     Our Sunday morning sermon series “Putting God FIRST” continues this Lord’s Day.  Last week we looked at the “F” in FIRST.  Are we putting God first in our finances?  This Sunday morning we will look at the letter “I.”  Are we putting God first in our INTERESTS?  Just what am I interested in?  Making money? Having fun? Moving up to the next rung in the ladder?  Pleasure?  Entertainment?  The kingdom of God and His righteousness?  Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33 to seek God’s kingdom and His righteousness FIRST and our needs will be met.  How about it?  Let us put God first in our interests.

     Our Sunday evening series “The Old Rugged Cross” comes to a close this week as we talk about the salvation we will finally inherit at the end of the way.  Remember?  There are requirements in the way of the cross – Courage, Reason, Obedience, Sacrifices, and Sincerity.  There are experiences on the way of the cross – Challenges, Responsibilities, Opportunities, Successes, and Sorrows.  At the end of the way of the cross we will have Christ Jesus, Riches beyond our imagination, our One and Only Father, Security, and finally most importantly Salvation.  Salvation is a beautiful thing.  We have been saved.  We are being saved.  We will be saved.  It would be worth it if you could be here with the church this Sunday evening to hear this message.

     There are a couple of events coming up that you need to be a part of.  The 4^th Annual Faulkner County Gospel Crusade is scheduled for July 14^th through the 19^th at the Reynold’s Performance Center on the campus of the University of Central Arkansas.  Each session begins at 7:00 p.m. and concludes at 8:00.  I will be speaking on Wednesday evening, July 17^th.  Our theme is “The Home as God Would Have It.”  My topic is “For Better or Worse.”  It is such a privilege to be asked to preach at the county-wide event.

     It’s VBS time!  The Enola Church of Christ will host an INCREDIBLY AWESOME VBS on Sunday evening, July 21^st at 5:00 p.m. and on Monday through Wednesday, July 22^nd through 24^th at 7:00 p.m.  Our theme this year is “It’s a Blue Ribbon Life” and we will be studying the Fruits of the Spirit.  Adults:  we will have a class for you too.  I hope you can come and be a part of this year’s VBS.

Hope you are having a good week!

     Hello my friends from up in the country in Enola, Arkansas.  We’re having a good week showing and sharing the Christian life.  Sunday (16^th) was a good day.  We had 134 in attendance and everyone seemed to be in good spirits.  We had a few guests from the community and that is always a blessing. A few of our Christian brothers and sisters were out of town vacationing or visiting with family.   It could be (we hope) that those who visit will one day decide to become a member of the church of Christ and worship and work with us here at Enola.  We want to grow both in spirit and in number.

     We always have exciting things going on here at the Enola church of Christ.  Our senior adults are enjoying a very special summer with our “young at heart” program.  Our seniors meet every Friday in June and July at 10:00 a.m. for visiting, activities that build strong faith, and lunch together.  The program concludes at 12:30.  Lunch is free and provided for our seniors.  Our Vacation Bible School has been scheduled for Sunday evening through Wednesday evening, July 21 – 24.  We provide Bible classes for every age, even the adults.  Everyone always enjoys VBS at Enola.

     The 4^th Annual Faulkner County Gospel Crusade will be held at the Reynold’s Performance Center at the University of Central Arkansas on Sunday, July 14^th through Friday, July 19^th at 7:00 p.m. each evening.  The theme this year is “The Home as God Would Have It.”  There will be a different preacher every night.  I will be preaching on “For Better or Worse” on Wednesday evening, July 17^th.  I hope every Christian will make plans to attend this very special event for the church of Christ in Faulkner County.  I am very happy to be a part of the program this year.

     This coming Sunday (23^rd) our morning sermon series is entitled “Putting God FIRST – An Examination of My Love and My Life.”  We will take the letters of the word “FIRST” and decide if we are truly putting God first in our lives.  This Sunday we will look at the letter “F” and ask ourselves, “Am I putting God FIRST in my FINANCES?”  We will look at only three passages of Scripture and make the changes we need to make.  On Sunday evening we are very close to concluding our series of lessons on the Old Rugged Cross.  We have looked at the requirements of the cross (Courage, Reason, Obedience, Sacrifice, and Sincerity).  We have looked at the experiences of the cross (Challenges, Responsibilities, Opportunities, Sorrows, and Successes).  Now we are looking at what we will find at the end of the cross (Christ, Riches, One and Only Father, SECURITY, and Salvation).  I hope you are enjoying these lessons and growing in your appreciation for what Jesus did for every one of us on the old rugged cross.

     For every member of the church of Christ at Enola; make sure you check your newsletter for something new.  Look for this week’s Bible trivia question.  Some questions might test your Bible knowledge.  I certainly love to read God’s word every day and find that when I do, my day goes so much better.  Try getting up a few minutes earlier in the morning to include reading your Bible and prayer.  Believe me.  And you know it’s true.  We need more Bible reading in our world today along with much prayer.

Hot and Muggy in the Country

     We had a great Sunday at Enola this week (9^th) with family and friends gathered together to worship God in spirit and in truth.  I am thankful for every opportunity to meet with my fellow Christians to honor God, remember Jesus, and look forward to another week of Christian living.  We’re so very blessed.   Several of our Enola brethren were out of town grabbing a little R and R.  It’s good to have you back home now.

     Have you driven by the church building late lately?  When you do you will notice something new and exciting; our new sign is now lit up beautifully at night.  Cindi and I stayed late after our evening worship on Sunday to watch it come on at dusk.  Now we can post our church activities and events for the community to see, post thoughtful statements for those who might need encouragement, and generally show and share God’s love with others through simple Scripture texts.   Thank you again to those who worked to get our sign in place and in order.

     This past Sunday we asked ourselves a couple of questions: Do I have a generous heart?  Is God asking too much from me?  Someone asked Jesus about the most important commands of God.  He told those who were listening that God’s greatest command is that every human being love God with all their heart, all their soul, all their mind, and all their strength.  He said that we should love others as we love ourselves.  Well, do we?  Is God asking too much? Some certainly think so.  You can tell by the way they walk, talk, and act.  May we love God not for the things He has, or for the things He has promised, or for the things we might get from Him.  Let us love Him for who He is, our Father.  This week we had a new addition to our family at Enola.  Ross and Kayla Robinson were blessed with a brand new healthy baby daughter, Marlee Kate.  We all love her.  We love her not for what she can do for us, or for what she might give us, or for any other selfish reason.  We love her simply because she is our family.  Newborn babies are not easy to deal with.  Babies cry a lot.  They can’t take care of themselves at all.  They do not sleep very much at first.  They sometimes smell bad.  They are very expensive from the start.  They cannot do anything for us except be ours.  And that is completely enough.

     This Sunday is FATHER’S DAY.  I’ll be sharing a sermon on the “do’s and don’ts” of fathers.  There is a sign on the right side of highway 64 going into Conway that has Ephesians 6:4 quoted on it.  After the quotation the challenge is this:  Father’s, it’s your job.  Just do it.  I hope you will remember your dad on Sunday, but more importantly remember your Father in heaven, not just on Father’s Day, but every day.  It could be that your dad wasn’t what he should have been or isn’t what he should be.  Know that you have a Father in heaven who is exactly what a father should be.  His word is our lamp and light for life.  He provides for us every day with blessings, opportunities, discipline, and unconditional love.  He also holds us accountable for how we live our lives.  Every dad should learn from Him and do likewise.

     YOUNG AT HEART – We have a very special ministry available to our seniors and their friends.  Every Friday in June and July from 10:00 to 12:30 we meet at the Annex at our facilities north of Enola on highway 107 for a time of fellowship, lunch, and visiting.  Last Friday we had 17.  Everything was terrific.  Thank you to Callie King for coordinating the activities and our lunch together.

     Our awesome Vacation Bible School is on the horizon schedule for July 21-24.  Mark your calendar and plan to be with us every night.  I’ll let you know the theme, times, and plans as soon as we get everything arranged.  VBS is always a wonderful time of Bible study and fellowship.

     Boy is it hot outside.  Please take care of yourself when working outside.  Be smart.  Try to do as much work as you can outside early or late.  Even if you are accustomed to outside work, watch out for dehydration and the signs of heat stroke.  

Thank you for reading...

     June!  Can you believe it?  Better hurry.  2013 is moving by; steady and sure.  We are so very thankful for the rain we’ve been receiving lately.  I can’t help but think about this time last year when we were in the middle of at terrible drought.  Those were difficult times for everyone out in the country.  We didn’t lose heart or give up on our way of life.  One of our cattle farmers told me the other day about the hay he just cut, racked, and baled.  He took in almost 50 bales.  On the same piece of property last year he took in less than a dozen bales.  Rain is a good thing, not too much, not too little, just right.

     The Enola Church of Christ is doing well this week.  God continues to bless us.  We were down a little in number this past Sunday (119).  I counted more than 20 who were out of town vacationing.  A few were out of town with their sons and daughters in sporting events.  No problem.  We’re just living life.  Just a couple of weeks ago Cindi and I took a few days ourselves.  I always encourage my fellow Christian brothers and sisters to remember who they are when they travel, that God knows exactly where they are and what they are doing, that the people around them need to see Christ living in them.  I look forward to visiting with other Christians in other parts of the country when I travel.  What a blessing it is to know that there are Christians all around the world who love God and are looking for Jesus’ return.

     We concluded our series of sermons “Looking for the Door of Opportunity” last Sunday morning with a lesson entitled “Success Leads to Success.”  I challenged the church to pick a winner and copy it.  The church in Acts 2 believed in the inspired word of the apostles of Jesus Christ and “continued steadfastly” in that word fully devoting themselves to it.  They saw the success of Jesus Christ in the apostles and walked through the door of opportunity.  King David wrote Psalm 1 and Psalm 23.  Do you remember what he called those who refused to walk in the counsel of the ungodly and those who refused to stand in the path of sinners and those who refused to sit in the seat of scoffers?  He called them “Blessed.”  Do you remember the why we can lie down in green pastures, walk beside still waters, and have our souls restored?  Do you remember why, even though we walk through the valley of the shadow of death we are not afraid?  Do you remember why goodness and mercy follows us all the days of our life and in the end we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever?  Well, the answer is plain and simple.  The Lord is our Shepherd.  We shall not want.  We see Jesus, the Good Shepherd, note that He is a Winner, Successful in everything and we copy Him, His thoughts, His words, His ways, His everything.  Success leads to success.  Don’t turn to a loser, a failure, Satan, the devil, our enemy to copy him.  Look to Jesus, a Winner, the Author and Finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2).

     Our “senior” members and friends have a very special opportunity every Friday in June and July from 10:00 to 12:30 at our facilities at 253 Highway 107 North in Enola.  If you are “young at heart” and would like to meet with fellow Christians for a time of food, fun, and fellowship, this is your special invitation to come and join us.  Lunch will be provided.  If you can’t make it for the whole time, that’s okay.  Come and stay as long as you can. 

     Vacation Bible School at Enola is coming soon.  VBS is one of our most exciting and beneficial activities each and every year.  I’ll let you know the dates, times, and what to expect asap.  God bless you and your family is my prayer for you.