Every Sunday is Easter Sunday to a Christian

     We had a great Sunday yesterday, a great crowd and a wonderful time together smiling, singing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, praying, sharing, and looking into God’s word to see how wonderfully blessed we are.  To the world yesterday was “Easter Sunday.”  To every Christian, yesterday was just as special, no more and no less than every Sunday every week.  If you read your Bible you will find that the church of Christ in the first century celebrated the birth, life, death, burial, and the resurrection of Christ every Sunday, not just one day every year.  I love this fact.  The church that Jesus established and came into reality on the Day of Pentecost continued in the apostles’ teaching (Acts 2:42) which meant that the church met together every Sunday (the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day) to remember Jesus in the Lord’s Supper or communion, eating unleavened bread representative of Jesus’ body and drinking fruit of the vine representative of Jesus’ saving blood.  The apostle Paul taught about this remembrance in 1 Corinthians 11.  A good example of the church meeting together “to break bread” can be found in Acts 20.  At the Enola Church of Christ we follow the pattern so clearly and simply found in the New Testament.  I’m very happy about that.

     This Sunday we will continue in our series “Foundation Principles – The Christian Graces.”  So far we have added virtue and knowledge to our faith in Christ Jesus.  This week we will look at adding self-control.  Paul told the church of Christ at Corinth to live life on purpose rather than wandering around without direction or discipline.  He told them that he lived his life like an athlete who ran the race to certainly to win.  He said that living the Christian life should be like a boxer or fighter who fights with certainty, not one that simply punches the air hoping to hit something.  He said that every Christian should live life with self-control so as to not be disqualified when Christ comes to judge every person (2 Corinthians 5:10).  I have not always lived a temperate life.  I am doing a little bit better every day.  I hope you will add this Christian grace to your life.

     I took at trip to West Tennessee last week to speak at the 35^th Annual Phillips Street Church of Christ Lectures.  This was my first trip to that part of the country and found Dyersburg, Tennessee to be one of the most beautiful towns in America.  The dogwood trees were in full bloom along with the azaleas and other trees and foliage.  My wife and her family lived in Dyersburg in 1969 when her dad, the late Mitchell Palmer preached for the congregation at Phillips Street.  We saw so many of her parents’ friends from so long ago.  We felt as though those 45 years were just a few days.  What a privilege it is to be a Christian, a part of God’s family, a member of the church of Christ.  We have brothers and sisters all around the world who love us and whom we love.   It was truly a great honor to participate in the lectureship.  The theme was “Becoming More like Jesus.”  My topic was “What Jesus Taught Us About Leadership.”   Cindi, my wife was honored to participate in the ladies’ program on Saturday.  She spoke to a large ladies only crowd on the subject of “The Pathway to Peace.”  I heard that the program was a tremendous success. 

     Before I close let me say CONGRATULATIONS to MACKENZIE LOYD.  MacKenzie is our newest Christian sister at Enola.  She was baptized into Christ last Monday, April 14^th with her parents and other family members present to celebrate her decision to follow Jesus.  The gospel is still God’s power to salvation to everyone who believes.  Maybe you have been thinking of making a change in the direction of your life.  Jesus’ command is simple:  Follow Me.  His invitation is also simple:  Come to Me.  I so wish you would.  I can help you.  May God bless you and yours is my prayer for you.

Do you know my Jesus? Do you know my Friend? Have you heard He loves you and that He will abide til the end?

     We’re having a great week in beautiful Central Arkansas with blue skies, a gentle spring breeze, and plenty of ideas for what we want to do now that we can get out of our winter blues.  God is blesses us.

     I’m sorry to say that one of our dear faithful sisters in Christ Edna Jean Smith is now resting in Paradise after a long difficult illness.  We’ll be celebrating her life tomorrow (Friday, April 11^th) at the Enola Church of Christ visiting with family and friends at 1:00 p.m. and then holding funeral services at 12:00.  I’ll miss her smile, her quick sense of humor, and her way of making others feel most important.  As long as she was physically able, she was in her place when the church met.  I’m so very proud of her example of faith, hope, and love.   May she rest in peace until the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is my prayer.

     Our Sunday morning sermon series “Foundation Principles – The Christian Graces” will continue this coming Lord’s Day as we consider added to our faith KNOWLEDGE.  Jesus said that eternal life was this:  knowing the true and living God and Jesus whom He sent.  Peter said that there was no one else to go to but Jesus because he had the words of eternal life.  Peter had come to believe and KNOW that Jesus was exactly who He said He was.  Paul said that he counted all things loss that he might gain the knowledge of Christ.  What about you?  Do you know my Jesus?  Do you know my friend?  Have you heard He loves you and that He will abide til the end?  Sound familiar?  We sing that song quite often at Enola and probably elsewhere too.  Well, do you?  Do you know Him?  I hope so.  If not, let me tell you about the One who came to seek and save the lost, the One who gave Himself for you and for me, the One who lived His life for others, the One who died for the world and lives again to give life to everyone who trusts and obeys.  What does He ask?  Trust Him.  Repent of any sin.  This means to understand that sin separates us from God.  Repentance means turning away from sin.  Confess Jesus.  He is the Son of God.  Be baptized by His authority so that your sins will be washed away, forgiven and forgotten forever.  Then continue in the Light of His word.  Every time the church of Christ at Enola meets, right before I close out the lesson, I ask those present to consider their lives and accept Jesus’ invitation to “Come…”  You can read about His invitation in Matthew 11:28-30.  I do pray that if you haven’t accepted His invitation, that you will asap. 

     This Sunday evening at 5:00 we’ll take a look at Jesus’ life, specifically one occasion (John 8) and see how He was able to remain so calm, so cool, and so collected under tremendous pressure to be otherwise.  Are you under any pressure or stress at home, at work, at school, with your family, or in the world?  Just remember these three words:  Identification, Dedication, and Organization.  Know who you are.  Jesus did.  Know who to please.  Jesus did.  Know what you’re doing.  Jesus did.  Do you?  If not, maybe one or two or all three of these points could be the problem.

     May God bless you and keep  you in His care is my prayer for you and yours.  Pray for me and for every gospel preacher who tries to keep the light of the gospel shining bright in a world of darkness.  Thank you.

Add to your Faith...

     Another week of gorgeous weather is certainly a welcome sight for us up in the country.  Don’t you just love looking out in the pasture to see all the new calves running and jumping around?  What about all the flowers popping up everywhere?  I certainly enjoy such beauties.  Just the other morning I was getting ready for work.  I looked out my bedroom window to check on the weather and saw a doe only about 50 feet from the house enjoying the new growth of grass.  She eased her way out of view after a minute or two in the open field.  I took a few minutes to thank God for His rich blessings in my life.  Isn’t it amazing what you see when you look?  Let’s do more looking so we can experience more seeing.

    Last Sunday was a very good Lord’s Day.  Every Sunday is.  We met for Bible study at 10:00 and at 11:00 for worship together.  We had several guests.  We are blessed.  I introduced a new series of sermons on “Foundation Principles – The Christian Graces.”  The lesson was about faith.  We are saved by grace through faith.  Faith is the substance of our hope and the evidence of what we cannot yet see.  Without faith we cannot please God.  In faith we must believe that God is AND that He is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.  God never asks anyone to believe in Him blindly.  There are such clear evidences:  circumstantial evidence, revelation evidence, and experiential evidence.  God can be seen when people decide to look.  God said through David in Psalm 47:10, “Be still and know that I am God.”  Next Sunday we will take the next “grace,” and see if we are adding virtue to our faith.  If you don’t already know, virtue simply means moral excellence.  I look forward to this series and checking my own Christian life to make sure I am in the light as He is (1 John 1:7).

     Hey!  What are doing on Wednesday’s from 7:00 to 8:00 p.m.?  I know how busy life is now a days with work, school, sports, yard work, garden work, and of course we all have to rest sometime.  The Enola Church of Christ meets for Bible study and a period of singing, prayer, and fellowship every Wednesday evening at 7:00.  I have always found that I need some time in the middle of the week to refocus.  Meeting with fellow Christians on Wednesday evening helps me do just that.  I’m thinking a few minutes gathered with the church could help you too.  Give us a try and see for yourself.

     I hope to see you soon.  A drive up in the country would do you good.  No April fooling, either.