We have been blessed with some much needed cooler temperatures lately and a little rain. Of course we could use much more. God sees and knows of our needs and will provide according to His will and purpose. We can depend on that for sure. I gave up on my garden several days ago. Maybe next year! I did receive a big gift from one of our master gardeners this past week: 188 ears of sweet corn. It was a great pleasure to meet him out in his garden and push the wheel barrow as he picked the corn. We put up 18 quarts of corn in our freezer. Another master gardener brought us several tomatoes. We boiled, skinned, and put them in the freezer for some delicious stews and soups later on this winter. Cindi and I are so very blessed. We thank God every day for the church of Christ at Enola, for your care and support for us as we work with you toward heaven. Can you believe that I have been the minister at Enola for one year this month?

Our Sunday morning series continues this Sunday – “Repentance – A Command for All for All Time.” Last Sunday we looked at the Meaning of Repentance. To repent means to regret, to turn, to change, and to relent. “Repentance” has always been God’s plea to mankind. This Sunday we will follow that sermon with a look at the Motivation to Repentance. What is it that leads a person to repentance? You might be thinking: What can I say to my son or daughter that would help them see their need to repent? What can I say to my parents to show them that unless they repent, they will perish? What cay I say to my friends to help them understand just where they will end up unless they repent? We will answer these questions right from the Bible. We might think that a good whipping from God is the best way to bring someone who is in sin to repentance. Now, don’t get me wrong. God sometimes chastens us. You can read Hebrews 12:3-13 to see for yourself that God often disciplines us. But, when it comes to the best way to motivate one to repentance we find that the goodness of God, His longsuffering, His love, His promises, His instructions lead people to repent. We would do well to come to a better understanding of this fact. The goodness of God leads us to repentance. What about us? If we would like to see others repent, let’s show them the goodness of God, His compassion, His love, His promises, and His instructions.

On Sunday evenings at Enola we are studying about the love of Jesus. Jesus loves us, this we know, for the Bible tells us so. The love of Christ is our motivation to serve. The love of Christ is our reason to obey. There may be many reasons to obey the gospel of Christ, but the greatest and best reason is love. Do you love God? If you do, obey His instructions. Jesus said it this way in John 14:15; “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” How can you say you love God when you are not obeying His commandments?

Remember our VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL at Enola; scheduled for Sunday evening, July 29 and continuing through Wednesday evening, August 1. Our theme is “The Treasure of the Forgotten Island.” I hope you will be here for every session. Adults: We will have a very special series of studies on the same topics as well. We will study the following lessons:

Sunday - Listening to Instructions and Discovering Truth

Monday - Avoiding Foolish Behavior

Tuesday - Living God’s Way

Wednesday - Gaining Wisdom

     Whew!  I don’t remember our weather being this dry or hot with records being set all across the nation.  Even with the terribly dry, hot weather we have enjoyed a good week up in the country.  The new intersection at 36 and 107 is almost completed with new asphalt, new landscaping, and a much safer way to drive either to Enola or through Naylor to Mount Vernon.  In Enola the city workers have been cleaning out the ditches on both sides of Highway 107 in preparation for the rains that will soon be headed our way.  God will provide for our needs in His time.  The grasshoppers have invaded our fields, yards, and gardens.  Of course, at least at my house, the birds are enjoying the feast.  I keep watering my garden hoping to save it while at the same time dusting to keep the pests away.  “Farming” is tough!   Let’s be very careful.  Drink plenty of liquids during the day.  Try to stay inside as much as possible.  Let’s check on the elderly and pay special attention to our children. 

      Our Sunday morning series will conclude this Sunday with the final lesson “Useful and Fruitful – No Prejudice.”  We have looked at three obstacles that often keep us from being useful and fruitful:  excuses, fear, and regret.  Prejudice can also hinder our usefulness and our fruitfulness for Christ.  We will define prejudice.  We will identify this obstacle.  We will then consider just how prejudice leaves us useless and fruitless.  Jesus teaches about prejudice in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.  What do you suppose the Priest and the Levite might say to Jesus to justify their behavior toward the man who had fallen prey to those robbers?  I might not know him.  He might not be a member of the church of Christ.  He probably deserved what he got.  He’s probably too injured to survive.  I might get my hands dirty.  He’s probably not even from Faulkner County.  Therefore, I’ll just ease on by and maybe someone else more qualified than me will come along to help.

     On Sunday evening we will consider another way that we know that we are Christians.  I know that I am a Christian because:  I am a disciple, I am persuaded, and sometimes I am called to suffer.  Jesus suffered.  The Apostles suffered.  Our forefathers suffered.  Every Christian suffers at some point because of their faith in Christ Jesus.  I know that I am a Christian because sometimes I suffer.  Peter tells us that we should live our lives so that we never suffer as an evildoer and thus be ashamed.  We should live our lives righteously and justly.  We may suffer for Christ, but our suffering will never cause shame.

     I look forward to seeing every member of the Enola church of Christ this coming Sunday morning for worship, Bible study, and fellowship together.  We have a beautiful building that is cool and comfortable.  We have Christian brothers and sisters who really need our support and encouragement.  We also need their support and encouragement.  Also, just about every week we have guests from our area to visit with us.  They are searching for the hope that we enjoy.  They so need the salvation that only comes through faith in Jesus Christ and in obedience to the gospel.  Let’s look beyond our own needs, ideas, feelings, and personal interests to the needs of others.  To God be glory today, tomorrow, and forever.

     We had another wonderful day at the Enola Church of Christ this past Sunday, “Father’s Day” June 17, 2012.  We had 150 for worship and a good crowd for Bible study and for our Sunday evening service.  The church continues to grow in love for God and in our love for one another. In the sermon we focused on dads.  The title of the sermon was “Do’s and Don’ts for Dads.”  We looked at one verse; Ephesians 6:4.  “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.” 

     Do not provoke your children to wrath. 
     Do provoke your children to love and good works.

     Do not be absent and inconsistent. 
     Do train your children in the ways of God.

     Do not be a wimp or out of control. 
     Do admonish your children in the ways of God.

     Do not wait any longer to be the dad you need to be. 
     Do begin today.

     The key words that we defined and discussed were:  provoke, wrath, train, and admonish.  Think about it.  How can we know if we are doing something or if we are not doing something if we don’t know the meanings of what it is that we may or may not be doing?  I hope that every father will commit and recommit themselves to being the very best daddy possible.

     We began a new series this past Sunday evening entitled “I know that I am a Christian because…”  Are you a Christian?  Am I?  I can know if I am a Christian.   I know that I am a Christian because I AM A DISCIPLE.  I know because I am persuaded.  I know because sometimes I am called to suffer as a Christian.  A Christian is a disciple of Christ.  A disciple of Christ is a follower of Christ, one who believes in and disseminates the teachings of his Master, Christ.  A disciple of Christ, a Christian follows in the thoughts, words, and the ways of Christ.

     This Sunday morning we will continue in our series “Useful and Fruitful” and look at another obstacle that often hinders our usefulness and therefore our fruitfulness in life and living; REGRET.  If you would like to read ahead, read about the rich young ruler who ran to Jesus, knelt before Him and asked Him a very important question about what he needed to do to have eternal life.  Jesus answered this man’s question lovingly and truthfully.  Read in Matthew 19:16-22.  You can read parallel accounts in Mark and Luke.  Could it be that this young man allowed regret to keep him from being useful and fruitful in his life; thereby having what he desired?  What about you and me?  Excuses, fear, and regret are three obstacles that stand in the way of our usefulness and fruitfulness in life.

     Our Vacation Bible School has been scheduled for Sunday through Wednesday, July 29 through August 1.  Brother Brandon Breeding will be coordinating our VBS and will need our help.  Be ready when the opportunity arises to be useful and fruitful in this summer adventure.

     Pray and keep praying for a break in this terrible drought that we are experiencing here in Central Arkansas.  We need some rain.  May God bless us according to His will and purpose.

God is good. No problem. The rain we received over the past couple of days was certainly refreshing and very much needed. I am thankful. We all are thankful. The church at Enola is doing very well. We had 130 present for worship and fellowship this past Sunday morning. There were 81 who came back for worship on Sunday evening and 74 present for Bible study on Wednesday night. May we all understand our own personal need for our presence with the church meets together and may we understand the need that our brothers and sisters in Christ have for our presence.


Not too long ago one of our members invited a neighbor to worship on Sunday morning. This Christian had been extending this invitation for quite some time and up until now his neighbor had not accepted the invitation. Well, the neighbor and his family decided to surprise the Christian neighbor who extended the invitation to them and show up for worship with the church. Well, you guessed it. The Christian who extended the invitation wasn’t there for worship. Ouch! Now, you can depend on the church to take up the slack. We all made this family feel very welcome and honored them with many smiles, handshakes, and invitations to visit again. Even though the church was very loving and welcoming, the Christian neighbor still had to face his neighbor and explain why he extended the invitation then didn’t show up himself to welcome them. Of course, none of us can know what tomorrow holds. Sometimes our very best intentions are met with life’s complications. As my grandfather used to say, “That’s all right son. You’ll live over it.”

Our sermon series “Useful and Fruitful” will continue next week. Our sermon this coming Sunday, June 17th will be from Ephesians 6:1-4, specifically verse 4. “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but BRING THEM UP IN THE TRAINING AND ADMONITION OF THE LORD.” Dad, how are we doing with God’s instructions to us for our children? Are we accepting and fulfilling our responsibility to our children? Or are we attempting to delegate our responsibility to others; our wives, our parents, our friends, the youth minister, the school teacher, the coach, and/or anyone who will accept it? We must realize that there are some things that cannot be delegated. This is one of them. God holds every dad, every father responsible for the training and the admonition (discipline, warning, reproving, rebuking) of their children. There is no time to waste. Dads, let’s start today to be and do what we need to be and do for our children.

On Sunday evening at Enola we will begin a three-lesson series on “I KNOW THAT I AM A CHRISTIAN BECAUSE…” In this series we will take a look at the three passages in the New Testament that mentions the word “Christian” and see how we can know that we are. I know that I am a Christian because I am a disciple (Acts 11:26). I know that I am a Christian because I am persuaded (Acts 26:24-29). I know that I am a Christian because sometimes I suffer for the cause of Christ (1 Peter 4:16). Come back on Sunday evening at 5:00 for this very special series of lessons. I look forward to seeing you.

     God is.  He knows.  He cares.  I’m glad.  There are some who reject God.  They reject Him because they often don’t get what they want in life or maybe their plans sometimes fail to turn out like they hoped.  They say, “If God existed, then certainly He would give me everything I want.”  They say, “I prayed for a million dollars.  I didn’t get it.  So, the Bible is wrong, prayer is meaningless, and God doesn’t exist.  How silly!  How terribly childish, like the two-year-old I saw in Wal-Mart the other day who didn’t get the toy he wanted.  My, what a crying, kicking, yelling tantrum he threw in front of his mother and the rest of Faulkner County.  I hope his mother “took care” of him.  God always takes care of those who believe in Him and those who refuse Him.  It is so very true.  The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.”  Faith in God is the substance of hope.  It is the evidence of what we cannot see…yet. 

     Our Sunday morning series “Useful and Fruitful” continues with the second obstacle that often hinders us from being useful and therefore fruitful in life:  FEAR.  We can overcome our fears through understanding, discipline, and experience.  Simon Peter had a very sad experience in his life when he allowed fear to keep him from being useful and fruitful as he warmed himself by the fire while Jesus was only a few feet away being very terribly tortured and sentenced to death.  Oh, how he wept when he heard the rooster crow.  May we determine to move past our fears through understanding, discipline and experience!

     On Sunday evening (June 10^th) we will remember our mission to “let our light so shine before men that they may see our good works and glorify our Father in heaven.”  We will take a look at several examples of some in the Bible who pointed people to Jesus.  They let their light so shine and people saw Jesus.

     Our VBS at Enola has been scheduled for Sunday through Wednesday, July 29 – August 2.  Brother Brandon will be leading our program again this year.  Just say “Yes” when he gives us the opportunity to help.  Remember what Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”

     We have several brothers and sisters in Christ who are traveling.  Please remember them in your daily prayers.  Pray also for some much needed rain in our area.  I look forward to seeing you on Sunday for Bible study at 10 and for worship at 11.  Have a great rest of the week and remember to live the Christian life the way you should.