Growing in Grace and Knowledge...

July in beautiful Louisville, Kentucky! Welcome family and friends! 

Our annual Tuesday Summer Series is going very well.  And what a challenge these “Portraits of Faith” are to every one of us!  Noah was challenged to obey God.  He did even though it took him 100 years to do it.  Abraham was challenged to trust God.  He did even though he was 100 years of age when Isaac came along.  Moses was challenged to be patient.  He was even though his mission to deliver Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land took 40 extra years.  Joseph was challenged to be humble.  He was even though he was sold into slavery, mistreated, imprisoned, and forgotten for 22 years.  Esther was challenged to be wise.  She was even though she had to risk her own life for her people.  On Tuesday (12^th) Brother Chad Landman from the Graymere Church of Christ in Columbia, Tennessee will be with us to show us how Ruth was challenged to be strong in the midst of the trials of life.  I hope you will make plans to be here for this great lesson from God’s word.  May we all decide to grow in our faith!  Romans 10:17 says, “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”  The more of God’s word we read, study, hear, and reflect on the strong our faith will be.  Psalm 1 teaches us that when we delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night, we will prosper in all that we do.  How about it?  Come and hear and see!

The Watterson Trail congregation meets for worship on Sunday morning at 10:30 and again on Sunday afternoon at 1:30.  We meet in smaller age-appropriate sessions for Bible study on Sunday morning at 9:30.  Currently we are in the midst of our Tuesday Summer Series from June through August.  Beginning in September through May we will meet every Wednesday at 7:00 for Bible study. 

Someone might ask; “Why so many meetings?”  The answer is simple. Jesus said it best.  “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth…but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven…For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  He is our treasure.  His word is our guide.  His kingdom and His righteousness are our priority.  Where He leads we follow happily, securely, and with all the confidence in the world.

The passing of a legend - Cassius Clay - God alone sees and knows

Hello family and friends.  Our fair city has been in view of the world this week due to the death one of our own citizens, a man formerly known as Cassius Clay.  He is no different from any who pass from this life to the next, and yet he is very much different.  You can decide the similarities to just about any who die.  Like many, though he was rich in worldly things, yet he only took with him all that he had when we entered the world on January 17, 1942.  Like many, he enjoyed many great victories and like many he suffered much during his short 74 years.  Like every human being who dies; he kept his appointment with death and is now awaiting the judgement.  You can also decide the differences.  He will always be known as the greatest boxer of all time.  He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2005.  He left his faith in Jesus Christ to become a Muslim at age 23.  He refused to follow his fellow countrymen into war answering the call with a “No.”  He was married four times and has nine children.  He had Parkinson’s disease.  He will be missed.  The world keeps spinning.  Time moves on. 

God alone sees all and knows all and will judge all. Not me. Not you. Not the media or the world.  Only God.  And I’m glad.  In those final moments of a person’s life, thoughts of the past, present, and the future…all that is done or all that could’ve or would’ve or should’ve been done…victories and defeats…love of family and friends…times of happiness and sorrow…only God knows and understands and accepts or rejects.  God is good.  He is merciful.  He is love.  He is perfect.  He never makes a mistake.  He is right.  To be in His hands, well, there’s no better place to be.  May God bless the Ali family during their great loss is my prayer for them.  May God bless us to trust Him with our all and follow His instructions in Proverbs 3:3-5.

This Sunday (June 12) we will begin a new series of sermons entitled “Proper Adjustments.”  In this series we will look at examples from the Bible that will show us that God has always required adjustments when He asks us to follow Him.  Think with me.  Did Noah have to change?  What about Abraham?  Did God ask Moses to be different?  What about David?  And Jonah?  Did the 12 Apostles have to adjust their lives to Jesus’ instructions?  I could keep going but I think you get the picture.  This Sunday we will look at the rich young ruler who wanted eternal life.  Jesus told him he could have what he requested.  But there is an adjustment that the man had to make.  What about you?  Is God asking you to make an adjustment? Is He asking you to change?  You can do it!

Sunday afternoon at 1:30 is a very special time of worship and study at Watterson Trail.  I’m preaching a series entitled “Peace Under Pressure.”  Do you have “Peace WITH God?”  This is spiritual peace.  What about the “Peace OF God?”  This is emotional peace.  Well, when you have peace with God, you then have the peace of God.  Then, you will find “Peace IN God.”  This is relational peace.  Come and hear.  You will be so glad you did.  We almost always out at 2:30 for the rest of Sunday at home or visiting with family and friends.

Happy Mother's Day 2016

Happy Mother’s Day!  Remember to call your mother. Some only wish they could. “Mother” can bring to mind many things:  peace, warmth, security, respect, honor, discipline, the rules of life, even our existence.   A mother’s love is a precious gift.  The Bible teaches us that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things.  Love never fails.  Receiving love is certainly wonderful. Giving love is even better. Jesus has always been exactly right (Acts 20:35).  It is truly more blessed to give than to receive.  Our mothers literally gave us life.  What shall we do?

     One Saturday before Mother’s Day a thoughtful mother gave her three sons two dollars each and allowed them to shop for her for Mother’s Day.  How can three little boys in “J C Penney’s” ever show their mother just how much they love her with six dollars between them?  Such a task is impossible.  Of course we must remember that love simply cannot be measured in dollars or in any worldly terms.  The choices were limited.  These three boys finally agreed upon just the right pin for their mother to wear on her Sunday dress.  They pooled their money, almost to the penny and had their mother’s gift of love wrapped and ready to present to her.  On Sunday with bursting hearts and smiling faces those boys gathered around their mother and presented her the small box.  She gently opened the box saying, “You boys didn’t have to get me anything.” She took out the pin with the most wonderful look of joy and happiness, and immediately placed it on her blouse all the while talking about how beautiful it was and that this particular pin was all she ever wanted.

    A few years later these boys, now grown with children of their own gathered together around the dinner table with their parents reminiscing about those “good old days.”  Quietly the mother slipped away and returned a few minutes later holding the pin that those boys purchased for her so many years before.  To her, that pin holds more love than the most expensive piece of jewelry in the world.  The reason is obvious if you understand the meaning of love.

Lemons into Lemonade - And I love lemonade!

Welcome family and friends!  Don't you just love this time of year - Spring?  This morning it was very cool (38 degrees) in my old Kentucky home.  I'm still adjusting from Arkansas to Kentucky.  Even though the temps are very cool God's creation is waking up from its winter sleep.  The daffodils have given way to tulips, lilies, and irises.  The pear trees are giving way to the redbuds and dogwoods.  We're looking forward to summer and its wonderful blessings.

The Watterson Trail ladies have been especially busy over the past few days getting everything ready for our annual Ladies’ Day 2016, scheduled for this Saturday, April 9th at 8:30 a.m.  Our theme is "Turning Lemons into Lemonade."  We have invited a very special ladies' day speaker:  Janie Craun, editor of the Gospel Advocate's Christian Woman magazine.

I know that the entire day will enjoyable, encouraging, and challenging to all who participate.  Of course, this is a "ladies only" event.  The Watterson Trail men will proudly be serving lunch to all the ladies at 12:00. 

Isn’t it true that there are times in life where it seems that we have been given “lemons?”  Now what can you do when life hands you a lemon?  Some immediately give up and throw away what could have been something wonderful.  Some give in to the “lemon” and become sour and seedy to live a life of quiet desperation.  Some sit and stare at the “lemon” trying to figure out what to do, but give out too quickly; defeated by a “lemon.”  And then there are some who take the “lemons” of life and with God’s grace make something delicious and nutritious.  They turn their “lemons” into lemonade to enjoy and share with the world. 

Did you know that “turning lemons into lemonade” can also be profitable?  When my daughter was little, she wanted to earn some spending money during the summer.  She and her younger brother spent an entire day building a lemonade stand out of cardboard boxes, painting signs to place at the end of our driveway, turning lemons into lemonade, and selling Dixie cups of lemonade for 25 cents each out in the hot Florida sun.  Of course, we had to make a trip to the store at the end of the day.  Why?  To buy get more “lemons” of course and maybe get a few other “benefits” of turning lemons into lemonade as well.  We cannot always determine the chances, changes, and challenges that come to us in life.  We can however determine the attitude with which we face those chances, changes, and challenges. 

I am glad when they say to me, Let us go into the house of the Lord!

Welcome family and friends!  It is our desire and prayer to honor God as we gather for Bible study, worship, and Christian fellowship on the Lord’s Day and every day.  We are to read God’s word every day because the strength of our faith lies in our knowledge of the Bible.  We find that “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Romans 10:17).  The Psalmist wrote in Psalms 1 about the prosperity of the person who delights in God’s law and meditates on it day and night.  This person is pictured as a healthy tree growing and prospering year after year.  Jesus finished His sermon on the mountain with statements about the importance of hearing and doing His word (Matthew 7:24-27).  It is foolish to hear what needs to be done and then not do it.  It is wise to hear and do.

Our Sunday morning sermon series is entitled “Growing in Gladness.”  We are studying about worship and how happy we should be as Christians to worship God in spirit and in truth.  David was glad to worship (Psalm 122:1).  We should be too.  Sunday is the Lord’s Day.  We honor God when we meet together for worship and fellowship.  Some Christians miss the central theme of the assembly: Christians together drawing near to God, holding tightly to the confession of our hope, considering one another to stir up love and good works (Hebrews 10:19-25).  We honor Him when we remember Jesus’ death in the Lord’s Supper.  We honor Him when we pray.  We honor God when we give of our means.  We honor Him when we sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  We honor Him when we hear the preaching of His word.

We’ll be looking at how we can grow in gladness through prayer this Sunday, February 7^th.  Come and hear.  God still hears and answers our supplications, prayers, and intercessions.  He stills hears our words of thanksgiving.  We just need to pray, today and everyday.

May God bless us in 2016 as we renew our focus on the Light of the world, Jesus Christ our Savior and Friend on Sunday, the Lord’s Day and every day.  May we decide again to grow in His grace and in the knowledge of Christ.

Just a word or two about “fellowship.” 

In our day of social media, texting, email, network marketing, and the like is seems that “fellowship” has taken on a different meaning.  People can now be “friends” without any physical contact.  I hear that some churches are now having worship services via the internet, the preacher preaching from the beach in Florida or from some other location over the audio/video system that is sent out via the world wide web.  The church gives via PayPal.  One is asked to sing along as he sits behind his computer monitor watching people/the choir/the band perform.  Some pray all alone then eat the unleavened bread and the fruit of the vine in remembrance of Jesus’ death still all alone.  And when I ask about fellowship and God’s command in Hebrews 10:24-25 I can almost hear some say, “Brother Mickey, I’m not alone!  All my 482 Facebook friends, my 242 Twitter buddies, and my Blog followers are right here with me.  And if I want to “see” someone or speak “face to face” I’ll just Skype them.”  Really?  What can I say?