VBS @ Enola - We're Traveling to the Promised Land

Hello from up in the country, Enola, Arkansas.  We had a great beginning to our annual VBS this evening with 119 in attendance.  We have sessions for every age; babies, adults, and every age in between.  Our theme is “The Promised Land or Bust.”  We’re studying from the Old Testament this year about the flight of the people of God out of Egypt to the Land of Canaan.  Thank you to every Christian who is so generous with their time and talents to make our VBS the great success it is.  God knows and so do we, what a blessing it is to meet together for Bible study, worship, and fellowship.  We are so very blessed.

Our VBS will continue Monday evening through Wednesday evening at 7:00 each evening.  Maybe you can make the drive up in the country to visit.  We would love to see you.  And the trip would do you good.

Can you believe it?  Our teachers have only three weeks left before the new school year will begin.  Our students have a few extra days of summer break and they’ll be back to school too.  My, my, where has the summer gone?  We are growing.  And that’s a good thing.

We concluded our Sunday morning sermon series entitled “When Faith is a Struggle” today with a lesson about God’s providence.  When we suffer God doesn’t explain it.  People try to explain suffering, but God doesn’t.  When we suffer God usually doesn’t remove it.  We may pray for God to remove our suffering and sometimes He does, but not usually.  He knows that suffering produces perseverance.  Perseverance produces character.  Character produces hope.  The Holy Spirit tells every one of us this in Paul’s letter to the Romans, chapter 5, verses 1-5.  Read this for yourself and see.  He writes about our faith in Christ that saves us.  Our salvation in Christ makes peace between us and God because our sins have been forgiven.  Because we have peace with God, we have access to His grace and stand in it every day.  Our hope for now and for forever is founded in God.  Then Paul writes about how good it is to suffer and why.  The little phrase “No Pain – No Gain” is true.  Think about this too:  “Know Pain – Know Gain.”  This is also true.  It is difficult to suffer, but let us follow God’s plan and purpose and let suffering produces patience and then let patience have its perfect work (James 1).

I want to say a word or two about the 5^th Annual Gospel Crusade we all enjoyed last week at UCA in Conway.  What a wonderful opportunity the crusade was to showcase the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ in such a dynamic fashion.  Every preacher taught the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth right from the Bible.  Every person who attended left encouraged in the faith and motivated to continue the fight for what is good and right.  I know I did.  Every year the gospel crusade gets better and better.  Thank you to my fellow Christians in Faulkner County, Arkansas for letting the light of Christ shine so brightly.  Let’s keep it up.

Living in View of Heaven...

We had a marvelous Sunday a couple of days ago up in the country, Enola, Arkansas and the Enola Church of Christ.  The church building was packed with Christians and we had several guests with us.  I’m so happy to be a Christian and a member of the church that belongs to Christ.  Maybe you have been thinking about life, decisions, the past, the future, heaven, hell, eternity - you know the things that really matter.  Jesus’ invitation has stood as a guiding light for generations…Matthew 11:28-30:  “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.”  After every sermon I preach, I extend the invitation of Christ.  He invites all who are burdened and tired of sin to believe in Him.  Sin separates us from God (Isaiah 59:1-2).  Jesus came to forgive sin and unite us to God (John 3:16-18).  All who believe in Jesus Christ must repent of their sins (Luke 13:3).  Repentance includes sorrow for sin and a desire to turn from it.  All who come to Christ in repentance must confess that He is the One and Only Son of God, the Savior of the world (Romans 10:9-10).  When a person confesses Jesus as the Christ the very next step to salvation is baptism.  Every sin is washed away in baptism (Acts 22:16).  It is very difficult for me to understand how some people, even those who claim to be preachers and religious leaders just leave baptism out of the plan of salvation.  Jesus was baptized to fulfill all righteousness.  He left us the “Great Commission” in Matthew 28:18-20 and when you read it, note that He included baptism.  He said, “Go…teach…baptize…teach those who are taught and baptized to go and teach and baptize.”  Baptism is not the end of anything, but the beginning of everything.  Every Christian, every day, lives a saved life, adding to their faith the Christian Graces: virtue, knowledge, self-control, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love (2 Peter 1:5-10) walking in the light as Christ is in the light (1 John 1:7) bearing the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5) abstaining from the works of the flesh (Listed just before the fruits of the Spirit).  The Christian life can be hard sometimes and suffering is part of every life this side of heaven.  Jesus taught us this fact when He concluded His sermon on the mount in Matthew 7.  He said that the rain descends.  The wind blows.  The flood rises in every life.  The foundation makes all the difference between standing and falling.  I am building my life on Christ, not on the sand.  You can too.  Hear.  Believe.  Repent.  Confess Christ.  Be baptized.  Live in view of heaven.

Take a drive up in the country this coming Sunday and meet with the Christians at the Enola Church of Christ (253 Hwy 107 N in Enola).  You’ll hear a good lesson from the Bible in one of our Bible study sessions at 10:00 a.m.  We gather in the main building in the auditorium at 11:00 for worship.  I will be preaching the second sermon in our series “When Faith is a Struggle.”  Last Sunday we looked at lesson one and found that though people try to explain why we suffer, God does not.  He talks a lot about suffering, but just doesn’t’ explain it.  This Sunday we will look at lesson two and find that God does not usually remove suffering.  Think about it.  Jesus suffered.  His Father didn’t remove His suffering.  His apostles suffered.  They all gave their lives for His mission.  Paul suffered.  Have you ever read about his “thorn in the flesh?”  He prayed for God to remove his suffering.  God said no.  Paul finally died for preaching Christ.   I know this is a tough series of lessons and people don’t usually want to hear about suffering and the facts of life but as a gospel preacher, I am called to present the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.

Sunday evenings at Enola are so good.  We meet at 5:00 for just an hour.  We are beginning a new series that will probably take us into the fall.  We will be studying Jesus Parable of the Prodigal Son and the Forgiving Father.  I’ve entitled this series “A Sinning Son and THE Father’s Loving Grace.”  This Sunday we will consider “The Beginning of Sin.”  May God help us to read Psalm 1 and check our own lives.  Am I walking in the counsel of the ungodly?  Am I standing in the path of sinners?  Am I sitting in the seat of the scornful?  Or am I delighting and meditating on the law of the Lord night and day?  I want to prosper, so I am delighting in His law, meditating on His law, and willingly obeying His law night and day.  I need some help.  I need you.

5th Sunday at Enola - What a wonderful Day!

Yesterday was Sunday, June 29^th, the 5^th Sunday in June.  We had a terrific Lord’s Day with a good crowd (132) present for Bible study, fellowship, and worship.  Still we had several who were vacationing, working, traveling, not feeling well, or for some other reason unable to gather with the church.  We always miss our Christian brothers and sisters who are absent when we meet.  Because this was a 5^th Sunday in the month, we enjoyed a very special Enola potluck lunch together.  My, my, what a treat!  I believe that just about every person stayed to enjoy the warm and friendly fellowship we enjoyed. And still we had enough food for many more.   After lunch we all walked back over to the auditorium to hear Brother Bob Turner of the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Colorado. Thank you for staying and supporting Brother Turner.   He gave us a report of all the good things that were happening around the world for the cause of Christ.  We have been blessed and it is good and right to share our blessings with those who do not yet know our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  We are continuing our “Great Commission” given to us by Christ before He ascended to His Father and ours.  We find our commission in Matthew 28:18-20.

I asked the church of Christ yesterday to take a special test, a friend test.  We sang the hymn “I’ll be a friend to Jesus.”  The first verse goes this way,

They tried my Lord and Master, with no one to defend.

Within the halls of Pilate, He stood without a friend.

I’ll be a friend to Jesus.  My life to Him I’ll spend.

I’ll be a friend to Jesus, until my years shall end.

After we sang the song, I asked the church if they really believed what they sang.  Am I a friend to Jesus?  Am I spending my life for Him?  Will I be His friend until my years shall end?  I offered the following test:

1.       Friends enjoy being together.  If I am a friend to Jesus I will enjoy spending time with Him.  I will take advantage of each opportunity I have to be with Him.  I will enjoy talking to Him in prayer.  I will enjoy reading His letter (The Bible) to me.  I love to read John 6, at the end of the chapter where Jesus asked His disciple if they would leave Him like others had.  Peter said, “Lord, to whom shall we go.  You have the words of eternal life and we have come to believe and know that You are the Christ, the Son of God.”  Peter loved Jesus and understood friendship.  I know that he let Jesus down later on, but who stood up in front of the world in Acts 2 to declare his friendship?  Peter!  Am I…are you a friend to Jesus?

2.       Friends sacrifice for each other.  If I am a friend to Jesus I will do whatever I need to do to show my love for Him. Am I…are you a friend to Jesus?

3.       Friends speak often of each other.  If I am a friend to Jesus I will have no trouble speaking about Him and sharing our friendship with anyone who would listen.  Am I…are you a friend to Jesus?

4.       Friends defend each other.  If I am a friend to Jesus I will I will defend Him.  Am I…are you a friend to Jesus?

5.       Friends are loyal to each other.  If I am a friend to Jesus I will be loyal to Him in good times and in bad times.  Am I…are you a friend to Jesus?

I hope you are a friend to Jesus.  Do you remember what Jesus said in John 15:14?  He said, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”  Well, do you?  You can also read in the Bible in John 14:15 where Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”  No opinions.  Just stating facts.

I hope to see you soon up in the country.  God bless you and keep you is my constant prayer.

I'll be a Friend to Jesus - How about you?

Hello from up in the country, Enola, Arkansas and the Enola church of Christ.  I hope you are having a great week living the Christian life.  We had a great day this past Sunday with a good crowd gathered together to study the Bible, worship God in spirit and in truth, and enjoy wonderful Christian fellowship together.  Some of our fellow Christian family members were out of pocket vacationing, working, traveling, and a few were sick.  May God help us all to appreciate one another more and more as we look toward heaven.

Last Sunday was “Father’s Day” so our lesson was aimed at helping every dad to be a better dad.  We talked about three things that we need to do as fathers to see that our children know what they need to know:  First, they need to know God’s word.  Second, they need to know how to live life.  Third, we need to help them, but not overdo it.  In 2 Timothy 3 Paul wrote about the Scripture being inspired of God and contains everything we need for every good work.  How can we know “everything we need for every good work”  if we do not know the Bible?  In Romans 1:16 we find that the gospel  of Christ is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes.  Dads have a grave responsibility to bring up their children in the nurture and the admonition of Christ (Ephesians 6:4).  This means that sometimes we say “Yes” to what our children request and sometimes we say “No.”  James writes about wisdom in James chapter one and instructs every person who needs wisdom to pray to God for it and God will give what is needed.  As a dad and “PopPop” I take these passages from the Bible very seriously.  Always have.  Always will.

This Sunday we will study about friendship with a lesson entitled “I’ll Be a Friend to Jesus – Really?”  Are you a friend to Jesus?  Friends believe in each other.  Friends like to be together.  Friends are always honest with each other.  Friends trust each other.  Friends have confidence in each other.  How about it?  Are you a friend to Jesus?  Do you believe in Him?  Do you like to be with Him?  Are you honest with Him?  Do you trust Him?  Can He trust you?  When He asks you to do something, do you have the confidence in Him enough to do it without complaining, doubting, or asking Him “Why?”  These are sobering questions that we need to ask ourselves.  How about it?

On Sunday evening we will focus our attention on back on worship and the fact that God really does have rules that we must keep in order for our worship to be acceptable to Him.  We must come before God with an attitude or heart of reverence.  In Exodus 3 Moses approached the “burning bush” and was told by God to remove his shoes because the ground was holy.  We may not need to remove our shoes when we come to worship, but we certainly must have a heart of reverence for God.  This Sunday we will look at the second lesson in the series, “Submission to God in Purity.”  In 1 Corinthians 11 Paul wrote about the Lord’s Supper, the unleavened bread representing the body of Christ and the fruit of the vine representing Jesus’ blood that washes away our sins.  He wrote about the requirements for acceptable worship when we commemorate the death, burial, and the resurrection of Jesus.  We are to remember Jesus and examine ourselves.  Paul’s admonition is serious.  There is a “worthy” way and an “unworthy” way.  I want to remember Jesus in a worthy way.  How about you?  Those who worship God must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

I hope to see you on Sunday, Sunday evening, and again on Wednesday evening.  The drive up in the country will do you good.  God bless you.  God bless us all.

We can do it! We will!

We can do whatever needs to be done.  God will provide.  He always does.  On our outdoor sign at the Enola Church of Christ recently: "We can always find the time to do what we want to do."  and "The longest journey begins with a single step."

These questions have answers.  Who?  Everyone, but more specifically and importantly, you and me!  What?  Life!  When?  Now!  Because yesterday is gone and tomorrow may never be.  Where?  Wherever we are right now!  How?  The best way we can!  God’s way!  His way is always the best way.  Why?  Well, because don’t we want to be happy here and in heaven later on?  I do.  So, I will.  I am.

May God help us to live this one life we have full, free, faithfully, and without fear.

Have a fantastic weekend!