God a.k.a. Hitman

So God is a great Hitman. In the past few weeks, I have heard two different people use that phrase...."God put a hit out on me".

He does have a way of reaching out to those whom He loves. One guy had a few friends just say hi, we missed you. Another had a dream that 2 of His fellow beleivers beat him up and read the bible to him( I know right???).

God is the ever-present God who never lets go of His children. Has God ever put a hit out on you?

Communcation

The sermon Sunday Morning was called, "Maitaining the Biblical Marriage: Communication"

The basic premise was this: Husbands should, in all their communication with their wives, make them feel loved. Wives should, in all their communcation with their husbands, make them feel respected.

I challenged you all to have a serious conversation with your spouse, asking them how you are doing and what you can do better. I just wonder, if there's anybody out there, who did that and how it worked out.

The Ever-Present Grace of God

I have been amazed at the Grace of God at the timeof death. My Pappaw is only a few weeks from his death now, and things are easily overwhelming for us as the family. He lays in a hospital bed at home, sleeping.

His voice is near nothing now. The other day, his wife and 3 daughters were sitting around his bed as he slept. After weeks of being nearly unable to speak, he awoke and sang a song at the top of his lungs. It was a verse to the old, old country song, "The Great Speckled Bird". This is amazing to me because this song was popular in teh 30's and 40's. There are 8 verses to this song but the one that came to his mind as his brain fires off inconsistantly was this:

" She is spreading her wings for a journey She's going to leave by and by When the trumpet shall sound in the morning She'll rise and go up in the sky. "

God is ever present near the death of one of His saints. He is always speaking to their family. I praise GOd for His faithfulness and comfort.

For All You Newbies

I'm assuming that everyone just got the newsletter and rushed to their computers to begin blogging. To test it out, here's a few questions to respond to:

1. What do you think of the Esther Bible Study?

2. What do you think of the Landscaping?

3. What do you think of the Missions Budget?

A New Mantra

As a Pastor, everyone I meet or hear about eventually comes back to the idea of that person fitting into our church or a ministry in some way. It almost gets annoying, both to myself and others.

It occurred to me that this is probably foreign to the minds of the average church member. I remember growing up in a "successful" church. We heard, knew, and taught the Great Commission, but it was not our mantra. Our church always stayed about the same size, and still is.

I have learned that I need to have more patience with the regular church member. I also learned how they need to make the Great Commission their mantra. What does it take to make reaching the lost second nature?

Thougts on Our Church

The direction our church has taken is paying off. I love it!!! I forget sometimes how great God is blessing until I tell someone else.

At our Small group Sunday Night, we had 16 Adults and 16 kids. In the past, our tactics were to get them settled in to church and then try to build relationships. This approach at building relationships first has been paying off. we have already seen a rise in participation at church, and we will continue to see more.

People don't want or need to be judged by a religion or told what to do. that is direct antithesis to human nature. Human nature naturally rebels against authority, especially in a culture that no longer enforces it. Human nature, however, almost always responds to love and encouragement. Are we building a "feel good" church? God forbid. We are just finding a means to carrying out the Great Commission that doesn't handicap us before we start.


Praise God for His Greatness

Sunday Recap

Here's just a recap of what went on at Business Meeting Sunday

1. We voted to change our missions giving. We are now going to give as follows
-125- TBI
- 125- Texas Mission Builders
-250 - Pine Springs
- 250- Phil Gavilla (Guadalajara Mexico)
- 250- Jason Clark (France)
-250- Chris Miller (Australia)
- 250- to be recommended by the new missions committee each month

IT is exciting to see our church stepping out in faith, supporting these ministries in the "uttermost parts of the earth".

The Landscaping is nearing a close. THe plants are in the ground and look great. A little mulch and we're all through.

The church also voted to raise one of the pastor's salary. IT is exciting to see a church moving in this direction. As we continue to grow, time will tell how this decision is. THank You.



We are moving in the right direction. Our Young Adult Small Group has seen 4 visitors in the last 2 weeks. Our Adult Small Groups are beginning to solidify and are nearing the next step of growth. God is blessing the faithfulness of His people. I pray we continue in this faithfulness and see how that we truly cannot "out give" God!!!