Bravely Onward!

Wow! Our church family finished this fiscal year in financial victory. God fulfilled His promises through the faithfulness of His people.  2 Corinthians 9:10,11 says, “Now the One who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness, as you are enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.”  Over the last two months, God enriched us to be generous. Now we give Him thanks. If you recall, in August we were on pace to fall short of our annual ministry budget by at least $41,000 (7%). Such a deficit would have required severe budget cuts going into the 2021-2022 budget year. To get out of this predicament, our church family needed to give enough to meet our regular budget requirements for August and September and the amount by which we were behind. In other words, we needed to receive $149,238 in gifts over the final eight weeks of our fiscal year (which run...

It is much easier just to go to church. You can slip in and out as you please, few people know your name, and it only costs you a little gasoline and time. For a small investment of your resources, you can have a short-lived uplifting experience that might help you feel like a better person. Small cost, small reward.  However, it's much more to belong to a church family. Belonging means to be committed to a community of Christ-followers. It is a covenantal relationship between yourself, other believers, and the Lord. In this relationship, there are great blessings to receive. It is very rewarding to learn and love with a church family. Yet, as with all healthy relationships, membership requires that we give greatly to the church family. With great reward comes great cost.  For several weeks we've discussed what we must give to our church family for membership to be meaningful and rewarding. It takes our time and presence. It takes our energy and service. Now let's realize t...

This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This anniversary reminds us of many things- like where we were when the first plane struck the north tower and the emotions we felt as our country was attacked. As our nation remembers, I hope we experience healing and keep motivated to keep our nation safe. However, I also hope that remembering 9/11 will remind us about our mission as a church.  Our mission is to lead people to become whole-hearted followers of Jesus Christ. This means that we work to give people around the world the opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel and we teach them to live for Jesus. The Bible teaches that the gospel is the only way to remove sin and evil from the hearts of people. When we witness atrocities like 9/11, the OKC bombing, and the Columbine High School shooting, we see the evil of humanity at its worst. It can steal, kill, and destroy in terrifying ways. These events confront us with the uncomfortable fact that the h...

In light of this being Labor Day weekend, think about this story: Grandpa Smith hosts his grandsons, Willy and Frankie, for a Labor Day cookout. He makes an incredible meal including burgers, hot dogs, and eight different sides. Everyone enjoys the meal and eats until they can eat no more. At the end of the meal, everyone is excused. Willy asks if he can help Grandpa clear the table, put the leftovers away, and do the dishes. Frankie decides he is just going to play cornhole instead of helping. Which grandson acted like a better family member?   If you said Willy, then you deserve an extra piece of apple pie. Willy saw what needed to be done and helped out. Frankie received a lot, but he didn't give anything back. Most of us have learned that being a good family member means helping with what needs to be done, even if it's something we do not like doing.  Jesus taught us that this is the meaning of service. In John 13, Jesus got on His knees and washed His disciples' filthy...