The Word of the Week is actually a word. The word is CHANGE! It seems that according to our presidential candidates, we need to CHANGE everything in this country. If you listen to them closely, you would think we are living in a third world country. Everything is wrong and needs to be CHANGED!!!! I will not weigh in politically on how I feel about those opinions, but it did get me to thinking about CHANGE in my own life.
I know there are things in my life that need to be CHANGED. I must make the decision to make those CHANGES. It is up to each of us to evaluate where we are in our spiritual walk to see what we need to CHANGE to be better for our Lord.
This week as the word is CHANGE, I challenge you to take inventory of your life and see what you need to CHANGE to be the best you can be for Christ!
I hope you have a wonderful week.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Hello, My Name Is…….
One of the top twenty things in life I just can’t stand is the “Hello, My Name Is” name tag you wear when you go to a conference or a luncheon where there will be people you do not know. I don’t like it because of the way I write. I am a messy lefty. From the time I was in first grade, my teachers would always say to my mom, “It’s OK. He’s left handed. We’ll just keep working with him.” I also don’t like the tags, since you forget you have them on. Then someone comes to talk to you and calls you by name. Forgetting my name is plastered on my chest, I think to myself, “How do they know me, when I’ve no idea who they are???!!!!” The name tags drive me crazy!!!
Frequently on Sundays I find myself going up to people I don’t know and saying, “Hello, my name is Russell.” I am doing this because we are seeing so many new faces at worship on a weekly basis. Although God is regularly blessing us with visitors, this poses a problem. I can’t remember all of their names! When they come a second time, I introduce myself again. Sometimes they will respond, “We know. We met you before.” How embarrassing, but what a great problem for us to have! I hope you are making an extra effort to make our guests feel welcome, when they come.
As a result of so many new visiting families, it has been decided to incorporate the GROW Ministry into our church. Beginning in October we will be introducing GROW to the congregation during Sunday evening worship time. It is an incredible strategy which can involve the whole church. The commitment is very simple. One night a month. That is all we are asking of your time. Team meetings will be held each week, but you only have to be a member of one team. A short evening training session will be offered, therefore giving you all the details you will need to be effective in both the in-reach and outreach for our church. I hope you give prayerful consideration as to your involvement in this program, while we seek to better minister to our church family and the community we are privileged to serve.
Speaking of serving, I want to say a huge “thank you” to everyone involved in the Back to School Fair. What a great event as the churches (Grace Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Church of Christ, First United Methodist, Chambers Creek Baptist, the Mennonites, and First Baptist) of Grandview came together to minister to the community. It was a blessing for everyone involved! We must continue to seek to meet the physical needs of our community with the mindset of meeting their spiritual needs as the ultimate goal.
I also want to remind you about the challenge for us as a church to read through the Bible together in 2009. Some of you have already called the office to get your Bible ordered, but perhaps some of you are procrastinating. Don’t wait. Call the office today!
I hope to see you Sunday as we gather to worship together. Invite a friend to come with you as well!
Frequently on Sundays I find myself going up to people I don’t know and saying, “Hello, my name is Russell.” I am doing this because we are seeing so many new faces at worship on a weekly basis. Although God is regularly blessing us with visitors, this poses a problem. I can’t remember all of their names! When they come a second time, I introduce myself again. Sometimes they will respond, “We know. We met you before.” How embarrassing, but what a great problem for us to have! I hope you are making an extra effort to make our guests feel welcome, when they come.
As a result of so many new visiting families, it has been decided to incorporate the GROW Ministry into our church. Beginning in October we will be introducing GROW to the congregation during Sunday evening worship time. It is an incredible strategy which can involve the whole church. The commitment is very simple. One night a month. That is all we are asking of your time. Team meetings will be held each week, but you only have to be a member of one team. A short evening training session will be offered, therefore giving you all the details you will need to be effective in both the in-reach and outreach for our church. I hope you give prayerful consideration as to your involvement in this program, while we seek to better minister to our church family and the community we are privileged to serve.
Speaking of serving, I want to say a huge “thank you” to everyone involved in the Back to School Fair. What a great event as the churches (Grace Baptist, Seventh Day Adventist, Church of Christ, First United Methodist, Chambers Creek Baptist, the Mennonites, and First Baptist) of Grandview came together to minister to the community. It was a blessing for everyone involved! We must continue to seek to meet the physical needs of our community with the mindset of meeting their spiritual needs as the ultimate goal.
I also want to remind you about the challenge for us as a church to read through the Bible together in 2009. Some of you have already called the office to get your Bible ordered, but perhaps some of you are procrastinating. Don’t wait. Call the office today!
I hope to see you Sunday as we gather to worship together. Invite a friend to come with you as well!
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Word of the Week for August 24th
What if I were to ask you about the most important event that occurred during your school years? Many of us would come up with sporting events, proms, passing a big test, or graduation. All of those events are significant. It might be difficult for you to come up with just one.
What if I were to ask you about someone who was important to you during your school years? For most of us a teacher, coach, or administrator would come to mind. These are the people who were your heroes.
Today we are privileged to have many heroes in our midst as we worship. School employees, we welcome you to worship today and want to say thank you for being heroes to our children. The children who sit in your classrooms look to you, and although you may not realize it at times, they respect you and admire you. We appreciate all you do to make our children the best they can be!
I hope this is the greatest school year ever!
What if I were to ask you about someone who was important to you during your school years? For most of us a teacher, coach, or administrator would come to mind. These are the people who were your heroes.
Today we are privileged to have many heroes in our midst as we worship. School employees, we welcome you to worship today and want to say thank you for being heroes to our children. The children who sit in your classrooms look to you, and although you may not realize it at times, they respect you and admire you. We appreciate all you do to make our children the best they can be!
I hope this is the greatest school year ever!
Sunday, August 17, 2008
Word of the Week for August 17th
Did you know that you are important? One of the things I love about being a Baptist is that we are all equal when it comes to church business. One of the things people often ask me is what are the reasons they should join our church. The answer is simply…with membership comes benefits. One of those benefits is that you have a vote in everything that comes before the church in a church conference. Each member’s vote is equal. In other words the last person to join the church counts just as much as the longest living member.
I am telling you this because I think it is important for you to know what is going on in the life of your church. One of the ways to educate yourself on that is by attending our church’s quarterly conference. So if you have ever wondered what the church budget looks like or how our church is doing financially or how we make decisions that impact the church come tonight and begin the education process of getting to know the answers. I hope to see you in the Fellowship Hall tonight!
Have a great week!
I am telling you this because I think it is important for you to know what is going on in the life of your church. One of the ways to educate yourself on that is by attending our church’s quarterly conference. So if you have ever wondered what the church budget looks like or how our church is doing financially or how we make decisions that impact the church come tonight and begin the education process of getting to know the answers. I hope to see you in the Fellowship Hall tonight!
Have a great week!
Sunday, August 10, 2008
Word of the Week for August 10th
This is an exciting week in the life of our church. Tonight in our evening service we will be hearing the report from the mission team that returned last week from Pass Christian, Mississippi. God did some incredible things in the lives of the participants during the week and I hope you will make plans to be here tonight to hear all about it. We will meet in the sanctuary so we can show a slide show as well.
This week Daniel Hancock and Kent Russell will be heading to Matamoras, Mexico to do mission work among the young children in the area. They will be handing out shoes, feeding them and Daniel will be preaching the Gospel to anyone who will listen. Please be in prayer for this group as well.
Missions at home is on the agenda as well for this week. On Saturday we will be having the 2nd Annual Back to School Fair at the city park (next to the elementary school) from 9 am to noon. I hope you will plan on coming out and ministering to our community as we seek to meet physical needs with the goal of meeting spiritual needs in mind!
I hope you have a wonderful week serving our Lord!
This week Daniel Hancock and Kent Russell will be heading to Matamoras, Mexico to do mission work among the young children in the area. They will be handing out shoes, feeding them and Daniel will be preaching the Gospel to anyone who will listen. Please be in prayer for this group as well.
Missions at home is on the agenda as well for this week. On Saturday we will be having the 2nd Annual Back to School Fair at the city park (next to the elementary school) from 9 am to noon. I hope you will plan on coming out and ministering to our community as we seek to meet physical needs with the goal of meeting spiritual needs in mind!
I hope you have a wonderful week serving our Lord!
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