Wow!! This weather is incredible!! It feels more like September or October instead of August. I think we better enjoy it while it lasts. The marriage conference was wonderful. Dr. Akin hit a home run with every message that he delivered. I pray that your relationship with your spouse was strengthened and that you were able to grow closer to the Lord throughout this weekend.
Of course, the eyes of the world are currently on China and the summer Olympics. Let me encourage you to pray for the missionaries that are on the ground in China. They have an awesome opportunity to share the love of Christ during these summer games. No matter who wins the gold medals, if more people come to know our Savior, the Olympics will be a success.
Next Sunday, I will continue to preach through 1 Thessalonians. I have finally come to the part that everyone has been waiting on. What about the rapture? What about the second coming of Jesus? This will be the theme of the next two Sundays. I hope that you will pray that I will be able to present the gospel in a clear, simple, and life transforming way.
WOW!! I can’t believe that the summer is half way over. Vacation Bible school was a great success this year. We had an average of over 175 here each night. Many of the children that attended do not attend church anywhere. It was great to see the sanctuary packed on Friday night of the VBS. On Sunday I preached a difficult sermon on the “Walk of Purity” One of the advantages of preaching through books of the Bible is that you are forced to deal with difficult subjects like sexual purity. I was definately outside of my comfort zone, but I tried to be faithful to the text and to the Spirit of God. The passage of Scripture was from 1 Thes. 4:1-8. Here are the main points:
Why should we maintain purity in our lives?
1. The pleasure it brings to God.
2. The plan of God is for us to “abstain from sexual impurity.”
3. The punishment of God is certain for those who do not practice sexual purity.
Who ever heard of a summer slump? I was very encouraged about our Sunday School and worship attendance yesterday. Even though it was the middle of the summer, we had the largest Sunday School attendance that we have had in the past two months. Yesterday, I continued the sermon series on 1 Thessalonians. The title was Standing Firm in Your Faith and the focus was on chapter 3. The main points were:
1. The Construction of Your Faith
2. The Protection of Your Faith
3. The Completion of Your Faith
Today we start a very busy week of Vacation Bible School. We currently have 104 children that have pre-registered and over 70 adult volunteers. I will be posting new pictures and updates throughout the week about how the VBS is going. Please check back often for the updates.
Thank you Lord for the 8:30 worship service!! I know that it is the middle of the summer and there are a lot of people on vacation, but if you came to the 11:00 worship service yesterday, you would be saying the same thing. If we did not have the 8:30 service, the 11:00 worship would have been overcrowded!! This is a great problem, especially in the middle of the summer months.
Yesterday, I preached on “The Marks of a Christian Community.” In case you missed it here are the main points:
1. A Christian Community is based on the Truth of God’s Word.
2. A Christian Community is Empowered by Love.
3. A Christian Community is Pointed toward Christ’s Return.
A special thank you to Tim for sharing with us about his experience in Uganda. Also our Disaster Relief team shared about their ministry in Suffolk, Maine, and Indiana. It is wonderful to have a church that is committed to going into all the world to share their faith.
I hope that everyone has a great week. I will be in our nation’s capital this Friday and Saturday with my dad, nephew, and brother-in-law (a guys weekend). We are planning to take in a ball game at the new Nationals ballpark and visit a few sites in Washington. See you on Sunday.
Well I’m back from Africa and I think that I have finally gotten over jet lag!! It was an incredible experience to be back in Uganda. The people of Uganda are some of the most humble and gentle people that I think I have ever met in my life. I had the privilege of speaking to about 150 pastors for three days. They were so attentive and eager to learn what the “Muzumba” had to say. (Muzumba = pastor) On the remaining days, I went out into the villages with the medical team and shared the gospel with people. In total, the team saw about 2,000 people profess faith in Jesus. It was incredible.
This past Sunday, our SBCV missionary shared from God’s Word about crossroads in life. Did I mention that I got a new GPS for my birthday. It is one of the most amazing inventions ever created. I just have to punch in an address and it leads me everywhere I need to go. However, as I listen to Don speak on Sunday, I am reminded again that God’s Word is the perfect GPS. He always leads us and directs us and is such a perfect guide.
I hope that everyone has a great 4th of July!! After returning from Africa, I am reminded again just how blessed we are to live in this country. God has certainly blessed America and we must never forget from where all our material and physical blessings flow.
I am officially back in training mode. I had a leg injury during the months of April and May that kept me off of the road. I went to a sports medicine doctor and he said that I had a problem with my IT band. I didn’t even know that I had an IT band. Anyway, it seems to be healed. I ran a total of 15 miles last week as I am trying to build up my base again. I am planning to run the Richmond Marathon again on November 15. However, if things go well during the next two months, I might also run the Baltimore Marathon on October 11. We will see how things go.
On Sunday, I started a new sermon series on the book of 1 Thessalonians. It felt very refreshing to be back in a book of the Bible. I believe that preaching through books of the Bible is the best method of sharing God’s Word. When I come in on Monday morning, I already know exactly where I’m going for my text for the next Sunday. This past week, I introduced the book of 1 Thessalonians and talked about “The Marks of a Believer.”
1. A believer has a faith that is constructive.
2. A believer has a love that is constant.
3. A believer has a hope that is confident.
It is hard to believe that we will be leaving for Uganda in just two weeks. Please pray for me as I try to put together the talks that I will be sharing with the pastors. Many of these pastors do not have more than a 6th grade education. They do not make much money and yet they are serious about their call to the local church.
Also, if you go to our website: Enon Baptist Church, you can register for Vacation Bible School and you can register for our Marriage Conference in August!! This conference is going to be great. I had to schedule Dr. Danny Akin twenty-four months in advance. You will want to come to this conference and bring another couple with you.
The roof is almost completed on the new sanctuary and they are starting to work on the interior walls. We have had good weather the past two weeks and things are moving right along.
