Messages

Pastor’s Message

Our Wednesday morning men’s group is reading a book by David Jeremiah entitled, “Forward.”  In this past week’s study, we read something that really stood out to me:  “…. embrace your limitations.  To move forward you have to be realistic.  Progress comes by embracing your God-given limits.  Yes, I called them “God-given.”  You may not like to admit that you have limitations, but we all do. 

Limitations vary from person to person but might include such things as your age or stage of life, a handicap, a chronic illness, a fixed income, where you live, etc.  Whether we admit it or not, we all are limited in what we can or cannot do.  You need a more realistic view of yourself:  You can’t fix everybody’s problems.  You can’t be in more than one place at one time.  You can’t do everything you want to do.  You can’t spend money you don’t have.  You need to learn to relax in your limitations. Anytime you live outside of the limitations of your life, you’re going to get discouraged. 

Created in the image of God, we learn from our limitations that God is God and we are not.  We serve a God who has no limitations.  When we need sleep because of another restless night, He does not.  When we’re exhausted after a long day at work, He keeps working on our behalf.  Our God never gets tired or feels defeated. He is our rock and our sustainer.  The key to embracing our limitations is not found in our own strength.  Rather we find the key to our strength in the strength of God who loves us beyond human understanding.  We trust in the God who made us, saved us, and loves us enough to walk with us through the trials, disappointments, and other limitations.  Think of something in your life that is happening or has happened that feels like it’s limiting you.  It probably consumes a lot of your thinking of how to get rid of it or to escape it.  Has it caused an increase in your prayer life?  Has it caused you to depend on and seek God more?  If it has, then what looks like a curse, may actually be a blessing in disguise.

The apostle Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:7 “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” (NIV).  In other words, you need to know your limits.  You need to never forget that you’re just the vessel and God is the power.  Our bodies are like clay jars —we’re all a little cracked because we’ve all been dropped here and there.  But God often puts his greatest gifts in the weakest people, and that gives us the opportunity to point back to him and say, “Without God, I wouldn’t have been able to do it!”  God has always used flawed people to put his glory on display.  Nothing would get done if God only used perfect people, because there aren’t any!

I hope you and your family are planning to join us in church this coming Sunday.  Have a great week and let your light shine for Jesus!

Pastor Rick

Message From Andy (Student Minister)

For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.
Matthew 25:29

Have you ever thought about the investment Jesus has made in you?  Think about all His teachings, His guidance, His love, His presence … and the investment He made in you by dying on the cross for your sins. 

When someone makes an investment, he or she expects to receive a return on that investment.  Jesus expects us to be that return!  We need to teach, guide, love, and pour into others.  We build on a foundation Jesus has built in each of us.  There is so much we can do each day in this world, but only what we do for Jesus will last.

This message is one I plan to share with the Dobyns Bennett football team on Friday, September 1st before their game against West Ridge.  Those boys are in an awesome position to be examples for Christ, both on the football field and when they’re at school, out in the community, etc.  So many look to them and look up to them.  I see it when they come and visit our students at Kennedy on Friday mornings.  My prayer is that they will each take ownership of the responsibility they have to make a return on what Jesus has invested in them, first and foremost by knowing Him as their Savior!

Church family … thank you for your support of our student ministries in the month of August by supporting the meal for the football players and supporting our retreat to Camp Bays Mountain!  It’s been an awesome month, and I’m excited for us to GROW GOD’S GARDEN TOGETHER as we move into Fall 2023!

Andy

Message From Kevin (Worship Leader)

James’ Corner

Recently we were sitting in the doctor’s waiting room.  The man sitting across from me was also in a wheelchair.  I notice the shoes he was wearing looked really comfortable.  I told him I liked his shoes and how comfortable they looked.  He assured me they were very comfortable.  I went on to ask where he had bought them.  He told me his wife had ordered them from somewhere.  During our conversation he had learned my shoe size.  A few minutes passed and the man bent over to remove his shoes.  He said, “I’m giving you this pair because my wife ordered me three pairs of them and I want you to have these!”  While I was trying to persuade him “I can’t take your shoes but I so thank you” the nurse called my name ……… I will never forget that man …… willing I suppose to go barefoot the rest of the day so I could have his comfortable shoes.  Margaret was petrified on how I was going to get myself out of that one!!

I heard a friend tell about one time on a mission trip Bro. Coates gave a man his shirt off his back.  This kind of giving whether shoes or a shirt speaks loudly about the love of Jesus.

Bro. James Meade

Message From Franklin Graham

We Cannot Remain Silent!

The Equality Act is a dangerous threat to our nation.

• • The Equality Act designates schools, churches, and healthcare organizations as “public accommodations.” With this, schools, churches, and hospitals could be forced to accept the government’s beliefs and mandates about sexual orientation and gender identity. That would be highly intrusive and incredibly far-reaching. It will threaten everyday speech where people can be fined or lose their jobs for using the wrong name or pronouns.
  • The Equality Act will use the force of law across all 50 states to strip Christian and other religious ministries of their right to hire people of shared faith to pursue a shared mission. Can you imagine a Christian organization being forced to hire people hostile to its deeply held beliefs who have no passion for its beliefs, teachings, and mission? That doesn’t work.

These are just a few examples. Friends, this is a pivotal time for our nation. The impact of this legislation is immense. We must not remain silent and accept what we know is wrong.

People of faith need to PRAY. Churches need to recognize the significance of this and pray corporately, asking for God’s intervention and mercy to extend the religious freedoms we have been blessed with for so long.

We also must get to work now, in these fleeting days before the Equality Act comes up for a vote again. As individuals, churches, and organizations, we need to let our representatives in the U.S. House and Senate know how important this is to us, and that we are asking them to vote an emphatic NO to the Equality Act.

Link to contact our representatives: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

Sincerely,

Franklin Graham