Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

Thanks for your prayers; God is answering. We continue to grow each week. We have been asked many times if we are coming back to this park next season and I really don't know. Pray with us for God's direction.

My sermon this week is on Prayer and on that subject, Max Lucado writes:

God Knows More

A young woman wrote to me, “My boyfriend and I split up. I applied for a job and was rejected. Is God even listening to me?

You need to know that God knows more about life than we do! And, yes, He’s listening!
One day, my then six-year old said she wanted me to leave the ministry. “I just really wish you sold snow cones!” An honest request from an honest heart. To her the happiest people in the world were the guys who drove the snow-cone trucks. I heard her request, but I didn’t heed it. Why? Because I know more about life than she did.
Same with God. God hears our requests. But His answer isn’t always what we’d like it to be. Because He knows more about life than we do? Don’t panic. Don’t bail out. Talk to your heavenly Father. He’s still in control!

“Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns. Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.” Philippians 4:6-7

We want to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and financial. When I am down we receive one of the above from one of you and God reminds me He is still here and that each of you are here with us. So Thank You.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

Thanks for your prayers. God is answering. We continue to grow each week. We have been asked many times if we are coming back next season and I really don't know. Pray with us for God's direction.

We had seven people to join our new church choir and four more committed to coming to choir practice Friday morning.  We are very excited about the participation and how much the choir adds to the atmosphere of worship.

My sermon this week is on Forgiveness.

Tony Crawford was a police officer in the Dallas Police Department. He was shot by two teenagers and was left paralyzed from the waist down. Finally, the trials were completed and the last assailant was found guilty and sent to prison.

But there was a really tender scene pictured in the newspaper that showed Tony Crawford in his wheel chair holding the hand of the young man who had shot him. And the news reported that Tony Crawford said to him, "I forgive you and I hope you’ll keep in touch and let me know how you’re getting along down there."

Then he said, "It’s over and it’s time for me to get on with my life and I will do that until I hear Him say to me on that day, `Get up and walk.’"

Scripture: Mat. 18: 21: Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" 22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

What is forgiveness?
 
Some people who have trouble with forgiveness think that forgiveness does not take the harm of sin seriously. But forgiveness does take it very seriously. Forgiveness does not excuse sin, it does not say "O that’s alright, your sin really wasn’t a bother, my stay in the hospital wasn’t that long, and I was able to catch up on my reading!"
No forgiveness calls sin, sin, and in many ways it holds the sinner accountable for their actions. Forgiveness says, "you hurt me, and what you did was wrong, but I will not hold it against you, I will not try to get back at you and I will not hate you for it."

It is not easy to forgive, but God in his grace gives us the power to do it.

We are able to forgive because God is in charge.

We want to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and financial. When I am down we receive one of the above from one of you and God reminds me He is still here and that each of you are here with us. So Thank You.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Sunday's Coming

Happy Valentine's Day

CLICK HERE to share this word of encouragement.

Good Morning,

 

Thanks for your prayers; God is answering. We continue to grow each week, but Satan is not happy, of course, he tries to hinder God's work. Our Bible study on Thursday is under attack. It seems "they" have started scheduling shows during that time frame. Pray with us for God's direction.

 

My sermon last week was on love, as I was reading this morning, this went along with the message, so I want to share.

Always Holding Somebody Up

By Michael Youssef, Ph.D.

 

Our society has slyly attached negative connotations to the word submission. Instead of finding joy in serving others, our minds often run to thoughts of service under a ruthless taskmaster.

However, when the Apostle Paul wrote about wives submitting to their spouses, he was giving an edict of love and not a directive for one to control the other. In fact, he was issuing an invitation for husbands and wives to pursue godliness in lifting up one another. This principle applies to all of us. 

 

Dawson Trotman, founder of the world-wide discipleship ministry called The Navigators, was a man who truly modeled his life after the Lord Jesus Christ. He died in Schroonlake, New York, of, all things, drowning—for Trotman was an experienced swimmer.

A speedboat accident left two women in serious trouble. During Trotman's last few moments in the water, he saved both of them. He lifted the first one out and then swam toward the other one, grabbed her, and lifted her up before he submerged and drowned. The next week, TIME Magazine ran an article on Trotman's life. The caption that ran beneath his name read, "Always holding somebody up." In one phrase, that was Trotman's life—holding people up. 

 

Perhaps this is what the Apostle Paul was writing about when he instructed husbands and wives to love one another and be willing to sacrifice for each other. Submission can be a difficult task but with God's direction, you will reach your goal. 

 

Prayer: Lord, help me to uphold those around me in this day. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

“Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every authority instituted among men; to the king, as the supreme authority” (1 Peter 2:13).

We want to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and financial. When I am down we receive one of the above from one of you and God reminds me He is still here and that each of you are here with us. So Thank You; your communication and support encourages us so much.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.

Don

Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

We continue to have a good turnout for Sunday but I still think we should have more. There are 1,300 sites in this park and so many of the residents do not attend church. May our prayers and God's answers continue with adding to our number for the glory of God. I know it is all about Him and who He wants to be here.

We have been busy this week life; continues to happen even here. We have sickness, accidents like motor cycle wrecks, getting cut with a saw and just everyday things that need a word of encouragement. Thanks for your prayers and friendship as you encourage us to keep going.

"Friendship Poems"

Are you tired of those Sissy 'friendship' poems that always sound good, but never actually come close to reality?

Well, let's try this my way...just the stone cold truth of our great friendship.

1. When you are sad, I will jump on the person who made you sad like a spider monkey jacked up on Mountain Dew!

2. When you are blue, I will try to dislodge whatever is choking you.

3. When you smile, I will know you are plotting something that I must be involved in.

4. When you're scared, we will high tail it out of here.

5. When you are worried, I will tell you horrible stories about how much worse it could be until you quit whining, ya big baby!!!!

6. When you are confused, I will use little words.

7. When you are sick, stay away from me until you are well again...I don't want whatever you have.

8. When you fall, I'll pick you up and dust you off--After I laugh my head off!

9. This is my oath...I pledge it to the end.

'Why?' you may ask...because you are my FRIEND!

LaVon and I have certainly gone through times when there were "fires" burning. But we've also discovered that during these times, these crises have guided us "home," because they've forced us to hunker down in faith, crying out in absolute dependence upon God. "Lord God, You know what You are doing! We don't know what You are up to, but we trust in You."

We want to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and financial gifts. When I am down, we receive one of the above from one of you and God reminds me He is still here and that each of you are here with us. So Thank You.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Proverbs 17:22 (NLT)

²² A cheerful heart is good medicine,
but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.

 

 

Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

We had almost 70 in church again Sunday, Praise The Lord. Thanks for your prayers; God is answering. We need to start a choir so I urge you to pray for us in that. A choir director is needed to step up.  We do have volunteers who have stepped up to help LaVon lead in songs and for that we are very grateful, especially LaVon.
 
Our Bible study on Thursday is still having a good turn out; thanks again for praying for this and for your continued prayers.

Down but Not Out by Dennis Rainey

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing. ~ 2 Corinthians 4:8

Have you been through a period of life when everything looked bleak? When it seemed everything around you was coming unraveled? When you hoped the phone wouldn't ring for fear it would be more bad news?

During seasons like that, I'm often reminded of this story:

Karl, a Norwegian fisherman, had taken his two teenage sons out for a day of fishing. The morning had been beautiful when they started out, but the afternoon turned nasty--in a hurry--catching them too far at sea to beat the incoming storm to shore. The wind-whipped ocean began to work into a frenzy, until he and his sons were battling for their lives. As darkness fell on their frantic efforts, even the steady beacon of the seaside lighthouse was suddenly extinguished by a terrific bolt of lightning. Hope seemed lost.

But things were actually worse than Karl knew. Lightning had also struck his home and the structure quickly erupted into a fireball. So when Karl and his sons finally staggered ashore, exhausted, he was met by his wife with the bad news.

Strangely, Karl seemed unfazed, much to his wife's frustration. As he stroked her tear-lined face with his tough, leathery hands, he said, "Don't you understand, sweetheart? When the lighthouse went out, the glow on the horizon became my compass. The fire that destroyed our house guided us home."

LaVon and I have certainly gone through times when there were "fires" burning. But we've also discovered that during these times, these crises have guided us "home," because they've forced us to hunker down in faith, crying out in absolute dependence upon God. "Lord God, You know what You are doing! We don't know what You are up to, but we trust in You."

We want to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and financial gifts. When I am down, we receive one of the above from one of you and God reminds me He is still here and that each of you are here with us. So Thank You.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

We had almost seventy in church Sunday. Praise the Lord! Thanks for your prayers; God is answering. We need a choir so I urge you to pray with us for forming of that.

We began a Bible study Thursday and we had a good turn out; thanks again for praying for this and for your continued prayers.

I went to get a hair cut yesterday and the barber was on a tear. He was using his shop as a battle ground against our government. This led me to the following.

FALLING FOUNDATIONS

Roger Babson was a widely respected economist and entrepreneur who wrote numerous books and articles on financial issues. Once, while visiting the Argentine republic he was asked, “Why is it that South America, with all of its natural resources, is so far behind North America, not withstanding that South America was settled first?”
After a moment’s thought, the financier replied with a question of his own.
“What do you think is the reason?”
“South America was settled by the Spanish who came in search of gold,” answered the president, “but North America was settled by the Pilgrim Fathers who went there in search of God.”
Warned Babson, “May we never forget the foundation upon which our permanent prosperity is based.”

Years ago David wrote, “The foundations of law and order have collapsed. What can the righteous do?”

Have we as a nation forgotten those words of wisdom? We enjoy our heritage of greatness and free government because our forefathers had a deep faith in God. Our Bill of Rights came into being because of their belief in the Word of God.

Where do we stand today? Is our very foundation collapsing around our feet? And if so, what are we to do?

II Chronicles 7:14
“if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

Prayer: Lord, it is our responsibility as Christians to do what we need to do to restore our nation - now! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

Scripture for Today: Psalm 11:3 - "If the foundations are destroyed, What can the righteous do?"

We want to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and financial. When I am down, we receive one of the above from one of you and God reminds me He is still here and that each of you are here with us. So Thank You.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don

Sunday's Coming

Good Morning,

We had 48 in church Sunday, praise the Lord.  Maybe it will continue to grow. Pray with us that more will show up and hear the Word of God. We also had a memorial service last week for one of the ladies in the park and God has used that to draw people to church. Again, praise the Lord.

We begin a Bible study Thursday so pray we have a good turn out and for me to lead and not preach. We are studying the book of Philippians, the Joy of our life.

“Artist At Work”—on Your Life by Adrian Rogers

“Being confident of this very thing, that He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ.” - Philippians 1:6

In Scotland some men were sitting around drinking tea and swapping fishing stories. One man, with a flamboyant gesture of his hand, knocked another man’s hand, splattering his tea on the white plastered wall, creating an ugly brown stain. He was horrified, but the man said, “Never mind.” And he took out his crayons and started to sketch around that stain. Suddenly there emerged a royal stag with his antlers spread.

The artist was Sir Edwin Lancier—England’s foremost painter of animals. He was able to take that old stain and make something beautiful out of it.

Jesus Christ is that kind of an artist. He can take a life that has been stained, and by His transforming power He can make something beautiful out of it.

We want to thank you for your support through your prayers, calls, e-mails and financial. When I am down, we receive one of the above from one of you and God reminds me He is still here and that each of you are here with us. So Thank You.

Have a great day, love you, pass it on.
Don