Hello family and friends. Goodbye July. Welcome August. The past several days have been very hot (100 just about every day), but one morning very soon we’ll walk outside and feel the change of seasons in the air. Leaves will begin to change into the vibrant colors of fall, and we’ll be reminded of God’s power and promises once again. Autumn is still seven weeks away (September 23), but the school year begins on Monday (14th). The Devil Dog band has been busy across the street preparing for their Friday night half-time show. Those yellow school buses will soon be running up and down our streets picking up children marking the end of summer. Time for our schedule to change; to bed earlier so we can get up earlier without the stress, homework, better preparation and better organization, patience, and Christian character. May God bless us as we make the changes we need to make!
Our annual Vacation Bible School is now history. We all learned a lot from Jonah, David, Daniel, Jesus, and Peter. Each of these men BROKE OUT of the ordinary to become extraordinary in their lives. God calls each of us trust and obey Him so we too can be extraordinary. Thank you to Geoffrey Bane for coordinating our VBS, leading our singing, and seeing that our teachers and helpers had what we needed. Thank you to Shirlene, Gereta, Geraldine, and all who helped in any way with our VBS. And thank you so much for the cookies.
Our Sunday sermon series “True Blessings from God” from Psalm 128 is going well. God blesses those who fear Him and walk in His ways. What does this mean? Those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways take Him seriously. We look up to God with love and respect. Those who fear the Lord and walk in His ways acknowledge that He has the authority to judge sin and discipline His children. Unfortunately, some will not fear the Lord and walk in His ways. What then? Take a look at Hebrews 12:9-11 and notice that God, our Father disciplines us when we are “out of the way.” He created us. He chose us and we chose Him. He loves us and wants us to do right and be blessed. Learning, growing, and just living requires discipline. When we won’t discipline ourselves, God will.
On the evening at 5:00 we saw that Jesus was and is DECLARED. Jesus was revealed, verified, and DECLARED. What does it mean to declare something? To declare is to state formally, officially, authoritatively, and emphatically what is. To show or manifest. Brother Bane taught the VBS lesson on Jesus this past week. In John 19 we saw that Joseph of Arimathea came and asked for Jesus’ body so he could bury Him before the Sabbath. Note that John wrote about Joseph being Jesus’ disciple “secretly” because he was afraid. Well, his “secret” was declared when he went to Pilate for Jesus. We cannot and must not be a “secret” Christian. Read Romans 1:16, 1 Peter 3:15-16, and Mark 8:38 to see. MB
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