February 28, 2019 – Hello from Morrilton, Arkansas in view of Petit Jean Mountain beside the beautiful Arkansas River. It seems that old winter is fighting hard to stay with us. Wednesday (27th) was a warm and sunny 65. They say that it will be 17 on Sunday evening. As we all know and take comfort in, spring is just around the corner. I’m glad. It will be so good to see the flowers popping up and the trees budding out again. God has everything under control.
The Harding Street church of Christ is doing just fine, continuing in the Way of Jesus Christ in simplicity and steadfastness. It seems that the world around us moves further and further away from three solid Christian principles: continuance, simplicity, and steadfastness. Is faith in God through His only Son, Jesus Christ, repentance, confession, baptism, and true Christian living so difficult to understand in these modern times? What does Hebrews 11:1 tell us about faith? “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Could it be that the very reason life seems hopeless to too many people is found is this simple verse of Scripture? Think about it. Faith is the very substance of hope. Though we may not “see” God, His Son, the Holy Spirit, or heaven yet, our faith is the evidence and our confidence in their reality. When we “mess up,” make a mistake, do something wrong, fail to meet expectations, or commit sin, saying “I’m sorry” and changing our hearts, minds, and actions is common sense and exactly the right thing to do. Either Jesus the Christ, the Savior or He isn’t. There is no in between. He is. To deny Him is to reject the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Jesus is the One and Only way to the Father (John 14:6). No matter what people say or write or believe or teach, baptism is required for salvation because Jesus declared it to be so. To His disciples He said, “Go, teach, baptize, and teach and He would be right there with them” (Matthew 28:18-20). Why do some feel as though these basic principles are from some “bygone era” and should be discounted as “old-fashioned” and irrelevant in this, our modern-day society? It is true. The Bible is still relevant, still vibrant, still alive, still convicting, still needed, still true yesterday, today, tomorrow, and forever. Count on it.
Today is March 3rd and so we begin a new series of lessons entitled “A Scripture Text for Life.” I am so excited to share this series with you from Proverbs 3:1-6. Every Sunday morning sermon will be taken from this simple text. Our first lesson is taken from verses 1 and 2 “My son, do not forget my law, but let your heart keep my commands; for length of day and long life and peace they will add to you.” Simple and to the point! You would think so. After all, we all want good and happy days and a long and peaceful life. But we have a few problems that stand in the way of remembering and keeping what we know to remember and keep; problems like deception (Eve), passion (David), fear (Peter), greed (Judas Iscariot), and impatience (Probably you and me). What was it that empowered Jesus to stay strong in the midst of these temptations? He remembered. He kept. We’ll consider these things and commit ourselves to remember and keep God’s commands. Come and hear. Come and see. Worship at 906 E. Harding Street – 9:00 a.m. every Sunday with Bible classes to follow. We also meet on Sunday at 4:30 for a special time of singing and then worship at 5:00. We meet for Bible study and fellowship on Wednesday’s at 7:00 p.m.
