Pastor’s Ponderings
“Blessed”
One of the new responses I have heard in recent years is: “How are you doing?” “Blessed.”
If you ask me right now how I am doing, I would also reply, “Blessed!”
Thanks to the kindness and generosity of Calvary Baptist Church, my wife and I will be flying to Israel this month. We have been researching (my wife has done more than I have), purchasing (just ask Amazon and the delivery services), getting advice (thanks Darlene!), and figuring out exactly how many suitcases we can take.
The trip is led by Quentin Road Baptist Church in Illinois, and Dr. Carl Baugh will be the main guide. We are excited to be joined by some of our church members and a few from Grandview. I will be vlogging (amazingly spell check accepted that word). That means “Video Logging,” and I will make many live videos through my Facebook page, beginning a day or so before we leave through a few days after we get back (so you can see the effect of jet lag).
We will visit the Sea of Galilee, including a boat ride, the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, the Garden Tomb & Calvary, the Mount of Olives, the Garden of Gethsemane, and of course, Jerusalem. Betty and I will stay over one more day to see Petra which is in Jordan.
We are very excited, and I again want to say thanks to all who have given toward it. We are BLESSED!
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We are also blessed as we finish the book of Titus in our Sunday morning messages. In this great book the Apostle Paul shared some great truths with young Titus. We found the main theme to be “Good Works.”
But he also wrote of the coming of Christ, salvation by grace alone, leadership, and many other topics. We only have two weeks left, and we hope you will be here at 10:30 AM to hear Paul’s conclusion to Titus!
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Better yet, why don’t you come at 9:30 and join us for Sunday school and adult Bible study. Bro. Donnie presented a challenge to our teachers, and we have a new Sunday School Campaign that runs from March 8 to April 12.
April 12 is Easter Sunday. Begin inviting people NOW to our 10:30 service. The adult choir, with a little help from the children’s choir, will present the cantata, “Worthy.” It is filled with music that will touch your heart and help you realize anew what a great God we serve.
We also have our annual Easter Egg Hunt immediately after the morning service. Let’s pray now for God’s hand to be upon that service and on Calvary Baptist Church.
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My wife’s article goes into more detail, but we want to encourage you to attend the Sunday evening services in March as we celebrate Missions Month. We will have a different missionary each night and look forward to hearing how God is working around the world. We will also hand out the Faith Promise Missions cards and look forward to an amazing month.
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I am tremendously blessed to direct our Calvary Singers each week. I heard a pastor once say, “It is an insult to only mention a musicians talent. A lot of hard work goes into anyone who is successful in that field.”
Our choir works hard! We meet every Sunday at 4:30PM for practice, We try to sing music that blesses not just the hearer, but God Almighty. If God has blessed you with singing abilities, why not try us out this Sunday at 4:30?
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I have asked from the beginning for you to pray for me and my family in five areas. Thank you for doing so, and please continue to plead with God that I would have:
1) Courage
2) Wisdom
3) Strength
4) Victory
5) Vision