Jesus What a Wonderful Child

Sending a shout-out to all our Freedom folks that Ruth and I will miss you all tomorrow as I sing and give a devotional at Heartsong Church during their Christmas celebration and the Spinners will perform following the service.
The Heartsong celebration is at 10am followed by a potluck and the Spinners at 1145am
I have about a 5 minute devotion to give tomorrow; Doyle Combs asked me if that was a Baptist Preacher 5 minutes which we all know means it could go on and on and on ....... but you all know that already, don't you?
My thanks to Johnie, Darrel, Ron, and our inimitable and intrepid Lisa for handling the service for me tomorrow; all in all I would rather be at home with you but these kind of celebrations are important because it gets me and therefore you out there in the community so they know who we are and I get to do what I do best, show off!
No, seriously this is a great opportunity to release the faith and grace that we have experienced as a church and give it to others; there is nothing wrong with others seeing what the Lord has done for us. We have tasted and seen that the Lord is good and we want others to taste also
Everyone is welcome to come up at 11 for the potluck and watch the Spinners at 1145am, but keep in mind the Spinners will be performing next Sunday night 12-13 at our church at 6pm with a potluck preceding at 5pm
The Lord bless; pray for one another there are more prayer requests out there than you know so as you pray seek out the Lord to heal and help those that so desperately need Him at this time and always; you may not know who they are but the Lord does and we pray to Him
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Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil 2:5)
Christ did not regard the outward expressions of Deity to be something to be held onto as tightly as a thief holds his ill-gotten treasure. He emptied Himself of those outward expressions (keeping fully intact His personhood as God) and became just like us – a servant, made in the likeness of men. He came down to earth as God incarnate and born of the Virgin Mary in humility. He humbly yielded Himself (just as He became a man) to death, the death of the cross.
For this reason (His humble incarnation - God becoming a human) the Father has lifted Him up to an exalted place and given Him a name above all other names. In the exact opposite of His coming to earth, He will be honored and worshiped by all mankind whether they believed in Him or not. The living and the dead will bow the knee before Him and declare that He is God, agreeing with God the Father that He was justified in sending Him to earth and bringing glory to God the Father.
C. S. Lewis put it like this: The Eternal Being, who knew everything and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but before that a baby, and before that a fetus inside a woman’s body. If you want to get the hang of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab.
The right response to the story of Christ coming down to earth is humility. We are most like Christ when we humble ourselves and act the way He acted in being “Emmanuel – God with us.”
Humility is one of the most elusive virtues for us. We either have it or we don’t; if we think we have it we don’t; and if we try to have it, huh-uh, we don’t. If we have to tell people we’re humble, we ain’t humble. Humility needs no advertising or hype.
True humility is not when we think less of ourselves but when we think of ourselves less; when we spend more time looking up to God and Christ and less time looking inward at how we feel or looking outward to see what other people think of us. We find humility and therefore find Christ when we go ahead and do what the passage in Philippians 2 says we will ultimately do, bow the knee before Jesus Christ and declare that He is Lord.
This same Jesus came and died for us, extending mercy and grace. Funny thing about mercy and grace: we’ve got nothing to do with getting it. The very nature of mercy and grace is that one party extends it to another party that in no way earns or deserves it.
Christ came to us as an expression of God’s character of mercy and grace. That is all: we don’t deserve it and we cannot demand it. All we can do is beg for it and then take what He gives. And He gave us mercy and grace in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Therefore Christmas gives us the blessing of declaring Jesus is Lord before He assumes the throne. When we bow before Him in that manger, humble, meek and maybe even crying, we find the mind of Christ and find peace. We truly find humility when we learn to worship the baby Jesus, to honor Him as God when He was at His most humble.
Bow the knee before Christ; worship Him as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords even as all we see is a baby in a stable and in a feeding trough surrounded by a mom and dad and farm animals. Lift Him up as the God of the universe, singing praises to His name, honoring and glorifying Him as Lord, declaring “what a light He is, what a King He is, what a Lord He is, what a Baby He is.” We declare in humility and glory and in an exclamation of praise that is so selfless and so pure and so wholesome that the demons tremble and the angels weep with joy. Our praise is this: “O my Jesus, what a wonderful Child!”

A Little Story

I want to share a story with you. I have shared this story several times at church as a sermon illustration and it is very meaningful to me.

Growing up in a fundamentalist Baptist church that was very missionary oriented I heard many stories about God’s judgment on those who are reluctant to evangelize, surrender to preach or respond to the call of the mission field. Stories were told of loved ones and family members who became sick or were tragically injured or killed in auto accidents. These stories were told to motivate us to surrender or face tragic consequences.

It was made very clear that if something tragic happened it was caused by disobedience or faithlessness. Time does not permit mentioning the numerous sermons and conversations that made very clear to me that if there is any suffering in our life we caused it. We caused it by our sin, our weak faith or our reluctance to commit ourselves. Even the altar call to rededicate our lives to the Lord contained such warnings. We had to go forward during an altar call because there could be grave and dire consequences to our lives or the lives of our loved ones.

When at the age of 13 my mother informed me of my father’s lung cancer (my father was 64 years old at the time so he had me very late in life) my first thought was, “What did I do to cause this?” I must have done something very wrong for this to have happened. I blamed myself and wracked my brain as to what I could have done to cause God to make my dad sick. And if so, what could I do to convince God to heal my dad? There were people in my life that tried to comfort me and told me it wasn’t my fault (my Dad was a lifetime smoker so lung cancer was always a possibility but I wasn’t mature enough to understand), but I still blamed myself. All I could remember were those stories of how disobedience caused all suffering in our life.

My father passed away in 1969 when I turned 14. I went on with my life but I still thought that I must have done something wrong for this to have happened. A dark cloud seemed to park itself over my head: no matter how good I was or how active in church the mark of darkness was upon me. Suffering had happened in my life and I caused it. Life was dark and tragic and destined for calamity no matter what I did.

We moved to the town I was born in, Arkansas City, shortly after my father’s death. I continued to faithfully attend church and even became a church song leader at the age of 14 but I still had doubts and questions about suffering. The teaching I had received had cemented itself into my brain and even though the church I was attending was not as fundamentalist it did not speak much about suffering. I read Scripture and prayed, asking God to make me better and change me but I still did not understand what had happened. There was no theological teaching or spiritual construct that helped me with the notion that I was the cause of all my suffering. To be fair, I don’t think my mom or my church had any notion of what was going on in my head. Teenagers don’t open up and share what they’re thinking, usually (and probably a good thing in most cases). But I simply did not have an answer to my questions. Why did my dad die? Did I cause him to suffer? What could I do now to make the pain go away? Surely if I just went forward at enough youth meetings and church camps God would miraculously spare me from my faltering, weak faith.

In the town of Arkansas City on West Kansas Ave there was an old cinder block building, very non-descript, where an old couple opened up a Christian bookstore. It wasn’t there but for a couple of years but in hearing the music of the Gaither’s and gospel quartets, all new to me in the 1970’s, I searched out their sheet music. I found great comfort and peace in listening to and singing gospel music. It was one of the great joys of my teenage years. I searched out the music and when I could find it at this little bookstore I would put together my quarters and dimes (one song cost a little more than a dollar then) and buy it. I would get the church pianist to play it for me and would sing it at church.

While listening to a program called “The Elmer Childress Show” which came on from a Wichita, KS station every noon hour (it would come on for 15 minutes and Elmer and his family would sing gospel music) I heard them sing a song that I thought sounded good and the message seemed so different from everything I had ever been taught about suffering. I then heard the song on “The Gospel Singing Jubilee” (I think that’s what it was called) which came out of Oklahoma City on Sunday mornings. My mother would put this program on every Sunday morning while we were getting ready for church and I grew to love the southern gospel quartets and family groups. The song intrigued me even more  so I set out to find this song. One day when perusing the sheet music at the little Christian bookstore I found it. The song was “Through It All” by Andre Crouch.

“I’ve had many tears and sorrows; I’ve had questions ‘bout tomorrow”

“There’ve been times I didn’t know right from wrong”

“But in every situation God gave me blessed consolation that my trials come to only made me strong”

“Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to trust in Jesus, I’ve learned to trust in God”

“Through it all, through it all, I’ve learned to depend upon His Word”

Could this be? Could it be true that I didn’t cause my dad’s suffering and death but part of why it happened was just to make me strong? Could trials be something that make us stronger and test us and not just be a punishment? Could I suffer and still trust God without blaming myself? As I meditated on the song I realized that what I had been taught was wrong. Now to be sure, we can cause our own suffering. Many of the bad things that have happened to us are a result of our own personal sin. I was well aware of this and made plenty of mistakes as a young man (and an old man) that were my own fault. But this does not explain all suffering and it certainly didn’t explain my father’s death, even though I had been convinced it was my fault. But when I heard that song I was comforted and at peace. A gospel song was responsible for one of the seminal events of my life. It made sense of my father’s death and gave me a new resolve to serve God faithfully, go to Bible College, and become a preacher.

There have been many ups and downs in my life, but one thing I do know: suffering makes sense. We may be at fault for our suffering, or it may be random because of the evil in this world, or it may come from the weakness of our bodies, but regardless, God will see us through it all. Trials come to only make us strong so we can trust in God and His Word and He will give us blessed consolation.

This song comforts me. It tells me of the power of gospel music. There is no other music in the world that has this kind of power. Rock music only wishes it could bring the inspiration, influence and power that gospel music brings. I have been empowered by gospel music in my life and I will never forget how a great gospel song forever changed my life and helped a young Christian boy grow up to follow Christ his entire adult life.

Thanks to Dennis A, Hello to Ed P, and a few random thoughts from Pastor G

A great big thank you to Dennis Aleson for stepping in for me while I was gone Sunday Sept 13. The
church folks truly enjoyed him and he enjoyed them. His experiences and wisdom are greatly appreciated and his willingness to help me out is appreciated.
For this Sunday Missionary Ed Potter, missionary to the Madeira Islands, will be with us and he will preach for us. He is in the states for a short visit and this is the only Sunday he can be with us. Please come to hear him and give a love offering if so led. Ed and Abbie have been great friends to us over the years and he is truly loved as a partner in the ministry.
Just a few running thoughts from the pester:
There are just some things you don’t want to constantly hear when you go to church:

•          Don’t want to hear constant litany of bad news

•          Don’t want to hear constant begging for money

•          Don’t want to be guilt manipulated

•          Constant preaching about church membership (goes with giving)

You want to hear the good news of the gospel and hope for life today. The Bible acknowledges that we will suffer in this life but it also gives us reason to hope, to strive and to have joy. The steady drumbeat of “we need more money” is wearying after awhile. Of course there are times when money and giving has to be addressed but it is best to discuss it in the normal course of expository teaching or when there is a dire need that the folks need to know about.

We must also be careful to not “toot our own horn” all the time about how great we are. We are not great. Even Paul was reticent to defend himself against his enemies because it would sound like self-promotion: “are we beginning to commend ourselves again?” (2 Cor 3:1). I really don’t think that a church’s finances are a matter of a lack of teaching or a lack of knowledge. Another “stewardship campaign” is not always the answer: for the most part we present the good news of Jesus Christ, the power of God and the leadership of the Holy Spirit and “all these things will be added to you.” This is a part of what we are about at Freedom.

 

 

A Bio for our speaker this Sunday Dennis Aleson

Ruth and I will be gone this Sunday traveling to VA to see Tim, Christa, Neva, Esther and Oliver. My good friend from the Songspinners Dennis Aleson will be speaking in my absence and I appreciate his willingness to come and speak. Here is a bio of Dennis' ministry.

Rev. Dennis Aleson is a retired clergy member of the Dakotas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church and also a retired chaplain with the U. S. Air Force (1977-2003).  He was born in 1947 into a parsonage family of the Evangelical United Brethren Church in North Dakota, where his father served as a pastor for 50 years.  Pastor Aleson’s twin brother Darrel, of Bismarck, ND, is also a retired United Methodist clergy, just retired from 26 years as a fulltime hospital chaplain, preceded by church pastorates in ND and MT.

Dennis Aleson graduated from Kindred,  ND High School in 1965, followed by a B.A. in Economics and Political Science from Westmar College in LeMars, IA in 1969.  After two years of military service courtesy of his draft board (1969-71) and with duty in Turkey and Spain, he felt his call to ministry and in 1975 received his Master of Divinity from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, with an additional year of post-graduate studies at the Pacific School of Religion in Berkeley, CA in 1984.   After two years as a civilian pastor in Hettinger, ND,  Rev. Aleson began a 26+-year career as an USAF Chaplain, with 10 duty locations during that time,  His stateside assignments included two in Colorado Springs: the USAF Academy (1986-90) and his final assignment at Peterson AFB / Cheyenne Mountain AF Station (1999-2003).  Other unique assignments included Izmir, Turkey, ancient Smyrna of biblical times (1981-83), and the Greek island of Crete (1990-92).  Following the Air Force Chaplain Service, Pastor Aleson has done a variety of short-term interim pastor locations in CO and ND, as well as supply preaching and other occasional services of the church (weddings, funerals, etc.)
 A defining moment in his life and ministry occurred in 1996 when he was the senior deployed chaplain at Khobar Towers, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, a military housing complex attacked by Islamic terrorists on 25 June 1996.  Nineteen persons were killed, along with 300-400 injuries.
For his leadership of chaplain services in the aftermath of this tragedy, he was named the
1996 USAF Outstanding Chaplain of the Year, and in 2000 was named the Outstanding Alumni of the Year in Specialized Ministries from his Denver seminary.
Dennis Aleson has been married since 1971 to Carol (Arnold) Aleson, a Nebraskan.  They have two adult offspring: 1) son Ryan, living with wife Emily and grandchildren Calvin (2010) and Lucy (2012) in Orlando, FL, and soon to add grandchild #3 in early 2016.----2) daughter Heather Bingham and her husband Dustin living in Colorado Springs……Besides volunteer work and occasional ministries, Pastor Aleson is a longtime member of the Colorado Springs Show Choir, the Songspinners.  Travel is also now high on the priority list for Pastor and Mrs. Aleson.  

For this coming Sunday the 13th

So for this week we will have the Meet-Eat-Greet time on Wednesday night instead of Tuesday night and there will be no Thinking Like a Christian meeting this week. Greg and Ruth are heading to Virginia on Friday and we would sure appreciate your prayers for us while we go. This coming Sunday the 13th we will have Dennis Aleson preaching for us. Please plan on coming and hearing him speak this Sunday. Greg will be back for the 20th
Rev. Dennis Aleson....retired Air Force chaplain, serving from 1977 through 2003 including both the USAF Academy and Peterson AFB here in the Springs.....named the 1996 USAF Outstanding Chaplain of the Year......retired United Methodist clergy member of Dakotas Conference of the United Methodist Church but resident of Colorado Springs......married to wife Carol since 1971....two adult offspring, both married......two grandchildren in Orlando, FL with #3 due early in 2016......two grand-dogs.....a Songspinner for over 10 years, sharing music adventures with Pastor Greg and Nancy
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Dennis will be at church at about 9:15 Sunday to share some of his experiences at the 1996 Khobar Towers terrorist truck bombing in the Sunday School hour. His message in the service will be based on the Parable of the Prodigal Son, entitled "Journey to 'Vegas' and Back" 
We look forward to Dennis’ sharing with us on Sunday!

Freedom Days

Just a quick reminder of the potluck this Sunday to celebrate Pester Greg's 60th birthday. Bring your favorite foods to share and enjoy our fellowship right after morning services. Hope to see you there
We will meet this coming Thursday night at 7pm for Thinking Like a Christian, finishing our study on Economics and moving on to History. Our Meet, Eat and Greet group will not meet this week but we will get together soon in order to continue our discussion. Stay tuned and we will resume our time together, kids

This week at Freedom

No Meet, Eat and Greet meeting tonight; we will schedule our next meeting soon to continue our discussions on church membership. We will meet Thursday night for our Thinking Like a Christian study, continuing our discussion on Economics

Tonight's Bible Study at Freedom

We resume our Thursday night bible study on Christian Worldview "Thinking Like a Christian tonight at 7pm. The subject will be Politics. As James Madison said, "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern man, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary." Tonight at 7pm

The Tuesday night meet, eat and greet group, (the younger adults of the church) will meet again on Tuesday night August 11 after Ruth returns from her trip to see her Dad. We will eat (of course) and begin a discussion on the whys and wherefores of church membership. Why is there such a thing as church membership? Is it necessary or important? What does this church essentially believe? These questions and many others have not been asked for a long time so we hope to not only come up with many questions to ask but also have intelligent and insightful answers. Anyone can come and ask any questions they have about church beliefs, practices, what other churches do and why they do it, etc. This group of younger people is the future of the church (this church and any other church they become involved in) and they are important. Their questions deserve to be asked and answered and they deserve our respect. After all, we’re not getting any younger! If you already have some questions in mind send them to Greg so he can prepare.

This Thursday July 16

We will meet tomorrow night for the contination of our study "Thinking Like a Christian," now on the subject of "Sociology." We have been on hiatus for a few weeks since my grandkids were visiting but we will begin again tomorrow night. I have a meeting at work that may last until 630pm so I may be running a little late but I'll get there as soon as I can. Be in prayer for one another in all things as we strive to be a comfort and blessing to our brothers and sisters in all that they are going through. May the Lord bless you real good

4th of July Worship Tomorrow

Tomorrow is the last Sunday before the 4th of July so we will be singing patriotic songs during our worship service. It is still important for us to sing these songs at this time of year to remember our country for what it was, what it is and what it still can be. Some are disappointed with it while some are happy with it and those emotions have swung like a pendulum throughout our long and tumultuous history. Regardless of recent events, this is still the country in which we are called to live our relationship with Christ and to sing about freedom, grace and truth is still something we ought to do. His truth is marching on, His grace continues to shine upon us, it's still our sweet land of liberty, the flag still stands for freedom and we really need God to bless America! This does not mean we approve of everything about her, but she's all we've got, so let's spread the news across the fruited plain, from every mountain side, of thee I sing! And if God chooses to judge and not bless us either now or later, He's still our King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and as always we ought to obey God rather than men!

Our upcoming schedule for our “Thinking Like a Christian” midweek Bible study: we will meet tomorrow night Thursday the 25th at 7pm. It will be meet the Chandler grandkids night as they will be in from Alaska. We will then not meet again until Wednesday night July 15^th

We will not have our study tonight on Thinking Like a Christian but will resume next Wednesday night at 7pm. Too many scheduling conflicts with the onset of summer but we'll get it going again next week with the section on "Ethics." See you then

It's Saturday and Sunday's Coming

Hey Freedom folks, it's Saturday and Sunday's coming like a freight train at us! Choo-choo ch-boogie!

Tomorrow we will have our Summer Begins Potluck; the Songspinners will perform at 5pm and potluck will follow

The Campeau's and Chandler's have provided the pork, bread and sauce

The rest of you folks bring picnic/BBQ sides and desserts

The church has coffee and lemonade

We will break down the auditorium after church tomorrow and set up for the fellowship

The Spinners always look forward to the shows at our church because we are so receptive

And I know you come to see how Greg will embarrass himself this year; I assure you it's an astounding embarrassment and you will enjoy it

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We have not heard anything further on the roof; assume too much rain continuing but supposed to be drier this weekend

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Bob Mahan is still in the hospital; Bertie reports he is slowly recuperating and will move to rehab when ready but no date set yet

Ruth continues to recuperate from her shoulder surgery this past Wednesday; she hopes to be at church in the evening but we'll see

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Bless ya'll's hearts and let's have a good time tomorrow!

The Pester

Memorial Day Weekend 2015 at Freedom

Hey church folks, hope you have a good Memorial Day Weekend planned

I don't have any shows so I'm doing a lot of puttering around the house and getting ready for Ruth's surgery and the grandkids from Alaska coming for 3 weeks this summer; lots to do

Will be smoking some meat; that's nothing but good!

I heard from the landlord and he has a roofer under contract as soon as the weather breaks it will get done so there is a plan; we may be coming in from the rain soon and I'll keep you posted

Pray for all our sick ones

Some will be traveling; some will be staying home; some will be tired; some will be refreshed; pray for them

And some gave all including their life; thanks to our veterans this Memorial Day

And we all will be basking in the grace of God; thanks to God for giving us life and blessing in this great land of ours

See you Sunday, Lord willing

The Pester

We are moving our Christian worldview study Thinking Like a Christian to Wednesday nights 7pm at the church. This best fits our fast-changing whacky schedules; we may move it back to Thursdays later in the summer but for now Wednesday night is the night. Our next section to study is on Psychology so come ready to psychoanalyze the pastor (scary thought).

It takes a cross to gain a crown: Easter 2015

Receiving the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls (1 Peter 1:9)
The consummation of faith is salvation. Salvation is possible only because of the cross of Christ. Victor in this life and in eternal life is possible because of the resurrection.
The cross is necessary because of sin. Resurrection is necessary because of the triumph of righteousness over sin.
The only path to victory is through the cross and the empty tomb; they go together and cannot be separated in our Christian experience. It takes one to receive the other; therefore we will suffer in this life.
We are now currently receiving (before our full inheritance) the “end of our faith’” that is, the goal or culmination of our faith. As we grow in faith we begin to gain a sense of the timelessness of our salvation: the past, the present and the future start to blend together in the glory and the blessing that salvation brings.
Each day brings us closer to the final realization of what salvation will bring. Each trial gives us more faith which gives us more joy and hope that is becoming more like our full inheritance. Therefore we begin to welcome trial so we can experience more of the benefits of our salvation today. All of this is certainly cause for “inexpressible joy.”
What the resurrection means:
·         The priceless emotion of hope
·         A protection and shield in persecution
·         Daily joy under pressure
·         Growing in trial, not shrinking or regressing
·         A joyful soul
·         The final culmination of our faith in joy and glory
 
It is not just this life, is it? Is this all there is?
No; there is “more to come”

More that is glorious and wonderful beyond our wildest dreams

The good stories of hope and heroes and “ever after” are true; dare we believe them?
 

We know this because of the resurrection

Therefore we live - in hope, in faith, in love and in joy
Have a joyous Easter!

 

Palm Sunday 2015: My Humility is Greater Than Yours!

Our study for Palm Sunday March 29, 2015 will relate to the attitude of the disciples the night before Christ's crucifixion. At the Passover dinner and the arrest of Jesus the disciples displayed the attitude that they would follow Christ to the death but without humility. Either during or after Jesus washed their feet they were arguing about who was the greatest. When Jesus told them they were acting like pagans and were missing the point of humility and yieldedness to God's plan for them they argued that they would not betray Him. This kind of argument is something like saying "my humility is greater than yours" and "which one of us is the best servant you've got,  Jesus?" Such thinking is what defeats and destroys us as followers of Christ. We must learn to surrender our agendas, dreams, desires and personal visions to Him.
Peter went on to deny Jesus 3 times, as predicted by Jesus that Satan desired to run Peter through the filter of trials like chaff separated from the wheat as the photo depicts

• God's plan had not changed in spite of Peter's denials
• Never let a sense of failure corrupt your new action! Repent and Rise Up!
• Judas' betrayal, the "greatest" arguments, and Peter's denials tell us things won't be our way and we must humble ourselves before Him. We can't play the game of "my humility is better than yours"

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We have been going through the gospel of Luke verse by verse and are currently in chapter 21 on the Olivet Discourse. With Palm Sunday and Easter I am moving to later passages in Luke but will return to the verse by verse study after Easter. Luke's gospel is the most detailed of the 4 gospels and takes some time to teach, and by no means has the message and meaning of Luke been exhausted (thanks for stating that, Capt Obvious!).

Gospel Swing Show March 13 2015

 We had a great time Friday night March 13th singing at the Gospel Swing Show with Doyle Combs and the American Patriots Jazz Orchestra. The place was full and the band was great! I got to sing with some of the most talented musicians you would ever hope to hear, most of them retired servicemen and all so wonderful and gracious. My thanks to all who came out to hear and support the show presented by Music Evangelism Foundation. It's another checkmark on my bucket list to get to sing with a big band. The next thing on my bucket list is to run a marathon (yeah, I don't think that one's gonna get done)

I'll be singing tonight at the Gospel Swing Show with Doyle Combs and the American Patriots Orchestra at 7pm at Trinity Nazarene Church 5055 El Camino Drive. There is no admission charge as a love offering will be received. The concert is sponsored by Music Evangelism Foundation. I am so humble to receive this opportunity to sing with a great group of musicians and dedicated believers. It would honor all of us if you would come; you will enjoy the music. When we sing, we know He is pleased. Pastor Greg

Daylight Saving Sunday

Don't forget Freedom folks, this Sunday begins Daylight Saving Time so set your clocks ahead one hour. If you don't you'll show up for church at what you think is 10 am but which is really 11 am which means by the time you get to church it will be time to go out to lunch! We'll see you Sunday

Looks like the weather is finally cooperating with us for tonight at 7pm at the church: Thinking Like a Christian Lesson 1

Let's have church today! Or as Ernie Banks would have said, "Let's play two!" Let's have 2 services instead of one! Yea!

No Bible Study tonight

Well, the weather has struck again. We will cancel our initial Bible study for tonight and try to have our first one next Thursday night at 7pm. The weather has been awful here in Colo Spgs but we hope to have our services on Sunday. Stay posted

Thursday night study weather permitting

Thursday nights at 7pm we will be studying "Thinking Like A Christian" at the church. These lessons are designed to develop a Christian worldview in order to understand our times and how to live effectively and coherently in these days. Of course anyone is welcome to come and attend; it's not a worship service it's a time of learning and understanding of how a Christian should think about the world we live in. Our primary objective is not what to think as a Christian but how to think. We look forward to beginning this study.

No church for Sunday 2-22

No services tomorrow; cancelling due to the snow as more snow is supposed to fall tonight. All of you stay safe and warm and off the streets!

Stay Tuned for the Weather?

We'll keep everyone posted on the weather for tomorrow's services. We will make the call and post it to this blog or our FB page if services need to be cancelled. My normal routine on this is that if other churches are cancelling or some roads are closing we will cancel our services. We will try to contact everyone ahead of time but keep in mind if it's dangerous to drive don't try to get out to church even if you don't hear from us. The only people church should be dangerous for are atheists and sinners! (It's a joke, folks).
Greg will be singing on Friday March 13 for A Gospel Swing Concert featuring Doyle Combs and the 17-piece American Patriots Jazz Orchestra. The event is from the Music Evangelism Foundation. I'll be singing a jazzy rendition of "Go Down Moses" and will be in the choir along with fellow church-member Nancy Jenkins. It will be held at the Trinity Church of the Nazarene 5055 El Camino Dr which is behind the Red Lobster on North Academy. There is no admission charge and an offering will be taken. This band is excellent and you will so enjoy the jazzy, swinging renditions of old hymn favorites, old swing songs and patriotic themes. Come and enjoy

Come Alive Again!

It’s hard to know what to post on a blog on a regular basis. There are so many blogs out there that say so much and no matter what is said someone is going to get mad about it and post their displeasure. Most of the responses to blogs are vile and filled with bad language, I’m sure mostly to increase the shock value of the response. The viler the response the worse the blogger feels about writing whatever he wrote, pens a quick apology and crawls away whimpering never to post anything again that isn’t meaningless tripe. That's usually how I handle things, and that I suppose is the reason for responding in a shocking manner.

Most responses to what I read on various blogs are ad hominem character attacks and don’t answer the arguments the blogger is making anyway. Again, name calling and making people feel bad seems to be the goal, not discussion and meaningful dialogue.
This is especially true for Christian and church blogs: rarely is there a well-reasoned argument against what is said; there’s either full agreement or the author is attacked and accused of being a dog from the pit of hell! Well, I’m just going to post what I think some may want to hear; if you respond with something well-reasoned and objective I may take a look at it. Or not.

And if you are going to post and disagree, do it with good humor, intelligence and Christian respect. Humor is a sign of intelligence and good will and will get an audience a lot faster than insults and ridicule. Try it, you might grow to like it

If you are searching for a local Baptist church and come across this blog, keep some things in mind. I am not King James only. I come from a group of churches that are KJV only and after studying the matter thoroughly over many years I have come to the conclusion that we must read the English translation that best speaks to us. For me that is the New American Standard Bible. I understand that there are many folks out there that are passionately KJV only, but I’m not one of them and will not be one of them. Ever.

It is important that we love and search for the truth. If the truth contradicts some long-held personal beliefs we must repent of our personal beliefs and change our minds. You can’t go through life without changing your mind from time to time. We must pursue the truth wherever it takes us. God welcomes those who are searching sincerely and honestly, the search for Spirit and truth as it says in John, and He will honor and respect our genuine repentance and change of mind. We must go where the truth takes us, no matter what.

The worship of Jesus Christ is the most important thing we do; true worship, privately and corporately with God’s people, is the basis for our knowledge, fellowship and outreach to the world. We must keep Christ uppermost on our minds in everything we do, in church and out, and always remember He is with us, listening to us and watching us, speaking to us and reaching out to us. All the time, without fail. Sometimes He enjoys us, sometimes we grieve Him, but He will always be there. By constantly worshiping Him in everything we do we can keep the grieving part to a minimum.

I'm glad to be back on the blog and coming alive again; we'll keep you posted with various things our church will be doing and if you find us and you like us, we praise the Lord for His grace. His grace is all we have, anyway, so praise the Lord!