I remember it like it was yesterday. I had dreamed about it. Read about it. Hoped for it. None of which prepared me for the absolute thrill of possessing it. My own G. I. Joe, a sailor complete with bellbottom jeans, blue shirt and white sailor hat. That was too good to be true but there was more. He came with a scuba suit. He was a frogman! Like Mike Nelson on Sea Hunt only better.

Eventually I outgrew my G. I. Joe. I have great memories and will be forever grateful for the joy he brought me but I needed more. While I once found them repugnant, girls were beginning to grow on me. Then she came along. We’ve been married for 30 years now and unlike Joe she continues to fascinate me and gives me increasing joy.

There are those things in life that exceed our expectations. Some for a season, others for a lifetime. What really matters is not the anticipation or even the characteristics of the thing itself or even what it does for us – it is the thing itself.
What I mean is it is not Rheadon’s beauty. It is not here cooking, her creativity, or the fact that she is an amazing wife and mother though all of those are precious. It is Rheadon, herself!

Too often our focus in spiritual matters is on the blessings we receive. Through Christ we’ve been granted life eternal and abundant; the forgiveness of sin; we have received his righteousness; these are all precious and wonderful but they pale compared to Christ himself. We have received Christ. As Spurgeon said, “What a heartful Jesus must be, for heaven itself cannot contain Him!”

I’ll see you Sunday.

Rod

An exposition of Genesis 42-44. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Wednesday evening, November 10, 2010.

An exposition of Psalm 65:1-13. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday evening, November 21, 2010.

It was a regular occurrence. I got to the point I waited for it. If it didn’t come I wondered what was wrong. It was only an hour and a half trip but I’m sure it seemed must longer when you’re a little kid. Finally it would come. From the back seat an urgent cry, “most home?” Zac’s version of “Are we there yet?” It’s a natural question. One to be expected on a long, difficult journey. It is to be expected especially when you are anxious to arrive at your destination. “Not yet,” was our normal reply. But eventually we could point to certain landmarks to indicate we’re getting close. When we did – hope was born.

We’ve been given an assignment, “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel.” In fact we’re told we can’t go home unto the Gospel has been proclaimed to all the world. Are we there yet? Not yet but there are some encouraging signs. For the first time in history, we can identify the people groups that remain untouched by the Gospel. We can get there in our generation. That’s going to require a renewed effort. It is going to require that we pray, we give and we go. We are asking that each Sunday School class or department adopt and “unreached people group” for the next year. Each week you will pray for a Gospel awakening. A missionary, the Scripture in their language, that the light of the Gospel will penetrate their dark world. Our Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal for this year is $9000. Yes that is the largest goal we’ve ever set. Yes these are difficult economic times but the need is great and so we ask you to give. Finally there are opportunities for you to go. Short-term volunteer mission opportunities abound. Is God calling you? We cannot sit back, send our money and expect our mission board to accomplish our task. We must be willing to go if called.

Are we there yet? Not yet but we’re close. I’ll see you Sunday.

Rod

“No! It can’t be. It’s December already? How is that possible?” Telephone poles are becoming fence posts and I don’t like it. It’s true isn’t it? As you get older time flies. It was just last week I was dreading my 50th birthday…oh that was 9 months ago. But that’s not possible I just graduated from high school 30…make that 32 years ago. The next thing you know I’m going to walk into a room and forget why I…now I don’t remember why I’m writing this! Oh yeah – Christmas. It is time for the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions. Over 50% of the operating budget for our International Mission Board is supplied by this offering. Your gift enables some 5000 missionaries to take the Gospel to the nations.

I’m going to ask you to prayerfully consider how much you can give this year. I know that times are tough economically. But the need is great and the time is short. There are over 2 billion people on the planet who have never heard the Gospel, have no access to Scripture and are heading to a Christless eternity. How can they hear without a preacher? How can they believe without a witness? Your gift will go a long way in helping to secure that witness. Money invested in the lives of people through the International Mission Board is money well spent.

What can my gift do? How much does it cost to support a missionary?
• $43,845.86 a year
• $3,653.82 a month
• $843.19 a week
• $120.13 a day
• $5.01 an hour
• $.08 a minute

As you consider your gift list this year how about supporting a missionary for a day or a week?

It’s worth considering. I’ll see you Sunday.

Rod