I want to encourage you, if you can, to attend the Second Annual Prayer and Fasting Convocation for Tulsa County. This is a meeting for churches across Tulsa County for the purpose of prayer. We will be praying for a fresh movement of the Spirit of God in our churches and across our nation. We will also be praying for revival here and around the world.

As a part of the meeting we’ll be hearing a report from some brothers about what God is doing in Pakistan. The meeting is this Friday and Saturday, March 5 & 6 at Carbondale Assembly of God. Carbondale is located at 2335 W. 51st. Friday’s meeting begins at 7:00 pm and will conclude at 9:00 pm. Saturday is from 9:00 am to noon. I hope to see you there.

I also want to encourage you to begin praying about what you can give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions. 50% of the North American Mission Board’s funding comes from this offering. Your gifts help with planting churches, providing Disaster Relief and reaching North American for Christ.
I hope to see you and your family as we gather for worship and celebration this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

How many times have you written the wrong year so far? It happens to me every year. I’m usually a week or two into the New Year by the time I consistently demonstrate that I know what year it is. We ended 2009 on a positive note despite the bad weather. Financially we ended the year with a healthy balance. We are within $17,000 of being debt free and we exceeded our Lottie Moon goal of $7,000! Keep in mind that in August we faced a shortfall for the first time in years. God is gracious.

Looking ahead to 2010 we are hoping to payoff our debt by March freeing up funds for some needed repairs. In addition we hope to put renewed efforts into our Sunday School and outreach. We hope to strengthen our ties with Clinton Middle School and engage in more aggressive community outreach. As we look ahead we want to keep in mind that our goal is to assist individuals in discovering life in Christ; in developing a vibrant, living faith; and in discerning their unique mission within the body of Christ.

Join me in praying that 2010 will be a great year here at Trinity. I look forward to seeing you this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

Christmas? Are you kidding? What happened to Labor Day? I was told this would happen I just didn’t think it would happen this soon. The other day I was looking for the coaster I keep on my desk here in the office. I looked all over the desk. I moved papers and books and looked behind file folders – it was gone. I moved my drink three times while looking for the coaster before I realized my drink was sitting in the coaster! Okay maybe age has something to do with that but it was mostly because I was busy, had a lot on my mind, and I was trying to finish up a project.

My point is busyness can cause you to lose focus. Busyness can make you miss the obvious. Too often that happens this time of year. There are things to do, people to see, programs to attend and parties to go to and before long Christmas is over and you never saw it. You remember singing the carols and the kids were so cute when they sang but you missed it. The family got together presents were opened, you ate too much but it is all a blur.

Can I let you in on a little secret? Often the one who is most guilty is the one telling you that you need to be careful. The one who too often looks back on their Christmas celebration with regret -is the pastor. “How are we doing on the offering?” “Is everything ready for the service?” “What about Christmas Eve?” “Did I get by to see everyone?” “I’ve got to be ready the 1st of January with that…” and so it goes. Another Christmas is in the book, every item is checked off, now what about next year? My point is not to gain sympathy or to claim that I have it any worse than any of you but rather to say we both struggle to keep priorities right.
Pray for me as I pray for you – that we both have a peaceful and focused Christmas. Merry Christmas and I’ll see you Sunday.

Rod

I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately, the love of God. Thanksgiving and Christmas always turns my attention towards God’s love. He had every right to condemn and destroy the creation in response to Adam’s sin. The rules were, “The soul that sins dies.” That’s pretty simple and straightforward. It doesn’t require a rulebook, a team of referees or instant replay. You sin, you do anything that is contrary to God’s command or is in violation of His holiness – you die, game over. But God chose to love. More than that He chose to be wild and extravagant with His love.

Years ago I read a book on the parables by Lloyd Ogilvie entitled The Autobiography of God. Ogilvie’s point was that the parables where a way for God to say to us, “This is who I am.” His chapter of the “Lost Son” from Luke 15 was The Prodigal God. I thought that was a strange title until I discovered the term “prodigal” means wild or extravagant. Webster’s dictionary has it, “recklessly spendthrift.” It means to spend until there is nothing left. That is what God has done for us in Christ. That is the wonder of the Gospel. As we enter the Christmas season I hope that you will take time to reflect on God’s wild extravagant love for us. Imagine God so loved hopeless rebels like you and me that He gave His best – His one and only Son. He stood in your place. He bore your burden. He paid for your sin. Not because you begged Him to. Not because you deserved it. Not because you were caught up in a circumstance not of your making. He did it because He chose to love you. He made that choice when you were at your worst, a sinner rightly deserving His eternal wrath. That’s good news. That’s the Gospel. That’s the story of Christmas.

I’ll see you Sunday.

Rod

There are just a couple of things I want to do with this space this week. First I want to take a moment and say, “Happy Birthday” to Sylvia Vowell. Sylvia turned 96 on Tuesday. Sylvia, we love and appreciate you and we want you to know that we miss you and we pray that you will be able to worship with us again soon. Thank you for your faithfulness to the church through the years. Thank you for your smiling face and your continued encouragement. God bless you Sylvia and we pray healing, strength and peace for you.

Second, I wan to remind you Trunk ‘r Treat is just around the corner. Thanks to Tina Downing, Elaine Hill, Robin Haynes and Lessie Hill for all their work in getting ready for the big night. Don’t forget we still need lots of candy and we need YOU to come and decorate your car and hand out candy. There will be prizes for the best decorated car, best kid’s costume, best adult costume and a pumpkin carving contest. There may ever be another surprise or two. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to give a gift to our community. Saturday October 31 from 6:30-8:30 pm in the west parking lot.

I hope you’ll join us for worship on Sundays. Sunday mornings we will be working our way through the book of Romans and on Sunday evening we are looking at questions. Questions related to the Christian life. This past Sunday we ask the question, “Is there such a thing as a carnal Christian?” Join us on Sunday evening as we continue to ask and answer important questions. Don’t forget this Sunday morning, October 25, we will be observing the Lord’s Supper in our service.

I’ll see you this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

It seems that regularly I’m reminded of just how weak, stubborn and sinful we can be. By “we” I mean, we, the fallen children of Adam. The older I get and the longer I walk with Christ the more aware I am of my own failings. I find it increasingly difficult to be critical of others. My own black heart too often astounds me. I have every reason to rejoice and be grateful due to God’s abundant blessing. Yet I am prone to discouragement, disappointment and rebellion. Oh I manage to hide it – after all I could lose my job! I manage to keep things in check not because I have no desire but because I fear the consequences of being caught. Why is that?

I so readily identify with Robert Robinson who wrote,
“Let Thy grace, Lord, like a fetter,
Bind my wandering heart to Thee:
Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it,
prone to leave the God I love;
Here’s my heart, Lord, take and seal it,
Seal it for Thy courts above.”
Why is that? How is it that one who has been brought from death to life, who has been the recipient of God’s profound blessing could be prone to wander? Prone to leave? It’s because I’m in the process of being made holy – I’m not there yet. I’m a fallen man, living in a fallen world, who is stumbling towards holiness. That’s one of the reasons why I so desperately need the church. I can’t make it alone…and God never intended me to. When Christ saved me, He made me part of a body, a family, the church. As we learn to live the faith together we spur one another on to love and good deeds. We support, encourage and pray for one another so that together we might obtain the prize.

There are those who avoid the church because it is full of hypocrites and sinners. Well I’m one sinner who’s grateful for the company!
I’ll see you Sunday as we seek to walk together for the glory of God and the good of His church.

Rod

It was a great success! Thanks to all who worked to make our OneDay Training a special event. Thanks to all who provided snacks and those who served as greeters and hosts. A special thanks to Rheadon for coordinating all the snacks and making sure there was plenty to eat in each of the areas. I have heard nothing but positive response from all participating. It is time now for all of our classes to begin thinking about their mission project. Sometime in September or October we are looking to implement mission projects throughout our community as we seek to take the love of God and the gospel beyond our walls.

We are also at the official end of summer. Next Monday is Labor Day and then means we can say goodbye to summer and begin settling into the fall. I almost said, “fall routine” but I trust this will not be a routine fall – hopefully it will be a new beginning. I want to encourage you to get involved in a Bible Study class and begin investing your life in the lives of others. It is in the small group that you will find relationship to help you live out the truth you are learning. It is by interacting with others you learn to apply the true. There is no substitute for that personal interaction enjoyed in a small group setting.

I hope to see you and your family as we gather this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

Let me take just a minute to brag on you. On Monday, July 27, our budget and finance committee met to review the first six months of 2009. At that meeting we discovered that you had given over $200,000! In addition 23% of that had gone to mission causes through the Cooperative Program, Lottie Moon, Annie Armstrong and two special mission offerings. In addition to our mission giving we were able to handle a new roof over the worship center at a cost of $25,000 and a few other maintenance projects. You have also given over $36,000 to Catch the Vision. That means we are half way to our $72,000 to be debt free! Thank you for your faithfulness. Your generosity is greatly appreciated and stands as a testimony to your love for Christ, His church and the work of the Gospel. That is the good news.

We also discovered that the downturn in attendance, the economy and the special offerings have taken their toll on our general fund. Our budget calls for $6,100 a week. In July our income was at $4,800 a week. This means that we are looking at a negative balance at the beginning of August. We do have emergency funds available so we are cautious rather than in a panic. We will be watching things closely through August and into the fall. We are prepared to make adjustments as needed so that we remain faithful stewards of what has been entrusted to us. I just wanted you to know where we are financially.

While there is concern I am far more encouraged than discouraged. I believe there is great cause for rejoicing. We’ve taken care of our responsibilities and given $37,049.58 to mission causes within the first six months of 2009. God is good. I’ll see you Sunday.

Rod

I just want to remind you that we will be observing the Lord’s Table this Sunday, July 26, during morning worship. While we do not believe that saving grace is received through the elements it would be wrong to consider the Supper a “mere” symbol. It is a wonderful, unique and holy time when the church gathers around the table. In addition when we celebrate the table the whole service revolves around it. I trust you will be present as we together declare God’s glory through the bread and the cup.

In addition let me remind you that the youth will be leaving for camp Monday morning. That means we need you to have your food here by Sunday evening! We appreciate all of you who signed up and gave money to help feed our crew all week. You generosity helps us keep the cost down and enables more of our youth to attend camp.

Please continue to pray for our nominating committee and our committee on committees as they do their work for the coming year. I look forward to seeing you and your family as we gather for worship and celebration this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

Let me take just a moment this week to ask you to pray about a couple of things. I’ve sent information to our Nominating Committee and our Committee on Committees to begin their work for the coming church year (September 2009 - August 2010). The Nominating Committee recruits teachers and officers while the Committee on Committees fills the various committee openings. I’m asking you to pray with them as they seek God’s leadership. In addition I’m asking you to pray about where you fit in. Where are you serving? We have openings for teaching positions and some crucial areas of service. We also have key committee positions to fill. Would you like to serve? We will find a place for you to serve. The fact is you have been blessed and gifted by God to serve and we need you. We are not interested in “sticking” you somewhere. We want you to serve where God has called you. We want you to know the joy of being where God wants you to be doing what He has gifted you to do.

The second thing I would like for you to pray about is our structure. We continue to struggle with our Sunday School. We’ve experienced a major drop in attendance and interest. In addition we’ve not had anyone to serve as Sunday School Director for a couple of years now. Is it time to rethink and possibly retool our small group Bible study? Do we need to change our approach? Is it time to look at what is offered and when it is offered? These are important questions and questions worth exploring. Join with me in praying for God’s leadership and wisdom in address this critical need in our fellowship.

In the meantime I look forward to seeing you this coming Lord’s Day as we gather to worship and celebrate our life together in Christ.

Rod