Thank you, thank you, thank you! I am so grateful for the faithful workers and the dedicated servants who made Vacation Bible School a great success. From those who corralled kids during recreation to those who taught the lessons, those who led the mission time and those who worked in the kitchen. I’d put our team up against any team in the convention! A special word of thanks goes to our youth who were faithful to come and work night after night. Then on Saturday they worked hard all day raising money for their mission trip to Kentucky. Of course I want to thank you, our church family, for your faithfulness in praying and making everything possible through your giving. We are indeed blessed.

Don’t forget our youth leave this Saturday, June 27, for Kentucky. Pray for safety in their travel and God’s grace and strength for the work they will be doing. I look forward to seeing you and your family as we gather for worship this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

At this writing we’ve just completed our first night of VBS (Vacation Bible School) and I’m surveying the damage. I’m kidding we had a great night! I appreciate all the folks from both Trinity and Carbondale who are working to make this week a success. I do want to remind you that we’ll be having our family night on Friday (June 19). Then on Saturday will be the youth car wash and garage sale. As you know our youth are heading to Kentucky the end of this month to work in two of the poorest counties in Kentucky. They will be working with some construction projects and also doing VBS. Pray for the kids and their leaders as they share the message of the gospel through word and deed the last of June and the first of July. I also want to remind you that we’ll not be having evening services this week (June 21) due to Father’s Day - enjoy time with your family.

While we are grateful we did not continue in decline this past month financially (we received more than we spent) we are beginning to feel the financial crunch. Pray for our budget and finance committee as they keep watch and develop a strategy for the rest of the year. Of course this is also my subtle reminder that our needs continue during the summer months when so many will be away for vacations and much needed rest.

I look forward to seeing you and your family as we gather for worship this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

I thought the summer months was a time for relaxation and refreshment. I thought it was a time for “kicking back” and enjoying things. I’m going to have to work! I asked for questions or passages and you came through with some great suggestions. Now I’ve got to get to work. I’ve spent the last week trying to organize them so that I could begin to work my way through them for the summer. I’m still working on it but here is what I’ve got planned for the next few weeks on Sunday morning (keep in mind this is subject to change).

June
14 - The Rich Man & Lazarus Luke 16
21 - The Prodigal Son Luke 15
28 - Philippians 2:1-18
July
5 - John 14:1-7
12 - Israel & The Church
19 - Christ & His Sheep
26 - Psalm 23
August
2 - Millennial Questions
9 - What Happens After Death?
16 - The Reality of Hell
23 - The Problem of Evil

I have other issues that have been submitted that I’ll be working in on Sunday evening as I can. Thank you for your interest and your suggests. We will also be using a more relaxed schedule and format for Sunday evening through the summer. We are also planning some fellowships for Sunday evening. I’m looking forward to it. I’ll see you Sunday.

Rod

I want to take this week’s column to address a couple a things. One is that we are facing some economic challenges as a church. The economy is “catching up” with us. We have experienced a drop in income over the last few months while cost have remained at a higher level. We’ve had some roof repairs and other maintenance issues that we had to address. While we have not had to dip into our contingency fund we are operating on the margin. I bring this up because we have some major expenses coming this summer that will add to our already stressed financial standing. Vacation Bible School begins on June 14. This is a major expense as we seek to reach beyond our walls and touch the community. We have a youth mission trip planned for the end of June. We know that the trip will cost approximately $5000. That money will have to be raised as the money budgeted is just not there. Children’s Camp comes right on the heels of that followed by Youth Camp the end of July. In addition utility costs are higher during the summer months and offerings are typically down as people go on vacation and take weekend trips. I do not tell you this to try and “fleece” you or guilt you for taking time off. I simply want you to be aware so that you can pray as we trust God to supply our needs through the summer months.

I also hope to gently remind you that our financial needs continue even when you are away. I also want to assure you that our budget and finance committee is monitoring both our income and our expenses and if needs be we will make the necessary adjustments. As always our commitment is to be faithful stewards of what the Lord entrusts to us.

On a related note some have asked about the projector system we talked about some months back. For those who are not aware, a gift was given at the end of last year or the first of this year for the purchase of a projector system for the worship center. We’ve been working on getting bids and making sure we spend this money wisely. We’ve made the decision and the system will be installed sometime in this summer. I want to emphasize that no general fund moneys will be used for this project. This comes from a single gift given for this purpose months ago.

Great things are coming this summer! Let’s pray that this is our best summer yet. I see you as we gather for worship this Sunday.

Rod

Summer is here. Can you believe it? Where did spring go? Of course summer means that VBS (Vacation Bible School) is just around the corner as is the youth mission trip, children’s camp and youth camp will be here before you know it! That means things will get busy around here real quick. It also means that we’ll be spending a bunch of money over the next couple of months. I’m telling you this because we’ve been losing ground financially over the last few months. We’ve had repairs and upgrades and in the process our general fund has gone from a balance of $25,000 in January to $6000 at the end of April. It is critical over the next few weeks that we hold spending as much as possible and that we maintain giving to replenish funds. I know that summer is busy with travel, vacations and weekends at the lake and with family but don’t forget the financial needs of your church in the process.

In last week’s Messenger I mentioned the “Summer Favorites” series, to date I’ve just received one request! There is still plenty of time to get those in and I’m hoping that I’ll see several in the next few days.

I look forward to seeing you and your family as we gather for worship this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

I had a thought Sunday (you know they say the first one always hurts). I was approached by a member who asked me to preach a sermon from a certain text. It was one of his favorites and he asked if I would preach a sermon from that text. The thought was this, “What if I asked for others? What if I planned my preaching this summer around ‘favorite texts’ or texts that folks had questions about?” I’m game, how about you? Here is the way it will work: You need to submit a text to me in writing. I say “in writing” because I have no confidence in my memory! The series I began Sunday morning runs through the end of May. I’ll start preaching from the suggested texts in June. I can’t promise to cover everyone’s but I’ll try to honor every request. I’ll also try to publish ahead of time what the next text will be. Now give me a chance, let’s not play “stump the preacher.” I’m looking forward to seeing how “Summer Favorites” comes out.

I also want to remind you that we’ll not be having an evening service this Sunday (May 25) due to Memorial Day Weekend. I hope that you’ll have a wonderful time with friends and family. I’ll see you and your family as we gather for worship this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

Can you believe we are almost at the end of another school year? I know, the kids can believe it. It has been so long. Parents are thinking, “Where did the time go?” Of course around here we know that means things are about to get busy. This Sunday, May 17, we will be hosting the Vespers Service for Webster’s Class of 2009. The service will be at 2:00 p.m. In a few weeks Vacation Bible School will kick off followed by a youth mission trip and before you know it youth camp! That means there are exciting opportunities ahead. We are going to be asking for volunteers and prayer commitments and an offering or two. This is such a wonderful time to invest in the lives of our children and youth but it also means that we will have a great deal of expense in a short amount of time. Please keep this in mind as you remain faithful in your regular giving and as you have opportunity to give to some special offerings.

Don’t forget that Sunday morning our children’s choir will be participating in our morning worship service. It is always great to see the children help lead in worship. I hope to see you and your family in Bible study and worship this coming Lord’s Day.

Rod

I was prepared for it and yet I wasn’t. I knew that James was right, “Life is a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes” but I wasn’t prepared for the emotion I felt. Dad had been sick for so long. During his last week we knew he was in great pain. His death was a blessing and a sweet release but when it came I was a boy again. I thought of his strong hands; his confident, assertive ways; his laughter, his love of life; his determined will and I wondered, “What am I to do now?” I’ve never drawn a breath but that dad was here, now he is gone what will that mean? As a kid I never had a worry because I knew my dad could handle anything. Even through his health problems it never occurred to me he could be afraid or uncertain. He always embraced life, never backed down from a challenge and faced each obstacle with faith and courage. Life would be different from this point on. I was glad he had gone home to glory. I rejoiced in his joining the land of the living with Christ his Savior. I knew mom and dad were together again. I thought of all our family gathered in a great reunion and I experienced peace.

I’ve been thinking since Thursday about what my father taught me. He tried to teach me about cars and their maintenance…it didn’t take. He tried to teach me to love mincemeat, I refused! However, he did teach me the love of God the Father by the way he loved me. He taught me that love is unconditional and yet firm. He taught me that love cares enough to instruct, correct and rebuke. He taught me that real love makes sacrifices. He taught me to love the Scripture as he read and studied his Bible daily. He taught me to love the music of the church through his belting out the hymns Sunday after Sunday. He taught me relationship through his lifetime friends. He taught me respect, dignity and responsibility by the way he lived. I thought about another verse from James, “Every good and perfect gifts comes down from the Father above.” Thank you Father and thank you pop.

Rod

We had a great day Sunday! Thanks to Ed and Betty and their work and planning for Keenager Sunday. I know everyone had a great time Friday night and I really enjoyed the testimonies Sunday morning. What a blessing to see so many people who have been a part of this church for years. It is rare thing in today’s world to find people committed to one church for a lifetime. In a culture that constantly pursues the “best deal” or seeks out the latest fad, long-term commitment is rare. In a world of “church shoppers” it is nice to be surrounded by “squatters!” I like the fact that on Sunday morning I know who’s missing by which seats are empty. Fellowship is rich and meaningful when you grow old together. Our church, like all families, has its problems and squabbles but at the end of the day we are family and you can’t put a price on that.

Let me just add a personal word. I appreciate all the prayers on concern for my dad and our family. Things turned for the worse on Thursday, April 23, and progressively worsened over the weekend. There are several things wrong and the bottom line is we are seeking to make him as comfortable as possible. As of this morning (Monday April 27) he is stable and they will move him back to the VA this morning under hospice care. We appreciate your prayers as we spend our last days together this side of glory.

I love and appreciate you all. I’ll see you Sunday.

Rod

Praise the Lord for a great weekend! It began with our Tenebrae service on Friday night. We had a great crowd and the choir did a wonderful job. Thank you Jim and choir. Saturday was our first attempt with an egg hunt/outreach. We were overwhelmed with the response. We saw a lot of new faces and we saw some of them again on Sunday morning! Of course Sunday morning was wonderful with a full house gathered in celebration of the resurrection. Again I want to thank all those who worked so hard to make the weekend special.

Now we turn our attention to Senior Adult Sunday on April 26th. We will be recognizing our senior adults in the morning worship there will be a lunch following the service and then a special concert Sunday night with The Messengers. Mark your calendar now because you will not want to miss all the activities on the 26th.

Don’t forget to pray for Bobby Smith and the other members of the Singing Churchmen as they left this week for this ministry tour. Pray for their safety and pray that God will use them mightily for the sake of the Gospel. I hope to see you and your family as we gather this coming Lord’s Day and resume our study of the book of Galatians on Sunday morning. I’ll see you Sunday!

Rod