In my line of work it is not a good idea to miss many worship services but I did miss all the activities of the church yesterday and it is very strange to do so.  I am on the mend and hope to be at full strength before too long.  I thank all of you for your concern and for those who have filled in. 

 

Please be making your plans to bring someone with you to our gospel meeting which begins this Sunday.  Chuck Monan will proclaim the gospel and this might just be the event that brings a love one of yours or mine back to the Lord. 

 

 

If it is the Lord's will, tomorrow could be a day of song for you.  There is a singing at the Cortez congregation at 2:30 and then we have our 5th Sunday singing at our evening service.  I lost my voice last Sunday and it has not improved so I will miss singing praises to God.    Brother Mills was already to bring the message for the morning service. 

 

 

We added two new links to the links page:

 

 

Check them out and see what you think!

 

 

I hope to return to some sort of regular routine this week.  My schedule has been alterted the last few weeks and I miss being in the same pattern.  Are we not strange? 

 

Tonight we want to look at the "Parable of the Lost Coin" from Luke 15.  We have a powerpoint presentation prepared for the lesson.  I think the lesson last Sunday night was one of the better lessons I have presented and it was the "Parable of the Lost Sheep." 

One day this week I spent all day holding my two-year old granddaughter, who has been ill.  When the day was over, I thought about how I had not accomplished anything all day long.  But, after thinking about it, what could I have accomplished that would have been anymore important than what I did.  It makes me more grateful for those special mothers who accomplish so much and still give the time of special love to a sick child.  We have a lot of priorities wrong in our society. 

 

We rejoice with Michael being baptized last evening.  He resides at the Manor and has visited us on a couple of occasions.  This Sunday morning we want to begin a series of lessons from the letters of John, if that be the Lord’s will.  Please read 1^st John!

 

Madison has been sick all week and it is no fun to have a sick two-year old around the house.  One good thing about it is I am reminded of how a good mother will sit and hold a sick child for hours at a time, making sure that the babies are as comfortable and loved as much as possible.  That is special!

My dad returned last evening from Kulna, Bangledesh.  He had a good trip but was glad to be back home.  He hopes to go back next year. 

Bud, Sue, Georgia, Gerie and myself spent a wonderful day at the Lakeland lectures yesterday.  They had a very impressive line-up of speakers dealing with the Restoration.  I ran into the Steed's from Danbury, CT who have recently retired and moved to the Lakeland area.  It truly is a small world and our brotherhood is truly a family.   

 

 

Often the Lord uses a preacher to deliver messages beyond what he can do himself.  Tonight was one of those times.  I enjoyed studying "the Lost Sheep" from Luke 15.  I did not come into the pulpit with a good frame of mind, yet the Lord took the message and revealed it to the church in spite of me.  This is a wonderful text and if you have not looked closely at it lately please take the time to do so.   

We had a good morning of worship, with several visitors.  We are thankful for those who worship with us as they vacation and winter in our area.  We are planning to contact churches in Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvannia, and Michigan asking them to submit names of their members who are coming to our area for the season or retiring to our area.  We then will contact those folks and try to encourage them to worship with us.  Please pray for this effort and offer any suggestions you might have.

 

 

Sunday night we are going to move to Luke 15 where there are three beautiful parables of Jesus.  All three deal with the theme that you can come home.  If you have left where you should be, your Father will welcome you home.  The lost sheep and the lost coin would teach us that we all have a responsiblility to help the lost to find their way back home. 

Sunday morning we plan to examine why we assemble together.  This is a topic that we also want to study at least once each year.  Some of us get out of the habit of consistent attendance and we need to be reminded of just how important it is that we assemble together as a church.  Please join us for this!

We have begun the New Year with activity and we still have several events in front of us.  We plan to go to Lakeland this Tuesday for the lectures there and we are to assist North River in their fair booth on the 26th.  Our gospel meeting begins February 5th with Chuck Monan from Little Rock, Arkansas.  There are other happenings but please keep these on your calendar and in your prayers.  Make sure you have the meeting nights blocked off and invite someone to join you for this event. 

 

 

We had a good turn-out for our midweek Bible study and we had a good discussion on 1st Corinthians 8.  We rejoice that Ron Smith was baptized after services.  Ron has visited with us several times over the last few weeks and made the decision to be baptized.  May the Lord bless him!

This evening we plan to study 1st Corinthians 8, if it be the Lord's will.  The point of the text is that knowledge is important, but knowledge without love is counter productive.  Love is the key ingredient of the Christian life.  How is your love life?

 

The Sarasota/Bradenton area is growing by 300 souls a week and that may increase.  What can we do to reach these newcomers to our area with the gospel?  Pray that the Lord will send forth workers into this great harvest. 

 

 

We had our first formal meeting of the local preachers this morning and we had four congregations represented.  I am excited about this group and it is my prayer that we will encourage one another as we labor in this vast mission field of Sarasota and Manatee counties.  May the Lord bless our efforts!

The comments on the lesson concerning "Giving" were well received, but the real test of the lesson is for you to give consideration to your own giving.  Please consider the budget increase and the projects planned for this New Year and, if possible, increase your contribution.  May God bless you!

"Go to church on Sunday," was a saying you would here on TV and radio on a regular basis.  When was the last time you heard someone implore others to go to church?  We have changed and continue to change.  I wish we could turn back to being a God fearing people!

 

We pray for a good day of worship on this cool Florida morning.  May each of you be blessed with a good week in His service! 

Ten of us from Midway, travelled to North River last evening and heard Demar Elam preach.  It was an enjoyable trip and I am thankful for those who are always willing to support events like this. 

 

My dad arrived safely in Kulna, Bangladesh in midweek.  He is 81 and will be teaching in the "Preacher Training School" that he has helped establish in that part of the world.  Please keep him in your prayers!

 

I enjoyed having Cass and Gail with us on Wednesday.  They are committed young Christians and I hope God will continue to bless them in their journey.  They assist Wendell and Barbara on a regular basis and we are thankful for that. 

We do plan to speak on "stewardship," Sunday morning and we would ask you to give prayerful consideration to your priviledge of giving.  We have increased our budget by 8% for this year and you should take that into consideration.  The Sunday evening lesson is scheduled to deal with "the Cost," as we examine the closing verses of Luke 14.  May this be a blessed day!

Another beautiful day to serve the Lord!  Some of us are going to North River tonight for the opening of their weekend meeting.  The meeting is to celebrate their 5th anniversary and we want to support them in this. 

We have added a link to the "Christian Courier," which is a fine site published by Wayne Jackson and family.  Check it out!

We had a good class last evening with a good turn-out.  There are many we are concerned about so please pray for those listed in your bulletins.  There are also several events scheduled over the next few weeks so be aware and take advantage of these opportunities. 

The temps have cooled but the weather remains beautiful in Florida.  We have gotten off to a good start in the New Year even though we had a lot of people visiting and a large prayer list.  Isn't prayer wonderful?  As Charles Hodge reminds us, it is not prayer that is wonderful, but the one that hears.  May He bless your day!

Happy New Year!

It is our prayer that you will be blessed in the year 2006.