Scripture for Nov. 6th: Psalm 100:1, 2

Sermon Title: Approaching God

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs.

This coming Sunday I will begin a three week sermon series entitled, "Enter With Thanksgiving." With the Thanksgiving holiday approaching, there is no better time to consider this particular psalm than now. This week we will consider how we are to approach God. For many of us, we approach God the way we approach life itself and it often very much looks like this:

The psalmist reminds us that our attitude as we approach God should be one of thanksgiving that comes from an awareness that He is Lord of all the earth. We should not come with grateful hearts to God simply because of the blessings we receive, but because He is worthy of our thanksgiving and that should come from our understanding of Him. To approach God in this manner we must be fully aware of Who He is and how He views us. This is what we will explore this coming Sunday. I hope to see you then!

Week of Oct 30th: What I Am Excited About!

I am excited about our youth group! They are an awesome group of kids who attend Sunday morning worship services on a regular basis and bless the congregation with their presence. They are also hard at work practicing for a Christmas drama that will be performed on Sunday, Dec. 11th at 6 p.m. Please pray for these young people, that God will continue to bless their lives and that they will grow in their faith and walk with the Lord.

Some Pastoral Thoughts....

Today Josh, my 19 yr old son, left for basic training in the Navy. It is a rite of passage for members of my family – my grandfather, my uncles, my father and my brothers all served in the military. I had the privilege of serving in the Air Force and Army National Guard. And I have two nephews who are currently serving, one of which has been to Iraq and another who is in Afghanistan now. So there is much pride in my heart as I realize that my son carries on this great tradition of service to our country. However, I feel a sense of loss as well. I think back to the days that I wished I had spent with him, the times that I didn’t talk with him as much as I should have, the time that was wasted and is now forever lost, and I feel sadness. Part of me wishes I could go back in time and walk outside of my home to the yard and run around with a little boy who loved spending time with his dad. But another part of me is amazed that the same little boy is now a man who has pledged to fight for our country, and die defending it if necessary. May we hold all the little boys and girls in our lives tightly, while they are still our little boys and girls. May we “waste” our time loving them with games, smiles and laughter. And may we not forget to pray for all the grown up boys and girls who serve our country in the military and honor them for their service and sacrifice.

“...we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day.” II Corinthians 4:16

Week of Oct 23rd: What I Am Excited About!

We have built a new church office and Pastor study inside the church building. The office and study look very attractive - they enhance the appearance of the church building. They are very well built and a BIG improvement over what was used for a church office in the past. I am thankful for the vision that the leadership of the church and the congregation had to allow the resources to be spent to build these needed spaces.

Scripture for Oct. 30th: Psalm 100

Sermon Title: What To Do When Life Is Going Well

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations.


What is a Christian to do when life is going well? Be happy of course! Dr. J. Vernon McGee once wrote the following about this Psalm:

"I would emphasize the fact that God does not want you to come before Him to worship with a long face. There are times when we have long faces; problems beset us, temptations overcome us, or we come to God in repentance, asking Him for forgiveness. We cast ourselves upon Him. But none of that is worship. You worship God when you come to praise Him. He wants you to be happy. At the time of this writing most of the bars have what is called a “happy hour.” I wish we had a “happy hour” in church, without the liquid. Let’s tune up and get ready to worship the Lord. “Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all ye lands.” That includes everybody. That is universal praise. There is a time coming when the entire world will be able to sing, “Joy to the world, the Lord is come!”

Everyone will experience "good times" and "bad times" in life, some more than others. During the "good times" in life, we need to remember to enjoy those times - give God praise, enjoy His blessings and be very thankful. And even in "bad times" we still need to experience the joy that comes from God's presence and express that joy, as Dr. McGee writes. We will talk more about this on Sunday as we conclude our sermon series, "God Is Closer Than You Think." Hope to see you there!

Week of Oct. 17th: What I am excited about!

Our weekly children’s ministry, TeamKID, started in September and currently we have 28 kids enrolled. We have collected lots of can goods for the Girard Food Pantry thus far and our current missions project is Operation Christmas Child, with a goal of sending 6 shoeboxes. The kids are learning Bible stories, Scripture verses , playing games and earning points towards rewards from our reward store. It has been exciting to see the kids come and participate in this discipleship program (btw, TeamKID stands for “Kids In Discipleship”). Let others know about our exciting TeamKID program: it meets every Monday from 6:15 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. throughout the school year (with school holidays off).

Scripture for October 16th: Psalm 62

Sermon Title: What To Do When You Have To Wait


Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.”

It's hard to wait. In this country, in our present era, we are taught not to wait - we have instant everything. We expect to have things done quickly so that we can hurry to the next place. We have no time for patience. So when circumstances happen that causes us to wait, we fret, complain, grip and sometimes curse. Why do we have to wait?

The writer of this Psalm, King David, had to wait for God's deliverance. Dr. J. Vernon McGee reminds us that David was probably encouraged to take matters into his own hands and fight for his deliverance, but the better route was to wait on God and retreat:

"No doubt there were those around David—fanatics of those days—who urged that he stand his ground and thereby exhibit his faith, for he was God’s anointed and God should overrule this whole matter. Not David! He said that his life was in God’s hands, and it seemed best that he leave. David lived above the hue and cry of little men. He did not listen to pious shibboleths, for while little men cried for a miracle David avowed to walk in the dark, trusting God. O for a faith like that! A God-given faith! What others called defeat, to David was but a test of faith. David can retreat from Jerusalem and it is still going to sound like a victory. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved [Ps. 62:2]."

God does His best works when we have to wait on Him and declare, like King David, "I shall not be greatly moved." So how should we wait? We should wait by remembering that worry does us no good, replacing worry thoughts with God thoughts and with confidence and expectation. We will talk more about each of these aspects of waiting on Sunday as we continue our sermon series, "God is Closer Than You Think." Hope to see you then!

Scripture for Oct. 9th: Psalm 51:1-6; 10-17

Sermon Title: What to Do When You Have Blown It

Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me. Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb; you taught me wisdom in that secret place.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Then I will teach transgressors your ways, so that sinners will turn back to you. Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God, you who are God my Savior, and my tongue will sing of your righteousness. Open my lips, Lord, and my mouth will declare your praise. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you do not take pleasure in burnt offerings. My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise.

Dr. Warren Wiesbe writes the following about this chapter:

Like Psalm 32, it came out of David’s sin with Bathsheba (2 Sam. 11–12) and his futile attempt to cover it up. If any chapter in the Bible reveals the high cost of sinning, it is this one. Sin hurts the sinner. David’s whole being was affected by his sin: his eyes (v. 3), mind (v. 6), ears (v. 8), heart (v. 10), spirit (v. 10), and mouth (vv. 13–15). He lost fellowship with God (v. 11) and the joy of the Lord (v. 12). Are the pleasures of sin worth paying this great price? Sin hurts others. Sin can bring tragic consequences to the lives of others (James 1:13–16), especially one’s family. David’s sin led to Uriah’s death. Bathsheba’s baby died. David’s lovely daughter Tamar was violated by her brother Amnon, who was then killed by Absalom, who in turn was slain by Joab. Is a fleeting moment of sinful pleasure worth a lifetime of sorrow? Sin hurts God. We hurt ourselves and others when we sin, but primarily, our sins are against God (v. 4). Sin makes us dirty (vv. 2, 7). Sin is rebellion against God’s holy law. If you want to know how much sin hurts God, go to Calvary and see His Son dying for the sins of the world. God is love, and our selfish sins break His heart. God is merciful and gracious and forgives when we come in repentance and faith (1 John 1:9). David did not want “cheap” forgiveness; he came with a broken heart.

When we "blow it," we pay a heavy price. Sin comes with a penalty and that penalty is ultimately death. So what do we do? David gives us a road map to restoration: ask for God's forgiveness, seek a full relationship with God and serve Him by serving others. We will explore this more on Sunday as we continue our series of messages, God is Closer Than You Think. Hope to see you then!