Coming Attractions

One of America's favorite past times in recent years has been home improvement. I love catching reruns of Tim Allen's show of the same name. I've also gotten hooked on A&E's Saturday morning show Flip This House and almost everything on Home & Garden network.

With that as a background, this Sunday we'll begin a four-part series I'm calling Trading Spaces: Lifestyle Remodeling. We're going to consider such subjects as holiness, personal change, the battle for your mind and self-control.

On Sunday evening we continue our series entitled The 21 Unbreakable Laws of Life as we look at success and what the Bible has to say about it. We're about halfway through this study and we've studied such subjects as the tongue, faithfulness, the mind, worry and stewardship. It's been fun as well as thought-provoking and I look forward to the weeks remaining.

We will also soon conclude our Wednesday evening series on the Baptist Faith and Message. My plan then is to begin a series regarding phrases that are often misquoted from the Bible. I promise, it'll be good.

Small Churches

This evening Robin and I attended a meeting in Smackover for pastors of "small" churches in the Liberty Baptist Association. A representative of the Arkanas Baptist Convention met with us in an effort to find out how they can assist bi-vocational pastors.
The meeting went well and I learned more about what the Convention can offer us and I picked up an idea or two that might be worth considering at Lawson Baptist.
But what struck me the most was hearing of some of the problems many of these pastors are facing. One pastor said that in every church he has pastored, he has had to start from scratch with such things as budgets, committees and various other items. Another said he had difficulty finding people to do various jobs in his church.
This, again, caused me to remember how blessed I am to serve at LBC with people who are willing to do what needs to be done in order to serve the Lord. God bless each of you.
See you Sunday!

Let's Get Excited

As I write this, I am watching the Arkansas-Georgia game on ESPN. It's easy to get excited about the Hogs. The whole state rallies around them and you hope they represent the state well when they are on national television.
I would love to see us rally around our church the same way. In fact our next Sunday night message in the "21 Unbreakable Laws of Life" we will be considering the human mind. We should have as our goal to have the mind of Christ. In computer language there is the GIGO factor. That is, Garbage In, Garbage Out. If we put things of the world in our mind, that's what comes out.
However, if our mind is on the things of Christ, the things that delight Him will come out and I know we will be blessed for it.
Sunday mornings continue with "The Four Streams" series. This week we consider our relationships in the home, on the job and in our church. We close next week with the subject of discipleship.
Let's get excited about the important things, but still, Go Hogs!

I Believe...

As I write this, I am reading the little quotation at the top of my daily planner. The saying has no known author but states, "Blessed are they who believe in something, even if it is nothing."

With that thought in mind I decided to list some of the things I believe.

I believe ketchup should not be put on a hot dog.

I believe Ted Williams was the greatest baseball player to ever lace up a pair of spikes.

I believe Secretariat was the greatest athlete in the history of sports.

I believe that if Barry Bonds comes back into baseball and hits 900 home runs he will never hold a special place in America's heart.

I believe Al Sharpton is wasting everyone's time.

I believe we who are Chicago Cubs fans have a special place awaiting in heaven.

I believe Elvis is dead no matter how I wish I was wrong.

I believe rap music is an oxymoron.

I believe True Grit is both the best novel ever written and the best movie ever made.

I believe Paul the Apostle had it nailed when he said "Every good and perfect gift comes from above."

I believe my wife and daughters are both good and perfect.

I believe if you've never seen Last of the Summer Wine on PBS you're the poorer for it.

I believe that while Amazing Grace is the greatest song ever written, Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World is the greatest song ever recorded.

I believe trains are disappearing from the American landscape all too rapidly, but never fast enough while waiting for one on East Main.

I believe the Razorbacks will surprise a lot of people outside of Arkansas.

I believe if you can't name your state or federal representatives, you should question your ability to vote intelligently.

I believe I'll have to continue this line of thought at another time.