Church Blog (Page 15)

Over the next couple of weeks on Sunday you will be treated to a variety of great speakers. I will be recovering from surgeries on November 20th and December 9th, and in my absence you have a tremendous opportunity to hear some other voices. It’s healthy for a church to hear different perspectives and fresh interpretations of God’s word. I am praying for those who will be leading the service in my absence. We will continue to have the great…

Goats have proven to be valuable commodities through the years. They are a source of milk that can be used for more than just drinking. I have heard of numerous folks who rent them out to individuals to clean up yards and fields that have been neglected for a period of time. A couple of days or weeks is all it takes for these animals to tidy up a vacant lot or an overgrown part of a person’s property .…

Nicole Hamrick, our tireless and highly valued minister to our youth and children and etc., is a well known chronicler of the exploits and lessons learned from the canine members of her family whom she loves dearly. She always comes up with some insightful pooch parables that are most helpful as we analyze the similarities between humankind and their close companions…dawgs. Today I will be venturing into Nicole’s area of expertise, and I do so most cautiously realizing I lack…

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you, church family, for your wonderful expression of appreciation and support this past Sunday. It has been my pleasure to serve on the Audio-Visual Committee for about 20 years now, and I have really enjoyed being a part of this ministry. God has blessed me by allowing me to serve Him in this exciting ministry and by giving me the ability to do what I do, so all of the glory…

The Risen Savior addresses the seven churches of Asia in the book of Revelation offering warnings, insights and needed instruction. In chapter 2 verses 1-7 he shares a direct yet somewhat confusing assessment of the congregation at Ephesus. Eugene Peterson translates v 2-4 this way: – I see that you have done, your hard, hard work and your refusal to quit. I know you can’t stomach evil, that you weed out apostolic pretenders. I know your persistence, your courage in…

Hello, my name is Micah Roberts. I am going to be helping out Andy, Nicole, and Katherine this Fall for a course I am taking at Gardner-Webb. If you see me around feel free to come and talk to me. Here are a few things to know about me: I am currently working on my Master in Divinity for Pastoral Care and Counseling, I am from Greeneville, TN, just on the other side of the mountains, I graduated class of…

I have told you before that my best time for thinking is from 2 am until about 5 am on most nights recently. I don’t worry during this time it just seems that God speaks to me clearly during these hours. I have suggested that Thee Almighty might want to consider 10 am… but he’s God and He doesn’t need my consent to do anything He wants to do. If he wants to continue the early morning sessions I am…

There have been times in my life when I have needed signs from God and in a couple of these cases he has obliged. I only share these incidents on rare occasions when I am around those who will not consider me some sort of mountaintop mystic or delusional pastor in need of help. I say this with quite a bit of caution but I am in a time of personal faith where signs are not necessary. But I am…

…One of my go-to places to aimlessly scroll on my phone is my Pinterest app. For those that aren’t familiar with this, Pinterest is a place where people can share thoughts and ideas on anything from recipes to teaching ideas to home improvement to self-improvement. I go here when I’m wondering how to redecorate my living room or what recipes there might be for desserts. Nicole and I often search there for ideas for VBS crafts or shirt ideas. The…

To say absence makes the heart grow fonder is inaccurate because it implies a need to get away from someone or something. That would not be a valid assessment of yesterday’s service. I never wanted in a million years to be away from my church family; though if I am honest, when this whole pandemic started the first weeks did seem like snow days. But after a week or two I was ready to get back to being with the…