Mother & Child

Well, this is what we have been waiting for--a picture. Wow!! Go to the following web address, click on "blog" and you can see several more pictures: www.laurencekimblog.com

Can a Christian Sin?

Tomorrow's message will come from 1 John 3:5-12, and as you probably already know, these verses usually cause quite a "stir" among the religious. Over the years, I have been amazed to see how commentaries simply avoid the obvious--"No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him" (vs.6). For the most part, the religious have failed to realize that God, through Jesus' death, burial, resurrection, and ascension, did a perfect and complete work concerning sin. The fact is this: God is finished dealing with sin--forever finished dealing with sin! When Jesus returns, He will do so without reference to sin (Hebrews 9:28)! Thankfully, when He appeared the first time, He did so in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin (1 John 3:5). Just for the record, take note of this: "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God" (vs. 9).

If my memory serves me correctly (which is certainly questionable), I have heard many people lay claim to having been born of God (born again, saved, etc); however, I have heard only a very few lay claim to these passages. Much to the contrary, they choose to act as if these passages don't even exist OR the attempt to explain them away with some kind of watered-down, pious pabulum!

Let me just tell you that God through Jesus did a much better job than most realize, and I think it is time for those to whom He has given the right to be called His children to lay claim to their inheritance--free from sin, free from sin, thank God Almighty, I am free from sin!

See you in the morning!!
Your Pastor

Breaking News!

The video of last Sunday's sermon is now available by simply clicking on this link: Mac's Latest Sermon

"Miss Hazel"

Some people are just too impressive not to share with others and "Miss Hazel" is one of them. I met her several weeks ago, on one of my visits to the health food store, aka McDonalds--the new one on Bass road. On each of my following visits, I made it my business to get to know her a bit better, hopefully earning the privilege of sharing her story. This past Monday, I took my grands there for some health food and they got me over the line with her, thus her picture and this amazing story: "Miss Hazel" is 81 years old, which means she was born in 1926. Her husband died several years ago, and her son died in 1964, at the young age 16. She made it abundantly clear that she would not have made it through his death, had it not been for her Lord! She also has a daughter, who has two daughters, one of whom has a son, who also has two sons. You can figure it out, but this means that she not only has two granddaughters, but also one great grandson, not to mention, two great, great grandsons!

Now, this is the impressive part of my story: this dear lady drives from Lizella to the McDonalds on Bass road to WORK, and when I say work, I mean W-O-R-K! I think this picture illustrates that. I asked her how in the world she could swing her mop the way she does and her reply was quite straightforward: it tires me but I do it at my own pace! One thing is for sure, NONE of the other employees in this "health food" store will EVER try to get her job, so she can just continue her pace!

To top it all off, she does this with a geniune smiling face, greeting everyone, as if she owned McDonalds! I do not know who her superiors are but if they had any sense at all they would give her a dozen roses every morning. You should see her; why, she cleans as if she is cleaning her own house.

To be sure, this present generation has no clue as to the mindset of this lady and in time it will tell, and you can count on that!

If you visit McDonalds on Bass, tell her hello, and tell her that the old, white haired man with with camera sends her love and admiration!

Blessings,
Your Pastor

For those of us Who Know!

Someone once said, "A picture is worth a thousand words" but they had not seen this one. For those of us who know, this picture is worth far more than a thousand words, even a thousand dollars; in fact, it is priceless! I am tempted to say more but I am choosing to let the picture speak for itself--to those of us who know!

I must say this: God does answer prayer and He sometimes does it "our way"! (=:

Sunday's Message

See how great a love the Father has bestowed (given as a gift) upon us, that we should be called children of God! How can we see (really see), this side of Heaven, the love that God has given to us in causing us to be His children? As His children, Adam is no longer our father; sin no longer has dominion (power) over us; our debt has been paid in full; we are as righteous as Jesus; our sins have been taken away, never to return; we are joint-heirs with Jesus to God's estate; we have a new past,a new present, and a new future; and He is going to get each of us Home before dark! Wow!

Can you now see how great a love the Father has given to us, that we should be called the children of God? I think it is much-too-much for us to take in; however, I receive it and trust it and relish in it--by grace alone through faith alone!

I hope to see you in the morning!

Blessings,
Your Pastor

A Suggestion--

Visit http://macsperspective.blogspot.com in order to read the last two or three perspectives I have posted. You can click on the link "Mac's Perspective" in the upper right hand corner of this blog and it will take you there--pronto.

Last Night's Leftovers!

What an incredible night; if you missed it, it is your loss because we had a great time. Home groups must be akin to the early church, as there is so much dynamic in them that reminds me of what I read in the Scriptures about the early church. Let me see if I can remember who attended: Travis, Karen, Eddie, Syd, Joanne, Debbie, Shamona, Carolyn, Bob, Mac, Ralph, Phyllis, Dudley, Annis, Data, Jim, John, Kevin, and Carolyn's Mom,(a visitor). The menu included roasted pork loin, green beans, baked potato, corn bread, and for desert, a homemade cake. The drinks for the evening were wine and water and from what I could see, someone must have turned the water into wine!

Our study time involved a chapter from the book, "The Power of the Blood Covenant" entitled, "Sins Remembered No More". As you might imagine, the religious folk wouldn't appreciate this chapter but, just for the record, I ain't religious, and from what I could observe, neither were the rest. The fact that God is finished dealing with sin is most incredible; He will never remember them again! Wow!

Thanks to each of you for attending and for making the evening such a wonderful experience; I think we can safely call it "church!"

A Beth Stewart Update!

Well, here's an update from my last visit with Dr. Stefanis. He said the bone is growing and he'll see about me returning to work after my next visit with him in 5 weeks! WOW...I told myself that I was going to leave it all up to the doctor and what God's plan is for me, but needless to say, that took me by surprise. I cried most the day...when I thought about it I realized that I'm worried about my job because it's already been a long time. Everyone from work was also surprised, but really cheered me up. My bosses were so understanding and told me not to worry. I feel so fortunate to work for such a great company and even greater coworkers and bosses.

Dr. Stefanis gave me persmission to drive, just once in a while, very short distances so I can now go to the store and such. That helps a lot.
I also saw the cardiologist Friday and he's scheduled a chemical stress test, but also said that everything looks good and that I'm one of the fortunate ones to have low blood pressure. He had quite a sense of humor. I also found that I have an over active thyroid, not under active...and he commented that it's probably a good thing otherwise I would have gained 30 pounds instead of the 15 pounds since my surgery! LOL:)

Sunday is Upon Us Again!

Time is flying by so fast that I can hardly keep up any longer; it is Sunday and before I know it, it is Sunday again! This wouldn't bother me (when I was younger, it didn't) except for the fact that I interpret it to mean that my life is passing by much too quickly. Oh well--

As you can see in the picture, one of my granddaughters (Sydney) celebrated her birthday recently (#11) and I was privileged to be present for a few minutes. How in the world did I get so old so quickly; why, I can remember thinking that folks with grandchildren were as old as old oak trees--and now I am one! I am telling you that time is moving at the speed of light!

Anyway, we will be looking at 1 John a bit more in the morning, so I hope you come prepared. The text begins as follows: "Dear children, this is the last hour . . .", so in light of what I just said, I must admit that it got my attention. What if this were the last hour? What did John mean? Obviously, the hour to which he referred was not the last one. Maybe he meant "these are the end times" but they surely have lasted for a long time to have been the end times. Yes, I know that one day with the Lord is as a thousand years and a thousand years is as one day, even so, I stay confused most of the time, especially when it comes to understanding the Scriptures.

Whatever John meant, in my opinion we need a renewed awareness of the truth that Jesus is coming again--sooner, rather than later, I trust!

Hopefully, I will see you in the morning!

Blessings!
Your Pastor

Local Preacher Wins Lottery!

A local preacher, Mac Goddard, won the lottery this morning, but chose not to accept it because his deep "religious" beliefs would not allow him to accept "ill gotten gain"! If you believe that, then I must also tell you that he doesn't like wine, either. And if you believe that, then I must also (and quickly) tell you that he also can't stand good cigars! While I am on a roll, I must also tell you that he also keeps the Law!

Now, this is the truth (if you can believe it; well, whether you can or not): I stopped by the Marathon station this morning to purchase a diet Pepsi, and on a "religious" whim, I asked the clerk to sell me a $3 Big Bucks Lottery ticket, which she did. I walked out to my truck and stood by its door, as I scratched off the proper places. Much to my surprise I won $240--CASH!

Now, ain't that a hoot!

Your Pastor

A Really Cute Girl!

Leigh Popp sent me this really cute picture of Syd's granddaughter, so I thought I would share it with you. If you will just hint at being interested, she (Syd) will be more than happy to fill you in on all the details--and then some. These grandmothers are really something else!

Sunday is Upon Us!

Hopefully, I am making some headway with our text for tomorrow--Love not the world nor the things in the world. Obviously, we have two very significant words with which to deal--"love" and "world". The more I think about the passage, the more I believe that understanding what John meant by "love" is key to our understanding the passage.

Anyway, I am looking forward to seeing you tomorrow!!

Grace and peace,
Mac

A Picture IS Worth a Thousand Words!

As you can tell, Annie's baby is about ready to make his debut and she is quite beautiful, as she awaits his arrival. The man in the picture is Mike and, as you can, see, he is very fond of Annie. From what I have been able to glean, something very special is going on between Annie and Mike (I think you can detect it in their eyes!). Mike has a degree in engineering and is a student at the Divinity school at Mars Hill, where Annie is in graduate school, getting her Masters degree in Counseling (and several other areas, it seems!). Mike has obviously discovered the treasure that we call Annie. From her reports, he treats us with utmost respect, honor, compassion, and love! You can tell from this picture that he is one heck of a man!

Anyway, I wanted you to know what is going on in Little Darlin's life and now you know (at least part of it!). Keep Annie and Mike in your prayers and pray for a healthy baby boy!

Blessings,
Your Pastor