Leadership Training for Christ

Well, if you missed the recent LTC displays and performances you missed a really good thing. These children ages 5 - 13 work for months doing art, teaching classes, learning to use puppets, and making speeches as well as learning to read the scripture to an audience and all their training comes to fruition on Easter weekend with a huge gathering of kids and churches all over the US meeting in different areas for a showcase of talents.

My own children have outgrown this event but participated during their years when our church did Lads to Leaders, the same basic outline. These are great programs to help teach young people to be ready to lead our churches. We know from scripture that Jesus was reading scripture in the temple and astounding the leaders at a very young age, about 12 years old. And, as we know, he had not been baptized yet. I am always so happy to see children get the opportunity to serve while they are young and I can really tell the ones who have been trained in classes like these.

Thank you to all the men and women who donate their time and energy to make this program work and thank you to all the families and children who make this kind of training a priority. We are very proud of all of you. Keep the faith.

A Sure Thing

“I am watching, and I will certainly carry out all my plans.” [Jer 1:12 NLT]

Don’t you just love that verse?!


I sure do.


It speaks two assuring words to me;

• God is watching.
• God is winning.

God’s plan will be accomplished and He is watching to be sure it does.


This world certainly needs a sure thing. And a sure thing can only be counted on when it’s a God thing.


God is watching to see that His word is fulfilled.


He is
     Watchful
          Faithful
               Ever-Present.


God sent word through Jeremiah, the prophet, when Israel had fallen their farthest and were at their worst.


He didn’t wait for them to straighten up and behave before He extended promise.


As sure as His words to them of coming judgment, and as sure as His promise of restoration, was His watchful presence.


And just as certain His presence is His Plan.


Opposition has not hindered it.

     Darkness has never extinguished it.

          Lack of faith has not stopped it.

               And ordinary, sinful man have not curtailed

                    the purposes of God.


Thought we could all use that good word for today.

by Debbra Stephens

PLANS

PLANS - Purposefully Acknowledging and Accepting our Need for a Savior

This is the theme for our 2014 Women's Retreat and we have been working since our retreat to get this all together. We have a committee and we have broken down our jobs and things are rolling. So, begin praying and mark you calendars for the 1st or 2nd weekend in March. Start saving your money now so you will be ready in September to register.

Speaking of money, please sign up for our Financial Fitness brunch on May 19th from 9 - 11. It will be beneficial for everyone, whether you have it all together or could still use a little help here and there. The cost is only $5 and it includes your breakfast and babysitting (if needed).

Jeremiah 29:11-13

New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.

From the Inside Out

While Plutarch may not be a great theologian...certainly not a Christian his quote is quite good. I feel sure that he got it from the then current thinking of the wisest man to ever live,  the one and only King Solomon. Solomon expressed it like this: "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he." Proverbs 23:7.

Solomon's dad, King David, put it like this: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalm 51:10

Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ put it like this: "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.. Matthew 5:8.

No matter how you put it...our attitude will totally affect our reality!

To Teach...

³ Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. ⁴ Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, ⁵ to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.

Coming off the big Leadership Training for Christ (LTC) we have seen some wonderful examples of some of our young men reading scripture from the pulpit. One such example was none other than the son of Brianne Holcomb and the grandson of Janice Stroud, great-grandson of Mrs. Bobbie Christian. What a wonderful example of this verse in Titus chapter 2. While we may not all be equipped to be Sunday school teachers, we are challenged to be teachers of the younger women. We can best do this by our example. No matter where you are in the spectrum of life, there is always someone younger than you that may be looking to your example in what you say or do. 

We know from scripture that the young man Timothy was taught by his mother,  Lois and his grandmother, Eunice. What a great example for us is this little passage. We should be teaching our children to know more about God. Use those little car trips for life lessons. We must be ready to share when our little ones ask and we must be living our lives to be pleasing to God whether we think anyone is looking or not, because someone is always looking.

God is in Control

Ladies Brunch - Financial Peace

We are excited to announce our upcoming Ladies Brunch on Saturday, May 18th from 9 - 11 AM. While we realize that this is a very busy time of year we could not wait any longer for this event to take place. We will be enjoying a lite brunch and find out more about how to better handle our monies and who could not do better with money management? Janice Stroud has been co-teaching with Randy for the past several years and has agreed to share some of her wisdom gleaned from Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace University with us. I am very excited about what it offers and the doors it could open for us to bring friends for this event. The cost will be $5 per person to cover the foods and you will not even have to cook. We will even offer babysitting services for the young mothers to be able to take advantage of this time together. 

Please mark this date on your calendar and go to our events page to sign up for the event now. Oh yeah, did we mention that there would be a couple of great prizes too! By the way, you are never too old or too young to use the wise money tips! We hope some of our teens will take advantage of this wonderful opportunity.

Raised to New Life

Raised to New Life

No matter the weight of our sins, Christ's sacrificial love redeems us all.

by TCW Editorial Staff