Spring 2023

"And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all " -Acts 4:33

WELCOME

Welcome to your Herald A place to proclaim what the Lord is doing in His church and in His body of believers This is the voice of our association, a chance to tell what we have seen and know to be true. We hope you feel at home here. Sit at the table with us and eat- there is something for everyone.

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pewell Loop, Atkins, AR 72823 4- ashley ourherald@gmail com

AL BOARD

Dee Jay Shoulders Rd, Madison, TN 37115 40- djpreachit@bellsouthnet

man- Richard B Burks 171, Philadelphia, MS 39350 0- rbb4543@yahoocom

tacy Lisenbey Plainview, AR 72857 58- slisenbey@gmailcom

RS

or at Large- Richard Humphreys ok St, Percy, AR 71964 8703101677- rickhumphreys2@yahoocom

Youth Director-Dee Stone PO Box 57, Plainview, AR 72857 4792724755- wiredwithjesus@gmailcom

Missionary Secretary- Clifton Beecher 1887 Hack Brown Rd, Franklin, KY 42134 2707760902- clifbeecher@gmailcom

Ladies Auxiliary President- Karla Shoulders 707 Ronnie Rd, Madison, TN 37115 6158302697- theboyzmom1@bellsouthnet

Promotional Arm Director-Aaron Wojcik 132 Grindstone Dr, Gallatin, TN 37066 9312524212- aaronwojcik3@gmailcom

PRESBYTERS

Arkansas- Dennis Bledsoe 22660 130 Lot #28, Bryant, AR 72022 5013265411

California- Frank Ellis 10583 Oleander Ave, Fontana, CA 92337 9093821029

Missouri- Travis Hollingsworth 3235 W Madison St, Springfield, MO 65802 4178183109

Mississippi- Antoine Stokes 1609 Robertson Rd, Louisville, MS 39339 6628033878

EDITOR'S NOTE

The editor reserves the right to shorten, refuse and or hold any article, or part thereof that is deemed contrary to the spirit of the association The Editor and the AB of C receive all articles in good faith, all authors are responsible for the authenticity and veracity of material they submit for publication in Our Herald This magazine is published quarterly, the subscription price is $1500 per year Please contact the editor for any further information you may require

Tennessee- Jonathan Denton 202 Lake Terrace Dr, Hendersonville, TN 37075 6152935530

Our mission is to connect the body of Christ through fellowship, accountability, and shared resources to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the world around us.

A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR

This edition of Our Herald is titled after Acts 4:33, "And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and great grace was upon them all." You will find the theme of grace woven within these pages The grace that forgives us for our sins, the grace that calls us into prayer, the grace that helps us do what He has called us to do, and the grace that humbles us enough to sit and let Jesus wash our feet

If I have learned anything by putting together Our Herald it is grace. Putting words in print is a humbling experience Knowing these pages are going to show up in your home, mistakes and misspelled words included has left me in a state of anxiety on more than one occasion. What you all do for the Lord is important, the ABofC is important, and the words written here reflect the heart of the association. I have learned to lean on grace and trust the Lord to cover me where I fall short Isn't it funny how the very things God calls us to do are the very things that show us our weaknesses and make us better? Jesus is apparently a big fan of "on-the-job training." My walk with the Lord has always been just to put it all out there, what I hear, experience, and hope for. Sometimes this turns people away, and I understand why, but I have found Jesus to move in ways that are so beautiful and real, whenever I have decided to be real, that I'm not willing to put being who I am in Him aside for the sake of my reputation.

Bro Devin Tubbs once said, "The enemy will always give a negative report of your situation." I found this to be true about people as well. Satan wants us to believe the worst about people He wants us to see their sins, their flaws, and all the ways they come up short. It takes a lot of love to choose the better report- eyes of grace to see what is good in others

My husband, Jamie, and I recently attended the Missions Conference at FAC Hearing about the grace of God on ministry all over the world is such an awesome reminder that most of our problems arise when we are short-sighted.

We are praying for God's favor to be on home missions and abroad There seems to be a bit of a divide in the Christian world between being called to a foreign country and staying home I've heard the discussion countless times, as I'm sure you have too, and we can probably all agree on the fact that no matter where God calls us, the call is important. It almost seems so personal to the person being called that the rest of us shouldn't get an opinion on which is better In Matthew 28:19, Jesus told us to go and teach all nations- that includes this one and the ones we have to travel to reach What is truly exciting is knowing we serve a God who loves the whole world. I don't know any better place to practice a love like that than wherever you are right now For God so loved the outcast For God so loved the addict For God so loved the homosexual. For God so loved the liar For God so loved the that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

In everything, always, more Jesus,

NEW

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PASTOR DEE JAY SHOULDERS "PRAYER CHANGES THINGS"

I feel in these last and evil days that the culture of our churches has got to be prayer, prayer, and more prayer. Notice the disciples did not ask Jesus to show them how to teach, preach, sing, play an instrument, or even be a better leader But they did ask Him to teach them to pray!! They saw that His relationship with the Father was dependent on prayer. And so it is with us prayer is our relationship! Prayer helps to instigate the miraculous! Prayer gives us wisdom and power from on high. I feel that the reason Satan has attacked many good saints lately at a fierce pace is to keep them from praying Because when they pray, things are going to happen

In 2 Chronicles 7 the Lord appeared to Solomon by night and said unto him, "I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land Now, mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attend unto the prayer that is made in this place." We all focus on vs 14 of that chapter but we would be strengthened even more by applying the first before and after it As you read above it was all about prayer and what it can do. Quite simply...prayer changes things! So if that be true then why is it so hard for us to do and why is it at times the last thing that we do? If prayer changes things then why is it not talked about more and placed at the top of our churches and ministries in our daily lives?

The main verse I used for this article was Acts 12:5 Peter, therefore, was kept in prison: but prayer was made without ceasing of the church unto God for him There had already been a great loss in the church and now there are more threats from those who opposed the work of God and so the church decided to do what all of us would do well to do in our trouble and that is to call a time of prayer They

simply did not want to lose another brother to death and so many people gathered together to pray for Peter and it for sure got the attention of God as an angel was sent to release him supernaturally from prison before they could take his life

Yes, an angel came and got Peter out of prison, but make sure you know it was prayer that sent the angel. Bishop Anthony Mangun said that there is more prayer in the book of Acts than there are miracles! In Luke 18 Jesus spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint. Paul said I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men. Not second of all and certainly not last of all but he said first of all……prayer. In reading about the whole armor of God we are well acquainted with the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit and the other parts mentioned but many times we forget the last thing mentioned and that is this Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints

the disciples did not ask Jesus to show them how to teach, preach, sing, play an instrument, or even be a better leader. But they did ask Him to teach them to pray!

BRO. RICK HUMPHREYS

"NO PART: UNDERSTAND YOUR POSITION AND CLEANNESS"

In St. John chapter 14 Jesus was talking to His disciples and preparing them for His departure for home Jesus made some encouraging remarks we all should take note of and pay heed to. Verses 27 through 31 say: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe. Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do. Arise, let us go hence."

Notice Jesus left peace with us, His peace And He said, “let not your heart be troubled”, HELLO!! Neither let it be AFRAID. He said, “I am going home and it should make you glad, when it comes to pass rejoice and believe"

Now we come to the part where He said “the prince of this world comes and has nothing in me ” . Do you get it? Satan had no part in Jesus. No space, so hiding place, no leverage, no space for accusation, no means of temptation, no sin that he could point out Jesus was guiltless Jesus had not sinned, nor would He. He would not allow the tempter to tempt Him

Now, when the tempter comes, (I didn’t say if, I said when he comes), remember you went to an altar and died to sin (repented), got baptized in Jesus name (buried), and rose again (resurrected) in the newness of life. Col 3:1-3 says, “If ye then be

risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God" Sin does not rein, rule, or control me any longer. I have been washed in the blood of Jesus, cleansed, sanctified, and justified by His works! His mercy and grace have pursued me and overcome me to assist me in this life to be an overcomer.

You see, we must be washed in His Word and be cleansed inside and out. In St. John we find Jesus washing the disciple’s feet and Peter thought that Jesus should not have to wash his feet. Maybe Peter thought he was clean enough like he was But, all have sinned In any case, this is written for our learning. John 13:8-9, “Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head”

Grace stepped in d his helplessness

Jesus in his life. Peter realized he needed cleansing from top to bottom. If a man is going to have a part in Jesus, he must be clean throughout

I will not be intimidated, tricked, tempted beyond refusal or dragged back into my

KARLA SHOULDERS LADIES AUXILIARY PRESIDENT

"You Deserve Better"

We've all heard the phrase, "You deserve better," whether spoken to us or by us to someone else. So many situations in life bring about unfortunate and sometimes just plain awful circumstances

Maybe we've seen someone go through something, knowing all the while they really didn't deserve to go through it, but life had other plans. If we could change things for them, we would What about in the spiritual? What exactly do we deserve? We are born in sin and until we surrender out complete self to God, we will continue to walk a life of sin We are born as selfish beings, wanting what our flesh and society says we should have and when we should have it

Until we are born again, we don't factor into our little box all that God did for us to make eternal life in Him possible

Do we deserve to have everything we need and want? Is it fair that some have such better circumstances?

Unfortunately, nobody gets to choose what kind of life they are born into, but looking at our situations in the way God wants us to see them is key

Life's challenges and obstacles make us stronger if we will take notes along the journey. James 4:6 tells us that we receive God's grace when we humble ourselves before Him

We are nothing without him! God gave His life for me and never would I think I deserve that! God's grace is so

much more than we could ever deserve and giving thanks for that daily is the attitude of a true Christian. grace grace

"But he giveth more . Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth unto the humble."

James 4:6

TWO SIDES OF GRACE

AARON WOJCIK PROMOTIONAL ARM DIRECTOR

You don’t have to look very far in the Christian community to find very different perspectives on grace How could we all read the same Bible and come up with different ideas of what grace is? Is the Bible unclear about this thing called grace?

I heard a saying that said, “Don’t scream where the Bible whispers” No one should be confused about this The Bible SCREAMS about grace from Genesis to Revelations. So what is it that makes some say grace is a “get out of jail free card” while others spend so much time warning us that grace ISN’T a get out of jail free card that they make jail seem like the only outcome?

The truth is that the Bible is clear, but sometimes we only see what we want to see Some attempt to use grace to remove the guilt they feel when they choose their desires instead of what God desires for them. Other well-meaning people will try to compensate by swinging the grace pendulum as far to the other side as possible This often produces statements like, “Well, God gave us grace, but that doesn’t mean that you can do whatever you want. You still have to say no to sin.” Or maybe you ’ ve heard this one, “If you love Him, you’ll stop doing all that bad stuff and choose holiness”

So which is right? By now, you ’ ve probably picked a side, but God called us to be unified, so let's see what the Bible says and get on the same page. If you remember what I said two paragraphs ago, we first see grace applied in Genesis 3 after the first humans committed the first sin Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command to stay away from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They ate, their eyes were opened, and they suddenly were ashamed of their nakedness They did what shame makes all of us do; they hid and tried to fix the problem themselves. What’s interesting here is that they were ashamed of their nakedness, not about doing the one thing God commanded them not to do God told them that if they touched the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they would die This is a Godly principle that we can’t take for granted. When we sin, it is a death sentence. So how did they escape the death that God had warned Adam about? How do we? Enter grace

God came and found Adam and Eve while they were hiding He didn’t wait for them to have a change of heart and get their lives together He came looking for them I imagine that He looked at their little leaf clothes the same way a dad looks at his son ’ s ridiculous attempt to hide a giant hole in the wall with a post-it note “Why were you hiding?” asked God

“We were naked”

“Who told you that you were naked?”

“Well, no one…we made it up, because it’s what WE felt bad about But hey, check out these things we ’ re thinking about calling them undergarments!” Maybe their version of clothes were terrible and God was like, “Hey, why don’t we leave the creating to me. ”

Either way, the Bible says that God made them clothes from animal skins God covered their nakedness, but animals had to die for that to happen. And not just any animals. These were the animals God created to keep Adam company in chapter 2 He spent time with these little critters

DearBrothersandSisters,

It’s time to renew your fellowship card with the Associated Brotherhood of Christians

Your continued support and fellowship renewal allows our Association to publish Our Herald, maintain and make improvements to Camp Mulberry and equip the ministrywiththeresourcesneededforadvancingtheGospel

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If you need to make payment arrangements, please call me. Also, I look forward to seeingyouatourGeneralConferenceinHotSprings,Ar.onJuly16-18.

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"We should belong to a church organization for accountability, fellowship, and mission, but our goal is not merely an organization but unity in the body with Christ as the head." ~David Bernard

LET'S TALK...

JOY KING

Being able to participate in creating the atmosphere in which people are redeemed, renewed and restored, is the highest honor of a worship team leader If you ’ re singing on the platform, you are indeed a worship leader, whether you have the official title or not. Being a good worship leader isn’t just about how well you can guide a congregation It’s also about how well you present yourself to your congregation during your time on the platform Who you are, how you look, the way you dress, what instrument you play; these are all factors that determine how someone in the audience may connect with you If your engaging in worship and you look like you want to be there and you ’ re excited for what God has in store, than more likely than not, someone will connect with you, and someone will connect with the Lord because of you It’s also about what energy you ’ re bringing This is not saying to be someone you ’ re not, it’s not about being fake It’s also not about being uncomfortable. If you look like you have no emotion then that’s not encouraging to your congregation and inviting them in

service and watch yourself and see what you look like You may be shocked to see how mad you look or that look of you don’t want to be there. And that’s probably not what’s going on in your heart and your mind but a lot of times what our face is portraying to people and our body language is different than how we feel inside It’s always important to smile A smile goes a long way and breaks down more barriers than you think. In other words, if the joy of the Lord is in your heart then notify your face

#2 Sing the lyrics even if you are not the soloist. This doesn’t mean as loud as the soloist or in your microphone. This means to mouth them. This is a huge engagement You’re wanting your congregation to sing along even with the soloist If they notice everyone singing (mouthing) along that’s a huge impact. Someone in your congregation will always be watching you whether you ’ re a singer or a musician If you ’ re not engaged it communicates to the congregation that it doesn’t matter if they are or not.

#3 Make eye contact and look at your congregation I know there’s a fine line between worshiping with your eyes closed and looking around but both of these can be done effectively. Not all songs are deep worship where your eyes are closed and your hands are raised When your eyes are open make eye contact with people in your congregation This is another way of connecting and inviting them in.

#4 Move those feet! A lot of times especially vocalists will get planted and forget to move. Take that concrete out of your shoes Moving just a step or two to the left or right will create a lot of movement and energy. It’s music and it should move us not only emotionally but physically

Here are a few ways to help your team with their platform presence:

#1 One of the greatest tools we have as worship teams is a camera. If you don’t currently live stream I encourage you to set a camera up in the back for any given

#5 If it’s not your turn to sing then you should be worshipping. This goes back to include mouthing those lyrics. Support the soloist with your worship. Don’t just stand there with a blank stare on your face as if you are unaware of your surroundings

#6 Appearance. Yes let’s talk about it How are you presenting yourself as far as your appearance? Your pastor may have specific guidelines that he prefers for the platform, which you should respect and follow Both men and women can bring attention to themselves which affects the congregation in engaging in the worship service. Be mindful of these things before you walk onto the platform. Don’t be sloppy looking like you just got out of bed Put some effort into your routine And please use an iron Remember that what you look like, the image that you portray on the platform is important and it can either help lead people into worship or distract them

At the end of the day be yourself Don’t be someone you ’ re not. People can see fake from a mile away and that’s the last thing we want. It takes time to get comfortable in your own skin when you are leading and in front of people Maybe you're new at this or nervous It can be difficult but don’t stop working towards a more effective stage presence. Be the worshipper you want your congregation to be It’s a privilege to be on the platform ushering in the presence of God so don’t be someone's distraction

HIS RACE or Sam Pruitt

This race I have run has caused me to see how beautiful but fragile this old life can be

There are joys which embrace us, fears too cross our path.

But the race that’s before us brings memories to last.

I know life’s a journey, we ’ re not put here to stay. So Jesus I’ll follow for he is the way!

Sometimes I get weary on the race which I run And yes I have stumbled, and thought surely I’m done

But then I’m reminded of a hill far away where a savior bore his cross, for me on that day.

So now I am crossing the end of my run. And ahead I see Jesus and he’s saying "Well Done!"

To my family who wonders how they can run on Just know I am waiting To welcome you home!!

ANOTHER GOSPEL? ANOTHER JESUS?

PART 2

PASTOR CLIFTON BEECHER MISSIONS SECRETARY

The Devil has tried to thwart the plan of God from the beginning He has attempted to do it in five different ways

Target 1: The Human Race

When God created humanity, He made them according to His image and likeness. Adam and Eve were created perfect, and placed in a perfect environment Yet Satan tempted them to sin, and they gave in to the temptation The race that was created perfect would now have to be judged. Sin continued to have its way. Satan attempted to corrupt the human race to the point where God would destroy everything that He had made It almost came to that.

"And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the Lord that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart God sent a Flood to destroy the entire world, except for eight persons. The human race was spared Satan's attempt to annihilate it." Genesis 6:5-6

Target 2: The Nation Israel

A second target of the Devil has been the nation Israel. Four thousand years ago God gave a man named Abram a number of promises

"Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: 3 And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed" Genesis 12:1-3

Among other things, God promised that the descendants of Abraham would exist forever If the nation that came from Abraham's descendants, Israel, were ever annihilated as a nation, then the Word of God would be untrue It is for this reason that Satan has paid special attention to Abraham's descendants

Target 3: The Line Of The Messiah

From the beginning, Satan has attempted to destroy the chosen line of the Messiah If the chosen line were destroyed, then God's plan would be thwarted God promised to judge Satan through the promised Messiah

"And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel" Genesis 3:15

From The Beginning

He has persisted in this effort from the very beginning. Cain, the first child born to Adam and Eve, killed his brother Abel. The Bible says of Cain

"Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous" 1 John 3:12

When Abel was killed, another son was born to Adam and Eve His name was Seth He was in the promised line of the Deliverer Throughout history, the serpent has continued his attempt, with no success, to destroy the promised line.

Target 4: Jesus Christ

A fourth way in which Satan has attempted to stop the plan of God is in the mission of Jesus Satan attempted to keep Jesus from fulfilling His destiny.

The Slaughter Of The Innocents

We find Satan behind Herod in the slaughtering of the innocent babies in

Bethlehem. In attempting to kill the baby Jesus, Satan was trying to keep Jesus from fulfilling His mission

Temptation

At the temptation of Jesus, "And saith unto him, All these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me." Matthew 4:9

Jesus refused, and Satan was again defeated

Bypass The Cross

When Peter attempted to get Jesus to bypass the cross, Jesus rebuked him, and declared that Satan was behind such talk.

"Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee. But he turned, and said unto Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men" Matthew 16:22-23

Mission Accomplished

The mission that Jesus set out to do was indeed accomplished. Right before He died, He uttered these words.

"When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost." John 19:30

Jesus came as promised and fulfilled His missionin spite of all the efforts by Satan.

Target 5: The Church

"And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it" Matthew 16:18

The church, the true believers, in Jesus, is carrying out His plan to spread His message throughout the earth However, from the very first mention of the church by Jesus, a warning was given that it would be opposed by Satan. The Book of Acts, as

well as two thousand years of church history, gives testimony to the fact that Satan has tried to stop its mission But just like in all the other cases, the Devil has failed to stop the plan of God.

Until The End

Before Christ returns, the dragon, or Satan, will still attempt to destroy the people, and the plan of God

"And the dragon was wroth with the woman and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Revelation 12:17

From the beginning, Satan has attempted to thwart the plan of God. First, he has attempted to destroy the human race, then the chosen people - Israel Next, he has tried to cut off the Promised line of the Messiah He has sought to interfere with the mission of Jesus to the earth. Finally, Satan has tried to destroy the work of God in the world today, the church In all of these attempts, he has failed miserably

But, have we failed to see that Satan is still at work right now to destroy all that God has raised up? Why would Satan stop trying now? After centuries of trying to destroy all of God’s promises, why would Satan stop now?

He Hasn’t! In fact, Satan has been very busy at work in trying to destroy all that God has promised and set up in this world.

Let’s look forward a few hundred years after the resurrection of Jesus Christ Yes, Jesus finished the job he came to do. He died so that you and all mankind can rejoice in the victory over death, hell and the grave

But would Satan finally quit? NO! He doesn’t give up!

Since the Day of Pentecost Satan hasn’t given up his fight against the church of Jesus Christ and the promises of God.

RENEW

When you hear the word “ renew ” , what do you think of? For me, I am reminded that God’s mercies are made new every morning and that as a child of God I can be made new everyday. Can I repeat that again? God’s mercy is new everyday! Not just once a year or once in a lifetime. EVERYDAY! As believers, spiritual renewal is a continual process. This is because we are born into and prone to sin We are called to be set apart from the culture of this world and the only way to do that is to be renewed in our minds: “Do not be conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the RENEWING of your minds Then we will be able to test and approve what God’s will is…”

This year for Camp 2023, the theme is “RENEW’ Lamentations 3:22-23 states that, “because of the Lord’s great love for us, we are not consumed and His compassion never fails. It renews every morning ” We aim to teach and guide the campers that Jesus loves them, He cares about every single thing in their life, He cares so deeply that he generously gives us mercy and grace every day OUr Bible Quizzing will be taken from Genesis Chapters 1-4 and then Luke chapters 2224. Senior Camp is June 11-16 and Junior Camp is July 15-18. The Senior Camp speaker is Bro. Josh Wilson and back, with great excitement, for the Junior Camp is Caleb and Kelsey Lisenbey

Camp Mulberry is currently undergoing amazing remodels and upgrades The main sanctuary has new lighting, a bigger stage, brand new carpet and tile in the bathrooms. We hope that the progress brings a “renewed” vision for the campgrounds and that people would continue and begin to invest in the lives of all that gather

there. Camp Mulberry is truly a “Home Mission Field." The youth today have great needs in their life and are wanting an authentic move of the Holy Ghost They need a place to come to, feel safe, get fed physically and spiritually, and grow in communication with Jesus These campers will come and possibly meet their future spouse, be called into ministry, and will, forever, be changed.

Thank you all for your continued support of Camp Mulberry. We are so excited to see what God has in store for both Camps this year We are expecting lives to be forever changed and disciples to be made to further the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

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Christain Camp Mulberry and on Instagram at Campmulberry If you have any questions please feel free to contact us at 479-8577563 or 479-280-3316.

LORD, DO IT AGAIN!

BRO. DENNIS BLEDSOE ARKANSAS PRESBYTER

Greetings in Jesus Name,

Just let me take a moment to thank you all for allowing the Holy Ghost to move in our last fellowship meeting, because of your willingness and submission to the Holy Ghost there were chains broken, lives mended and healings happening I can honestly say that the last sentence I just wrote was not cliché. Let me tell you about Sister Nicole Brown, she is a little black lady that lives in the area down from the church we met her during Covid she would come and go because of work schedule.

As we were preparing for the this service I was on my way to the store to pick up a couple of gallons of sweet tea at our local Edwards store just down from the church, as I was walking in Sister Nicole was walking out she did not see me, as I approached her I simply said "hey lady", when she look up and saw me, she through her arms around me and began to weep, she told me she had been missing being able to come to church, I told her about the fellowship meeting that was going to be at 5pm, mind you this was 2 hours before service she began to weep even more she told me she had been praying to be able to get to church and was hoping we had service that night

That night as the Holy Ghost began to move I look down at the Altar and saw Sister Nicole weeping and praying as she prayed she was saying the Lord is healing my knees the Lord is healing my knees

If all the preparation and anxiety of putting a service together like we had was just for her, “Lord do it again”, out of the cooperation and fellowship of churches, if we ministered to one soul “Lord do it again”, if one weary soul stepped into the refreshing of the Holy Ghost “Lord do it again."

We came to fellowship one came to find Grace, we came to worship together as a body, one came to find healing for their body, “Lord do it again”.

So thank you for all spoke a word of encouragement thank you to Bro Jonathan Cypert for bring the message , and to the praise team that was made up of different churches that yielded themselves to the Holy Ghost

As Presbyter of the State of Arkansas this is my vision that we do not show case a single church, but we as a fellowship show case the Spirit of Fellowship within the body.

THE LIFE OF REV. DAVID PENROD DEBORAH & DARYL CREAY

I am so proud to be writing this article about my dad for this edition of the Our Herald. My dad was David Earl Penrod born on February 21, 1937, in Dawson Springs, KY. He was delivered in his parents’ home by a midwife He was the youngest of seven boys and the only one to stay in church. His parents were Ida Irene Penrod and John Henry Penrod He was raised in Beech Creek, KY They later moved to Chicago, IL for a few years and finally to Drakesboro, KY. There he graduate from the Muhlenberg County Consolidated School in 1955. His parents had received the Holy Ghost before he was born His father pastored the Beech Creek Holiness Church for many years and his mother taught Sunday school and played the piano. So his upbringing roots were in the Pentecostal message from the start

When dad was 16, he felt his calling to preach. In high school he even played the part of a minister in a school play He married in 1958 and my mother and him started traveling the evangelistic field He met many wonderful ministers and people along the way. They were so blessed by this young tall man that they would refer him to other ministers who would then have him come to their church for revivals He and the ministers would sit up until 2 AM discussing the Bible as well as his travels, family life, gardening and horseback riding Some of the states he evangelized in besides Kentucky were as follows: Arkansas, California, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Mississippi, Ohio, Tennessee, and Virginia.

My dad loved life and many things about it He loved gardening, horseback riding, mowing his yard, and beekeeping. He did get stung a few times but this

was the only time he was a robber; he sure loved that honey His best loves were ministering the Gospel and Missions He had an amazing memory for Gods work, even in his older years. Dad sure loved to travel and ministering was his calling and his life He and my mother would also sing as he played the guitar, and my mother played the piano or accordion. They would also speak and sing on the church radio programs

As years went on, and I started school, my parents continued to travel while I stayed with my grandparents Dad had a tent and P A system. On the speakers was painted JESUS SAVES. I even had my own chair to sit on the stage with them We all sang some songs together and would learn new songs from those we met. Some of these songs we continued singing were as follows: I’m Willing Lord to go, Inside the Gate, and Until Then. In his revivals He had many converts; 2 of which he never forgot; in his first revival, his first 2 converts were Betty Cardwell and her husband of Morgantown, KY. They later moved to Indiana and keep in touch with dad. I’m so thankful that in September 2022 she came to KY to visit her family While she was there, dad was able to visit her and share the memories of that wonderful revival This was 13 days before he passed

In 1966 we visited a church in Bowling Green, KY. Very soon dad was voted in as the pastor of the First Apostolic Church on Barren River Rd We lived in the

basement of the church while he pastored there for about 4 years After that he traveled for several more years in evangelism

In 1972, a coworker of his invited us to his church. Soon dad was voted in as pastor there at the Hillview Free Methodist Church in Hadley, Ky From 1972-1976. Dad preached the Acts 2:38 message with the fiery anointing he was well known for Many of the saints accepted Jesus and were baptized and filled with the Holy Ghost One year a revival lasted for 6 weeks straight. In 1977, a new church was built and became the current Bible Center Assembly, Inc in Bowling Green, KY He was the founder and pastor there until his death on October 13, 2022.

In 1978 dad started taking flying lesson at the Bowling Green, KY airport He was ready to do his solo test when he was invited to go on several missions trips with 2 minister: Pastor A.D. Van Hoose of Evansville, IN and Pastor Gene White of Akron, OH Bro Van Hoose had an orphanage in Haiti through the Christian World Outreach from Evansville. While on these mission trips to Haiti with these Pastors, dad fell in love with the people and the people loved him He felt his calling to continue some mission work there after these 2 ministers passed away. He left his solo flying behind and took on bigger flying wings to Haiti He met several young men in Haiti that took him places to minister the gospel. One young man ’ s name was David Guerrier. So when they preached It was David interpreting into Creola for English speaking David David G told dad of some property outside of the town Jacmel, Haiti, called Raymond. They went to look at it and through donations, a church and school were built Over the years, many pastors, teachers and friends went to Haiti with Dad. As time went by, other locations we mentioned. Again through donations schools and churches were built in Anse-a-veau and Fontaine outside of Port-Au-Prince When David Guerrier passed away, a young man dad had been sponsoring for school stepped forward. Dad had met him when he was 13 and baptized him in a swimming pool in Port-Au-Prince This young man was Willes. He is still the Senior Pastor and overseer of the 3 churches and they are still growing for the Lord today

By 1978 & 1979, Dad had flown to Jamacia several times Sometimes he would go by himself and 2- or 3-times Bro JW Searcy accompanied him. They were invited to preach at an annual conference at Bro Ohara’s church in Kingston Springs The people enjoyed their preaching and invited them back several times for their annual conference. Dad would bring back cassettes of the congregation singing in English and of his preaching And oh what wonderful worship services they had. And of course he brought back many pictures as he did from all his travels A camera was always around his neck

A much-desired opportunity arose for him in 1978. He was invited to join a group going on Holy Land Tour During this excursion, he toured the many sites of Israel and Greece In 1984 mom and I joined dad on a pilgrimage with a total of 42 tourists. This tour included Ammon, Jordan where we rode a bus to Jerusalem During our 5 days there, we toured Bethlehem, Nazareth, Caesarea, Capernaum, Masada, Megiddo, the dead sea, and rode a small boat across the sea of Galilee to spend the night at Tiberias Dads’ favorite places to visit were the tomb and the Upper Room. Following our stay in Israel, we took a 9-hour bus ride to Egypt It was a long ride on a Mercedes Benz Bus, but we were so glad it did not take 40 years. We saw the many wonders there including the pyramids, the sphynx, rode down the Nile River, observed how papyrus paper is made, and toured King Tuts Tomb

My dad had many accomplishments. In 1984 and 1985 he attended and taught classes at the First Apostolic Church in Nashville, TN He was very thorough and easy to understand. His deep knowledge of the word kept his student’s interest and gave them a desire to learn more

In 1987, dad was voted in as the Missionary Arm Secretary of the Associated Brotherhood of Christians in Hot Springs, AR He remained in this office and served it proudly until 2007.

A pastor friend invited him to bible college where he attended the Great Commission Theological Seminary in Bowling Green, KY In 1991, he received his Bachelor of Theology. In 1996 he attended again and received his Doctor of Divinity. To my knowledge, he never introduced himself as a doctor He was the same fiery country minister he always was.

In Summary, dad was a man who was loved by many. He had great compassion for the lost and hurting He would put others first, no matter what he was going through He would receive many late night calls from Haiti or friends in America He was a caring counselor, did many weddings, including mine, and funerals After his death, I received many wonderful comments about what my dad meant to them. He was so many things to so many people Even to the children in the church he pastored, he would cut their hair and pull their teeth free of charge. Most importantly, he was everybody’s friend and never met a stranger; not even in Walmart or the post office When we told them about his death, they immediately knew him and expressed their sadness of his passing. He always stopped to talk with people wherever he went and left a lasting, memorable impression I’m so proud to call him my dad and continue his work in Fontaine with the help of my husband Darry and Bro. Willes. Many thanks to everyone who knew and loved my dad, Rev David Earl Penrod

great power great grace

1.Favor;goodwill;kindness;dispositiontooblige another;asagrantmadeasanactofgrace.

2.Appropriately,thefreeunmeritedloveandfavorof God,thespringandsourceofallthebenefitsmen receivefromhim.

3.FavorableinfluenceofGod;divineinfluenceorthe influenceofthespirit,inrenewingtheheartand restrainingfromsin.

4.TheapplicationofChrist'srighteousnesstothe sinner

5.AstateofreconciliationtoGod.

6.Virtuousorreligiousaffectionordisposition,asa liberaldisposition,faith,meekness,humility, patience,proceedingfromdivineinfluence

7.Spiritualinstruction,improvementandedification.

8.Apostleship,orthequalificationsofanapostle.

9 Eternallife;finalsalvation

10.Favor;mercy;pardon.

11.Favorconferred.

12 Privilege

Source:https://av1611com/kjbp/kjv-dictionary/gracehtml

gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus: and was upon them all.

-Acts 4:33

"There wasn't a man with a bigger heart for missions and a love for people. He inspired many"

-Pastor James and Lori Stevens

LESSONS ON COMPASSION & LEADERSHIP FROM JOHN 8:3-11

"THE WOMAN CAUGHT IN THE ACT"

ASHLEY ENNIS

"And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more."

Jesus' leadership turned chaos into order.

When the Pharisees brought this woman to Jesus they brought with them disorder, accusation, and chaos. By the time Jesus had handled the situation he restored peace to the environment, much like when He rebuked the winds in Mark 4:39.

Jesus showed compassion on the accusers as much as He did on the woman.

Because there is no condemnation in Christ, Jesus had to show compassion on both the accuser and the accused. He allowed the accusers own sense of conviction to persuade them that their actions were not right. He did this through His leadership skills, not forcing but guiding.

Jesus used silence and His presence to guide the conversation.

In the middle of the chaos Jesus never spoke to the woman, instead, He spoke to the accusation By pretending not to hear the accusers He was giving them time with their thoughts. They hastily brought this woman to Jesus, and He wanted them to sit with their own actions. Standing and stooping added a sense of movement to the conversation and directed attention to the silence.

Jesus posed His question in a way that caused the elders to take action first.

The elders had the most experience to draw from when Jesus asked them to examine their own sins Naturally, they should have been the first to see their hypocrisy and withdraw from the scene

Jesus used the woman's trauma as a quick start to redemption.

Sometimes Jesus uses trauma as a quick path to His presence. The woman was living a life of sin, but all of a sudden she was face-to-face with a decision. Change or go back? Trauma probably helped her decide she didn't want that to happen again. Trauma saved her soul.

Jesus redeemed the woman even though she never repented.

Not once do we hear the woman say she is sorry for her sin. My guess is that Jesus had heard her say it quietly a thousand times, and because He knew her pain, the words were unnecessary. How many times do we think we need to hear and "I'm sorry, " to forgive?

Jesus made sure the woman took her time, looked around, and really "took in" the fact that He had handled the situation for her.

Jesus saw that none was left except for the two of them. He made sure she fully understood that there was nobody else to accuse her because He had taken care of the problem. She would always know she should have died, but Jesus protected her

Jesus used the situation as a teaching opportunity.

The very next verse states, "Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."

EXCEEDING RICHES OF HIS GRACE

I was thinking the other day about how growing up, we could always run to mom or dad and present them our concerns and our accomplishments. We were not afraid to run to them to ask for help, to tell them our latest joy, or to even present them a problem. My own kids call out for mom or dad when they have trouble or when they are excited When that phone rings and it is my kid, I will not hesitate to answer that phone I want to know what they need I want to rush to help or to rejoice about whatever they are doing. I want to do for them sometimes more than they expect, not because they worked and earned it, because they are mine and I love them We have that same effect on our heavenly Father He loves us even more than the best parent. He is a God of love and the One who extended grace, unmerited favor to a broken people. He sent his son to die for our sins. He reached out to a fallen world to not only give salvation, but to extend grace beyond what we could ask or think.

We all have sinned and have a great need of a Savior. Paul wrote in his letter to the Ephesians about the great gift we received from Jesus In chapter two of Ephesians, Paul wrote: "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love

wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus"

These verses give us hope and understanding that because of Jesus we are raised up in Christ Jesus and dead to sin We are no longer the sinful man, but we are recipients of the great gift of mercy and grace. We are no longer who we were. Verse seven says he will shew the exceeding riches of his grace Because of his kindness and goodness, we receive exceeding riches of grace Exceeding means: very great, extreme. His grace goes beyond what we can think or believe. It is more than; it is expansive. It goes beyond just rescue and setting us free but continues to flow and bless throughout our lives

Grace is what gives us access to the throne of God and covers us. He died so we might have life. In verse fourteen of chapter 2, it says: For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us. When Jesus died on that cross, the vail in the temple was torn through revealing the Holy of Holies to those who had had no access to it in the past This proclaimed that everyone was able to walk into the presence of God because of Jesus' sacrifice. We can approach the throne of God with our petition and our praise We are robed in the righteousness of Jesus Christ and when we approach the holy presence of God, the righteousness of Jesus grants us the right to be there as stated in chapter two. 18. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father 19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God. We are now a part of the family. Grace covers us, changes us, and causes us to be new We become the habitation of God through the Spirit His spirit lives in us, granting us peace, joy, and guidance. His presence dwells in us. We cannot earn this, but it is given to us in unmerited favor.

LORI STEVENS

"Grace is what gives us access to the throne of God and covers us. He died so we might have life."

Paul explained that because of the mercy and grace of Jesus Christ, we are saved Because of Jesus, we are made a part of the family of God. Because of him, we are able to access the Holy One We were never able to do that on our own His grace and mercy is a gift that provides great access.

We are now able to make our petitions known to God We are able to bow before him in worship. We are able to speak with him for ourselves. We are able to know him and learn his voice We can go directly to God and He will respond in great love for us He sees our needs, he hears our prayers, and he blesses us. We can have a relationship with God because we are now part of his family We can sit at his table and feast on the good things of God We can call on Him and his grace and mercy comes running. He loves us and cares about our needs. He will answer with his exceeding riches of grace He is rich in mercy, His love is great and poured out on us. His exceeding grace has saved us. Walk in the full understanding that God's exceeding grace is covering you today Walk in the confidence of knowing the grace Giver.

GREAT GRACE

ary Lou Forrest

No greater love

Have I ever known

Then the Grace of God

So rich and strong

He brought me out

Of the miry clay

And placed my feet

Where now I stay

His grace gives peace

To me each day

My failures no longer

Stand in my way

Tho' struggles come

When life gets hard

His greater grace

Is much more by far

Apostles, Body of Christ, Common union, Community, Cover, Don't neglect, Easier, Encourage, Faith, Fellowship, First church, God's plan, Habit, Heavy books, Important, Lifestyle, Love others, Many membered, Oneness, Pillar, Prayer, Sacrifice, Same spirit, Shareholder, Shortcomings, Stir up, Time, Withstand

THERE'S NEVER BEEN A BETTER TIME TO LABOR DEVIN

TUBBS

This year, we have begun reading the New Testament to our children at night. Sometimes it goes swimmingly and sometimes it's a goat rope. However, recently Matthew 11:37-38 gripped me as it had not before To quote it directly “Then said Jesus to his disciples, the harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few; pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest” The passage is effectively saying “there are a lot of lost souls to be reached, but there are not many people doing any reaching. Pray that the Lord sends some reachers”

To work the field is to be used by God. There is a certain glory to being used, isn’t there? We would never want to be “used” by man because it carries the connotation of being taken advantage of But to be used by God is to be used as a tool for His glorious purpose. As I read this scripture, though, I began to ask why the laborers were few I began to think of a wedding dress and how glorious it is on its big day. It is beautiful and full of glory for a short time, and then hung in a closet isolated from the other clothing in a garment bag to protect it from any change It is no longer put to work as it was on its big day. It must remain as perfect as it was the day it was worn.

Surely, many Christians can relate to this wedding dress. We are clothed in glory on our big day of rebirth. Our own “wedding ceremony ” of taking on the name of Jesus at baptism but then we hang ourselves on a church pew to remain unmoved for 60 years. We hold a special place, and that day of glory is a good memory for us that gets talked about on occasion, but ultimately we isolate ourselves from the believers around us to avoid any change. The sad thing is, there is no better time to put ourselves to use again than now. There has

never been more lost people in the world than there is right now. There are a little over 2 billion believers in a world with a population of 8 billion Roughly 1/4th of the world believes in Jesus The field is, quite literally, so full of harvest that each man, woman, and child believer could harvest a 4-to-1 return before the entire world believed

So, what stops us from laboring? It is in our purpose to labor, to be preservers of the Earth Jesus said that we are the salt of the Earth…but what use is salt if it has lost its savor? At one point, I used to believe this scripture pointed toward this way of thinking “If salt no longer has a flavor, then it can no longer affect the material it is being used on. ” As if the world was one big steak that needed to be salted However, it is worse than that Whether salt has its “ savor ” or not it is still potent. It may not taste like salt, but it will still clog arteries and cause heart attacks It will still rust the frame of a vehicle and, if left unchecked, rot the bones right out of it. What is the point of all of this? Christians without their savor is a killing blow to the witness of the Church!

I believe the witness of the Church has never been weaker than right now only because the laborers are so few among us. But again, there has never been a better time to be one of those laborers There is so much hell to push back, it is exciting to think about what God will do once we walk into the field. There is so much darkness to chase away There is so much Spirit to see breathed into the lungs of sinners. There are so many revival seeds to be planted into the hearts of dried-up believers The work ahead of us is not overwhelming because there is so much to do, it is exhilarating because there is so much we will see done!

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POSITIVE LIFE IN A NEGATIVE WORLD PASTOR SAMUEL PRUITT

I don’t know if I’ve ever in my lifetime lived among so much negative forces and energy in the world in which we now live. Everywhere you look there is negativity staring you in the face attempting to pull every bit of joy and peace you have in your heart right out of you. It’s hard not to get all caught up in the forces which have taken the whole earth in a tailspin and carrying everything in its grips down the drain to oblivion

We are told in God’s word that the joy of the Lord is our strength, but to be able to walk in that joy is becoming increasingly more difficult We have become disguise experts with our painted on smiles and robotic mentality in which we have programmed ourselves into doing all the right things in public so those around can’t see our pretence, all while we are screaming deep down inside begging, pleading for some help, some relief from the pain!!

Now that I’ve got your attention and your thinking; the pastor is got my number, I wish to declare unto you there is a way out, and you don’t have to pretend to have joy You can live a joyful, positive life, even in this heartless, negative world! And if you can some how grab a hold of this message, I believe you can walk out of here changed, renewed, and excited about all that God has got for you! Somebody say Praise the Lord!

way to say positive in a negative situation is to stop and ask God who you are here for!

Sometimes your pain, the season you are in is meant to be a witness to someone else! Remember Paul and Silas in prison? Not only was the jailer and family saved, but all the other prisoners heard their worship in their pain. No telling how many seeds were sown that night

"But at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them."

Acts 16:25

2. God Precedes Every Trial with An Escape Route

Sometimes it becomes hard to stay positive when there appears to be no way out of your situation. You feel like the Israelites trapped at the Red Sea But the fact is, they were NEVER trapped!!! God was the one leading them to that spot. And the Lord had the plan for their escape all along

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it." 1 Corinthians 10:13

1 God Has Your Where You’re At For A Reason

Some kind of way God is got to get us out of the notion that everything is all about us If you are a Christian, the bible says you are not your own, you ’ re life is guided by God and it is he who takes you down the side streets of life when you think you should be on the interstate highway to heaven! One

In the midst of the night of your trouble and fear, it seems as if the day light is never going to come. Sometime the struggle becomes harder when you look but can’t see a light at the end of the dark tunnel But God has promised that morning will come and joy will come with it!

"For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for life; Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning."

Psalm 30:5

Continued from Page 1

I am telling you, my dear friends...Prayer changes things Consider this in the Book of Acts Chapter 2 Here are the buzz words we are familiar with: (1) Rushing mighty wind (2) sound from Heaven (3) Suddenly. (4) they were all filled with the Holy Ghost (5) cloven tongues like as of fire that sat on each of them Wow what a time they must have had. But consider this, all of that was started with a prayer meeting Yep a prayer meeting Not a worship service and not with music or preaching but with prayer. If we want an upper room experience and a life-changing altercation with God and in our churches then someone needs to call a prayer meeting Who knows what could suddenly happen when we begin to pray? Why? Because prayer changes things! I love you all, Pastor Shoulders

Continued from Page 2

former life by the destroyer. You see, hidden under the shadow of the wing of the Almighty, I am safe because there was no corruption in Christ, to give advantage to the prince of this world in his temptations. He could not destroy the purpose of Christ by drawing him to sin, because there was nothing sinful in him, nothing for his temptations to get hold of, no wood, hay or stubble to set on fire; Jesus has the mind of God and would not sin against the Father

The more grace from God embraces us, the more we will look forward to going home. The more we love the Father, the more we will be equipped to say “IT IS WRITTEN”

“Get behind me Satan, you savor not the things of God, but the things of men ” . Great Grace, from a Great God develops great men and women in the kingdom And the devil has NO part in them! We are all a part of one body, members in particular!!!

Continued from Page 4

He named them. They were his buddies, and he had to watch them die Then he had to wear their skins You might say He gave them a “get out of jail free” card, but that’s not true, because it wasn’t free. Blood was spilled

Sometimes we forget the cost of grace Remembering the cost will go a long way to strengthening us against temptation, but even that will fail us eventually This is why we need grace Without it, we will be chained to shame and stuck in an unending loop of trying to do better so that we can earn God’s love Grace frees you to believe that God loved you even before you ever thought about trying to do better. Paul told the Ephesians, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Whatever your perspective on grace is, remember this: God’s love will find you wherever you ’ re at, but it won’t leave you there Jesus died to give us grace Don’t deprive yourself or anyone else of that love, because that love–is–EVERYTHING!

Continued from Page 20

As you read this, whether you are going to worship with 10, 100, or 1000, consider this. You may spend your whole life in only one field Others may see many fields But if you harvest 100 yield from one field, and they harvest 100 from four fields, have you both not added 100 more into the kingdom? It is not about which laborer has seen the bigger field or the most fields It is only about the laborers harvesting from wherever they may be and there has never been a better time to be one of those laborers It is my greatest joy to labor with each of you who receive this, for there is no greater legacy for any of us to leave behind than the legacy of a laborer.

FROM CHAOS TO CALM

Hallelujah! Hallelujah! It’s so awesome to be able to die to this world of chaos and hatred and to enter a Kingdom of calmness and love. So many people don’t know what I’m talking about, and even I didn’t understand this until I really died to this world and really got born again This world was created by God, and He created everything we need to live and survive with love and peace. But God gave mankind the ability to have a free will to obey Him or to disobey Him and the first two people decided to disobey Him. Mankind chose sin and all the bad things that come with sin The Bible tells us the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

We can get up any day and check the news and see the chaos of evil and hatred being displayed everywhere with violence and destruction. The news I’m describing is the definition of the wages of sin, and they do lead to death But God made a way for us to escape the wages of sin He came and died on a cross for our sin. If we will obey His word and really get born again we can start spiritually living in His Kingdom right now, while still on this earth Jesus didn’t just die for a few of us He died for all, but it’s so sad so many still want to disobey and stay in their chaos.

GOD IS GOOD

DOUGLAS FARMER

MORE WHITE STUFF!

I woke up this morning praising God and giving Him glory for everything, like I try to do every morning I want to always give Him Praise and Glory for every breath i take and for the opportunity to wake up and enjoy another great day, no matter about the surrounding circumstances This morning when I looked outside I saw more white stuff on the ground and more coming down. A little snow don’t dampen the enthusiasm in my heart and soul to Praise my Lord and Savior for another great day. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I love praising my Lord and Savior in winter, spring, summer, and fall I love praising Him early in the morning, at noontime and at night I love praising Him all the time. He came to this earth and lived in the flesh so He could die for me He didn’t have to do that, but He did He died to give me a way to eternal life, and He came back alive and out of that grave so I can also. Nobody else has ever done anything like that for me and that’s why I can praise Him all the time It doesn’t matter if it’s snowing or 100° outside I’m going to keep praising my Lord and Savior

Jesus Christ all the time

GIFTS OF GREAT GRACE

KAREN SANDERS

On Sunday I launched a new Sunday School Group for adults. This was at the same time a blessing and a challenge for me It was a blessing because as we see the church quickly growing, we see God building our church of people from many different backgrounds. Some have been believers for many years, and some are new believers I have learned that even as a believer who has spent a lifetime in ministry, I have taken for granted the knowledge that we have of the scripture. I thought everyone knew the story of Jonah and the whale, and that Noah built an ark

Recently, in my journey as a believer, I have come to learn that there are, in fact, many adults who have lived a life without knowing many biblical facts I have come to understand that many times we, as believers, forget that the world is full of people who not only do not know Jesus, they do not know the meaning of the scriptures, or even the simplest bible story. For example, a few weeks ago one of these new believers said to me, “I have been studying my second grade daughter’s bible stories that she brings home from school I did not know the name of the guy in the fish until last week, and I don’t understand how he ended up in a fish. What kind of fish can hold a man? How long was he there?” So there I am, standing in the parking lot, explaining the story of Jonah and the whale to a 36 year old lady.

Then there was the phone call I got one night from a gentleman who was 45 He had been learning to read the bible, and came across “This story about a guy who put a bunch of animals on a big boat.” He wanted to know where he got a boat that big, and exactly “what was he planning to do with those animals” Then, the last question “Now what was that guy ’ s name?”

On the surface, these are not difficult questions But as we talked further, both people, and many others, have told me the same thing. “When I hear preaching, a lot of times I don’t know what the words mean ” Or “Unless the preachers explain slowly on Sunday what story they are talking about, I have no idea what’s going on ”…Or…”if they do a quick reference to another place in the bible, I have no clue how to find it before they move on to something else.”

Real people, hungry people, and God gave me a burden to teach them, and I had NO CLUE where to begin. I have been teaching adults for over 30 years, and have rarely been a nervous as I was last week I walked into that classroom, praying for GREAT GRACE. As the faithful Father that He is, the Holy Spirit reminded me of 1 Peter 4:10. “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. ”

I realized as I walked into that room that even in a life of ministry we can become so consumed with “Ministry opportunities” that we overlook the real needs of the people There are times when those needs are simple: food, clothing, a warm place to stay, or maybe they just need a word of encouragement or a person willing to listen, or someone willing to teach without judgment

God’s grace and power was with the apostles, and that same grace and power is with us as we follow their example to share our gifts, share our testimony, and steward the TRUTH that we have been given Father God has entrusted us, as believers, with a kingdom message It is a message with great power, this message of the gospel. We are sent to share this message of grace and truth with a lost and dying world, showing them that “God’s great grace was powerfully at work in them all.”