Memorial Roll & Mortgage Burning

Sunday morning, November 23, 2008, Thanksgiving Sunday.

Here are just a few of the things we gave thanks for:

Donna Lobb Hudson talks about God's faithfulness to her mother, Eula Lobb,

who was placed on the Memorial Roll of the Church of the Nazarene.

(from left to right: Rev. Bob Hudson, Donna Lobb Hudson,

Rodney Hadley, Ruthie Shuffett, & Pasor Jared Henry)

The Burning of the Mortgage!
(from left to right: Sammy Lobb, Michelle Young, Pastor Jared Henry, Rodney Hadley, Marsha 'Pinky' Davis, Mile Shuffett, Joe Shuffett, Josh Myers, Ruthie Shuffett, and Amanda Lobb)




What is left of the mortgage!
(from left to right: Matt Young, Rodney Hadley, Marsha 'Pinky' Davis, & Joe Shuffett)

Pastor Jared Henry

Trustees: Dwayne Lobb, Sammy Lobb, Mike Shuffett

Stewards: Marsha 'Pinky' Davis, Amanda Lobb (also church board secretary), Michelle Young

NYI President: Matt Young

NMI President: Rodney Hadley

Treasurer: Josh Myers

Joe Shuffett is the president of the local bank that the church had its mortgage through.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

Sunday, November 23, 2008 was the Sunday before Thanksgiving. We were to have our annual Thanksgiving potluck and all the normal things you do on the Sunday before Thanksgiving.

This Sunday was different.

We had put Eula Lobb on the Memorial Roll of the Church of the Nazarene and were giving the certificate to her daughter and son-in-law Rev. Bob & Donna Hudson. They came up from Louisianna, where he pastors, to be there for the special service.

We were having a note burning as the church had finally got out of debt (for the first time in its history). Our treasurer brought the note and the president of the bank that we had our mortgage with was present.

We thanked God for His faithfulness in the life of our dear sister in Christ: Eula Lobb. We thanked God for His faithfulness to His church and His ministry through our church as he provided through inidividual's sacrificial giving and the sale of some recently purchased property for us to be debt free.

God moved in the worship service. Thanks be to God.

Sunday night was a continuation of just that. What a blessing it was as the course of the worship time was changed as people "interrupted" the order of things to praise God for answered prayer, special blessings, divine provision, God's faithfulness, and much more.

We thanked God. I preached briefly about remembering all that God has done in our lives; specifically in our spiritual lives (He does much more than bless us with material things). I preached from one verse found in Exodus 20:24

"In every place where I cause my name to be remembered I will come to you and bless you." (ESV)

That He did in the evening service. As people testified to the grace and glory of our God, He blessed us with His presence.

We then participated in the Supper that the Lord instituted and remembered the sacrifice Jesus made for the world on the cross. Jesus said about it: "As often as you do this, do it in remembrance of me."

That we did, and again, God blessed where His name was remembered!

Praise the Lord! Thank You Father!

Troubling at best...

In our Wednesday night Bible Study we discussed this just briefly and I made a statement that I would like to know who the reporter was so that I could contact the newspaper or tv station he worked for to let them know how disgusting this was; not only on a moral and ethical level, but also a professional level.

What am I talking about?

Click on this link to get the full story. (The unethical, immoral, and unprofessional reporter wrote this article.)

Click on this link to hear "the rest of the story" and get contact information for the reporter.

One encouraging thing about this story is the response of the church! He reigns!

What Brings Growth? (#2)

The only problem with this picture is that it may play to the self-centered idea that it is the responsibility of the church, pastor, Sunday school teacher, etc. to "feed" me. And, while they do share in a specific, scriptural responsibility, an individual's spiritual growth is not dumped solely on their spiritual instructors.

Quoting a Quote #3

"Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down, that the mountains might quake at your presence— as when fire kindles brushwood and the fire causes water to boil— to make your name known to your adversaries, and that the nations might tremble at your presence!"

Isaiah
(Quoted from Isaiah 64:1-2 ESV)