Good Morning, Lord

This past week my dad sent me an email entitled “Holy Humor.” One of the jokes stated, “Somebody has said there are only two kinds of people in the world. There are those who wake up in the morning and say, ‘Good morning, Lord,’ and there are those who wake up in the morning and say, ‘Good Lord, it’s morning.’”

I have heard it that there are two different kinds of people in the world but never in a way such as this. Although it is funny in some sense, it causes me to ask a question: How do I wake up in the morning? Better yet, how do you wake up in the morning?

I would dare say that even this morning there were some who woke up saying, “Good Lord, it’s morning.” I know there are days during the week that I think such things as I crawl out of bed. But what if everyday we could wake up saying, “Good morning, Lord.”

There is a book I have been reading entitled 10 Things Every Minister Needs to Know by Ronnie Floyd. The first chapter of his book is entitled “The Power of One Hour” and within that chapter Floyd talks about the power we can gain from spending one hour a day with God. Later in the book, Floyd goes on to say that he wakes up every morning by 4:00 am to spend an hour with God and an hour exercising before he goes to work. Sounds crazy doesn’t it? Is it worth it?

This challenges me. What does it do for you? Some would say there is no sense in doing this because you can have a quiet time whenever you want to. I would guess that most of us don’t have a quiet time at all but what if you disciplined yourself to wake up every morning saying, “Good morning, Lord”? Sometimes we wonder why our day goes so bad and perhaps it is because we haven’t talked to God all day because He’s not worth waking up for. As Jody stated last Sunday night, maybe we don’t know God or even see a need to spend time with him. It’s a hard thought to digest but our churches are full of people who think like this. It always humbles me to remember that I didn’t do God a favor by being saved. We owe him our lives, our sleep, everything that we have. Can you give Him just one hour?

I challenge you to spend time with God daily. Even more so I challenge you to spend time with him in the morning before your day even gets started. Don’t depend on the church or some preacher to give you enough theology to last you all week. As I told the youth last week during Sunday school, Christianity is a thinking faith. If you’re not asking questions then you are not thinking and if you’re not seeking and answer you’re not pursuing God. We should never be able to get enough of him. See if you can discover the power of one hour by saying, “Good morning, Lord.”

Because He lives,
Bro. Jared

Update from Willinliu

I recently received an update from Willinliu Nemai, our missionary in Bhutan. She is doing well, and steadfast in her conviction and calling as a missionary. But her work is not without trials. Her landlord recently started the rumor that she was past due on her rent. The accusation caused her much grief, but since then, the landlord has recanted. After his confession, Willinliu says “my joy knows no bounds.”

Willinliu has begun a home Bible study. Recently she had six people coming to hear her share from the Bible. She has been fearful that they would quit coming because she didn’t have chairs for them, but they come anyway and sit on the floor to hear the word. I wonder if we are as hungry and eager to hear God’s word?

In every letter, Willinliu asks for our continued prayers. We have the capacity to overwhelm her with money, but what she desires and covets is our prayers. Pray that God’s name would be magnified through her witness in the Kingdom of Bhutan.

We couldn’t sustain a viable ministry effort in Asia without a partner. That partner is HeartCry Missionary Society. Next week, Matt Glass will be preaching both services here at Tharptown. Matt is the Asian Missions Coordinator for HeartCry and our primary link with Willinliu. Take time to pray for Matt as God prepares him to bring us His word.

-Ken Askew

It's AWANA time!

Something big is about to happen in the lives of the children of our church and community. It's AWANA time! AWANA, which stands for "Approved workmen are not ashamed" will be starting on August 13, 2008 at 6:00. This year it will be for children 2 (potty trained only) up to the seventh grade. This will be with the addition of 2 extra classes this year. One is the Puggles class which will be for 2 and 3 year olds, and the Trek class for the 6th and 7th graders.

While I am very excited about this, I am also nervous. This is a weakness of mine, nervousness. It shows that I am not having faith in God to meet all our needs for teachers. I am still needing several, however, I do know that God will put the right teachers in the right places and all will be good.

I will be at the church Sunday night (August 3rd) at 5:00 in the blue Truth Matters room down by the fellowship hall. If you are interested in teaching or want to know more about AWANA and how you can help, please be there with me. I will be there to answer questions, go over how to do the points each week, and talk about some new ideas. I will also have another "training session" if there is an interest for this. Please let me know of any any ideas you have or any concerns. There will be a few changes this year, so please try to make this meeting!!

Love in Christ
Samantha Montgomery

TBC Choir

The members of the TBC Choir are a group of believers who work together to sing music in the worship service that glorifies God. Singing in the worship service is not a show or a performance, but an outward expression of the love and devotion that we have for Jesus Christ. We strive to do everything we do with excellence and in a way that will please our Heavenly Father.

Many people think that they do not “qualify” to sing in the choir because they do not have a musical background or cannot “read” music. Neither of these attributes is a requirement for joining the TBC Choir. The requirements are actually pretty simple:

1. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind (Matt 22:37 ESV).
2. Attend the worship services and a weekly small group Bible study at TBC (Heb 10:25).
3. Attend weekly choir rehearsal on Wednesday at 6PM.

If you meet these three criteria, then you are qualified as a choir member. If you are interested in joining this group, then simply speak with Bro Jamie or you can attend a choir rehearsal to find out more about this ministry.

Your "Sermon"

What if I was to get up this morning to make the announcements and after I got finished I said, “Today I want to introduce to you the person who will bringing our sermon today.” And after completing that sentence I said your name. Yes, you.

Someone once said, “A Christian is a living sermon, whether or not he preaches a word.” Although I have only been preaching for a few years, I have heard many comments about various sermons including some of my own. Some always say the sermon was great while others may ridicule what was said. I wonder, however, how often we listen to our own “sermons.” How often do we take a look at our own lives and examine what kind of message we are spreading. I dare say that the reason many people do not want anything to do with the church is because they are tired of seeing bad “sermons.”

It has been said that “you can preach a better sermon with your life than with your lips.” People may not come to church to hear with the preacher has to say, but they do watch the “sermon” that you live out everyday.

One of the struggles that I have had to deal with before is practicing what I preach. It is my guess that many church members deal with the same thing. We say things such as, “You should read your Bible,” “You should pray,” “You should help others,” but then we never see anyone give us an example of how to do it. Who will be the example?

You will never hear this come out of a preacher’s mouth again, but I say this to you: Do not listen to the preacher this Sunday, watch him. And as you do remember that as you walk out of the doors people will be watching you to hear what your sermon is all about. Remember that although you may not be officially preaching the sermon to the church today, you are preaching a sermon to the world.

Whatever it takes….for Jesus’ glory,
Jared

Missions Update

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,” Matthew 28:19

Allow me to give you a snapshot of what our congregation is doing to fill The Great Commission.

In 2007 we gave almost $40,000 to the Cooperative Program of the Southern Baptist Convention. I asked them for an accounting of that money; a copy of their report is available in the vestibule for you to pick up. In addition, we also gave some money directly to the International Mission Board and $5,000 directly to the Franklin County Baptist Association.

One way we reach out to our local community is by supporting a Hispanic Church plant ($2,000 per month). Most of you know the pastor, Emilio Gaspar. What you may not know is that he occasionally borrows our church to perform baptisms! Please pray for Emilio as he grows his church into a self supporting congregation.

Internationally, we have partnered with Heart Cry Missionary Society to support missionary work in India. At present, we are sending $400 per month to fully support one missionary and to provide educational support for other missionaries in training.

And we have many opportunities during the year to reach out. We paid for Marge Butler (Vermont minister’s wife) to attend a women’s conference. We supported a Happy Feet trip to Central America. We helped Ryan Akers begin a Campus Outreach ministry at Samford University. And last Fall we sponsored events at Tharptown High School; just to name a few.

God Bless,

Bro. Ken

“Big Sins” vs. “Small Sins”

In my circle of friends, the subject has come up several times of “big sins” vs. “small sins”. A sin is something that separates us from God, so how can one be bigger than the other?

This reminds me of a story about a woman and her three children. The girl was practicing piano with her teacher, the boys were going upstairs. The first boy was running, the second was walking slowly with his head down. The mother asked what he was doing and he replied “praying”. She asked about what and he said he could not tell her because she would be mad. She said she would not and he told her it was about a problem he had with his mind. Quite curious now about what type problem a 7 year old could have with his mind, she convinced him she would not be mad. He said “Every time I see my piano teacher, my head tells my tongue to stick out.” As she tried not to laugh, she told him that God could indeed help him with both his mind and his tongue.

I, too, have trouble with my tongue sometimes. Maybe not with sticking it out, but with bitter or hurtful words. Gossip. Anger. I’m sure some of you may know what I’m talking about. I’m thankful to have a God that will take time to listen to all my prayers, whether they may be great or small.

Love in Christ
Samantha Montgomery