Dear Friends in the Lord,
I used to wonder what that line meant in Onward Christian Soldiers, “Like a mighty army moves the church of God;” Our church is on the move this weekend. We have eight youth and two adults at the Student Impact Weekend at Gulf Shores Methodist Church right now. Jennifer Barnes has reported that the Spirit is at work in this endeavor and the kids are having a great time. Then, later on today some faithful men of our church are going to install some monitors in the sanctuary to improve our ability to see the slides and announcements. The monitors were bought with Turkey Dinner income. This week our church helped people take tangible steps to break out of poverty through the communion rail fund and Mike’s Food Pantry. The power of the resurrection was at work at Bob and Shirley Cantrell and Mike and Teresa Catrett houses this week as your pastor had a great Holy Spirit time of talking and praying. Please pray for the Cantrell’s, as Bob is terminally ill with Pancreatic Cancer. Also, please pray for the Catrett’s as Mike seeks to heal from a very complicated foot injury. Speaking of prayer, let’s be praying for each other as we have many of us are sick with either: Covid, Stomach Viruses, or the old fashioned Common Cold.
On Friday of next week, we will have Valentine’s Day, but on Wednesday we have R.O.W. Some of us will go out to eat where we will wait 45 minutes for a table and spend nearly $100 on a meal for two. I have a good idea that I want to share with you. I want to especially invite everyone to come and enjoy a special Valentine’s Day R.O.W. Our cooking team will prepare: Roasted Pork Tenderloin with gravy, Garlic Butter Green Beans, Herb Roasted New Potatoes, Garden Salad, and Fresh Strawberry Shortcake made with real whipped creme. I don’t know why anyone would miss out on such a delicious meal for only $6, which we get to eat with our good friends from the church. I hope to see you there.
Tomorrow, we will look at Romans 12:1 in worship as we seek to understand that all of our lives are to be a gift of worship to God. I have put this verse at the bottom of this email in both the NIV translation and Message paraphrase. Please take a few minutes to meditate on what God is saying to us.
I want to say that I appreciate every time people in our church serve one another. One act of service that has meant a lot to me is our men’s club building a ramp for Robin Blackwell. I guess it is because she lives across the street from me and I have watched Robin struggle to get up and down her steps for years, I am so glad that this gracious act of kindness was done from one disciple to another.
“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters,
in view of God’s mercy,
to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice,
holy and pleasing to God
—this is your true and proper worship.” Romans 12:1 NIV
“So, here’s what I want you to do, God helping you:
Take your everyday, ordinary life
—your sleeping, eating, going-to-work, and walking-around life—and place it before God as an offering.
Embracing what God does for you is the best thing you can do for him. “
Romans 12:1 The Message
Rev. Dave Rhodes