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  • 25May

    Update

    by Drew in Ashville Road Updates.

    This is the week! Our Spring Barbeque is this Saturday at 5 p.m. Thanks to Joe Schultz, the meat will be provided, but we’re asking everyone to bring sides, drinks and desserts to go with it. If you have kids, bring them a little early that afternoon. There will be activities for all ages. Ashville Road’s Spring Barbeque is an annual tradition that is guaranteed to be a lot of fun. I hope to see you there!

    We have a rather lengthy prayer list for this week.

    • Rodney Denson is home from a brief hospital stay. He will have to undergo more tests to find out why his blood count has been low.
    • Maliea Box is recovering from a partial knee replacement surgery at St Vincent’s downtown.
    • Joann Johnston had eye surgery today.
    • Keep Virginia Guthrie, Carolyn Braden, Shirley Key (Reba Oglesby’s mother), and Logan Parker (Roy and Melba Peppers’s nephew) in your prayers.
    • Also, don’t forget our honeymooners! Neil and Hannah Hillis are in Rome, and Andrew and Ashley Noles are also traveling following their wedding.

    Welcome Cole Lyons into the world! He is the brand new baby boy of Adam and Mauri Lyons. Proud grandparents are Dennis and Ann Lyons. Cole was born a little after 5 p.m. yesterday and weighed 6 lbs., 13 oz.

    This was a sad week in that we bid farewell to two of our young families, the Dockerys and the McKenzies. We will really miss them and hope they can visit us in the future from time to time.

    As we have announced, this Sunday’s contribution will go towards paying down the debt on our Fellowship Wing. The elders have decided that each Fifth Sunday contribution will serve this purpose. Our Sunday morning worship numbers have been running high over the last few weeks, and if we do not do something soon, we will outgrow our already cramped facilities. If God continues to bless us with growth, we will need to expand our auditorium. However, we cannot do that until we reduce our current debt. It may be hard to get excited about paying down debt on a building, but managing our finances is part of doing God’s work in a physical world. We’re asking our families to give generously and cheerfully this Sunday so that we can move forward with these future plans.

    Vacation Bible School is a little more than a week away. You know what that means…hard work! Some of our ladies have already been working hard in preparation for VBS. If you haven’t pitched in yet, there are still several opportunities. The next workday is next Tuesday at 10 a.m. Also, the Saturday prior to VBS (June 5), we will spend the entire day getting things ready. Don’t forget to send out those invitations. VBS will take place Sunday, June 6, through Thursday, June 10, starting at 7 p.m.

    Our Spring Series continues tomorrow night with Brandon Renfroe who preaches for the Ashville congregation just north of here. Brandon has spoken on this series once before and many of you told me to invite him again. His topic is “The Unity of the Spirit” from Ephesians 4:1-3. Our theme is “Passages that Make Churches Grow.”

  • 23May

    Only One Way

    by Drew in Seeking Things Above.

    One of the more amusing stories in the book of Acts is found in chapter 19 where Luke recounts Paul’s adventures in the city of Ephesus.  While there, Paul made quite an impression on the Jewish exorcists who “undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, ‘I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.’”  Perhaps they thought there was power in the names they invoked.  They were wrong.  Luke paints the following picture, which puts these so-called exorcists in a compromising position:

    Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.  But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.  (Acts 19:14-16)

    This example tells us something interesting about the demonic world.  It would seem that the defects of men, especially when they are moral in nature, are mocked and despised by the demons, not appreciated.

    Many of us misunderstand the nature of evil.  We have a dualistic view of morality which says there are two independent divine beings or eternal principles, one good and the other evil.  We may acknowledge that the devil and his angels are subservient to God, but practically speaking we see evil as an eternal principle on an equal plane with good.  In other words, some of us have this idea that Satan is promoting an alternate way of life in opposition to God’s.

    But there is only one way.  Satan’s way is a negative of God’s, not an alternative.  Satan says, “God is love?  I am indifference, the absence of love.  God is truth?  I am the father of lies, the absence of truth.  God is righteous?  I am the transgression of righteousness, the progenitor of sin; I stand for all that is not righteous.”

    The demons have no respect for those who follow their path.  This is the absurdity of Satanism.  Satan worshipers seek to earn favors from the devil because they oppose God, when in reality he does not respect people who choose his path.  There is no camaraderie among evil spirits.  Demons have no love and affection for their own.  Neither do they feel any fellowship with the wicked members of the human race.  There is no “friend of the devil.”  Satan is the Accuser (Rev. 12:10), our Adversary (1 Pet. 5:8).  He seeks to “devour” us, not recruit us.

    Whose side are you on?  There’s only one winning side.  “If God is for us, who can be against us?” (Rom. 8:31).

  • 16May

    Neil’s Niche

    by Neil in Neil’s Niche, Seeking Things Above.

    I have a friend who lost someone very close to him, and as a result began a blog to describe the process of coping with grief.  His words are very powerful, and today I would like to share one of his entries that I think that we can all learn from:

    This world is full of expectations.  People are full of expectations.  You’re full of expectations.

    It wasn’t too long in the grieving that I realized people were beginning to expect me to be ‘better’, that it’s about time to be normal again.  Soon I realized people’s expectations were becoming my own.  Days had gone by, then it was weeks, months followed soon behind, and I was still in pain.

    I went to my first grief counseling group session (yeah, a year and a half after she passed away).  Tonight the counselor said something; he told me I can’t expect too much out of myself.  There is so much pressure on us, to be the people that other people want us to be.  So many expectations, some realistic, some not.  Expectations do influence who we are as people, but should they?  I can’t expect that today is the day that I find the new norm.  I am where I am.  I have to accept that.  We have to start accepting people for who they are, not who we expect them to be.  Maybe then could you see the real new norm.

    I hope you have a blessed week.

  • 16May

    As You Make Plans for Summer Vacation

    by Drew in Seeking Things Above.

    May, that prelude to summer, is halfway over.  Soon many of us will be heading out of town for our favorite vacation spots.  Vacations are good.  The principle of rest and recuperation has always been in God’s plan (Gen. 2:2; Ex. 20:8-11).  However, vacations also involve special temptations for Christians.  In the interest of preparing for the summer season, allow me to share the following concerns with you.

    You may be able to leave town, but you cannot escape from the Lord.  Jonah learned this the hard way when he boarded a ship in Joppa that was headed for Tarshish.  He thought he might be able to sail out of God’s reach, but he was wrong.  The Lord sees everything, even our secret sins (Ps. 90:8).  Just because you are away from your family members and your church, that doesn’t mean you should act differently.  Your true character is measured by who you are when you think nobody’s watching.  Christians don’t take a vacation from decency and self-control.

    Don’t forget to worship on Sunday while you are away.  Interestingly, the passage we often cite in support of partaking of the Lord’s Supper on the first day of the week has to do with a group that was on a long trip (Acts 20:7).  Worship should be a part of every Christian family’s vacation.  Praising God is not a chore; it is privilege to express our love and admiration for our Creator, who sent his only Son to die so that we might live!

    When you’re out of town, visit one of the congregations of the Lord’s church in that area.  I know that many families like to hold private worship services while they are on the road.  But in many of these vacation spots, the church is very weak.  Your family could be a great encouragement to brethren in these areas, just by showing up to their worship services.

    Relax, but don’t let down your guard.  Christians need to be even more vigilant when they are on vacation.  Alcohol abuse, gambling, and immodest apparel are just some of the many sins that tempt Christians when they take some time off.  This may sound old fashioned, but life for the Christian should be about discerning the will of God.  I believe that fun and relaxation are a part of God’s will for our lives.  But many of the things that go on at the beaches and resorts are not.  Heed the words of the apostle Paul: “Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17).

    The important thing is to remember that, as a Christian, you are a child of God ransomed by the blood of Christ—this is true whether you are at home or away.