From the Pastor…
Summer is here! Children are excitedly playing in the sun and planning to participate in camps and vacations. Families will be making trips to the beach, mountains, or some other fun location. As you go, don’t forget to live your faith before all people that they may know God’s love and praise Him for how you serve – even when you are away from home. Don’t forget that the ministries of the church will be going strong during this time and we need your faithful giving in order to do these ministries.
We are getting very excited to receive competing bids for the work to be done on the preschool buildings at the old Roberdel School. In a matter of days we will have an idea of the cost and we will soon have a capital campaign to help pay for these buildings and renovations. The first step in this will be a called business meeting on June 11th to vote on the contractor and bid we will pursue. This will then move to the fundraising phase. We need fervent prayer that the church and preschool will not take on anything we cannot pay for. We also need to pray about how each of us will participate in this project financially. The good news is that our Heavenly Father owns it all! He will make a way, but we will be responsible for trusting Him and generously providing funds to get the work done so that we can get into the new facilities and watch God continue to grow the Roberdel Baptist Preschool. I am convinced that once we move into the new buildings, the revenue generated by the added children will soon make this ministry self-sufficient.
Remember that these school and preschool ministries are just that – ministries to which God called RBC many years ago. He is now calling us to expand these ministries as we expand our ministry in the community. God will bless what we obediently do in response to His call!
Occasionally, someone will share with me an idea for a sermon. Sometimes I use those as a starting point for future messages. This month I would like to share with you one that a member recently emailed to me:
Matthew 18:15-17
Why do people gossip?
Only the spirit is of God, our flesh is of this world, the devil. When you gossip, you are listening to your flesh which is of Satan. Satan wants to attack you because he knows you have given your life to God and he knows your flesh. Satan wants to destroy the spirits and bodies of Christians and uses words to do that!
When you have a problem with someone in the church or elsewhere, you as a Christian should follow the instruction in Matthew 18:15-17. If you have a problem with someone and you come to me, don’t be surprised when I tell you to do this first.
Thank you for this reminder! I would add another passage of scripture to these same thoughts. Before giving in to the temptation to gossip, re-read James 3:1-12. These verses remind us of the importance of what we say, when we say it, and when to refrain from “sharing” our concerns or juicy news.
In Christian Love,
Billy Dennis