Twas The Week After Christmas

As I was looking through some old files, I ran across a poem I wrote some years ago after Christmas.  I though I would share it with you as we close out 2010 and hope it may challenge you as you look toward 2011.
 

T’was The Week After Christmas

T’was the week after Christmas and all through the town

What few nativity scenes their were had now been taken down.

Kids running and laughing, playing without a care

New toys they had received, but not one of them would share.

Moms in the return line at Wal-Mart, which long she did dread

If one more thing has to be returned she’d wish she were dead.

Dad’s kicked back in the recliner for his afternoon nap

And trusty old Blue lies sleeping on his lap.

Christmas had come and gone and seemed not to matter

Mom had gotten her crock-pot and dad his stepladder.

Where did all the time go, it seemed like such a flash

You think time went fast, we dare not mention the cash.

The church pews are again empty everyone has disappeared

But preacher don’t worry, Easter will soon be here.

How did all get so twisted, this very special day?

All the hustle and bustle of the “holiday” is in the way.

The Bible has been placed back on the family coffee table

And there it will remain until life becomes unstable.

Yes Christmas has come and gone and few did remember

It was not our birthday, that twenty-fifth day of December.

So why was it us that received all the gifts and joy

Were we born in that manger, were we Mary’s boy.

Somewhere along the way things have gotten off track

The true reason for Christmas has been shoved to the back.

God robed in the flesh, that’s what its about

Come to free man from sin come to seek man out.

So why have we let an “X” replace His Holy name

Why is it that so many don’t even know why He came?

When will people see that the Bible is true?

That God sent His Son because of His love for me and you.

When will people realize it is not about a holiday?

It is about God sending His son for there was no other way.

Friend turn your eyes and hearts to Jesus and soon you will see,

The true meaning of Christmas is seen in God’s love for you and me.

Then it will be more than a celebration held once a year.

It will be a relationship with a Savior that you can hold dear.

Notes From October

October has been another busy month here at Kendale.  We started the month off with a Saturday work day where we accomplished some much needed grooming around the church.  Then it was full speed ahead to our annual Homecoming Classic.  We moved our tournament to Carolina Lakes which meant we needed more teams to make up for the increase in green fees.  The call went out and our people answered with the best turnout we have had with 20 teams.  We also raised more money this year than we have in previous tournaments.  With the economy the way that it is, we could definitely see the hand of God in it all.  Not much rest after the tournament because the very next day was Homecoming here at the church.  We had a wonderful singing with the Beaverdam boys out of Chadborn, NC.  As always our ladies pulled out all of the stops with a wonderful lunch with a spread to satisfy any appetite.  We will be closing out our month with our annual Harvest Party this Sunday at 6pm.  We are looking forward to another wonderful evening of food, fun, and fellowship.  Come out and join us as we close out this wonderful month.  Until next time may God’s blessings be with you as you seek and serve Him.

Rhythm and Tempo

I did something last week that I have never done before.  I went on a golf retreat to Myrtle Beach.  It was with a church in Raleigh with a group of 20 men.  What a blessing to have 20 men together for a time of worship and fellowship.  We played a round of golf each day and then had a Bible Study.  The group leader, Matt, used the game of golf as an illustration of our walk with Christ.  The one thing that sunk in most was the rhythm and tempo of the game.  Most of the problems we have with our golf game is due to a lack of rhythm and/ or tempo.  The same is true in our Christian walk, when our rhythm and tempo get out of whack; we begin to struggle in our Christian walk.  How do we keep in rhythm, we stay in the word and keep the communication lines open through prayer.   Just as our golf score will reveal our rhythm or lack thereof, our daily walk will show our rhythm or lack thereof with our relationship with God.  When we are in rhythm with God, we will have his peace even during the difficult days.

Has It realy been that long

A simple review of our church site today and I saw the blog has not been updated in forever, my apologies.  I guess time does fly when you are having fun.  It has been a very busy summer for us here at Kendale.  In the ministry busy usually means good.  It is wonderful to have something to do for the Lord.  We have seen some saved and several following the Lord's command of believer's baptism.  We have added new members to the church and have several new families visiting with us on a regular basis.  God is always better to us than we deserve.  We have just wrapped up our VBS week and as usual, our workers outdid themselves.  God has blessed us with several workers here at Kendale, and we are always looking for more.  Some of our kids have started back to school and most of the others will start back over the next week.  This is a sign that summer is coming to an end.  I pray that some remember where the church is now that vacation time is over - lol  We hit the summer slump like most churches, but I believe people need vacations and time away.  My prayer is always that time away from the church did not mean time away from the Lord.  Things will get back to normal over the upcoming weeks if there is such a thing.  We are looking forward to several special services in the weeks ahead; a mission service with Bro. Logan Wolf, Revival services with Bro. Jason Hurt, and Southeastern FWB college will be with us at the end of next month.  Check our calendar for events and details.  Well, I close out with a familiar promise to try and keep this thing more up to date.  Who knows, maybe I will keep it this time.  May God bless you as you seek and serve Him.

Serving or being served

Ok, I have had 6 days back in reality since getting back from a little cruise vacation with the wife. No one has brought me breakfast, refilled my drink when it got empty, served me lobster, made my bed or created one of those cute little towel animals for me. Welcome back to the real world. This is the first cruise I have ever been on and other than a little sea sickness, I enjoyed every minute of it. I could not help but see the respect and the amount of service that the staff put forth into serving the guest of the ship. Now I am not sure what was said behind the scene, but to me they actually seemed to enjoy their job. I wonder if this is what it would be like if we served one another the way that God desires for us to serve. We have become a generation with an entitlement attitude walking around like this world is all about us. This is not to be the spirit of a Christian - Php 2:3 Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Even Jesus before he left this earth set us an example of service as he bowed before each of the disciples and washed their feet - Joh 13:15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. Now I worked in the hotel industry for 6 years before answering the call to preach, I know what it is to put on show for the guest and it is quite possible that this is what we saw on the cruise. I can tell you this is not the service Christ is looking for. He is looking for a servant’s heart, one that will serve out of a love for God and a love for fellow man. It really made me take a long look at myself, am I truly the Lord’s servant, not only serving Him, but serving those whom He has put me in contact with. I invite you to take an examination of your heart, are your serving, or waiting to be served?

Laborers Together

Yesterday during the morning service, I revealed my vision for Kendale Acres Church to the church body. My vision for 2010 is Laborers Together. Our theme verse for the year will be 1 Corinthians 3:9 "For we are laborers together with God: ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." In our message yesterday we had to come to the reality that if we are truly going to labor together, we needed to find a way to get along. So many problems in the church are caused by individuals or groups that refuse to get along. The only way to overcome this is to realize it is not about us, it is about Christ. He has called us to labor together for something greater than ourselves. There are things that we can accomplish together that we can only dream of accomplishing on our own. It is also worth noting that not only are we called to labor together, we are called to labor together with God. We are not simply laborers for God, but with God. What an awesome thought, God chose me to work with Him. It is our goal at Kendale Acres Church in 2010 to bring the focus of our ministry to the place it should be, Christ. We will seek to labor together to promote His name and His kingdom throughout our community and around the world. But in this challenge to the church, there is also a challenge to us all, keep the main thing the main thing. Imagine what could be accomplished for the cause of Christ if believers learned to focus less on our differences and more on what makes us the same. May we all labor together in 2010 for the cause of Christ.

A New Year

I was hoping to be able to sneak in to the New Year without it being to eventful. With all of the hustle and bustle to close out 2009 I have fallen behind in a few areas and was hoping to use the early days of 2010 to catch up. Life had other plans, we had a leak in the parsonage while we where gone for Christmas so now I am tearing out the bathroom floor and since I am going to be in there anyway, I am doing the renovations originally planned for later in the year. I am also trying to get a tentative 2010 calendar together and preparing my "Vision Sunday" service. I have also promised myself that I am going to be better about updating the pastor's blog. It is my goal in 2010 to have an update at least once a week so that we can keep you all up to date on what is happening here at Kendale Acres. My prayer is that you will enjoy reading these updates and that you will join us in prayer throughout the year for the ministries of Kendale Acres Church. First on our agenda is a church wide cleaning day this Saturday to get God's house looking nice for the New Year. This will be followed Sunday with our annual "Vision Sunday" when I will unveil my vision for the church in 2010. If you are in the area, stop in and see us, we would love the opportunity to worship with you. For those not in the area, we ask that you keep us in your prayers. We are looking for God to do great things in 2010, but realize we must give Him something to work with. May God's blessing be with each of you in this new year.