KIDZ Camp 2010

This week has been GREAT!

Sunday we enjoyed a power packed service where God drew His people nearer than ever before. As a few fall off

others are added and made stronger. We grow. We mature. We produce fruit, or we choose to fall from the vine

of truth and wither in the heat of Judas like self will.

This pastor doesn't always understand all that God is doing, yet He confirms his word and promises every time!

Monday morning we headed out to Kerville with 8 campers, 3 matrons staying for the week. All were excited and

looking forward to a great week of camp. By Monday night the first one had already been filled with the Holy Ghost!

Tuesday night's report was filled with tears of joy as 4 more were filled! Can't wait to see what happens the rest of the week!

Slippery Slopes and Little Foxes

Mother's Day Sunday was a great success! We had a beautiful move of God's spirit during the praise & worship portion. Sis. Sanders' reminder of God's faithfulness to our prayers was very timely. The prayer pillows were a result of vision and hard work. Thanks to all that helped that it happen!

In addition to the program, we witnessed Lynette Stephens being baptized in Jesus' Name and she beautifully received the gift of the Holy Ghost!

This Week

Tonight - ACT OUT Drama Practice at 7:30 in preparation for the upcoming Sectional Youth Rally on May 21

Tuesday - Family Prayer 6:30 - 7:30pm

Wednesday - Worship & The Word 7:30pm

-Adult Bible Study

-KIDZ Church

-SURGE Student Ministries

Thursday - Ladies of Truth monthly bible study and fellowship. This month Sis. Wanda Owens has arranged for Dr. Rorick to be our special guest speaker. He will be addressing health and wellness issues. A meal will be provided. All ladies are encouraged to attend!

Saturday - Men's Fellowship & Golf - please contact Bro. Q. Creme for times, and fees at qncreme4@msn.com

Elders of Truth will be singing at Lexington Place - Bro Bell is inviting anyone that would like to help sing to join them. For more information, please contact Bro. Ricky Bell at rickygbell@sbcglobal.net

 

Sunday - "Professional Sunday" - Be sure to extend an invitation to any professionals you know.

Urgent Prayer Requests

- Please continue to pray for Sis Wanda Owens and her family as her sister, Aline Sonnier continues on hospice care at this time.

- Sis. Diane Montoya's great niece continues to need a miracle today.

- Sis. Jasmine Livingston's friend of many years, lost her husband in a tragic motorcycle accident late last week. This family is grieving the loss of husband and father.

- Bro. Tom Foster, who pastor's in the Dallas area sent out the following request this morning for his mother.

Pat Foster suffered a brain aneurysm yesterday morning and has been unconscious since that time and is currently on life support. The doctor's have said there is nothing they can do. God is able to raise her up out of this condition. Please cover the Foster family in prayer during this time.

Looking Forward

Pentecost Sunday May 23 - In two weeks we will celebrate Pentecost Sunday with an "Old Fashioned Sunday" theme. We are asking all that can please come and participate. It will be a great time of fun and we are asking God to continue to pour out of His spirit upon ALL flesh. Let's make sure and do our part to invite and bring people with us!

And finally, A Note from Pastor Sanders

Little Foxes and Slippery Slopes - While our attendance numbers are improving and we are busier than ever before, still I feel a great need to send this reminding word today.

We must always be aware of our spiritual surroundings and potential pitfalls. Make sure your surroundings are those that are conducive to a Godly lifestyle. There, and only there, will you be safe in this very wicked world we live in. It is truly the little foxes that may not seem "too bad" and totally harmless that destroys the vine. Once the vine is destroyed the plant will die. Suffering a spiritual death must be avoided at all costs. Remember, there is NO sacrifice too great to ensure our salvation remains intact.

Trust the Lord. Spiritual compromise never yields revival. What will it profit you if you gain this entire world and loose your soul? The Church should not and MUST not become an afterthought. The Church cannot be on the back burner of your life. The Church SHOULD be the most important place you know. It's success and vitality is ALL of our responsibility. Put it FIRST. Jesus died for The Church - It's THAT IMPORTANT! Be FAITHFUL to the house of God. Stop making excuses why you can't be faithful and simply start BEING faithful God WILL honor your sacrifices! Don't slip! Don't slip into relationships that God cant be pleased with. Don't slip into compromising positions that put your character and integrity in question. Don't slip into a spiritual coma. LIVE everyday FOR God...

What's It Worth To You?

Have you ever been asked this question? "So, what's it worth to ya?"

This question often comes when you are preparing to part with something.
It can be a very tough question to answer, depending on the value of "it".

The struggle for an answer comes not when you have an appraisal for an object and it's just that, an object to you.

The struggle is present when you cant place a monetary value on something. It is simply special to you and perhaps you alone. It holds value that only you can appreciate.

It's surface would attract no one else. It has no appreciable worth to anyone else on the planet, but you. An insurance company most likely wouldn't write it - yet still, its priceless to you. So, back to the question at hand. "What's it worth to ya?"

Most "things" like like "this" find a special home. Some are placed in a prominent position that can been seen by many, as to surely serve as a conversation piece. Others are safely tucked away in a special box or container in an attic or chest. Some even get put behind lock and key. Perhaps even a home safe or a safety deposit box at your bank.

Why do we take such measures for things of no "real" value? Because their value is real. Their value is real to you and I. We protect the things that are most precious to us. We strive to keep and to hold those things we cherish.

Why then is it we will take such steps to protect "things" while we leave our hearts, our minds and our souls unprotected? Why do we invest in home alarm systems and insurance policies to protect our children and our belongings, but we fail to cover them with the blood of Calvary? What is the measure and value of the things we love and cherish the most? Is it worth living a life of example before them? Is it worth showing, not telling them only, but showing them to live with a servant's heart? Is it worth instilling in them the value of a REAL relationship with God? Is it worth loving her as Christ loved the church? Is it worth honoring Him with your love and devotion? Is it worth doing right and not always "being" right? Just a thought this morning, just a thought. Are you protecting the things that are most important in your life?

So, "What's it worth to ya?"


Things we truly value, and love we guard them. We TAKE measures to defend and to protect. What are you doing?

Lip service is of little value; real or otherwise. Action is costly...

Random?

There seems to be a new buzz word among the younger folks. Random.

My teen said to me today of her little sister's conversation, "Dad, it was just so random!"

I am hearing this word more and more. It seems to have very little meaning really. For some unknown reason this word became more than noticed to me today, it became almost annoying.

 

I consulted Mr. Webster for its proper definition. My consultation yielded the following: RANDOM, a haphazard course at random: without definite aim, direction, rule, or method.

 

I have made the following decision. I never want to be RANDOM about anything! We must have AIM, DIRECTION, RULE and METHOD in order to be truly effective!

 

Effective, yes! Random? No thanks!

I'm

Words fail me today. That's nothing new though. We have all the resources that we could ever want at our fingertips. More ability than at any other time in history to express our selves. We have access to volumes and volumes of research and information, yet still, I'm failing. I'm failing to properly convey just how thankful I am. Thankful to God for being so very good to me. Better in fact than I am to myself. Thankful for His grace and mercy. Thankful He didn't and doesn't give to me what I deserve, rather He gives me the blessings He desires me to have. I could never count them all. I cant even attempt such an undertaking. When my heart begins to ponder all the goodness of the great God that we serve I become very small. My abilities even smaller still. So, thank you Jesus for:

- Your blood that washed my sins away.
- Your grace that exceeds my failures.
- Your power that hides my weaknesses.
- Your painful stripes you bore that heals me.
- Your perfect love that affords me great comfort.
- Your spirit that completes me.
- Your life that guides me.
- Your hand that protects me.
- Your friendship that stays with me.
- Your royalty that includes me.
- Your peace that I cant understand.
- Your strength that sustains me.
- Your riches that supplies all my needs.
- Your sanctuary that gives me peace.
- Your word that supplies truth and exposes lies.
- Your kinship that gives me access to Your great throne.
- Your trust that gave to me the perfect wife and three beautiful, wonderful, incredibly divine children.
- Your call that allows and enables me to pastor and lead some of the finest people that have ever walked on earth.

I'm even thankful for the knock on the door that just interrupted this posting. It was two well dressed and well intending young men, "Jehovah's witnesses" - that subtly reminded me I have a work to do today for you!

Yes Lord, I am thankful!

Easter at Gospel Truth – Come Join Us for a Celebration – He Lives!

Day 8 of 30 Days of Thirst at GTPC…

Thirsty for souls.

Do you remember the last time you were really, really thirsty? I'm talking about when your tongue would stick to the top of your mouth and you thought you couldn't walk one more inch until you have some sort of liquid touch your mouth. The kind of thirsty when once you finally do get a drink you feel it as it travels all the way down. The kind of thirst that would cause you to pay a ridiculous price for something to drink. This is the kind of thirst that we need to develop for the things that God loves.

God loves souls. Granted he doesn't love the sins that fill the lives of so many, but oh how He loves the person! We need a fresh passion and burden for people. A thirst for those that need this message of truth. A thirst for the unloved, the misunderstood, the sick, the poor, the rich, those with too little and even those with too much. A thirst for those with life issues, colorful histories, hurts and scars of previous battles and trials. A thirst for those that have never fit in, for those with low self esteem, high self esteem and those with no self esteem. A thirst for everyone that has not walked through the door of the "ark of safety", Christ Jesus. The Church must become thirsty for altars that are full, baptisms that take all day, new member classes that never stop, bible studies that lead to more, and doors that never close –thirsty for "the world's people" like the old children's song goes, "any color and shape any size" God loves people.

The result of this kind of thirst? Bigger buildings, more services, discipleship, deeper roots in the community, blessings, the unmerited favor of God, and so much more.

For God so loved this world, that He gave His only begotten son… Jn. 3:16 The love that cost him everything. A ridiculously high price to quench His thirst. His thirst for a people.

Dear Lord – Let me become thirsty for the things that you thirsted for. Let me love souls. Let me love the church, locally and globally. Let me be a willing vessel of honor that you are willing to use. Develop this driving thirst in my heart, mind and soul! Let nothing less than the winds of Pentecost be the quenching agent!

Blessings,

Pastor