Generally, we take about a half an hour to socialize. Sometimes that is just hanging out and chilling. Sometimes it involves games of skill, games of strategy, games of strength, ice breaker games or just plain weird and wacky things. The purpose of the games can be just for fun or have a point incorporated in that nights lesson. I think it’s a time that the kids can have fun and connect with other kids. It is also a great way to draw new kids who are not believers as they come for the fun and in the process God speaks to them.

We also take time to worship God through songs. In past years we have had students who have played instruments who have led the group in singing or had even had a worship band that was really good. Recently we sing to music of popular Christian worship groups like “Mercy Me”, “David Crowder Band” or “Chris Tomlin”. Hopefully we will have some up and coming musicians to start another worship group. In past years Vickie has also led a creative dance group to enhance worship.

We normally spend thirty to forty-five minutes for lessons. Sometimes it is a video series from various ministries that are geared toward teens. Generally the videos are good at sparking great conversation or seeing a perspective that is outside of our community. Sometimes Vickie or I will present a lesson. Sometimes a guest speaker. We really like to have other older teen’s present lessons as they can speak to teens in a way that only a peer could.

In addition to regular youth nights we mix it up a few times a year with movie night or putt-putt golf. Going into the new school year know God will present us with lots of opportunities to touch some young lives. Vickie and I feel blessed that God has allowed us to work with so many great kids in our community.

It is terrible and tragic to have access to your blessing yet you are blocked by your curse. For it is true that countless individuals who call themselves Christians live a seemingly picture perfect existence that appears to be marked by blessings, joys, serendipities, pleasures, and grace gifts; but in reality—from God’s perspective, the Word’s promise, and eternity’s point of view, they are stifled, held back, and handcuffed by the misery of their curse.

Recently I read a story told of a man who stole an enormous amount of money but was captured by the authorities in the process of the robbery. He didn’t have the money with him, so in their question and query they asked him where he had hid the money. However, it turned out that the man spoke another language, so they had to send for an interpreter. When the interpreter came, the authorities said, ‘Ask him where he hid the money.’

The interpreter asked the thief the question in his own language and the thief replied.

The authorities asked ‘What did he say?’

The interpreter replied ‘He’s not telling!’

The authorities insisted shouting, ‘Tell him we want to know where the money is, and we want to know now!’.

The interpreter repeated the question to the thief and got the same reply ‘He said he’s not telling!’

The chief head of the authorities thought he would try to scare the thief into telling, so he said to the interpreter, ‘Tell him that if he doesn’t tell us where the money is, we are going to kill his family, and blow out his brains!’

The interpreter repeated the threat to the thief who became frightened and told the interpreter step by step exactly where he could fine the money.

The authorities listened to the conversation and then asked the interpreter, ‘Well…what did he say?’

To which the interpreter replied, ‘He said he isn’t going to tell you anything.’

Eventually, in exasperation, the authorities convicted the thief while the interpreter found the money and became and inheritor of great wealth.

When I read that story about the authorities, the interpreter, and the thief I thought about the fact that MOST of us would look upon that interpreter with disgust, disdain, and revulsion. However, I’ve that we do the very same to God every day of our lives.

I also thought about that fact that the very thing that stands between the authority of the believer and the wealth of God is out faulty interpretation of the Holy Word of God and our thief and robber’s mentality. And it is through that thievish mentality and faulty interpretation that robs the believer of possessing the wealth and blessing of God in our lives. Why?

Because we have settled for selling ourselves short, blocked our blessing, and are content with our curse.
I want to push, encourage, exhort somebody that your tomorrow can be brighter than your yesterday, your destiny can be greater than your history, your dreams can be fonder than your memories, if you let God speak to your heart today and do it HIS way.

The curse can be reversed. The curse can be broken in your life forever. God desires that you move Him from being your last resort to your first priority. It is the will of God that you move the Word of God from being your spare tire and make it your steering wheel.

In Israel there are two different body of waters but they have the same water supply—the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. Actually it comes from Mt. Herman when it is snowcapped; when that snow begins to melt on Mt. Herman, it rushes violently down Mt. Herman into the Northern inlet of the Jordan River; and then it flows straight through the Jordan River out through the Southern outlet of the Jordan into the Northern inlet of the Sea of Galilee; that same water keeps flowing through the Sea of Galilee out its Southern outlet into the Northern inlet of the Dead Sea; but once it gets to the Dead Sea, there it stands stagnant because the Dead Sea has no Southern outlet. The Dead Sea has a Northern inlet but no Southern outlet so the same water that flows INTO the Jordan and OUT the Jordan, INTO the Sea of Galilee and OUT the Sea of Galilee, INTO the Dead Sea, the cycle is suspended and aborted and there it stands and remains in the Dead Sea. But yet, the waters of the Sea of Galilee and the waters of the Dead Sea are different because the Sea of Galilee is rich and refreshing—things grow in it and flow in it; but the Dead Sea is cited as the Dead Sea for a reason. Why? Because nothing can FLOW there and consequently nothing can GROW there. Why? Because it is DEAD. Now how can these two different bodies of water get their water supply from the same source and one is rich and refreshing and the other is dead? That is because the Sea of Galilee receives and releases and therefore it GROWS and FLOWS there. But the Dead Sea has a receptive mentality but no release—it takes in but doesn’t let anything GO; and that’s why it is dead.

There are 2 different Christians reading this article. And of course, you get your blessings from the same supply and the same source because, according to James 1:17, every good and perfect gift comes from above from the Lord our God Who is our Maker, Sustainer, Savior, and Redeemer. Then how can one Christian’s life be rich and refreshing with things growing and flowing and then the other Christian getting their blessings and ‘good gifts’ from the same Sovereign Source but their life is DEAD and meaningless where nothing is FLOWING and GROWING. Why? That’s because if you have a receptive mentality but no release if all you want to do is RECEIVE God’s blessings but do not RELEASE God’s blessings I don’t care how long you’ve been coming to church, how big your Bible is, how cute you look when you get to church things will not work, flow, function and grow in your life.

Why? Because whatever God can send THROUGH a person last, God will send TO that person first.

Why? Because if God cannot send it THROUGH you, God won’t waste His time sending it TO you.

Get this—When God is meeting your needs He’s really on His way to meeting somebody else’s needs.

A lot of times when God is blessing you, He’s really on His way to blessing somebody else.

The modus operandi of God works this way: He’s sending it TO you, hoping that it channels THROUGH you to bless somebody else that He’s trying to touch.

But when you STOP the flow of what God is DOING—then God stops sending it your way.

As Christian believers, we don’t live our lives the way that the world lives theirs. As Christians, we don’t have the same mentality that the world uses to think the way that they think.

There is a way to get into the FLOW of God. There is a way to be USED of God. There is a way to GROW in God.

And it is connected to a fundamental, biblical truth and here it is: God’s glory is connected to OUR giving.

A family went to dine at a restaurant and the six-year-old boy was asked to say the blessing.

As they bowed their heads he said, “God is great. God is good. Thank you for this food. And I would even thank you more, God, if Mom bought us some ice cream after dinner with liberty and justice for all. Amen.”

This brought several chuckles from other customers and also one strong remark from an older woman seated nearby, “That’s what’s wrong with this country. Kids don’t even know how to pray. Asking God for ice cream! Why I never!”
Tears welled up in the little boy’s eyes as he exclaimed, “Did I do something wrong? Is God mad at me?”

The mother reassured him that he had done nothing wrong and that he had done a great job as an elderly gentleman walked up and said, “I happen to know that God thought that was a great prayer!”

“Really?” asked the little boy.

“Cross my heart,” answered the man and with sly grin nodding toward the woman, “Too bad she never asks for ice cream. A little ice cream is good for the soul sometimes.”

Of course, mom bought ice cream for everyone. The little boy stared at his ice cream for a moment. Then he slid out of the booth, took his ice cream and placed it in front of the older woman.

With a big smile he told her, “This is for you. Sometimes a little ice cream is good for the soul and my soul is good already.”

If you want a blessing then be a blessing.

• 18 % of adults believe the Loch Ness Monster will one day be discovered.
• 18 % of adults believe Bigfoot will be discovered.
• 25 % of adults believe in UFO’s visit us from other worlds.
• 20 % believe that Aliens live with us on earth now disguised as humans.
• 28 % believe they can communicate with the dead.
• 8 % of Americans believe Elvis is still alive

I am not sure how valid these polls were and understand how the wording of questions can affect results. However these results seamed to ring true with my perception of our society as a whole. The one study that I was mainly interested in was conducted by the Barna Group. Their survey showed the likelihood of accepting Christ as your savior and was broken down by age group.

• Ages 5-13 yr. have a 32% probability of accepting Christ.
• Ages 14-18 yr have a 4% probability of accepting Christ.
• Ages 19 and above have a 6% probability of accepting Christ.

It seams so odd that after hearing the word of the bible and personal testimonies that a 30 year old, non believer is more likely to think Elvis is alive and not Christ? At Temple Baptist Church we have a variety of programs for all ages. We design outreach for young ,old and in between. I know that’s what God wants. The bible teaches us to reach out to all people.
I am so glad that our church supports the youth in so many ways. Son Shine Inn, TLC Christian School, VBS and Legacy youth group are all generously supported by Temple Baptist Church. This poll only backs up what our church already knew, the importance of investing in the young people of Salida. The study also revealed the importance of the testimony. Family and peer testimony have a great deal of impact to a non believer accepting Christ.

A few other poll results really surprised me. Only 20 % of Americans believe in Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, while 43 % believe in creationism. What? Why is it then that public schools loudly proclaim evolution when science and public opinion do not support it? Why as Christians have we allowed this to happen? Isn’t it time to let our voices be heard?
Another oddity was a poll about holidays celebrated in the United States. Overwhelmingly, 71% thought Christmas was the most important national holiday, and surprisingly to me, 65% of Americans surveyed wanted to see more emphasis on the birth of Christ rather than the commercialism of the holiday.

These two polls really give me hope. The world tells us that we should keep our faith to ourselves. The world says that we should live and let live and not let our beliefs affect society. The world would have us believe that we are fighting an impossible battle. I know better. Our savior tells us that with God all things are possible. Be an encourager to those around you today. Don’t be afraid to let Gods truths reign in your life and those around you.

Men like Jefferson, Washington, Adams, among others paid a great price for our freedom. Throughout the years countless numbers of people have laid their lives on the line to fight for the freedoms we now enjoy. How are we taking care of the nation that was handed to us?
Would the Founding Fathers be proud of what we are doing with the freedoms they fought and many died for over 234 years ago? What is it that has made this nation great? What is it that has allowed this country to be a bastion of freedom around the world for over 234 years? Why is it that people are flocking from all over the world to come live in a foreign land to start all over? What drove your ancestors to make the trek to this great nation?
We have been given a great gift, the opportunity to live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. I believe in the over 61 years of my life in this country, that the country is not doing very well in a lot of areas.

I do not have to quote the crime stats, the declining social indicators, and the declining moral climate of the nation. You can see it all around you.

Did the Founding Fathers of our nation die for what we are living for today? I will not bash us with all the ills of the nation. As great as it is, we are not without problems. We each have a responsibility to be engaged in the process to make sure things get better. I believe we are not heading in a good direction right not, it is time for a change.

How do we “change or redirect this great nation?” To paraphrase Luke 12:48, “To much is given, much is expected.” Since we have been given a great nation to oversee, what are we to do?

It is so easy for us to point fingers, what can we do to help get the nation on the right path.
The recipe for change is found in a very familiar passage of scripture. 2 Chronicles 7:14 holds our guide for changing our nation. In 2 Chronicles Solomon is building the Temple, the Temple in which his father David was not allowed by God to build. In the end of chapter 6, Solomon gives his prayer of dedication, and then in the beginning of chapter 7, fire came down from heaven to indicate that God was pleased with Solomon and the temple as a cloud of glory surrounded the temple. After some time had passed and after Solomon completed the Temple and the Kings palace, God appeared to Solomon one evening and told Solomon that his prayer had been heard and that God had chosen the Temple to be a place of sacrifice.

When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land. 2 Chronicles 7:13-14

The nation’s problems are spiritual in nature. One of the things we need to understand concerning the problems our nation struggles with is the fact they are rooted in spiritual issues.

When this country was founded, the foundation of the nation was the Word of God. The men who established this nation were God-fearing men.

Patrick Henry stated, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians, not on religions, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ!”

What has happened over the last 40 plus years is the fact that as a nation we are allowing the foundation of the nation to be destroyed. The house looks pretty, but the foundation is crumbling. For our nation to stand, we MUST have an OBJECTIVE standard by which to base our lives on. In other words, something where 1+1 is ALWAYS 2. The standard in which this nation was founded was the Word of God. I will spare you the quotes.

Now if the Word of God is the foundation on which this nation is based on, and then that foundation is destroyed, what will happen to the house? Why is murder wrong? Because God’s word says it is. If we do not use God’s Word, then who determines that murder is wrong? Majority rule? Do you really want right and wrong determined by that or by some dictator? Heard of Nazi Germany? Heard of Roe V. Wade?

We been duped into thinking that the church is supposed to stay out of government. Separation of Church and State. IT IS NOT IN THE CONSTITUTION. The government is not to interfere with the church. We are in somewhat of a crisis because forces have been chipping away at the foundation on which the nation was built.

God’s people must be the ones who fix the problem. At the beginning of verse 14. In verse 13 God is saying that if the land were to be under judgment, that HIS people MUST do something. The implication here is that God was going to hold HIS people responsible for the direction the nation of Israel would take. I believe that God will hold the church accountable for the decline of a nation. We can sit around and blame people like Madelyn Murray O’Hair all we want, but the bottom line is that God will hold His Church accountable for allowing people like her to have the voice they had while the church sat in silence.

George Mason, the father of the Bill of Rights stated: As nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, they must be in this. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes nation sins by national calamities.” If things are going to turn around, it will have to come from God’s people doing something.

God’s people need to start taking action right now! You may think that one person cannot make a difference. Well, those trying to destroy the very foundation of this nation do not believe that. Ms. O’Hair was one person who made a difference didn’t she! The other side has no trouble making their voices heard!

We must first humble ourselves. Humbling ourselves means that we are going to put God in His rightful place in our lives. It means that we will acknowledge Him as the Supreme ruler of all things. WE are not the masters of our universe, He is. We need to quit trying to do things our way and start doing things His way. Our pride causes us a lot of trouble.

We must pray and pray. When we humble ourselves, it is time to pray to God. How often do you pray for our wonderful country? How often do we pray for our leaders? We spend way too little time in prayer. If we truly believe that God is the giver all and creator of all, why wouldn’t we take the time to pray to Him?

We must seek God’s face. What does it mean to seek God’s face? It means that we are not just praying to God for our will, but we are seeking what God wants done. We are seeking God’s will for our life and for our country. WE want to know what is best for us regardless of if we want it or not. When we seek His face our desire is to follow His desire.

We must turn from our wicked ways. This sounds harsh doesn’t it? I am not doing anything wicked! Am I? Remember, wickedness is doing the opposite of what God would want us to do. When we are not carrying out God’s plan and God’s will, when we are not living for Him, we are following wicked ways. If we cannot follow God’s ways, how can we expect others to.
For things to get going in the right direction, we will most definitely need God’s help! With God all things are possible! We need God to hear us. If God does not hear our plea, we are in trouble. God promises us that if we humble ourselves, pray, seek His face, and turn from our wicked ways, He will hear us. Our disobedient spirit blocks a lot of blessings in our lives.
We need God to forgive us. When we sin, we sin against God. We are telling Him that the sacrifice Jesus made for us was not enough. We need God to forgive us. WE need to be forgiven for our apathy among other things. God is a God who loves you and will forgive you, forgiveness is necessary for us to receive God’s blessing.

We need God to heal our land. Whatever is broken can be fixed. God can come in and make all things new! The only one who can heal our land is God.

The Founding Fathers left us a WONDERFUL country. What kind of country are we going to leave our children and Grandchildren? Each one of us has a responsibility to make sure we are part of the solution, not the problem. Let us make sure we are engaged enough to make a difference, instead of complaining about how bad things are, let us get involved to try to make a change. Let us help change this great nation!

July 2 • 5pm • Temple Baptist Church

Based in Georgetown, Ohio, Soul’d Out Ministries was formed in 2001 as a trio and then reformed as an all male quartet in 2004. Soul’d Out is a full time ministry touring 25 states each year. SOQT performs in churches, theatres, fairs/festivals, Dollywood, Silver Dollar City, as well as the main stage at the National Quartet Convention.

This group is young, energetic, and exciting. Their performance includes hymns with just piano, bass, and vocals, to progressive gospel with full tracks to back the vocals. They have a good balance of entertainment and ministry. The goal of this group is to encourage their audience to enjoy life and to set a positive atmosphere for the entire family while presenting a strong gospel message.

Soul’d Out Quartet is a great act for ALL ages. They are upbeat enough to keep the interest of a teenager, while singing a few songs that grandma will know and love.

The Parable of the Sower Explained
11 “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. 12 Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved. 13 But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away. 14 Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

I have reflected on this scripture many times over the last month. The examples bring to mind that God wants each of us to be the sower and spread Gods word. It reminds me that the power of life is in the seed not with the sower or in the soil. It is the seed that has this wonderful ability to be dormant and then at the perfect moment life springs forth in roots pushing down in the soil and a stem shooting upward for the light. What a perfect way of thinking of Gods word, as a seed deep in each of us.

I have witnessed each of the four souls with kids in youth group. I have seen only a few examples of the first soil where a teen hears the word of God but Satin takes it away before it sprouts. I have seen a few teens that have sprouted and are producing an abundance. The first and the last soil are the rarest and the wide majority of teens fall in the middle. Either the seed has sprouted and they have great joy but don’t establish roots or after accepting Christ they allow worldly things to crowd out Christ. The funny thing is that we are the ones in control of developing our roots and weeding out the thorns in our own spiritual lives.

After hours of reflection, my thoughts have come to look on my own life. What do I need to do help my roots grow deeper? What thorns need to be weeded out of my life that are making me unproductive? Anyone who has planted a garden knows that weeding the garden is a continual chore. The more often it is done the easier it is and the more abundant is the crop. I hope you ponder the words of our Lord and tend to your garden.

Have you ever said something and then wished immediately you had not said it? That happens to everyone who can communicate. It would be so great to be able to gather our words back and do away with the effects of saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. But the reality is that we cannot put our words back into our minds and mouths. It is like trying to put toothpaste back into the tube after it has been squeezed out. Jesus said in Matthew 12:34 “… For out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.”

Our heart needs to be changed if our tongues are to be ultimately controlled. But after that, many still struggle with their tongues. To see our tongues controlled by the Lord, we need to be willing to let Him control it.

The Bible refers to the tongue (actually what we say) as an unbridled horse, a fire, evil, careless, and any number of other things that gets us into trouble and dispenses hurt to those we speak.

We do a lot of talking and some of it is not very kind or nice. There is a sin called gossip. We tend to forget that from time to time. It comes out of the desire to share news or what we think is new about someone. It seems that this is a trait that is naturally born into us all.

Four preachers met for a friendly gathering. Thought it would be good to confess sins to one another. Pastor 1 would sneak off occasionally to a bar outside of town and get drunk. Pastor 2 liked to go gambling. Pastor 3 was addicted to smoking and would leave the church regularly to go have a smoke. Pastor 4 did not want to confess what His big sin was. Finally, He said, “Well, I guess I should have gone first. You see, I am an incurable gossip and I can hardly wait to get out of here!”

When we discuss someone behind their back, we are gossiping. Being in the ministry opens one up to being talked about. I have often said it is better to talk to me than about me. When we pass along information that could damage someone, we are gossiping. We need to ask ourselves the following questions before we talk about someone else.

These questions form an acronym – THINK
T—Is it true?
H—Is it helpful?
I—Is it inspiring?
N—Is it necessary?
K—Is it kind?

If we can’t answer any of these in the positive, then we should think twice about saying anything.

So we see that words that are gossip dishonor the Lord and usually bring problems to our own life. We see that we need to have our tongues sanctified so that we can have better control over what we say. The problem is that no man can tame the tongue as James tells us. Man may not be able to, but with the power of the Holy Spirit we can tame our tongues. Let’s keep ourselves from calamity and refrain from words that are careless and dishonor the Lord and move on to words that are thoughtful and glorify the Lord.

Let’s replace words that are Gossip with Words that Forgive. Colossians 3:13 says, “bearing with one another, and forgiving one another; if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

Often times, when we hear gossip, or rumors, or the latest juicy details on someone else, it is usually something negative and something that makes us angry or think poorly of someone else. This is what often leads us to tell someone else what we have heard.

Instead of getting angry or thinking poorly, we need to think forgivingly and be ready to forgive with our words and actions.

I have done quite a bit of counseling. And if there is one thing I have learned, there are always facts, or information that is important and that is not contained in the things you have heard.

Whenever one person tells me their side, I know there is another side. Whenever I hear a rumor or gossip,

I try not to let it shade my thinking because I suspect there are things that I just don’t know.

So I forgive what I hear. I give the benefit of the doubt. If it is someone that I am in close relationship with, I will talk to them about it.

If it is someone I don’t know very well, I forgive and try to stop the rumor by saying, “Well there are things we just don’t know that may be going on in that person’s life or other important facts that we don’t know. Forgive, if there is anything to forgive and continue on and do not let it hinder your view of that person.

Do not give Satan a foothold.

Replace words that are unwholesome with words that encourage.

Ephesians 4:29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.

The words that we let roll off of our tongues should be encouraging other people. Instead of using words that offend, use words that build up. When someone makes a mistake, don’t scream and cuss them out, encourage them to do better next time. Look for ways to make someone’s day. Let them know they did a good job with something. Let them know how something they did positively affected you.

Don’t just tell people when something is not right, let them know when things are going well.

Have you ever had a person that you always knew had a complaint about something? Whenever you saw them, you knew you were going to be hearing how things weren’t just right in some area. You never heard about the areas where things were going well.

Don’t be that person. Be an encourager. When you are an encourager, people will want to be around you. Fill your speech with words that encourage. Finally, you want to replace words that are lies with Words that are True and Loving.

Psalm 51:6 Surely you desire truth in the inner parts;

Ephesians 4:15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ.

God wants us to be truthful. We glorify God when we are truthful. We do however have to speak truth in a loving way. All of our communication needs to be sprinkled with love. If we don’t have love, our communication is just noise.

Sometimes we speak the truth, but unlovingly. Husbands and wives, are you communicating truth in love or are you seeking to tear down the other person when you are angry? Other times we think we may be loving someone by lying. We need to be willing to talk truth to people.

It is going to be hard sometimes. Often we are afraid of hurting someone’s feelings. We don’t do any favors to people when we are not honest with them. I struggle myself with this issue sometimes. I don’t like anyone to feel bad about something, but sometimes people are just not designed to do certain things.

Honesty in Love is always best.

My Name is Gossip. I have no respect for justice. I maim without killing. I break hearts and ruin lives. I am cunning, malicious and gather strength with age. The more I am quoted, the more I am believed. I flourish at every level of society. My victims are helpless. They cannot protect themselves against me because I have no name and no face. To track me down is impossible. The harder you try, the more elusive I become. I am nobody’s friend. Once I tarnish a reputation, it is never that same. I topple governments and wreck marriages. I ruin careers and cause sleepless nights, heartaches and indigestion. I spawn suspicion and generate grief. I make headlines and headaches. Remember, before you repeat a story, ask yourself: Is it true? Is it fair? Is it necessary?? If not, do not repeat it, KEEP QUIET!

For now I will KEEP QUIET!

Mother’s Day Message