I appreciate each one who reads this blog. I have met many people who do so. It is a real joy.

Thanks to each of you who do not attend my local fellowship. On Saturdays, I often write “a little something extra” to our church–that’s what lagniappe (lan-yap) means. Thanks for letting me do this and share it with you as well.

Martha and I appreciate our time away, and we are happy to be home.

Thank you for giving us time to decompress and get away from the daily preparation time. You are gracious and thoughtful.

But, we are happy to be back and looking forward to moving forward as we seek as a church to minister to our community and to help communicate the hope we have in Christ.

Let me give you some ideas for the coming months. I hope you will make this the year you are more involved in ministry than ever before.

My sermon today will set the tone for the next year. I want to talk about genuine faith and a commitment that praises God. Please give particular attention to what God is saying to you through the message.

Today is the first day for many of our fourth graders in the “big worship service.” I particularly want to challenge them to grow in Christ and for all of us to become like Him.

Next week I will begin a five part series on “Speaking the Truth.” We will ask what the Bible means about becoming like Christ, being born again, being baptized in the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit. I hope you and the people you influence will attend each week.

Following that, I will begin a series about “Hearing God.”

I teach three times each week–the weekend worship services, Tuesday Men’s Breakfast, and our Wednesday Bible Study in the Fellowship Hall. Each time is a different format, designed to meet various needs. All of these get started back beginning today.

My Tuesday teaching will be from Romans and Galatians. We will emphasize the foundations of the faith.

On Wednesday nights I lead a verse by verse in-depth study. This year we will study Paul’s letters to the Colossians and Philippians.

I hope you will take advantage of all these opportunities.