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Good Morning Everyone,
It's always a joy to send out words of
encouragement on Monday morning. As many of you
know, I had a great time in South Dakota with my
father and cousin last week. We shot a lot of
pheasants and had a great time. I guess you
would say I am a lover of the outdoors and
upland game hunting. The only bad part about the
trip was the 3hrs and 20 minutes it took to get
through Chicago on Friday night!
Anyway, it's great to be back home and I am
excited on this Monday morning because the
church I pastor is having the time of its life.
Both services were wonderful yesterday. God is
doing such an awesome work and people are so
excited about the things of God. We had a great
sending service Sunday morning and preached on
the "Blessing of Missions." Twelve of us will be
leaving Saturday morning for Phoenix, Arizona
for our Work & Witness trip. I can't wait to see
how God is going to bless our efforts. We had
142 in morning worship and averaged 143 for the
month of October. Sunday night was very special
with good music, good preaching by Nathan
Brackenridge, and wonderful testimonies. People
were on their feet for almost 30 minutes
testifying to how God is working in their lives.
A pastor couldn't ask for a better church!
This morning, I just want to tell you all that
God expects us to be people of integrity. I'm
talking about always taking the high road and
walking the straight and narrow. The word
"integrity" means "uprightness of character,
honesty; the condition of being sound and whole;
the state of being complete and undivided." We
live one life not a double life. Shakespeare
said, “To thine own self be true.” That speaks
to me of what you are on the inside. Character
is what you know you would do if you knew you
would never get caught.
Secondly, I want to tell you that integrity is
not swayed or influenced by men. We often care
too much about the opinions and judgments of
others. We get into trouble trying to please
everybody. Do not be swayed by the pressure of
men to conform or by the persecutions of men.
John Bunyan, who wrote Pilgrim’s Progress, was
imprisoned for preaching in the 1400's. While in
prison, his captors brought his daughter to him
who begged him to come home. “You can leave now
and go home to your family if you will stop
preaching,” they told him. He replied, “If you
let me out tonight you will find me tomorrow
morning preaching in Bedford Square.”
My prayer is that all of our South Flint
Nazarenes will walk in obedience to Christ and
follow Him whole-heartedly. Integrity is
important and integrity counts. It's high on
God's priority list. I'm taking the high road
this week and I hope you will follow.
Till next time, Pastor Don
P.S. Don't forget missionaries Howard and
Beverly Shute will be with us Wednesday night
for a special missionary service. They are
career missionaries to Ethiopia. Also please be
in prayer for our Trunk or Treat Kids
Extravaganza tonight. This is a great outreach
for our church and to reach kids.
CARTOON OF THE WEEK: THE NEW SEATBELT. IT
REDUCES ACCIDENTS BY 45%
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