Author: admin

Have you noticed lately that everybody just seems to be mad? I used to think I might have anger issues but when I watch the news, I realize I’m pretty well adjusted compared to a lot of people. Why is everybody so angry and what can we do about it in our own lives? Let’s talk about that at Christ Fellowship this Sunday morning and evening. We will look at the great attitude that Joseph had in Genesis chapter 50 where he had every right to be mad. I so hope you can be there. I love you all and miss you when you’re gone! — Todd

Somebody once said that 90% of the things we worry about never happen…which proves that worrying works! I don’t think that’s really how it works and also the Bible tells us not to worry, that worry is a sin. But with so much bad news in the world today, how do we keep from it?

Well, we are continuing our new sermon series on what we struggle with and this week we see the struggle of Jacob and how, if anybody had reason to worry, it was him. Jacob is seeing the consequences of his own actions coming back to haunt him. Don’t you hate that when it happens?  I encourage you to be ready for the message this Sunday by reading Jacob’s story that is found in Genesis from chapters 25-35 but for our study this Sunday morning and evening at Christ Fellowship, read especially chapter 32 – especially if you struggle with worry.

I love you all and can’t wait to see you! You need the church and the church needs you!

— Todd

I forgot to mention earlier that this Sunday (9/14) we will have lunch at the church. It will be potluck and no rules as usual. Just bring what you want with enough to share. Don’t forget desserts, salad (if you’re into that kinda thing) and drinks plus bread and all the fixins. And if you forget or don’t have anything or you just can’t cook, don’t worry about it! Please stay. We always have plenty. I can’t wait. Also, there will be no evening service. Cya!

Last week’s message at Christ Fellowship was on prayer and the main passage used was Jeremiah 33:3 where God says, “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” God is telling us – commanding us – to call on Him, to pray to Him and when we do, He will tell us what He wants us to know. But all through the Bible we read of times when it seemed like God just wasn’t speaking. His will was not clear and so the people would add fasting to their prayers to help them hear from God.

We are coming up on a year of being in the auction house now and we are still very grateful to God and the Cantrells for providing it. Seriously, I don’t know what we would do if not for their generosity and we are very thankful. But I am and have been praying for our own place to worship, a place we can stay and call our own permanently. But this is one of those times when God has chosen not to answer those prayers like we want. He continues to say, “Wait.”

So, I’m asking you to join me in fasting just one meal this weekend and to spend that time we would be eating instead praying and communicating with God especially in this matter of a building for our church. You pick the meal and the day but sometime this weekend, let’s spend some extra time just asking for God’s undeserved blessings on His bride, the church. Ask Him to give us wisdom and insight and unity on where we should go next. And spend some time just listening as well. And I know He will tell us great and unsearchable things we do not know.

We start a new sermon series this Sunday on where we all struggle and this Sunday will be on the struggle of faith itself looking at Abram in Genesis 15. I can’t wait to see you! I love you all! — Todd

Every now and then our church building just needs a good cleaning. It’s not very big so it doesn’t take long to get dirty but since it’s not very big it doesn’t take long to clean either. So, we decided that tomorrow night, Tuesday the 9th, at about 6:30 would be the best time. We have all kinds of cleaning supplies there at the building but if you have something you really like, please bring it. With a few people to help we can get it done in less than an hour so if you can help, we would really appreciate it! Thank you, Christ Fellowship church family! I love you all! — Todd

Tomorrow, Saturday the 6th, is the memorial service for Ralph’s brother, Michael Messier, at Christ Fellowship. Start time is 11 am. It is open to all and all are welcome to attend. It will be just a brief celebration of life to honor Michael and help bring closure to the family. I know the family would appreciate your attendance.

Grief has always been a part of life. Most of you have been through at least some part of the grief process. If you haven’t, you will sooner or later. And there is nothing wrong with grieving in and of itself. It is actually part of the healing process. We grieve for any number of reasons. We may lose a loved one or a job or a pet and what may seem like a minor thing to some people is a huge loss for others. That’s part of grieving. Everybody does it differently and nobody does it right or wrong necessarily. It is ultimately a private issue but God has given us a church family to help deal with grief. And I wonder lots of times how people do it who don’t have a church family.

But the difference in Christians and non-Christians is that we have hope.  First Thessalonians 4:13–14 says, “Brothers, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.” And the hope we have is through Jesus that because of His sacrifice for us, we will see our loved ones again in Heaven where there will be no more tears and no more pain. So, don’t try to escape grief. it comes for all of us. But we don’t live there now and we won’t live there in eternity. Thank you, Lord!

I’ll see you all Sunday at 10. I love you. — Todd

As we continue our sermon series on sanctification, this Sunday at Christ Fellowship we will study the Lord’s Supper or Communion as some call it. As you know, sanctification is the process by which God molds us and shapes us to be more and more like Jesus. We have seen that sanctification starts the moment we are saved and continues with baptism. Then last week we saw the vital link that the church plays in that sanctification. This Sunday we will see how the Lord’s Supper fits in as well. 

Please make your plans to be here as we are obedient to Jesus by looking back at the sacrifice He made for us but also looking forward to His return. Make those plans starting Saturday night by being prayed up and rested up ready to worship this Sunday morning. I can’t wait and if you are reading this, I hope to see you there. I love you all! — Todd

So, I did some research – I Googled it – to find out what the geniuses on the interwebs thought about the decline of church attendance in America. Here is a sample of what they said. “Reasons behind church attendance decline are varied and multi-layered, but a few main culprits include shifting cultural values, busier schedules, generational changes, lack of engagement, and scandal-plagued institutions.” Sounds to me like people are more easily offended and just don’t care like they used to.

I really believe it has more to do with a misunderstanding of the purpose of church. Let’s talk about that this coming Sunday morning and evening at Christ Fellowship. And hopefully you will understand better why I always say that you need the church and the church needs you! I love you all! — Todd

In Matthew 28:19, we see the Great Commission where Jesus tells us to “go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” As we continue our in-depth study of what it means to be sanctified, the first place we start is to be baptized. That is the first thing we do to separate ourselves from the world. I assume most people reading this have at one time been baptized. But do you know where it started and what it means? Should we be baptized more than once? Is it part of what we do to get to Heaven? Why was Jesus baptized? Is it the same as sprinkling? Why does “baptism” have an “s” but “baptize” has a “z”? 🙂 What other questions do you have about baptism? We will study this further this Sunday at Christ Fellowship. I sure hope you can be there. You will be missed if you aren’t!

Also, this is auction weekend at our building so that means that after the auction is over Saturday afternoon, some of us have to put all of our stuff back into the building. If you would be available to help with that, would you please let me know? It is difficult for just 2-3 guys to do it and even a little more help would be great! 

I love you all! — Todd

Romans 1:16 says, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.” How many of you would say you are ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ? Probably none of us would say that. But I want you to think back to the last time you told someone the Gospel. Think back to the last time you presented the way to Heaven to somebody. What scriptures did you use? Or maybe you just gave your testimony about what your life was like before you met Jesus, how you met Jesus, and what your life has been like since. Has it been a while? Have you ever done it?

We will end our sermon series on witnessing and sharing the Gospel this Sunday with one more method, the invitational method. It comes from the woman at the well in John 4 whose method of evangelism was simply to say, “Hey, y’all come see Jesus!” (That’s from the New Texas Version, btw.) That and her one sentence testimony is really about all she said and the scripture says that, “Many of the Samaritans from that town believed…”

Don’t you wish that could be said of your town? Do you want it bad enough to tell somebody else the Good News of what Jesus has done in your life? Let’s talk more about it Sunday morning and Sunday night at Christ Fellowship.

I love you all and can’t wait to see you. You need the church and the church needs you. — Todd