Hello Folks,
I have noticed that when things are going well there can be mulitple bad things take place at the same time. During the past 3 months our attendance has been better than last year yet there have been few people who have made commitments to Christ. While we have had marvelous worship and great times of fellowship there has also been individuals and families that have faced great difficulties. I have had two calls just this morning where great hurt exists and families face tremendous struggles. But is that not life? Life is not filled just with good but it has the hurtfull things in it that we all wish we would not have to face. In the midst of the good and the bad I am thankful that God is faithful and that we can depend upon Him to care for us!
Sunday South Greene High School used our sanctuary for a band concert and there must have been 350 people from the community here. I am very thankful that we can be of assistance to the community and allow our facilities to be used in a manner that hopefully will give us some contact with people who would never be here otherwise. It is my prayer that we can actually make a real difference in the lives of the people in our city and county.
We had our Christmas with the church dinner last Sunday p.m. and it went very well. The dinner was great, attendance was very good and numerous new families were with us. God has been good to us in this year. While there have been difficult moments He has been so wonderful to us that I cannot give enough praise to Him.
Have a great Christmas. I will not write another one of these until Jan. 3, 2012. May He bless you in this Christmas season.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
For the past few years this congregation has invested heavily in the life of young people. One of the things we do is True Love Waits. For about 8 weeks during youth services on Wednesdays Anita Miller went through some intense training to help our young people to understand the concept and the need of purity where sexuality is concerned. This past Sunday night there were 19 young people who for the first time received their rings as a symbol of their commitment to a life of purity. After it was over we had a small reception and everyone was invited to come and participate. Many may not realize that we are attempting to give tools to our young people that will enable them to stand as children of God who walk in the truth of the gospel. I for one am thankful for them and for our Youth Pastor Anita Miller who gives so much of herself to help young people.
We are 19 days away from Christmas and I find it difficult to figure out what to get my wife. You fellows probably have no problem with this but I do. My daughter helps me all she can and most of time she comes through for me. I am thankful that God knows exactly what we need and He always come through for us. Praise be to Him for His wonderful grace.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
For about 15-20 years I have preached an Advent Series during this time of year and this year is no different. I find that it is an excellent method to enable people to consider what Christmast is really about and to address some of the biblical truths that we must know. For instance, this is a marvelous time to present Jesus as God in the Flesh. If He is not God then salvation is an impossibility and Christianity is a hoax. There is no middle ground on this issue and it is something that our world, and we Christians, must grasp.
Another part of a thematic approach is that the concern some have with the accusation of Christmas being a pagan holiday can be addressed. For instance, we can easily present the pieces of how we worship Christ at Christmas in this context. Since Jesus is the light of the world we can remind folks that when they see the lights that decorate homes, trees, offices and other such places it is an indication of the truth of Jesus. We Christians can tell our world that others may not utilize the Christmas season correctly but that does not mean that we can not do so. You see Christmas for the Christian is about Jesus. The gifts we give are a reminder of the gift that God gave to us--Jesus His Son who brought salvation.
I pray that you and your family will worship the Savior during this Christmas season. While others around us may misuse it let us bring glory to the King of Kings at this time. Teach your children and grandchildren about what it represents and how we bow to our Savior and worship Him.

May He bless you all,

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
Next Sunday starts the Advent season for the church! Of course, it is obvious that the commerical world has been in the Christmas mode for some time already and Friday will mark the start for those hardcore shoppers that believe they must get out early and get all the savings. I wonder what would happen if our world had the same mentality about Jesus? Can you not see pepole insisting that the church doors open at midnight so they can avail themselves of what we have to offer? Can you not imagine crowds at the door of the church pushing so hard that they almost break them down? What are the reasons that our world sees shopping for products as more urgent than seeking the Savior?
Let me give you some possibilites:
1. People just do not care.
2. People just do not know.
3. The church is not doing a good job telling people about Jesus.
4. Jesus is not seen as necessary.
5. People prefer darkness over light (sounds like scripture to me.)
Feel free to add some more things to the list. It might help us to make a difference in our world for the Savior.
I pray that this Christmas season will be filled with His joy for your life.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
The month of November is a very important month in the life of the church. In November we celebrate Thanksgiving and that seems to me to be a time when the family is clearly brought to our attention. So during the month of November I take the first three or four weeks, depending on how many there, and preach on the family. It has been my thought that if I could have learned more about the family I might have been able to be a much better husband and father. So I want to give to those who sit in our pews a biblical perspective on the family. I ask those of you who read this to pray with me that our families will be encouraged and better equipped to fulfill their roles in the family.
Thanksgiving is just about 10 days away and I look forward to it. While I will not go to visit my children during that time, we save our vacation for around Christmas, we will get to be with our church family. Ruth and I are attempting to figure out how to get to four different homes in that day. We have had other invitations but there is no way we can add anything else to that day. I am so thankful that I pastor a church family that does all they can to make us a part of their lives and allows us the privilege of being in their homes at this time of family celebration.
I pray that you will have a great time of celebration in your family this Thanksgiving. May the blessings of God be yours.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
I just got back last night from a meeting with the Pastor's Fellowship Steering Committee in Kentucky. It was good to be there because of all the friends that I get to see. While I was there I saw the two previous pastors of this congregation, Leroy Oesch and Charles Heater. What a pleasure it is to get to see them and spend some time with them. Brother Oesch is one of the smartest men I know. His educaiton and heart for the church and souls is something I always am astounded by especially considering that he is probably around 80 years of age. Charles Heater has been the interim pastor of the congregation in Christianburg, Va. God has blessed that congregation while he has been there this past year and they have seen growth during that time frame.
When we met one of the things that we did that was of the utmost importance was considering what God would have us to do where Pastor's Fellowship on May 7-8, 2012 is concerned. The Theme will be "What The Spirit Says To The Church" . I ask you to pray for that time and that God will use it to help the Church of God Reformation Movement to hear the voice of God. There can be no doubt that the Church needs to hear the Spirit of God speak to us and give us direction at a time like this.
One of the questions that our Movement is facing is whether we will be a people who believe that God's truth is ever changing or whether God's truth is absolute! Some appear to be saying that God's truth is what each generation understands it to be and that He is pleased with our determinations. I wonder what this Movement will be confronted with in the next generation? Could we be a people who will "grow" into an understanding that is so different that it is not Christian? Think about it and let me know if you would like to comment.

May He Bless You,

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
I pray that this finds you all doing well. Ruth got back in town yesterday after visiting the kids and grandchildren for a week. It was good to get her back home but I really am thankful that she can spend time with them. It is hard for her to be away from them and she wants to see them but it is also hard for her to leave me alone. I think she is really afraid that I will start throwing things away and she would not like that. Seriously, I find it more difficult all the time being away from her. God has given me a wonderful wife to partner with in ministry and I am so thankful for her.
For the past two months many of you have been participating in CL4Cl, Christian Learning for Christian Living. Even as I write this there is a group meeting in the conference room dealing with Worship. Some are meeting on Sunday a.m., others on Sunday p.m., Tuesday a.m., Wednesday p.m. and Thursday p.m. with studying different sections. We will start offering signup for a repetition of the classes in the month of December. If you can participate in this please sign up so you will be able to learn more of the truth of God for your life. Here is a way for people to grow in Christ and to learn how to better serve Him.
I just prepared a sermon that reminded me of the fact that we are strangers here on this earth. I realize that most of us think about that but I wonder if we grasp the reality of what that means to us as we live on this earth. If we get so attached to this earth, the things, and the people of it I wonder if we lose sight of the reality that none of this will last. You and I are to be live as if this is just temporary and that our real home is yet to come. I for one pray that I will keep the right priorities so that I can give up anything here in this world as I wait for my home going.

Have a great day,

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
It appears to me that winter is getting closer all the time. The temperatures are getting cooler, the leaves are changing and Thanksgiving is only a month away. The signs of the times reveal that it will not be long before we have to get our winter coats out and turn the furnace on to keep warm. I, for one, do not look forward to cold weather. Yet I know that it comes every year and I will have to bear it again.
Every one of us have things we do not like but they still come into our lives. We do not like taxes, getting up early, cutting the grass, or whatever it is that you find distasteful yet we do them. Life is filled with some difficult and undesirable things but in the midst of them all there are also some wonderful things that come to pass. This past Sunday we enjoy baptizing 7 people, 2 adults and 5 children, who had made a commitment of faith to Jesus and wanted to be obedient to Him. All around us are difficulties yet God still gives us some of the most wonderful and joyful moments of our lives. It is good to see people say yes to the will and truth of God.
We also had visitors that would not have been here if they had not been invited to be part of the baptism service. In a world that is filled with all kinds of difficult moments we were allowed to see someone who had not been in church in years come and participate in worship. Maybe, just maybe, they will have their hearts changed because of that moment. Please pray for each one that was here.
May the Lord bless you and remember that in the times when things are not always what you want God gives us some wonderthing moments.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
This Saturday Ruth's mother, Daphene McCorkle, went home to be with the Lord. She had been in a semi-care facility for about 13 months and has been suffering from demensia for about 5 years. Ruth was called about 2:30 a.m. and told that her mother had been taken to the hospital complaining of pain and by 11:45 p.m. she had left this world. Her kidneys had failed and of course that was a life ending event for her. Her age was 87. Ruth and I are thankful that she was able to be with us that long yet we are also thankful that her physical suffering was short lived. I want to thank all of you for your prayers and kind words. The congregation here at Greeneville First Church of God has been exceedingly kind to us and we could not ask for any better care than they have given us. The funeral will be Wednesday 10-19-11 in West Union, Ohio where Daphene grew up and where Ruth's father is buried. Once again thanks to all of you for your kindness and prayers at this time.
Death is a reminder to all of us that life in this world is not something that is eternal. We all will die unless Jesus comes again before our physical death. Yet physical death is also something that allows us to go to be with the Lord and for that we should all be thankful. Because Jesus died for us and rose from the grave you and I can live forever through Jesus. Heaven is a place where we can enjoy all that God has prepared for us and where we can be in His presence forever. I praise Him for that!
As we look at this world that we live in and see people who are running from place to place do we not realize that many of them, maybe most of them, will not go to be with God after they die? Truly the harvest is plenteous but the laborers are few! We must pray that the Lord will send forth laborers into the harvest and maybe that you and I could be those laborers.
Blessings to all of you.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
Last week I was in South Lebanon, Ohio where I preached a revival for our congregation there. It went from Sunday a.m. through Wednesday night. The congregation there is a small congregation but the folks there had a desire to worship God and were very receptive to the sermons. Yet that brings a question that I would like to present to you.
Through the nights that I spent at that congregation I noticed that there no other pastors or members of other congregations attended in support even though there are a multitude of other congregations within a short distance. There could be numerous reasons for that such as a failure to communicate to the other congregations. But it seems to me that wherever I go that there is very little support from other congregations and that is even true here in Greeneville. It would appear to me that there is little, if any, practical application of unity being applied among our congregations today. Of course, I could be using the wrong measurements but there appears to be little effort to support each other in anything.
Let me give you another example of this thought. During the East Tennessee Summer Camp Meeting the largest attendance was 524 with the average nightly attendance being 334. According to the yearbook the seven congregations of Greene county have a combine average attendance of 1151 and that does not include any of the other approximately 21 congregations of the Church of God in East Tennessee.
This leads me to the question of whether we really want to be together as congregations? It appears from this that either the idea of unity is lost to us or we must find some other ways to express it. Could it be that people see these times of joint worship as nothing more than a night off from church? I realize that people are extremely busy but does that simply reveal a shift to being a society of people who want a "form of godliness" that takes place on Sunday a.m. only?
I heard a CD of Albert Mohler the other day and he said: "Wealth brings more opportunities for unfaithfulness." Is that where we are at as a nation, as a Movement, and as a congregation? You tell me.

H. Gerald Rudd

Hello Folks,
Some of you may have heard about or, even, have read the book "Radical" by David Platt and I would encourage you to get it and read it if you would like to be challenged about what it means to be the church. Sometimes I find that the demands of our society and my own desires to be "successful" might cause me to miss the real needs of the local congregation. We are so conditioned to make sure we have a good "show" and "performance" that we often forget that we are supposed to make disciples. I wonder if we miss out on that one issue if God will say "well done" or if he will say "depart from me." Could it be that we in the American church are so caught up in teh giltz and glamour of being the "big" church in town that we fail actually fail to be the church?
Here is a challenge for you and me. Look at your own life and ask if you have made any disciples and if you are currently making disciples. If we cannot say yes to that I wonder if we can stand before God and be satisfied with our lives. I realize that some of us would say that we are preaching the Word and that we are guiding the Church which are undoubtedly correct things to do. But if we are not making disciples does that not mean we are failing to fulfill Matt 28:18-20? If we fail at that I wonder if our "works" will withstand the fire.
It is my prayer that I make disciples for Jesus. If I fail at that it would appear to me that I fail at one thing that is more important than anything else that we might do. What do you think of this?

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
This morning I came to my office and received the report on what is taking place after a couple of weeks of Christian Learning for Christing Living or CL4CL. We had a total of 161 peple sign up for it and int he first two weeks of it 138 of those people actually have attended. This is a very good turn out in my mind as it is not unusual for people to say that they will attend and sometimes only about 50% of them actually make it. I am praying that these classes will enable people to grow in Jesus and that the impact of it will be amazing in thelives of individuals as well as the congregation as whole.
At the beginning of the month I started a series in the Sunday a.m. worship on the names of God. The study for those sermons have been very helpful to me individually and I pray that they will have real impact upon the people who are here. I pray that we will learn more of who God is and how we can have real relationship with Him. It seems to me that many people want to have God do things for them but they are not actually seeking to know Him. What would our congregation look like if we really learned what God is like and attempted to know Him more?
I want to thank you all for your cards, e-mails, facebook entries, and personal wishes on my 60th birthday. I have to admit that I find myself with a few more aches and that my body continues to deteriorate. Now, do not misunderstand I think I am in pretty good health and I get along pretty good but it is obvious to me that I am not 30 anymore. Thanks to all of you for helping me enjoy my birthday with food, gifts and celebration. Your kindness is a great joy to me. God has been good to me by allowing me to be part of your lives.

Yours In Christ,

H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
This past week Ruth and I went to the State Minister's Meeting at Hermitage Church of God near Nashville. It was one of the best State Minister Meeting's that I have ever been to in 36 years of preaching and 31 years of full-time pastoral ministry. Arlo Newell was the speaker and God used him wonderfully to declare the truth of God about the call of ministry and the preaching of the Word. Brother Newell is 85 years of age and except for looking a little frail God used him powerfully during that time. I am thankful that I got to be there to hear him and to have my own heart renewed.
This coming Saturday I will turn 60 years of age if the Lord is willing to allow me to live until then. I would have never thought that I would get to be this old but the Lord has given me pretty good health and I give Him praise for the joys that He has allowed me. Over 31 years ago I left my job at General Motors and took my first pastorate in Pekin, Il. Then in 2001 I became the pastor of Greeneville First Church of God. There have been great times of joy for me as a senior pastor and I could never thank God enough for giving me this great honor of allowing me to serve His church.
This past Sunday p.m. after our worship the congregation here helped me to celebrate my birthday and my 10th year as the pastor here. What wonderful time it was and you should have seen all the deserts that were prepared. I would not be able to eat them all in two weeks of nohting but deserts. But most of all the kindness and love that this congregation has shown me cannot be measured. For that I am extremely thankful to them and to my Savior who gave Himself for me. If the Lord is willing and the congregation agrees I am willing to say here until it is time for me to give way to the next leader God would send this way. Pray that I be sensitive to God's voice in all of this.
May He bless you all.

H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
Labor Day is over and everyone is probably back to work today. I pray that you all had a great 3 day week-end and enjoyed your family. I also pray that you were with your spiritual family over this holiday. It is suprising to me how many people decide that on long week-end that they should skip out on worshiping with the family of God and giving praise to the Savior. Maybe I am rather old fashioned where this is concerned and I also realize that there may be times when you cannot go to worship but if you can why would you not go? If we do an honest evaluation of our holidays I wonder if we actually leave God out of them? Just something to think about.
Our new effort called Christian Learning for Christian Living, or CL4CL has started and we have 156 people signed up for it. There are 46 youth signed up and even though we have some adults who have signed up for more than one there are about 90-100 adults that are going to start the effort of learning so they can be more capable to serve the Savior. Pray that this will enable all of us to be more capable to serve the One who gave Himself for us.
This week Ruth and I will go to Nashville for our State Ministers meeting. While we will only stay one night we will get to hear one of the individuals that we both think is one of the best preachers in the Church of God Reformation Movement--Arlo Newell. Brother Newell has been a wonderful brother to me through the years and has given of himself to help give guidance and counsel when I have needed it. Pray that God will use him powerfully for the Kingdom this week.
Well, may this week be filled with the joy of God for your life.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
The nights are getting cooler, all the kids are back in school and the month of August will be over one more day. This summer how really gone by quickly. I wonder as we look back over the summer if we are satisfied with what has happened and how we have lived our lives for God? One of the things that has been very exciting for me is the fact that the new believers that God has given to us are being discipled. Gary Collins, our Steward of Disicpleship and Outreach, has been very diligent in getting someone to work with these invidiuals. What a joy it is to know that we are doing what we can to help people to grow up in Jesus.
The past two Sunday p.m. worship times have been shaped by the Holy Ghost. There is no way I can explain the presence of God other than to say that it was very obvious that our LORD was here and that people responded to Him. If you missed it you really did miss it! If people only knew how marvelous the moving of the LORD was they would make sure that they were here with the prayer that He would come again into our midst.
On Sept. 11 I will have served as the pastor in this congregation for 10 years and I am thankful for the opportunity to be part of this congregation. You have allowed me to be part of your lives and it has been absolutely a gift from God. There have been far more wonderful times rather than difficult ones. God has blessed me and I cannot tell you how thankful I am for His wonderful grace. It is certainly that grace that not deserved by me but grace that I praise Him for in my life.

Have a wonderful day,

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
One of the major efforts that we are attempting to put into place here at Greeneville First Church of God is CL4CL or Christian Learning for Christian Living. We are offering classes that correspond to our Missions Statement in hopes that it will help us to grow in Christ and learn how to make a real difference in our world. The four areas that we are offering this training in are: Worship, Growing (discipleship), Reaching (Evangelism) and Living (holiness). The classes will be offered on different days and at different times so each person can have an opportunity to participate in this process. Currently we have 41 youth signed up as well as 82 adults. Now some of those are individuals who signed up for more than one class so we have about 75 different youth and adults that are participating. If you have not signed up and have the ability to do so I would encourage you to do so as soon as you can. You can do that by calling the office or signing up in the Welcome Center.
If we are going to fulfill the Great Commission of Matt 28:18-20 we must be people who actually reach into our world with the message of Jesus and help Christians grow up in Jesus. Sunday Morning I preached a sermon titled: "What Will You Seek?" If you were not here you can listen to it on the church's website. The subject matter came from Matt 6:33 and I attempted to get individuals to answer this question. This congregation wants to grow and unless we help people come to Jesus and grow up in His truth all we are doing is developing a crowd. It is not our duty to grow a crowd but to grow the Church! We have to decide if we are going to do that!
Sunday night was special in my mind. We heard testimonies that were absolutely amazing. One lady who has only been saved a couple of months stood up and wept as she spoke about how good God has been to her. My heart was moved by her words and her sincerity. She came here due to another new believer who was her friend and he invited her! God is truly good to us and I was thankful that I was here.
God bless you all.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
Well I have made it back from the West Frankfort, IL. Camp Meeting. Ruth and I drove over 1000 miles and had a wonderful time with the church of God there. I preached 8 sermons and led 3 sermons. I also had the opportunity to play in a men's golf outing with some of the fellows from the camp meeting. It was a really joyful time and I am thankful for the opportunity.
Chad Harlan was the song evangelist and his wife Tracy was there as well. It was a real pleasure for me as I have known Tracy since she was 9 and Chad since he was 19. He brought a wonderful spirit to the worship and understood the needs of the people enabling them to worship in a wonderful manner. I also saw people that I have known for years. Keith Heberer and his wife Brandie were there as well and I have known him since he was 17 and her since she was about 23. Needless to say they are all much older now--I have known some of them for over 30 years. God blessed me with that time with them.
While I was there I believe that God directed me to preach primarily on doctrinal subjects. I preached on the Everlasting Kingdom, Does Truth Matter or What is the Name of the Church among other things. It was interesting to see so many who acted as if they were thirsty people in a desert. There were some who no doubt disagreed with some of the things I said but I found most wanted to hear more.
Here is a question for you. Since people appeared to want to hear more does that mean our pastors should be preaching doctrinal truth? If we only say that we want to see people saved I wonder why so much of the bible is about people growing up in Jesus. Also, if that is the case how can they grow up unless they hear truth?
Ruth and I talked about this some and I wonder sometimes if I am a piece of antique furniture that people do not mind looking at but really do not want to have in their home. Should we not be people who desire to know God's truth for our lives? Is being a Christian just about going to heaven or it is about making disciples? I guess time will answer that but if pastors do not preach all the truth they have and desire to learn more will they be accountable for those who believe a lie and lose their soul?
Good to be back. May He bless you all.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
Ruth drove to Florence, Ky to pick up our 3 of our granddaughters and they are spending a few days with us. Yesterday we took them to the Aquarium at Gatlinburg and had quite a day of laughing and spending time with them. I do remember now why you should be younger when you have children, they are 11, 12, and 13 and they are quite a handful. But we had a great time with them and I pray that we can spend some great time with them this week.
The East Tennessee Camp Meeting take place this week with Kevin Collin preaching and Greg Alexander leading the worship. This is always a time when we have an opportunity to grow in our relationship with our Savior. It is also a time when we get to see folks from our sister congregations and attempt to practice the idea of unity that we proclaim. I hope that you are planning on being with us this week and praying that God will be glorified by what we are doing there.
This week I am going to start working on a series of sermons on the names of God. It is my desire to help us understand God a little bit more and to realize how great He is! Many people live life thinking that God is either non-existent or that He is not concerned with us at all. Ask God to give me understanding of His Word and to be able to transmit that to those who will hear those sermons.
May the Lord bless you all.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
I pray that this past week-end was one filled with the grace of Christ for your life. Next Sunday I am planning on preaching from Isa 11:1-11 and addressing the question of prophecy being fulfilled. Do we really believe that Jesus died to change animals so they would eat together rather than eating each other? It is very clear that verses 1-5 are revealing Jesus to us. Did He not already come? If He already came to this world why would we think that the rest of these verses have been put on hold until some time in the future? Could it not be that God wants to change the nature of humans? Is that not the real purpose of the coming of Jesus? He died to save us, to make us new creations, to give us natures that owuld be loving and kind rather than blood thirsty. I know some of us were like "snakes in the grass" and "old bears" in our lives but God made us new. Also in Isa 11:9 we are shown that this would take place on God's Holy Mountain which is nothing other than Gods beautiful Church! Read Heb 12:22-23 and find that the New Testament author declared that the church is Mount Sion. Praise God for the prophet Isaiah that told us about what Jesus would do in the lives of people and then He actually fulfilled it! Is He not wonderful!
I pray you all have a great week and may the grace of Jesus Christ be poured out into your lifes.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
This past Sunday was a good day in the Lord. I must tell you that I preached from Jer 18:1-6 about the potter crushing the vessel and making it new again. As I read that passage in my study I thought about how God wants to reshape men and women for Him. I realize that this passage deals with Israel but if you look closely at v.2 you would also see the resurrection of Jesus presented. God sees us as dead in our sins and He wants to raise us up new in Him! We can be "new creations" (2 cor 5:17) and that is the same picture that we are shown in Jer 18. Praise God for His willingness to make us new.
I must admit that there are times when I would like to be working back in the factory but after a day or two of sorting through life I see the wonder of His grace in my life. There can be no doubt that Jesus had days just like that in his earthly life. It makes you wonder why He bothered to leave heaven to come here for us but that is what His love is like!
Here I am almost 60 (come my birthday on Sept 17) and I think that the world is revolving too fast for me. People have different values, different desires and different expectations that they did when I was 25. It makes me wonder what the church world will be like in another 35 years. The odds are that I will not see that but some of the people I pastor and my children and grandchildren could. What kind of world will they live in? I pray that Jesus will be first ino their lives so that this world will not be there home but that they will live with their eyes on the glory of heaven and of God.
Just a few thoughts.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
It has been a couple of weeks since I last sent out a blog. Ruth and I were in Anderson, In for the International Camp Meeting, then from there to Pekin, Il to visit with Deb, Tom, Bob and the grandchildren, then back to Greenwood, In to see James, Michele and the grandchildren there. The time with the kids and grandchildren was great! We got to spend some time with them, paint for Deb, go to Alexis' ballgame and just visit in general. I needed to come back home to recover from all the driving and just not sleeping in my bed.
During he General Assembly at Anderson there were notable changes over the past few years. Due to some circumstances Ruth and I had missed the last two, we have only missed 4 or 5 total since 1980, and I was glad to get to go this year and see some folks that I had not seen in quite some time. Yet the overall attendance has taken a very noticable decline. According to the local paper there were "over 400" people who voted for the items that came to the floor on Tuesday. This particular day used to have over 1000 in it. We must ask ourselves the question of whether our pastors and other leaders have abdicated their responsibilty by failure to attend and participate in the process. I realize that some feel as if it does not matter if they are there but do we not have some kind of obligation to God, the Movement and our congregations to voice ourselves in this process?
Ruth and I were able to attend the evening worship on Monday and Tuesday and most of the worship was very good. I personally think that interpretive dance has no place in the worship and for those who would use King David as an example I simply remind them that he danced in the street and not in the Temple so if you want to emulate him please go dance in the street. But other than that one instance I was able to truly enjoy the worship. One sermon was "ok" to me and the other was exceptional. That might have as much to do with personal taste as it does with the presentation. Once again attendance had no hint of the past. We worshiped in Reardon Auditorium and the maximum that I would guess to be there was not over 2000. In the past when Warner Auditorium existed I have seen upward of 8000 people. The great question and struggle that this produces is whether Anderson Camp Meeting has lost its usefulness. Are we wasting resources in an attempt to keep a dying event going? By the way this question was part of what was addressed in General Assembly and in 2012 there will be recommendations presented as to what we should do in future. Many have already voted by simply not attending so it makes me wonder what will come next.
Here at Greeneville First Church of God we are getting material ready for the new thrust called Christian Learning For Christian Living or CL4CL. Our congregation will be presented with an opportunity to learn more about how to worship, make disciples, reach the lost and live in a God honoring manner. I pray that if you attend here you will avail yourself of this opportunity. If you do not attend here and want the material we will make it available for a cost. Just call here and we will give you the details. The number is 423-638-4818.
May the Lord bless you all.

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
VBS and Father's Day is now over. There was a lot of work done by many different people in the effort to reach young people with the message of Jesus. There is no way I can name everyone so suffice it to say that I appreciate all of you who gave of your time and effort to live the message of Jesus in the ministry of VBS.
One of the things that we do in conjunction with VBS is to have the final service on Father's Day during our a.m. worship. We have the children go over some of the things that they did in VBS then we have worship and preaching. This is an effort to reach families that we might never have the opportunity to reach with the message of Jesus. Once again we had people come to our worship that we would never have enter our doors. We are thankful for those who made it possible.
Here is a question that some of you might want to ponder or even answer. As I look at the Church of God Reformation Movement it would appear that we have very few pastors who bother with the principles of discipleship. When I talk to them they have a wonderful heart to win the lost and I celebrate that with them. But when you ask if they are helping those people learn the other truths of the bible such as sanctification as a definite second work of grace, holy living, the truths of the Second Coming, and the fact that the Bible is God infallible and inerrant Word to us you begin to hear such things as "we do not deal with secondary issues." Are we not responsible for all the truth we have been given and are we not responible to give that truth to others?
Maybe I am just getting old and am struggling with all the changes in culture that are taking place. Or, mayble I think that I am the only one that is right and need an Elijah moment. Would you care to comment on this for me?

Bless you all,

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
My sister, Clistia and her husband Gary Hosbrook came in from Ohio to visit with us and it has been nice getting to spend some time with them. Gary and I played golf yesterday and then we sat around the house and visited. You may not know how good it is to spend time with the people you love that you do not get to see often but it has been great.
Last night, Clistia and I , came to the church to see how things were going for VBS that began yesterday evening. There were a number of children and workers here that were starting to get things moving. I watched as Bryon Trantham and Kristen Love began with a skit and, of course, it was classic Bryon. He is so gifted at comedy and drama that I stand amazed at him sometimes. It turned out that he had a great supporting cast with Kristen Love. I was suprised at her acting abilities as I had never thought about her in that kind of role. It looks like things will be going really good through the week.
I hope that you have been reading the Word of God and that God has been showing you some of the wonders of His Word. I find great joy in His Word and the wonderful things that He has to show us in it. Hos 3:2 is one such verse. I preached out of Hos 3:1-5 Sunday p.m. and find it amazing how God was showing us Jesus long before the New Testament was given to us. The thought that Hosea paid the equivalent amount of 30 pieces of silver to save a slave who had not asked for it remidned me of the price that was given to betray Jesus. That was the very price that God paid for me and you. Is it not amazing!!!!
I pray you have a great week.

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
I have been reading a book titled: "The Riggle-Kesler Debate" which is an word for word reporting of a debate engaged in by H.M. Riggle, an early Church of God leader, and Elder B.E. Kessler, a leader of the Church of the Brethren. The debate took place in North Webster, In. from Sept 15-26, 1915. They held it in a large tent with an average attendance of 1200 people. This was a real debate with each person being given 30 minutes twice each night for a total of 2 hours. There were assigned subjects and moderators were present. This was not a time where the strongest voice or quickest wit could win but where a subject was dealt with in front of the entire audience.
H.M Riggle on the night of Sept. 17th in that debate said this: "If you are a tarue Christain and belong to the Methodist, Baptist, Evangelical or any other institution, you are my brother. Through salvation we all belong to the one fold. It is that extra soceity, inot which you have been led without Scriptural authority, that I oppose. The institutions of men that have scattered and divided the peole of God."
It would appear to me that in our day we want to emphasize the idea of "we reach our hands in fellowship to every blood washed one" but that we no longer want to declare the freedom from mans control that God calls us from.--"Come out of her my people" REV 18:4. It seems that many merely want to preach the portion of truth that suits them best and leave out the things that are difficult. I wonder what God has to say about that? Maybe part of the problem is that many of those who should lead the church body have failed to see the truth of the Word? I wonder what God will say to us if we neglect to preach all the truth?
This is just something that has come to my mind and I thought I would share it with you.

May He Bless You,

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
I had a very good week-end. On Saturday I took two of my granddaughers, Jordyn and Alexis, out to breakfast at Waffle House and then went to Andrew Johnson Memorial Graveyard and saw all the military graves decorated for Memorial Day. We then went to Locust Springs where they spent a couple of hours having fun on the water slide. Finally, we went to Keith and Pam Hope's for a cook-out where a number of our church folks met and had a wonderful time. Great time and great fellowship. James and Michele, my son and daughter-in-law were at the house when we got back and I finished the day with them.
On Sunday I baptized four people with one of them being my granddaughter, Jordyn, who is 11 and lives in Indiana. She wanted me to baptize her so we did just that. We also baptized four other people, another 11 year old and 2 adults who have great testimonies. They were both unchurched and have been saved within the last 6 weeks. Then our worship continue and God came to be among us here and the presence of the Holy Ghost was very real.
Then came Memorial Day and I spent all morning doing some things I like and even went into the afternoon hours. At 3:30 p.m. Ruth and I went to Keith and Pam Hope's home, Virginia Waddell also helped this event to come about, where we had another cook-out with a number of folks from the church family there. We went home at about 7 p.m. and took it easy the rest of the night.
This was a great week-end even though we always have a number of people taking advantage of the long week-end and going somewhere. I pray that they had a wonderful time of rest and good family time. I also pray that they had as good a time in worship as we did here.

May the Lord bless you all,

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
There has been much going on in our congregation and community over the past few weeks. The tornado's that hit our area were very devastating destroying and damage over 100 homes. Many who attend this congregation have given numerous hours to help their neighbors in a time of great difficulty. Just the people who have worked at "The Oaks" a Free Will Baptism ministry that was providing cooked meals for the community have amassed a large amount of hours. It is my understanding that just there they serve 12000 meals as of 5-13-11 and have given over 2800 volunteer hours. On top of that many of you gave of your time and your sweat to help. Just this past week-end Anita Miller, our youth pastor, took 15 youth out and helped a familiy clean up their yard and surrounding area. Many may not realize this but our congregation is filled with amazing people. What a joy it is to be part of this local church family.
From May 15-18, 2011 I preached a revival at Troy, Ohio at the chaurch of God congregation there. While it is a smaller congregation it still had a wonderful spirit and the people showed up with great enthusiasm and joy. It was my privilege to worship with them and I pray that they wee blessed by God. As an added blessing for me while I was there I got to viist with both of my sisters and some of my nieces and nehpews and their children.
I ask you to pray for my sister Carolyn who has a benign tumor in her brain. Along with that she has a variety of other illnesses that could be life threatening. She only weights about 90 pounds and looks like she has been through a prolonged sickness. On top of that she needs a Savior! Please pray that her heart would be open to the Savior and that she would coem to the place of salvation.

May God bless you all,

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
The work in Camp Creek and adjourning areas continues after the tornado. There are still many people who have not recovered from the destruction of their homes and deaths in their families. I ask you to pray for them as they continue to deal with all that these kinds of issues entail. I am also thankful for the many who are still giving of themselves to provide meals and labor. A lot of folks from this congregation are still doing all they can to make a difference in our community and I praise the Lord for their willingness to help.
This past week I was able to be part of the Pastor's Fellowship again. I hve been attending there since 1980 and find it to be a place where the traditional message of the Church of God is still being preached. This has always been of great joy for me and I find it to be a spiritual blessing in my life. While I was there I saw three of the past pastor's of this congregation: Charles Heater, Leroy Oesch and Darryl Sovine. I am thankful for the way all three of them invested their lives into this congregation and I am a director recipient of their efforts. I pray that God would continue to bless and use them.
You may not know it but a young lady in our congregation, Danielle Ricker, has been ranked #1 in the nation in the Walking Horse Youth 121-17 catagory. She won 13 of the competitions she entered and came in second in the other two. I would like to congratulate her on her wonderful success. I pray that God will use her to bring glory to Him through her endeavors.

Blessings to all,

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
I got back in town yesterday afternoon after being at Pastor's Fellowship in Winchester, Ky. I have been attending there since 1980 and have only missed 2 years that I can remember. This event has filled my heart with great joy over the years and has helped me to grow up in Jesus. This year is no different even though there were different preachers and themes. What a joy to be with my brothers and sisters at that place.
Last Sunday night we dismissed our worship with the directive that all of you that could should go out into the community to help the tornado victims and at least 100 of you did exactly that. What an amazing group of people you are! God has allowed me the joy of being your pastor and of seeing your efforts to be ambassadors for Jesus in the community. Some still out there today helping in many different ways.
Something else that you should know about is that we took up a food offering to help The Oaks, a Free Will Baptist ministry, to purchase food to provide meals for those who were effected by the tornado. We have sent them $2715.10 for that purpose. We also took up our normal "Other's Offering" and designated it all to go to help the tornado victims. Today a local business gave us a $500.00 and with that we have a total of $3866.35 to help families who are dealing with their losses due to the tornado. You folks are just wonderful and I am thankful for you.
Continue praying for the needs in this community. I pray that He will bless you all.

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
Resurrection Day was wonderful here at Greeneville First Church of God! Our worship was amazing, the choir gave marvelous praise to the King of Kings and the attendance was very good with 686 here to worship. I met two new couples who came to our Easter Worship because they had been at the Drama and decided that they wanted to come to see what we were like as a congregation in our worship. God has used the Drama to reach people for Him and to help those who are here to grow in Him and in our love for each other. He is absolutely amazing and He always does far more than we think can be done!
I want to ask you to pray for a friend of mine by he name of Ed Long. Ruth worked with him a number of years ago when she drove a school bus and I was privileged to lead him to Lord when he was in the hospital with throat cancer. Over the last 15-18 years he has battled with that cancer as it reoccured in his life. It appears that he has come to the last miles of life here but due to his commitment to Jesus he can look forward to an eternal home where he will never deal with cancer again. Unless the Lord intervenes and heals his physical body he will be going to his eternal home soon. Pray for him and his family. Ruth and a woman at our congregation in Illinois, Becky Dixon, were used by God to lead his wife, Toddy, to the Lord.
Pastor's Fellowship is coming next week so I will not be writing a blog on next Tuesday. I always look forward to Pastor's Fellowship and believe that some of the best preaching in the Reformaiton Movement takes place there. As part of that ministry a new magazine has replaced Reformation Witness with the name Truth Matters. The first edition has come out through Reformation Publishers. The new editor is Jeannette Flynn and I believe we will have an opportunty to do some things that will have real impact upon the Kingdom. By the way you can go on line and read the magazine by going to Reformation Publishers website and if you want a hard copy you can also order through Reformation Publishers. For those who are part of this congregation Anita Miller has an article in it about how truth matters to teens.
You folks have a great week in the Lord.

Yours in Christ,

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
If you were not you should have been with us this week here at Greeneville First Church of God. The Drama "The Life of Jesus" was tremendous. The local body of believers presented this dramatic presentation from Thursday night through Sunday night. There were over 20 people who were saved that we know and, obviously, the Lord was with us. That then translated over to our Sunday a.m. worship and God spoke to people and we had a man recommit his life to Jesus. You should have been here and sensed the wonder of Gods presence among us.
This coming Sunday is Easter and I am praying that God will anoint what happens here and that we will see a great harvest. It is as if our congregation is expecting God to be among us and that they are praying that He will have His way. I know that we have different groups of people meeting to pray and I believe that God has decided that the time is right. Our hearts are seeking and He is giving us a good harvest. Counting the Drama in last 4-5 weeks we have seen between 30-35 people saved. In our fiscal year there has already been about 45-50 saved. There is a great desire to see people disicpled and people are getting ready to work with others. God is certainly great!
There are certainly still great needs that we have here. There are people who still need the Savior and there are ministries that we are not getting done right. Keep praying for us that we will hear God's direction for this congregation. Also pray for me that I be the man that God would desire and that I give leadership in this congregation. Undoubtedly there will be great challenges that rise in the weeks ahead but pray that we fight the fight! May Jesus be praised in it all.

HGRudd

Hello Folks, Last week was a very good week. There were people saved by the grace of Jesus in from Wednesday through Saturday. We had a young person saved here at the church, a teen saved off premses and a woman who was saved at the Women of Promise Convention. This took place among our ladies in their room on Saturday night. What a great harvest the Lord is allowing us to see start among us. Keep praying that there will be more of the wonders of God work among us. The Easter Drama begins this Thursday night and will go through Sunday night. Every time I watch this congregation put forth their effort to do something for the kingdom i watch as you give yourselves to do it with excellence. What a joy it is for me to get to pastor this congregation. God has been really good to me. My son James came in for a few days and we got to spend time together turkey hunting. For the past 9 years he has been able to come and stay a few days with me and we get to spend a lot of time together going out in our search for turkeys. This year we harvested 4 birds in just two days. As I go out to hunt with him I am reminded that I am getting older all the time and that I cannot keep up with him anymore. He had to stop and wait on his old Dad to catch up to him on more than one occasion. What a pleasure it is to be with my son and spend time with him. You folks have a great day and may this spring bring the glory of God to your lives. HGRudd

Hello Folks, My youngest son, James, has been in town to visit and we have been doing some turkey hunting together. It is always a joy to get to spend this kind of time with him. Since he lives in Indiana we only have a few times in a year when we even see other and during turkey season is when we spend a lot of time with each other. Of course, since he is 20 years younger than I am I find myself being much slower than he is climbing the hills and walking across the fields. We laugh and enjoy each others company during these few days and I am thankful that I can do this. We have started a series of sermons this April titled: "The Hands of God" and Joe Kilday has painted some art that is absolutely wonderful. I hope that you get a chance to see them while they are on display in the Welcome Center. What an amazingly gifted man Joe is and I am thankful for his willingless to use it to make what we do here more effective. For those who do not know it we have seen about 7 people saved over the past 3 weeks. God is moving among us and I ask you to pray that we will do the work here that God has called us to do. We must make disciples! Matt 28:18-20 is the Great Commission that tells us what disciples really is: Go, teach and baptize and the three legs of the stool of discipleship. I want to be used by God to fulfill His will among us. Pray that we do exactly that. Have a Great One, Pastor Rudd

Hello Folks, I missed you last week as I was in Revival at the First Church of God at Zanesville, Ohio. It was a very good meeting! The Holy Spirit moved and we had 2 people saved and good number of people who made their way to the altar to deal with the needs of their lives. The week before I went Pastor Glen Edmundson told me that he had resigned and that April 3 would be his last Sunday. He still wanted to me to come as he felt that it would be helpful to the congregation there. It is a congregation of about 130 with a wonderful mix of young and old. They have purchased additional property and appear to be ready to move forward for the King. Pray that God will send them the right person to lead them. This past week-end the youth went to the State Youth Convention and our Youth Pastor, Anita Miller, took 88 youth and counselors. I have not received a full report but I did talk with one of the youth that went yesterday and they said it was excellent. Pastor Anita also told me that the speaker did a marvelous job speaking to the young people. I am thankful that even in a time of financial restraints we had people who were willing to make sure that the youth got to attend such an important event. Ruth is staying this week with my son James and his family in Indianapolis to watch his girls while they are on spring break. This is a time of a lot of joy for youth as she is able to be with the grandchildren. My daughter, Deb, is there as well since her daughter is on spring break in Illinois and she drove over to be with Ruth. So Ruth has two of our kids, 4 grandchildren, and our wonderful daugher-in-law, Michele, with her this week. I do not want to say that I envy her but everytime I eat a hotdog I know that she is up there having a good time with the kids. Oh, well that is how things go in life. You folks have a great week. May our Savior bless you all. Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
In the past 2 weeks we have had 3 people makes commitments of salvation to Jesus and we should all give thanks to God for His Holy Ghost working in thel ives of people. We should also pray for these folks and continue to ask God to move among us so we can see people come to Christ. One of thos indivdiuals was led to Christ by someone who attends here, another came to my office wanting to be saved an unwilling to wait until Sunday, the other person made their commitment at our altar. God is really good to us.
I will be going to Zanesville, Ohio to preach a series of sermons from Sunday through Wednesday of next week. Pray that God will use me to preach His Word and that the Holy Spirit will pierce the hearts of people so we can see people saved, sanctified and continuing in their life as disciples of Jesus Christ.
It has been my privilege to pastor for almost 31 years now and I feel as if I am heading toward the downward slope of life. None of us know how much longer we will be allowed to live in this world but as you get older you begin to realize that your time is more limited than it has ever been. I ask you to pray with me so I can be the man that God would have me to be. It is easy to miss the mark of God's plan for your life if you listen to all the "noise" that goes on in life. Pray that I will hear Jesus speak to me and that I will obey His call in my life. What a privilege is has been to serve the King! One man said: "Christ's call to discipleship is a call to self-death, an absolute surrender to Jesus." I pray that will be true everyday in me!

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
The drama preparation is moving forward at a very fast pace. The scemery is in place and the practices are moving forward. People have been working hard and we are anticipating a moving of God in our midst. Now, for one of the most important parts for this event and it is prayer! Woudl you pray that God use our efforts for His glory? This needs to be a spiritual sacrifice given to the One who gave Himself for us.
As this congregation moves forward there is one thing that is obvious to me and it is that we must consistently seek the direction of God in what we attempt. Being part of God's church has more to do with finding His willing than it does in staying busy. As I personally move forward in my life it is difficult sometimes to discern what is necessary and what is spiritual "static." Sometimes it is easy to get drawn into the idea that if I just work harder things will be the best yet the reality is that I really need to listen to God and find out what He would have me to invest myself in. I do not know if you struggle with that issue but it seems to me to be a consistent issue!
Well, I pray that this week will find you seeking first the kingdom of God and His righteousness! May He bless you in that quest.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
This past week some of you began the hard work or getting the scenery set up for the Easter Drama. On Monday the material was brought in from the garage and placed in the sanctuary. Then on Thursday and Friday many of you came and help assembly it all. On Saturday the decorations were added and by the time the worship services took place on Sunday it was almost completed. There are a few things that still must be done but most of it has been accomplished. But that is not all that has to be done. Now, people are beginning the work of learning parts, singing songs, getting sostumes worked out and practicing. I ask you to pray for all who are involved but even more pray for those who will come to watch the performances and find out that God is present. Could it be that souls would be saved and invidiuals would become more like Jesus? Help this take place by inviting people and by praying for them. The Lord wants to do a great work among us and this is one of the things that is part of that. The Drama will be presented April 14-17 each night and if you bathe it in prayer there is no telling what God might do among us.
This past Sunday p.m. I preached about the fact that we are in spiritual warfare. Often it is easy to forget that much of what takes place in the lives of those who love Jesus is a real spiritual warfare. The devil is very real and he desires to destroy us individually and as a local body of believers. I must confess that it is easy to get so caught up in the ordinary things that we do that we forget that much of the depression and weakness that we have is due to the battle that is taking place. I would encourage all of us to be alert and ready to fight this battle. We are Kingdom people whose King is Jesus and He will give us victory.

May He bless you all,

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
Last night I met about a dozen men here at the church building and we began moving all the material for the drama set into the building. We finished by about 7:15 p.m. and over the next few nights the set will be assembled and our sanctuary will be transformed into a set that has a 1st century A.D. feel to it. I cannot express the joy I have when I watch the people of this congregation get together to accomplish something for the Kingdom. It is a pleasure for me to get to fellowship with our men as we labor together. I want to thank all of them for their willingness to be here and help.
This pastor Sunday we had a baby dedication service and saw 7 children dedicated to the Lords use and had those parents give themselves to raise their chidlren in a godly fashion. On top of that there were numerous family members who sat in our pews who would not have been here if it were not for that speical service. They participated in our worship and who knows what will happen in their lives for Christ.
I also preached on making disciples. As part of the altar service I asked people who wanted to be discipled or who wanted to learn how to make disciples to meet me on the platform. I had a total of 15 people tell me that they wanted to be involved in this process. Now I need yoru prayers so I can make sure I follow up on these individauls in an appropriate manner.
We also had a wonderful orchestra play for our worship. Pastor Dale and Pastor Anita have worked very hard to make this possible. Who knows what the future holds for us where this orchestra is concerned. I look forward to the day when this will be part of our worship every Sunday for the glory of God.

Have a great day,

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
I just received a summary for the total number of books checked out of our library for the month of January of 2011 and it was 614. That included all ages and all types of books. It appears that many of those who attend here are utilizing our library for various nees. I would like to thank Heidi Deyton for all her good work in obtaining books and making them available for the use of any who want to use it.
I have been reading the book "The Essential Church" by Thom and Sam Rainer. This book deals with the question of why so many young people leave the congregation between ages 18-22. The title of the book gives us a basic idea for this and it is that the church is not an essential part of their lives. I wonder if that is also true for those of all ages? I watch as some people slowly allow their spiritual lives to evaporate--it disappears and sometimes no one even knows it. If you have any ideas as to what can be done to help address those issues please feel free to write them down and get them to me. I would like to be able to help make a difference in the lives of our young adults as well as people of all ages.
Jerlee Ottinger is currently in Haiti helping to lead a work camp of 25 people from South Carolina. What a joy it is to watch our folks from our congregation pour their lives into missions work. We also have Raymond and Dereda Shelton who pour so much into the work in Nicaragua and have led numerous work camps there. We are very blessed to be allowed to share in ministry with them. Pray for them as they give of themselves for the Kingdom of God.
May He bless you all.

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
As I write this blog we have had two nights of our winter campmeeting already go by. The preaching has been o the subject of revival with Darryl Allen being used by God to present the truths that surround revival to us. He has been preaching out of 2 Chron 7:14 and Rev 2:1-7. One point that he has concentrated on is that revival is for the church! That means you and I may need to have our hearts renewed so God can do what He desires in us and among us! I ask you to pray that God would continue to speak through our brother so we can become more like Jesus.
Mick Gilliam from Anderson, In has been our worship leader and he has done a wonderful job. In the Sunday p.m. worship he led the choir in an arrangement of Victory in Jesus that was absolutely amazing. The song spoke to my heart and, I believe, to the hearts of others who were there. The speical singing has been very good and the overall spirit of things has been very good.
If you are in the area there are two more nights of worship and I would encourage you to be there! Our area congregations get together twice a year in camp meeting and I hope that you will live out the message of unity by being with us. It is really hard to tell folks that we are One Church when we do not want to be together.
On Feb. 20 we will be having a baby dedication and we have about 7 families signed up to participate. If you want to participate in this please be in my office on Feb. 13 so I can over some issues with you. If you cannot be there then please let me know and we will work something out. This is a marvelous time when families are making commitments to dedicate themselves to raise their children in the manner that is God pleasing and will help their children grow up knowing about the Savior so that as some point they will turn to the Savior.
I pray that your week is filled with the wonders of Jesus. May He bless you all.

Yours In Christ,

Pastor H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
The weather has been really nice here in East Tennessee and I for one have been enjoying it. Of course, I would be happy if the tempature never got below 60 degrees. The cold tempatures here have effected everyone by doubling and, in some cases, tripling our heat bills. That has been difficult for many folks and this warm weather has been a big help.
Our worship in both the a.m. and p.m. this past Sunday was really good, at least from my perspective. We had a number of new folks here and the Spirit moved in hearts. I wonder sometimes how to measure whether we were "successful" with what takes place. Most of the time it is a matter of whether anyone comes to the altar and how I "feel" about what happened. Could it be that much more takes place in the pew without anyone ever moving out of their seat? Could it be that I "feel" good but that no one else does? Those are some of the questions that I have. Maybe it is more an age issue for me. I am 59 and getting older so could it be that I am wondering if I have invested my life correctly? Let me simply say that spending over 30 years a pastor has been something I would not change even though I have had times when I did not get it done right. It has been my privilege to see people have life changing encounters with the Savior and that has been amazing.
This past Sunday I had a man come to me and say that he wanted to grow in Jesus and wanted his family to do better at it than he had done. This had a profound impact upon me! How do I help people like that to grow in Jesus. I told him that I would contact him about working together to learn what it meant to grow in Christ. I have that to do this week. Others came to me for other issues Sunday but that man's desire moved my heart! Pray that God use me to help that individual to grow in Christ.

H. G. Rudd

Hello Folks,
Ruth and I got back last Tuesday after being in Pekin, Il preaching the Tri-County Holiness Crusade. This event has been going on for over 30 years and when I pastored the congregation in Pekin we were an active part of it. It is made up of the Church of God, Nazarenes, Free Methodists and Salvation Army who share common agreement on the doctrine of a definite second work of grace called sanctification. The attendance was pretty good and it was a joy for me to be there. We got to stay with our daugher, Debby, who had me painting again, and we saw our son Bob while there. On the way there and back we stopped and spent a night with our son, James, his wife Michele, Jordyn and Alexis. So you can see this trip served a two fold purpose. There is one thing that I galdly tell you and it is that I am glad to be back home here in Greeneville, Tn.
The sermons that I preached were all holiness oriented and we had some people make their way to an altar of prayer. It would appear to me from what I see while traveling that the message of holiness is not being preached on a consistent basis. The idea of sanctification as a definite second work of grace appears to have been shuffled to the side and some never take it out to proclaim it to those who sit in the pew. What a shame it is that some of our pastors and leaders have allowed holiness to be overwhelmed with a Calvinistic attiude of sinfulness as being the common and expected lifestyle of the believer. It seems to me that we will be held acocuntable for what we do and do not preach! As Jesus said, "For unto whomsoever much is given of him shall be much required." (Luke 12:48 KJV)
Our grandchildren are quickly growing up and Ruth and I appear to be getting older. Funny how those things take place. Bailey is our oldest granddaugher at age thirteen and she must be about 5'6". Landon is our youngest grandchild and only grandson who is 4 years of age and loves to wrestle and argue. He must get all of that from his grandmother. This causes me to remember that my time left to do ministry is getting short so I ask you to pray that I will be use the time that God will allow me to have to fulfill the ministry that He has called me to do. Pray that I will be able to lead this congregation in a manner that is of benefit to the Kingdom and that will help these folks to grow in Jesus. I know that I need His help to accomplish this so please pray.

Yours In Christ,

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
It sure has been cold and snowy here in East Tennessee. Here in Greene County the schools have closed and people are attempting to say in as much as possible. For some areas of the country 4-5 inches of snow is not that much but here it is major. This past Sunday most of the congregations in town and the county did not open. While we had worship our attendance was greatly effected with only 322 in the a.m. and 191 in the p.m. but the Holy Spirit was here and our celebration time was very meaningful. I would like to thank all those who braved the weather and the icy roads to be in worship. I realize that dangerous roads kept many home and I completely understand that but I do want to thank those who were able to be with us.
Yesterday I drove to Knoxville to pick Ruth up at the airport. She had been in Florida with 72 degree temperatures visiting with her brother. There was no problem getting over there and back as the main roads are great but when I turned on my street and attempted to drive up my driveway I almost slid into my mailbox. I had to put in 4 wheel drive low to get up to my garage. I guess today I will have to get some salt on my driveway and pray that the sun comes out to help melt it all.
I read in the Greeneville Sun on 1-7-11 about a Harold Camping who is predicting that Jesus is going to come again on May 21, 2011. This is, at least, Mr. Campings second attempt to predict his ideas of when Jesus is going to come again. It is amazing to me that people would still accept his predictions even though they have been proven wrong before yet there are folks who are anticpating this event. This is what I believe a biblical response should be. First, remember that this does not come from God because a real prophet does not get it wrong Deu 18:22. Second, live as if Jesus were going to come back today. If you do this you will prepared at all times for the Second Coming and the end of the world.
Have a great week, stay warm and be safe. May the Lord bless you all.

HGRudd

Hello Folks,
Ruth and I got back to town on Wed. Dec. 29. We had a great time with our children and grandchildren through the Christmas holiday. Of course, my daughter Debby had me painting her living room, dining room and hallway. She tries to get all the mileage she can out of me while I am visiting and to be honest I really do not mind that. We attended a Christmas Eve worship service with our family and then went to Debby's home to celebrate our time with the family. We grilled out deer steaks, thanks to Jeff Melton, along with other foods then we ate supper. After supper we read the Christmas account and had prayer together then opened gifts. It was a great time.
After church on Sunday Dec. 26 we went to Indianapolis where James lives and spent soem time with them. On Tuesday we went to the Creation Museum near Cincinnati with James Michele and their girls. It was very interesting and informative. I would encourage all of you who would have the opportunity to take your children and grandchildren to enrich their lives.
We are now in 2011 and I look forward to what God is going to do among us. We started our New Year out by baptizing Ken Robinson. Ken is in his early thirties and recently asked Christ to forgive him and become his Savior. He asked to be baptized and we thought it would be a great event for our congregation to participate in on the first Sunday of the year. I ask you to pray that God will give us a great harvest of souls this year and also help us to make them into disciples for Jesus.
This week Ruth went to Florida with her brother Gene. He is going to stay there a while and asked that Ruth ride down with him and then she will fly back next Monday. I am glad she is going to get to be in warm weather but I sure miss her when she is gone. God has blessed me with a wonderful wife, children and grandchildren. But He has also blessed me to pastor a great congregation that gives me their love and support. In this New Year I pray that we will together fulfill the Great Commission of Christ. As our Missions Statement says: Greeneville First Church of God exists to worship God, reach the lost, make disciples, and to honor Him in all that we do. May we all do exactly that.

Pastor H. G. Rudd