Hello Folks,
     This past Sunday we had Jon and Karen Lambert, our missionaries from Ecuador, in our services with us.  They both shared in our worship and Jon preached a sermon--you can listen to it on our website.  It was a very powerful sermon and God spoke to our congregation.  I pray that all of us opened our ears to hear what the Spirit had to say to the Church.  I wonder if Christian people really want to be used of God or whether we merely want to feel good on Sunday.  Is that not the real question all of us have to answer in our own lives?  Is this Christian life something that transform us in how we live or is it just one of the things that we do in our lives and of equal importance with all the other things?  It would seem to me that those who love Jesus must decide if we are impacted by Him to such an extent that we just cannot sit by idly while the world around us goes to hell.
     This morning I received a text message from a brother here in the Church of God at Greeneville.  He related to me that he had been able to witness to a man and give him a tract on salvation.  This same brother picked up a man who has come to our congregation for help to meet physical needs but had never been in a worship.  Well, this brother somehow managed to get him to church this past Sunday.  I wonder how that happened?  But I wonder even more what would happen if we all attempted to get someone into worship who merely sees the church as a building where they can get their physical needs met but never consider their spiritual needs.  Is this at least part of what is meant by seeing our world as being lost and doing all we can to reach them for the Savior. 
     I pray that your December, the month we celebrate the birth of Christ, will take on a deeper meaning for all of us.  This is about far more than merely gifts and dinners.  Will we help others to realize it?

Have a great day,

HGRudd