Hello Folks,
If you were not here this past Sunday p.m. you should have been. The church family met in the Family Life Center and had a wonderful Christmas dinner with each other. We had about 10 new folks who have started attending our congregation in the past year with us and over 200 of the rest of you. Those individuals who worked so hard to make it so successful deserve our thanks. David Dotson and his ministry team worked hard to set up, clean up, serve and do all the other things that had to be done. All of you who cooked and brought food did a wonderful job as well. Something that I noticed was the fact that many of you did all you could to get to know the newer folks to our congregation. Inspite of the cold and the snow we had a good turn out and for that I am very thankful.
Ruth and I will be going to visit our children and grandchildren in Indiana and Illinois next week and will miss being with you over next Sunday. I am thankful that you allow me the privilege of taking my vacation at this time of year so I can spend this holiday with my family. We look forward to being with them and watching them as they open gifts and enjoy the company of the entire family. I pray that you have the same opportunity this year. May you enjoy the company of those you love so dearly and may God make this Christmas season be filled with His grace in your life.
As we move toward the new year I ask you to pray that I will be able to give the leadership that is needed for our congregation. One of the great desires I have is to fulfill the will of God in my life individually and to be able to provide the direction that He wants for this congregation. I need you to pray for me so that I can hear the voice of God where this matter in particular is concerned. We must reach souls for Jesus Christ and we must develop people so they can be reproducing disciples in the Kingdom of God. The pastoral and adminstrative staff is working hard in an effort to figure out how we can best do that. The Stewards want to do the things that are needed for us to fulfill the call of God in all of our lives. We need your prayers.
May He Bless you all,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Hello Folks,
This past week-end was very cold with some snow and our attendance showed it. Anytime East Tennessee gets just a little snow people will stay home and I have come to realize that. After having lived in Illinois for 21 years and being raised in Ohio I have been used to snow but folks around here just are not! Besides that some of the side roads around here are pretty narrow and have a lot of curves so that adds to the danger. We pastors hate to see a snowy week-end.
Sunday p.m. we had our True Love Waits ceremony where our youth who have completed about a 3 month series of training pledge themselves to sexual purity. We had about 15 youth who had never been through it and they committed themselves to being what God woud have them to be in their lives. They pledged in front of the congregation to wait until marriage to engage in sex. We always have a lot of visitors for that service and last Sunday p.m. was no exception. Anita Miller, our youth pastor, always does an excellent job in teaching the youth and in making that worship time special. Thanks to Anita for all her good work along with all of the other youth workers and counselors. What they do is of the utmost importance in the lives of those young people.
As part of the True Love Wait sermon we honored about 8 couples who were in attendance and who had been married over 50 years. We placed their wedding photo's on the screen and had them stand to be honored. I also read some of the information that we had about their lives. It was very insightful for me to look at those individuals and see how they have given their lives to each other and to the Lord through those years. God is really good and allowing us to have those kinds of role models is absolutely amazing.
May He Bless you today,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
This past week-end was very cold with some snow and our attendance showed it. Anytime East Tennessee gets just a little snow people will stay home and I have come to realize that. After having lived in Illinois for 21 years and being raised in Ohio I have been used to snow but folks around here just are not! Besides that some of the side roads around here are pretty narrow and have a lot of curves so that adds to the danger. We pastors hate to see a snowy week-end.
Sunday p.m. we had our True Love Waits ceremony where our youth who have completed about a 3 month series of training pledge themselves to sexual purity. We had about 15 youth who had never been through it and they committed themselves to being what God woud have them to be in their lives. They pledged in front of the congregation to wait until marriage to engage in sex. We always have a lot of visitors for that service and last Sunday p.m. was no exception. Anita Miller, our youth pastor, always does an excellent job in teaching the youth and in making that worship time special. Thanks to Anita for all her good work along with all of the other youth workers and counselors. What they do is of the utmost importance in the lives of those young people.
As part of the True Love Wait sermon we honored about 8 couples who were in attendance and who had been married over 50 years. We placed their wedding photo's on the screen and had them stand to be honored. I also read some of the information that we had about their lives. It was very insightful for me to look at those individuals and see how they have given their lives to each other and to the Lord through those years. God is really good and allowing us to have those kinds of role models is absolutely amazing.
May He Bless you today,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Hello Folks,
What a wonderful week-end we had. The attendance was good and the worship was marvelous. You should have seen the decorations that were provided by Carolyn Hartman and her team. It was my priviledge to get to interact with them a little and to watch as they poured themselves into making our sanctuary so attractive. I am thankful for all of them and their sacrifice of time and effort to make our congregation so appealing for the holidays.
Many of you are probably not aware of it but our congregation is a place where we equip and prepare men and women for ministry to the larger church family. Junior and Lori Burchell have been called by the White Pines Church of God to be their pastor, Dorthy and Keith Hall have been called by the Campground Church of God to be their Associate Pastor and, finally, John and Heidi Deyton have been called the Tacoma Church of God to be their Interim Pastor. We do not know how far reaching their ministries will be but know this you have invested yourselves into the lives of these people and your ministry is reaching beyond our walls. I wonder who will be the next ones that God will give us to prepare for ministry both here and in other locations. Some of them may be the person that sits next to you and you should be invovled in helping them grow for Jesus.
Ruth and I ate 3 different Thanksgiving dinners and had a wonderful time at the homes of our church family. I appreciate you for enabling us to be part of your lives outside of this building. What a joy it is to walk with you and to enjoy your families. God is really good to Ruth and me.
May He bless you all,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
What a wonderful week-end we had. The attendance was good and the worship was marvelous. You should have seen the decorations that were provided by Carolyn Hartman and her team. It was my priviledge to get to interact with them a little and to watch as they poured themselves into making our sanctuary so attractive. I am thankful for all of them and their sacrifice of time and effort to make our congregation so appealing for the holidays.
Many of you are probably not aware of it but our congregation is a place where we equip and prepare men and women for ministry to the larger church family. Junior and Lori Burchell have been called by the White Pines Church of God to be their pastor, Dorthy and Keith Hall have been called by the Campground Church of God to be their Associate Pastor and, finally, John and Heidi Deyton have been called the Tacoma Church of God to be their Interim Pastor. We do not know how far reaching their ministries will be but know this you have invested yourselves into the lives of these people and your ministry is reaching beyond our walls. I wonder who will be the next ones that God will give us to prepare for ministry both here and in other locations. Some of them may be the person that sits next to you and you should be invovled in helping them grow for Jesus.
Ruth and I ate 3 different Thanksgiving dinners and had a wonderful time at the homes of our church family. I appreciate you for enabling us to be part of your lives outside of this building. What a joy it is to walk with you and to enjoy your families. God is really good to Ruth and me.
May He bless you all,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Hello Folks,
If you were not here in our worship this past Sunday you should have been. The Lord spoke to hearts and our altars were literally filled with families. What an amazing moment it was as I saw fathers praying that they would be able to give leadership to their families as God would desire. I am thankful for the men in this congregation who have a heart to be the leader in their family that God desires them to be. I watched some fathers as they kissed their children and I saw a tenderness that moved my heart.
This week is Thanksgiving week and I pray that all of you have a wonderful time with your families. Ruth's brother is going to be visiting with us this week and we will get her mother out of the Care Facility that she is in and we will celebrate Thanksgiving dinner with a number of our friends. We will go to Gary and Kathy Collins at 11 a.m., then to Rosa Lee Jones in afternoon and about 5 p.m. we will go to Eric and Anita Millers home and celebrate with them. By the time we finish the day I will be stuffed! But I will also be thankful for all the people who love us and who I love. We was also invited to some others homes but we would have to extend Thanksgiving to Friday and Saturday to get them all in.
Ruth and I would love to be with out children but we realize that we are really blessed to have such a wonderful church family. I wonder what people do who are isolated due to their own desire or to their circumstances. I pray that I will be a little more caring toward others and hope that you will as well. May our Lord bless you as we go into this Christmas season.
Pastor H. G. Rudd
If you were not here in our worship this past Sunday you should have been. The Lord spoke to hearts and our altars were literally filled with families. What an amazing moment it was as I saw fathers praying that they would be able to give leadership to their families as God would desire. I am thankful for the men in this congregation who have a heart to be the leader in their family that God desires them to be. I watched some fathers as they kissed their children and I saw a tenderness that moved my heart.
This week is Thanksgiving week and I pray that all of you have a wonderful time with your families. Ruth's brother is going to be visiting with us this week and we will get her mother out of the Care Facility that she is in and we will celebrate Thanksgiving dinner with a number of our friends. We will go to Gary and Kathy Collins at 11 a.m., then to Rosa Lee Jones in afternoon and about 5 p.m. we will go to Eric and Anita Millers home and celebrate with them. By the time we finish the day I will be stuffed! But I will also be thankful for all the people who love us and who I love. We was also invited to some others homes but we would have to extend Thanksgiving to Friday and Saturday to get them all in.
Ruth and I would love to be with out children but we realize that we are really blessed to have such a wonderful church family. I wonder what people do who are isolated due to their own desire or to their circumstances. I pray that I will be a little more caring toward others and hope that you will as well. May our Lord bless you as we go into this Christmas season.
Pastor H. G. Rudd
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Hello Folks,
These past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. I spent 3 days out of town in a conference and meetings. That always throws me behind in taking care of the work that must be done.
You should have been with us on Nov. 7 for our concert of prayer. What a time of worship it was! Ther was a moving of God's Spirit in our time and people were really praying. We had a couple of songs but then we provided some direction on what to pray about and moved it from one issue to another. In that process God came and lives were changed for Him. I have had people say that they think we should have a concert of prayer on a regular basis. What I decided to do was to seek the heart of God on this and when He wants us to repeat it we will. Sometimes it becomes very easy to take something that God has blessed and turn it into the common. That is what we want to avoid so please pray that we hear the voice of God on this subject.
I know that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away but I am already getting invitations for Christmas class parties. It seems like this year has sped by. Dale Gruver and I have been working on Advent sermons and attempting to utilize technology in what we are doing. Sean Knight has been working to help us to present these messages with a little different flare and I probably would not be able to do it without the help of these fellows. They are really working at helping me to do somethings in a different way. Pray for us in this.
May the Lord bless you all.
HGRudd
These past couple of weeks have been extremely busy. I spent 3 days out of town in a conference and meetings. That always throws me behind in taking care of the work that must be done.
You should have been with us on Nov. 7 for our concert of prayer. What a time of worship it was! Ther was a moving of God's Spirit in our time and people were really praying. We had a couple of songs but then we provided some direction on what to pray about and moved it from one issue to another. In that process God came and lives were changed for Him. I have had people say that they think we should have a concert of prayer on a regular basis. What I decided to do was to seek the heart of God on this and when He wants us to repeat it we will. Sometimes it becomes very easy to take something that God has blessed and turn it into the common. That is what we want to avoid so please pray that we hear the voice of God on this subject.
I know that Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away but I am already getting invitations for Christmas class parties. It seems like this year has sped by. Dale Gruver and I have been working on Advent sermons and attempting to utilize technology in what we are doing. Sean Knight has been working to help us to present these messages with a little different flare and I probably would not be able to do it without the help of these fellows. They are really working at helping me to do somethings in a different way. Pray for us in this.
May the Lord bless you all.
HGRudd
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Hello Folks,
We are already in the month of November and it appears to me that this year has raced by at an exceptionally fast pace. The month of October was Pastor's Appreciation Month and I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful cards, gifts and your kind words. It is a pleasure for me to be the pastor of this congregation and I pray that God will enable us to move forward to build the kingdom of God and this local congregation for His glory. Last Sunday night after worship there was a celebration time for "Pastor's Appreciation" and I want to all of you who made it possible. Thank you David Dotson our Steward of Fellowship and your wonderful team that did so much work in making that come about. I really loved the baked potatoes and the time with all of you.
In the month of November I will be preaching about the family starting Nov 14 and if you would like to invite your friends to come during that time it is a wonderful opportunity for them to hear God's plan for the family. On Nov. 14 I will preach "The First Earthly Family" and look at what took place with that family and how we can learn from it. This is often a great time to invite people that you know to be part of our worship.
Starting Nov. 28 through Dec. 19 I will be preaching on The King. The sermons will be: Nov. 28 "The Family of the King"; Dec 5 "The Coming of the King"; Dec 12 "The Purpose of the King" and Dec. 19 "Relationship with the King". We will be providing invitations that I hope you will use and help us make this Advent a time of reaching people for the King.
Last Saturday the Choir had a get-together at Locust Springs and I really enjoyed the time of fellowship and celebration. Dale Gruver and those who worked so hard to make it a great time helped me enjoy our choir members and their families.
May the Lord Bless you all,
Pastor HGRudd
We are already in the month of November and it appears to me that this year has raced by at an exceptionally fast pace. The month of October was Pastor's Appreciation Month and I would like to thank all of you for your wonderful cards, gifts and your kind words. It is a pleasure for me to be the pastor of this congregation and I pray that God will enable us to move forward to build the kingdom of God and this local congregation for His glory. Last Sunday night after worship there was a celebration time for "Pastor's Appreciation" and I want to all of you who made it possible. Thank you David Dotson our Steward of Fellowship and your wonderful team that did so much work in making that come about. I really loved the baked potatoes and the time with all of you.
In the month of November I will be preaching about the family starting Nov 14 and if you would like to invite your friends to come during that time it is a wonderful opportunity for them to hear God's plan for the family. On Nov. 14 I will preach "The First Earthly Family" and look at what took place with that family and how we can learn from it. This is often a great time to invite people that you know to be part of our worship.
Starting Nov. 28 through Dec. 19 I will be preaching on The King. The sermons will be: Nov. 28 "The Family of the King"; Dec 5 "The Coming of the King"; Dec 12 "The Purpose of the King" and Dec. 19 "Relationship with the King". We will be providing invitations that I hope you will use and help us make this Advent a time of reaching people for the King.
Last Saturday the Choir had a get-together at Locust Springs and I really enjoyed the time of fellowship and celebration. Dale Gruver and those who worked so hard to make it a great time helped me enjoy our choir members and their families.
May the Lord Bless you all,
Pastor HGRudd
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Hello Folks,
The past two weeks have been filled with the blessings of God. In the last two weeks we had two people come to the Lord for salvation in our worship, both of them probably in their 30's, and we had at least one person recommit their life to Jesus. What a blessing that has been and I give praise to our Savior for all His wonderful blessings.
Ruth came home last night after 9 days visiting our children and grandchildren. It is a possibility that our daughter and her husband may have a job transfer to Houston, Tx. Ruth and I are not that thrilled about it but we understand that these things take place. We will probably know by Christmas whether this will come about. If they do go they will have to live there at least 3 years before they could go back to Illinois. Yet if our son-in-law is to move up the ladder where his work is concerned this may have to take place or it could slow him down for a number of years. Pray that God's will be done in this! Since He is in charge I am very happy to allow Him to work it out for our good.
You know that sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the problems of life and to miss out on the good things that God gives. As I look at my life I realize that God has been far better to me than I could ever deserve and I give praise to Him. He has allowed me to pastor this congregation and even though there have been, and will be, difficult moments I find that He is always providing direction and help. I am sure that you would find this to be true as well if you were to look closely.
Yours In Christ,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
The past two weeks have been filled with the blessings of God. In the last two weeks we had two people come to the Lord for salvation in our worship, both of them probably in their 30's, and we had at least one person recommit their life to Jesus. What a blessing that has been and I give praise to our Savior for all His wonderful blessings.
Ruth came home last night after 9 days visiting our children and grandchildren. It is a possibility that our daughter and her husband may have a job transfer to Houston, Tx. Ruth and I are not that thrilled about it but we understand that these things take place. We will probably know by Christmas whether this will come about. If they do go they will have to live there at least 3 years before they could go back to Illinois. Yet if our son-in-law is to move up the ladder where his work is concerned this may have to take place or it could slow him down for a number of years. Pray that God's will be done in this! Since He is in charge I am very happy to allow Him to work it out for our good.
You know that sometimes it is easy to get caught up in the problems of life and to miss out on the good things that God gives. As I look at my life I realize that God has been far better to me than I could ever deserve and I give praise to Him. He has allowed me to pastor this congregation and even though there have been, and will be, difficult moments I find that He is always providing direction and help. I am sure that you would find this to be true as well if you were to look closely.
Yours In Christ,
Pastor H. G. Rudd
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