Good Morning Everyone,
Our theme for this month: “Perseverance”
Our Bible verse for today: “This day is sacred to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 (NIV)
Our thought for today: “Attend church regularly and faithfully”
The story is told of two old men, friends who hadn’t seen each other in a long time. They were actually members of the same church but one of them had stopped attending long ago.
One day when they met on the street, the one man asked the other where he had been and why he hadn’t been to church for so long. The other answered, “I don’t know. I guess I just lost interest. I mean, going to church was ok but nothing special. Heck, by Tuesday I couldn’t even remember what the sermon had been on Sunday. In fact, over all the years I was in church I don’t think I remember a single sermon I ever heard.”
The other man thought about that for a moment and replied, “You know, I’ve been married to my wife for over 50 years. Over all those years she has prepared many hundreds of meals for me and I’ll bet you I can’t remember ten of them. But each one of those meals provided me with the nourishment I needed at that time and if I had not had those meals, my physical health would have suffered and I would have shriveled up and died from malnourishment. Likewise, I’ve heard a lot of sermons over those years too and I don’t remember most of them. But every one of them provided my spirit the nourishment it needed at the time. And if I had not had that spiritual nourishment, I would have become spiritually malnourished.”
In the Fourth Commandment God instructed us to “Observe the Sabbath and keep it holy.” That commandment is for our benefit. The fact is that life is hard. It’s filled with trials and struggles, pain and heartaches. One of the reasons we come together as a church family is for the spiritual renewal we experience. It’s a time to put aside the cares and woes of life as we focus our attention instead on study and worship and fellowship. Through that, the Lord ministers to our souls.
In Nehemiah 8:10 we read of the Jews coming together for group worship. Ezra the priest instructed them to leave their grief and sadness outside and focus instead on receiving a fresh dose of “the joy of the Lord”.
We all need that. We need to renew our joy. Regular attendance at worship services is a source of spiritual nourishment and it strengthens us so we can more effectively deal with life. I encourage you to gather with your church family this Sunday. If you don’t have a church family, then I invite your to join us at Oak Hill Baptist. Sunday school begins at 9:00 and the worship service is at 10:00.
Attend church regularly and faithfully. You’ll be a stronger and more joyful person if you do.
God Bless,
Pastor Jim
Oak Hill Baptist Church 