Sunday Wrap Up

What a day! What a awesome service this morning! God was defintely in this house today and in the courtyard too. The courtyard dedication was wonderful. What a beautiful day. The sun was shining with a warm breeze. For a late November day, you couldn't ask for better weather. Jennifer Hollingshed and Amy Toney were highly anointed as they read scripture and prayed respectively. The memorial stone in Debbie's honor was beautiful.

Good service tonight. Very different. The P & W was powerful and the testimonies were so uplifting and encouraging. So many spoke of how God takes broken lives and restores them. Erik's testimony moved us all. I loved his brokenness. I believe God has his hand on his life in a special way as he stays humble before the Lord.

We hope to see all the men at the Wild game feast Wednesday night. Come with a great apetite. It ought be a great time. Try to bring a man friend with you. Everyone have a wonderful week!

To His Glory!

-Pastor

Thoughts on Giving Thanks

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Its not about the turkey, or the football games (which are pretty lousy this year). But its about resting, being with family, and more importantly, just taking some time to be thankful and count our many blessings. I hope you will indeed do that over the next few days. Reminding ourselves just how fortunate we are to live in America and still be able to experience the greatest quality of life known to mankind.

Yesterday, I got to visit with Arlene Miller for awhile. I left feeling better than she did I'm sure. What a strong woman of faith. She told me she spends her hours often praying and thinking about others just to get her mind off her own circumstances. Physically, she is doing better and better. Please keep her in your prayers however.

Also, please keep the Kilburn family in your prayers this week. This is no doubt a very tough week for them. Please come join us for the courtyard dedication this week and the prayer fountain that will be named in Debbie's honor. Debbie was a great woman of prayer and I am sure her family is now reaping from all the prayers she sowed for so many others.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving tomorrow. You probably won't hear from me until the weekend. May God bless you and your family.

Col 4:2 Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; NASU

Sunday Wrap Up

Big weekend! Love it! Great services...celebrations! I appreciate Open Arms Ministries for their giving this weekend. We assisted people with food on Saturday morning and gave food gift bags to all of our widows and senior adult ladies this past Sunday. Also, we are collecting coats for the homeless that will be taken to the mission this next Saturday morning. If you want to contribute, please bring them by the church.

It was great to see Tim Studdard Sunday Night. Keep him in your prayers. Remember, to keep praying that that he will spend Thanksgiving with his family.

No cells this week. Next week the men have their annual wild game feast Wednesday, Dec 1, 6:30 pm. Be sure to bring a friend guys!

Next Sunday is the dedication of the Memorial courtyard and the Debbie Kilburn prayer fountain. Also, we will be kicking off our pavers fundraiser to pay off our only existing loan and to build two new buildings. Please come Sunday and get on board!

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving week!

-Pastor

Friday Countdown to Sunday...Are you a Casual Christian?

Darren Smith is the founder of Streetscape Ministries, an
awesome ministry to the homeless seeing miracles on the streets
in Galveston, Texas.

IS THERE Any SUCH THING AS a CASUAL CHRISTIAN??
-by Darren Smith.

Is there any such thing as a casual Christian? I have heard this
term a lot in recent times and to tell you the truth it makes me sick.
But, as I have thought about this subject and spent time looking
around at the body as a whole, I venture to say for the most part
it is true of most of the church today. Before you get angry and
stop reading, please hear me out. How many believers do you
know that are really sold out for Christ? When I say this I mean
that Christ is the central focus of their life. I mean a person that
has died to self and relies on Christ for his substance, willing to
sacrifice even to the point of their well being, to serve the Lord.

For a long time we have heard sermon after sermon on giving 10%
to the church and yet from the modern church accounts, only 30%
of the people give 10%. This is sad but considering that most of
that doesn't go to do the work of the ministry, its not surprising. I'm
not teaching on the tithe system, I'm using this as an example on
the casual attitude of believers. But I want to take it much deeper
than this and ask some very hard questions. How much of your
time do you give to the Lord? Do you spend more time on you
than you do the Lord? More on entertainment or hobbies than
service to the Lord?

Many times people tell us that we would love to come and help you
guys in the street but we are just so busy we simply can not find
the time. I wonder if they ever stop to think that we have to sacrifice
and make time ourselves. Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining,
the Lord blesses us and I wouldn't be anywhere else, but it requires
sacrifice for us to be here as well. I want you to see that if you are
willing to serve, God will bless you. We have people all the time
say, "I have never seen God's power and grace like this in my life."
Many of these guys have been in church all their life and have never
ministered to anyone.

Another response we get is, "I'm not called to do that type of ministry."
Oh, really? I believe we are all called to take the Gospel to the
world, to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and to take care of
the widows and orphans. To be able to put off these things places
you in the casual realm. Many will go to church once a week and
then go right out and serve themselves all week without doing
anything for the Lord. Trust me, "I didn't have time" will not help
them when they stand before the Lord.

What makes this so sad is that many of them will never hear a
message on repentance and total commitment to the Lord because
this type message is not popular in the modern church. It doesn't
fill the offering plate or the seats. Instead we hear funny stories
and jokes from the pulpit as well as humanistic teaching on self-
help and prosperity. This system has created the casual Christian
which is no Christian at all. So many have been converted to a
false religion of self and greed and what is worse, they think they
are fine because everyone they know is a casual Christian as well.

When they come in contact with a sold out believer, it makes them
uncomfortable. When they hear a repentance message they label
it extreme and harsh. These same casual Christians see the world
going to hell around them and are not affected at all. The thought
of sacrifice is foreign to them. Material wealth is equated with
blessings from the Lord - after all, many pulpits teach this for self
enrichment - so in their mind it's OK.

The reason I write this is for an awakening. We all must look into
our heart and see if we are sold out to the Lord. We all have areas
we can improve and should! We must get this type of word out
and the body must mobilize for the battle. We all will have to
sacrifice, but we were not put here to live our best life now - our
best life is yet to come when the Lord returns. I know this is very
convicting, but it must be said. We must repent and give our whole
life to the Lord and that means everything, all of us, everything we
are and all we could ever become - we must give it all to the Lord.

So I ask you again, is there any such thing as a casual Christian,
or maybe more important, are you a casual Christian?

-Darren Smith
http://www.streetscapeministries.com/

The Brown Parrot

A little humor today...with the emphasis on "little." Have a great day!

-Pastor

Three sons left home, started careers and prospered. Getting back together, they discussed the gifts that they were able to give their elderly mother for her 70th birthday. The first said, “I built a huge house for Mom.” The second said, “I sent her a Mercedes with a driver.” The third smiled and said, “I’ve got you both beat. You know how Mom enjoys the Bible and you know she cant see very well. I sent her a brown parrot that can recite the entire Bible. It took 20 monks in a monastery 12 years to teach him. I had a pledge to contribute $100,000 a year for 10 years, but it was worth it. Mom just has to name the chapter and verse and the parrot will recite it.” Soon thereafter, Mom sent out letters of thanks: She wrote the first son, “Milton, the house you built is not practical. I live in only one room, but have to heat, cool, and clean the entire house.” The second she said, “Marvin, I am to old to travel. I stay at home all the time, so I never use the Mercedes. And the driver is so rude!” She wrote the third son, “Dearest Melvin, you were the only son to have the good sense to know what your Mother likes. The chicken was delicious.” We all have different ways to express our love for others. Sometimes it is received well and other times it is not.

Our Response to a Unshakable Government

Hebrews 12:25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens."[e] 27The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain.28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our "God is a consuming fire."

I am so glad that I am a part of a kingdom, a government, that cannot be shaken. As I see governments, corporations, communities, and kingdoms shaken around the world. It really does cause me to be thankful for the unshakable kingdom of God. In others words, I can count on Him. I can depend on His word, His unchangeable character, His promises, His blessings, etc. In contrast, there's nothing in this world I can trust in. Everything changes, everything is fleeting, everything will pass away...but the word of God.

So God says, "Worship Me with reverence and awe. I am a consuming fire." [paraphrase] I encourage you today to do just that. Because you serve a God who is unshakable and His government is unshakable, worship Him today with a great reverence and awe. He will one day burn up all of our works that are shakeable...or outside His kingdom. Our worship of Him today will last, so lets worship our awesome God today!

-Pastor

Sunday Wrap Up

Yeah, its late, and I really should be getting ready for bed. But I'm watching the Colts and the Patriots. Unfortunately, for my Colts, its not looking too good right now. Oh well, you can't win them all.

Great services today...both of them. Tonight's worship was off the charts! People really got in tonight and a good crowd as well. Brother Pendley did a masterful job on the Great White Throne Judgement from Revelation 20. It was really good! Congratulations to Chris who was saved this morning. Please remember him in prayer this week.

Just a reminder, if you know someone that needs help with food or you need help with food, please be at the church this Saturday at 8:30 am. Also, we need donations for Thanksgiving baskets. A list of needed goods was in the bulletin today. Please try to help us out.

Well, the Colts are coming back now. Its a close game with two minutes to go. I better call it a night. I can't believe Belichek went for it on 4th and 2 at their on 27 yard line. I can't believe it! Oh well. Have a great week!

-Pastor

Friday Countdown to Sunday...the Calcified Heart

"This is the day that the Lord has made. I will rejoice and be glad in it."

Good morning everyone! It's Friday and Sunday's coming. I know for a lot of you Sunday means the end of the weekend and the next day you got to go back to work. So lets focus on today...Friday. And celebrate the beginning of a few days off for most of you. Praise the Lord!

While pastoring in Terre Haute, I knew a woman that was diagnosed with FOP (Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva). It's a cryptic disease that slowly, irreversibly turns its victim into a mass of solid bone. It hardens the soft tissues, like muscles and tendons, rendering an ossified suit of armor. As tragic as this disease is, Scripture describes one even worse. The calcification of the will.

Today, I just want encourage you from Hebrews to keep your heart soft and pliable, and not to "harden your hearts"(Hebrews 3:8, 15; 4:7). In the Old and News Testaments, there are many example of God's people hardening their hearts no matter what God did. God would send plagues, war, blessings, prophets to warn them, etc., but the result was often the same. God says to us in His word, "Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." [Hebrews 4:7 NKJV] Notice, He says, "Today, if you will hear His voice..." In other words, don't wait until tomorrow or the next day...hear His voice now, today. What is implied is the necessity of hearing His voice. When we fail to hear Him...when we get so busy and we refuse to discipline ourselves to hear the voice of God the result is the hardening of the heart...spiritual stiffness...that immobilizes and eventually destroys you.

How do you keep your heart soft? The hearing and doing of God's Word. God's Spirit in the book of James says "Be hearers of the Word, and not doers only." (James 1:22) So hear His voice today...so your heart doesn't slowly calcify. It can happen...it does happen...it will happen if we don't obey His voice.

-Pastor

The Lifter Up of My Soul

I usually don't post twice in a day. But in my studies today, I found this and wanted to share it with you. May it bless you as it did me.

I am the real vine and my Father is the gardener (John 15:1).

In the above Scripture, Jesus draws on vine imagery familiar to his hearers, and incorporates agricultural principles common to their experience. He does this to teach us the necessity of being fruitful followers. The "fruit" He has in mind is the same as the "fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22-23), and that which Jesus himself describes in Matthew 7:16-20. Jesus wants each of us to bear spiritual fruit.

Because fertile soil and adequate water were scarce in Israel, the gardener had to ensure that every part of his land, and every plant, was as productive as possible. He made every effort to make sure that each vine would produce as much fruit as it could. Branches bearing fruit were pruned (cut back) to produce even more fruit. The branches not producing fruit were not cut off, for this would have ended their "fruit-bearing lives" and would have undercut the gardener's ultimate purpose to do everything possible to increase his yield. Rather, the gardener would lift up the unproductive branches ("lift up" is the other common meaning of the Greek term usually translated "cut off" in John 15:2). This would better expose them to the beneficial effects of light and rain, and would give them a better opportunity to grow. Lifting up the unproductive branches was yet another part of the gardener's unceasing and tireless efforts to improve productivity.

Similarly, God will do everything possible to help us grow and be fruitful. He tenderly brings some of us to the sun and rain, to give us opportunities to be productive. However, God prunes those of us who are growing and producing well, for even greater fruitfulness. While the pruning is not always pleasant, the results are beneficial. Let us welcome whatever God does to help us grow.

U.S. Congregational Giving During the Recession

I thought I would share with you today the following article about congregational giving in 2009 vs 2008. At Kings Point, we were a part of the percentage of churches across the U.S. that saw an increase in our giving. We give God the glory and are grateful for His bountiful blessings. May we be good stewards of what He gives to us. Have a great day! -Pastor


INDIANAPOLIS -- More than two-thirds of congregations in a new study on congregational finances in the current recession reported that their fundraising receipts increased or remained the same in the first half of 2009 compared to 2008, even as the recession was worsening.

The findings are part of the 2009 Congregational Economic Impact Study, a joint project of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University and the Alban Institute, based in the Washington, DC area. The study was based on more than 1,500 responses, nearly all from the membership of the Alban Institute.

Almost 37 percent of congregations reported an increase in fundraising for the first half of 2009 over 2008. Another 34 percent reported that fundraising receipts stayed the same between 2008 and the first half of 2009.

Nevertheless, nearly 30 percent of congregations experienced a decrease in giving in 2009. This is 8.1 percentage points more than reported a decline in 2008.

"The recession has affected many congregations throughout the United States," said Una Osili, research director at the Center on Philanthropy. "One-third of responding congregations reported making budget cuts in 2009 and another quarter kept their operational budget the same, not allowing for any increases in the cost of living."

Just 6.8 percent of congregations reduced the number of full-time staff in response to the recession. Slightly more, 10.7 percent, laid off part-time staff. Nearly 16 percent did not increase staff salaries, while almost 15 percent cut utility costs and 13.6 percent reduced program costs.

"While many congregations have been hit hard by the recession, this study underscores the remarkable resilience of congregations, as evidenced in the extraordinary and imaginative ways they are reaching out to meet the needs of their parishioners and people in their community," said William Enright, director of the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving at the Center. "We frequently hear about the experiences of larger congregations and how they are coping with economic challenges, while the story of average and smaller congregations often has been wrapped in silence. This study breaks that silence."

Congregations responded to the recession in a wide variety of ways, from feeding the homeless and providing emergency cash assistance to those in need to hosting community gardens, offering support groups and networking events for the unemployed, helping with financial planning, and increasing partnerships with other community groups.

Some congregations fared better than others. "Growth congregations," those where attendance and finances have been growing over the past five years, were more likely to report positive fundraising results. Congregations with $600,000 to $999,999 in revenue, weekly attendance of more than 300 people, younger congregants (average age under 50), and those reporting a higher average income of congregants (greater than $60,000) were more likely to report an increase in fundraising receipts.

"Survival congregations," those where attendance and finances have dropped by more than 10 percent over the past five years, were more likely to report a decline in fundraising. Other congregations that were more likely to report a decrease included those with annual revenue of less than $150,000, weekly attendance of less than 100 people, older congregants (average age 61 or older), and those where the average income of congregants was less than $40,000.

"This is one of the first looks we have had into the economic realities faced by American congregations during a time of global financial crisis," said Dr. James Wind, president of the Alban Institute. "We are pleased to have partnered in opening up a fascinating and complex story of national significance. The survey results demonstrate that local congregations, which we often take for granted and treat with misleading conventional wisdom, are much more dynamic, creative, and strong than many people think. Clearly, not all congregations are alike -- that is one of the major discoveries of the survey. Some are clearly struggling to make ends meet. But many more - and this will be a surprise to many -- are holding their own and growing during one of the toughest seasons in our national history. More than that, the survey reveals the great variety of ways they are ministering to an overextended nation."

The 2009 Congregational Economic Impact Study, with 1,540 respondents, is not a nationally representative study of all congregations in the U.S., but rather is drawn primarily from the Alban Institute's membership. More than three-fourths of respondents were from Protestant denominations.

Sunday Wrap Up

Super weekend! Another great Women's Encounter. The testimonies were awesome. Many women were delivered and set free. Many were filled with the Holy Spirit.

KP services were good yesterday. We had a young man come back to Christ yesterday morning. Last night, we continued our series on the "The Mark." I think we all came away seeing how our children our being conditioned to accept the system and practices that will one day lead to the taking of the Mark of the Beast. The masses will gladly take it one day and worship the Beast (Revelation 13). We're getting close! One more message in the series next Sunday evening. Join us!

We welcome Tom Ball to our worship band. Tom and Trish and their beautiful girls are relatively new to our church. I encourage you to get to know them. They will soon be opening up a new Insurance office in Maineville. Check them out if you have a need in that area. If not, please pray for their new business.

Everyone have a wonderful week!

-Pastor

Friday Countdown to Sunday

Hello everyone. Kind of late getting it in, but I'm here and ready to roll.

This is the Women's Encounter weekend. I'm sure they are ready to go. They have experienced some great times of prayer and unity this week. I'm looking forward to lives being changed. Remember to come join them at Higher Ground for their celebration service Sunday at about 2:15.

Today, Gabe and I toured Taylor University in Upland, Indiana. Where's Upland? Right smack dab in the middle of a cornfield. Its crazy! But they've been there since 1846. I was really impressed with their sincerity about preparing kids to change a world for Christ. It looks like it permeates everything they do. The chapel service was great. Great praise and worship with most the kids lifting and clapping their hands without being cheerled to do so. They also had a choir (the Gospel choir) with flag dancers (I don't know what else to call them). Nevertheless, it was worship unto the Lord...pentecostal-charismatic style. Pretty cool!

KP folks...please come ready to worship Sunday! Come prepared to give it your best! Sunday night I will be continuing a series on the Mark of the Beast. We will be showing a pretty enlightening video called "The Microchip" and we will look at the second half of Revelation 13. If you will come out and join us, I promise you will be amazed at just how close this thing is (planet earth) to coming apart at the seems (the Tribulation period). Who knows...I might get it going Sunday AM. I'm still hearing from God about the AM. But be there! Don't miss it.

Love you all!

-Pastor

The Russians Beat Us To It...They Been There, Done That

I would like to read you something I came across this week. It was written by a man named Tamim Ansary– who is an Afghani-American writer [ taken from Salon.com ]. I don’t generally like to read something of this length, but I think it is important for us to hear. [start quote] I’ve been hearing a lot of talk about "bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age." Ronn Owens, on KGO Talk Radio today, allowed that this would mean killing innocent people, people who had nothing to do with this atrocity, but "we’re at war, we have to accept collateral damage. What else can we do?" Minutes later I heard some TV pundit discussing whether we "have the belly to do what must be done." And I thought especially hard about the issues being raised because I am from Afghanistan, and even though I’ve lived here for 35 years I’ve never lost track of what’s going on there. So I want to tell anyone who will listen how it all looks from where I’m standing. I speak as one who hates the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden. There is no doubt in my mind that these people were responsible for the atrocity in New York. I agree that something must be done about those monsters. But the Taliban and Ben Laden are not Afghanistan. They’re not even the government of Afghanistan. The Taliban are a cult of ignorant psychotics who took over Afghanistan in 1997. Bin Laden is a political criminal with a plan. When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think Bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." It’s not only that the Afghan people had nothing to do with this atrocity. They were the first victims of the perpetrators. They would exult if someone would come in there, take out the Taliban and clear out the rats nest of international thugs holed up in their country. Some say, why don’t the Afghans rise up and overthrow the Taliban? The answer is, they’re starved, exhausted, hurt, incapacitated, suffering. A few years ago, the United Nations estimated that there are 500,000 disabled orphans in Afghanistan--a country with no economy, no food. There are millions of widows. And the Taliban has been burying these widows alive in mass graves. The soil is littered with land mines. The farms were all destroyed by the Soviets. These are a few of the reasons why the Afghan people have not overthrown the Taliban. We come now to the question of bombing Afghanistan back to the Stone Age. Trouble is, that’s been done. The Soviets took care of it already. Make the Afghans suffer? They’re already suffering. Level their houses? Done. Turn their schools into piles of rubble? Done. Eradicate their hospitals? Done. Destroy their infrastructure? Cut them off from medicine and health care? Too late. Someone already did all that. New bombs would only stir the rubble of earlier bombs. Would they at least get the Taliban? Not likely. In today’s Afghanistan, only the Taliban eat, only they have the means to move around. They’d slip away and hide. Maybe the bombs would get some of those disabled orphans; they don’t move too fast, they don’t even have wheelchairs. But flying over Kabul and dropping bombs wouldn’t really be a strike against the criminals who did this horrific thing. Actually it would only be making common cause with the Taliban--by raping once again the people they’ve been raping all this time [end quote]

Economic Decline...Sign of a Nation That Has Turned From God

Jeremiah 2:11-13
11 Has any nation ever traded its gods for new ones,
even though they are not gods at all?
Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God
for worthless idols!
12 The heavens are shocked at such a thing
and shrink back in horror and dismay,"
says the Lord.
13 "For my people have done two evil things:
They have abandoned me—
the fountain of living water.
And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns
that can hold no water at all!

Wow, what a description of America and our cities, towns, and communities inside our nation. Tonight, I am sitting here watching television and I see at the bottom of the screen Little Miami lost its levy bid once again. This kind of scenario is being played our everywhere across America. People are hurting, overburdened with taxes, losing jobs, losing retirement, and losing homes. Here in Ohio, it looks like the casino bill will pass. But it won't be the answer. People in Indiana and surrounding states have all of that and their respective residents are losing jobs, homes, and retirement as well. We are a nation that has lost it's way. We have forsaken, turned our back on the one true God...our cisterns are filled with leaks and cracks...and we don't have any answers for all the problems we face.

Its all so sad to watch this once great nation come apart right before our very eyes. It grieves me. Especially when it doesn't have to be this way. But like Israel, we keep trying to do it ourselves without seeking after Almighty God's help. We keep telling ourselves, "We are self-sufficient. We have always made it. We will save ourselves once again. Good ole American ingenuity...that's all we need." And if that's what we are saying. God is looking down and saying to us, "You must humble yourselves. Seek my face. Turn from wicked ways and I will forgive your sins and I will heal your land." [2 Chronicles 7:14 paraphrase]

Please continue to remember our nation in your prayers. More than ever, we as God's people must pray and seek renewal. It's not too late.

-Pastor Randy

Sunday Wrap Up

Friend Day services were great today. We had many prodigals that came back home to Christ today. What a great spirit of worship in the AM service today. People came ready to worship. I think that was do to the prophetic praise and worship service Saturday night. It just gets people tuned up...ready to enter in on Sundays! Tonight's crowd and service was awesome as well. Different than this morning...but powerful nonetheless.

We said "happy farewell" today to Karen Cook. We will really miss her. Even though new families are coming in, I hate seeing people move. Karen is a great blessing to the church. A good worker and lots of fun. Even though I know we will see her around, we will miss her and Raymond too.

Thank you so much giving in a special offering to Debbie J. today. She's worth it and so much more. We are blessed to have her!

Have a wonderful week!

-Pastor Randy