Whats happened to Our Country?

Sorry, I didn't do this earlier today. My cold is back so I kind of laid low today. But I want to continue tonight on the topic of "Whats Happened to our Country?" Last night, I stated that one of the greatest reasons we are in the mess that we are in is due to the deterioration of the family. And I wrote about how the lack of true fathers has contributed greatly to this decline. Tonight, lets look at another fact that has greatly effected our country...and this one definitely goes against the mainstream, even some of you Christians.

#2 Pluralism...the worship of many gods.

That's right! We have become a nation of not just one God, but many gods. Our founding fathers never meant for America to become a nation where there is freedom to worship whatever god you wanted to worship. They broke away from the church of England so they could worship freely the one and true God. Especially in the last fifty years, we have become a nation of religious idolatry which God warns Israel against relentlessly in the Old Testament. Islam has become one of the fastest growing religions in America. Buddhism and other eastern religions have also grown rapidly in the U.S. over the last few decades. The New Age religion may have the most influence in America today with Oprah Winfrey leading the way even though she doesn't consider herself a New Ager. Then, there are cults such as Mormonism, Jehovah Witnesses, Church of Christ Scientist, and others that have deceived many Americans as well as occult groups. When you add all these groups together, they easily influence millions of Americans pointing them to other gods that are not the one true God of the Bible.

"What's so dangerous about living in a nation with many gods? Just as long as I have freedom to worship as a Christian, I don't mine." Unfortunately, this is the attitude of a lot of Christians today. However, the Bible says idolatry becomes a snare to people which leads to the destruction of a nation. Also, Islamic fundamentalists as well as other religions are not content just "having a piece of the cake" in America. Islam wants all of it. When they come into a nation, they want to conquer it if the people choose not to convert. Once pluralism gets a stronghold on a country, the death certificate is about to be signed. Hey, if you don't believe me, read the Bible. God hates idol worship. The Bible says He is a jealous God. You would be too if you created or gave life to beings and they chose not to acknowledge you and make up others to take your place. That's what idolatry is. We refuse to acknowledge the one true God and make up others to take his place.

More tomorrow!

-Pastor Randy

What's happened to our Country?

Tonight, I just felt like doing a little blogging from my heart. I may write some things that are not politically correct but these things need to be said. A lot of Americans are feeling like me right now. Our heads are spinning. It's hard to sit by and watch our country dissolve before our very eyes. I really don't think its a republican-democrat thing. I'm not going to blame George Bush, President Obama, the media, or even the government. I think we have pointed fingers at one another long enough. I think it is past time that we are brutally honest with ourselves and face up to the following painful facts. And they are painful. They are painful for me to admit as a Christian, as a Christian leader, and as an American.

1. The deterioration of the American traditional family is the single most destructive force in our country.

I see this every day. It is so sad. Right now in the news we are hearing a lot about the poverty conditions of the people that live in Appalachia. But what we don't see is the rampant drug use, the alarming alcoholism, the high teenage pregnancy, divorce, and the incest in the Appalachian culture. All of this leads to a lack of education, an increase in single-parent families, jail and prison sentences, a high rate of sexually transmitted disease, high unemployment, abuse, and greater poverty. And this is not just the case in Appalachia, but it is true in many other parts of our country. We have the same family problems in America's cities as well as in it's suburbs and rural communities.

One of the greatest causes of the breakdown of the American family today is the lack of "true fathers" in our homes. When I speak of a "true father" I am talking about men that have some integrity about them. Men that provide to the best of their ability for their families. Men who love their wives and their children sacrificially and are constantly putting them first. Men that can be trusted to do the right thing when no one is looking. Men who are not afraid to show some leadership and exercise their God-given authority with the love of God working within them. When these kinds of men function within the framework of a family good things happen. God blesses his wife, his children, his finances, his church, his business, his community, and eventually his nation. I am not just speaking of good, moral men; but I am speaking of righteous men...men that are right with Almighty God. Proverbs 14:34 says, "Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to many people."

Did you read the last part of that verse. "Sin is a repoach to many people." In other words, sin is the blame, and brings shame and disgrace upon many people. Either a nation is exalted by the righteous hearts of it's people or disgraced and shamed by the sins of it's people.

America our sins have caught up with us. Whether we are too proud to admit it or not, our sins are shaming us bfore the entire world. We have a great history and a proud past. But the world is no longer judging us by our history or our great feats of the past. Joel 11:17 reads, "Give not thine heritage to reproach." Sadly, this is what is happpening to our once great nation. May God have mercy upon us!

More facts tomorrow.

-Pastor Randy

"God is God" by Cassandra Ballard

I thought my blog audience might enjoy the following blog written by my niece, Cassandra Ballard (Tom & Debbie's oldest daughter). Cassandra wrote this the day my father passed away. Cassandra is a very bold believer in Christ who might be Indiana's first-ever woman Senator if the Lord tarries. She is currently a student at Indiana University. Annette, Gabe, and I think she's pretty sharp. We love her!

This is pretty good...
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God is God. I should probably get that put on my tombstone when
my day comes. Some may question what that really means. In able to fully
understand, you have to know what the word God means. We have two definitions of God that are used in this small statement. First, is God as our worshiper and our creator the man in the sky whom we will all one day stand before and be accountable to.

Second, God as an occupational term: Being perfect in power, all wisdom,
all knowing. So this very simply means our God the man who created us, which whom we worship, he is all knowing and perfect in his power.


Life has an incredibly history for throwing dramatic curve balls. They can come from nowhere fast, quick, and powerful enough to knock us flat off our feet. Or they can be like a slow moving train. You see it coming, you can see the lights,
you can hear the horns, but still if you are not prepared it can cause unbelievable
damage. Or even if you are ready for it to pass by, it can still rattle some
windows if you are close enough. To me it seems as if life in general cannot be
content with a non-dramatic easy going walk. It is always ready and willing to blow in a whirlwind.


I don’t know if any of you have seen the 1996 movie Twister with Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton? But if you have, you will remember the scene where Jo and Bill were running from the tornado and they ran and they ran. As they were running it seemed like their total environment was being shaken and to be left upside down. When finally they knew they couldn't’t out run a twister, they had to “bunker” down and ride it out. They ran into a barn and tied themselves to a led pipe that ran way down deep into the ground. They gripped that pipe and held on until the end. When it was over they found themselves gripped to the pipe and everything around them destroyed. Sometimes life can be like this scene. You are trying to keep everything together and the storm continues to gain power. It blows you around and maybe knocks the wind out of you a time or two. And when it seems like the worse is upon you, you find shelter. The pipe they tied themselves to was deep into the ground. It couldn’t be uprooted as easily as some of the other places around
them. The storm went right over them and took them up in the air, but they continued to grip that pipe for security, knowing that if they do not let go, they will make it.

My grandfather just passed away and it seems like he suffered so long and so hard it wasn’t fair. And it was/is painful I feel like reality has come along and sucker punched me. Although the winds are blowing and I am knocked off my feet for a while I know I have to hold on to my life preserver, my pipe that is dug deep down in the solid ground, my faith. At my local church we sing a song called “Way Down Deep” It says ‘I got the love of Jesus, I got the joy of Jesus, I got the PEACE of Jesus deep down in my soul. The course sings ‘way down deep, way down deep’. If you do not
have Him way down deep, deeply rooted in your soul, you do not stand a fighting
chance in this world. Life throws’ way to many ‘hurricane parties’. You might
last through the first couple, but sooner or later you’re going to grow tired
and start slipping up.

Knowing that God is God is knowing that no matter what happens, I am grounded in him, and he is all-knowing, all-powerful, and completely in charge. He sees a picture that our human mind cannot even begin to imagine. During my grandfathers last couple days I kept repeating to myself “God never calls a saint home without precise timing.” I’ve heard my dad say this a hundred times! I know, God thought about it, worked things out, allowed him to live longer than expected, to die at a
specific time. Which means God was still lining things up; he was still dealing in people’s lives and using my grandfather to do so. Stepping back and
looking at some things I can see where God did do some work, but it may take
years before I see exactly why God allowed him to continue to fight for every
breath as long as he did. So as this storm passes by, as I lay gripping to my deep roots, I pray for peace, I pray for joy to be restored in people’s lives and I pray that people on the outside looking in see that our family lives and breathes the simple three word sentence, God is God.

Sunday Wrap Up

Since Annette and I were not at KP yesterday, I can't comment on the services too much. I do appreciate Pastor Ron Smith ministering yesterday in the AM. Ron and Joy are seasoned pastors but even better than that, wonderful believers in Christ. I am sure that God ministered exactly what He wanted through Ron Sunday. I love Ron and Joy and their family. We are so blessed to have them at KP.

Pastor Tim Orr ministered the Word Sunday evening. Tim is a gifted teacher-preacher. I am so proud of Tim and Michelle. I know that God is preparing them for something very special in the near future. They too, are a great blessing to KP!

Next Sunday after service, we will be conducting a very important Easter Egg Hunt committee chairmen meeting. As a church, we are committed to making our community Easter Egg Hunt one of the most effective evangelism events of the year. If you have been asked to chair a committee, I ask that you come prayerfully ready to give God your very best in order that souls will be added into His kingdom through this powerful outreach.

Well, have a wonderful week!

-Pastor

Some Final Saturday Thoughts...

Well, its been a long day, but a good one. This day was pretty much about Dave Dayton's mother's funeral. The funeral service itself was so much like Dave. What I mean by that is; it was honest, transparent, loving, and intimate. The crowd that gathered for the service was a mixture of Kings Point and United Methodist folk. And even though we had a difference or two in our doctrinal backgrounds, we were and are truly one in Christ. It was great to be with brothers and sisters in Christ from the UM tradition.

Sarah Dayton, Dave's mother, was a gifted song writer and pianist. She loved to play the piano and wrote quite a few hymns of praise. She was a fine Christian lady who was a godly example to all she came in contact with.

I have a lot of thoughts on the stimulus bill. They're not political thoughts, but just some commentary on how this whole idea of entitlement is digging our grave as a nation as well as astonishing other nations in how irresponsible and reckless we have become fiscally as a government.

Proverbs 13:11 states "Wealth [gotten] by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathered by labour shall increase." The Good News Bible is a little clearer, "The more easily you get your wealth, the sooner you will lose it. The harder it is to earn, the more you will have."

I will have some more on this early in the week. Have a great day of worship!

-Pastor Randy

Friday Countdown

Well, we are back. Sorry for three days that our server was down. I am suspending my "Ways to Cut Costs in a Lousy Economy" video series. I guess you could say, I've lost my momentum and desire due to the website being down.

Many of you have not heard that Pastor Dave Dayton's mother pased away Wednesday. Please keep Dave and his family in your prayers. Brother Dave is a wonderful man of God who cared of rhis mom until her passing. If you would like to pay your respects, the visiting hours are Saturday from 10 am to 12 noon with the service scheduled to begin at 12 noon at Stine-Kilburn in Lebanon. Our church is providing a dinner for the family after the burial service. Please contact Hazel Dye if you are interested in contributing food or serving the family at the dinner.

Both Ken Brumfield and Danny Flinders are doing well after their surgeries this week. Please keep them in your prayers.

As most of the KP crowd knows, the ladies restroom is under construction. It's going to look great when done. Roy and April are leading this project with some help from Gerry, Wilma, Dale, Chris, and others. Thanks everyone for your hard work.

We do hope to start on the courtyward renovation project this spring. You will be hearing more about this project in the future.

In spite of the poor economy, God is blessing KP financially. Thank you so much for your faithfulness in tithes, offerings, and in giving in special offerings. As I mentioned Sunday PM, we are planning now to do more in the future to help needy families inside and outside the church with food, jobs, and in other ways. We also want to continue to emphasize helping our widows and the fatherless.

One final note, thank you for your prayers for my family. My mother is doing well. She has her tough days but God is comforting her day by day.

-Pastor

Meeting the Needs of People....in a Lousy Economy

Seriously, Kings Point is in the business of helping people. I have no doubt that things are going to continue to get worse, with or without a stimulus bill. America's corporate greed and our wickedness is what has put us in this position and the only answer is national repentance before the one and true Almighty God. So far we don't see that happening.

As a church, in the days ahead and we want to put ourselves in a better position to help meet the basic needs of people. We want to do a better job of helping the needy, provide food for hungry, visit the sick and those in jail and prison, provide for widows and the fatherless, and do what can to help people get jobs. If you would like to participate in any of these efforts, please let me know. As we do this, we will point people to Jesus Christ as the real answer to their every need.

Now, for "our not so serious suggestion." Our Top Ten list on "Ways to Cut-Costs in a Lousy Economy."

#7 - Get with someone you know well and put your heads together like Corina and Debbie and try this (you may have to watch this a few times to appreciate it). It just may save you $$$. But then again, probably not...but you might feel better.


Have a great day!

-Pastor Randy