There are two areas in which we are prepared to offer assistance:
First:
To anyone in the area who is needing help in light of the recent flooding, we have just received a truckload of items including food, clothing, and cleaning supplies that are free to whoever needs them.  On Saturday, May 8, from 9am to 2pm we will be set up to distribute these goods to anyone in need.
It would be our privilege to help you.  Please come and see us.

Second:
Saturday, May 8th, from 8am to 4pm we are offering free childcare for anyone with small children (12 and under).  Whether you need someone to watch your children while you clean your own house, or whether you are wanting to volunteer at someone else’s house, we are happy to keep your children safe and entertained [...]

Dr. Ed Gray from the Harding Graduate School gave us an informational and inspirational weekend.  Those 60 and over had a special Saturday morning session to emphasize the great value of seniors in the church.  Saturday evening was geared toward married couples.  On Sunday we got some good lessons about family and forgiveness.
Be sure to stop by our picture gallery in the members’ section for some photo highlights of the weekend.
Thanks to everyone who participated!
-Mark

Recently, Donna Louise Greenwell of Pitkin, LA was sentenced to fifteen months of imprisonment at hard labor. She was convicted of attempting to sell a five year-old boy and a four year-old girl to a couple in a neighboring town.
While the crime is bad enough, it was the fee she received that put this event on the news. For the two children Mrs. Greenwell was to have receied $175 and a cockatoo. That’s right — two children in exchange for a smart bird and a small amount of cash.
Before we file this news item, we should pause to reflect how often people trade very important things for little or nothing. A teenage girl trades in her virginity, reputation and self respect for a wild prom night. A talented businessman risks his job by viewing porn [...]

How comfortable are your feet right now?  When I ask this, do you suddenly become aware of them?  At any given moment, we can feel our feet, but if we’re not thinking about them, we don’t really notice how they feel.  Perhaps even as I say this, you suddenly pause and realize the need to adjust a sock or tighten a shoelace.  Your feet have always been there, haven’t they?  But just before you read this, you weren’t thinking about them.  Awareness is everything.
Once in chapel at the Harding Graduate School, a man got up to lead our prayer.  He was from Africa, and he could pray unlike anyone I’ve ever heard.  He spoke with a booming voice and a thick accent.  The first half of his prayer he spent simply acknowledging the majesty of [...]

Dean Pierson was a struggling dairy farmer in Copake, NY who last Thursday reached his breaking point. He went to his barn, barricaded the door, systematically killed each of his 51 milk cows, and then turned his rifle on himself. A murder-suicide with a different twist.
We immediately ask ourselves the question, “Why?” What drives a person to take such drastic action. While few details have been published, one neighbor did say, “These are hard times to be a farmer.”
It is hard to look forward to anything, when our problems consume our “vision.” Hopelessness and despair come when we don’t see any way out of our bleak circumstances. Yet, it was for just such a reality that Jesus came. Peter writes in I Peter 1:3, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, [...]

 
The destruction caused by the 7.0 earthquake in Port-au-Prince, Haiti rises beyond what we are able to comprehend. Destroyed houses and suffering people are evident in every news report we watch. Thousands dead; hundreds of thousands homeless; a nation’s flickering efforts at economic growth snuffed out. It is not the first tragedy we have witnessed or experienced, but for this week it is the biggest.
Yet, it is imperative that we pause and look at tragedy in a different light. There is a positive side to the catastrophe in Haiti.
#1 — We are reminded of the compassion and generosity of people. Millions of dollars and hundreds of adoptive parents are rising to the occasion. Would they have without the crisis?
#2 — We observe unity borne of necessity. People from all backgrounds and nations with divergent policies [...]

It was January 13 and Frank and Cindy had gone outside to look around after the ice storm was over. The night was clear and very cold. Returning to the cozy confines of their den and sipping on hot cups of coffee, the couple began sharing their recent observations. Frank said, “Did you see those trees that were uprooted by the weight of the ice? I bet we will have some roof damage, and I sure hope the pipes under the house don’t freeze tonight.” Almost oblivious to her spouse’s grumblings, Cindy exclaimed, “Weren’t the stars beautiful?”
They both were standing in the yard surrounded by the same icy devastation, but there was one key difference. Frank was looking at the damage, while Cindy was looking at the stars.
Exactly the same thing happened, when the twelve [...]

We have all heard the story of the Good Samaritan many times in our lives. Let me ask, “What was the real difference between the priest, Levite, and the Samaritan?” They were all travelling the same road. They all had responsibilities and schedules to keep. They all saw the injured man on the side of the road. However, while the priest and Levite looked, the Samaritan got involved. He was the only one who acted.
James describes a similar situation in 2:15-17, “If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, be warmed and filled,’ and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? Even so faith, if it has no works, is [...]

Most of us are familiar with the song “The Twelve Days of Christmas.” Each year PNC Bank calculates the costs involved in the gifts mentioned in the lyrics. This year a partridge in a pear tree would cost you $159.99, while three French hens would cost $45. With the increase in gold five gold rings would set you back $499.95. I don’t know where to hire them, but ten lords a-leaping are priced at $4413.61. PNC estimates that it would cost $21,456.56 to purchase one set of each of the gifts. The cumulative cost of all 364 gifts exceeds $87,000.
While we will not likely shop for that list, most of us will spend considerable time and money trying to find the perfect gift(s) for those we love. It seems to me that the real value [...]

As Jesus washed His disciples’ feet in the upper room, He commented, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter” (John 13:7). There are many times in our lives where the pieces just don’t seem to fit together. Like children who lack maturity and experience, we don’t comprehend the events that surround us.
William Cowper, great hymn writer of the 18th Century, suffered from serious bouts of depression. By the age of six he had experienced the death of three older siblings and witnessed the death of his mother, as she gave birth to her fifth child. As a young adult, three times William unsuccesfully attempted suicide.
Years later these events would help shape the lyrics of one of his most famous songs:
God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform;
He [...]