October Month 2008

Wednesday, October 1, 2008

“ARE YOU DOING IT?”

"Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen."                                                                          -Matthew 28:19-20

When Christ commanded the disciples to go and do the work of an evangelist, it was not seasonal work. There were no passive words in His instructions; in fact he was direct, decisive and demanding. He told them what to do, where to do it, who to do it to and how long to do it. His message is very clear and leaves no room for doubt, the question is, and will always be, “Are You Doing It?”

We must all commit to being vessels of hope, carrying the Gospel message near and far. Sharing our faith with people from all walks of life, young, old, black, white, short or tall, they all represent the “them” referred to by Christ when he commissioned His disciples.

It is not just enough to go; we must also go with the same passion in which Christ commissioned His disciples. We must be committed to impacting our church, our community and our city with the word of GOD. We are not going to just talk about it; we are going to begin doing something about it. 

To move all of us from just thinking or talking about discipleship, to actually doing it. I challenge you to come out and participate in this study, it is time to grow up and become the agents of change and hope, God has called us to be.

Can you think of (2) people outside of your home that you have shared Christ with successfully? If not, its time to change the answer to the aforementioned question.

“ARE YOU DOING IT?” (Yes you are, going to do it by spreading the word, and trusting Jesus.) 

Be Blessed

Pastor S.P. Courtney
RevSPCourt@BethlehemofBonham.net 

Monday, October 13, 2008

 "CHANGE?"

The Word of the Week is actually a word. The word is CHANGE! It seems that according to our presidential candidates, we need to CHANGE everything in this country. If you listen to them closely, you would think we are living in a third world country. Everything is wrong and needs to be CHANGED!!!! I will not weigh in politically on how I feel about those opinions, but it did get me to thinking about CHANGE in my own life.

I know there are things in my life that need to be CHANGED. I must make the decision to make those CHANGES. It is up to each of us to evaluate where we are in our spiritual walk to see what we need to CHANGE to be better for our Lord.

This week as the word is CHANGE, I challenge you to take inventory of your life and see what you need to CHANGE to be the best you can be for Christ! I hope you have a wonderful week

God’s Servant – Your Friend

Pastor S.P. Courtney
RevSPCourt@BethlehemofBonham.net 

 Thursday, October 17, 2008

"WHY NOT ACCEPT THE GIFT?"
 
There are few people when presented with the opportunity to receive a gift will hesitate to accept it. It really does not matter about the size of the gift, the value or appearance. What really matters is that it is a gift. It was free, it cost me nothing, all I had to do is accept it and its mine all mine.
 
What I cannot understand is why the greatest gift of all is not received with the same euphoria. Why the gift that keeps on giving is not accepted with excitement and thankfulness of heart. The God that we serve loved us so much that He gave not an object that he made, purchased or had left over. No, God gave us a piece of himself. Why not accept a gift, that not only is free, but sets you free from death, sin and the grave. Why not accept a gift that gives you access to life eternal. 
 
I encourage any and everyone to put down the material gifts of your past, and accept the one and only gift that money can't buy, you cannot earn and no one can take away. Why Not Accept The Gift of Jesus Christ our Lord? 
 
"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the Gift of God." - Ephesians 2:8
 
In Christ

Pastor S.P. Courtney
RevSPCourt@BethlehemofBonham.net 

 Thursday, October 23, 2008

"OUR ANNIVERSAY"

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and blessings to each and every one of you on another day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it. God has done Great things for us and to us over the past year.  As Pastor I am truly honored and humbled to be your under shepherd and I am forever grateful to God for this opportunity.

As I look back over the year we have really moved to another level in ministry, but I also understand we have only just begun. Over the past year we have trained and implemented our Prayer Team ministry, we have established a strong Wednesday night bible study for our youth and launched out into the realm of organized evangelism into the community of Bonham. These were major objectives coming out of last year and thanks to God, and the extraordinary efforts of some willing servants we are doing what God would have us to do. We had great local fellowship, but we also extended our fellowship with other believers, as we journeyed to Holy Land Experience in Eureka Springs with our adults and then we traveled to the Glory to Glory Youth and Leadership Conference in Orlando Florida with our youth. The experiences were life changing for our youth and motivation to our adults.

Looking forward I know God has purposed this Church to continue on an upward climb, spiritually, numerically and financially. My wife and I would like to extend our most heartfelt thanks to each of you for your cooperation, your love and your willingness to follow where God leads. We are not where God wants us to be, but it is this humble servants opinion, we are headed in the right direction.

Joyful Submitted,

Pastor S. P. Courtney