Spring Revival

We had our Spring Revival with Bro. Phil Gabbard from May 15-17. It was the first time we have had Bro. Gabbard come and preach and he truly was a blessing. He did a lighted chalk drawing on Saturday night and sang and played his guitar on all three nights. During the Sunday morning service, one young lady walked the aisle and got saved! Praise the Lord! Following the morning service, we had dinner on the grounds followed by and early afternoon service. Bro. Gabbard truly was a great blessing and we look forward with anticipation for the next time the Lord allows him to come back!

Sunday School Promotion

Over the past several weeks, we have been having a Sunday School promotion in order to bring in more kids for classes on Sunday mornings. We used an old West round-up theme, complete with General Store, Bible Baptist Bank (featuring Baker Bucks), and a sheriff (played hilariously by Bro. Gary Elam) and an outlaw (played by Bro. Mark Maynard) who would steal Baker Bucks from the kids (more on that in a bit). The kids could earn Baker Bucks by bringing their Bibles to church, bringing visitors, and saying their memory verses in front the church. They could take their bucks to the General Store and buy various items that were available. All in all, it went very well, and we saw several new kids come during this time. Now, back to the sheriff and outlaw. After the kids would say their verses, an outlaw would run in from the back and try to steal their bucks (sometimes successfully, sometimes not). The sheriff would come running in just as the outlaw was running away in an attempt to arrest him. This played out for several weeks until finally the outlaw was caught. He was thrown in jail and ultimately brought out before the judge to be sentenced for his crimes. Because "the wages of sin is death," he was sentenced to be hanged from a tree for his sins. Just as he was about to be hauled away, the judge's son came running in from the back and offered to be a substitute for the outlaw and take his place. The outlaw was set free and the judges son was hauled away to be executed. Afterwards, the sheriff took a couple of minutes and explained what the skit meant and gave the plan of salvation to the kids. Overall, the promotion went very well, and, hopefully, we will have several new kids who consistently come to Sunday School. Thanks to all those who put all of their effort into this promotion--Jim and Nancy Bradley, Dave and Jeni Ervin, Natalie Bradley, Gary Elam, Mark Maynard, and all of the Sunday School teachers. All of your work was greatly appreciated and did not go unnoticed!

The Sheriff reading off the charges before the Judge

The Outlaw awaiting his sentence

The Judge pronouncing sentence

Memorial Day Service

I have several things to catch you up on so let's start with our Memorial Day service. Bro. Baker preached Sunday morning on memorials and remembering what it means to be a Christian soldier. On Sunday night, Bro. Baker asked Bro. Leon Richardson, a naval Korean War veteran, to preach. He preached on how to become a soldier (volunteer or recruited), promotions as a soldier (our heavenly rewards), and getting out one day (looking for our heavenly home). It is always a blessing to hear Bro. Leon preach on a subject that he holds so dear to his heart. He is a very active member of the DAV and is very passionate about the care of welfare of our nations veterans.

Bro. Leon explaining the red, white, and blue in the flag