Fourth Sunday of Pentecost-June 9
07
Jun
Engage visitors-It takes more than merely recognizing that someone is visiting. Many churches not only fail to recognize visitors, but they also fail to engage them. It is important to engage visitors and let them know that you are glad they have visited. It will inspire them to come back again and maybe become a part of the congregation. They may not live in the area and are only visiting, but they will still appreciate your contact, and will be more likely to visit again when they are in the area. In addition, they may have friends or relatives that live in the area and may recommend your church to them, if they don’t already have a church. Many churches fail to follow up on visitors. If a visitor is not engaged after a meeting and is not visited soon after their visit, they often don’t return, because those people come for a reason. People are looking for a place to feel they belong and if they are ignored, they will look elsewhere. Someone from the congregation should get their name and address and arrange to visit them to get to know them and introduce them to what the church has to offer them so they will have a reason to come back, and not leave it to the pastor. The visit should take place within the following week if possible as it is less effective the longer it is delayed, since they may decide to visit somewhere else the following Sunday, if they didn’t feel welcome. The pastor should actively train visitation workers to visit those who visit the church because a church that ministers to those who attend will grow and the pastor cannot do it alone.
Politics-Deep State-A-L
07
Jun
A-D (6/6/2024) We are entering another Presidential election year. The President not only guides the country, he also appoints federal judges and Supreme Court Justices, as well as the head of federal agencies that carry out the policies of the administration. The judges are appointed for life and they can’t be removed, except for gross misconduct, so it is important that you elect a President who respects the Constitution because he appoints the Judges you will have to live with until they die or retire. President Obama appointed a large number of judges who had no respect for the rule of law. They openly ignored the Constitution and many federal judges have ignored the Supreme Court rulings when they didn’t agree with them. As a result, we have seen the extension of abortion and Gay privileges and the deterioration of the rule of law. It has resulted in increasing persecution of Christians and other law abiding citizens. President Trump filled many vacancies with judges who would uphold the Constitution and the rule of law, however many judges appointed by President Obama remained and continued to subvert the law. President Biden has filled many federal judge positions with liberal judges and has undone a lot of what President Trump accomplished in restoring judges that respect the law. The person elected President this year will have many more positions to fill and will tip the country more towards respect for the law or away from it. It is also important to elected Senators who will approve the President’s nominations. If the Senate doesn’t confirm them, the positions will remain empty or the President will be forced to appoint judges that the Senate will approve. It will also be important to elect both Senators and House Representatives who respect the will of the people because they will need to pass the laws needed to restore justice and to investigate wrongdoing by both President Biden and the federal justice system which liberals have been using to harass President Trump and conservative churches and agencies and to protect Hillary Clinton and President Biden from prosecution for their crimes.
Politics-Deep State-A-K
07
Jun
I believe God raised up President Trump for this time which God knew was coming. President Trump respected the rule of law and sought to balance the budget. He did not take any salary but donated it to various agencies to help balance the budget. President Obama had no respect for the rule of law and used the mass shootings to push gun control in spite of opposition from the majority of Americans, yet the mass shootings continued. When President Trump was in office, he did a great deal to restore the rights of law abiding citizens to carry guns and you didn’t see the mass shootings like before because potential shooters knew they might face armed citizens who might spoil their plans and President Trump was not constantly calling people to attack those they disagreed with like President Obama and President Biden have. President Obama also used the “so-called” health care crisis to seize power by using Obamacare to require paying for abortion and contraceptives in spite of the fact that the law prohibited it and the majority of Americans opposed it. The House tried to add requiring paying for abortions to the Corona virus emergency act in spite of the fact it had nothing to do with containing the virus. Fortunately, conservative lawmakers were able to remove it. President Trump also repealed President Obama’s mandate to pay for contraceptives but liberal State courts have still mandated it for their States. He could have done far more but was hindered by liberal politicians, liberal courts, and liberal agency personnel left by President Obama. People reflect the government. If the government doesn’t respect the law, people lose their respect for the law and it is very difficult to restore that respect. You have only to go out on the highway to see how little respect people have for the law.
Politics-Deep State-A-J
07
Jun
Since the American people are opposed to the liberal agenda liberals are working through judges and unelected bureaucrats to subvert the will of the people. They know that Federal judges and unelected officials are hard to get at because voters never have a chance to vote them out since they didn’t vote them in. Most voters do not realize the power of the politicians they elect. While the President and State governors aren’t allowed to enact laws, they appoint the heads of the various government agencies under them. A candidate for governor may not talk about abortion in his campaign but when it comes to appointing officers to agencies like the Board of Health, a pro-abortion governor will usually appoint a Director who is pro-abortion and abortion often quickly rises to a top priority for the Board of Health and the only way to remove him is to defeat the governor in the next election and elect a governor who will appoint someone who is pro-life. While agencies are only supposed to carry out laws passed by Congress, liberal directors are taking it upon themselves to ignore the laws and push their agenda. In addition, liberal Presidents like President Obama and President Biden have taken it upon themselves to issue executive orders to force the government agencies to violate the law. For instance, President Biden ordered the border patrol to not hinder immigrants entering illegally and ordered the Veteran’s Dept to perform abortions in States where it is illegal. Candidates for President are even more important since they appoint the Supreme Court justices who then serve for life. They aren’t appointed by each new President so once they are appointed, they are there until they die or retire. The President also appoints federal judges to fill vacancies so it is important to know where the Presidential candidate stands. President Trump filled many vacancies with conservative judges who respected the law but there were many who remained from before he became President who were hampering his work in restoring rights to the people. The Constitution was written to protect the rights of the people but politicians like President Obama openly ignore and violate the Constitution.
Third Sunday of Pentecost-June 2
04
Jun
Recognizing visitors–Many pastors and church boards tell me that few people visit the church. Yet when I ask about a person or family that I saw visiting, they often didn’t notice. I often visit churches and often leave wondering if I was even noticed. Though the churches are often not close to where I live, they have no way of knowing that. I could be someone who just moved into the area and am looking for a church. Many churches have no way to recognize visitors. The ushers can carry visitor cards and pass them out to those visiting or the church can have pew cards in the pews for visitors to fill out. Ushers are the front line when it comes to visitors. They are usually the first to meet them and are familiar with many who attend church. If they see someone wandering around looking for the sanctuary or the rest rooms, it is a good bet that person isn’t a regular attender. Even though visitors are more easily recognized in Sunday School than in the sanctuary, few Sunday School teachers record visitor information in their classes. As a result, many visitors go unrecognized. In addition, the church can have many activities like Vacation Bible School, potlucks, and visiting singers that attract visitors who have no church home. It takes courage to visit a large group of strangers and if the group does not recognize them and greet them, they rarely come back. Ushers and church leaders need to actively seek to identify visitors during every activity. One declining church I took over as pastor rented their Sunday School rooms to a government poverty program to help pay upkeep on the church. They wanted me to find another source of income so they could get rid of the program. The program drew about fifty people from the local community every week. It took me a while to convince the church to stop trying to chase the people out and begin inviting them in.
The Courts-B-A
03
Jun
Judges are elected or appointed to interpret the law. Two decisions by judges under President Obama show where liberal judges are working against our best interests. Obamacare was enacted to make insurance available to more people through government subsidized insurance plans. but included so many demands on insurance companies that it forced up the price of insurance pushing it out of range for many people who could have afforded it otherwise. Republicans pushed through laws designed to bring down insurance costs but a judge ruled that the rules were unconstitutional. One rule allowed small businesses to develop collaboratives to help them get lower insurance rates now only available to big businesses. What in the Constitution forbids people from working together to help each other? Another rule would reduce the requirements required by Obamacare allowing customers to only pay for what they need or want. Repealing that requirement would also mean that those who oppose abortions would no longer have to pay for them. The last would allow insurance companies to sell over State lines increasing competition and forcing prices down. In some States there is only one non-government insurer allowing them to charge whatever they want and in some States there aren’t any, making government insurance the only choice. There is nothing in the Constitution forbidding free enterprise. If anything, the regulations set down by Obamacare were unconstitutional because they restrict competition and freedom of choice.
Gay Rights-V-H
03
Jun
While doctors pressure parents to go along with transgender treatments for their kids, there is no proof it helps. They often tell the parents that their child will probably commit suicide if they aren’t allowed to transition, but studies are showing that kids that transition are far more likely to commit suicide than children that don’t. In fact, a number of European countries that were pioneers in the trans movement have begun to ban the use of transitioning drugs and surgeries. Gender transitioning drugs and surgeries are lucrative programs in the US with government funding, just as abortion is, and is being promoted with the help of health programs and health clinics in schools, just as abortion is, in order to create a rich source of income. In fact, Planned Parenthood is the major player in pushing both programs. At least 22 States have passed the “Save Adolescents from Experimentation Act” (Safe Acts) to protect children from the dangerous effects of transitional drugs and surgeries.
Trinity Sunday May 26
24
May
Trinity Sunday B-The season of Pentecost occurs during the summer and today is a time when the church reaches out through special ministries to reach those who don’t know God that they may see God’s love and turn to Him. The zeal of the church in its ministry testifies to the presence of the Holy Spirit in it just as the tongues of fire testified to the presence of the Holy Spirit on the first Pentecost after Jesus rose from the dead. The church’s goal should be to be a witness to God’s love and to introduce unbelievers to the love of God in the hope that they will desire that love and turn to Christ for their salvation. The church’s main emphasis should be to reach out to those around it, conduct charity, and minister to the needs it finds. While these should be carried out all year round, Pentecost should be used to expand the church’s outreach.