One Heart Ministries

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Dr. Doreen Williams' 6th Annual Nonprofit Appreciation Day Brunch Join us for a fabulous brunch celebrating the hard work and dedication of our local nonprofits. Our theme is "Joy In The Journey Of Service"

If you are a Christian, you should be an active member of a local church. If you are already a member of a local Bible believing, preaching church, please read the upcoming article and examine your heart and mind.

The Empty Pew

It is hard to imagine a time when churches did not have air conditioning, running water, cushioned chairs or pews. A church where there was a bucket of water in the corner with a dipper that everyone shared. The windows would be opened in the heat and people would crowd together for warmth in the winter. If you had to use the bathroom, you would have to make the long journey to the outhouse. Yet with all of these inconveniences, Sundays use to be a time when people gathered at the church house to hear God’s Word. Many churches didn’t have Sunday School or youth programs and everyone was in the sanctuary to worship, hear God’s Word, and be together. Pews were filled and I heard a lady this past weekend say she remembered when there was no more room in the church, people gathered outside by the windows and doors to hear the preacher preach the Word. God was a priority. Family was a priority.

People will say, “It was a simpler time back then.” Was it? People worked hard from sun up to sun down, most families were fortunate to have one car, and most items were handmade. Yet with everything they had to do on any given day, they made time for God and church.

Unfortunately today, it seems God and church is no longer a priority in too many families. The empty pew is becoming more common in churches throughout our nation. I have heard it said the church needs to change with the times, the church needs to cater to the people, the church needs more programs, the church......

Whatever happened to the thought of the church raising disciples and ministering to the community? Whatever happened to the church being a place where people came to greet one another to share the Word of God and to encourage one another in a life of holiness and righteousness? Whatever happened to people wanting to serve instead of being served?

The empty pew breaks my heart. Are people just too busy for God or do they just not care anymore? Either way, as more and more churches close their doors and people begin to remember when there use to be a place where God’s people would gather, one day when all the church doors are closed, maybe then, just maybe, people will once again rediscover their thirst to know who God is and to be with one another for worship and prayer.

https://www.mealtrain.com/trains/dnk514

Meal Train for Mayo Family David has just undergone major surgery and he and his family need our prayers and support. Help us tangibly serve them by providing dinner the next few weeks and they navigate this new recovery journey. If you would rather donate money towards groceries, or gift cards for them to order in you can do...

If you want to know God, you have to know Jesus. If you want to know Jesus, you must know the cross. The cross is not false advertising for God; it's where He laid down His life for the sins of the world.

The immense goodness of God is seen on the cross where He revealed His love for sinners, passion to forgive, judgment of sin, patience in suffering, willingness to die so that others might live, and much more. God's character and so much more was on display at the cross.

Interestingly, God is asking us to lay down our lives for Him and to bear up under the sufferings in front of us. In a sense, He is asking us to carry our cross for the sake of walking after Him. But what does that really look like?

When faced with hardships or persecutions, will we show a love for souls? A love of the truth? A willingness to forgive? A desire to seek the good of the other person? Will we sacrifice so that others might be blessed? Deny self so that others might live?

It's precisely in the moments of suffering and carrying our cross where our attitude toward God and man comes forward. Are we trusting the Lord? Is our faith completely real? If so, it can't help but impact others around us. And it blesses the Lord to see Himself reflected in our lives so that others will see His character in us.

While it's not always easy, pleasing the Lord is our true place of peace and safety. Jesus carried His cross and tells us to go and do likewise for reasons we might not fully understand until we get to the other side.

"And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that receiveth you receiveth me, and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me." Matthew 10:38-40