Greetings Aspen Grove Church family!

               I pray this finds you well. Can you believe that half the year has gone by already? June has been a strange month. It started out with some beautiful temperatures and occasional rain, to some of the hottest temperatures for June that I can remember, with some occasional strong thunderstorms. I hope you guys were staying cool and hydrated!

               For June 1^st, we finished our study on Psalm 139 with a message titled, “Dangerous Prayer for the Brave.” We covered perhaps my favorite Poem of all time, “Footprints in the sand.”  We broke down verses 23 & 24 and diving into how David invites GOD to look inside him see if there be anything that breaks GOD’s heart. Basically, that prayer that David prayed was this, “Father, search me and try me, see where I trust you the least and help me become what you have created me to be.”  Are you brave enough to have GOD search you so intimately?

               June 8^th was a busy day! We spoke on “The Well of Christ,” covering the story of the woman at the well, from John 4:1-26. We discovered that Jesus broke the social norms of the day to reach someone that was lost and undone. We, also, learned that she this woman had some history, some baggage that is a reminder to us all… that we are not perfect. God knows us and HE still says that HE loves us dearly and wants us to love HIM back by our own free will. The story of the woman at the well shows that the GOSPEL of GRACE is free salvation by FAITH in Jesus CHRIST. ALL we must do, is like the song says, “Leave it all behind… and come to the well.”  Afterwards, we had our Sunday School Picnic with hotdogs and hamburgers! Everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves.

               For Father’s Day, we preached a message titled, “Father’s Wanted!” and we came from the Book of ACTS 27:21-25.  This message was directed at the fathers/grandfathers specifically. We started off with some silly “dad jokes,” and followed by some very frightening statistics dealing with absent fathers in their children’s lives from teen pregnancy, teen suicides, runaways, drug use, and youths in prisons. The Apostle Paul was able to help encourage our fathers by reminding us 3 important details: 1) Paul knew GOD was with him, 2) Paul knew he belong to GOD, & 3) Paul knew he was in service to GOD. As a father, this revelation by Paul, is reminder to us that GOD has given us a mission of raising our children, to be loving husband, and to be a great friend because GOD is with us always. Because we know GOD is with us, we belong to GOD, and as a result, we have an obligation to do as our LORD has asked of us. Because our fathers have been failing at their job of raising our children in the admonition of GOD, our nation is suffering as a result.

               On June 22, we covered “The First Worship Service” by going over the story of Cain and Abel, found in Genesis 4:1-7. We discovered that worship is more than simply singing songs. We realize that we worship through our tithing, our prayers, by our obedience in studying GOD’s Holy Word, and even by witnessing to others about our Faith. Worship, true worship begins in our intentional effort of keeping GOD first and foremost! Abel demonstrated this by going through his flock and selectively picking out the very best of the best, while Cain simply just grabbed some veggies and fruits haphazardly. Which led to the question of the day: Do we worship GOD intentionally or by simply going through the motions? If we are going to worship, we need to ask ourselves why? If it isn’t because we want to please GOD, then are we really like Cain and just really playing “church?”

               I pray that y’all are continuing to grow in Christ and increasing your Faith by “Frog,” Fully Relying on GOD! May the LORD bless you and keep you; May HIS face shine upon you and give you peace… the peace that surpasses ALL understanding! Y’all have a great day and remember… for a lot of folks, you are the Only Bible some folks will ever read. So, what are you showing them? I love you all, but more importantly, GOD loves you so much more!

 

Pastor Sonny

 

Hello Aspen Grove Church Family,

I pray this finds you well. May has been a good month. We celebrated Mother’s Day by preaching from the Book of Luke 1:26-38 with a message titled, “A Baby changes Everything.” We covered the facts about motherhood. For instance, how they are our first teachers about prayer: You better pray that I can get that stain out or so help me… Then we got into the message by discussing the fact that a Mother who is chosen by GOD:  Submits herself to the Will of GOD, just as Mary did when she found out that GOD had chosen her to be the mother of HIS only begotten Son, Jesus; She is not perfect, but her calling to be a mother is; and lastly, we figured out that a mother never relinquishes her title. Mary watched her son, Jesus, grow and then live out before her very eyes everything the Angel Gabriel told her. Wonder is she knew, or even understood, that the little boy she would deliver, would son deliver her to GOD? Next, we dove into, perhaps, one of my favorite passages in the Bible… Psalm 139. This psalm is one of King David’s master pieces as he reveals to us three important attributes about GOD: Omniscience, Omnipresent, and Omnipotence. To help understand those attributes, we broke them down: Omni meaning, “All,” Science meaning, “Truth/Knowing,” Presence meaning, “everywhere,” and Potency meaning, “All Abilities” … to put it simply: GOD is all knowing, all truth. He’s everywhere at all times 100%, not in pieces. He can do anything, there is nothing that he can’t do.

In Psalm 139, David points out that GOD sees everything about me/ you. GOD knows everything about me/ you. And GOD is continually with me/ you no matter where we go. GOD is the creator of all that you see, but don’t confuse the Creator with His creation. He’s not everything but He is everywhere. As David points out in verses 7-10, “7Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? 8If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; 10Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me.” And because of that amount information being unpacked by David, its no wonder why he stated in verse 6, “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; It is high, I cannot attain unto it.”

In verses 13-18, we learned that GOD has planned out everything about me and for me. David reminds us that we put to much emphasis on our appearance in front of people, worrying about what they think about us. Instead, we need to see people like GOD does… their hearts. Anyone can fake it, but the fruits of their labor can’t be faked. We, also, learn that GOD is continually leading us, directing us, but sadly, we don’t always follow HIS lead. Thereby, we find more headaches and heartaches… and most of it is self-inflicted. GOD knows us completely and thinks about us continually. Can you imagine that? David tells us that GOD’s thoughts about you/ me, outnumber the grains of sand. You see, every time I do the right thing, God is watching. Every time, instead of sinning, I choose not to sin, every time I resist a temptation, every time I stand up for the right thing no matter how small or insignificant, God knows it, and sees my faithfulness to Him. Now think upon that! Now do you understand why David said that “such knowledge is too overwhelming for me to grasp?” He closes out this Psalm with a deep prayer by asking GOD to “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: 24 And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” Are you brave enough to pray such a prayer? I love this Psalm because of David’s open-ness of his humanity and revealing so much about GOD to each of us. I pray that the LORD keeps you, protects you, may HIS face shine upon you and bring your peace.  I love you, but more importantly… GOD loves so much more!

Pastor Sonny

 

Good day everyone,

            I pray this letter finds you well. Since our last letter, we have been preparing for our revival that starts Monday, April 14^th thru 16^th, and Pastor Chuck Owens will be our speaker. I’m so excited to see what GOD has in stored for us!

            Two weeks ago, we came from the Book of Mark 9:31-37, with a message titled, “Who is the Greatest?” Peter, James, and John had been witnesses to one of the spectacular events, The Transfiguration of Jesus, as well as seeing Elijah, a representative of the Prophets, and Moses, the writer of the Pentateuch, the 1^st five Books of the Law given by GOD to mankind. They had the Best Teacher, Preacher, & Friend; they witnessed first-hand the miracles that Jesus performed; they learned directly from the master, and yet… when push came to shove, they failed. We asked the question: Are we any different from them… today? Through it all, Jesus continued to mold these leaders into the great disciples we know them to be. Peter, James, and John were talking amongst themselves about what they had just witnessed and asked the question of who was the greatest among themselves. When Jesus asked about their conversation, they didn’t say a word. Yet, Jesus went right to the heart of the matter, “'And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, ‘If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” Mark 9:35. Jesus rephrased that saying in a different Book by saying this way: “Then said Jesus unto his disciples, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” Matthew 16:24. As my former Pastor used to say, “Others, Lord… let this, my motto be. Others, Lord…let me love as thee.” What a great thought! The greatest servants serve others as though they were serving GOD almighty! So, who is the greatest? Jesus, Himself because His sole purpose was to serve others before going to the Cross!

            Last week, we saw that while Jesus was on HIS way to Jerusalem to the Cross of Calvary, HE passed through a community known as Jericho. As HE past through with the usual crowd commotions, a blind beggar and the outskirts of town asked, “What’s going on?” Those closest to him responded by saying Jesus was passing by. Bartimaeus had heard of the miracles performed by Jesus, and he cried out, “Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me!” The crowds to him to be quiet and leave Jesus alone, but Bartimaeus didn’t know if Jesus would be back. All he knew was this, Jesus was right here, right now, and he wanted to take advantage of it. The more the crowds told him to be quiet, the louder and more desperate he became. After his last plea, Jesus stopped and stood still! Wow! Imagine that… on HIS way to the Cross and heard a cry from one his children and stopped what HE was doing and respond to the cry of help. Far too often, we don’t cry out to Jesus because we don’t want to disturb HIM with our simple little pleas, and yet… that is exactly what Jesus is asking us to do today. Bring him our burdens, our cares and simply give it to HIM and HE will give us rest. Bartimaeus got his sight restored and followed Jesus the rest of his days. The moral is this: Don’t let anything stop you from crying out to GOD with anything! He will stop what HE is doing just for you because HE loves you that much!

            This past Sunday, instead of speaking of Palm Sunday, the LORD led me in a different direction, sort of a pre-revival message. The title of the message was simple, “Even Now!” coming out of the Book of John 11:1-27. All of us have experienced times when we have been praying for one thing or another and as soon as one prayer was answered another situation would arise that needed prayer. Have you ever had one of those days when it seemed like there was no light at the end of the tunnel? Aren’t you glad we don’t have to live by our feelings? Mary, Martha, and Lazurus were close friends with Jesus, and so when Lazurus became gravely ill, Marthas and Mary went for Jesus. He didn’t respond right away because there was a greater purpose. Far too often, we pray for GOD to do something or simply answer us right away, and yet... we find a lot of times that HE answers on HIS time, when its truly needed. When Martha heard that Jesus was finally coming, she ran to him and simply unloaded everything she was feeling: the good stuff, the bad stuff, even the ugly stuff about Jesus not showing up before Lazurus had passed away. Crazy isn’t it? Being angry with GOD simply because HE didn’t immediately respond to our request. Yet, we see that Jesus didn’t respond back as most of us would have, matching wits. No, what we saw was that Jesus displayed Love, Compassion, and went right to the heart of the issue…resurrecting Lazurus. Martha makes a statement that speaks volumes! Even though she was experiencing one the worst moments of her life, she sated, “But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.” John 11:22. Even Now…Jesus was right on time to show the world once more the true power of GOD is LOVE as HE resurrected Lazurus, but before HE did, HE asked Martha a question that we all should be asking of ourselves daily, “Do you really believe in Me?” I do not know what you are dealing with but, what I do know is that “even now” in that situation God is moving… even if we don’t see it right away.

I hope that this helps you and encourages you to continue to grow in your Faith. Know that our Father loves each and single one of you dearly. The Reason of Christmas is the Purpose of Easter! Restoring mankind once and for all and making a way into salvation where there was no way. Jesus left the throne room of Heaven, to pay the sin-debt for humanity once and for all, and all HE asks in return is to believe in HIM by Faith! Friends, I can think of no greater way to display love than through Jesus Christ! Hae a great day and remember… GOD loves you!

 

Pastor Sonny

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 Good morning, Aspen Grove Church family! 11MAR25

I hope this letter finds you well. The last two weeks, we continued building upon the idea of “Being about our Father’s Business,” coming out of the Books of Ruth and 1 Samuel. From the Book of Ruth, we preached a message titled, “Between Moab and a Hard Place’” dealing with the results of working out of the Will of the Father coming from Ruth 1:1-8. We asked 4 Questions: 1—What is Moab; 2-- What would cause us to Moab; 3-- What will cause us to stay in Moab; & 4-- How can we leave Moab? In this life, we need to understand a few things. 1st thing is that when the tests of life come, we need to understand that these tests aren’t meant to break you, but they are to make you into what God sees in you. You wouldn’t make any major decisions about moving or changing jobs without seeking some advice from your spouse or parents, so why would you not seek God’s opinion first about all things in your life? Why would we go somewhere like Moab without making sure that it is God’s will for us to do so. Naomi lost her husband and both sons in Moab, but if they had just stuck it out back in Judah, would they have still been alive? Each of us has some life altering decisions to make on our journey in this world. Why wouldn’t you seek God’s council on the events that transpire in your life? I say… slow down, seek God, then follow His choice by simply “stepping out on Faith!” So, are you on your way to Moab? Considering a move to Moab? If so, did you seek the Will of God first?

This week, we read from the Book of 1 Samuel 15:1-23 and we asked the question, “Are we really ALL IN or not at all?” Three main topics stood out: 1—Be careful what you wish for; 2: Partial Obedience is NO Obedience; & 2—Its ALL or Nothing. We saw how the Israelites wanted a king, just like the rest of the world. One Problem… they had GOD already as their KING. After warning the folks of what their human king would be like, they still wanted a king and GOD granted a king for them. In the beginning, King Saul was a good king, honoring and staying in the will of GOD…BUT his human nature came into play. GOD told Saul to wipe out entirely everything of the Amalekites: the men, women, and children, babies, and ALL the livestock. Saul, however, saved King Agag and the best of the best of the livestock for sacrifices. Saul partially obeyed GOD and he learned the hard way that is just the same as not following any direction and GOD removed HIS anointing from Saul. With GOD, we are either ALL IN or we are all out of HIS Will. Church, today we are at a crossroads, and we are going to have to decide on our obedience or God will. We learned today that an undecided vote is simply saying “No God.” I cannot imagine God saying, “It repenteth Me for…” while speaking of me. As Joshua challenges the Israelites to choose this day who they will serve, that challenge is before us now. Are we ALL in or are we all out? I pray that this encourages you to continue to seek GOD and grow in your FAITH. May GOD bless you! I love you, but more importantly GOD loves you so much more. Have a great day. Sincerely, Pastor Sonny!

 Good morning, Aspen Grove Church family! 

I hope this message finds you well. My name is Sonny R. Williams, Jr., and I am honored to be your new pastor. I believe that God has brought us together so that we can grow and mature spiritually as a community. In these challenging times, especially here in the U.S., there is a noticeable departure from sound biblical teachings, which has led to many issues in our nation. It is my conviction that every believer should be engaged in The Father’s Business. What does that entail? It means sharing the Gospel as outlined in the Great Commission in Matthew 28:18-20 and Acts 1:8. While we cannot save anyone ourselves, however we can share the Gospel with everyone we encounter. God asks us to be faithful and obedient to His calling, and He will take care of the rest. 

This year, we have started teaching the fundamental beliefs of our faith as taught in the Word of God. We began with God’s greatest gift, His Son Jesus Christ. We have also discussed the importance of a strong prayer life and having our own personal prayer Closet—our war room. This past Sunday, we explored the gifts from God: whether to receive them, how to use them, and the cost and reward of our obedience in using these gifts. I am excited about what God has in store for us both individually and as a church. 

Let us strive to be the “light on the hill” for our community, a beacon pointing to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Son of God. Together, let us use our gifts and talents to strengthen one another and spread the Gospel in our communities and circles of influence.  

Let’s be like Peter, stepping out of our comfort zones and walking by faith on water! Today is a new day and a new opportunity to grow in our faith and be better than we were yesterday. Have a wonderful day, and may God bless you all! 

Your brother In Christ,  

 

Pastor Sonny 

 Subject: A Time of Transition and a Warm Welcome to Pastor Sonny Williams

Dear Church Family,

Grace and peace to you in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

As my time serving as your interim pastor comes to an end, I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude for each of you. It has been an incredible honor to walk alongside this congregation, to worship together, to share in God’s Word, and to witness His faithfulness in our church.

During this season, I have seen God move in so many ways—through your faith, your prayers, your generosity, and your love for one another. Thank you for allowing me to serve, to teach, and to grow with you. Your support and encouragement have meant more to me than words can express.

As one chapter closes, another begins, and I am excited to welcome Pastor Sonny Williams as he steps into the role of lead pastor. I truly believe that God has called him for such a time as this, and that under his leadership, our church will continue to grow in faith, love, and mission. I encourage each of you to welcome him with open hearts and to pray for him as he begins this new journey with us.

Transitions can bring mixed emotions, but we know that God is always at work, leading us forward in His perfect plan. As Joshua 1:9 (NKJV) reminds us:

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

I may be stepping away from this role, but my love and prayers for this church family remain steadfast. Thank you for allowing me to serve. Thank you for your kindness, your prayers, and your unwavering faith. May God bless you all as you continue His work, and may He guide Pastor Sonny as he leads with wisdom and grace.

With love and gratitude,
Bill Doane
Interim Pastor, Aspen Grove Church