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