​Last year our focus was upon putting our houses in order as we embraced the scripture taken from Joshua 24:15 “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”  This year we are individualizing our focus, by choosing to explore the commands of Jesus.  Our good friend, and New Zealand missionary Elijah Peters took it on as a personal project to identify the commands of Jesus.  In considering John 14:15 where Jesus asked “If you love me, keep my commands,”  Elijah determined if there were commands Jesus is expecting us to keep, then we need to know what those are.  So Elijah worked through the gospels, carefully notating every command given by Jesus.  He then combined those which repeated themselves, and when the dust settled, he determined there were 25 distinct commands given by Jesus, which we as his followers are expected to adhere to.  It is these commands which will provide the foundation for our sermons in 2020.
 
My prayer is, as we examine these commands, we will incorporate them into our lives, and allow them to grow us in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Therefore, I am excited and convinced 2020 is going to be a year of transition for the Port Huron Church of Christ.  It is going to be a year of personal growth, as well as growth through impacting others with the message of the gospel.  Actually, it has already begun as Tom Kennedy decided Sunday afternoon to open his heart and allow Jesus to be his Lord and Savior. Long after everyone had gone home following potluck, Tom was baptized into the family of God.  Unfortunately, Tom has relocated to Colombia this week, but the great news is that he has relocated as a child of God.  God is working on hearts, letting us know this is going to be a great year, so  let us do all we can to demonstrate OUR love for Jesus, as we embrace his commands in 2020.
 
Blessings.
Lamar

​We are all familiar with this saying and can easily recite the rest of it.  The old year has passed, a new one has begun.  An old decade has closed, a new one is waiting to be written.  Change is in the air.  Change is necessary for growth and life.  Congregational growth is critical, because if we are not growing, we are candidates for decay, which leads to spiritual death.  As you “peruse” the bulletin, you may notice some changes, in the way of additions.  This is just the tip of the iceberg, of the changes we are going to enjoy this year as the family of God.  Our desire to change will continue to stimulate growth, which is how we prevent death, and remain a vital source of hope, to those searching for the cross.
 
Last week I introduced a new direction for 2020 called One Impact, which will become the foundation of our evangelistic thrust this year.  We are going to impact others, one soul at a time.  However, the only way we will be successful in impacting others, is if WE first have been “imprinted” on OUR hearts by God.  We cannot share what we have not experienced, and we will not experience it if we refuse to open our hearts to God, and we won’t open our hearts to God if our attention is lost somewhere in the world.  What a chain of events!  Therefore, we are going to “immerse” ourselves in the word of God, so that it clearly imprints our hearts.  The apostle Paul said it best in 2 Corinthians 3:2-3 that our hearts are epistles written on by God to be read by all men.  We are God’s sign carriers to the world, letting them know that He is alive and loves them.
 
This is shaping up to be a great year.  So let God fully use you to his glory.  God be praised!! 
 
Blessings.
Lamar

​One of the moments in the Bible that always floors me every time I read it, is the occasion when  Jesus fed the 5,000.  Conventional thinking calls that an impossible situation.  How can you begin to wrap your brain around feeding 5,000 men (excluding the number of women and children) with a mere two fish and five barley loaves, (literally, a little boys sack lunch).  In fact, for those of “challenged” faith, they dismiss this account as a fabrication, because it just doesn’t seem possible.  In human terms, this would be correct.  However, in the hands of Jesus (even as unbelievable as this seems), it’s a simple task for the master.  Did you grab that?  What seems unbelievable, impossible, improbable, out of the question, and the fan favorite, “are you kidding me?”, are all reasonable expectations with Jesus.
 
As we stand at the beginning of another year and begin a new decade, there is much Kingdom work for us to do.  The community needs us.  The city needs us.  The lost needs us.  The Kingdom needs us.  Although we lack what we deem as sufficient help, we must not allow our imaginations to be defined by our human limitations.  How many people on the hillside that day questioned the sanity of Jesus when He said, “here’s two fish and five loaves- let’s have a feast.”  I am convinced that God left this moment in His Word to remind us (thousands of years later) that He has no limitations and that if we put our full trust in Him, we won’t either.
 
At this point, we need to refrain from pulling out our personal wish lists and asking God for all that we want - it doesn’t work that way.  God is calling us to do what Jesus did that day- to do the will of God in advancing HIS Kingdom, (I’m sorry if that leaves you disappointed).  It’s time for phase 2 of Loving God…Loving People… With no limits, and that is “One Impact.”  Our focus this year is to impact the city for Jesus.  How can we make “One Impact” on Port Huron?  By walking in the power that all things are possible with God (Mark 10:21) and because of this; Our limitations are UNLIMITED!  Remember “ONE IMPACT” is all it takes.  More about this next week.
 
Blessings.
Lamar