ThanksLIVING!!!

Dear Friends in Jesus,

“Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, let the earth hear His voice!

Praise the Lord, Praise the Lord, let the people rejoice!

O come to the Father through Jesus the Son,

and give Him the glory, great things He has done.”

How many times have we sung this hymn to express our joy and thanksgiving to Christ?

These words show the gratitude that is in our hearts for the wonderful privilege of knowing the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Savior, Lord, and Friend. It is my hope that you can join in praise and thanksgiving at this time of the year for the many blessings that come to us each day because we are children of the King.

We can praise Him for the free gift of salvation from sin—the joy of praying and inviting Jesus into our lives and experiencing the cleansing away of all our sin and a whole new life in

Christ.

We can praise Him for the assurance of a heavenly home—to know that when we die we will be with our Lord forever.(2 Corinthians 5:6–9)

We can praise Him that He is with us every day and under all circumstances.(Matthew 28:20)

We can praise Him for He provides for all our needs as we daily depend upon

Him.(Philippians 4:19)

We can praise Him for the privilege of living in a country of freedom and opportunity.

We can praise Him for family and friends who love us.

We can praise Him for a loving and caring church family where the life giving message of the Gospel of Christ is central.

We can praise Him for ———————————————————(you fill in the blank(s)

In this season of thanksgiving may we truly count our blessings but not confine our

thankfulness to just this time of the year! Every day we should show our gratitude and praise to our living Christ by the way we live our lives! That’s called “THANKSLIVING!! And that’s the way to LIVE!!

Your friend in our Lord,

Bob Hinckley

Interim Pastor

SOME RANDOM THOUGHTS TO THINK ON‼️

One of my favorite prayer promises in the Bible is buried in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah 33:3 which says “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” What a wonderful promise from God that was good for Jeremiah to know and sure is good for me to know! I have access to the person who really does know everything and He is willing to share His knowledge with me. I just have to admit that I don’t know everything and that I need His knowledge and wisdom in every situation. Doing that saves me the embarrassment of being wrong. I liken this to my experiences with my personal trainer. Many of you know that I go to a gym three times a week and work out with a personal trainer called Chris. On several occasions he has told me what to do and how to do it and I have thought I know a better way or I can lift a heavier weight than he’s given me and I reach for the heavier one. And guess what? Chris is always right and I am always wrong. You see he knows me and what my limits are and what is best for me. I have learned to trust his advice even if at the moment I’m not sure. Why? Because in the area of physical fitness my experience shows me that Chris knows his stuff and he is always right! Now transfer this to your relationship with God: God created us so He knows us and He knows everything so we can ask Him anything and He will tell us what we need to know and do because God is always right! And He loves us so much that He sent His Son Jesus to die the world’s most painful death to pay the penalty for our sin. Now that is real love!

Part of the reason I wrote the above paragraph is to call you again to pray for our Pastoral Search Committee. I mentioned Sunday morning that we have three potential candidates that desire to be our next pastor. It would be easier if a couple of them just weren’t suited for the job and only one qualified, but God has sent us three very fine but different people. The Committee has voted that their choice to recommend to the church must have the unanimous support of the committee. Early in October they will meet to make that decision. Please call upon the Lord to give the committee His will. I believe we all want the person God desires to become our next pastor. These next couple of weeks give all of us time to pray and seek God’s will. Also I want to thank everyone who came and worked so hard to make Sunday night’s meeting with our Global Servant Kristy Engell such a wonderful event. It’s encouraging to know that she is going back to the Ukraine soon and spend a year there ministering to the tragic needs of that country. Most of us know very little of the immense pain these people are experiencing as many are suffering the loss of their homes and the death of family members. Again, please pray for Kristy as she prepares to go and continue to pray for her after she arrives. She is there to in a very tangible way share the love of Jesus.

Have I given you enough to think about and pray for? Just in case you need something else don’t forget to pray for each other and the ministry of our church in this interim period. I stand in need of your prayers as I seek daily wisdom to serve as your “fill in” pastor. We need each other as we worship and work together for the glory of Jesus! Jesus is coming again! This is our hope and assurance! Let’s keep busy sharing the Good News of Jesus until that day comes!!

Because of Jesus,

Bob

Interim Pastor

Missions in the Church

Dear Christian Friends,

As a young person I was brought up in a very strong missionary minded church. We often had missionary speakers and conferences as well as people who were members of the church who became missionaries. One married couple who had a very strong positive influence upon my life were missionaries to Africa. At one time in my life I gave serious consideration to becoming a missionary but later was led into pastoral ministry. Missions in all forms has always been important to me and to the churches I have served as pastor. I am grateful that OBC is a missionary minded fellowship! We take seriously Jesus words as recorded in the gospel of Matthew 28:18–20:

“Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in Heaven and on earth has been

given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’”

As a church family we’re seeking to reach out in love and concern to the people of our

community. Also, we are looking for a pastor with a desire to help us accomplish this

ministry. We have a strong missionary budget that supports missionaries who are bringing the good news of the Gospel to people in other countries. One of those people is Kristy Engel who will be speaking at our church on Sunday, September 17 at 6:00 pm. This will be a wonderful opportunity to meet and talk with a real missionary. She will tell us about her recent visit to the Ukraine and her plans for future missionary work. Don’t miss out on this outstanding opportunity! It makes supporting missions more personal when you get to know the people who are serving in this way!

Please also continue in your prayer support for the members of our Pastoral Search

Committee. They are currently interviewing potential pastoral candidates and will be

deciding who they believe will be the best fit for our church. We are all seeking the will of

God so please ask for His wisdom in everything.

Pray for me that I might have God’s wisdom and strength as I seek to worship and work

with you in this interim period.

Because of Jesus,

Bob Hinckley

Interim Pastor