I just got back from a wonderful experience at least for me. I officiated a funeral of a 58 year old wife, mother, sister, and friend. You say how can you say it was wonderful? Here is why, because I was able to minister to a very large crowd { I would estimate well over 125 family members and friends that went to the grave side service] of people who were hurting and grieving. what made it more wonderful was that the lady whose memorial we were holding had been reached for the Lord by some of our faithful bus workers. Her children had rode the bus for years and the bus workers were able to persuade her to come to Liberty Baptist some years back and in one of our services repented of her sins and received Christ as savior. Then she followed the Lord in Believers baptism. She attended for some time and then has been sick and hasn't come for some time but PTL she was saved. That made it wonderful to preach and tell the story about how she came to Jesus. It was wonderful in that the Lord came to that cemetery plot and captivated the crowd and began to fill my mouth with words and I could tell HE was speaking to all there in a mighty way. It was wonderful to be able to preach about the cross, heaven, hell, and the rapture of the church. It was wonderful as this crowd was a rough one for sure. Most were not church people, most not Christians, probably would have been hard to get them to church but God got them to a funeral. It was wonderful as we were able to invite all of them to our Christ & our Church! I was so blessed to let them know that they were all welcomed at Liberty. Please be in prayer for each of those today. 

All you Liberty folk please remember that our new Midweek Electives begin this evening at 7 p.m. Hope to see you then! 

It is Wednesday morning and been raining in Northeast Indiana now for several days. The rain is keeping the farmers out of the fields and I know some of our congregation who farm are getting a little concerned about getting in the fields for spring planting. I have been praying for them but am sure the Lord has plans and we will be thankful for these rains this summer. We really need to keep perspective about what is going on in our lives, and we need to remember God is sovereign, that He is in control. Yesterday we spent the day in a conference learning how to develop our Counciling Center into even a more productive one then it already is. The conference ended about 5 p.m. and we headed home because we didn't want to miss  our Choir participating  in "Springtime At The Phillippe."  The Phillippe is a 1200 seat performing arts auditorium in Marion, In.  Our Choir joined several others in making up over a 100 voices {We had over 30 participate}. They were accompanied by the Mississinewa Valley Band , which is a very large band of folk of all ages from all over our area. The night was special and as the Choir sang Patriotic specials with the band accompany it was rousing and moving. The place was packed and I was reminded we need to do more to reach out to our community in new ways. I have been thinking lately of how we build walls up to our community and on occasion they don't know who we are and they really have false conceptions as to who we are. I have been praying about how we can become involved and as we do the community can see we are normal and loving. When they see we love them we will be more apt to reach them. As they ask "Why do you love me", we can tell them because Jesus loves them, and then tell them that He loves them so much that He died for them.

For all the Liberty Family we want to let you know that early this morning our good friend and member of our congregation LARRY BROOKS went home to be with the Lord. We do not have the details yet but have spoke with the family and are planning on going there soon. The family stands in need of our prayers at this time. We have lost a wonderful Christian man, who was a great part of our church. But we have only lost him for a few short hours as we will see him again soon in that place where  "We Will Never Say Good BYE."   

 Good Monday ! We had great services yesterday. We had one of the higher attendances of the year and the spirit was wonderful in both morning services along as in the evening. We had a husband and wife baptized in the evening and many were at the altars in all the services. It is a blessing to be able and give the Lord glory for what He did! We are so blessed at Liberty to have the presence of the Lord in our services. Today I am getting ready to attend a Counciling Conference in Lafayette tonight and tomorrow. This conference is to help oversee local counciling centers. Our Lifeline Counciling Center has really grown and we want to make sure we are doing things best for the Lord and those who are seeking help. Please pray for me and Everett Steely who will be attending with me. I am so thankful that for every need of man God has answers. We just need to find them and then apply them to our lives. Finding God's answers sometimes takes hard study and then once we find His truth that is when the hardest work begins, just applying it to our life. But if we do the benefits are well worth the effort.  Today we seem to want answers without searching and results without action. It just doesn't  work that way. Have a great day. 

 Yesterday I blogged about things you can count on. Adel Shinholt made a comment on the blog that there was one more thing every day I could count on and that is breathing. Yes that is true until I leave this world I will breath, maybe not so easy but until this life is over we will breath. I was thinking yesterday about other things I could count on. We can always count on problems, we won't escape problems along the way. But the good news is we can always count on the Lord going through those problems with us and working those problems for good for those who love Him. We can always count on some disappointments along the way and the persons who don't count on that are going to be frustrated. But in our disappointments our Faithful Lord will be there to help us and to whisper the promise of new purpose and encouragement to keep on moving into the future. We can also count on whatever we sow we will reap. If we sow good  seed we will reap good crops, if we sow bad seed we will reap bad crops, COUNT ON IT! It may take a little time for the harvest but the harvest will come. If I have been a true friend I can always count on having some friends. If I have been a faithful giver I can count on receiving when I am in need. If I have been a forgiver I can count on having forgiveness extended to me when needed. If I have be kind and considerate I can count on having some kindness come my way. Life has a lot of things we can't control, it is filled with uncertainties but the truth of REAPING & SOWING is I can help assure some things in life. Think about it!!!

Yesterday I worked 8 hours on both messages for Sunday A.M. & P.M. I am speaking on Jehovah Rapha- The God who Heals. These messages are worth bringing visitors. Maybe you know someone who is hurting and sick in body or soul.  We will look at how God heals Spiritually, Physically, Nationally and most importantly Emotionally. Sunday evening will emphasize "How God Heals Our Hidden Wounds." 

Hope to see all you Liberty folk tonight at church! We have a great night of fellowship, study and prayer planned. Have a great day! 

 This morning I have been thinking about the things I can really count on! Every morning I get up I have a few things that I can seem to count on no matter what. I sure don't want to take advantage of these things and certainly don't want to take them for granted. Each morning I can count on Karen  to be my faithful wife. Now I understand that at any day the Lord could take her but I can count on her as long as she is able to be with me. I can count on my trusted dog "Mattie" to be wanting to go out and take care of nature but then to want right back in so she can be near me and Karen. I can count on the sun to raise and a new day to begin until the Lord ends it all. I can count on my Bible to still be absolute truth which I can lean on to guide me in each and every day. I can count on Purpose for the new day. That my God has a some very important things for me to do. I can count on the Holy SPiRIT to always talk with me and to listen to me before I even get out of bed. It has been my custom for many years to speak with the Holy SPIRIT early and HE can be counted on. I can count on NEW MERCIES every morning, a brand new day no matter the failures of yesterday, a day starting out with a new start. I can count on the Lord's Desire to fellowship with me and I can count on HIS power for life,  and His Cleansing power from sins daily stains. I can count on His Never Leaving me and His LOVE for a new day. I can count on problems in the world today. I can count on a world gone mad for sure. But I can count on my God Working Out All Things For Good To Those Who Love Him! Have a great day! 

 How are each of you today? Each time I add to the blog sight I always wonder who will be reading today? It is a mystery to me and almost every week I hear about people reading that I didn't know about. I always enjoy finding that out. Remember you can make a comment on our blog by just clicking comment and then typing your response or sharing with me in some way. Yesterday was a very full day. We first came to the church and the counciling center had no water. Barry Early our grounds overseer was gone for the day as he and Janet are training on Monday's at Faith Baptist in Lafayette for NANC Counciling . Because he was gone I had to spend a little time on finding some help on getting water in the center. Thanks to Bob Finney who helped and then we went on to other things. I met with a young pastor who is looking for a church to serve in. He had heard about our church and our desire to train young men for ministry and the desire we have to start churches. Had a great time with this young man, the prayer time at the end was precious. Please pray for this fellow. Then Left and went to the Anderson area and we finalized the deal on our Tour Bus. The Lord was present again as we were buying from a christian businessman and we sensed the Lord in all of the dealing. For those at Liberty we should have the bus ready for tours in about 2 weeks. It will be nice to go to places like the Creation Museum, and many other places . After leaving the Anderson I went to Upland and visited with my mother for a while. She will be 80 years old in November, that is hard to believe, I can remember her as a young mother. We had a nice visit and then went back to the office. It was 5:30 p.m. by that time and I checked my voicemail and returned 8 phone calls , didn't have time to return all of them but will this morning. Went home and talked with Karen for awhile as we had family things to take care of. We worked on Rachel's wedding some, talked about vacation plans later this summer, and many other things. We ate some supper and then I made some more phone calls and finally at 9 or so I prayed and walked/ran 2 miles on the treadmill. Then went to bed. I am so thankful for not just busy days but fruitful, purposeful days. And just think we have another day to be fruitful again for the Lord. The Lord is good in giving us life. We need to bring each day into account and make it count. Now I thank God for the slower days also as they compute into spiritual productivity as well. We just need to remember that Life is a gift and each day is to be an investment into eternal things. Be careful not to waste time by being lazy and yes by being to busy. But Redeem the time well. Have a great day!  

 Good Monday to each of you! Hope your day is one spent walking with the Lord! We had great services yesterday! Had good attendances and we witnessed one adult young man follow the Lord in believers baptism. Last evening Pastor Chas preached on "WHAT IS IN A NAME" and it was a great job of breaking the bread. It was very helpful in sitting the stage for our new preaching series on "Needing His Name." If you were unable to be here last evening  I would strongly encourage you to listen to the sermon. You can order the CD or perhaps we will try to get it on our web-sight at www.libertyfamily.org . It would be worth listening to twice, as it will help to prepare us to understand in a deeper way as we at Liberty begin to study the Names of God. 

Have you ever battled with thoughts about yourself? Could God ever use me? After all I am just a common person, no great qualities , no great intelligence. Have you noticed who the Lord chose to be His disciples? They were a handful of common fishermen, a hated tax collector, and an impulsive political zealot. When you take a fresh look at the disciples, you find a stunning fact: The men the Savior chose were ordinary. Hopelessly human. Remarkably unremarkable. But they were available and obedient to the call of the master. And, under Jesus' teaching and touch, they became a force that forever changed the world. Fact is every one of you reading this blog {and the one writing} are just ordinary humans. But with God we can become so much more. We can change allow the Lord to change our worlds through us!! May each of us yield  our lives this week to the Master! Have a great day! 

 Hope all of you readers are starting out your Thursday in a great attitude of wonder and worship toward our KING! It has been raining the last 3 days here in Northeast Indiana but this morning we woke up to a wonderful sunny day. Blue sky's, a few white clouds, grass turning green and the trees about to pop out with leaves. Now that is exiting after 5 months of winter that has lasted longer than normal. We are looking forward to tonight's services as we return to a normal Thursday night service schedule. I am sure all of our adult elective teachers will be ready to lead their classes along with each Awana, Teen, and Yam's leader as well. Yesterday I used most of the day for study and message preparation. We are beginning a new series on the Hebrew Names which the Lord used to describe Himself to His children. It has been such an interesting study for me thus far. I have found that in each of His Names we also find each of man's deepest needs. In His Name's we find man's deepest needs can be met. I have asked each of our Pastor's to help me preach this series so please be in prayer over the next several months as each of us seek God's words to share with our entire congregation. This Sunday I will preach on the name JEHOVAH SHAMMAH, the message is entitled "In His Name is Hope." Someone once said "You can live 40 days without food and water, 8 minutes without air but not a second without Hope." I agree that hope is a basic need of humanity, one of our deepest needs. and God can meet that need because His name is Jehovah Shammah. He is the God who is always there, in every situation. He never leaves His children. He is the one who brings hope to our lives. "When you have hope you can cope." Hope you plan on attending this Sunday and if you know someone who has lost hope and slipped into hopelessness , why not invite them to attend with you? Well I need to get going for now and until tomorrow may Jehovah Shalom give you peace for every moment of the day! 

Yesterday in the afternoon we received a call that Chris Clevenger had gotten word that there was a donated kidney found for her and that she was to go immediately to Ft Wayne Lutheran Hospital. My how plans can be changed with one phone call! Because her day was changed so was mine. I decided to go to the hospital and give prayer support. I just felt led of the Lord and I also wanted my staff to be able to go home after an Eater Weekend of service. I left my office at around 6 p.m. and at around 7 p.m. was with the family praying and waiting for the things to develop. About 11:00 p.m. it finally was a go and we prayed one last time. About 11:15 p.m. I left the hospital and prayed all the way home for Chris to go through surgery successfully and for the kidney not to reject! Still waiting word early this morning in my office. Now some points to ponder. It is good to have our schedules interrupted and we must be willing to be open to it and willing to go where the Lord wants to use us. Also I was reminded of the importance of standing with others in their times of crisis. Another lesson last eve was how important friendships are. I am thankful Bill & Chris Clevenger are in our church but more importantly that we are friends. I was able to meet some of their long time personal friends and was reminded of the many friends Karen and I have in this life. As I sat and later drove home I mused within myself and thought who might be staying up late with me and my family in such a situation. Now I may be wrong but as I thought about it I thought it might be a little crowded. I am a blessed man to have so many true friends and fellow followers of Jesus Christ. One last thought is how fulfilling it is to be a representative of Jesus and His compassionate caring. I got home about 12:15 a.m and in bed by 12:30 a.m. and am a little tired this morning, but what else would I have done that was so important?  And what else would bring such satisfaction in life? May I encourage you to think of OTHERS and choose to be a friend to many not just a few. Reach out and touch someone! Would you whisper a prayer for Chris right now , one asking the Lord to see that all goes as He desires. Have a good day! 

 It is Monday after Easter and just now getting to blog and it is already 12 noon. Been pretty busy the last several days as you can imagine both family and church things at his Easter season. We had great attendances yesterday. In the morning we had 820 in morning services and 4 adults lifted their hands to let us know they prayed to receive Christ as Savior. We had 1 adult man { Rob Nall} and 1 one of our young boys who has grown up at Liberty {Gavin Jones} baptized as well yesterday. We received 3 folk into membership { Rob & Rebecca Nall and Trevis Nall} Our Easter offering to date is $ 32,500 . We are thankful for these results how well we know they are God's doings not our own. Our mind goes back 22 years ago when we first came to Liberty and to see what God has done through the years  is Amazing to me. I am thankful to be a part of a thriving church. Just this morning one of our young men came to see me about something and yesterday he and his family attended elsewhere on Easter because of family. His words were "Pastor I not sure God is working there." Praise the Lord for all the churches God is working at in power. I sure want God to work in power here at Liberty. Another great result of yesterday was we had 235 children from nursery to 6th grade. I think the Lord is well pleased to see all ages of folk assemble together. Last evenings "LORDS TABLE " was a wonderful time to pause and REMEMBER in the way our Lord commanded us to do so. Thursday night's "PRAYING AT THE CROSS" was wonderful as usual and very well attended, seems to grow each year. Well I wanted to report and tomorrow we will speak to you again. Have a great Monday!

 I just viewed something that was very disturbing but it also moved me to a deeper appreciation of the LAMB of GOD. Kevin Cabe one of our fine members at Liberty sent a video of a real lamb sacrifice which took place in Jerusalem. I have to tell you it is startling and at times I had to look away and also turn the audio down. It certainly is not for everyone and I doubt that ever watch it again. But it really drives home the what our Lord did for us at Calvary. I felt so moved for the lamb and it's innocence, and the blood shed Knowing it represented the only sacrifice acceptable. As I watched this video I found myself angry about every innocent lamb sacrificed all throughout the Old Testament time. I found myself moved deeply for an animal. As I felt terrible for this animal I thought  am I conditioned to not be moved as I should. When you really see the O.T sacrifice , we must see it more clearly. I m not suggesting any watch the video but if you pray and ask the Lord to help renew your love for the Lamb Slain Before The Foundation of The World and you have peace to view it, here is the sight.  www.sourceflix.com/vid_sacraficev3.

 This past Sunday started what we call Passion Week. For many of us it is a week that is a little more special because of what we attempt to think about with an emphasis. Yes, I understand every day is HOLY but even the Lord taught in the Old Testament to set aside days for special emphasis. Yes even in the New Testament we see He has done the same thing, on the first day of each week and even on the days we are to keep the Lord's Table. We are to remember His death, burial and resurrection. So yearly we attempt to take one week and remind ourselves in more meaningful ways. So this past Sunday we celebrated what we call Palm Sunday, Tomorrow, Wednesday I will spend the day thanking the Lord for His death on the cross, {it is my theological view that Christ was crucified on Wednesday not Friday} and on this coming Sunday we will celebrate His resurrection. As I have been meditating on the events of Christ last week on this earth in His human body it moves me to serve Him with all my heart. It is so interesting that it started with a Triumphant entry and just a few days later a crucifixion , then a burial and one week later a Triumphant resurrection. As I was thinking about as always it never ceases to amaze me how the most of the Palm Sunday crowd turned on Jesus in about 3-4 days. For the most part they thought it was finally the time that Messiah would take control of their nation and their lives would be perfect and only comfortable. Now we know that was not Gods plan at that time. He came to pay sin and to start an internal kingdom, later he will come and set up His earthly kingdom and rule righteously and perfectly so all will live comfortable lives. Now here is my thought today that I want to communicate to all our readers. What part of the Palm Sunday crowd am I? Do I have false concepts of Jesus. Do I look at Him as only one that I can get something from, one that I will praise only when it feels good? Am I part of the crowd that will praise & follow Him only when it looks like good things will follow, and only in comfortable possibilities. Or will I be one who follows His commandments even when they hurt, even when they seem to bring sorrow, even when to follow Him doesn't make sense. On that day most of the crowd had wrong understandings of what Jesus had come to do. They had misinterpreted the scriptures and perhaps the reason for that  was their motives in life were all about themselves rather then the causes of God. Today I am asking the Lord to help me see myself. To help me see why my joyful shouts and cheerfulness sometimes changes in 3-4 days and turns into critical shouts of doubt and disillusionment. May this weeks soul inspection lead us into closer trust and a closer walk with the one who is always triumphant. This Christian walk is progressive, we all find ourselves being a part of the wrong crowd sometimes. All we can do is make the correction and begin to think and believe ourselves back into the faithful crowd, until our Lord comes and we follow Him through that Eastern Gate in that great triumphant march.

Let me remind each of you of this Thursday at Liberty at 7 p.m we have our annual "Praying at the Cross" .  We are having a wonderful service of music and prayer as we prepare our hearts for Easter Sunday. Every year it is such a meaningful night in the life of our church. Bring a friend and a desire to shout Hallelujah to the Lamb. 

Good Monday to each of you. It is cold again in Northeast Indiana. April can fool you sometimes here in this part of the country. But the good news is that it is certain to get warmer soon. Yesterday we had great services. The worship was wonderful and the fellowship sweet. We had just at 715 in attendance in the morning services. Two adults raised their hand to let us know they prayed the sinners prayer and the altars were used each service in the morning and the evening. In our Sunday School class we had great discussion about how to make better connections with each other and how to help others in our church to feel and be a part. It was great to hear the comments of each, and very helpful. You know we each need to reach out in our churches and help people become a part. Look for new faces and introduce yourself. Ask to sit with them, take time to get to know each other. Invite them out to eat or over to your home after church for a snack. I think if each of us would be more mindful of this we would each find ways to solve the problem for some to make the connections that are needed.  Remember this is the week that is perhaps the best to invite people to church. Life way resources surveyed America and found that when a family member or a friend invited someone to church that 67% of those invited would attend. That is an amazing percentage. I was thinking on that and if our congregation would each invite just one person it would mean over 400 visitors could be here for Easter services. Now I would love to have 50 ! May each of us set a goal this week to invite at least 1 for Easter Sunday. Talk with you tomorrow. 

 As most days one of the first things I do when I get to the office is make a pot of coffee. In fact as I sit and blog I have my cup of coffee sitting on my desk and the steam is coming off and { pause} I just took a drink , and it was good. Now the point I wanted to make was most mornings when I go to make the coffee the pot is clean and ready. Brenda Ressler one of our secretaries makes sure every eve that the pot is cleaned and ready for in the morning. When I go to make the coffee it is a LITTLE THING but it makes the morning go a little better. It is just a little thing but something that can make someone's { and in this case that someone is me} day a little easier, a little nicer. May I encourage each of you to look for ways you can make someone's day nicer, by just doing something little. Do it each day and enjoy! 

Today is a very full day for this preacher. This week has been a extremely busy one and mentally exhausting. It is just fuller than normal but we have been able to help many in their walk with the Lord and that makes it all worth while. Every day we are able to get up we ned to see that it is another day to spend serving the Lord. What is it He has for us to do. Who is it that He would have us to help and encourage. 

For all you Liberty folk please pray for Don Purvis who was taken to Ft Wayne Lutheran Hospital. His diabetes is affecting his feet and it is very serious and life threatening. Alice Payne had gall bladder surgery yesterday so lift her also. Many to pray for, hope you come to church tonight as we pass out the prayer sheets you will see all the needs. Have a good day! 

Welcome readers! I was wondering how each of you are doing ? Most weeks I hear about new readers of or blog. I think it is a way to check in and see what is gong on in the Pastors heart. It doesn't take much time and you can even do it without him even knowing you are doing it. I know I read several other blogs , some people who once were with us and today they are in other ministry, it just keeps me in the know, of what is going on where they are and what is in their heart. It helps me to pray for them , to understand them, to know what I might be able to do to help them. I also read some blogs of some well known preachers. That helps me to see that I am not the only one who has or is going through what I am going through. Now we each know who the best blogger is don't we, it is the LORD. He has written to us many of His thoughts and truths. He has shared with us His purposes and plans. He has opened up His heart for us to understand Him better so we will trust Him and follow Him. So today in all your listening {radio, television, people, written material} and all your reading don't forget to read GOD'S BLOG!

Remember it is the Easter season! Many people will come to church with you if you are inviting them. Tomorrow I will write a little about that, but today why not invite someone to church this weekend? They just might say yes!