“Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name.” (I Chronicles 29:13 NKJV)

Our summer has been strange this year, hasn’t it? We’ve gone from rain, rain, and more rain, to weeks and weeks of hot and dry, and now back to rain, rain, and more rain. Still we want to take advantage of these months. As you read this August newsletter, summer is not over. Here are some possibilities to still consider:

When you’re on the lake, remember to look up and around and give God the creator praise for all the wonderful pieces of creation we have here in our corner of the world.

Consider visiting a relative or friend you haven’t seen in years.

Consider sharing the flowers or vegetables from your garden with someone who could use an act of kindness.

When you’re in the car traveling on vacation and the kids are fussy and anxious, remember to give God thanks for making you a parent.

When you’re golfing, biking, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, or jogging, remember to give God thanks for giving you the health to do such activities.

When you feel squeezed by economic circumstances, remember to give thanks for the roof over your head and the friends in your life.

When you think summer is a time to take a vacation from worshiping God, reconsider the gift that your presence represents to the whole church community.

When you are sitting on your porch listening to the birds sing, remember that God loves to hear you sing praises also.

Consider inviting someone to our church or to watch the services on Facebook if they cannot attend in person.

I suppose I’m just asking you to continue to have a blessed and thankful summer!

“Easy to Complain!”
It was inevitable, wasn’t it? After one of the wettest springs I can remember, it has now turned off dry, hasn’t it? DRY, DRY, DRY! Can’t speak for your neck of the woods. But, here at the parsonage, we’ve not had enough rain to “settle the dust”. With the months of April and May being so wet, we couldn’t even get our gardens planted, then June got dry. Best I could tell, the last appreciable rain we had was on the first Sunday of June- June 2nd. Then, it was three weeks to the day, Sunday, June 23rd, before we got another drop of rain at the parsonage. But even that wasn’t much.

Complain, complain, complain! Emoji- LOL! It’s just what we do, isn’t it? We’re complainers for the most part. We complain when it’s too wet! We complain when it’s too dry! And to be honest, since confession is good for the soul, I may be the biggest complainer of them all. I have fussed (under my breath) every evening for the past several weeks when I’ve carried gallon jugs of water to the garden to try and keep my tomatoes, peppers, and cucumbers alive. Thank goodness, I’ve not gone so far that one could say, “it’d make a preacher cuss!”. Thankful for the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives,
our brains, AND OUR MOUTHS.

So, what do you have to say, Pastor Tim? I’ll say this. As bad as I am for complaining, I’m reminded of the words of the psalmist in Psalm 37:25. He said, “I was young and now I’m old, but I have never seen the righteous left all alone, and have never seen their children begging for bread.” There has never been a year when I’ve raised a garden that I could not come up with a fresh red ripe tomato! Not once! If it came down to it, though it has happened seldom, I could always find a produce stand somewhere and buy one. You see, God supplied the money (even if He didn’t supply the rain) for me to be able to go purchase that tomato.

Isn’t that the way it is for us all? Even with all our moaning and groaning and complaining (sounds a bit like the children of Israel coming out of Egypt), God always supplies our need and a whole bunch of our wants.

I’ll close with this scripture. Some will probably say I’m taking it out of context, and maybe I am. But it’s still true for me, and it’s still true for most of us if we’re honest with ourselves. But our old friend, the oft-quoted Apostle Paul says in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

That just about covers it, doesn’t it! See you in August (when the real hot weather hits).

Blessings!
Pastor Tim

Finally arrived in the month of June. Yay! It’s been a rough ride through spring 2024, hasn’t it? But, as we always say, God is good, all the time! To the best of my knowledge, none of us has suffered any damage or loss in the repeated storms that have besieged our area this spring. For this, we are thankful!

I want to be brief in my June newsletter article. So, I’ve decided to use this month’s article to give praise and thanks to our wonderful Homestead youth and our dedicated youth leader Amy Swindle. As you know from the announcement last Sunday, Amy is “retiring” as of the end of May. She has done such a great job with our youth these past five plus years. And this was her second stint as youth leader. We can never thank her enough for her diligence and dedication to our youth. I know they are going to miss her very much.

The month of May was Youth Month at Homestead. Before the month began, they told me they were giving me a gift. The gift was a month off from preaching. I said it was almost like taking a sabbatical. And gift me they did! The youth group planned and carried out every service during the month. From the hymns we sung to the sermons, they were totally in charge. And they did a great job with everything. I am so proud of them! Please continue to love and encourage our kids. They are growing up in a much different world than the one we grew up in. From societal pressures to a very different educational pressure, they face much different challenges. They deserve our encouragement!

Also, I am so happy that Brandy Martin has agreed to accept the position of youth leader. I know she and Zach will do a fantastic job. As the parent of one of our great kids, Henry, I know they will dedicate themselves to the job. They’re such great parents to Henry. He is always willing and ready, even eager, to help in any church activity. That tells me they will be great for our youth, too. Please thank them for accepting this very important position and encourage them. And perhaps, most of all, pray for them.

Finally, I want to give a shout-out to Kelly Winn. Kelly is our “behind the scenes” gal! From being our head chef for Wednesday Night Life to helping wherever needed on Wednesday evenings, to raising her three great kids, Kelly is a huge help to the youth and our church in general. We offer her a huge thanks!

Enjoy your summer, dear ones, and be blessed!
Pastor Tim

I continue to feel blessed of God! How about you? Even in the trials and tribulations of life itself, we can always to look to the ways that we are blessed of God. When things go wrong, there is still much to praise God for. And we need to constantly keep ourselves aware of those blessings and be thankful and praiseful. Remember, Jesus expects us to be full of praises to Him. In Luke 19:40, speaking of his followers (today His followers are called Christians), he said,” I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones would immediately cry out.” As I’ve said many times before, I don’t want a rock to get the blessing I should have gotten due to lack of praise to God. How about you?

I had a question asked of me a few weeks back that has caused me to spend a lot of time in prayer and meditation as I’ve sought to answer the question in my own mind. The question was, “how do you plan and work your congregational visitation?” Looking back to that question, I realize my answer, whatever it was, was probably quite inadequate. I’ve always considered myself to be a “visiting pastor.” I’ve always enjoyed visiting in homes, hospitals, nursing homes, etc. Thing is, that health problem (the c-word) our community, country, and world suffered through a few years ago, I believe, changed visitations permanently. It simply changed the mindset of people about pastoral visitation in general, and not for the better in my opinion. Nevertheless, as the old saying goes, “it is what it is.” And we as pastors have to navigate this.
That said, we pastors are visiting as much as we can. Not so much in homes like we used to because people are so busy these days. But we still try our best to visit the hospitals and care facilities as needed.

Another question that was brought up in the earlier conversation was my policy toward visiting with former members of the church. Again, this brought about quite a bit of thought on my part. Frankly, visiting former members is a very tricky situation, especially if those former members are attending another church. I try to put myself in the position of their new pastor. Would I be pleased to hear that new attendees/members of my church were being visited by their former pastor? While for me personally, that probably wouldn’t bother me too much, I can see why it might be hurtful to some pastors.

I guess it all boils down to this. Mrs. Preacher and I love to visit with our dear parishioners in whatever setting that visitation takes place. Due to her work schedule, she is not always able to go with me. But to the extent that it is possible, she loves visiting as much as I do. So please don’t hesitate to let us know if you’d like a home visit. We know you live busy lives, and we understand that. But we can work around your schedule. And please let us know when folks are hospitalized. If we do not know someone is hospitalized, we can’t go visit them. Right?

Let’s continue to work together for the kingdom of God. We are growing! New people are attending! We are having visitors on a regular basis. I believe God has wonderful things in store for our Homestead Church!

“March winds bring April showers!” Pretty common saying, isn’t it? One of those “old sayings” I’ve heard all my life. How about you? But when you think about it, many of those “old sayings” have a lot of truth and even common sense to them.

What brought this “old saying” to my thoughts today anyway? Well, it doesn’t take much to get my crazy mind to racing. Many old sayings like this one pop into my head from time to time. Mrs. Preacher gets them quoted to her on a regular basis. She really doesn’t appreciate this one. “A penny saved is a penny earned.” I’ll let you ladies figure out why she dislikes this one so much.

But I’m getting ahead of myself. Let’s get back to “March winds bring April showers.” Two things came to mind this week as I was thinking about the upcoming pastor’s article I’m privileged to write. To me, the March winds represent the blessing of spring. The smells of new spring flowers, for instance. But this spring, and frankly, this past winter, too? Can we say WOW? I believe we’ve seen and felt some of the biggest, most powerful winds, short of storms and tornadoes, ever. Big winds seem to have become the norm rather than the exception in our weather, doesn’t it? But the thought of big wind also reminds me that the wind represents the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:2 says, “And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” That rushing mighty wind represented the Holy Spirit. It’s the same Holy Spirit we have residing within us today. The same Holy Spirit that has lived in us since we came to know Christ as our Savior. The same Holy Spirit which Jesus said in Luke 24:49 would imbue, or infill, the disciples with power from on high. We are blessed, during this windy spring, as we are throughout our lives as Christians, with the Holy Spirit bringing us peace, comfort, and power from God the Father on high.

So, what about the April showers since “March winds bring April showers?” Well, as is usually the case with me, I recollect another old hymn that doesn’t get sung very much anymore. “There shall be showers of blessing” has been sung in Christian churches for many years. Do you ever just listen closely to the words of the old hymns we sing? “There shall be showers of blessing. This is the promise of love. There shall be seasons refreshing, sent from the Savior above. Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need. Mercy drops round us are falling. But for the showers we plead.” Next time you have a hymnal in your hand (it’s on page 430 in the Celebration Hymnal), check out the words to this old hymn. I believe it will surely bless your soul as it has blessed mine once again as we enjoy this wonderful time of year we call spring. For truly, just as in the nature itself “March winds bring April showers.” Let’s enjoy and be blessed and thankful for the winds of the Holy Spirit and the Showers of God’s blessing.

Pastor Tim

Normally our March newsletter will address something about spring. But before talking about spring for this March 2024 article, I’d like to address a subject that is near and dear to my heart.

March is Pastor’s Wife Appreciation Month. Many churches honor their pastor and his wife in October but I feel it will help her to encourage her this month.

Pastor’s wives are all different and are at different stages in their lives and have different personalities and spiritual gifts. Your pastor’s wife, also known to most of you as Mrs. Preacher, is certainly no different. Though she stays mostly in the background, the one thing you can count on is that she walks through all the ups and downs of ministry with me. But let me tell you, being a pastor’s wife oftentimes is a lonely place to be and a difficult role to be in, even in the healthiest of churches.

I could not do what I do without her being there and supporting me. She has always, during 38 years of ministry and 35 years of pastoring, been the rock of our family. Many times, during our children’s early lives, she would have to be both mom and dad during times when I was absent due to ministry obligations. Further, though she tries her best not to show it, she is basically a very shy person. But, in her quiet and unassuming way, she will always be there for her pastor husband and family. And I believe that is what God has called her to do as a pastor’s wife.

So, I encourage you to take the opportunity this month to show her how much she is valued. Your friendship may be the best gift of all.

On to Spring! We are coming into one of our busiest seasons of the church year. With Easter taking place this month, there are many church activities that we are called up on to be a part of. It all culminates this year on March 31st with Easter Sunday. Let’s all try our best to be supportive of all these activities this month and season. Our presence and assistance is needed and appreciated during this busy time of year. Jackie and our team work very hard to plan for the church’s events and activities. Let’s all do our best to be an encouragement to them by participating and helping.

In closing, I want you all to know how much I appreciate your hard work to make everything work in this church. To be a small congregation, we certainly have a busy schedule, don’t we? All the ministry that this church does could not be done without all of you who serve in those various ministries. THANK YOU!

“And Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness for forty days, being tempted by the devil. And he ate nothing during those days. And when they were ended, he was hungry.” Luke 4:1-2

Lent begins this year on February 14th and commemorates the 40 days Jesus spent fasting and praying in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, as recorded in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. This was at the beginning of his earthly ministry. This time of preparation helped to focus his mind and heart on his three year journey to the cross. Similarly, the church has historically observed the season of Lent as we approach the celebration of Easter. Lent is a season marked by a somber tone of reflection and repentance. Recognizing the great joy that comes with the resurrection, Lent first calls us to feel the weight of our sin that nailed Jesus to cross.

Just preceding Lent is Fat Tuesday. Fat Tuesday is sometimes called Shrove Tuesday or Pancake Tuesday. Fat Tuesday is the last day before the beginning of Lent and, historically, was when Christians would prepare a large feast to use up meat and supplies they would normally not use until Easter. Both Homestead and Dorton Churches will have a pancake supper in observance of Fat Tuesday. Dorton begins at 4:30 pm. Homestead begins at 5:00 pm.

 But, officially, the season begins with Ash Wednesday. Traditionally symbolizing mourning or grief, Ash Wednesday involves a symbolic placing of ashes on our foreheads. The ashes represent an outward expression of repentance for our sin. Ash Wednesday will be February 14th (also Valentine’s Day- how appropriate?) from 5:00-6:00 pm. Feel free to drop by the side narthex for the imposition of ashes by Pastor Tim.

Along with committing to special times of prayer throughout the season, many Christians choose to “give up” or “fast” from specific things. For example, you might fast from caffeine or social media to place your attention on Jesus’s crucifixion and resurrection.

In times of temptation to “break the fast” we learn to turn to God and rely upon his strength to endure. As we begin Lent, let us be challenged during the season with whatever we decide to fast from. And, as a church, let us commit ourselves to both prayer and fasting during this season so that our minds and hearts may be encouraged to love Jesus, live like Jesus, and lead others to Jesus.

 Lent continues through Thursday, March 28th, concluding with the annual Seder Meal here at the church.

Endings and Beginnings! That’s where we find ourselves at this time of year, isn’t it? The end of the year 2023 and the beginning of the year 2024. We remember the successes, good times, and good things of 2023. And we look forward to the same in the coming year.

What does the scripture say about endings and beginnings? The Bible is chock full of scriptural references about both endings and beginning. But as we come to the end of 2023 and the beginning of 2024, the Apostle Paul may have some of the best quotes for remembering the past and looking to the future.

In II Corinthians 5:17, Paul writes, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” Did you catch that? “Old things have passed away.” I guess he is reminding us that, while it might be good to remember the past, it is also good to realize there is very little we can do to change it. It’s sort of like unkind words that slip out of our mouth during some disagreement or discussion. Once those old words have slipped out, you can’t reach out there, grab them, and put them back into your mouth. About the only thing we can do after committing such an act is make amends for the unkind words through an apology to the offended person and hope they will forgive us. I believe it was old Benjamin Franklin who said, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That is mostly true for all the bad things we’ve done in our life.

So, what about new beginnings? Again, we remember Paul’s Corinthians quote, “all things have become new.” A new year brings new opportunities. Opportunities to do good in our lives. Opportunities to do things differently than we’ve done in the past. Opportunities to do right instead of wrong. Opportunities to say good and right words instead of hurtful, wrong words to others. But that also brings to mind a word that has a hint of good intentions that seldom pan out. Shhhh! RESOLUTIONS! Oh yes, resolutions! What resolutions are we making to secure a better 2024 than 2023 or past years have been? I can’t speak for you, as you can’t speak for me. But I can say to you that, at least for me, if God isn’t in the center of that resolution, it’s probably going to fail. So, as we make our resolutions to be better people in 2024, let’s make God the center of those resolutions.

Yes, look back at 2023, but it’s more important to look forward to 2024. Let’s quote Paul one more time, shall we? He says in Philippians 3:14, “I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

I shared this post on my Facebook page some two years ago. And I recently shared it again. Some said I should share it with a wider audience. So here goes.

I’ve just been thinking about the holiday season, Thanksgiving and Christmas, of the year 1936. Eighty-five years ago, a little widowed lady was trying to keep food on the table and clothes on the backs of eight youngsters in the middle of the Great Depression. The coal mines had just closed a few years before, leaving her now deceased husband without work. I’ve often wondered as I’ve gotten older how her faith was tested as she dealt with the situation as best she could. If one wanted to call an entire year a disaster, 1936 would have been that year. And it was going to be a long time before this dire situation showed much improvement.

What was so disastrous about that year 1936, you ask? June 26, 1936- her 41st birthday, she lost her mother-in-law. Two weeks later, on July 8, 1936, she lost her mother. The next day, July 9th, as the family gathered there at the Eastland Cemetery for her mother’s burial service, a sudden storm came up. Her beloved husband had been holding the baby standing under a tree in the cemetery. As the wind increased, the thunder began to roll, and the lightning began to flash, he passed the little one, my mother’s youngest sister, Aunt Alma, through the car window to her mother.

He took his place back under the tree with some of the other men to wait out the storm. Suddenly, a huge flash of lightning shot from the sky, striking the very tree where gathered those men. Three of those men were knocked to the ground by the bolt of lightning. One of those men being her husband, another being her brother. The last being a neighbor. Her husband lay dead from the massive lightning strike and her brother was knocked senselessly. He would pass away the following February of 1937 in the coal mines in Kentucky, never having fully recovered from being struck.

Skipping ahead a few months, here come the holidays. Eight children were left at home, the oldest boy just 17 years of age. “I’ll bet he was a big help to his mother,” you’re probably thinking. Well, think again. He was a deaf mute and would soon leave home, his destination being the Tennessee School for the Deaf. Don’t you know that little widow lady’s faith and will was certainly tested? Now you’re probably wondering who was this little widowed lady? Well, she was my “tough as nails” little grandmother Maude Crawford Watley Bolin. To me and 29 other grandchildren, she was “Fat Granny.” I have no idea how she came to be called that because, at least in my eyes, she was not fat. To many nieces and nephews, she was Aunt Maude. She came from hearty stock, she had to be tough to bear the burdens of widowhood with eight mouths to feed. She went on to live on this earth almost 95 years, passing away June 5, 1990, three weeks to the day, shy of her 95th birthday and almost 54 years after the passing of her coal miner husband. Late in life, she finally remarried. But her second husband soon preceded her in death, also.

How to begin, how to begin! Looking around us, the world seems to be falling apart before our very eyes. God, how can we have peace in our hearts to face the daily barrage of bad news from every source? Turn on the television news, it’s bad news. Listen to the radio? Better not tune it to a news station. It’s bad news! Open a newspaper? The headlines will be filled with more of the same. It’s bad news! How do we as Christians maintain our cheery attitude in the face of all this bad news?

First, we need to remember that we are not citizens of this world. What? You can’t mean that, Pastor Tim! You are probably saying, “I am privileged to vote in elections for this very reason. I AM A CITIZEN OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA!” Well, it kind of reminds me of an old saying. This isn’t scriptural, but it is certainly true. As Christians, we may live “in the world, but don’t have to be of the world.” We all know that we must live in this physical world. However, we do not have to participate in everything Satan’s world has to offer. Sexual immorality, greed, drugs, drunkenness, adulteries, etc. All these are part of the world, but one who does not participate in these things is not of this world. Now your next question is probably, “What do you mean by the term ‘Satan’s world’?” According to I John 5:19, Satan is the ruler and controller of things here on earth, “We know that we are of God, and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.” So then, let’s get back to the citizenship question. The Apostle Paul says in Philippians 3:20, “Our citizenship is in heaven, and from it we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

Alistair Begg writes in his blog titled “Six Marks of a Heavenly Citizen,” To be a Christian is to be a citizen of heaven, and to be a citizen of heaven is to be a stranger and exile while on earth. This status is not only in name; it results in a true break with the world, so that Christians no longer do as the world does, and the world often resents them for it (1 Peter 4:3–4). In the words of Hebrews 11:16, ‘They desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.’ Christians are to be recognizable by their strangeness in this world, because Christians are resident aliens here.’ So much more could be written disconnecting the negative things of this world with the positive things of Heaven. For lack of space, let’s condense it to this. We must not let ourselves get bogged down in the worries and problems of this world. Yes, we must live in this world. But we cannot be of this world, and as such, we cannot let the worries and problems get us down. For once again, quoting the Apostle Paul in Philippians 3:14, “I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back.” Dear friends, let’s follow the great example of Paul. Let’s not get bogged down in the barrage of bad news coming from every corner of our world. Instead, let’s keep our focus on Heaven, the place where there will be no more sorrow and no more tears. Press on, dear friends! PRESS ON!