I believe that Brother Bobby, as usual, was faithful to hear the Holy Spirit and to tell us what he truly believed the Holy Spirit was leading him to say to us.

I believe that Brother Bobby has a very good insight into the condition of our happy Church.

I agree with Brother Bobby that this is a wonderful Church!

But, I also agree with Brother Bobby that while none of us actually think we are better than anyone else in the area, many of them very likely believe that we think we are better than them because of the way we live.

I also agree with Brother Bobby that while we must never compromise with sin we need to demonstrate compassion for those who do not yet know Jesus as their Savior and Lord.

Further, I think that we are going to have to be both “intentional” and “proactive” in the ways we reach out to them.

– By “intentional” I mean that it must be our purpose to seek ways to show them the love of God in Jesus Christ!

– By “proactive” I mean that we have to act first. We cannot sit around passively waiting for an opportunity to fall in our lap, we are going to have to pray and seek out opportunities to show them the love of God in Jesus Christ!

I believe there is a simple biblical formula to do three simple things: “Love God” “Love People” and “Share the Good News.”

– If a person is our brother or sister in Christ, we are commanded to love them!                    (John 13:34-35)

– If a person is our neighbor, we are commanded to love them! (Mark 12:31)

– If a person is our enemy, we are commanded to love them! (Luke 6:27-31)

According to the 2010 US Census, there are about 1,250 people who live in Atwood…

If the North American Missions Board statistics are accurate, that means there are about 125 people in Atwood who know and love Jesus and who are attending Church somewhere every week…

If the North American Missions Board statistics are accurate, that means there are about 125 people in Atwood who do not know the Lord Jesus, but are attending Church somewhere anyway…

If the North American Missions Board statistics are accurate, that means there are about 125 people in Atwood who know and love Jesus, but are not attending Church anywhere…

If the North American Missions Board statistics are accurate, that means that about 875 people who live in Atwood do not know the Lord Jesus and are not attending Church anywhere…

And, these last two groups – those who know the Lord, but are not attending Church; and, those who do not know the Lord and are not attending Church – (1,000 people) these are the people on whom we need to focus our outreach efforts!

If you add Arthur, Bement, Bourbon, Garrett, Hammond, Ivesdale, Pierson, and Tuscola, the number of people who do not know the Lord Jesus and do not attend church jumps to 7,700 (within 15 miles of this Church)!

As the Lord allows, next Sunday morning we will look at these verses and I will teach on the issues in great detail. Dig in to God’s Word. I hope you will read over this exciting portion of God’s Word and ask HIM to prepare your heart for the message this week. I hope you will get studied up, prayed up, and fired up over the opportunity to worship God together with your Church Family.!

I hope to see you Sunday Morning with a Bible in your hand, a smile on your face, and your family and friends by your side!!