July 10, 2024, 3:00 PM
Greetings in Christ!
I sincerely hope and pray you are doing well and have a good week.
I am heading out for some vacation on Thursday, July 11. I will be back in time to preach on Sunday, July 21.
In my absence, Wally Rendel will be preaching this Sunday at FCC.
This is going to be a real treat !!!
Wally is the "dean" of Christian Church/Church of Christ preachers here in Central KY.
Wally grew up in Miami, OK, and was active with First Christian Church there. He started preaching while a 17-year-old student at Cincinnati Christian University. He preached on weekends for three years at English Christian Church in Carrollton, KY. He planted and served several years with First Church of Christ in Florence, KY (now located in Burlington and Walton), and was founding pastor of Southern Acres Christian Church here in Lexington, serving there for 34 years.
He became director of church relations with CCU in 2006, serving six years in that role before being called to Jessamine Christian Church in Nicholasville, KY. Wally retired from Jessamine Christian in 2018. Since that time, Wally has served as an interim minister and has done “supply preaching” at several churches in Central KY. He is married to Barbara and they have three children and five grandchildren.
Also with us on Sunday, July 14, will be a quartet known as "Grace x 4."
The group is well-known here in Central KY as they visit churches sharing God's love and singing about His boundless grace in a Southern Gospel style.
I am looking forward to some "down time."
We all need that. Like so many of us, I, too, struggle with stopping enough and getting refueled.
I saw a really great t-shirt this week.
It simply said on the front, "Jesus took Naps -- Be Like Jesus -- Mark 4:38."
The scripture is referring to the time Jesus and His disciples were out on the Sea of Galilee in a boat when a storm came up. When looking for Jesus, He was found sleeping.
Mark 4:38 (NIV) reads, "Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”
I love what I do, but I am ready to step away for a few days.
I want to try and be like Jesus. Therefore, I need to be like Him and take some time to get away. However, it's okay to wake me up if a storm arises in your life while I'm on vacation.
In earlier communication this week, I may not have been clear about this matter.
If there is an emergency or crisis in your life, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I will not be completely detached from phone or communication.
I'll let you determine what level of emergency or crisis it is and whether it dictates a text or phone call.
I will continue to pray for each of you next week. Please pray for me and for a time of refreshing.
I look forward to seeing you again soon!
Until then...
God bless,
Greg H
