With Freedom Comes Responsibility

We are so blessed to live in a free country, yet we must never forget that with freedom comes great responsibility. It grieves my heart to see people living in the land of the free who abuse their freedoms by ignoring their responsibilities. One example that comes to mind is those who burn the American flag and claim they are exercising their freedom of speech. Although they may have the legal right to do this, I believe it is an abuse of one of our most cherished freedoms.

For the Christian, we too have incredible freedom and liberty in Christ. That freedom, however, comes with much responsibility. Last Sunday we talked about the freedom that Christians have in the two-part message entitled Don't Sweat The Small Stuff. This Sunday, we will continue those thoughts but will focus more on our responsibility than on our freedom. The message is entitled With Freedom Comes Responsibility.

Following the morning worship service, we will have our bi-annual church fun day with lunch, games and a Fifth Sunday Singing at 3 p.m. Weather permitting, we will play softball, basketball, horseshoes and many other outdoor activities after lunch. We will also have our singing outside if the weather allows. Should it rain, we will still have our fun day, but we will just play different games indoors. Don't forget to dress more casual this Sunday (if your conscience allows). If you decide you must wear a suit and tie, that's o.k., too. We just want to see as many people here as possible. Hope you're planning on coming.

See you Sunday!

Bro. Shane

Pray For Revival

This is a call to action for all of our prayer warriors. Please mark Wednesday, May 24th on your calendar and begin praying for our One Night Revival on that day. I am very excited about having evangelist David Ring for this special night, and I know God is going to do some amazing things in our church and in our community.

West Park Heights is planning on joining with us that evening, and Eulaton United Methodist has also expressed an interest in coming, as well. I am going to invite a few more area churches and my prayer is that we will pack out our sanctuary for this One Night Revival. We especially want you to be inviting your friends and family members who don't know the Lord. This could be a life-changing event in their lives.

If you're not familiar with David Ring, let me give you just a quick biography. He was born with cerebral palsy on October 28, 1953 in Jonesboro, Arkansas. After being orphaned at an early age, his life seemed hopeless until his relationship began with Jesus Christ. David says Christ taught him self-respect and an acceptance of his physical challenges. Today, David is a nationally known speaker who shares his story with over 100,000 people each year.

David is excited about coming to Anniston, and I am excited about what God is going to do through him. But we can't expect great things from God unless we do our part and bathe this event in prayer. So please, start praying about this now and don't let up, because in due time we will reap a harvest.

Bro. Shane

Another Great Sunday

Sometimes churches can experience sort of a let down on the Sunday following Easter. That definitely was not the case at EFBC this past Sunday. It was exciting to see our sanctuary once again quite full, and our Sunday School attendance didn't slip much either. The choir did seem a bit smaller because a few were out or working in the nursery, but we nevertheless had a great crowd for morning worship.

It's always exciting to celebrate new life in Christ, and it was a joy to see CeLena Couch baptized Sunday. May we continue to see lives changed and broken hearts mended. Nobody likes high utility bills, but I hope our water bill starts going up because we have to use our baptistry so much. That would be one higher bill we could all celebrate (unlike the Alagasco bills this winter).

I received a lot of positive feedback on Sunday's two-part message. Dealing with a Scripture text like Romans 14:1-12 is kind of like walking a tight rope. I was wanting to be faithful to the Word of God, but I didn't want to give anyone the idea that Christians have a license to live however they want to. In the end, I think both things were accomplished. The freedom we have in Christ is wonderful, but we must never forget that with freedom comes great responsibility. We will build on that thought with this Sunday's message.

Bro. Shane

Don't Sweat The Small Stuff

I'm excited about getting back into Romans this Sunday as we begin chapter 14. The title of my message is Don't Sweat The Small Stuff.

What do you do when two Christians have differing opinions about a subject that the Bible just doesn't address? How do you know who is right and who is wrong? How should we react to the person we don't agree with? We'll try to answer those questions and more this Sunday morning. Hope to see you here.

Bro. Shane

Great Day Sunday

I'm still rejoicing over the great day we had Sunday at EFBC. What a joy to see our sanctuary filled with new faces. Even more exciting was what happened after most everyone had left. I had an opportunity to lead a young lady to the Lord on the back pew. It was truly a glorious resurrection day!

Now, if we can only build on that momentum and work to see our sanctuary that full every Sunday. Galatians 6:9 says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Now is not the time to become complacent. After what we experienced on Easter, we should all be motivated to serve God more passionately today than we did yesterday.

Bro. Shane