"Good" and "Pleasant"

"Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!" - Psalms 133:1 Last night I preached from Psalms 133:1 on unity. It is interesting to note that the word "pleasant" means "attractive." In other words, there is something attractive about a church that is united together in one purpose and one goal. A.W. Tozer wrote, "Unity of the mind on the part of the people of God precedes the blessing. I have often heard people pray, ‘Oh Lord, send the Holy Spirit that we may become a united people.’ That is all right except it is precisely backwards. The Holy Spirit comes because we are a united people; He does not come to make us a united people." Our prayer should be, "Lord, help us to get united that the blessings might flow and the outpouring of the Holy Spirit might fall upon us!" A church without unity is like a car without gas. It might look good from the outside, but it will not go anywhere. Big buildings or a big youth group might draw people to the church, but it is unity that will keep them there. It is my desire that Community Baptist Church be a "good" and "pleasant" place to be because of the unity of God’s people.

Giving Honor To Whom Honor Is Due

Yesterday was our 5th Annual 911 Honor Service. It was a day we set aside to honor all of the Emergency Services Personnel and what a great day it was! When all was said and done, we had 316 people who attended the service. Among those present was the Chief of Police, the Fire Chief and the Chatham County Sheriff, Mr. Richard Webster. Sheriff Webster presented me with a Sheriff's lapel pin and after that, I was looking forward to making my first citizen's arrest! Fortunately there was no need for that because everything went smoothly. I also want to thank the host of other police officers, fire-fighters and medical personnel that were present who made it the success it was. We are also grateful to the UNC Air Care team who supported our day by flying the UNC Air Care helicopter to our church. Most of all, I am thankful to the faithful and hard-working members of Community Baptist Church who are ultimately responsible for the success of our 911 Sunday. You made me look good and you made our church look good. But most of all you represented our Lord well!