Gambling is an activity which is prevalent among young people right now. Gathering to play poker for fun while only gambling with very small dollar stakes. There are other such activities as tossing coins or even betting on the outcome of sports are still popular as they ever were. The only difference I can see now from when I was young is that they are much more open and upfront about these activities.

There are several questions I would like to pose concerning this topic...

Jesus said "You shall know them by their fruits" in Matthew 7:16. What is the typical "fruits" of the gaming world? What do we associate and the world associate to it? What does that say to us?

2 Peter 2:19 says.."While they promise them liberty, they themselves are slaves of corruption; for by whom a person is overcome, by him also he is brought into bondage." Is gambling an activity that has pulled many people into slavery to it?

1 Thessalonians 5:22 also directs us to "Abstain from all appearance of evil."

Is this enough evidence to encourage us to "beat the odds" and refuse to give in to gambling?

The new website is taking off. Our old site had really slowed to a crawl as the information had become dated and we had limited ways to keep it updated. We are getting many hits to our site and it seems this BLOG is becoming the hot place. We hope over the coming weeks several others will post some comments here as we open this window for excellent discussion opportunities for our members and visitors.

The overwhelming response to our SUPER SUNDAY was positive. I did get a few questions from some young people concerning an observation they made. One question was why do people not attend every service possible? Another young adult noted Hebrews 10:25 and then went on to note Hebrews 13:17. Their questioning finally concluded with "is it a sin to miss services?"

One strong goal of 2007 is to encourage attendance at all our services. I would like to ask this question to those who might be reading this blog. How can we refocus those who do not normally attend all our services and encourage them to do so? We are very proud of our attendance and all our members. But, is there a flaw in the organization of our services or is it in the hearts of those who "miss" them?

Super Sunday was more than I could have hoped. The day was awesome with 857 in attendance. This is great since our goal was 800. June 10 is coming soon and on that day we are shooting for 900. VBS will be the day before on June 9th. Here is a little something to make you smile about this lovely day.

I arrived to work as usual on Thursday morning and found Steve Davis and Danny Pirtle painting the ceiling of our auditorium. I thought that was pretty impressive.

I arrive to work on Saturday morning and I found nearly 40 people here painting, cleaning, scrubbing, moving, organizing, and cooking all getting ready for Super Sunday.

It is so exciting to hear and see people getting excited about something. It is so rewarding to see people work together toward a common purpose. I am sitting in my office seeing the first car or two pull in the parking lot. I just watched the Hogan's cooking and organizing in the kitchen since well before 7:00. It's almost time to start this day. There is one passage which comes to mind right now...

1 Corinthians 12:12 - For as the body is one and has many members, but all the members of that one body, being many, are one body, so also is Christ.

May all the hands which have worked diligently for this day be blessed by seeing the fruits of their labor. May they feel humbled in knowing no work is done for self but ony for the glory of God. May God be glorified in this day and we present Christ to many visitors that they may truly find love, hope, grace, peace, and mercy at the foot of our Lord.

Several years ago I sat in a planning committee meeting discussing the work of the church at Highland. It was a very difficult process but has proven to be very beneficial over the last 5-6 years. The church has a strong direction and its members are excited. I feel we are truly more focused now on our mission of "seeking and saving the lost".

One phase of this planning was to improve our Educational System. This phase has just begun in ernest this year. We have started training teachers in fundamentals of education. We have started organizing our program for the long term and not just for the present. We have numerous volunteer staff working almost daily to improve our infrastructure. We have a committee already working on our library. This Sunday is the first of our SUPER SUNDAY's designed for a multiplicity of purposes.

We will spend enormous amounts of time making our HHCC Educational Department the best it can be. But, learning still comes down to the individual. It must be your desire to find God. It must be your desire to grow in Faith. It must be your desire to draw closer to Him.

I would love to hear comments on how we help build this desire in the individual?

Understanding scripture was difficult for me when I was young. I struggled to comprehend the Bible as a whole and relied heavily on what my "teachers" were telling me. As I got to college, I began to study more on my own separate from "others" writing and "others" beliefs. It was not long before I discovered some ideas in which I had been engrained were not necessarily as true as I thought they were. I am blessed that I had a great education while young but I wonder about all those who were not so fortunate. There is a focus in our education program and that is hopefully we get better at building a strong understanding of God's Word in our students and not relying on "opinion". John 20:30-31 states, "Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples, which are not recorded in this book. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name." We have a wondrous Word designed to develop a saving faith alone. It requires NO additional intrepretation, revelation, or information. Romans 10:17 reminds us that this saving faith comes from God's Word and it ALONE.

Interpretations and opinions of scripture are important only that they may challenge us at times. Let us solely be guided in our Faith by God's Word ALONE.

This is the first post on our new blog. The year 2007 has been an interesting one as we continue to focus on our theme of "A Servant's Hand". Our attendance continues to skyrocket, our participation continues to grow, lost souls are being brought to Christ, and even our contribution is up from previous years. I am proud to be at Highland Heights Church of Christ.

I had dinner this past week with an elder from another congregation. We were talking about the growth of our respective congregations and what that meant. We talked about having sufficient staff, ample space, and keeping on target of our ultimate objective of "seeking and saving the lost". Something finally hit me as we talked that we are no longer a small congregation in the brotherhood. As I looked at the list on congregations across the country, we are in the top 200 congregations as far as membership. If our predictions hold true, we will be in the top 50 within just a couple of years.

This definitely makes me think of numerous things. I think about our responsibility to maintain the faith and true obedience to His Word. I think about the responsibility God has placed in our hands. I think about the many souls that what we do effects. I leave this blog with a question...what does it make you think about?