​A Sunday school teacher asked her class why Joseph and Mary took Jesus with them to Jerusalem.

A small child replied, "They couldn't get a baby-sitter."

James Sorrow, 94, was a close friend of mine. In fact, when Melvine and I moved to Athens, Georgia in June of 1986, we soon became close friends with James and Polly Sorrow. They took us to some of the finest, even little known, restuarants to dine. More than the delicious food was the friendship we were able to establish with this outstanding Christian couple.

Melvine and I soon learned of their generosity in their personal service and ministry to the church and community, and giving above their tithes, actually the Lord's tithes.

Early Easter Sunday morning I received a call from the daughter of James Sorrow, Brenda Sorrow Terry, now residing in Cochran, Georgia, where her husband, Charles Terry, serves as the ministry of music and evangelism pastor for the Empire Pentecostal Holiness Church where J. Brian Williams is the senior pastor.  Brenda informed me that her father, James Sorrow, had said goodbye to this world of sin and sorrow to arrive on the shores of Heaven in an instant at 2:03 a.m., on Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019. He celebrated this Easter with the risen, living Lord Jesus Christ and with his first wife, Polly.

James Sorrow was born July 28, 1924. He was married to Polly for 38 years, and to his second wife, Rachel, for 29 years.

I remember so many things about a James Sorrow. One of those was our times of fishing together. He was an avid fisherman. However, he enjoyed fishing for men to win them to Jesus Christ. James retired from the University of Georgia in their printing department.

I called and talked with Rick Sorrow his one and only son. Rick was an outstanding member of Tarkenton Memorial Church and he set up a stereo radio and record player in my office when I was the pastor. Rick is an electronics genius. I wanted to let Rick know that Melvine, Greg, and I were thinking of him, and praying for him and his family. Rick and Christy Beatty, my associate pastor, fell in love and Dr. G. Earl Beatty and I performed their wedding ceremony the same week that Rick's mother, Polly, died at St. Mary's Hospital. I was there when she died. I remember it as if it were yesterday.

Rick and Christy, a retired Air Force chaplain, along with their oldest son, Kyle, will be driving on Monday and Tuesday from San Antonio, TX to Franklin Springs, GA. Russell their youngest son will be flying from Dallas, TX.

Callie, is the youth pastor at Grace Fellowship Church in Watkinsville, GA.

The funeral will be some time on Wednesday at the Franklin Springs Pentecostal Holiness Church. The final details are to be worked out. Pruitt Funeral Home is in charge of the arrangements.

​YOU MATTER!
Your support is the means by which we continue the daily ministry of producing Hugh's News. We depend on you our readers. There are no little donors –- every gift counts. Especially, the gift of your prayer.

I carry a daily burden to see that we have the necessary financial resources to meet all of our obligations to those persons and companies that support our efforts to make this daily newsletter come to you each day.

You can experience the joy of blessedness by giving today to help Hugh Morgan to continue producing Hugh's News. There is no church or other organization that supports Hugh's News. We are dependent upon the gifts of our readers. 

Hugh has never taken a salary for his many hours of work in producing Hugh's News for over 22 years.

​To assist you in knowing how to give via a Credit Card or by sending a check via our postal service, please Click Here.

Thank you for your generosity in giving. May the Good Lord bless you abundantly.

Here's a story coming out of Southwestern Christian University you need to know about. What a beautiful group of students involved in the sport of Cheer Leading. These youth are great. See the video in the story below.

Hugh's News has become a daily Bible school for me. I am learning and relearning Biblical truths that mean so much to me.

At the age of 90, I am privileged to sit at my computer and drink from the fountains of Biblical and theological studies that enrich my life. I am eager to see what a daily Hugh's News will provide for all of us who love to read what Hugh Morgan continues to produce from his small office in Winder, Georgia. He does it with joy and in addition to the heavy responsibility he has daily in the care of his wife, Melvine, whom we all love and appreciate. She is a marvelous Christian lady and one of the finest female soloists I have ever heard. 

Hugh and Melvine Morgan have served the IPHC as pastors of four outstanding Pentecostal Holiness churches, have enjoyed a great ministry to the men and women and their families of the United States Air Force as Hugh was an Air Force chaplain, as the President of Southwestern College, now renamed Southwestern Christian University, and now as the editor of Hugh's News & Commentary now for over 22 years. I look forward to reading Hugh's News every day. I often forward it to my family and friends.

Hugh Morgan continues to be one of the most connected men in the IPHC. Because of his longevity and positions of leadership in the church he knows just about everybody. He and Melvine make it a practice to remember the names of people they meet. People are important to them. They endeavor to make people feel important to them.

Lonnie R. Rex, Spring, TX

[Lonnie and Betty Rex are two outstanding pianists. In addition, Lonnie can play pipe organs and he is a master of playing Hammond C3 Organs. He plays solos for the Glorious Way Church in Houston on Sundays and Wednesday nights. Lonnie and Betty are noted for their twin concert grand piano duets. Lonnie directed the now famous 100 voice choirs and orchestras for our General Conferences and Sunday School Conventions. Betty was always at the piano with her gifted Pentecostal style of playing the piano. She furnished our music at the Chaplains and Spouses Retreat in Greensboro a few years ago.
I have been to their lovely home in Spring, TX, and listened with joy as Betty played her concert grand piano in their home for me. I have known them since 1954 when I met them in Washington, DC at the National Pentecostal Holiness Church when I was a young Marine at Quantico, VA.]

This message, "Go and Tell," was written by John Parker when he and Edna resided in Dunn, NC. It has been published in Hugh's News in previous Easter editions. I wanted you to be able to read it again as we prepare now for Easter Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead that glorious morning according to the Scriptures. 

And now, here is John's powerful and timely Easter message:

This command, given by Jesus on the morning of His resurrection, is recorded in both Matthew 28:7 and Mark 16:7. The command includes both an activity and a reason for that activity. In Matthew 28:28-30, the command is reinforced while in Mark 16:15, it is emphasized again. Thus we have not only the activity but also the message that accompanies it. The followers of Jesus are to spread themselves abroad upon the earth and proclaim the message that God has raised Jesus, His Son, from the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus as a single event, however, has little value in itself. To have value and meaning, it must appear in conjunction with its divine antecedents, that is, the laying down of Jesus’ life on the cross for the making of atonement, the satisfaction of God’s judgment against sin, and the fulfilling of God’s redemptive purpose for mankind.

It was the perfect work of Christ on the Cross that made possible His rising again from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection was the glorious affirmation and the divine authentication that God was fully satisfied with the work of His Son. On the day of Pentecost, Peter declared that “God raised Him up again putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24, NAS). Jesus had to rise again because of (1) the perfection of His life in holy obedience to the Father, (2) the surrender of Himself as a full-payment sacrifice for sin, and (3) the perfection of His victory over Satan and the kingdom of darkness.

The Scriptures are replete in their assertion that only on the Cross did Jesus suffer for our sins. The classic chapter in Isaiah 53 is a dark and awesome portrayal of what happened on the Cross—the grief, the sorrow, the striking, the smiting, the afflicting, the piercing, the crushing, as well as God’s abandonment of His Son. Wave after wave of God’s divine wrath swept over Him as He accepted with no resistance all the punishment and torture that man’s sin and rebellion has accrued through all time. Genesis 3:15 declares that in the midst of the agony, the Serpent’s head would be crushed, as indeed it was. The disarming of “rulers and authorities,” and “making a public display of them . . . “ was done on the Cross (Colossians 2:15). Beyond the Cross, there was no further conflict or suffering on the part of God’s chosen Lamb. When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” the struggle was over and the victory was assured. All the spiritual beings of the world of light as well as those of the world of darkness knew the issue was settled once and for all. Most of all, Satan knew it was over. His crushed head left him in no disposition to celebrate high carnival with his stunned followers because the Son of God had died. On the contrary, Satan understood all too well the implications of that dying. In total defeat, he retreated deeper still into the shrouds of darkness that inevitably surround him. On the other hand, Christ, the Triumphant Victor, commended His spirit into the loving hands of an adoring Father, and descended into Paradise where the spirits of the righteous dead were retained. For three days, all of this glory, triumph, and victory were hidden from the eyes of mortal man. Even the closest followers of Jesus went into mourning, losing temporarily their faith, but not their love for Jesus.

On the third day God raised Jesus from the dead, an act that was stamped with marvelous majesty and overwhelming power. Paul described it in Ephesians 1:19 as being “. . . in accordance with the working of the strength of His might.” G. Campbell Morgan wrote, “Simply to read this is to feel the irresistible throb of omnipotence.” In raising Jesus from the dead, God rejected every man-made system of salvation and every false culture of cynicism and indifference, as well as every political force of arrogance and assumed authority. He has “seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named . . .” (Ephesians 1:20-21, NAS).

In light of these verities, where are we to go and what are we to tell? For go we must and tell we must. Jesus made it clear in Acts 1:8 that we are to go to all peoples, even to the remotest parts of the earth. There will be no ocean too wide, no mountain too steep, no jungle too dense, no city too big, no desert too dry, no climate too cold or hot, and no circumstance too difficult or unpleasant.

On the day of Pentecost, God forged an army of intrepid soldiers, filled with the fire and power of the Holy Spirit, and set them in motion. They are still on the move.

What are we to tell? In Mark 1:15, it is the Gospel. In Luke 24:47, it is that repentance and the forgiveness of sins, be preached to all nations. In Matthew 28:18-19, it is the making of disciples of all nations. In Acts 4:10, it is the Name of Jesus Who was crucified, but Whom God raised from the dead. In Acts 16:31, it is to believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved. The crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ is our message, the center of the center. It is He Who brings salvation, deliverance from the power of sin, and the bright hope of living forever in His glorious presence. May His joy and peace also be ours.

[Editor's Note: John Parker, now deceased, was a retired seasoned missionary of the IPHC, as well as a senior statesman of the church. He was a world-class traveler and has been to 50 countries, and ministered in 35 countries. He has landed and taken off in 197 airports around the world. He said that God has used him to be a church planter, and he has been blessed to go back years later and see the harvest God has given through other missionaries. He and Edna served in Costa Rica for 23 years. They have served in Chili, Europe and the Middle East, as well as in Hong Kong and Asia as an overseas missionary coordinator and supervisor of missionaries. In addition, John served for four years as the director of Christian Ministries at Southwestern College in Oklahoma City. He taught an adult Sunday school class at Northwood Temple in Fayetteville, NC, for a number of years.

​John and Edna were precious friends of Melvine and me. We have been in their home many times and they have been in our home. Edna was a great hostess and cook. John was a gardener and raised the best green beans I have ever tasted. John invited Melvine and me to serve as speakers for the European Missionary Retreat in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) northwest of Madrid, Spain. That was one of highlights of our ministry when I was the pastor of Tarkenton Memorial Church in Athens, Georgia. Now both John and Edna are in heaven to be there for all eternity. I long to see them again. They made an impact on my life. John's sermon is one that needs to be studied and memorized. He covers the purpose of the death of Jesus, his burial, and resurrection with precision and excellence.

​Pray Through Your Trial

In His Presence: "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him" (James 1:5).

Wisdom can be defined as knowing how to apply truth to problematic situations. When we are going through trials, we must pray that God would give us wisdom to see how to apply the truth of His Word to what we are facing. Then and only then can He show us how to become more like His Son. We can ask God how to apply what is true about Him so that we can reap the maximum benefit from our situation.

One Minute Please

God promises He will answer every prayer without reproach when we are being conformed into the image of Christ.

Watch Online Videos of Dr. Tony Evans and The Urban Alternative at LightSource.com
and
Listen to Dr. Tony Evans Online Broadcasts at OnePlace.com.

"I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me" (John 14:6, NKJV).

Karl Barth, one of the twentieth century’s premier theologians, said that all religion is man reaching up to God in his own way, according to his own terms, on his own merit, in his own strength. Christianity alone is God reaching down to man.

All non-Judeo-Christian religions are an expression of man’s defiance of God, including His way, His will, and His work. If you ask most people today why they think God will let them into heaven, they will say something like, “I try to be good. I go to church. I’m not perfect, but I believe God will weigh my good deeds against my bad deeds, and I hope the good outweighs the bad. If it does, He will let me into heaven.” It is man’s pride that believes God somehow owes him a heavenly home or eternal life as a reward for good deeds or extra effort or earnest sincerity. But heaven cannot be earned or deserved or bought, which is why God has reached down and just given us Jesus!

Blessings,

Anne Graham Lotz

Copyright © 2014 Anne Graham Lotz (AnGeL Ministries) Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved www.annegrahamlotz.org.

Virtually no other person at our church on Easter Sunday was more grateful to be in church than Melvine Stewart Morgan. She longed to be present and to worship God on this glorious Easter Sunday 2019. It was her goal for several weeks, and today, God made it possible. Her God-given desire was granted by Almighty God Who holds our future and yours in His hands.

We arrived at church around 10:15 a.m. Jeanette Phillips was there and came out to our car to do Melvine's makeup for the day. Jeanette noticed that Melvine's eyebrows have come back thick and they are black as the day I married Melvine over 58 years ago. In all probability, her hair will come back, black and curly, too. That sometimes happens following chemotherapy. We eagerly await that to happen.

It is amazing the come back Melvine has made. She will be getting physical therapy twice a week for three weeks in our home. We are blessed to have this ministry from St. Mary's Health Care Center.

Ken Phillips was there to greet us and help us with our walkers. He and Jeanette work as a team. I park near the ramp to the entrance of our church on the west side of the church.

There were numerous greeters lined up to greet and welcome the people on the other side of the church where the main entrance is. Our pastor and his wife were out there greeting the people as well. We had other people inside the lobby to welcome everyone. We had a good size congregation today, with a number of visitors. I noted with interest and delight that Austin Burnette's brother, Daryl or Darrell, was there. I had not seen him in many years. He normally attends his church.  It was refreshing to see a number of children and we had an Easter Egg Hunt in the green grass area on the west side of the church. Members of George Chassevent's family were present, his daughter, Lisa Handcock, her daughter, and Ray and Gail Chassevent's daughter, Anna and her husband, came. There were many others and we were delighted to see them all.

The music was meaningful and worshipful, and Pastor Terry Kesling had a good Easter message to lift up Jesus, the risen, living Lord. He gave an invitation to those who were not Christians to make their decision to receive Jesus Christ as their personal Savior and Lord. I like that.

Melvine, Greg, and I ate Sunday dinner at Outbacks. We had very little wait time. The food is excellent and the service was exceptional. Our waiter is majoring in accounting at Athens Tech. He is a very fine young man. I gave him the Billy Graham blessing. He received it with gratitude.

Greg will drive back to Thomson, GA in the morning, Monday. He will leave around 5 a. m.

We are blessed to have Greg for the weekend. He does so much to help us. He played the piano for the Good Friday night worship service at the Presbyterian church near our home, and again today for morning worship and communion.

Matthew 28:5-10 Go and Tell the Good News, He has risen. He is alive.

5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, Who was crucified. 6 He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.' Now I have told you." 

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me." 
NIV

At Sunday school they were teaching how God created everything, including human
beings.

Little Johnny seemed especially intent when they told him how Eve was created out of one of
Adam's ribs.

Later in the week his mother noticed him lying down as though he were ill, and she said, "Johnny, what is the
matter?"

Little Johnny responded, "I have pain in my side. I think I'm going to have a wife."

This message, "Go and Tell," was written by John Parker when he and Edna resided in Dunn, NC. It has been published in Hugh's News in previous Easter editions. I wanted you to be able to read it again as we prepare now for Easter Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead that glorious morning according to the Scriptures. 

And now, for John's sermon:

This command, given by Jesus on the morning of His resurrection, is recorded in both Matthew 28:7 and Mark 16:7. The command includes both an activity and a reason for that activity. In Matthew 28:28-30, the command is reinforced while in Mark 16:15, it is emphasized again. Thus we have not only the activity but also the message that accompanies it. The followers of Jesus are to spread themselves abroad upon the earth and proclaim the message that God has raised Jesus, His Son, from the dead.

The resurrection of Jesus as a single event, however, has little value in itself. To have value and meaning, it must appear in conjunction with its divine antecedents, that is, the laying down of Jesus’ life on the cross for the making of atonement, the satisfaction of God’s judgment against sin, and the fulfilling of God’s redemptive purpose for mankind.

It was the perfect work of Christ on the Cross that made possible His rising again from the dead. Jesus’ resurrection was the glorious affirmation and the divine authentication that God was fully satisfied with the work of His Son. On the day of Pentecost, Peter declared that “God raised Him up again putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power” (Acts 2:24, NAS). Jesus had to rise again because of (1) the perfection of His life in holy obedience to the Father, (2) the surrender of Himself as a full-payment sacrifice for sin, and (3) the perfection of His victory over Satan and the kingdom of darkness.

The Scriptures are replete in their assertion that only on the Cross did Jesus suffer for our sins. The classic chapter in Isaiah 53 is a dark and awesome portrayal of what happened on the Cross—the grief, the sorrow, the striking, the smiting, the afflicting, the piercing, the crushing, as well as God’s abandonment of His Son. Wave after wave of God’s divine wrath swept over Him as He accepted with no resistance all the punishment and torture that man’s sin and rebellion has accrued through all time. Genesis 3:15 declares that in the midst of the agony, the Serpent’s head would be crushed, as indeed it was. The disarming of “rulers and authorities,” and “making a public display of them . . . “ was done on the Cross (Colossians 2:15). Beyond the Cross, there was no further conflict or suffering on the part of God’s chosen Lamb. When Jesus cried, “It is finished,” the struggle was over and the victory was assured. All the spiritual beings of the world of light as well as those of the world of darkness knew the issue was settled once and for all. Most of all, Satan knew it was over. His crushed head left him in no disposition to celebrate high carnival with his stunned followers because the Son of God had died. On the contrary, Satan understood all too well the implications of that dying. In total defeat, he retreated deeper still into the shrouds of darkness that inevitably surround him. On the other hand, Christ, the Triumphant Victor, commended His spirit into the loving hands of an adoring Father, and descended into Paradise where the spirits of the righteous dead were retained. For three days, all of this glory, triumph, and victory were hidden from the eyes of mortal man. Even the closest followers of Jesus went into mourning, losing temporarily their faith, but not their love for Jesus.

On the third day God raised Jesus from the dead, an act that was stamped with marvelous majesty and overwhelming power. Paul described it in Ephesians 1:19 as being “. . . in accordance with the working of the strength of His might.” G. Campbell Morgan wrote, “Simply to read this is to feel the irresistible throb of omnipotence.” In raising Jesus from the dead, God rejected every man-made system of salvation and every false culture of cynicism and indifference, as well as every political force of arrogance and assumed authority. He has “seated Him at His right hand in heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion and every name that is named . . .” (Ephesians 1:20-21, NAS).

In light of these verities, where are we to go and what are we to tell? For go we must and tell we must. Jesus made it clear in Acts 1:8 that we are to go to all peoples, even to the remotest parts of the earth. There will be no ocean too wide, no mountain too steep, no jungle too dense, no city too big, no desert too dry, no climate too cold or hot, and no circumstance too difficult or unpleasant.

On the day of Pentecost, God forged an army of intrepid soldiers, filled with the fire and power of the Holy Spirit, and set them in motion. They are still on the move.

What are we to tell? In Mark 1:15, it is the Gospel. In Luke 24:47, it is that repentance and the forgiveness of sins, be preached to all nations. In Matthew 28:18-19, it is the making of disciples of all nations. In Acts 4:10, it is the Name of Jesus Who was crucified, but Whom God raised from the dead. In Acts 16:31, it is to believe in the Lord Jesus, and you shall be saved. The crucified, resurrected, and ascended Christ is our message, the center of the center. It is He Who brings salvation, deliverance from the power of sin, and the bright hope of living forever in His glorious presence. May His joy and peace also be ours.

[Editor's Note: John Parker was a seasoned missionary of the IPHC, as well as a senior statesman of the church. He was a world-class traveler and had been to 50 countries, and ministered in 35 countries. He had landed and taken off in 197 airports around the world. He says that God has used him to be a church planter, and he has been blessed to go back years later and see the harvest God has given through other missionaries. He and Edna served in Costa Rica for 23 years. They have served in Chili, Europe and the Middle East, as well as in Hong Kong and Asia as an overseas missionary coordinator and supervisor of missionaries. In addition, John served for four years as the director of Christian Ministries at Southwestern College in Oklahoma City. He taught an adult Sunday school class at Northwood Temple in Fayetteville, NC, for a number of years.

John and Edna were precious friends of Melvine and me. We have been in their home many times and they have been in our home. Edna was a great hostess and cook. John was a gardener and raised the best green beans I have ever tasted. John invited Melvine and me to serve as speakers for the European Missionary Retreat in San Lorenzo de El Escorial, about 45 kilometres (28 miles) northwest of Madrid, Spain. That was one of highlights of our ministry when I was the pastor of Tarkenton Memorial Church in Athens, Georgia. Now both John and Edna are in heaven to be there for all eternity. I long to see them again. They made an impact on my life. John's sermon is one that needs to be studied and memorized. He covers the purpose of the death of Jesus, his burial, and resurrection with precision and excellence.

As we consider Christ’s death and resurrection – His perfect sacrifice and His victory over sin and the grave – we naturally focus on the unbearable physical pain Jesus endured on our behalf.

​However, this Easter I want you to consider a different kind of suffering: the emotional pain Jesus experienced as those who were closest to Him turned their backs.

Do you recall any of this????

If you were Born in the 1930s to the mid 1940s, you are a part of a very special age group.

You are the smallest group of children born since the early 1900s.

You are the last generation, climbing out of the depression, who can remember the winds of war and the impact of a world at war which rattled the structure of our daily lives for years.

You are the last to remember ration books for everything from gas to sugar to shoes to stoves.

You saved tin foil and poured fat into tin cans.

You saw cars up on blocks because tires weren't available.

You can remember milk being delivered to our house early in the morning and placed in the “milk box” on the porch.

You are the last to see the gold stars in the front windows of our grieving neighbors whose sons died in the War.

You saw the 'boys' home from the war, build their little houses.

You are the last generation who spent childhood without television; instead, we imagined what we heard on the radio.

As you all like to brag, with no TV, you spent your childhood "playing outside.”

There was no little league.  There was no city playground for kids.  Soccer was unheard of.

The lack of television in your early years meant, for most of you, that you had little real understanding of what the world was like.

On Saturday afternoons, the movies, gave you newsreels sandwiched in between westerns and cartoons that were at least a week old.

Telephones were one to a house, often shared (party Lines) and hung on the wall in the kitchen (no cares about privacy).

Computers were called calculators, they were hand cranked; typewriters were driven by pounding fingers, throwing the carriage, and changing the ribbon.

The 'INTERNET’ and ‘GOOGLE’ were words that did not exist.

Newspapers and magazines were written for adults and the news was broadcast on our radio in the evening by Paul Harvey and Gabriel Heater.

As you grew up, the country was exploding with growth.

The G.I. Bill gave returning veterans the means to get an education and spurred colleges to grow.

VA loans fanned a housing boom.  Pent up demand coupled with new Installment payment plans opened many factories for work.

New highways would bring jobs and mobility.  New cars averaged $2,000 full price.

The veterans joined civic clubs and became active in politics.

The radio network expanded from 3 stations to thousands.

We weren't neglected, but we weren't today 's all-consuming family focus.

They were glad you played by yourselves until the street lights came on or Mom called you for supper.

They were busy discovering the post war world.

Although depression poverty was deeply remembered.

Polio was still a crippler.

You came of age in the 50s and 60s.

The Korean War was a dark passage in the early 50s and by mid-decade school children were ducking under desks for Air-Raid training.

Russia built the “Iron Curtain” and China became Red China.

Eisenhower sent the first 'Army Advisers' to Vietnam.

Castro took over in Cuba and Khrushchev came to power in Russia.

You are the last generation to experience an interlude when there were no threats to our homeland.

The war was over and the cold war, Muslim terrorism, “global warming,” and perpetual economic insecurity had yet to haunt life with unease.

Only your generation can remember both a time of great war, and a time when your world was secure.  You lived through both.

You grew up at a time when the world was getting better not worse.

You are "The Last Ones."

More than 99 % of you are either retired or deceased, and we feel privileged to have "lived in the best of times"!

I THANK GOD I WAS BORN THEN.  I ALWAYS SAY HOW BLESSED WE WERE AND WE NEVER REALIZED HOW LITTLE WE HAD.  BUT IT WAS GOOD TRAINING FOR THE FUTURE WHICH OUR CHILDREN NEVER GOT.

"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."

 -- Ayn Rand

GOD BLESS AMERICA

FREEDOM ISN'T FREE...SOMEONE HAD TO PAY FOR IT

        If you can read this...thank a teacher.

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" (1 Corinthians 2:9, NIV).

One of the pictures in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress is of a man bending double from his waist, sorting through a can of garbage, carefully extracting the little bits of tinsel he finds there. Behind him is standing an angel who is offering him a solid gold crown studded with precious jewels, but the man is so engrossed in the garbage he never notices the angel.

When we get to heaven, will you and I be ashamed of our preoccupation with “garbage” in this life -– garbage that prevented us from dying to our desire for it, turning around, leaving it all behind, and reaching out for what God wanted to give us? Why is it that we seem to cling so tightly to what we want, and in the process lose what God wants us to have? God wants us to have power and blessing and glory. But you don’t obtain it by adding Jesus to your life -- He has to be your life!

Blessings,

Anne Graham Lotz

​Copyright © 2014 Anne Graham Lotz (AnGeL Ministries) Raleigh, North Carolina, USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved www.annegrahamlotz.org.

Melvine was back to normal today, Saturday. Greg and I left her at home while we attended the Men's Ministries monthly breakfast. Dylan Sosbee, our guest speaker, is a senior at the University of Georgia, who has volunteered for several years to work with the homeless in Athens. He has made a lot of friends in that particular society and they have found him to be trust worthy. Dylan's presentation and answering questions was one of the very best programs we have had. Ken Phillips always has a good program and a top-notch speaker. Dylan has a bright future as He allows the Holy Spirit and Word of God, the Bible to guide his life into all truth.

Jeanette Phillips, who taught Dylan Sosbee, in high school in math attended to hear one of her former students. Jeanette added immeasurably to the discussion that followed Dylan's oral presentation.

I would like to take this opportunity to invite you to our church on Easter Sunday morning if you have no church home.

Melvine is looking forward to going to church on Easter Sunday. That is one of the high holy days of the church. We want to be there to worship Jesus Christ Who has risen from the dead, and defeated death, sin, hell, and the devil and won the battle and has provided salvation and eternal life for all who will believe in Jesus.

And of course, we want to be with the people of God who love Jesus and have given their hearts and lives to Him.

Have a blessed Easter Sunday 2019.

Matthew 28  He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay.

28 After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. 

2 There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it.   3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. 4 The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. 

5 The angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, Who was crucified. 6 He is not here; He has risen, just as He said. Come and see the place where He lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell His disciples: 'He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see Him.' Now I have told you." 

8 So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell His disciples. 9 Suddenly Jesus met them. "Greetings," He said. They came to Him, clasped His feet and worshiped Him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, "Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see Me." 

11 While the women were on their way, some of the guards went into the city and reported to the chief priests everything that had happened. 12 When the chief priests had met with the elders and devised a plan, they gave the soldiers a large sum of money, 13 telling them, "You are to say, 'His disciples came during the night and stole Him away while we were asleep.' 14 If this report gets to the governor, we will satisfy Him and keep you out of trouble." 15 So the soldiers took the money and did as they were instructed. And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day. 

16 Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. 17 When they saw Him, they worshiped Him; but some doubted. 18 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." 
NIV

A Sunday school teacher was discussing the Ten Commandments with her five and six year olds.

After explaining the commandment to "Honor thy father and thy mother," she asked, "Is there a commandment that
teaches us how to treat our brothers and sisters?"

Without missing a beat, one little boy answered, "Thou shall not kill."

Ken Phillips, Director of Men's Ministries at Christian Life Worship Center in Athens, GA welcomes all men living in northeast Georgia and within driving distance of Athens, Georgia (the Classic City) to our Men's Ministries Breakfast this Saturday morning, April 20, in our Fellowship Hall, known as Stephanie's Place. You may enter the room from the parking lot adjacent to a lovely rose garden in full bloom on the lower level of our church education wing.

Join the men at Christian Life Worship Center this Saturday, April 20th, for their monthly breakfast meeting at 8:30.  Dylan Sosbee will give information about some homeless ministries in Athens.  Dylan is soon to graduate from the University of Georgia and has worked with the homeless of Athens for the past several years.

You will enjoy a hearty breakfast prepared and served by our Master Chef, Randy Jackson. He always prepares a delightful breakfast that will satisfy the hungry appetite of any man. More important than the food, is the fellowship and communications of men who love the Lord Jesus Christ and who have placed their trust in Him for salvation and eternal life.

​For those attending our church from out of town, Christian Life Worship Center, formerly Tarkenton Memorial Church, is located one mile north of the Athens Perimeter or Loop 10, just off US Highway 129. The address of the church is 125 Kathwood Drive, Athens, GA 30607.
​    
All men are invited. Come and bring a friend.

                                      Muffin's Easter Surprise:
                                  The Miracle of God's Gift to Us

Muffin appeared on our carport one Sunday night and quickly became a part of our lives. Due in part to his early life on the street, Muffin was an indoor/outdoor cat, staying out during the day and coming home in the evenings to eat and spend time with us. I let him out early one Spring Sunday morning, expecting him to be gone for most of the day. I was surprised when he showed back up at the door as we were headed out to church, dressed in our Sunday best. 
 
As we were going out, Muffin came in. All huddled in the entryway; it became evident that Muffin had something in his mouth. The girls began to squeal, and my wife quickly called my name, saying that he had a mouse in his mouth, which he had done before, dead, fortunately.
 
Before I could do anything, he dropped it. We all jumped back, and I quickly grabbed a nearby broom to get it out of the house. As I turned back toward the door, I quickly realized that it wasn’t a mouse at all. It was a small bunny, and it was alive. Concerned that it might bite one of the girls, I quickly swept it out the door.

As it hopped away, I looked back down at Muffin. He had a perturbed look on his face as if to say, “You let it go, I brought it to you as a gift.” Upon reflection, I thought it was amazing that Muffin brought us a bunny that morning. You see, it was Easter Sunday, and Muffin seemed to know that our little girls would be excited to receive a bunny for Easter. 

Easter is the day we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ; the greatest gift God has given to the world. “The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23b).” God desires that we receive and hold on to that gift, and not let it go. “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess (Hebrews 4:14).” 

I encourage you to attend church this Easter Sunday, and if you haven’t already, choose to accept this wonderful gift of eternal life. It is a decision you will never regret, nor forget. We will never forget the day that our cat, Muffin, brought a special gift to our door on Easter Sunday morning, reminding us of the love of the Savior.

Story submitted by Terry Kesling
Senior Pastor, Christian Life Worship Center
Retired Army Chaplain
(Photo Credit: Terry Kesling)

Check out Arlette's website: ThreeinOne.Life with Arlette.