From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 12-31-12

Happy New Year:

Wow, so 2012 is gone… where did it go? You know, I seem to be blown away at how fast the years go by. (I am sure it has nothing to do with getting older…J) This has been a great year for Twin Lakes. We have seen some come to Christ, we have seen some old friends come back and we have made new friends as well.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 12-17-12

'Tis the Season:

Well it is hard to think that it is already the end of the year. We have seen a lot of good and bad throughout the year and it would seem that Satan is trying to have the final word in this 2012 year. Lots of things have caused disappointment and now we have seen a great injustice in the slaying of young children. (I read this morning that they will be putting the first two children to rest today). 

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 12-10-12

A Legacy:

As far back as I can remember my dad went out of his way to decorate the house for Christmas. I remember him telling me as we stood on the roof in the cold, “Anything worth doing needs to be done right”. All I could think about was how high that second story roof looked off of the ground. Back then it looked about a 180 feet to the ground but, in reality, it was only about 20 feet. Dad would say, "Hang those lights along the edge of the roof and make sure they are straight”.  Funny though, ever since I have been buying houses I tend to look for ones with an easy pitched roof  and one story… go figure… J

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 12-3-12

Feeling Down?

As far back as I can remember my family has always had Dachshunds. I am not sure why we have always had this breed of dog. I remember times when I wished we had a Labrador or a German Shepherd or some sort of large dog, but never got one…  Oh there were times when we did own a Heinz 57 dog but it did not seem to last too long. And there was that one Pick-a-poo my sister had, his name was Peety or maybe it was Pete. Well nothing we had seemed to fit except the wiener dogs.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 11-27-12

Tis the Season…

Well thanksgiving has come and gone. It is hard to believe that Christmas is just around the corner. When I was young I remember getting very excited over this time of year. The big thing was to go to Sears and get the new Christmas catalog. That poor book would get literally worn out by us kids looking through it time and time again dreaming of what we would like for Christmas.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 11-12-12

Simply true or false:

I was reading my e-mail this morning and my brother Jim sent this to me. It is a true testament to what we think and who we are… Take the test and see how you rate.

Thanks Jim keep them coming…

A True/False Election Test
(Original Author Unknown)
[Edited]

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 11-5-12

The Simple Life:

Thinking back when I was young I can remember all the simple things in life we enjoyed. For me growing up was filled with decisions of, what game I was going to play today or whether I was going to a friend’s house or were they coming to my house. Life in my mind seemed simple.

From the desk of Pastor John: 10-22-12

A Legacy:

Many years ago, a friend of mine once said, “He who dies with the most toys wins!” When this was said there were several of us standing around his new truck and most all had a good laugh from his comment while we all drooled over this new 4 x 4. My friend’s life was full of gathering as much stuff, mostly cars and motorcycles, as he could afford.

Today our lives can be the same way. Sometimes we get caught up in the materialistic world. We tend to spend our entire lives looking for that special something that will fill that void in our hearts… a new car or a new house or maybe if we get a pool….

From the desk of Pastor John: 10-15-12

The First Potluck

We as a church family all know that when we get together for some sort of event and have a potluck we always have plenty of food. It has never been a question as to whether church folk can cook or not. It is a lot of fun to get together, break bread, laugh and have good fellowship with each other. This is what families do.

From the desk of Pastor John: 10-08-12

Decisions, decisions, decisions…

As I was trying to make a decision about today’s blog, the phone rang and I had a very good conversation with one of our church members. After talking to him I sat here and thought about all the decisions we have to make every day. Most of them are only concerned with what to wear or what to eat or what I am going to watch today on TV…

There is one thing that stands out the most. We as humans tend to bypass the major decisions and stick with the easy ones. The hard ones tend to sometimes upset us or depress us. But we still have to deal with them, and when we do sometimes we need help in deciding on what to do…

From the desk of Pastor John: 10-01-12

 

Why Church…

I truly think that everyone, at some time in their life, will ask the question “Why should I go to church, or maybe they might ask themselves, why should I believe in Jesus Christ?”

From the desk of Pastor John: 9-24-12

The Impossible…

 

As I looked thru my e-mail this morning I came across this daily devotion from Chuck Swindoll.

As we go thru trying times we sometimes tend to loose track of how powerful our God is or what He can accomplish through a rough time…

Read & enjoy:

Glen Pool Musical event ~ 9-16-12

Girls day out~

We took a trip to Hot Springs Village last night, 9-15-12, to watch and listen to the Chrystal Chimes perform.  It was fun to visit and dine together at Debra's Diner on the way.  

From the desk of Pastor John: 9-4-12

Gone Fishing…

I don’t know about all of you but I love to fish. There is something about sitting in a boat and wetting a hook that is soothing and relaxing. When I am fishing I will tend to do a lot of thinking and meditating, which is a kind of release for me. A release for whatever is bothering me or just to listen for God’s voice to enlighten me.

Monday being a holiday, Tina and I went fishing. As we were trying to catch some fish I noticed that even though the water was beautiful and like glass it was kind of dirty below the surface. As I reeled a lure in I noticed that the bright colors were considerably dulled by the water until I pulled it completely out, even another fisherman that trolled by asked if we were having any luck.  After we told him no he said that the water was just too trashy and dirty for the fish to be biting.

After thinking about that I started to think about our hearts. You see, Lake Catherin was murky because Lake Hamilton was lowered to accommodate the extra rain falling from Hurricane Isaac. This stirred all the silt on the bottom up and spoiled all the water. Our hearts are the same. If we allow a lot of silt (sin) to lay there in our hearts and don’t clean (confess to God) it out it can stir up a lot of problems when the storms of life come along. This sin will cloud our vision and things of life that should be beautiful become tainted and all the colors become faded. Our judgment is affected and we can’t make clear decisions.

Psalm 51:7-12 “Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8) Make me hear joy and gladness, that the bones You have broken may rejoice. 9) Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. 10) Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit in me. 11) Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. 12) Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit.”

As we live this life we need to remember that it is a good thing to purge or cleanse our hearts of the sin we have… It helps us to be able to see more clearly and to see more clearly our Savior. As for fishing, it is easier to see the bait in clean water than in dirty!

“The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John: 8-27-12

Can’t see the Forrest for the trees?

A Man Born Blind Receives Sight

John 9: Now as Jesus passed by, He saw a man who was blind from birth. ² And His disciples asked Him, saying, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind? ³ Jesus answered, “Neither this man nor his parents sinned, but that the works of God should be revealed in him. ⁴ I^[a] must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work. ⁵ As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
⁶ When He had said these things, He spat on the ground and made clay with the saliva; and He anointed the eyes of the blind man with the clay. ⁷ And He said to him, “Go, wash in the pool of Siloam” (which is translated, Sent). So he went and washed, and came back seeing.⁸ Therefore the neighbors and those who previously had seen that he was blind^[b] said, “Is not this he who sat and begged?”⁹ Some said, “This is he.” Others said, “He is like him.”^[c]He said, “I am he.”¹⁰ Therefore they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”¹¹ He answered and said, “A Man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes and said to me, ‘Go to the pool of^[d] Siloam and wash.’ So I went and washed, and I received sight.”¹² Then they said to him, “Where is He?”He said, “I do not know.”

As I opened my Bible this morning I came across this passage and it reminded me of a long time ago when my brother and I were working on our Uncle’s property where we deer hunted. We were coming out of the woods on our way to town when Tom stopped the truck. He was looking past me at the woods and said “Look, a doe is standing there”. Well, when I looked out there I did not see anything but the woods. He said “are you blind? She is just about 40 yards out there standing broadside and looking straight at us.”  Well, I looked for about a minute and could not see her. Tom was totally blown away that I could not see this deer. It wasn’t until she moved that I finally saw her. The next words out of his mouth is, “you need to get your glasses checked”.

Well, it was not the glasses that were the problem. It was a true case of “Couldn’t see the Forrest for the trees” syndrome.  Have you ever experienced that in your life? For a lot of folks they experience this every day.  Oh, I am not talking about the Forrest. I am talking about the works of our Lord and Savior.

When Jesus walked this earth He had compassion for all those in need of help. He is still walking among us… Can you see Him? Can you see the work of His finger or the works of His Father in our world around us?  Can you see Jesus standing in front of the drop cloth of our world? He is standing there waiting for you to see Him and waiting for you to call upon Him.

Can you see the Forrest for the trees? Let Jesus open your eyes…

“The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 8-20-12

A new day:

Well if you missed church this past Sunday you missed a great day. On top of God smiling on us with a slow sink in rain on Saturday we also got to Baptize 2 young new believers. “Praise God”

It is a great way to start the week. Today (Monday) there are a lot of happy parents and sad parents as school started today. Oh I remember all those first days of our boys going to school. Every year it was new supplies, new clothes, and new back packs, you know, all those things that you had to buy each year. “But mom I can’t use the same backpack as last year, they will think that I am a geek!” “I have to have those new Nike shoes and mom… PLEASE NO MORE UNDEROOS OR SUPERHERO UNDERWARE!!!”  Oh yea I remember those days all too well.

Well today our youngest starts his first day of collage. The only thing that stands out the most is that he is a couple hundred miles away and it costs a whole lot more to get this day up and running. He now needs a new back pack that will carry a laptop, a new calculator that takes a rocket scientist to operate, and about 4 or 5 books that cost the same as a small used car. One thing is for sure, “He IS prepared” to be at all of the Razorback games he can… And you thought I was going to say, “He is prepared for classes”. Well on that part we really hope that he is ready…

One fear that Tina and I have had is will he continue to go to church, to follow Gods plan, to remember who he is. You know as you take part in raising your children there is always that thought as to who they will turn out to be like. As a Christian we hope that he will stick to his values and Christian principles that we have tried to teach him over the years.

As he started his journey, as a student, we prayed with him in the parking lot just before we left. At this point you give them to God and pray for their well being. The next day we talked to him and gave him words of encouragement. We talked about what he was doing and what to expect; about getting all his books and making new friends.

As Sunday approached and we had a great service we later found out that Brandon had gone to church that morning with some friends that he had ran into from his church in Benton. Yes folks he went on his own and it wasn’t a week or month or several months down the road, it was the very first Sunday… “Praise God”

Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.

There is one thing for sure…. Luck carried NO part in this journey. We gave our children over to God when they were born. We put our lives on hold to be a part of their lives. We made sure that we did not miss any part of their lives as they made their way and found their foot hold. We tried to live as God wanted us to live and we put God first in our lives. You see, if we don’t live the example, they won’t understand how important it is to follow God. We don’t have to be perfect, we just have to be willing.

 “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 7-30-12

A Daniel Faith!

Hello to all,

If you missed this past Sunday services you missed a good one… We had a young lady here who is a missionary to Israel. (We will protect her name) As she told of her experiences it led me to think of Daniel. She spoke of several attempts to take her life that failed and all I could see was the Hand of God on her ministry.

On Sunday nights we have started a study on the book of Daniel. This study has been a great one to say the least. It is my hopes that by the time we get to the end of Daniel we will all have the “Faith of Daniel”. Sunday night I asked a life question, “How far will you go to serve God”? It is not really a hard question to answer. But a lot of people will not answer it at all. They don’t want to face the fact that they either don’t serve Him at all or don’t serve Him enough. The point is we have to realize the fact that we all serve a master, whom do you serve?

As for this “Missionary”, she has chosen to serve the Lord; she has chosen to put her life on the line for Christ. Serving in Israel is not an easy task and can be very hazardous to your health. She overlooks that fact, as she is only interested in the fact that Christ called her to a task, and that is what she is doing. Her faith is that of Daniel.

There is an important question that we all need to ask ourselves, “Can God provide for our needs and will He protect us as we serve Him”? If you can answer that question with a “yes” then you need to move on to the next question. “Am I willing to serve God at all costs”?

Daniel was a man that was willing to serve God no matter what anyone would do to him for doing this. His faith was tested on many occasions and God never let him down. How about you? Are you willing to serve God no matter what the cost?

It is time for us to stand and be counted as followers of our Lord and Savior.

Joshua 24:15 “As for me and my house, we shall serve the Lord”

 “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 7-30-12

A Daniel Faith!

Hello to all,

If you missed this past Sunday services you missed a good one… We had a young lady here who is a missionary to Israel. (We will protect her name) As she told of her experiences it led me to think of Daniel. She spoke of several attempts to take her life that failed and all I could see was the Hand of God on her ministry.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 7-23-12

Today’s FUNNY===========================
Three little boys were bragging about how tough they were.
"I'm so tough," said the first boy, "that I can wear out a pair of shoes in a week."
"Well," said the second little boy, "I'm so tough, I can wear out a pair of jeans in a day."
"That's nothing," said the third boy. "When my parents take me to see my gramma and grampa, I can wear them out in an hour."

Ah, as we read what the third little boy said I am sure that a lot of us can relate to this. The old question that seems to go around every year is “What do fish and relatives have in common”?

This past week Tina and I took some time off to relax and to get away on a camping trip. It all seems to be innocent and as we began to pack we do so with great anticipation of a week of relaxation. The problem is that innocent, relaxation and 2 boys don’t go together. Jeremy, our oldest is the one with all the answers and the rest of us are clueless. Brandon, the youngest, is an engineer from stem to stern. With Jeremy no conversation went by without an analogy of the good, the bad, and the ugly of it all. With Brandon his brain never rests; you could put him on a jet ski for hours, then take him golfing, go fishing and out to eat, and back to the camper to play games and he would look at you with a serious face and say that this camping trip is boring. His brain is in “process mode” all the time. He does not know how to just down load. So you can imagine how this past week went. There were times when Tina and I looked at each other and either rolled our eyes or just busted out laughing.

All in all we had a good time and will cherish this as our last vacation before Brandon leaves for collage. The Bible talks of our families, of how we should love them and cherish them. After all God did give them to us. Well just in case you are wondering, we do love our boys very much and are not sure how we feel yet of how quite it will be when Brandon is gone off to school.

Extended family is the same. While they are here it can be total chaos one minute and sweet memories later. I can only imagine what Christ must have felt while here on earth.

While in the garden praying He must have been in anguish as the disciples kept falling asleep. Matthew 26: 36-46 “What! Could you not watch with Me for one hour? Watch, pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is week.”  You can imagine how Christ felt as He kept returning and finding His family asleep. I am sure it could have felt as if they did not care of what you were going thru.

As we trudge thru this hot summer let’s remember that Christ is our reason to endure and to love unconditionally. Cherish every moment you have with your family.

 “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 7-16-12

“Man of few words…”

A gentleman entered a busy florist shop that displayed a large sign that read, "Say It With Flowers."
"Please wrap up one rose," he told the florist.
"Only one?" the florist asked.
"Just one," the customer replied. "I'm a man of few words."

All too often we get very busy and we forget about what is important in life. We rush down that highway at 100 miles per hour not realizing how many opportunities we are missing. A lot of us are like the man in the story above; we are people of few words.

Although our Savior, Jesus Christ, had more than a few words to say He could say just a few and get His point across. Jesus is willing to give us plenty of opportunity to minister for Him but we need to be willing to slow down and look for those opportunities and seize them for His good.

As you may know this past week I was afforded the opportunity to take five young adults to Spring Lake Camp. At the last minute I received a call from a grandmother that wanted her grandson to go to camp. As we went thru the process of cutting the red tape and securing a place for him I wondered if God was in this. As it turned out that young man accepted Christ as his Savior.

 Jesus had a way of making things very clear about whom He was and what His being here was all about. It is our duty to read His word and to use His word to tell His story.

 As a Man of many words He had only a few at the end while on the cross,; John 19:30 “It is finished!” These famous words ring out as a reminder to us that Christ had suffered not only from all that He went through but also that He took on the sins of the world and became the sacrificial Lamb for you and I…

  “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 7-9-12

“Summer Fun”

Well this week we are taking 5 youth’s to Spring Lake Camp. Please pray for these youth and for a great experience.

Our blog will return next week… In the meantime enjoy this from Chuck Swindoll…thanks and have a blessed week…

July 9, 2012    Paul Was Normal, Like Us by Charles R. Swindoll 2 Corinthians 11:26--28 Funny, we seldom think that a great apostle like Paul ever suffered from insomnia, but he did. He couldn't sleep sometimes because of acute deprivations, like hunger, cold, and exposure . . . and sometimes because of his concern for the many ministries to which he had given himself. "Daily pressure," he calls it. Read his own words: I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:27--28) Now that's being under pressure. Paul even mentioned the disillusioning times of mistreatment and imprisonment (see 11:26). There certainly must have been times he did not know where to turn---or to whom. Doubt and questions might well have haunted him with maddening regularity. Here was one of those great men, "too good for this world," being pushed around, threatened, and living on the raw edge of constant danger. If you imagine yourself in those many situations and toss in several imprisonments to boot---you can start to feel beaten down and defeated. Your mind plays tricks on you. You wonder where God is, and you occasionally even doubt God. You get disoriented, "mixed up" inside. And on top of all that is the one most common experience all who have been in prison admit---profound loneliness. Mix all that together . . . and you've got the picture.

 “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 7-3-12

“Our Independence Day”

I have been thinking a lot about our troops. As a veteran myself, I get teary eyed when I watch video clips about service men and women surprising their loved ones by coming home early, for good or maybe a furlough. I am not sure who said it first but one person wrote that an individual who joined the service basically wrote a blank check to the United States of America. The amount of the check would be determined by their willingness to serve even to the tune of their very life.

These fine folks decided that it was more important to fight for our very freedoms than it was to settle for second best or some other country’s values or lack thereof. For some of us we owe our very lives for their service whether home or abroad. For all of us we owe our very freedom to those that have served.

 
As we are approaching our “Independence Day” we need to pay tribute to those that have fought for the very freedom we enjoy. We can do this by not taking this freedom for granted. So many have died for this country and for the Constitution of our United States, we need to remember that our country was founded on Christian principals. If it weren’t so we would not have the words “One Nation under God…” in our Pledge of Allegiance. If this offends some of you then I feel for you. Our removing God and His Son from public places has offended God, and that should bother all of us.  For us to dishonor or rebuke the Constitution is to tell our troops that we don’t care about what they do, that what they do is in vain. It also tells our For Fathers that we no longer agree with what they did or fought for.
 
Our service here is to exalt the Living God, to tell the good news of His Son and, yes, it is time to show that our service people have not served in vain. 1 Peter 2:20  “For what credit is it if when you are chastened for your sin, that you take it patiently? But when you do well and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable before God.”

It is time for our country to return to God and praise Him for the great servicemen and women that have fought to keep our country safe and to give us the freedom we enjoy.

May God Bless our Troops and our Country…

  “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

VBS Pictures

 

 

 

 

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 6-25-12

“How Sweet it is!”

A little boy is telling his Grandma how "everything" is going wrong: School, family problems, health problems, etc. Meanwhile, Grandma is baking a cake.
She asks her grandson if he would like a snack, which of course he does.
"Here, have some cooking oil."
"Yuck" says the boy.
"How about a couple raw eggs? "
"Gross, Grandma!"
"Would you like some flour then? Or maybe baking soda?"
"Grandma, those are all yucky!"
To which Grandma replies: "Yes, all those things seem bad all by themselves. But when they are put together in the right way, they make a wonderfully delicious cake!"
She continued, "God works the same way in our lives."

Isn’t it funny how grandmothers seem to always know what to say??? Since we started Vacation Bible School this week I thought it would be appropriate to talk about the events that lead us to something special.

In John 14:6 Jesus said “I am the Truth the Life and the Way, no one comes to the Father accept thru Me” This in itself sounds simple enough but it can be a difficult road. Nevertheless the reward is sweet in deed…

As we walk thru our lives, life is never too simple. When Tina and I got married, 29 years ago, we thought life would be pretty simple. Well it all started with the wedding plans. Everything seemed to be going fine and then we hit a snag on the wedding day and had to move the time back to accommodate another couple that was getting married on that day, even though we had our name on the list first. Well we survived, of course, but it was a time of great stress for my bride to be. So we moved our time for them and had a great wedding anyway. As life went on we had our fair share of struggles and it would have been easy to just give up. Nevertheless the reward has been sweet in deed…

Our walk with God is the same. As we go thru struggles in our lives satin will throw a lot of things our way. They become obstacles that hinder us from seeing what God is trying to do thru us.  A lot of times we tend to give up and quite church. We sometimes think, “What’s the use”?  Church is hard work. It is not for the faint of heart. It is not all about our comfort zone. It is about our relationship with our Creator. In Matthew Jesus was talking to His disciples. He commissioned them to do a great work. That same commission is given to us as well. 28: 19-20 “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20) teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

We as a country are entering an age of rejection of God. It shows in our lack of service, our lack of commitment, our lack of speaking up for Christian principals, and our lack of willingness to accept His call. There are a lot of committed service minded Christian’s out there, but the number is decreasing, for there are many who don’t want to be bothered with that “Church stuff”.

Joshua 24: 15 “And if it seems evil to you  to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served which were on the other side of the river, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”

My advice to you is to not give up. Don’t forget the prize at the end of the age. The place where Jesus went to prepare for you and I and that He will be returning again to take us there… Ahhh how sweet it will be…

 “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 6-12-12

A day to Remember:

Since this Sunday is “Fathers Day”, I thought it would be fitting to pay tribute to our fathers.

There are a lot of things I remember about my father. He was a kind man and was gentle. He seemed to be able to make friends wherever he went. He was fair to us but was not afraid to administer discipline when we acted up. (Which was quite often) He was generous to all of us even though we sometimes did not appreciate it. Being a Certified Public Accountant he did book work in several cities. His main office was in Brinkley Arkansas where I grew up. From time to time I would go by the office after school and visit. He always had time to stop and talk to me, no matter who was in his office.

When time permitted he loved to work around the house. He always had a project to do. As I watched him work he would talk to me about what he was doing. He was a good teacher and as I look at my life today I see a lot of what he taught me coming out in the things I try to teach to my boys. One thing that stands out most was that he made the best pork and beans this side of the Mississippi. He would make everyone get out of the kitchen when he made them. No one was to know his secret. My sister Vicki tried and tried to reproduce his beans. Even though she made some pretty good beans I don’t think she ever got it down 100%.  After dad had died even mom tried to make them but did not succeed.

As I look back to those days I can see all that he was teaching me.  He gave me a since of worth and taught me a lot of how to build, construct and to reason. He taught me the importance of being a good father to my children and the importance of our Father in Heaven.  I believe that he passed along to me how important it is to trust in our Savior.   I still can feel the warmth of his arm on my shoulder as he stood next to me when I accepted Christ as my Savior.

As the Psalmist says in Psalm 78:5-74, “5) For He established a testimony in Jacob and appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, That they should make them known to their children; 6) That the generation to come might know them, the children who would be born, that they may arise and declare them to their children,7) That they may set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments;” my father passed on to me what is important in life and now I hope to instill this in my sons.

So the question today is, have you trusted in your Heavenly Father? As a father, it is up to us to send this message on to the generations to come, that they may come to trust in God and His Holy Word.

This father’s day take the time to honor your Father in Heaven and to pay tribute to all the God fearing fathers out there…

 “The Greatest Adventure in Life is seen through the Love of Christ”  

Bro John   501-262-0015

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 6-4-12

Summertime Fun:

If you did not know, our youngest son Brandon graduated this year. In the fall he will be headed off to college. The exciting part about it is he will get to start a whole new adventure in life. For Tina and me it will be a whole new way of life. You see we have had 2 boys in our house for 24 years and we don’t remember what it was like before kids. (Although we are certainly willing to try to remember)  We may even find a way to have fun without them, but it won’t be the same.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 5-29-12

Memorial Day: A day to remember and a day to celebrate our freedom…

Some years ago I worked with a friend of mine at Alexander Youth Services. (Children’s Prison)

Every Sunday we would go and sing praise songs and teach a Biblical message.

One Sunday I taught a lesson on what true freedom was, about how Jesus has the key to unlock the hold that Satin has on our lives. At the end of our time that day a young man came up to me. He was about 12 years old and was a “Wheel” man in a robbery. The gang had chosen him to drive as they knew that he would not be in jail long if he was caught.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston:

“A minister waited in line to fill his car with gas just before a long holiday weekend. The attendant worked quickly, but there were many cars ahead of him. Finally, the attendant motioned him toward the vacant pump.

Reverend, said the young man, I am sorry for the long delay but it seems that everyone waits until the last minute to get ready for a long trip…  The minister laughed, I know what you mean. It is the same in my business.”

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 5-15-12

Things are not always as they seem:

When we were serving at a church in Woodward Oklahoma, we had a cleanup day for the youth room and outer classrooms. While taking a break I told them a story about Tina’s and my first house.  It went like this…

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When Tina and I first got married I was still in the Air Force. We had rented a home in the local city. It was a nice 3 bedroom home but had carpet in every room.  After seeing several spots on the carpet in the kitchen that we had made, not to mention how dingy the carpet looked when we moved in, we decided it was time to rent a Rug Doctor. (That’s a Carpet cleaner for you young folks!)
Now this carpet was dark brown with cream and black spots in it. I guess it was a 70’s thing but it was ugly, to say the least. So, I rented the Doctor and decided to start in the kitchen. After mixing the soap and hot water, I got started. After a few short passes I began to notice something. The carpet was changing before my eyes… I called out for Tina to come and look as this phenomenon was taking place.  The first words out of Tina’s mouth were “What did you do!?!?!  What did you put in the carpet cleaner??!!??”  I told her that I followed the instructions, for once, and this was happening on its own!

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston

Mothers; you can find a lot of definitions on the Internet that give you all the legal descriptions of a woman that has bore children. But, it does not give the true meaning of a mom…

Proverbs 31: 10-31 gives a very good picture of a godly woman.  It summarizes the nature of a virtuous wife.

The Virtuous Wife

Vacation Bible School

 VBS ~ Vacation Bible School ~ June 24th - 27th

Registration is on Saturday the 16th from 11am to 1 pm 

snacks, hot dogs, games and fun!!!

Teen Challenge Banquet

April 26, Attended by Bro. John & Tina Johnston, Betty Tucker, Bill & Jane Jenkins, Edna Hopkins, Kitty Meyer, Trent & Shirley Benton, Donna & Lonnie Waldrop. Wonderful meal, great program and testimonies, and good fellowship.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 4-30-12

Do we take our Church or God for granted?

I have told you of our trip to Guatemala and the experience we had with the McDonalds motorcycle… Well, while we were there, towards the end of the week, we were able to visit a nearby city called Antigua (An-teeg-wa). This city was nestled in the foothills of a mountain which looked like one of those cities you see in Clint Eastwood’s movie “A Fist full of Dollars”. The only difference is they did have doors and cobble stone roads.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 4-23-12

A father was approached by his small son who told him proudly, “I know what the Bible means!”
His father smiled and replied, “What do you mean, you know what the Bible means?” The son replied, “I do know!”
“Okay, said the father, what does it mean?”
“That’s easy, daddy…” the young boy replied excitedly, “It stands for…
‘Basic Information Before Leaving Earth’

This Week's Service Topics

FREE CHURCH NEWS                

TWIN LAKES BAPTIST CHURCH

3899 Highway 290
Hot Springs, Arkansas 71913
Office 501-262-0015

Sunday

Sunday School 9:45am 

Morning Worship 10:45 am Bro. John Johnston 

Evening Service 5:30 pm

Wednesday 6:30 pm Bible Study /Prayer                 
Bro. John Johnston

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 4-10-12

Well Easter has come and gone… 

So the big question that I have for this week is, “Did you worship?” Did you take time to remember all that God has done for you? All too often we get caught up in the holidays and the rituals of presents and egg hunts and forget what the true meaning of Easter really is.

Easter Pictures!

I have posted pictures on a "Page" located on the Right Side Column entitled 'Pictures of Our Family'.
You may view these pictures by clicking on the link.

Easter Sunday

Sunrise Service is at 7/am

Breakfast to follow... Join us!

No Sunday School

Please join us for Sunday Morning Worship at 10/am

Dismissed for the day to spend time with family...

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 4-2-12

So what came first… the chicken or the egg?

For most of us, this week has always been a week for lifting up praises to our Savior; Remembering what He did for us and that He took upon himself the sins of the world. He willingly accepted His Father's will and died for you and me. The best part is that He rose again to defeat death. John 3:14-15 “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15) that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.”

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From the desk of Pastor John Johnston

Things are not always as they seem….

Quite a few years ago my family took a mission trip to Guatemala. We visited a Christian operated children’s home where we spent the week working on the property, painting, pouring concrete, cleaning the main eating areas, etc…  and was also afforded 2 trips into the local cities.  

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston:

Do you honor God with your Love?

As a pastor I have met a lot of people in my time. The hardest thing to do is to move to a different place and to make new friends. As most of you know, there is always some that you will connect with and there are others that may not like you at all.

The great thing about coming to a new place, no matter whether it is church or a neighborhood, is you will make everlasting friends. For Tina and me, we have had at least one or two friends, from each place, that became our prayer warriors. They go to battle every day for us, because they know that being a pastor and wife we can and most likely will be in spiritual warfare every day.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston:

Just a quick note to all of you; I have been married for almost 29 years to my wife Tina. We are so glad to now be serving in this area at Twin Lakes Baptist and look forward to worshiping with you and invite you to come be a part of our Worship Experience. We have two boys, Jeremy (23) and Brandon (17).

As I sat and thought of what to write about in this first blog my thoughts turned to our (Tina and my self’s) journey that has brought us to this place. Psalm 118:8 says “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” (NKJV). To be in the center of Gods Will for our lives we turn to the center of the Bible. Tina and I have always put God first in our lives and I give Him praise for 28+ years with Tina as well as sharing a ministry with her.

Adult Sunday School classes

We are happy to announce two Adult classes!  Both classes are using the "Explore the Bible" study guide by Lifeway.  These classes begin at 9:45 am every Sunday morning....But come early for donuts and coffee :-)

Betty Tucker leads the ladies' class
Ron Kunath leads the couples class

Next week's lesson will be:
Christianity 101: Accept Others
How can I possibly worship God with people I don't even like?
Lesson Passages: Luke 4:31-37; 5:12-16