From the desk of Pastor John Johnston 7-15-13

Life worth Living:

As I was growing up I sometimes would wonder what I wanted to be. As I got older I decided that I needed to be a successful person no matter what I became. I believe that this is the dream of most all people. Everyone wants to be happy and rich…

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston 7-1-13

 

 Kids Revival:

Have you ever noticed that in most all churches that they will try to have a revival every year? For the most part they are going through the motions but revival still has not truly come. For most people it is a good time to get preached at for 4-5 nights in a row… “Ahhhh, that was a great week of sermons…” you will hear someone say, or maybe someone will say, “Wow that preacher really stepped on my toes, or man, he hit the nail on the head.”  The only problem with that is, that is the extent of the revival…

To me, if I have learned this correctly, revival is supposed to start in yours and my heart. If that is the case then revival should not be announced until the people are ready for revival. All too often churches will schedule a revival every year on the same week or month. If the people are not ready then what really happens?

Summer is Hear

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 6-10-13

Well I know it has been awhile since I have blogged so I thought I better get on the stick… Since Tina and I got back from vacation it seems like we have been going 24/7. I have decided to cut the blogs back to once or twice a month instead of every week due to the fact that church has gotten very busy. No… that can’t be??? Preachers don’t work… do they???

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 04-29-13

 Vacation or to not vacation… that is the question?

If you took a poll across the nation I wonder what the consensus would be. Should I go or should I not???  I was joking with some folks at church and was telling them that Tina and I would not go on vacation again… we would just take off time from work. I here you… your asking yourself, “What is the difference?” Well, a vacation is something that you plan and usually you map everything out to an agenda and it is supposed to be relaxing. (Yea wright) If you just take time off it is spontaneous, fun, no real direction, relaxing, fun, spontaneous, no specific time frame, fun, spontaneous… oh I said that already…

True Worship 04-08-2013

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 04-08-13

 How do you define true worship? For me it is not just going to church or hearing good music or just singing. Even though all of those are pathways to worship it has to be something deeper…

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 03-26-13

A time to celebrate…

I am not sure about you but this time of year has become my favorite time of year. As a child growing up in Brinkley Arkansas I remember it was Christmas that was the favorite holiday. It stands to reason… we got toys…  Easter was good too, as it had the Easter Bunny and we got to hunt Easter Eggs after church. Yes we celebrated those holidays as Christ’s birth and Resurrection but as a child the glory of both days mostly landed on presents.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 03-19-13

March Madness…

I don’t know about you but I love this time of year… The flowers are starting to bloom, the trees are budding out, my allergies are in full warp mode, and you can wear shorts one day and it is snowing the next day… You know that true Arkansas weather! No one else in the country has weather the way we do. Well maybe a few have the same. I am not sure if anyone else can attest to the fact that we now have 3 tornado seasons a year, fall, winter and spring.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 3-11-13

What is Acceptable?

Romans 12: 1-2 “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present you bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2) And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 02-25-13

Preparing for the flood…

When the Johnston’s plan on going camping we start making “The List”. This list is usually 3 pages long of things to bring. (Keep telling yourself… camping is fun, camping is fun…)There are the usual things like bedding, clothes, toiletries, and things of that nature, and then you have to pack the DVD movies you want to watch. (Oh yes, we take a TV along as to not get bored) We then have to pack the games so we have something to do besides watch movies.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 02-11-13

A tribute to a friend:

It seems that it has just been a short year since we first came to Twin Lakes. In that year we have become very attached to this church and the fine folks that come here. Today we will be saying goodbye to a dear friend, Billy Jenkins.

From the beginning I could tell that Billy had accepted me and we were quickly becoming friends. The one thing that stood out about him was that he was the genuine article. Every now and then you will come across someone that will stand out in a crowd. A person that is as honest as the day is long and a person that truly prays for you when he says he will. That person is someone that shows unconditional love to all who come across his path and will immediately become a dad or granddad to you from the get go. Billy is one of those people…

He was dedicated to his Lord and to his bride of 59 years. His wife and children never “wanted” for love as he showed his love to them in the way that Christ loves you and me.

His favorite verses in the Bible are Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

To everything there is a season,
A time for every purpose under heaven:
² A time to be born, And a time to die;
A time to plant,
And a time to pluck what is planted;
³ A time to kill, And a time to heal;
A time to break down, And a time to build up;
⁴ A time to weep, And a time to laugh;
A time to mourn, And a time to dance;
⁵ A time to cast away stones,
And a time to gather stones; A time to embrace,
And a time to refrain from embracing;
⁶ A time to gain, And a time to lose;
A time to keep, And a time to throw away;
⁷ A time to tear, And a time to sew;
A time to keep silence, And a time to speak;
⁸ A time to love, And a time to hate;
A time of war, And a time of peace.

As we say farewell to a close friend we say it with great love and peace knowing that Billy is now with his Lord and Savior.  His life was a journey and at the end of the train ride home he finally got to see his Maker face to face…

Farewell my good friend…

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

Bro John   501-262-0015

Chili Cook Off

 

 Mary Wiggly won top prize.

Greg & Bonnie Lawrence recieved ribbons

We all had a great time!

 

Annual valentine Party

Glen Pool was terrific, as always!

The dinner was superb!

Thank you to everyone for a wonderful evening of fellowship.

 

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 01-28-13

A sinking boat…

They say it happens to everyone at least once in their lifetime of owning a boat… That time when you think that you have checked everything and have this confidence that nothing is left to do. You take one last look from stem to stern and come to the conclusion that the time is “now” to launch your boat. So you back it into the water and fire up the outboard (or inboard for the more sophisticated owners) and give the signal for the driver to take the trailer out of the water and find a spot to park.

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 01-21-13

Whose side are you on?

Lately I have found myself hearing God say that it is time to make a stand for who you are going to follow.  Don’t get me wrong, I choose to stand on Christ’s side. But as we look across our nation there seems to be a never ending trend of people moving away from Christ. 

This morning I heard a story on K-Love (Christian radio) about a family that was in a restaurant in Texas having lunch. They have an autistic child and as they ate he was talking and making sounds. They had no clue that another table not far away was making fun of the child and insulting him. The waiter say what was going on and went to the folks hurling insults and told them that he would not serve them and that family left. The couple with the young boy did not know what the waiter did until someone told them. I do not know this waiter but I will pray for God to bless him for his standing up for what is the correct thing to do and that his boldness will be catching…

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 01-14-13

What is the function of the church?

Over the years I have heard all kinds of answers to that question. To a lot of people it is there for only those that need some sort of spiritual awakening. They pass by several of them each day as they go to work. Some will say, “There is another Holy Roller house, or how many churches do we need anyway?” 

From the desk of Pastor John Johnston: 01-07-13

Moses: “Because I drew him out of the water”
 
This week we will be looking at Moses on Wednesday night. I will not give away all that we will be talking about cuz you needs to be here on Wednesday night… J
 
Moses was a very interesting person. To be saved from sure death he was put in a basket and set free to float on the Nile River. This would seem that he was put into a very dangerous situation that could claim his life to save his life. Sound ridiculous?  Well to any normal person it would, but to a devoted mother that had the faith in God that could move mountains it wasn’t.  Exodus 2:1-10