Today we have the privilege and honor of recognizing two of our young men who have enlisted in the Armed Forces of the the United States of America.
 
Zachery Bell Peppers has completed his Marine Corps Recruit Training at Parris Island and will soon be serving in the United States Marine Corp. Zach will be leaving Dec 3rd to begin Infantry Training at Camp Geiger, North Carolina and will then be going to his Military Occupational Specialty training and will then be joining the Fleet Marine Corps.

Keden Whitehead will soon be enlisted in the United States Air Force and be headed for his basic training.
 
We congratulate these young men today and honor them as they begin their duties. We are so proud and grateful that God has led them to serve.
 
As a reminder of our love for them and our prayers, we will present both Keden and Zach with military Bibles identified according to the branches of service they have chosen. God’s word may become for each one of them, “…a lamp unto their feet and a light unto their path.” (Psalm 119:105)
 
This is true wherever they serve and in whatever circumstances they may experience. The Lord promises them both that they can be confident and brave in everything, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the defense of mt life; whom shall I dread?...Though the host encamp against me, my heart will not fear; though war arise against me, in spite of this I shall be confident.” (Psalm 27:1, 3)
 
God will become for both of them, “…a refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble…the Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold.” (Psalm 46:1, 11)
 
As Keden and Zach receive these Bibles from their church family, they can be assured of our faithful prayers for them, our continued interest in the ways God is leading them both to serve, and our support in remaining steadfast in our gratitude for all the men and women who serve our country like they do. God bless you both and God bless the United States of America. 

​Today our church begins its ongoing relationship with the Oakwood City Police Department by having an on campus police officer serving to direct traffic into and out off our parking lot, overseeing the security of the parking lot during services, and watching out for the security of our people as they enter the facilities for worship.
 
Our Security Policy reads, “The church will secure the services of an off-duty police officer from the Oakwood Police Department each week…who will be on-duty at the church for 2 1/2  hours from 10:00 to 12:30.”
 
Think of the presence of this officer as an extension of the church’s hospitality and security needs. This officer will be an extension of our ministry providing a safe and welcoming presence to our congregation.
 
This past Sunday morning, a clear example of why a police presence is needed at Grace was present in our morning worship service. A person showed up after the worship service started claiming to be a female evangelist who had been led by the Holy Spirit to attend the service to determine if our church was “Spirit” filled and “Spirit” led. This individual came forward during the invitation to tell me that she had been led by the Holy Spirit to preach in our church and needed gas money, food and was raising funds in the amount of $7,000 for a trip to Israel to visit a sick relative. Bottom line, this stranger left our church with a full tank of gas, money for lunch and additional donations which approached $100. That is a pretty healthy mornings work for someone we do not know, have no information concerning background or history and living out of their car.
 
This past week, this same individual continued to contact members of our church suggesting that a more “Spiritual” ministry can be found at another church and that a meeting with the pastor of said church could lead to mission and ministry opportunities not available here at Grace. Rather than “Spirit” filled, this person displayed a “Spirit” of disruption and has injected confusion within our congregation.
 
Listen to what the Bible says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.” (1 John 4:1)
 
The Holy Spirit does not display a spirit of confusion. After doing further investigation, it has been learned that this person has been in our church before and suspected of conducting similar shake-downs in the past.
 
Granted, this individual was not an armed shooter looking to kill or maim innocent people, but the impact of disruption and confusion caused by a single person bearing a contrary spirit can be recognized and avoided because we now have a uniformed, trained and alert police officer standing watch. A person with an impure motive entering our campus and seeing a police presence will more than likely head the other way. I feel safer and more secure already.

Give our Oakwood Police Officer

on duty at Grace this morning
 
A WARM WELCOME.

​Tomorrow is Veterans Day. It is appropriate for all of us to say thank you to those who have served in the armed forces of our great country. You may not know that 2.77 million people have served on 5.4 million deployments in the war on terror since September 11, 2001. The number of Americans who served during wartime includes:

• Revolutionary War – 217,000
• Civil War – 2,213,363
• World War I – 4,734,991
• World War II – 16,112,566
• Korean War – 5,720,000
• Vietnam – 8,744,000

 
The total number of citizens who have served this country during wartime amounts to 41,892,128. At the present time, there are 18.2 million living veterans in America. Our country spends approximately 220.2 billion dollars each year to provide benefits to our veteran population. That amounts to about 12,100 dollars per year, per veteran. They deserve more.
 
What does the Bible say about veterans?
 
Here are 4 verses that can be applied to men and women who have served in the military:

• “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)
• “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His holy name.” (Psalm 33:20-21)
• “The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold and my refuge; my savior, You save me from violence. I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised, and I am saved from my enemies.” (2 Samuel 22:1-4)
• “Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.” (Ephesians 6:11-13)

 
Dwight D. Eisenhower said, “Neither a wise man nor a brave man lies down on the tracks of history to wait for the train of the future to run over him.”
 
Wise and brave men stand up and stand strong for the sake of the future. Thank a veteran tomorrow for standing so that we you have a country and a future.

An anonymous benefactor has purchased and offered to donate this beautiful bus to our church family as an instrument of ministry for our ongoing transportation needs. Every ministry event we plan at the present time depends on members volunteering to provide their automobiles to get us where we need to go.

• Our TeamKid program could use a bus like this one to pick up children on Sunday evenings to attend their Bible study. Attendance would immediately increase through utilizing a vehicle like this one to transport the children to and from church.
• Our young people are always in need of transportation to and from their events.
• Men’s Ministry, Women’s Ministry and ministry to our Senior Adults would greatly benefit having transportation readily available.

The ministry of this church is not stationary. We are constantly on the move. So, the need to have transportation like this is already well established.
 
Now, God has led someone to step up and make a sacrificial investment to provide what we need.
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​Of course, this means that our church will accept the gift and plan a suitable framework to utilize it. We must develop a workable plan to manage the rules and guidelines for its use.

• We will budget insurance, upkeep and fuel costs into our ongoing ministry funding.
• Drivers will need to volunteer and be scheduled each week and for special events.
• Our church will need to adopt the plans that guide the use of a bus like this one.

Receiving a gift means that we accept the responsibilities of its use.
 
A benefactor is someone who gives something to someone else. The greatest benefactor of all is God who has given His, “…only begotten Son so that whosoever believes in Him may have eternal life” (John 3:16).  Salvation is a gift from God that we receive by faith, “It is by grace that you are saved through faith…” (Ephesians 2:8)
 
Our church family has been blessed over the years by the benefactors God has provided to meet our needs at the most crucial times. We have had benefactors who have anonymously given sums of money to help us pay down or pay off debt. I remember a gift of almost $30,000 given to pay off outstanding debt associated with our previous location.

• Who can forget what Mr. Walters did to make it possible for us to purchase the property where we now are plus match our giving dollar-for-dollar up to $150,000 to renovate our facilities?

 
Now, there is a 16-passenger bus outside,

• fully air conditioned,
• new tires,
• a motor with only 80,000 miles on it,
• beautifully painted,
• lettered and
• identified so as to attract unchurched people to our location.

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​God keeps sending sign after sign to show us that He is doing His mighty work among us.
 
After service this morning, we will gather around this bus to give God thanks for the benefactor who has offered it. We pray a prayer of commitment to use it for His glory and lay our hands on it because this bus really belongs to God who is the giver of every perfect gift.