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When I sat down to write my mother's obituary , I thought it would be the hardest thing I ever wrote. I knew the rules: keep it short, use simple language, just the facts, ma'am. But how could I sum up the life of the person I've known longer than any other? How can I possibly make a tribute that was worthy? I made a chronological list of her accomplishments, and the obituary just wrote itself. The funeral director warned me that it would cost us to print all that, and I told

Pastor Tibbs' sermon for April 12th is titled The Message of the Golden Age. This is the last sermon of the seven-part series Shadows of Christ. The relevant scripture is Leviticus 23: 33-41 . 33 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 34 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘On the fifteenth of this seventh month is the Feast of Booths for seven days to the Lord. 35 On the first day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any laborious work. 36 For seven days you shall prese

My grandmothers have been two of the most influential people in my life, with the exception of my parents. They were Granny Powell and Granny Lockhart. They were related only by the marriage of their children, my parents. Most unusual of all was the fact that they were the dearest of friends, and I was fortunate enough to have been raised near them for nearly 13 years of my life. They would sit together in the late evening, as the sun would dip slowly into the western sky. Th

Pastor Tibbs' sermon for April 5th, Easter Sunday, is titled The Message of the Two Lambs. The relevant scripture is Matthew 28: 1-6 . Now after the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to look at the tomb.  2  And behold, a severe earthquake had occurred, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled away the stone, and sat upon it.  3  And his appearance was like lightning, and his clothin

He is risen! April brings us Easter, the holiest of all holidays, to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord. April is also the first full month of spring, time for gardening, housecleaning, and a time for gathering everything you no longer need for the spring rummage sale, planned for the first weekend in May. Elders for April will be Elaine Wilson and Bertha Prewitt. Deacons will be John Crawford, Patty Crawford, Doris Moore, and Zoie Burke. During Holy Week , there will be

Pastor Tibbs' sermon for Palm Sunday, March 29th, is titled Shadows of the Atonement. It is part of the Shadows of Christ series detailing how Hebrew festivals foretold the life of Jesus. The relevant scriptures are Leviticus 23: 26-28 26 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 27 “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the Day of Atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble yourselves and present an offering by fire to the Lord. 28 You sh

The holy scriptures have well documented the last week of Jesus' earthly life, which was the week of Passover in the Jewish faith, when hundreds of thousands of Jewish people would make the pilgrimage to Jerusalem. It begins with Palm Sunday, the day of Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem through the Eastern Gate . He was riding a young donkey. therefore fulfilling the prophesy in Zechariah 9: 9-11 . During that week, Jesus spoke to his followers in the temple, confronted t

Pastor Tibbs' sermon for March 22nd is titled The Shadow of the Rapture. This is the fifth of a seven-part series on how Jewish festivals foretold the coming of Christ. The relevant scripture is Leviticus 23: 23-25 . 23 Again the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 24 “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, ‘In the seventh month on the first of the month you shall have a rest, a reminder by blowing of trumpets, a holy convocation. 25 You shall not do any laborious work, but you shall

Easter is a moveable feast, and falls on a different date each year, but it's always Sunday. Easter is set for the first Sunday after the first full moon after the vernal equinox. It often coincides with Passover, which is based on the Hebrew calendar. Holy Week is the last week of Jesus' earthly life. We track it during the week before Easter, to commemorate the crucial events leading up to the crucifixion and resurrection. The writers of the four gospels reconstructed Jesus

Pastor Tibbs' sermon for March 15th is titled The Shadow of the Church. The relevant scriptures are Leviticus 23: 15-17 15  ‘You shall also count for yourselves from the day after the Sabbath, from the day when you brought in the sheaf of the wave offering; there shall be seven complete Sabbaths.  16  You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath; then you shall present a new grain offering to the Lord.  17  You shall bring in from your dwelling places two l