First Christian Church of Cassville

From the Preacher's Pen- Dr. Chuck Terrill Easter: Some Things to Like, Someone to Love ... I like Easter. I like hiding and hunting eggs. I don't like it when kids hide them so well that they cannot be found. There is nothing like running a weed-eater on a hot day in May and exploding an old Easter egg that was too well hidden. Eggs are meant to be found! So count them, and keep looking for them until they are all gathered and safely in the basket. I like Easter because I like to go to the farm store to check out the chicks. I have even picked up a few cute chicks at the farm store. It's also nice to look at the ducks, but I still prefer the chicks. You might even see a few turkeys at the farm store. I Like Easter. I like the candy, especially marshmallow chicks. I like the candy, especially the chocolate bunnies. I like the candy, especially the malted milk eggs. I also like the candy, especially the jelly beans. OK, I like the candy! There are many things to like about Easter. But most of all, I love what the resurrection of Jesus means. The resurrection means that Christ can make a beautiful work of art out of a not too lovely person. I like that. It means that Christ will continue to look for people until he finds them and puts them safely in His basket. The people Christ looks for don't have to look alike. They can be of any shape, color, or stripe and Christ will gather them just the same. I love knowing that. The resurrection of Christ assures me that there will be a place for me, eternally. It will be a place where I will be loved, cherished, and held in very strong hands. I love that. The resurrection assures me of the reality of a new and better life. I look forward to heaven where it is always time for dessert. Heaven is a place of constant reward; all the calories you want without the fear of gaining weight. I love that. I love Easter because Christ promised "Because I live, you shall live also" (John 14:19). I really love Easter because I really love Christ.

Palm Sunday 2021

Open Letter to the Next President Dear President Joe Biden, On Wednesday, January 20, 2021, you will be inaugurated as the forty-sixth President of the United States. It has been a long and difficult election season for many Americans. ... I want you to know that I have been praying for you. I have not prayed against you, and I never will. As a Christian, I have a biblical command: I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (I Timothy 2:1-2, NIV) I do pray that you will constantly consider American families. The decisions you make will affect us, our children, and our grandchildren. You have a heavy responsibility, and I understand that, so I will pray. I will be praying that you will always seek wisdom from God and humbly submit yourself to Him. It is my prayer that you will appoint godly men and women to your cabinet who will help you know if, and when, you are outside the will of God. I will be praying that you set a good example for all the nations of the world. There is so much strife, war, poverty, and anarchy in our world. You will need God’s help to understand how to respond to global crises, while managing the tensions in our own Nation. I am a follower of the Lord, Jesus Christ. I pray that you will allow, and even encourage, faith in the One True God to flourish. My prayer is that you will exalt Christ in your life and in our Nation, even when that doesn’t seem politically expedient to you. Christ is the only answer to our Nation’s problems. Please put Him first in all that you do. Many Americans voted in this election. My wife and I did, too. I may not have voted for you, but I will hold you up in prayer, trusting God to hear and answer. My personal preferences aren’t nearly as important as unity in our Nation. Demonic forces are tearing the fabric of America to shreds. That needs to stop, and you are in a position to lead the charge. Please do it. America has my heart. You have my prayers. Sincerely, Dr. Chuck Terrill

Happy New You! We are now saluting each other with the words, HAPPY NEW YEAR! Christmas has retreated and we have entered into the realm of do over. Every person who has ever been a kid has shouted do over! And you ought to get at least one do over in every sport or game. That’s only fair! What about a do over in life? 2021 will offer another chance. It’s a great big do over. 2021 is our opportunity to learn from our mistakes and try again. You have your l...ist of mistakes and I have mine. Good news! Our fresh start has just arrived. Many have longed for this new year. Why? Their past year might have been painful, in a variety of ways. So, it is understandable to long for a new beginning. New beginnings are Jesus’ specialty: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come (2 Corinthians 5:17). The beginning of a new year is also a time of goal setting. Our resolutions may focus on the physical, mental, social or spiritual. We make our plans, and with God’s help, can achieve them. For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for your good and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). This is a good time to address the longings of our hearts. We might say: My personal slogan for the New Year will be ___. One thing I would like to do for myself regularly is ___. One thing I’d like to do for someone else, more often is ___. One adventure I’d like to experience is ___. Isaiah the prophet said, Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness, and provide rivers in the desert (43:18-19). Every do over could include new life through Christ. Put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24). So, Happy New Year! Happy New You. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:13-14).