There is nothing worse than being bullied. Especially is this true when it is coming from someone who is “a public servant.” My granddaughter came home for Thanksgiving along with her roommate. When she went to get on the plane for her return trip in Eugene, the woman gave her and my wife a terrible time. It was stressful to say the least.

      Two things people lust for more than anything else. The first is money. The more the better. They will do most anything to achieve financial security. The apostle Paul once wrote “The love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” History has borne this out. Simply read history and you will see how one’s lust for money played its part in all sorts of evil things that took place. The second thing people lust for is power. Give someone a little power and you will not recognize them. They take on a whole new persona that had been lying dormant. The woman at
the airport had been given power and she loved it to the point of harassing an innocent teen girl returning to school and her grandmother.

     Jesus had this problem with His disciples, so it is not new. However, Jesus said if you want to find greatness, become a servant. Servants are not bullies.

Please come and worship with us Sunday, and remember: EVERYONE is welcome here.

Norm

       It saddens me to hear people talk about experiences with churches and, in some cases, preachers who have left them seriously damaged spiritually. Some have sworn to never return to church, and others have said they worship God their way.

     I truly do not know how to reach such individuals. When someone has been so scarredand damaged by others who are supposed to be representing God, the damage is, in many cases, beyond healing. Having said that, there are some things that I wish to bring to your attention. First, if you claim to be a child of God, then talk and act like God wants you to. When you use foul and abusive speech, it destroys any good you might have done and will forever taint your witness. Secondly, remember wherever you are God is there. He is the silent listener to your
conversation and the unseen observer of your actions. King David thought his sin was a secret,but God sent His prophet to inform him that his actions “caused the name of God to be blasphemed among the nations.” Would you want that said of you? Then I implore you, let Jesus shine through you, not Satan.

  Please come and worship with us Sunday, and remember: EVERYONE is welcome here.

Norm

This next week people across America pause to give thanks for the many blessings we enjoy. We have all heard the term “a self-made man.” However, in spite of the popular belief that one can pull him/her self up by their bootstraps, God is involved every step of the way. There is nothing we enjoy in life that has not come from our creator. Even our very existence is from Him.

Being thankful is something that comes from within the person. They recognize that in our world we not only need each other, we also need to help others along the way. Because of that I am thankful for those who make an effort to feed those who do not have the resources to feed themselves. Our community may not be able to make a life better, but it can make one day better by filling an empty stomach. Millions of dollars and millions of hours have been spent in an effort to eliminate homelessness to no avail. Some are homeless because of bad choices others because of circumstances. We do not need more money or more organizations. We simply need tender
hearts who will help another person in their need.

Come worship with us Sunday, and remember: EVERYONE is welcome here.

Norm

This coming Thursday is the official beginning of the holiday season. Who cannot be thankful in our time? I am glad that we have Thanksgiving as a special day set aside to recognize that we are a people most blessed. Each of us, no matter how few our resources have many reasons to thank God.

If we were to list all that we were thankful for, how much of a page would we fill? Or, how many pages would we fill? What we are grateful for is very much dependant on who it is that provided us the blessings. If we are self-reliant and believe that all we have is a result of our effort, there is not much gratitude expressed. If, however, we see God as the one who provides us with everything then expressing our thanks will be an endless
expression.

All of us are a product of our environment. We look back over the years and we can see things that really mattered to us. The first thing that comes to mind is family. My parents had eight children. We did some
not-so-nice things and paid a severe price for it. But, in the end, we were still family. We had some "dysfunction" but we were all we had so it behooved us to make a real effort at times to be family. We also had a spiritual heritage. Church meant something to us in our formable years.

Even in the worst weather you saw our family in church. We had great Bible class teachers and it was necessary
for us to sit still for the sermon no matter how long it was. From that experience we developed a faith that took
us into adulthood where we came to understand what being a disciple of Jesus entailed. It goes without saying that I am thankful for my immediate family. I am proud of my kids. They have been a real blessing to me. My wife is the best. We have been together for nearly fifty years and I have no idea where I would be were it not for her.
I am grateful for each of you. We have been together for nearly 27 years. I had no idea I would be here
this long and who knows what God has in store for me in the near future. It is not hard for me to be thankful because I know that God has supplied us with all that we have or want. How are you doing with your list? Do you see God supplying your needs and wants? There is no greater moment then now for you to express your thanks for His wonderful blessing.

Our God is Awesome
Norm Russell

Be sure to click on the "Bulletin Articles" link on the left-side navigation menu! That will take you to a collection of longer articles that Norm has written that appear on the front page and inside of the bulletin. So far, only Norm's articles appear there in respect of other author's copyrights, so you might not see -every- one there, but there are several, and this week's story titled "Why Right Loses" is great - please go read it!