Just to let you know

I am so excited about all that is going on in my life. First of all Johnna is doing just fine, she has been to the doctor and she is definitely pregnant. We had an ultrasound and saw and heard life inside the womb. It is truly a miracle of God when He places life inside another. Pray for all of us as we are well aware that life will never be the same. The boys are all doing well after the initial shock passed. Parents aren't suppose to do that. I love you guys!!!!! I am also very excited about the days ahead for Emmanuel, we are going to be starting a brand new series of messages called "March Madness" Mad stands for Make A Difference!! During the month of March we are going to talking about how we can make a difference in certain areas of our lives. God has called us to make a difference and we can do it with God's strength and leadership. This is going to take us right up to Easter Sunday Morning and I am praying for a harvest of lost people who will give their lives to Jesus. You can begin to make a difference by starting to pray and invite people to our Easter service. Let's fill this church to overflowing, we can do it if we all strive to Make A Difference. We need your help, let's join together and see what God does with a group of people who want to see God move.

Excited about the future!

Kevin

Cowboy Church

Just wanted to let everyone know that we will be baptizing three folks at the Cowboy Church in Poplar Bluff, Mo. on Tuesday night. We are so excited about the service and we want to invite everyone to come celebrate with those who have given their lives to Christ. I will also be paying a debt in which I told a little girl in the church that if we ever got over 100 people in a service I would sing from the top of the church. Well we had 140 a few weeks ago so Tuesday night I am going to keep my word to this little girl. So, if you want to hear "I'll fly away" from 30 feet high, show up at the Rodgers Theatre in Poplar Bluff, MO Tuesday night at 7:00. God is doing GREAT things and I am so glad to be a part of it.

Big News at the Murray House

This is what I call a WOW moment. Are you ready? We are expecting our 4th child. At the youthful age of 42 and 43 we are going to be having a baby. I know what you are thinking, and yes we know what causes that but, we are really excited about what God has chosen to give us. Please keep us in your prayers. Life is going to be a little different around the house in a few months. The baby is due in October. The boys are excited can you believe that. We have designated the next several months as THINK PINK months. We are praying for a healthy baby thanks for thinking about us and praying for us.

Friday Post

Good morning everyone, I hope all of you have a GREAT day. I enjoyed a couple of Mohawk basketball games last night at Brookland even though we lost it is always great to watch the boys play. I must confess though that recently it is the ride home from the games that enjoy the most. You know laughing about the dumb things they did and the punks on the other teams and of course gotta stop by McDonalds and order off the dollar menu (man they can eat alot after a game) These are definitely some of the best days of my life. I have to admit in the last week not only have I seen God save the lost I have seen God working in the boys. They have a new found zeal for studying God's word and that makes me swell up with pride, I'm sorry. I want to thank Jerry Massey for stepping in and filling a gap for us in our youth program, we are headed in the right direction. This Sunday morning the youth will share some of what they have been learning on Wednesday night so don't miss it. The Super Bowl won't be nothin compared to what you will see on Sunday Morning I can't wait. See all of you Sunday.

The Harvest is plentiful

Well it has been a wonderful couple of weeks. I have had the privilege to lead 8 people to the Lord over the last 2 weeks. 6 folks have given their lives to Christ at the Thousand Hills Cowboy Church in Poplar Bluff, Mo in the last couple of weeks. For those who may not know the Cowboy Church was started by Emmanuel Baptist 3 years ago. We have also seen some teenagers and children give their lives to Christ on Wednesday nights at Emmanuel. I am so thankful to be apart of lives being changed, this is still the main thing that we must do as a church LEAD PEOPLE TO JESUS. Please pray that we would keep the main thing the main thing.

Promises Promises

I recently have been reading the promises of God throughout the bible and I have to tell you that it is amazing all that God has said He would do. The greatest of all is the promise to save me from my sins in which I know for a fact He has done. I just read John 3:17 and it says that God did not come to condemn me but to forgive me. I have plenty that He could condemn me about but He chose to forgive me and save me. Now think about this if the God of the universe does not choose to condemn us in our lost condition why do we continue to condemn those who are not yet saved. What we need in our churches is a less condemning spirit of those not like us and a more Christ like attitude toward those that are lost and on their way to Hell. I am praying for God to use me to reach those who aren't yet saved. Please help me by praying for me and our church that we would be very active in doing whatever it takes to reach those that don't know Jesus. They're out there we just got to go find them and tell them about God's forgiveness of our sins.

3 little helpful ideas

Speak Up:
That's right we should ALL tell more people about how GOOD God has been to us! Good news can spread too!

Shut Up:
That's right we should ALL stop telling people how terrible everyone else is. Gossip and slander doesn't fix anything.

Grow Up:
That's right we should all be studying the Bible and growing daily and if we do we will have no problem with Speaking Up and Shutting Up.

I hope these 3 ideas will be of help to you, because I know they have been to me. You might want to start with the last one .

God is moving

I just want to tell all of you what God has done in the last few days at Emmanuel and the Cowboy Church. This past Sunday night we had 2 teenage boys obey God and be baptized an we have one more waiting to. On Tuesday night at our Cowboy Church we had our largest attendance yet of 110 folks and a young mother gave her life to Christ. Then on Wednesday at Awanas we had a young boy about 11 years old give his life to Christ and wants to be obedient to God and be baptized. It has been a wonderful week. God is still moving! I am so proud of our student ministry as well, Jerry Massey has agreed to be our interim student minister and he is doing a Great job of bringing some new ideas to our ministry. God is good and I can't wait to see what happens next. Do me a favor and tell someone about our churches, I'll see you Sunday come prepared to worship and see God move.

Scriptures I find very useful

I'm sorry but I couldn't remember my password to blog, but I finally got it. So here's some scriptures that I said I would post that I think will be helpful to us all.

Phil. 4:19
John 16:33
Psalm 46:1-3 , 7
Isaiah 41:10
2 Timothy 1:7
Psalm 16:8
Psalm 55:22
Psalm 62:6
1 Peter 5:6,7
Isaiah 26:3
Joshua 14:10-12

I encourage you to read these verses every day for one week and just see if it effects your attitude.

Cell Phone

Hey just sitting in Alltel store being patient. Headed to v isit a special lady in the hospital, Ms Bulah High . Thanks for all the calls and cards you folks have sent. Hope you have a GREAT DAY. Communication is important so I gotta get these phones working.

COLD

It is bad cold in Piggott, Arkansas. One person I know said it was so cold he saw a snowman with a snuggie on, now that's cold. Every new year always brings new things. We never really now what to expect especially from the weather, but one thing is always the same and that is of course God's love for all of us. I just want everyone to know that no matter what happens to you in this new year God Loves You! For some of us it will be easy to see, while others may question if it is true or not, it is. God's love has nothing to with our actions it has everything to do with what He has already said from the Cross. I hope everyone has a Great Year.

Moms funeral

Happy New Year everyone! 2010 didn't start the way we all had it planned but it was sure the best beginning to something my mom has ever been a part of. Mom passed away on New Years eve night around 8 pm at the Piggott Community Hospital. She had been in the hospital since Monday night and finally went to heaven on Thursday night. Mom had been fighting lung cancer for the past several months and she never gave up. My mom loved life, and she wanted every day that she could possible get and that's why she lived as long as she did. Her family is what motivated her to keep trying. I have got to do this and that she would say with all the optimism of someone who would overcome that dreaded disease of cancer. Well mom's plans where not God's plans but I know she likes His better now that she's in Heaven. I am going to Miss her very much but I sure am glad she' not suffering any more.

I want to thank everyone who has loved on us in so many different ways over the last few days. We appreciate all you have done for us. I leave you with this, make 2010 a year of peace, forgiveness and great joy.

Kevin