Don’t hesitate to be enthusiastic—be on fire in the Spirit as you serve the Lord! – Romans 12:11

Yesterday, once again, was a really good day. Of course Sundays pretty much always qualify as most excellent, because I love everything about church and then the afternoons are invariably so relaxing.

This week, after worship at Howard Memorial Presbyterian Church, Rebekah and I got to enjoy a long lunch catching up with our friends Paul and Katherine Jennings.

We have shared a lot of meaningful history with Paul and Katherine, all the way back to our “Kaleidoscope” Sunday school class for young families at Trinity Presbyterian Church in Pensacola. They were key players in that particular part of our journey and we created bonds that will always be strong.

Of course we showed our friends around the new house on Saint Patrick Street and they didn’t seem to think that we have completely lost our minds!

It is always good to be with people we love, and we want to share our affection for our new community here in Tarboro with as many of them as possible.

Rebekah’s Message:

In church, Rebekah preached the latest message in her Lenten series featuring “The Seven Deadly Sins.” The sin of “Sloth” turns out to be an interesting concept because it is – essentially – all about indifference.

Thinking more about this I believe indifference is a deadly threat in many areas, including politics and church as well as our most important relationships. Enthusiasm will get you a long way and even opposition can be motivating; but indifference is nearly always fatal.

Enthusiasm will get you a long way and even opposition can be motivating; but indifference is nearly always fatal.

Here at church we have amazing good news to share! And we have the opportunity to live lives that are bursting with meaning and purpose! We can be friends and companions of Jesus, gifted and powered by the Holy Spirit, reconciled with God and filled with so much light and love that the Christ-life is uncontainable, spilling out all over the place!

If we live in the truth of this then indifference can never be in play. Why? Because love in action kills sloth dead in its tracks.

This is the truth that Rebekah and I have been committed to – together – ever since we were married in 1979; it is the power and the inspiration that filled that first Sunday school class with scores of young families then and still defines us today: Love wins, always; life shared multiplies because real life is irrepressible; and we cannot help ourselves, we have to tell our story!

But don’t take my word for it, listen to Rebekah’s tell it herself. – DEREK