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Connersville Church of Christ, 575 Erie Avenue, Connersville, IN (2026)

09/07/2026

Philippians is a personal book. It tells us the most about Paul. It’s a personal letter. It’s also a practical letter. It deals with a lot of the problems in life that we all face, a lot of examples of day to day decisions.

Most of all Philippians is a positive book. The words “joy” or “rejoice” or “be glad” are used seventeen different times in this book.

How can we be joyful in spite of circumstances, in spite of problems.

In the first chapter, Paul starts right off talking about people. If relationships are bad, life stinks. If relationships are strained, life is difficult. If you have problems with people it kills the joy in your life.

Peter Drucker, the father of American management, said that the number one characteristic of a CEO, of a leader, is that they enjoy other people.

Do you enjoy the people around you? the people that you work with? the people that you’re married to? the people in your family?
The Bible says in Ecclesiastes 9:9, “Live joyfully with the wife whom you love.” The problem I find is that many marriages are more a matter of endurance than enjoyment.

We don’t really enjoy the people in our lives, we tolerate them, we put up with them. We endure them.

What does it take to enjoy the people in your life?

Join me in this message:

09/06/2026

My granddaughter Miriam is only three and a half years old, but she manages to say some surprising things for her age. While she does not always understand all of the implications of what she says, it is clear she understands sufficiently to use her words in a proper context.

Sometimes she repeats and sings the lyrics of a song she has heard and likes. For a little while she was using the phrase “I don’t care about that” in her conversations and meant what she was saying, sometimes a little too flippantly to her parents' consternation.

The most recent phrase she has been repeating has been to admonish those around her” “Don’t live in fear!” Her parents don’t know where she got this from—it wasn’t from them.

Maybe it was from a Bible class teacher at church, maybe another adult or older child at church. Wherever she got it from, her parents are grateful that at least it seems that “Don’t live in fear” has replaced “I don’t care about it”.

The phrase “Don’t live in fear” is featured in the 2020 song titled “PDLIF” by the American indie band Bon Iver. PDLIF is an acronym for the first and last line of the song: “Please, don’t live in fear”. The band considered their song as supporting the Covid-19 measures.

The song encourages people during difficult times to be resilient (“But oh How things can change…So don’t you run away!”) and hope (“There will be a better day”).

On one occasion Jesus thanked and praised the Father for revealing certain truths to babes. “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and have revealed them to babes.” (Matthew 11:25) From babes we can be blessed by God’s truths.

Matthew tells us that “when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that He did, and the children crying out in the temple and saying, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David!’ they were indignant and said to Him, ‘Do You hear what these are saying?’ And Jesus said to them, ‘Yes. Have you never read, “Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants you have perfected praise”?’” (Matthew 21:15-16; Psalm 8:2)

The Almighty God can reach out and teach us worthy lessons through so many means. Jesus said one of God’s most powerful and perfect means is out of the mouth of babes.

Three and a half year old Miriam has loving parents who take care of and protect her. She really doesn’t know much about fear, difficult times, how to be resilient or hope. Yet her tender age and sweet voice cause us to listen and wonder. But out of her very limited experience and innocence, she repeats a powerful truth worth listening to.

The message of encouragement and hope that came out of Miriam’s mouth and put to music by Bon Iver, first came from the mouth of God. This message first appears in Scripture in the first book of Genesis.

After Abraham had won a decisive battle against four kings, recovered Lot and other captives and the goods taken and gave a tithe to Melchizedek “the word of the LORD came unto Abram in a vision, saying, ‘Fear not, Abram: I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great reward.’” (Genesis 15:1)

After Issac, the son of Abraham, had considerable trouble from the Philistines and then the Gerarites, “the LORD appeared to him the same night and said, ‘I am the God of your father Abraham; do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you and multiply your descendants for My servant Abraham’s sake.’” (Genesis 26:24)

As Joshua and the nation of Israel prepared to take the promised land, the Lord told Joshua “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9; Deut. 31:6)

And the Lord continues His message to you through the mouth of His prophets, His angels and His beloved Son. Don’t live in fear is not simply a slogan, but His command and promise. David often expressed in his psalms: Don’t live in fear.

How did David not live in fear? He said: “I sought the LORD, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears.” (Psalm 34:4) David asked with “The LORD is my light and my salvation; Whom shall I fear? The LORD is the strength of my life; Of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1)

David did not live in fear even under the most difficult circumstances. “Though an army may encamp against me, My heart shall not fear; Though war may rise against me, In this I will be confident.” (Psalm 27:3) “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” (Psalm 23:4)

Jesus told his disciples that they would be hated, persecuted and even be put to death, yet he said “do not fear them”. (Matthew 10:26 ) Jesus said not to fear men, only fear God. “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” (Matthew 10:28)

Jesus then turned to God’s loving care for those who fear Him. “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Matthew 10:29-31).

If a bird’s daily provision is not overlooked by God, how much less will a child of His be forgotten? The command not to fear is never issued into a vacuum. It always comes attached to a reason: you are watched, you are valued, you are not alone in this.

When Jesus said he was going away he promised “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” (John 14:27)

Paul told young Timothy plainly that God did not intend for fear to reside in our hearts: “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7).

God does not intend for you to live a life of fear. In its place He offers something greater— power to stand strong, love to endure, and a sound mind to stay stable instead of spinning in worry.

John locates the root of fear precisely so he can name what removes it. “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love” (1 John 4:18).

Fear and love, in John’s accounting, cannot fully occupy the same space. Where love is allowed to grow complete, fear is pushed out — not denied, not suppressed, but genuinely displaced.

And the writer of Hebrews describes the deepest fear of all — the fear of death — as a bo***ge Christ came specifically to break, so that He might “release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bo***ge” (Hebrews 2:15). The oldest fear, the one underneath all the smaller ones, has already been answered at the cross.

Miriam does not carry any of that weight yet. She has loving parents, a home of comfort, and no acquaintance with real hardship or want. She repeats “don’t live in fear” before she fully understands the way a child may repeat their parents’ prayers before they can define the words.

And yet, out of that very innocence, she says something true. God sometimes chooses to perfect His praise, and deliver His truth, through voices too small to know how large a thing they are saying. The next time Miriam looks up at someone anxious and says, “Don’t live in fear

08/31/2026

"So he went down and dipped seven times in the Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God; and his flesh was restored like the flesh of a little child, and he was clean.

"And he returned to the man of God, he and all his aides, and came and stood before him; and he said, ‘Indeed, now I know that there is no God in all the earth, except in Israel; now therefore, please take a gift from your servant.'

"But he said, ‘As the LORD lives, before whom I stand, I will receive nothing.' And he urged him to take it, but he refused.

"So Naaman said, ‘Then, if not, please let your servant be given two
mule-loads of earth; for your servant will no longer offer either burnt offering or sacrifice to other gods, but to the LORD' "
2 Kings 5:14-17

Trust and obey for there is no other way. Naaman was captain of the Syrian host. He was a military commander who had marched triumphantly into Syria and had experienced victory after
victory. Naaman was a great man. A mighty man of valor, but he was a l***r.

His body frame once the splendor of masculinity was now covered with spots, scabs and a white swelling of the skin. His hair beginning to change colors. The people who had run to him were now running away from him, because he was a walking contamination.

The answer to his leprosy resided in the declaration of some nameless slave girl who happened to be talking to Naaman's wife.

She had said, There is a prophet down in Israel. I believe that if Naaman would go down and talk to the prophet that he could help him get rid of his leprosy.

I have a hunch. I don't know for certain, but I have a hunch based upon past performance. Elijah has been known to perform some miraculous feats.

The word is that Elijah gave Elisha a double portion of his
power. Before Elijah went away to be with God, Elisha had been so impressed with his power that God would give him a double portion of his power.

Elisha is down in Israel and I have a hunch that if Naaman would just trust and obey the word of the prophet that he could be healed.

How often does a military commander take the advice of a nameless nobody? Not often.

But Naaman followed the hunch. He did it out of desperation, he had tried everything else. Naaman had nothing to lose and everything to gain by giving God a chance. And now we see him
standing with orders from God.

Naaman hoped against hope and his hunch paid off. Naaman found a cure for his leprosy in the same way that you and I will find the forgiveness of our sins.

He had to trust and obey. There is really no other way to please God, but to trust and obey.

A lot of people do not understand what it means to obey God.

So why must we obey all the way?

08/30/2026

I was wandering through the streets and shops of Woodstock, Vermont, window shopping. I spotted some bright silver metal objects in one window and I stepped inside Danforth Pewter.

The shop specialized in handmade pewter items. These metal items included pewter platters, utensils, candle holders, home decor, ornaments, and more personal items such as jewelry, figurines, and tokens.

In a world of cheap disposable plastic, I was fascinated by the weight, durability, and beauty of the small metal pieces. There were miniature metallic animals enough to fill a small wooden ark that could be purchased as a set.

There were flipping “coins” with animals engraved, the front half on one side for “heads” and the back half on the flip side for “tails.” There were various people, objects, and shapes, to fill a jewelry box and entertain a child for hours.

I was particularly fascinated by the engraved “tokens.” These cast bits of metal were in the shape of a small stone or pebble or a coin.

Some were engraved with just one word such as “Faith,” “Peace,” “Love,” or “Courage.” One of the slightly larger tokens with larger letters boldly reads “Hope.” A coin shaped token had a heart shaped hole and the words “you are loved.”

What a brilliant idea from the artisans of Danforth. I thought about the power of carrying these small tokens of encouragement around like pocket change.

In times of trouble or discouragement, one could reach into their pocket and read the words cast in a bit of shiny metal and be reminded of the greater power of God’s love.

You Are Loved — He Made You. Before you were born, before you spoke your first word or drew your first breath, you were already the purpose and plan of a loving God.

The Psalmist marveled at this same truth: “For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made” (Psalm 139:13-14).

A pewter token is shaped by a craftsman’s hand, poured hot into a mold and cooled into something meant to last.

You were shaped with far greater intention than that — not mass-produced, not an afterthought, but formed on purpose, by a Maker who does not make mistakes.

You Are Loved — He Cares for You. It is one thing to be made; it is another to be watched over. The same God who formed you continues to care for you, moment by moment, day after day.

The Lord declared His love for Israel: “Since you were precious in My sight, You have been honored, And I have loved you…” (Isaiah 43:4).

“Yes, I have loved you with an everlasting love; Therefore with lovingkindness I have drawn you” (Jeremiah 31:3). His words apply to all who belong to Him.

Jesus put it plainly to a crowd anxious about their daily needs: “Are not five sparrows sold for two copper coins? And not one of them is forgotten before God. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows” (Luke 12:6-7).

Peter, writing to believers scattered and afraid, offered the same invitation: “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Not one detail of your life — not one sparrow, not one hair — falls outside His notice. Such is how much you are loved.

You Are Loved — He Died for You. This is the love that costs the most, and therefore proves the most. It is a common thing to love those who love us back; it is another thing entirely to lay down a life for someone who has offered nothing in return.

Jesus told his disciples “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends” (John 15:13).

Paul described it this way: “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). This was not a love of debt, paid because it was owed. His love for you was a gift, poured out while you were still turned away from Him.

Like the coin-shaped token with a heart cut through it, the shape of that love is a wound — and it was cut open on purpose, for you.

You Are Loved — He Will Give You Eternal Life. The love that made you and the love that died for you does not end at the grave. It reaches forward, promising a future a Woodstock shop window cannot hold and a pocket cannot carry forever.

“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). You have heard it so much that you may not have really thought about how it applied to you.

Recognize that you are included in John 3:16 and it says this about you: For God so loved you that He gave His only begotten Son, that if you believe in Him you should not perish but have everlasting life.

A pewter token can be lost, given away, or worn smooth by years of handling. But this promise does not wear thin. It is the one possession that outlasts the pocket it is carried in.

I did not leave Danforth Pewter that afternoon without a small parting purchase — a coin with a heart-shaped hole, and three simple words stamped across it.

It sits now in my pocket, a small weight of metal quietly reminding me. Without needing to explain itself twice, of something true whether or not I feel it on a particular day.

By His Word you can know and have faith that you are loved. “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him” (1 John 4:16).

And when you know you are loved, you love in return. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). “Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

The words on that token are not a passing sentiment. They are a small reminder of the gospel, small enough to hold in one’s hand.

He made you. He cares for you. He died for you. He will give you eternal life.

You are loved — not because of the metal, but because of the love, the metal was made to remember for you.

08/22/2026

My name is Richard Henry Lee; Virginia is my home
My name is Richard Henry Lee; Virginia is my home
And may horses turn to glue if I can’t deliver
Unto you a resolution on independency!

For I am FFV, the first family
In the sovereign colony of Virginia
Yes the FFV, the oldest family
in the oldest colony in America
And may the British burn my land if I can’t deliver
To your hand a resolution on independency!

You see it’s here-a-Lee, there-a-Lee
And everywhere-a-Lee-a-Lee
…
Sherman Edwards, 1776, “Lees of Old Virginia”

I have immensely enjoyed this US Semiquincentennial summer. July 4, 2026 was our country’s 250th Independence Day. My joy was not limited to one day, but extended throughout the summer. I got to play Richard Henry Lee in Sherman Edwards’ musical 1776 in the Richmond Civic Theatre.

Lee played a significant role in the founding of the country. In August 1774, Mr. Lee was chosen as a delegate from Virginia to the First Continental Congress. For a year, he advocated independence from Britain. The Virginia Convention in May 1776 instructed its delegates to propose independence in the Second Continental Congress.

On June 7th, 1776, Lee presented a resolution: “Resolved, That these United Colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states, that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown, and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally dissolved.”

Playing Lee in 1776, I got to reenact this historical moment and repeat this resolution, word for word, on stage before the Congress. John Adams seconded the motion. Congress deferred action on the resolution for three weeks, in order that more definite instructions might be received from the middle colonies on how they should respond.

Lee was called back home with his wife falling ill. Thomas Jefferson was appointed in Lee’s place as chairman of the committee to draft a Declaration of Independence. The task of defending Lee’s motion fell on Adams, who had seconded it.

Adams regarded Lee as a pivotal figure during the American Revolution. He highlighted Lee’s strong advocacy for independence, which played a crucial role in shaping the revolutionary movement and noted his significant contributions to the Continental Congress, particularly in endorsing the Declaration of Independence.

After independence from Britain was won, Lee was one of the 14 men who served as President of the Congress Assembled (Confederation Congress) serving from 1784-1785.

Under the second U.S. Constitution during the Washington administration, Lee served as a United States Senator from Virginia from March 4, 1789 to October 8, 1792. In 1792, he resigned from Congress due to his failing health and retired from public life. Lee died on June 19, 1794, at the age of 62.

We generally know very little about the lives and sacrifice of those who were responsible for the founding of this country. Fifty-six men signed the Declaration of Independence in July of 1776.

Its final words reflected the serious endeavor they were undertaking: “And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our lives, our fortunes, and our sacred honor.”

In 1781, Dr. Benjamin Rush, one of those signers, described his memory of that day to co-signer and future U.S. President John Adams, “Do you recollect the pensive and awful silence which pervaded the House when we were called up, one after another, to the table of the President of Congress to subscribe to what was believed by many at the time to be our death warrants?”

Adams told the new generation: “You will never know how much it cost the present [my] generation to preserve your freedom. I hope you will make good use of it.”

The signers faced great personal sacrifice, including: five were captured and imprisoned; seventeen had their homes destroyed; seventeen lost their fortunes; nine actually lost their lives.

I have thought a great deal, this summer, about that “pensive and awful silence”. Fifty-six men filed forward, one by one, to put their names to a document they believed might be their death warrant.

A commitment is only as real as what it costs you. The signers did not offer their lives, fortunes, and sacred honor as a figure of speech. They offered them as collateral. It is easy to speak of commitment in words that cost nothing. A vow tested by nothing is not yet a vow at all.

King David understood this when he refused a threshing floor offered to him free, insisting on paying full price: “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God with that which costs me nothing” (2 Samuel 24:24). True commitment is not in the saying but in what you are willing to sacrifice for it.

Courage is not the absence of fear, but action taken inside it. These were not men without dread. They understood exactly what a hangman’s rope for treason meant. Yet they signed anyway. God never asks you to feel nothing; but to act rightly regardless of what you feel.

The Lord charged Joshua on the edge of the Jordan: “Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9).

Whatever mountain you face, the lesson is the same. Courage is action performed in the presence of trembling, not its absence.

Sacred honor outlasts fortune. Seventeen men lost their material wealth for the cause; nine lost their lives. Yet what they pledged last was first in importance, their sacred honor. Houses can be rebuilt. Fortunes can be remade. But integrity, once surrendered, is not so easily recovered.

Likewise Solomon said: “A good name is to be chosen rather than great riches, loving favor rather than silver and gold” (Proverbs 22:1). They staked their reputations and their word on a promise larger than themselves, understanding that a life without honor is a poverty no property can cure.

Providence, not certainty, was their foundation. They did not pledge their lives with a guarantee of victory. They pledged “with a firm reliance on the protection of Divine Providence”.

They trusted in the Lord for an outcome they could not see, control, or predict. So should you. “Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

Quietly doing one’s duty matters so much more than the grand gesture. We have heard of Jefferson’s pen and Adams’ defense of Lee’s resolution in Congress. But few know that Lee gave up his chairmanship, the spotlight and a more prominent place in history to return home to care for his sick wife.

Jesus condemned those who “all their works they do to be seen by men”. He urged you to do your works “in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.” (Matthew 23:5; 6:1-4) Your most sacred honor is spent caring for and helping others, unseen, uncelebrated, not seeking to be seen and praised.

Standing on stage this summer, speaking Lee’s resolution word for word, I felt the weight those men must have carried.

Peter carried that weight to follow Jesus “See, we have left all and followed You.” (Mark 10:28)

Paul said, “I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ.” (Philippians 3:8).

Are you willing to pledge your life, your fortune, and your sacred honor to follow Jesus? It is worth the cost.

08/17/2026

Naaman was a great man but, the scriptures say he was a l***r.
Leprosy was nothing to play with. Leprosy is a slowly progressing, chronically infectious, incurable skin disease, that is characterized by skin sores and scabs and bright shining spots beneath the skin. A circular spot would appear and after a time the spot would blotch and become white.

The hair of the head, the scalp, the eye lashes and eye brows would fall out,. the nails would loosen and decay, shrink up and fall off.

Joint after joint of the fingers and toes would dismantle themselves. The gums and the teeth would be absorbed and disappear. The nose and the eyes and the tongue would slowly be consumed. And the one with leprosy would be a walking co**se.

Anybody who saw a l***r was afraid of him. And for the safety of others who could be contaminated, the l***r would have to cry out, “Unclean, unclean.” And a l***r had a hard way to go. He had to be isolated and ostracized.

But the most disturbing thing about leprosy was there was no earthly cure. Every once there is a some disease that has no earthly cure.

We get so beside ourselves that we think we ought to be able to do anything, because we fix everything that gets wrong with us. But there dread plagues to remind us that He is still God and there are some things only God can fix.

Despite this simple and obvious fact, people still want to tell God how to do things. They want to change God’s plans, instructions and commands. Sometimes men do this by subtraction, sometimes by addition, but most often by substitution. You see most believe they can provide substitutes for what God commanded and still be believing and obeying God.

So many feel that man can find “better” and “greater” substitutes for God’s commands. Naaman’s story tells us substitutes are no substitute for simple submission and if we are going to think like God thinks, then we will not settle for substitutes.

Join me in this message.

08/16/2026

As I sit here on Saturday morning dark clouds have filled the sky, thunder rumbles in the distance, and a light rain is falling. With the Whitewater River well over flood stage as it races through the valley. And, I am filled with concern.

Wednesday afternoon, Chris and I drove north up Interstate 69 through a torrential downpour to Ft. Wayne. I was there to preach at the North church of Christ congregation. By the time we arrived at about 3 pm, the rain was light.

A short time later, we heard news about the predicted flooding in southeastern Indiana from the record breaking rainfall up to 11 inches within 24 hours.

The Whitewater River which runs through Connersville was expected to rise above its 18-foot flood stage and go as high as 23 to 24 feet. This rainfall was going to produce a record 1 in 1,000 years event. Yet we could not imagine what this really meant.

We got on the road back home to Connersville at about 8:45. We were already seeing pictures posted of flooding in New Castle, Cambridge City and in Connersville.

We kept driving south thinking we should be able to avoid the areas of flooding by staying on state roads to get home safely.

We were good down to Muncie. I decided that we should be able to go south down State Road 3 through New Castle to get south then east towards Connersville. But north of New Castle, SR 3 was blocked for high water.

We drove east attempting several county roads south. It was a dark night with rain still drizzling down. Driving down a dark road and seeing water running over the road ahead, is a frightening sight. We kept having to turn around and reroute because of water flooding across the roads.

We attempted to go south at SR 1, but at Hagerstown a train was stopped on the tracks blocking the road due to flooding washing out the gravel under the tracks.

We went further east on SR 38 and turned south at Greens Fork and finally got to Highway 40. To the west towards Pennville and Cambridge City we could see the red tail lights of a line of cars in the distance that did not appear to be moving.

I decided to get to Connersville, I had to go further east to Richmond, turn south on 27 down to Liberty then back west on 44 to Connersville.

When we got to Connersville, the 5th Street bridge, the main bridge across the Whitewater River, was closed.

The river had overflowed its banks on either side of the bridge flooding the streets and the buildings, a gas station, a dollar store, a hardware store, restaurants and many homes.

We went south to Veterans Memorial Drive bridge hoping to cross. But it was closed also.

The water had flowed over the banks and into the fields west of the river rapidly running over the road for a distance of about 50 yards. We ended up staying with a friend who lived east of the river just off of Veterans, getting settled down at 1:30 AM.

Thursday morning we walked down to the Veterans bridge. The water raged under the bridge with a low dull roar. A large tree leaned up against the bridge and hung over the road.

The force of the water running across the road west of the bridge had torn up the road. We still could not get home to our house just a couple minutes across the flood waters.

It was about 11 AM when we took SR 1 south all the way to Brookville. We tried going west on 52 through Metamora but again water across the road just west of Metamora blocked our travel further west.

We turned back south towards Oldenburg to get on Interstate 74. We drove west to Greensburg then SR 3 north to Rushville and finally arrived home at 3:15 PM exhausted.

I heard a preacher, Bob Hines, tell of a fellow who when he was a young man survived a flood. As he grew older he loved to brag to people about how big that flood was. He told the story often to anyone who would listen.

Finally, a friend who had the story so often told the braggart that he hoped to be there in heaven with him when he told his story about his big flood to Noah. He wanted the braggart to hear from Noah about a really big flood.

With apologies to Noah, who saw a really big flood, I wanted to tell my flood story. I don’t want to brag, I just want to preserve my story for my grandchildren and reflect on the lessons I have thought about over the last two days through this dramatic event.

In the words of the Scottish poet, Robert Burns, “The best-laid schemes o’ mice an’ men, Gang aft a-gley….” The best-laid schemes of mice and men, Go oft awry.

You can make your plans, but things will not always go the way you plan. Solomon warns us “Without counsel, plans go awry, But in the multitude of counselors they are established.” (Proverbs 15:22)

The easy 2 hour drive home I planned, turned into a 2 day ordeal and unexpected adventure.

Regardless of my plans or the eventual outcome, my way was always under the Lord’s providential care. “A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps.” (Proverbs 16:9) And, “There are many plans in a man’s heart, Nevertheless the LORD’s counsel—that will stand.” (Proverbs 19:21)

Through the dark night, despite the dangerous dark rising flood waters and all of the obstacles in our way, the Lord protected us and took care of us. David described the Lord’s protection of His people even through a flood of troubles.

“For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him.” (Psalm 32:6)

The Lord through His prophet Isaiah promised to be with His people when the rivers rise.

“But now, thus says the LORD, who created you, O Jacob, And He who formed you, O Israel: ‘Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; You are Mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow you.’” (Isaiah 43:1-2)

Through all his sufferings, Job thanked the Lord for His care. “You have granted me life and favor, And Your care has preserved my spirit.” (Job 10:12) “When my father and my mother forsake me, Then the LORD will take care of me.” (Psalm 27:10)

While the Lord has protected and cared for me through this flood, some have suffered tremendous and tragic destruction of their property and even the total loss of their homes.

Show your gratitude to the Lord your blessings by helping those in need. “But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16)

Connersville Church of Christ

09/07/2026

09/06/2026

08/31/2026

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