These are tough days for the church. But like the previous two centuries the church will continue to be triumphant even in the darkest of times. The spirit of the anti-christ is previlent and the unrighteous are working doubly hard for the minds and souls of men. But, the gates of hell will not prevail against the church of the Lord Jesus Christ!

I had the opportunity to hear Dr. William Jenkins preach a powerful message on “The Attributes of the Overcoming Church.” The message reminded me that the Church would remain strong and triumphant because of  four points that Dr. Jenkins shared with us. These are some of the attributes of the overcoming church:

   1. They are a “dedicated” church: These are people who have dedicated themselves unto Jesus Christ and His plan and purpose for their lives above all else. They will not compromise their walk and obedience  to Christ.

  2.  They are a “directed” church: These are people who understand that God’s work must have His direction. If the early apostles needed God’s direction then how much more do we need God to direct us today.

  3.  They were a “dileberate” church: This is a church that understands we are to be dilegent about the Father’s business. We are to be dileberatly working and serving Him until the coming of the Lord.

  4.  They were a “dynamic” church: It is not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of hosts. This church understands it is not in their own abilities and strength but by “His Alone.” Like the Apostle Paul we must remember that our gospel did not come in word only but in power and much assurance through the enabling power of the Holy Spirit.

What a great message! We are the overcoming church of Jesus Christ! Dr. Jenkins will be with us in our moring worship service …hope you can make it.

Here's more by Richard Healy:

1. Give It a Decent Burial! Give It a Decent Burial!Church in Arlington Texas It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life,...

In the words of an old friend, “Happy Mother’s Day my little children.”  What a great opportunity… a chance to say thank you to the one who gave us life… our mothers. We are celebrating our mothers who brought us into this world on this special day. Most mothers are far too humble to receive the really deserved praise of motherhood. But here on this day our hats are off and our hearts are are in our hand to readily give credit where credit is due. Mom you are awsome!

Looking back over the years and watching my wife of over 40 years care for our four children… there is something God-given in the lives of these women.  This God given ability just can’t be found in their counterparts. Nuturing from day one, a mother’s intuition of a child’s need is something to behold. From the way a baby cries, that tells the mother everything they need to know from hunger to pain, to the teen ager who still doesn’t get that Mom somehow knows everything they do.  And on top of everything else, she is the example and the strength of the home. I don’t know, it’s a God-thing! Anyway, we just want to say how great we think you are Mom.

We will be celebrating with all the Connection Church moms this Sunday morning. Hope you will join with us to say a great big HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!!!

It stands to reason, doesn’t it, that if the alive-and-present God who raised Jesus from the dead moves into your life, he’ll do the same thing in you that he did in Jesus, bringing you alive to himself? When God lives and breathes in you (and he does, as surely as he did in Jesus), you are delivered from that dead life. With his Spirit living in you, your body will be as alive as Christ’s!

So don’t you see that we don’t owe this old do-it-yourself life one red cent. There’s nothing in it for us, nothing at all. The best thing to do is “give it a decent burial” and get on with your new life. God’s Spirit beckons. There are things to do and places to go! This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life! (Message Bible)

If the Spirit of God can quicken the dead lifeless body of Jesus … just think what that same Spirit can can do in bringing life to our mortal bodies! Go ahead, give the old man a decent burial. Allow the new man to live in Christ Jesus.  There’s no reason to continue tending to the grave of your former life.  Come and celebrate new life  in the resurrection power of Jesus Christ with us this “Resurrection Sunday” at The Connection Church of Arlington. See you then!

Jesus said this was a faithless and perverse generation and that as it was in the days of Noah so it shall be in the day of the coming of the Son of Man. It doesn’t take much examination to come to the conclusion that these days in which we live are indeed wayward and capricious times.

After God created man and gave him the free will to choose for himself, the scripture says that “God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” This caused God to repent that he had ever created man, and it grieved him at His heart, which provoked God to destroy mankind … “but Noah found GRACE in the eyes of the Lord.”

Noah found favor with God because he had respect for, and revered the Lord. After being warned of God about the destruction that was about to come, Noah believed God! He took God at his word that a flood of water was about to destroy the earth. Even though he had never seen or heard of such a thing. His faith was sure in God’s word.

Noah acted on what the Lord told him and built an ark. He Obeyed God! And by doing so, he saved himself and his family. By following God’s instructions salvation came to Noah’s household. God’s desire is to save you and your household. By trusting and following God’s instructions for our lives through his Word, we are still being saved today!

Noah was not contaminated by his generation. He did not partake of the perversion of his day and therefore found grace with God. We are to be separated from the evil ways of mankind. Paul admonished us to “come out from among them,” and be a separated people set aside to be a holy people of God.

Noah taught us a lot about communion with God. To have faith in God, to keep ourselves from the contamination of this world, to trust God at his word, and to procure our salvation along with that of our households. I invite you to join us this Sunday at The Connnection Church of Arlington for a special communion service. Isn’t it time that we make sure that the ark is seaworthy for these trying times in which we live?  I hope to see you there. God Bless.

For the next six weeks we will be taking the theme “Positioning Yourself for God’s Blessings.” We want to invite you to put yourself “in a position” for God to bless you. These services are geared to bless you in every way. Bring your family and friends so that we may be a blessing to you and to those you bring with you.

In every service until Christmas someone will be blessed with a hundred dollar bill just for being in the right seat during the morning worship service. But in order for you to have the opportunity to receive the hundred dollars you must “position yourself”  to be at church.

In the same way, opportunity to receive from God comes because we position ourselves to receive from him. God has so much for us if we will only place ourselves in a position to receive from him. Need a blessing? Need help? Need a miracle? Position yourself for it and God will supply it!

I hope to see you this Sunday at The Connection Church of Arlington.