A few weeks ago my wife made a meal for our family consisting of a few ingredients mixed up and poured on top of pieces chicken in the crock pot. Of course it was delicious. We were raving about it, and one of us asked, “What’s it called?” She didn’t know, but named the three main ingredients in the sauce. For some reason Three Happiness came to mind, so I said, “Let’s call it Three Happiness Chicken.” It’s made from chicken, has three ingredients, and makes us happy. (You can tell how deeply I think.) Realizing it sounded like something I had seen on a Chinese restaurant menu, I did a search, and yep, there are a zillion Chinese restaurants called Three Happiness and a million Chinese food menus with Three Happiness Chicken on them. Oh well, it’s not original, but it fit, and we will probably call it that the rest of our lives.
So this is a Three Happiness blog entry. Here are three “ingredients” of our ministry and my life that are bringing me and our church family joy.
- We’re spreading the Word. Calvary Baptist Church in Simpsonville has started broadcasting a recorded and edited version of our Sunday morning worship services. It airs on Sunday mornings at 8 on WGTK FM 94.5, a 100,000 watt station in Greenville, SC with a signal that reaches the area around us to about a 100 mile radius. The program is called Sunday Morning at Calvary. So we are able to share our musical worship and message from God’s Word with potentially thousands of people every week. People like to have noise going in their cars while driving, and often flip on the radio when they hit the road. I hope that our giving thanks to God in song and the preaching and teaching of truth may catch someone’s attention. Last Sunday a lady came to our fellowship for the first time and said she heard about us on the radio. Love it! If you care to listen, but aren’t in range, you can click the link here and listen over the Internet.
- People are getting more closely connected. This is exciting because in our study of Ephesians 4:1-16 over the summer, we learned how important it is for members of the body of Christ (Christians in the church) to remove unnecessary barriers that put distance between themselves and others, to overcome differences and resolve offenses, and to work at communicating truth to one another rather than just engaging in small talk. I’ve observed and heard about numerous examples of all of this taking place. It brings me great joy to see people unified, not just in attending an event in the same building, but in spirit, in fellowship, and in truth.
- We’re explaining the Good News. This is happening in our Good News Club at a local elementary school, in Truth Trackers on Wednesday nights, in the classrooms and parent events of Calvary Christian Preschool, and more. In just a few weeks we will have a week of evangelistic outreach led by Jeremy Frazor and his awesome team of assistants and musicians. I believe God has been preparing us to reach out and touch our community with the love of Christ like never before. Let’s live the Gospel and then explain it to whoever will listen. Jesus will draw people to Himself as we tell the story of His substitutionary death and triumphant resurrection.
My stomach was happy after that great meal, and my heart is happy when I think of the good things God is doing. I’m thankful to serve a body of believers who are growing in love for one another and in showing people the love of Christ and sharing the Good News. Happy are the people whose God is the Lord! (Psalm 144:15b)
Dean H. Taylor 