We are having a one day Revival next Sunday, February 17^th ! Rev. Duncan Blackwell will preach at both the morning and evening services. Please be in prayer for the services, and then invite someone to come along join you in attending the revival.

Also, the regular fellowship dinner will be held after the morning services. As always visitors need not bring anything for it. There is always plenty of food, and we want you to join us as our guests.

In an effort to provide full disclosure, I must say that I wasn’t at church Sunday, so the following report is based on accounts by two unnamed sources.

This Sunday, the church was privileged to hear Yashna, co-leader of our youth group, give her testimony. Yashna grew up in Nepal in a culture that centered around the Hindu religion. She had never heard the gospel message, nor had she even heard about Jesus, before attending church services with a friend in Ada, Oklahoma. In fact, Yashna didn’t speak English before coming to America to attend ECU in Ada, 3 years ago.

Very soon after she fi rst heard about Jesus in that church service, she accepted Him as her Lord and Savior. Not only has she not looked back since that day, Yashna has continued to grow and mature in her Christian faith. She plans to graduate this spring with a degree in accounting from East Central University, but she says she is a Christian fi rst and an accountant second, not the other way around.

Rev. Brown’s sermon was titled “Don’t Be Silent” and was based on Psalm 32. This is not a report of his sermon, but after reading the psalm and the commentary that went with it, I’ll share the following points.

David writes that when he refused to confess his sin he was in great misery. The Lord’s hand of discipline was upon him, and even his strength was evaporating.

Finally, he broke his silence, quit trying to hide his guilt, and confessed his rebellion to God. God, in his love and grace, forgave him and David was free of his guilt. His relationship with God has been restored. He has a hiding place in God, and he is surrounded by songs of victory. God is guiding, advising, and watching over him.

Now that David is free from the misery of unconfessed sin, he wants to shout for joy. He advises that even the Godly who are remaining in the wretchedness of sin and refusing to confess it to God and to ask for forgiveness to follow his own example.

For anyone who will trust in the Lord, their lives will be changed from sorrow to being surrounded by the Lord’s unfailing love. Gladness will replace the misery of unrepented sin, and once their hearts are purified, they, too, will want to shout for joy.