In the children’s classic, Alice in Wonderland, Alice came to a fork in the road where she met the Cheshire Cat.

"Which way should I go?" she asked.
"Where do you want to go?” responded the cat.
Alice said, "I don't know."
"Well, if you don't know where you are going, then one road is as good as another," declared the cat.

Which way do YOU  want to go?

That seems to be one of the perplexing issues that plagues the world today. People don't know where they want to go. The result is that many are adrift going where the tide of life takes them. Others have bought into a lifestyle that costs a lot of time and resources - the acquisition of material possessions, prestige, power or fame – without really contemplating the consequences of such a decision. Still others just try to be unique, not caring if their life really matters as long as they walk to the beat of a different drummer.

What is clear... is that the Bible shows that there are only TWO paths that one can take. One leads to eternal life – along the narrow road with only a few willing to take that road. While the other leads to destruction – along the broad road that is traveled by many.

You may be like Alice and really don't have an idea of where you want to go. Let me make a suggestion. Take the path that leads to God! Heaven will be your reward, life here on earth will be more fulfilling, and peace that is beyond understanding will fill your life. This path is made possible and is clearly marked by the life and blood of the Son of God, for He ALONE leads you in the paths of righteousness.

The path that Jesus has made available is one that brings the abundant life NOW and eternal life to come.  The gate is open to those who believe in Him (Acts 16:31), repent of their sins (2 Corinthians 7:10), are baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins (Acts 2:38), AND put Him first in their lives by walking faithfully along the road that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14).

Yes, if you don't know where you are going, one road may SEEM as good as another, BUT the end of those roads are an eternity apart!

Won’t you choose the road that leads to life? (click here)

God bless you!

Source: Sid Dye / David A. Sargent Church of Christ at Creekwood 

A young lady named Sally relates an experience she had in a class given by her teacher, Dr. Smith.  Dr. Smith was known for his elaborate object lessons, and on this particular day, Sally walked in the classroom and saw a big target on the wall and on a nearby table were many darts.  Dr. Smith told the students to draw a picture of someone that they disliked or someone who had made them angry, and he would allow them to throw darts at the person's picture. Sally's girlfriend drew a picture of a girl who had stolen her boyfriend.  Another friend drew a picture of his little brother.  Sally drew a picture of a former friend, putting a great deal of detail into her drawing, even drawing pimples on the face.  Sally was pleased at the overall effect she had achieved.

The class lined up and began throwing darts, with much laughter and fun.  Some of the students threw their darts with such force that their targets were ripping apart.  Sally looked forward to her turn, and was filled with disappointment when Dr. Smith, because of time limits, asked the students to return to their seats.  As Sally sat thinking about how angry she was because she didn't have a chance to throw any darts at her target, Dr. Smith began removing the target from the wall. Underneath the target was a picture of Jesus!  A hush fell over the room as each student viewed the mangled picture of Jesus; holes and jagged marks covered His face and His eyes were pierced.  Dr. Smith quoted only these words (the words of Jesus), "Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me" (Matthew 25:40).  No other words were necessary.  The tear-filled eyes of each student focused only on the picture of Christ.

As you visualize that marred picture of Christ, consider the following…
With the release of Mel Gibson’s movie, The Passion of the Christ, there is a
question that has been debated: 

                                  "WHO ACTUALLY KILLED JESUS?"  

History, both biblical and non-biblical, declares that some JEWS were involved (see Matthew 27:1ff).  ROMANS, like Pontius Pilate, were also involved (see Mark 15:15). However, the Bible teaches that actually every HUMAN BEING (is) responsible for the death of Christ!  How?  Because it was for OUR sins that Jesus was crucified!  
"He Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness; by whose stripes (wounds) you were healed" (1 Peter 2:24).  ALL of us have "thrown the darts" that have wounded and killed the Son of God...  for "ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23).

THE GOOD NEWS … is that Jesus died on the cross so that each of us can be forgiven
of our sins.  Those who place their trust in Him (Hebrews 11:6), repent of sin
(2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confess Jesus (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38), are forgiven of past sins.  Then as we walk in the light of God’s Word, the blood of Jesus continues to cleanse us from sin (1 John 1:7).

My fellow dart-thrower, will YOU not accept Christ on His terms?

Source: David A. Sargent, Minister--- Church of Christ at Creekwood 

“ICU.”  Many instantly recognize those letters and know that they stand for “Intensive Care Unit.”  And many – if not most – have either spent time in ICU or have waited on friends and loved ones who need the specialized medical care found in this unit of the hospital.

Turn your attention for a moment to the waiting room where friends and family wait for news of the well-being of their loved one.  Consider the insights of Wes Seelinger in his experience in the ICU waiting room:

“I have spent long hours in the intensive care waiting room … watching with anguished people … listening to urgent questions: ‘Will my husband make it?  Will my child walk again?  How do you live without your companion of thirty years?’

“The intensive care waiting room is different from any other place in the world ...  and the people who wait are different. They can’t do enough for each other.  No one is rude.  The distinctions of race and class melt away.  A person is a father first, a black man second.  The garbage man loves his wife as much as the university professor loves his.  Everyone knows that loving someone else is what life is all about.”

This is true, whether or not you are in the ICU waiting room!  Jesus was asked, “Which is the greatest commandment?” He answered: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 22:34-39).  Life is all about loving God and loving others; that’s the way God designed it.

“We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19).  “In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.  In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10).  God loves us so much that He wants to save us and add us to His eternal family to live with Him forever in heaven.  

His eternal family is the church – God’s ICU, HIS Intensive Care Unit!

You can be saved from your sins and added to God’s family (Acts 2:41,47) 
by believing in Jesus (Acts 16:30-31), turning from your sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confessing Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and being baptized (immersed) in Jesus’ name for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38).  

God provides special care in His ICU, the church.  Won’t YOU submit to Him and become a part of His eternal family today?

Source: David A. Sargent, Minister--Church of Christ at Creekwood

Cancer!  This very word brings such a broad range of emotions to those who hear it: sadness, despair, disappointment, and the list goes on.  One would be hard-pressed to find a family that has not been affected by this terrible disease.

Yet, as the following poem written by an unknown author reminds us, cancer is still very limited:

Cancer Is So Limited...

It cannot cripple LOVE, It cannot shatter HOPE,
It cannot corrode FAITH, It cannot eat away PEACE,
It cannot destroy CONFIDENCE, It cannot kill FRIENDSHIP,
It cannot shout out MEMORIES, It cannot silence COURAGE,
It cannot invade the SOUL, It cannot reduce ETERNAL LIFE,
It cannot quench the SPIRIT, 
It cannot lessen the power of the RESURRECTION!

Because of JESUS, cancer does NOT have the last word!  Because of Jesus, ANY disease – and even death itself – are not the FINAL chapters of our lives. The Apostle Peter wrote the following words of assurance to some suffering Christians: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for YOU" (1 Peter 1:3-4).

This IS the hope of the Christian, and this hope can be yours –IF– you will 
place your trust in God (Hebrews 11:6), repent of sin (2 Corinthians 7:9-10), confess Jesus before others (Romans 10:9-10), be baptized (immersed) for the forgiveness of sin (Acts 2:38), AND cling to that living hope that Christ offers - through your continued, faithful obedience (1 John 1:7).

HEAR the words of the Apostle Paul; "For I am convinced that neither death, 
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor ANY other created thing, will be able to separate 
us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38-39).

Cancer CANNOT touch the hope that Christ brings!  Cancer CANNOT tarnish the inheritance of the faithful child of God.

Will YOU not TRUST and OBEY so that this hope can be YOURS?

Source : Pastor David A. Sargent-- Church of Christ at Creekwood

Just what is meant when it is said of someone, “He/she is a Christian”?  What does 
the term “Christian” really mean?  The word Christian is first used in Acts 11:26 
of the Bible. It says: "And the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch."

In defining what Christian means, notice that it was the "disciples" of Christ who were first called  “Christians.”  The word “disciple” means “learner,” “pupil,” or “student ” and is closely related to the word "discipline."  It is the task of the disciple to learn, study, obey, and pass along the teachings of the teacher.  Those called  Christians were FIRST "disciples"  -- students, learners -- of Christ. 

They were NOT just "believers" but FOLLOWERS of Christ! 
The disciples understood that in order for Jesus to be their SAVIOR, He must 
ALSO be LORD of their lives! 

What does the word “LORD” mean?  It means master or ruler. The term Lord 
has two parts:  1) His authority and 2) one’s obedience to His authority.  Jesus once asked, “But why do you call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do NOT do the things which I say?" (Luke 6:46).

How do we OBEY Christ the Lord? We OBEY Him when we DO what He commands. Listen to His words: "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who DOES the will of My Father in heaven. 
(Matthew 7:21)

What is the will of the Father?  His will is communicated to us through His inspired Word, the Bible. (2 Timothy 3:16)

How do we come to KNOW His will?  By reading His Word!  We CANNOT obey or follow what we do NOT know…."For ‘whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved.’  How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?  And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?  And how shall they hear without a preacher?  And how shall they preach unless they are sent?  As it is written: ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!’  (Romans 10:13-15).

Pay careful attention to what Paul goes on to say in the NEXT verse:

"But they have NOT all OBEYED THE GOSPEL.  For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’  So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:16-17).

What is the GOSPEL which is to believed AND OBEYED?

THE GOSPEL IS:  the DEATH, BURIAL and RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ. (1Corinthians 15:1-4)

AND-- There is a "real life application” of THIS gospel message for the believer. 
Believers are to “reenact” these events (death, burial, resurrection) by their repentance (a death to sin), baptism (a burial), and being raised to walk in 
"newness of life" (a resurrection) by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 6:3-4)

BELIEVERS become FOLLOWERS – who are called  CHRISTIANS!

A Christian then continues to follow Christ as Lord - living a life where His Word is honored! (1 John 1:6-7)

Source from: Pastor David A. Sargent --the outreach publication of church of Christ at Creekwood

Naaman was a very successful man.  He was commander of the Syrian army, a great and honorable man in the eyes of his king, a victorious general, and a mighty man of valor.  But, he had a terrible disease:  leprosy.  Please read 2 Kings 5:1-14 concerning Naaman.

Naaman learned from a young Israelite slave girl that there was a prophet in Israel who could heal him of his leprosy.  As we read the account of how Naaman sought a cure for his leprosy, we may learn some valuable lessons about our own need for cleansing from an even greater malady than leprosy, that is sin.

Naaman thought his healing could be purchased.  When the King of Syria granted him permission to go to Israel, Naaman "took with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold, and ten changes of clothing" (2 Kings 5:5).  Apparently he thought he could pay someone in Israel to heal him.

Like Naaman, we cannot purchase our cleansing from sin.  However, a price must be paid for our redemption, but not with "corruptible things, like silver or gold” (1 Peter 1:18).  Christ paid the price for our redemption on the cross.  The Apostle Peter states that Christians have been redeemed “with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot" (1 Peter 1:19).

Naaman had an idea about how he thought his healing would take place.  He said to himself, “He will surely come out to me, and stand and call on the name of the LORD his God, and wave his hand over the place, and heal the leprosy'" (2 Kings 5:11).  When the servant of Elisha the prophet told him to go and wash in the Jordan seven times, and his flesh would be restored and he would be clean (v. 10), he became furious. His preconceived ideas concerning his healing were wrong.

When it comes to our own cleansing from sin, we must also seek God’s instructions instead of what we might think would work.  We must not approach God’s word seeking to justify our current beliefs; rather, we must seek to know God’s will through His word, and believe His word.

Naaman tried to substitute his own terms of obedience instead of the Lord’s.  He did not want to wash in the Jordan River.  He asked, "Are not the Abanah and the Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, better than all the waters of Israel? Could I not wash in them and be clean?"  So he turned and went away in a rage" (2 Kings 5:12 NKJV).

We must never try to substitute our own doctrines in the place of the teaching of God’s word.  Only through our obedience to His commands may we ever have the blessings attached to them.

Finally, Naaman humbled himself and obeyed the Lord’s instructions.  Naaman could see no logical connection between dipping in the Jordan River and being cured of his leprosy, but he obeyed.  Obedience brought its reward:  Naaman was healed.

A penitent believer in Christ may not see the logical connection between being baptized (immersed) in water and having his sins washed away (Acts 2:38; 22:16).  Certainly, as in the case of Naaman, it is not the water that saves.  It is God who saves us, when we obey Him.  Obedience has its reward:  the cleansing of our sins.

Will you obey?

God bless you.

David A. Sargent, Minister 

My first time to attend a World Conference! It was amaaazing! I am in awwwwe!

Me and my son was situated in the GREEN TAG! It means "we are nearer to Heaven," as one friend confided. It is true because we can see the FULL view, we can feel the VIBRATIONS! we can feel the JUMPING and SWAYING! the WAVING of hands! we can FEEL the presence of the HOLY SPIRIT!

I cried, I laughed, I shouted, I hugged, I danced, I jumped, I swayed, I spoke in T! I shaked hands with the persons seated beside and behind  me, I can feel the presence of God!

It encourage me to go out and share the GOOD NEWS! It strengten my faith that God is really working. It was a lifetime expereince! a KEEPSAKE!