This Sunday we will be studying Mark 7:1-23, as we see what God’s Word says about “Heart Transformation.”

As you read and pray over this text, consider the following:

• Think about what Jesus says in verse 6, and ask yourself, “What are the ways in which I may be honoring God with my lips, but not my heart?”
• Thinking about verse 7, are there areas where we have taken a man-made rule and elevated to the level of Scripture?
• Read verses 18-23 very carefully. How does Proverbs 4:23 relate to what Jesus says here?
• If the rest of life flows from the heart, and our hearts are bad, how can we get new ones? See Ezekiel 36:26.
• As Christians, what are some ways that we can monitor what is happening in our hearts?

It was wonderful this past Sunday night to hear from our students, returning from camps. I am so thankful for the Student Ministry and the Children’s Ministry that we are blessed to have at First Suffolk! Our leaders are just excellent. God is using our young people to bear fruit for his glory. Thanks for your prayers and your gifts that make these excellent ministries possible.

This past weekend we also celebrated our nation’s freedom. What a blessing to see all the active duty and veterans standing this past Sunday! Let us thank God for our military, and faithfully pray for service men and women, and their families. As Romans 13 says, they are “God’s servants for our good.”

The horrible terrorist bombings around the world in the past weeks and months are just another reminder that this is not the kind of world God created, nor is it the kind of world he will recreate when our Savior comes again.

We are talking quite a bit about that “blessed hope” in our study of 1-2 Thessalonians on Wednesday nights. Come on out and be encouraged. God has a plan, for now and the future – for the world, and for you.

I’ll see you this Sunday!

Dr. Thurman Hayes, Jr.