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Introduction: When Summer arrives and vacation trips begin, the risk of death by drowning, auto or off road vehicle accident increases. When we consider that Death can come at any time (Heb. 9:27), there is NO time for a Christian to take a vacation from being a Christian!!

A. That a Christian does not need to spend some time away from the regular routine of life and have a change of pace. (All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy).

B. But the point is: A sincere Christian will be concerned with the Lord’s business, no matter where he is or whether he is around people who know him or not.

1. His morals, spiritual life & personal devotion must remain faithful to God to be pleasing to Him.

2. Some people move from one locale to another and take a permanent vacation from the Lord’s work (Bob & Charlene Howard’s move to Montana).

C. Joseph in Egypt (Gen. 38-50).

D. Our military personnel, in their moves to various locales, have the challenge of being faithful to the Lord. They can be great help in the church or they can go astray.

A. Article: Goodbye God, I’m going fishing.

1. We are to be "in season, out of season" (II Tim 4:2).

B. Our constant efforts are needed all the year.

A. Time spent with our spouse and dependant children.

B. Time spent with our parents and grown children.

C. We can see the needs of others. Often we live in a small circle of people and never realize the needs and problems of others.

D. Sometimes we think of the church in regard to its strength in our locale. A trip into other areas will prove quite revealing.

1. It can help us appreciate the home congregation and help us appreciate what other congregations are doing in their work.

2. We can pick up some ideas that might help us in our work for the Lord.

A. Family can be together for worship and study (Eph. 6:1-4).

B. It can help us to realize the importance of our example (Matt. 5:16; I Tim. 4:12-16).

1. Article: The Day We Fired The Preacher.

C. It is a time to remember the work of our home church must go on when we are away. We should leave our contribution and not be tempted to spend the Lord’s money on ourselves.

D. The Lord will be with us and is aware of us wherever we are (Psalm 139:7-10; I Peter 3:10-12).

E. We must soon leave this life because our lifespan can be very short (James 4:13,14; Psalm 90:10-12).

F. Are we ready to meet the Lord when He comes again? (II Thes. 1:3-10).

We are entering a very dangerous season for Christians. This is the time of year that the great outdoors calls all people, and Christians are no different than other people in this respect. This is the time of year that we think of fishing, boating, golfing, little league ball, yard work and just plain loafing. The desire to head for our favorite picnic spot and spend the day in the sun is overpowering. If we allow our desires to guide us, we will end up at the lake instead of the worship services on Sunday morning and evening.

Those who profess to be Christians must not allow Satan to lead them into thinking that this is all right because of the season. We all enjoy the great outdoors, but there are times when we must think first of our love for Christ and His Church and put first things first in our lives. Worshiping together with Christian friends should be the most joyful thing that we can do. So, let us not bid goodbye to God at this season, but let us increase our love by attending worship services every week.

Stanley E. Neeley

I am not certain how long he had worked with the congregation before the members began to notice. Surely, he must have been on his best behavior for at least a few months.

Some members believe the first time they noticed it was the night he failed to appear for the scheduled personal work activities. The next day he explained to a fellow member that one of his neighbors had invited him to a high school basketball game. "I knew you could carry on without me," he said with a disarming smile.

The date he missed the first Wednesday evening Bible study is a matter of dispute. Some claim one date and some another. But all agreed that he failed to attend a number of times. Not that he ever failed to provide a teacher; it was just that, well, people kind of expect the preacher to be at Bible study. One member recalled his explanation: "I had a job left from our remodeling to get done at home," he said, "It wasn’t much, but it was bothering the wife."

Then it was a Sunday evening service he missed. Of this date the members have no doubt. You see, just the week before he had spoken of fellowship. "The fact of the matter is," he explained to the members who were concerned that perhaps some sickness or tragedy had befallen him, "since there was a guest speaker, and since the whole family was at home for once; I decided to take some time out with them. Besides that, I was really tired and probably wouldn’t have gotten much out of the service anyway."

The whole issue came to a head the Sunday morning he failed to appear for the service. The members learned later that on the spur of the moment he had decided to go fishing because not a lot of good fishing days were left. Well, that was the straw that broke the camel’s back, or more accurately, the back of the members. Impassioned pleas were now being made to "fire the preacher! He doesn’t even know what membership in the church means," was the cry of one member. "He has no concept of the importance of the church," said another.

Perhaps the secretary summed it all up in the best possible manner when she recorded in the church notes: "The decision has been made to dismiss our present preacher. It is clear that he cannot be a minister here if he insists on acting just like the members."

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