February 13, 2026, 3:00 PM
Greetings in Christ and Happy Friday to you!
It was sure good to be back in church at FCC this past Sunday (02.08.26)!
It's been very nice this week to finally be thawing out, as the temperatures have started to warm up outside!
I have a granddaughter on the way soon. She will be my first grandchild. My family and I are very excited. Children are a great blessing from God.
In Matthew 19:13-14 (NASB), we read: "Then some children were brought to Him so that He would lay His hands on them and pray; and the disciples rebuked them. But Jesus said, 'Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them to come to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.'"
We all have to grow up, but we also need to keep a little bit of that "little child" in us! Jesus exalts childlikeness in faith because of the openness and teachability of children.
Jesus knew that a child-like heart is critical in order for a person to be able to receive His message of salvation and grace. As we grow older, we become more resistant to the gospel. Our hearts become hardened by pride.
Therefore, friends, guard your hearts! As Proverbs 4:23 says: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it."
Someone who had a "good heart" was Mary Ann Goodlett. Mary Ann is one of our members at FCC, but has not been able to attend services for the past year. I was saddened to hear that Mary Ann passed away this morning (Friday, February 13th).
I was really glad, though, that I was able to visit and pray with her yesterday. Mary Ann is the mother of Pam Cooper and the mother-in-law of Brother Joe Cooper. While I've known Mary Ann for nearly 25 years, I've gotten to know her a lot more over the past year. Mary Ann is one of the main reasons we began doing "Home Communion" again here at FCC (this ministry stopped during COVID and never got restarted). She requested that someone bring communion to her when she became unable to attend services in person any longer. It was during these times that she and I would talk, and I would catch her up about what was going on at First Christian. Mary Ann would share some good wisdom with me, along with great stories of her and her late husband Arthur's time spent as "snowbirds" in Punta Gorda, FL. It is a time that I treasure and will not forget.
It's because of Mary Ann that I am convinced of the value of having a "Home Communion" ministry at a church. While it's important to allow home-bound folks access to taking communion, they could, in theory, do this "on their own." The real key part is the communication that takes place between the "home-bound" person and the representative from the church. This allows people who aren't physically in attendance to remain in touch and part of your church! And now, due to Mary Ann's encouragement, we have 4-5 volunteers visiting 5-6 folks each week!
Funeral services for Mary Ann Goodlett have not yet been made. We will keep you posted.
Have a great weekend. I'm looking forward to seeing you again soon -- hopefully, Sunday at FCC!
God Bless,
Greg Herriford
