With only one month to go in this year, it hardly seems possible that 2018 is as nearly gone as it is. But I am glad for the work you have helped me to do in the last eleven months, and I am eager to close out the year in a good way.
The big news this month is that I have completely finished the “Daily Family Bible Studies” project. There are now four complete years of these studies — available on the WordPoints.com website, by email subscription, and as free PDFs that can be downloaded and printed for personal or congregational use. This project was begun many years ago, and various congregations that I have worked with have gotten bits and pieces of it, but now the whole project is complete, and I am excited about the number of people who will be able to use it for many years to come.
These studies contain weekly themes for families to discuss together. They can also be used by individuals for personal Bible study. Each week there is a theme essay on an important Bible topic, followed by five Monday-Friday studies on specific points related to the theme. With each day’s study there is a passage to read, discussion questions, and a Proverb for the day. Detailed instructions on how to use (and modify) these lessons is included in the Preface.
The PDFs are free and permission is granted to print copies of them as needed. The PDFs are available at https://wordpoints.com/daily-family-bible-studies/ — readers can also sign up on this page to get the studies by email.
I very much look forward to being with my brethren in Meridian, Mississippi the last weekend of this month. I will preach for them on December 30, and that will close out my preaching for the year. I plan to spend a few extra days in Meridian on this trip, Lord willing, and finish out the year with some time reflecting on the past and planning the new year’s work. I always do this at the end of each year, but it will be a special treat this year to do it in Meridian.
As many of you have probably heard, I was diagnosed with prostate cancer a few weeks ago. While cancer is not something any of us want to be diagnosed with, prostate cancer is certainly one of the more treatable kinds of cancer, and I am thankful for the technology that is available to treat such things. I am working with my doctors, along with my sons and their wives, on a treatment plan and I hope to let you know about that in my next report. In any event, please know that I am determined to use each day as best I can in the work of the gospel. My desire is that the Lord be glorified and His purposes accomplished, whatever that might require in the specifics of any of our individual lives (Philippians 1:20,21).
I pray that each of you may have a profitable end of the year. Thank you, once again, for the generous way you have upheld me personally and supported the work I have tried to do in the Lord in 2018. It is a privilege for us to be involved in that work in any kind of way, and a special privilege to have such direct fellowship in it. I do not take your financial support for granted but try to use every penny in the wisest way I can. I believe some good is being done, and you are to be thanked for making it possible. Each morning I mention each of you in my prayers of gratitude to the Lord. As we all look forward to the coming year’s work, may He bless us in spreading His word to others.
In my report to you on New Year’s Day, I hope to share with you my goals in the work for 2019.
Gary Henry – WordPoints.com + AreYouaChristian.com