OLD ROUTE 13, MARION, IL 62959 Phone: 618-751-9632
Pastor Keith Rankin
Dear Friend,
Are you looking to attend a church in the Southern Illinois, Marion area?Marion, Illinois area?
It can be an overwhelming task, especially where you have so many choices of congregations.

Let me briefly introduce our Church, THAT IS WORTH your earnest consideration ...

  1. First, we are Biblically Based.
    We believe in the inspiration and infallibility of the Bible. Our priority is placed upon the teaching and preaching of the Scriptures. Nothing else can change a person like the Bible can, and so we refuse to make it our second priority.
  2. Second, we are a Loving Place to Worship. You will be hard pressed to find a group of people who care about the Lord, care for one another, and who will care for you like our congregation does.
  3. Third, we are an Active Congregation. You will find us doing more than just sitting.
    We will be ... working ... praying ... serving ... giving ... visiting ... singing ... worshipping.  
  4. Fourth, we are a Small but Growing Group.
    We are small enough to know who you are and to minister to you. This does not mean that we are satisfied with our size ... we want to continue to grow! We are searching for like-minded people to join us.

If these things have sparked your interest, we invite you to visit us.

Bring your Bible. We use the KJV

... I will be looking for you

Sincerely,
Pastor Keith Rankin




WE BELIEVE IN:

The Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
The Diety and virgin birth of Christ
The total depravity of all sinners
The blood atonement of Christ on the cross
The literal, bodily resurrection of Christ
The future pre-Tribulation rapture of the Church
A literal Heaven and Hell
goose flying
YOU'RE FLYING
IN FORMATION,
BUT
YOUR HONKING
IS ALL WRONG!
Finishing my coffee, I took the last swallow, when over the tree tops I heard the familiar sound of a honking goose.

I raised my head just fast enough to see a beautiful V formation of Canadian geese.

It was thrilling to see eight birds, 200 pounds of combined mass, gracefully pass over me, all held in the sky by a few pounds of feathers.

As I though about this, I was curious. Why were they honking?

After a little research (and I confess that I am no expert),  I found out that it all has to do with in-flight communication.

Through honking geese communicate with each other ... things like their flying formation and speed.

I also learned the goose in the back of the pack, is far from being the weakest of the formation, for it through honking communicates as to how the others in front are doing!

In this manner, the goose in the back, helps to keep the flock in perfect V formation.

On top of that ... these graceful creatures change places depending on the needs of one another so that one does not have to lead all the time.  Smart.

Now Christians could learn a lot from a formation of flying geese.

Sometimes the wrong guy is doing the honking.  Instead of being quiet and listening he is blabbering.

 At other times the fellow in front just isn't listening to the fellow in the back.  

And much of the time "we all" are just are not listening to one another.

Or, we say the wrong thing, or we say the right thing at the wrong time.

Soon,  all of us are in disarray.

We are in church, in formation as it were, but our "honk" is all wrong. Instead of worship we get confusion. Stupid.

Here is a verse to think about ...

James 1:19, "Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak ...."