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These Are Your Lectures
Welcome to the 35th annual Southside Lectures! We have looked forward to this week since the closing prayer of last year’s event. The lectures have long been a special time for us, one filled with powerful preaching, spirited singing, and dignified worship. Your presence here encourages us because it indicates your interest in being a part of these same activities.
No matter who you are, the lectures are for you. It is up to you, then, to make the most of them.
To our members: Remember, these are the Southside Lectures. That means they are first and foremost for the Southside church. The theme “I Am Not Ashamed of the Gospel” was specifically chosen to fit our focus this year of “Each Day I’ll Do.” While we have been busy over the last few months inviting our friends, coworkers, and neighbors to hear the timeless truths that will be presented this week, let’s be certain that we are here as much as we possibly can be. Can you imagine if someone you invited came and didn’t see you anywhere?
But the lectures are about more than us just having a physical presence in the building. They are about us being active and available while we are here. Come early so you can watch for visitors. Extend a warm welcome to someone who looks new. Invite another to sit on your row. Make sure young mothers know where the nursery is. Show families with young children where to find the workbooks Bunny Balmer prepared for them.
These are your lectures. Show some ownership.
To our lecture participants: David Banning, Lawrence Kelley, Buddy Payne, Gerry Sandusky, and Tim Stevens. We are honored that you have come to be a part of our work this week. Thank you for fitting us in into what we know is a busy time of year for you. Thank you for the hours of thought, study, and preparation you have already invested in order to make yourselves ready for the lectures. Please know that we have prayed for you and the opportunities you will have while you are among us. We have tried hard to set the table. We now look forward to the feast from God’s word.
In a culture where the importance of the Scriptures is being diminished or dismissed altogether, give us a ready answer for those who wonder if we need “A Different Gospel?” In a world where the traditional family and the Biblical definition of marriage is under attack, help us to not be ashamed when we read “What the Gospel Says About Marriage.” In an age where political correctness reigns and any opposition is viewed as hatred, encourage us to be “Set For the Defense of the Gospel.” And in a time when it can be very discouraging to observe the state of affairs surrounding us, remind us that we have “Hope In the Gospel.”
These are your lectures. We have invited you to come participate in this series because we are certain that you are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ.
To our visitors: We struggle to find creative ways to say, “Thank you for being here.” We just don’t want you to think that we take your presence for granted. We want you to feel warmly welcomed. We want you to come back. Our intent is to make known what we stand for, but to do so in a way that speaks “the truth in love” (Eph. 4:15).
If you have any need while you are here, please do not hesitate to call on us. We want to be of service to you in whatever way we can. If you have a question about what we do or about what you hear, please ask us. Our desire is to follow the example of the New Testament church and provide a book, chapter, and verse for what we do as the Lord’s people. If we’re not preaching the whole counsel of God, we need to know. And if you would like to study the Bible further with someone, please know that we are available. God has not only revealed His will to man, He has done so in a way that man can understand it and practice it. Not only are we unashamed of the gospel, we want to obey what the gospel says.
These are your lectures, too. Let us serve you.
The 35th annual Southside Lectures will last for four days, Lord willing. But the things we will engage in this week carry eternal implications. If we do not take them and make them our own, we have every reason to be ashamed.
