Another severely wrong turn being led by the current Administration with profound negative consequences in regards to one of our most cherished freedoms as Americans – the freedom of speech, was recently approved by Congress to become law.

As we all know, laws are already firmly in place to rightly punish those who may choose to engage in unlawful activities resulting in injuries to persons or to property… “hate crimes” legislation at its core is about seeking to punish those who are perceived to be either thinking or speaking about issues, such as homosexuality or other religions (like Islam), from a negative platform.

It’s another sad day for America; many lawmakers who would publicly verbalize their support of “tolerance” are once again showing their true colors of “intolerance.”

Christians, however, should not be dismayed. Jesus said, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you…” (John 15:18-20). And Paul wrote to Timothy, “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12).

Laws contrary to Biblical mandates must not be allowed to lesson our determination or our passion to obey Christ – to be “the salt of the earth and the light of the world” (Matthew 5:13-15). As followers of Christ, we must strive to remain faithful to “speak the truth in love” (Ephesians 4:15) and when called upon, to humbly, yet courageously take a stand for that which is right while opposing that which is wrong. This is what a great host of many others have done who have gone on before us (Moses’ parents, Daniel, Esther, John the Baptist, and Paul just to name a few) when they were faced with unrighteous decrees; decrees with the intent of seeking to discourage them not to obey God in their generations.

May those who come behind us find us faithful,

Billy Dickerson

Veritas Academy enrolled 112 students this fall and now goes through the 10

th grade. There is no doubt that God has His hand of blessing upon Veritas! Please tell others about Veritas and continue to pray for God to bless this important ministry as we seek to train young Champions for Christ.

It’s a joy to be your pastor and may God continue to bless His church at Lakewood!

Sam Beman is doing an excellent job temporarily leading our youth and college ministries; he plans to “step down” at the end of the summer. Please continue to pray that God will lead us to the right individual to lead these important, vital ministries… The Family Activities Center Development Team has been hard at work. They plan to share some exciting information with the church during our next quarterly conference on August 9th.

It’s a joy to be your pastor and may God continue to bless His church at Lakewood!

Serving Christ By Serving You,
Pastor Billy
John 3:30

 This month Charles Keown completes his 27th year of ministry here at Lakewood. If you know Charles, you know he dislikes being the center of attention; however, the bottom line is Charles is one of the greatest servants of the Lord I know! He is a gifted, passionate, hard-working leader; he loves the Lord with all of his heart; he loves his family; he loves God’s people; and he has also become a very close, personal friend. Be sure to join me by expressing your love and appreciation to Charles and his dear family this month. Lakewood is blessed indeed to have the Keown’s!… This month everyone is encouraged to begin giving offerings (above the tithe) once again towards ―The Worship Center Renovation Fund‖ and to the ―Mission Fund.‖ The three-month period of redirecting these gifts towards our budget needs has proved to be a great help. Thanks again for your faithful stewardship! It is a joy to be your pastor and may God continue to bless His church at Lakewood!

This month the Personnel Team and I plan to recommend that Chris May continue to serve as our part-time Children’s Minister. Chris completes his six-month “interim” service this month. He has done an excellent job helping to better prepare and position our Children’s Ministry Leadership Team to take our Children’s Ministry to the next level and I’m excited about what God has in store! We are indeed blessed to have Chris and his family to serve among us… This month Diana completes her 10th year serving as our Education and Graphics Assistant. Diana does a superior job creating and producing our publications (bulletins/newsletters/brochures/signs), keeping our records, and a whole lot more! Please be sure to join me in expressing to Diana how much you appreciate her and her ministry of service among us.

It is a joy to be your pastor and may God continue to bless His church at Lakewood!

Serving Christ By Serving You,

Pastor Billy,
John 3:30

It is a joy to be your pastor and may God continue to bless His church at Lakewood!

Serving Christ By Serving You,

Pastor Billy

John 3:30