My name is Mark Gentry, and I thank God for the opportunity that He has given me to worship Him in song with Lynn, Randal and Mike.  It’s a joy to spend time with my brothers in Christ…and guess what?  We have fun singing praises to the Lord!  For those out there who think that Christians don’t have fun, you just haven’t been hanging around the right people.  God didn’t save us to be miserable, he has promised us joy! (Gal. 5:22)   You can’t help but enjoy singing praises to a God who loved us enough to send His Son, Jesus, to die for our sins! (John 3:16) 

I thank the Lord for my parents who saw the importance of taking my brother, my sisters and I to church.  It was in church one night back in 1977 that I realized I needed Christ in my life.  The pastor spoke a clear message about heaven and hell and how Christ was the only way to heaven. Later that night, I told my dad that I needed to be saved.  With my mom in the room, he asked me a few questions and read some scripture to make sure that I understood what I was asking.  Then, I prayed and asked Christ to come into my heart and save me.

Throughout my life, God has blessed me much more than I deserve.  First and foremost, He saved me.  He has given me a loving wife (Holly) who wants to honor and glorify the Lord.  He also has given me a loving family who supports me.  He has surrounded me with an encouraging church family and friends who are a blessing to me.

I have attended Community Baptist Church (CBC) since 1993, and I thank God for the way that the church family accepted me.  The Lord has provided areas for me to serve Him at CBC and I thank Him for these opportunities.  Currently, my wife and I are serving as teen group directors.  It is a joy to work with our teens, and it’s fun! (Refer to comment about having fun in first paragraph.)  I also sing in the church choir and, through my participation, enjoy singing praises to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

Phil. 4:13 reminds me, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”  Praise the Lord!  God has used this verse as an encouragement to me throughout the years and I have chosen it as my life’s verse.  As I recite this verse, it gives me a boldness to accept whatever challenges this life brings!  I know that as a Christian, God will not put more on me than I can handle! (I Cor. 10:13)  I also know that everything that happens in my life is for a reason! (Rom. 8:28)  God’s promises are awesome, and I thank Him for His Word which is a tool to guide us, encourage us, strengthen us, and, above all, save us from an eternity in Hell. (Jn. 3:16)  God’s Word explains that we are sinners (Rom. 3:23) and that Christ died for us. (Rom. 3:25)  As sinners, we need to ask Christ to forgive us of our sins, come into our hearts and lives, and save us. (Rom. 3:10-22)  It is through God’s Word that we learn that God has a special place for Christians after our time on earth is finished.  This place is called Heaven (Phil. 3:20-21), and we can’t even begin to imagine its splendor!  Until we reach heaven, we have work to do here on earth!  Our job is to spread the good news of Jesus to a lost and dying world.  That is what Covered By Calvary is all about…spreading the good news of Jesus!

It is an honor and privilege to serve such an awesome God!

mark@coveredbycalvary.com