themainline January 2018 A Monthly Publication of Main Street Baptist Church THE MISSION

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1 January 2018 themainline A Monthly Publication of Main Street Baptist Church SUNDAY 9:40am Bible Fellowship Groups 10:50am Worship Celebration WEDNESDAY 5:45pm Kingdom Kidz 6:00pm The Following (Student Ministry) 6:00pm Bible Study Group CHURCH STAFF Dr. Bruce Smilie Senior Pastor Don Johnson Associate Pastor Heather Good Director of Children s Ministry Nancee Reddick Ministry Assistant Curtis Good Maintenance Director Physical Location: 313 N. Main St. Grand Saline, TX Office Phone: info@churchonmainstreet.com THE MISSION To become completely committed Christ-followers (3Cs) who: Touch God through expressing and demonstrating love to Him, to Christ-followers, & to the unbelieving (worship). Transform lives through connecting in small groups, growing together in unity, maturity & Christ-likeness, and reaching out to serve others (fellowship, discipleship, and ministry). Take risks through relationally and compassionately sharing Jesus Christ locally, nationally, and internationally (evangelism/missions). THE VISION To be a disciple-making, multiplying, missional church community, where imperfect, irreligious, and inquiring people are encouraged and equipped, to become life transformational, servant leaders for the Kingdom of God.

2 Dear MSBC, It s February and this is the month of love the month of Valentine s Day. I hope you take advantage this year of this unique time annually built into our calendars to express love to that special someone in your life and to others you love and cherish. But there is one other, more important than all the rest, to whom we must always express our undying affection. The account of human love that follows by author and speaker Jennifer Rothschild will point you in the right direction to whom I refer (I think you already know). Jennifer was diagnosed at the young age of 15 with a rare, degenerative eye disease that would eventually deprive her of sight. In her DVD study, Fingerprints of God, Jennifer shared the following story: It was a very crowded bus, and all the passengers looked sympathetically as Susan made her way down the aisle. She fumbled with her cane, and as she nestled herself into her seat, the onlookers just watched with questions and concern. You see, it had been a year since Susan lost her sight. When she first became blind, she fell into a deep pit of depression. Her world had crumbled, her sadness overtook her. Not only was her heart crushed, but so was the heart of her husband, Mark. He so loved his wife and wanted to help her, and so he did. Inch by inch, he helped to pull her out of that pit of depression, helped give her skills and confidence, and to regain her sense of self. And that husband, so in love with his wife, did all that he could to help her in her new state of darkness. Well, after many months of Susan's blindness, she began to feel more confident because of Mark's help, and she felt like she could perhaps return to her job again. And Mark promised that he would help her, of course, with that also. So, every day, Mark would drive his wife to work, walk her into the office, make sure she was settled, and then leave and go to his base that was across town, because Mark was a military officer. Then, he would come back and get her from work. This went on for several weeks. And with every day, though Mark so wanted to help his wife, the burden was becoming heavier because it was becoming logistically impossible for him to make it to his base on time. He dreaded having to announce to Susan that he wasn't going to be able to drive her to work. But in the end, he had to. "I can't ride the bus to work," she replied. "I'm blind. How am I going to know how many stairs there are? How am I going to know what path to take? I feel like you are abandoning me." Mark's heart was crushed. He promised her, like he had done from the very beginning, he would do whatever it took to help her until she felt confident and independent on the bus. He helped her with the routes. He helped her learn the stairs and learn the paths. And so, finally, after several weeks of doing such, Susan was confident. He went to his base; she went to her work. Monday morning, she got on the bus. She went to work, she came home; it was flawless. Then Friday morning arrived. Susan made her way onto the bus, and as she went to pay her fare, the bus driver said, "Ma'am you sure are lucky." Susan said, "Are you talking to me?" The bus driver said, "Yeah. It must feel good to be cared for as you are." Susan replied, "I don't know what you mean, sir." The bus driver said: "Well, you know, every morning when I drop you off at your stop, as soon as those doors open, I can see that man standing over there at the corner. And he watches you. As soon as you step off the bus, his eyes are on you. I think he's some kind of military officer because of his uniform. And his eyes follow you as you walk across that parking lot. And his eyes don't leave you as you're trying to walk up those stairs. And when you open that door and go inside, that man doesn't take his eyes off you. And once that door closes, he stands straight and tall, like a sentinel, and he salutes you, and then he blows you a kiss." Susan burst into tears. She had no idea that her husband had been watching her. But the lover of her soul never takes his eyes off of her. Now that s what I call love! The kind of love God has for us who call him Lord. Our Triune God, the lover of our souls, is always watching us, always blowing us kisses, always protecting us, even when we don t know it or feel it or think it or even appreciate it. During this month of Valentine s Day, remember those who love you, especially the One, Jesus Christ, who died and rose again for you, and express your love in return tangibly (through your actions!) and audibly (with your words!). If you want some clues on how to get it done, I suggest you check out Rom. 12:9-21 & 1 Cor. 13:4-8a. So, get out there and love somebody especially your Savior who lavishly loves you. Happy Valentine s and grace to you! Your friend and pastor, Bruce

3 February 2018 The Book of Psalms is a beautiful collection of songs and prayers in poetic form that truly speak to our hearts about magnifying and worshiping God. David is credited with writing a lot of these psalms, probably about 75 of them. One of the greatest privileges a Christian has is praising God through singing. In one of the Open Windows devotional books that our church receives it says: Are you aware that singing is one of the few earthly exercises that will continue to be done in Heaven? There are many things we do here on earth that will not be continued when we get to Heaven, such as witnessing, intercessory prayer, etc. We will, however, have the privilege and the joy of singing to God. Psalms 66:1-2 says: Make a joyful noise unto God, all ye lands. Sing forth the honour of His name; make His praise glorious. It does not say that you have to be a great singer. It does not say that you have to sing on key or even in the right melody. It does not say that you have to sing soft or loud, but we should just sing unto the Lord from our hearts. Psalms 40:3 says: And He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God. Many shall see what He has done and be amazed, and shall trust in the Lord. Even though we all cannot be great soloists, our voices blended together will create harmony and beauty as we lift our praises to God. Someday in Heaven we will all be good singers blended together and we will all have a new song to sing. Psalms 96:1-2 says: O sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth. Sing unto the Lord, bless His name; shew forth His salvation from day to day. Again, no mention of having to be a good singer. Put into my mouth a new song of worship and praise to you Lord, because you are a great King and my master. You are our God and the creator of everything. Psalms 96:4-5 says: For the Lord is great and greatly to be praised; He is to be feared above all Gods. The Gods of other nations are mere idols, but our God made the heavens. Put into my mouth a new song of thankfulness to God because He has blessed us greatly and is a good and merciful Saviour. Psalms 97:12 says: Rejoice in the Lord, ye righteous; and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness. Where would we be without God in our lives? Put into my mouth a new song of service to you God. Psalms 100: 1-2 says: Make a joyful noise unto the Lord, all ye lands. Serve the Lord with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Psalms 146: 2 says: While I live I will praise the Lord; I will sing praises unto my God while I have any being. Our prayer should be that God will help us to lift our voices in praise to Him. That doesn t mean that the only way to lift our voices is to actually sing, but we can also voice it by telling others about Him. But for those of us who like to sing here on earth it is a beautiful and enjoyable way to praise God. However, our singing here on earth will not even compare to the beautiful and harmonious singing we will get to do in Heaven. There is an old song we sang many years ago that expresses how beautiful the singing will be in Heaven. It was written by one of the great old singers in years past, Mr. Virgil O. Stamps, and is called When All of God s Singers Get Home. What a song of delight, in that city so bright, Will be wafted neath Heaven s fair dome. How the ransomed will raise, happy songs in His praise, When all of God s singers get home. Having overcome sin, hallelujah amen, Will be heard in that land o er the foam; Every heart will be light and each face will be bright, When all of God s singers get home. And speaking of singing, we REALLY NEED more singers in our choirs. Mr. Mark Beatty and his wife Cherie are working with the Sanctuary Choir to prepare us to sing some new music. They are graciously volunteering to work with the choir and we really want to encourage them by having choir members there. PLEASE consider joining us. We only practice for about an hour at 7:00 on Wed. night in the choir room. The only requirement if to be available and willing. You don t have to be able to read music or be a great singer. All of our voices blended together will work out. Shirley Bailey

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5 Melba Crain Will be celebrating her 100th Birthday on February 24th from 2:00-4:00 The Old School Museum Please Come And Help Us Celebrate The Only Gift We Ask You To Bring Is YOU!!!! Date: May 30-31, 2018 Cost: $85.00 per person Entertainment: The Isaacs / Scot Cameron / The Foto Sisters Speakers: Dr. David Hardage, BGCT / Dr. Ron Lyles, Southern Main BC, Pasadena / Dr. Bob Utley, Retired ETBU Faculty, Bible Lessons International Sign-up Sheet on Senior Adult Bulletin Board (Hallway by Fellowship Hall)

6 ... Fun After Fifty-Five s February Monthly Meeting will be a ~Valentine s Banquet~ February 6pm Our local High School Jazz Band will be performing for us. This program, with good attendance, is a great way to support our students. The meat (ham) will be furnished by the FAFF and everyone is asked to bring your favorite dish. This is a great time to invite a guest or visitor.

7 February Birthdays Ella Hazel 1 Cayden Good 1 Paul Trent 5 Briley Marshall 5 Mark Maciel 6 Madelyn Maciel 8 Shawna Stone 9 Dylan Love 12 Doyle Milliorn 13 Billy Peden 13 Ed Bradley 13 Jeremiah Cea 13 Tithes/Offerings Analysis January - December 2018 Month Month To Date Year To Date January $27,292 $27,292 February March April May June July August September October November December World Unidentified Cash Pre K-K 1st-2nd 3rd-4th 5th-6th Charity S.S. Mission Giving For 2018 Friendship Gleaners Hispanic Jubilee Koinonea Maranatha Rejoicers Young Adults Youth Tina Smilie 13 Reva Hudgins 16 Debra Phillips 18 Terry Tolar 18 Kolbi Phillips 18 Donna Clark 20 Melba Crain 23 Donna Tomlin 24 Teresa Morrow 24 Jaron Cude 25 Melissa Montano 25 Debbie Norris T Total Weekly Offerings 7th - $8, th - 5, st - 7, th - 4, Weekly Worship Attendance 7th - No Count Was Done 14th st th Sunday School Attendance 7th th st th - 153

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