Live It Out! Pastor Michael & Kimberly Eaton

Transcription

1 Volume 40, Issue 10 April 2010 Bethlehem Baptist Church Pauls Valley, Oklahoma Live It Out! Pastor Michael & Kimberly Eaton Dates to Remember October nd-Young Adult Conference State Convention Planning Meeting Gilfield Baptist Church Davis, Oklahoma 17th-Pastor Scott Garvin County Treatment 3:00 PM Bethlehem Pauls Valley 18-22nd Oklahoma Baptist State Convention, Ardmore, Oklahoma 25th-District Musical Macedonia, Ardmore, Oklahoma 26th-28th District Revival-Ardmore IInside this issue: Word of the Month Sermon Series State Convention Registrastion 2 3 Social Networking 6 A Word From The Lord Out Reach Radio First Lady Haiti Vision to Victory Announcements/Calendar Leaders 12 Hello Bethlehem, October: The Discipline of Worship Romans 12:1-2: I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect. Many of you all have expressed that God is up to something great at Bethlehem (The House of Bread). What we must do is see where God is working and join Him at work. True worship is joining Him. October has been designated the month of Worship. GotQuestions.org will help us to define true worship Question: "What is true worship?" Answer: The Apostle Paul described true worship perfectly in Romans 12:1-2 This passage contains all the elements of true worship. First, there is the motivation to worship: the mercies of God. God s mercies are everything He has given us that we don t deserve: eternal love, eternal grace, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, saving faith, comfort, strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness, security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification, freedom, intercession and much more. The knowledge and understanding of these incredible gifts motivate us to pour forth praise and thanksgiving in other words, worship! Also in the passage is a description of the manner of our worship: present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice. Presenting our bodies means giving to God all of ourselves. The reference to our bodies here means all our human faculties, all of our humanness our hearts, minds, hands, thoughts, attitudes are to be presented to God. In other words, we are to give up control of these things and turn them over to Him, just as a literal sacrifice was given totally to God on the altar. But how? Again, the passage is clear: by the renewing of your mind. We renew our minds daily by cleansing them of the world s wisdom and replacing it with true wisdom that comes from God. We worship Him with our renewed and cleansed minds, not with our emotions. Emotions are wonderful things, but unless they are shaped by a mind saturated in Truth, they can be destructive, out-of-control forces. Where the mind goes, the will follows and so do the emotions. First Corinthians 2:16 tells us we have the mind of Christ, not the emotions of Christ. Continue on Page 2... Visit Our Website@

2 Pastor Michael Eaton Senior Pastor Word of the Month The Discipline of Worship Bethlehem Baptist Church There is only one way to renew our minds, and that is by the Word of God. It is the truth, the knowledge of the Word of God, which is to say the knowledge of the mercies of God, and we re back where we began. To know the truth, to believe the truth, to hold convictions about the truth, and to love the truth will naturally result in true spiritual worship. It is conviction followed by affection, affection that is a response to truth, not to any external stimuli, including music. Music as such has nothing to do with worship. Music can t produce worship, although it certainly can produce emotion. Music is not the origin of worship, but it can be the expression of it. Do not look to music to induce your worship; look to music as simply an expression of that which is induced by a heart that is rapt by the mercies of God, obedient to His commands. True worship is God-centered worship. People tend to get caught up in where they should worship, what music they should sing in worship, and how the worship looks to other people. Focusing on these things completely misses the point. Jesus tells us that true worshipers will worship God in spirit and in truth (John 4:24). This means we worship from the heart and the way God has designed. Worship can include praying, reading God's Word with an open heart, singing, participating in communion, and serving others. It is not limited to one act, but is done properly when the heart and attitude of the person are in the right place. It s also important to know that worship is reserved only for God. Only He is worthy and not any of His servants (Revelation 19:10). We are not to worship saints, prophets, statues, angels, any false gods, or Mary, the mother of Jesus. We also should not be worshiping for the expectation of something in return, such as a miraculous healing. Worship is done for God because He deserves it and for His pleasure alone. Worship can be public praise to God (Psalm 22:22, 35:18) in a congregational setting, where we can proclaim through prayer and praise our adoration and thankfulness to Him and what He has done for us. True worship is felt inwardly, and then comes out through our actions. "Going through the motions" out of obligation is displeasing to God and is done completely in vain. He can see through all the hypocrisy, and He hates it. He demonstrates this inamos 5:21-24 as He talks about coming judgment. Another example is the story of Cain and Abel, the first sons of Adam and Eve. They both brought gift offerings to the Lord, but He was only pleased with Abel's. Cain brought the gift out of obligation; Abel brought his finest lambs from his flock. He brought out of faith and admiration for God. True worship is not confined to what we do in church or open praise (although these things are both good and we are told in the Bible to do them). It is the acknowledgment of God and all His power and glory in everything we do. The highest form of praise and worship is obedience to Him and His Word. To do this, we must know God; we cannot be ignorant of Him (Acts 17:23). Worship is to glorify and exalt God to show our loyalty and admiration to our Father.

3 Page 3 Now Is The Time To Worship! The Discipline of Worship Bethlehem Our reading assignment this month will be from A Year With God. In the table of contents, Days This section deals with Worship. Also we will be reading from Celebration of Discipline pages The sermon series that I will be preaching this month is entitled, Now Is The Time To Worship I John 1:8-2:1 Men Ought To Worship, Psalm 100, Saturday, October 2, 2010 Rev. Bruce Ford, Now is the Time to Worship, October 3, 2010 How To Handle Worry and Worship Psalms 22:1-5, Wednesday, October 6, 2010 How To Worship God In Wack Times Job 1:13,16,18-21, Sunday, October 10, 2010 Behind the Music Psalms 96:1-4, Wednesday October 13, 2010 (Business Meeting) Set Free Sunday, Pastor Ronald D. Scott, Sunday, October 17, 3:00 PM Faking The Funk In Worship Isaiah 29:13-14, Sunday, October 24, 2010 The Awe of Worship Matthew 14:22,25-33, Wednesday October 27, 2010 The Holiness of Worship Isaiah 6:1-8, Sunday, October 31, 2010,

4 Page 4 Bethlehem Oklahoma Baptist State Convention Ardmore, Oklahoma October 18-22, 2010 Theme: Christian Mission is Our Task LOCATIONS OF THIS YEAR S ANNUAL MEETING: THE PARENT BODY & MINISTERS/WIVES HOST CHURCH: FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH HOST PASTOR: REV. WILLIE J. TILLER, JR 16 E STREETNE WOMEN S DEPARTMENT Moderator Tiller District Host Pastor MT. ZION BAPTIST CHURCH 101 F STREET SE LAYMEN S DEPARTMENT MACEDONIA BAPTIST CHURCH TH STREET NE USHERS DEPARTMENT SUNRISE BAPTIST CHURCH 401 K STREET NW Tuesday, October 19th BREAKFAST 7.00 Banquet :$35.00 t FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH (DOWNTOWN) ST STREET SW, Ardmore, Oklahoma

5 Pastor Michael Eaton Senior Pastor Oklahoma Baptist State Convention Dr. Charles W. Whitlow President Dr. Burnis Burrell, Jr. Adm./Secretary Bethlehem Baptist The mission of The Christian Education Informer is to provide information on Christian Education activities in the local churches and at distri and national levels as well as putting forth insights from Christian scholars and leaders to help Empower believers for Christian service. The jo Putting Power in Your published quarterly by the Sunday School Pre-RegistRation Preaching Publishing Board of the National FoRm Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. Subscription Information National Baptist Convention, USA Publication: The Christian Education Informer The Christian Education Informer is published four times per year in March, June, September, and December. Annual subscriptions are availa $30.00 and copies of single issues are available for $7.50 each. You may place your subscription order online or by sending a check in the app amount to: Date: Church Address: Pastor: Pastor Michael Eaton has written an article entitled Putting Power in your Preaching. that was featured in the Spring 2010 edition of the informer. Parent Body Registration $20.00 Number Registering X $20.00 Women s Auxiliary Registration Woman s Auxiliary State Officers $25.00 Number Registering X $25.00 Women s Committee Chairman or Co-Chairman- $15.00 Number Registering X $15.00 Women s District President $25.00 Number Registering X $25.00 Women s Messenger -$10.00 Number Registering X $10.00 Total Amount $ Total Amount $ Laymen s Auxiliary Registration $10.00 Number Registering X $10.00 Ushers & Nurses Auxiliary Registration $10.00 Number Registering X $10.00 Scholarship Banquet Tickets-$35.00 Number Attending x $35.00 Total Amount $ Total Amount $ Grand Total: $ Grand Total $ Make check payable to: Oklahoma Baptist State Convention The Convention will distribute checks to the Auxiliaries. Deadline for pre-registration is October 9, 2010 Send form and check to: Oklahoma Baptist State Convention P.O. Box 882 Valliant, OK 74764

6 Page 6 A Word from the Lord Social Ministry Outreach BethlehemBaptist Church Bethlehem can be found on these social media outlets. We are also podcasting. Let everyone know that you can hear God s Word at Bethlehem. Bethlehem.com The Bethlehem Baptist Church Ministry is heard all over the world. Women of Divine Faith & First Lady Ministry Network Connection

7 Page 7 A Word From The Lord Bethlehem Baptist Church Radio Ministry Outreach Huntsville, Alabama Mobile Alabama Oklahoma City, Oklahoma A Word From the Lord Radio Outreach of the Bethlehem Baptist Church commenced on the air July 3rd in Huntsville, Alabama on radio station WBXR-1140AM from 9:30 am to 10:00 A.M. The radio listening area has over one million listeners. A Word from the Lord will also be airing on radio station WIJD-1270 AM in Mobile Alabama on Sunday 5:30 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. This area has over 500,000 listeners that will be blessed in hearing our beloved Pastor Michael Eaton share the Word of Jesus Christ. We are also broadcasting locally in Oklahoma City on KTLV 1220AM at 1:30 PM every Saturday. You can go on the church website at: to hear the radio messages. Just Click the radio tab. This week s program is entitled Doing God Dirty, A Response to the Situation of Bishop Eddie Long

8 Page 8 Woman: Are You Responding to God With Worship? Bethlehem First Lady Kimberly Eaton We respond to God with worship, because worship is simply giving God what is fitting. He is praiseworthy, not only for his power but also for his gentleness. God is love, and all that he does is done in love. This is praiseworthy. We praise love even on a human level, don t we? We praise people who give their lives to help others. They did not have enough power to save their own lives, but what power they had, they used to help others and that is praiseworthy. In contrast, we criticize people who had the power to help but refused to do it. Goodness is more praiseworthy than power is, and God is both good and powerful. Praise deepens the bond of love between us and God. God s love for us is never diminished, but ours for him often grows weak. In praise, we rehearse his love for us and, in effect, fan the fire of love for him that the Spirit has started within us. It is good for us to remember and rehearse how wonderful God is, for that strengthens us in Christ and increases our motivation to be like him in his goodness, which increases our joy. We were made for the purpose of praising God (1 Peter 2:9), of giving him glory and honor, and the better we are in harmony with God s purpose for life, the greater joy will be ours. Life is simply more satisfying when we do what we were made to do: to honor God. We do that not only in worship, but also in the way we live. A Way of Life Worship is a way of life. We offer our bodies and minds as living sacrifices (Romans 12:1-2). We worship God when we share the gospel (Romans 15:16). We worship God when we give financial offerings (Philippians 4:18). We worship God when we help other people (Hebrews 13:16). We say that he is worthy, worth our time and attention and allegiance. We praise his glory, and his humility in becoming one of us for our sakes. We praise his righteousness and his mercy. We praise him for the way he really is. This is what we were made for, to declare his praises. It is simply right that we praise the One who created us, the One who died and rose to save us and give us life eternal, the One who works even now to help us become more like him. We owe him our allegiance, and we owe him our love. We were made to praise God, and this is what we will do eternally. John was given a vision of our future: "I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever! " (Revelation 5:13). This is the right response: awe at the awesome, honor for the honorable, and allegiance to the trustworthy. We are called to worship, celebrate and glorify God. It is our joy to be able to declare his praises, to share the good news of what he has done for us in and through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Five facts about worship 1.God wants us to worship, to respond to him with praise and thanks. 2. Only God is worthy of our worship and total allegiance. 3. Worship should be sincere, not a performance. 4. If we really respect and love God, we will do what he says. 5. Worship is not just something we do at church it involves everything we do.

9 Page 9 Bethlehem Dimes for Haiti PLEASE TURN YOUR TIMES IN TO SISTER EATON ON SUNDAY, OCTOBER 10TH! The Oklahoma Baptist State Convention WMU would like each church in the state convention to partner with them to help send the State Missionary to Haiti. This is a collaborative effort with the National Baptist Convention Home & Foreign Mission Board. Each church is asked to collect dimes in their water bottle. All ministries and individual church members are asked to join in this endeavor to help the people of Haiti. Please being your water bottles to filled with dimes for Haiti to the convention on Monday, October 18, Fill your bottle with dimes to support Haiti! See Elisabeth Williams Home & Foreign Mission Chairperson Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church Gene Autry, Oklahoma

10 Page 10 Vision to Reality Building a Church to Build a Congregation Join us as we are praying for God to reveal His Ram in the Bush for a Worship Leader.

11 Page 11 Bethlehem Baptist Church OctOber 2010 Announcements Pauls Valley, Oklahoma Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Usher Meeting Bible Study 2nd & 4th Tuesday 6:00 pm October 12th October 6th October 26th October 13th Choir Rehearsal October 20th Nurse s Meeting October 17th Immediately after service Thursday Brotherhood 1st & 3rd Monday 6:00 pm October 4th October 18th Women s Mission 1st & 3rd Monday 6:00 pm October 5th October 12th October 19th October 26th October 27th Saturday Brotherhood My Brother s Keepers Men s Breakfast Christianity 101 Light House Ministry 6:00 pm October 4th October 18th Friday October 2, 2010 November 7, :00 am 6:00 PM October 7th Deaconess Ministers Meeting October 14th 6:15 pm 6:00 pm October 21st October 25th October 1st October 28th October 8th October 15th October 22nd October 29th

12 October 2010 Bethlehem Missionary Baptist Church 311 North Dunbar Pauls Valley, Oklahoma Phone: T h i s i s y o u r y e a r t o w i n i n ! Share the Love! Calendar Of Events Sunday School: 9:30 AM-10:30 AM Sunday: Worship Service: 11:00 AM Monday: Women s Mission 1st and 3rd Week: 6:00 PM-7:15 PM Monday: Brotherhood 1st & 3rd Week-6:00 PM-7:00 PM Y o u c a n b e g i n a g a i n i n ! B y S t u d y i n g t h e D i s c i p li n e o f W o r s h i p B e t h l e h e m i s f o r P e o p l e L i k e Y o u! W E AR E O N T HE W EB W W W. HEA R GO D SW OR D@BE TH LE HEM. C OM Tuesday Usher Meeting: 2nd and 4th Week 5:30 PM Tuesday Adult Choir Practice:6:00PM 7:00 PM Wednesday: Bible Study & Prayer: 6:00 PM Thursday: Lighthouse Ministry Every Thursday 6:00 PM Christianity 101 Every Thursday 6:00 PM Saturday: Men s Prayer Breakfast 1st Saturday of each month: 8:00 AM Leaders and Ministries Pastor Church Rev. Michael Eaton Secretary Asst. to the Pastor Sis. Jocelyn Rushing Rev. T. B Rushing Associate Deaconess Pastors Sis. Kim Jackson Rev. Bruce Ford Sis. Audrey Jones Rev. Brian Frizell Sis. Margie Prince Chairman Sis. Jocelyn Rushing Sis. Nell Watts of Deacons Deacon Melvin Watts Minister of Music/Choir Deacons Vacant Al Jackson Bill Jones Choir Park Prince Pam Sanders Quinen Ross Sunday School Superintendent(s) Sis. Audrey Jones Theola Jackson Brotherhood Bro Morrie Baltzell Usher Ministry Nurse Ministry Sis. Kim Jackson Culinary Ministry Sis. Denise Stafford Youngest Member Ministry Live Sis. Isom Davis It Out! Advisor Women s Ministry Sis. Kimberly Eaton Women s Mission Sis. Denise Stafford Advisor Youth Jocelyn Rushing Tracy Ford Mimes Sis. Theola Jackson Sis. Audrey Jones Mother's of the Church Sis. Gladys Mc Cowen Sis. Ella Watkins Trustees Bro. Herman Jackson Sis. Theola Jackson Sis. Isom Davis Treasurer: Bro Al Jackson Sis. Audrey Jones Bro Quinen Ross Isom Davis Benevolence Committee Bro. Al Jackson Sis. Isom Davis Bro. Victor Jackson The Lighthouse Ministry Rev. Bruce Ford Christianity 101 Rev. Brian & Ellen Frizell