Parkway Baptist PASTOR KEVIN S WELL OF LIVING WATER : Thanking God that we can know our purpose

Transcription

1 Parkway Baptist Church The Messenger November, 2018 PASTOR KEVIN S WELL OF LIVING WATER : Thanking God that we can know our purpose I recently came across an article written about Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Church in California and what he considers to be the most important message he has shared in 35 years of Bible teaching. Pastor Rick says, "If I only had one sermon to preach, it would be this message - to teach you why God made you and what you're supposed to do with your life. Pastor Rick believes you have five main purposes to know in our short stay here on earth. But for brevity, here is what I believe to be the most important one of them: To Know God and to Love Him John 17: 3 says, And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. In the beginning of our lives many of us may have thought that our main purpose is to accomplish, achieve, and succeed or to see how much money we can make, but at the end of each day, if you don't know God a little bit better you just wasted that day. My goal each day in life is to know and discover God in some way or new way. It could be in just doing mundane house chores such as the dishes or laundry and discovering a resulting parallel in how God can remove even the tough stains in my soul that I can t. At any rate, we should never forget that each day our goal should be to get to know God and to realize that the knowledge of Him is inexhaustible. I ran into a man that was largely responsible for building a large recreational park in Graham, NC and I thanked him for building that park as I do a lot of prayer walking there and that I believe God wanted him to build that park for people such as myself to have such experiences. He responded by saying that even though his board is not allowed to discuss religion or possible spiritual impetuses behind such planning, he conceded that lately it seems that there is something higher that does seem to involved in his life of late. He shared with me about how a golf buddy of his wants to get together all of a sudden and discuss things from the Bible. You're worried about what other people think. Get over yourself If they're worshipping, they're focusing on God, and if you do that you'll lose your self-consciousness." I shared with him how I personally believe that our most important purpose in life is to know God.

2 And the more we get to know Him the more it should cause us to want to love Him more, which is another purpose we have---to love Him with all our mind, strength and soul as the Bible tells us. One way that we can love God during our days is to sing to God from our heart. Psalms 147: 7 says "Sing out your thanks to Him; sing praises to our God." (NCV) Pastor Rick says in another article ( 4 Ways to Have an Attitude of Gratitude ) that One's "tone"can make all the difference when expressing thanks. Unenthusiastic praise indicates that it isn't coming from the heart, says Warren. He points out how, when rendering praise in church, some do so self-consciously hesitant to lift their hands or voices and do not fully commit. Notice Pastor Rick didn t say we would lose consciousness if we learn to worship this way (even though some of us might think we will because being that might be too out-of-the-box for us). At any rate, the goal in singing our praises to God is to be more God-focused than self-focused. And that our praise should be heartfelt and genuine. Finally, since the vast majority of our lives will be spent in eternity, Warren says this, this life is meant to be preparation for the next, the "dress rehearsal before the real show begins."god wants us to practice here on Earth what we will do in Heaven forever: to love God, to love His family, to become like Christ, to serve the Lord, and to fulfill His mission. I don t know about you, but I agree with Pastor Rick Warren. With the holiday of Thanksgiving looming here in November, I can t think of a greater reason to be thankful to God then for His revealing to us why we are here. Happy Thanksgiving everyone! Until next time, do the 2 Peter 3:18 thing which is Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Pastor Kevin VaLeu Just A Friendly Reminder With the beginning of flu and cold season quickly approaching, just a few reminders about bringing Children of all ages to Church. Please do not bring your child to Church if they are experiencing any of the following health issues; Fever Runny Nose (with thick and/or colored discharge) Questionable and Contagious Rashes Tummy Troubles (vomiting and/or diarrhea) Any Active or Contagious Disease (chicken pox, mumps, measles, etc ) Pink Eye or Other Eye infections Croup or any Uncontrolled Coughing Your child should be symptom free for 24 hours before returning to Church. If your child is taking antibiotics, they should be treated for 24 hours with the course of the medication. Thank you for helping with this policy. We want to keep all our children, teachers, and all others well.

3 DEACON NOMINATIONS COMING IN NOVEMBER! On Sunday, November 4th, church members will nominate three members to serve as deacons for three-year terms beginning January 1st, All church members can nominate individuals; likewise, all church members are eligible to be nominated. Church members will receive a list of all church members and a form on which to list their nominees. The deacons urge all members to prayerfully consider who they should nominate. It is important to distinguish between the eligibility for the office and the qualification for the office. At Parkway, deacons serve as spiritual leaders of the church; they assist the pastor in ministering to families of the church; and they assist in the worship services as requested by the pastor. In contrast to some Baptist churches, deacons serving this body of believers are NOT a governing board or an administrative body. The deacon s focus is on ministry and service, and not on governing or control. As each of us considers who to nominate this year, we may want to read Acts 6:1-6 and 1 Timothy 3:8-13. In the first passage, Luke records the need for and the call of the first deacons in the early church. In the second passage, Paul counsels his protégé on the qualification for deacons. Based on the deacon duties at Parkway and the Scriptural guidelines, there are many things to consider. These include the nominees record of service to members of the church (whether as a deacon or in other capacities), their spiritual maturity, their faithfulness in attendance, evidence of use of their spiritual gifts, their good character, and their ability to serve. If you have any questions, please contact one of the deacon officers: Nicki Dodd, Georgia Gaines or Darlene Daniel. Anyone who will be absent on November 4th may vote by absentee ballot available in the church office between Monday, October 29th and Friday, November 2nd. Any absentee ballot must be returned to the office during that time. After determining the number of nominations for each person, the deacons will contact the individuals with the most votes to see if they are willing to serve as a deacon at Parkway. Later this fall the deacons will present to the church members the top three individuals who are willing to serve. The following individuals who are currently serving as deacons are NOT eligible to be nominated to serve beginning January 1st, 2019: Chad Burton, Sarah Caldwell, Norris Davis, Nicki Dodd, Georgia Gaines, Ron Gordon, Charles Greer, Gladys Redner and Dare Tinnin. The following individuals who are currently serving as deacons ARE ELIGIBLE to be nominated to serve beginning January 1st, 2019, because they are completing unexpired terms: Bobby Doss. YOUR DONATIONS HELP PEOPLE RIGHT HERE IN OUR COMMUNITY. By donating, you're providing a basic need for people that need help from all walks of life. We are now accepting fall and winter clothes. If you have any questions please contact June Alderman

4 THE CHURCH ON MISSION: KNOWING AND DOING MISSIONS Christmas Bags for Women Inmates Each year we provide Christmas bags filled with hygiene items, stationery and socks for Chaplain Brian Burke to distribute to the women who are inmates of Guilford County Jail. This may be the only gift these women receive during the holiday season. We are inviting each Sunday School class to give monetary gifts to help purchase the needed items. We also invite individuals to participate in this ministry. Please have all donations turned in by Sunday, November 25th, so we have time to purchase the needed items Thanksgiving Offering for Baptist Children s Homes This offering helps to provide care and services for hundreds of hurting children and their families. In addition to the envelopes mailed to your home, there will also be envelopes in the back of the pews for your convenience. Please make checks out to Parkway Baptist Church and write Baptist Children s Homes on the memo line. (Note: Please put your Thanksgiving Offering in the offering plate during the regular offertory, along with your usual offering.) Operation Christmas Child November 12th-18th, 2018 You can participate in this wonderful ministry of Samaritan s Purse by filling a shoe box with gifts for a needy child. Pick up a brochure with all the instructions from the Missions table. If you would like to have one of the familiar red & green boxes to pack, you can pick one or more up from the Missions table, first come, first served. You can choose gifts for a boy or girl, in the age categories of 2-4 years, 5-9 years, or years. Gifts do not need to be wrapped. Don t forget to include a check made out to Samaritan s Purse in the amount of $9.00, for shipping and handling. Bring your filled shoe box to church by Sunday, November 18th and place it on the pulpit steps in the sanctuary to be prayed over during the worship service. Let s all get involved in this project to help bless a child at Christmastime! Last year we prepared over 100 boxes. Let s set a new record this year! Prayer & Ministry Group Thursday, November 15th, 2018 Please bring $1 for Mercy & Grace Ministries and a filled shoe box for Operation Christmas Child. We will pray for the shoe boxes and the children who receive them..

5 Parkway Church Recipe Corner SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE (contributed by Sunny Hundley) 3 cups sweet potatoes, about 1 tsp. vanilla Good sized ones 1/2 cup butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/3 cup milk 2 eggs, beaten Boil and mash sweet potatoes. Mix in sugar, better, eggs, vanilla and milk. Put in 9 x 13 inch baking dish. Topping 1/3 cup melted butter 1/2 cup flour 1 cup light brown sugar 1 cup chopped pecans Melt butter and mix in remaining ingredients. Sprinkle on top of potato mixture. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Serves 10 to 12. CRANBERRY SALAD (contributed by Dot Watts) 1 pkg. cherry gelatin 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup hot water 1 cup ground raw cranberries 1 cup sugar 1 orange, ground 1 T. lemon juice 1 cup drained pineapple 1 cup pineapple syrup 1/2 cup chopped nuts Dissolve the gelatin in hot water. Add sugar, lemon juice and pineapple syrup. Dissolve. Add remaining ingredients and chill in refrigerator until set. Serves 6 or more.

6 Susan s Scribbles This week I had the opportunity to talk to a second-grade boy in my neighborhood about the recent power outage. It was the first time in his memory that the power had gone off for days and it was a whole new experience. He told me, You couldn t even play on your tablet if it wasn t already charged. We went on to talk about when his power came back on and then he said something I found very interesting. He said, Some people act like you can t do anything if you can t use your phone, but you can. Such wisdom. This recent period without power has made me realize how easy it is to develop an attitude of entitlement and selfishness. It didn t take me long to get very impatient about how long it was taking to restore power. After all, I had things I needed to do and they all required power. As I got more and more irritated about the situation, it occurred to me that I needed to change my attitude. I was thinking about access to electricity as if it was something that I deserved instead of seeing how blessed I am to have it readily available. The weather was neither blazing hot nor freezing cold. A tree had not fallen on my house in fact my house had no damage. Unlike some other people whose homes were destroyed by the hurricane, mine was fine. I almost never have to worry about not having power, unlike people in some parts of the world where power outages are a common occurrence. In fact, some people only have electricity certain hours of the day. I did not have a sick person at my house that relied on electricity for medical equipment. I was not afraid that it would be weeks or months before the power was restored. I thought of Puerto Rico where some people had to wait a year before they got power back. As I started to count my blessings instead of my inconveniences, my attitude began to change. Electricity is only one of the many blessings that we have that we take for granted. Instead of impatience and irritation I needed to take the opportunity to be grateful for the fact that on most days I don t even have to think about electricity. It is there and available for all the things I need to do. There are so many blessings that we take for granted. Even though all of us have problems, we also have a lot to be thankful for. I think I had a timely reminder. It is always a good day to count your blessings. Director Of Music and Worship Ministries Many of you have noticed that we are not live streaming anymore. This is because of technical issues we are facing that has to do with the quality of the broadcast. We are now recording the broadcast and then putting it on the Facebook page at a later time. This way will give a much better-quality recording for you to view and we are also only broadcasting the sermon. Thank you for your understanding.

7 Hanging of the Green Sunday November 25th, :00am Worship Service Christmas is around the corner! During the Advent season, we decorate our Sanctuary with beautiful symbols of the birth of Christ. Among these are poinsettias which we place in honor or memory of someone special in our lives. Beginning Sunday, November 4th, you will find poinsettia envelopes in the pew pockets and other areas of the church. Please use these envelopes to order poinsettias which will be carried into the Sanctuary on November 25th during the Hanging of the Green Worship Service. The price is $ Deadline for ordering is noon Wednesday, November 21st. General Greene Backpack Ministry We are in need of all types of food for the Backpack Ministry. Some examples of things that are needed are: Soup Canned spaghetti, ravioli, etc. Individual serving size breakfast cereal Packs of peanut butter and crackers Small juice boxes Canned meat such as tuna, salmon, etc. Small boxes/packets of fruit Individual packets of cookies Individual serving size pudding or applesauce Macaroni and cheese

8 1411 Benjamin Parkway Greensboro North Carolina Phone Website Return Service Requested Our Church Staff Pastor Kevin VaLeu Senior Pastor Cell: Office Ext. 204 Libby Boggs Administrative Secretary Office Ext. 201 Amber Bolling Financial Secretary Chip Holden Director of Music and Worship Ministries Office Ext. 202 Susan Small Director of Discipleship and Church Ministries Office Ext TH ANNIVERSARY HOMECOMING November 11th, 2018 On Sunday, November 11th we will have as our guest speaker for Homecoming, Former Pastor Brent Thomas of East Flat Rock Baptist Church, Hendersonville, NC. WE ENCOURAGE ALL OUR MEMBERS TO PLEASE INVITE A FRIEND FOR THIS SPECIAL OCCASION as we want to make it a INVITE-A-FRIEND-SUNDAY! Dinner will be a covered dish lunch provided by our members. We are anticipating a large number to attend so please bring enough food for your family plus a guest. Tell your family, and invite your friends to this time where we focus on God s continued faithfulness to Parkway.