THE PROCLAIMER. June 1, 2017

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1 THE PROCLAIMER June 1, 2017 WOMEN S MINISTRY What does it mean to be a friend? Friendship is not easy. In fact sometimes it isn t even fun. Sometimes friends have to do and say things that are outside of their comfort zones. Did you know that Jesus was the ultimate example of what a friend is all about? Jesus guarded his friendships even to the point of death. In Lisa Jo Baker s Bible study, We Saved You a Seat she writes, Because the ultimate friend, Jesus the one who moved into our neighborhood and pulled up a chair to get to know us, the friend of the popular and the unpopular, of priests and pastors, the educated and the uneducated, of elementary school girls and their minivan driving moms- put it pretty plain and simple. When asked what the greatest commandment was he said, Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and most important command. The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22: Sometime after quoting this scripture, Jesus shared the story of the Good Samaritan. It is not a story about identifying our neighbors, it is a story about being a neighbor. It is a story about being the kind of friend you and I always wanted. Maybe that old saying is true after all, You have to be a friend to have a friend. MUSIC MINISTRY Walk into almost any church in America and ask the following question and you will get a broad, but not surprising array of answers. That question? What kind (style) of music do you like? If I were to ask that question on any given Sunday I am certain that this would be the case. We all have different tastes, like and dislikes when it comes to musical taste. This leads me to an additional question: What kind (style) of music does God like? It s a bit funny but most of us assume God likes and even prefers exactly what we like! (He merely tolerates all that other stuff.) Could that possibly be true? If I m honest I have to admit that God probably likes lots of things that don t particularly appeal to me. So, what kind of music blesses God? Let me offer some suggestions. First, music that blesses God is music that speaks of Him in proper terms. This music has text that is doctrinally and biblically sound. Second, music that blesses God includes text that allows us to express our love, praise and adoration for God. This kind of music comes straight from the heart. I feel confident in saying that God is more interested in the condition of our hearts when we make music than He is the actual sound that we make. A great example of this is the verse we commonly hear so often that exhorts us to make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Is the noise joyful because of the way it sounds or because of the joy in our hearts? I think it is pretty safe to say that God is not that impressed with our musical efforts. Take away the wonderful lyrics that express our relationship with Him and we have is clanging cymbals. So as we worship the Lord through song (whatever the musical style) let us always seek to express our love for God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength. That kind of expression of worship will bless the Lord more than anything else we can offer! Alan FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, BIG SPRING, TEXAS The mission of First Baptist Church is to evangelize the unsaved, disciple the saved and nur ture all church members.

2 FROM THE PASTOR With excitement and anticipation, I look forward to VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL! We have the opportunity to tell the story of God s love to a multitude of children and their families as we gather June 5-9. The children will be looking through the telescope of God s Word to see the creation and the God of the creation: seeking the visible, they will discover the invisible. I am grateful for Justin and Megan Green for their leadership and all of those who are volunteering their time for the Lord to use in reaching families this week and beyond. Be sure to join us Sunday evening, June 11, as we follow-up on those who attended our Bible School. Also, continue to pray for the leaders, children, and families as they Discover the God of the Universe! This Summer, on Sunday evenings, we will again gather for a time of worship, study, and fellowship in the Family Life Center. Beginning Sunday, June 18, we will share a fellowship meal at 5:30 p.m. before entering into a time of worship. At 6:15, we will separate into small groups as we study Thom Rainer s book, I Am a Church Member. This study will guide each of us in considering our roles as members of First Baptist Church. We will kick-off to the I Am a Church Member study on Sunday, June 11. This meal will introduce us to the Summer Sunday night schedule as well as prepare us for our time together. And, as previously stated, we will close with a time of follow-up for Vacation Bible School. This Summer will be a wonderful opportunity for us as a church to draw closer to one another in the Lord! Plan now to participate with us! Thank you for your wonderful response on ministry to the Shoshi family. Your generous monetary gifts to facilitate their visit to the United States is evidence of your love for them and for your desire for them to experience the love of Christ. Also, your attendance and gifts at the Wednesday evening service was a strong witness to them of Christ s love. Continue to pray for Lis, Gzim, Buqua, and Dea. I long to worship with you this Sunday! Bro. Mark ACTS 1:8 OPPORTUNITIES For we are to God the pleasing aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. 2 Corinthians 2:15 KOSOVO. It s jalapeño planting season. The plants are growing in the greenhouses and will be planted in the fields soon. Pray that this summer is a fruitful year. God is putting together a very detailed business plan with the jalapeños as a way of putting more Kosovars to work and at the same time spreading the Good News of the Gospel. Pray for those who are developing this new business plan. Pray that the farmers will be open to the Gospel. Pray for Ymer, one of the first farmers who recently gave his life to Jesus. Simon is currently meeting with him three days a week to study scripture with him. Ymer is hungry. Pray for more Kosovars to be hungry for the Gospel. THANK YOU for the outpouring of love you showed the Shoshi family in their recent visit to the United States. This was a trip of a lifetime for them and they were absolutely overwhelmed by your kindness. Through you, the truth of the Gospel has been revealed in their lives. By this all men will know you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. John 13:35 Keep praying for God to accomplish His purposes in their lives and in those in their nation. DID YOU KNOW? Did you know that on a weekly basis we have people from many nations who worship with us? In the last several weeks we have had people worship with us from these nations: Cameroon (Africa), Kenya (Africa), South Africa, Kosovo, India, Netherlands, Russia, and Serbia. People from many other nations live in our city. Literally, the world is at our doorstep. Do you intentionally befriend those from other nations living in our city? Do you pray for the nations? Pray that we will be a light to the nations in our city.

3 KID S KORNER EXTENDED SESSION VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL School is out which means that VBS is finally here. After seeing how God moved through VBS last year, I am beyond excited to see how He uses each of us to make this year even better. We are taking kids on a journey looking out into the galaxy. As we search the stars, we will discover some amazing truths about the Creator of the universe. Kids can look forward to a fun-filled week of crafts, music, games, and more. VBS is June 5 th -9 th from 6-9 pm. If you haven t registered yet, zoom over to our website fbcbigspring.org and get that taken care of. SUMMERAMA Summerama has officially started. Children are spending Tuesdays and Thursdays learning about God s heart. We are taking a field trip almost every week to ensure our kids are maximizing their summer. If you want in on the action, contact the church office to see if space is still available. This action packed program is great for kids that love to keep moving. TODDLERS AND TWO YEAR OLDS June 4th: Jonathan & Rebekah Raffini June 11th: Theresa Salgado, Ashley & Heather June 18th: Beth Spence & Wanda Driver June 25th: Lori & Kaylee Morgan THREE AND FOUR YEAR OLDS June 4th: Morgan Metcalf & Megan Green June 11th: No Extended Session June 18th: Harvey & Rhonda Rothell June 25th: Stacey & Nolan Park SUMMER CAMPS Our kids have two summer camps lined up for this Summer. Everyone is welcome to Family Camp. This will be a smaller camp based around our church families. We are going to Lueders campground to spend some quality time. There is no internet and no cell service where we are headed. We will spend a Friday through a Sunday (July 28 nd -30 th ) playing games, doing devotions, eating great food and having an awesome time together as family units. If you want to be a part of this fun family weekend, contact the church office to reserve your spots. 4 th -6 th graders are reaching the end of their time in the Children s Ministry. In order to celebrate their seniority, we are taking them to an awesome camp just for them. We will be attending Student Life for Kids in Austin College July 9 th -12 th. I only have two spots left for this camp. If you know of a student in 5 th or 6 th grade that would love a week of awesome games and worship, call Justin in the church office to reserve a spot. June 2: Emma Morgan Jessa Morgan June 12th: Paxton Gromelski June 23rd: Kristen Schafer SUNDAYS AND WEDNESDAYS Over Summer we are shaking up our normal school year routine. On Sunday night we will be following along with the adults as we all go through Tom Rainer s book I Am a Church Member. Our kids will be studying how to live out their faith on their level while still enjoying the fellowship time with everyone. Wednesday nights will be on the same time schedule but the activities will change. We will alternate our current format with Wacky Wednesdays. These four nights will be based around Summer fun and will be a great way for kids to come have an awesome experience at church while escaping the I m bored of Summer vacation.

4 SUNDAY NIGHT STUDY Join us this summer as we discover what it means to be a church member in the 21st century! Sunday Nights from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm in the Family Life Center June 11th is the Kick Off June 18th the study will begin August 6th the study concludes The study is for all ages beginning at age 5. There will be a nursery for the younger children. A light snack will be provided each week of the study. MISSION OPPORTUNITIES MISSION CENTER/ FOOD PANTRY Thursday, June 8th 9:00 a.m. 11:00 a.m. We are in need of items for the food pantry. We are serving approximately 55 families each month. A few suggested items to pick up when you do your grocery shopping: ramen noodles, canned vegetables (corn and green beans), canned meat (Spam and chicken), dried beans, rice, canned fruit, peanut butter and jelly, spaghetti noodles, spaghetti sauce or hamburger helper. Volunteers are always needed. If you would like to volunteer, come at 8:30 a.m. and be blessed by this amazing ministry. Deacons of the Month Ernie Morgan Lewis Boeker Phillip Welch Carroll Husted Phone Numbers & s If you have changed your home or cell phone or address please let the church office know so we can update our records. Vacation Bible School The Exploration Begins June 5th through June 9th From to 9:00 p.m. One year old to Searching The Visible, Discovering The Invisible CHURCH STAFF & OFFICERS Rev. Mark Lindsey Pastor Mike Couch Business Administrator Alan Schantz Minister of Music Jonathan Raffini Minister of Youth Justin Green Minister of Children John Long Minister of Discipleship Tracy Boeker Mother s Day Out Director Erven Fisher Media Center Director Tiana Hergert Financial Secretary Lynda Schantz Music & Youth Secretary Beth Spence Church Secretary SUNDAY SCHEDULE Sunday Bible Study Morning Worship Handbell Rehearsal Men s Ensemble Kids Connection Saturate Youth Evening Worship 9:30 a.m. 10:50 a.m. 4:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. 5:30 p.m. First Baptist Church of Big Spring 705 W. FM 700 Big Spring, TX Phone: fbcbigspring.org WEDNESDAY SCHEDULE Adult Bible Study Adult Choir Practice Real LYF Saturate Youth 6:15 p.m.

5 YOUTH NEWS Sunday Night Study: I Am A Church Member by Thom S. Rainer Summer Sunday Nights at church starting June 11th, we will be studying a book together. These nights will begin with a time of worship, a snack meal and then small groups. Some nights (when Jonathan is in town) we will have a small group of just youth, on other nights, youth will join in with adults in small groups. Each week begins at 5:30 and ends at 7:00 and will be in the gym. Summer Youth Calendar If you did not receive a Summer Youth Calendar in the mail, please contact us in the church office and we will get you one asap. You can also download it from the church website: fbcbigspring.org - Youth Page. June Activities June 3: RockHounds Game Game starts at 7:00 pm June 5-9: Vacation Bible School 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm June 8: Mission Center: Food Pantry 8:45 am to 11:00 am June 13: Tuesday Trash Off 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm Location: TBA June 14: Youth Will Not Meet Youth Camp Youth Camp is almost here. See Youth Camp letter for all the information including departure times etc. June 15: Leave For Camp Meet at 6:00 am to load, buses will leave at 6:30 am June 19: Return From Camp Arrive Home Approximately 8:00 pm June 21: Youth at 6:00 pm June 28: Youth Will Not Meet Other smaller events my be added at a later date. All events are subject to change or cancellation

6 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday Schedule 8:00 a.m. V.A. Ministry 9:15 a.m. Media Center Opens 9:30 a.m. Sunday School 10:50 a.m. Morning Worship 5:30 p.m. Church Wide Study in the FLC Wednesday Schedule 5:00 p.m. Supper Adult Bible Study Adult Choir Real LYF 6:15 p.m. Saturate Youth (Watch Youth Calendar For Details) Extended Session Toddler to Two Year Olds: Three to Four Year Olds: June 4: Jonathan & Rebekah Raffini Morgan Metcalf & Megan Green June 11: Theresa Salgado & Ashley, Heather No Extended Session June 18: Beth Spence & Wanda Driver Harvey & Rhonda Rothell June 25: Lori & Kaylee Morgan Stacey & Nolan Park RockHounds Game 7:00 pm Leaving 5:00 pm No Evening Service or Activities LLL Mission Center: Food Pantry VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm NO NO MDO/UMMERAMA VBS Follow Up 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm Kick Off Our Sunday Night Study: I Am A Church Member 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm in the FLC VBS Celebration at The Waterpark 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm YOUTH CAMP Youth: Tuesday Trash Off 7:00 pm to 8:00 pm Youth Will Not Meet YOUTH CAMP JUNE 15TH - 19TH I Am A Church Member FLC at 5:30 pm I Am A Church Member FLC at 5:30 pm Youth Will Not Meet Deacons Meeting 4:00 p.m.