February The Challenge

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1 First Baptist Church PO Box 366 Calvert City KY Return Service Requested Pastor Music Leader Children s Ministry Director Youth Leaders Ministry Assistant Church Organist/Pianist Custodians Dr. Jim Ewing Danny Granstaff Janet Dietsch Lance & Trena Gregory Jan Moore Vicki Madison Marshall & Gail Agent February 2018 The Challenge Our Mission: Encounter Grow Serve Share Our Vision: Becoming Fully Committed Followers of Jesus Christ making a Kingdom Impact on Calvert City Sunday Schedule Wednesday Schedule 9:00 am Sunday School Prayer Meeting 10:15 am Worship Service Youth Ministry AWANA J.U.M.P. (K-5 th Grade)

2 Prayer Concerns for Our Church Family Letha Sickling results from Jan 15 CAT scan Oral Sickling recovering from shoulder surgery Jan 17 June Sewell recovering at home Doris Haley multiple health issues; future apt. with cardioligst Lowell O Daniel recovering from earlier fall Members who are staff and students at MCHS Homebound Linda Terry Carolyn Burt Convalescent Centers/Assisted Living Rivers Capps - living with daughter s family in Benton Polly Norwine - Stilley House, room 418 Military Members Corey Joiner Ben Sewell Stephen Ewing Prayer Concerns for Friends & Loved Ones John Kerr (Ray Tucker s half-brother) stage 4 lung cancer, Justin & Katie Wylie (Jan Moore s daughter & son-in-law) boys Ben & Jack born premature Jack still on oxygen and now has a G-tube but both boys are home! Caleb Riley (Larry & Doris Coursey s grandson) 2nd degree burns on his face, recovering at home Families of Bailey Nicole Holt and Preston Ryan Cope fatalities from MCHS shooting College Students Allie Owen UK Law School Shelton Owen - of Alabama Connor Jones MSU MBA Kayla Travis - MSU $$$ JANUARY FIGURES $$$ GENERAL BUDGET FUNDS ACTIVITIES BUILDING & SIGN FUNDS Budget Needs Monthly $ 21,385 Budget Receipts (thru Jan. 31) $ 22,603 Activities Bldg. Total $ 26,898 YTD Budget Needs $ 21,385 Sign Fund Total $ 13,249 YTD Budget Receipts (thru Jan. 31) $ 22,603 Feb 2 nd Troy Truitt Feb 8 th Phyllis O Bryan Feb 15 th Anna Hodge Feb 19 th Shirley Harrington Feb 14 th Joe & Karen Owen Feb 18 th Adam & Bethany Morton Feb 23 rd Albert & Pam Cornwell

3 From Your Pastor: Jim Ewing I recently ran across this article that I d like to share with you. The type is smaller so it will fit. It pretty much speaks for itself: Seduced by a Comfortable Life - Tanya Ling 10 January 2018 Most people would agree that living in places like Australia or the United States means having a pretty comfortable life. Most of us reading this are affluent compared to global averages, and have privileges that other people around the world only dream of. These are good gifts from God, given out of his kindness and grace, and we ought to thank him for them. But has it become too much of a good thing? Is it possible that some of us have become too comfortable? Think about your daily life: your routines, your habits, and your thought patterns. Are you mindful of God? Does he feature in your thoughts throughout the day, or just when you sit down to do your quiet time? Where is he on your daily priority list? In my life, I have noticed an unhealthy pattern. When things are hard (such as when I am upset or stressed, or have a particularly bad time with my health), the difficult situation makes me cry out to God for help and serves to remind me how dependent I am on him. I pray more, I thank him more, and am more focused on trying to live for him. I find myself feeling much closer to God. But when things are going well I am quick to forget what I learned in the hard times, and leave behind that closeness and reliance on God that I enjoyed. I start trying to be self-sufficient, and stop asking him for his help and provision. If my circumstances are good, my joy begins to come from things other than God. I still read my Bible and pray, but it sometimes feels like just another box to tick off before getting back into my day. Does this sound familiar? When we live in affluence, ease, and comfort, it is easy to forget how much we need God. For the Israelites, this happened when they reached the promised land. After decades of relying directly on God s provisions to survive, they finally made it to a place where there was abundant food and comfort and security and they began to turn their backs on God: For when I have brought them into the land flowing with milk and honey, which I swore to give to their fathers, and they have eaten and are full and grown fat, they will turn to other gods and serve them, and despise me and break my covenant (Deut 31:20). Can you see how living comfortably can actually be dangerous? It s why the writer of Proverbs 30:8-9 prays: Give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, Who is the Lord? We need to be careful not to fall in love with the worldly comforts and pleasures that we have at our disposal. We need to be vigilant so that they will not seduce us. Here are some practical ideas to help guard our hearts. 1. Praying for our daily bread - For me, living with a chronic illness has forced me to rely on God daily for provision of energy and stamina in this area, I am sorely in need! But asking God to give us this day our daily bread (Matt 6:11) is not something that feels necessary for most of us. If we look at the food in our pantry, and the money in our bank account, we probably feel pretty certain of a few months of daily bread! But God does not want us to become selfsufficient by hoarding our manna. As natural disasters, global financial tensions and terrorism have shown us, nothing is secure. No matter how well-off we might be, we need to make a habit of asking God daily to supply our needs. He is the provider of all things. 2. Seeking God in all decisions - Having great wealth (or feeling secure, or having good health) means having more options: Where should I live? How much money should I give away? Where should I go on holidays? How many children should I have? You might be fully convinced in your own mind about your capacity to make these decisions, and what your own personal desires are. James 4:13-15 describes a situation that is familiar to most of us: Come now, you who say, Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. Instead you ought to say, If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that. Making these decisions without God s input is prideful and unwise. We need to inquire of the Lord and seek his will, in both the big and little things in life. 3. Looking forward to heaven - We are foreigners and aliens here. Our home is elsewhere, so we shouldn t get too comfortable. Usually we only talk about heaven during times of illness, death and grief. But this needs to change! We need to remind ourselves and remind each other of our hope in heaven during the good times too. Any comforts we have in this life will pale in comparison to what God has in store for us. If we are caught up and distracted by the joys this world has to offer, we are, according to CS Lewis, far too easily pleased. 1 For No eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him. (1 Cor 2:9) Let s not settle for second best, seduced by the shallow comforts that we experience in our earthly lives. We need to work hard at cultivating habits that help us depend on God, and keep our eyes on the treasure that is in store for us because that is the only comfort worth living for. 1. CS Lewis, The Weight of Glory, HarperCollins, New York, 1980, p. 26. Together in Him Bro Jim Music Ministry: Danny Granstaff When things go wrong how can we hold on to our faith in God? As Christians, we know that we're supposed to "give thanks in all things" and look to the Lord for our daily needs. Yet some have been through a devastating experience in recent days. How can we be thankful and trust God at a time like this? The following is an excerpt taken from an article from the ministry of Focus On The Family. In light of the recent tragedy, perhaps it can be used as a small part in the continual healing process. "We must never forget that we live in a fallen world. If things go wrong and trials beset us, this isn't a reflection on the power and genuineness of God's love. Nor does it necessarily imply that we have sinned against Him or displeased Him. It simply means that the world isn't what it's supposed to be. Genesis 3 tells the story of mankind's fall from grace. This fall marred the original design of God's creation in many ways. It separated us from our Creator and our true nature. It caused us to rebel against Him and engage in denial and self-deception. It affected our physical bodies, bringing sickness and death into the world. It threw a wrench into our relationships with one another. It introduced pain and suffering into our lives. Because of this, the world in which we live today is not the world as God intended it to be. It is, in a very real sense, a defective and abnormal world. The Good News is that the Lord is not content to leave us there. This is the second thing we need to bear in mind. Our Father in Heaven has a plan to fix the brokenness

4 of the world and heal the pain in our personal lives. He loved us enough to send Jesus Christ, His only Son (John 3:16), to reverse the effects of the fall. Christ has come to reconcile us to God, to each other, and to our true human nature. Of course, the Bible never gives us any reason to suppose that these changes are going to take place overnight. On the contrary, it states very clearly that while we live in the flesh, we can expect to experience "groanings" within ourselves as we look forward to the final "redemption of our body" (Romans 8:23). Ultimately, a day is coming when there will be no more sickness, pain, killings, theft, bullying, death, the list goes on and on. One day is coming where He will wipe away every tear from our eyes (Revelation 21:4). Meanwhile, there's nothing wrong with being honest about our pain, frustration, hurt, questions or whatever other difficulties we are going through. The men and women of the Bible understood this. David poured out his heart to God in the Psalms. Job expressed deep anguish in the midst of incredible grief and suffering. Hannah complained loudly about her childlessness. If you're hurting, the Lord doesn't expect you to cover it up with a plastic smile. Tell Him what you're really thinking and feeling. He has promised never to leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). He hears your prayers even in the dark times when He seems absent and silent." Grieve, Listen, Talk, Love, Forgive; and when the day is done and the night comes, remember...god. Children s Ministry: Janet Dietsch Hearts, hearts, and more hearts! That s what we usually see in February, especially on Valentine s Day. Our children express their love for God and us in many different ways. They read their Bible, they listen to stories about God, they learn verses from the Bible, they pray, they sing, and they talk about Him. They spend time with us, hug and kiss us, and talk with us. It makes our hearts fill with joy as we spend time with the children of First Baptist Church. Spend a little time and talk with the children and hear what they have to say. They are our future! The children in would like to thank everyone for donating hats and gloves. We turned in 50 sets of hats and gloves to the Calvert-Sharpe Resource Center. We could not have done it without you. We also have put together some goodie bags for City Hall, the Police and Fire departments to say thank you for all they do. Thank you Jenny Travis for helping in the last few months. We enjoyed having you and look forward to you helping again. AWANA is in its second half of the year and the children are working very hard. We are so proud of them. Our leaders are wonderful with our children and they are also working very hard. They are the ones who make me look good! Thank you for all of your hard work and dedication. We ll be working on our cars soon for the AWANA Grand Prix, which will be on May 20 th. We hope you make plans to join us. We have such a great time with our children. We would love to have you come and join the fun! We are also making plans for activities for the children to help them learn more about Easter. Yes, the bunnies and candy are great, but we will focus on the reason for Easter. I may need volunteers to help with some things and probably donations of candy. I ll let you know. Be watching and listening for what we ll do next! Children in Christ Janet Dietsch Blessings, Danny Youth Ministry: Lance & Trena Gregory We started out the New Year with a series labeled Have the Best Year Ever and after the first lesson we have been in a whirlwind trying to finish this series out. We all endured the BIG snowfall and school was out for a week! And services were canceled and which also postponed our studies. Then school starts back and the UNTHINKABLE happens at Marshall County High School. There is not anything I can say that we haven t already felt since this happened. The youth have faced something we never thought would EVER happen here. But what I can tell you is GOD had his hands on every single one!! We live in a fallen world and there is no such thing as a Safety Bubble Community, but there is strength in the Lord! What a reminder to All of Us that the enemy is right at our doorstep, waiting to destroy any hope that we may have. He wants us to doubt our faith by questioning; If there is a GOD why did this happen? But the thing is we will seek the Comfort of the Lord since HE is the only One who can give us true peace and strength to get through this fallen world. We as a Church and Youth Group diligently seek the true word of GOD and that is what makes this Church at the corner of 1 st and Ash in Calvert City #MARSHALLSTRONG!!! In Christ, Lance & Trena Gregory

5 FEBRUARY 2018 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Awana Soup-er Night 4 11 Awana Valentines Night 18 Deacon s Mtg. Awana M&M Night Banks Closed Business Mtg. 15 Feast of the Lord Bible Study 9:30 am & 6:30 pm 22 Feast of the Lord Bible Study 9:30 am & 6:30 pm Family Game Night Awana Neon Night Come Play Pickleball! Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday mornings 8:30 10:30 a.m. in the gym. Contact Kathy Poague or Darlene Latta for more information. NURSERY ASSISTANTS USHERS PRAYER ROOM DEACON OF THE WEEK Feb 3 : Jill Pagel & Hadley Pagel Larry Coursey Carolyn Outland & Anna Hodge Brandon Cayton Feb 11: Tricia Greer & Courtney Gregory Phil Broyles Phil Broyles & Lance Gregory Dale Smith Feb 18: Jo Beth Jones & Kathy Poague Gerry Poague Andy Pagel & Sam Jones Andrew Pagel Feb 25: Sandra Sewell & Cheryl Ewing Adam Morton Becky Tynes & Carolyn Outland Lance Gregory Kids Town Worship Marcella s Drivers Counters Teller Team Tue Jan 30: David Madison Fri Feb 2: Nancy Whitler Feb 5: Rebecca Wilson Feb Jennifer Burnham Tue Feb 6: Sam Jones Fri Feb 9: Nancy Whitler Feb 12: Becky Tynes Billy & Anna March Tue Feb 13: Dale Smith Fri Feb 16: Nancy Whitler Feb 20: Betty Thompson Hodge Tue Feb 20: Jerry Devine Fri Feb 23: Jerry Devine Feb 26: Mildred Oliver Tue Feb 27: Ray Tucker