From the Pastor s Pen

Transcription

1 Liberty Temple Baptist Church Newsletter October 2014 From the Pastor s Pen Happy 36th Anniversary Liberty Temple! I hope you are catching the wave and are in celebration mode as we approach another year of grace and blessings that God has bestowed upon us. I have tip-toe anticipation to see what greater things God will do through us, but I m celebrating right now that He has done great things for us! Our theme A Church Turned Up in Excellence (I Corinthians 12:31b) indicates that we must not be satisfied with the good things we ve experienced when greater things are in store for us. We are visioning now for what we will experience in God s time for us (Jeremiah 29:11; Habakkuk 2:3). The thought is the ancestor of the deed. So we are now engaged in Tuning Up &Turning Up the Vision. You can t be what you can t see. We see through the eyes of faith (Habakkuk 2:4; Hebrew 10:38; I Corinthians 2:9). Over the next year as we move beyond our 36th year celebration, we will be embracing God s revelation for our church s ministry. Our leaders have met with me bi-monthly as I have challenged them with knowing good is the enemy of great! We are going to prepare to move to yet another level of ministry during our Annual strategic planning retreat. This will help us cast vision for the next 5-10 years of our ministry. I encourage each of you to begin brainstorming and embracing how you will play a part in this process or pass on ideas so that our leaders can share them with us. The exciting summer preaching series How to Turn Up for Christ! is now available for purchase. Both CD s and DVD s are very reasonably priced, averaging just over $3 per item if you buy the entire set! You will want to hear or revisit messages like How To Turn Up Your Potential to Be Blessed, How To Turn Up Your Compassion, How To Turn Up Your Passion, How To Turn Up Your Will to Survive How To Turn Up Your Capacity to Change among others. I also did a message entitled When God Turns Up the Volume that was a real blessing! One of our young adults, shot several times earlier this year and diagnosed to be paralyzed for life, was brought unexpectedly into the church during the message, rose up from his wheel chair and took small steps! God is truly amazing and miracles happen! You can place an order with our media ministry, in the office or on-line by ing: LTBC.MediaMinistry@gmail.com. Also follow us on Facebook and Twitter and please, like our page so you can stay updated In This Issue... regularly. Have a blessed experience as you Turn Up for God and as always, KEEP LOOKIN UP! 36th Anniversary Reflections-2 The Light Thru My Eyes Charter Member Interview 2 Upcoming Events-3 Libertarian Health & Wellness- 3 The Ministry Limelight-4

2 36th Church Anniversary Reflections & Highlights What an excellent day- a day filled with inspiring words and awesome events that all tribute Liberty Temple Baptist Church's glorious 36th church anniversary. On Sunday, September 28 Liberty Temple entertained many guests who came to help celebrate this anniversary with us, from the spirit-filled morning services to the joyful evening service. During our two morning services, there were countless people coming forth to honor this We were blessed to hear a Word from visiting minister Rev. Dr. James L. Cherry, pastor of Aenon Baptist Church out of Rochester, New York. Pastor Cherry, not only gave us an insightful exhortation filled with conviction, he also got us moving with his immeasurable energy. To add to this special day, Liberty Temple also organized a wonderful musical to close. This musical celebration which featured the Liberty Temple Mass Choir, God's Golden Voices, soloist Kevin Stewart Jr, Roderiguez Linson and Ministry, along with many other special guests, mixing the old with the new. Church anniversary chairpersons, Colleen and Charles LeSure, would like to thank everyone who has made this celebration a great success. "Today was great" says chairperson, Colleen LeSure. "I was especially happy to see Trustee Seay and Trustee DeRamus being honor today. It was quite a surprise." This had truly been a blessed day; a time where we look back at where we have come from and look forward to where we will soon be. The Light Thru My Eyes Interview with Charter Member Sis. Audrey Seay Each month, the Light of Liberty would like to change focus and let members, old and new, tell us about their Liberty Temple. This month, in honor of our church's recent 36th church anniversary, we sat down with one of Liberty Temple's charter members, Sis. Audrey Seay. Sis. Seay was extremely eager to tell us about the 2 church's early years. Sister Audrey Seay joined Liberty Temple in June of The very beginning of the church was actually a mission but later became a church in October of Liberty Temple's first members were Pastor Thompson, the Landrum family, the Seay family and a few others and were located in a rented building on Rutherford/Puritan. Sis. Seay was an extremely faithful servant, helping to set up ministries such as the Sunday school, missionary department and choirs (with herself as the featured soloist and only member) and also becoming the building's caretaker, setting up for weddings and such. When asked what her fondest memory of Liberty Temple is, Sis. Seay recalls a time when the youth department visited the Wolverine Camp Grounds near Jackson, MI for camp every summer for four days. She was one of the camp cooks there. " It was such a pleasant and a beautiful experience working with the kids. Not only did we prepare the meals, we were active with the kids" says Sis. Seay. She also remembers when she and her husband, Trustee Seay and a group of members sold cases of meat as a fundraiser for a new building which were stored on the back porch of the Seay home. After thousands of dollars and other fundraisers, Liberty Temple moved into their new building (with much restoration and remodeling on their part). Sis. Seay says that "it was a lot of work but it was fond memories and we enjoyed doing it because we were moving into our own edifice". When asked what her first impressions of Pastor Bland were she stated "he was a great man in Christ Jesus, that Jesus Christ was first and foremost in his life". She goes on to say "the way he spoke in his message let me know who he was". Sis. Seay believes that the church is moving forward and that people are beginning to embrace the vision Pastor Bland has for the church. She also says that the church will continue to grow both in numbers and within ourselves. "The only way we're gonna grow is by doing what we are supposed to do as Christians and that's following Jesus Christ's footsteps, what he has left for us to do".

3 October 2014 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Pastor Bland New Anderson Temple Pastor s Birthday Celebration (11 AM Worship service)- Chicago Mass Choir 6 7 Bible Study(7 P.M.) 8 9 Pastor s Birthday! Bible Study 15 Coalition for Liberty & Justice for All: Public Forum (6P.M. in Main Sanctuary) 16 New Beginning Church( 7P.M.) Men s Day Fellowship at Greater Marion Chapel (4 P.M.) Bible Study & Prospect 25 Chicago Fellowship (depart) 26 Chicago Fellowship (return) KRAZY 11 A.M Bible Study Special Events & Activities HARVEST FEST Trunk & Treat ( 6P.M.-9 P.M.) Health tip of the month: -Make meals at home to go. If you are one of those fortunate few who are spared a few leftovers at your house, put them in some Tupperware and October 5th Pastor s Birthday Celebration (Chicago Mass Choir October 9th Happy Birthday Pastor Bland! October 15th Coalition for Liberty & Justice for All, Public Forum A chance to talk to the Candidates (6p) October 19th- Final Day to pay for Chicago Fellowship Trip (See Trustee Linda Smith) October Marion Chapel(4p) October 24th-106 New Prospect October 25th-26 Chicago Fellowship Trip October Beginnings Church(7p) KRAZY P.R.A.I.S.E in South Sanctuary (11a) 3 October 19th Men s Day October 31st Harvest Fest & Trunk & LTBC(6p-9p)

4 THE MINISTRY LIMELIGHT Divine Signs Sign Language Ministry Each month, the Light of Liberty would like to shed a limelight on one ministry in Liberty Temple Baptist Church that people may not know much about. This month, Sis. Shanika Hatcher Editor-in-Chief of the Voice of Liberty, under the Light of Liberty Ministry, interviewed Sis. Patricia O'Neal, the coordinator of the 'Divine Signs' Sign Language Ministry here at Liberty Temple. Divine Signs became a ministry at Liberty Temple in Their mission statement is along the lines of helping people who have handicaps, namely the deaf, to understand worship and to also praising in a way that is outside of the norm for Liberty Temple. Since the ministry has started, each member has grown spiritually together; praying, fellowshipping and advising one another. It's not always fun and games with this ministry. Get ready for homework. This trained ASL teacher has given books to her members out of which she assigns regular homework and has each of the members learn the songs they minister twice; once for the words and twice for the sign language equivalent of the words. Sis O'Neal says "she would like for those who cannot hear the Word to still be able to receive the Word". For Divine Signs the future looks awful bright with aspirations of signing during entire services, sign language concerts and visiting other ministries. Sis. O'Neal would like to recognize all the current members of Divine Signs which include Jennette Bland, Ann Jones, Nene Berry, Alize Long, Elexus Calloway and Leah Meredith.

5 YOUTH CONNECTION CORNER GOD CHASERS The Youth and Children's Ministries of LTBC request YOUR participation. You are needed to support the TRUNK or TREAT efforts during Harvest Fest We ask that all members willing and able, to donate candy to support the Trunk or Treat efforts coming up in October. Donations (candy or monetary) can be dropped off to the church office for collection. Deadline: 10/26 YOUTH & CHILDREN CHURCH Come experience the power of K.R.A.Z.Y PRAIZE every 4th Sunday at Liberty Temple Baptist Church! Calling ALL MEN of Liberty Temple Baptist Church!!! Your needed to support TRUNK or TREAT during Harvest Fest A minimum of 50 MEN are needed to support this fellowship Friday, October 31, 2014, from 6:00p 9:00p. Sign-Up to volunteer with Bro. Jamar Owens or Sis. June Berry COSTUMES ARE STRONGLY ENCOURAGED!!! Location: LTBC South A.M. YOUNG GENERATION MINISTRY (YGM) Light Point Spoken Word Bible STUDY EVERY TUSDAY AT 7.P.M. Friday, October 24 New Prospect MBC ALL Youth & Young Adults interested in participating in the final chapter of the 2014 trilogy 106 & Psalm see Bro. Jamar Owens NOW. Rehearsals soon to begin. Don t miss your chance to experience God in a different kind of way.

6 Our Mission: Liberty Temple Baptist Church Liberty Temple Baptist Church is a Bible-Centered body of believers who, through the preaching of the Gospel, are called to edify the body of CHRIST by perfecting the saints for the work of the ministry and establishing disciples into the Kingdom of God through evangelism. Thereby, fulfilling the great commission as mandated by the Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 28: Our Motto: Walk in the Light of Liberty! To submit an article or purchase an ad to be published in the newsletter please the Light of Liberty Ministry, by 5:00 P.M. on the last Tuesday of each month at: LightofLiberty1@gmail.com Liberty Temple Baptist Church Rev. Dr. Steve Bland Jr. Senior Pastor Greenfield Rd. Detroit, MI Phone #: Fax: