SUNDAY, MAY 14, 11:00 A.M.

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1 THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH ILLUMINATOR Ye are the LIGHT of the world. Matthew 5:14 VOL. LIV MAY 10, 2017, WHITESBURG, KY NO. 19 SUNDAY, MAY 14, 11:00 A.M. We will recognize and honor all mothers during Morning Worship. Parents will commit themselves and their homes anew to God. Our youth will lead us in worship. THERE WILL BE NO EVENING SERVICE

2 FROM THE PASTOR S HEART What makes a real church? Each week I am addressing a different characteristic of a genuine, biblical church. Without these, we cannot be more than a social club. the first week I said that an ideal, biblical church firstly is THEOLOGICALLY SOUND and secondly IMITATIES JESUS CHRIST. Now, thirdly, IT PERSERVERES THROUGH ALL CIRCUMSTANCES. In 1 Thessalonians 1:6-7, Paul complimented the church with these words, having received the word in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became examples to all in Macedonia and Achaia who believe. Yes, scripture assures us that it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. In the love chapter of the Bible, Paul describes love like this, Love suffers long and is kind. Bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. Love never fails. I must admit that I often feel like weeping when I see believers quit. They get mad or they get hurt or they disagree or they face a trial in life and instead of drawing closer to God and the church, they pull away from them. Sometimes the little things seem to hurt us the most. I wonder when we stand before God one day and give him our reasons for quitting, if he will agree with us or if he will show us what we missed and how better life could have been if we had just persevered. Like Paul said in Romans 5:2-4, we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulations produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. We are called to be patient in tribulation. In Romans 8 we are assured that, the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Don t quit church. Don t get discouraged. Don t give up when things don t go your way. Be assured that the true, biblical church founded on the truth of Jesus is one in which, the gates of Hell will not prevail against it. Be faithful. Persevere. You are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. Bro. Tony Tony.Brown@whitesburgfbc.org GRADUATE SUNDAY will be Sunday, May 21 st. We will recognize all graduates (high school, college). If you are a graduate, please return the following information to the church office no later than Monday, May 15 th : Full name of graduate; school; degree, parents names, and future plans.

3 Vision, Continued from last week: FAITH AND THE FAMILY It was with that thought that God began to impress upon me the idea of being intentional in service. He brought three words to my mind in regard to being intentional: upward, inward, and outward. Upward: a person s relationship with God. Getting to know Him and opening up in order to trust Christ and understand that He is the Master. Inward: owning our faith and maturing spiritually. God has burdened me with the fact that so many youth and young adults stray away from the church and seemingly away from Him. So many seem to have borrowed faith and never understood the personal nature of faith. This area would focus on the issues of personal application of God s Word and discovering what He desires of the individual and the church. Outward: making our faith known. Sharing the Gospel in word and deed. Shortly thereafter, God reinforced this through a book that was gifted to me that focused on intentionally designing ministry to help others know God, own their faith, and make God known to others. I think we are on track when it comes to the projects that we have been focusing on with the strategic planning meetings, and we can align other projects as well. The projects that we have been working on are: Technology, Advertising, Welcome Center all of these seem to be Outward in nature. They can get the word out, increase excitement, help us to reach father, and be a great way to connect and make people feel like they are home. All of this for the purpose of introducing others to Jesus. Gifted to Serve Inward in nature, meant to help persons to spiritually mature. This could be a great tool to help educate our congregation on spiritual gifts, ministries and other activities of our church, and ultimately help provide and coach the ministry workers that are needed. This would potentially alleviate some of the burden of the faithful few and allow for increased growth on their parts as well. Youth (I would include preschool, children, and preteens as well) and Family Life Center Upward, Inward and Outward help to identify and fill in the gaps. Help each to know that they are full-fledged members. Help each to take ownership of their faith and responsibilities. On this issue of gaps, this is a particular area that God began speaking to me about prior to being called to Whitesburg First Baptist. Upon arriving here, God began to draw my attention to areas that were not functioning well or were completely absent. Thus far this has resulted in us beginning a preschool worship program in order to better teach preschoolers and allow the children s church workers to better teach kindergarten through third graders. It has also resulted in the Ignite ministry for 5 th and 6 th graders so they have their own space as they prepare to transition into the youth. The vision that God has given me includes tackling some more of the gaps that are present in this church: the middle school/high school transition, college/young adults, new parents, etc. Addressing these gaps requires intentionality, workers, and a willingness to refocus on evangelism and discipleship. Let me also mention that God called me here and placed me under the leadership of Brother Tony. I believe that God has given him a vision for this church, I trust his leadership, and I submit to his authority. God has given us our visions in order to best serve Him through this church via the gifts that He has granted us. This is a gifted congregation, let s strive to truly be His light unto the mountains. In Christ, JEREMY 2 Timothy 1:6-7

4 YOUTH HAPPENINGS For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Jeremiah 29:11 This Sunday our youth will be leading our worship service. They will be leading us in song, some sharing scripture, some leading in prayer, leading the children s blessing, doing an interpretive movement, and some giving a testimony. Please lift each of these young men and women up in prayer. Pray that they will simply come and let everything they say or do be about Jesus. When the music fades and all is stripped away And I simply come longing just to bring Something that s of worth that will bless Your heart I ll bring you more than a song for a song in itself Is not what you have required you search much deeper within Through the ways things appear you re looking into my heart I m coming back to the heart of worship And it s all about You, all about You, Jesus I m sorry Lord for the thing I ve made it --When the Music Fades The youth want to thank everyone for donating items to our yard sale, and for coming out and helping us get everything organized. We could not have had the yard sale without everyone s support. On the walls downstairs are sponsorship envelopes. If you would like to assist a youth with going on mission trip, you may use one of the envelopes. SUNDAY MORNING SNACKS MAY 14 No Snacks UPCOMING EVENTS MAY 21 Graduate Sunday JUNE Mission Trip

5 MUSIC NOTES What a fellowship, what a joy divine Leaning on the everlasting arms; What a blessedness, what a peace is mine, Leaning on the everlasting arms. Come and join us this Sunday as our youth lead us in worship. One song they will be singing is, Leaning on the Everlasting Arms. The author of this song, Anthony Showalter, returned to his home one evening from church to find two letters waiting on him from former students. Both men shared of the recent loss of their wives. When he wrote back and attempted to comfort each of these men in their grief, at the end of each letter he shared the scripture Deuteronomy 33:27, The eternal God is your dwelling place, and underneath are the everlasting arms. While writing his letters the chorus of Leaning on the Everlasting Arms came to his mind. He wrote the chorus down and sent it to Elisha Hoffman. He told him he had a chorus but no verses. Elisha wrote back the words to this famous hymn. Later Anthony gave his nephew, Sam Duncan, a homework assignment to add a tune to the poem. This song like so many other timeless hymns, have become words of worship, praise, encouragement and comfort to many. A MOTHER S PATIENCE A man observed a woman in the grocery store with a 3-year-old girl in her basket. As they passed the cookie section, the child asked for cookies and her mother told her, No. The little girl immediately began to whine and fuss. The mother said quietly, Now, Ellen, we just have a few more aisles to go; don t be upset. It won t be long. The man passed the mother again in the candy aisle. Of course, the little girl began to shout for candy. When she was told she couldn t have any, she began to cry. The mother said, There, there, Ellen, don t cry. Only two more aisles to go, and then we ll be checking out. Later, the man happened to be behind the pair at the checkout, where the little girl immediately began to clamor for gum and burst into a terrible tantrum upon discovering there would be no gum purchased today. The mother patiently said, Ellen, we ll be through this checkout stand in five minutes, and then you can go home and have a nice nap. The man decided to compliment the mother. I couldn t help noticing how patient you were with little Ellen. Ellen? said the mother, I m Ellen. My little girl s name is Tammy!

6 May 16: Linda Bentley, Pam Pratt 18: Glenna Harris 19: Herbert Caudill, Lillie Hall 20: Gary Anderson, Jake Bowling, Sara Coots, Rose Kirkland It is time again to participate in collecting filled baby bottles for The Appalachian Pregnancy Care Center in Pikeville. At this center, women who are experiencing unplanned pregnancy situations can receive Christian counseling and information regarding alternatives to abortion. Here they are encouraged to carry their babies to full term and look at other options instead of terminating the baby. Many adults and teens have made commitments to sexual abstinence until marriage through their Abstinence Program. Children were clothed, fed and nurtured through their Earn While You Learn Program. We encourage each family to take one home, fill it with change, and return them on Father s Day, June 18 th. Baby bottles are available in the foyer. Please pray about giving and supporting this ministry. A Mother s love is something that no one can explain, It is made of deep devotion and of sacrifice and pain. It is endless and unselfish and enduring come what may, For nothing can destroy it or take that love away. It is patient and forgiving when all others are forsaking, And it never fails or falters even though the heart is breaking It believes beyond believing when the world around condemns, And it glows with all the beauty of the rarest, brightest gems It is far beyond defining, it defies all explanation, And it still remains a secret like the mysteries of creation A many splendored miracle man cannot understand And another wondrous evidence of God s tender guiding hand. A young boy had been misbehaving, so his mother sent him to his room. Sometime later, he came out and told his mom he d prayed about the matter. That s good, she replied. If you ask God for help to not misbehave, he ll help you. Oh, I didn t pray for help behaving, said the boy. I prayed for God to help you put up with me.

7 MEMORIAL GIFTS UNIFIED BUDGET EMMA AMBURGEY MIKE & KIM COMBS In Memory Of OWEN AMBURGEY EXTENDED SESSION WORKERS May 14 Melissa Newell, Michelle Stone May 21 Julie Bentley, Tiny Caudill **************** PRESCHOOL WORSHIP May 14 NO PRESCHOOL WORSHIP May 21 Deanna Hipps The FBC staff and church family extends love and sympathy to BETH LITTLE and family in the death of her cousin, OLIVIA ADAMS. STEWARDSHIP TEAM MEETING Monday, May 15, 6:00 P.M. **************** CHILDREN S CHURCH WORKERS May 14 NO CHILDREN S CHURCH May 21 Donna & Mike Watts, Eleanor Caudill GALACTIC STARVEYORS THURSDAY, MAY 18 11:30 A.M. JUNE :00 8:30 P.M.

8 LAST SUNDAY S STATISTICS Sunday School Adults Youth Children Preschool -- 8 Morning Worship SPECIAL MINISTRIES FAMILY LIFE CENTER TOTAL NEEDED PHASE 2 $500, GIVEN TO DATE $419, NEEDED $80, Housing Authority Letcher Manor AWANA / IGNITE Children: 48 Adults: 25 Youth: 16 Adults: 2 ADDITIONS TO DATE (September August) By Baptism By Letter By Statement TOTAL ADDITIONS TOTAL RECEIPTS Budget Receipts $ 7, Budget Requirement $ 7, Family Life Center $ Designated $ 1, Budget Required to Date $136, Budget to Date $129, *************************** DEACONS MEETING Saturday, May 20, 7:30 A.M. DEACON OF THE WEEK May MYREL SHORT