Good News Messenger. Vol. 13 No. 9 First Southern Baptist Church Mattoon, Illinois September 2, From Our Pastor

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1 Good News Messenger Vol. 13 No. 9 First Southern Baptist Church Mattoon, Illinois September 2, 2014 From Our Pastor Well, kids are back to school, and many young adults are heading back to college. As many of you know, Julie (my wife), and I, will fall into the empty nest category as our last child (Matthew) begins his first year in college. It seems that some people are worried about us becoming empty nesters. At the present, we may be the only ones not worried about this. So, what do we do? As I answer what Julie and I will do becoming empty nesters, I first want to say that this is just another new stage in our lives. You see, life is made up of new stages. Each stage comes with its emotional adjustments. Julie and I will certainly experience this. So, how do we adjust? We can adjust by cleaning our/your house. We can adjust by making changes in the house. We can adjust by crying. Here s what we will do: we will adjust by relying on the Lord to move in our lives just like He has done with all our other adjustments. We will have highs and lows and turn them over to the Lord. We will pray for our children, even as we pray for each other. We will adjust and we will survive. I would say we d throw a great big party, but I like to go to bed early these days. We are fortunate to have a loving church family who have been in our shoes and will be there for us thank you. May God, in Christ, richly bless you! Pastor Calio

2 Deacons Corner Hello from the Deacons School has started and the students are learning many things including the use of words. But the word of the Lord endureth forever. And this is the Word which by the gospel is preached unto you. I Peter 1:25 Peter reminds us that the word of God is powerful. It leads to conversion and a new creature in God. As new people of God, we are to live out the Word by loving one another. We can love others because God loved us first. He gave us the example to follow and His enduring word to guide us. Because of what Jesus has done we have eternal life with God through our repentance and belief in Jesus. We don t have to love others, but we want to as we obey and grow in the love of Jesus. His spirit grows in us and as we allow Him to lead we will be like the New Testament Church in showing His love and service. more people are coming to worship and our church is proclaiming the gospel. Look for ways to serve as we worship. Serve and meet together for worship and Bible study as God leads. God bless you. The Deacons Larry Maguire Music Box Thanks to all who participated in the 5 th Sunday night sing. If we have any instrumentalists who are interested in joining the praise band, please come and see me. We usually practice on Wednesday nights at 6:00 p.m. Also, choir will be starting up on September 14 th. We will have some new music, so it s a great time to join. We practice on Sunday afternoons at 4:00. Julie Calio Music Director God is blessing our church. Mike Sloan had a miraculous healing in not having to have surgery, our finances are improving,

3 Women s Ministry We still have some cookbooks, if anyone did not get one. They are five dollars each, and they are located in the church office if anyone wants one. They also make great Christmas presents or wedding/shower gifts, if anyone wants to keep a few on hand. chapter of the Book of James each week. Level 5 Video, Book, Extra passage in book, write out each chapter of the book of James, & Memorize the book of James. (Do I have any takers for anyone to join me in the last challenge?) I m excited about what God will be teaching us through this book. If anyone has trouble with taming the tongue, or anger, or judging people This is the book for you----& me! Casey Baptist Church is hosting a Beth Moore live simulcast on Saturday, September 13 th. We will meet at the church at 8:00 a.m. Doors open at 9:30. The price is $10.00 which does include lunch. The event is over at 4:30 so please bring money for dinner and we will eat on our way home. So far we have four ladies attending, we have room in the van for three more. I ll be collecting the $10.00 the first Sunday of September. Let me know if you would like to join us. We are starting the Beth Moore Bible study on James on Thursday, September 11 th. We meet at 6:00 p.m. in the younger adult Sunday school classroom. If anyone is interested in going and forgot to sign up please come and talk to me. The books are around 17 dollars. There are different levels of this study. Level 1 Just come and watch the videos/no book needed. Level 2 Video and Book. Level 3 Video, Book, and Extra passage in book. Level 4 Video, Book, extra passage in book and write out each Julie Calio Women s Ministry Chairman At Noon New Dates to Remember Bible Study now at 6:00 p.m. instead of 7:00 p.m. (still on Wednesday night.) Thursday, September 18 th Live Wires will have lunch at Villa Pizza in Mattoon. We will leave church parking lot at 11:45 ( or go directly there.) Business Meeting now the 3 rd Sunday night of the month.

4 Sunday school School started a few short weeks ago. Learning and teaching has kicked into high gear. Learning for the disciples of Jesus Christ is a lifelong process. The word disciple literally means learner, with a strong sense of follower mixed in. If you didn t start school this fall, think about symbolically enrolling in some form of Bible learning, especially on a spiritual level. Simply beginning a Bible reading plan would be a good place to start. One way to learn about the Bible is to read it! I encourage each Sunday School Class to pick the plan they want and each week, before beginning the lesson, set aside a few minutes to discuss what was read. If you cannot find a plan, I have written a one year plan, a two year plan, a three year plan and a plan to read through the NT in a year. I will share any of these plans with your class. of reading and the basics of faith at the same time. In the setting of a Sunday school class, everyone has a chance to share thoughts and to ask questions about what they do not understand. If you have questions or doubts about what some scripture means, your Sunday school class is the place to discuss that problem. A nebulous thought or doubt is difficult to handle. If you can put that thought or doubt into words so that others can understand your problem, the problem is half solved. Your church has a class suited to your needs. You will find friends, in your Sunday school class who have many of the same problems you are having. If you are not enrolled in a Sunday school class, talk to our Sunday School Director, Jon Crask, and he will put you in a class that is suited to your needs. Today Sunday school is the great educational tool of our church, for children but also for adults. The adults who attend regularly find Sunday school a great place to learn and to have fellowship with other believers. Ask a good friend about a good devotional book to read daily or visit the church library and pick up a good book or two. Sunday school is also a great place to get involved in the Bible learning process. Sunday school began in England in the late 1700 s as a way to teach children who worked six days a week to read. Classes were held on Sunday, the text was the Bible and a time for worship was included. The children learned the basics Be watching out for School buses in the days ahead and Jon and Pastor will be watching to see you in Sunday school and Worship services as well. (Part of this article was taken from an article written by Dr. Roger Marshall, pastor of Effingham First Baptist Church.) John Alumbaugh

5 Hi Everyone, We have had a very good summer! I was blessed to oversee two great camps this year. We had six students attend Kids Camp this year and a total of 70 students from the WBA attended. We had 19 students from our church attend Summer Retreat and a total of 70 WBA youth! There were two salvations at Kids camp and one known salvation at Summer Retreat. I want to say a big Thank You to those that helped put up sound proofing in the new middle school class room! We are going to have another work day September 6 th to put up more sound proofing. Saturday, September 6 th Men s Ministry Meeting at Pagliacci s. Workday at church following all men welcome. Saturday, September 6th Ladies Night Out (daytime this month) We will go to Effingham s Fujiyama Japanese Restaurant, leaving here at 11:30. All ladies welcome. Pulse has started back up for the school year and the first week we had 22 students. We are continuing the 5 th quarter this year. The 5 th quarter is after every Mattoon High school football game we open up the gym and all middle school and high school students are invited to come. There will be pizza, games, music, and FUN! Last year our highest attendance for the 5 th quarter was 60 and we have set a goal for our students to have 75 here and a hope for 100. What a blessing that would be! I am looking forward to a very busy school year. I ask that you continue to be in prayer for our students, their schools, and our youth group. In Christ, Mike Sloan, Youth Director

6 2014 ~ Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 2 Shawl Ministry 3 1:00 p.m. WOM 6:00 p.m. Bible Study/Prayer 4 4:30 p.m. Trustees meet 6:00 p.m. Women s Beth Moore Bible Study 6:00 p.m. Men s Bible Study at Church 5 6 8:30 a.m. Men s Ministry Breakfast at Pagacilli s and work day at church after 11:30 a.m. Ladies Night Out at Effingham Fujiyama Steak House 7 9:00 a.m. S.Sch. 10:05 a.m. Worship Fellowship Meal NO Evening Services NO Awana Office Closed 8 4:30 p.m. Deacons 6:00 p.m. Outreach 7:00 p.m. S.S. Council & Nominating committee 9 Shawl Ministry 7:00 p.m. Finance Committees 10 6:00 p.m. Bible Study/Prayer 11 6:00 p.m. Women s Beth Moore Bible Study 6:00 p.m. Men s Bible Study at Church :00 a.m. S.Sch. 10:05 a.m. Worship 4:00 p.m. Choir 5:30 p.m. Awana 6:00 p.m. Worship Shawl Ministry 17 6:00 p.m. Bible Study/Prayer 18 6:00 p.m. Women s Beth Moore Bible Study 6:00 p.m. Men s Bible Study at Church Live Wires to Villa Pizza for lunch Church Workday - more details later 1:00 p.m. Coupon Class 21 9:00 a.m. S.Sch. 10:05 a.m. Worship 4:00 p.m. Choir 5:30 p.m. Awana 6:00 p.m. Business Meeting Shawl Ministry 24 6:00 p.m. Bible Study/Prayer 25 6:00 p.m. Women s Beth Moore Bible Study 6:00 p.m. Men s Bible Study at Church :00 a.m. S..Sch.. 10:05 a.m. Worship/Lord s Supper 4:00 p.m. Choir 5:30 p.m. Awana 6:00 p.m. Worship 29 6:00 p.m. Outreach 30 Shawl Ministry Don t let the noise of the world keep you from hearing the voice of the Lord.

7 September Evans, Kristina 01 Lawson, Jennifer 01 Reed, Amanda 02 Brandenburg, Cresta 03 Harley, Sarah 04 Matson, Bob 05 Stoltzfus, Sydnee 07 Couch, Mikala 09 Woolard, Bill 09 Pugh, John 10 Hillard, Chris 11 Third, Chris 12 Pugh, Susan 13 Hilligoss, Sr., Herman 14 Sloan, Ginny 14 Beck, Jillian 15 Manuel, Nolan 16 Miller, Jessee 16 Stoltzfus, Bob 16 Couch, Dakota 18 Righter, Hannah 20 Sikorski, Pat 20 Danielle Brinkman 24 Schoonover, Everette 30 October Shawn Couch 01 David Hilligoss 03 Jim Ayers 04 Ann Hardin 04 Krista Pickering 04 Keegan Rhodes 04 Brooke French 06 Lexi Landrus 06 Kathy Evans 09 Claire Beck 10 Ruth Biggs 15 Nicolle Kuyrkendall 17 Hayden Righter 17 Jim West 17 Fred Nieman 18 Blayton Nelson 20 Jack Hudson 21 Christoper Miller 21 Logan Dann 23 Maggie West 25 Aubrey Leggett 26 Jazmin Kuyrkendall 27 Beverly Warren 28 Dean Nichols 30 Jai Wollard 30 Sharon Layton 31

8 2014 Annual Westfield Baptist Associational Meeting September 15 th and 16 th Clarksville Baptist Church E Clarksville Rd, Marshall, IL Monday, September 15 th 6:45 p.m. Tuesday, September 16 th 2:00 p.m. & 6:45 p.m. All members welcome