Spreading The Light August 2016

Transcription

1 Spreading The Light August 2016 First Southern Baptist Church 1524 N. State Route 89 Chino Valley, Az Mark A. Reeder, Pastor Church: Purpose Statement: Magnifying The Word of God By fulfilling The Great Commandment. To Love The Lord Our God and Our Neighbor, Mobilizing The People of God By Fulfilling The Great Commission to Go make Disciples, Baptize and Teach. 'And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: 3 "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4 "Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. 5 "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. 6 "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. 7 "Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. 8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 9 "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. 10 "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 "Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. ' Matthew 5:2-12

2 Pastors Paragraphs We ve spent the first six months of this year talking about what it means for the body of Christ to look like Jesus. I d like to take the last half of the year to examine biblically what it looks like to, live like Jesus. I sense that God wants us to clearly define what a disciple of Jesus really is. Jesus discipled His followers to live like Him, so now that we have defined (in a very general sense) what the church, (the body of Christ) looks like corporately. It s time to see what that means for each of us individually. That, is living like Jesus. We will look at how and why Jesus made disciples and learn to live like He created us to! We will spend some time in The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:2-12) talking about what it means to be a peacemaker, or pure in heart and meek to mention a few. We ll examine what the laws roll is for folks who are under grace, and why Gods description of how the family functions is vital to mankind s well being. We also would like to provide a process of true discipleship to grow and equip folks on every level, from new believers or potential followers of Jesus to mature. We desperately need to provide training and encouragement for every level of spiritual growth through different classes and training sessions. It is crucial that we bring new believers through basic training and equip leaders to serve effecti0vely. This is just the beginning of what I hope will be a long process of learning to look and live like Jesus. His body - the church- was always commissioned to make disciples and change the world. We will sharpen our focus on doing that. We need teachers and trainers so you may be called on to do some teaching, training, or mentoring. We ve spent a lot of time this year looking at what we need to do as a church - this is step one. Hopefully by next month we can share with you a line up of classes that will help you right where you are. Please pray with us as we map out our course for the future. Pastor Mark

3 Children s Ministry As some of you know, our Nursery staff member will be absent while she gets some parts fixed. If you can serve in the Nursery on Sundays (during Bible Study and/or Service), here is information which may help you figure out what you can do (Adapted from an article by Kal Otis - family & children s pastor in Park Ridge, Illinois in Children s Ministry July/August 2016). God designed babies to be dependent on others. When their physical and emotional needs are met in a consistent and caring manner, they learn they can trust people around them. As we care for babies, it's important to build a foundation of trust that one day will influence how they trust God. Babies feel safe and cared for when they see the same face in the nursery each week. Staffing this room with at least one consistent volunteer whose voice, touch, and smell become familiar to a baby will lay a foundation of trust. Talk to babies using exaggerated tones and voices. Say, "Who loves you? God loves you!" or "Who made you? God made you!" Make eye contact and watch their facial expressions to see how they react to different pitches. Your voice and eye contact build trust. Play worship music and hold a baby close to your heart. Gently move around in time to the music while silently praying for him or her. This strengthens human bonding, which is important for emotional trust development. Hold a colorful stuffed animal in front of a baby's face. As you talk, move the animal from side to side, and encourage the baby to follow along. Say, "This is a bird. God made birds. They fly in the sky!" or "This is a cow. God made cows. A cow says 'moo. This facilitates visual tracking and development. Our God has designed infants to thrive, as well as learn how to trust, through direct contact and positive human interaction. So as we plan activities, let s include these key ingredients. KIDS BIBLE ADVENTURE Promotion Sunday is August 7th. Current 6th graders will meet in the Bible Adventure Room and after a short 'ceremony', will be escorted to their new youth group. We look forward to everyone's advancement as they continue to grow on their faith walk.

4 WMU Corner By Evelyn Ross Late summer brings the last of long awaited vacations and the start of a new school year for many. We may spend our vacations in cooler places or entertain visitors that come to see us with the beautiful sights that God has created such as the Grand Canyon, colorful Sedona or the old west in downtown Prescott. Last month we swelled with pride as we celebrated yet another national birthday in our great country where we are still free to worship God along with a dedication to serve and lead people to the salvation we have found through Jesus sacrifice. This goes along with the great commission that Jesus has left us with. We had a great meeting in July! We met in Kate Donaldson s home where we had a baby shower for the Crisis Pregnancy Clinic in Prescott. We received a lot of baby and toddler clothes along with some much needed items such as pacifiers, blankets, etc. We had a great time of fellowship and enjoyed a wonderful covered dish luncheon. Thank you Kate for your hospitality and a big thank you to all the ladies that attended. We now look to August and the great things that are ahead. We, at WMU, feel it is our purpose to support the great commission by being a driving force in serving our community, our church, promoting our Southern Baptist North American and International missionaries, along with Operation Christmas Child ministry through Samaritan Purse. We invite all ladies to come with us, as we continue with these activities, along with joining us in the New Year, starting in September. We will be wrapping shoeboxes in Christmas paper at our August 4th meeting. The meeting starts at 10:00 A.M. and we meet in the same B building that houses the visitor center. We can use more shoeboxes, so if you have one or two or more that you would like to donate, please bring them to the church lobby and put them under the Operation Christmas Child (OCC) display table. Starting Sunday, August 14th, there will, again, be shoeboxes you can pick up to fill for OCC. This year the blessing of the boxes will be on Sunday, November 13th. It isn t too early to start praying and filling your boxes for that special boy/girl that will be receiving your gift. If you choose to get a box from the church, you will have a choice this year of either picking up an empty box for free or a partially filled box for $7.00 that will go for your postage. There will be a donation box on the OCC table in the lobby. The partially filled box will be registered with Samaritan s purse so you can track the country where your box ends up. We are excited to have a goal this year, for our church, of 300 boxes. If you choose to bring in items for boxes, there will be a list of supplies still needed starting Sunday, September 4th. There are lots of sales on items in August and September that can be put in shoeboxes, so keep a look out for the ads. Sharla Coffman, who has been teaching our Children s mission group, Children in Action (CIA), has resigned. We appreciate her dedication to our children these past months. Sharla has kept our CIA website updated weekly, and has always been prepared to give her all to the children she has been teaching. The children will miss her. CIA is a vital part in preparing our future generation for missions. Without this program and others like it, missionaries in the future will cease to exist. We are looking for a leader and an assistant, to teach our children for the new church year beginning in September. Please pray that these vacancies will be filled. If you have a heart for missions and would like to teach or assist our children please call Evelyn Ross at Training and literature will be provided. As I write this, I am reminded of the Great Commission command that Jesus left all of us with. It is found in Matthew 28: 19-20, where we read; Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you, and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. KJV Please join all of us in WMU, praying for the Missionaries here in Arizona that serve unselfishly every day along with their families. Also please pray for the unsaved people the missionaries minister to.

5 Men s Ministries Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The lamp of the body is the eye. If therefore your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If therefore the light that is in you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon Matthew 6:19-24 When I first read these verses, I don t think I quite understood what Jesus was saying. My first thought of treasure were the things I gave value to. A new car, house, or even an old baseball card. These were all things that many of us treasure and are important to us. Knowing Jesus like I do, he wouldn t want us to be concerned about earthly treasure. So I next thought about what are the things I treasure. A wise man might say family, wife, or your kids. Making memories with the ones you love. The harsh reality is that all things made from the earth eventually return to the earth. Nothing created by man, including our physical bodies, eventually wear out and one day returns back to the dust from which it is made. What is the greatest treasure ever given to us by God? Genesis 1:26 tells us the answer to this mystery. After God created the universe and all that is in it, He then created mankind. Unlike all of the rest of creation, we were made in their image. Our spirit is made to be a mirror of God. A reflection of true love, God s love. Our soul is the greatest treasure we have ever been given. At one time, I have to believe that our spirit was full of Gods light shining brightly, reflecting thru our eyes. I say this because if we were made in Gods image, and Gods image is so Holy and pure that He out shines the sun, no human eyes can look upon God without dying. That s why Moses was only allowed to look at God s backside as He was walking away from Moses (Exodus 33:18). When sin entered into the heart of man, our connection to God and all His glory was destroyed. Jesus died on the cross so that God s grace could be restored to us and once again we could have that connection to God s glory. To be filled once again with God s radiance and love. Our soul, made in God s image, is the greatest treasure in this world. That s why Jesus commands us to surrender our spirit unto the Lord. Our spirit never dies. When our bodies have finally reached its end, our spirit lives for eternity. Let God have our most valuable possession. If we allow our heart to be focused on all the things of this world, then eventually our heart will deteriorate and fall to the wayside just like the things of this world. If we allow the world to rule in our heart, then there is no room for God and His love. Everything that we were created to be is lost. That s why Jesus says we can t serve two masters. Why our eyes should reflect Gods light. Where have you trusted your greatest treasure? A dying earth or a living God? Here s the great part of surrendering our greatest treasure up to heaven. All those things that we hold dear in life, you will gain a new and greater fondness with all of it when you re able to love the same way God loves you. Wisdom and understanding, blessing and love is all ours, once we surrender our hearts to God. If you want to know more about eternity with God and spiritual peace, come join us Thursday nights at 7pm at First Southern Baptist Church of CV. Heavenly father we ask that as we read your words and hear your message, that you would draw us closer to you father. Open our hearts to see and receive your love. Forgive us of our sins. Thank you for the grace that was given to us by the sacrifice of your son Jesus, allowing us to have a closer walk with thee. In Jesus holy and precious name we pray Amen. Ken Miller Men s Ministry

6 Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday August 2016 Building A-Worship Center B- White Building C- Family Life Center (GYM) :00 am WMU 7:00 pm. Men s Study 5 Pastor Off 6 Pastor Off 10:00 am Visitation 7 Lord s Supper Promotion Sunday 11:45 am PCLT 8 9 9:00 am Chino Valley Quilters/ Bldg :00 pm Men s Study 12 Pastor Off 13 Pastor Off 10:00 am Visitation 12:30-4:30 pm Oathkeepers / Bldg C Pastor Off 20 Pastor Off 11:45 am Leadership 7:00 pm Men s Study 10:00 am Visitation Pastor Off 27 Pastor Off 7:00 pm Men s Study 9 am - 12 pm Clothing Giveaway 9 am - 12 pm Clothing Giveaway 10:00 am - Visitation 12:30-4:30 pm Oathkeepers/Bldg C pm Business Mtg.