There s an old, old hymn I remember

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1 The Encourager LAKEVIEW BAPTIST CHURCH Adam Metzger, Pastor JANUARY 2014 There s an old, old hymn I remember singing when I was young. We used to dress up like a soldier, with a sword, a shield, and a mask as we sang the familiar hymn. Here are the lyrics I m sure you d remember: Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war/ with the cross of Jesus going on before/ Christ, the royal Master, leads against the foe/ Forward into battle see his banners go/ Onward, Christian soldiers, marching as to war/ With the cross of Jesus going on before. I m not a huge fan of the war motif found in the lyrics as they remind me of the Crusades in the Middle Ages. Nonetheless, the meaning of the song is solid: Jesus is our master, we re his soldiers, and we re on a mission against Satan, the foe. To be sure, the Bible often uses the language of war to describe the reality of the relationship between God and Satan: "And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels fought with the dragon; and the dragon and his angels fought, but they did not prevail, nor was a place found for them in heaven any longer. So the great dragon was cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels were cast out with him" (Revelation 12:7-9). According to the Bible, when Satan loses his battle with God and his angels, he continues to fight against those who keep God s commandments and hold fast their testimony about Jesus Vs 17. That s us! (You can read the whole fascinating story in Revelation chapter 12). Like it or not, we seem to be the middle of a cosmic, spiritual war. We aren t mere spectators in this war. We are participants. And our Royal Master has summoned us to action. In Ephesians 6:11-13, Paul states it this way: Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God As believers of Jesus, we re participants in a war! The physical church we re a part of is not a mere building. It s a stronghold, a mission outpost in this war. It s members? Fellow soldiers, seeking to expose the reality of the war and the truth of the final victor. Jesus uses a bit of different language to summon us to action. He doesn t call us soldiers but disciple makers. In the words of Matthew 28:19-20: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Our role as believers in this war is to speak about, testify to, and point people to Jesus in hopes that they would choose to put their hope and faith in Jesus as their savior and victor in this war. And all of the Christian soldiers need to be engaged in this endeavor. The problem is, not all of us are. We might be aware of the war and our marching orders spoken about in the Great Commission, but for whatever reason, many choose to not participate. Perhaps we have other things to do. Perhaps we re simply indifferent. Perhaps we re distracted. Perhaps we re swamped by the affairs of this world. An anonymous author expressed this sentiment as he re-wrote the words to the hymn I mentioned before: Backward Christian soldiers/ fleeing from the fights/with the cross of Jesus nearly out of sight /sit here then ye people/ join our useless throng/blend with ours your voices in a feeble song/blessings, ease and comfort, ask from Christ the King/with our modern thinking, we won t do a thing. Hits pretty close to home, doesn t it? Instead of being bold, courageous, soldiers of Jesus, we often shrink back, enjoying and craving comfort verses engaging in the process of making disciples for Jesus. * * * As we move midway through the second year of our Retool Initiative, as I ve written about before, we are attempting to develop of sharp vision and desire for becoming a church that excels at making disciple. We don t want to flee from the fight or sing a feeble song or ask for ease and comfort from our King, we want to be fully equipped to best make disciples. We ll continue to fervently explore issues of discipleship including what a disciple look like, what does a disciple do, how can we lead others to become a disciple, etc. As we enter into 2014 (just like in 2013), we will continue to strive to be a church that engages in battle and makes disciples! Adam

2 THE ENCOURAGER Mark your 2014 calendar! Wednesday, January 29 th ; 6:30 p.m. Annual Meeting & Dessert Potluck For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. Luke 2:11 Salvation Army Bell Ringers Lakeview Baptist Church collected $ on our designated day at Sam s Club PAGE 2

3 Something new beginning in January: QUILT & CRAFT WORKSHOP January 23rd 10 am Noon (LBC Parlor) Come, learn something new or bring your own project to work on. Please contact Rolllie Longman ( ) or Mary Kline ( ) ** Women s All Craft Event ** Winter is here and it is cold outside!! Join us for a monthly all craft event. Bring your scrap booking, card making, knitting, crocheting, or whatever you do or bring supplies and finally do that Pinterest project you have been dying to try. For the next 3 months we will be meeting at church on the 3 rd Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm. Each time a main dish, coffee and bottled water will be provided. Please bring your crafting materials and a dish to share! Saturday, January 18 (main dish: soup & salad) Saturday, February 15 (main dish: baked potato bar) Saturday, March 15 (main dish: taco bar) Invite a friend or 2 and come join us! PAGE 3

4 HAPPY 2014 from the Food Pantry Staff (written by M. McKenzie) Oh how we re blessed from God above Who has given us abundantly from His love How can we share it; what can we do? We can give to the food bank an item or two. The needs are many. The resources are low. Feeding others helps our own hearts glow. We have the time and we need to share, so give from your heart what foods you can spare. You ll feel better giving this little gift that helps a family who needs a lift. Jesus expects us to help feed the poor, and the more you give heaps blessings at your door. XYZ Club All retirees of the church are invited! The next meeting will be Tuesday, January 21, :30 a.m. Meet in parlor for devotions & annual potluck Thank You A dozen red roses to all the folks who helped serve our 19 adopted families with your gifts, food and cash donations. A special thanks to Cheryl Marsh for the handmade ornaments we placed in each basket. And to Calhoun Christian School for their collection of food items. The Diaconate Directory Update Chris Bol 432 N. 22nd Street Battle Creek, MI Ted & Donna Headings: Ted cell # Donna cell # address: tflytyer@comcast.net Lakeview Baptist Food Pantry Day Friday, January 3rd (9:30 am) PAGE 4

5 ~ NEW MEMBERS ~ CHRIS BOL was born on March 27, 1979 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He was raised in G.R. and graduated from Byron Center in He has worked in the fast food industry, done electrical work, dry wall installation and general construction work. He has traveled to California, Florida, Illinois, Iowa, Ohio and to Canada. His hobbies include camping, fishing, hiking, and biking. He went forward on October 20, He is interested in doing mission work, singing on the praise team and hopes one day to become a deacon. Christ lives at 432 N. 22nd Street in Springfield. ROD SIGOURNEY was born on August 20, 1966 in Battle Creek, Michigan. He grew up in Battle Creek and graduated from Springfield High School in He met Robin Curtis in Otsego, Michigan and they were married on October 10, 2003 in Kama ole Beach 3 Kihei, in Maui Hawaii. He now works in sales for Frito-Lay. He has two step-children, Ryan and Brittni Curtis. Rod likes to travel, especially in Hawaii. He also enjoys fishing. He went forward on November 17, 2013 and was baptized on December 1, 2013 ROBIN CURTIS SIGOURNEY was born on June 11, 1966 in Plainwell, Michigan. She grew up in Plainwell and graduated from Martin High School in She was married to Rod in Maui, Hawaii on October 10, She has been a Licensed Daycare Provider and clerk at Clark Gas. Her children are Ryan (26) & (Tara) Curtis and Brittni Curtis (22). She has one grandson who is 5. They have traveled to 34 states in the U.S. and to Hawaii and Canada. She likes to do crafts and loves to bake and cook. She went forward on November 17, 2013 to join Lakeview Baptist Church. They live at 59 North 21st Street. RESTORED TO ACTIVE MEMBERSHIP Debbie (Byers) Brown Tim & Nancy Ondracek We welcome all of you to Lakeview Baptist Church.

6 JANUARY NURSERY VOLUNTEERS 5 Donna Headings Betty Trumbull 12 Mary Kline 19 Sue Rose Rollie Longman January Kid s Church leaders: Tonya & Libby 252 BASICS 26 Marni Haapapuro Lisa Thomas JANUARY EARLY GREETERS JANUARY CO FFEE HOUR 5 Deni Fry & Pat DeVoll Souper Sunday Trumbull, Kline & friends FROM THE FINANCIAL SECRETARY: Please remember to designate on your offering envelope how you would like your offering distributed to the various funds, i.e. General Fund, Missions, Fellowship. Since we do not have pledge cards we need your direction each time you give an offering. Thank you. MONTHLY FINANCIAL RECORD Budgeted need for: Nov Dec Weekly: $ 3,651. $ 2,920. Monthly: $14,604. $ 14,981. Received: 11/3 2, /1 3, /10 2, /8 4, /17 2, /15 1,016 11/24 1, /22 N/A 12/29 TOTAL $ 8,355. $ + MEIJER COMMUNITY REWARDS UPDATE Earned in November : $ Since start of program $7,444 (97 months) LBC earns up to 1% of your purchases each time you use your Rewards card and make a payment by Meijer Credit Card, Cash or PIN- Debit payment. If you have any trouble at all hearing the morning worship service, listening devices are now available. Please ask an usher for assistance.

7 JANUARY S. 20th Street Battle Creek, MI info@mylakeviewbaptist.com Ph Fax: Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 New Year s Dayoffice closed 2 6:30 Praise Team 3 9:30 LBC Food Pantry Day 7 PM Falam Baptist praise rehearsal 4 5 Communion Sunday 6 Epiphany :30 Praise Team 10 7 PM Falam Baptist praise rehearsal Annual Reports Due in Office 16 6:30 Praise Team 17 7 PM Falam Baptist praise rehearsal Christian Unity Sunday 20 Martin Luther King, Jr. Day 6 PM Council 7 PM Trustees, Bd of CE, Diaconate 21 11:30 XYZ (Annual Potluck in Parlor) :30 Praise Team 24 7 PM Falam Baptist praise rehearsal :30 PM Annual Mtg & Dessert potluck :30 SUNDAY Praise Team SUNDAY SCHEDULE 7 PM Falam SCHEDULE: Baptist 9:30 am Adult praise Studies rehearsal 9:30 AM Adult Bible Studies 10:45 am Worship & Kid s Church 10:45 12:00 AM Fellowship Worship & Kid s Church 12:30 4:30 PM Falam F.R.O.G.s Ministry & Youth Ministries 4:30 F.R.O.G.s & Teens 5:30 Young Adults

8 7 S. 20th Street Battle Creek, MI Ph Fax: Sunday: 10:45 AM Worship & Kid s Church Wednesday: 7 PM Prayer, Praise & Study Sundays at 10:45 a.m. Bir thdays Anniversaries 1 Pieter Kalkman 2 Tara Begley 6 Natalie Herris Kylie Metzger 7 Larry McKee 10 Jane Young 11 Gabriel Castellanos 13 Louis Schmitz, Sr. 14 Louis Perez Jack Willavize 16 V. Jane Stahl 17 Sherry Avery 18 Richard Smith 20 Marni Haapapuro 21 Pastor Adam 28 Tamra Hall 7 Phil & Sandy Allwardt 22 James & Pearl Barlow