Our mission is to KNOW Jesus, SERVE Jesus and SHARE Jesus

Transcription

1 March 2017 Last Words Famous last words: Winston Churchill s last words were, I m bored with it all. According to Steve Jobs' sister Mona, the Apple founder's last words were, "Oh wow. Oh wow. Oh wow." Basketball great Pistol" Pete Maravich collapsed during a pickup game. His last words: I feel great. Leonardo da Vinci was also overly modest, saying, I have offended God and mankind because my work did not reach the quality it should have. I guess that masterpiece known as the Mona Lisa wasn t good enough? I want you to use your sanctified imagination with me a minute: Imagine you have just learned from your doctor that you only have a few weeks left to live. Your Pastor, that s me, knowing your dire situation, invites you to give a farewell address to our church family. What do you tell them? What do you tell your family? What would be your last words to loved ones before you leave and pass into eternity? The man Joshua found himself in that exact situation. Joshua knew that his passing was near so he called the people of Israel together and he spoke these last words to those he loved as recorded in Joshua 24:14-15, Now therefore, fear the LORD, serve Him in sincerity and in truth, and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the River and in Egypt. Serve the LORD! And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve My dear brothers and sisters, please hear this challenge from Joshua. Joshua reminds us in verse 14 that we are called to maintain a REVERENT FEAR of God. That means to live with the awe and awareness of who God is. He is not the man upstairs or the big Kahuna. No, He is God almighty! We are challenged in both of these verses to engage in SINCERE SERVICE. The word serve in verse 14 means to worship. The word sincere means without blemish. This is a word that refers to the animals that were used for sacrifice that were to be whole and complete, lacking nothing. We are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God. Our service should be an act of unspotted worship to the Lord. March is a great time to recommit our reverence and our service unto the Lord. This is the time of year that brings new beginnings. Winter is ending and springtime is arriving. Soon the flowers will be blooming, birds will be singing, and the warm sunlight will be radiating down upon us from the heavens. In just a few weeks we will celebrate Easter together in celebration of Christ s resurrection from the dead to offer life and a new beginning to a lost and dying world. This is a new day for Oakdale Baptist Church! Our church fellowship is growing, guests are attending, and there is an air of excitement each time we gather. Can t you sense great days ahead? It s as if God is breathing new life into this church! Our new addiction recovery ministry, L.I.F.E., is beginning this month. New members are joining. Our search committee is being assembled as I write this article and will probably already be busy searching out our new Student Pastor by the time you are reading this. These are days of great change and wonderful blessings. It s a great time to be at Oakdale! As you are out and about, why not brag on Jesus and on your church. Let others know that Oakdale Baptist Church is a place where we really do reverence and sincerely worship our Lord through our ministries and through our worship. There is no better time than right now to make Joshua s commitment to fear the Lord and to sincerely serve Him with our lives. As we do this, we will see God do some great things! Pastor Mike MARCH 7th 6:30 PM at Western Sizzlin MARCH 7TH 6:30 PM at Hunter Hill Pizza Inn MARCH 10TH-11TH East Coast Men s Bible Baptist Church 6:45 PM Friday, 10th 8:45 AM Saturday, 11th Calvary Baptist Church in Winston- Salem Our mission is to KNOW Jesus, SERVE Jesus and SHARE Jesus

2 To the Members of Oakdale Baptist, The G. W. Bulluck community thanks you a great deal for your generous offerings. These children are so special to us, and your kindness, continued kindness, has not gone unnoticed. We hope to continue this loving partnership. Please do not hesitate to reach out if there is anything (big or small) that we can do for all of you at Oakdale. Again, thank you a million times over! Mrs. Boutwell & the G. W. Bulluck Family ************************************************ Thank you to everyone for the prayers, calls, and visits during my illness. I am at home recovering and getting my strength back. Pearl Whitehurst & Family ************************************************ "The past few weeks have been a trying time for my family. The loss of my brother Bobby, Clifton's last sister Emily, my surgery, and the accidental death of my great nephew David Turner has taken a toll on us. You, as my church family, have shown an amazing amount of care, concern, and love. My family and I wish to express our appreciation for all you have done to let us know you care. The food, flowers, cards, visits, prayers and the awesome blanket from our ladies were a bright spot in our world. Thanks and love to each one of you." Linda Ruffin ************************************************ Dear Oakdale Church Family, My operation on January 18th for a total hip replacement went exceptionally well. Because of the many prayers from all of you at Oakdale, other friends and family members, God guided the surgeon s hands throughout my surgery. Thank you all for all of the phone calls, visits, wonderful cards, and delicious meals. I know and feel that I am in your prayers through the healing process. Thank you all so very, very much. Tony Medley Linda Ruffin & Family in the passing of her brother, Bobby Daughtridge, Sister-in-law, Emily, and Great Nephew, David Turner Glenn Lawrence & Family in the passing of his sister, Ann Thompson Cameron Warren & Family in the passing of his dad, Perry Warren Debra Calhoun & Sandra Gardner and Families in the passing of their brother, Tommy Brake JANUARY 2017 Income & Expenses General Fund Income $30, January Expenses $25, Difference 4, Designated Fund Receipts January only Building Fund $ Children Fund $ Lottie Moon Offering $ Mission Trip Income $1, Upward Concessions $1, Upward Reg/Uniforms $ WMU $ Youth Fund $1, January receipts only; not account balances. Giving Options As you tithe and contribute to Oakdale Baptist Church, consider the convenient options available. Sunday Services: Simply place cash or checks in offering plate during any of the services. Be sure to include name and address on check or envelope in order to receive credit for tax purposes. By mail: Mail your donation to Oakdale Baptist Church, US 64 Alt. West Hwy, Rocky Mount, NC Be sure to include name and address on check or envelope so that donation credit may be provided for tax purposes. By Online Banking: Most banks will let you set up a recurring payment option with online banking, and will even pay for the postage! Simply set up Oakdale Baptist Church as a payee, and have that sent to Oakdale Baptist Church, US 64 alt. West Hwy, Rocky Mount, NC Online Giving: It is easy to contribute to Oakdale safely and securely online through our site. Simply click the link: to be directed to our online giving portal, and contribute by credit card, debit card, or electronic funds transfer. You do not have to be a member to set up a permanent account to contribute online. Do be aware that when contributing online, Lifeway will deduct 3% of your contribution for the maintenance of the online site.

3 3:30 Student Ministries The youth are busy preparing for the student led service which will be held on March 26th during the morning service. Oakdale youth will lead in a time of song, drama, speaking, ushering, prayer, and announcements. We want all the youth to be a part of this special day. It s not too late to join us on Wednesday nights as we prepare for this. We will have a special preparation practice on Saturday, March 25th from 5:00 PM-8:00 PM at Oakdale. We will be heading to the Casting Crown Concert on Friday, March 10th at the PNC Arena in Raleigh. The cost of the tickets is $30. Please pay this by Wednesday, March 1st. We plan to leave Oakdale by 4:30 PM. We will also be continuing to raise money for camp. We will be announcing soon, to the church, that we have a sign-up sheet for any work they may need done, such as, yardwork, housework, car washing, and baby sitting). If you are going to camp, this will be a great opportunity to help raise money. We invite all children, K-5th grade, to join us in fun and adventure, learning Bible skills to last a lifetime. Bible Drills, Thrills, and Skills are every Wednesday at. The children learn Bible verses, the books of the Bible, and other skills in this class. Class will be thirty minutes and choir will be the other 30 minutes. It is not too late to sign up for Camp Carraway, which will be July The cost is $295. There is a sign-up sheet by the Welcome Center for camp. Fundraisers are in the works to help offset the expense of camp. We are still in need of a male chaperone for Children s camp. Please let Angela Spain know if you are willing to help out. UPCOMING EVENTS: Wed. 3/1- Casting Crown ticket money is due $30 Wed. 3/8- Youth Bible Study Fri. 3/10- Casting Crown Concert-leave at 4:30 PM Sun. 3/12- Youth Church 5:30 PM- Wed. 3/15 Youth Bible Study Wed. 3/22 Youth Bible Study Sat. 3/25- Special preparation time for youth led Sunday service, 5:00 PM-8:00 PM-Supper will be served Sun. 3/26- Youth led Sunday morning service WORSHIP KIDSTYLE SCHEDULE FOR MARCH (CHILDREN S CHURCH) 3-5 Lynn Eason & Paula Taylor 3-12 Angela Spain & Kathy Calhoun 3-19 Brad & Paige Summerlin 3-26 Martin & Jessica Strickland Please contact Sue Lassiter at if you cannot serve your Sunday so we can make alternate arrangements. Thank You! If you would like to help, contact Sue Lassiter.

4 The choir is beginning to work on its Easter presentation for the evening of Sunday, April 9th. We welcome anyone who would like to join us. We also welcome any young folks who are interested in being part of the praise team on Sunday mornings. Just let me know. Angie JOY Group Meeting March 16, :00 PM (Oakdale Baptist Church Fellowship Hall) Devotion -Carolyn Lawrence Snacks Games Everyone is invited. ****************************** Bluegrass Gospel Music Quartet STEADY DRIVE QUARTET Lee Flood-Joe Pessolano Wayne Melvin-Kevin Lamm Friday, April 21st Oakdale Baptist Church Love offering will be taken Sponsored by Oakdale Baptist Church JOY Group Another great ending to an Upward Basketball and Cheerleading Season. This was our 17th year. There have been so many awesome volunteers all these years. Thanks to you all who have served so unselfishly for so many years. We had a great Awards night. We had lots of fun and Pastor Mike shared the gospel to a large crowd of people. The winners of most Christlike awards this year were Chloe Hamlett, Trevor Evans, and coach Tommy Parks. This year we had 150 participants. That s approximately 600 people walking in and out of our gym every Saturday for 8 weeks. Maybe that s what the prayer of Jabez was about when he said, Lord, enlarge my borders. Maybe he meant, God increase the opportunity for me to share the love of Jesus Christ to more souls. How do we handle that responsibility? As humans, we fail so many times in so many ways. As Upward Director, I have had more than my share of failures. Thankfully we have a Savior that s merciful and able to do things exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ask or imagine. Where would we be without Christ? Simply LOST!!! God gave me a passion for Upward Basketball for almost 2 decades. I knew it was the Holy Spirit that took over my life to start Upward here at Oakdale-and I now know it s the Holy Spirit now calling me away from leading this ministry. Of course, I would still love to serve in Upward as a volunteer. But, as far as leading, I know from the peace of God that it s the right decision to step down at this time. So in my resignation, I would like to say a most sincere THANK YOU to all the volunteers who served for so many years. Thanks to Oakdale for your prayers and support for me, my family, and the Upward ministry. Thanks to my children for understanding the time away from home. Thanks to my mother for raising me in a Christ centered home and picking up my slack all these years. Special and honorable thanks to my wife, Katrina Rhodes, my best friend-for ALWAYS being there, working along side of me for the same purpose. For forgiving me when I let her down, and for loving me unconditionally. I Love You. Mostly-thanks to Jesus Christ-our Lord and Savior-A love that surpasses all understanding. Thanks and remember, it s always about the souls, it is never about the shoes. In Christ, Aaron

5 2017 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 1 Children s Choir Practice/Bible Skills 2 Messianic Synagogue :00 PM Interpretive Dance Practice 6 7 6:30 PM Women s Fellowship Pizza Inn (Hunter Hill) 6:30 PM Men s Sizzlin 6:30 PM-8:00 PM LIFE Addiction Recovery Program 8 6:15 PM Mission Team Mtg Children s Choir Practice/Bible Skills :30 PM Youth to Casting Crown Concert Messianic Synagogue 11 East Coast Men s Bible Conference 6:45 8:45 AM 12 Gideon Speaker 4:30 PM Deacon Meeting 13 10:00 AM Missions Prayer Group at OBC Children s Choir Practice/Bible Skills 16 2:00 PM JOY Group Council Meeting :30 PM-7:00 PM Youth Church Messianic Synagogue 2017 Mission 19 5:00 PM Interpretive Dance Practice :30 PM-8:00 PM LIFE Addiction Recovery Program 22 5:30 PM Mission Wed. Night Supper Children s Choir Practice/Bible Skills :00 AM Messianic Synagogue 5:00 PM-8:00 PM Youth practice for Sunday (in Sanctuary) 26 Youth led Morning Service Children s Choir Practice/Bible Skills 30 31

6 SECURITY FOR MARCH 3/5 Tad Rhodes & Wayne Lassiter 3/12 Wayne Calhoun & Thomas Bulluck 3/19 James Chapman & Kendall Smith 3/26 Tony Lassiter & Brent Griffin USHER TEAM FOR MARCH DAVID WELLS-HEAD USHER ALEX WELLS ANDY BATTS GLENN HOWELL 3/1 Emma Webb 3/17 Billie Turner 3/6 Boo Causey 3/20 Nick Andrews 3/7 Chris Coley 3/20 Shawn Webb 3/7 Kaleb Edmondson 3/21 Amanda Green 3/7 Susie Leonard 3/21 Susie Webb 3/9 Glenn Lawrence 3/22 Patrick Tess 3/15 Richard Price 3/23 Deborah Wood MARCH /15 Pearl Whitehurst 3/30 Jonathan Cobb 3/16 Amy Webb 3/30 Jessica Strickland 3/17 Paige Summerlin 3/30 Felecia Webb Here are a few reminders about the nursery. Most important, if you work in the nursery and have NOT submitted a background check, please do so immediately! Crib nursery is for babies birth to 18 months to 24 months old (parent discretion depending on the individual child). In crib nursery, please make sure that your phone number is left with the workers in case you are needed. Please, also make sure your child has a nursery tag on his/her bag when you leave it in the nursery. We are asking you to use the shelves to put bags on instead of setting them in cribs. Toddler nursery is for toddlers ages 18/24 months to 4 years old. Once a child turns 4, they can go into the sanctuary with their parents and join Children s Church with all the other children. Please make sure your phone number is left in case you are needed. Thank you all for your help with this. March nursery coordinator Dawn Rhodes please contact Dawn if you are unable to serve on your Sunday so that she has plenty of time to find coverage. 3/5 Crib Amy & Chris Webb-Samantha Wells 3/5 Toddlers Justine Wells & Terin Chapman 3/12 Crib Felicia & Jett Webb-Emma Webb 3/12 Toddlers Jewel & Danny Calhoun 3/19 Crib Dawn & Tad Rhodes-Steven Howell 3/19 - Toddlers - Joy & Jeff Eatmon 3/26 Crib - Paula Taylor & Kaye Edmondson-Devin Miranda 3/26 - Toddlers - Sabrina & Robby Elks ONE CALL Please note that One Call is being rotated among the team members and the following will be your Primary and Backup contact for January, February, March and April: Melissa Dixon May Howell (Primary) (Backup) There is an audio version of the book I Am A Church Member in Oakdale s library. Also, a copy of Pastor Mike s book Casting Down Idols Through The Power of The Gospel is available for check out.

7 MISSIONS BAPTIST MEN What a wonderful day it was! To see all those beautiful ladies in the choir and the angelic sounds! We thank each of you for participating in our Women's Sunday. We'd also like each of you to join us for our March fellowship on Tuesday, March 7th at 6:30 PM at Pizza Inn Hunter Hill. We will be sharing some of the things we are planning for the coming months. One date we'd like you to put on your calendars already is Sunday, May 7th! Some exciting stuff will be happening so be on the look out for that. Our Prayer blanket ministry is off to a GREAT start! We have distributed 5 blankets to ladies of our congregation and they were received with much appreciation. If you are out & about town, pick up a fleece blanket in any solid color and get them to us so that we can have them monogrammed and ready when needed. Thank you to all those who have purchased blankets already. Remember...Know Jesus, Serve Jesus, Share Jesus. Karen Murray, Melissa Dixon May Howell, Kaye Bulluck Women's Ministry Leadership Team At our last meeting, we enjoyed a great BBQ Chicken dinner prepared by Oakdale s top grill masters Tony and Wayne Lassiter with help from Andy and Joey Batts. Many thanks to them for all the hard work and time they put into that meal. We experienced some great fellowship around the grill and followed the meal with a continuing discussion of what the role of Biblical Watchman is. As our pastor leads us through Revelations and we learn what is going to happen, we discussed several current events and how they may play into a Biblical last day s plan. Our next meeting will be at 6:30 PM on Tuesday, March 7 th at Western Sizzlin. Please plan to join us. We will be discussing, among other things, a men s skeet shoot weekend. Robert Chadwick Baptist Men s Director Honduras Mission Trip The Honduras Mission Team needs your assistance to put together 100 hygiene kits to take to Honduras. Each kit will include the following items contained in a one quart sized zip lock bag: One bar of soap, One wash cloth, One toothbrush, One average size toothpaste. If you would like to support this project, please bring your items and leave them in the Church office. If you prefer that the team purchase the items for you, you may mark your contribution envelope for the Hygiene Kits and the team will purchase them on your behalf. The team is also in need of 3 large suitcases. If you have one you are going to discard and do not need returned, please let us know. We will pack VBS materials, Hygiene Kits and supplies in them for the mission trip to Honduras. Please continue to pray for the team and all those we may encounter as we share and serve. Thank you, Oakdale s Mission Team

8 Oakdale Baptist Church US 64 ALT WEST HWY Rocky Mount, NC Address Service Requested Oakdale Staff Pastor: Pastor Mike Dixon Music Director: Ms. Angie Ruffin Upward Director: Mr. Aaron Rhodes Secretary: Mrs. Sharon Lynch Prayer Coordinators Melissa Dixon (Primary) May Howell (Backup) them at: DEACON BEACON News from Deacon Ministry Team A guiding light to the rock We are coming up on a wonderful time of year. With the return of spring, the clocks will move forward and the sun will make its way below the horizon at 7pm instead of 5pm. It seems this time of year that the world gets brighter. The flowers and trees are renewed into vibrant colors to decorate this part of the world. I m reminded of Song of Solomon 2:11 and 12, For lo, the winter is past, the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth; the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land. (Song 2:11,12 NKJV). This time of year is also a good time to renew our strength. Isaiah 40:31 says we renew our strength by waiting on the Lord. If you have not been by Oakdale in the last few weeks, you have been missing out on a lot of excitement and growth of the church. The Oakdale family is growing by leaps and bounds. We are seeing renewed strength in our church that can make a difference for the Lord in our community. Oakdale is not only growing in number, we are growing spiritually. If you haven t come by Oakdale in a while, we invite you to come be a part of the family; God is up to something here. Come join us and renew your strength. Remember that God loves you, Glenn Howell