We know it well. We hear it quoted quite often. It reveals the heart of our loving God. The apostle John quotes the words of Jesus in John 3:16,

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2 We know it well. We hear it quoted quite often. It reveals the heart of our loving God. The apostle John quotes the words of Jesus in John 3:16, For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. I love the way the apostle Paul tells the Christians at Corinth that the love of Christ constrains us... that they which are alive in Christ should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again. Join us Sunday evening (February 11), at the close of our services for G.R.O.W. (acronym for God Rewards Our Work). We ll meet briefly and make assignments as to how you can show the love of Christ to others. (If you can pray, send a card, make a phone call or possibly make a personal visit, you qualify!) See you in the church library at approximately 7 PM! Some may not know the adults have been meeting in the upstairs fellowship hall for their Mid-Week services. We just thought it would be nice for a little change but it is not permanent. We have had mostly positive feedback on meeting there, but there are building issues we need to address before we can consider meeting every week. We will likely finish our mini-series, In God s Grace Line, before moving back to the Sanctuary. Yet to come - Bathsheba & Mary the mother of Jesus. The Pastor loves his people, Pastor Devin February is LOVE month! Do you have plans with that someone special? There is still time to prepare. You all know I love to READ but, what do most of us say we love? Maybe we would say: our God, our family, our church and some are able to say they love their job. What does the Bible say about love? Some favorite and well known verses come to mind: John 3:16, For God so loved ; I John 4:9, we love Him because He first loved us ; and there are 11 verses in the New Testament that tell us to love one another (John 13:34, 15:12, 15:17; Romans 13:8; I Thessalonians 4:9; I Peter 1:22; I John 3:11, 3:23, 4:7, 4:11 and II John 1:5). Eight of those verses were penned by John the Apostle whom Jesus loved! Perhaps we should look at the LOVE chapter - I Corinthians 13. I have heard these verses used at weddings and vow renewals and that is okay, but spousal love is not what is being talked about here. I m not saying it is wrong to use the principles taught in them for husbands and wives since God s Word can be an enormous help in any marriage. But Paul is writing about his effectiveness in the church as he ministered to others and this is to be the way we also should behave towards others, especially to other believers. I Corinthians 13:4-8a (ESV) Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. We all (me too) need to ask ourselves if we are acting in ways that show Christ s love in us to those around us. We can go down that list and ask: Am I patient, am I kind, am I envious or a bragger, am I arrogant or rude, do I have to have my own way, am I irritable or resentful, am I happy when sinning, am I happy telling only the truth, am I willing to bear the burdens of others and their little oddities, do I believe the best about others until I know the truth or do I choose to believe the rumors before the facts come, do I hope for the best for others in any situations, am I willing to endure and even sacrifice for others, is my love never ending and unconditional like Christ s is for me? God s love for us is incredible and awesome and He has written a book full of His love and promises to us. He wants us to READ it, depend upon it and LOVE it as He loves us. He sent His Son to die for our sins so we can have everlasting life with Him. He did that all for me (you too!) because of His unending love! Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God I John 4:7a. Enjoy READing as we serve together, Sherry Campbell ( ) 2 11

3 VOLUNTEER You could refer to them as a servant or minister. Do you know what time it is? I can tell you it is February and that means the middle of winter. I have heard quite a few comments about the cold weather and how many of us are longing for the warm weather to return. Well, unfortunately the weather is one thing that we cannot control, but we do have an avenue of approach to being able to better accept it no matter how cold or hot it might be. Ecclesiastes chapter 3 tells us that, There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens. As our seasons change and the months and years come and go, we need to always remember that God is in control and that everything happens for a reason and nothing happens that God does not know about or control. Another fascinating thing about time is, we never seem to have enough of it. The real question we need to be asking is, are we using our time wisely? Last month, I wrote about making resolutions and that resolutions are what we think we need based upon our selfishness. Time and how we use it is also based upon our selfishness. We tend to always have something better to do with our time than to read God s word, or to pray, or to attend Sunday School and Church. 1 Peter Chapter 4 says we are to be living for God. In the first part of verse 3 he writes, For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do. The clincher is in verse 17 where he writes, For it is time for judgement to begin with God s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? Are you being selfish with your time and not sharing it with God? Would you like to learn how you can spend time with God and realize that there is time for everything as stated in Ecclesiastes? Come to Sunday School and learn how to let the Lord share with you the best way to use your time. I hope to see you on Sunday morning at 9:15 to attend your favorite Sunday School class. May the Spirit of our Lord always be with you. Your Brother in Christ, Tom McDiffitt 10 DEFINITION: A person who willingly undertakes or expresses a willingness to undertake a service, such as a) one who enters into military service voluntarily. (Merriam Webster) b) one who enters God s service voluntary. (Devin Ward) A synonym of the word volunteer is given as follows: done, make, or given with one s own free will. (unforced, willing, free will) The Lord s churches are regularly in need of volunteers to be able to carry out various forms of approved ministry. Two ministries presently in need of volunteers are our Nursery ministry and Transportation ministry. If you would be willing to serve in the nursery, (once every 2-3 months) or drive a van to pick up folks for our church services over a similar time frame, you would be a great blessing. Contact one of the pastors or the church office if you would like to serve here at First Baptist. This is your S-P-E-C-I-A-L invitation to join the Olympian Club on Wednesday night, February 14th at 7 pm. We ll have a great time celebrating the love of God and our Savior, Jesus Christ! 3

4 We are closing in on Spring, and I can t wait! The weather has been extra cold this winter, keeping many of us in our homes. It will be nice to see the grass green again, flowers blooming and hear birds singing. We just have to hold on for a few more weeks. In the meantime, here are a few things to be mindful of: Special Valentine Luncheon will be held Thursday, February 15th at 11:30 AM (plan to eat at 12 noon) in the Family Life Building. Our menu includes fried chicken and meatloaf as our meat selections. We have posted a sign-up sheet on the foyer bulletin board in order to have a nice variety of side dishes. We are asking for only the designated amounts of each food on the list be supplied. Those not signed up are asked to bring a different side dish or dessert. A devotional and some special activities are planned. Easter Lunch - please note that the date change will be Thursday, March 29th. This is to keep from having two big holiday meals so close together. The tickets for the show Jesus in Lancaster, PA, on June 7th have all been sold. If you have not paid Bill Williams yet, please do so as soon as possible. Occasionally, a ticket (or two) comes available; let Bill know if you would like to be notified to attend. At our last meeting, Bill suggested a ministry opportunity that we all can take part in. He will give us a list at our meetings with the names of people who we have missed seeing at church. They could be those unable to physically come, or some who have missed just because everyday life has distracted them from God s house. The plan is to reach out to them and let them know we miss seeing them. Maybe you can offer to give a ride if needed, pray if they are not feeling well, or just let them know we love them. I hope to see you at our next meeting or even better, in church on Sunday! 4 9

5 (*4 weeks only) Tony and Coretta Hansen have recently completed 5 months on the field in Zhytomyr, Ukraine. They are working alongside David and Debra Bostick and are expecting God to do great things in The new semester will start February 5th and 6th. There are two meeting times to choose from. Monday evenings at 6:30 PM or Tuesday mornings at 9:00 AM Enroll online or complete a form located inside the brochure and give to May Jeffries. (Brochures are located on the small table in the foyer area.) Check out the mission map and reports (church foyer) and keep up with their monthly reports. You can also read their reports as posted on our website. Rejoice in the blessings and pray for their special needs. With over 42 million people living in the Ukraine, the need to proclaim Jesus is great. It s wonderful to be able to prayerfully and financially support the Hansens. Drop them a line sometime and let them know you are praying for them and God s work in the Ukraine. Contact May at for more information. Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15 8 5

6 Praise God from Whom all blessings flow!!! God is good all the time! Don t you just love Him? Our worship services have been blessed with great singing, special music, sermons, and instrumental music. My, what talent we have here at First Baptist! I thank God for all of you who are using what God has given you to minister to His church. But, hey, church, we have some more people out there in the pews that should be in the choir, and maybe a soloist or two. I appeal to your love for the Lord that you prayerfully consider joining the choir if you can at least carry a tune. You don t have to be able to read music. But we do expect you to come to practice. Please talk to me about the minimal requirements. Also, come talk to me if you would consider singing a solo. For February, we will be on our regular service music schedule (weather permitting): The Worship Team leads worship on the first and third Sunday mornings and the Sanctuary Choir sings special music on the second and fourth Sunday mornings. (The practice schedule time for choir will change in March Easter is April 1 st this year!) The Choir is about to begin working on additional music, a mini-musical for our Easter service. Please be in prayer for them in this effort. We have to continue to work on our regular service music, as well, and we could possibly lose a rehearsal due to snow! Don t forget to check your bulletin each Sunday and the preservice announcements on the screen to be aware of upcoming events, special ministries, and special speakers. Thank you for your participation in the music ministry of First Baptist Church of Inwood. Sigamos alabando al Señor (Let s keep praising the Lord), Bro. Greg Me - singing a solo 1/28/18 am. We're having breakfast for dinner! Please see Samantha Jackson ( ) if you would like to prepare something. KidzWorship is for youth from 1st-5th grades. We meet after Sunday School, 10 AM-ish in the Family Life Building. It s been a great month, but attendance has see-sawed because of illness. The flu has taken its toll on our leaders, teen helpers and youth. Keep them all in your prayers. We are studying Genesis and the kiddos are really getting it. It is a blessing to be a part of teaching the youth of our church. If you have a desire to be a part of this important ministry, just talk to the Swomleys or one of the pastors. DiscipleKidz is for our youth 3 years old to 5th grade. We dismiss during evening service for a time of Bible study & fellowship. Each student is encouraged to live out their faith in the church, at home and in the world. Every other month we have Praise Team practice. In January, we have been practicing for a black light presentation. We typically perform the first Sunday evening of the month, but due to the Super Bowl, we will present on February 11th. We will have a 5 pm practice on that date, pizza provided. Come out and see them in action. We are looking ahead to VBS. Dates are June 10-13th from 6-8:15 PM. Mark your calendar. We will have a Pre-School VBS also this year, running at the same time. God has truly answered prayer! 6 7