FOCUS. January Welcome to FBCM! Church Staff

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1 First Baptist Church 4001 Seventh Street Marrero, LA (504) Fax (504) Church Staff Pastor - Ronnie McLellan Minister of Worship & Arts - Stan Toler Children s Director - Arzel Bergeron Youth Minister - Ben Kreeger Director of Education - Donna Toler Administrative Asst. - Shawnda Galloway Welcome to FBCM! Corey Folse - Profession of Faith Bettina Diaz - Transfer of Letter Jeannie Thong - Transfer of Letter Evelyn Babineaux - Transfer of Letter 9:15 am Bible Study 10:30 am Worship Service January 2014 FOCUS But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. (Matthew 6:33) Do you remember when you had to buy a camera if you wanted to take quality pictures? In June of 1997, a proud father named Philippe Kahn sent the first known cell phone picture message of his newborn daughter to more than 2,000 people. In 2008, Nokia sold more camera phones than Kodak sold film-based simple cameras. And with the technology of smart phones today, it's difficult to find anyone taking pictures with those "outdated" digital cameras of the 1990s and early 2000s. The technology of smart phones has many upsides. We can share more personal phone conversations while receiving real-time video of the people we're talking to through Skype or Facetime. We can share pictures instantly with our friends on social media. We can even share our real life experiences with others through video. But I see the downside as well. I see people losing focus. We're more interested in updating our status, checking who "liked" our post or picture and keeping imaginary farms than we are on spending time with the people who are around us. I would even venture to say that we lose focus of God at the expense of our virtual social lives. For 2014, our theme will be "FOCUS"! Specifically, we will be focusing on the priorities that God has given us. Our theme verse for the year above from Matthew 6:33 reminds us that if we make God our first priority, God will provide all of the other things which we spend so much of our focus on worrying. In the context of Matthew 6:33, Jesus tells people not to worry about material possessions. That's just as true today as it was 2,000 years ago when Jesus gave the Sermon on the Mount. If we will keep God as our first priority, He will meet all of our needs. On January 19th, we will begin a series entitled "The Treasure Principle." If you know someone who focuses on getting rich, worries about daily needs or is looking for what God has to say about this issue, please invite them to join us. We also have a book that goes along with this series. Details about obtaining a copy of the book can be found in this newsletter. Let s begin 2014 with our best foot forward and our FOCUS on God!

2 Deacon Widow Banquet Help Us Build Our Budget! When you make groceries at Budget Saver on Barataria, you can also help build the budget of FBC Marrero! For every transaction you make in our church s name, we receive 1% of the proceeds. Here s how: 1. Shop at Budget Saver on the corner of Barataria and Lapalco. 2. Before the cashier begins ringing up your items, let him or her know that you have a phone number to enter for your church. 3. Either enter the church s phone number on the keypad or ask the cashier to enter the phone number. Enter the church s entire phone # without any spaces The Treasure Principle Our first sermon series in January will be based on the book, The treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn. You can order a copy of this book for $5.00 by placing your name on the sign-up sheet in the foyer. Wednesday, January 6pm Operation SOCK & Looking to the future The Youth Group will go on a mission trip to Memphis, TN in March during Mardi Gras break. They will be working in missions in Memphis and doing Backyard Bible Clubs. They will stay at Mullins Station Baptist Church. STOCK IT! For the whole month of January we will be accepting donations of pantry items to stock our church pantry and new socks for the homeless in our area. You can leave your pantry donations in the foyer in the 2 boxes provided and your socks on our tree. So please join us in helping to Feed and warm the soles of the needy!

3 DONNA S DIALOGUE First, I would like to thank FBC, Marrero for calling me to the position of Director of Education. I look forward to this ministry position and to what God has in store for me as I serve in this capacity and for the church as He uses me. For those who need a little background, I am currently pursuing a Master of Arts degree in Christian Education with a concentration in Women s Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. I will finish my degree December Because discipleship and women s ministry are passions for me, I am thrilled that I have been given an opportunity to serve in those ministries here. This past semester, I was in a class entitled Philosophical Foundations of Christian Education. My final project/paper was my personal philosophy of Christian Education. Since I spent a considerable amount of time studying about philosophy, etc. over the semester and a great deal of time actually writing my personal philosophy, I thought I might share with you some of the material from that paper this month and in the months to come. Over the course of my seminary education, I have been asked to connect scripture with academic material. More than once, I have used a particular passage that I determined in my personal philosophy as the central verses for my ministry in Christian Education. I believe that this passage describes the educational factors that I believe are necessary for Sunday School and Discipleship. We proclaim Him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone fully mature in Christ. To this end I strenuously contend with all the energy Christ so powerfully works in me. (Colossians 1:28-29, NIV) In our Sunday school and discipleship classes, we must proclaim Christ. While Sunday School is meant to be an outreach tool for the church, teaching Christ and the Word of God must be central to our curriculum. The end result is that we present everyone fully mature in Christ. Dictionary.com gives several definitions for the word, admonish. My favorite is to urge to a duty; remind. As teachers, we are to urge our students to duty; we are to remind our students about their duty. As the body of Christ, our duty is to share Christ with everyone we meet. Finally, we need to realize two things. First, teaching the Word of God is a calling that requires preparation. Preparation involves spending time with the Lord and spending an appropriate amount of time with our lesson material. Secondly, we need to be ever aware that we, in ourselves, cannot present anyone fully mature in Christ. Christ works in us and gives us the energy to share with others through the power of the Holy Spirit. Again, I look forward to serving as the Director of Education. Teachers, I will schedule a Sunday school meeting soon. Please know that I want to be a resource for you and a partner in ministry with you. In Him as always, Donna

4 Schedule 5:30 p.m. KREW = Kids Radically Expressing Worship 6:00 p.m. Wednesday Night Meal 6:20 p.m. Adult Bible Studies Youth Bible Studies CIA s for Kids grades 1-6 Preschool Childcare 7:20 p.m. Choir Rehearsal Listen to local Christian Radio 89.1 FM Jan. 26, 2014 Wednesday, February 12th Tickets are $10.00 each. Look forward to a night of great food & entertainment! Shawnda Says Train your mind to see the good in everything! For the batter: CUPCAKE Of the Month Fruity Pebble For the frosting: 3 cups cake flour 1 1/2 cups unsalted butter 1 tbl. baking powder 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1/4 tsp. kosher salt 2 tbls. heavy cream 1 cup milk 1 tbl. vanilla extract 4 egg whites Fruity Pebbles, for sprinkling 2 tsps. vanilla extract 3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temp. 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup rainbow jimmies Preheat oven to 375. Line a 12 cup standard muffin tin with paper liners; set aside. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt. In a medium bowl, whisk together milk, egg whites and vanilla. Beat butter and sugar on medium in separate bowl on medium until light and fluffy. With mixer on low, add dry ingredients and milk mixture alternately in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients, beating just until incorporated. Add jimmies and stir just until moist. Scoop the batter evenly into the muffin tray. Bake for minutes. Remove and let cool completely. For frosting: beat butter and powdered sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy. With the mixer on low, gradually add heavy cream and vanilla, beating just until incorporated. Increase speed to medium high and beat until frosting is light and fluffy. Frost cupcakes and sprinkle with fruity pebbles. Enjoy!

5 In Luke 1:68-70, we read Zechariah s Song of Prophecy. Zechariah had been unable to speak for quite some time because of his unbelief. During the months of silence, something must have changed in him for his first words when he was finally able to speak again were a song of faith, worship and prophecy. Here is the beginning: Praise the Lord, the God of Israel, because He has visited and provided redemption for His people. He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of His servant David, just as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets in ancient times. Zechariah sang a song from his heart because his heart could no longer contain it. Worship is a response to what God has done and is doing in our lives. When something so wonderful wells up inside so that we can no longer contain it, the response that rushes forth from our lips is true worship. Many examples of such worshipful responses to God are found in scripture. Take a moment to read Zechariah s Song (Luke 1:69-79) and think about how we are blessed by the same salvation that Zechariah sang about. Each week we have the opportunity to gather together and worshipfully respond to God s gift of salvation through his Son. Let us never be silent (nor suffer the silence of unbelief like Zechariah). Let us sing joyfully each week of this new year together. Bro. Stan Stand with Stan State Evangelism Conference Istrouma Baptist Church, in Baton Rouge Monday, Jan. 27th 1:15-8:15p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 28th 8:30 a.m.-8:15 p.m. If you would like to attend, please contact the church office at so we can arrange to carpool. YOUTH GROUP Thursday, January 16th Cost is $15 per person and includes unlimited lazer tag and drinks. Invite a friend and meet at the church at 4pm. Covered Dish Lunch Tuesday, Jan. 10:30 a.m. Sunday, January 8 am Much gratitude to Howard Mauldin for serving as our Chairman of the Deacons for the past eight years! Please let Howard know how much you appreciate his service, and encourage our newly elected Chairman of the Deacons Jimmy Boyd!