Maple Baptist Church Highway 65, Conway, SC

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1 Maple Messenger Volume 27 Issue 9 September 2015 Beyond What You Think Ephesians 3:20 Alcorn's hosts took him to visit an abandoned graveyard located at the end of a garbage-lined alley. The host pointed out one tombstone in particular that of William Borden ( ), heir to the Borden dairy estate. William was a millionaire by 21, but he renounced his fortune, giving nearly all his wealth to missions. His heart's desire was to take the gospel to Muslims in China. On his way to China, William stopped in Egypt to study Arabic, but four months later he contracted spinal meningitis and died at the age of 25. Many would think that Borden s life was a waste. Having a goal, Borden never saw that goal complete. A life lived so that the last memorial is found in an abandoned graveyard at the end of a garbage lined alley. Alcorn writes: I dusted off the inscription on the headstone of Borden's grave. After describing his love for Christ and his commitment to and his love for the Muslim people; and his sacrifices for God's kingdom; the inscription ended with some words I wrote down on the spot and I have never forgotten them to this day. The inscription ended with, Apart from faith in Christ there is no explanation for such a life. " Then Alcorn wrote, "And I thought, Lord, what's the explanation for my life?" How would you answer that question? What is the explanation of your life? Take a moment to meditate on a passage found in Philippians. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. What is the it of verse 13? What is the prize of verse 14? The answer is given later in verse The answer is to be like Christ. That was Paul s goal. That what the goal of William Borden. That is to be ours to be like Jesus Christ. What does God use to bring us to that point? Romans 8:28-29 says, And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who live God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren. That which has happened, that which will happen, seen through the lens of scripture is that which God will grow us to be more like Christ. September begins a new year for Maple. As we make plans and set goals, let us not forget one goal is to allow God to use what we do to make us more like Christ. Let that be the explanation for our lives. -Pastor Gary Maple Baptist Church 4500 Highway 65, Conway, SC maplebaptist@yahoo.com Pastor Gary Reeves cell pastormbc4500@yahoo.com Member of the SC Baptist Association and the Waccamaw Baptist Association

2 Don t find fault. Find a remedy. Henry Ford Monday Nights: 7:00 pm, Alternately Spearman/Hall Homes Wednesday Nights: Supper6:30, Children, Youth, Young Adult Discipleship 7:15 s: 10:00am Kid s Bible Study, 11:00am Mission Friends, 6:00 pm GAs & RAs & Acteens meet Do we really put God first in our daily lives? Satan called a worldwide convention of demons. In his opening address he said, "We can't keep Christians from going to church. We can't even keep them from forming an intimate relationship with their Savior. Once they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken. So let them go to their churches, let them have their covered dish dinners; but steal their time so they don't have time to develop a relationship with Jesus Christ. This is what I want you to do!" said the devil: "Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection throughout their day!" "How shall we do this?" his demons shouted. "Keep them busy in the nonessentials of life and invent innumerable schemes to occupy their minds," he answered. Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, and borrow, borrow, borrow. Persuade the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6-7 days each week, hours a day, so they can afford their empty lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their families fragment, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work. Over-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice. Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive; to keep the TV, VCR, CDs and their PCs going constantly in their home and see to it that every store and restaurant in the world plays non-biblical music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ. Fill the coffee tables with magazines and newspapers. Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day. Invade their driving moments with billboard advertisements. Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, mail order catalogs, sweepstakes, and every kind of newsletter and promotional, offering free products, services and FALSE HOPES." "Give them Santa Claus to distract them from teaching their children the real meaning of Christmas. Give them an Easter bunny so they won't talk about His resurrection and power over sin and death. Even in their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted. Keep them too busy to go out in nature and reflect on God's creation. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, plays, concerts, and movies instead. Keep them busy, busy, busy! And when they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences. Crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Jesus. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause. It will work! Its quite a plan! The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busier and more rushed, going here and there, having little time for their God or their families and friends. Having no time to tell others about the power of Jesus to change lives. I guess the question is; has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge! Does "busy" mean: B-eing U-nder S-atan's Y-oke? Author Unknown This article may very well be true; we have discussed this in our School classes. However, no matter how true this may be; we as Christians have been given the power to prove it wrong in every one of our lives. So, the question is, how do we do that? Where do we start? By prioritizing our lives. Clean out the junk, the non- essentials and give Christ His rightful first place in our homes and in our church. God has always wanted to bless us with successful lives; but He never meant for us to put Him in second place in order to become successful. We gain that as a blessing from Him by being obedient to Him. Make Him your priority and you will find He will remove the clutter from your life, the non- essential clutter, and it will amaze you to see the free time you will have for Him. The less we put God first, the quicker He becomes second and third in our lives. (Matthew :6:33 ) But seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. Father, we thank You for the good and many things You have blessed us with. May we never think we did it ourselves. Its only by prioritizing You fist, that we feel worthy of what we recieve from You. You alone are our provider, our sustainer of all You give. O God, Your wonders are many and so many times we stay too busy to realize that You are the true giver of all blessings. As we submit ourselves to You and put You first before all we do, Your blessings will come. May our lives never be too busy, that we fail to Remember, Your words:" I am Your God and you shall have no other gods before Me!" In Christ...Amen and Amen Blessing, Julia Page 2 The Maple Messenger

3 Woman s Missionary Union Maple on Mission Maple Baptist Church Being a Disciple Called to Listen We live in a technologically connected, multitasking age. WMU Meeting Dates Sept 5 Dorothea Long Sewing Ministry 8:30am-noon Sept 8 Bible Study/ Fellowship Group We can converse in real time with people around the world while we prepare dinner and plan tomorrow s schedule. We text, tweet, follow, like, post, comment, , and call. Although this opens new doors for missions opportunities, it also forces us to listen deliberately for God s call. Watchword: Mark 8:34 (NASB) 34 And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. TBA Ethel Stephens Circle 6:30 pm Sept 22 Sallie Powell Group 2:30 pm Upcoming events: Pray Radically - State Missions - The Janie Chapman offering for State Missions The Goal for Maple Baptist Church is $ As believers and followers of Christ, Southern Baptists recognize our relationship with Him is our most basic and important need. Helping others recognize this need in their lives is a priority for missions. Across South Carolina, we are focusing on the Season of Prayer for State Missions with "Pray Radically" as our theme for Our focal Scripture passage, Acts 4:31, reminds us to prioritize our activities with prayer, "After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly." As we learn more about this year's mission focus areas, we can choose to "Pray Radically," to speak the truth of God boldly, and to give generously. Through this time of focus, South Carolina Baptists can know better how to pray and give. God is providing opportunities and bringing together people from other countries and across the state so South Carolina Baptists can meet their needs, building relationships that will allow the Gospel to be spoken boldly. Through this year's week of prayer, we want to open eyes to what is God is doing. We are reminded that He is still able to shake the ground. As you learn more about this year's focus areas, you are asked to pray radically and to give generously to the Janie Chapman State Missions offering so the Gospel can continue being shared. Sept 12 State Missions Children s Missions: Education event 10:00 to 1:00 at North Myrtle Beach Sports Complex Walk-a-thon for Janie supporting SC missions for children September 19 He will show him even greater works than these, so that you will be amazed. John 5:19-21 Current balance in the account $10, Don t Forget Your Pledges! Down by the River Emphasis Book Study at Kingston Presbyterian Church VOLUME 27 ISSUE 9 Page 3

4 Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Mission Friends after children s sermon RAs, GAs, Acteens, & Challengers 7:00 pm Discipleship Courses 6:00 pm Adult Choir meets 5:00pm Dorothea Long Sewing Ministry 8:30am SBC Single Adult Street Reach 6:00 WMU Bible Study Walk-a-thon for Janie supporting SC missions for children Season of Prayer for State Missions and Janie Chapman Offering Brotherhood Breakfast Business meeting Discipleship Rally Churches Protecting Children Seminar Florence WMU Down by the River Emphasis book study at Kingston Presbyterian Church Season of Prayer for State Missions and Janie Chapman Offering Anti-Gambling Sallie Powell Group 2:30pm Churches Protecting Children Seminar Bamberg Wednesday Supper 6:15 pm Youth Disciple Training 7:00 pm Children s Choir (G s K-6) 7:00 pm Young Adult Bible Study 7:00 pm Prayer Service and Bible Study 7:15 pm Page 4 The Maple Messenger

5 2 Scott Mikres 6 Keith Benton Betty Sue Parker Andy Traver 9 Julia Taylor 10 Frances Long 14 Angie Johnson 15 Sarah Koepcke Jenna Mason Shirley Parker 16 Chase Cooper 23 Ava Norris 26 Melissa Stephens 27 Jasmine Koepcke Guy Majewski 28 Wink Prince 2 Doris & Jimmy Jacobs 10 Carl & Wanda Tompkins 16 Robert & Melissa Boyd 30 Nancy & Scott Mikres Bible Quiz August 19 Hailey Abercrombie Canden Abercrombie Jasamine Koepcke Stormy Kuppart Skylar Vereen Sunshine Vereen When Jesus was on his way to heal a young girl, who touched his clothing, and why? A. The girl s father, to urge Jesus to hurry. B. A boy; he was in awe of Jesus and just wanted to meet him. C. Many people; they couldn t help it because it was so crowded. D. A woman in the crowd; she hoped that doing so would heal her. Answer: D (See Mark 5:25-29.) DEACON FAMILY ASSIGNMENTS 2015 SEPTEMBER,, OCTOBER, COUNTING COMMITTEE Paula Allen Jon Allen Ginnie Causey, O NOVEMBER USHERS David Harris Jon Allen Billy Shannon John Johnson FLOWERS FOR THE SANCTUARY 06 Placed by Frances Williams in memory of Thomas Williams 13 Available A - B: Rick Moran C - Di: Dominic Mason Do - Ha: Jonathan Stephens He - Johnson (A-K): Gene Abercrombie Johnson (L-Z) - Lee: Raymond Hairston Lef - Norris (A-E): John Johnson Norris (F-Z) - Ri: Leroy Clewis Ro - Ta: Price Todd, Jr. Te - Z: John Spearman SEPTEMBER DEACONS 06 Jonathan Stephens 13 Dominic Mason 20 John Johnson 27 Raymond Hairston he Deacons meet the first of each month at 8:30 am Date Morning Evening Mary Beth Bennett & Katelyn Hucks 20 Placed by Frances Williams in memory of J.P. Edge 27 Available Kristi Bratcher & Helen Stephens Helen Hall Tonya Todd Paula Allen & Taylor Stevens Pam Allsbrook Megan Harris & Rachel Fleming Kristi Bratcher & Helen Stephens Thank you to all those who volunteer in the nursery so parents may attend the worship services. Questions about the schedule? Call Helen Hall Volume 27 Issue 9 Page 5

6 Maple Baptist Church 4500 Highway 65 Conway, South Carolina Growing a Family of Faith Non Profit Organization U.S. Postage Paid Conway, South Carolina Permit No. 111 Return Service Requested Maple Baptist Staff Pastor Rev. Gary Reeves Music Director Jacelyn Spearman Secretary Julie Holliday If you would you like to be removed from this mailing list, call or maplebaptist@yahoo.com Ministry Opportunities Perfect peace Deacons Meeting - 1st 8:30 am RAs, GAs, Acteens, & Challengers 7:00 pm Mission Friend after children s sermon Brotherhood Breakfast - 2nd 8:30 am Church Council Meeting - TBA Business Meeting - 2nd evening The Lord s Supper - 5th, Morning Worship Discipleship Courses 6:00 pm Monday 7:00 pm Tuesday Street Reach Ministry - 2nd 6:00 pm Sallie Powell Prayer Group Meeting - 3rd 2:30 pm English as a Second Language - WMU Bible Study / Fellowship - 1st at Wednesday Supper 6:15 pm Youth Discipleship 7:00 pm Children s Discipleship (G s K-6) 7:00 pm Young Adult Bible Study 7:00 pm Prayer Service and Bible Study 7:15 pm Thursday English as a Second Language - Saturday Dorothea Long Sewing Ministry 1st at 8:30am Peace is Christ s distinctive gift not money, not worldly ease, not temporal prosperity. These are at best very questionable possessions. They often do more harm than good to the soul. They act as clogs and weights to our spiritual life. Inward peace of conscience, arising from a sense of pardoned sin and reconciliation with God, is a far greater blessing. This peace is the property of all believers, whether high or low, rich or poor. J.C. Ryle