ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING. Congratulations to our Newly Elected Deacons. Welcome to Joseph Jackson and Marc Dyer!

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1 MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! ANNUAL BUSINESS MEETING If you are a member of Terrill Road Baptist Church, please join us on Wednesday, January 10th at 7:00 p.m. for our Annual Business Meeting. January Question of the Month: Happy New Year! Lets work on your resolutions together, what s your first resolution for the year??. me at jess_pratt@outlook.com By January 20th Focus Community Church Congratulations to our Newly Elected Deacons Welcome to Joseph Jackson and Marc Dyer! Our Deacon Ordination for Joseph Jackson TBD. Each of us has different things in our lives that we are willing to prioritize. As we start the New Year, some of us will make health, fitness, family and spiritual growth an absolute priority. Staying connected is important to God and to us. Check out these resources of devotionals and sermons to brighten your day, offer you comfort and remind you to seek your strength from our mighty God. Plus it s completely interactive! We encourage you to leave comments, which we read and respond to. We would also love to see you share the info we post with YOUR social media friends and family! Like, share and tag away!

2 Pastor s Page (continued) It concludes with this lesson: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. NKJ Matthew 25:13 The context is talking about Christ s return (and the judgement it brings). The Parable of the Talents is describing Christ s return in a different way- the Master away on a journey returning after a long time. There are a couple of applications** here for us today: 1. Our Lord is returning. Joining the doubters and scoffers (2 Peter 3:4) is a wicked thing. 2. If we take what he has entrusted to us (gift/skill/ability) and do nothing with it, it is a wicked thing. I use Jesus word - not unspiritual or lack of stewardship or even unfaithful. He calls it wicked. One more thought we certainly identify with a person who is gripped with fear; especially fear of failing. But think about it. Fear of failure is one thing. But as New Testament believers, should we fear God (our Master) if in the process of being faithful we experience failure? The answer is no. The first two servants were not rewarded for their success. They were rewarded for their diligence. Scripture tells us KJV 1 Corinthians 4:2 Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful. That s it. Doubting our Lord s return and ignoring our stewardship is wicked and lazy. In 2018 I want to be even more cognizant of the fact that our Master is returning soon. I want to remain a faithful steward hoping to one day hear the words, well done good and faithful servant. Perhaps Today, Pastor Bill *The first two servants are faithful in a task and are rewarded. Even though the first servant was more successful than the second, their reward was pretty much word-for-word identical. (Note: we are rewarded by God the measure of our faithfulness, not the measure of our success.) ** There is no time to unpack this in this article but as a Dispensationalist, I think the rebuke s immediate and primary application is the nation of Israel.

3 The Lamplighter Terrill Road Baptist Church is a Bible-believing Church where people connect with God, each Sunday Bible Study 9:30 a.m. Sunday Worship Service 10:45 a.m. Phone: Terrillrd@aol.com Church Website: trbc4him.org other, and influence our world for Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. Find us on Facebook! Terrill Road Baptist Church, Scotch Plains, NJ TRBC Sound Booth Schedule January 7th Spring & Alexis Casterlow January 14th Christy & Joey Caruso January 21st Sam Farrell & Lucas Page January 28th Trudi Karpel & Barbara Longo Thanks to all of you! Thank you for reading this month s edition!! -Jessica Pratt, Editor Scan this into your smart phone for instant access to TRBC s website. Happy 2018! May it fill you with Blessings & Joy! In This Issue: Pastor s Page Question of the month FCC From non-believer to believer Blessed Lost, but thankful Family Dinner dates Prayers for our High School Seniors Birthdays Test your Bible Knowledge NIV Calendar of Events The Lamplighter...doing the work He is doing in the world... Wicked Bad January 2018 Pastor s Page Being from New England, I grew up calling many things wicked good. Similar to how Michael Jackson transformed the word bad to mean something quite the opposite, we used the word wicked as an adverb meaning very. If something was wicked good it was very good; wickedness had nothing to do with it. Summing up: If we put NE & MJ together, you can call something wicked bad which actually means very good. Its funny how language is used sometimes. Imagine trying to explain that to the folks in the ESL class, what a head scratcher! In the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25 Jesus uses the word wicked but there is no hidden or alternate meaning- "But his lord answered and said to him, 'You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. NKJ Matthew 25:26 In this parable (an earthly story with a heavenly meaning) there are three servants that are given a task to do while the master goes on a journey. After a long time, the Master returns to see how well the servants had done and settle up as it were. In verse 26 Jesus rebukes the third servant. It can be argued that this verse is the apex of the parable.* You see this servant had done absolutely nothing with the resource that the Master had entrusted him with. What was the servant s reason? It was fear. I m not so sure that it was fear of failure as much as it was fear of the Master. Maybe it was a little bit of both. So I understand how he could be accused of being lazy, but wicked too? Isn t that a little harsh? We have to be careful in parable interpretation that we aren t reading in more than is there (it is easy to do). So a little understanding of the context can be helpful. Chapters 24 & 25 are talking about end times and future judgement. This is the Olivet Discourse. The Parable of the Ten Virgins immediately precedes this parable. In it, five are prepared and ready for the arrival of the bridegroom and five are unprepared. "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. NKJ Matthew 25:13

4 From Non Believer to Believer Cameron Chance I was a non-believer most of my life. I had turned my back on God. I denied God. Then one day God showed me I was wrong. Fifteen years ago my wife was pregnant with our son. She became very sick and lost 42 pounds in one month. My wife was hospitalized most of this time. Eventually our doctor told us, There is nothing more that I can do. If you don t terminate the pregnancy, you will die. Unfortunately, we took his advice. We got the procedure set up and went to the abortion center the day of the procedure. I thank God for the pro-life supporter on the sidewalk that day. He pleaded with us not to go through with the procedure. We told him what was happening to my wife. He apologized and prayed for us, but we continued into the abortion center anyway. Just moments before we were about to sign what we now call the death certificate for our son, God intervened. My wife looked at me and said, I don t care if I die. I am not going to kill our baby. We got up and walked out. Two weeks later, God healed my wife. Today we have an awesome 15- year-old son whom we love dearly. We can never go back and thank that person on the sidewalk, so we share our story to thank them and others. We wrote a tribute to them and to others who pray on the sidewalk. That tribute reads: We will never know your name. You may not even know that God placed you there to save our son. It was your prayers that helped save our son. Words can never express our gratitude for what you have done. Let the words of this message be a constant reminder of the great work that you do, to be a reminder that you made a difference. We didn t know who you were, but you cared for us as if we were your own. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Isaiah 40:30-31 Test Your Bible Knowledge NIV 30 Even grow tired and weary, and young stumble and fall: but those who in the LORD will renew their. They will soar on like eagles: they will run and not grow, they will walk and not be faint. Deuteronomy 7:13 13 He will you and you and increase your numbers. He will the fruit of your, the crops of your - your grain, new wine and oil. The calves of your herds and the of your in the land he swore to your to give you. Psalm 98:1 1 Sing to the a new song, for he has done things: his hand and his arm have worked For him. Now no cheating. See if you can fill in the blanks correctly, then check your answers.

5 BIRTHDAYS Rachel Morales 2 Karen Thomas 13 Ayanna Casterlow 14 Joan Swearer 17 Nicole Caruso 25 Joey Caruso 26 Joy More 27 Elena Farrell 28 Birthdays and Anniversaries! ANNIVERSARIES Mike & Lisa Billian 1 John & Madeleine Farrell 23 Rita & Steve Vorrius 31 Blessed Now when Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on a mountainside and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them. He said: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you. Matthew 5:1-12 (NIV) But He said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for My power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ s power may rest on me. 2 Corinthians 12:9

6 Lost, but thankful Jessica Pratt The best thing that I have in life is the fact that I know that GOD is guiding me. I keep going back to the verse in John 13:7 Jesus answered him, What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand. Its been over a year that I am struggling with not walking. I know Joy can relate to what I am going through, others in the church too. Its so hard to keep your faith and know that you are doing the right thing. Why is this taking so long? Have I done something wrong to be like this? Am I not faithful enough? I always ask these questions, but at the same time I think to myself WOW! I have come so far. There s a reason all this is happening, There is a reason why we struggle. God hasn't left me, but in the midst of chaos we forget. I am going to assume everyone goes through this at one time or another. We have to stay faithful. "Keep the charge of the LORD your God, to walk in His ways, to keep His statutes, His commandments, His ordinances, and His testimonies, according to what is written in the Law of Moses, that you may succeed in all that you do and wherever you turn, so that the LORD may carry out His promise which He spoke concerning me, saying, 'If your sons are careful of their way, to walk before Me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, you shall not lack a man on the throne of Israel.' 1 Kings 2:3-4 Faith brings hope. As Christians, we are going to be knocked down, but its up to us to get back up again. MARK YOUR CALENDARS!! Family Dinner Dates January 10 Comfort food February 14 Black history month March 14 St. Patrick s Day April 11 Baked Ziti May 9 Cinco De Mayo June 13 Grads and Dads BBQ Hostess committee invites you to our monthly family dinners. A night of fellowship to spend with one another. Starts at 5:45pm. See you there! Prayers for our High School Seniors Please continue to lift up our High School Seniors. Arelis has been accepted in New York University. Nicole will be attending Raritan Valley Community College. Alexis is sending out applications and has visited Gordon College. Jesse is also applying and looking for the right fit for him. Finding the right college is truly a difficult one. Financially and Emotionally.