THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH ILLUMINATOR Ye are the LIGHT of the world. Matthew 5:14 VOL. LV OCTOBER 31, 2018, WHITESBURG, KY 41858 NO. 41 LAY RENEWAL WEEKEND MADE TO COUNT NOVEMBER 2-4 Friday, November 2 6:00 P.M. Fellowship Supper Fellowship Hall 7:00 P.M. General Session - Sanctuary Saturday, November 3 9:00 A.M. Adult In-home Coffees 10:45 A.M. General Session Sanctuary 11:15 A.M. Teaching Sessions 12:30 P.M. Churchwide Lunch Fellowship Hall 1:30 P.M. Kevin Can Wait Movie Free Time 6:00 P.M. Fellowship Supper 7:00 P.M. General Session Sanctuary 7:30 P.M. Teaching Sessions 8:45 P.M. Closing Prayer Time Sunday, November 4 9:45 A.M. Sunday School (all adult classes in the Sanctuary) 11:00 A.M. Worship/Commissioning Service 6:00 P.M. Evaluation Service
We have adopted a very simple, yet powerful motto for our church: HIS LIGHT UNTO THE MOUNTAINS. How are we the Body of Christ His light? How are you a believer and follower of Christ His Light? Not only are we the Light, but also the salt of the earth, His hands and feet, His radiant face to those searching in the darkness. We may be all these things, but how do we do them? By making a difference in our community! Demonstrating our love to those who are in need. Serving the poor and needy. Showing compassion and care to the hurting. Giving people the hope of Christ in a dark and dying world. Or, best said with the word of Salvation Army founder, Gen. William Booth, cabled to his convention when he was unable to attend as speaker: OTHERS. We do such a great job taking care of the church, our people and our building. We have great services, eat delicious meals, and enjoy wonderful programs. We do a lot of good things inside the church building. But, can the light be seen from the mountains around us? Do we shine Jesus in the hills and hollows? Lay Renewal Weekend will be a time to look outward and be renewed inward. It will equip, empower, and commission us to serve as missionaries where we live and work in our community. If we are not focused on Others we may end up looking like the hunter in the following story: A group of friends went deer hunting and paired off in twos for the day. That night one of the hunters returned alone, staggering under the weight of an eight-point buck. Where s Harry? he asked. Harry had a stroke of some kind. He s a couple of miles back up the trail. You left Harry laying there, and carried the deer back? Well, said the hunter, I figured no one was going to steal Harry. I hope to see you in church during Lay Renewal Weekend. We will learn how to look outward as we are renewed inward. There are a lot of people wounded and fallen out there in this dark world. We don t to be the kind of church that leaves Harry laying out there on the trail. Make a real commitment to come this weekend. I love you all and I pray for you to be His Light Unto The Mountains. In His Service, Pastor Tony OBSERVANCE OF THE LORD S SUPPER SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4, 6:00 P.M.
May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13 I want to take a moment to thank everyone who helped with Trunk or Treat. We were able to connect with around 800 kids plus parents in our community through this one event. We would not have been able to do that without church members who are willing to offer up their time and other resources in order to give families these safe and fun activities. I ask that each of you join me in praying that each person that we came into contact with during this activity will be drawn closer to God (saved or lost, churched or unchurched) and new commitments will be made. I also ask that you share the reason for the hope that is within you with any guests who come to a church service or activity over the next several weeks. On Friday, November 30 th, we will be hosting another outreach activity a Birthday Party for Jesus from 5:30 P.M. 8:00 P.M. This activity will be open to children who are 3 years old through 4 th graders. The Birthday Party for Jesus will not only focus on celebrating the birth of Christ but also on helping children understand their need for a Savior. We will make use of games, food, music, a short service project, and storytelling to minister to the children in attendance. If you are willing to volunteer to help with this activity, please contact me by phone, email, text, or in person. Finally, Angie and I would like to take a moment to thank you for the kindness that was shown to us during the pastor appreciation fellowship. Usually we are in the back of the line (and we don t mind that) because we are finishing up an activity or fetching kids but you waited for us and put us at the front of the line. Someone even had a table ready for us, complete with highchairs! Your kindness and generosity are truly appreciated, and we love serving with you. Thanking God for you, JEREMY Prov. 27:17 *********************************** FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 5:30 8:00 P.M. for children 3 Years 4 th Grade
Shout for joy to God, all the earth; sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise! Say to God, How awesome are your deeds! So great is your power that your enemies come cringing to you. All earth worships you and sings praises to you; They sing praise to your name. Selah Psalm 66:1-4 Every morning my alarm goes off at 5 A.M. Thanks to modern technology when my alarm does go off it randomly selects music from my I-Tunes account. I have a large variety of music on my phone, mainly music I use with the youth so this morning my morning wake-up was to Veggie Tales singing, My God Is So Big! You really haven t had a true wake-up experience until you have experienced Veggie Tales in the morning. Psalm 66 is the background scripture used for this popular kids song. The song is titled, How Awesome are your deeds! This song appropriately repeats this chorus, My God is so big, so strong and so mighty, there is nothing my God cannot do! The lyrics to this song describe what God has made and how everything is created, mountains, sky, rivers, seas and even elephants are the result of his handiwork. When the children learn this song, sound effects are added and even hand motions to make the children move and remember the meaning of the song and in turn scripture. Music is such an important tool in sharing Christ with the world. Please consider joining our music ministry. We always have room in the choir for you. We need helpers with children s church and especially need someone willing to lead a preschool choir. We need sound technicians and technology people; it is such an important and needed ministry in our church. We need people to act in dramas. Please pray about joining our music ministry. Hope for the Mountains is a one-day evangelistic event scheduled for November 11 at the East Kentucky Expo Center in Pikeville. Jason Stewart will be leading a choir that already has 600+ registered to come and sing. Practice will be at 4 P.M. at the Expo Center on the day of the event. A van will leave the church at 2:30 for any choir member that would like to ride instead of driving. Please come and sing with us, it will be a great experience. Saranell and Tessa are looking for people to be a part of the drama for our Christmas Cantata, Peace Has Come. They are also looking for people to be a part of a dramatic reading for our Christmas Eve service. Please pray about being a part of each of these programs; it is a great opportunity to minister through drama. CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS November 2-4: November 11: November 18: December 2: December 9: December 16: December 23: December 30: Lay Renewal Weekend Hope for the Mountains Choir Practice 4:00 P.M. at Pikeville Expo Center, Revival at 6:00 P.M. Thanksgiving Fellowship Dinner 6 P.M. No choir practice Twas the Last Mailing Day Before Christmas 6 P.M. Youth & Ignite Play/Musical Straight Outta Bethlehem 6 P.M. Children s Play/Musical Fellowship immediately following Peace Has Come 6 P.M. Adult Cantata Christmas Eve Service 6:00 P.M. including a drama 5 th Sunday Evening Singing 6:00 P.M.
This Sunday morning the Lay Renewal Team from North Carolina will be leading our youth during Sunday School. Please bring your son/daughter to our youth room on Sunday morning at 9:45 A.M. There will also be activities for our youth on Saturday that will be led by this team; so don t forget to come out this weekend, beginning on Friday night to be a part of our Lay Renewal Weekend. Our Christmas play is quickly approaching and so crunch time is upon us! We will practice at 5 P.M. this Sunday evening and again on Wednesday night. If you would like to be a part of our play, please come and join us; we would love to have you. If you signed up for Xtreme Winter Youth Conference 2018, the total cost is $144. Your second deposit of $50 is due November 11 th. As always if you need assistance, please let us know. SUNDAY SCHOOL SNACKS November 4 No Snacks CALENDAR OF UPCOMING EVENTS November 12-18 Christmas Shoebox Collection Week -- volunteers needed nightly December 2 Twas the Last Mailing Day Before Christmas 6:00 P.M. Youth & Ignite play/musical December 29-31 Xtreme Winter Conference God s presence in Christians lives can be summed up in these numbers: 24-7-365. It s not a very complex code to crack. The God revealed through Christ s sacrifice is a 24-hours-aday, 7-days-a-week, 365-days-a- year God. No timeouts, no halftime breaks. God is present for us and with us every moment of every day of our lives. God can be a 24-7-365 God because Jesus was a one-time Savior. Jesus sacrifice w3as once and for all. It doesn t need to be endlessly repeated. Praise God that his Son s one act of complete obedience gives us true peace of mind 24-7- 365!
AWANA CHRISTMAS STORE November 6 th Shoebox Worknight from 6:00-8:00 P.M. Saturday, November 10 Shoebox Packing Party for children 3:00-5:00 P.M. Sunday, November 11 Shoebox Dedication Service, 11:00 A.M. November 12-19 National Shoebox Collection Week If you would like to be involved in any of these activities, please message Lee Adams or call her at 606-634-5698. HOPE FOR THE MOUNTAINS (Sponsored by the Kentucky Baptist Convention) SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 11, 6:30 P.M. EXPO CENTER, PIKEVILLE Our children have been earning points all fall for memorizing scriptures, attendance on Wednesday nights and Sunday mornings, bringing friends and more. We are rewarding them this semester by offering a store where the children can buy Christmas presents for their family members with their points. We need donations to make this work! If you could provide any new or gently used items that the children might be interested in buying for their family, some suggestions would be: Wallets Jewelry Keepsake boxes Sports memorabilia Sports equipment Small toys for siblings Purses Small tools Belts Lotions Christmas candy Thank you for considering your donation. Please turn these into Jeremy or Angie Horn no later than December 12 th. If you would like to volunteer to help wrap gifts for the children on Wednesday night, December 19 th, please let us know as well. Speaker: Music: Jon Reed Jason Lovins Band Plus a 600+ Choir led by Jason Stewart Evening worship service will be moved to the Expo Center and all other activities are cancelled. We will be taking a van and time of departure will be announced later. Nov. 5: Alexis Fleming 6: Eleanor Caudill, Sheila Cornett 7: Don Childers, Sydney Coots 8: Cathy Narramore 9: Brayden Fleming, Kayla Sexton 10: Keith Howard
The FBC staff and church family extends love and sympathy to the family of JASON HALL; and to JO COMBS and family in the death of her sister-in-law, NORMA COMBS. STICK WITH IT! If I ve learned anything about friendship, it s to hang in, stay connected, says journalist Jon Katz. Don t walk away, don t be distracted, don t be too busy or tired, don t take them for granted. Friends are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. This applies to church life too. When we re annoyed by some aspect of congregational life or caught in conflict with other members, it s tempting to drift away to another church or no church. Even when all is fine, we sometimes let church take a back seat. But our bonds with the family of God are part of the glue that holds life and faith together. For the sake of the benefits we gain and give, may we hang in [and] stay connected with our church family. May we not walk away[or] be distracted, be too busy or tired. May we not take one another for granted but thank God for this glue even when things get a bit sticky! EXTENDED SESSION WORKERS November 4 Diane Lewis, Amy Bates November 11 Melissa Newell PRESCHOOL WORSHIP November 4 No Preschool Worship November 11 Becca & Calviston Cook CHILDREN S CHURCH WORKERS November 4 No Children s Church November 11 Jeremy Horn, Monica Morton When we look at what we want, and then compare that with what we have, we shall be unhappy. When we think about what we really deserve, and then compare that with what we actually have, we shall thank God. SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 4
LAST SUNDAY S STATISTICS Sunday School ------------------------------------------ 114 Adults -- 67 Youth -- 20 Children -- 18 Preschool -- 9 Morning Worship --------------------------------------- 133 SPECIAL MINISTRIES FAMILY LIFE CENTER TOTAL NEEDED PHASE 2 $500,000.00 GIVEN TO DATE $447,219.00 NEEDED $52,781.00 Housing Authority --------------------------------------- 6 Letcher Manor -------------------------------------------- 21 AWANA/IGNITE/YOUTH ------------------------------- 131 Children: 92 Adults: 39 ADDITIONS TO DATE (September August) By Baptism ----------------------------------------------- 6 By Letter ------------------------------------------------- 0 By Statement -------------------------------------------- 0 TOTAL ADDITIONS ----------------------------------- 6 TOTAL RECEIPTS Budget Receipts ------------------------------ $ 6,083.00 Budget Requirement -------------------------- $ 7,255.00 Family Life Center ----------------------------- $ 150.00 Designated -------------------------------------- $ 52.00 Budget Required to Date ------------------- $306,965.00 Budget to Date ------------------------------ $282,061.04 MONDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 6:00 P.M. DEACON OF THE WEEK November 4-10 MIKE HARRIS