Providence Presbyterian Church 2850 Union Rd Gastonia, NC 28054 Rev. Harper Price, Pastor normanhprice@gmail.com Church office hours: Monday & Thursday 1:30-5:30 pm Activities at Providence Sunday 12:15 Fellowship Lunch (2nd wk) Tuesday 6:30 Women s Ministries (1st wk) Wednesday Rehearsal Providence Presbyterian Church Volume XXXIV Providence Profiles April 2018 He is Risen! www.providencegastonia.org Church Office: (704) 865-2587 tammy@providencegastonia.org INSIDE THIS ISSUE: Hours: Monday-Thursday after 1:30 Serving Christ 2 Women s Ministries 3 Tammy Bassett Secretary Terry Williams Music Director From the Pastor 4 Prayer Corner 6 Celebrations & Treas. Report 7 Patti Anderson Pianist Calendar
Providence Profiles April 2018 Page 2 Providence Profiles April 2018 Page 7 Serving Christ in April Ushers 1 Lawrence Thompson Jim Dotson 8 Bob Bassett JD Elmore 15 Lawrence Thompson Lyle Branagan 22 Bob Bassett Wes Marquand 29 Lawrence Thompson Ron France Elder Worship Leader Nursery 1 Harper Price 1 Volunteer if needed 8 Lyle Branagan 8 Karen Branagan 15 Terry Williams 15 Jackie France 22 Wes Marquand 22 Lynn Lopez 29 Bob Bassett 29 Courtney Price Thank you for your willingness to serve. Transportation for Carol Lewis 1 Tammy Bassett 8 Wes Marquand 15 Harper Price 22 Bob Bassett 29 Lyle Branagan April 8 12:15 pm Hostess: Lynn Lopez & Tammy Bassett A sign-up sheet to volunteer as a hostess/clean-up is on the bulletin board downstairs. We need two volunteers each month. 2 Terry Williams 18 Karen Branagan 16 Steve Coleman 25 Jim Ford 16 Jonathan Newell 30 Carol Lewis INCOME: 11 Jim & Pat Ford - 38 years! February 2018 Feb. 18 YTD Actual YTD Budget Tithes & Offerings $5,356 $26,417 $18,158 EXPENSES: Benevolent Gifts $ 367 $ 733 $ 783 Ministry & Worship 5,263 10,659 10,983 Christian Education 0 0 67 Administration 748 1,360 1,683 Building & Grounds 1,978 4,614 4,650 Fellowship 0 0 25 Total Expenses $8,356 $17,366 $18,191 $2,100 is needed weekly to meet our 2018 budget.
Providence Profiles April 2018 Page 4 Providence Profiles April 2018 Page 5 How Do I Know I m a Christian? Galatians 5:18 26 (ESV) But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another. During the Easter season, I m sometimes asked how a person can know they are truly saved. In answer, I will go to texts of Scripture such as 1 John 4:19 (We love, because He first loved us) or Ephesians 2:8-10 ( by grace you have been saved through faith ), which emphasize God s grace (His unmerited gift) of salvation, which His people receive through faith (believing in The Lord Jesus Christ). The Bible is abundantly clear: God alone saves by grace, through faith. Yet, those texts also make it very clear, that when God saves us, He does so for a purpose. And that means our salvation will always have observable and measurable results! And not just by WHAT we do, but WHY we do it. This is where Galatians 5 is so helpful. It doesn t simply list the things a Christian does not do, but more importantly lists the heart and mind a Christian will not have. A truly saved person may get jealous, but they will not be defined by jealousy. They may envy at times, but will not be envious people. They may get angry, but will not be defined - or ruled - by anger. Instead, by the same grace of God that has declared them righteous, they will actively be righteous: loving, peaceful, patient, generally kind, faithful, and good. And that is scary! Because it means we cannot be confident of salvation if we merely DO good works outwardly, but hate doing them - or the people we are doing them for - INWARDLY. That was the great sin of the Pharisees: hypocrisy. They did all the right things, but for all the wrong reasons. But in the salvation of Christ, we DO good works outwardly, because of the love He has placed WITHIN us. As Jesus said in Matthew 15:18, it s that which from the heart, that defiles (or shows the salvation of) a person. That doesn t mean these works are perfect, or that we are sinless! But it does mean, that perfect sinless righteousness is our desire, so that we live by the Spirit. As we move on from Easter, ask The LORD where you fall in the above passage from Galatians. And by God s grace, ask Him to make it a life belonging to Christ. In His Care, Harper * * * * * * * * * * Congratulations Bailey Marquand! Bailey, a member of the Gaston Piano Junior Music Club, received a Superior! rating in the National Federation Junior Festival held under the auspices of the North Carolina Federation of Music Clubs. Congrats Bailey!
Providence Profiles April 2018 Page 6 Providence Profiles April 2018 Page 3 Providence Prayer Corner *Providence Members/Regular Visitors New Requests/Updates Andrew Brunson Turkish prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for Andrew, court date is April 16 at 9 am, pray for his release! Teresa Coleman* infection has returned in her leg Mary Ida Harper (Harper s grandmother) healing from a broken foot Claire Hoogmoed* recovering from pneumonia, wisdom on decisions for future care for Claire as she will be leaving Belaire Rehab soon Jason & Sarah Korchmar (Bassett s nephew/wife) son was born premature at 25 weeks and is now in the arms of Jesus Pat Lucy* was hospitalized, now staying with her daughter, meds are now regulated Zach Mitchell (Anderson s son-in-law) has been stationed in Qatar, will be coming home this month! Pray for a safe return for Zach and his fellow soldiers Rev. GA Presley (friend of Tammy Bassett) torn cartilage in knee from a fall, also healing from a recent surgery, possible knee replacement surgery Mike Smith (husband of friend of Ron France) had a mass removed from his lung, now having to remove the whole lung Joyce Stalbaumer (friend of Jackie France) last stages of ALS, is traveling for a few weeks to see family in TX, pray for safe travels and her time with family Joyce Swanson (friend of Tammy Bassett) malignant mass in her stomach, chemo has begun but having issues with the port Ongoing Prayer Requests Anderson Family* healing of broken family relationships Michael Branagan* needs prayer as he completes his research in order to graduate with his doctorate in the Spring Kent Bryant (missionary) all is well in Fiji, pray for God to intervene in the life of the young man watching over the property and ministry there Tammy Field (Lawrence s daughter) neuropathy is getting more severe, she is now unable to work due to the pain Johnnie Holland (friend of Lawrence Thompson) diagnosed with inoperable pancreatic cancer, having chemo treatments Carol Lewis* having a lot of pain in neck and back, continuing with injections Rhonda Lewis (Carol s daughter) strength and endurance in Christ as she undergoes cancer treatment Lynn & Gustavo Lopez* taking the steps to become foster parents! Next step is home visits. Michelle Marquand* having severe pain in neck, pray for pain relief and healing Charles Norman cancer, under Hospice care, pray for his daughter Angel as well Neighbor of Michael Branagan very ill, pray for Michael to have courage and wisdom to share Christ with him during this time, he professes to be Muslim Mike & Kathryn Pendergrass (friends of Bassett s) seeking new home in SC Beverley Schaefer (friend of Jackie France) cancer, near Duke with 24 hr care Our next meeting is Tuesday, April 10th at 6:30 pm Lesson 4 led by Jackie France Refreshments: Elvia Lampa Thank you to Robin for leading our lesson in March, The Heart Changer. We studied the incomprehensible power of the Holy Spirit; the only one soul-changing power in all the world. Anointing from the Holy Spirit guides us into all truth. He teaches us so that we can come to know God as He is, rather than how we imagine Him to be. He doesn t want us to merely know about Him--He wants us to be intimately acquainted with Him. We had nine ladies in attendance! Thank you to Gwen for providing us a delicious homemade pasta, homemade bread and even dessert! For our Spring cleaning day we decided to join in on the deaconate clean up day. Thank you ladies for polishing up our sanctuary, it looks (and smells) great! Join us on April 7th to celebrate the upcoming wedding of Rachel Smith and Michael Branagan! (see invite below) Our next meeting is April 10 (2nd week due to Easter). Hope you can join us! Tammy Bassett, WM President
April Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday 1 Easter Sunday 2 3 4 5 6 7 9:30 Family Breakfast Apr 2-6 Gaston County Schools 11 am - 2 pm Bridal Brunch Rachel Smith 8 Communion Sunday 12:15 Fellowship Lunch 6:00 Heart & Home #2 9 10 6:30 Women s Ministries (*note date change) 11 12 13 14 2:00 pm Gaston Symphonic Band Outdoor Concert, Kings Mtn 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 April 16 - April 20 Volunteer Work Week at Bonclarken 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 6:00 Heart & Home #4 6:00 Heart & Home #1 (Note date change) 29 30 New Sunday School study begins on April 8th! 1 Peter - led by Terry Williams Join us!