The LifeVine Pleasant Grove Baptist Church 13800 Aiken Road Louisville, KY. 40245-4624 (502) 245-4250 www.pgbconline.org pgbconline@bellsouth.net Nonprofit Org US Postage PAID Louisville KY Permit No. 835 ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED Volume 16 December 2016 Issue 12 Servants, in His Service Louis H. Humes Sr. Pastor Mary Rumsey Music Minister Alan Kern Youth Minister Kay Edwards Pianist Angela Humes Secretary Worship and Study Times Sunday Sunday School Morning Worship 9:45am 10:55am Wednesday Church Supper Prayer Meeting Children & Youth Adult Choir 6:15pm 7:00pm 7:00pm 7:00pm
News and Announcements WooHoo! Miss Bernice would be so proud! We reached our goal of 100 shoeboxes for Samaritan s Purse Operation Christmas Child!! Thank you to all who created boxes and donated items and/or money. You made it possible for 100 children to receive the Word of God for Christmas. December 24, 5pm Our Annual Christmas Eve celebration includes the Scripture of Jesus birth, your favorite carols, the celebration of the Lord s Supper and the lighting of Memorial Candles all in one very meaningful hour! Don t miss this blessing - invite someone to join you! Tis the Season... December 2, 5:30-9pm Parents Night Out! Kids ages 4-12 come Legacy Hall for Fun and Games. See Robin Goins if you d like to help. December 3, 1pm Join us for caroling! We will meet at the church at 1:00 and carpool to sing to our care-ins. Last year this was truly a blessing to us as well as them. Afterwards, we will have Smores over the fire here at church See Laura, 541-6737 Merry Christmas! Coming in 2017... Mark your calendars for January 14th. We will meet at the church at 1pm and head to Perfect North for a day of snow tubing! This is a church-wide outing for all ages. More info to come. See Laura 541-6737 Koinonia Class Christmas Party, Dec. 3, 5pm Bro. Larry has his annual door prize ready! December 10, 12:30pm Sr. Adult Christmas Banquet sponsored by our Deacons and Staff and served by our Youth! You don t want to miss this celebration if you are 60 or older!! December 14, 7pm The Deadline for turning in your Christmas Cards for Church Boxes!! December 18 @ 12:30pm Christmas Luncheon with Santa This follows our Annual Christmas Musical which is a GREAT time to invite your family and friends to join you!! Thanks to all the gracious and thoughtful people of the Pleasant Grove for the cards and expressions of appreciation you gave me on my appreciation day. It has been a pleasure to serve keeping our landscape and grounds looking attractive and well kept. Pat & I love you all and will continue to serve in any way we can contribute. Marion Sandefur From your Missions Committee... We believe it is the responsibility of the Missions Committee to present opportunities and challenges to the body of Christ at Pleasant Grove to proclaim the Gospel in areas of mission ministries. We will have large activities and group challenges as well as acknowledging opportunities. Do not feel obligated to participate in every activity challenge or opportunity, just participate as you feel led to do so.
Pastor s Paragraphs... Before anything else, my sweet Bride, Angela, and I want to express our deep appreciation for your generous support all year long and especially your Christmas Love Offering. It means a great deal to know how much you love us and we are both humbled and grateful beyond words... but we still have to try; so Thank-you!! Let me be one of the first to say Merry Christmas to each and every person reading this Newsletter. Not everyone on our mailing list is a current Church Members. However, everyone who receives the LifeVine has connection either with this Church or with me and that is why you are on the mailing list. We want you to know something about what God is doing in our midst all year long so you can pray for us accordingly. I regularly review the mailing list and pray for you simply because your name on that list reminds to do so!! I realize that every blessing in my ministry is due either to the direct actions of God in response to your prayers or to the indirect actions of God in the great crowd of faithful servants He has surrounded me by in this Church family. It is humbling every time I consider all the ways He overcomes my own failures, sins and shortcomings to produce a successful ministry in spite of me... and I am grateful beyond words to both Him and to you as a result. Think about the power of your prayers. Take a moment and consider all the people God has brought into our Church Family this past year: Ben and Christian Colorado; Genny, Noah and Ella Goeku; Amber and Chris Harris; Deon Hill; Natalie Mullaney; David Stillwell; Kevin and Michelle Whelan. Our Church has been impacted by each of them each of them and their family members. Each of them and their family members have been impacted by your prayers even if you live far away from here!! I have similarly led more than six people to the Lord who have no official connection to this Church; I have witnessed to more than 30 other people who have not chosen to surrender just yet; I have ministered to three different families who experienced a suicide, two who experienced a potential suicide attempt, two who got married and more than a dozen who have struggled with major changes and resulting discouragement/depression in addition to more than a dozen funerals. Furthermore, our church has overseen two major improvements to our facilities via the CTL Committee s leadership and I ve helped a new ministry form that will begin to serve and meet the needs of hungry people in our community next Spring. Does that sound overwhelming to you? It does to me!! Yet God has been faithful and all of that has been accomplished without any real difficulty because, after all, nothing is difficult for God! Each of you who pray for our Church and for me have shared in every bit of that work even if you did not know it at the time!!! The only downside for me was that I needed to withdraw from School to focus on paying medical bills so I am a year and a half behind schedule on that facet of my life. I ll start back on that this next Spring too. So I honestly mean it when I write these words during a Thanksgiving week; Thank-you for your incredible love and faithfulness and the difference you are making. Similarly, as we approach the season of Christmas, my favorite time of the year, I am almost overwhelmed with how much you mean to me and my family. Even if I never got to tell you personally during the past year, I have thought of you frequently and prayed for you personally. Your love enriches my life and ministry immeasurably and I genuinely love you and wish you the Merriest Christmas ever!! In Christ Jesus, Answers to Christmas Quiz: 1. D The Bible gives no record of their means of travel. 2. C Matthew 1:18. 3. B and C Matthew 1:19; Luke 1:39, 56. 4. D December 25 was selected late in the 4th century as the day to celebrate Christ s birth. 5. C Luke 2: 1. 6. C Not a specific number. 7. C Luke 2:10 ( the angel said to them ). 8. D Luke 2:13 (They didn t sing; they said. OK, if you picked c we ll give you a point. 9. E Luke 2:7 (We aren t told where Jesus was born, only that after His birth He was laid in a manger). 10. D The Bible doesn t say anything about animals being present. 11. C A Feeding Trough. 12. B He was fully human as well as fully God. 13. C Luke 2:4. 14. E none of the above (Three kings are not mentioned in the Bible. Only in songs). 15. C Luke 2:12. 16. E An innkeeper is never mentioned in the Scriptures. 17. The Bible doesn t say how many only that Magi came bringing gold, frankincense and myrrh (see Matt. 2 :12). 18. C Astrologers who dabble in the natural sciences. 19. B Matthew 2:11. 20. B Check it out... Knowing this one answer is the key to a great Score!! Scoring: 19-20 correct: Congratulations! You know Christmas! 18-16 correct: Not Bad! Truth wins over tradition. 15-11 correct: Uh oh! Too many Christmas plays. 1-10 correct: Ouch! Better get out your Bible!!
We welcome with Great Rejoicing the following who have decided to join our Church Family: We welcome with Great Rejoicing the following who have decided to join our Church Family by Baptism: David Stillwell 1321 N. Beckley Station Rd. Louisville, KY 40245 (502) 253-5446 Birthday: August 05 PGBC Box # 04 Deacon Family List: Will Branham Janet Landreth 1200 Pickings Place, # 201 Louisville, KY 40243 (502) 253-5446 Birthday: June 14 PGBC Box # 05 Deacon Family List: Melissa Branham Jenny Williams P.O. Box 434 New Castle, KY 40050 (502) 706-9014 Birthday: August 11 PGBC Box # 59 Deacon Family List: Melissa Branham Whose picture might be in this space next year? Who do you know who is not active in Church this Christmas? What will you do about that? Will you make a special effort to pray for them? Will you make a special effort to invite them to join you at some of our fellowship or worship activities? Will you invite our Pastor or Staff to help you reach out to them? The choices are yours but you are not alone; tell your staff or Deacons and we will join you in prayer and in out reach too! Let s make 2017 a GREAT YEAR!!!
@ Brown Bag 13 14 Deadline for December 2016 Calendar of Events & Birthdays Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Web Page www.pgbconline.org E-Mail pgbconline@bellsouth.net SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT Regular Schedule Sundays 945 Sunday School 1055 Worship 4 5 5:30 Recreation Meal @ Peking City 7 Recreation 11 2:30 Masonic Home Bonnie Plaskett 18 10:55 Christmas Musical 12:30 Lunch & Santa 25 Merry Christmas! No Sunday School 10:55 Worship Ethon Sellings Wednesdays 615 Dinner 700 Prayer Mtg. Children & Youth Adult Choir 12 5:30 Recreation Meal @ 5 Guys 7 Recreation 19 5:30 Recreation Meal @ Pizza Hut 7 Recreation Heather Wright 26 5:30 Recreation Meal 7 Recreation Dorothy Hanks 6 Barbara Goins 20 Susan Hunsaker 7 8 Deacons Mtg. Kevin Belden Christmas Cards 7 Business Mtg. 1 2 8 9 15 Justin Cash 21 22 23 Bud Golt Loraine Cash 16 17 Larry Plaskett 27 28 29 30 31 3 10 Bowling 1 Caroling 5 Koinonia Party 10 12:30 Senior Adult Banquet Francene Shepard 24 5 Candlelight Service & Communion
Fruit from The Grove... When you begin to light a fire, what is your expectation? Do you wish the fire to explode into a massive fireball, only to whimper quickly into ashes? Or do you wish it to begin a small yet steady flame that provides enduring light and heat to the whole house? Perseverance - a steady and enduring flame - has been my goal for the youth group these past two months. A surge of numbers means little. Though our youth group has steadily grown into an average of 20+ students on Wednesdays and 15+ on Sundays, an explosive ignition was never the goal. What I want to see is a steady, persevering, faithful group of young disciples who are committed to Jesus Christ and to living out his teachings with enduring passion. As in the early church, we continue to remain devoted to the public reading of Scripture (1 Tim. 4:13). Mary s Notes... Merry Christmas Season to my Church Family. I love you all and hope that this Season brings every one of you Blessings-a-Plenty. Here is an interesting story about the secular Twelve Days of Christmas Song. Did you know that in days of old, Christians were forbidden to share the word of Christ, even through music. So they created a secular Holiday Season song that had hidden meanings about Christianity. Here are the relationships between verses and Christian truths: 12 Twelve drummers drumming symbolized the twelve points in the Apostle s Creed. 11 Eleven pipers piping stood for the eleven faithful Disciples. 10 Ten lords-a-leaping were the Ten Commandments. 9 Nine ladies dancing represented the Fruits of the Spirit. 8 Eight maids a milking stood for the Beatitudes. We have successfully finished the book of Romans, verse-by-verse. We have now moved on to the book of Ephesians. We will move onward throughout the New Testament slowly, being careful to memorize and apply the truths in it to our own lives. I have secondly taught our youth to remain devoted in prayer. Praying through Scripture has been a wellreceived discipline. I want to encourage everyone to learn and practice praying through God s Word. Ask our youth about it if you would like to hear what they say about it! Continue to be in prayer for us. Spiritual and numerical growth is only by the power of the Lord. Let us look to him and ask humbly, as dear and beloved children, for our Father s blessings on our youth. That is all we need. To God be the Glory, Bro. Alan 7 Seven Swans-a-swimming signified Seven Spiritual Gifts: Prophesy, Serving, Teaching, Exhortation, Giving, Leadership and Mercy. 6 Six geese a-laying stood for the six days of Creation. 5 Five golden rings represented the first five books of the Old Testament which describe man s fall into sin and the great love of God in sending a Savior. 4 Four calling birds were the four gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. 3 Three French hens represented faith, hope and love. 2 Two turtle doves stood for the Old and New Testaments. 1 Finally, The Partridge in a Pear Tree is Jesus Christ on the Cross! I am so grateful that we live in a Society where we don t have to find clever ways to hide being a Christian and can share our faith openly!! Blessings on each of you. Singing God s Praises! Mary Rumsey The Children s Corner... Do You Hear What I Hear? Or The Birth of Jesus, According to Children* Here is the Christmas story compiled of statements by children. Many of these I have heard with my own ears and this illustrates that what they hear is NOT always what we thought! An angle came to visit Mary. She was sore and afraid. I don't know who the angel was, but he told Mary she was going to have a baby. He was white and shining and was really, really bright. Usually he just flew around all day. Mary told her gonna be husband Jovis, I'm having a babyoh, and it's not yours. I had a immaculate contraption. Jesus was born in a barn, a shed or a barn. It might have been a stable, one of the three. The stable was made out of hay with a string around it. There was a donkey, sheep and a cow, and Mary and Joseph. Other people came too but I don't know how they all fitted in. The last person to get there was the Tin Man. The three stooges followed a special star, which is only out at Christmas. They brought baby Jesus gold and mirff and franky scents, it's like aftershave, but I would have brought him a nice warm blanket. The heavenly hostess started singing, glory, glory hallelujah and Mary looked at all the gifts and at her baby. Joseph pretty much just stood there." No matter how often we hear this wonderful story, either from a pulpit or out of the mouths of babes, it is always beautiful. Merry Christmas to each and everyone of you! Loving & Leading Our Children, Linda Beville
Take this Quiz and see... How Well You Know The Biblical Side of Christmas? For the Most Fun, Don't Cheat! Answer each question quickly and get some friends to do likewise. Then go back and check each other's answers!! 1. For the journey to Bethlehem, a) Mary and Joseph walked b) Joseph walked; Mary rode a donkey c) Mary & Joseph rode a bus d) Who knows? 2. When Mary became pregnant, she and Joseph were a) Married b) Just friends c) Engaged 3. When Mary became pregnant, a) Joseph married her b) Joseph wanted to dissolve their relationship c) Mary left Nazareth for a while d) An angel told them to go to Bethlehem e) Both b and c 4. Christmas has always been observed a) On December 25 b) On January 17 c) At Grandma s house 5. Who directed Mary and Joseph to go to Bethlehem? a) Herod b) An angel c) Caesar d) The IRS 6. Just what is a heavenly host? a) An angelic choir b) The welcoming angel in heaven c) An army of angels 7. How many angels spoke to the shepherds? a) A multitude b) Two - Gabriel and Michael c) One d) Who knows? 8. What song did the angels sing? a) O Little Town of Bethlehem b) Joy to the World c) Glory to God in the Highest 9. The baby Jesus was born in a a) Cave b) Manger c) Hurry d) Barn e) Who knows? 10. What animals were present at Jesus birth? a) Cows, sheep and camels b) Cows, sheep and donkeys c) Lion and tigers and bears 11. What is a manger anyway? a) A barn b) A place for hay c) A feeding trough d) A Greek term for the church nursery 12. When did baby Jesus cry? a) When He opened the wise men s gifts b) Whenever babies usually cried c) When the cattle started lowing d) No crying He makes 13. Joseph s family was from a) Jerusalem b) Nazareth c) Bethlehem d) none of the above 14. Who saw the star over Bethlehem? a) Mary and Joseph b) Shepherds c) The three kings d) Both b and c e) None of the above 15. What sign were the shepherds to look for? a) A star over the stable b) A barn outlined with Christmas lights c) A baby in a manger d) Both a and c e) none of the above 16. What did the innkeeper say to Mary and Joseph? a) I have a stable out back. b) Come back after the holidays. c) There s no room in the inn. d) Both a and c e) None of the above 17. How many wise men came to see Jesus? 18. What in the world are Magi? a) Eastern kings b) Magicians c) Astrologers d) Wise enough to follow the star e) None of the above 19. When the wise men brought their gifts to Jesus, they found Him in a) A manger b) A house c) Vacation Bible School 20. In what books of the Bible did you find the answers? a) Matthew, Mark, Luke and John b) Matthew and Luke c) Mark and John d) Matthew, Mark and Luke
Stewardship Report Daily Bible Reading Plan... December 01. I Corinthians 6-9 02. I Corinthians 10-12 03. I Corinthians 13-14 04. I Corinthians 15-16 05. II Corinthians 1-5 06. II Corinthians 6-10 07. II Corinthians 11-13 08. Galatians 1-3 09. Galatians 4-6 10. Ephesians 1-3 11. Ephesians 4-6 12. Philippians 1-4 13. Colossians 1-4 14. I Thessalonians 1-5 15. II Thessalonians 1-3 I Timothy 1-3 16. I Timothy 4-6 II Timothy 1-2 17. II Timothy 3-4 Titus 1-3 18. Philemon 1 Hebrews 1-4 19. Hebrews 5-9 20. Hebrews 10-11 21. Hebrews 12-13 James 1 22. James 2-5 23. I Peter 1-5 24. II Peter 1-3 I John 1-2 25. I John 3-5 II John 1 III John 1 26. Jude 1 Revelation 1-3 27. Revelation 4-10 28. Revelation 11-15 29. Revelation 16-19 30. Revelation 20-22 31. Your favorite passage Your Word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path. Psalm 119: 105 We want to express sincere appreciation for your faithfulness through Tithes and Offerings. Here is our report through November 20. Please continue to be faithful so that we may bring glory to God and may He bless you richly as a result!! Sunday School...a Place for YOU! Thank you Keith & Pam Kirchem for working to make our Sunday School rooms so warm and inviting! Pam is on the CTL Committee and has been working with Sunday School to make some cosmetic changes in our rooms. If you haven't seen the two rooms that are already finished you should jump on the elevator to Legacy Hall and take a quick tour! I want to share something that Terry Meiners was talking about on his show the other day. He was encouraging folks to just get 2016 BUDGET SUMMARY $ 223,434.00 $ 4,222.00 per week Through week 47 General Fund Needs $ 198.434.00 General Fund Receipts $ 174,945.11 Designated Receipts $ 23,403.41 Total General & Designated $ 198,348.52 Total Receipts to Date $ 208,259.40 CTL Fund $ 20,955.95 along. So many dread the holidays because they dread who they will have to be with. Terry s advice, and I agree with him, was to go to that person and say I m sorry nothing more, nothing less! Even if the division wasn t your fault. And, don t say I m sorry, but... Just say I m sorry. Good advise for not only the Christmas season but for all times I would say. NOVEMBER 3, 2016 BLOOD DRIVE Angela This is Our Volunteer We had Blood our quarterly Donor Month!! blood drive on November 3, 2016. We had 26 people register with 4 deferrals. We had 2 persons give platelets which counts for 2, so we collected 24 units of blood. According to the Red Cross, this can help as many as 72 patients who need blood. We had home-made snacks again, thanks to June. We also had door prizes again. The door prize, the donor, and the winner are listed below; DOOR PRIZE DONOR WINNER $30 McAlister's Gift Card Daughtery Insurance Al Knecht $30 Texas Roadhouse Gift Card The Restaurant Russell Gadd $25 Beef O'Brady's Gift Card The Restaurant Gary Brantlan $20 Applebee's Gift Card The Restaurant Greg Reinert We want to thank all the donors who came and gave blood to help make our blood drive a success. We also want to thank all those who supported our blood drive in so many other ways. We wish to thank those businesses who gave door prizes. We want to thank Papa John's for donating the delicious pizzas for the Red Cross workers and the church volunteers. Yours, in Christ s Service, Russell G. Gadd