F aith Pres b yt eri an Churc h (E P C) Faith Speaks Volume 2017, Issue 11 November Ch ur ch Staf f Pastor Rev. Jason Minter When English Puritans and Pilgrims began leaving England seeking to settle in North America they carried over a tradition with them. In England, it was commonplace for Christians to observe or celebrate days of thanksgiving either after perceived acts of God s special providence or after a particularly good harvest. The Puritans and Pilgrims brought this tradition with them to the new world. They believed that God s providential hand was active in everyday life, for them there were no rogue molecules. So celebrating and observing certain days that were periodically set aside to give God thanks for the blessings that he bestowed upon them was all about glorifying God and enjoying him forever. They were setting aside certain days to celebrate what should be the inclination of every heart that has been made alive by the power of the gospel: thanksgiving. Psalm 118 begins, Oh give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever. The act of giving thanks should be determined by the one who is being thanked. Giving thanks is recognizing the value of the one being thanked. But it is more than that, thanksgiving isn t just recognizing the value of someone but it is also recognizing the act that they performed that benefited you in some form or fashion. So the Psalmist instructs us to give thanks to the Lord which would mean that we stop and recognize the value of God, but this is not all. The word for after the instruction to give thanks to the Lord tells us the reason why we should give thanks, he is good. Ok sounds very simple. But this is not like saying I give thanks to the Little Debbie Company because their snacks are good. The God of Psalm 118 is good, He is the standard of good, all that He does is good, there is no one good like God, He is the only source of all that is good, His goodness is seen in all that He does, there is never a time when He is not good, His goodness never ends get the picture? This simple phrase states that the Lord is the highest good. So we thank the Lord because He is good. The very next line in Psalm 118 lets us see the very definition of God s goodness, for his steadfast love endures forever. Another way to translate his steadfast love is covenant faithfulness. God is a covenant keeping God and he is always faithful to his covenant and he has made a covenant with sinful people that constantly break their covenant faithfulness and these sinners, these lawbreakers, need someone to keep the covenant for them in their place and the God who keeps the covenant comes in the form of a man and does what humanity cannot. He takes on the covenant curses in the place of the covenant breakers and in return gives the covenant breakers the covenant blessings: this is steadfast love. This love is forever! Oh, give thanks to the Lord!! Because He Lives! Pastor Jason Church Administrator Melinda Hawkins Financial Secretary Brooke Echols Treasurer David Rodgers Pianist Nancy Lowry Inside thi s issue: Prayer & Praise 2 From the Pastor s 3 Fellowship News 3 Financial News 4 Session News 4 Outreach News 5 Youth News 5 Missionary News 6 Choir News 7 2017 S es s i on Mem b ers Moderator Rev. Jason Minter (Christian Education) Alan Dennis (Clerk of Session) Bob Smith (Outreach) Dan Patterson (Administration) Keith Lovern (Congregational Nurture)
November Prayer Needs and Praise News Page 2 Praise Jesus Christ for bearing our curse and making intercession for us and being our advocate before the throne of God so that we may draw near with bold confidence! Ask the Lord to make us faithful in drawing near to the Father through faith in the Son, our Mediator. Ask the Lord to make us honest and transparent in praying for one another, confessing our sins, and seeking accountability and help from within the body. Ask the Lord to give us true repentance confessing and forsaking our sins out of a sense of his holiness, the odiousness of sin, and his promise of mercy to the penitent, replacing them with heartfelt obedience to God s word and joyful submission to the Spirit of holiness. Bev Smith: recovery from surgery Bob and Ellen Brown: Prayers for healing Pat Ryle: (Peggy Thomas aunt) cancer Kim Sweat: (Peggy Thomas cousin) cancer. Larry Babb: (cancer) Richard Craig: cancer Our church building effort Our nation and leaders Please keep these missionaries in your prayers: - Phil and Diane Thrash - Gary and Jackie Burnett - Chris and Debbie Gibson - Keith and Rachel Keller - Tezar & Tatiana P. If you have a prayer request or a praise report that you would like to have included in the next newsletter, please email them to:faithepcrus@gmail.com by Thursday, November 30th. This would include any NEW or OLD requests that you would like to have included. This section is refreshed monthly. For everything God created is good, and nothing is rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer. 1 Timothy 4:4-5 We ought to give thanks for all fortune: if it is good, because it is good, if bad, because it works in us patience, humility and the contempt of this world and the hope of our eternal country. C.S. Lewis Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
F a i t h S p e a k s Page 3 From the Pastor s Shelf Fellowship News Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung As we are approaching the holiday season we could all be reminded of those things that are most important in life because the holiday season is rife with busyness, bustle, and budgetbreaking. Kevin DeYoung addresses the problem of busyness with the biblical tools that are essential to getting down to the root of the problem. This is a great book for those who are really struggling with feeling like you need more hours in the day to get things done.i may read this book again for my own sanity! The Imperfect Disciple: Grace for People Who Can t Get Their Act Together By Jared C. Wilson This book is not for those who have it all together in their walk with Jesus. This book is not for those who have successfully jumped through all of the hoops on their way to perfectly obeying Jesus. This book is not for the polished Christian. This book is for those who struggle, stagger and stumble as they seek to follow Jesus through the fog of life. Jared Wilson offers some good news to those who feel like they are failures in being a disciple: God calls the imperfect. Discipleship is a process a long process with no guarantees of instant overnight success. There is grace for the imperfect disciple! I am currently reading this book and the Lord is using it to encourage me in my growth in Christ. Girlfriends in Faith We will be meeting together to pack our Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes on Saturday, November 4th at 9:00 a.m. at the church. Make plans to come and enjoy this time of service and fellowship! A light breakfast will be served. Men of Faith The next Men s fellowship breakfast will be in January. Watch for details! Women s Bible Study Attention all women! Are you interested in attending an evening Bible study, but not ready to make a long-term commitment? Then come join the Thursday evening Bible study group for November. We will be reading and discussing the book, Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung. We will meet for 4 sessions beginning November 2 nd (and the 9 th, 16 th, & 30 th ). We meet from 7:30 to 8:45 pm. If you have any questions, please contact Becky Fowler. Men s Book Study Men of Faith are invited to join us on Tuesday Mornings at 6:00 a.m. We are discussing the book How the Gospel Brings Us All the Way Home by Derek Thomas. Come enjoy good fellowship and great conversation! BOOK NOOK Smith HFG Our fellowship group will meet on Monday, November 13th at 6:30 p.m. The group will meet at the home of Keith & Janice Lovern. Our menu is still to be determined but don t let that stop you! Everyone is welcome to come and enjoy this enriching and glorifying time as we discuss God s Word together. Glinski HFG Our group will meet on Sunday, November 19th. We will meet at 6:30 p.m. at the home of Chris & Leah Harper. We will enjoy a meal together and continue our study of the New City Catechism. If you are interested in joining this wonderful fellowship time speak to Les or Shannon Glinski. Dennis/Rodgers HFG Our fellowship group will meet on Monday, November 20th. The location is still to be determined. Watch for updates. We will have dessert and coffee beginning at 6:45 p.m. The study will begin at 7:00 pm. We are studying the New City Catechism. Join us for some great indepth study! Contact Alan Dennis or David Rodgers for details. We have lots of excellent books for sale on display in the sanctuary. If you would like to purchase one, simply put the money in the bowl on the display. Prices start at $1.00 and go up.
Session News V olume 201 7, Issue 11 The bulldozers are on the ground, and the earth is moving on our new facility! We made it through the permitting process, have received all of the green lights, and are looking at a completion date of May/June 2018. Let's thank God for the professionals that are on our side who are working with the local government. God s hand has been evident throughout this whole process, from applying for permits to analyzing insurance premiums to moving dirt. We know that God s hand will continue to be upon this building project; it is God s building. We have also seen a New Home Fellowship Group organized, and a new Fellowship Team Ministry take shape and a whole bunch of folks who have dedicated themselves to serving God s church in the children and youth ministry. God is doing some amazing things in the life of FPC, and we ask that you keep the Session and other leadership in your prayers as we seek to discern God s will for His church. God bless! Announcement There will be NO Men s Book Study on November 21st. We will NOT have prayer meeting or choir practice on November 22nd. Calendar November 2 Women s Bible Study November 4 Pack Shoeboxes November 5 Communion November 7 Men s Book Study November 9 Women s Bible Study November 13 Smith HFG November 14 Men s Book Study November 16 Women s Bible Study November 19 Glinski HFG November 20 Dennis/Rodgers HFG November 28 Men s Book Study November 30 Ladies Bible Study One thing essential to growth in grace is diligence in the use of private means of grace. By these I understand such means as a man must use by himself alone, and no one can use for him. I include under this head private prayer, private reading of the Scriptures, and private meditation and self-examination. The man who does not take pains about these three things must never expect to grow. Here are the roots of true Christianity. Wrong here, and a man is wrong all the way through. JC Ryle Reference: Holiness, p. 110. Financial News October 2017 Donations: $ 22,045.60 Expenses: $ 17,816.92 Building Fund to Date: $504,774.00 Come join us on Wednesday nights for our weekly prayer meeting. Pastor Jason and Steve Norton have begun leading us in a study of the book of Mark. Prayer is an essential part of living the Christian life and we must know the God to whom we pray and what he desires from us. This is such a wonderful time of Bible study, fellowship and prayer! Let us know if you need child care. Come at 6:15 p.m. and invite a friend!
V olume 201 7, Issue 11 Page 5 Outreach Opportunity There will be a group going to Jesus Place on November 5th. Please feel free to join in on this inspirational visit. They will leave from the church after Sunday School. Please speak with Steve Norton if you have any questions. (nortonio@gmail.com) Jesus Place Inner City Mission Jesusplace.info Let us note that our Lord does not name gifts or miracles or intellectual attainments as the evidence of discipleship, but love, the simple grace of love, a grace within reach of the poorest, lowliest believer, as the evidence of discipleship. If we have no love, we have no grace, no regeneration, no true Christianity! J.C. Ryle Reference: Expository Thoughts on the Gospels, John 13:34-35. Outreach News Mission of the Month for November Jesus Place NEEDS Work Boots (especially sizes 10,11,12) Men s Jeans (especially sizes 30x32, 31x32, 32x32) Light Jackets Socks Tee Shirts Backpacks Long Johns (pants and/or shirts) Please place your items in the basket below the bookshelf. Thank you for always giving so generously to those in need. Children's Sunday School meets in the student center and starts at 9:30. There are classes for all age groups, and we would love to have you! If you signed up for the Sunday morning fellowship snack group, please choose a day to bring snacks on the sign-up sheet. The sheet is posted on the bulletin board by the hall doorway. Please speak to or email Laurie Brannan if you have any questions. lbrannan@co.henry.ga.us graybrannan@yahoo.com
Faith Speaks Page 6 Update from the Burnetts Dear family in faith, Jackie and I are leaving this weekend for further training with the churches near Monteria. This time we will be traveling in more isolated parts along the north coast. Thank you for remembering us in your prayers, Gary and Jackie October 31/ 2017 Dear family in Faith and partners in ministry, From November 6 to 12 we plan to be in Monteria serving with two other missionaries in a leader s Retreat. Brothers and sisters form different towns and states will be there. Please pray for time of refreshing in His presence, for new strength for the Colombian missionaries who will be there and His Holy Word and work among us. With Joy and Gratitude as we serve with you all, Gary and Jackie Burnett Jackie and I will be leaving for Valencia, Cordoba on the North Coast this Friday November 3 for 4 days. We will be continuing our training with new children s teachers who will be coming from 10 different villages and towns. The ferry we use to cross the Sinú River to reach Valencia is operated my members of illegal groups. They know who we are when we get there and know when we leave. We made our first visit with them in February of last year where the pastors we have been working with had prearranged our travel. Please pray for our protection, good health, everyone s safe travel, and for God s leading in the teaching with open hearts and ears. Also, on our last visit, it was a bit difficult to sleep when we realized rats where in the room with us.
To the glory of God, Faith Presbyterian Church has been called together to faithfully proclaim the Gospel, to make and equip disciples for Christ, and to advance God s Kingdom in our families, community, and world. Faith Presbyterian Church is a congregation of the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (www.epc.org) and the Presbytery of the Southeast (www.epcsoutheast.org). Our Church Website: http://faithepcrus.org Church Email: faithepcrus@gmail.com Church Phone Number: 770-648-5288 Choir News Please join us for a beautiful time of praise and worship through music. The Choir rehearses Wednesday evenings, 7:15-8:30. Happy November Birthdays! Becky Fowler 11-08 Lauren Aaron 11-09 Cassidy Glinski 11-10 Leila Hawkins 11-10 Frank Baggett 11-11 Brittaney Carroll 11-12 Luke Mills 11-12 Vicky Rodgers 11-13 Asher Anderson 11-14 David Patterson 11-15 Nathan Aaron 11-16 Bob Brown 11-16 Michelle Aaron 11-17 Collin Rodgers 11-23 Ellen Brown 11-27 Violet Lindsey 11-30 Mailing Address: Faith Presbyterian Church, EPC 5916 East Lake Parkway Suite 250 McDonough, GA 30253 Church Membership If you are interested in joining Faith Presbyterian Church (EPC), you may do so by a profession of your faith in Jesus Christ, by a re-affirmation of your faith, or by a transfer of your membership from another church. Please speak with the Pastor or an Elder concerning your desire.