Sp ecial p o int s o f int erest : POPLAR GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH Volume Issue November 1, 2014 Gratitude s gifts Gratitude gets us through the hard stuff. To reflect on your blessings is to r e h e a r s e G o d s accomplishments. To rehearse God s accomplishments is to discover his heart. To discover his heart is to discover not just good gifts but the Good Giver. Gratitude always leaves us looking at God and away from dread. It does to anxiety what the morning sun does to valley mist. It burns it up. Max Lucado, You ll Get Through This Makin a list In Daniel Defoe s classic Robinson Crusoe, the shipwrecked protagonist begins keeping a tally of his life. He lists the problems as well as a corresponding inventory of things for which to give thanks. Crusoe s pros and cons surprise him. For every evil, a good is present to even it out. For example, the castaway doesn t have any clothes but the weather s so warm he doesn t need any. He lost all his provisions at sea but has access to water and fresh fruit. In just a few s h o r t w e e k s, Thanksgiving will be here and we have so much for which to be grateful! For the first time, the Praise & Thanksgiving Supper will be in the new Family Life Center a fulfillment of an almost eight-year-dream! Sunday, November 23 5:30 PM Covered Dish Supper for Sharing Under the evil category, Crusoe writes: I am singled out and separated, as it were, from all the world to be miserable. Yet the corresponding good puts things into perspective: But I am singled out too from all the ship s crew to be spared from death; and he that miraculously saved me from death can deliver me from this condition. When you re tempted to hold a pity party, step back and thank God, your Rescuer, for all the blessings He provides. Inside this issue: Pastor s Page 2 Election Year Advice 2 Calendar 3 Kids Page 4 Honor our Veterans 5 Media Menu 5 Carol s Corner 6 Lifelines is published monthly by Poplar Grove Baptist Church 3476 Poplar Tent Rd., NW (704) 782-0078 www.poplargrovebaptist.com Editor: Carol Cooper secretary@poplargrovebaptist.com Pastor: Jimmy Barrett pastor@poplargrovebaptist.com Deadline for copy: The fifteenth of the month prior to publication. Editor reserves the right to edit for content and space.
P A G E 2 November To Remember November is a great month. We start the month with the opportunity to vote, a freedom too many take for granted. Then we should all stop and celebrate Veteran s Day. And finally there is Thanksgiving. In a month with so many blessings, I thought this old poem would be appropriate. But Where Are the Nine? I meant to go back, but you may guess I was filled with amazement I cannot express To think that after those horrible years, That passion of loathing and passion of fears, By sores unendurable - eaten, defiled - My flesh was as smooth as the flesh of a child. I was drunken with joy; I was crazy with glee; ELECTION YEAR ADVICE Television is already packed full of political campaign ads, each one condemning someone else who they want to beat out at all costs! Found this little article that addresses the subject of voting: In 1774, John Wesley, co-founder of the Methodist church, offered this advice to people who d be voting: VOTE! DON T GRIPE! Vote, without fee or reward, for the person you judge most worthy. Speak no evil of the person you vote against. Take care your spirits aren t sharpened against those who voted on the other side. I scarcely could walk and I scarcely could see, For the dazzle of sunshine where all had been black;... But I meant to go back, - oh, I meant to go back! I had thought to return, when my people came out. There were tears of rejoicing and laughter and shout; They embraced me, - for years I had not known a kiss; Ah, the pressure of lip is an exquisite bliss! They crowded around me, they filled the whole place; They looked at my feet and my hands and my face; My children were there, my glorious wife, And all the forgotten allurements of life. My cup was so full I seemed nothing to lack!... But I meant to go back, - oh, I meant to go back! - Selected During this Thanksgiving season don't be like those who received that precious gift from Jesus and forgot to go back. Begin this day with real thankfulness in your heart. Thankful that I am your Pastor, Sunday, November 2 Set your clocks BACK 1 hour before going to bed on Saturday night!
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P A G E 4 Honor our veterans Veterans Day, which is November 11 each year, is a holiday to honor America s veterans for their patriotism and willingness to serve and sacrifice for our nation s common good. Christians follow the Prince of Peace, so war is a dilemma that often challenges people of faith. Some Christians are pacifists, while others believe in a just war. Many believe that the goals of freedom, justice, equality and democracy are worth the cost required. Whatever individual Christians decide about any given conflict, most Christians believe that men and women who strive to make this world free of tyrants are to be respected. As Winston Churchill said, Never in the field of h u m a n conflict was so much owed by so many to so few. T ha nk you to all the men and women who served or are now serving our country. Bible quiz What was the source of Samson s strength? A. His huge muscles B. The Spirit of God C. His uncut hair D. He inherited it from his father. Check December s newsletter to see if you answered the question correctly. Answer to October s Bible Quiz was D. (See Leviticus 16:10, 21) Media menu How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of the messenger who brings good news, the good news of peace and salvation, the news that the God of Israel reigns! Isaiah 52:7 When there was trouble in Graves Mill, God sent the most unlikely answer. In this inspiring true story, Beautiful on the Mountain written by Jeannie Light, tells of a young woman s adventurous journey in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. When Jeannie came to Graves Mill in 1977, she was sure God had led her there. She d left her planation home amid heartbreak, determined to make a fresh start by caring for the fragile tract of Blue Ridge Mountain land that was suddenly hers. But did God know what He was doing, sending her into a wilderness populated with bear hunters, poachers, and the last of the mountain people? She kept a.44 on the bedpost and a Bible at the ready! Jeannie had plans, but God had surprises. The outside world said it couldn t be done; that the hollows were too poor and isolated to git the ol church open a crumbling, abandoned country church that had once united the community. A true story of Jeannie s heartbreaking and hilarious adventures in Graves Mill. Because sometimes, God calls us to go where there is no path... and to leave a trail.
POPLAR GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH 3476 Poplar Tent Road, NW Phone: 704-782-0078 Email: pgbc@poplargrovebaptist.com Non-Profit Organization U.S. Postage Permit Paid #124 RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED WE RE ON THE WEB!!! poplargrovebaptist.com Carol s corner November is when we start to think of the upcoming holidays and what they mean to each of us. This month, we count our blessings more in depth and realize just how blessed we truly are. We look forward to seeing people we don t often get to see, the get-togethers, the fun we are planning. Today, I spoke with a lady in whose home we stayed while we were on a mission trip several years ago. It just so happened that it was on the Big Island of Hawaii. Most of you have heard of the volcano violently erupting in Pahoa, a small town where my friend lives. At the moment they are not in the direct path but the lava may change course at any moment. Precautions have been made and evacuation may be necessary. The road previously shut down because of another lava flow is just a few miles from their house. At the moment, a route is being planned for the little community so they will not be cut off with no way to escape. The tiny church where we had 2 Bible schools a day is in the direct path of the 2000 degree stream of liquid fire and will no doubt be gone shortly. While in Pahoa we saw the lava exploding, the sulfur smell and can imagine just how destructive Kilauea is. Our prayers are with these faithful people. Just recently the small congregation built a church building on a hill that is not in immediate danger but the members of the congregation will be separated. But even with this trauma occurring at her door, my friend is still trusting God and telling me about the mission trip she and some of the kids we know recently completed. Don t we have much for which to be thankful!!!