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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHK7Wl7szaMGREETINGS, EVERYONE! Lots of seasonal sickness is going around, so we continue to pray for good health and physical wholeness during this time of year. As usual, if you believe you may be contagious or have run a fever in the last 24 hours, it is best to stay home until you are feeling better.
This Lord's Day, we will be gathering to observe the Lord's Supper, something we postponed from January 16 due to my being sick. Take some time for self-examination in preparation for the observance of this ordinance. I have attached the starter questions for self-examination. From time to time, it is good for us to remember what our statement of faith, the Baptist Faith and Message, says concerning the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper: Christian baptism is the immersion of a believer in water in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It is an act of obedience symbolizing the believer’s faith in a crucified, buried, and risen Saviour, the believer’s death to sin, the burial of the old life, and the resurrection to walk in newness of life in Christ Jesus. It is a testimony to his faith in the final resurrection of the dead. Being a church ordinance, it is prerequisite to the privileges of church membership and to the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a symbolic act of obedience whereby members of the church, through partaking of the bread and the fruit of the vine, memorialize the death of the Redeemer and anticipate His second coming. Matt. 3:13-17; 26:26-30; 28:19-20; Mark 1:9-11; 14:22-26; Luke 3:21-22; 22:19-20; John 3:23; Acts 2:41-42; 8:35-39; 16:30-33; Acts 20;7; Rom. 6:3-5; 1 Cor. 10:16,21; 11:23-29; Col. 2:12. MEN'S DISCIPLESHIP. Our new men's discipleship groups will be starting this week, Lord willing. Please note that Robert's group is changed to Wednesdays at 7 pm instead of Tuesdays. Also, no one indicated an interest in the 6:30 am Thursday slot, so unless I hear from some early morning guys, we will skip that time and just keep the 7 pm Thursday time. Once the groups get started in earnest (after the first 2 or 3 weeks of meetings), they will be closed. So now is the time to join. The book we are reading is Disciplines of a Godly Man by Kent Hughes. Our order came in, so we have 15 copies available for $14 a copy. Russ has some that he bought cheaper, so if you are in his group, check with him on availability.
THE LORD'S DAY (1/23/22)
MONDAY (1/31)
WEDNESDAY (2/2)
THURSDAY (2/3)
COMING UP:
ICYMI: Last Sunday's Message Hearing From God with Steve Sewell Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE The Five-Day Bible Reading Plan is attached to this e-mail for your convenience. You may want to access additional resources to support your reading available at this website. GIVING ENVELOPES: Envelopes are available at the back of the sanctuary for your convenience in giving throughout 2022. While an envelope is not absolutely necessary for your contribution, giving records are compiled from those envelopes for end-of-year contribution statements. Pick up as many packs of 25 envelopes as you will use. BONUS: It was our great joy to have Steve Sewell with us last week to preach, counsel, and lead in a Grief Seminar. The purpose of the seminar was to help our church better minister to those who are grieving the loss of a loved one. While the seminar itself was lightly attended, we did have attendees from as far away as St Joseph and Albany. If you missed it, you may want to watch the video recording of it. Have a pen and paper handy to take notes. You will be encouraged, informed, educated, and equipped. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aHK7Wl7szaM Also, if you would like to order any of Steve's books, here is a link to his website where you can do so. Grace and peace, Pastor Greg
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GREETINGS, EVERYONE! Thanks to all who have prayed for and wished me well as I have been sick with "Fluvid" (combination of Flue B and COVID). I am officially out of quarantine but will still be keeping my distance from folks tomorrow. My plan is to be at morning worship and at the Grief Seminar, Lord willing, as I hope you will too.
MEN'S DISCIPLESHIP. The home is key to Christian discipleship across the generations, and husbands and fathers are the key to the home. It has long been my hope to see the men of our church being discipled as the spiritual leaders in the home and church. To have even a single men's small group reading a substantial book together has been a dream of mine. So I'm excited about a new Men's Discipleship initiative. Russ Wright, Robert Kendall, and I will be starting small groups for men. We will be reading the Kent Hughes' modern classic book Disciplines of a Godly Man. Kent was long-time pastor at College Church in Wheaton, IL, and his book has been a great encouragement to many over the last 30 years. We will be using the updated version with study guide. Discount cost for the book is $14. Here is the tentative list of small groups with day and time, meeting weekly with the beginning date shown:
THE LORD'S DAY (1/23/22)
MONDAY (1/24)
WEDNESDAY (1/26)
COMING UP:
ICYMI: Last Sunday's Message The Word of God (Jerry Scott) Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE The Five-Day Bible Reading Plan is attached to this e-mail for your convenience. You may want to access additional resources to support your reading available at this website. GIVING ENVELOPES: Envelopes are available at the back of the sanctuary for your convenience in giving throughout 2022. While an envelope is not absolutely necessary for your contribution, giving records are compiled from those envelopes for end-of-year contribution statements. Pick up as many packs of 25 envelopes as you will use. BONUS: I heard a song this week that I would like to share with you entitled All of Our Tomorrows from Sovereign Grace Music. Mckenzie Miller is the vocalist with the incomparable Bob Kauflin at the piano. What an encouragement to trust in our Sovereign Lord for everything future as we have the past! I trust you will be blessed in listening to it. (You may hear it in the worship service tomorrow as well). Incidentally, the song was sung Friday morning at the National Founders Conference held in Cape Coral, Florida. (Thank you Jan McElwain for asking me about it). I shared the live stream link with you earlier in the week, and those conference messages are available for free at this link. The theme is The Church: Militant and Triumphant. I highly recommend you listen to the panel discussion on the video link for Sessions 8-9, at the 2:00 mark. The discussion centers around the proper response of the Church to various mandates of civil authorities, what love for neighbor really means in our current context, and how Romans 13 has been properly or improperly employed by churches and church leaders in efforts to "submit to the ruling authorities." Grace and peace, Pastor Greg Greetings, everyone!
Please allow me this brief email to let you know what is going on tomorrow. Yes, we will have all services. The parking lot and sidewalks are (or will be) cleared. I hope you can make it to services tomorrow. I have been running a low grade fever most of the day, along with chest congestion, headache, and a bit of a sore throat. With that said, I will not be at church tomorrow, observing the rule that we ask others to observe, that a fever within 24 hours of a given service should mean avoiding attendance at that service. Thank you in advance to Jerry Scott for supplying the pulpit tomorrow. In consultation with our deacon chairman, we will also postpone the Lord's Supper until Sunday, January 30, and the member meeting to the regular February 13 meeting. Thank you for your prayers. I hope to kick this sickness soon. One more thing: Don't forget the card shower for Terry McPheeters birthday, Jan. 19. If you prefer, you can bring your card to the church and we will see to it that it gets to Terry. For many years, Terry made and sent cards to virtually everyone in the church for birthdays, anniversaries, etc. Let's reach out to her and Walt for her birthday. Grace and peace, Pastor Greg Greetings, everyone, and Happy Saturday! May this be a day of preparation for the Lord's Day as we gather together as the people of God to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth.
TODAY (1/8/22): This morning, our Bible Quiz Team ("Sojourners") will compete against 25 plus other teams as they test their memorization of God's Word by quoting verses and answering very specific questions from the books of Romans and Revelation. Please pray that they will remember what they have learned and be able to recall their material. If you would like to watch our quizzers compete, the quiz will meet at Journey Baptist Church, 5708 King Hill Avenue, in St. Joseph beginning at 12:30 and wrapping up about 3:30 pm. At 6 pm, MACH IV Men's Ministry will meet at Oak Christian Church for a meal, fellowship, and devotional. All men and boys are welcome to attend. THE LORD'S DAY (1/9/22)
MONDAY (1/10)
WEDNESDAY (1/12)
COMING UP:
ICYMI: Last Sunday's Message Luke 9:18-22 Who Do You Say That I Am? Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE The Five-Day Bible Reading Plan is attached to this e-mail for your convenience. You may want to access additional resources to support your reading available at this website. GIVING ENVELOPES: Envelopes are available at the back of the sanctuary for your convenience in giving throughout 2022. While an envelope is not absolutely necessary for your contribution, it is from the envelopes that giving records are compiled for end-of-year contribution statements. Pick up as many packs of 25 envelopes as you will use. MAN KNOWS NOT HIS TIME: We extend sympathy to Sue and Kyle Bridgman on the death of Sue's dad, Robert Graham, on Monday afternoon. Services are still pending, but very likely will be in the latter half of next week, held at the church. Sympathy is also extended to the family of Wayne Buckner who passed away unexpectedly on Tuesday afternoon. No service is planned, but a family gathering to celebrate Wayne's life is planned for Saturday, Jan. 15, 11 am - 1 pm, at the church. Grace and peace, Pastor Greg Greetings, everyone, and Happy New Year! Here is information on modified service schedule tomorrow:
As I write this, the snow is steadily falling with no signs of stopping. We are expecting another 4-6 inches of accumulation, and the temps are supposed to be bitterly cold in the morning with a dangerous wind chill. In consultation with our deacon chairman, the service schedule is modified as follows: FOR TOMORROW ONLY
MONDAY (1/3)
WEDNESDAY (1/5)
COMING UP:
ICYMI: Last Sunday's Message Jesus, the Bread of Life Luke 9:10-17 Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE Have you wanted to read the Bible, but haven't known where to start? You can simply start from the beginning (Genesis) and read straight through to the end (Revelation). But the best way, I believe, to read the Bible and get the most from it is to have a plan. I love this blog post from Ligonier because it gives so may options to the person who really wants to have a plan to read through the Bible. Most of these are "read-the-Bible-in-one-year" plans, but at least one is a 2-year plan and one is a 3-year plan. One is chronological, a great way to read the Bible. I have used Grant Horner's unique plan which is not tied to any set time for completion. The plan, not included in the post above, that I have used most recently is the Five Day Bible Reading plan which you might recognize from this time last year. An added benefit to this plan is the additional resources to support your reading available at this website. BONUS: We will be singing the Getty's song "Joy Has Dawned" in worship tomorrow. Here is a video you can watch to become more familiar with this song that takes us from Christmastide into Epiphany. This version is combined with Angels We Have Heard on High, but we will only be singing "Joy Has Dawned." BONUS BONUS: Don Whitney is well-known for his books and articles on the spiritual disciplines (Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life; Spiritual Disciplines in the Church; Simplify Your Spiritual Life, just to name a few). He is perhaps less well-known for his lists to aid in developing disciplines and habits for the Christian walk. Here is a list entitles Ten (More) Questions for a New Year that you might find very helpful as you seek to dedicate this year to living for Christ. See you in church! Grace and peace, Pastor Greg |
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