Summer vacation is officially two-thirds over! I just happened to notice that today is July 23, and school begins (at least at Maysville R-1) on August 23. And that means we are closer than ever to what we hope to be a normal year of ministry to students of every age: preschoolers, elementary aged children, and teenagers. After school and evening midweek ministries were virtually absent during the 2020-21 school year, and we hope to reinstate those with a great kickoff right after Labor Day.
TONIGHT! (FRIDAY) Join us on the Independent Farmers' Bank Parking Lot for our second Outdoor Family Movie event of the summer showing "Big Hero 6," an animated feature with a fanciful, futuristic setting and a touching storyline. We'll start gathering anytime after 8:15 pm, fire up the popcorn popper, have freezer pops available to help beat the heat, and start the feature at 8:45 pm or so. Bring your lawn chairs or blankets! TOMORROW I will be attending an all-day preaching workshop in Atchison sponsored by Agros, a teaching and equipping ministry of Joe Bridgeman. Joe grew up in the Amity area and still has family in Maysville and Amity. Joe and his wife, Becca, were formerly missionaries in Scotland and came back to the states a little over a year ago. Joe has a heart for the rural and small town churches, especially to help equip pastors who may be bi-vocational or "second career" and unable to attend seminary. Equipping workshops like these help to fill in a gap for many. I share this to commend Agros to you and to ask you to pray for the fruitfulness of it going forward. THE LORD’S DAY What a great day in the house of the Lord we had last week, and thanks to all those who were visiting with us that day. A banner day! Just a reminder that when you are away from home this summer, either on vacation or on business, make it a point to attend church wherever you are on Sunday morning. If possible, bring back a bulletin signed by the pastor or other church officer. (This fun-loving suggestion is just a way to emphasize the importance of setting aside one day in seven for worship, study, and fellowship with God's people). A translation of a thousand-year-old German hymn focuses our attention on the reason we gather every Lord's Day: Christ is arisen From the grave's dark prison, So let our song exulting rise: Christ with comfort lights our eyes. Alleluia! All our hopes were ended Had Jesus not ascended From the grave triumphantly Our never ending life to be. Alleluia! Alleluia, Alleluia, Alleluia! So let our song exulting rise: Christ, our comfort, fills the skies. Alleluia! As you prepare for the Lord's Day and our time of corporate worship, please take a few moments to meditate on the following Scriptures which will frame and inform our worship service. Invest some time in adoring the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, giving Him thanks, confessing sin, and asking that our worship together would be acceptable as we offer it to the Father, through the finished work of Christ the Son, in the power of the Holy Spirit : FIGHTER VERSE: Philippians 1:6 CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 145: 10-21 OT READING: 2 Samuel 11:1-15 NT READING: Ephesians 3:14-21 PRAYER OF CONFESSION: Psalm 139:1-6, 23-24 ASSURANCE OF PARDON: 1 John 4:9-10 SERMON TEXT: Luke 7:11-17 BENEDICTION: Numbers 6:24-26 (Missouri Baptist Children's Home birthday offering and Baptist Homes anniversary offering will be received at the conclusion of the morning service). THIS WEEK
Saturday, August 28, Biblical Manhood Conference sponsored in part by our Baptist Association, 8:30-3 pm at Frederick Boulevard Baptist in St. Joseph. Our men have been attending this event since its inception in 2017. Keynote Speaker will be Hershael York, preaching professor at The Southern Baptist theological Seminary, Louisville, KY. You will be blessed by this brother, who is also pastor of Buck Run Baptist Church in the Louisville area. Breakout sessions will be provided by several area pastors, including yours truly. Cost: $20, includes lunch from Chick-Fil-A. Please let me know if you would like to sign up. I will be making our church reservation on July 30, Lord willing. ICYMI Last Sunday’s Message Luke 7:1-10 "A Centurion's Faith Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE Week 30 of the 5 Day Bible Reading Program. Read through the entire Bible following this plan, or read only the New Testament (in italics). Day One: 2 Kings 7-8; 2 Chronicles 21; Matthew 6 Day Two: 2 Kings 9-10; Psalm 49; Matthew 7 Day Three: 2 Chron. 22-23; 2 Kings 11; Psalm 131; Matthew 8 Day Four: 2 Chron. 24; 2 Kings 12; Psalm 50; Matthew 9 Day Five: Joel; Matthew 10 Visit the website for more up-to-date information! BONUS: You have given financially over and above your regular giving through a couple of special events recently.
See you in church! Grace and peace, Pastor Greg Dixon
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Greetings, Church Family and Friends!
Another Vacation Bible School is on the books, and we had a great week learning God's Word together! Thank you, Dava Hackett, for leading our VBS. Our theme was "Destination Dig" and our theme verse was Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you search for me with all your heart." We had 48 children enrolled and 24 or so leaders, helpers, and volunteers. Tomorrow, and the VBS children will be sharing their program at 10:40 am, taking the place of the first 20 minutes or so of the regular worship service. After the program, our regular corporate worship will commence. **At the conclusion of the service, we will give our Grand Oaks youth campers an opportunity to speak and share camp testimonies.** TOMORROW is THE LORD'S DAY and I want to encourage you to read and meditate on the following Scriptures that will shape and inform our corporate worship tomorrow: Call to Worship: Psalm 90:1-2 Old Testament: Isaiah 53:1-10 New Testament: Acts 8:35-39 Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 32:1-2 Sermon Text: Luke 7:1-10 Fighter Verses: Ephesians 6:16-18 Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26 COMING UP:
Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE Week 29 of the 5 Day Bible Reading Program. Read through the entire Bible following this plan, or read only the New Testament (in italics). Day One: 1 Kings 19-21; 2 Chronicles 17; Psalm 129; Matthew 1 Day Two: 1 Kings 22; 2 Chron. 18; Matthew 2 Day Three: 2 Chron. 19-20; 2 Kings 1; Psalm 20; Matthew 3 Day Four: 2 Kings 2-3; Psalm 48; Matthew 4 Day Five: 2 Kings 4-6; Matthew 5 Visit the website for more up-to-date information! THE LORD'S DAY SCRIPTURES: Please take a few moments to read and meditate on God's Word in preparation for corporate worship tomorrow. FIGHTER VERSES: Ephesians 6:14-15 CALL TO WORSHIP: Psalm 24 OT READING: 2 Samuel 6:1-5, 12-19 NT READING: Ephesians 1:13-14 PRAYER OF CONFESSION: Psalm 85:4-9 ASSURANCE OF PARDON: Psalm 85:1-3 SERMON TEXT: Luke 6:46-49 BENEDICTION: Numbers 6:24-26 BONUS: Some of you have asked me where we get our Scripture readings from the Old and New Testament that we read each Lord's Day. Well, it isn't just random selection. About 95% of the time currently, those readings come from the Revised Common Lectionary (RCL). A "lectionary" is simply a collection of Scripture readings for use on specific days of the year. The RCL is ordered around the so-called "liturgical year" which in turn is based on events from the life and ministry of Jesus and the New Testament Church (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Season after Pentecost). Like other lectionaries, the RCL is a three-year reading plan that covers large portions of every book of Scripture in an orderly way. The idea is to hear from all the Scripture writers (under the Holy Spirit's inspiration, of course) and not simply thematic readings. While we as a church generally do not observe the traditional liturgical year as such, we do count it a blessing to be able to read Scripture aloud in the assembly as commanded to Timothy by the Apostle Paul in 1 Timothy 4:13 "Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching." I am blessed to be able to share this responsibility with our deacons each week, and with others as appropriate. For example, this week we are deviating from the pattern I described by having our children from VBS read portions of Scripture from the week of VBS. If you want to take a look at the lectionary readings in advance, you can find them at this website. Allow me to offer this disclaimer: None of the above should be understood as a blanket endorsement of the RCL. The RCL is not without its problems, and some folks will take exception to its use due for one reason or another. Sometimes I find myself in that category. However, I have found its helpfulness to outweigh those problems, particularly as a selective resource to provide worship services packed with Scriptural material for reflection and application. We may not always use the RCL in the future. I have found continuous readings through books of the Bible also to be a valuable way to hear Scripture read aloud. But for now, we benefit from its use in our worship planning and execution. See you in church! Grace and peace, Pastor Greg |
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