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Greetings, everyone, and Merry Christmas!
It was a real blessing to be together with the church family last evening for our Christmas Eve Candlelight service. About 70 family and friends gathered for a service of Scripture and song, a brief sermon, and the lighting of candles as a congregation. I believe the Lord was honored throughout. Thanks to all who came out to be with us! This Lord's Day! (12/269)
WEDNESDAY (12/29)
FRIDAY (12/31)
COMING UP: Monthly Member Meeting will be moved to Sunday, Jan. 16, which works out well since January is a five-Sunday month. Make plans to attend this meeting if you are able to. ICYMI: Last Sunday's Message Who Is This Christ? Colossians 1:13-23 Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE schedule is attached. We are in the final week, Week 52. Almost finished! SAVE THE DATE: Mark your calendars and save the date for Sunday, January 24. I mentioned last week that, on that day, Lord willing, we will have Steve Sewell with us. Steve has been a pastor, a hospice chaplain, and is now a speaker on the subject of death, dying, and the accompanying grief. You may remember Steve being with us in fall 2018 for a Holiday Grief Seminar. He will preach in the morning service, and then in the afternoon he will teach a seminar, focusing on the peculiar kinds of grief our congregation has been experiencing. We also hope to have Steve in some area schools to help faculty and staff with these same issues. More details will be forthcoming as the time approaches. MAN KNOWS NOT HIS TIME: Christian sympathy is extended to Jeff and Angie Noland at the death of Jeff's step-dad, Greg Lober. A visitation for Greg will be held Saturday, January 8, 2022 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, 1600 Rte 291, Liberty, MO 64068, followed by a celebration of life from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM. To send online condolences, follow this link to the obituary page. To send expressions of sympathy by mail, Jeff and Angie's address is 1 Lakes Drive, Agency, MO 64401. See you in church! Grace and peace, Pastor Greg
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Ordination to the Gospel ministry is an important event in the life of a church. In Baptist life, it has never been seen as an absolute essential to effective service in ministry (think Charles Spurgeon and D. L. Moody who were never ordained). Nevertheless, ordination represents the opportunity for a church to affirm one of its own in the Gospel ministry. We have such an opportunity with T. J. Burns this Sunday afternoon and evening. T. J. graduated from two Southern Baptist institutions of higher learning: Criswell College in Dallas, TX, and Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary in Wake Forest, NC. He and his wife, Alana, and their three children will be moving to South Asia in January (Lord willing) to serve with the International Mission Board. They were commissioned by the IMB during a Sending Service on the eve of the Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Nashville last summer. They have been waiting until the arrival of their newest baby to go to the international field. Please come out to support them and affirm them in God's call upon their lives. *Note that the times for the council and for the ordination service have changed due to a change in circumstances. The Ordaining Council will meet at 3 pm and the service will be at 5:30 pm, followed by a cake and punch reception in the fellowship hall.
This Lord's Day! (12/19) The Children's Christmas program will be held this Sunday, Dec. 19, at 10:40 am. Please come out to support them as they share the Christmas story with us during the first 20 minutes or so of our gathering. This is the single time of year when we set aside time on Sunday morning for our children to depict Scripture in action and song. We will move directly into the worship service It is also the fourth and final Sunday of Advent. I encourage you to supplement your daily Bible reading schedule with the Advent Bible readings listed below. The first reading of the day is normally repeated across three consecutive days for reinforcement. Click on the link to go to the electronic version.
MONDAY (12/20)
WEDNESDAY (12/22)
FRIDAY (12/24)
ICYMI: Last Sunday's Message What Is a Disciple? Luke 9:1-9 Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE schedule is attached. We are in Week 51. Almost there! Let me take a moment to encourage you if you, like me, have often found yourself behind in your attempt to read through the entire Bible in one year. "Getting it done" is not your primary goal. The goal is to read with thought, with consideration, with meditation. Think deeply about what the text says, what it means, and how it applies to your life. If that means you only get through one-half or one-third of the Bible in a year, so be it! As a former professor of mine, Don Whitney, used to say, "It is better to read less of the Bible if that means you meditate on it more." SAVE THE DATE: Mark your calendars and save the date for Sunday, January 25. On that day, Lord willing, we will have Steve Sewell with us. Steve has been a pastor, a hospice chaplain, and is now a speaker on the subject of death, dying, and the accompanying grief. You may remember Steve being with us in fall 2018 for a Holiday Grief Seminar. He will preach in the morning service, and then in the afternoon he will teach a seminar, focusing on the peculiar kinds of grief our congregation has been experiencing. All of these services will be open to the public. More details will be forthcoming as the time approaches. BONUS: This time of year is a time for listening to great music of the season, and there is no greater music than that of Handel's "Messiah." Often we think of this great oratorio being performed with a choir of hundreds of voices, accompanied by a magnificent pipe organ, or a huge symphonic orchestra. But that is a far cry from the way it would have originally been performed. Take about 95 minutes to watch this video and listen to the Academy of Ancient Music, Apollo5, and VOCES8 Foundation Choir perform this masterwork with 24 expert singers and 16 players on period instruments HERE. It will be well worth your time. If you only have time for "Part the First" (the Christmas section) it is a mere 49 minutes in length. But you won't hear the "Hallelujah Chorus" if you stop at part one since that famous piece is in "Part the Second" (the Easter section). It is well worth listening to "All We Like Sheep" at 53:07 just to hear this limber group take it a bit more up tempo. It only shaves about a 25 seconds off the total time, but it is enough to make a difference. Enjoy! See you in church! Grace and peace, Pastor Greg Greetings, everyone!
MACH IV Men's Ministry will meet this evening at 6 pm for a meal, devotional and Christian fellowship at FBC in the fellowship hall. All men and boys are invited to attend. TOMORROW is the Lord's Day! The Children's Christmas program has been postponed to Sunday, Dec. 19, still at 10:40 am. Please come out to support them as they share the Christmas story with us. Tomorrow will be a normal Sunday service. It is also the third Sunday of Advent. I encourage you to supplement your daily Bible reading schedule with the Advent Bible readings listed below. The first reading of the day is normally repeated across three consecutive days for reinforcement. Click on the link to go to the electronic version.
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions will be received during December. Our church goal is $1200. So far, we have received $250. For more information on the LMCO, visit this link. THE LORD'S DAY (12/12)
MONDAY (12/6)
WEDNESDAY (12/8)
COMING UP
ICYMI: Last Sunday's Message Jesus, Lord of Life and Death Luke 8:40-56 Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE schedule is attached. We are in Week 50. See you in church! Grace and peace, Pastor Greg GREETINGS, EVERYONE! TODAY at 7 pm, Rezound! Handbell Ensemble will be at FBC Cameron, 202 E. Ford St. This is a holiday concert from a professional handbell group who has performed with the Kansas City Symphony. For a taste of their sound, follow this link to their website. If you would like to go and travel as a group, we will leave from the church parking lot at 6:15. I anticipate returning by 9 pm.
Tomorrow is the second Sunday of Advent. As I mentioned last week, Advent means "coming" and is so-called because we remember the first coming of Christ into this world as a baby over 2000 years ago, and we look forward to His promised second coming. I encourage you to supplement your daily Bible reading schedule with the Advent Bible readings listed below. (If time constraints require, you may choose to substitute these readings for your regular devotional Scripture reading). Here are the suggested readings for this week. The first reading of the day is normally repeated across three consecutive days for reinforcement. Click on the link to go to the electronic version. Monday, December 6, 2021: Psalm 126; Isaiah 40:1-11; Romans 8:22-25
Week of Prayer for International Missions ends tomorrow. We have highlighted a different missionary or missionary family serving with the International Mission Board each day. For Day Eight of the Week of Prayer, follow this link. We are praying for IMB church planters Larry and Melissa Lewis who have been serving in Czechia (Czech Republic) since 2009. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions will be received during December. Our church goal is $1200. for more information on the LMCO, visit this link. THE LORD'S DAY (12/5)
MONDAY (12/6)
WEDNESDAY (12/8)
SATURDAY
COMING UP
ICYMI: Last Sunday's Message Daughter, Your Faith Has Made You Well, Luke 8:43-48 Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. READ THROUGH THE BIBLE schedule is attached. We are in Week 49. BONUS: Here is a flashback from Tim Challies as he mused on how Christians choose to celebrate (or not to celebrate) Christmas. I hope you find it as helpful and thought-provoking as I did. Mind Your Christmas Imperatives See you in church! Grace and peace, Pastor Greg |
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