June 6th, 2021

Greetings, everyone! Summer is upon us with ball games, vacations, camps, Bible school, and all manner of patriotic holidays and celebrations. We had a great evening watching "The Peanuts Movie" on the bank parking lot on Friday evening with about 35 or so turning out. Our goal was to present a gift of a fun family night to our community and hopefully to engage with members of the community. It was a great first effort this summer, and thanks to all those who came and especially to those who helped.
This week we commemorated three special days of national importance: May 31,Memorial Day, in honor of the war dead and all service members who have died, whether in wartime or not; June 4, 1944, the liberation of Rome by the 3rd Army (thank you, Kyle Carroll, for pointing this one out); and of course June 6, 1944, D-Day marking the beginning of the allied invasion of Normandy and the 10-month countdown to victory in Europe. If you know a service member, veteran, or family of a deceased veteran, be sure to thank them. The blessings of liberty come from God, but they are secured for us by those willing to fight, bleed, and die for them.


TOMORROW isTHE LORD’S DAY! I never tire of reminding us of the fact that "Sunday" is more than a "fun day." In fact, the Lord's Day is intended to be set aside for corporate worship, study of God's word, fellowship with Christian believers, reading of Christian books that build us up in the most holy faith, and doing deeds of mercy and necessity. Tomorrow, you have the opportunity to join in Bible study at 9:30 am, worship at 10:40 am, and member meeting at 6 pm.
Scriptures that will frame our worship together are:
Fighter Verses: Psalm 85:5-7
Call to Worship: Psalm 138
Old Testament: 1 Samuel 8:4-20; 11:14-15
New Testament: 2 Corinthians 4:13-5:1
Prayer of Confession: Psalm 130:1-6
Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 130:7-8
Sermon Text: Luke 6:29-31
Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26
Click anywhere in the link to go to a printable version of the Scriptures for worship.


THIS WEEK

• Sunday, June 6, 5 pm -- Church Council. All ministry leaders and committee chairs are invited to participate as we plan, calendar, and communicate ministry initiatives for the next 6 months
• Sunday, June 6, 6 pm -- Monthly Member Meeting. All covenant members are invited to share in this time of fellowship, ministry reports, and taking care of the necessary business of the church. Attending member meeting is a great way to increase your understanding of how the church carries out ministry. Stewardship Committee will bring two recommendations: 1. To increase Convention Expense line item to allow our messengers to attend SBC Annual Meeting in Nashville, and 2. To encourage individual giving to the Community Revival effort through designated gifts through the church.
• Monday, June 7, 7 pm -- "Sunday School" via ZOOM. Contact Pastor Kyle if you would like to participate in this virtual Bible study.
• Wednesday, June 9, 6:30 pm -- Midweek Service. We will gather for prayer and Scripture. I will be sharing with the church some items of concern going on within the Southern Baptist Convention and what I hope will be accomplished by the messengers at the Meeting in Nashville. If you are interested in knowing why I believe our church's representation at the SBC is more critical this year than any time since the Conservative Resurgence (1979-mid1990s), plan on attending this informative service.
• Saturday, June 12 -- Ladies Retreat at Faith United Baptist Church, St. Joseph, MO. Lorrie Dixon is the speaker.
• Saturday, June 12, 6 pm -- MACH IV Men's Ministry will meet at Oak Christian Church for supper and encouragement from God's Word. We will also be doing some preparation for the upcoming services with M.R. Hamilton.

COMING UP

• JUNE 15-16
  • Southern Baptist Convention Annual Meeting in Nashville, TN. We currently have 6 messengers planning to attend the convention. Please be in prayer for this gathering as several important topics will be deliberated. Projections are for 12,600 messengers to be in attendance, not counting visitors and guests. That will be more messengers than at any annual meeting since 1997. The SBC hasn't had 10,000 messengers in attendance in more than a decade. The SBC Annual Meeting has been called "the world's largest deliberative assembly," and so it has been in the past. Messengers gather to do more than hear reports, vote on officers, and pass budgets. They also make and debate resolutions, and this year's meeting will be no different in that regard. I am looking forward to attending on our church's behalf, along with our other messengers.
• JUNE 20: Night of Hymns at Riverbend Bible Church in Atchison, Kansas, at 6 pm. Lorrie and I will be leading this event for Riverbend in their recently purchased facility. We would love for you to join us for this night of music. Let me know if you would like to attend.
• JUNE 27-30
  • Community REVIVAL Services with M. R. Hamilton, June Conley Building at 7 pm each evening
  • Noon Bible Study with M. R. Hamilton each day at First Baptist Church. (Brown bag luncheon)
• JULY 5-9
  • SJBA Youth Camp at Grand Oaks. Brochures and forms are available in the narthex as well as online. Visit the front page of the church website and scroll down to the Grand Oaks e-brochure.
• JULY 12-16
  • Vacation Bible School at FBC, 5:30 pm with supper provided to children and workers. Our theme this year is "Destination Dig," an archaeology theme.
• AUGUST 9-13
  • SJBA Children's Camp at Grand Oaks. Forms are available in the narthex.

ICYMI Last Sunday’s Message audio Luke 6:27-29 "Enemy Love, Part 1"
Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. 

READ THROUGH THE BIBLE
Week 23 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: Proverbs 3-5; Romans 10
Day Two: Proverbs 6-7; Psalm 7; Romans 11
Day Three: Proverbs 8-10; Psalm 144; Romans 12
Day Four: Proverbs 11-13; Psalm 8; Romans 13
Day Five: Proverbs 14-15; Romans 14
Visit the website for more up-to-date information!


BONUS: I don't know Pastor Brad Ball or Bethsaida Baptist Church in Dublin, Georgia, but I believe he has done a good job of laying out some of the issues within the SBC that I hope to address this Wednesday evening. You can preview the issues by watching this video of Pastor Ball speaking to his congregation (about 45 minutes).


Baptist Polity 101: I used the word "messenger" several times in this e-mail, and it bears defining for our purposes. A messenger in Baptist life is similar to a delegate or a representative in other contexts. A local Baptist church is entitled to elect messengers to any other Baptist body to which it belongs, i.e. the local association, the state convention, and the national convention. Our church voluntarily relates to a local association, the St. Joseph Baptist Association. We voluntarily relate to a state convention, the Missouri Baptist Convention. We voluntarily relate to a national body, the Southern Baptist Convention. And we voluntarily elect and send messengers to each of these bodies as we are able. Messengers are elected to vote in accordance with their Christian conscience at the annual meetings of these Baptist bodies.


See you in church!


Grace and peace,


Pastor Greg

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