Lengthy Update - Lots Goin' On

**NOTE: Due to length, you may want to scan this week's update from top to bottom for highlights before reading the whole thing. Blessings!


Greetings, everyone! As we approach Easter, I want to encourage you to give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions. We have reached a little over 25% of our $1200 goal so far. We will continue to receive this offering through "Resurrection Sunday," April 4. For more information on the AAEO and where the money goes, visit https://www.anniearmstrong.com/

TODAY between 10 am and noon, Muriel Elder will be honored for her retirement from over 20 years as administrative assistant for St. Joe Baptist Association at a drop-in reception at McCarthy Baptist Church. If you have been involved in the association during that time, you have been affected by Muriel's ministry. Please take some time to extend your appreciation to her if you are able to do so.

TOMORROW is THE LORD’S DAY! From The Valley of Vision, a book of Puritan Prayers, a prayer entitled "New Beginning" is a fitting way to mark the new season, the season of new beginnings:
"Incomprehensible, great, and glorious God,
I adore thee and abase myself.
I approach thee mindful that I am less than nothing,
a creature worse than nothing.
My thoughts are not screened from thy gaze.
My secret sins blaze in the light of thy countenance.
Enable me to remember that blood which cleanseth all sin,
to believe in that grace which subdues all iniquities,
to resign myself to that agency which can
deliver me from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty of the sons of God.
Thou hast begun a good work in me
and canst alone continue and complete it.
Give me an increasing conviction of my tendency to err,
and of my exposure to sin.
Help me to feel more of the purifying, softening influence of religion,
its compassion, love, pity, courtesy,
and employ me as thy instrument
in blessing others.
Give me to distinguish
between the mere form of godliness and its power,
between life and a name to live,
between guile and truth,
between hypocrisy and a religion that will bear thy eye.
If I am not right, set me right, keep me right;
And may I at last come to thy house in peace."
(The Valley of Vision is one of the few books of written prayers which I recommend. The language is so steeped in Scripture and the prayers of the Puritans that it can be, not a replacement for, but an enrichment to your personal prayer life. I recommend even just taking a few phrases or sentences which are meaningful to you and incorporating them into personal or public prayer to help avoid sameness and dullness of expression).


As we gather for corporate worship tomorrow morning, remember the words of the psalmist, "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord." Read, meditate on, and inwardly digest these Scripture passage as you prepare your heart to meet the living God with the living people of God through faith in His Word:
Fighter Verses:Philippians 2:10-11
Call to Worship: Psalm 119:9-16
Old Testament: Jeremiah 31:31-34
New Testament: Hebrews 5:5-10
Prayer of Confession: Psalm 51:1-12
Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 51:16-17
Sermon Text: Luke 5:1-11
Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26

Right after morning worship, join us for a brief VBS INTEREST MEETING at the front of the sanctuary. The purpose of this brief meeting will be to determine interest and set dates and format for Vacation Bible School. (Anticipated length 15 minutes).


THIS WEEK

• Monday
  • Sewing Circle will meet at 5 pm
  • ZOOM "Sunday School" at 7 pm. Current study: James
• Wednesday
  • Midweek Service, in person and via ZOOM at 6:30 pm. Current study: Francis Schaeffers' Basic Bible Studies (finishing up "Old Testament Prophecies of the Coming Messiah" this week)
  • Easter Choir Rehearsal at 7:45 pm. Preparing to sing "Alas and Did My Savior Bleed" and "Resurrection Hymn" (Gettys). From Pastor Kyle: "[If you would like to participate and get a preview, visit] www.fbcmaysvillemo.org. Click on Easter Choir Rehearsal button on the main page. Scroll down on the page that opens until you see Easter Rehearsal Media where you can download mp3 of both songs and PDFs of both songs. Alas and Did My Savior Bleed has an option of hearing instruments play the voice parts or just the piano. We will try to rehearse at 7:45 pm again this Wednesday and then take a poll of when we can do one more. You can listen to this on your phone as well if you go to the website. See ya'll soon. Kyle"
• The Lord's Supper will be observed next Sunday(3/28) during morning worship. This is our regular quarterly celebration of the bread and cup, the continuing ordinance which causes us to look back to what Christ has done for us, to inwardly examine ourselves in a spirit of repentance of known sin, to commune by faith with Christ and fellow believers around the Lord's Table, and to anticipate our Lord's soon return. This is also an occasion to mend relationships and reconcile with fellow believers if there has been a barrier to fellowship. Read 1 Corinthians 11:27-32 and Matthew 18:15-20. Note: Often, we focus on the self-examination, confession, and repentance aspects of the Lord's Supper to the exclusion, or at least minimizing, of the celebration and feasting aspects. To quote the hymn writer Brian Wren, let us "come with joy to meet [our] Lord, forgiven, loved, and free, the life of Jesus to recall in love laid down for me."

COMING UP

• Holy Week Services, Monday-Friday, Mar. 29 - Apr. 2, at noon in the Fellowship Hall. Join us for prayer, Scripture, devotion, and singing from 12:05 - 12:45 pm. Different from 2019, this will be a "brown bag" style luncheon. It is designed to provide a conveniently scheduled service for all who would like to attend and mark the historical events leading up to and including Jesus' crucifixion. Please feel free to invite members of the community to attend with you. (We did this for the first time in 2019 with identical services at 6:30 am and noon each day. If the lunch hour does not work for you, but you would still like to participate, I will be happy to have an early morning service as well, with as many or as few as would like. Just let me know. If your schedule does not permit you to join us either time, but you still want to mark the week, I will be sending out a schedule with the daily Scripture readings, suggested prayers thoughts, and suggested worship songs which you may use in personal devotions each of the five days).
• First Annual Drive-Through Family Easter Experience, Saturday, April 3, following city Easter Egg Hunt (about 10 am). In the past, we have had an Easter Egg Hunt followed by a Gospel presentation, but last year changed that for us. This year, we thought we would try something a little different. The story of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection will be told visually at various stations throughout our parking lot and down the street as folks listen to a pre-recorded message broadcast from our FM transmitter to their car radios. For those who complete the drive, candy for the kids will be provided. No plastic eggs this year, but still a need for fresh candy! See Pastor Kyle for details.
• Easter Morning Breakfast, April 4, 8:30 am in the Fellowship Hall. Our Baptist Men will be cooking and serving breakfast for the whole church that day. Come out and bring a friend. If you would like to help, please contact Russ Wright at 816-724-0925 (call or text).
• The Greatest Love: 10 Easter Reflections from Our Daily Bread. The church has obtained a quantity of this devotional booklet for you to use in the days leading up to Resurrection Sunday. Take as many as you like to share with others. Use it as an outreach tool to give to your lost friends and neighbors and to invite them to worship on Resurrection Sunday. Available in the narthex
• Missouri River Quilt Auction, Craft, and Bike Show, Saturday, April 17. Save the date for this benefit event for the Missouri Baptist Children's Home. Held at the Platte County Fairgrounds and sponsored jointly by First Baptist Weston and MBCH, a quilt auction from 10 am to noon is the main focus of the day. Doors open at 8:30 am. Food vendors, craft vendors, Christian music show, bike show, devotional moments will all be a part of this event. Volunteers are needed! Contact Steve Noyes at satnoyes@yahoo.com or call/text at 816-271-3891. (We have forms for vendors and for quilt auction donation as well).

ICYMI Last Sunday’s Message Jesus, the One with Authority, Part Two Luke 4:38-44
To view last week's service, and previous services, in their totality, visit our YouTube Channel.


READ THROUGH THE BIBLE
Week 12 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: Deuteronomy 6-9; Luke 7
Day Two: Deut. 10-14; Psalm 5; Luke 8
Day Three: Deut. 15-18; Psalm 115; Luke 9
Day Four: Deut. 19-22; Psalm 6; Luke 10
Day Five: Deut. 23-26; Luke 11


Visit the website for more up-to-date information!


BONUS: Voddie Baucham has a new book coming out entitled Faultlines, dealing with the effects of Critical Race Theory in evangelicalism today. The book comes out April 6, but if you would like to pre-order it, let me know and I will add it to my order next week. Here is an interview from The Sword and Trowel podcast with Tom Ascol and Jared Longshore on the subject with Voddie Baucham as a guest. (This podcast dates from fall 2020 before Voddie's heart surgery, which we as a church prayed for).


See you in church!


Grace and Peace,


Pastor Greg