May 21st, 2023

Greetings, Church Family and Friends!
I hope you are enjoying this beautiful day that the Lord has given us. As you prepare for the Lord's Day tomorrow, may you be filled with adoration for our Triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 

BRIDGMANS TO THE HOLY LAND: This is also a special week in the life of our church as Kyle and Sue Bridgman will be traveling to the Holy Land for a 10-day tour. Last October, our church family decided to send the Bridgmans to Israel in recognition of Kyle's 25 years of faithful service at First Baptist. If you would like to contribute financially, you may do so by making a designated offering to FBC and marking the check or envelope either "HOLY LAND" (for the trip itself) or to "BRIDGMANS" (personal love gift for incidental expenses). Of course, you can always contribute directly to Kyle and Sue. We are excited for them to make this trip as neither of them have previously been to the Holy Land.

THE LORD'S DAY (5/21):

• Bible Study for All Ages, 9:30 am. Nursery through Senior Adults, we have a group for you.
• Worship Together at 10:40 in the Sanctuary. We will be in Luke 22:7-20, "Do This In Remembrance of Me." As Jesus ate Passover with His disciples, He also prepared them to eat it without Him in the future. The Passover meal was filled with Messianic significance for the Jewish people of Jesus' day, although this was hidden from their minds for the most part. At this last meal Jesus shared with His disciples, He instituted the Lord’s Supper, making much of that hidden significance plain. Jesus took a portion of the Passover meal and made it a perpetual meal to be shared by Christ-followers until His return. By it, believers commemorate Christ’s death. Almost invariably, I teach on some aspect of the Lord's Supper when we observe it as a congregation, but this will be the rare occasion when I teach on it without us sharing in the actual meal together. I am looking forward to teaching on the Passover meal, along with some visual aids.

Scriptures for Sunday.  Here are the Scriptures we will be reading that will shape our corporate worship. Take a few moments to read and meditate on them as you prepare for worship tomorrow. Click anywhere on the link to see a printable version of these passages on biblegateway.com

• Call to Worship: Psalm 68:32-35
  
• Assurance of Pardon: Psalm 32:1-2
  
• Scripture Reading: Exodus 23:10-33
  
• Sermon Text: Luke 22:7-20
  
• Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26
  

Baptist Catechism Questions are Questions 4 & 5 "On the Bible as the Word of God." For the entire catechism, follow this link.

• Question 4: What is the Word of God?
  • Answer: The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, being given by divine inspiration, are the Word of God, the only infallible rule of faith and practice. 
    • Scripture: 2 Peter 1:21; 2 Timothy 3:16, 17; Isaiah 8:20; Matthew 5:17- 18; 1 Corinthians 2:13; Psalm 19:7-8.
    • Comment: "Scriptures" is a special word for the "writings" of the OT and NT. Perhaps you will want to explain that the OT deals with God’s word that came before Jesus was born; and the NT is the word of God that came after Jesus was born. "Infallible" means it will never lead us astray in what it teaches. It is true and does not err. It can be trusted. "Faith" refers to right thinking and feeling; and "practice" refers to right doing. We measure our thoughts and emotions and actions by the rule of the Bible. "Inspiration" means that it is God-breathed: by his Spirit he guided his spokesmen to speak his word in their language.
• Question 5: How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God?
  • Answer: The Bible evidences itself to be God’s Word by the heavenliness of its doctrine, the unity of its parts, and its power to convert sinners and to edify saints. But only the Spirit of God can make us willing to agree and submit to the Bible as the Word of God.
    • Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:6-7,13-16; Psalm 19:7-9; 119:18,129; Acts 10:43; 26:22; 18:28; Hebrews 4:12; Romans 15:4; John 16:13,14; 1 John 2:20-27; 2 Corinthians 3:14-17; 4:4, 6.
    • Comment: "Heavenliness" refers to the fact [that] the teachings of Scripture are of such a nature that they cannot be explained by mere human resources. They bear the marks of the supernatural. "No man ever spoke like this man" (John 7:46). The "unity of its parts" has to do especially with the way all Scripture points to Christ. "To him all the prophets bear witness" (Acts 10:43). There are detailed and scholarly historical arguments for the reliability of the Bible, but these are generally beyond the acquaintance of ordinary Christians, and so do not serve as widespread support for Scripture. They are needed, however, in the scholarly arena. [See "Is the Bible a Reliable Guide to Lasting Joy" in Desiring God by John Piper (Multnomah Press, 1986).]

• Maysville High School Graduation Commencement, 1:30 pm, New Gym. Alexia Allen, Wesley Poston, and Cooper Berry are graduating.

MONDAY (5/22)

• Men's Discipleship Group, 1 pm, using both Words and Deeds book and Walking With Ephesians.
• Sewing Circle, 5 pm. All ladies are invited to attend, whether you sew or not. This is a time of "life on life" discipleship and prayer as well.
• Monday "Sunday School" online via ZOOM at 7 pm. See Pastor Kyle to join this virtual Bible study group.  To join Zoom Meeting, follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87573789453?pwd=Zjg5ZWZ2N1h5WklxOEFjM3IrVUt1QT09      Meeting ID: 875 7378 9453       Passcode: 478672 

WEDNESDAY (5/24)

• Women's Wednesday morning ZOOM Bible Study is on hiatus until June 21.

• Men's Wednesday Morning Discipleship Group is on hiatus for the summer.
• Men's Discipleship Group, 6 pm (Robert Kendall, group leader, 816-724-4155).  finishing up Words and Deeds.
• Youth Bible Study, 6:30 - 8 pm, in the youth room. Fellowship and hangout time, snacks, followed by time in the Word of God. We are "storying" our way through the Gospel of Mark. If you are in grades 7-12, come out and join us. 
• Bible Study and Prayer, 6:30 pm in the Great Room, live and via ZOOM.  Join us for a time of prayer and time in God's Word as we study the book of Exodus. We will be in Exodus 17, "Water from the Rock." To join Zoom Meeting, follow this link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/87573789453?pwd=Zjg5ZWZ2N1h5WklxOEFjM3IrVUt1QT09    Meeting ID: 875 7378 9453    Passcode: 478672 

THURSDAY (5/25)

• MEN'S DISCIPLESHIP GROUP is on hiatus for the summer.

SUNDAY (5/28)

• May Birthday offerings for the Missouri Baptist Children's Home and May Anniversary offerings for Baptist Homes (homes for the aged) will be received at the end of the service. If you would like to know more about these vital ministries in our state, visit the following links: https://www.mbch.org/ and https://thebaptisthome.org/

ICYMI: Last Sunday's sermon audio from Luke 22:1-6 and John 13:18-30 "And It Was Night"
Other previous messages are archived here .   Please visit our YouTube Channel to see the edited service video. 
COMING UP:

• GRAND OAKS CAMPS SAVE THE DATE https://sjbamo.org/2023-sjba-grand-oaks-camp/
  • Youth Camp, completed grades 7-12, June 19-23. Cost: $160, church funds 1/2 of the cost. (REGULAR REGISTRATION IS AVAILABLE NOW)
  • Children's Camp, completed grades 4-6, July 24-28 (EARLY BIRD REGISTRATION FOR $150 IS AVAILABLE NOW). Church funds 1/2 of the cost.
  • Introduction to Camping at Grand Oaks, June 23-24, for children who have completed grades 1-3. Cost is $25 per camper. Parents are encouraged to attend with their children for this overnight event. Pastor Kyle and myself will be on staff at Intro to Camping. For more info on Intro to Camping, follow this link. If you would like to attend with your child, please let me know. If you need financial assistance, please let me know.
  • Also, we are in need of volunteer staff to serve as cabin coaches and cooks for youth and children's camp, and ACITS (assistant coaches in training) for children's camp. The ACITS typically need to have completed their sophomore year in high school, but occasionally we will accept an ACIT who has only completed his or her freshman year. See me about either of these opportunities.

• VACATION BIBLE SCHOOL, July 10-14, in the evenings, around 5:15 - 8:15 or so. We will have a meal each night for all attendees. The theme is "Twists and Turns," and the idea is what it means to follow Jesus in the ups and downs of life. This event is fast approaching in just a little over two months! Contact Dava Hackett for more info.

FIGHTER VERSE: Our Fighter Verse this week is Romans 12:20-21:
To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.


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. Daily Bible reading is one of the leading indicators of spiritual growth and vitality in the Christian's life.

MAN KNOWS NOT HIS TIME: This week, the larger Christian community lost two men who made an indelible impression on their denomination, the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA). Tim Keller, pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC, and Harry Reeder, pastor of Briarwood Presbyterian in Birmingham, AL, both served the Lord faithfully and well in their local churches and in the PCA. Keller (age 72) had been battling pancreatic cancer for the last 3 years. In recent years, Keller had begun to embrace more of the "wokism" which has become so prevalent in evangelicalism today. But that does not negate the powerfully positive impact his ministry made on a wide swath of Christians of all perspectives over the course of many years.
Reeder (age 75) was killed when the vehicle he was driving rear-ended a stopped dump truck. Less well-known than Keller, Harry Reeder was a mentor to many in his denomination over the years, and he stood staunchly for biblical conservatism as the PCA faced the challenge of liberal voices who were seeking to take the PCA in a leftward direction. Our hearts go out to their families and all those affected by their death of both of these men. [NOTE: For those who may not be aware, the PCA is a denomination formed in 1973 out of the former PCUS (Southern Presbyterians) over growing theological liberalism in that denomination. The PCA took a stand for the inerrancy of Scripture, the deity of Christ, and the Scriptural qualifications for men in the office of elder/pastor. The biblically and theologically conservative PCA has stood in stark contrast over the last half-century to the PCUSA, the larger, theologically liberal, mainline denomination which denies the inerrancy and authority of Scripture.]

See you in church!


Grace and peace,

Pastor Greg