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 Pastor’s update Faith Baptist Church 07.24.09 This Sunday I will be bringing the third message in my sermon series.  SABBATH
Sometimes, when I look out on my congregation, I can't help but get the feeling that they are weary. Modern life is lived at such a frantic pace, most people find it a real challenge to find rest. It is very interesting to me that God decided to set aside a day for His people to rest and reflect upon Him. Why did God designate a special day for His people? What does it mean to Christians? Join us as we look at the Sabbath and principles that can impact our lives today. The Sabbath Principle July 26 How do you feel at the end of your average Sunday? rested refreshed satisfied empty exhausted
Many people simply cannot believe there can be a large, leisurely center to life where God can be pondered. They doubt they can enter realms of spirit where wonder and adoration have a place to develop, and where play and delight have time to flourish. Is all this possible in our fast-paced lives? Eugene Peterson Jonathan Windle will be preaching this Sunday night. Jonathan is our summer intern and I know you will enjoy his ministry in the Word. Plan to join us at 6 PM this Sunday.
 Vacation Bible School I am so thankful for all the hard work the VBS team put in this year. There was an average attendance of over 140 each day and seven children put their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal savior. I am always amazed at how the Lord puts this VBS together and all the workers God pulls together for the effort. (Please pray for John Burnham our associate who is such a big part of VBS he was unable to attend the last two days because of illness, I know his heart was here each day!) The final day was exciting as all of the parents joined us in the auditorium for a closing program on Friday.
Ana Leigh Walters
Please pray for this little girl, she underwent emergency surgery and is listed in critical condition. They have also discovered blood clots that could be a serious complication. Ana Leigh is the granddaughter of our church secretary Staria Knick. Sis. Staria will be taking a leave of absence from work to go help out. Please pray for this family in their time of crisis.
Around Faith
- Aaron Seay is blogging on MyChurch and here is the link if you want to check it out Aaron's Blog
- Pray for our missionaries of the week: Pink and Selena Davis in New Zealand
- Thanks to Steve and Kathleen All for their work with our teens on Sunday night, they will take a break in August and Horizon Youth will start up again in September
- Land debt retirement broke $50,000 this week
- August 3 Faith is officially 34 years old, we celebrate the second Sunday in September
- Thanks to Kathleen All and the crew for the ice cream social Wednesday night!
- Membership 201 Sunday September 20 (a class for those interested in membership at Faith)
- The Franz Family (blue grass) will be at the Jackson River Sports Complex Saturday August 1 @ 7 PM (sponsored by the Covington Bible Church)
Thanks for being a part of the Faith family. I hope to see you Sunday! Bro. Billy
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Pastor’s update Faith Baptist Church 07.17.09
This Sunday
I will be bringing the second message in my sermon series (see below). One of the points of controversy between Jesus and religious leaders of His day was observance of the Sabbath. They had made this day God intended to be a blessing to His people into a terrible burden. Jesus wanted it to return to it's original intention of being a blessing to His people.
Jesus and the Sabbath
“Sabbath is what our leisure-hungry and work-addicted culture needs. But the very word brings to most minds negation, absence and all the restrictions well-meaning Christians have over the years placed on Sunday.—R. Paul Stevens Sabbath was not intended to be a day of restrictions Israel was to “call the Sabbath a delight” (Isa. 58:13) How did Jesus observe the Sabbath? What did He do different? What can I learn from Jesus about the Sabbath and how does that apply to my observance of the Lord's day? Hope you can join us this Lord's Day.
Sunday Evening we will be having a very special service, Ralph Green will be our special guest, Ralph is one of our missionaries and has devoted his life to working with young people. Sunday night is our Vacation Bible School kick off service. Ralph will be doing a reenactment of the famous preacher Jonathan Edwards. (Sunday at 4:30 we will have a special class taught by Ralph on "How to Lead a Child to Christ" this is for all leaders, parents and workers who would have an interest in this subject). We will have a time of celebration at the end of the service with cake and punch. Hope you can join us!
A Blessing
I had a funeral recently out of which I received a real blessing. While preparing for this funeral I discovered that the individual had come to know the Lord through the efforts of members of our church. One member had led this person to the Lord several weeks ago and another member had followed up by talking to this person. I was so thankful that I was able to preach this funeral with the knowledge this person had trusted Christ. What a joy to a pastor to know that members of his flock are sharing the gospel!
SABBATH
Sometimes, when I look out on my congregation, I can't help but get the feeling that they are weary. Modern life is lived at such a frantic pace, most people find it a real challenge to find rest. It is very interesting to me that God decided to set aside a day for His people to rest and reflect upon Him. Why did God designate a special day for His people? What does it mean to Christians? Join us as we look at the Sabbath and principles that can impact our lives today.
Why a Special Day? July 12 Jesus and the Sabbath July 19 The Sabbath Principle July 26
Many people simply cannot believe there can be a large, leisurely center to life where God can be pondered. They doubt they can enter realms of spirit where wonder and adoration have a place to develop, and where play and delight have time to flourish. Is all this possible in our fast-paced lives? Eugene Peterson
Crocodile Dock Vacation Bible School July 20-24 9AM to Noon (special registration Saturday the 18th)
Around Faith
- Aaron Seay has a new video on his blog and new updates, he is blogging on MyChurch and here is the link if you want to check it out Aaron's Blog
- Pray for our missionaries of the week: Fred and Cindy Stromberg Honduras
- We praise the Lord for the individual who donated a computer system for the lobby to display our message board
- Land debt retirement to date: $49,894
- Bill Rimmer is rejoicing he was able to move his thumb, he is recovering from a stroke and this is the first step on his road to recovery! PTL!
- Thanks to Kathleen All and the crew for the ice cream social Wednesday night!
- Thanks to all the folks who keep the lawn and walking trail mowed!
- The Franz Family (blue grass) will be at the Jackson River Sports Complex Saturday August 1 @ 7 PM (sponsored by the Covington Bible Church)
Thanks for being a part of the Faith family. I hope to see you Sunday! Bro. Billy
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 Just finished reading this book. I really love books that make me think and this one really stoked the grey matter. I have been a pastor for 34 years and I must admit I have followed many of the trends and fads of ministry. I have done the conferences and the how-to books. Skye Jethani made me stop and think about many of things I have done in ministry. Here is info from the back cover:
From the back cover: A growing number of people are distrubed by the values exhibited by the contemporary church. Worship has become entertainment, the church has become a shopping mall, and God has become a consumable product. Through Scripture, history, engaging narrative, and the inspiring art of Vincent van Gogh, The Divine Commodity explores spiritual practices that liberate our imaginations to live as Christ’s people in a consumer culture opposed to the values of his kingdom. Each chapter will open your eyes to how consumerism has distorted our faith and equip you to live differently. The Divine Commodity articulates what so many have been feeling and offers hope for the future of a post-consumer Christianity. I wish every pastor would read this book and every Christian who wonders about the future of the church in America. Be forewarned this book will make you think and question many of your assumptions.  And at no extra charge you will learn some neat things about the painter Vincent van Gogh.
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Pastor’s update Faith Baptist Church 07.10.09 This Sunday
I will be bringing the first message in my new sermon series (see below). Why did God set aside a special day for His people to worship and reflect upon Him? Why did God take six days to create the world? Why did God rest on the seventh day? We hope to look at these and more questions Sunday morning as we look at Why a Special Day?God seemed to be setting a rhythm for mankind in the creation account. Work then rest, is the pattern. Why is it important? What impact will it have on my life if I ignore it? Hope you can join us this Lord's Day. Sunday Evening we will be having communion. This is your invitation to gather with us at the table.
SABBATH Sometimes, when I look out on my congregation, I can't help but get the feeling that they are weary. Modern life is lived at such a frantic pace, most people find it a real challenge to find rest. It is very interesting to me that God decided to set aside a day for His people to rest and reflect upon Him. Why did God designate a special day for His people? What does it mean to Christians? Join us as we look at the Sabbath and principles that can impact our lives today. Why a Special Day? July 12 Jesus and the Sabbath July 19 The Sabbath Principle July 26 Many people simply cannot believe there can be a large, leisurely center to life where God can be pondered. They doubt they can enter realms of spirit where wonder and adoration have a place to develop, and where play and delight have time to flourish. Is all this possible in our fast-paced lives? Eugene Peterson
TEEN WEEKTeen Week 09 is now history, we thank God for the good week and the many decisions made by teens. Some even prayed to trust Christ as their personal savior. Even though the kickoff got rained out, the leaders responded in a creative way and held the whole program inside at Faith. I attended the concert Sunday night and it was great to see Christian young people enjoying the music that exalted Christ. Here is a portion of Howard Merrell's blog about this year's Teen Week: I begin with the words to an old song, "I made it through the rain."
Sunday we began TEENWEEK. We were supposed to have a combination of kayak/canoe-ing and outdoor activities. I can't remember ever looking a weather report where the chance of precipitation was "100%," but when I looked at the forecast on Sunday morning that was the case. For mid-day the forecasters regarded rain as a certainty.
Thanks to the good work of the folk over at Faith Baptist, we were able to move the operation inside.
Last night we had nearly 140 teens over at Jackson River Sport Complex. I'll post some photos as soon as I'm able, but for now picture this: The picnic shelter at JRSC full of kids and leaders listening to a message about Real Love--God's love.
As I said in a previous post, our numbers have been down some this year, but we have great group of kids, and an outstanding bunch of leaders: We have several new additions to our staff.
My grandson pronounced tonight's message as awesome. I can't argue.
I heard reports of several teens who trusted the Lord this evening. There were 12-15 who responded to the invitation in some way.
Around Faith
- Aaron Seay arrived safely in Japan, he is blogging on MyChurch and also has a video there here is the link if you want to check it out Aaron's Blog
- Pray for our missionaries of the week Steve and Rhonda Nicholes WOL Korea
- How to Lead a Child to Christ class Sunday July 19th at 4:30 here at church all people who work with children or who would like to are encouraged to come, it is taught by Ralph Green
- Ralph Green will be leading our VBS kick off Sunday night July 19th 6 PM, he will be presenting a unique presentation which will include a renactment of a famous sermon
- Crocodile Dock is our theme for VBS this year, can you help? please contact John Burnham (July 20-24)
- Bill Rimmer is at the Brian Center continuing his treatment for a stroke, please pray for Him
Thanks for being a part of the Faith family. I hope to see you Sunday! Bro. Billy |
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Pastor’s update Faith Baptist Church 07.03.09 This Sunday
Jonathan Windle, our summer intern, will be finishing up his sermon series, "Strange", this weeks message is "Strange Ways". He will be speaking in both of our morning services. Jonathan is a student at Appalachian Bible College.
Teen Week begins this Sunday. The teens will be meeting at Faith on Sunday and Tuesday. The week will last through Thursday night. Please pray for this powerful outreach to our teens. This is a joint effort of the Covington Bible Church, Grace Brethren Church and Faith. This Sunday night we will be meeting at the Covington Bible Church on South Carpenter Drive. The teens will be using our building for a special kick off concert. Our service will be at 6 PM and I will be speaking on " The King Who Prepared His Way Before the Lord" Please join us this Sunday night.
SABBATH Sometimes, when I look out on my congregation, I can't help but get the feeling that they are weary. Modern life is lived at such a frantic pace, most people find it a real challenge to find rest. It is very interesting to me that God decided to set aside a day for His people to rest and reflect upon Him. Why did God designate a special day for His people? What does it mean to Christians? Join us as we look at the Sabbath and principles that can impact our lives today. Why a Special Day? July 12 Jesus and the Sabbath July 19 The Sabbath Principle July 26 Many people simply cannot believe there can be a large, leisurely center to life where God can be pondered. They doubt they can enter realms of spirit where wonder and adoration have a place to develop, and where play and delight have time to flourish. Is all this possible in our fast-paced lives? Eugene Peterson
WORTHY OF HONOR
This past Sunday we honored two of our missionaries. Ken Jenkins has served the Lord for 33 years in New Guinea, Africa, Australia and here in the states. Don Ackerman went to the Philippines when he was 50 years old and has served the Lord there for 20 years. Both of these dear men have gone into semi-retirement and our church is helping them with partial support. Both of these men and their wives were so thankful for our church and our willingness to remember them. A laborer is worthy of his hire and these folks are worthy of the honor.
Around Faith
- Aaron Seay left for Japan Thursday please pray, he is going to blog on MyChurch, why not follow his blog while he is in Japan?
- Sheryl Baker was baptized Sunday night, Sheryl was saved through the outreach here at Faith
- Thanks to Steve, Joe and Kevin for getting our monitors going in the lobby of the church, these will be used to scroll announcements during each service
- Pray for our missionaries of the week Eric and Lisa Simpson in England
- How to Lead a Child to Christ class Sunday July 19th at 4:30 here at church all people who work with children or who would like to are encouraged to come, it is taught by Ralph Green
- Ralph Green will be leading our VBS kick off Sunday night July 19th 6 PM, he will be presenting a unique presentation which will include a renactment of a famous sermon
- Crocodile Dock is our theme for VBS this year, can you help? please contact John Burnham (July 20-24)
- Praise the Lord we are almost to $50,000 on land fund!
- Pray for Teen Week this week! safety, souls saved, sweet spirit!
Thanks for being a part of the Faith family. I hope to see you Sunday! Bro. Billy |
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