AWANA
APPROVED WORKMEN ARE NOT ASHAMED
We are in our 3rd month of Awana and are getting real close to 50 children. I would ask that all of you be in prayer for our program so it will grow as the Lord blesses us. I would like to thank all those working in Awana and especially Delbert and Gordon for their faithful help in mentoring the children with their memory verses. I know the children have been blessed and I am sure Delbert and Gordon have also. The children are working really hard and have earned a lot of awards. The future looks bright for the program and I know God will continue blessing us through this program. If you would like to spend some time with us you are welcome to come any Sunday, between 5:30 and 7:00 p.m. and observe. You never know; God may be calling you to the Awana program in any of several capacities. God Bless and I hope to see you at an Awana meeting.
Roy Richardson, Commander
AB Women Ministry
Praise the Lord for Baptist Day of Prayer! Fourteen attended this heart-searching discipline and privilege of giving God praise, asking God to fill us with His love, and give spiritual discernment as we seek His will for our needs. There is an acute need for an awareness of the condition of today’s world, as Robert Bork in Slouching Toward
Prayer Chains made up of volunteers are being formed to meet the immediate needs requested by those seeking help and encouragement. Praise God and pray for this ministry’s organization of service.
On Friday, December 7, 7:00 p.m. the women will be filling Christmas boxes to take to shut-ins. So remember your goodies! This is a key time to find someone to share with. This season of loneliness for some, provides us opportunity to deepen relations with our Christian brothers and sisters who are no longer able to attend worship services.
Do you know that ABW Ministries is one of the foundation cornerstones of our 100 year
Old national ABC/USA?
Do you know that the average age of the ABW Ministries members is 40-90?
Do you know that ABYAWM is about to change part of that?
Janet Crawl of
mission to establish a ministry for the younger woman.
Keep your heart, eyes and ears open to her message! We must change!
In His Service, Glenda Bryant
YOUTH ARTICLE
Due to an emergency, there will be no Youth activities during the month of December, 2007.
Board Meetings
Deacons, Dec. 3, 7:00 p.m.
Pre-Board. Dec. 4, 6:00 pm
Christian Ed. Dec. 4. 7:00 pm
Trustees, Dec. 4, 6, 7:00 pm
Official Board, Dec 4, 8:00 pm
MISCELLANIOUS
Dec. 16, 6:00 p.m. KIDZ Christmas program and Adult Choir Cantata
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Articles for the January 2008 Newsletter are due in the office on Dec. 17 by 11:00 a.m.
Pastors thoughts:
GOD IN A STABLE: “THE BEST GIFT EVER!”
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! Since my early childhood experiences, I have enjoyed observing various holidays year after year. However, I must say that Christmas has always been my favorite! I enjoy holidays that are set aside for religious celebrations. This is my favorite time of the year and it is filled with many different sights, sounds, lights and well wishes, even from a stranger! When I was young, my mother would bake cakes and pies and cook ham, turkey, dressing, and all of the trimmings, giving our home an aroma that I still remember today. For me, just the smell of Christmas made a difference in my life and made this particular holiday more and more memorable.
As a child, the Christmas lights would excite me. Even today, I still enjoy the beautiful Christmas lights and decorations that can be seen in neighborhoods across the nation. The Christmas season is a special time for families to enjoy each other’s company. However, as a little boy, in the midst of all of the decorations and gifts, my parents placed a lot of emphasis on the true meaning of Christmas - the birth of Jesus Christ. I now know that, thousands of years ago, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ had a humble, yet truly significant birth, and Christmas is a time for the world to collectively recognize the best gift that was ever given. Through Christ, God entered into the world with a plan to redeem His people and bring hope for generations to come. The news about Jesus’ birth can be found throughout the Bible. Matthew 1:21-23 (NIV) informs us that, “[Mary] will give birth to a Son, and [Joseph is] to give him the name Jesus, because He will save His people from their sins. All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ‘The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a Son, and they will call him Immanuel’- which means, ‘God with us.” Jesus became the author and finisher of our faith (Hebrews 12:2) and because He walked this earth, we now have a High Priest who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses. This means that He encountered some of the same trials and tribulations, big and small, that we experience today. Yet, He was without sin and lived a blameless life (Hebrews 4:15). Therefore, having Jesus as our example, let us follow in the trail that He blazed by approaching “…the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us…” open the gift of living the victorious and purposeful life that Christ came to give us (Hebrews 4:16 NIV)! He left His magnificent throne in Heaven and blessed the world with His presence. The Son of man was born that we might live eternally with Him. He was willing to rather be born in a manger for the purpose of dying on a cross than to ever live without us.
For the world, Christmas marks the end of something, for the church, it signifies a beginning. The birth of Christ on earth and in our hearts signifies the beginning of a life dedicated to God. To me, on the day after Christmas, it seems that the Christmas music ceases at once and people begin talking about Christmas in the past tense. Yet, on the second day of Christmas the church has just begun the celebration and will continue to sing of His glorious birth as we look forward to celebrating the significance of His death, burial, and resurrection. With the Holy Spirit within us, Christmas is not simply a day to commemorate the birth of Jesus; rather it is a time to celebrate Jesus still being alive, in Heaven and in our hearts. During the first Christmas, baby Jesus was “God in a Stable.” “For to us a Child is born, to us a Son is given, and the government will be on His shoulders. And He will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace” (Isaiah 9:6 NIV). Although He is not in a stable anymore, our Lord is still the perfect, holy, righteous, forgiving, and great God that He was when He walked this earth!
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16 NIV). What a marvelous Christmas it was when our Almighty God gave His Son as a gift to the world! We did not deserve it, we cannot fully re-pay Him, and we could never thank Him enough for His selfless, precious gift He called Jesus. Within the gift of Jesus are countless other gifts that we discover over our lifetime. The gifts of hope, joy, peace, love, eternal life, mercy, grace, forgiveness, and fulfillment can never expire, go out of style, get misplaced, or break, as many of our material goods seem to do after every holiday season. May the Son of God brighten your holiday, warm your life, and guide you in God’s path of righteousness. Thanks to all of you for a wonderful year at
James H. Callaway, Jr., Pastor
The First Baptist
December 2007 Newsletter
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
IF YOU PLANT CRABAPPLES,
DON’T COUNT ON HARVESTING
GOLDEN DELICIOUS.
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