| |
29-Jan-2012 :: Blessings in 2012! |
|
| |
As we launch this first month of 2012 it is quite obvious that God is blessing His people. The Holy Spirit has been working all over the church and throughout many church ministries. And I am sure I don't know the fraction of that great work! I was in business meeting last Sunday to hear that we were able to finish last year well into the black financially speaking and that we are on budget for the first month of 2012. That is great news especially when back in the summer months some were thinking that the sky was falling. When you have a tight budget, as I think we should, you feel every dollar whether it is there or it is missing. God has been good to us and we have been faithful, I trust, to Him and His church.
I feel even more gratitude to God for those who have visited our church in this New Year and especially those who have been led by Him to make this their church home. What an awesome privilege and responsibility it is to be the spiritual family of God for each person God adds. I trust you are making note of each of these new members and are taking a special effort to introduce yourself and get to know them.
I also want to mention as I did last week that we have a couple who currently need a ride to church from the 47th Avenue/Vogel area to morning Bible Study/Worship. I have enjoyed this most wonderful ministry and am more than happy to do it permanently but I am supposed to help give ministry away rather than hog it for myself. So this will be my last offer before I assume the Lord intends the blessing for me and mine! It's a great start to a blessed year; I trust you will commit to being a valuable integral part for love's sake.
|
|
| |
22-Jan-2012 :: Give a Ride and Blessing? |
|
| |
What a privilege it is for me to offer some family a great blessing! We currently have a middle-age couple attending our church, and they have off and on for a long time, who are in current need of a ride to bible study and morning worship service. Currently our church software does not allow us to search church membership by addresses and their proximity to another location. Therefore, I need to know if there is a faithful church family near the intersection of Vogel and 47th avenue or who passes near this intersection as they come to church each Sunday. This couple needs a friendly person(s) who would be delighted to "bring people to Jesus" and consider it a part of their kingdom service. If you think God may want you to be a part of this glorious ministry please give me call at your earliest convenience. It would be great to have a couple of substitutes as well.
On another related blessing note, I failed to mention even more good news last Sunday when we examined the biblical concept of the sanctity of human life. I know my list was long of the exceptional blessings that have been ours in just the last year but I need to add to that list. Our own Arizona Baptist Children's Services helped 1,181 women take a pregnancy test and 4,185 individuals attended a pregnancy or parenting class, and 8,694 distributions of baby-related goods such as diapers and clothing were made. And the best news is that 54 abortion-minded women chose life for their babies through our pregnancy counseling and 18 adults made professions of faith in Jesus Christ as Lord! God has blessed our work indeed. Thank you for standing for life and making a real difference where God has appointed us the privilege of serving Him!
|
|
| |
15-Jan-2012 :: Just a Few Things… |
|
| |
I have been intending for several weeks to make you aware of a young man who serves with our college students in the west valley colleges. Kyle Hall has been in the valley for over four years now and is responsible to our state collegiate staff for the campuses of ASU West, Glendale Community College, North Glendale Community College, and Estrella Mountain Junior College. Kyle not long ago married Mallery and is now doing much better. ☺ Kyle raises his own support to serve Southern Baptists in the west valley as we attempt to win people to Christ. Kyle has worked with several of our college students in the past and currently as well.
Since we benefit from Kyle and Mallery's ministry I just wanted to make you aware of their service. As you can imagine living by faith and raising your own support is not easy, especially these days. I know many of you have a heart for college ministry and for our own local community college. If you would like to contribute to Kyle's ministry you are welcome to call him personally at 623-308-6412 or I can facilitate a meeting with him if you would prefer. I felt it was important enough to bring the need to your attention and let the Lord lead how He will. Thanks for your prayer for our collegiate ministry.
I appreciate the Funk family for helping feed all of the attendees at our January Bible Study on Sunday afternoons and evenings. This is the first time we have ever studied the book of Ecclesiastes in a JBS format and it is proving to be interesting. Thank you for being a part and be sure to thank the Funks the next time you see them for taking extra time to bless our study time together. Thank you so much!
|
|
| |
08-Jan-2012 :: Starting the Year Out Well |
|
| |
I wanted to remind everyone as we turn fully into the New Year that if by some chance you missed your offering for International Missions (aka Lottie Moon) it is not to late to be a part of this once-a-year offering. We have not reached our goal of $12,000 yet and I imagine some have simply missed it on accident. If everyone would make the effort to give something, it will go a long way toward our goal and be a blessing when that day of accountability comes for us all.
I will soon publish a complete list of all the monetary requests we typically make in a year so you can plan and budget accordingly. Where can you possibly get a return on your money like the Kingdom of God?
In case you missed it last week, there are Bible reading plans in the foyer that will give you a suggested guideline for reading your Bible through in just a year. If you have never disciplined yourself to have a regular reading time with the Lord every day I highly recommend it. Many of our members choose a different translation of the Bible each year to help them enrich their reading from a different perspective each year.
Whatever your personal preference and plan I trust you are consistently staying immersed in God's word and are preparing each week for a great group Bible Study time. If you are not regularly attending every Sunday morning and need help finding a class that is right for you please see Pastor Steve or myself anytime and it will thrill us to death to help you find options. Our Bible Study hour is the prime opportunity to get to know people and find a place of service in the church.
|
|
| |
01-Jan-2012 :: God Has Been and Always Will Be Faithful! |
|
| |
Thank you for blessing my heart and the church family last Sunday by being present before the Lord on Christmas morning! We will only have a few of these opportunities in our lifetime (Christmas on Sunday) and you honored the Lord with this one. For some it was a test of what the celebration was all about and who should get the attention and glory. Thank you for confirming the spiritual growth that I know God has brought to your lives. You do honor the Lord and our own church family.
God has provided not only an opportunity to honor Him on the last Sunday of the year but also another opportunity to begin the New Year as we worship and minister to one another on the very first day of the year. Today we have said "goodbye" to the year 2011 and welcome 2012 and all that God has planned for it. What an adventure faith in Jesus brings every day!
As always and with every year, despite what the unbelieving world tells us, it is with a profound sense of gratitude for all that God has done that we close the books on last year. God has indeed been faithful. While we each have been on mission with the Lord this last year and have experienced many things we come together on this first day of the year to acknowledge and recognize the supremacy of Jesus in our lives and our deep love for Him. I'm glad you are here.
Today we closely examine two passages of scripture that teach us one timeless truth. Our God is marvelous in that He does marvelous things for those who wait on Him because they love Him.
|
|
| |
25-Dec-2011 :: Joy, Joy, Joy! |
|
| |
Joy is exactly what we experienced last Sunday night wasn't it? We celebrated the season, the story and the Savior! It seems that every year our talented Darek Millsaps and our choir, orchestra and sound members pull off amazing musical worship. It was so very good to see the house of the Lord full to overflowing with eager participants from near and far. Lots of familiar faces from across the valley were a blessing to experience in worship.
Our church has a long and mixed association with the First Southern Baptist Church of Phoenix and many friends and members have family and friends in each place. Their new music minister Dr. Juan Hernandez was a blessing to meet and receive his great conductor skills. It was like an old homecoming for many families and even a few churches I think. Children's Choir Directors Stephanie Ciszek and Mark Funk had the combined Children's Choir primed and ready to ignite the worship experience. I was thrilled at the representation of so many nationalities in the children's choir. What a beauty to behold and foretaste of glory to come, amen? It makes a person wish they could sing or play an instrument huh?
Thank you Darek and everyone who contributed to such a great time of worship. I know an event that great takes enormous time and commitment from everyone involved and it does not go unnoticed either here or in heaven. God bless your effort and may even more members be inspired to make the commitment to join your ministry next year. You are all the best!
|
|
| |
18-Dec-2011 :: Have You Ever Wondered About the Calendar? |
|
| |
Modern calendars begin what is called the Christian era with Jesus' birth. Dates after His birth are designated A.D. (Latin - anno domini "in the year of our Lord") and dates before His birth are designated B.C. ("Before Christ). Some, out of sensitivity to other religions now use C.E. (Common Era) and B.C.E. (Before Common Era).
The first person to develop this system was the Christian monk Dionysius Exiguus in A.D. 525. Prior to him the Romans had developed the dating system used throughout the Western world "AUC" (ab urbe condita – "from the foundation of the city" [Rome]. Dionysius believed that it would be more reverent for calendrical dating to begin with Jesus' birth rather than the foundation of Rome. So with the historical records available to him, Dionysius reckoned the birth of Jesus to have occurred on December 25, 753 AUC. That placed the commencement of the Christian era at January 1, 754 AUC or January 1, A.D. 1.
However, Dionysius did not have all of the historical data now available to scholars to make a more precise dating. We know that King Herod died in March/April 750 AUC. Since Matthew states that Jesus was born while Herod was still alive, Jesus was actually born according to the Roman calendar between 748-750 AUC, four to six years earlier than Dionysius's calculations. Therefore a more accurate dating of the birth of Jesus places it in 4-6 B.C. This has nothing to do with the accuracy of the biblical records, only the historical accuracy of the well-intentioned but misguided Dionysius Exiguus.
|
|
| |
11-Dec-2011 :: Praise God for the 38th Hanging of the Green Service |
|
| |
Well…bless my soul, that's what happened last Sunday night! With a house full of people we celebrated the coming Christmas season. I hope every soloist, duet, group, choir, orchestra, narrator, youth participant can lead us again before the month is over don't you? I kept thinking after each section of the service wow I hope we can hear that again before Christmas is over. We are a very blessed church to be able to celebrate such gifts in this body of Christ. Again thanks goes out to everyone who worked and contributed to this annual favorite and especially Darek.
Missionaries from Tanzania Tonight
Our own Southern Baptist missionaries Chris and Amy Eardonson who currently serve the International Mission Board and Southern Baptists everywhere will be with us in the evening service for a great time. Each December we receive a special annual offering that we have affectionately called the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for many years. That offering provides almost fifty percent of the annual budget for our over five thousand missionaries around the world and outside of North America. I always implore every member and church attender to prayerfully consider giving something to this offering as it so beautifully helps fulfill the Great Commission of Jesus. One hundred percent of the offering actually goes to support missionaries without any overhead charge. I know the Lord is pleased with giving that accomplishes His work all over this globe. We are a blessed people to have such a ministry.
|
|
