Chilton and El Salvador Trips
What a mission celebration this past weekend!! It was a privilege to have Rolando and Alexandra Rivas from El Salvador in our church...and to share them in several other churches in our area. It was awesome to see 46 Buckets of Hope given through FCC to Haiti and to skype with the Benesh family. Sunday night at the Acts 1: 8 celebration, three people prayed about God's leadership in missions. That was so exciting! God continues to build a world fellowship right here at FCC...and he is sending us out!
There are two mission trips that are coming up real quick...
- El Salvador, May 24-31. We will be in schools, doing afternoon VBS, praying walking, going door-to-door, sharing in outreach events at two churches, and having a joint service between our two mission churches. Cost of the trip is approximately $1200. A $100 deposit is due April 1. If you are interested, please let me know ASAP. If you don't feel God's leadership in going this trip, you can still support those going through your prayers and financial gifts to FCC (indicate 'El Salvador Scholarship' on your check or envelope).
- Chilton Baptist Builders, June 20-25. This year we will be traveling to Cedar Hill, Missouri, to construct the first building ever for Friendship Baptist Church. The building is the same layout as FCC, but only smaller (8000 square feet). This is a great time of fellowship and ministry! Registration forms are in the church foyer. The cost is under $300 (for five nights)...a $100 deposit is due by April 15. I know of a couple of guys who need financial support in going on this trip. If you would like to contribute to someone going, just indicate "Chilton Scholarship" on your check or envelope.
There are many more opportunities coming in the near future! We will keep you posted! It is so awesome to see God stir the hearts of his people! Keep your hearts open to the possibilities!
For the Kingdom!
Missions
Buckets of Love
Missions
children's ministry - short term memories
AWANA started the spring semester last night, with 37 clubbers and bunches of leaders eager to learn God's word. I am so proud of all clubbers and their willingness to learn and grow in their faith, as well as just come and have a fun time. We started our 'Donation Battle' for Helping Haiti earthquake victims, and our total for last night was over $30.00. I am pretty proud of that, considering that we just started it last night, and most of the clubbers are just finding change around the house or cleaning out their piggy banks. I am excited to see what the next three weeks holds for this.
Lesson - In Children's Church we talked about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. We focused on all of the different temptations that we as kids (if only I was a kid again) face on a daily basis. Some of them ranged from stealing and lying, to arguing and listening to our parents. We had groups act out different temptation skits. We then talked about why this story was in the Bible, especially since it was Jesus who had to relay this story to his followers (since he was alone when he was tempted, no one saw this first hand). We concluded that the real lesson in the temptation story is that Jesus gave honor to God during the temptations. He didn't say 'Get away from me Satan, I am the Son of God!' or 'Satan, don't you know it is I that the prophets are talking about in the Old Testament?', but rather Jesus focused on God and how the different questions Satan raised went against what God had commanded. Jesus' focus was on God, not himself. We took away the fact that we should also do the same during temptation, placing the focus on God and honoring Him rather than the temptation or any power that we may have to overcome it.
Please remember to pray for all of our kids this week as they face temptation for every side.
Children's Ministry
Children's Ministry - Short Term Memories 3
AWANA started the spring semester last night, with 37 clubbers and bunches of leaders eager to learn God's word. I am so proud of all clubbers and their willingness to learn and grow in their faith, as well as just come and have a fun time. We started our 'Donation Battle' for Helping Haiti earthquake victims, and our total for last night was over $30.00. I am pretty proud of that, considering that we just started it last night, and most of the clubbers are just finding change around the house or cleaning out their piggy banks. I am excited to see what the next three weeks holds for this.
Lesson - In Children's Church we talked about Jesus being tempted in the wilderness. We focused on all of the different temptations that we as kids (if only I was a kid again) face on a daily basis. Some of them ranged from stealing and lying, to arguing and listening to our parents. We had groups act out different temptation skits. We then talked about why this story was in the Bible, especially since it was Jesus who had to relay this story to his followers (since he was alone when he was tempted, no one saw this first hand). We concluded that the real lesson in the temptation story is that Jesus gave honor to God during the temptations. He didn't say 'Get away from me Satan, I am the Son of God!' or 'Satan, don't you know it is I that the prophets are talking about in the Old Testament?', but rather Jesus focused on God and how the different questions Satan raised went against what God had commanded. Jesus' focus was on God, not himself. We took away the fact that we should also do the same during temptation, placing the focus on God and honoring Him rather than the temptation or any power that we may have to overcome it.
Please remember to pray for all of our kids this week as they face temptation for every side.
Children's Ministry - Short Term Memories 2
Is it already the middle of January? I can't really believe how time flies these days, I am already two weeks into my new workout routine, (I know you can already tell a difference), and AWANA starting this Sunday, 1/17. I am super excited, and really miss the kids. If you haven't been coming to AWANA, you should stop by and check it out. We have been averaging about 40 kiddos, four year - 6th grade. We have had such a good core group of leaders (really just parents of clubbers who are eager to be hands-on with their own child) as well, which really has helped things run smoothly... very smoothly. What a blessing and a joy!!!
Summary - This past week in children's church we again focused on John the Baptist. This time we talked about John baptizing Jesus. It is really refreshing to hear the children understand what baptism is and why it is done.... I'm confident that most our our kids at church know what this is. Most knew exactly why Jesus was being baptized and were familiar with the story. Here were two main ideas we focused on, besides the typical idea of baptism:
1, God is triune (three in one). I always feel like this is a hard concept to explain to people, that I believe that God is three in one. I have used the analogy of water before, and how it can be three forms (frozen, liquid, and a vapor) to try and relate it to the being of God but it still is a little difficult, especially for a first grader. Luckily, at the baptism of Jesus there is a crystal clear recongition of all three persons in the trinity. Jesus was there being baptized, God was there speaking from heaven, and the Holy Spirit was there 'coming down on Jesus like a dove'. Pretty cool. Pretty clear. We talked about how Jesus is God's son, not God the Father. We noticed that God said: 'This is my son, with whom I am well pleased'. God didn't say: 'This is me, and I am pleased with me.' A definite distinction. We also talked about how this was a confirmation that Jesus was the Messiah, since no one else ever had a voice from heaven say something after they were baptized.... atleast no one from our children's church group.
2. Jesus was on time - We talked about how Jesus was baptized when he was about '30 years of age' according to the gospel of John. Why did John mention his age? I often wondered this as well? It turns out that there are only four times in the Bible that it mentions the age of Jesus, besides his birth. All of the different ages mentioned had to deal with Jesus fulfilling the Law in some way (or his parents helping him do so). First, at eight daysold he was circumcized according to the law. Second, at 40 days old, he and his parents presented him at the temple along with an offering. Third, at the age of twelve he attened Passover and was found to be with the teachers of the Law (a kind of coming of age). Fourth, he was mentioned as being '30 years of age' according to John. So, why is '30 years old' important? Apparently in the Law there is a regulation that only men 30-50 years old were allowed to serve as priests! Jesus was not only being baptized to show us an example, but also being baptized into the priesthood.... kind of like the the bronze laver washing in the tabernacle. So, Jesus was right on time when he came to be baptized. Pretty cool.
I guess God doesn't lose track of time like I do.....
Humor - We are planning a big Nerf War night at the church for Jan. 30th, from 1 - 4 pm. which was really exciting for the kids. One of them though asked how we were going to keep all of the nerf bullets from being mixed up and lost. I suggested that we put our names on each bullet, to which the child replied "That sounds like a big waste of time". Ahhh.
Children's Ministry - Short Term Memories 1
As we begin a new year, I have begun a new quest to keep better in touch with kids and their families throughout the week. I have resolved myself to write a weekly blog entry in an effort do just that, as well as share some of the lessons, happenings and humor which all work in conjunction beautifully, to form our ministry to children at Fruitland Community Church.
Summary - Starting with the birth of Jesus during our Christmas story lessons, a small group of 20 - 30 children's churchers have embarked on a journey through the Gospels in hopes to better learn and understand the life of Jesus. The past Sunday, January 3rd, our travel took us out into the wilderness to meet the one and only John the Baptist. John came to our class and shared some of his famous locust and honey (although locust were unavailable and so he gave us plastic spider rings instead). We talked about what life would be like living in the desert, what some common animals that live in the desert are, and John's clothing. Specifically, we talked about why did John go to the wilderness anyway? Some answers included that John was trying to keep away from the leaders of the day and that it was more feasible to draw a crowd in the wilderness than in the city marketplace or somewhere similar. We then focused on the spiritual lessons that we can draw from John the Baptist's life.
Lesson 1 - John was set apart for God's work. John was called by God to be the one who was to 'Prepare the way of The Lord, and make straight paths for Him' (Matt 3:1-3). This calling on his life was important, so important that John gave up everything except the very basic things of life. Matthew mentions his clothing of camel's hair, which would be for a very poor person in society, as well as the diet of locust and honey. Very basic indeed. John gave up everything because he didn't want anything to get in the way of his priority.... God's work. This made us reevaluate our priorities in our life, whether it be video games, karate, movies, football or food.... God should be #1.
Lesson 2 - John's message was for people to 'Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near' (Matt 3:1-3). He didn't have one message for the Jews, one message for the Gentiles, and one message for the Jewish leaders. It was the same message for all. John even directly criticises some of the Pharises who come out to look after him, calling them a brood of vipers! John knew that they thought highly of themselves because of their position and family history. We talked in class about how easy it is to do this ourselves. We think that because we are from this family, or because we go or don't go to this school - then we will be o.k. - John the Baptist says that we all need to 'Repent', no one is above the law.
Humor - I wanted everyone to have a sample taste of the honey that John the Baptist would use with his 'locust and honey'. I accidently dropped the plates that the honey was on into the sand box that was also being used as a teaching tool. I thought I got most of the sand off, but there were a few comments of 'My honey has sand in it' - whoops!
Next Sunday - John the Baptist comes back one more week - this time he is baptizing Jesus as we focus on the triune nature of God displayed at the baptism and why Jesus was baptized anyway.
Birthday Present for Jesus
Okay...so let's start with the obvious: Christmas is whose birthday? Since you know the answer, I'll go to the second question: Why doesn't He get the bulk of the birthday presents? Third question: What if we spent less and gave more for Christmas? Now many in our church have already packed shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child and others have helped deliver Thanksgiving boxes. Awesome! If you are like me, giving at Thanksgiving just primes the pump for giving even more at Christmas! I was amazed as I did some research for some really cool Jesus' Christmas presents. Here are some of the results I found:
1. Give to World Vision by buying chickens, goats, cows or water wells. I'm not kidding. Check out their on-line gift catalog: http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2ibeCCtpSctDspRte.jsp?go=gift&§ion=10389&daniel_prod_ses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
2. Did you know for $25 you can send Christmas Care Pack for a child through the Voice of the Martyrs? Check out their website: https://www2.vombooks.com/qry/qe_store.taf?_id=A373551896
3, Did you know that you could help buy water for Kenya without shopping...all you have to do is clean out your shoe closet. Check out this website: www.shoeman.org. If you want to do this project, you can bring the shoes to FCC and we will get them to the shoeman!
4. Would you like to bless some residents at Monticello Nursing Home? We will be thowing a Christmas party with six other churches for the residents of Monticello, December 13, at 2:00. Just come and sing Christmas carols and shake some hands! It will be a blessing! Our church is also going December 20 at 2:00 pm for our regular visit.
5. Cards for military men and women. We will have cards in the foyer at FCC for military men and women wha are family or friends of folks at FCC. If you know of anybody that should be included please let us know. We will also be sending packages to those deployed to Iraq/Afghanistan. Some items you could donate to the church for this project could include: twizzlers, candy, mixed nuts, trail mix, Sudoku puzzles, etc.
6. Christmas gifts for area families. We have about 6 families with kids from the area that could use Christmas gifts. We have gender, sizes, and interests of the kids in the office. E-mail me of your interest and we will get the information to you!
7. We are giving away Christmas hams this year to families in need. If you would like to donate money for a ham, they are $10. You need to indicate on your envelope "Christmas Hams."
8. Many people give above their normal offerings to missions during the Christmas season. You can do that through FCC, by indicated "Missions" on your offering. These gifts will be distributed to world, US, and state missions, as well as Mending Hearts, Shining Light, and FBC, Chalmette.
9. What about including your neighbors by delivering cookies or Christmas caroling in your neighborhood?
10. Some may want to consider giving seed money for our new partnership in Vancouver, or to strengthen our continued efforts in El Salvador.
I'm sure that you could come up with a better list, but it was fun for me to just brainstorm for a few minutes. In fact, if you have some ideas, please send them to me to share with others in future years.
Happy Birthday Jesus!
Could you use 200 Beanie Babies?
I don't have to tell you that times are hard economically every where, even with the good folks at Fruitland Community Church. Some are without jobs, most are watching every dollar. So how are folks responding to the needs around them and how is God blessing? And when God's people step out in faith to do God's work, does He provide?
1. Last year we gave about 140 boxes to Operation Christmas Child, and even though the economy was tough, we set a goal for 200 boxes this year. It is amazing. As of today, there were 195 boxes turned in through our church!! To God be the glory! That is a signficant increase!
2. In 2008 the scouts collected 3,151 cans for their annual can drive, and this year, despite the economy--or maybe because of the economy--they collected 3205 cans in the Fruitland area. Wow!! We were able, with the Cowboy Church, to add meat, apples, bread, instant potatoes, candy and a Gospel of John to 120 families. It was amazing to see everyone working together, and yes...there are a bunch of cans left over to share with people throughout the year...God is good!
3. A week ago, someone asked me if we could use 200 Beanie Babies...new, with the tags still on them. Without thinking much, I said 'Sure!' Literally, as the 195 Operation Christmas Child boxes were being carried out of the church this morning, 200 Beanie Babies were being carried in. Are you kidding me? We've been asked to help some families in the area with Christmas and Shining Light in Charleston has asked for a Christmas party. I wasn't sure if we should ask the church to do any more. Did I mention I was aware that the economy is tight? And in walks those Beanie Babies as seeds for helping families in our community and in Charleston.
This weekend was just a reminder, that when God's people do God's work He provides. When God's people cease to do God's work, God sends His resources (even His Beanie Babies) else where.
Let's keeping working for the Kingdom!
Missions
Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving
First, let’s be honest...it seems too early for Thanksgiving! This weekend we will be giving out Thanksgiving Baskets and next week families will be traveling to celebrate America’s favorite holiday full of great food, time with family, and lots of football.
Our sermon series this year has been focused around His Story and I confess that I find myself more and more intrigued by history. I’ve been reading about the Pilgrims and just recently have been reading Bill Bennett’s America : The Last Best Hope. Fascinating reading! So much time has past since the first Thanksgiving, that often we forget what it is all about. Here is a timeline of our Thanksgiving holiday:
· 1621 - Pilgrims and Native Americans celebrated a harvest feast in Plymouth, Mass.
· 1777 - George Washington and his army on the way to Valley Forge, stopped in bad weather in open fields to observe the first Thanksgiving of the new United States of America.
· 1789 - President Washington declared November 26, 1789, as a national day of "thanksgiving and prayer."
· 1800s - The presidential thanks-giving proclamations ceased for 45 years in the early 1800s.
· 1863 - President Abraham Lincoln resumed the tradition of Thanksgiving proclamations in 1863. Since this date, Thanks-giving has been observed annually in the United States.
· 1941 - President Roosevelt established the 4th Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day.
We will have a FCC Thanksgiving Service, Tuesday, November 24, at 6:30. Lord willing we will share Scripture, sing songs, and thank the Lord corporately. Our focus will be Psalm 34. Here are a few of the verses from that Psalm of David.
1I will extol the LORD at all times; his praise will always be on my lips.
2 My soul will boast in the LORD; let the afflicted hear and rejoice.
3 Glorify the LORD with me; let us exalt his name together.
8Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
The title in most Bibles connect this Psalm to 1 Samuel 21: 10-15, where David was delivered from danger by acting crazy. This is not his finest hour, yet he says, “I will extol the Lord at all times.” What about your personal history? Can you say with David: “his praise will always be on my lips”? FCC: Let us exalt his name together!
Worship
Thoughts on Kingdom Stuff
I was reflecting on what God is doing in our midst for the Kingdom and frankly, I was finding myself being thankful and a little overwhelmed! If you are paying attention, God has been doing some amazing things...
- Just recently a small group went down to FBC, Chalmette, to work on some finishing details on the building. We've had groups go down every year (as well as many from around the country) and they are finally in their building and reaching out to a community devatsted by Katrina. They have been reaching and baptizing folks for the Kingdom! What a privilege to be a part of helping rebuild that lighthouse!
- This week, Sean, Katie, Grant, Camden, and Seth Benesh left for Vancouver...it was a privilege to commission them as a church last Sunday!! Even though we hadn't budgeted for Vancouver, our church and invididuals gave $1300 for their Cobra Insurance, and $2093 for their moving expenses! Wow! Lord willing, I will be going up to a vision trip to Vancouver, January 18-20. It will be exciting to see how God is going to use FCC and other churches for the Kingdom work in Vancouver!
- El Salvador...there is a group of 10 or so in El Salvador this week working with FBC, Millersville's partner church and doing training with the Pastors! We are a part of that! In June we will be sending a team to do work with our church partnerships and training of the pastors! What a privilege.
- Thanksgiving Basket Give-away this coming Saturday, November 21...we will be giving out meat, canned goods, fruit, bread, and gospels of John to 120 families!! This is our annual Thanksgiving outreach that we do together with the Cowboy Church. If you would like to participate, we need volunteers at FCC from 10 am to 12:30 or so to pack and deliver Thanksgiving boxes. How fun!
- Operation Christmas Child boxes are coming in (deadline November 22) and World Hunger Banks are filling up (deadline November 29).
These are some 'official partnerships' and projects with our church, but I am just as excited about what God is doing with individuals and groups within our church. Just this week I learned of the FCC College group's plans to give away 500 cups of chili on the Southeast campus and the BSU's outreach effort for finals' week (details will be in the bulletin). Another young person talked about planning an ethnic dinner at church and a time of prayer for the International students on campus. Another asked if he could have Thanksgiving Dinner in his home for folks who are not going to be with family this Thanksgiving.
It is amazing that God is giving us increasing corporate projects and partnerships, but it is just as amazing to watch individuals respond to the prompting on God's Spirit to reach out beyond themselves.
What has God put on your heart?
Missions
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