Month: March 2008

Sunday

Annie Armstrong

Easter Offering

Foods across America

Luncheon

Thanks so much to all of you who helped plan, prepared foods, set up the tables for the luncheon, worked in the kitchen, helped clean up, or helped just by coming and eating. I think this was a good kick-off for our offering. If you took any part at all, thank-you!

The plastic eggs in the baskets represent exactly $13,000.00. We will turn them in Easter Sunday. When all of them are turned in, our goal will be reached!

Annie Armstrong

Easter Offering Eggs

 

$5.00 – Yellow

  • Refrigerator magnets + Evangelistic tracts + Soft drinks for students at a college snack bar + Six meals for homeless people

$10.00 – Orange

  • Two GED study books for use by adults in a literacy program

$25.00 – Pink

  • Bulletins for a week for a new church + Shelter for a mother and two children at a homeless center + Meals for a family of four at a Baptist homeless shelter + Three meals for a homeless person

$50.00 – Lilac

  • Scholarship for two new students to participate in a collegiate retreat

$100.00 – Green

  • Rental of a building for one Sunday for a church start + Wooden cross to mark the location for a worship service at a ski resort + Subway tokens to and from a metro campus for a collegiate minister + Meals for a family of four at a Baptist homeless shelter + Evangelistic tracts to be used at a sports clinic

$250.00 – Blue

  • Refreshments and materials for a community gathering to introduce a new church + 10 books to be used in an outreach Bible study + Meat to feed 125-150 people barbeque, promoting a new church start + Case of drink mix for children’s evangelistic outreach such as a day camp or a Backyard Bible Clubs

 

“This is how God showed his love among us:

He sent his one and only Son into the world

that we might live through him.”

~1 John 4:9, NIV~

 

 

 

NAMB’s Woodalls Minister in Hawaii

 

and See the State’s Less Exotic Side

 

By Mickey Noah


HONOLULU, Hawaii – For most Americans and even for world travelers, Hawaii is the ultimate, exotic tourist destination. After all, it’s paradise.

But for Southern Baptist missionaries Chris and Monica Woodall, Hawaii is not just a paradise, but islands inhabited by the lost and hurting.

While visitors crowd Waikiki Beach in Honolulu for sunning and shopping, surfers invade Oahu’s North Shore for some of the world’s most dare-devil surfing, and tourists enjoy the green flora, dark-sand beaches and blue Pacific waters of Maui, the Woodalls see Hawaii’s underbelly.

“When you get behind the glitz of Waikiki, you find a lot of needs,” Chris says. “When you get away from there and get back into the communities, it’s just like anywhere else in the world. There are real people who have real problems, real hurts and needs. They just happen to live in a place that others like to come to on vacation.

“Yes, the beaches are beautiful. But Hawaii is home to many, many people. These people have names and souls and are in need of the Gospel,” said Woodall, director of prayer and evangelism since 2005 for the Hawaii-Pacific Baptist Convention, headquartered in Honolulu. He also heads up the convention’s disaster relief and chaplaincy teams.

The Woodalls are two of more than 5,000 missionaries in the United States, Canada and their territories supported by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® for North American Missions. They will be featured as part of the annual Week of Prayer, March 2-9, 2008, the theme of which is “Live with Urgency: Seize Your Divine Moment.” The 2008 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering’s goal is $61 million, 100 percent of which is used for missionaries like the Woodalls.

Chris’ friend, Robert Wittekind, a pastor at Waianae Baptist Church in Honolulu County on Oahu, knows of the poor and illiterate in the Waianae community.

“There are a lot of broken homes here,” said Wittekind, who the locals call “Kahu,” the Hawaiian word for pastor. “According to statistics, six out of 10 prisoners have relatives in the Waianae area. We have a lot of drugs, a lot of homelessness – people just running the streets. We have a lot of broken families and marriages. Many are not married but just live together. One of the highest populations of teenage pregnancy is on this coast.”

Chris met Monica while they both served the International Mission Board in East Asia. After they returned from overseas, they married and a year later, became the parents of their first child, Moriah, now almost two years old. They’re currently expecting their second child.

“Because of what God has put on my heart,” said Monica, “we wanted to live our lives somewhere where the Gospel’s not being readily accepted or abundantly shared, and not where there’s a church on every corner.

“Although Hawaii is a hard place to live, we want to live where we can be salt and light, and Hawaii is definitely one of those places.”

Monica, who first served in Hawaii as a semester missionary after college, says her experience in Hawaii has taught her that people here are spiritually searching, and to get them to talk about spiritual things is fairly easy.

“But then when you start talking about Jesus and Jesus being the only way, that’s when it gets a little bit more complicated. While it’s easy to get into spiritual conversations, I was heartbroken by how that never meant Jesus.”

Woodall says his and Monica’s roles are to “support pastors in doing what they do.

“There are 115 churches in our convention, worshiping in 15 different languages,” he said. “Our convention is not made up of just Hawaii, but includes American Samoa, 1,000 miles away, and Guam, Okinawa and Saipan, more than 3,800 miles from Hawaii. Of course, we have churches on all of the Hawaiian Islands (Oahu, Hawaii or the Big Island, Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Lanai).”

As if the spiritual challenges were not enough, Woodall and Wittekind agree that Hawaii is very much a closed society among the state’s indigenous residents.

“This community is a tight, local Hawaiian community,” Woodall said. “We just don’t ease our way in after a few short years, or even 10, 15 or 20 years. This is a hard culture to get into. It’s tough. I’m a minority and so is everybody else who comes from the mainland.”

Another challenge is that Hawaii is a very expensive place to live. Usually, a husband and wife both must work because it may take one of their entire paychecks to pay the mortgage on their home. Honolulu, for instance, is one of the most expensive places for housing in the United States. A four-bedroom house worth $303,000 in Atlanta would cost $738,000 in Honolulu.

“In Hawaii, there are people working multiple jobs,” according to Woodall. “You have people working the night shifts, so it’s important to have churches that hold services when the night shift is over. That may be at 4:00 or 5:00 in the morning. Or you have worship services in the middle of the night when people have time to attend.”

Despite these cultural and economic challenges, Southern Baptists have also used the state’s natural disasters and disaster relief as a major way to demonstrate the love of Christ to the local population.

Woodall describes Hawaii as “just a little speck of dirt in the middle of a big ocean.” It’s a geological and meteorological time-bomb. One or more of the state’s six inhabited islands is constantly ripe for hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes, tsunamis or volcanoes.

“The next earthquake here is not ‘if’ but ‘when’,” says Karl Ragan, senior pastor of First Baptist Church, Waimea, and another close friend of the Woodalls. Waimea is on the Big Island.

On Sunday, Dec. 15, 2006, an earthquake – measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale – hit Hawi and Kapaau, small towns on the north Kohala coast of the Big Island around 7:10 a.m. For 45 seconds that must have seemed like an hour, the earthquake rattled local homes. All of the 3,000 homes in the area suffered damage. Most of the homes were jilted off their post- and pier-foundations.

“Since last January, we have been working along side our partners in California to assist families whose homes were either heavily damaged or destroyed by the earthquake,” said Woodall. “This has provided many opportunities to minister to families who have never set foot into a church.”

“Most of the houses shifted about two inches off their foundations,” said Ragan. “We didn’t try to put a house back in its original position, but put in new piers and cement posts. We wanted to do that quickly before the next quake,” he explained, adding that Hawaii records hundreds of little quakes each month.

Ragan said the work was done by Baptist Builders who rushed in from California and Utah. Southern Baptists also have the only feeding unit on the island for assisting volunteers and victims of disasters.

“People were just amazed that Baptists would come over from the mainland, at their own expense, and help,” he said. Ragan said folks were also amazed that Southern Baptists would help anyone, not just other Baptists. It’s opened the doors wide open to share the Gospel.

“Chris has been really wonderful,” said Ragan. “He’s on Oahu, which is 200 miles away so we have to rely on airplanes. He’s been really great in facilitating and connecting with the North American Mission Board. He’s assured us that bills will be paid and has helped us get volunteers from the other islands.”

With such a significant list of challenges and needs, Woodall said the congregations in Hawaii must have the support and financial assistance that the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering brings.

“The Annie Armstrong offering provides a means by which we can help the churches do what God has called them to do – share the Gospel, equip leaders and start new churches all over the Pacific.”

BE COURAGEOUS


At the zoo, a man watched as an attendant entered a wildcat cage through a door on the opposite side. He had nothing in his hands but a broom. Carefully closing the door, he proceeded to sweep the floor of the cage. The onlooker observed that the worker had no weapon to ward off an attack by the beast. In fact, when he got to the corner of the cage where the wildcat was lying, he poked the animal with the broom. The wildcat hissed at him and then lay down in another corner of the enclosure.

He remarked to the attendant, “You certainly are a brave man.”

“No I ain’t brave,” he replied as he continued to sweep.

“Well, then, that cat must be tame.”

“No,” came the reply, “he ain’t tame.”

“If you aren’t brave and the wildcat isn’t tame, then I can’t understand why he doesn’t attack you.”

The man chuckled, then replied with an air of confidence, “Mister, he’s old — and he ain’t got no teeth.”

Some situations don’t require much courage. Others, however, require a great deal of courage. Take, for example, the choice Daniel was given — stop praying to God or face the hungry lions (which weren’t toothless!). Or Moses — live a life of luxury in the king’s palace, or align himself with God’s people. Or Esther — keep quiet and not cause a commotion, or stand up against evildoers at the risk of losing her life.

How we need such courage in our own lives! Courage to stand for the truth regardless of the consequences. Courage to live a life where Christ comes first regardless of what others might think. Courage to confess the name of God to a world which regards us as fools.

“Be of good courage,

and He shall strengthen your heart,

all you who hope in the LORD.”

~Psa. 31:24~


Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Saturday – Obiuaries

Joyce Blades Forrest

(October 31, 1933 – March 7, 2008)

Died at 12:30 p.m. on Friday, March 7, 2008 at Southeast Regional Medical Center in Kentwood. She was a native and resident of Spring Creek. Age 74 years. Visitation at McKneely Funeral Home, Kentwood, from 5 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Sunday and at Spring Creek Baptist Church from 9 a.m. until religious services at 11 a.m. on Monday. Services conducted by Rev. Bill Boulton and Rev. Danny Smith. Interment Spring Creek Cemetery, Spring Creek. She is survived by her daughter, Kathy Dale Forrest, Spring Creek; son, Norman Craig Forrest and wife, Pam Cook Forrest, Spring Creek; 2 grandchildren, Trenton Craig Forrest and wife, Macy Wagner Forrest, Denham Springs and Traci Forrest Jennings and husband, Ryan Jennings, Patterson; 2 great-grandchildren, Connor Trent Forrest and Parker Anthony Jennings; niece, Kim Horning, Franklinton; and a host of friends and other family members including a special cousin, J. C. Blades and his wife Alice Blades. She was preceded in death by her parents, Leamon and Elmise Blades; brother, Chevis Blades; her precious puppy, “Peanut”. The family requests donations to be made to the American Cancer Society.

Arthur Ernest “Ernie” Hayden

(September 6, 1954 – March 8, 2008)

Died at 6:10 a.m. on Saturday, March 8, 2008 at Hood Memorial Hospital in Amite, LA. He was a native and resident of Amite, LA. Age 53 years. Visitation at Amite-Arcola Presbyterian Church, 501 Walnut St., Amite, from 4 p.m. Sunday until until memorial services at 6 p.m. Sunday. Survived by son, Adam Scott Hayden, Ponchatoula, mother, Hollis Ann Davis Hayden, Amite, brother, Robin Lynn Hayden, Amite, cousin, Billy Hayden, Amite. Preceded in death by son, Aaron Hollis Hayden. McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, in charge of arrangements.

Saturday

“We give thanks to You, O God, we give thanks!

For Your wondrous works declare

that Your name is near.”

~Psalm 75:1~

 

 

 

Joan Hagan

Joan Hagan continues to get reports that will allow her surgery to proceed. Pray for her as she again in waiting for a surgery date.

 

 

Cleon Wilburn Blades

A native of Kentwood and a longtime resident of Tunica, he died Thursday, March 6, 2008, at age 76. He was a retired correctional officer at Angola, where he served for nearly 35 years. Visitation at Charlet Funeral Home Inc. in Zachary on Saturday, March 8, from 9 a.m. until service at 11 a.m., conducted by the Rev. Michael Wells Sr. Burial in Rogillio Family Cemetery. Survived by a daughter, Linda Bordelon and her husband, Darren, of Angola; two sons, Wilburn Jesse Blades and his wife Patricia, of Tunica, and Charles Blades and his wife, Cortney, of Smithdale, Miss.; three brothers, Henry Blades, Clovis Blades and Royal Blades; and three grandchildren, Darren Bordelon Jr., Todd Bordelon and Catherine Blades. He was preceded in death by his parents, Otto and Mattie Blades; four brothers, James, Joe, Doc and Luther Blades; and his ex-wife, Pearl Anderson Blades. He served in the U.S. Army during the Korean War. Share sympathies, condolences and memories online at http://www.charletfuneralhome.com.

 

Correction

OUR TIME CHANGES THIS WEEKEND. PLEASE SET YOUR CLOCKS FORWARD 1 HOUR******NOT BACK AS STATED IN THE NEWS ON THE PRAYER LINK. WE SPRING FORWARD IN THE SPRING AND FALL BACK IN THE FALL.
THANKS

Mary Ann Cutrer

(Thanks, Mary Ann.)

 

INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS PRAYERLINE
INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD
Friday, March 7, 2008

“So Philip began at this place in the Scriptures

and explained the good news about Jesus.,”

~Acts 8:35, CEV~

Dear Intercessors, this is Eleanor Witcher of the International Prayer Strategy Office, encouraging you to pray for women as they hear God’s Word.

A chance encounter turned out to be a relationship for which to praise God. A woman in South Asia met two Christian women on a South Asian street and asked why they lived in her country. They told her that they were storytellers. “We are followers of Jesus, so our favorite stories to tell are about Him!” On her first visit to their home, after exchanging usual greetings, this woman was in the chair for less than two minutes before she said, “OK, tell me a story about Jesus.” Since then, the women have had ample opportunities to share not only how Christ changed their lives, but also many stories from the Word.

A few Tibetan women in a refugee carpet factory have shown an interest in hearing audio stories from the Bible. On occasion, international Christian workers have played Tibetan praise songs and Bible stories on a CD player for them while they make rugs. The songs and stories resound throughout the factory, and the women listen intently as they sit, weaving the heavy rugs.

Three groups of North African women are meeting weekly to study the Bible. Pray for the women to continue to grow in their faith and for their daughters and friends to join them as they share their faith with others.

A volunteer from Canada has traveled to Turkey to teach English as a Second Language (ESL) to Persians. Pray that many women will come to the classes and will be drawn to God through her sharing and testimony.

* Please pray for women to respond positively to the Good News that they are hearing whether directly from the Bible, through stories and music, or from personal testimonies.

* Intercede for believers that they will share faithfully.

* Ask God to open your eyes to unusual places where you can share His Word.

MISSIONARY PERSONAL NEEDS

This month, two new workers joined the ministry team on a small island nation. They are studying at the local university and have already immersed themselves in the local culture, experiencing many of the wondrous oddities that living in a different country can offer. Please pray for these young people as they strive to be a light for the Lord in the midst of much spiritual darkness. Pray for their safety as they travel by public transport, for understanding of the local dialects, for comprehension of their school studies, for personal strength and growth in the Lord, for adjustment to the new climate, time zone and diet, and for unity with other believers. Praise the Lord for young people willing to step way outside their “comfort zones” to serve Him wherever He calls!

 

 

 

F.B.C. Members:

Don’t forget the community outreach at 10:00 this morning and the missions lunch tomorrow.

 

 

 

Resort Missionary Brad Lartigue

 

Holds Big Job in Big Sky

 

By Mickey Noah


BIG SKY, Mont. – Because his mission field is based in Big Sky, Mont., where Lone Mountain stretches 11,000 feet high, Brad Lartigue reports to work every day sky-high – geographically and spiritually.

For 20 years, Lartigue has served as a North American Mission Board missionary — the last 17 as a resort missionary in Big Sky during the ski season in winter and at Yellowstone National Park in summer. Big Sky is nestled near three interconnected mountains, high in Montana’s Gallatin National Forest.

Lartigue is one of more than 5,000 missionaries in the United States, Canada and their territories supported by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® for North American Missions. He is one of eight NAMB missionaries featured as part of the annual Week of Prayer, March 2-9, 2008. This year’s theme is “Live with Urgency: Seize Your Divine Moment.” The 2008 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering’s goal is $61 million, 100 percent of which is used for missionaries like Brad.

“My place of work is basically the outdoors,” he says. “Our sanctuary is in the mountains that rise above us, among the trees and the animals that God has created. That’s where worship happens for us.

“I believe that my area of special ministries in resort and leisure settings is a good place to present the Gospel to people,” he said. “After all, our Lord Jesus Christ gave us the example and foundation for ministering to people outside the walls of the church.

“Jesus spoke to the multitudes from the bow of a boat, from the mountainsides, in the gardens, in the marketplaces. He met people where they were, in times of work and play. It’s a wonderful thing to have the opportunity of using God’s creation as a ministry tool to point people past that creation and toward the Creator.”

Supported and commissioned by NAMB and the Montana Southern Baptist Convention, Lartigue leads worship services and campfire devotionals, marries couples, dedicates babies and even conducts funeral services on the powdery snow of Big Sky. He witnesses to tourists who wouldn’t be caught dead inside the walls of a brick-and-mortar church.

During the peak ski season — between Thanksgiving and Easter — some 5,000-6,000 people a day come to Big Sky to challenge the world-class ski slopes, which get blanketed by 400 inches of new snow each year.

“Every Sunday when I ride the chairlift going up the mountain to do my worship service, I meet people who have no intention of going to a worship service. They’re coming to find a place for recreation and to relax — not for a place of worship or for a minister. But when I ride the chairlift, I never ride without speaking to someone about why they are here and what we are doing here.

“I think it means a lot to people to see a minister snowboarding, skiing, or cross-country skiing, who takes the effort to hone these skills to meet people where they are,” he said.

Citing the Apostle Paul’s admonition to “be all things to all people so that we might reach some,” Lartigue recently invited a couple of young men on college break to his worship service.

“They saw me on my snowboard and said, ‘Oh, you’re the shred chaplain.’ Shredding is ski slang for snowboarding. I think God gives us passions in our lives that drive us to do the things we do. God has given me the passion to snowboard, cross-country ski and go backpacking in the wilderness.

“And each of us can reach one because of the various passions He gives us,” Lartigue said. “People come here to relax, rest and be rejuvenated. And what better place to do ministry than a place where people can be inspired, because God and his creation are inspiring.”

It’s a long way from the sultry summers of Lake Charles, La, where Brad was born and raised, to the crystal-blue skies and frosty air of Big Sky, Mont.

He grew up in a Christian home in Lake Charles, a bayou town in the heart of southwest Louisiana’s Cajun country, where his father serves as pastor of a Southern Baptist church and with a devoted preacher’s wife for a mom. With a French surname and rich family bloodlines of black, Cherokee Indian and Italian lineage, Brad is proud of his heritage. One of five children, he accepted Christ at age 14.

Always interested in adventure and public service, Lartigue was active in the Baptist Student Union at McNeese State University in Lake Charles. While at McNeese, he cut his missions “teeth” while serving as a summer missionary on Hawaii’s Big Island and as a US/C2 resort missionary at Taos Ski Valley in New Mexico.

After graduating from McNeese State, he attended Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Fort Worth, where he earned a master’s degree in religious education and church recreation. In 1990, he accepted a career missionary position at Big Sky and Yellowstone National Park from NAMB and the Montana Southern Baptist Convention. He’s been there ever since.

“When people think of Big Sky or Yellowstone National Park, they think of the beauty and what a pristine place it is,” said Lartigue. “But people don’t realize that behind the scenes, there are hurting people – people very much disillusioned about who God is. I come across alcoholics, those into drugs, the promiscuous, those whose lives need to change.”

As with any Southern Baptist pastor, Sunday is a long and busy work day for Lartigue.

“I am part of three worship services on Sundays,” he said. “I begin the day with an outdoor worship service at 9:30 a.m. at the Moonlight Basin Ski Resort. Then I drive back down to the Big Sky Christian Fellowship worship at 11 a.m., and back up to Mountain Village to conduct the skier/snowboarder worship service in the snow at 1:30 p.m.,” Brad said.

After a few hours of skiing or snowboarding, he closes out the day by directing a youth ministry for junior high students on Sunday nights. He also is active in Yellowstone Innovator/park employee worship in campgrounds, hotel worship services and home Bible studies.

During summer, he shifts the focus of his ministry to Yellowstone – about 50 miles away — where he supervises college and seminary volunteers called “Innovators,” full-time summer missionaries appointed by NAMB and sponsored by the First Baptist Church of West Yellowstone, who work full-time alongside park employees in a secular environment. They intentionally share their faith in Christ through lifestyle evangelism, Bible studies, hiking, backpacking and “one-to-one” witnessing.

In October, Brad is a swimming instructor and coach for the local elementary school in Big Sky, and a lifeguard instructor in Bozeman, about 45 miles north of Big Sky. With Thanksgiving comes the return of ski season.

Year-round, Lartigue works as a firefighter and chaplain for the Big Sky Volunteer Fire Department. He also is a certified emergency medical technician (EMT), a CPR instructor and a volunteer for the Big Sky Ski Patrol. Regardless of the hat he wears, he ministers to all, all the time.

Dean Hall of Helena, Mont., is a fellow EMT on the Big Sky Ski Patrol team.

“I’ve known him (Lartigue) for five or six years now,” Hall said. “He’s a minister, a youth minister, a resort minister. He’s a very well trained EMT. He’s well-respected and a wonderful, kind, gentle man. The kids love him. He’s a great asset to the community here and to the Big Sky Ski Patrol, both as a chaplain and as a trained EMT.

“I think all resorts need somebody like him,” continued Hall. “This is sort of a la-la land in many respects. There’s lots of alcohol, lots of drugs. Brad is an anchoring force and some of these young people need that.”

What does the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering mean for Brad?

“This offering does things in so many different ways, and offers so many different opportunities that we will never, ever see the results until we’re in heaven. I feel privileged to be able to minister in a place where I can focus on ministry and not worry about how I’m going to sustain myself.

“I love what I do because it is making an eternal difference in people’s lives and I look forward to seeing these people in our heavenly home for all of eternity.”

 

 

 

Devotional Thought

 

The Fern and the Bamboo…..

 

(This was shared by Mr. K.K.Kennedy. I do not know who wrote it.)

One day I decided to quit…. I quit my job, my relationship, my Spirituality.. I wanted to quit my life. I went to the woods to have One last talk with God.

“God”, I said. “Can you give me one good re ason not to quit?”

His answer surprised me…

“Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”

“Yes”, I replied.

“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them. I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth. Its brilliant green covered the floor. Nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo.

In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful. And again, Nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo”.

He said. “In the third year, there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.

In the fourth year, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.

He said. “Then in th e fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant.

But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall. It had Spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave It what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a Challenge it could not handle.”

He said to me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have Been struggling, you have actually been growing roots? I would not quit on The bamboo. I will never quit on you. Don’t compare yourself to others.”

He said. “The bamboo had a different purpose than the fern, yet, they Both make the forest beautiful.”

“Your time will come, ” God said to me. ” You will rise high!”

“How high should I rise?” I asked.

“How high will the bamboo rise?” H e asked in return.

“As high as it can?” I questioned.

“Yes.” He said, “Give me glory by rising as high as you can.”

I left the forest and brought back this story. I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you…..

Never regret a day in your life. Good days give you Happiness. Bad days give you Experiences. Both are essential to life. Keep going… Happiness keeps you Sweet, Trials keep you Strong, Sorrows keep you Human, Failures keep you Humble, Success keeps You Glowing, But Only God keeps You Going!

Have a great day! The Son is shining!!

God is so big He can cover the whole world with his Love, and so small He can curl up inside your heart.


AS YE WOULD THAT MEN SHOULD DO TO YOU,

DO YE ALSO TO THEM LIKEWISE.

LUKE 6:31

 

 


Remember, He provides what we need when we need it!


Anna Lee

Friday – Update on Faith and Aaron Hill

Happy Friday to everyone. I understand snow is expected in MS today…how strange. It is hard to believe I have been here in NJ (and PA) for almost 5 weeks now. When mom got home she told me how surprised she was to see all the flowers, grass and spring growth in abundance. I hope the snow leaves quickly so that when Aaron and I get home NEXT WEEK, we can see the spring flowers (or weeds in our yard), too.

Moo went home today, so we are a bit lonely again. Aaron has still been hard on the task of eating well. He has done pretty good adjusting to breastfeeding with an occasional bottle here and there, but he still doesn’t seem to be eating as well as I would like. He doesn’t nurse long enough or seem to take more than 2ish ounces in his bottle. Please pray that he will start doing better and that he will have gained some weight at his visit on Wednesday. Otherwise, they will want to start concentrate his feedings, something we hope to be able to avoid.

Many continued thanks for all of your prayers, cards, emails, calls and posts to the website. My heart is continually warmed in knowing that you all care about Aaron’s heart.

Friday Afternoon

There is no fear in love;

instead, perfect love drives out fear,

because fear involves punishment.

So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love.

We love because he first loved us.

~1 John 4:18-19 HCSB~

 

 

 

KOMpray

 

Kids on Mission Pray

Prayer Requests

 

“Let the little children come to me

and don’t stop them,

because the kingdom of God belongs to such as these,”

Luke 18:16b

Friends of Jesus…

There is a special club in South Africa for children. It’s called Friends of Jesus. Please pray for the grown-up leaders—some of them are missionaries and some are South Africans. They are starting new groups so pray that children will be eager to come. They will learn about the best friend they can ever have: Jesus!

A Club at School…

Some children of missionaries attend a large, public high school in Cape Town, South Africa. Many of the children are not from Christian homes. You can guess—there are many problems like smoking and alcohol at the school. The school principal is not a Christian, but the government wants schools to let children meet in a Christian club if they want. There isn’t a club meeting right now. Please pray for a teacher to plan activities and meetings. Ask God to help missionary kids who will go to the club. They can invite their friends and tell them about Jesus. Pray for the principal to become a Christian too!

MORE PRAYER REQUESTS FROM MISSIONARY KIDS

My prayer is that more people may love Jesus, my sister may get better, and my brother may grow big. JL, age 8 (East Asia)

Please pray that I would be kind to others when they are mean to me. PE, age 9 (East Asia)

Kenji is one of my best friends and he doesn’t know the Lord. We have been praying for him for a while and I wanted to ask you to pray for him too. Pray that he will come to know Christ and that he will be able to share Jesus with his family once he becomes a Christian. Please pray for me to have lots of chances to witness to him. ADAM, age 12 (Pacific Rim)

Please pray for the country of Venezuela. There are problems with a bordering country, Colombia; and it is getting worse every day. There are soldiers on the border and even trouble in Ecuador. Please pray that the leaders of Venezuela, Colombia, and Ecuador will find a peaceful answer to their argument and that these countries will not go to war. Ask God to give peace of mind to the foreigners living in these countries. KIERA, age 17 (South America)

(Note: I was unable to complete posting this morning because of the satellite and the bad weather, but others have been praying. I just heard this problem has been resolved in the last hour. I think Kiera’s request and many people praying was part of the bring about a solution!)

 

 

 

KneEmail

“At the name of Jesus every knee should bow…” (Philippians 2:10).

Mike Benson, Editor

As I listen to Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, my emotions are greatly stirred. But since there are no words that accompany the work, I receive no understanding from it. Any ideas that come into my mind as I listen were there before hearing the music.

When I listen to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless The USA,” my emotions are again stirred powerfully. This time words have communicated ideas that led to my emotions. If the listener has no loyalty to the USA, perhaps their emotions are aroused in a different direction, if at all.

All will agree that music has the power to stir emotions. But does it also communicate understanding? That depends on (a) whether there are words that accompany the tune, and (b) whether the singers focus on the words or on the melody.

God’s desire for those under the new covenant is understanding as the result of our worship. Paul made this clear in 1 Corinthians 14 as he dealt with abuses of miraculous gifts. Some were “showing off” their ability to speak in languages they had never studied. They experienced a rush of emotions as they delivered a message in another language. Even those who didn’t understand the language being spoken likely also felt that rush, if they knew a miracle was unfolding before them.

As Paul contemplated such a scene, his advice was simple: Don’t do it.

“What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding. … yet in the church I would rather speak five words with my understanding, that I may teach others also, than ten thousand words in a tongue” (1 Corinthians 14:15,19, NKJV). Verse 28 brings to a close Paul’s remarks on the subject: “But if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in church, and let him speak to himself and to God.”

God’s instructions on music for the assembled church of Christ is that praise be offered through singing. This is obvious from passages such as Colossians 3:16 where the emphasis is not on beautiful melodies but understanding: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” Careful students will note that every mention of music in the Christian covenant specifies singing.

Worship in many churches has become emotion-driven. Some trust their feelings above what God has revealed. Granted, emotions are from God; they can be useful in many realms of life. But unless they come through the channel of understanding, emotions may not be appropriate. Our first priority is to understand God’s will, and then to obey (Matthew 7:21-23). Only then will the emotions of joy and gladness be valid. (Tim Hall)

KneEmail: “What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding” (1 Corinthians 14:15).

Easter “08

 

Community Outreach

 

  • Saturday, March 8 @ 10 A.M.
  • Give away a New Testament, a FBC brochure, a list of local churches, and an invitation to the Easter musical presentation

Daylight Savings

 

Time Returns

 

Set your clock forward one hour when you go to bed Saturday, March 8th.

 

 

Missions

 

Luncheon

 

 

  • Church-wide
  • “Foods across America”
  • Sunday, March 9 after worship
  • Kick-off for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering

Nursery Volunteers – March 9th

 

Ora Lee Wilson

Sonya Brouillette

Stephanie McKenzie

Jimmy Tolar

 

 

 

Deacon Hospital Ministry – March 9-15

Tom Tolar and Raymond Cutrer

 

 

WMU

Monthly Meeting

Monday, March 10 @ 6:30

Fellowship Hall

 

 

Easter Worship Musical

“The Risen Christ”

FBC, Kentwood

Sanctuary Choir

Sunday, March 16 @ 6 P.M.

Monday, March 17 @ 7 P.M.

 

 

 

 

First Baptist Church of Arcola

 

“The Celebration of Easter”

  • i-55 Frontage Road, Arcola
  • No admission charge
  • March 14-15, 2008
  • 7:30 – 9:00 P.M.
  • Twelve live drive-through scenes of the life of Christ

(Note: I have been going since they began this ministry. You will be blessed if you take the time to go.)

 

 

Easter Schedule

FBC, Kentwood

8:15 – Worship
9:15 – Sunday School
10:30 – Worship

 

AWANA

 

March 16 & March 23 – Will not meet

March 30 – Surprise Easter Egg Hunt

 

 

 


Check out the Baptist Press articles for today. I think you’ll find several that are worthy of your time and effort. You’ll find a link in the column to the right.

Friday

Please add Dillon Gorman to the prayer link. He is a 6th grade student at Sumner Middle that has been burned and is in Baton Rouge General Burn Unit for 7-10 days. We just found out this morning when we got to school. Dillon is a precious child that works very hard and is very smart. Please pray for his family and him as he goes through the next few weeks of treatment. Thanks, Tammie Roberts

I talked with Ferrin Hendry’s grandfather last night. She is continuing to progress, but will be in Baton Rouge for a while longer. Please continue to pray for her and her family.

Friday

Jon Hodge Leads NAMB’s

World Changers Ministry in Five States

By Mickey Noah

BARTLETT, Tenn. – For nine years now, Jon Hodge has been in the neighborhood-changing business, and while he’s changing neighborhoods, he’s also working — with God’s help — to change hearts, minds and souls.

Based out of Bartlett, Tenn. just northeast of Memphis, Jon and Linda Hodge are national missionaries for the North American Mission Board (NAMB), an assignment that takes Jon to middle Tennessee, Mississippi, Arkansas, southern Illinois and Alaska.

Hodge manages a big chunk of NAMB’s nationwide World Changers ministry. Created in 1990, World Changers is a pre-packaged mission experience that enables students – middle schoolers to collegians – and adults to donate a week of their summers to rehabilitate substandard housing and share Christ.

Last summer, some 25,000 World Changers participants partnered with 1,100 churches in 88 separate projects across the United States, which resulted in 900 decisions for Christ and the repair and renovation of 1,700 homes.

The Hodges are two of more than 5,000 missionaries in the United States, Canada and their territories supported by the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering® for North American Missions. They are one of eight NAMB missionary couples highlighted as part of the annual Week of Prayer, March 2-9, 2008. This year’s theme is “Live with Urgency: Seize Your Divine Moment.” The 2008 Annie Armstrong Easter Offering’s goal is $61 million, 100 percent of which is used for missionaries like the Hodges.

Responsible for planning and coordinating 13-17 different World Changers projects in the five states he represents, Hodge spends many months – prior to the actual summer project months — picking cities, meeting with city officials, school officials, city economic leaders and homeowners to choose the renovation projects. He also must ensure that his World Changers participants have a place to stay, get fed, serve and share.

Hodge also selects and trains about 25 college students who serve as summer staff volunteers for four-five World Changers projects, traveling from site to site. The projects are in lower-income neighborhoods of cities large and small.

Each volunteer has a different role – office manager, music leader, audio-visual (AV) person and even a missions communication specialist responsible for alerting local media to World Changers activities in a given city. They, in turn, work for World Changers’ experienced project coordinators, construction and ministry coordinators.

“The college students must be strong people to serve on these teams,” Hodge said. “We need leaders who’ll take a group and lead it. We have to have people strong in computers and AV. Mainly, we need kids who are willing to go, serve and work hard because it’s long hours. You may go from 5:00 one morning to 1:00 the next morning. You have to be flexible, have a great personality and be willing to do whatever the Lord wants you to do that week.”

Regardless of the project venue, Hodge says the first questions the World Changers always get from local residents are “why are you here?” or “why are you doing this?”

“And we’re able to share with them that we’re doing this because we love Jesus, and Jesus called us to go, serve and help people,” Hodge says.

Hodge recants the true story of a man in Gulfport, Miss., the victim of Hurricane Katrina. About 350 World Changers were on the scene in Gulfport to help local residents re-build.

The 50-something man — naturally suspicious of anyone claiming to want to help him for free — had already run off others from another denomination who had volunteered to re-roof his wind-damaged home.

“Then he met 12 teenagers and adults who had come from different Baptist churches in different places to help hurricane victims,” Hodge recalls. “He said he could see in them a love that he had never seen before. He said he had to have what this group had. He accepted Christ because of the witness of the World Changers.” He also got his new roof — at no charge.

Prior to his appointment as a NAMB national missionary, Hodge worked as a coach, truck driver and a Krispy Kreme Doughnut route salesman. Before his call to full-time missions work, he also served as a youth and recreation minister for 11 years in Tennessee and Illinois churches.

“My call to missions came after I took a youth group to a World Changers project in Alabama. The more I became involved on the leadership side of World Changers as a project coordinator and speaker, the stronger the call I felt to be involved in missions.

“I had taken the group to Alabama to rehab the homes of several low-income homeowners. I thought I was going to change their world by repairing their homes and sharing the love of Christ with them. But not only were their lives changed, my life was changed,” Hodge said.

After a hard day of installing a new roof or scraping and painting a house in summer’s heat, the World Changers spend evenings after dinner in worship services, led by student ministers and music leaders, also volunteers.

“World Changers makes my day, my summer,” Hodge says. “It’s exciting. I have one of the best jobs in the world. I thank the Lord everyday that I’m a Southern Baptist missionary.

“There are times when it’s tough during the summer — long hours and a lot of different things going on, and a lot of fires to put out. But it’s all worth it when you see these high school and college students, and hear the stories of how their lives were impacted and changed.”

Because Hodge now has been working with World Changers for nine years, he’s seen high school and college students grow up, finish their educations, marry and have their own children.

“I’ve seen many college students come in, thinking they’re going to be something else in life, but God gets a hold of them that summer and they realize they want to be in the ministry or go into missions. It’s exciting at the end of the summer when we compile everything and see 1,000 or more students who say ‘I want missions to be part of my life.’ That makes it all worth it right there,” said Hodge.

Hodge said he wants to thank “those people who give Annie Armstrong Easter Offerings sacrificially.

“Because of them, I don’t have to come back from the field worried about whether I have food on the table back at home or whether my family is being taken care of. I can go out and do the ministry I’ve been called to do.

“Southern Baptists need to be involved in World Changers because it’s an opportunity for us to be out there and to touch people’s lives. I’ve seen this program open up doors that through other avenues, we couldn’t open up.”

Hodge says back home in Bartlett, wife Linda “keeps the home fires burning bright when I am traveling,” which is much of the time. Married since 1983, they have three children – a college sophomore, an 11th grader and a third grader.

Thursday – Obituary


Christopher James Pittman


(September 14, 1976 – March 6, 2008)

 

Died on Thursday, March 6, 2008 at his mother’s residence in Summit, MS. He was a native of McComb, MS and a resident of Kentwood, LA. Age 31 years. Visitation at McKneely Funeral Home, Kentwood, from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. on Friday and from 8 a.m. until religious services at 2 p.m.Saturday. Interment Roberts Cemetery, Osyka, MS. Survived by wife, Lindsey Y. Pittman, Kentwood, 2 children, Kelsey Pittman, Kentwood, Coby Pittman, Kentwood, mother, Betty Bond, Summit, MS, father, James L. Pittman, Kentwood, brother, James F. Pittman, Roseland, sister, Amanda Williams, Ocean Springs, MS, grandmothers, Helen Roberts, Kentwood, Bertha L. Pittman, Kentwood, 4 nieces, 2 nephews, numerous aunts and uncles. Preceded in death by grandfathers, William Roberts, Bobby R. Pittman.

Thursday – Baptist Press

Some of the articles from Baptist Press

March 5, 2008

TEXAS–McCain seals nomination; Huckabee drops out. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27549

TENNESSEE–Study: 1 in 100 Americans are in prison. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27550

ZAMBIA–Cornmeal outreach aids flooded Zambians. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27554

TENNESSEE–EDITORIAL (Will Hall): Obama lacks trust in the whole Word of God. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=27556