Category: FBC

Sunday

He saved us and he called us to be his own people, not because of what we have done, but because of his own purpose and grace. 2 Timothy 1:9 (TEV)

Tonight, the sanctuary choir of FBC, Kentwood will present their Christmas musical at 6 P.M. You are invited to attend.

Aiden James Ross
(December 19, 2008 – December 19, 2008)
Entered this world on December 19, 2008 and was carried away by the angels to heaven. He is survived by, mother, Pamela Ann Wilkinson, father, Joshua James Ross, sister, Alaina Kelly Ross, grandparents, Pat and Tommie Love Cooper, Stanley Rush and Donna Mann Ross, great-grandparents, Dorothy Love, Phyliss Mann, Libby and Orea Cooper, a number of aunts, uncles, and cousins, Yoga Mann, Matt Ross, Darla Mann, Donald Wilkinson, Tonya Kanter, Debbie Love, Dennis and Lynn Pennington, Clay and Phyliss Love, Jade Bankston Davis, Kevin and Devin Kelly, Taylor Metz, Nataleigh and Jayce Wilkinson, and many other numerous family members. Preceded in death by Leona and Lucy Kirkland, Tommy Love, Dennis Mann, Denny Mann, Ken Kelly, Jr. Graveside Services at 1:00PM Monday at Briar Patch Cemetery, Loranger, LA. McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, in charge of arrangements.

The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is still being collected.

Can I give to the offering if I am not Southern Baptist?
Why give through LMCO?

Yes! You don’t have to be Southern Baptist to support the ministries of family or friends serving overseas.

Christian workers who serve with the International Mission Board (IMB) receive thier financial support from a network of Southern Baptist churches who give to the Cooperative Program and to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Consequently, missionaries sent through the IMB have never had to raise funds or seek donations from friends and family to cover their ministry expenses.

The Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is named to honor a single Christian woman who worked in China nearly a century ago. She suggested that stateside churches collect an offering for world missions. She got the idea from a Great Commission Christian partner, the Methodists, and passed it along to a network of Southern Baptist churches, and raised $3,315.

That first offering in 1888, helped place three more missionaries in China. Today, more than 5,500 Southern Baptist overseas workers benefit from this ongoing offering. About half of the living and working expenses of these families are paid with gifts to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Even if you are not Southern Baptist, we invite you to support the ministries of these Christian workers.

If you would rather give by check, make your check payable to IMB and reference the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Send your gift to:

IMB
Development Department
PO Box 6767
Richmond, VA 23230-0767

I hope you are enjoying the questions about the birth of Jesus. Here’s ten more:

1. Who was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary?
A. Jacob
B. Eleazar
C. Azor
D. Jechonias

2. Which angel appeared to Mary?

A. Gabriel
B. The Angel of the Lord
C. Michael
D. Gideon

3. Who was promised that he would not see death, before he had seen the Lord’s Christ?
A. Zacharias
B. Joseph
C. Simeon
D. John the Baptist

4. Who was the king of Judaea at the time of the birth of Jesus?
A. Herod
B. Pilate
C. Caesar
D. Barnabus

5. Where was Jesus born?
A. Nazareth
B. Bethlehem
C. Jerusalem
D. Egypt

6. How did the shepherds who visited Baby Jesus know where to find Him?
A. They were told in a dream.
B. An angel of the Lord told them.
C. They read it in the ancient scrolls
D. A messenger from the east informed them.

7. How did the Magi (wise men) who visited Baby Jesus know where to find Him?
A. They followed a star in the east.
B. An angel of the Lord told them.
C. They were told in a dream.
D. They followed a cloud before them.

8. Which was not a gift the wise men brought to Jesus?
A. Myrrh
B. Frankincense
C. Silver
D. Gold

9. To escape from the king, the angel of the Lord told Jesus’ family to leave and go where?
A. Syria
B. Egypt
C. Bethlehem
D. Palestine

10. Where was Jesus raised after they returned?
A. Bethlehem
B. Egypt
C. Syria
D. Nazareth

Correct answers:
1-A
2-A
3-C
4-A
5-B
6-A
7-A
8-C
9-B
10-D

Jesus is the reason for the season!
Anna Lee

Monday

She will bring a son to birth, and when she does, you, Joseph, will name him Jesus — “God saves” — because he will save his people from their sins. Matthew 1:21

In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear! Luke 1:42

Mrs. Faye Price continues to be in ICU. Her kidneys are functioning a little better. The medical staff continues to try to take her off the ventilator. Keep on praying.

Mrs. Annie Belle Harrell continues to have the same health issue that has bothered her for several months. She spent a couple days in the hospital last week because of this. Please continue to remember her in your prayers.

Pray for the faculty and staff of Kentwood High as they make adjustments because of the fire. Thank God for the quick response of the fire department which surely saved the whole building.

Thank God for the many men who are here to work on the power lines. Most of the people I have talked with now have electricity. Hopefully, the area’s power will soon be 100% restored.

FBC, Kentwood was the setting for two wonderful services yesterday. If you missed them, talk to someone who was there. Thank you to all who made the day so meaningful.

Today’s question:

2. Did Joseph meet the wise men?
a. Yes
b. No
c. The Bible does not say.

c. The Bible does not say.

Matthew writes that the magi found the Child with Mary, but makes no mention of Joseph. Matthew 2:9-11. Of course, as a good parent, we would probably expect Joseph to have been there.

MARY VISITS ELIZABETH
Because she was so excited and could not wait to see Elizabeth and share her own news,
Mary sets off to visit.

Mary in Hebrew means bitter.

Mary was to become the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus.

Both Mary and Joseph were from the line of David.

Background Reading:
Luke 1:39-40
Mary visits Elizabeth

39 At that time Mary got ready and hurried to a town in the hill country of Judea, 40where she entered Zechariah’s home and greeted Elizabeth.

ELIZABETH GETS A VISIT FROM MARY

Elizabeth welcomes Mary her cousin to her home.
Elizabeth is pregnant and the baby leaps for joy at the sound of Mary’s voice.

Elizabeth in Hebrew means God is my Oath.

Elizabeth is the wife of Zacharias

Background Reading:
Luke 1:41-45
Mary visits Elizabeth

41 When Elizabeth heard Mary’s greeting, the baby leaped in her womb, and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit.42 In a loud voice she exclaimed: “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the child you will bear!43 But why am I so favored, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?44 As soon as the sound of your greeting reached my ears, the baby in my womb leaped for joy.45 Blessed is she who has believed that what the Lord has said to her will be accomplished!”

More Information:
Elizabeth

Elizabeth (God is my Oath) like her husband, Zechariah (Jehovah remembers) were from the tribe of Levi.
Elizabeth was told to call her son John the shorten form of Jehohanan which means Jehovah’s gift or God is gracious. John was to become John the Baptist.

The Southern Baptist Convention collects an annual offering to support international missions. The offering is named in honor of Lottie Moon. Here’s her story:

LOTTIE MOON

Southern Baptist Missionary to China

Lottie Moon was born in 1840, third in a family of five girls and two boys, on the family’s fifteen-hundred-acre tobacco plantation known as Viewmont. Her father, Edward Moon, was the largest slaveholder (fifty-two slaves) in Albemarle County; he was also a merchant and a lay leader in the Baptist church. But Lottie was only thirteen when her father died in a riverboat accident.

The Moon family valued education, and at age fourteen Lottie went to school at the Virginia Female Seminary [e.g. high school] and later the Albemarle Female Institute, where she earned both her bachelor’s and Master of Arts degree in teaching. A spirited and outspoken girl, Lottie was indifferent to her Southern Baptist upbringing until her late teens, when God touched her heart during a spiritual revival at Albemarle.

There were precious few opportunities for educated females in the mid-1800s, though her older sister Orianna became a physician and served as a Confederate doctor during the Civil War. Lottie helped her mother maintain Viewmont during the war, once hiding the family silver in a field from approaching Union soldiers, but when the threat evaporated, she was unable to find it again.

After the Civil War, Lottie taught at female academies first in Danville, Kentucky, and later helped set up Cartersville Female High School in Georgia. The school was thriving academically (though not financially) under her leadership as associate principal when she felt a quite different call: to go to China as a missionary.

Single women on the mission field? Most mission work at that time was done by married men. But the wives of China missionaries T. P. Crawford and Landrum Holmes had discovered an important reality: Only women could reach Chinese women, and they needed help. To everyone’s surprise, Lottie’s younger sister Edmonia accepted a call to go to North China in 1872. Lottie followed a year later. She was thirty-three years old.

Edmonia didn’t last as a missionary, but Lottie did. She was a petite woman, only four foot three, but she had stamina, a lively spirit, vision, and a passion to win souls for God. Mission policies of the time limited what ministry women could do. But Lottie waged a slow, respectful, but relentless campaign to give women missionaries the freedom to minister and have an equal voice in mission proceedings. A prolific writer, she corresponded frequently with H. A. Tupper, head of the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board, informing him of the realities of mission work and the desperate need for more workers—women and men. She encouraged Southern Baptist women to organize mission societies in the local churches to help support additional missionary candidates—and to consider coming themselves. Many of her letters appeared as articles in denominational publications. Catching her vision, Southern Baptist women organized Women’s Missionary Unions (WMU) and even Sunbeam Bands for children to promote missions and collect funds to support missions. The first “Christmas offering for missions” in 1888 collected over $3,000, enough to send three new missionaries to China.

Raised in a family “of culture and means,” Lottie at first thought of the Chinese as an inferior people, and insisted on wearing American clothes to maintain a degree of distance from these “heathen” people. But gradually she came to realize that the more she shed her westernized trappings and identified with the Chinese people, the more their simple curiosity about foreigners (and sometimes rejection) turned into genuine interest in the Gospel. She began wearing Chinese clothes, adopted Chinese customs, learned to be sensitive to Chinese culture, and came to respect and admire Chinese culture and learning. In turn she was deeply loved and revered by the Chinese people.

Lottie began her tenure as a missionary by teaching in a girls school—but while accompanying some of the seasoned married women on “country visits” from village to village outside the bigger cities, she discovered her passion: direct evangelism. But there were so many hungry, lost souls, and so few missionaries! For forty years she kept up her not-so-gentle pressure for the Southern Baptists to become giving, sending, missions-minded people.

Lottie’s home base as a missionary was Tengchow (today Penglai) in Shantung Province in North China. T. P. Crawford was the senior missionary there, but he had a reputation among both missionaries and the Chinese as an inflexible, contentious personality. Lottie often functioned as a peacemaker, able to see both sides of a dispute. She had her own strong opinions about different things, but she always worked respectfully with the Foreign Mission Board and with her fellow missionaries. Eventually Crawford resigned from the mission and formed the independent Gospel Mission, taking several Southern Baptist missionaries with him. After Crawford’s death, however, Lottie encouraged the board to receive the remaining GM missionaries “back into the fold.”

Lottie extended her work into the interior, especially P’ingtu and Hwangshien, until additional missionaries arrived to carry on the work. Only then did she allow herself to take a much-needed furlough, the first in 1892, and the second in 1902. Lottie was very concerned that her fellow missionaries were burning out from lack of rest and renewal and going to early graves. The mindset back home was “go to the mission field, die on the mission field.” Many never expected to see their friends and families again. Lottie argued that regular furloughs every ten years would literally extend the lives and effectiveness of seasoned missionaries. (Today missionaries get a furlough roughly every four years.) She also took a month of rest during the year.

The War with Japan (1894), the Boxer Rebellion (1900), and the Nationalist uprising (that overthrew the Qing Dynasty in 1911) all profoundly affected mission work. Famine and disease took their toll, as well. When Lottie returned from her second furlough in 1904, she agonized over the suffering of the people who were literally starving to death all around her. She pled for more money and more resources, but the mission board was heavily in debt and could send nothing. Mission salaries were voluntarily cut. Unknown to her fellow missionaries, Lottie Moon—the Southern belle who was once described as “overindulged and under-disciplined”—shared her own meager money and food with any and everyone around her, severely affecting both her physical and mental health. In 1912, she only weighed fifty pounds. Alarmed, fellow missionaries arranged for her to be sent back home to the United States with a missionary companion, but she died on Christmas Eve on board ship in Kobe Harbor, Japan. Her body was cremated and the remains returned to loved ones in Virginia for burial.

Since her sacrificial death at the age of seventy-two, Lottie Moon has come to personify the missionary spirit for Southern Baptists and many other Christians, as well. The annual Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for Missions has raised a total of $1.5 billion for missions since 1888 and finances half the entire Southern Baptist missions budget every year.

I hope you learned something through reading this brief account of Lottie Moon’s life. Have a great Monday. (Don’t forget the Living Christmas Tree at FBC, Amite tonight and tomorrow night at 7 P.M.)

Anna Lee

Sunday

30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.” Luke 1

Mrs. Faye Price continues to be in ICU at North Oaks. She may be a little better. As you pray for her, continue to pray for her family as they “hang close”.

There are still a number of people without electricity. The crews from the power company are working long hours to restore power. Pray for their safety as they work and for those without electricity to be understanding.

The Lottie Moon Christmas Tea was nice. If you missed being there, I hope you will attend next time.

The children of FBC, Kentwood will present their Christmas program at 6 P.M. tonight. You are invited to attend even if you don’t have a child or grandchild participating.

FBC, Amite will have four presentations of The Living Christmas Tree. The first performance is at 2 P.M. today followed by presentations Sunday through Tuesday nights. Bro. Dennis Walker and the choir always do a wonderful job. The lighting is spectacular.

Norma Marie Costanza
(November 1, 1923 – December 12, 2008)
Died at 9:38 a.m. on Friday, December 12, 2008 in Chesbrough, LA. She was a native of Picayune, MS and a resident of Amite, LA. Age 85 years. Visitation at McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, from 9 a.m. until religious services at 11 a.m. Monday. Services conducted by Rev. Mike Foster. Interment Amite Memorial Gardens, Amite, LA. She is survived by her daughter, Amy Smith, Kentwood; 2 sons, Louis Costanza, Amite and Anthony Costanza, Amite; 5 grandchildren; 4 great-grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her husband, Louis Costanza; mother, Amy Rosto; father, James T. Taylor.

Christmas Scripture Quiz
http://www.makedisciples.com/Christmas/quiz.htm

How many wise men were there?
a. 3
b. 4
c. The Bible does not say.

(Answer below)

How has the shrinking dollar impacted missions?

Over the past year the U.S. dollar has lost as much as 15 percent of its value in the world marketplace. That means Southern Baptists must give $1.15 to the Lottie Moon offering in 2008 in order to match the buying power of every dollar given in 2007. Though 15 cents may not sound like much, in the scope of the International Mission Board’s $300 million budget, those extra pennies add up to $45 million.

Why does this matter? Because God continues to call record numbers of Southern Baptist missionaries to reach the lost. This year we anticipate sending out more than 900 new missionary personnel. They are faithfully responding to God’s call to carry the Gospel to the ends of the earth. Will we be faithful to send and support them?

How many wise men were there?

c. The Bible does not say.

Although tradition suggests there were three wisemen, as in the carol “We Three Kings of Orient Are,” the Bible actually does not give the number of Magi.

Luke 1:26-38
The Birth of Jesus Foretold

26 In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee,27 to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.28The angel went to her and said, “Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you.”

29 Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be.30 But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus.32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David,33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

34 “How will this be,” Mary asked the angel, “since I am a virgin?”

35 The angel answered, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.36 Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month.37 For nothing is impossible with God.”

38 “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May it be to me as you have said.” Then the angel left her.

Jesus is the reason for the season!
Anna Lee

Saturday

But the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. Luke 2:10 (NLT)

This is an update on Dustin Rosamond: Dustin was moved to Tulane Medical Center in New Orleans and has undergone a procedure to draw fluid from his lung and may have to undergo surgery to that lung to clean out “infection pockets”. He would like to be at home but the doctors have informed him that he would rather go ahead and take care of these problems rather than go home and have to turn right around and come back. Both of his parents are staying at the hospital around the clock so please continue to pray for Dustin and for his parents, Chris and Sherry and for the rest of his family as they anxiously await his recovery.
Please remember my Mom and Step-Dad, Ruby and Aubrey Stokes as they have been without phones and electricity for 2 days now and Aubrey is going through some continuing medical tests of his own which we pray for a good outcome and my Mom for her strength and health. Thank you for your continued prayers.
Sue Minor/Tucker

Emily Panter
Friday, December 12, 2008
It’s Hard for Emily
Emily called me this morning and told me she is having a hard adjustment. SHE CAN DO ABSOLUTELY NOTHING!! And this is per doctor’s orders—but she also feels it. She can do nothing. They still have a huge need. Emily cannot be left alone–at all! If any of you are available to help her by coming and staying with her, helping with kids, etc.—please sign up on the calendar. (We were getting hit by spammers on the calendar, so there may be an extra step in posting on the calendar)
Please, please pray for this family’s adjustment. It’s a struggle right now. I’m sure the kids are so excited to have mommy home–but just don’t realize mommy’s still not completely well.
Thank you!

Psalm 63:7
“Because you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings.”

Don Denton
Wow….what a week! Today marks one week that Don has been home. It is still sinking in as we embrace life as we know it.

We have been welcomed in a warm, wonderful way by this community of believers. I was just talking with a colleague of Don’s about the outpouring of love and support that we have received. It is truly the church expressing Christ’s love in a beautiful way. We as a family continue to receive support in amazing ways. We are so grateful! We are so blessed. We see God in such a powerful way.

We could have never expected how helpless it feels to come home and realize that we have been so needy. This certainly continues to be a place where God is teaching me about His amazing love and my ability to accept from others.

I have been humbled to realize that I can’t do this all by myself. I continue to learn from this experience as well.

We have so much to give thanks for this week. I have some prayer requests and want to give times for visitation with Don. I hope to have pictures of Don’s flight soon on the sight.

Prayer requests and answered prayer:

* Equipment Don has needed has been loaned to us, which we are so thankful for.
* Others continue to provide food for us, and delicious home cooked food, yeah!
* My brother and dear friends of his came in to spend the day with us today. It is so good to see their faces and spend special time with them.

Prayer requests:

* Don’s parents left this morning back for Louisiana. We needed them a few extra days. Pray for a safe trip for them.
* Pray for Joshua as he adjusts to daddy being home and daddy not feeling himself. This is still very hard for him.
* Pray for me as we adjust. I am realizing that I can’t do it all.
* Pray for Don as he continues to improve. Today was a day where is was most tired and did not feel well. This has been busy week for him.

We continue to give thanks to our God for the body of Christ who has reached out to meet our needs. WE are most grateful!

Don will be taking visitors starting this week. This Sunday from 2 – 4pm. Please call ahead of time: 417-777-6612

Tuesday Dec 16th 2-4pm

Friday Dec 19th 1 -3pm.

Call me if you have questions.

Blessings to you our family and friends

Diane

George H. Will
(October 4, 1917 – December 11, 2008)

U.S. Veteran Mr. George H. Will passed away at 5:10AM, Thursday, December 11, 2008 at the St. Helena Parish Hospital, Greensburg. He was 91, a native of Lockhart, TX and a resident of Kentwood.

Mr. George is survived by his wife of 22 years, Lula Mae Needham Will, Kentwood; a brother, Ludwig Theodore Will, and wife, Jeanne, Denver, CO; 2 nieces, Dr. Patricia Wells, and husband, Jim, Sacramento, CA & Charlene Wright, Houston, TX; a nephew, Thomas Will, and wife, Donna, Houston, TX.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Ludwig & Nellie Will; first wife, Iverina Will; & a sister, Louise Wright.

Visitation at the McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, on Saturday, December 13, 2008 from 9:00AM until Religious Services at 11:00AM in the Funeral Home Chapel with Rev. Percy ‘Mac’ Frazier officiating. Interment in the Needham Cemetery, Kentwood, LA.

An on-line Guestbook is available at http://www.mckneelyvaughnfh.com

McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, is located at I-55N & Hwy 16W next to Coggins-Gentry Ford.

INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS PRAYERLINE
INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD
Friday, December 12, 2008

“Now listen: You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will call His name JESUS” (Luke 1:31, HCSB).

Dear Intercessors, this is Eleanor Witcher of the International Prayer Strategy Office, encouraging you to pray for others as we move through this holiday season.

The lyrics, “It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas. . . “ and “It’s the most wonderful time of the year . . . ,” keep floating through my mind. We all have a mental image of the ideal holiday season. Americans have a distinctly cultural view of Christmas that includes presents, snow, and nativity scenes.

But Christmas looks quite different in Saudi Arabia! There are no Christmas trees for sale, and it is hard to find Christmas decorations–certainly no snow. Pray a special blessing for Christians living there. Many come from countries all around the world and they spend the holiday away from families. Others face persecution from fellow countrymen. Pray that their celebration will be rich as they focus on the real reason for Christmas.

In Durban, South Africa, international, national and local holidaymakers are visiting beaches and other attractions. Pray for safety for all, in what is not considered to be such a safe environment these days. Pray that missionaries and Christian groups will find opportunities to share Jesus without fear as they mingle with holiday-goers at a time when many are curious as to the reason for the season.

The Xhosa tribe of South Africa does not really celebrate Christmas. Since it is in the middle of summer, many of the church programs are suspended and many pastors take the whole month off–there are no Christmas plays, musicals or indigenous Christmas songs. Please pray for team members as they minister in the different communities, teaching the significance of Christmas.

* Please pray that the love of Jesus will shine and believers in Saudi will share the hope they have in Jesus with friends and coworkers.

* Pray for the Durban holiday crowd that they will call on the name JESUS!

* Intercede for believers in South Africa to find biblically and culturally appropriate ways to celebrate the Christ child.

Baptist Press
December 12, 2008

WASHINGTON–Obama & new Congress could set back pro-life movement decades. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29503

WASHINGTON–Quick order would belie Obama’s call for abortion reduction. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29504

WASHINGTON–Pro-life policies likely Obama targets. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29505

WASHINGTON–Cizik resigns after controversial interview. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29506

WASHINGTON–Land: Bush not ‘theologian-in-chief.’ http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29507

VIRGINIA–Hispanics aim for $1M Lottie Moon offering. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29508

TENNESSEE–INTERNATIONAL DIGEST: Orissa Christians fear violent Christmas. http://www.bpnews.net/BPnews.asp?ID=29509

ALABAMA–FIRST-PERSON (Wanda S. Lee): The importance of missions giving. http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=29510

LOUISIANA–FIRST-PERSON (Kelly Boggs): We need a character bailout. http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=29511

EVERY SECRET THING

At the end of their first date, a young man takes his favorite girl home. Emboldened by the night, he decides to try for that important first kiss. With an air of confidence, he leans with his hand against the wall and, smiling, he says to her, “Darling, how ’bout a goodnight kiss?”

Horrified, she replies, “Are you mad? My parents will see us!”

“Oh come on! Who’s gonna see us at this hour?”

“No, please. Can you imagine if we get caught?”

“Oh come on, there’s nobody around, they’re all sleeping!”

“No way. It’s just too risky!”

“Oh please, please, I like you so much!!”

“No, no, and no. I like you too, but I just can’t!”

“Oh yes you can. Please?”

“NO, no. I just can’t.”

“Pleeeeease?…”

Out of the blue, the porch light goes on, and the girl’s sister shows up in her pajamas, hair disheveled. In a sleepy voice the sister says: “Dad says to go ahead and give him a kiss. Or I can do it. Or if need be, he’ll come down himself and do it. But for crying out loud, tell him to take his hand off the intercom button!”

How embarrassing to realize that a conversation you thought was being held in secret was known to everyone in the house! There are some things we say that we don’t want others to hear and some things we do that we don’t want others to know about (sometimes with good reason). But, the truth is, much of what we try to keep hidden from others is because we know that what we are saying and doing is wrong and we don’t want others to know about it.

If there’s something in your life that you’re trying to hide from others, you’d better be careful. And be reminded that there are no secrets we can keep from God. He sees all, He knows all, and He appreciates the person who is honest enough to allow God into every aspect of his life. For those who want to live in secret, the day is coming when those secrets will be revealed.

Paul spoke of “the day when God will judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ, according to my gospel.” (Romans 2:16)

Solomon spoke of a time when “God will bring every work into judgment, Including every secret thing, whether good or evil.” (Ecclesiastes 12:14)

May your live your life every day with the confidence that your hand is on the intercom button, God is on the other end, but you have nothing to be ashamed of.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

Don’t forget the Lottie Moon Christmas Tea at 2 P.M. today at New Zion Baptist Church. It is for all girls and ladies! It doesn’t matter your age, size, church, or knowledge of Lottie Moon. Come, enjoy some tea (or hot chocolate) and some tea cakes made by Lottie’s recipe. You’ll learn more about her and her support of missions. Then, you will realize why our annual offering for International missions is named in her honor.
Anna Lee

Friday

Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger. Luke 2:11-12 (NIV)

Tangipahoa Parish’s 37 public schools ordered shut down as a result of Thursday’s snowstorm will remain closed Friday, the school district announced.

Emily Panter was about to go home late yesterday afternoon. She has fought for her life and the blessing of returning to her family since October. Thank-you so much for praying for her while she was hospitalized. Now, our prayers need to focus on her rehabilitation and her and adjustment to being with her family again. http://emilypanter.blogspot.com/

Don Denton went home last Friday. Please continue to pray for Don and his family during his continuing recovery at home. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dondenton

Mrs. Catherine Yarborough will have a procedure on the 16th to take care of some nerves in her back that cause constant pain. Please pray for “Miss” Catherine as she prepares for this.

George Will
(Died December 11, 2008)
Mr. George Will, a resident of Kentwood, passed away at 5:10AM, Thursday, December 11, 2008 at the St. Helena Parish Hospital, Greensburg.

Arrangements are incomplete at this time.

An on-line Guestbook is available at http://www.mckneelyvaughnfh.com

McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, is located at I55N & Hwy 16W next to Coggins-Gentry Ford.

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

SUMMERTIME CHRISTMAS

Are you ready for Christmas break? School will be out soon and you can help bake cookies, drink hot chocolate, and bundle up in warm clothes. Well, not all kids are wearing warm clothes this Christmas.

Did you know that spring is just ending and summer is beginning in Brazil? Yes! The children in Brazil celebrate Christmas during summer vacation. They spend time with their friends and family then have dinner at midnight!

In the United States, most people get paid for twelve months of work each year. But in Brazil and some other countries, they get thirteen paychecks. Every year at Christmastime, they get paid one extra time. The money is spent almost as fast as they get it—food for big parties, presents for the children and all the relatives, trips to see family.

Christmas IS a lot of fun! But do we get all excited and forget about what is important? It doesn’t matter if it is summertime or winter. It’s okay if we don’t get to buy lots of presents for all our friends. What is most important?

If you live in Brazil, in the United States, or any other country in the world—the most important part of Christmas is JESUS! Let’s pray for the children in Brazil. They are wearing bathing suits and playing on the beach. You are putting on your snowsuit and making snow angels. But they are kids just like you. They need to know about the love of Jesus too.

MORE PRAYER REQUESTS FROM MISSIONARY KIDS

Please pray for my dad—he is stressed about work. NATHAN, age 14, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Please pray that more people will come to Christ and pray that we don’t get sick or hurt. SOPHIA, age 11 (Pacific Rim)

My parents work with people who live in villages and in the bush. Pray for people to know the truth about God and Jesus. Pray for me at school—for my friends and teachers. ALLISON, age 5, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Please pray for Uruguay because it is very depressing country. The people in Uruguay are not looking for Jesus. They aren’t looking for God at all. Uruguay is the one top most countries in that allows abortion. So please pray for Uruguay! PLEASE!!! CORA, age 11 (South America)

Dear God, please take care of the city I live in. I hope my Mom and Dad will have a good day. Amen. ES, age 8 (East Asia)

Pray for my church. Pray for my cousin, he is in Texas. Pray for me in Sri Lanka to find a friend. JUSTIN, age 7 (South Asia)

Pray for us—the Lees—as we travel and share the gospel with the Mwera of Southern Tanzania. Please pray for my two national friends, AM and AD. Pray they will come to know the Lord and that they may step into the Light of Jesus. Also pray for the Mwera that they may have the burning desire to know the Lord. Once again, pray for us as we travel to reach the Mwera.

CHRISTIAN, age 12 (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

We live in one of the largest cities, so we are in a rather nice area. Dad teaches at the seminary, mom works with the immigrants that end up without proper jobs such as parking cars. You can pray that we will be able to reach these people. Also pray that my brothers and I will be able to reach the children in our school. They are well-off children, thus don’t really see the need for a God.

For some people, their living areas are often junk metal put together for shelter and the shelters often catch on fire. So please pray for their homes/housing.

My family is prone to sickness, so pray for our health. SYDNEY, age 15, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

“Missionary’s Calling ‘Undeniable, Irresistible’ Force”
http://www.imb.org/main/news/details.asp?StoryID=7513&LanguageID=1709

KneEmail: Looks

THE BIBLE DOES describe the physical appearance of many people…

Moses was said to be a beautiful child. People spoke of King Saul as being handsome, standing a head taller than anyone in Israel. David and Solomon were both “ruddy,” handsome men.

But what of Jesus?

Nothing. Zilch. Zero. Not a word about a regal nose, handsome visage, or muscular body. In fact, the Bible tells us virtually nothing about Jesus’ looks. Only that he “has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him” ( Isa. 53:2 NKJV).

From those words we might presume Jesus wasn’t handsome, at least not in the way modern artists portray Him. Apparently, in the mind of God, this was a nonissue. Jesus’ words and character and love drew people to Him, not His dashing good looks. (Mark Littleton)

We probably put too much emphasis on a person’s outside.

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart” ( 1 Sam. 16:7; cf. v. 12).

Posted by Mike Benson at December 5, 2008 11:58 AM

As far as I know, the Lottie Moon Christmas Tea scheduled for 2 P.M. tomorrow at New Zion is still on schedule. I’ll let you know if anything changes.

Be safe and warm today.
Anna Lee

Thursday Additions

Missions Reports at FBC, Kentwood:

Gerogia Barnette Offering
Goal: $7,500.00
Received: $7,529.00

Lottie Moon Tea
Saturday, December 13
2 P.M.
New Zion Baptist Church

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for International Missions
GO TELL the Story of Jesus
Our Goal: $18,500.00
Received so far: $2,188.00
Missions March
Show support for missions
Sunday, December 14
During 10:30 worship

Christmas Musicals

Children
“Miracle on Main Street”
Sunday, December 14 @ 6 P.M.
Adults
“Jesus, Our Emmanuel”
Sunday, December 21 @ 6 P.M.

Tuesday

For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16 (NLT)

Update on Mrs. Faye Price:
My grandmother is still progressing well, but her kidneys are still not functioning and the Dr. is saying she is in renal failure. So she will have dialysis early in the morning, it will take 3 to 4 hrs to complete this treatment. Continue to pray for God’s will with this outcome and allow this treatment to make the kidney to start functioning properly, also continue to pray for everyone’s strength and health during this time
Thanks
Laura

Phyllis Vernon, a teacher at KHS, passed out yesterday morning hitting her head. She was taken by ambulance to North Oaks. The last report I got was they were still waiting for test results. Pray for her medical issue to be quickly and properly addressed. Thank God she was able to get help in a timely manner.

Don Denton and his family are enjoying the first few days at home and adjusting to physical therapy, etc. The family is very appreciative of your prayers. Don has a long way to go, so keep on praying. Don’t parents will be leaving Friday for their home. They have been with Don’s family for 2 1/2 months and very much appreciated.
http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dondenton

Emily Panter is going two steps forward and one step back, but that means her situationis getting better. Please continue to pray for this family. Emily’s hope is to be home on the 20th, the birthday of one of her children. The good news is that she may be able to go home by the end of this week. Thank-you for your many prayers for this family too.
http://emilypanter.blogspot.com/2008/12/quick-answer-to-prayer.html

Lasse A. Grundstrom, Jr.
(July 17, 1944 – December 7, 2008)
U.S. Veteran Lasse A. Grundstrom, Jr. was born on November 17, 1944 and passed away at 6:00PM, Sunday, December 7, 2008 at his residence in Greensburg. He was 64 and a native of Port Sulpher, LA. Lasse was the son of the late Lasse A. & Rita Dominique Grundstrom, Sr. He was a Veteran of the US Navy where he was a Navy Seal.

He is survived by his 2 daughters, Shannon G. Tauzin and husband, Ryan P., Luling, LA & Sheri’ G. LeBlanc and husband, Rod, Jr., Amite; 2 sons, Shane E. Grundstrom, Covington & Lasse A. “Skooter” Grundstrom, III and wife, Kim, Virginia Beach, VA; Children’s mother, Sissy Grundstrom, Amite; a sister, Leah G. Bell, Slidell; 2 brothers, Larry Lee Grundstrom & Lester John Grundstrom both of Pace, FL.; grandchildren Jordan, Harley, Rafe & Rendon Tauzin, Luling, LA, Destin, Dace & Tre’ LeBlanc, Amite, Cody & Savanna Grundstrom, Covington, Ayrian & Paige Grundstrom, Virginia Beach, VA; also numerous nieces, nephews and many friends.

Preceded in death by his parents, Lasse A. & Rita Dominique Grundstrom, Sr.

Arrangements are incomplete at this time.

An on-line Guestbook is available at http://www.mckneelyvaughnfh.com

McKneely & Vaughn Funeral Home, Amite, is located at I-55N & Hwy 16W next to Coggins-Gentry Ford.

I saw this video Wednesday and Sunday. I’m sharing it for those of you who have not seen it.

A reason for giving: Gabriel’s story

If you think the story of Jesus has reached every corner of South America after generations of missionary work, talk to Gabriel Mugmal.

His idol-worshipping neighbors almost burned him alive for preaching the Gospel.

Gabriel boldly shared his new faith house to house with other Quichua villagers high in the Andes Mountains of northern Ecuador. He challenged them to stop the idol worship that permeated the area. They demanded that Gabriel renounce his words. When he refused, villagers dragged Gabriel and his family to the center of town and prepared to burn them.

But Gabriel wasn’t afraid and began preaching from Genesis. And when he had finished, the mood of the crowd had changed.

A local priest, moved by his willingness to die for Jesus, raised Gabriel’s Bible in his hand. “The Word of God shall be preached throughout the world,” the priest said. “Keep preaching the Gospel so that everyone can know Christ.”

As the crowd began to disperse, 10 families stayed behind. “How can we receive Christ?” they asked.

That was 25 years ago. Today, more than 250 villagers worship less than 200 yards from the site where Gabriel was nearly martyred. What’s more, Gabriel and those he has led to Christ have started 30 Bible studies and churches in other villages dotting the Andes.

Southern Baptists supporting partnerships

“He took the Great Commission in Matthew 28 literally,” says Southern Baptist missionary Darrell Musick, who partners with Gabriel and other local leaders to spread the Gospel among the Quichua people. Musick and his wife, Rogene, met Gabriel in 2004 when he knocked on their door after walking hours across mountain trails. “God has sent me here,” he told them. “I want you to train me to lead my people to Jesus.” They did and have since trained more than 200 other Quichua believers in church planting and discipleship.

But missionaries in South America and all around the world need another strategic partner like Gabriel: you. They’re looking for prayer warriors to undergird their ministries, for strategically involved churches to help them reach those who’ve never heard the Gospel, for God-called servants to join them on the field as new missionaries. And they need your financial support through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering.

Southern Baptists closing the gap

More than 3,340 of the world’s nearly 11,600 people groups continue to live and die in spiritual darkness. Among these least reached peoples there are few, if any, evangelical Christians, and no one working to plant new churches. Closing this gap will require a growing missionary force partnering with stateside churches, national Baptists and other Great Commission Christian groups.

Sending the unprecedented number of missionaries God is calling will require extraordinary giving on behalf of Southern Baptists. The task is doable; God has given us the resources. Will we be found faithful?

Willing to Sacrifice: Gabriel’s Story Part 2
See Gabriel’s story on video

Reproduce

AVC_Con_Moore.jpgIN NOVEMBER 1965, Lieutenant Colonel Harold “Hal” Moore Jr. and the U.S. Seventh Cavalry’s First Battalion were engaged in one of the opening battles of the Vietnam War…

Surrounded by an estimated 4,000 North Vietnamese regulars at a jungle clearing called Landing Zone X-Ray, Moore’s 450 soldiers were taking searing fire from all sides. Even with crucial American air support, his outnumbered troops faced annihilation. Moore was determined that his men would survive, however, and he directed a heroic defense in what proved to be one of the fiercest battles of the war. He and his soldiers repulsed repeated assaults and inflicted severe casualties on the enemy until his battalion was finally relieved by reinforcements. The dramatic story is told in the 1992 best seller, We Were Soldiers Once…and Young, which was made into an acclaimed motion picture.

Moore won the army’s highest award, the Distinguished Service Cross, and eventually rose to the rank of lieutenant general. He was renowned for his superb leadership skills. A scene in the movie captured his foresight and grasp of leadership principles when Moore’s character a squad leader who had been unceremoniously “killed” in a training exercise. “You are dead,” Moore declared. “Now, who do you have ready to take your place?” The scene reflects both the reality of warfare and a key element of leadership: great leaders always prepare to reproduce and multiply themselves. (Harry L. Reeder III with Rod Gragg)

Elder in the Lord’s church…whom are you training to fill your position when you are gone?

“And you shall teach them the statutes and the laws, and show them the way in which they must walk and the work they must do” ( Exo. 18:20).

Posted by Mike Benson at December 2, 2008 12:39 PM

Choir member, whom are you training to fill your position when you are gone?
Sunday School teacher, whom are you training to fill your position when you are gone?
Deacon, whom are you training to fill your position when you are gone?
Musician, whom are you training to fill your position when you are gone?
Committee members, whom are you training to fill your position when you are gone?
etc.

Jesus is the reason for the season!
Anna Lee

Monday

“He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Deuteronomy 32:4

Let’s pray for Mrs. Faye Price to be a little better than she was yesterday. Small “steps” in the right direction would be very welcomed. I’ll post an update later.

Majel Dean’s sister and brother-in-law are both doing well. Thank-you for your prayers for them.

Pray for those who will attend the grief seminar Thursday. Pray each speaker has the right words for those who are listening. Continue to pray for the many who have experienced the loss of a loved one lately. If you need more information, please contact Jan Hammons or FBC.

Pray for the children of FBC as they prepare to present “Miracle on Main Street” next Sunday night at 6 P.M. “Main Street” arrived at church yesterday afternoon. Thanks to Peggy Alford and others who created the scenery. Thanks to Wendy A. Fowler and others who had worked with the children to prepare for next week’s presentation. You are invited to attend next Sunday at 6 P.M.

Deacons for the week: Jimmy Tolar and Lloyd Hayden

Now that the Week of Prayer for the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is officially over, I thought I would share some information about various missions in different parts of the world. I hope you enjoy learning more about international missions. Each one is supported through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. 100% of the money given goes directly to missions.

Drive-thru missions
When people line up for the car ferry from Europe to North Africa, they often get more than a boat ride. They can get a copy of the New Testament. When these Bible portions at $3 each are multiplied enough for a mass distribution, the cost can run between $15,725 and $17,550. It’s a price paid in full by the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and from other participating agencies.

Behind the scenes, project volunteers from several countries form an assembly line, boxing up packets for distribution to motorists. Each packet contains a copy of the New Testament, which motorists can choose in one of four languages: French, Kabyle Berber, Arabic and Chawic [shaw-wee] Berber. A copy of the JESUS film and other materials complete the packet.

Given this drive-thru ordering system, it wouldn’t be too unusual for someone to say, “I’ll have a Kabyle Berber Bible to go, please.”

Even without the window, many such orders are filled. Motorists who take these materials into North Africa can read about Jesus’ love for them and thus satisfy their hunger and thirst after righteousness.

INTERNATIONAL MISSIONS PRAYERLINE
INTERNATIONAL MISSION BOARD
Monday, December 8, 2008

“Now Jesus has appeared one time, at the end of the ages, for the removal of sin by the sacrifice of Himself” (Hebrews 9:26b, HCSB).

Dear Intercessors, this is Eleanor Witcher of the International Prayer Strategy Office, praying with you for those who need to understand the true sacrifice.

Eid al-Adha, the Islamic Festival of Sacrifice, is celebrated on December 8 (or when the new moon is sighted) this year. Also known as Korbani Eid, Bakra Eid, or Eid Kbir, every Muslim who is financially able will sacrifice their best sheep, goat, cow or camel in commemoration of the willingness of Ibrahim (Abraham) to sacrifice his son for Allah. The sacrificial ritual is followed closely because Muslims believe it will atone for the sins of the people in their household.

The meat is divided into three portions, two of which are shared with the poor, and their neighbors or relatives. It is very important to share with the poor so that no impoverished Muslim is left without sacrificial food during this holiday. The third portion is for the immediate family.

Eid al-Adha provides one of the greatest redemptive analogies in Muslim culture. Scripture tells us,”Then the Angel of the LORD called to Abraham . . . and said, ‘By Myself I have sworn, says the LORD: Because you have done this thing and have not withheld your only son, I will indeed bless you and make your offspring as numerous as the stars in the sky and the sand on the seashore. . . . And all the nations of the earth will be blessed by your offspring because you have obeyed My command’” (Genesis 22:15-18, HCSB).

* Please pray for Muslims across Northern Africa and the Middle East, West Africa, Central Asia, South Asia, and the Pacific Rim that their hearts will yearn for an explanation of true sacrifice.

* Ask God to open doors of opportunity for believers to explain that Jesus is the ultimate sacrifice for their sins.

* Bow in gratitude to Jesus who removes our sin and brings us abundant joy.

DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING?

There’s a Hasidic story about a rabbi who crossed a village square every morning on his way to the temple to pray. One morning, a large Russian Cossack soldier, who happened to be in a vile mood, accosted him, saying, “Hey, rabbi, where are you going?”

The rabbi simply said, “I don’t know.”

This infuriated the soldier. “What do you mean, you don’t know? Every morning for twenty-five years you have crossed the village square and gone to the temple to pray. Don’t fool with me. Why are you telling me you don’t know?” He grabbed the old rabbi by the coat and dragged him off to jail.

Just as the Cossack was about to push him into the cell, the rabbi turned to him, and softly said, “You see, I didn’t know.”

James taught those of us who are Christians to live in such a way that “we don’t know where we are going”. He put it this way:

“Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit’; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.” (James 4:13-14)

There’s nothing wrong with making plans, but we need to remember that there is much that may happen in the future that we don’t know about right now, and things may happen that we don’t have much control over. We have only to look back over our lives to see how things in the past often turned out very much different than we thought they would.

What James says is true — death could come at any moment. Or Christ could return. Or any of a hundred other things — good or bad — could happen to us shortly. So where am I going? I don’t know. But as long as God is with me, it doesn’t really matter.

Have a great day!

Alan Smith
Helen Street Church of Christ
Fayetteville, North Carolina

This devotional thought was very thought provoking for someone who likes to plan the month, week, and day like me. My written schedule seems necessary to accomplish what I see as important. Pray I will be more open to what God has for me. Pray for others who seem to function best with a planned out schedule.

Have a marvelous Monday!
Anna Lee

Saturday

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 (NIV)

It’s too early to get an update on Mrs. Faye Price. I’ll post something later.

Emily Panter: Emily continues to improve. She’s eating better and walking more. Keep praying.

Update on the Don and Diane Denton family:

Another amazing day in the Denton household today! Don arrived in Bolivar today at about 2pm.

It was a most beautiful sight to see. And to top it off, he did not get sick on the flight and on top of that was not sick at all today.

WE waited anxiously, Joshua jumping and squirming with joy. We actually saw the plane coming and the video started rolling. The pilot let us come out to the plane and we took many pictures of smiling faces and lots of tears. These are the most happy tears we have had in 2.5 months.

There was a time that we thought this day would not come. We were being told by the doctors that it would be a miracle if this day came for us. Back when Don was in ICU, one nurse asked me if I believed in God. He said that they would give Don all the tools to help his body to make it through this and then it was up to God. This nurse told me that I needed to pray and ask everyone to pray for Don. That was about 2 months ago. Many of these days where spent in a dark room waiting. As I have thought through this journey, it has been a journey of “waiting” Waiting for the headache to go away, waiting for Don to be able to talk again, waiting for test results, waiting for insurance decisions, waiting for housing, waiting for change, waiting for good news, waiting on God. Things we hope for, things we pour our heart out to God for sometimes don’t ever seem to come. There is great loss and grief. Loss of dreams, loss of time, loss of laughter and life together as we knew it. Waiting comes in many forms.

The other theme for me throughout this journey has been ” Believe”.

Believe that God is able. Believe even when the doctors are not hopeful. Believe in our God who says I will never leave you or forsake you. Even when there is no change. It is the waiting that is the hardest. It is in the waiting that darkness seems to overwhelm one. Sometimes the hardest thing to do is Believe when we can’t see. Even when our emotions are depleated and we are so discouraged, we can Believe, not in our ability but in God’s.

It is not an easy thing to wait. It is in that waiting that we need each other to hold onto. I have found in the waiting God’s people waiting too. WE pray and hope and wait. Thank you for waiting with us. Thank you for taking this journey with us. Thank you for your words of hope and encouragement. Thank you for your honesty and allowing me to be honest with my struggle.

And we continue to wait, waiting for further change of improvement, waiting and praying asking how are we going to get through this new phase of healing. WE will. That is the hope that we have not in us, but in Christ.

We are truly seeing a miracle today. The fact that Don is home and carries on conversations as if nothing ever happened is pretty amazing.

I felt compelled to share this with you all. I don’t know why.

I have more prayer requests.

* This one is for me. I have to confess that as happy as I am and I am elated at Don being home, I am exhausted as well. I have been a “single mom” for 2.5 months now. Please pray for me that I will have the wisdom and strength that I need and that I will be present with them both.
* Pray for Julia’s foot that she twisted.
* Pray that Don will continue improving.

Another thing I need to say is that in coming home and finding the nice surprises, I got so carried away in the emotion. Please know that during this very long journey, I have forgotten to say thank you to so many people who have reached out to us when we were in Springfield hospital for those 25 days. So please bear with me as my memory is not what it should be.

We have a very busy week this next week. I will keep you posted.

Visitation Times

I will post visitation days and times for those of you who would like to come and see Don. Once we get schedule for rehab. He would love see you.

Blessings to you our family and friends.

Diane

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

TONS OF PRAYER

The Xhosa (pronounced KOH-sah) people live in South Africa. They’re very traditional, they dress in certain ways, believe certain things…very strongly…and their language is one of the hardest to learn. So their culture and people are really hard to reach. They believe in a Creator God but also count on “shamans” (medicine men/women). The Xhosa will go talk to the shaman when they are sick or think they have been cursed.

Missionaries Mike and Amy Boone work with about 40 Xhosa children and youth. Several kids have accepted Jesus, but their moms and dads just aren’t interested.

The Boone’s daughter told us about the Xhosa people and said, “I ask for prayer for my family and their ministry. My brother and I go to a school where things are not very Christian. My school needs tons of prayer…so please pray for us, our ministry, and that God can continue to reach the Xhosa people. Thank you.” GRACE, age 14, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

MORE PRAYER REQUESTS FROM MISSIONARY KIDS

My culture is normal like a typical American’s culture. Please pray for the youth of South Africa SARAH, age 13, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Please pray that I may have an opportunity to tell the Good News to the people that live in my neighborhood. ANNDREA, age 11 (Pacific Rim)

I pray that all would hunger and thirst for Jesus Christ. NATHANIEL, age 10, (Central Asia)

My family and I are in language school for Kiswahili. After language school we will move to work with an unreached people group. Please pray that my family will adjust to life in Africa.

LINDY, age 12 (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Dear God, please help my older sister in college in the U.S. Please help there be foreign children in my city that are my age. Please help my parents learn the language quickly. Please help the people in my city learn about God. Please help me in school. In Jesus’ name. Amen. HR, age 10 (East Asia)

I live in a very dirty place, with lots of people. Some may be nice and some may not be. Please pray for my Indian friend, Dove, who became a Christian when I told her. But she moved away. And please pray that my brothers and sisters will become Christians. TABI, age 9 (South Asia)

Please pray for: Open doors, wisdom in how to reach out, direction for me in choosing a college, good leadership for my class at Rift Valley Academy, unity for our class. MICAH, age 17 (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Pray I’ll have strength in my walk with Christ as I go to school in an environment that is really sinful and worldly. Pray that the Bible studies that we have will grow and continue to lead to Christ. KAYLA, age 15, (Central, Eastern and Southern Africa)

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
Day 7 – REAP North, Peru

Going into mountain and jungle villages, missionaries Larry and Nancy Jackson endure bumpy, unpaved roads and 10-hour boat rides to plant churches in Peru.

The Jacksons, from North Carolina, hold out hope that a Southern Baptist church will feel led to adopt each people group they research. Through REAP (Rapid Entry Advance Plan) North, the couple, in the International Mission Board’s Masters Program, helps churches connect with people groups in Peru and Bolivia. Masters missionaries are those 50 or older who commit to at least two or three years of overseas service.

Today more than 25 churches have promised to invest their efforts in approximately 15 areas with the Jacksons. Fanning out from the more evangelized city centers, Larry will continue researching and contacting people groups on the edges of darkness to connect Baptists with the lost of South America.

Because you give:
“You can see your money at work when you look at us because that’s how we’re funded,” Larry says. “When you give money, people’s lives are changed. If you want to come to Peru, I’ll show you.”

Calling an ‘Undeniable,
Irresistible’ Force
By Chris Watts

ROME (Baptist Press)

Calling, to me, is a funny thing.

In my experience, God’s call comes upon you with a furious intensity and drowns you in an incredible desire to do something huge and glorious, something that is completely beyond the measure of your own abilities.

It changes your path completely and thrusts you into a new and unknown world where utter reliance on the plan and providence of God is an absolute necessity. After a time, though, once the realities and routines of this new world have set in, some of that initial intensity fades a bit, and the calling evolves into the stabilizing foundation upon which every facet of your new life is built.

It never diminishes in its strength or importance, but rather than a sword with which to storm the walls of a lost world, calling becomes more of a compass for staying true to your path. I believe this evolution is necessitated by the fact that “the calling” serves two distinct roles.

People contentedly strolling along in an easy and comfortable life often need something violent and fierce to move them powerfully and awaken them to the harsh realities of a lost and dying world. Our Baptist cocoon often insulates us from the pain and hopelessness of a world without Christ.

Some of us, me included, need to be slapped pretty hard to see things clearly and hear the voice of God. Often it seems that change never comes to those who can stand to live without it. This initial calling causes us to be dissatisfied with anything else. It is undeniable and irresistible.

However, once you start down that path, you are confronted on a daily basis with these hard realities. You no longer need to be awakened; you need to be sustained. This life is incredibly difficult. A missionary must make the conscious decision every day that this lifestyle is still worth it. “The calling,” always lurking in the background, often gives you the strength to keep trudging forward.

This doesn’t mean the passion diminishes. On the contrary, the passion for the work grows as you witness with your own eyes the incredible ways in which God is at work in the world, as you see lives being transformed and you sense the intense pain in the hearts of those around you. You begin to understand the power of the Gospel and you long to see people receive the love of Christ.

I am convinced that this job to which I have been called is the greatest, hardest and most worthwhile way in which I could spend my life. And until I am called, kicking and screaming, to something else, there is nothing that could make me quit.

(Chris Watts and his wife, Colleen, serve as Southern Baptist missionaries in Rome. Originally from Georgia, they were appointed in 2000 and have a 1-year-old-son named Cotton.)

Rosalie Ranatza Capdeboscq
(February 24, 1915 – December 5, 2008)
Died at 4:15AM on Friday, December 5, 2008 at Landmark Nursing Home in Hammond, LA. She was a native of Plaquemine Parish, LA and a lifelong resident of Husser, LA. Age 93 years. Visitation at St. Dominic Catholic Church, Husser, from 9 a.m. on Tuesday until religious services at 11 a.m .Tuesday. Services conducted by Fr. Chris Romain. Interment St. Dominic Mausoleum, Husser, LA. Survived by Daughter, Gloria Capdeboscq St. Pe’, Dallas, TX, 4 sons, Camille B. Capdeboscq, Jr., DDS, Tickfaw, Henry A. Capdeboscq, Sr., Husser, James J. Capdeboscq, Sr., Hammond, Richard J. Capdeboscq, Husser, 1 sister, Marie DiMicelli, new Orleans, 15 grandchildren and 28 great-grandchildren. Preceded in death by husband, Camille B. Capdeboscq, Sr., Sister, Camille Jennings. McKneely Funeral Home, Amite, in charge of arrangements.

Coming in 7 days: Lottie Moon Christmas Tea @ New Zion Baptist Church @ 2 P.M.
This is a wonderful opportunity to learn about Lottie Moon and the beginning of international missions focus in Southern Baptist Churches. It is also a time to teach our young girls and women more about missions while being entertained with young talent and enjoying special teas and Lottie’s special tea cakes. If you need more information, I can direct you to the proper people to talk with. The bottom line is: I hope you will attend!

Have a great weekend!
Anna Lee

“I will celebrate and be joyful because you, LORD, have saved me.” (Psalm 35:9, CEV).

GO TELL the story of Jesus
Week of Prayer for International Missions
November 30 – December 7, 2008
Focus: South America
Goal: $170 million
FBC, Kentwood Goal: $18,500

Day 1
Indigenous of Colombia
From missions field to missionary force—that’s the dream of Fernando and Brenda Larzabal for the South American nation of Colombia.

“The Gospel has been in Colombia for more than 150 years,” Fernando says. “Our problem is that the average Colombian Christian has the perception that missions belongs to somebody else. But missions belongs to the local church.”

That’s why the Larzabals are working to mobilize Colombian churches for the sake of evangelizing the country’s indigenous tribes.

Isolated from the Gospel by remote locales, social prejudice and insurgent armies, more than 60 of these tribes have no knowledge of Jesus Christ. Most are animists, spirit-worshippers who live in fear of failing to appease gods they can neither know nor love.

“Without God there is slavery,” Fernando says. “Without Christ there is fear and that’s what they breathe day in and day out.”

Pray:

Pray that more Colombian churches will grasp their Great Commission calling and respond to the indigenous tribes’ need for the Gospel. Ask the Lord to give Fernando and Brenda wisdom as they choose where to invest their time and energy.

For pictures: http://www.imb.org/main/downloads/page.asp?StoryID=6944&LanguageID=1709

Good news on two people we have been praying for!
– Don Denton will be able to go home (Denver) via a medical airplane by the end of the week. Don will have been hospitalized 73 days by them. http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/dondenton
– Emily Panter has developed problems shortly after giving birth to a new baby and has been hospitalized at Baylor. She was moved to a room and allowed to see her children (and the children to see her) for the first time in more than five weeks. http://emilypanter.blogspot.com/

Funeral arrangements for Mrs. Mary Louise Osborn-Hyde are still incomplete. Some of you may know her husband, Mr. Sanford Hyde, even if you didn’t know this sweet lady.

FBC, Kentwood
– Deacons for the week: Larry Miller and Henry McKenzie
– Nursery workers today: Laura DeBlanc, Gail Brister, and Stephanie McKenzie
– Ordination of Harrell Hoffstadt at 6 P.M. tonight
– Dec. 2 – Supper for the deacons and their wives at Don’s Seafood in Hammond at 7 P.M.
– Dec. 3 – Deadline for toys for migrants and Christmas cards w/stamps for prisoners
– Dec. 4 – Friendship Circle Christmas Party at Dean House at 6 P.M.
– Dec. 5 – Children’s bonfire and hayride @ 6:30 P.M. at Cutrer home
– Dec. 7 – Deacon/Widow banquet following morning worship
– Dec. 7 – AWANA Birthday Party for Jesus
– Dec. 7 – New study, “Men of the Bible”, begins in Friendship Circle Sunday School Class
– Dec. 11 – “Hope for the Holidays” @ 6:30 P.M. (loss, sorrow, loneliness, & grief)
– Dec. 13 – Lottie Moon Tea @ New Zion @ 2 P.M.
– Dec. 14 – “Miracle on Main Street” @ 6 P.M. by children’s choir
– Dec. 21 – “Jesus,Our Emmanuel” @ 7 P.M. by sanctuary choir

KneEmail
Mike Benson

Love

NEWSPAPER COLUMNIST and minister George Crane tells of a wife who came into his office full of hatred toward her husband…

“I do not only want to get rid of him; I want to get even. Before I divorce him, I want to hurt him as much as he has me.”

Dr. Crane suggested an ingenious plan. “Go home and act as if you really loved your husband. Tell him how much he means to you. Praise him for every decent trait. Go out of your way to be as kind, considerate, and generous as possible. Spare no efforts to please him, to enjoy him. Make him believe you love him. After you’ve convinced him of your undying love and that you cannot live without him, then drop the bomb. Tell him that you’re getting a divorce. That will really hurt him.”

With revenge in her eyes, she smiled and exclaimed, “Beautiful, beautiful! Will he ever be surprised!”

And she did it with enthusiasm. Acting “as if.” For two months she showed love, kindness, listening, giving, reinforcing, sharing, etc.

When she didn’t return, Crane called, “Are you ready now to go through with the divorce?”

?!” she exclaimed. “Never! I discovered I really do love him.”

THOUGHT: Her actions changed her feelings. Motion resulted in emotion. The ability to love is established not so much by fervent promise as often repeated deeds. (J. Allan Peterson)

KneEmail: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her” ( Eph. 5:25); “That they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children” ( Titus 2:4).

Posted by Mike Benson at November 11, 2008 3:32 PM

Have a great Lord’s Day!
Anna Lee