Love in Action

LOVE IN ACTION: PART ONE

Just over two months ago the church was challenged to be the church and care for those who are in a season of their life with hours cut from work, job loss, or need.  During this time we have collected to date over $13,000 and distributed just over $12,000.  It has been a blessing to those who have given and those who have received.

LOVE IN ACTION: PART TWO

This upcoming Sunday in the first week of our new series “Origins” we will present part two of Love in Action.  This will expand upon what has happened and happening so far in this faith community.  Come check out part two of Love in Action.

Wise Choices and Its Impact

This article was published in the FBC November newsletter.

November is the month set aside to give thanks to God for His many blessings. To give adequate thanksgiving to God we must recognize who He is and His involvement in our lives. The greatest thanks often comes when we live by faith and watch God work. That was certainly the case in October when Barb and Rick Wise came to Calhoun County. I want to share some of the facts, answered prayer and responses to the Wise Choice presentations in our area Middle and High Schools with you.

Thank You Veterans

On Tuesday we will honor those who have served and serve in the military.  On this past Sunday we paused to thank them during the morning services.  We reflected upon their duty and service and took time to honor by name many of the men and women who have served in various wars and in times of peace.

Thank you for serving your country.

Would you take a moment this week and thank a veteran?  Send them an e-mail or note.

Thank You Volunteers

Last Sunday we took a day to celebrate and thank all of the volunteers at FBC.

We brought the two services together and talked through and thanks all of the volunteers in the ministries.  The church heard from various volunteers, saw ministry in action, and applauded those who give of their time and self.

Thank you volunteers for your time, effort, prayer, guidance, service, and heart in serving the Lord!

Would you take the time this week to thank someone who serves at FBC by sending them an e-mail or note?

Missional Living

How do you see your neighborhood?  A bunch of houses or a home where Ryan and Susan live, where John and Rebbecca live with their three kids.  Do you see your neighborhood with missional eyes?  Click here to hear what happened when someone was intentional about being a missionary in their environment.

Note: This is not limited to apartment complexes…it’s your neighborhood.

Responsibility

A day after the presidential election, there is a word that I cannot shake from my mind.  That word is responsibility.

We as the church of Jesus Christ are still responsible and called to love God and love people will all that we are.  Our faith is found solely in the cross of Jesus Christ and that faith should not be moved by anything that happens or has happened.  We serve an Almighty God in the name of Jesus Christ through the power and working of the Holy Spirit.

Justin Taylor shared a post last night that speaks to ALL followers of Christ and their responsibility.  This responsibility would not have changed if McCain, Nader, or anyone else were elected.  You can read Justin’s full post here.  Here are some of the words from his post:

No matter who you voted for–or whether you voted at all–it’s important to remember that, as President, Barack Obama will have God-given authority to govern us, and that we should view him as a servant of God (Rom. 13:1, 4) to whom we should be subject (Rom. 13:1, 5; 1 Pet. 2:13-14).

• We are to pray for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to thank God for Barack Obama (1 Tim. 2:1-2).
• We are to respect Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7).
• We are to honor Barack Obama (Rom. 13:7; 1 Pet. 2:17).

Pray for, thank God, respect, and honor.  Thanks Justin for the Biblical reminder of our responsibility.

Spiritual Life Survey

As a church we want to do everything we can to support your spiritual growth.  We want to know what’s helping you grow spiritually, and what’s getting in the way.

So we’re asking you to set aside 20-25 minutes this week to take our Spiritual Life Survey.  The survey will help shape our decisions about how to create the best possible ministry strategies to serve you.

This survey is completely anonymous so you can be open and honest with your feedback.

We want to hear from everyone.  Please take the survey anytime between OCTOBER 18-NOVEMBER 1 and encourage all of your friends and adult members of your household to participate.

Click here to begin the survey.

Wise Choices

What a week and weekend it has been.

We hope to post pictures and share some stories about the week in the days to come.

Thank you Lord for providing, guiding, and speaking truth into the lives of many students, teachers, administrators of the schools and the people at the church.

Money

Economy crisis, bailout, stock market, etc.

If you watch TV, listen to the radio, or spend time on the internet you have heard that financially things are not the best.

I came across this site (www.globalrichlist.com)a few days ago which gave me great perspective…sometimes that is all we need.  Take a look at some of the numbers below.

If you make $1,000 a year, you are in the top 44% richest of the world

If you make $5,000 a year, you are in the top 14% richest of the world

If you make $20,000 a year, you are in the top 11% richest of the world

If you make $40,000 a year, you are in the top 3.17% richest of the world

Marshall has a median income of $53,317. That is in the top 0.96% richest people in the world.

The median income in Marshall is the 57,741,348 richest person in the world!

I know an American mindset…”there are 57,741,347 richer people, I have a long ways to go”.

Let’s look at it again…according to the world census there are 6,728,562,537 people in the world.  Therefore there are 6,670,821,190 people who are poorer than you are.

We need to count the blessings we have and understand, as individuals, there is a responsibility to the world.

Follow Up to a Question

A few weeks ago at our annual business meeting at the church while going over the budget, a great question was asked.  Since that time many people have approached me for clarification and I thought it would only be appropriate to explain and share a little bit more than could be shared at the meeting.

The question was asked in regard to the budgeted amount set aside to pay for my study at Fuller Theological Seminary.  The person wondered if it was a perk or how it fit into the scheme of things.

For those who have forgotten and some of you who do not know at all, I would like to first explain the background and then also share with you some of the classes that I’ve already taken.