Special Day this Lord's Day

Our missionaries to The Ivory Coast, Africa, will be with us this coming Lord's Day. Bob and Becky Mach have partnered with us for several years now, but this will be their first visit to FBC.

But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (Acts 1:8 KJV)

Brothers and Sisters like the Machs are one way a little church like FBC can live in the last part of that verse.

You won't want to miss this opportunity!

In addition to their ministry in the morning worship, you can also plan on getting to know Bob, Becky, and their kids, during a "Meet the Missionary" fellowship immediately after the service in Fellowship Hall.

Spring Sports Banquet

Yes... This just finished up...




Bet you wonder who won...

And remember this?





There were some great performances, worthy of accolade and glory!

If you're like me, you can't wait for the spring sports banquet. However, we are not quite ready to host that banquet this weekend as previously announced. So, we are postponing it a couple of weeks.

Be patient... The Spring Sports Banquet is coming!

We're Back!

The church phone is working again. Don't hesitate to use it.

Telephone Issues

If you've attempted to call the church office in the last few days you no doubt noticed that the phones are not working. We are attempting to upgrade some of our AT&T services, and they seem to have broken something, while they were at it!

We are awaiting repairs, which should be completed shortly, but if you need to reach us, please use either email, or the pastor's cell phone - 815-6104.

We apologize for the inconvenience!

Happenings

Some cool stuff happening this weekend at FBC -

Men's Prayer Breakfast, Saturday at 8:00 AM. Bro. Don has the devotional this month, and of course, there's the food!

Randolph Farmers Market starts at 10:00 AM, also on Saturday. This should be a big one, as the community yard sale is happening at the same time. Paul is heading this up this weekend, so drop by and give him a hand trying to reach our community for Christ.

Special speaker for the Sunday worship service will be Bro. Ron Lanham. Then later on Sunday, join the golfers for the next round of the Pastor's Masters. Only 2 rounds to go!

A Motorcycle Moment

It has been a while since I shared a thought from my Morning Motorcycle Meditations, but today's fright seems worthy of sharing.

I can't say whether the car stopped too soon, attempting to turn left ahead of me, or I simply allowed my attention to wander, but somehow I found myself hurtling toward the rear bumper of a stopped car.

Braked hard... both tires locked up... rubber screeching on pavement... motorcycle skidding and sliding....

Fortunately, that's the worst - no impact or carnage.

But, the interesting thing to me was the total lack of terror I felt. You may laugh at that statement, but the fact is I've had much milder brushes with danger that left me shaking. This time, I remained totally calm throughout. I am reliving the long slide right now as I write this. And try as i might... I cannot find a moment during the experience where i was even remotely afraid.

My point?

Well, do you ever wonder whether God will be there for you in a big crisis? Or do you wonder whether you will be able to handle the things that might come your way? Well, my motorcycle moment this morning reminded me that God will always be right there with us - even in the slides and skids.

... for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear... (Hebrews 13:5-6 KJV)

Specks and Planks

Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:5)

Dr. David Jeremiah shared this thought in his daily email today. It's a great reminder:

Early in the film version of the near-disastrous Apollo 13 space flight, astronaut Jim Lovell is in his backyard, looking up at the moon that hangs small in the night sky. He holds up his thumb and it blocks out the entire moon from his sight. How could something so large be obscured from view by something so small?

It's all a matter of perspective. Things aren't often as they seem; sometimes a small thing can obscure something larger and more important. For instance, we may see a sin in the life of another person but fail to see our own giant, judgmental attitude. The small sin of another has blocked our view of our own larger problem. Jesus put it this way: Don't worry about the speck in another's eye until you've removed the plank from your own eye. Until our own eye is clear from a judgmental spirit, we are unqualified to judge the sins of another. Yes, the other person may have sinned, but God has not appointed us the judge of him.

Of all the sins in the world, God calls us to be concerned about only one before any other: our own. Once we have removed our plank, we can help our brother remove his speck.

Both

Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. (Matthew 22:36-39 KJV)

John Dixon, in his great book entitled, The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission, makes the following thought provoking comment about that scripture:

According to Jesus, our fundamental obligation in life is to love both God and neighbor. Most of us would rightly criticize people who claim to love God but ignore their fellow human beings. On Jesus' teaching, the reverse would be just as open to criticism. Treating people well while ignoring the Creator falls way short of what Jesus taught was our obligation. Jesus left no room either for the religious hypocrite who Ioves God but not neighbor or for the moral agnostic who cares for people but does not revere God himself.

A prayer for the day - Lord, help me today to be obedient to both commandments, neglecting neither neighbor, nor God.

Good Old Fashioned Gospel Music

In addition to the food, fellowship, and fun we expect for Old Fashioned Sunday, we also look forward to great gospel music by our friends, The Gospel Journeyers.





If you heard them on Easter Sunday a couple years ago, then you know you're in for a blessing. If you weren't with us then, you'll just have to take my word for it.

They will encourage you! Don't miss the Gospel Journeyers this coming Lord's Day!

Yesterday, Today, and Forever

Read this quote from Spurgeon this morning, and had to share it!

Beloved, can you concede how much Christ will love you when you are in heaven? Have you ever tried to fathom that bottomless sea of affection in which you shall swim, when you shall bathe yourself in seas of heavenly rest? Did you ever think of the love which Christ will manifest to you, when he shall present you without spot, or blemish, or any such thing before his Father's throne? Well, pause and remember that he loves you at this hour as much as he will love you then; for he will be the same for ever as he is to-day, and he is the same to-day as he will be for ever. This one thing I know: if Jesus' heart is set on me he will not love me one atom better when this head wears a crown, and when this hand shall, with joyous fingers, touch the strings of golden harps, than he does now, amid all my sin and care and woe. I believe that saying which is written—"As the Father hath loved me, even so have I loved you;" and a higher degree of love we can not imagine. The Father loves his Son infinitely, and even so to-day, believer, doth the Son of God love thee. All his heart flows out to thee. All his life is thine; all his person is thine. He can not love thee more; he will not love thee less. The same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. (Charles H. Spurgeon)

Big September Happenings!

Well, another great week draws to a close! And we enter into another wonderful weekend at Friendship Bible Church.

Last night some of us went to hear the Triumphant Quartet at the Hartville Kitchen. What a great concert! I have a new favorite quartet now after hearing Triumphant!

But, the end of the week means that the weekend is upon us, so here are some reminders about what's happening Saturday and Sunday:

Saturday morning:

8:00 AM, those who are helping hang the chandelier may meet at the church and help with that effort.

9:30 AM, those who are helping with the Farmers Market, meet at the grounds to help set up. At 10:00 AM, the Farmers Market begins and last until 1:00 PM. Nobody is currently signed up for this activity, so we could really use some help!  Stop by and help us reach our community for Christ!

10:00 AM, those who are helping with our monthly ministry at the Haven of Rest, meet in the Haven of Rest cafeteria to help serve.    Nobody is currently signed up for this activity, so we could really use some help! Those in need are just as much in need on holiday weekends!

We are in danger of having to cancel both of the above ministries this weekend due to lack of help.  If you are planning to attend either, please let us know so we avoid cancelling!

Sunday morning:

9:30 AM, Sunday School hour restarts, with two new adult classes and one new children's class this year. Don't be late!

10:30 AM, We worship the Lord in our main worship service.

We hope to see you this weekend at Friendship Bible Church!