iSurrender in 2012

As we end the year 2011 we look back at the many positive highlights the Lord blessed us with. We saw many salvations, baptisms, new members joining, and many more decisions made. The Summit in the fall was a highlight for many spiritually. Yet as we face 2012 are we satisfied with where we are? iSurrender is our theme for this new year. As Mark reminded us, we have to surrender the past as well as the present while we look toward the future.

In lieu of a list of resolutions, may I suggest the following areas for us to consider surrendering totally to God? (He already deserves our loyalty and obedience anyway.)

Salvation
Submission
Service
Conversation
Habits
Vices
Friendships
Marriages
Family
Worship
Family of God
Work
Recreation
Money
Possessions

Sounds like a total package to me. Let's remember, He deserves ALL of us ALL of the time!

"I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:14 NASB)

Neal

January 8th promises to be an exciting day for First Baptist. That's the day we have set aside to dedicate the Recreation Outreach Center. That night we will come together at 5:00 pm for an open house, with tours of the building and refreshments being served. At 6:00 we will gather in the gym for the dedication service. The prayer of the building committee and the staff is that the ROC will become a place where everyone in the community can find something available for exercise, recreation and fellowship. We especially want the ROC to be a place where a lost person can feel welcome among Christians and hear the gospel in a way that reaches them. We have heard many times that missions begins in our Jerusalem and God has given us a tool to reach the lost in this area. Begin thinking and praying now that God would place people on your heart that you will invite to be a part of one of the programs we have scheduled. Here is a sampling of what you will find.

Walking/Jogging track with exercise stations       starting at 6:00 am each day
Zumba            A women's exercise class     M,T,Th,F      8:00-9:00 am
Texercise        Exercise for 55+                  M,W,F          9:00-10:00 am
Game Day      Table games for 55+            T,Th              9:00-10:00 am
Open Gym                                           Tuesday nights     6:00-9:00 pm
The gym will also be open at various times during the day when we don't have anything scheduled. We are making the gym available for the Alternative School campus, the Home School coop, Our Place and the Mother's Day Out kids.
The game room and cafe area is available for leisure activities most of every day also.
If you have an idea for an activity we need to add let me know, and we'll find a time for it. I'm looking forward to serving God in this new endeavor and I hope you are too. Have a blessed day.

Mike

SEEING SULPHUR SPRINGS FROM A DIFFERENT PLACE

     A new experience this week was leaving Sulphur Springs, driving through West Texas, southern New Mexico and ending up in a town called Casa Grande, Arizona.  If you have never been this southern route, you have missed a part of the country that was only made for people who have never seen the beauty and green of East Texas.  Even in drought laden East Texas, it looks greater and better than what some people would say that God forgot in the creation of southern I-10.  It is a L-O-N-G, boring route once you leave Ft. Worth, but if one has grown up in an area like southern New Mexico, you probably get used to it.  For me, East Texas is the best.  The people along the way are nice, friendly and helpful, but they do not know what they miss by not living in East Texas.  Some people might not agree with this paragraph.  

     Saturday night, December 24, at 5:00 p.m. or 6:30 p.m. is a beautiful time of worship and church family fellowship.  It is the Christmas Eve Candlelight and Lord’s Supper Service.  Many families and friends will come for this specific time of worship.  It emphasizes the real meaning of Christmas and is a highlight of the church year.  There is a place reserved for you in one of these services.

     On Sunday, Christmas Day, there will be one worship service at 10:00 a.m.  Pastor Mark will be preaching.  Don’t stay at home and say, “We have family or guests”.  Bring them to worship and celebrate the real reason of the season--Jesus.  Without Christmas, there would be no Easter.  Without Easter, there would be no hope or real meaning of Christmas.  Make a point to worship Jesus on Christmas Day.

     A great Christmas present for an adult is a new book by Billy Graham called, NEARING HOME.  A few quotes:  “Our culture is not defined by the old or the new—but by the latest.”  “Our attitudes play a major role in the closing scene on life’s stage.”  The number one killer in 2011 was death.  Unless Jesus comes, we will all experience this number one killer.  Jesus came to teach us how to live and live eternally.  Learning to live now will help us to live eternally with Jesus Christ. 

     We hope you and your family have a wonderful Christmas and a Happy New Year.  We are blessed to have you and your family at First Baptist Church.  Always know that you, your family, your friends are always welcome at First Baptist Church.  The New Year offers hope and new opportunities as we begin new ministries to reach out to others.  Don’t forget to share your beautiful smile with others.

God bless you

Fred W. Lewis 

Merry Christmas!

A quick reminder of the weekend calendar:

Saturday, December 24
Lord's Supper Candlelight Services at 5:00 and 6:30

Sunday, December 25
Worship Service at 10:00 AM in the Worship Center

From the undignified student ministry family to yours, 

MERRY CHRISTMAS! 

BUILDING THE R. O. C. FOR THE FUTURE

     Soon the new building that will be called:  R-recreational O-outreach C-center will be open.  After the first of the year there will be many different ministries and activities with people using, sharing, and participating in this great ministry opportunity.  There will be Upward Basketball for children; walking track for people to get physically fit; many different activities to share fellowship, fun and time together; fun basketball leagues for other ages; game room and meeting place; second floor will be classrooms for the youth Sunday School; and other activities will take place throughout the building.  This new ministry building will be for members of First Baptist Church and outreach to the community.  It will only be effective through the prayers of God’s people, personal invitation to others, and involvement by the church members.  God can work in you through His power to reach new people with the love and good news of Christ. 

     Saturday night, December 24, at 5:00 p.m. and 6:30 p .m. there will be one of the most beautiful and special worship services of First Baptist Church.  It is the Christmas Eve Candlelight Lord’s Supper Service.  Many families and friends join together to worship the Lord and share their love for Christ.  It is really a great beginning to experience the real true meaning of Christmas. 

     How many times have you heard someone say that time goes past too fast?  Many older mature adults say that time went by too fast, but today, all ages feel the crunch and speed of time.  It seems that each year gets faster and before you know it; we are celebrating the beginning of a new year.  The Bible teaches us that we should count our days in order to gain a real heart of wisdom.  Our children grow too fast and become adults.  Our adults grow, have their families and become senior adults.  It is a cycle of life, but Christmas offers a hope of love, and Easter offers a hope of life.  In this cycle of life, God demonstrates His great love to you and me with a total gift of forgiveness and an assurance of life with Him in eternity forever.  For us Christmas and Easter are just three or four months apart. For Christ, Christmas and Easter were thirty three years apart.  Without Christmas, there would be no Easter.  Without Easter, there would be no true meaning and hope in Christmas.  Use this Christmas to praise the Lord and be thankful for the true meaning of Christmas and the joy of Easter. 

     This Sunday, Pastor Mark will be preaching in the morning and evening services.  If you have friends, immediate family members or relatives living away from Sulphur Springs, they can watch and listen each Sunday to the services live over the internet on the church website.  The church website is:  ssfbc.org.  Invite a friend or relative to worship with us each Sunday through the church website. 

       We hope you enjoy this beautiful and wonderful time of the year.  Take time out of your busy life schedule to share your beautiful smile, a kind word of love and appreciation, and a personal invitation to worship the Lord with you at First Baptist Church.  We are thankful to have you at First Baptist Church.  First Baptist Church is a family church.   You can be a family of one person or a family of many persons, but each family is invited to worship, participate and be an active part of this family of believers. 

God bless you!

Fred W. Lewis

Happy Tuesday

Things are settling down somewhat after a pretty hectic last week or so, my family is getting ready for Christmas, my oldest daughter will be home from College later this week, it's always good to have her home, plus she will be graduating in May, that will be a big time for us!

I really enjoyed the Christmas musical even though my full attention was not always on stage since I had to have the words on the rear screens for the choir, I do know that it was a challenge for me keeping up with the Carol of the Bells Medley, that song was really fast! Both services were well attended.

If you have not already made plans to be at one of our Christmas eve Lord's supper services, make plans now! There will be 2 services one at 5:00 p.m. & 6:30 p.m. it is always a special time for families to be together.

And don't forget that on both Christmas day and New Years Day there will only be one service those days at 10:00 a.m. only but you will not want to miss it!

We are literally just days away from the opening of the R.O.C. (Recreation Outreach Center) this building is an awesome facility and will be a incredible outreach tool for our community, look for more information in the coming days on information about the Grand opening of the R.O.C.!

I better get busy, we have the Diamond Set Christmas luncheon here today, so I had better make sure everything is ready for  that.

Have a great day!


Scott

Friday, December 9, 2011

Good morning FBC Family……….Upward Sports is coming to the ROC in January with basketball and cheerleading. This is one of the very best outreach ministries that we can be involved in and one we are proud to host. The children learn how to compete and are given the opportunity to hear and learn God’s word through the devotions that the coaches do at each practice and at the halftime of the games each week. While the teams are having their devotions, different volunteers will present a devotion to the parents and fans. Mike can still use more volunteers so call him at the church office to get on board.


This is a busy weekend at the church. On Saturday night and again on Sunday night, all of our choirs and instrumentalists will be presenting this year’s Christmas Pageant entitled “A Sterling Christmas”. Make plans to come one or both nights and invite some folks to come with you. The program will help us focus on Jesus Christ, the greatest gift all of us can ever receive.

On Sunday morning, Pastor Mark will be back in the pulpit to share God’s word with us. We will also elect five men to serve our church as deacons during our morning services. All of the nominees are good and Godly men who are willing to serve if elected. I want to encourage you to pray and seek the Lord’s direction before you come on Sunday to vote. On Sunday evening our Finance Committee will meet for the last time in 2011. Gene White, Ann Hudson, and Diana Longino will be rotating off of this committee and we are grateful for their service for the past three years. The deacons will meet immediately after the Finance Committee and will elect their officers for next year. Pray for God’s chosen men to be elected to serve in these leadership positions.

We are into the Christmas season in full force now and all of us are very busy. In the next few weeks all of us will see family and friends, buy and exchange gifts, and probably eat too much (possibly more than once).The secular world we live in has made our holiday season about a lot of different things that have absolutely nothing to do with Christmas. Let’s remember the real reason we celebrate is the birth of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior………….Be blessed today!..........Tommy

Thursday, December 8, 2011

It's that time of the year... Christmas is almost here. Houses and Christmas trees are lit and stockings are hung on the fireplace. Children and some adults, can hardly wait for the morning of December 25!

It's also the time of the year for colds, flu and the occasional sore throat. Unfortunately, colds, flu and sore throats make Christmas a little less merry. I am fighting a cold right now! And it's no fun! Cold medicines usually make me a little foggy yet I can't make it through the day without taking a pill or cough syrup every 4 hours. Don't get me wrong, I am thankful to God that He has allowed us the capacity to craft drugs for specific illnesses. I just don't like taking them. One of the things I look forward to in Heaven is the absence of pain, trials and being sick.

Today promises to be a good day. I have a meeting this morning, another one this afternoon and I get to have lunch with a good friend. Between meetings, lunch and taking cold medicines (see previous paragraph) I plan on working on New Life Journey classes for the Spring and catching up on a few things that I have placed on a back burner.

Oh... One more very important thing... If you haven't voted for the Clorox: Power for a Bright Future you can follow this link: http://powerabrightfuture.com/! and vote for the Sulphur Springs 3-4 grade campus. You can also text Clorox7805 to 44144. Today is the last day to vote. If we win the new 3-4 grade campus will receive a $50,000 grant from Clorox for new playground equipment.

I hope to see you at church on Sunday. Blessings to you.

Bruce

Be a part of Upward

Upward Sports is an organization that puts Christ first in teaching kids how to compete. This year, First Baptist Church is hosting the area basketball and cheerleading league. We will have around 200 boys and girls from Kindergarten through Sixth Grade in the ROC beginning in January and continuing through February. These kids and their parents will be here for a workout time and a game each week. This is what we envisioned a few years ago in planning this facility and putting the word "Outreach" in its name. Each time the players meet they are exposed to the word of God, through scripture memory and by the coach sharing a devotion. There are some coaches who have volunteered to coach because their child is on a team. They may or may not feel comfortable sharing with a group in the devotional time. I am asking you to consider serving as a coach or as an assistant coach to make sure that every team has a leader who shares the goal of Upward and our church that this league is not about winning and losing, but about having a right relationship with Christ. Remember, you are never more like Christ than when you are serving. Contact Mike in the church office if God leads you to this ministry.

The Blog is Back!

Morning FBC Family,


I hope everyone is staying warm and dry, I know I've been battling a cold myself. We had a slight configuration problem with the blog the last few days but all is now working and should be for quite some time (hopefully), I have learned working in the IT world for the past 15+ years to never give any guarantees, electronics have a way of humbling you when you least expect it.
Just a few reminders for the coming weeks, don't forget to make plans to come to one of the performances of "A Sterling Christmas" Neal and the choirs have been working hard to make this a great musical that involves all the choirs here at FBC, showtimes are Saturday & Sunday, December 10th and 11th at 7:00 p.m. both nights.
On Christmas eve we will be having the Lord's Supper Service, the times are 5:00 pm and 6:30 pm.
Work on the ROC is progressing nicely, it's getting down to details now, the audio/video equipment is being installed, there have been some kinks we have had to work out regarding that but I think it will all come together. 
Well, I better get back to work, I have lots to do with Sunday school parties this week at the church, setting up sound systems and such and getting ready for Sunday (I know it's only Tuesday but I don't like to procrastinate).
Have a great rest of the week!


Scott