Upcoming Events

Saturday, August 22nd - Junior Youth Group Kick-off Party @ Family Life Center 6:30 p.m. (This is for all kids in 4th, 5th or 6th grade and their families.)

Sunday, August 23rd - Youth Night! We will have the drama group BLESSED from Berry, AL as our special guests.

Sunday, August 30th - Associational Youth Rally at Carolwood Free Will Baptist Church at 2:00 p.m.

Sunday, August 30th - Kevin Derryberry will be performing at New Hope Baptist Church at 6:00 p.m.

Wednesday, September 2nd - New Wednesday Night Classes and Junior Youth Group Classes begin at Family Life Center

Sunday, September 6th - New Sunday School Classes Begin

Never Too Busy

These past few months of summer have been packed with special events and gatherings, and the church calendar for this fall is already filling up as well. We've been blessed and have experienced a lot of growth over the last year. With that growth comes great responsibility to be a shining light in our community.

We all seem to be busier than ever with school, work and extra-curricular activities. But I would like to challenge everyone (including myself) not to get so busy that we overlook ministry opportunities that God places in our paths.

On Sunday night (8-16-09), Bro. Rick preached about not missing ministry opportunities. He read from 1 Kings 17:1-16 (about Elijah and the widow woman). We can learn a lot from Elijah's actions in this passage:

1. If God is leading you to do something, He will provide for your needs. In 1 Kings 17, we read about Elijah delivering an unpopular message from God to His people. After Elijah told the people that there would be a drought, God told him to go hide because the people wanted to kill him. Elijah obeyed, and God provided for his needs by sending ravens to bring him food.
2. God brings people into our lives to help us and for us to help them. In this story, God sent Elijah to a widow woman so that she could help Elijah. But God also sent Elijah there because the widow needed help as well.
3. God places inside of us what we need to help others. Because Elijah had seen God provide his needs in the past, he was able to assure this widow woman that God's word is true and that she could believe in God's promises. Everything that we go through gives us each a unique testimony that can help us witness to our peers and bring others to Christ. Remember, you're not the only one to go through struggles, and God uses our experiences to reach others for Him.
4. We should never be too busy to see the brokenness around us to be there for someone that has a need. Even when we're trying to minister, we can get too wrapped up in the to-do lists, numbers, statistics, etc. We always have to be aware of the hurting that's going on around us and be willing to help others. Elijah saw the widow's need and gave her a promise from God. We also have a promise from God to share - the promise of SALVATION! It's a promise that's for everyone we meet, and we need to share it!

We have to be obedient to God's calling on our lives and we can not miss the ministry opportunities that He places in our paths.

What is God teaching you?

I am so thankful that we serve such a gracious and loving God!

Have you ever noticed that God will put the same messages in front of you over and over until you finally get what He's trying to tell you? And did you know that my God is big enough that He can use ANYTHING to speak to me (and to you)?

Here's an example:

Apparently, God wants me to be more faithful, because lately that's the message I've been getting over and over. It all started when I was watching the movie Facing the Giants. I love the part where the old man comes into Coach Taylor's office and reads Revelation 3:7-8. Coach Taylor follows him out into the hall and the old man tells him a story about two farmers that prayed for rain. Both farmers prayed, but only one went out and prepared his fields to receive the rain. So, the man asks, which farmer had the most faith? Of course, Coach Taylor answers that the farmer that prepared his fields had the most faith. The old man nods and asks Coach Taylor, "Which one are you?"

In the past two weeks, I have watched that movie about three times (because TV has been really crappy the last few weeks, and because I love it and I'm ready for football season). Anyway, I have also heard my pastor use that movie and that illustration in a sermon. I have heard my pastor's wife and friend use that illustration in a Children's Ministry Group Meeting. I have even seen an episode of Law and Order where a character on the show talked about the same thing (See what I mean about God being able to use anything? How many times does Law and Order speak to you about your faith?)

So I'm thinking, God must want me to have more faith. I need to prepare my fields for the rain.

And then I realize that I have no idea what my field is.

I have also been running into messages and studies about God's vision for our lives. I have been trying for an entire year to find what God's vision for my life is. And here I am, praying to God and saying - Why won't you give me a vision? I'm ready. I'm willing. Just show me what to do! Show me where to serve! Show me and I will go!

Well, guess what? I have been talking to God an awful lot, but I haven't been listening very well. (Does that ever happen to you, or is it just me?)

I realized when I watched Facing the Giants for the 100th time last night, that before God started really working in Grant Taylor's life, Grant Taylor totally surrendered EVERYTHING to God. He gave God his hopes and his dreams. He gave God his fears and his failures. He gave God EVERYTHING!

I haven't done that yet. (I know - shocker. Who would have ever thought that I would want to be in control? That's totally unlike me, right? Right?) You are allowed to laugh at the previous statement, by the way. But I'm not just being funny. I'm being serious. I have yet to give God my hopes and my dreams. I'm still limiting God and His vision for my life because I'm trying to put God into my life. I want it all in a neat little package where God's plans go perfectly with mine and we're all just hunky-dorey and kumbya.

But that's not how this works.

You can't say "God, give me a vision for my life, as long as the vision is this..."

You can't say, "God, I surrender my life to you. Except for my personal life. I think I'll just find a husband on my own, and you can have the rest."

You can't say, "God, I'm totally willing to do whatever you want, but I'm really wanting to do this specific thing..."

And, you can't say, "God, I'm waiting on you to show me what you want me to do and I'm not budging or moving or doing anything until you show me and I've decided that I'm happy with what you want me to do."

Have you ever heard the song "While I'm Waiting" by John Waller? It was in the movie Fireproof. If you've never heard it, buy it on i-tunes. It's worth it. It talks about what it feels like to wait on God. Because God sends us the "rain" on His time, not ours. And it can be hard to wait. But what I love about the song the most is the message about HOW to wait. It says:

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead,
bold and confident
Taking every step
in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

Did you catch that? While we're waiting on God to show us His grand vision and plan (which we may never know, because some things are just not for us to know), we're supposed to worship. We're supposed to serve. We're supposed to obey God. We're supposed to run the race.

We're to (I know you were waiting for me to put this quote in here since I put it in everything...here you go!) BLOOM WHERE GOD HAS PLANTED US!

So maybe I don't know yet what God wants me to do with my life. Yes, it's hard not to know. It's annoying sometimes. It's confusing and painful and sometimes it's just downright awful. But guess what? I know that God is in control. And if I'm walking with Him "taking every step in obedience", like the song says, then I know that I will end up in the right place.

God didn't place us on earth to just wander around aimlessly. He placed us here with a purpose. And even if I don't know what my specific purpose is yet, I know that He has called us all into the ministry - He wants us all to worship Him and to obey Him and to have a relationship with Him and to TELL OTHERS ABOUT HIM!

God is always teaching us something. And if we would just wake up and take notice, we'd see Him at work everywhere.

So, I guess that I've been learning to be faithful, to SURRENDER my ENTIRE life to God, to serve God while I'm waiting, and to LISTEN to God instead of just talking at Him all the time. What is God teaching you?

Wisdom from Facing the Giants

I am a huge sports fan and I especially love to watch football, so it's no surprise that I love the movie Facing the Giants. In the movie, football coach Grant Taylor is at the end of his rope. He is coaching a loosing team and is worried about keeping his job, his car breaks down constantly because he can't afford to get a new one, and he feels like he can't provide for his wife. Grant is facing the giants of failure and fear. When he finally decides to give his struggles to God, he never could have imagined what God would do with his life. Because of the obedience of one man, an entire football team, school and community is changed. Below, I've listed some of my favorite quotes and lessons from the movie:


"Stay humble but confident." - Grant Taylor

"Bloom where God has planted you." - Mr. B

"You can't judge your father by his actions and yourself by your intentions. It just doesn't work that way." - Grant Taylor

"What he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open. I know your deeds. See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut. I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name" Revelation 3:7-8

Desire the Vision

Sermon by Bro. Rick Taylor
8/2/09

Proverbs 29:18 "Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."

Vision is direction from God - it is God telling His people what He wants them to do.

1. How can I be a part of God's vision?

• You've got to be saved - If you want to be used in God's kingdom, you have to be a part of God's kingdom! Are you ready to do what God wants you to do?


• You've got to be sure - Are you sure that you're saved? What are the visible signs of your salvation? What kind of fruit are you producing in your life? You have to DO AWAY WITH DOUBT! (Matthew 13:5-6) When trials come, trust in the Lord.


• Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end."

2. How does God's vision affect me?

• Seek God - God calls us for a reason, but we often miss what He has in store for us because we have a "just looking" mentality. For example - how many times do you tell a salesperson that you're "just looking" to avoid having to work with them? That salesperson is there to help and serve you, but you just want to wander by yourself. That's how we sometimes treat God. He has the map and wants to tell us where to go. He wants to give us a vision for the future, but we tell Him that we're "just looking" and continue to wander.
• Submit to God - God's ways are not always our ways. His plans for us don't always coincide with our plans for ourselves. But God has a role for us and He wants us to obey Him. Think about John the Baptist. He was the forerunner for Christ. He had to humble himself and tell people that Christ was coming after him. He was even beheaded for teaching about Christ. I doubt that was his plan for his life when he was growing up, but that's what God called him to. We have to humble ourselves and submit to God's will for our lives because it's not about us - it's about GOD!

3. How can I know God's vision?

• PRAYER - We have a direct line to God. We can pray to Him 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. Pray for your church and your fellow believers. Pray for the Holy Spirit to reveal your role to you.
• Remember this - if you are here, you have a purpose. God's vision is SO MUCH BIGGER than us! Do you desire to know God's vision for your life?

What's Your Focus?

Our church has been blessed to be able to participate in Upward Basketball and Cheerleading for the past two years. Upward is a sports ministry program designed to help the church reach out into the community and introduce Jesus to children and their families through sports. This weekend, I was able to go to an Upward Leadership Conference with a group of people from my church.

It was such an incredible weekend! On Friday night, we heard a message from Upward's founder, Caz McCaslin. He has an incredible testimony and is a wonderful speaker. He told us about Upward's history and about how God has worked through this wonderful organization. One of the main points in his message on Friday night was that we are the tools that God uses to reach a lost world.

We all have a role to fill and we all have a circle of people that we influence. What is your role in the eternal influence of the people you come in contact with?

In today's society, we love excuses. We don't like to take the blame for anything, and we like to point at circumstances or other people as excuses for why we don't step up and fulfill the roles God has planned for us. Caz listed five main reasons that people don't step up and don't fill those roles:

1. They say, "I'm not worthy." This one is easy to understand and identify with. We've all felt unworthy at times. And we ARE unworthy - because we're sinners. But by the grace of God, we are saved from our sin and adopted into God's family. And when God asks us to do something, He really just wants us to be obedient. If we obey, He will work through us and His power will make us worthy.

2. They say, "I'm scared." We've all felt that way. I can't even tell you how many butterflies land in my stomach right before I speak to a group of ladies or sing at church - and yet, at the same time, I feel so close to God when I obey Him and share my testimony or song. Sometimes what God asks us to do is scary, but remember this verse: "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." 2 Timothy 1:7 God can erase your fears, if you let Him.

3. They say, "If I do this, I'll be criticized." We all know what it's like to have someone oppose what we're doing. Even if you've never been persecuted for your faith, you've probably been persecuted for something. That's a hard thing to deal with. But think about what Jesus went through for you. He was criticized, ridiculed, arrested, beaten and crucified. He knows what it means to suffer, and He will never leave you to suffer alone. He thought that you were worth His suffering - do you think the same of Him that He thought of you?

4. They say, "I don't have time for this." I know that we all try to squeeze 30 hours of stuff into a 24 hour day. We're busy. That's just a fact. But it's still one of my Aunt Wanda's pet peeves for someone to say "I don't have time" or "You have more time than I do." She always says that we all have the same amount of time - it just comes down to what we DO with our time. She is so right! How do you use your time? Could you sacrifice an hour a week to be a prayer warrior for your church? What about ten minutes to make a phone call to that friend that God has placed on your heart? Or five minutes for an email to your pastor to tell him that you appreciate his hard work and dedication to your church? A lot of us have packed schedules, but there is always something that you can do if you just take advantage of the free time you do have.

5. They say, "I can't do this by myself." A lot of us are just afraid of volunteering because we don't think we can handle the obligation of the position. Some people are just afraid of commitment. Some people just prefer to be a follower instead of a leader. But volunteering your time doesn't always mean that you have to the the person in charge. God calls some of us to be leaders and some of us to work behind the scenes. But no matter where you're called, you're NOT by yourself. Jesus said, "and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world." (Matthew 28:20b) He is ALWAYS with you, and your church family is there for support too. You're not expected to do it alone. God designed the church to be like a machine. All the parts have little jobs that they have to do in order for the machine to run properly and they have to work together in order to accomplish their goals.

Notice the excuses people make. What word do you see in common?

"I"

Every excuse is about me, me, me. We have a ME MENTALITY. But guess what? It's not about you.

Galatians 2:20 says, "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." (KJV, emphasis added)

It's all about CHRIST!

So here's the question Caz asked us: Are you looking into mirrors or windows?

When we look in the mirror, all we see is ourselves. We see what WE want, and what WE like, and what WE need. But when we look out the window, we can see the lost and dying world that's all around us. Look at your neighbors, your friends, your co-workers, your family - how many of those people don't know Christ? Do you realize that it is your responsibility as a Christian and a follower of Christ to try your BEST to introduce those around you to Him?

Today at church, Brother Rick preached about God's Vision for us individually and as a church. We tend to get so focused on ourselves and the things that we need to get done that we lose our vision.

We get so wrapped up in our daily lives and the things that we have to do and want to do that we forget to look at the big picture. We lose focus on what's really important. We forget WHY Jesus came to the world in the first place. He didn't come so we could just profess to believe in Him and live mediocre lives where we just barely scrape the surface of His plans for us. He came that we could have life, and that we could live ABUNDANTLY! (John 10:10) And He came so that WE could learn how to teach others how to have abundant lives as well!

If you feel God calling you into a position or a ministry, don't look in the mirror for your answer. Look out the windows and see the fields that are ripe and ready for harvest.

What's your focus? Mirrors or windows?

*For more information about the Upward organization, visit http://www.upward.org/.

Missionary Family of the Month

The Long family is currently trying to raise enough support to go to the mission field in the Denver, Colorado area. They are originally from Alabama and currently live in Georgia.

Barry and Jessica and their children are excited about traveling to raise support and getting to meet so many wonderful believers. They have currently raised almost 50% of their necessary support.

Last month at our VBS, we supported the Long family with our nightly offering. The kids raised over $700 for the Long family that week.

During this month, please keep the Long family in your prayers. They have the following requests:

• Pray that they will be able to sell their house in Georgia. This will be a huge burden lifted off their shoulders. It has been on the market since January without an offer, but they are trusting God will provide.
  
• Pray for Barry to recover from his recent sinus surgery. He is doing well, but will be out of commission for a few weeks while he recovers and will not be able to travel during that time to raise support.
  
• Pray for the Long children as they adjust to home school. They are beginning a home school program in order to be able to travel with their parents to raise support so they can get onto the mission field.
  
• Pray for the mission field that the Longs will be going to. The Denver area is growing and ripe for harvest. Pray that the Lord will begin to prepare the hearts of the people that the Longs will come in contact with in their ministry.

Thank you so much for your prayer support for our missionaries and our missions programs! Please continue in prayer for these wonderful people and their willingness to follow God's call.