November Newsletter

We at First Baptist have been so blessed this year on so many levels. Our church has been blessed through God’s guidance and Pastor Ted’s leadership, the youth group has been blessed by wonderful support from all of you in the congregation, and I personally have been blessed to watch our group grow in its love for the Lord and His Word. God is so gracious to us to give us all we need; let’s not forget to show our gratefulness for His care.

This past month, we had an opportunity like never before to reach out to the surrounding community. East Coweta High School held its homecoming parade right down Main Street, giving us the ability to share the love of Christ by passing out sodas to those watching on the sidelines. We also were able to get details about our church’s ministries into their hands through flyers and customized cups for the soda. Continue to pray with me that God will use the service of His people and the work of His church to reach out to those in need of Him.

This month, we will once again take our youth to the processing center for the Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Last year, we as a church took almost 100 shoeboxes filled with toys and necessities for children in need. Those boxes last year were shipped off to children in India. Who knows where God will use our boxes this time? Let’s push that number over the century mark as we give out of the blessing we have received from the Lord throughout this past year. If you have an interest in going with our group, please come talk with me. We will be able to take up to 25 people this year.

Show them that you care...

Don't tell me you don't have them. I don't care if you are the girliest girl or manliest man, everybody has a special place in their heart for those furry stuffed animals. And today is the special day that we can celebrate these oft-forgotten creatures. Today is Plush Animal Lover's Day. If you just can't fall asleep without your lovable cotton-filled buddy, then remember to tell them today just how much they mean to you ...because they may not hear it again for another year.

Food for thought...

The other night during Nucleus, we finished up our discussion on the attributes of God. We’ve talked about His grace, righteousness, beauty, glory, eternity, etc. It’s really given me a renewed perspective on who God really is. If we are not careful, God’s magnificence can become routine to us, partly because we cannot accurately express His qualities with words. Sure, we refer to Him as all-powerful, all-loving, all-knowing; actually being able to grasp what that actually looks like in a Being like our Heavenly Father is no easy task, though.

As we wrapped up our lesson Sunday night, we talked about the “Now What” of the message. We've learned quite a bit about God and the perfect qualities that He possesses, but how does that change us now? Does knowing that God is a God of order, wisdom, and holiness make a difference in the way that we live from day to day?

The apostle Peter reminds us that we are to imitate God’s holiness [I Peter 1:16]. With the words, “You shall be perfect, just as your Father in Heaven is perfect,” Matthew 5:48 affirms the idea that we are to strive for godliness in all we do. That last phrase, in itself, is probably routine to some, but if we put it into practice, what does that change in our lifestyles?

In short, all the rules, standards, and boundaries in the world can be boiled down to one ultimate command the believer is to follow: be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect. Now, granted, we will never be able to attain the perfection God embodies. That's why the Christian life is a continuous journey, not a destination. It's not something we will ever complete or fully attain this side of heaven. But imagine how different our lives would be if we simply followed that one law, and committed ourselves to strive for perfection and godliness in all that we do.

And the winner is...

As you may have seen, October 2nd was National Name Your Car Day. After a couple of weeks and much deliberation, it's time to announce the winning name for my car. We've voted on a Wednesday night, and the finalists were posted here on a poll so that the public could let their voice be heard as well. The winner (claiming 50% of all votes) is Leif E.

Maybe my Ford Explorer sharing a name with the Viking explorer whom we celebrated over a week ago will be a positive experience for him. He has been feeling neglected since I've started riding my bike to church every day.

Thanks to all of you who took part in this momentous decision.

Now I'm no scientist, but I love NUCLEUS!

Recently, I realized that some of you who read this blog may have no idea what it is that happens at First Baptist Church of Senoia at 5:30pm Sunday afternoons. Even if you look at our weekly schedule and see "Nucleus" on Sundays, there's a good chance you still are in the dark. If you are in this category, I don't want you to stay there; that's why I am about to share with you what this Nucleus thing is all about.

As I began to move toward a ministry position, God laid a vision on my heart for a youth ministry that went beyond fun and games, a ministry that would ground students in their beliefs so that they will hopefully stay in church after graduating high school (something very few youth actually do now). This foundation is intended to equip them to have a greater impact on their world for Christ. From this vision, a discipleship program called Nucleus was born.

The name Nucleus comes from the picture of an atom. The nucleus is at the very core of that atom. Likewise, what we study in Nucleus will get to the very core and center of Christian beliefs and values. It is designed so that a student may finish all the topics during their middle school and high school years. Nucleus is broken down into two semester-long classes a year. In some topics, we will study both the Old and New Testaments, what other religions of the world believe, and how we can defend our beliefs to others. Right now in Nucleus, we are in the middle of a class called "The Foundation." This study takes a deep look at all that Christians believe about the Bible, God, Christ, and the Church, among other things. It is really amazing to see how much God is teaching us through this study, and how excited the students are to dive into God's Word to learn more.

The Scripture that is the motivation behind the idea of Nucleus is 1 Peter 3:15 - "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear." Being ready to answer questions about his or her belief in Christ is a valuable quality for any believer, but it is becoming more and more critical for students especially to understand what they believe and why they believe it. If they can grasp these things, then nothing that they hear from others, be it a friend or a college professor, that is contrary to the Word of God will sway their faith one bit.

This is Nucleus in a nutshell. I hope that if you are a student in the Senoia area interested in learning more about what Christians believe, then you'll consider coming and joining us Sundays at 5:30pm. We'd love to have you.

We're gonna have to get a bigger house...

Hannah R. is turning 13 today!

We hope your day is great.

Trust in the Lord, and He will never fail you.

Happy birthday, Hannah!

Happy Leif Erikson Day!

Why doesn't old Leif E. get credit for any accomplishment in the discovery of America? After all, he came to North America in 1003, almost 490 years before Columbus. Luckily, the American government realized the great need to recognize the mostly unknown explorer and, in 1964, officially made October 9th "Leif Erikson Day." I'm sure that would have made his parents proud, if they were still with us.

Since this is a fairly new holiday for me, let me know how you usually spend Leif E. Day, or what you would consider to be an appropriate way to celebrate a day honoring a Viking explorer.

We've got (yet another) birthday in the house...

Alexis J. is celebrating her 14th birthday today!

We hope your have a great day.

Keep on letting God use you in all the ways He does.

Happy birthday, Alexis!

We've got (another) birthday in the house...

Heather R. turns 16 years old today!

We hope you really enjoy today.

Continue to follow after God's leading in your life.

Happy birthday, Heather!

We've got a birthday in the house...

Taylor C. is turning 17 today!

We hope you have a great birthday.

Trust the Lord in all that you do.

Happy birthday, Taylor!

It's Name Your Car Day!

Yes, that's right; today is for those of us who have neglected to give their vehicles a name. Since I know that most of you youth do not have cars of your own to name, I am giving you the opportunity to name mine. If you have a name that would be just perfect for this car, then leave me a comment and let me know what it is. I'll consider all the responses, and we'll vote as a group next Wednesday night in youth for the winner.

"Please vote, so I feel appreciated" - Ryan's Explorer

Dueling Prepositions

Recently, a family of one of the students in the youth group invited me for dinner. Before we ate, the student challenged me to a Guitar Hero duel. Despite my very limited exposure to the wildly popular video game, I agreed. After my rather pathetic attempt at playing a song on medium level, he stepped up and played the exact same song on expert…and blew my score away!

Something that I noticed while he was playing the song got me thinking. As he hit buttons and strummed the instrument with lightening speed in order to keep up with the song, I noticed that the noise from him playing the guitar was so loud that it just about drowned out the music itself. Sure, he was hitting every note perfectly (something I could never do), and he was doing all the right things, but it seemed like the right things were making it hard to hear the song he was playing.

I believe there is a direct parallel to the way we approach the Christian life. Could there be times when we realize that, while we are doing so much for the Lord, the “noise” from all that we are doing has caused us to lose our ability to hear Him clearly? That was the problem with the Ephesian church in Revelation 2. Though they had labored and had cast out false apostles and had persevered through all the trials, Christ pointed out one major flaw: “you have left your first love.” They had done so much for God that they failed to spend time with God. Yes, we are to do His will, and that includes serving Him in many ways. But there are so many things that are “right” and so many ways to “serve the Lord” that we need to be careful not to get caught up in serving for service’s sake. The Lord reminds us that sometimes we are to just “be still, and know that I am God.” [Psalm 46:10]

I hope this does not discourage you from serving God in ways you feel He wants you to serve. Serving God in the right way is never a bad thing. But make sure that your first love stays in its rightful place. Please don’t let the noise of your works drown out the voice and leading of God. May we never mistake our work for God as a substitute for a relationship with Him!