"First Chronicles" January 2012
SEEKING THE LORD IN 2012
"Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap mercy; break up your fallow ground, for it is time to seek the Lord, till He comes and rains righteousness on you." (Hosea 10:12)
Another year has come and gone; we are another year closer to the return of Christ; we are given another year to experience God in all of His fullness. As I take a glimpse at the condition of the world and prophecy becoming reality before our eyes in the Middle East, and our great nation crumbling from the inside as Paul wrote to Timothy regarding Godlessness in the Last Days in 2 Timothy 3:1-5, I believe we are living in the day the prophets foretold, the disciples heard about from Jesus, and the church has been anticipating for over 2,000 years. Scripture tells the Christians to be alert and to be prepared. I pray that individual Christians, as a local church and a part of the universal church that we would continue to seek the Lord.
The Chronicle article this month in some ways addresses the focus of our church: to grow in Passionate Spirituality. For those unfamiliar with Passionate Spirituality I would like to share with you four questions that give this area some definition. 1) How and when do church members sense God's presence and involvement in their different areas of their life? 2) What are the marks of a person who is enthusiastic about our church? 3) In what ways do people in our church spend personal time connecting to God during the week? 4) How is our experience of God reflected in our conversations with others? We will be looking more into these questions throughout the year.
One thing I can assure those who have a desire to grow in Passionate Spirituality, you will not grow if there is apathy toward God and His Word. The people of Hosea's day had become hardened to God's Word. They heard the Word of God many times, but grew apathetic toward God. Hosea compares dry and hardened ground to the hardened and unresponsive human heart. God's people were to break up sinful barriers in their lives that prevented God's Word from penetrating their hearts, and if they did, God would rain down, bless his people with righteousness. In 2012 there is a need for God's people to check the condition of their heart to see if their hearts are softened, or progressively getting harder. Hosea admonished God's people to seek the Lord until His righteousness rained down upon them. I would encourage God's people to do the same today. "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near." (Isaiah 55:6)
Pastor Stephen May
Birthdays in January
January 2 Kody denHoed, Andrew Eben
January 6 Kristin Jurrens
January 7 Sharon Arends
January 8 Courtney Stowell
January 10 Christin De Jong, Amber Kooiker
January 11 Darien Middendorp, Thomas Wagenaar
January 12 Clinton DeBoer
January 14 George Winter
January 15 Kenny Kanengieter
January 17 Stan deBoer, Marilyn Johnson
January 21 Marlene Fluth, Darlene Krull
January 22 Charlotte Jurrens, Brad Schneidermann
January 24 Brooke Kramer
January 25 Tonya Arends, Kari Bruinsma, Jessica Christians, Alan Wagenaar
January 27 Jason Christians, Steve Johnson
January 30 Jeff Arends, Tim Farnsworth
Anniversaries in January
January 5 Greg and Lesli Kramer
January 18 Ernie and Ramona Villanueva
Announcements
Memorial Service
A memorial service will be held on Saturday, January 14 at 10:00 a.m. for Harold Kruse at the First Baptist Church, rural George, IA. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the American Heart Association in memory of Harold Kruse.
Birthday & Anniversary Celebration
The Birthday and Anniversary Celebration for the month of January will be held on Sunday evening January 8th. The SunRiser's are hosting the event. Cake and Coffee will be served!!.
2011 Annual Business Meeting
The Annual Business Meeting for 2011 will be held on Thursday, January 19 at 7:00 p.m. Please turn in your reports no later than Sunday, January 8th. There will be NO Adult Prayer Meeting & Bible Study on Wednesday, January 18.
Awana Pizza Night
On Wednesday evening, January 11, we will be having our Awana Family Pizza Night beginning at 6:15 p.m. All Awana families are invited to join us for pizza and visit Awana!!
Haiti Team Meeting Dates
The Haiti Team will be meeting on these Sunday dates from 5:30 - 6:45 p.m. January 22nd, February 12th and March 4th and 11th. Please continue to pray for this group of 14 as plans and details are worked out and as they prepare themselves for this mission!!
Parents
Please turn in to the office the e-mail address of your college/career children as soon as possible. Thanks!! You can e-mail Mary at secretaryfbc@mtcnet.net
Ladies Bible Study
Ladies Bible Study will be meeting the 2nd and 4th Monday nights of every month at 8:00 p.m.
Drama Team
If there is anyone interested in leading a Drama Team, please contact Gwen Winter. Thanks!.
Season of Prayer
Prayer times are Sunday morning at 9:00 a.m. in the Library and that 15 minutes of the first and third Sunday evening service would be attributed to prayer.
New Address
Following is the new address for Jordan Wagenaar: Lcpl. Wagenaar, Jordan A.
P.O. Box 454543
San Diego, CA 92145.
Following is the new address for Thomas Nolte: Thomas Nolte
A Battery 1
125FA
APO, AE 09337
Following is the new address for B. J. Christians: Christians, Benjamin James
FSC 980 EN BN
Kandahar Air Field
APO AE 09355
Music Copyright
Anyone who needs to make copies of music to use during any church activity needs to let Gwen Winter know for copyright purposes.
Winter Weather Policy
1. Church service will be canceled if the following conditions are present: temperatures reaching 20 below zero, wind chills, ice or snow drifts or blizzards.
2. If one activity is canceled at the church, all activities will be canceled for that day unless otherwise noted. Example: Awana cancels, both Youth Group and Adult Bible Study will be canceled
3. The decision concerning wheather or not there will be church services at FBC will be made by 8:00 a.m. on that Sunday. KIWA (105.3 FM) and K101 (101.1 FM) will be contacted and an email will be sent out. Our number one prority is "safety." Therefore, the Deacons request that before you leave for church on a wintry Sunday, call a deacon or the pastor to make sure church has not been canceled.