News from Shawneetown First Baptist
- Category: Church News
BROJACK’S BLOGS – 01/23/12
“COURAGEOUS” Weekend is coming up! It will be this weekend! We will be showing the movie, “Courageous,” on Saturday, January 28th, at 7:00 p.m. Then, on Sunday, January 29th, the movie will begin at 6:00 p.m. Both showings will be free of charge.
We are also planning to have a 4-session “Courageous Living” Bible Study beginning Sunday, February 5th during the Sunday School hour at 9:30 a.m. I would love to have any of you who are interested join us for these Bible Studies.
The last sign-up day for “Reach Up!” Basketball & Cheering is this Saturday, January 28th. We will also try to put teams together. We will start with Kindergarten through 2nd grade at 10:00 a.m. At 10:30, we will organize 3rd & 4th grade. Finally, 5th & 6th grade will organize at 11:00 a.m. All the kids should have brought sign-up sheets home with them from school. However, if they did not get home with it, we will have extra registration sheets at the church on Saturday. You may also call the church, 269-3664, and sign up by phone. If the answering machine picks up, please leave a number at which we can reach you or you may leave your information on the machine. We need the child’s name, grade in school, the name of the parent or guardian, and a phone number.
The starting date for “Reach Up!” Basketball & Cheering is Saturday, February 4th.
The program will continue for 8 weeks and will end on Saturday, March 24th.
As you read this article, I will be with a group from Saline Baptist Association at the North Central States Rally in Indianapolis, Indiana. I will be receiving some evangelism training. Since I will be gone for three days and in training sessions all day long, I have asked Bro. Mike Rushing, our Associate Pastor, to preach the message in our Morning Worship this Sunday. Come and join us this Sunday at 10:40 a.m. hear and Bro. Mike preach!
Lewi Pethrus said, “There is no human power that can replace the power of the Spirit.” And in reference to the coming of the Holy Spirit, Jesus said, “It is good that I am going away.” (John 16:7). I would like to share with you what one of my devotion writers said about this verse.
“These words must have sounded absurd to the disciples. They sound absurd to us, too. Good that Jesus isn’t with us? No one who has ever cried out ‘Where are You, God?’ can fathom such a statement. An absent Savior? Our only refuge and help—missing in action? The One with the words of eternal life—working silently behind the scenes? It seems ludicrous to us that there would be any benefit in the absence of the One on whom we have pinned all our hopes.
“Jesus tells us why, of course. The next verse explains that the coming of the Holy Spirit is contingent on Jesus’ departure. We know the benefit of His absence intellectually, and that the Holy Spirit is alive and present in our lives. But do we know this by experience? Do our minds tell us that the Holy Spirit is in us by faith while our hearts act as if the Spirit of Jesus is far away in a refuge called heaven? Many Christians lapse into knowing the Holy Spirit’s help as a psychological advantage but not as a supernatural blessing. He’s beneficial as a theological belief but difficult to know in experience.
“But it need not be so. Jesus promised His disciples that the Holy Spirit is a gift for those persistent enough to ask for Him (Luke 11:13). So ask.
“Next time you’re trying to understand God’s Word or pray according to His will, next time you’re trying to overcome sin, next time you’re trying to make sense of your circumstances or relieve your pain, stop and remember the assistance available to you. He’s the greatest power in the universe, and He makes Himself known through faith and persistent asking. Don’t settle for a faint awareness that He is there somewhere, though you’re not sure where. Pound on the doors of heaven—read Luke 11:5-13 if that concept bothers you—until He’s a reality experienced in your heart. Remember that Jesus would not have left us in body unless He’d planned to come back to us in Spirit, deeper and fuller than we could have ever known Him otherwise.” (From “Indeed—Exploring the Heart of God.)
See you in Sunday School Bro Jack
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Bro Jack
I am sure of this, that He who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. (Philippians 1:6)
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