News from Shawneetown First Baptist

You had to be there!”  I have one of those for you this week.  It is such a beautiful picture of what worship should be to the believer and how a believer should react to the work of God in the life of another person!

   On Sunday just before Morning Worship began, a gentleman who has been attending worship for several months told me, “I am going to join the church today!”  If you have any understanding about Christian worship, you probably know what a statement like that does to a pastor!  If you do not have any understanding, I will try to explain it as clearly and frankly as possible.  It is like saying “sic ‘em!” to a dog.  In other words, it really gets the adrenaline going!

   The only problem this week was, I was not going to preach!  Associate Pastor Mike Rushing was preaching on this particular Sunday.  And, I did not have the opportunity to get to him to tell him before the service.  Regardless, he did a good job delivering the message from the Word of God!  And, as the worship came to a close, God blessed!

   As Mike closed his message, he asked me to lead the Decision Time.  And, as promised, the man who had spoken to me before the worship stepped right out of the pews and walked to the front and met me at the altar accompanied by one of our church members giving him support.  We knelt at the altar for prayer after he shared with me the summary of his decision.

   When the Decision Time came to a close, I introduced the man who had come forward and told of his decision to become a member of our church family.  The rejoicing in the congregation began!  Now hold on!  Here it comes!  That “You had to be there!” moment that I mentioned at the beginning of this article.

   As I started to present the new member and his decision, I noticed one of our beloved saints of God, Lydia Oxford, begin to move from her seat into the center aisle.  The more I talked the more joyous, excited and anxious Lydia became!  She was not interruptive.  But as I shared with the congregation, I knew that even chains were not going to keep her from getting to the new member.  I asked the congregation to demonstrate their acceptance and greet the new member with a “Hallelujah!”  And that was it!  She could contain herself no longer.  Lydia came down the aisle, gave the man a bear hug and began to praise the Lord and speak words of encouragement in the man’s ear!

   I have described this scenario the best I know how, but as I said, “You had to be there!”  Anyway, I hope you have heard enough to know that this is the kind of joy we, as believers, should express when a person makes a new decision concerning his or her relationship to God.  Our example of how we should react is actually in Heaven:  “I tell you, in the same way, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who don’t need repentance.” (Luke 15:7)    

   I would like to invite you to a new Bible Study in which our adults will be participating.  We’ve all asked, “Where is God when I need Him?”  When we look around at the pain, loss and hurt in our world, we can’t help but wonder, “God, don’t you see this?  Can’t you do something about this?  Where are you?”  For four Wednesdays, we will be studying “The Verbs of God.”  This Wednesday we will study “The God Who Sees.”  The following two sessions will be “The God Who Listens,” and “The God Who Calls.”  Each Wednesday we will begin at 6:00 p.m. 

   This Sunday evening we will have a 5^th Sunday Singing.  We will begin at 6:00 p.m. and members of our church family will share special Gospel music as well as sharing testimonies and words of praise for our God’s work in our lives.  I invite you to join us. 

   The National Day of Prayer is coming up on Thursday, May 3^rd.  The fact that this is an election year heightens the importance of the Day of Prayer.  This year’s theme is “One Nation Under God.”  And the scripture emphasis is “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord!” (Psalm 33:12).  I am inviting you to an observance of The National Day of Prayer on Thursday, May 3^rd, at Noon.  We will meet at the Gazebo in the center of town.  I would love to see you there to join us in prayer for our nation.

   Graduation is also coming up.  First Baptist will once again host our annual Graduate Recognition Day.  The date for this year’s graduate recognition is Sunday, May 6^th.  We will recognize and present a gift to all graduates and their family members present in our Morning Worship at 10:40 a.m.  Then, after the Morning Worship, there will be a luncheon provided for the graduates and their families.  I am praying that several of the graduates—both Jr. High and Sr. High—will take advantage of this offer.

   I would like to invite you to check out our new website for our church.  We want to know your prayer needs. Go to www.shawneetownfirstbaptistchurch.com.  

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)