Sunday, May 3, 2009

Here is a story to start your month of May with a smile:

A zookeeper wanted to get some extra animals for his zoo, so he decided to compose a letter. The only problem was that he didn't know the plural of "mongoose."
He started the letter: "To whom it may concern, I need two mongeese."
No, that wouldn't work, so he tried again: "To whom it may concern, I need two mongooses." Is that right?
Finally, he got an idea: "To whom it may concern, I need a mongoose, and while you're at it, send me another one."

Maybe my two college English major daughters will comment below on which is the correct term!

We look forward to the month of May with all the promise of the Spring season. This Saturday it begins for us as a church with the wedding of our own Ben Cobb to Lauren McClellan. Their reception will be at our church hall from 3:00 to 6:00 PM. We rejoice with them in this day, please keep them and their families in prayer. And pray for some of us who have been around this church a long time and we can't believe Ben is old enough to get married!! But he is another in a long line of those we have felt this way about before. God bless them.

On Sunday we have our ABF's and Sunday School at 9:30 AM. I trust you have found your "place of belonging" during this time, it is a great way to become acclimated to our church. If not, let us know and we can help "plug you in."

At 10:45 AM we will worship together in song and the Word of God. Our ensemble will sing, and our worship team will lead. We will consider together from God's Word and our American history some thoughts on our "Convictions vs. Convenience." As I have often said, Convictions are costly and we probably really don't have many of them. But those we have should be important and stand for things we would die for. Convenience is much easier and costs little; yet too often Christians in the church take the easy way. Historically this has not always been the case. I dedicate this talk to a former professor, Dr. Rembert Carter who is now with the Lord, and who God used to shape mine and many other's thoughts along these lines. Some of the passages we will consider are Genesis 1 - 3 and 2 Corinthians 5.

At 6:00 PM this Sunday we will enter into our monthly Communion Service. It is a special time where we pointedly remember all that Jesus did for us and means to us. I hope you will prepare ahead and plan to share briefly something that God has done in your life recently. Remember to keep your testimonies: Audible, Brief, and Christ centered. And plan to give to our Benevolent Fund which helps some at unusual times of need.

Speaking of giving, we are grateful for how well you have been supporting our budget. We are over 22% ahead in our giving to budget in the General fund; but we are about 20% behind in our giving to our Faith Promise for Missions fund. I may be a bit off in the percentages, you can check the figures in this week's bulletin and correct anything.

And one other note on giving is that we are halfway through our goal for our Easter Offering of $1,000 for 50 new chairs. We will purchase 25 for now, and hopefully as we continue the opportunity to give to this offering for the next few weeks we can achieve the goal. Chairs are $20 each and will make a great addition and improvement to what we have currently.

Please pray for the Men's Retreat at Skyview Ranch on May 7 - 9 (click on link for details.) We have several men attending, and I am sure the camp will be full as this is a popular retreat in their schedule.

The Mother's Day Social is the evening of May 11, and if you have not paid your $5 to Debbie Mace, please do so this Sunday so that she can prepare.

If you plan to attend the Wedding Open House for Pete and Debbie Kendrick, please be sure to RSVP them if you have not already so they can plan accordingly. And pray for good weather for the day on May 9.

We want to remind you that on Tuesday, May 5 there will be voting here all day in Hammond Hall. We still plan to serve coffee, breads, etc. - even though they said this was "illegal." I spoke with the officials down at the board of elections and they have a desire to work with us on this matter, which we appreciate. Thank you for helping serve, please let Beth know on Sunday if you can help this Tuesday. This is a great way to serve our neighbors and show ourselves friendly with "no strings" attached.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday. If you don't attend our church here but another in your area, you probably will have Communion there as well. Trust you leadership to take any necessary precautions regarding the elements and any exposure the the "swine flu" that we have heard so much about. Don't let these fears keep you from remembering all Jesus has done. Prepare your heart with these words from a familiar song to many of us:

"Once again I look upon the cross where You died,

I'm humbled by Your mercy and I'm broken inside;

Once again I thank you -

Once again I pour out my life." (1996 Kingsway's Thank You Music)

See you then, God bless,

Pastor Don Workman

http://www.faithbaptiststreetsboro.org/

PS - please keep Beth and I in prayer as we travel out to BBC on Friday and come back on Saturday to attend Leah's music concert with the Chamber Singers, Choir, and others. And pray for all college students as this school year winds down for them and all the tests, projects, etc. are due this week.

Sunday, April 26, 2009

Last week seemed to fly by, so much so that it was Friday before I knew it! I was not able to get this note out then, and here it is Thursday already! So, I may have to make this quick, but did want to get it out to you.

The urgent item is that with this being Thursday afternoon, I wanted to remind everyone that we will be hosting the "Town Hall for Hope" live video of national financial commentator Dave Ramsey. It will begin here at 8:00 PM in our auditorium, please plan to be early because it will begin "on the dot." Doors will be open at 7:00 PM, hopefully the coffee will be on. Don't miss it - if you are reading this prior to 8:00 PM, you can still make it!

As for this Sunday we are glad to be back to our regular services after the Easter season. Sunday School and 3 ABF's are at 9:30 AM. Our Morning Worship time is at 10:45 AM with some great songs of worship and a message from Ezra 9 and maybe 10. These chapters deal with a very delicate and difficult subject, though particular to the Israelites of the day, would still have implications to our time. Please pray for me as I finish putting my thoughts together on it, and that these would be the things that God wants us to know and live.

At 6:00 PM our AWANA kids will have their programming in the Bible, activities, memory work, and don't forget that this week you are to come dressed up like one of your parents! Should be interesting! Jr. & Sr. High Student Ministry will be back on track with their Bible study and activities. And our Adults will meet to sing and study again about "God Our Father" by considering His Invisibility and other Attributes.

Our Easter Offering for 2009 will continue this week - remember that we designated it to go toward new chairs for Hammond Hall. They cost $20 each and we set a goal of purchasing at least 50 chairs. So far the offering total is $465 which comes out to approximately 23 chairs. Almost half way there, let's buy one or more chairs to meet and exceed our goal, we can certainly use these now and in the future.

With Spring in full swing, don't forget that we need help around the church with continuing clean up and lawn mowing for the summer. If you would be willing to serve in this way, there is a sign up sheet for mowing in the lobby. See Ron Sterner if you have any questions, and pray for Ron's family as his older brother down south passed away this week. Keep his elderly mother in prayer especially.

Pray for our college students as many of them are preparing or have taken final exams and completing final projects. It is a busy and hectic time for them, but exciting as they finish another year. Pray also for their employment needs for the summer.

I am sure there are other things I need to mention, but I must close this for now. Prepare your heart for the Lord's Day this Sunday and join with others in the great times we have had recently in worship of God. May His blessing be on us.

Pastor Don Workman

http://www.faithbaptiststreetsboro.org/

Jonathon says, "Hey, don't forget the Town Hall for Hope that my Papa just told you about!"

And Nicholas agrees!

Easter Sunday, April 12, 2009

This Sunday is THE DAY - when we celebrate in a special way the Resurrection of our Savior, Jesus Christ. I hope you already made plans to attend either with us or with your own church group. We will begin the day with our regular classes and ABF's at 9:30 AM. Then we will worship the risen Lord together in our 10:45 AM service which will feature special music selections, appropriate songs of the day, and a special message about "What Does The Folded Napkin Tell Us About Jesus' Resurrection?" from the statement in John 20:7. This is an interesting verse, one which the Holy Spirit of God seemed to particularly mention. We will explore the ramifications of this event to our lives today.

Note that we DO NOT have any evening programming for kids, students, or adults this Easter Sunday at 6:00 PM. May you enjoy a non-rushed and uninterrupted day with your family and friends in a God honoring way.

Prior to all this, we will gather tomorrow evening on Good Friday at 7:00 PM for a special service lasting about an hour. It will be a time to consider the great sacrifice on our behalf by Jesus through the means of drama, special music, video, and participating in Communion. This is always a wonderful way to begin a special weekend for families, don't miss it. If your church does not have a Good Friday evening service, please accept my personal invitation to attend with us here.

For you information, we will have all flowers from this Easter Sunday available for your purchase after our service. They will be $7.50 each, and include potted tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and azaleas. Please buy them all, those of us with allergies will be grateful.

We have several needs where our annual Easter Offering can go toward, and we determined that this year we would like to purchase additional folding chairs for various events in Hammond Hall. Our goal is to purchase 50 chairs from Sam's Club for $20 each. I have a sample for you to see at church; they are very comfortable yet sturdy. Use the special envelope in your giving packet, or write "Easter Offering" on a pew envelope and the amount (make checks payable to Faith Baptist Church). Hopefully every family can buy at least one, and how great it would be to surpass our goal. This is a worthy and needed project, plan to participate. As we have more attendances like last Sunday, these will be needed SOON! Praise the Lord!

Don't forget to bring items in for "Care Packages" for our college students as well as our 2 Marines, Justin and Kurtis. See the board in the lobby for further information.

Thank you to the MANY who came out for our workday last Saturday. We were able to do a tremendous amount of spring cleaning, fixing, and sprucing things up here in our facilities. We appreciate the regular work of Ray and Cherie Long, Ray Linderman, and other who help here weekly. But these kind of special workdays assist in areas not normally covered. Thanks, Ron Sterner for organizing it.

Please pray for many of our folks who will be travelling this weekend since many have their Spring Break at this time. It takes from our numbers here, but they are able to visit family which is always nice. Beth and I would appreciate continued prayers for our little newborn grandson, Jonathon, as a recent doctor checkup showed a bit of a heart "murmur" and they want to check further into it this next week in Indianopolis. He is very special to all our family and we appreciate your prayers for him.

And may God bless you as you prepare for this Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. They will be special days with special services. Tell all you see about the joy that Christ brings in your life through His resurrection - this will help others know that Christianity in NOT on the decline, no matter what the recent news outlets have purported. Do you part, let's honor Him together as Psalm 34:3 states,

"O magnify the LORD with me, And let us exalt His Name together!"

Pastor Don Workman

http://www.faithbaptiststreetsboro.org/

Sunday, April 5, 2009

I survived this past April Fool's Day with no jokes or surprises played on me, how did you do? If you either played a good joke on someone or were the victim, why not add your comment below so that we can all share in it. Nothing embarrassing, please.

After being gone for a week (we didn't plan to be gone that long) for the birth of our grandson, Jonathon, it has been good to be back home this week and in our normal routine. We are thankful that Jonathon got a good report about his jaundice levels at his checkup last Monday and we pray he continues to improve. And we are glad both brothers enjoy each other (though you wouldn't know it from this picture of Jonathon):

This Sunday is Palm Sunday (already!) and we have a special morning planned. It begins with our Sunday School and ABF's at 9:30 AM. Studies in the books of Daniel and Luke, as well as a study about "The Power of Prayer" are available for adults. Children through teens have their own classes, and it has been a blessing in recent months to see all those classes filling up!

At 10:45 AM in our Worship service we will sing songs related to Palm Sunday and be blest with special music for the day. A highlight of this service is to pray for our children (age 3 through 3rd grade) just before they go to their Children's Church time - a couple of weeks ago there were 23 kids who came up for that group! May their number continue to increase, along with some new workers to help Tim Cobb, their leader. After this, our guest and friend Pastor Igor Bagirov of the Beth El Messianic Ministries and Congregation in Cleveland will be here to speak about the Jewish "Seder" and it's implications to us. Pastor Igor is a friend to our church who has been here before and we always appreciate his zeal in evangelism for the Lord. Encourage him by your presence, words, and giving toward his ministry.

At 6:00 PM we will continue all our regular ministries: AWANA kids will enjoy "Mismatched Night" (wear clothes that do not match - I am told at times that I do this on regular days) and parents, please remember to pay the dues for your child. Our Jr. / Sr. High Students will gather for fun, fellowship, and learning about, "Can our thoughts be sinful?" which should be very practical. Continue to pray for our leaders and students of our Summer '09 Japan Missions Team - they have a meeting this Tuesday from 6:00 to 8:00 PM. And our Adults will gather to sing and study more about "God Our Father" by learning about the Holy Spirit's role in the TriUnity.

Remember that we offer a Nursery time at all our services for babies up through age 2. And by the way, we need more workers for our Nursery Learning Ministry. Please see Beth if you are able to help, our resource people are running low.

Next week remember to attend our Good Friday Service at 7:00 PM which will feature music, drama, and communion all in about an hour. It is a highlight of the year many families will not miss. And it helps us prepare our hearts for the following Resurrection Sunday, which will feature a lot of good, uplifting music and special message as we celebrate Christ conquering death. Remember that there is NO evening programming at 6:00 PM on Easter Sunday.

Please remember that this Saturday, April 4 is a church Work Day as we would like to clean up our grounds and building for the special Sundays coming up. Days like these are always a sure sign of spring! Bring any tools, supplies, etc. you can to help with the cleaning and fixing up process.

Men, remember the bowling night tonight (Thursday, April 2) at 8:00 PM at the Twin Star lanes in Ravenna. About a dozen guys enjoyed the time together last month, and about the same plan to be there tonight. And remember to sign up for the Skyview Ranch Men's Retreat on May 7 - 9.

Ladies, sign up to attend the Ohio Women's Missionary Union meeting on April 25 which will also be held at Skyview Ranch. We will be carpooling, so you need to sign up.

We had a good group here to pray and study today for the Thursday at 11:00 AM meeting. When you combine that group with our Weds. Evening at 7:10 PM prayer group, we have a good number who are advancing the cause of Christ through prayer. Why not consider joining one of these groups sometime?

As I close, I want to encourage you to pray for our president and all governmental leaders as the G 20 Summit global economic meetings are going on in London. As meetings like these have global implications, we cannot afford to be ignorant about them. Also pray for our economic situation in our country as it changes daily. I am not so sure I am a fan of our government running the car companies, and I still haven't figured out how I now own parts of AIG and GM, because I haven't heard about any major discounts I will get from either. Most of this is beyond a normal citizen's understanding, so that is why we should pray even more.

The Lord Jesus is the One Who is one day coming to set all these things aright. In thinking about it I often pray, "even so, come quickly Lord Jesus." Maybe you will join me in that prayer, and if you do I think it will help as you prepare your heart for Sunday.

Pastor Don Workman

http://www.faithbaptiststreetsboro.org/