FBC Carthage E-News for April 6, 2009

FBC Carthage E-News
April 6, 2009

Good morning,

In the midst of revival services and many activities, I remind you as I had to remind myself this morning that this is Holy Week, the week in which Jesus Christ was betrayed, crucified, buried and gloriously resurrected. I encourage you to set aside some extra time this week to read through one or all of the gospel accounts of this important week in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. The accounts of this one week make up a large portion of each of the gospels. You can find them recorded in:
Matthew 21-28
Mark 11-16
Luke 19:28-24:53
John 12-21

Holy Week culminates in the greatest victory celebration of the year, Resurrection Sunday! This Sunday, April 12 is Resurrection Sunday which we commonly refer to as Easter. We will have a great day of celebration in both morning services at 8:00 and 10:45 AM. Invite family and friends to attend one of the services with you. People who do not normally attend church will attend on this special day if you will invite them. The choir has a special presentation planned and I will be preaching on the hope we have in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will also have Sunday evening service at 5:30 PM as we celebrate the difference that the resurrection has made is our lives. It will be a great day of exalting Jesus Christ and the Risen Savior and victorious King!

The revival services have been fantastic with great music and stirring preaching by Bro. Jimmy Napier. With three nights left in this revival there is time for you to call your friends and family and urge them to come with you. Continue to pray diligently for your lost friends and family. I believe many will come to Christ if we will bring them to these services. Don’t make excuses for them or yourself. Call, invite and bring them with you to theses services.

During last night’s service the Lord placed a word in my heart that I have continued to ponder. That word is urgency. During the Annie Armstrong emphasis the theme is “Live with Urgency.” During the cottage prayer meetings the Lord impressed on my heart a sense of urgency. Last night’s message of the wedding feast that is “now ready” rocked my thoughts of the urgency of the task. Too often we live and serve the Lord as if we have all the time in the world. We treat divine opportunities to share with others as if they will always be available. If we don’t keep a sense of urgency about the mission we will find ourselves in settling into a life of complacency. My heart is burdened that we as Christians and as a congregation rekindle the urgency of the gospel and the importance of now. We are not promised tomorrow. We must work before the night comes and all our work is over.

One of the passages we read several times last week in our prayer meeting was Matthew 9: 35-38 which says, “35 Then Jesus went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every disease among the people. 36 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

The harvest is ready. The harvest is plentiful. The laborers are few. The call is for us to pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send forth laborers. We are those laborers. Now is the time. Let’s allow Jesus to be our example of One who lived with urgency. Our greatest days of opportunity and witness are just ahead. The harvest is the eternal souls of our friends, family, and neighbors. Let’s be faithful to sow and cultivate so that in God’s timing there will be a great harvest. Remember this old song?

Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves,
Bringing in the sheaves, bringing in the sheaves,
We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.

Have a blessed Holy Week and I’ll see you and your friends at the Revival.
Bro. Tim


Here’s the news for this week:
1. The revival services continue through Wednesday night, April 8 at 6:30 PM each evening. The special emphasis are:
Monday, April 6 Sunday School Night
Tuesday, April 7 Family and Friends Night
Wednesday, April 8 Youth Night
There will be a church-wide hamburger cookout beginning at 5:00 PM in the Family Life Center on Wednesday night. Invite everyone you know for the cookout and the revival service.

2. We welcome Pat and Kristi Nixon as new members of FBC Carthage on transfer of letter from Homestead Baptist Church in Crossville, Tennessee. We also welcome Matthew Lynn as a new member on his Profession of Faith and upcoming baptism.

3. The first Sunday of our new 8:00 AM service was a smooth start. Thanks to the choir, musicians, ushers and technicians who gave double duty. This new service opened up space in the 10:45 AM service and now both services are ready for you to invite your family and friends.

4. As the Lord brings people to FBC Carthage let us be ready and willing to reach out to them and make them feel welcome. I anticipate many guests will be in the services this Sunday. Go out of your way to shake their hand, introduce yourself, ask their name and let them know how glad we are they came to worship the Lord Jesus Christ at First Baptist. If you don’t know what to say, start with “Good morning, my name is _________.” The Lord will give you what to say from there. Don’t forget to smile. :)

5. The Church Council met yesterday and here are several dates you will want to place on your calendar:
April 12 Resurrection Sunday
15 Business Meeting
19 Missions Meeting for Mission Trips
24 Youth Lock-In
25 Youth Connect – Basketball
26 Children’s Day / Awana Awards Night

May 2 Awana Skate Party 1:30 PM
3 Graduate Recognition and Luncheon
Children’s Program and Refreshments

June 10-13 Youth Refuel
June 15-19 Vacation Bible School
June 28-July 6 Mission Trip to New York

July 14-22 Mission Trip to Montana

6. Vacation Bible School is one of our biggest and most important events of the year and it will be held June 15-19 in the evenings from 6:00-8:30 PM. Now is the time for you to sign-up to teach and help in the classes. Rhonda Etheridge and Lisa Reece are our directors and they need to hear from you. You can sign-up at the table on the second floor in the Educational Building, or by calling the church office at 735-1929, or by e-mailing a reply to this e-news or to tfrank@fbccarthage.com. Everyone is needed for this great week. For information on the theme, click on Boomerang Express.

7. Take a moment and watch this great Easter video, created by several of my friends and then do what it says at the very end. You will like it.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ZGDDAX0tg