FBC Carthage E-News for September 10, 2012

FBC Carthage E-News

September 10, 2012

Good Morning,

The cooler temperatures and bright sunshine are a welcome relief to the hot, muggy, cloudy days we have had. These are great days to enjoy and be outdoors if possible. The Lord has blessed us in many ways; one of which is the wonder of the changing seasons. Be thankful and enjoy the Lord’s blessings.

I am thankful for the great services yesterday, especially the Deacon Ordination Service as we set apart five men to serve the Lord and the church as deacons. Those ordained were Tom Broyles, Michael Collins, John Etheridge, Stephen Russell, and James Trainham. These men will join in service with our present deacons in October. As we were reminded yesterday in the service, let us pray for the deacons as they lead and serve.

I am thankful for the 5th Quarter ministry we have and those who serve the youth in our community. This past week, Jeremy Street, was the guest speaker and he brought a powerful testimony of trust in the Lord through adversity. He became paralyzed after a motocross accident and shared how his faith in Jesus Christ gave him strength through the days of adjustment and therapy. Sitting in his wheelchair, able to move one arm slightly, and proclaiming his trust and faith in Christ; he was a blessing and inspiration to me.

I am thankful for the ministry of our church. As I consider the lives touched by FBC Carthage, I realize there are many people involved in the ministry to the needs around us. Those who serve faithfully each week in our Sunday and Wednesday services and organizations are a blessing. Many members are serving each week as they reach out to the hurting, needy, and grieving in the community and make an impact for Christ. Individual members also provide transportation, make encouraging contacts, visit a friend, share a meal, and perform many other acts of kindness and ministry through the week. Each and everyone joins together to touch lives in the name of Jesus Christ. As believers in Christ, we are saved to serve.

Before the news, I want to say congratulations to Paige Upchurch and her fiancé, Jay Russell, on their upcoming wedding this Friday, September 14 at 6:30 PM. The wedding will be at the church and everyone is invited to attend.

Have a beautiful, enjoyable, and blessed week,
Bro. Tim

Here’s the news for the week:
1. The Senior Adult Fellowship will meet Tuesday, September 11 at 11:30 AM for a potluck luncheon and program. Everyone 55+ is invited to attend.

2. The monthly church business meeting will be this Wednesday, September 12 at 6:30 PM in the Sanctuary.

3. This Sunday, September 16 will begin a special lifestyle evangelism training called “More Life.” We will meet in the Christian Life Center at 3:00 PM and have a time of training each week. Following the training, teams will go out and make visits with church members and prospects, putting into practice what they have been learning. This training and visitation will be a great tool to help “your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one” (Colossians 4:6). For more information click on http://www.tnbaptist.org/page.asp?cat=evang&subcat=morelife.

If you have a “smart phone” you may want to go to your app source and download the “More Life” app. Here is some information on that app:
The More Life App is a free downloadable tool that provides a beautiful, powerful, yet simple presentation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Everyone wants to believe there is more....more life here and more life after death. This belief is the driving force behind a lifestyle evangelism and relational discipleship process called “More...Life”. Simple! It's just simply the Gospel. Nothing to memorize, no animated presentation, More...Life just transfers the beauty, the compassion, the information of the Gospel to lost neighbors, co-workers and friends.

App Features:
• Conversation Tool - Swipe-through slides in this tool to share the Gospel in a conversational style•
• Scripture Reference - Use of the Bible verses validate the Gospel presentation found in the More Life transfer guide•
• Language Feature - Tap the language button to use the More Life guide in English or Spanish •
• Share Feature - Share More Life via Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail • Calendar Feature - Find a More Life rally near you with the calendar feature

4. The youth will be traveling in the church bus to the football game this Friday, September 14. The sign-up sheet and more information will be at the Youth service this Wednesday night at 6:30 PM.

5. Make your plans to attend the special Operation Christmas Child kick-off event on Saturday, September 29, 2012 at 6:00 PM. The event will be held at the Smith County Ag Center. Two highlights of this kick-off event will be:

* A free dinner will be provided by the Timberloft Restaurant, located in Gordonsville, Tennessee to the first 200 people who RSVP to First Baptist Church in Carthage, Tennessee, phone number 615 735-1929. You can also e-mail your reservations to: wom2644@gmail.com.

• Our special guest speaker will be Oksana Nelson, who as a young girl, received a Christmas shoe-box in an orphanage in Russia. Later she was adopted by a couple in the United States and is now a great promoter of the shoe-box ministry of Operation Christmas Child. More information on Oksana is included in the informational flyer attached.

Operation Christmas Child touches thousands of children every year for the gospel of Jesus Christ. This rally is an opportunity to hear from one of those children first-hand. Come be encouraged and inspired by this young ladies testimony. Please join us for this special evening of good fellowship, great food, and an inspiring testimony to the grace of God delivered to a child in a shoe-box.

6. Pray for the Camp Meeting/Revival Services at Cambridge Bay, Nunavut. These services with the Inuit people will be October 12-14. Alec Sunrise will be preaching and Alex Tambour will lead the music. Bro. Tim will also be on this initial team reaching into the unreached people group for whom we have been praying since December 2010.

7. Last week we began a special prayer time for the four students from FBC Carthage who have felt the call into Full-Time missions. This week we are praying specifically for Josh Lynn, a student at the University of Tennessee. Josh shares the following:

His favorite memories of FBC Carthage:
VBS and Children’s Choir; Josh also mentions Carter Robinson inviting him; involvement led to his family’s membership at FBC

His call to serve the Lord and how it changed his life:
Mission trip to Montana at age of 14; being “out of comfort zone.” He mentions the Tacketts and several students on that first mission trip, particularly Joe Paul, Sam, Jill Frank, and Danieal Day (from Stevens Street) Kenya trip, more trips to Montana, Haiti; gave up own hopes and dreams and replaced them with God’s plans – Jeremiah 19:11 and Joshua 1:8-9
Life is a “mission life” rather than a series of “mission trips”.

When asked for specific prayer requests:
• God continue to reveal Himself to me daily and provide opportunities to share Him with others.
• Academics and complications with one scholarship
• God’s timing and direction for next trip.
• Memorizing Ephesians.

8. The next meeting of the Women on Missions will be Monday, October 1 at Sharron Raymond’s home. All ladies are invited to attend.

9. This week is the Week of Prayer for State Missions. Here is an informational site about Tennessee Baptist missions that has several downloads, including the poem I read at the close of the message entitled, “The Work Is In the Fields” : http://www.tnbaptist.org/page.asp?page=127

10. The video we played yesterday in the services entitled “I Refuse” can be viewed at: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bx0sDm-KPoI