We enjoyed and got through the holiday season. Most folks I've spoken to are glad 2012 is over for many reasons I'm sure they'll be willing to share. Our hope and prayers are with a great 2013 as we begin the 25th year of our church. That's right; this church began way back in 1988 and has continued for all those years in spite of having me as pastor! (Yuck, yuck)
I (the pester) went back to work at the end of the year , so I'm back to being a "bi-vocational" pastor. My time away from having "that other" job was about 2 years; I knew I could make it one year without being bi-vo but with the passing of my mother last year I waited another year.
I'm back to the insurance industry as a call-center representative and am currently in training. This will allow me to continue as pastor of the church and continue to handle the teaching, preaching, music and administration of the church for as long as the Lord keeps us going. The people understand and identify with our needs and have been as supportive as always. My thanks to the folks for understanding, and my thanks to the Lord for allowing me to obtain employment. Given the current economic climate that's a big deal; a lot of people are still looking and my prayers and love go out to them!
We are revamping our prayer list for 2013 and look forward to continuing in prayer for all of you as we "press on toward the mark for the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!"

Great Christmas Fellowship the 16th

We had a fantastic time for our Christmas Fellowship last Sunday night. We had great food and fun. The Songspinners performed a classic Christmas show (it was a moooooving experience) and we followed our potluck dinner with a time of singing and silliness. Our thanks to all that brought the fabulous food and for all the work that everyone put in to making it happen. The Songspinners always enjoy coming to perform because our church is so receptive and participatory. Thank you all so much.

 

Sunday night the 23rd the church will have a special Christmas worship service at 5pm. We will sing traditional carols, have special music from Lisa, Greg and Nancy, and close with a candlelight observance. We are having this service as a special time of simple worship and thanksgiving as a church, to give the Lord thanks for giving us another lease for our location.

 

Don’t forget church cookbooks for Christmas gifts this year! Payment for church folks is voluntary because of last year’s “beard-shaving” event; if friends or family want several of them the $10/per amount would be greatly appreciated. If our blog friends want a cookbook send us a message and we’ll get it to you.

For all of our church members, friends and family members, we wish you a blessed Christmas season in honor of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He left the glory of heaven to come to earth to die for our sins. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Son of God, Son of Man, Humble Servant and Coming King!

Songspinners at Heartsong Church Dec 2

This Sunday night December 16 is our annual Christmas fellowship with the Songspinners here; start time 5:30pm. We expect a large crowd as friends and family members always make it a priority to come so keep that in mind as you prepare your feasts - Potluck following! Bring the fridge!

We have the new lease from the owner and have signed it.

To offer thanks to the Lord and prepare for the coming year we will have a special worship service next Sunday night the 23^rd at 5pm

We sent a total of 8 boxes to our soldier in Afghanistan, for him and his squad. 6 of the boxes have arrived already and they were very appreciative. Apparently the most coveted items were the disposable razors because they don’t have to pay for them themselves! The first response they had was, “you mean it’s free?” I am so glad we were able to bring some smiles to their important work over there. Thank you all so much for your generosity. If you want to send more we’ll make it happen; just keep the stuff coming.

Don’t forget church cookbooks for Christmas gifts this year! Payment for church folks is voluntary because of last year’s “beard-shaving” event; if friends or family want several of them the $10/per amount would be greatly appreciated. If our blog friends want a cookbook send us a message and we’ll get it to you.

For all of our church member, friends and family members, we wish you a blessed Christmas season in honor of the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He left the glory of heaven to come to earth to die for our sins. Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Son of God, Son of Man, Humble Servant and Coming King!

Thanksgiving 2012

What are you thankful for this Thanksgiving?

“The Lord is compassionate and gracious; slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will He keep His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.” (Psalm 103:8-10) And may I add, He always blesses us far more than what we deserve. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Thanksgiving 2012

Let us give thanks for what the Lord has done and for those blessings He has not given yet. Things are not going well in this great land of ours, and some are struggling through the darkest days of their lives. But there is still much to be thankful for. One thing is sure; in a world where so many impulsively see only the darkness and make sure we all know it’s dark, those that are singing the song of giving thanks will stick out like a sore thumb. Let us sing and give thanks to the Lord to the top of our lungs!

But about midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns of praise to God, and the prisoners were listening to them (Acts 16:25)

A Pastor’s Commentary on Psalm 26 and Thanksgiving

I shall wash my hands in innocence, and I will go about Your altar (come to church!), O Lord, that I may proclaim with the voice of thanksgiving (come to church and sing praises!) and declare all Your wonders. O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house (so come to church this Sunday!) and the place where Your glory dwells. (again with the church thing) Psalm 26:6-8

Some Thanksgiving Quotes

Whereas it is the duty of all Nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey his will, to be grateful for his benefits, and humbly to implore his protection and favor– and whereas both Houses of Congress have by their joint Committee requested me to recommend to the People of the United States a day of public thanksgiving and prayer to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many signal favors of Almighty God especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness. (Opening quote from the Thanksgiving Proclamation signed by George Washington, President of the United States of America, October 3, 1789)

We have been the recipients of the choicest bounties of Heaven; we have been preserved these many years in peace and prosperity; we have grown in numbers, wealth, and power as no other nation has ever grown. ~ Abraham Lincoln, at Thanksgiving time during the Civil War, 1863

Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds. ~ Theodore Roosevelt, 1901

Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often. ~ Johnny Carson

What we're really talking about is a wonderful day set aside on the fourth Thursday of November when no one diets. I mean, why else would they call it Thanksgiving? ~ Erma Bombeck

Thanksgiving dinners take eighteen hours to prepare. They are consumed in twelve minutes. Half-times take twelve minutes. This is not coincidence. ~Erma Bombeck

 
Some Personal Thanks
I wonder what pumpkin pie tastes like when I’m not already full?
I’m thankful for elastic waistbands in pants
I’m thankful for the hugs of a grandchild
I’m thankful for the giggling of little girls
I’m thankful for a long hike on a well-worn trail with a warm sun at my back
I’m thankful for the sound of singing when it’s not expected
I’m thankful for people who aren’t afraid to let out a good belly-laugh
I’m thankful for those that don’t get offended when someone says something funny about them
I’m thankful for good food and good company
I’m thankful for my son and daughter who keep giving me beautiful grandchildren
I’m thankful for the view from the top of the trail, knowing that the path back to the car is all downhill
I’m thankful for a fresh-painted room where nothing further needs to be done to it
I’m thankful for the Declaration of Independence and Constitution of these United States; long may they be the principles for the governance of this land
I’m thankful for my beautiful wife who puts up with my little irritating habits (I would list them all out here but space does not permit)
You can make your own list of little and great things to be thankful for this year

 

Voting Time and Daylight Savings Ends

I worked for the county doing the early voting at Chapel Hills mall for 2 weeks. We helped over 2000 people on Friday alone so it was very, very busy. Don’t forget Election Day is Tuesday if you haven’t already voted as it seemed most of the county had where I was.

I saw some old friends during the early voting: Jim and Carol Thomas and David and Marti Walker came through. I also saw Terry and Doris’ son Mike and their grandson during the early voting. One of my co-workers asked me if I knew everyone in the county, so many came through that I have known through the years. I don’t but there were times when it seemed like every other person was an old acquaintance.

I made new friends during the time I worked; they were all good people that worked really hard to make sure people got to vote.

Tomorrow marks the end of Daylight Saving time so we get that extra hour of sleep for tomorrow; it gets dark earlier but I’m glad for the sleep as I’m sure you are, also.

Lisa will be gone so our worship will be karaoke as I like to say; you will still enjoy Lisa’s playing on the discs so come on out for tomorrow morning!

We finished up our study on “Dueling Denominations” last Sunday morning for Sunday School. We’ll return to the book of Acts chapter 16 tomorrow.

May the Lord bless ya’ll real good!

Bulletins will continue

I had planned on only printing bulletins when they were needed, but someone has provided for the print cartridges so we will keep printing the bulletin weekly. The cost of print cartridges is something churches and businesses constantly fight, so it’s great that someone decided to provide for them. Do check this blog and emails as we will also update you that way
This also means prayer requests will be printed weekly on the bulletin
I found myself in a video news report from Fox 21 News this past week (I think it was Wednesday) while working on the election. You can see me in “action” on YouTube from their website. The main reason I was in the video was that the camera just loves my face, but then again, doesn’t everyone?
 
Worship the Lord
Scripture Reading: Praise the Lord, O servants of the Lord. Blessed be the name of the Lord, from this time forth and forever. From the rising of the sun to its setting the name of the Lord is to be praised. Psalm 113:1-3
Bless the Lord, O my Soul
Blessed Be the Name of the Lord
Blessed Be Your Name (You Give and Take Away)
Blessed Be the Lord God Almighty

What is a Baptist preacher? A Baptist preacher is joyful, has a rockin’ and rollin’ sense of humor, thinks most things are fair game for a good laugh (short of the profane), enjoys good food, wants to help people, loves the Word of God more than anything or anyone else in life, has a loyalty to the local church that is so deep it hurts, believes that the Lord is what people need more than anything material/physical, will not compromise the most important doctrines of Scripture for any person, wants to glorify the Lord in everything he does, thinks worship is the number one activity of the church, doesn’t mind doing menial tasks in the church, thinks laughter is one of the sounds of worship along with singing and Scripture reading, and just simply loves the Lord and His folks. That is what a Baptist preacher is.