Our 1st Explorers have their own newsletter now! If you would like to receive emails about what our 1st Explorers campers and staff are up to, make sure to subscribe to the newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/b4h7nr. You can also subscribe at the bottom of the 1st Explorers page of our website.
A New Artist's Bench!
Dr. Rhonda Furr has donated a beautiful new artist's bench for the piano in the sanctuary, in memory of her mother, Bert Speich. Rhonda grew up in our church, and began playing the piano for services while she was in high school. She soon became the organist, and served in that capacity until she left in the mid 1980s in order to earn a doctorate in organ performance at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Rhonda accepted a position at Houston Baptist University, and has been there since her commencement from "Southern." She has continued in her role as church organist all these years.
Bert Speich sang alto in the Sanctuary Choir for some forty years. She was the chair of search committee which hired me as Minister of Music. Her gracious and loving spirit were always a model of Christian behavior, and her memory lives on in all who knew her. She, along with her husband, Hank, taught Sunday School for at least twenty-five years for grades 3-6. They were active in the total program of Sylva First Baptist Church, and we miss them.
Thank you, Rhonda, for your gift in memory of Bert!!
Sincerely,
Bob Holquist
The Music Ministry
Church Office and Summer Camp Closed for July 4th
Our church office and Summer Explorers Camp will be closed for Independence Day on July 4th. Summer Explorers Camp will be closed on Friday, July 1st as well. We hope you enjoy this long weekend!
Devil Hot - Jeff Mathis
Many of you know that I spent my first year out of seminary living in the desert southwest.
Tucson, Arizona was a dramatic change from New Jersey and Manhattan, where I had been studying and serving in preparation for a lifetime of vocational ministry. Yes, the desert was rugged and prickly. But the towering mountains, stunning sunsets and pyrotechnically-inspired lightning storms captured my heart.
Did I mention that it was hot?
When I complained to the locals about the 110 F temperatures (And no, it doesn’t matter that it’s a dry heat. Trust me, you still bake like an overly-toasted potato chip), they informed me that the other 8 months of the year were delightful. Still, it was hot. As in energy-sucking, what-is-wrong-with-this-place?, Satan-is-my-next-door-neighbor-hot.
The heat is dangerous, to boot.
As you may be aware, the southwest is currently being torched by a terrible heat wave. With low temperatures not dipping below 95 F in some places, the conditions are ghastly (and so are the electric bills).
I remember talking to a doctor who worked at an area hospital when I lived in Arizona. He told me that one summer he treated a man who had suffered a heart attack on a sidewalk at midday. Although he was only on the concrete for a few minutes before help arrived, his second degree burns to his face were more significant than the damage to his heart.
Tragically, otherwise healthy individuals have died during the current heat wave. Hikers have ventured out into the desert in temperatures approaching 118 F. These folk suffered dizziness, nausea, throbbing headaches and eventually the inability to draw a breath. Then, they died.
As one local authority framed it, “Every one of these deaths was 100% avoidable.”
This past Sunday we were reminded of Jesus’s teachings from his Sermon on the Mount. He told his followers that those who did not put his words into actions would suffer a terrible fate. In his model prayer, Jesus instructs us to pray that we will not be led into temptation and that we will be delivered from evil.
Jesus knows that sin is 100% avoidable but that we are universally powerless to its charms. So he tells us to be aware of sin’s insidious reality in the world and to summon God’s power and strength to defeat it.
Is it enough to pray Jesus’s prayer? Will these words buffer us from evil and protect us from ourselves?
I believe that this element in the Lord’s Prayer heightens our sensitivity to the lure of sin. With this prayer, God gives us the power to resist temptation and to choose God’s will and not our own. God equips us to defeat evil, but we are weak to summon God’s power, aren’t we?
Just as the national weather service provides us with warnings for threatening and inclement weather, Jesus teaches us to know what is good and what is right and to avoid circumstances where we are powerless to sin. God’s truth convicts us, and positions us to repent and to turn away from that which poisons our souls and wrecks our world. Practically speaking, we’ve got to be aware of that which we are tempted and to avoid it with the same seriousness of a dire forecast. Surrounding ourselves with others, and practicing confession and hearing God’s assurance, is an excellent step in locating ourselves in the cool breeze of the air conditioning rather than the charcoal-grill-heat of the wild.
In full disclosure, I hear two things as your pastor when I speak about sin. First, I hear appreciation for saying that which is hard to say and hard to hear. And second, I hear resistance, and an unwillingness to address ethical, moral and systemic failings.
And yet, I must confess to you that I am a sinner. Being aware of my own sin enables me to recognize my absolute need for Jesus Christ. Jesus is more than just a wise guru or peddler of prophetic wisdom. Because of my corruption and continued dance with temptation, I need Jesus to be my savior—to save me from my sins.
Like Jesus, I believe that the presence of evil and the temptation to sin is as real as the desert heat; and equally as deadly.
Vespers Tonight!
Vespers will be tonight, Wednesday June 22nd at 6:00 pm. We will be meeting at Waterrock Knob (located at milepost 451 on the Blue Ridge Parkway). The church will be providing a hot dog supper, a time of devotion for the adults and play time for the kids, and then we will have a game of soccer at 6,000 feet! We hope to see you all there!
Communion on Sunday, June 26
We will be sharing in the Ordinance of Communion on Sunday, June 26th during our morning worship service. Please join us in partaking and remembering Jesus’ sacrifice for us.
Thank You, Building and Grounds Team!
We would like to say a huge thank you to Harold Messer and everyone on our building and grounds team for their efforts at making our office entrance more accessible! Thank you for working so diligently to serve the church in this way, and with all the other projects you have been working on.
Budget Q&A
We will have a time of Question and Answer about our church budget immediately following worship on Sunday, June 26 in the Mission and Fellowship Center. Please join us if you have any questions or would just like to sit in and listen.
We will also be called into church conference on Sunday, July 3rd to vote on our new budget.
Visiting with Pastor Ernesto Bazan
Ernesto Bazan, pastor of our sister church in Holguin, Cuba, is coming to visit us from July 28-August 9. We would like to get a group together to plan the itinerary for his upcoming visit. If you are interested in helping, join us on Thursday at 5:30pm (location TBD). Please call or text Renee Coward at 828-399-1876 for more info.
Bluegrass at the Barn - SMPCC Fundraiser
Smoky Mountain Pregnancy Care Center’s
BLUEGRASS AT THE BARN
FUNDRAISING CONCERT/SILENT AUCTION
Saturday, June 25, 2016 4-8:30 pm at the Bloemsma Barn 1145 Patton Rd., Franklin, NC
Inflatables, Food Vendors, and an Outdoor concert featuring:
“Mountain Faith Band”
Ticket prices:
V.I.P. Meet and Greet with the band.....$35.00
Adult Admission/13 & Up......$25.00
Children's Admission/6 to 13...$15.00
Family Admission...$75.00 (Family of 4 or more)
Ticket prices do not include a meal, food vendors available
Tickets available: Online at www.smpccpartners.com (online ticket purchase includes Handling Fee) or the Franklin office @ 226 E. Palmer St., Cullowhee office @ 4699 Little Savannah Rd and the Franklin & Jackson County Chamber of Commerce. For more information call 828.349.3200