Tonight, we're studying our Baptist roots. Come to our Adult Bible Study at 6 PM to learn more about our own particular faith tradition and how we fit in with our other brothers and sisters in Christ.
SMHS Baseball Teams Join Us for Worship
The Smoky Mountain High School JV and Varsity Baseball teams will be our guests in worship this Sunday, March 19th. Be on the lookout for them and make sure to give them a gracious welcome!
Upcoming Events for Women of the Church
- Don't miss the annual "Celebrating Women" Brunch on Saturday, April 1st, from 9:30 a.m. until 12 noon, in the Mission and Fellowship Center. You will be delighted at the GAs Parade of Nations, enjoy good food and door prizes, and be inspired by Phyllis Elvington. Phyllis is a sought-after speaker, known for her entertaining and thought-provoking sharing of Biblical truths. Don't miss this exciting day in the life of our church!
- On Sunday, April 2nd, the worship service will be led by the women and girls of the church and a visiting choir from WCU. Phyllis Elvington will bring the message. Men and women, boys and girls -- please plan to be there and bring your Bibles! More about this later.
- The Tuckaseigee Baptist Associational WMU's Annual Meeting will be Thursday, April 6th, at Faith Baptist Church. The meeting begins with a salad supper (bring a salad to share) at 6:00 p.m. A special guest speaker and fellowship with women from other churches will highlight this special event.
United Christian Ministries Fundraiser
Baby Shower for Afton and Jameson Stout
Please come to a baby shower honoring Afton and Jameson Stout on Sunday, March 19th from 2:00-3:30 PM in the Mission and Fellowship Center. Their baby girl is registered at Amazon.com and for diapers and wipes.
Baseball Team Lunch
On Sunday, March 19th, we will be hosting a luncheon for the Smoky Mountain high school baseball team. The food will be provided, but we are asking church members to provide dessert for the team. If you are willing to contribute a dessert to the luncheon, please contact Ruth McConnell at 506-8827.
The Alternate Ending to Last Sunday’s Sermon
If I could re-preach last Sunday’s sermon, I would. Let me explain.
While shaking hands with church members at the sanctuary’s front door after the service on Sunday, I heard a few of our folk talking about how they wanted to know how the story that I shared in the sermon ended. The story went like this:
When I was a small child, the iron that sat in the laundry room fascinated me. My mother, ever the perceptive parent, recognized my interest in the shiny, angular object and warned me never to go near it. Of course, that only heightened my interest and I waited for an opportunity to get close to it.
One day, an opportunity presented itself. My mother had been in the laundry room one morning but had disappeared into another part of the house. Seizing the moment, I drew close to the iron and marveled at its curious dimensions and the distorted reflection of the room in its mirror-like surface. I did not touch the iron gently with my finger. No, I took my entire hand and pressed it up against the face of the iron as though I was high-fiving the laundry tool.
I remember that my hand momentarily stuck to the fiery hot surface and I pulled it back quickly, stifling a yelp. The pain came in waves and I felt nauseous at what I had done. But cry out for help, I did not. Instead, I tiptoed into the kitchen, retrieved a cereal bowl and filled it with cold water. Then, I retreated to the house’s crawl space where I submerged my blistered hand while I hid from my mother.
Why did I not cry out for help? Why did I hide? I hid because I was ashamed of what I had done. I hid because I knew that I had disobeyed my mother and was certain that she would be upset with me.
“Jeff,” one of our church members implored after worship, “We want to know what happened to you after you hid from your mother.”
In truth, it never occurred to me that the story needed the kind of resolution that was requested by a couple of our church members. To me, the point of that childhood memory was that our first impulse—like Adam and Eve’s—is to hide when we have committed a sin.
But this is where I failed.
You may recall that I mentioned that God’s response to Adam and Eve’s disobedience felt less like punishment—that is, being banished from the Garden—and more like a lifting of the veil of protection from the world’s pain and terrors. The consequences of our sins have real world implications that oftentimes cannot be undone. When we sin, other people can get hurt. When we disobey God, we ourselves can get hurt. When we don’t do what we should do, people can suffer unnecessarily.
Here’s how I should have ended the sermon:
When my mother found me in the crawl space, she was not angry with me. To my surprise, she was deeply saddened that I had been hurt. She found me, and --of course--she cared for my wounds. My mother didn’t want to berate me. She wanted to care for me in my pain.
I believe that one of the reasons that God wants us to live lives that are sanctified (think, set apart) is because sin causes pain. Yes, it separates us from God’s Holy presence. And yes, it is only through the gift and sacrifice of Christ Jesus that our sins are atoned. But more than anything, I think, God does not want us to suffer. And sin causes pain. God’s declarations that we should avoid sin are rooted in the reality that God does not want us to hurt. My mother did not need to punish me for disobeying her. The consequence of my willful disobedience was punishment enough.
Let’s also not forget that my mother comforted me in my pain, just as the Good Father cared for his prodigal son who had decided to return home. God wants to hold us, especially in our woundedness.
If I could re-preach my sermon, this is how I would have ended it.
Mission Moment
Our Church is pleased to support CBF Global Missions in moments like these where unity and love are modeled and shared.
"After experiencing homelessness for 18 years, Roland in his first night in his own home, thought it was ludicrous that he would have an empty couch when he knew there were people who didn't have a place to stay," Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Joshua Hearne said.
Roland's declaration changed the way that Hearne and his community interacted with the city.
"What hit me right between the eyes was I had never had that thought. Not once had I ever been moved beyond a vague bad feeling that I had an empty couch, an empty bed," Hearne said. "That was the time when as a community, we all kind of stopped and thought, 'Roland is right. How do we live in light of our brother's faith?'"
Daylight Savings Time Begins
Don’t forget to "Spring Forward" on Sunday, March 12th for Daylight Savings Time! Make sure to remember to set your clocks forward an hour!
Service Opportunity
Meals on Wheels needs help in the Cullowhee and Savannah areas to deliver meals once a week from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Please call 631-8044 if you can help. Thanks a bunch!