Due to the weather conditions, we will not be having any Wednesday Night Activities tonight. All reservations for tonight’s meal, January 17th, will be honored for next Wednesday, January 24th. We hope you enjoy your snow day!
Introducing Darren Beebe, Pastoral Ministry Intern for the Spring
Darren Beebe will be a pastoral ministry intern with us this spring. Please join us in welcoming this seminary student as he seeks to learn and serve alongside us.
"Joyous greetings, First Baptist Church of Sylva! It is with great enthusiasm and gratitude that I introduce myself to you all as your pastoral ministry intern for the spring! I am a divinity school student at Gardner-Webb University starting this month, so I am very excited to serve the Lord and learn more about ministry through hands-on experience at your church.
I will be serving in a variety of areas in the church to garner a more comprehensive learning experience. Having settled on an internship contract with Jeff that focuses on learning and serving, I will attend worship and Bible study with you all on Sundays and Wednesdays, and will disperse my time among the various classes and age groups. Likewise, I will lead a few Sunday School lessons and Bible studies. I will also accompany Jeff and other church members on a few pastoral visits.
Here’s a little bit about me: I was born and raised in Boone, NC, but decided to attend the better mountain school in Cullowhee instead of that other school back home. I graduated from WCU with a bachelor’s degree in history last semester. There, I was very active in the Baptist Student Fellowship, serving in numerous leadership roles. I attended Cullowhee Baptist Church for my entire undergraduate career, and interned with the pastors there this past summer. It was these experiences in college that spurred my Christian faith to grow and aided me in discerning the call to ministry.
I am excited to be serving the Lord alongside you all this coming semester! I look forward to getting to know the FBC family better. As such, feel free to come say hello if you see me around! I am grateful to Jeff, the rest of the FBC staff, and the entire congregation in having me as your intern! I can’t wait to serve and learn together!"
Grace and Peace,
Darren Beebe
New Year Message from Pastor Ernesto in Cuba
"Beloved brothers and sisters from First Baptist church of Sylva,
For this year, we wish for you guys to start the year with health and peace. We are living through some difficult times at the moment, which we have to place in the hand of God.
We are praying for all of you, asking God that you all are well, and that if there’s anything going on with your family that God will take control of the situation and guide you to a solution. This new year, our church is going to focus on family, in which we include you.
I found out from Pastor Jeff what happened to the wife of one of your former pastors. This news is very sad and difficult to manage. We are praying that God will give you wisdom as you grieve their loss and respond with kindness and support. When difficulties and tragedies occur, put your energy into what can happen next so that God’s redemptive power can spring into action.
We love you and will remember you in our prayers during the coming year, and will hope alongside you that 2018 will make our love for Jesus Christ stronger."
A hug,
Ernesto and Marisol
WMU Missions Extravaganza
2018 Missions Extravaganza
The WMU of North Carolina Missions Extravaganza will be held Friday and Saturday, April 27-28, at Ardmore Baptist Church in Winston-Salem.
This is a wonderful event and opportunity to meet missionaries, choose from a wide variety of break-out sessions that are sure to encourage, challenge, and equip you for the mission field God has placed before you.
To learn more about Missions Extravaganza, check out this website: http://www.wmunc.org/me2018
A group will be going to this event from First Baptist Sylva. We’d love to have you join us. We have reservations for Friday night in Winston Salem at the Comfort Suites-Hanes Mall. The Registration Fee for both Friday evening and Saturday is $55.00 per person if received by February 1, and $65.00 per person after February 1.
If you would like to go with us, please email Linda Phelps at linda.todd@wku.edu or text or phone Linda at 270.784.2547.
RAs and GAs Activity Weekend
May 18th - 19th we will be have a Girls in Action and Royal Ambassadors activity weekend.
GAs will be having a sleepover at the church in the Mission and Fellowship Center beginning at 5:30PM and will need to be picked up by 8:30AM on the 19th. Girls of all ages are invited to stay, however we do ask that girls Kindergarten - 2nd grade be accompanied by a parent. Also, we will need some female chaperones.
RAs will be going camping at The Davidson River Campground. We will leave the church parking lot at 5:00PM and will return no later than noon on the 19th. Boys of all ages are invited to go, however we do ask that boys Kindergarten - 2nd grade be accompanied by a parent. Also, we will need some male chaperones.
Please sign-up for both events here: https://goo.gl/forms/lph51eXhs25lDorr1
Parents Night Out Care
Over the next few months we will offer several Parents Night Out events. We hope you will take advantage of one of these opportunities. We do ask that you sign-up for them by the Wednesday before to avoid having to pay an extra $10 per each child!
Fees: One Child: $25; Two Children: $30; Three Children: $35
January 12: Dinner will be pizza and fruit! Participants will create snowman mobiles!
February 2: Dinner will be spaghetti and breadsticks! Participants will create paper plate heart wreaths!
February 16: Dinner will be Grilled Cheese and Fries! Participants will create heart crystals.
March 16: Dinner will be Pigs in a blanket and chips! Participants will do marshmallow shamrock stamp painting.
April 6: Dinner will be Pancakes and hash browns! Participants will create shaving cream eggs.
April 27: Dinner will be hot dogs and Fries! Participants will create cloud and rain water wind stocks!
May 4: Dinner will be tacos! Participants will create piñatas!
May 18: We will have a sub bar! Participants will create paper plate umbrellas!
You can sign up here: http://firstbaptistsylva.com/giving/
Asking the Right Questions
Jesus asks a lot of questions. Have you noticed?
In scripture, we meet a God who wants to engage us. We know this because Jesus frequently asks questions of his listeners. Jesus’s inquisitive posture is a dominant feature in his life and ministry. When his disciples are perplexed by something, he asks them a question. When individuals want to know more about his teachings, he asks them a question. When people ask Jesus a question, he often responds with a—you guessed it—question. Depending on the criteria you use, Jesus’s red-letter statements in the Bible include dozens and dozens of questions.
Some of the questions point out our hypocrisy: “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?” (Matthew 7:3)
Other questions reveal our lack of strength and fortitude: “You of little faith, why are you so afraid?” (Matthew 8:26)
Then, there are the rapid-fire questions that feel like an inquisition: “If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even the pagans do that?” (Matthew 5:46)
Still other questions speak to the deepest corridors of our soul and convict us with their honesty: “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6)
We get it, Jesus. You want us to be reflective. You want us to consider the world from your point of view. You want us to grow by challenging us.
We can’t help it. As humans, we naturally strive to make meaning of our lives and the world around us. Regardless of the circumstances, we try and make sense of what we’ve experienced. In truth, we’re not very good at it. But that doesn’t stop us from trying! We try and find patterns. We want answers, not further ambiguities. And when we don’t get the conclusions that satisfy us, we are perplexed and often paralyzed by the anxiety and grief that the cul-de-sacs in our imagination present us with.
When we deal with hardship and suffering, answers—at least fulfilling answers—are in short supply.
When answers are not forthcoming, perhaps it’s because our focus is misplaced. Instead of yearning for resolution that never seems to come, maybe we should take a cue from Jesus and search more thoroughly for the right questions.
Yes, a well-positioned question can reveal more truth than a pat response.
Jesus: “Why are you troubled and why do doubts rise in your minds?” (Luke 24:38)
(Our answer: “Because we really don’t trust you.”)
What question is God asking us? Which inquiries from Jesus are we ignoring?
Oh, we seem to have plenty of questions for God. And if we’ll stop to think about it for a moment, we’ve got to concede that God must certainly have some questions for us, as well. Do we dare field them? Or, would we rather stonewall God like a well-disciplined press secretary?
Discerning and asking the right question requires courage and creativity. It requires us to be open to conversation so that the door to our heart will be cracked open. Determining the right question for ourselves, and for others, can yield a break-through moment. A well-considered question can change the trajectory of our lives, and ultimately help to inaugurate the Kingdom of God.
Jesus: “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” (Matthew 9:28)
Hmmm. Good question.
Arrangements and Obituary for Sarah Beddingfield
Sarah Fogarty Beddingfield
Sarah Lee Fogarty Beddingfield, 68, of Lillington, NC died December 25, 2017 from injuries sustained in a Christmas Eve fire at her home.
Born at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama on March 9, 1949, Sarah spent most of her childhood living on the family land in nearby Prattville. She graduated from the University of Alabama and Troy State University and did post-master’s work at Southern Connecticut State University.
A public school teacher like her mother, Sarah also had an adventurous spirit and taught for a few years in Mexico and Ecuador. She retired after 33 years of teaching middle school language, social studies, and remedial reading in Cumberland, Warren, and Jackson counties in North Carolina. She was elected teacher of the year on several occasions. Her best and most rewarding work was helping underperforming students rise to their potential. In retirement she worked at the public libraries in Fayetteville and Lillington.
Sarah was also a pastor’s wife who preferred doing the work of ministry to living in the limelight. She touched the churches where she was a member by singing in the choir, teaching thoughtful and compelling adult Sunday School classes, keeping the nursery, visiting the elderly, and being involved in mission projects from the local veterans’ hospital to disaster relief to building houses in Kenya. She has been remembered publicly as a person of compassion, kindness, and humility.
A genuinely self-giving wife and mother, Sarah is survived by her husband of 42 years, Ed Beddingfield, of Lillington; two daughters, Shannon, of New Haven, CT and Meghan, of Dallas, TX; a nephew, Rusty Fogarty, of Prattville, AL; and numerous cousins, fellow church members, coworkers, and dear friends.
She was preceded in death by her parents, J. P. and Alice Langford Fogarty; her brother, John N. Fogarty; and a nephew, Rafe Fogarty, all of Prattville.
A memorial service will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday, January 13 at Memorial Baptist Church, 271 Leslie Campbell Ave., Buies Creek, NC 27506, with Dr. Derek Hogan and Dr. Michael Cogdill officiating. The family will receive friends in the fellowship hall after the service. Guests are invited to bring notes of their particular memories of Sarah for Shannon, who remains hospitalized and cannot attend the service. Other remembrances may be posted to the obituary at the funeral home website, www.oppfh.com.
In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Cuba Mission Fund at Memorial Baptist Church, P. O. Box 485, Buies Creek, NC 27506.
Arrangements entrusted to O’Quinn Peebles Phillips Funeral Home and Crematory of Lillington.
Wednesday Night Activities Resume Jan. 10!
Wednesday Night activities will be starting back on Wednesday, January 10th at 5:30 PM. If you would like to join us for dinner (remember: Children and College Students eat free!), please RSVP by 4:00 PM today! You can RSVP for dinner in the church office or on our website here: http://firstbaptistsylva.com/giving/
Our SHINE Children and Youth activities will be back this Wednesday as well. SHINE is an opportunity for our children to learn how to praise God by singing, acting, dancing, and creating art to be used in ministry and worship.
P.S. - If your children are not a part of our After School ministry and would like to attend our afternoon mission education experiences (RAs—Royal Ambassadors, for boys, GAs—Girls in Action, for boys), please contact the church office by 4:00 PM on Tuesday so we can make that happen cost-free for your family.
Our Adult Bible Study also resumes on Wednesday night at 6 PM. Please join us as we watch and discuss the movie, The Way, from a faithful and Christ-centered perspective during the month of January. The Way is the story of a grieving father whose path unfolds on a pilgrimage with strangers who will become soul friends.
Adult Bible Study Begins January 10 at 6:00 PM
Join us as we watch and discuss the movie, The Way, from a faithful and Christ-centered perspective during the month of January. The Way is the story of a grieving father whose path unfolds on a pilgrimage with strangers who will become soul friends.