Haven’t gotten a photo yet for our Church Directory?
We can help with that!
Nancy McConnell will be in the vestibule from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM this Sunday morning, November 6th with her iPhone camera in hand and will take your picture. Nancy will send the pictures to Janice, our church office assistant, for uploading to the directory.
Please see Nancy, and let’s get this directory updated so we can recognize and give personal greetings to our church friends.
Carol Cloer (Nov. 3)
Abby Fisher (Nov. 5)
Russell Midgett (Nov. 9)
Jordyn Sessoms (Nov. 9)
John Stiles (Nov. 11)
Sally Campbell (Nov. 11)
Leo James (Nov. 11)
Chris Moore (Nov. 13)
Ellen Mathis (Nov. 14)
Renee Coward (Nov. 15)
Sabrena Davis (Nov. 16)
Judy Henderson (Nov. 16)
John Nelson (Nov. 17)
E.P. Stillwell (Nov. 17)
Summer Burnes (Nov. 19)
Zeb Mathis (Nov. 25)
Arlin Middleton (Nov. 26)
Jeff Mathis (Nov. 28)
Gene Middleton (Nov. 28)
Mary Lou Millwood (Nov. 28)
Join us for a time of table fellowship TONIGHT ! Whether food from your kitchen, the grocery store, or a restaurant, you may put your food offering on the tables in the MFC beginning at 5:15 p.m. A blessing will be offered at 5:30 p.m, and then we will dig in!
At 6:00 p.m., we will watch the third episode, season two, of the series, The Chosen. In this episode, titled, “Matthew 4:24,” a long, exhausting day turns into night as the disciples help Jesus deal with a large crowd hoping to be healed. Around the campfire, over dinner, the group tried to get to know each other better. But tensions erupt.
We look forward to seeing you and your family TONIGHT!
Children have their own dedicated time together while the adults and youth watch
The Chosen in the Mission and Fellowship Center.
THANK YOU, First Baptist congregation,
for making this event such a success!
Your generosity of donating candy,
and God’s grace of perfect weather made
it a memorable event for the families
who came!!!! Much appreciation also
to the volunteers came out that night
to greet the public and hand out candy.
Great costumes, too!!!
Dear First Baptist Church,
Thank you for honoring me this past Sunday as your pastor. I am humbled by your most-generous gifts, and I appreciate the kindness you showed my family as partners with me in ministry.
Thank you for acknowledging my service during Pastor Appreciation Month. Your presentation on Sunday, as well as your cards and heartfelt words, are a blessing to me. Your presence with me on the path these last ten years has encouraged and sustained me through seasons of joy and trial. Thank you for being my family of faith.
My family has made a top-ten (okay, maybe top-eleven) list of things we love about our church. Here they are:
Rebecca: One of the things I love about our church is the intergenerational nature of our faith community. When I look around the sanctuary on Sunday mornings as I lead the Song of Praise, I see a room full of people who care deeply about one another. You are so thoughtful in so many ways-- bringing us newspaper clippings when our kids are featured in the newspaper, dropping off hand-me-down clothes, and sending sweet texts to check on us if we're not feeling well.
Ellen: I love how caring and supportive the church family is.
Jeff: I love how our church is gracious to a fault and gives one another the benefit of the doubt.
Rebecca: Another thing I love about our church is that it's okay to be new! When visitors show up, you quickly welcome and get to know them. You learn our guests' names, invite them to participate in the church's life, and work to find points of connection. I'm grateful we are a church that always makes room at the table for one more.
Zeb: One thing I love about our church is that people are very welcoming every Sunday morning. Everyone goes out of their way to greet others with warm smiles and kind words.
Jeff: I've never been associated with a more hospitable church fellowship. I love how our church members show that they care by tending to people's appetites. When a meal is needed, our church family whips up the most-amazing food offerings (oh, the desserts).
Rebecca: I am deeply grateful that we're a church that recognizes and affirms that God calls both women and men to lead and serve in ministry. Thank you for encouraging and supporting my sense of calling to serve in the region's nonprofit ministry.
Ellen: Another thing I love about church family is their commitment to serving others.
Jeff: I love how our church is willing to take faithful risks and try new ways of serving others and being church. This adventurous spirit is inspirational and contagious. When people say, "We've never done it this way before," it's meant as a compliment, not a complaint.
Zeb: I love that the church supports one another through the good times and the hard times.
Jeff: In a time when any number of issues and challenges are pulling churches apart, I love how our church has not let our differences dominate and overpower our relationships as brothers and sisters in Christ.
Thank you, First Baptist Church, for all the ways you are Christ Jesus to my family and one another.
Jeff
Corporate Chaplain for Community Health Foundation, and Pastor of Victory Baptist Church, Fitzgerald, GA
I am absolutely convinced that prayer is the essential communications network between believers and God. Jesus set the example and standard for prayer, while making it clear that prayer must be a priority in the lives of people. Prayer is the privilege of being able to have dialogue and conversation with God. Additionally, prayer is meant to permeate and saturate every area of our lives. In Luke 18:1, Jesus uses a parable to illustrate for the disciples that they should always pray to avoid giving up during difficult times.
Now Jesus was telling the disciples a parable to make the point that at all times they ought to pray and not give up and lose heart (Luke 18:1, Amplified Bible).
Prayer as described in Philippians 4:6-7 is the prescription for peace. Verse 6 lays out the prescription with three aspects of prayer. Prayer makes nothing and everything the same according to those verses. The believer is told to become anxious about nothing, but to pray about everything. Prayer does not provide the solution. Prayer is the solution. Pray about it. Whatever it is. Another critical aspect of prayer is that it is to be done with thanksgiving. The third thing reveals a purpose of prayer as well as finalizes the prescription. Prayer delivers our requests to God. Verse 7 describes something that is simply amazing. When we make our requests known to God, an exchange takes place that is beyond our ability to comprehend. The peace of God is exchanged for our prayers. The peace of God sets a watch on our hearts and minds. Because we have resolved to worry about nothing and pray about everything with thanksgiving, the peace of God will not allow worry to get through to our hearts or minds. It is interesting that only peace is promised. There is no guarantee that our requests will be granted, but the peace of God through Christ Jesus will guard our hearts and minds.
Pray...Give...Go.
What a great week 1st Explorers enjoyed last week as they learned about sportsmanship and teamwork! Special guests included Dr. Bob Holquist who talked about teamwork in band and choral groups, a construction management major from WCU who shared how important it is that people work well together when building, and 3 offensive linemen and 3 cheerleaders from WCU who stressed the importance of having a good attitude to successful teamwork. On Friday afternoon, the gridiron players enjoyed a game of touch football with the children while the cheerleaders worked with the kids on lifts and cheering.
Also last week, Emily Taylor helped the younger children press leaves for window decorations while the older kids learned about the importance of breakfast and made their own breakfast pizza in a class led by the NC Cooperative Extension agents Emily McClure and Heather Gordon.
Thank you to Gaye Buchanan and Charlie White for manning the check-in and check-out on Thursday and Friday. Kudos to Diane White for sending her awesome snack mix!
We welcome others from FBC who are willing to share some time or skill with the group. We could especially use some help at the back door during the first part of the week. Contact Cheryl Beck at cabeck@ncsu.edu for more information.
Each week we include a recipe in the Church Chimes and we hope that you are enjoying reading and trying them. You can add your favorite recipes to the Chimes by sending them to Cheryl Beck at cabeck@ncsu.edu. This is an ongoing WMU project.
Thanks for participating!
Students at the Jackson Community School need a diverse collection of magazines to assist them in class projects this fall. Please drop off any old magazines you might have in the Loving Kindness Center located next to the elevators beside the sanctuary. Brooke Drum is a teacher at the Jackson Community School and will gladly answer any question you have about ways that we can be good neighbors to their students.