Please join us for a reception
immediately following worship
on Sunday, September 24 as we thank Carol Cloer for her ministry with us.
The Hospitality Table After Worship Is Back!
Sign up here to provide goodies and beverages on Sunday mornings after worship.
When we are hospitable, our congregation can become a church on the sidewalk after worship while munching on a cookie or sipping fruit punch. Click here and find a Sunday to host our Hospitality Table!
Dawnings Begins TONIGHT, September 20
Our first of four congregational meetings will be TONIGHT, September 20 beginning at 6:00 PM in the Mission and Fellowship Center. A blessing for our potluck meal together will be at 5:30 PM.
Childcare will be provided for children up through the fifth grade in our nursery. Youth are encouraged to be a part of our congregational meeting in the MFC alongside adults.
Dawnings is a narrative-based approach for personal and congregational visioning and discernment. Our four congregational meetings this fall will help us determine together who God is calling us to be and what God is calling us to do. Our entire church's participation in this process is critical to our determining what our future will look like.
"This is what God says,
the God who builds a road right through the ocean,
who carves a path through pounding waves,
The God who summons horses and chariots and armies—
they lie down and then can’t get up;
they’re snuffed out like so many candles:
“Forget about what’s happened;
don’t keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I’m about to do something brand-new.
It’s bursting out! Don’t you see it?" Isaiah 43:16-19
Brian Foreman, the Coordinator of Congregational Ministries for the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, comments that "These last two lines of scripture are both encouragement and command. The former encourages us to remember that God is still in control. The latter reminds us of our responsibility to notice and join God in doing something brand new."
"Dawnings is a congregational resource that helps you accomplish both of these things. By leaning into a spiritual discernment process through listening and responding to stories, your congregation will open itself to its place in God's sacred story for the community."
"Congregational postures of prayer and curiosity cultivate a sense of calling, not just for the congregation, before individuals as well. What better way to "be alert, be present," and to be a part of the "something brand new" God is doing!"
Join Us for Worship!
Join us for worship on Sunday morning at 10:30 a.m. in the sanctuary! Also join us for Sunday School at 9:30 a.m. for all ages!
The CDC recommends that you wear a mask indoors.
Maximize protection from the Delta variant and prevent possibly spreading it to others.
Our worship service will be streamed online at firstbaptistsylva.com.
Love Unbounded, Wonderful, Deep, and Strong
by Dr. Jeff Mathis
At the end of our Sunday morning worship service these last weeks, our congregational response has been the chorus of a hymn by Fanny Crosby titled, "Praise Him, Praise Him." As we have sung it, it's not just the melody that resonates with me; it's the profound message it carries, particularly the line, "Love unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong."
These words capture the essence of Jesus's place in our lives and the depth of His love for us.
God's love for us through His Son, Jesus, is unbounded—infinite, immeasurable, and beyond our comprehension. Jesus stretches the limits of our worldly understanding and reaches beyond the boundaries and limitations we may construct.
Those who have tasted God's love know it fills us with awe and amazement. God's love never ceases to be a source of wonder because it continually reveals new facets of God's character and grace.
The depth of Jesus's love is unfathomable. In times of joy, Christ's love is our celebration, and in moments of sorrow, it's our solace. His love is our anchor in the turbulent seas of life. Nothing is trifling about the love that Jesus offers us.
And we profess, of course, that Jesus's love is strong and unwavering. This kind of love sustains us through trials and empowers us to overcome challenges. It's a love that never wavers, a steady presence in our lives, and a source of strength when we feel weak.
As we prepare to gather in the Mission and Fellowship Center this Wednesday night for our first Dawnings meeting, I can't help but think about the significance of our congregational response. Our congregational meeting on Wednesday evening represents a new chapter in our journey as a church family. It's our first dedicated gathering to share our personal stories, providing a starting point for discerning God's promising future for our church.
Our stories are a testament to the unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong love we sing about at the end of worship. The stories we will share will reflect how Jesus's love has touched and transformed our lives. Sharing our stories is not just about recounting our experiences; it's about bearing witness to the work of Christ in our midst.
In the spirit of the love we proclaim at the end of worship, I invite you to join us at 5:30 PM for a potluck meal before the meeting begins. It's more than just a meal; it's a time for us to practice the love that is unbounded, wonderful, deep, and strong. It's an opportunity to come together as a church family, sample the tasty food we've brought, share laughter, and strengthen the bonds that bind us.
As we prepare for this congregational meeting, let's carry the melody of "Praise Him, Praise Him" in our hearts and be inspired by the depth and strength of Jesus's love. Together, we can embark on this exciting journey of sharing our stories, discerning God's path for our church, and practicing a love that knows no bounds.
NEW Bible Study to Begin THIS Monday, September 25
A Bible Study will begin Monday, September 25 at 10:00 a.m. in the Gathering Room. Janet Ford will lead a study based on the book Praying Backwards by Bryan Chapell. Books ($15) are available in the church office. Plan to come and learn different ways to pray.
Mission Moment 5.13.23
Rev. Xiomara Reboyras-Ortiz
Senior Pastor, Comunidad Cristiana Nuevo Pacto in DeLand, FL
“Don’t pray about it.”
“You can’t pray for those irrelevant things.”
“You ask God for the important and big things, not for the little things.”
These were some of the responses I received as a child to some of my prayer requests. And I believed, if the instruction was coming from the Christian adults in my life, then it must be true. That’s how in my early years of Christian formation, prayer became a confusing and frightening process. On the one hand, there was the fear of offending God with imprudent, incorrect or unimportant words and prayers. On the other hand, there was the confusion between my need to be heard by God and my ignorance of what was important or relevant enough to require or deserve a prayer. The confusion began to feel a lot like pain because, in my preteen years, those little irrelevant things were very, very important. The questions then were about faith… is it worth praying, believing, waiting for what you want or need? Even faith in myself; how much of what I am and desire is relevant enough to deserve to be heard by God?
With time, the pages of the Bible revealed to me some necessary truths about prayer. In 1 John 5:15: “And if we know that He hears us; whatever we ask; we know that we have what we asked of him.” Also, John 14:13: “And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” Finally, Matthew 21:22: “If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.”
Whatever, whatever, whatever… without condition of greatness or importance aside from myself and my need for God’s intervention in my life and in my reality. The answer to prayers was not conditioned to the relevance or greatness of the request; rather it was the relevance and greatness of the one who listened to my prayer, according to His infinite love, that determined the answer to it.
It was not the importance of my request that made God listen to me; it was through the importance and relevance that I received through the love and blood of Jesus that I could and should “approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that I may receive mercy and find grace to help me in my time of need” (Hebrews 4:16).
In the midst of the complicated, painful and convulsive realities of adult life and ministry, I sometimes feel like that little child, wondering if my prayer is now too big, too risky, too daring, even too irreverent. Then I hear God’s voice saying again, “whatever, whatever, whatever.” I hear God’s Word reminding me that as a mother that “If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him?” (Mt. 7:11).
Whatever, whatever, whatever; nothing is too small, nothing is too big NOT to pray for it. Whatever the prayer, my loving Father will be glorified.
Pray. . .Give. . .Go.
Hurray for Our Nursery Workers of the Week!
We heard the nursery was rockin’ on Sunday with songs and dance to the story of Jonah!
Thank you, Sandi Allen, Lexi Allen, and Reagan Devoe for making the nursery a fun place to be!
Next Sunday, September 17, Pearl Hall and Carrie Nelson will be “rockin’” in the nursery.
Thank you, Pearl and Carrie!
On September 10, Sandi Allen is in charge of the nursery. Thank you Sandi!
There is still room on the schedule to serve “the least of these”
on Sunday mornings. It is a blessing to see their smiles and enthusiasm as you spend
time with our infants, toddlers, and preschoolers.
Please contact Cheryl Beck (cabeck@ncsu.edu) if you would like to help.
Recipes Appreciated!
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!
