Good morning Fellowship Church,

We hope today is a powerful day of worship for you. Although gathering for worship may at times see routine, worship is actually transformative. The experience changes us. As we sing praises to our Lord, submit in prayer, hear His Word, and so on, something happens to us. We’re not the same people going out as we were coming in. No, we can’t remember everything that happens in worship in years gone by, but we are changed nevertheless. (We can’t remember what we ate on this day last year either, but that meal still changed us in some way.)

Today, we will focus on fighting spiritual battles as we learn from Jesus’ own experience recorded in Matthew 4:1-11.

Numerous times I’ve heard people say after moving away from Arkadelphia and FC that they wish they could replicate the k-group experience. Our fellowship groups are a huge privilege.

Continue to pray that the Spirit would lead us to make a difference in our community. It’s hard to believe but God really wants to use FC to change the neighborhoods surrounding our worship center. As we pray, our hearts will become even more compassionate toward people in need.

We are beginning to have more community visitors. Please be sensitive to people coming to FC for the first time and make them feel welcome. First impressions run deep.

“May our Lord Jesus Christ himself and God our Father, who loved us and by his grace gave us eternal encouragement and good hope, encourage your hearts and strengthen you in every good deed and word.” (2 Thess. 2:16-17).

First off, I’m sure you are heart broken about the disaster in Haiti. If you want to give money to help out, you can do so through the Southern Baptist disaster relief at the following location:

https://www.kintera.org/site/c.9qKILUOzEpH/b.238330/k.942/Disaster_Relief_Fund/apps/ka/sd/donor.asp?c=9qKILUOzEpH&b=238330&en=jtLNIYMHJfIOLXMMJhIKL5NUIqI5KcPNLjJZJeMOIdIUJ6OOKxE

There are also many other reputable organizations that are taking donations – for example:

• Compassion International – www.compassion.com
• Samaritan’s Purse – www.samaritanspurse.org

In keeping with Neal’s message from Haggai, we should all be “giving careful thought to our ways.” One thing we know for sure, Jesus wants us to love him and love others with all of our resources, abilities, and energy. This means that we must turn outward with a servant’s mindset (Phil. 2:1-11).

The Leadership Team will have a retreat this Sunday night to talk about how best to do that very thing as a church. Please pray for us as we seek the mind of Christ on the direction for FC.

We will return to our regular worship service schedule this week (9:00 and 10:30). K-groups will not begin this week (17th) but next week (24th).

Beware of theologians who are quick to pronounce God’s judgment on the Haiti victims and slow to extend compassion. The “last days” or “end times” extend from the first coming of Christ to his second coming. Jesus warned his original disicples about what they would experience in “these last days,” meaning that they themselves were living in the “end times” (see Acts 2:17 for instance).

Listen to the words of Jesus (Matt. 24:4-14):

Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famine and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but whoever stands firm to the end will be saved. And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

There is no need to fear. We have plenty to keep us busy and much to be grateful for as we walk with the Lord this day.

We look forward to a wonderful day of worship on Sunday as we hear a message about the “state of the church” from Scott Jackson.

Blessings,

sd

P.S. If you want to learn more about biblical prophecy, see J. Daniel Hays, J. Scott Duvall, and C. Marvin Pate, Dictionary of Biblical Prophecy and End Times (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2007).

If you get serious about reading God’s Word this year, here is a very helpful and reliable web site with some practical resources: http://bible.org/get-connected. There is nothing like immersing yourself in the Great Story to change your life. We must be intentional about becoming like Christ; it simply won’t happen otherwise.

We have one more Sunday on our holiday schedule (one service @ 10:30).

Continue to pray about how God wants Fellowship Church to connect with our community. Pray that we will be wise and courageous in following him.

A thought about intimacy with the Lord from Oswald Chambers:

When once we get intimate with Jesus we are never lonely, we never need sympathy, we can pour out all the time without being pathetic. The saint who is intimate with Jesus will never leave impressions of himself, but only the impression that Jesus is having unhindered way, because the last abyss of his nature has been satisfied by Him. The only impression left by such a life is that of the strong calm sanity that Our Lord gives to those who are intimate with Him.

“Strong calm sanity” – sounds good to me. May God’s peace reign in your heart this cold and beautiful day.

-sd

Ready for 2010?

January 6th traditionally represents Epiphany on the church calendar. The word “epiphany” comes from the Greek word epiphaneia, meaning “appearance” or “manifestation.” Epiphany is a Christian feast day that celebrates the incarnation of Jesus Christ, his childhood, and his baptism. The “twelve days of Christmas” (Dec 25 to Jan 5) lead up to this celebration.

This Sunday we will focus on how Christians can grow spiritually as we imitate Jesus’ growth. Luke 2:40 tells us that Jesus “grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him” (TNIV). How can we be filled with wisdom and the grace of God? We’ll talk about practical ways of having a consistent personal devotional time.

I’ve been reading C. S. Lewis’ The Last Battle (the final book in the Chronicles of Narnia series). When King Tirian and the two kids Jill and Eustace are heavily outnumbered and surrounded by the wicked Calormenes, Tirian reminds the small band of warriors that although they don’t know their immediate future, God is with them–”But courage, child, we are all between the paws of the true Aslan.”

Whether you prefer the childlike image of being between the strong but gentle paws of a powerful lion or Jesus’ clear statement in Matthew 28:20: “surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age”–either way, God promises to be with you. That is a reality you can always count on, a reality worth celebrating!

May 2010 be the year the Lord works in your life and in our church in ways that go beyond human explanation.

“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations for ever and ever! Amen.” (Eph. 3:20-21, TNIV).

-sd

Good morning Fellowship Church,

We hope you and your family had a wonderful Christmas celebration. I’m still blown away that God became a human being in Jesus Christ in order to rescue us from our mess. He really does love us that much.

Christmas can be a time of emotional highs and lows. Remember to pray for people you know who are in tough situations this season.

This Sunday (one service at 10:30) will be an informal, relaxed service. Neal is teaching and says to bring a breakfast snack if you want (no pressure and no reason not to come if you don’t want to fix anything ). It’s nice on occasion to be able to slow down and just enjoy each other’s presence without quite as much action. Should be a good time.

The Leadership Team is especially thankful for our ministry staff – Teresa Nelson (Children’s Ministry), Stephen and Caitlin Chapman (Student Ministry), Lori Copeland (Financial Secretary), and Lauren Jackson (Custodian). They do a terrific job and we are grateful for their faithful service. Thanks!

If you have a tithe check or Lottie Moon gift, you can always send it to the church mailing address — P. O. Box 1332, Arkadelphia, AR 71923 (works also for payments directly from your bank). Thanks for being such a giving church!

“Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” (Ps. 8:1a)

Don’t feel guilty for resting! God created the sabbath!

Here is a song, Wonderful, Merciful Savior, from last week’s service…

 

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Hope you are warm on this chilly Saturday morning. Just a reminder of a few things:

• we do have two services tomorrow (9 and 10:30)
• bring your Christmon ornaments to put on the Christmon tree tomorrow (if you don’t have one, come anyway – I didn’t have one last year)
• Consider giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering for international missions
• Tomorrow night at 6 pm at the worship center – church-wide fellowship. Bring snack foods. We will play board games and hear the Christmas story.

With all these new babies at FC, I heard the term “swaddled” again the other day. Then I read more about Jesus’ clothes in A Not-So-Silent Night. Before and after the incarnation Jesus is clothed in splendor and majesty (Ps. 93:1; 104:1-2; Rev. 19:11-16). But at his birth Jesus is wrapped in strips of cloth. He is swaddled in helplessness as he enters our world to save us. Then, at the end of his life, Jesus is “swaddled” again. Luke 23:50-53 reads:

Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid.

The glorious Son of God submitted to a humiliating swaddling at birth and at death in order to give us life. “… you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matt. 1:21).

Praise his name!

sd

Good afternoon Fellowship Church,

Crosby George Kear has finally arrived (6lbs 4 oz, 19.5″). Congratulations to Chris and Tara Kear on the birth of their son! Check out the latest at http://www.thekears.blogspot.com/. Only Chris Kear would have pictures on his blog within minutes of the birth!

We are blessed to gather each week for a meaningful worship time and solid biblical teaching. This last week Scott Jackson helped us to see how God was at work even through the genealogy of Jesus in Matthew 1:

• five women are mentioned, indicating God’s compassionate love for the outcasts of society
• many of the women are Gentiles (non-Jews), indicating God’s love for all people
• the women were associated with sexual scandal, indicating that God is able to forgive and use people who have sinned greatly
• the women were tenacious, indicating that God honors a courageous faith

Pretty cool stuff!

Pray about giving to the Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Our international missionaries depend heavily on our prayers and on our Lottie Moon gifts since that one offering funds so much of what Baptists do around the world. Every little bit helps!

Remember to make your ornament for the Christmon tree. We will decorate the tree with white and gold ornaments this Sunday morning as we continue to celebrate Advent, the coming of our Lord.

This Sunday night in place of k-groups, we will have a church-wide fellowship at the worship center at 6 pm. Bring a snack to share with others and an appetite for board games. There is a time to play together!

Christmas is a time of waiting. Sunday we talked about several challenges to the waiting game:

• We must discipline our minds so that our thoughts don’t run wild.
• We continue with life, do regular work and duties, stay on task – waiting feels like work.
• We will experience a wide spectrum of emotions and thoughts, many ups and downs. Waiting is not a calm, tranquil, settled experience. It’s like a roller-coaster ride at times. It helps to expect that kind of ride.
• We must reject solutions and options that offer short-term relief but provide no long-term fulfillment.
• It’s ok to let ourselves dream about and focus on the joy that lies ahead.
• Your prayer life may change as you become experts in waiting.
• As we wait, it will be very tempting to become self-absorbed but we must devote ourselves to loving and serving others as much as we can.

In the meantime God is at work, changing us into the type of people he wants us to be. As you wait for whatever it is you are waiting for this Christmas, don’t be discouraged by what you haven’t accomplished or what isn’t happening or those goals that have not been reached. Focus instead on the kind of person you are becoming as you wait. Bottom line is we can trust God for a few bedrock things:

• He has taken care of our past through the cross of Christ
• He has assured us a wonderful future in the new heaven and new earth
• He will always be with us
• He never stops working to change us into the kind of people we were created to be

May God give us the grace to trust him every hour of every day, whether we are “singing” as we wait or whether we are “groaning.”

This Sunday our celebration of Advent continues as Scott Jackson teaches the Word. Come prepared to celebrate.