Baptist Questions, Baptist Answers

“God is the source of all blessings, temporal and spiritual; all that we have and are we owe to Him. Christians have a spiritual debtorship to the whole world, a holy trusteeship in the gospel, and a binding stewardship in their possessions. They are therefore under obligation to serve Him with their time, talents, and material possessions; and should recognize all these as entrusted to them to use for the glory of God and for helping others. According to the Scriptures, Christians should contribute of their means cheerfully, regularly, systematically, proportionately, and liberally for the advancement of the Redeemer’s cause on earth.”

Baptist Faith and Message, 2000

Why Give to Annie Armstrong? Because three of four people in North America are lost. One hundred percent of all dollars given to the AAEO (Annie Armstrong Easter Offering) go to support thousands of missionaries and their ministries in the United States and Canada.

Mark your calendars to bring your 1st – 6th grade children to the church on Saturday, April 14th at 11 am for a mission outreach project. 

We’re going to decorate cards for shut-ins in the area, enjoy pizza for lunch, then possibly deliver cards to their recipients!  We’ll be done with our
activities by 2:30 pm for pick up.

Coming soon! A new Sunday evening format in March, we will resume services each Sunday at 6:00 pm.  The first Sunday of each month Pastor Ron will lead a co-ed adult mission
night program.  The remaining weeks Pastor Lowell will lead a Bible study—the beginning topic will be, “Encouraging Promises of the Bible.” 

Mark your calendars, and plan to attend and take part in the new schedule for this timely study topic, and more to come.

Serving at Love Packages On Saturday, March 17th.

Ladies will be leaving by 7:30 am to join Effingham 1st Baptist Church to serve in Butler, IL. We’ll work
until noon, then eat our sack lunches on the way home. 

Saturday, March 24th a second group of FBC-A men and women will go to Butler and work alongside
Shelbyville Fellowship Baptist Church in sorting Christian materials.

The Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission continues to urge Southern Baptists to pray that government and judicial leaders will be persuaded of the pro-life
ethic, that a new generation of volunteers will staff the hundreds of pregnancy care centers spread across our nation, and that the Lord will prompt the
hearts of His children to contribute toward the placement of life-saving ultrasound technology in many of these pregnancy care centers. 

No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted
to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”

Luke 16:13 (ESV)

Our obedience to Christ is tested by how we use money. Here are some conclusions we can draw from this passage in Luke. (1) Let us use our resources wisely, because they belong to God and not to us. (2) Money can be used for good or evil; let us use ours for good. (3) Money has a lot of power, so we must use it carefully and thoughtfully. (4) We must use our material goods in a way that will foster faith and obedience.

Money can be a tool for helping others. We are to make wise use of our finances, spending our money to help those in need and to spread the gospel. In this way, our earthly investment will bring eternal benefit. When we obey God’s will, the unselfish use of possessions will follow.

Our integrity often is tested in money matters. God calls us to be honest, even in small details we might think unimportant. Heaven’s riches are far more valuable than earthly wealth. But if we are not trustworthy with our money here (no matter how much or how little we have), we will be unfit to handle the vast riches of God’s kingdom. Guard your integrity in small matters, and it will not fail you in crucial decisions.

Money must be managed or it will manage. Money has the power to take God’s place in your life. It can become your master. How can you tell if you are a slave to money? (1) Do you think and worry about it frequently? (2) Do you give up doing what you should do or would like to do in order to make more money? (3) Do you spend a great deal of your time caring for your possessions? (4) Is it hard for you to give money away? (5) Are you in debt?

Money is a hard master and a deceptive one. Wealth promises power and control, but often it cannot deliver. Great fortunes can be made—and lost—overnight, and no amount of money can provide health, happiness, or eternal life. How much better it is to let God be your Master. His servants have peace of mind and security, both now and forever.

What? You say you don’t come to church because there’s nothing for you? There’s nothing for your age group? Take a look at this quick overview of our various services and study groups.

Women’s Bible Study

Our women are currently meeting at 1:30 pm on Tuesday afternoons at the residence of Nancy Powell.

If you are ever free on a Tuesday afternoon, please join us for study and discussion.

Youth Bible Study

Youth, grades 7 – 12, are encouraged to attend a weekly Bible Study here at the church on Wednesdays at 6:30 pm.

Take advantage of this opportunity to learn more about God’s Word, how to apply it to your lives– learn more about each other too!

Sunday School Hour

Sunday School for Children

• Preschool & Kindergarten

• First & Second Grades
• Third & Fourth Grades
• Fifth & Sixth Grades
• Youth ~ Grades 7 through 12

Sunday School for Adults

• Adult 1: Young Adults

• Adult 2: Mixed Adults – Life Values
• Adult 3: Mixed Adults – Exploring the Bible
• Adult 4: Time-Honored Women
• Adult 5: Time-Honored Men

Note:

• Nursery services are provided from 8:45–11:45am.

• See your Sunday School teacher to enroll in Sunday School,

AWANA & TREK Awareness

AWANA Children’s Bible Program

Sundays 5:30 – 7:00 pm
Open to all kids age 4 through 6th grade

and TREK Youth Bible Study

Sundays 5:30 – 6:30 pm+
Open to all youth grades 7 – 12

Music, games, Bible memory work snacks, & more! Join in this open Bible study with activities!

Come and join in the fun!

Adult Mid-Week Small Group Bible Studies @ 6:30 pm

We have some exciting small-group Bible study opportunities for adults in our church:

1. On Wednesdays, Pastor Lowell is leading a study for adults on the Holy Spirit entitled, “Remembering the Forgotten God”

2. Pastor Ron is leading a young adult Bible study in his home on Thursdays

These are open to all!

As you can see, there’s even a place for you to fit in. Come and enjoy the fellowship as you learn a little about what God has to say to you.

His heart, His hands, His voice – through praying

Jesus commissioned us to be His heart, His hands, His voice – and one of the ways we can do that is through prayer. In fact, prayer is first and foremost! Pray with God’s heart for people groups who have never heard the Good News. (Would our church even consider adopting a people group to pray for?) Pray for our missionaries who are our voice in the darkness. And pray about giving as much as you can to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering® to sustain those we’ve sent to be our hands touching a lost world.

What is the 2011 theme?

“His heart, His hands, His voice – I am Southern Baptist missions”

Jesus has commissioned us to be His heart, His hands, His voice. Through praying, giving and going, Southern Baptists have fulfilled this legacy for more than 160 years. Yet billions remain lost and time may be running out for them. Our churches must take direct responsibility for helping reach the nearly 3,800 unengaged, unreached people groups that missionaries may never be able to get to.

What is the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering®?

Southern Baptist churches collect the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for the sole purpose of supporting international missions. Every penny of the offering goes to the International Mission Board’s overseas budget, thus supporting our missionaries and their work.

Southern Baptist churches collect the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for the sole purpose of supporting international missions. Every penny of the offering goes to the International Mission Board’s overseas budget, thus supporting our missionaries and their work. 

Just got a call from Steve, who went to check on one of our volunteer teams in the village. Due to flooding last night, Steve & the boys ended up leaving the car and walking a total of about 6 km (3 mi) to reach them, much of it through waist-deep flood waters. I heard Zach’s smiling voice in the background, “Waist-deep for YOU maybe!” He seemed to think it was a little more than waist-deep for him and Ben. J

New posts on the blog: (www.sjhagen.blogspot.com)

· Family Stuff: Zach’s 9th bday adventures and our travels around SE Asia this past month (including snake and elephant encounters!)

· Ministry Stuff: the new Bogkalot missionaries launch into language study, a set of precious malnourished twins that desperately need your prayer, 2 college age American volunteer teams camping in the mountains for the summer, and lots of pics of our family hiking to visit Agta villages

Please check them out if you get a chance, and your feedback is ALWAYS an encouragement to us – even if it is just a line or two!

Praise Him with us!

· We have been blessed by 7 college-age American volunteers this summer. They have been truly “roughing it” for the last 7 weeks – camping in the mountains, bathing & washing clothes in the stream, and cooking over an open fire. Why? They have played a key role in our strategy by gauging receptiveness to the Gospel in new areas in order to see where to locate future Bogkalot missionary teams. God has worked in and through them in a mighty way, and we are so thankful for the willingness to sacrifice their personal comfort to be involved in what God is doing here amongst the Agta tribal people.

· Some colleagues of ours traveled from Thailand to teach a language-learning seminar for the new Bogkalot missionaries so that they can learn the Agta languages more quickly and effectively. The seminar went amazingly well (thanks for praying!), and they are off and running on language/culture study!

Intercede with us!

· First and foremost, pray for our new Bogkalot co-workers. They are thick into culture & language study and need your prayer for clear minds, open ears, and lots of perseverance. Pray too for unity on the teams as the stress of culture shock and language study builds. Pray that they would walk moment by moment in the Spirit.

· Pray that the Bogkalot tribal church up north would continue to have a fiery passion to reach the Agta tribe here. There are several more families up there whom God is calling to go in the “next wave” of missionaries; pray that they would be sensitive and obedient to His call, forsaking all else. Pray for continued progress in the livelihood projects that are being established to provide a viable economy for the Bogkalot tribe so that they can afford to send missionaries without outside help.

· August will be a busy month for our family. We have been asked to attend a training in Thailand for several weeks, then Steve will travel with my dad to northern territories of the Bogkalot tribe to teach a seminar on the book of Acts. The churches up there have seen what God is doing through the churches in the southern area of their tribe, and they have asked us to mobilize and train in their area as well. Pray for open hearts and clear guidance.

· In addition to ministry activities and travel, August 1 marks the start of the new school year for our little Hagen Homeschool! Neither the kids nor their teacher feel very ready to hit the books again so pray for renewed hearts and minds. And if you want to send the kids a note to encourage them, they would love that! Grades 6, 4 & 2, ready or not, here we come!

Thanks once again for standing behind us the way you do, and we always love to hear from you.

Only by His Grace,

Jen for us

Steve and Jen Hagen

Mikayla, Zach & Ben

WWW.SJHAGEN.BLOGSPOT.COM

International Mission Board

Tribal Groups of the Philippines

Note: Posted on behalf of the hagens. Please support them in prayer, and follow their blog posts. You can either use the links provided above, or with the page right here on this web site: Get the latest news from the Hagens.

If you know of other missionaries to support through the web site, just

A minister passing through his church
In the middle of the day,
Decided to pause by the altar
And see who had come to pray.

Just then the back door opened,
A man came down the aisle,
The minister frowned as he saw
The man hadn’t shaved in a while.
His shirt was kinda shabby
And his coat was worn and frayed,
The man knelt, he bowed his head,
Then rose and walked away.

In the days that followed,
Each noon time came this chap,
Each time he knelt just for a moment,
A lunch pail in his lap.

Well, the minister’s suspicions grew,
With robbery a main fear,
He decided to stop the man and ask him,
‘What are you doing here?’

The old man said, he worked down the road.
Lunch was half an hour.
Lunchtime was his prayer time,
For finding strength and power.

‘I stay only moments, see,
Because the factory is so far away;
As I kneel here talking to the Lord,
This is kinda what I say:

‘I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I’VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY
MY SIN. DON’T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS MIKE CHECKING IN TODAY.’

The minister feeling foolish,
Told Mike, that was fine.
He told the man he was welcome
To come and pray just anytime

Time to go, Mike smiled, said ‘Thanks.’
He hurried to the door.
The minister knelt at the altar,
He’d never done it before.

His cold heart melted, warmed with love,
And met with Jesus there.
As the tears flowed, in his heart,
He repeated old Mike’s prayer:

‘I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, LORD,
HOW HAPPY I’VE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND EACH OTHERS FRIENDSHIP AND YOU TOOK AWAY
MY SIN. I DON’T KNOW MUCH OF HOW TO PRAY, BUT I THINK ABOUT YOU EVERYDAY.
SO, JESUS, THIS IS ME CHECKING IN TODAY.’

Past noon one day, the minister noticed
That old Mike hadn’t come.
As more days passed without Mike,
He began to worry some.

At the factory, he asked about him,
Learning he was ill.
The hospital staff was worried,
But he’d given them a thrill.

The week that Mike was with them,
Brought changes in the ward.
His smiles, a joy contagious.
Changed people, were his reward.

The head nurse couldn’t understand
Why Mike was so glad,
When no flowers, calls or cards came,
Not a visitor he had.

The minister stayed by his bed,
He voiced the nurse’s concern:
No friends came to show they cared.
He had nowhere to turn.

Looking surprised, old Mike spoke
Up and with a winsome smile;
‘the nurse is wrong, she couldn’t know,
That he’s in here all the while

Everyday at noon He’s here,
A dear friend of mine, you see,
He sits right down, takes my hand,
Leans over and says to me:

‘I JUST CAME AGAIN TO TELL YOU, MIKE,
HOW HAPPY I HAVE BEEN, SINCE WE FOUND THIS FRIENDSHIP, AND I TOOK AWAY YOUR
SIN.
ALWAYS LOVE TO HEAR YOU PRAY,
I THINK ABOUT YOU EACH DAY, AND SO Mike, THIS IS JESUS CHECKING IN TODAY.’

If this blesses you, pass it on.

Our FBC-A volunteers will be working on the St. Louis 7-Day Project (mainly roof replacements and some ground work) from July 9th through July 16th. Please pray for them and the following leaders who will be serving on this mission event:

• Hosts of Tower Grove Baptist Church

• Reverend, Chris Coury
• Project Coordinator, Robbie Jackson
• Construction Coordinators, Charles & Carol
• Association Coordinator, David Neighbors

Statement of Mission
To provide Christ-centered treatment and services to individuals, children, and families,
to meet their spiritual, emotional, physical, and social needs.

Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services is a Christ-centered agency that exists to care for children and families who are in crisis. They give refuge to children, provide a haven for young, single mothers-to- be as they struggle to come to terms with and impending childbirth, and provide gentle guidance to troubled couples.

The ministries at BCHFS are supported by patrons, donors, sponsors, volunteers, and thousands of individuals partnering together to love children in need. BCHFS is also supported by many churches and associations. Please consider donating items again this month—a list is in the foyer!

When you receive Christ as your Lord and Savior, you begin a love relationship that lasts for all eternity! God’s expressions of love will begin to confront you everywhere you turn. He paints the sky with a sunset that says, “I love you.” He answers your prayers and says, “See, I love you.” He strengthens you when you’re weak and says, “I love you.” He lavishly supplies your daily provisions and says, “Remember, I love you.” When you’re in a desperate need for grace, God opens His for giving arms and says, “I love you.” As you get to know your loving Father better, you will learn to truly appreciate His abundant expressions of love.

Take at look at your hands. The longer you spend time with your heavenly Father, the more your hands will look like His. They will start to open up more frequently. They will start to open up to a larger range of needs. They will start staying open for longer periods of time.

Perhaps the most surprising thing you’ll learn is that in opening your hands you’ll find what your clenched hands never could—joy. Real joy!

Statement of Mission
To provide Christ-centered treatment and services to
individuals, children, and families, to meet their spiritual,
emotional, physical, and social needs.

Baptist Children’s Home and Family Services is a Christ-centered agency that exists to care for children and families who are in crisis. They give refuge to children, provide a haven for young, single mothers-to-be as they struggle to come to terms with and impending childbirth, and provide gentle guidance to troubled couples.

The ministries at BCHFS are supported by patrons, donors, sponsors, volunteers, and thousands of individuals partnering together to love children in need. BCHFS is also supported by many churches and associations. Please consider donating items this month—a list is in the foyer!

God wants you! Have you been praying about how God wants you to serve in our church family…and beyond?

The Bible tells us He will send someone else if He has to, but He is first asking you to serve Him. Please, do not delay in fulfilling your call to serve.

At our May business meeting we will vote on a proposed Deacon Yokefellow program.

The proposal is as follows:

A yokefellow is a man from the church family who assists the deacon in his ministry as a deacon.

Prospective deacons may be asked to serve twelve months as a Yokefellow, working beside other deacons to learn about the duties and responsibilities of service as a deacon.

Any Yokefellow-time is useful to help the church determine whether the prospective deacon should indeed serve. The prospective deacon may also use Yokefellow-time for personal, prayerful reflection to determine if he should or must serve Jesus as a deacon of His church.

Each year, we honor the life and work of Annie Walker Armstrong (1850-1938) when we give to the annual offering for North American missions named after her. As a tireless servant of God and a contagious advocate and supporter of mission efforts throughout the world, Annie Armstrong led women to unite in mission endeavors that ultimately led to the formation of Woman’s Missionary Union, for which she served as the first corresponding secretary.

Annie believed in Christ with all her heart, but it was her hands that expressed that belief in tangible ways. She spent a great amount of time typing and handwriting letters in support of missions. Many of these letters were quite lengthy and all were filled with conviction that more could and should be done in our mission efforts. In 1893 alone, she wrote almost 18,000 letters! Annie also never hesitated to use her hands to reach out to hug a child or distribute food and clothing and the Word of God to those in need. Her hands held her own Bible as she studied to know how best to share Gods love with others. And, most important, Annie was a woman of prayer, folding her hands in prayer to intercede for the missionaries and for those they were helping discover Christ.

Annie rallied churches to give more, pray more, and do more for reaching people for Christ. As we continue to unite to make her vision a reality in North America today, we can be confident that her legacy will also be ours.

by Robert Frost

OH, give us pleasure in the flowers today;
And give us not to think so far away
As the uncertain harvest; keep us here
All simply in the springing of the year.
Oh, give us pleasure in the orchard white,
Like nothing else by day, like ghosts by night;
And make us happy in the happy bees,
The swarm dilating round the perfect trees.
And make us happy in the darting bird
That suddenly above the bees is heard,
The meteor that thrusts in with needle bill,
And off a blossom in mid air stands still.
For this is love and nothing else is love,
To which it is reserved for God above
To sanctify to what far ends he will,
But which it only needs that we fulfill.