Fee Fee Baptist Church

Author: Tara Smith

  • Prime Time – Vol. 61, No. 24

    I am writing this Forerunner article to you before Thanksgiving, but you will not be reading it until after. Even so, I am going to go ahead and tell you what I am thankful for anyway.

    Today I am very sad. I lost a good friend to COVID a few hours ago and a friend lost her mother today. If I were not a Christian, this would be an overwhelming day of loss. It is always sad for those of us when we lose a loved one, but I am thankful for the assurance I have that both are home safely with Jesus.

    I am also thankful for each of you who are proud to call yourself senior adults. God has brought us a long way and given us a lot of wisdom along the way. I hope that you are pouring your life into some younger person to encourage them and help them to grow spiritually.

    Finally, I am thankful that our paths have crossed, and I get to serve you and serve alongside of you. I hope you were in the recent testimony service and got to hear Samson’s testimony about serving in your local church. I have read the Bible from cover to cover many times and, no matter what the translation, I have not run into the word retirement. We may not be able to go out and build houses or load sandbags but we all can serve in some way. Find a way to serve others in the church and in the community.

    I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving and shared with your family what you were thankful for this year. While Thanksgiving is a wonderful reminder to be thankful, we have things to be thankful for each and every day. Tell the LORD each day how thankful you are for His goodness to you.

    “I will thank the LORD with all my heart,

    I will declare all your wondrous works,

    I will rejoice and boast about you;

    I will sing about your name Most High,”

    (Psalm 9:1-2 CSB).

  • Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 24

    New Keyboard

    We acknowledge the wonderful new keyboard purchased with generous funds given in memory of Marci Gholami. This instrument will greatly enhance our worship music. It features flexibility to customize sounds, action, and depth of tone second to none. We are very grateful for this generous gift commemorating the memory of Marci.

    Save the Date

    Holiday calendars fill up these days with all kinds of celebrations. Be sure to include our Christmas presentations here at Fee Fee in your date book.  We will present NOEL: Night of Everlasting Love on Saturday, December 18 and again on Sunday, December 19, both at 3:00p.m. Both performances will present the traditional story of the Nativity with beautiful Christmas classics and pageantry. Invite your friends and neighbors to hear the Gospel story.

    Another opportunity to celebrate Jesus this season, is at our special 6:00 p.m. Christmas Eve service, filled with traditional music and the Gospel story.

    Greeters and Ushers Needed

    We will need greeters and ushers for the Christmas presentations on December 18 and 19. This is a wonderful opportunity to greet our guests with a smile and hearty welcome! Greeters and ushers would need to be available by at least 2:30 p.m. Please contact tara@feefeebc.org if you are available to help.

  • Chi Alpha News – Vol. 61, No. 24

    Youth Christmas Party

    On Wednesday, December 15, we will be having our last Chi Alpha of 2021, which means it’s time for our annual Christmas Party! And this year, we will be having an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! So, find your ugliest Christmas sweater, or DIY your own, and come join us for a night of fun, games, and food! Prizes will be awarded for the ugliest sweater!

  • Community Connection – Vol. 61, No. 24

    Mobile Markets 2022

    We have been partnering with St. Louis Area Foodbank as a temporary Mobile Market site for the past year and a half. This has been such a blessing to our community, and we love getting to be a part of it. That’s why we are so excited that the Foodbank has asked us to become a permanent Mobile Market site starting in January 2022! Really, the only change you’ll notice is they are asking us to do the Mobile Markets only once a month. So, starting in January, our Mobile Markets will be on the second Monday of each month at 10:00 a.m. Our 2022 dates will be: January 10, February 14, March 14, April 11, May 9, June 13, July 11, August 8, September 12, October 10, November 14, and December 12. We do still have two Mobile Markets left in 2021 on December 6 and 20. All of our Mobile Markets are open to anyone in the community that is in need of free groceries.

    I also want to take this time to say a big thank you to all of our church members that have volunteered at our Mobile Markets! This incredible blessing would not be possible without your hard work so thank you for having a servant’s heart and for helping us pursue the good of our community!

    Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

    Have you prayed today for our missionaries serving all over the world right now to declare the Gospel? If not, take a moment right now to pause and pray. Our Week of Prayer for International Missions is December 5-12. Join us as we pray each day for different missionaries and people all over the world. This will culminate with our Lottie Moon Christmas Offering on Sunday, December 12. The goal this year is $27,000. All the money goes to support IMB missionaries and their work declaring the Gospel around the world.  You can give in person on Sunday morning, online through the church website, or mail in your check.

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 24

    Church Family,

    Isn’t it great having something to look forward to? As a kid, it was always exciting when your birthday started getting closer. You loved growing older and having a party with friends. Now that I am creeping ever closer to forty, I don’t quite look forward to birthdays in the same way! However, now that I am a little more “seasoned,” one thing that I always look forward to are family getaways. Isn’t it fun to anticipate getting out of the normal grind and doing something exciting?

    Or maybe, you look forward to a weekly lunch with a friend. Or that phone call when you get to catch up with someone you love. Maybe you look forward to a certain holiday because you know that family will be coming into town, and you get to celebrate together. Whatever it is that you look forward to, the anticipation can be a lot of fun. But more than the anticipation, it is the payoff when the occasion actually takes place.

    Now, imagine the anticipation for Simeon in Luke 2. He had been promised by God that he would see the Messiah before he died. We don’t know how long he had been waiting, but imagine what must have been going through his mind when Jesus was brought into the temple by Mary and Joseph. Simeon was elated and took the Christ child in his arms and declared that his eyes had seen salvation!

    As Christmas is approaching, what would happen if we had that same type of joy that Simeon had when he saw Jesus for the first time? Let’s remember that the gift of Jesus is the gift of salvation for all who believe!

    Let’s make sure that we are intentional about sharing that truth with others this Christmas. We can do that through our actions, like by supporting the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering and Angel Tree. We can also do it through our words, by sharing the truth of the Gospel with our friends and family. Who do we need to tell the story of Christmas to this year?

    We can also share the story of Christmas by inviting others to our Christmas performance this year, NOEL: Night of Everlasting Love. On December 18 and 19, we are going to have a special performance reminding people of the incredible gift that God gave us at Christmas. Be praying now about who you can invite to come and watch the performance with you. Or you can invite someone to our Christmas Eve service to hear the Gospel as well.

    The wait is over. Jesus has come. Let’s be sure to share that truth as Christmas draws near! Join me in praying that our church makes an eternal impact as we share about the gift of Jesus this Christmas season.

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • Family Front – Vol. 61, No. 24

    Baptism Celebrations

    Hasn’t it been great to see three of our kids baptized in November! God is working among our people!

    International Missions

    On Sunday, December 5, during Bible Study and KidsZone, the kids will experience Mexico! Our elementary kids’ teachers will present the International Missions study on Mexico City from 9:45a.m. until 12:00 p.m. I hope your kids will be there! It will be such a fun day!

    Lottie Moon Offering

    This year’s Lottie Moon Christmas Offering kick-off will be December 5. Our church goal is $27,000. Last year our church gave over $26,000 to this offering that supports international missions. We pray that our church will be even more generous this year. Set a goal as a family and give to this offering. 100% of the offerings given go to the SBC international mission needs.

    Parents’ Night Out

    It’s back again this year on Friday, December 10, from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m.! Bring your kids – ages 2 years old through 5th grade – for fun night with friends and shopping in our free Christmas store while parents have a night out. Pizza supper will be provided for workers and kids. All this for only $5 per child! Sign-ups are required and due by December 5. Use the signup sheets in the Connection Center, email me, or call the church office. Donations for the Christmas store are welcome right now (new items, please). There is a box in the Connection Center to put your donations. This will allow kids to shop for their immediate family during Parents’ Night Out. Thank you so much for your support! Look for the next PNO on Friday, February 11.

    Epic Nerf Games is BACK

    On January 29, 2022, we will be having another Family NERF GAMES! Bring your own Nerf guns and darts, and we will provide the FUN! Invite your family and friends to join us! We will look for you there!

    “For a child has been born—for us! The gift of a son–for us! He’ll take over the running of the world. His names will be: Amazing Counselor, Strong God, Eternal Father, Prince of Wholeness. His ruling authority will grow, and there’ll be no limits to the wholeness he brings,” (Isaiah 9:6-7 MSG).

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 23

    Church Family,

    I just recently finished a novel (I can actually read books for fun now that my dissertation is finished!) called The Midnight Library. Basically, the protagonist of the story, Nora Seed, is given the opportunity to look through a “book of regrets” and then she can choose to go back and try to live her life by changing those decisions that she had regrets over. Now, I don’t want to give away the ending of the book, but what was interesting was how she got to live multiple lives and still couldn’t seem to find the perfect one. She was caught up in regrets and wasn’t appreciative of the life she had.

    In a similar vein, I think we can fall into that same habit. We focus on what we don’t have and long for more, rather than being content and thankful for everything God has given us. The past 21 months of the pandemic have been hard. However, I know that God has been working even in the midst of these hard times. God is still on His throne, and He is still in the business of healing people and changing lives!

    That is why Thanksgiving is such an important holiday. We need to take stock and count our blessings and be thankful for everything God has given us. It is so important for us to give praise and glory to God!

    We have a couple of opportunities for our church to focus on God’s blessings to us during difficult circumstances. First, on November 21, we are going to have a special testimony Sunday. Rather than our normal worship services, we are going to have multiple members of our congregation sharing stories of how God has been faithful and good to them. I believe it is going to be an inspiring and encouraging Sunday as we get to hear different ways that God has been at work in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ!

    Second, our deacon body will be holding their annual Thanksgiving Day service on that holiday morning at 8:00 a.m., November 25. Start off your holiday morning by coming to our chapel and being led in worship by our deacons. It is going to be a great way to get our hearts focused on what is most important on Thanksgiving.

    It can be too easy to focus on the negatives. To think about regrets and missed opportunities rather than to count our blessings. Let’s pray that God will allow us to see how blessed we are. We were enemies of God, but now, through the cross, we are redeemed! Our lives may be difficult, but we have so much to be thankful for!

    I look forward to worshipping with you and recounting God’s many blessings to our church family in the weeks ahead!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • Chi Alpha News – Vol. 61, No. 23

    Trivia Night Thank You!

    Thanks to all who came out to our annual Trivia Night Fundraiser in support of our student Mission Trip to Washington, D.C. this summer! We are so blessed to be a part of a church who encourages students to go out and serve!

    No Youth November 24

    We won’t be meeting for youth group on Wednesday, November 24, so you can mentally prepare to eat tons of turkey and pie and enjoy some family time on Thanksgiving Day! Stay home, get some rest, and just enjoy the season of thankfulness.

    Christmas Party

    On Wednesday, December 15, we will be having our last Chi Alpha of 2021, which means it’s time for our annual Christmas Party! And this year, we will be having an Ugly Christmas Sweater Party! So, find your ugliest Christmas sweater, or DIY your own, and come join us for a night of fun, games, and food! Prizes will be awarded for the ugliest sweater!

  • Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 23

    Save the Dates (at least one of them!)

    Our Christmas program, Noel (Night of Everlasting Love) will be presented on Saturday, December 18, and again on Sunday, December 19. Both performances will begin at 3:00 p.m. You will hear some beautiful arrangements of Christmas classics as you watch the traditional pageantry of the Nativity story.

    Mark your calendar! This would be a good time to invite friends and neighbors or folks you barely know for an afternoon of worship!

    Trumpets in the Old Testament

    As our church family is now reading in the book of Numbers on our journey through the Pentateuch, I have noticed the importance of the use of trumpets in these scriptures, which has prompted me to do a little reading on trumpets in the Old Testament.

    The trumpet is the instrument most frequently referenced in the Bible and its uses were many and varied.

    The following list gives specific uses:

    1. To assemble a large group of people

    2. To give direction to a large group of people.

    3. To alert people to coming danger of judgement.

    4. Used along with other instruments and singers to celebrate holy days and sacred events.

    5. As a battle signal.

    6. To make an announcement or proclamation.

    7. As a regular part of worship ceremonies.

    8. And most importantly – To praise God.

    We find in Numbers 10:1-13, that the silver trumpets had two primary purposes: to make people alert and gain their attention and to sound the alarm of battle.

    The High Priests or the representatives in the priestly line were to blow the silver trumpets. This compares with end times when a representative of our High Priest Yeshua will blow the final trumpet blast to summon His people to resurrection and war against evil.

    “The LORD spoke further to Moses, saying, ‘Make yourself two trumpets of silver, of hammered work you shall make them; and you shall use them for summoning the congregation and for having the camps set out,” (Numbers 10:1-2 NASB).

    It is truly amazing how all the events we are reading about point forward to the time of Jesus!

  • Family Front – Vol. 61, No. 23

    The Christmas Season

    Goodness…the holiday season is gearing up and things are getting busy! Take time to breathe. Be thankful and ask Him to help you make Christmas truly a season of joy celebrating who He is and what he has done for you!

    Families

    A digital survey was sent to you by email regarding family ministry. I want to hear from you about our children and family ministries and how we can serve you and our community better. Thank you to those that have already taken the survey.

    Parents’ Night Out

    PARENTS’ NIGHT OUT is back again Friday, December 10, from 5:00-9:00 p.m. Bring your kids – ages 2 years old through 5th grade – for a fun night with friends and shopping in our free Christmas store while parents have a night out. Pizza supper will be provided for kids and workers. All this for only $5 per child! Sign-up sheets are available now in the Connection Center. You can also email or call Kathy to make a reservation. Reservations are required and the deadline is December 5. Donations for new items to offer in the Christmas store are welcome anytime; there is a box in the Connection Center to place donations. This will allow kids to shop for their immediate family during Parents’ Night Out. Thank you so much for your support!

    “The Lord has been so good to me! How can I ever pay him back? … I will worship Him.  In front of all of the Lord’s people, I will do what I promised him,” (Psalm 116:12,14).