Fee Fee Baptist Church

Author: Tara Smith

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Church Family,

    One major component of our mission statement here at Fee Fee is to “pursue the good of our community.” This idea comes from Jeremiah 29:7, which says, “Purse the well-being of the city I have deported you to. Pray to the LORD on its behalf, for when it thrives, you will thrive.”

    God is giving us a command of how to live in a culture and society that doesn’t have the same worldview that we do as Christians. He is challenging us to do our part to make the city we live in a better, safer, community. The idea of pursuing the well-being of St. Louis, in general, and Bridgeton, specifically, is something we must continue with persistence.

    In Matthew 5, Jesus talks about how we, as the church, should be salt and light in the world. Verse 16 says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”

    It is remarkable that the good deeds that we do will actually lead to the world giving glory to God! As we selflessly serve our community, people are going to take notice. For example, I was just asked by our Mayor, Terry Briggs, to serve on our city’s Police Commission. He mentioned that he knew our church wanted to be involved in the community. It is great that our city’s leaders are noticing how our church wants to serve in our community!

    Why am I sharing all of this about pursuing the good of our community? Well, we have our third annual Impact Week coming up right around the corner. September 12-18, we are going to do our best to give hundreds of volunteer hours to our community. We have a lot of great projects lined up for our church to participate in: Loaves and Fishes, Room at the Inn, Mobile Market, Meals on Wheels, St. Louis County Food Bank, and many others. We are committed to making a major impact on our community.

    I want to encourage you to sign up for one of these projects. Also, don’t just sign up by yourself. Sign up with your Bible Study class and/or your family. It is so much more fun when we get to serve alongside our fellow members. Also, for everyone who signs up to serve, we are going to provide a Fee Fee Baptist t-shirt. We want to make a statement while we are out in the community that we are committed to building our lives on Jesus and pursuing the good of our community.

    These last 18 months and counting have been hard on everybody. That is why it is so important for us to go out and be the hands and feet of Jesus in our community. Please join me in praying for our community. But let’s not only pray. Let’s also pursue the good of our community. When it prospers, we are going to prosper!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • Bible Study Corner – Vol. 61, No. 17

    All activities will resume on Wednesday, September 8 at 6:00 p.m. There will be AWANA for the children, Bible Study for the youth, and both men’s and women’s Bible studies. The women will be doing a study entitled Anxious. The men will resume Men’s Fraternity. Bible studies are available for all ages on Sunday mornings at 9:45 a.m. Let Gloria know if you don’t know where you fit!

    Also, if you are reading with us and following the church reading plan, we can still connect you in a Transformation group!

  • Announcements – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Sympathy

    Our love through Christian sympathy is extended to

    … Joe Pewitt and Eva MacKoul and family, on the passing of their wife and mother, respectively, Marilyn Pewitt, on August 9.

    … Gloria Fox, on the passing of her cousin’s husband, Terry Williams, on August 9.

    … David (Regina) Pfeiffer and family, on the passing of his mother, Esther Pfeiffer, on August 17.

    … Louise Richard, on the passing of her husband, Larry Richard, on August 18.

     

  • Devotional Corner – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Taken from L.B. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Zondervan Updated Edition

    “Before this faith came, we were held prisoners…, locked up until faith should be revealed,” (Galatians 3:23).

    God, in times past, caused people to be kept subject to His law so they would learn the more excellent way of faith. For it was through the law that they would see God’s holy standard and thereby realize their own utter helplessness. Then they would gladly learn His way of faith.

    God still causes us to be “locked up until faith” is learned. Our own nature, circumstances, trials, and disappointments all serve to keep us submissive and “locked up” until we see that the only way out is His way of faith. Moses attempted the deliverance of his people by using self-effort, his personal influence, and even violence. So God “locked [him] up” for forty years in the wilderness before he was prepared for His work.

    Paul and Silas were called of God to preach the gospel in Europe. In Philippi they were “severely flogged, they were thrown in to prison, and the jailer…fastened their feet in the stocks” (Acts 16:23-24). They were “locked up” to faith. They trusted God and sang praises to Him in their darkest hour, and God brought deliverance and salvation.

    Dear reader, are you in some terrible trouble? Have you experienced distressing disappointment, sorrow, or inexpressible loss? Are you in a difficult situation? You have been “locked up” to faith. Praise Him “that in all things God works for the good of those who love him” (Rom. 8:28) and that He “acts on the behalf of those who wait for him” (Isa. 64:4). God will send you blessings and help, and will reveal truths to you that otherwise would never have come your way. And many others will also receive great insights and blessings because you were “locked up” to learn the way of faith. —C.H.P.

  • Chi Alpha News – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Summer 2022 Mission Trip!

    We have officially booked, planned, and secured our spot for our mission trip in Summer 2022! There’s only problem for you… is we aren’t ready to announce it just yet (mwhahahahahah)! So, for now, here is a little hint to hold you over:

    You won’t be able to take a walk on J in these 68 square miles.

    If you guess it, don’t spoil it! Our location will be revealed soon, so stay tuned until then!

  • Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Opportunity to be a Ringer!

    In September we will once again start rehearsing handbells with a performance target date of October 3. We rehearse on Wednesday evenings at 7:30 p.m. The rehearsals run no longer than one hour.

    Up to now this group has been made up of adults, but we would love to expand this ensemble to be inclusive of our youth as well. A multigenerational group would be great!

    Please email tara@feefeebc.org if you have an interest in participating in this ensemble. You will find it rewarding to work in tandem with others to create some beautiful music. It is an activity that will stimulate your brain and motor skills – and that’s a good thing! Come give it a go!

     

    Scriptures About Music

    The following is taken from an article by Crystal McDowell – writer, speaker and teacher.

    Music is ministry that ushers in the presence of God. “Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, the singers raised their voices in praise to the Lord and sang: ‘He is good; His love endures forever,’” (2 Chronicles 5:13).

    Music can be inspired from the Spirit of God. “Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,” (Ephesians 5:19-20).

    Music can be used for evil purposes. “Now when you hear the sound of the horn, flute, zither, lyre, harp, pipe and all kinds of music, if you are ready to fall down and worship the image I made, very good,” (Daniel 3:15).

    Music is an affront to God when hypocrisy is in the heart. “Away with the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps,” (Amos 5:23).

  • Family Front – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Wednesday Nights

    On Wednesday, September 8 we will begin our new church year for Wednesday night activities, with AWANA for kids at 6:00 p.m. We will have Puggles for ages 0-2; Cubbies for age 3-pre-K; K-3 grades will attend Sparks and TnT; and we have a little something different for our older kids in KiA (Kids in Action), for 4-5 grade LIVEWIRES. If you could give just 30 minutes of your time to listen to kids recite their verses, that would be so helpful for them. You won’t regret investing in our kids!

    Trunk or Treat

    Put Trunk or Treat on your calendar for Sunday, October 31, from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Be thinking about how you want to be involved: have a decorated trunk, help setup and clean up, greet people, or face paint.  Of course, we will be collecting a TON of candy starting October 10. There will be a bin to deposit your candy donations. Let’s meet and serve our community BOOOO-tifully!

    Ministry Opportunity

    We are in need of people who are willing to serve their church! We need loving caring workers for preschool care during worship. Please let me know if God can use you to serve our families in this way.  As always, thank you for your willing heart to serve.

    “Give praise to the only God. He is our Savior. Glory, majesty, power, and authority belong to him. Give praise to him through Jesus Christ our Lord. Give praise to the One who was before all time, who now is, and who will be forever. Amen,” (Jude 1:25).

  • Prime Time – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Summer is speeding by. Soon our days will be filled with school schedules, football, and the Cardinals in the World Series. Hope you have enjoyed summer as much as I have!

    In the meantime, I’ve been working on our fall activities. We have had to change our date for the Amana Colonies because of a date conflict for our bus driver/guide. The dates are now a Thursday and Friday, October 21-22. While there we will attend a play, Ole and Lena at Cafe Chaos, a musical comedy. We will also visit antique shops, restaurants, and museums that will be within walking distance of our hotel. It looks like show tickets are $32.50, transportation will be $40 and your hotel room with be $50-$60 based on double occupancy. In other words, the trip will cost you less than $150 if you have a roommate, plus whatever you purchase and eat. The hotel I’m looking at does have a fridge in each room for snacks and drinks. There will be a sign-up sheet so I can purchase show tickets and reserve rooms. Please indicate if you want your own room or if you will have a roommate.

    Cancelling our original date gives us an open date at the end of September for another event, so I’m looking at Aires and Pere Marquette as possibilities. More of that in the next Forerunner.

  • Community Connection – Vol. 61, No. 17

    Blood Drive, September 10

    We need you to save some lives by signing up to donate at our next Blood Drive on Friday, September 10 from 1:00–6:00 p.m. You can go to www.feefeebc.org/blooddrive or go to the Red Cross’ website (www.redcrossblood.org) and use the Sponsor Code “FeeFeeBaptistBridgeton” to find our drive and schedule your donation, as well as find some helpful info about donating, including who can donate and how to donate. You can also call 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). The drive will be held in the Family Life Center. If you have any questions about this please contact Andrew (andrew@feefeebc.org).

    Impact Week, September 12-18

    How are you going to be a blessing to your community during Impact Week?  Our goal during Impact Week is doing as much good for the community as we can. And we need you to make that happen! Look for our sign-ups at church or on our website (www.feefeebc.org/impactweek) to be a part of this great week. We’re also encouraging every Bible study group to organize their own service opportunity. So, get your group together and talk about what you’re passionate about or how you’d like to help someone around you.  It could be volunteering with a local food pantry or homeless shelter. It could be doing yardwork for a neighbor or shut in. Brainstorm in your Bible Study this week about how you could make an impact.  Whatever work you do make sure to let Andrew (andrew@feefeebc.org) know so that we can keep track of all our work that week.

    Impact Week Celebration, September 19

    At the end of Impact Week we want to celebrate! So, we’re going to have a unique Impact Week Celebration on Sunday, September 19. We will have one worship service at Redemption Ranch (77 Redemption Rd., Winfield, MO 63389) at 11:00 a.m. Then we will have a free lunch followed by an afternoon of fun! Some fun things to do there include hiking, canoeing, swimming, volleyball, yard games, board games, and more! This will be a great day of fellowship and celebration of all that God has done in the past week. Sign up for lunch in the Connection Center at church or by contacting the church office (314) 739-1525.

    Upcoming Mobile Market Dates

    Anyone in the community is welcome to drive through our Mobile Markets on the following Mondays from 10:00 a.m. until noon (or whenever we run out of food) to have FREE groceries put in their car!

    • September 13
    • September 27
    • October 11
    • October 25

  • Announcements – Vol. 61, No. 16

    Sympathy

    Our love through Christian sympathy is extended to

    … Family and friends of Shirley Turner, who passed on July 31.

    Loaves and Fishes

    Want to serve your community in an amazing way? Sign up as a group (Bible Study group, T-Group, small group, etc.) to feed the residents of Loaves and Fishes and serve together and pursue the good of the community! There are a maximum of 29 residents. We have faithfully fed the people there for almost two years on the third Tuesday of the month. Our next date is August 17 and right now, we do not have any volunteers. ☹ Thanks for your consideration and your willingness to serve. Let Gloria or Andrew know if you would like to provide this meal for August.

    Pickleball

    Pickleball is still happening in the Gym every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Adults of all ages are welcome! If you are interested in joining in a game of Pickleball, contact Carol Gollaher at (314) 620-4036.