Fee Fee Baptist Church

Author: Tara Smith

  • Announcements – Vol. 60, No. 20

    Welcome New Members

    On Sunday, September 13, 2020 —

    Presenting herself for church membership by her profession of faith:

    • Lillian Knepper

     

    On Sunday, September 13, 2020  —

    Baptized:

    • Lillian Knepper
    • Marley Tyler
    Sympathy

    Our love through Christian sympathy is extended to

    … Jean Smith on the passing of her husband, James, on September 20.

    … Dale (Fran) Portell on the passing of his sister, Karen Bailey, on September 29.

    … Irma (Bob) Foster on the passing of her son, Mark Averill, on September 30.

    Thank You

    The church has received a Thank You card from

    … Lorraine Richardson

    … Ruth Thoma

     

  • Music Musings – Vol. 60, No. 20

    Hymn Sing – A Throwback!

    Did you ever attend a hymn sing? Up in North Central Missouri where I am from, our Linn County Baptist Association held a hymn sing in one of the Linn County Baptist churches each month. These “sings” usually featured hymns built around special themes and were well attended by people who just loved singing hymns. I was pretty young, but still remember these events as very joyous occasions and since my mother who served as Associational Music Director planned each event, it was never disputed that I would be in attendance often participating in the special music numbers. So much for reminiscing!

    I haven’t been to a hymn sing in years, but when our Friendship Choir did some “hymn caroling” during Impact Week the old classic hymns were so well received that it seemed others might enjoy and receive a blessing from a hymn sing event.

    So, come join us on October 11 at 3:00 p.m. in our courtyard for a good ole Hymn Sing! Please bring your own lawn chairs and your voice to sing praises. The Friendship Choir will be leading us in hymns, and we would love to have you join in on the singing! Can’t wait to see you there!

    Why Do We Sing?

    A good friend shared this article with me, and I thought you would enjoy.

    “Be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,”  Ephesians 5:18-19.

    Why do people sing? The nineteenth century American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow may have said it best: “Music is the universal language of mankind.” Even when our spoken words cannot be understood, music can bridge a gap where our words often fail. Joy, sorrow, fear, exaltation, praise, energy – every facet of life can be reflected in music. And when our spoken words that edify and communicate to the heart, all the better.

    Why do we sing songs in church? The Early Church did so because of the Jewish culture of singing the Psalms in worship. But why did Israel sing? Because they were human and needed to pour out their hearts to God in praise, confession, petition, and love. We also sing in corporate worship because Paul instructed us to praise God with “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,” (Ephesians 5:19). Corporate worship, especially with music, focuses our attention on the Savior we serve.

    Do you invest your whole heart in corporate worship in church? Worship is our “sacrifice of praise” to the Lord, (Hebrews 13:15)?

    “My ready tongue makes haste to sing the glories of my heavenly King.” – Charles Wesley

  • Prime Time – Vol. 60, No. 20

    Seasons

    Today is another beautiful fall day. Fall truly is my favorite season. The cool breezes, the rustle of leaves as they fall from trees, the beautiful bright fall colors. God is making all this beauty for us to enjoy. Did you wake up this morning thanking Him for His sovereignty in creation and His perfect plan for our salvation?

    Speaking of seasons of life, how are you doing during this unusual season of 2020? Are you still praising and thanking Him for each day? Are you seeing His hands of love seeking you out each day and protecting you? Are you reaching out to others? Are you helping them get through this season with acts of love and prayer?

    Finally, are you praising and thanking Him for the season of life you are in right now or do you long for the days when you were younger, perhaps pain free and able to do whatever you wanted?

    Whatever season we are in – whether it be fall, 2020, or being a senior adult – God still wants us to praise and thank Him in all things and He wants to use us to bring glory to His name. What is He calling you to do today and how will you respond?

    Loaves and Fishes

    We are in need of an individual or group to take and prepare a meal for Loaves and Fishes. Would you be able to meet this need? This ministry happens each month on the third Tuesday. Contact Gloria or Andrew if you are willing to help out!

  • Chi Alpha News – Vol. 60, No. 20

    Vision Casting Night / Family Firepit Night

    On Friday, October 23 we will be having a night to celebrate where we are moving together as a Youth department. Come join us – students, families, volunteers, leaders – to check out our newly renovated youth lounge! During this time, we will also discuss our new Mission Statement for the youth, which is “Real Community, Real Purpose, Real God.” I am so excited about this new chapter for our students and can’t wait for each of you to come along on the journey with us! Following our brief time of discussion, we will head out to the courtyard for a fun time of fellowship and s’mores! We will have prepacked s’mores kits and plenty of firepits to go around! So come and join us! I can’t wait to celebrate with each of you!

    Regular Weekly Schedule

    Sunday Morning Bible Study (in person & on Zoom): 10:00 – 10:30 a.m.

    Tuesday Night Study Night: 5:00 – 8:00 p.m.

    Wednesday Night Small Groups: 6:00 – 7:00 p.m.

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 60, No. 20

    I heard a pastor once say, “We owe it to people to prepare them for adversity.”

    How true is that in our Christian community! While I do believe that “God is good, all the time…all the time, God is good,” I think our definition and gut reaction to that word “good” needs to be evaluated. What do we really mean when we say, “God is good?”

    I think that often, if we aren’t careful, the American church can give out the impression to the lost that with salvation will come the end of all struggles and doubt. We often neglect the whole sanctification part of salvation. That is why that quote really struck me.

    It is not enough for us to just talk about who we are in Christ (how we are victors, children of the King, etc.). We must also talk about the trials that surely await every believer, no matter how much faith they have. Salvation does not equal comfort or safety. I believe that Christ openly declared that in the world, we will have trouble. It is our job to prepare people for that trouble so they can weather the storm instead of drowning in it!

    Yes, God is good all the time. However, His goodness does not mean we avoid trials and temptations, it simply means He is enough during those rough times.

    That is one major reason why Peter wrote the book of 1 Peter. He wanted to help the early church understand that trials and tribulations were going to come. He wanted the church to know that God cares a lot more about our holiness than our comfort.

    As we walk through this great book together this fall, remember what Peter writes to us in 1 Peter 3:17: “For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” In other words, there will be adversity in this life! Let’s live for God in such a way that we know that the adversity that we face is because we are doing good!

    Church, we need to be prepared for adversity…and we need to continue to live boldly for God and pursue holiness over comfort!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • Community Connection – Vol. 60, No. 20

    Outdoor Movie Night, October 16

    Join us for a free outdoor movie! On Friday, October 16 we will watch the new Disney movie The One and Only Ivan together in the church courtyard. Show up at 6:30 p.m. to get your spot and the movie will start at 7:00 p.m. Bring your own chairs, blankets, snacks, and drinks. You must reserve your spot ahead of time on the church website or by calling the church office.

     Dominican Republic Mission Trip Informational Meeting, October 18

    Unfortunately, due to COVID19 concerns, our mission trip to Dominican Republic got canceled this past summer. However, we are hopeful and excited about going back in the summer of 2021! There is an informational meeting for that trip on Sunday, October 18, at 3:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. If you feel led to be a part of this mission trip, join us at the meeting to find out more information.

    Operation Christmas Child Boxes

    The Operation Christmas Child boxes will be available on Wednesday, October 21. Every year thousands of boxes filled with Christmas gifts are sent to children all over the world through Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child boxes. This is an opportunity to bless kids in need with presents and the Gospel. Make sure to pick up your box (or 2 or more), fill it, and bring it back by Wednesday, November 18.  You can also support this effort by donating the $9 cost per box for shipping these.

  • Featured Article – Vol. 60, No. 20

    by Kyle Kalkbrenner, Resident Intern

    The Great Sympathizer

    Hello friends, I have recently started growing out my facial hair and it leads me to ask you all something: “May I ‘stache you a question?” In all seriousness though, my question is, how do you view God? Is it something like a God that reigns over you looking to bust your chops whenever you mess up? Or is it a loving father that is able to pick you up whenever you’re having a rough time. Now I’ll be honest, I had a rough weekend. Family came over unexpectedly and I was swamped with homework. I had gotten little to no sleep the night before and I was struggling to find the patience needed to deal with everything that goes along with family visiting. I was really struggling with not making small remarks and being a “Debbie Downer.” However, the thing that helped me was that I knew I have a good Father in Heaven, and He wants to hear my problems and help me get through them. So, this is my challenge to everyone who reads this: allow God to be your listener. Confide in Him all of your frustrations and anger. In Hebrews 4:15-16, it says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” What we can see from this text is that Jesus is a compassionate God who lived and dealt with the same things we deal with today. He is a God who is willing to meet you where you are with your struggles. God tells His people to weep with those who weep and mourn with those who mourn. God’s character can be seen throughout the Bible as a God who wants to be your Counselor. Because no matter how hard we try we will always mess it up. So, take everything to the throne of God and allow Him to be your sympathizer. “Pray as you are, not as you aught.”

  • Family Front – Vol. 60, No. 20

    AWANA

    We were so excited to get to start AWANA again and have our kids in the building on Wednesday nights. This is for all preschoolers and children up to 5th grade. Join us in the gym from 6:00-7:00 p.m. if you have kids or if you want a place to serve. We could use you to help a child learn the scripture for the night. I cannot think of a better way to use your time!

    KidsZone

    We have also begun KidsZone on Sundays during the 11:00 a.m. service. This will be held in the Rafters and end up in the gym. When you arrive for 11:00 a.m. worship get your child’s check-in sticker, leave your preschool children in the preschool area, then take your elementary child to the Rafters room on 3rd floor. I am thankful for Kyle and Scarlet Kalkbrenner, our interns, who are leading this for our kids. They will end the morning in the gym where you can pick up your child following worship. We will do our best to adhere to social distancing guidelines as we meet during all of these kids’ events. Just a reminder that on the 4th Sunday of each month, elementary kids will worship with you in the worship center. We also have preschool care for the 11:00 a.m. service every Sunday led by great caregivers.

    Just a reminder, for now, there are still weekly Bible lessons for kids on our church website that you can use at home. You can find these lessons on our website, on the KidsZone page. These can be great family worship times for the whole family to do together!

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 60, No. 19

    My article for this edition of The Forerunner is going to be a little different than usual. I’m still going to share about some things that are coming up in the life of our church. Specifically, how we are going to be walking through the book of 1 Peter together as a church starting on September 20. However, before we get into that, I wanted to take a moment to acknowledge the work of Ruth Thoma here at Fee Fee Baptist.

    If you haven’t heard, Ruth is retiring at the end of the month. She has served faithfully here at Fee Fee Baptist for nineteen and a half years! She has served in a variety of support staff roles and has been deeply connected to our church for nearly two decades. For the last year and a half, Ruth has served as my administrative assistant and has provided invaluable insight to me. I can’t tell you how many times I have gone to her to better understand different people and situations in the church. One thing that you can’t develop overnight is institutional knowledge. Ruth’s faithful service here at FFBC is something that gave her a knowledge base that I have repeatedly been able to benefit from.

    However, more than her institutional knowledge, Ruth’s heart for the Lord and her joy in serving Him is what stands out the most to me. I have been so encouraged by Ruth’s unshakable faith and her incredible servant’s heart. She has worked tirelessly in serving the Lord and serving this church for the last two decades. Additionally, I know that so many of you have benefited from getting to spend time with her over the years.

    The Bible says that we are to give honor where honor is due. Please take the opportunity to let Ruth know how much you appreciate the way she has served the Lord and our church. I’ve been so blessed to work with her! Please join me in praying for her as she makes this transition out of the workplace and into retirement. I know God is still going to use her in incredible ways!

    Ruth’s example of service is something that we want to emulate. There will be a few different opportunities coming up for us to do just that. Not only are we continuing with our Mobile Food Pantry, but we also will be hosting another blood drive on October 1-2. If you can sign up to donate, that would be great! Finally, we will be having a church workday on October 3. Would you be willing to come and help out and beautify our campus?

    Also, I want to encourage you to dig into 1 Peter with us. In this time of uncertainty in our world, it is a great reminder that we have a Living Hope! We are elect exiles who are here to proclaim the truth of the Gospel to a world that is needing hope. Studying this book together this fall will prayerfully equip us to be ready with a reason for the hope we have!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • Music Musings – Vol. 60, No. 19

    Children’s Nativity

    Our children’s Nativity presentation is one of our Christmas performance items that is absolutely a favorite.

    This year’s presentation will be in a different format in order to maintain safety and social distancing. Children will be able to participate in person or virtually, depending on your family comfort level. Please respond to Tara (tara@feefeebc.org) to let us know of your preference.  We look forward to hearing from you as we plan this favorite Christmas feature.

    Handbells Anyone?

    What an interesting few months we have experienced! There are still a lot of unknowns, but the general consensus is that in music making the use of small groups is better than large groups. So – handbells may be considered a very safe avenue for making music. Handbell players can easily wear masks and gloves and socially distance.

    I recently came across arrangements requiring 3-6 players. Many are geared toward Christmas themes. Please indicate your interest in participating by sending an email to Tara (tara@feefeebc.com). This would be a wonderful opportunity to share your gift for making music as we approach the Christmas season.