Fee Fee Baptist Church

Category: Forerunner

This category contains everything pertaining to the Forerunner.

  • Heart of Worship Vol. 63, No. 5

    Let’s talk about humility. One of the ways we can worship our King is through a heart of humility towards Him and others.

    What does it mean to be humble? Humility comes from throwing away any sense of pride and instead embracing a heart of service and gratitude. It’s realizing without God, we are nothing. (John 15:4-5) It’s recognizing that God knows better than we do, and embracing His ways over our own. (Isaiah 55:8-9)

    Let’s explore a few verses in the Bible that speak about humility:

    1 Peter 5:5-6 says, “…all of you clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, so that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your cares on Him, because He cares for you.”

    In Ephesians 4, Paul urges us to, “live worthy of the calling you have received, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, making every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.”

    Lastly, Proverbs 16:5 says, “Everyone with a proud heart is detestable to the Lord.”

    The Bible is clear: God is looking for us to be humble in heart. He is right there, ready to give us grace when we submit ourselves to Him. He even encourages us to give all our worries and anxiety over to Him, because He deeply loves us.

    If you’re ready to recommit to the Lord with a heart of humility, go ahead and pray this prayer with me:

    Heavenly Father, as an act of worship, I submit myself to you with a humble heart. Please forgive me for thinking my ways are better than Yours. I choose today to cast all my cares on You, as your Word says, because You tenderly love me. I recommit myself to seeking Your face and listening to your Holy Spirit to lead me and guide me in all truth.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

     

     

  • Announcements Vol. 63, No. 5

    Congratulations on this wonderful milestone as these 5 children were baptized last month. Pray that God’s love shine down upon their families.

    Kibret Misgna, Abby Eberts, Eliana Easter, Brayden Muckerman,

    And Christian Muckerman

    Ty Meacham, our College Outreach and Ministry Intern, had his last day with us on April 30th. He has accepted an Associate Pastor position in his hometown in Kentucky. We thank him for the asset he was to the staff and his great ideas.  His leadership in Kidszone and the Youth were a blessing to us. Best of luck to him in his continued ministry.

    International Food Pantry

    We are collecting these items for the pantry: Cereal, peanut butter, (any size), and breakfast/lunch type of foods. Please avoid any Bran or Shredded Wheat.  Our church will be serving the pantry on May 20th. Thank you for your contributions. Contact Cathy Wallace for more information if needed.

    Mobile Market

    Our partnership with the St. Louis Area Foodbank will continue into 2023 with more Mobile Markets. Upcoming dates are:

    • May 8
    • June 12
    • July 10

     

    Anyone is welcome to come get groceries on the second Monday of each month, at 10:00 a.m. (until the food runs out).

    If you would like to volunteer for this ministry, talk to Kathy Webber and she will make sure you have a spot to serve!

    Sympathy

    Our love through Christian sympathy is extended to

    … The family and friends on the passing of Richard (Dick) Huber on March 17

    … Gary Brashears and family on the passing of Lana Brashears on March 15

    … Rhonda Owens and family on the passing of Ed Pilkington on March 20

    … The family and friends on the passing of Sally Smith on April 5

     

     

  • Bible Study Corner Vol. 63, No. 5

    Join us each Sunday at 9:45 a.m. for Bible study.  We have a place for everyone.  Each of us should not only be doing personal Bible study but should be learning with others.  We have women’s classes, men’s classes, couples’ classes and multi-generational groups.  Contact Gloria to find you a place to join in.  We also have Transformation Groups and small groups so join us in Bible Study.

     

  • A Word from Interim Pastor Derald Harris – Vol.63,No.5

    We have been studying the book of Acts on Wednesday evenings. One of the things we have seen is that there is a pattern repeated throughout this book. The church is empowered by the Holy Spirit, the church shares the Gospel with boldness, people are saved, the church is united and prays together – then Satan attacks the church from the outside. But the church remains united and continues to pray together, they share the Gospel with boldness and people are saved. Satan then tries to attack the church through other external sources, but the people remain united and pray together and Satan’s efforts are defeated.

    When attacks from the outside are unsuccessful, Satan then attacks the church from the inside and tries to sow seeds of disunity and discouragement. But the people continue to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to detect and defeat the internal attacks. They remain united and pray together, they continue to share the Gospel with boldness and people are saved.

    Throughout the book of Acts, as long as the church relied on the Holy Spirit, remained united and prayed together, Satan’s attacks were unsuccessful. It was only when the church began to rely on its own resources instead of the Spirit that the attacks on the church began to splinter the unity and power of the church.

    In the last several weeks, we have seen God working in Fee Fee Baptist Church. We have celebrated the baptism of several of our children. (Thanks goes to Kathy Scott and our great children’s workers who faithfully share the Gospel with the children.) We have seen some new families join the church. We have had a powerful and life-changing DNOW experience for our youth. (Thanks to Kyle Baldwin and the youth workers.) These are just a few of the wonderful things that God is doing in our midst.

    We can gain strength and encouragement from seeing what happens when a church is focused on Kingdom work. This should cause us to pray together even more fervently and work together to spread the Gospel in our community.

    But we also need to remember that Satan works the same way today that he did in the first century church. He does not like to see a church praying and working together. He does not like to see people responding to the Gospel. He does not like to see God’s Kingdom advancing. His methods of trying to stop a church always include discouragement, division and tempting us to rely on our own resources and not on the Holy Spirit.

    We need to be alert to Satan’s attacks and remain united, praying together that God’s Spirit will continue to empower us to be bold in building God’s Kingdom.

  • A Word From Interim Pastor, Matt Easter – Vol. 63, No. 4

    Only in John’s gospel do we meet the risen Jesus at the tomb (John 20:1-18). In the other three gospels, the women meet an angel or two, but in John we hear the voice of Jesus Himself.

    On the Sunday after Jesus was killed, Mary Magdalene, Peter, and the Beloved Disciple go to Jesus’ tomb together and find it empty. The men run off to figure things out while Mary sticks around weeping. She is broken and confused. The Powers had already killed her Lord, and now she believes they have stolen His dead body.

    I can imagine what must have been going through her mind, perhaps: “Didn’t He tell us that He was the vine and we were the branches, and if we remained in Him that He’d stick with us? Where is He now? He told us that we can’t bear good fruit apart from Him. What am I supposed to do now?”

    Feeling abandoned and confused, she wisely decides to stay in the place she expected to find her Messiah. Then, Mary turns around to find someone standing behind her. She doesn’t recognize Him, but she’s looking into the face of her risen Lord. Jesus lets Mary squirm in this confusion for a time. Thinking that he is the gardener, she asks if he moved the body of Jesus.

    Then, the voice of Jesus breaks in and opens Mary’s eyes with one word: “Mary.” There’s no dramatic fanfare: no earthquakes, no spontaneous prophecies, no miracles. There’s only a word: “Mary.” She suddenly sees with new eyes, and giving him a bear hug, she cries out, “Rabboni!” (“Teacher!”)

    Perhaps you can relate to Mary’s situation. Most of us have gone through periods in the Christian journey where we feel abandoned, where God hasn’t shown up like we expected: “I lost my job and have bills to pay;” or “I’m in a new place where no one knows me;” or “I raised my son in the faith, but now he hates the church.” Or maybe it’s a spiritual dryness: “I’m lost but I just can’t pray;” or “Scripture means nothing to me anymore;” or “I have no desire to be around Christians – they just make me feel bad.”

    In these moments, let’s be like Mary and return to the places where the Lord has worked before: run to Scripture, pray fervently, step vulnerably into Christian fellowship. We may feel like our prayers aren’t working, but we keep praying, hoping to meet the Lord there once again.

    Sometimes we live in this period of confusion and distance for a time. But don’t lose hope. Jesus is with you, just as He was with Mary. Jesus is ready to speak that perfect word into your situation in His best timing. Then, when Jesus dramatically breaks into your situation and pours a bucket of icy water onto your parched soul with that perfect personal word, you, like Mary, can go share the good news of what this risen Lord is doing.

    Blessings,
    Pastor Matt

     

     

  • Music Musings – Vol. 63, No. 4

    THE PSALMS

    As we are currently reading through Psalms in our daily reading plan, it is obvious that the Psalms were meant to be sung.

    In reading the texts of many of the Psalms it is clear that many are the basis for hymns and worship songs we regularly sing.

    Psalm 95 is very meaningful to me because I conducted Psalm 95, op. 46 (a five movement work) by Felix Mendelssohn as partial requirement for my Masters in Conducting.

    Please listen to the first movement from this work as performed by Holy Childhood Holy Cantorum.

    O Come, Let Us Worship (from Psalm 95) by Felix Mendelssohn – YouTube

    As a contrast listen to the following Psalm setting by Sons of Korah.

    Psalm 95 – Sons of Korah – YouTube

    These settings are very different, but very beautiful!

    Thanks for listening. @feefeebc.org.

     

  • Heart of Worship – Vol. 63, No. 4

    Today, we’re going to look at worshipping the Lord by magnifying Him and His Word.

    What does the word “magnify” mean when it comes to the Lord? To magnify the Lord means to recognize and speak of His greatness. Psalm 34:1, 3 says, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. Oh, magnify the Lord with me, and let us exalt His name together.” Psalm 69:30 says, “I will praise the name of God with a song. I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.”

    There are many Psalms that speak of magnifying the Lord and His greatness! Let’s also take a look in the New Testament in the book of Luke, where Mary, the mother of Jesus, magnifies the Lord through her prayer. You can read the entire prayer yourself in Luke 1:46-55, but I wanted to highlight a portion here:

    Mary says, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” She goes on to speak of His greatness and how the Mighty One has done great things for her.

    Friends, that’s how we are instructed to speak about our God! He is so great and so mighty! He is SO deserving of our praise! When we choose to speak of His magnitude, our problems here on earth seem to fade in comparison. This makes me think of a song called, “Be Magnified”. Here are a few of the lyrics:

    I have made You too small in my eyes
    Oh Lord, forgive me;
    I have believed in a lie
    That You were unable to help me
    But now, oh Lord, I see my wrong
    Heal my heart and show Yourself strong
    And in my eyes and with my song
    Oh, Lord, be magnified!

     

  • Announcements – Vol. 63, No. 4

    Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions

    There are an estimated 281 million lost people in the United States, Canada and the U.S. territories of Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam and American Samoa. The North American Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention has more than 2,400 missionaries who work to advance the Gospel in these areas.

    The Annie Armstrong Easter Offering is the primary way Southern Baptists fund these mission efforts. The offering is named for Annie Armstrong, a bold missions advocate and the Women’s Missionary Union’s first national executive leader. One hundred percent of gifts to this offering is used to train and resource missionaries in church planting, compassion ministries and creating evangelism resources.

    We will be receiving this offering every Sunday through Easter, but there will be a special “in-gathering” on Sunday, April 2. This is an opportunity to display a unified commitment to this offering. Our goal is $16,000.

    Sunday Night Connection

    Since our normal Sunday night is Easter, we are moving the date to the Sunday night after Easter, April 16 at 5 pm. We will be having an Easter Egg hunt for the kids and firepits and hot dogs. Invite your friends and neighbors to this fun night of fellowship. Don’t forget your lawn chair!

    Mobile Market

    Fee Fee Baptist Church continues to  partner with the St. Louis Area Foodbank to provide Mobile Markets on the second Monday of the month.

    Upcoming dates are:

    • April 10
    • May 8
    • June 12

    Anyone is welcome to come get groceries on these dates at 10:00 a.m. (until the food runs out).

    If you would like to volunteer for this ministry, talk to Kathy Webber and she will make sure you have a spot to serve!

    Help Needed for International Food Pantry

    Fee Fee Baptist Church joins with other churches to provide a food pantry for people from other countries who live in the St. Louis area. This primarily reaches people in the local Bosnian community, but people from other ethnic groups are welcome to participate.

    We need you to help with this effort either through volunteering or by providing funds and/or food items for the pantry. There is a collection bin in the Connection Center for food items. If you would like to volunteer, please contact the church office.

    Remember Easter is on Sunday, April 9th, we will be having a Easter service at 8:30 a.m. and 11:00 a.m. There will be a breakfast between the services.  Also don’t forget the Easter egg hunt is on Sunday, April 16th at 5:00 p.m. Invite your family and friends

     

    Sympathy

    Our love through Christian sympathy is extended to

    Fran, Amy and Chris Portell on the passing of Dale Portell on March 8.

     

     

     

     

     

  • Chi Alpha News – Vol. 63, No. 4

    THANK YOU CHURCH!

    DNOW has officially wrapped up for this year, and I could not be more pleased with how the event went. This year, we hosted 35 students from 2 churches, along with a good number of friends who joined, some for the very first time. We enjoyed great worship from some of my closest friends from my days at MBU, and Pastor Matt did a phenomenal job in bringing the messages all weekend long.

    Our Small Group Leaders dove right in with the students and connected quickly with them. Our tech team went above and beyond to make our worship look and sound great. Our volunteers selflessly gave up their busy time to be here, serve and help keep me sane. So, all I can say is thank you.

    There are probably too many names to type out in this short little article, but I specifically want to say “thank you to you church.” Thank you for your prayers, financial support, and general support throughout the last month as we planned and executed what is probably my all-time favorite, DNOW weekend. Without you, events like these are not possible. I am so looking forward to building off this weekend with these students, and seeing how the Lord will work in their lives.

    Let us continue to pray for a unified student ministry and church body!

     

  • Bible Study Corner – Vol. 63, No. 4

    We have Bible studies for all ages on Sunday mornings at 9:45 am. If you don’t know where you should go, ask Gloria and she will hook you up.

    There are also Wednesday night Bible studies at 6 pm, small groups and T-groups. Please contact Gloria or our website for more information  @feefeebc.org.