More Bible Studies are beginning in person. We will announce these changes at church and teachers will be notifying their classes. If you are interested in in-person Bible Study, just ask a greeter in the Welcome Center or front entrance and they will be able to help you.
Category: Forerunner
This category contains everything pertaining to the Forerunner.
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Devotional Corner – Vol. 61, No. 5
Taken from L.B. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Zondervan Updated Edition
“We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first,” (Hebrews 3:14).
Often the last step is the winning step. In Pilgrim’s Progress the greatest number of dangers were lurking in the area closest to the gates of the Celestial City. It was in that region the Doubting Castle stood. And it was there the enchanted ground lured the tired traveler to fatal slumber. It is when heaven’s heights are in full view that the gates of hell are the most persistent and full of deadly peril. “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up,” (Galatians 6:9). “Run in such a way as to get the prize,” (1 Corinthians 9:24).
The greatest challenge in receiving great things from God is holding on for the last half hour.
In the bitter waves of woe
Beaten and tossed about
By the sullen winds that blow
From the desolate shores of doubt,
Where the anchors that faith has cast
Are dragging in the gale,
I am quietly holding fast
To the things that cannot fail.
And fierce though the fiends may fight,
And long though the angels hide,
I know that truth and right
Have the universe on their side;
And that somewhere beyond the stars
Is a love that is better than fate.
When the night unlocks her bars
I will see Him—and I will wait.
—Washington Gladden
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Announcements – Vol. 61, No. 5
Daylight Saving Time Begins Sunday, March 14
Don’t forget to set your clocks ahead 1 hour!
Pickleball is Back On!
Tired of being cooped up in the house? Want to get a little exercise and have fun while you’re doing it? Pickleball is starting back up in the Gym every Wednesday at 10:00 a.m. Adults of all ages are welcome! Masks are required the entire time on the church campus and while playing the game. If you are interested in joining in a game of Pickleball, contact Carol Gollaher at (314) 620-4036.
Our Goal is $13,000
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Community Connection – Vol. 61, No. 5
Week of Prayer for North American Mission, March 29-April 4
North American Missionaries have had some unique challenges with COVID-19. But what has not changed is the need for the Gospel to be declared. They could definitely use our prayers. March 29 through April 4 is our Week of Prayer for North American Missions. You can download the Prayer Guide on the Downloads section of our website. Then Sunday, April 4 we are taking a special offering for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. All the money given to this offering goes towards North American Missionaries. Please be praying for our missionaries!
Upcoming Mobile Markets
We know that right now it is difficult for some people to get the food they need. Fee Fee has partnered with St. Louis Area Foodbank to provide a Mobile Food Market! Every other Monday from 10:00 a.m. until noon, you can drive through the church parking lot and volunteers and staff will put food in your car. We ask that you have space in your vehicle for the food items and that you not leave your vehicle during the distribution. The upcoming Mobile Markets are March 22 and April 5. You can contact Andrew if you have any questions or would be interested in volunteering, andrew@feefeebc.org.
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Community Connection – Vol. 61, No. 4
Blood Drive, February 26
Our Blood Drive is this week and we still have spots left!! Sign up to give blood this Friday, February 26 from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. on the Red Cross website (www.redcrossblood.org) and use the Sponsor Code “FeeFeeBaptistBridgeton.” Alternatively, you can make an appointment by calling 1-800-RED-CROSS (1-800-733-2767). The drive will be held in the Family Life Center. Everyone donating can drive around to the back of the church and park in the lot by the gym and enter through the gym doors. On the blood drive page on the church website (www.feefeebc.org/blooddrive) you can find helpful info about donating, including who can donate and how to donate, and a link to sign up. If you have any questions, contact Andrew (andrew@feefeebc.org).
Tom and Lela Warner Missions Fund, February 28
We will have a special offering for the Tom and Lela Warner Missions Fund on Sunday, February 28. All money given towards that fund goes to support our members that go on mission trips. If you give, make sure to label your gift as “Warner Mission Fund.”
Mobile Food Market
We love our partnership with the St. Louis Area Food Bank to get free groceries into the hands of families in need in our community. Upcoming Mobile Market Mondays will be:
March 8
March 22
Each of these will take place starting 10:00 a.m. (until the food runs out) in the church parking lot. Contact Andrew at andrew@feefeebc.org to volunteer.
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Bible Study Corner – Vol. 61, No. 4
Beginning Sunday, March 7, I will be leading a Grounded Bible Study group in person at the church on Sundays at 9:45 a.m. until we finish the New Testament in May. Everyone is invited to attend. We will be discussing some of the scriptures we have read that week. Come prepared with questions or comments on a passage that spoke to you. This group will only meet in person each Sunday at 9:45 a.m.
If you still don’t feel comfortable meeting in person, we will do a Facebook live version of Grounded on Wednesday mornings from 9:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. It would be great if you could join live to comment and answer questions, but it will also be available on our website to watch at your convenience.
It is so meaningful to discuss what you have been reading in scripture. Hope you can join me in one of these formats.
Of course, our usual Sunday morning Bible Studies will continue either online or in person as will our Wednesday night men’s and women’s studies.
Join us in studying Scripture together.
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Family Front – Vol. 61, No. 4
Here are updates on in-person kids’ activities:
Wednesdays: AWANA Club 6:00-7:00 p.m. for kids 3 years old through 5th grade. Kids: bring your book, Bible, and wear a mask.
Sundays: Preschool care is provided for birth through pre-K during 11:00 a.m. worship. KidsZone meets at 11:00 a.m. for kids K-5th grade. The 4th Sunday of each month, K-5th grade kids will worship with their parents. When there is a 5th Sunday in the month, we will have a Birthday Bash to celebrate birthdays from the months prior.
Preschool and children’s Bible Study classes will start back on Sunday, March 7 at 9:45 a.m. between worship services. We are looking forward to having our kids back in their classes with our teachers! There will also be adult and youth Bible Study classes offered at the same time.
We are planning to do VBS Wilderness Escape and Sports Camp in some form this summer. It may be a drive-in experience for families, or it may be in-person. But we plan to have something! If you would like to be involved, it’s not too early to let me know.
“And let us watch out for one another to provoke love and good works. Not neglecting to gather together, (even if it’s online) … but encouraging each other, and all the more as you see the day approaching,” (Hebrews 10:25).
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Music Musings – Vol. 61, No. 4
Hymns Written During Past Pandemics – Part III
By Dr. Julie Barrier, Crosswalk.com
James Montgomery, born in 1771, was a Scottish-born hymn writer and poet. He wrote 400 hymns in the midst of controversial quarantines for yellow fever, cholera, and bubonic plague. Sing Hallelujah, Sing is one of his most famous. What a statement of faith!
“Sing Hallelujah, Glory to God alone…Bring your thank-offerings to the throne. The Lord put forth His hand. He touched us and we died. Vengeance went through the land, but mercy walked beside. He heard our prayers; He saw our tears and stayed the plague and quelled our fears.”
Dr. John Ryland was an English Baptist pastor and a close friend of John Newton, composer of Amazing Grace. The deadly Cattle Plague was similar to smallpox, but even more deadly. This plague ravaged Britain and other parts of Europe. Ryland paraphrased Psalm 139 into lyrics for his hymn, Sovereign Ruler of the Skies.
“He that formed me in the womb shall guide me to the tomb. All my times shall ever be ordered by His wise decree…Plagues and death around me fly ’til He bids I cannot die. Not a single shaft can hit ’til the God of love thinks fit.”
Swiss pastor Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) was one of the most influential voices in the Protestant Reformation. Black plague broke out in Zurich and he raced to minister to the sick. Zwingli caught the dreaded disease and almost died. But the hymn he wrote gives us an inspiring glimpse of his faith. The first four verses of his hymn were penned when the disease struck. Verses five through eight were written as his health deteriorated. Verse nine through twelve were written after God healed him. What a great model for us as we fight sickness:
“Help me Lord, my strength and rock, Lo at the door I hear death’s knock. Lift up Your arm once pierced for me, that conquered death and rescued me. Yet if Your voice in life’s midday recalls my soul, then I obey.”
During his illness:
“My pains increase, haste to console; for fear and woe seize body and soul. Death is at hand, my senses fail, my tongue is dumb, now Christ prevail. He (Satan) harms me not – I fear no loss. For here I lie beneath the cross.”
After his recovery:
“My God! My Lord! Healed by your hand, upon the earth once more I stand. Let sin no more rule over me – my mouth shall sing alone to Thee. Though now delay, my hour will come – involved perchance in deeper gloom. BUT LET IT COME, MY JOY WILL RISE. And bear my yoke straight to the skies.”
What a picture of handling suffering!
Virtual Choir Project
It’s time to get serious! Some of you have already arranged a time for Andrea Jennings to record you. If you have not set up a time with her, please make your appointment ASAP. We need to have all recordings by February 26. Also, thanks to Jonathan McPhillips for creating a score that moves forward with repeat and coda marked. This will help you to not get lost in following the arrangement. Appreciate every one of you!
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Chi Alpha News – Vol. 61, No. 4
Minneapolis Mission Trip
As our departure date for the Twin Cities gets closer each day, there is a large sense of anticipation building. We are all very excited for the opportunity to serve in Minneapolis after losing out on the opportunity to travel and serve last year. We are continuously monitoring the situation prior to our trip and working closely with Praying Pelican Missions to try and create the safest environment possible. Please continue to pray for our student ministry, Praying Pelican Missions, and the city of Minneapolis. We are anxious for the opportunity to be the hands and feet of Jesus in just a few short months.
Students, as we get closer to this trip, do not forget your calling to serve in your local community. Being the hands and feet of Jesus does not begin and end by traveling to different cities or countries. Jesus has called you to serve in your local community, schools, and at your activities. The mission never ends, so embrace it, and continue to build the Kingdom!
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Devotional Corner – Vol. 61, No. 4
Taken from Mrs. Charles E. Cowman’s “Streams in the Desert,” Vol. Two
“Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them,” (Matthew 7:12).
This universal language is the language of action. I understand that you have a kind heart, because your kindness takes shape in a friendly letter or deed – I can see your kindness. I understand how much you love your family because your love for them takes form in hard working devotion to their needs. In the same way we come to know the Love of God. For long centuries God in His wisdom spoke to men through words, on the lips of prophets and priests and sages and saints, and men could not be sure what God was like. Then when they were ready, He spoke to them in a new way: ‘And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, full of Grace and Truth.’ God’s Love took form in a Life which we could see, in a death upon a Cross which we beheld; and ever since then, men have said, ‘God is like Jesus Christ. God’s Love is like the Cross.’ This was the ‘Incarnation,’ taking shape in flesh before the eyes of people. God has spoken, at last, in the universal language of action!
George Washington, one day, had a tempting opportunity to preach a sermon on loving your neighbor. He was riding across the farmlands with a company of gentlemen, when the last horse over a stone fence knocked over a number of stones, leaving a large opening. Washington suggested that they stop and repair it, but the others shrugged their shoulders; so he said nothing more, and rode on with them. When the party disbanded, one of them, riding homeward, found Washington back in the farmer’s fence, carefully replacing the stones. ‘Oh, General,’ chattered the man, ‘You are too big a man to be doing a thing like that.’ ‘No,’ answered Washington, gravely inspecting his work, ‘I’m just the right size.’ Washington was preaching his sermon in the universal language of action. Words would have bored the farmer no end, but the deed of neighborliness spoke for itself.
If you want, with all your heart, to tell someone that you love them, say as little as possible about it, and show them in loving deeds. — SSPEC