Newsletters

April 26-May 2, 2013

A Word from our Family Pastor:

How Do You Go to Church?

Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; 20 for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.

I was talking to my mother on the phone this week and she told me that when I was a little boy and would go to Sunday School, she would ask me afterward “what did you learn about in Sunday School?” She said my answer was almost always the same, “God and Jesus.” That is cute and kind of funny to hear from a little boy but I sometimes wonder if our response to Sunday morning’s sermon isn’t similar. Going to church on Sunday morning can often become ritual—that isn’t necessarily a bad thing, there are many things that we do ritually that are incredibly important and valuable like eating dinner with our families, praying together, or even brushing our teeth. When things in our lives become ritualistic, however, there is a temptation to misappropriate their worth.

We will, if we are not thoughtful and prayerful about how we approach our time together on Sunday mornings, act just like I did as a young boy. We will go through the motions of learning about God and Jesus rather than seeing such endeavors as critical to our spiritual health.

When James speaks of being quick to hear and slow to speak, he isn’t just talking about how we talk to one another. He is actually speaking of our relationship to God through Christ. This can be seen in the preceding verse which speaks of how God has caused us to be born again through Christ, “the word of truth.” In other words James is talking about how we receive the gospel, more than he is talking about how we should communicate with one another, though I do think the command to be slow to speak and quick to listen can be applied interpersonally. James is telling us when the Word, the gospel, is proclaimed that we need to be slow to speak up against it. That tells us something about ourselves—it tells us that we are prideful and generally consider the Word as something that other people need to hear more than we do. Thus James tells us—don’t think its for someone else—you dear Christian, receive the Word with meekness. This implanted Word is able save your soul—it is a grave matter of spiritual livelihood!

So what does this have to say about how we go to church? It tells us that when we go to church and hear the Word of God rightly preached, that Word is not meant for someone else. When you come on Sunday morning and hear God’s Word preached and taught—the message of Scripture has power to save you and I don’t mean in just a final salvation sense. The Word has power to save you now. The Word has present power to change your perspective and your attitude about life—it has the power to change your heart, the power to change you.

So my encouragement to you this week is to consider how you go to church. Are you prepared to receive the Word with meekness? Have you prayed asking God to help you see that the message of the gospel is for you and has power to change you? On a more practical level, do you come to church rested and ready to actively listen to the Word of God as brother Brad preaches it? When you leave the service on Sunday mornings, do you speak about the sermon with your family? Do you talk to your friends and family about how you might make steps to apply it to your life? Do you study further on your own to make sure you understand God’s Word and how to apply it to your daily life?

Brothers and Sisters, let us not merely attend church and hear a sermon—let us consider how we might receive the Word with meekness. It is able to save our souls!

In Christ,

Drew

Announcements:

Children’s Ministry Meeting Sunday May 5^th at 5:00 at the church. We will discuss finalizing plans for this Summer’s Art Camp (July 14^th – 17^th).
The next book club selection is Jane Eyre which we will plan to discuss in June. Gina Smith has some hardcover copies available for purchase if you are interested. Contanct Lisa Spence for more information.( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
There will be a Bridal Shower for Abby Hellums THIS Sunday, April 28^th from 2:00 – 4:00 P.M. in the gardens of the Hellum’s home: 1204 Mathis Mill Rd. (in the case of rain, the shower will be moved inside the Hellum’s home). If you have signed up to bring food for the shower, please have your food at the Hellums' home no later than 1:30 PM on Sunday. All food will be transferred onto silver serving platters for the tea.
The next Ladies’ Fellowship will meet May 7^th at 6:00 P.M. at Amy Williams’ house.
May 1^st the Students will be meeting at the Hellums house for our Wednesday night Bible study.
Student Summer Retreat will be Monday July 22^nd through Thursday July 25^th in Pigeon Forge. We have reserved a cabin and will be going to Dollywood and the Great Smokey Mountains National Park. Cost will be $150 and will cover lodging, most food, and ticket to Dollywood. There are some scholarships available for students needing financial help to go. Don’t hesitate to ask.

Dates to Mark on Your Calendar:

May 12^th – New Sunday School classes begin
May 26^th – Last meeting for this round of community groups
June 2^nd – Family Meeting
June 5^th – Wednesday Night – First Wednesday for Students going into the 7^th Grade
June 9^th – Sunday evening service
June 16^th – Sunday evening service
June 23^rd – No Sunday evening services or activities
June 30^th – New set of Community Groups begin
July 14^th – 17^th – Children’s Art Camp
July 22^nd – 25^th – Student Retreat to Pigeon Forge

Praise/Prayer Requests:

· Pray for Regina Gregg and her family as her father Leroy Malone continues to recover from his stroke. They all have a long road ahead, and they will need much wisdom and patience as they go through this together.

· Pray for Misty Merilien and her baby as the pregnancy continues.

· Pray for Kristy Baldwin’s aunt, who is battling breast cancer.

· Pray for Ray Dixon, Drew’s father, he has prostate cancer. Pray God would strengthen him and point others to Christ through this trial.

· Please continue to pray for Jim Parker’s niece, Neci.

· Pray for Ruth Thompson, Wanda Parker’s mother, who is in the beginning stages of congestive heart failure. Pray for her husband, Dalton, as he cares for her. Pray for Wanda and Jim as they are helping care for both of them as well.

Missions:

M.U.D. Ministries:

If you are interested in supporting M.U.D. Ministries, please contact Eric Hixon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Volunteers for this week:

Sunday Morning Childcare:

Bed Babies through 2’s – Kathy Coy, Leigh Ellen, and Steve Hellums

3’s and 4’s – Regina and Taylor Gregg

Sunday Morning Food:

Provided

Hospice Volunteer:

Last Week’s Statistics:

Budget Receipts: $3,445.00

Budget Receipts YTD: $53,797.00

Budget Needs YTD: $63,060.74

Budget (Deficit)/Surplus ($9,263.74)

Building Fund this Week: $420.00

Building Fund YTD: $10,745.00

Building Fund Giving to Date: $185,866.75

Missions: $300.00

Benevolence: $0.00

Attendance: 80

New Covenant Baptist Church – www.DiscoverNewCovenant.com

104 W. Alabama Avenue, Suite A - Albertville, AL 35950

256-849-2454
Pastor – Brad Williams Family Pastor – Drew Dixon

Sunday:

9:30am – Sunday School

10:30am - Worship Service

6:00pm – Community Groups

Wednesday:

11:30am – Men’s Bible Study

6:00pm - Children/Student Activities

6:00pm – Adult Bible Study

Our mission and passion at New Covenant Baptist Church is to glorify God by becoming a community that fosters the love of God
with all of the heart, soul, mind and strength, and by learning to love one another as Christ Jesus has loved us.
The answer to every heart's need and the satisfaction of all our longing is found in Jesus Christ our Lord, who is Himself

the very image of Almighty God. We exist to adore Him, and to spread the knowledge of His greatness to the ends of the earth.

April 19-April 25, 2013

A Word from our Pastor:

After the Bombs Go Off

I’m sure I’m not alone in saying that last week felt like 9/11 all over again. The scope of the attack on the Boston was not as grave as those of 9/11, but for me, it was almost equally as shocking. It is always stunning to see such malice, such evil, put on display before our very eyes.

For what reason? Why did these two young men commit such a heinous crime? As I write this, one of the suspects is already dead, and the other is on the run. If the second suspect is killed, we may never hear the answer to the ‘why’ question. At least, we won’t hear the answer from the mouths of those who committed the crime. But I wonder, how important is the answer to that question? How much closure would such an answer actually bring?

Perhaps they did it because they were sucked into a radical element of Islamic Jihadism, a kind of Westboro Baptist Church on steroids. Or, maybe they are like Timothy McVeigh and are simply radically anti-government. Maybe they are both. Or perhaps they are just lunatics who hardly need an excuse, like the guy who shot up the Batman movie, or the guy who shot the children at Sandy Hook. Does their motivation make us feel better? Does it make us safer?

Sometimes, we simply do not get an answer for why people do the sinful things that they do. The mark of evil is that it is chaotic and always nonsensical. We can try to cope as best we can, we can try to do a better job of caring for the mentally ill, or be more careful to extend love to the alien and sojourner in our midst, but no matter how kind and careful we are, people will still be wicked.

So what do we do? First, in this immediate case, we pray that this second suspect will make a mistake. That God will cause him to fail and flounder until he is caught so that no more lives may be lost. We pray for speedy justice. And we pray for his soul because he seems destined to meet his Maker very soon. And while we do that, we pray that God will help us pay attention to the stranger in our midst, not with suspicion, but with an eye to love our neighbor. If we love our neighbor, it doesn’t mean that he will ultimately turn out better, necessarily. Jesus himself was crucified and he was always loving. But it does mean that, at the end of the day, when people hurl themselves headlong into the pursuit of death and hell, they will do it over our protests, our exhortations, our prayers, and our tears.

Yours in Christ,

Brad

Announcements:

The next book club selection is Jane Eyre which we will plan to discuss in June. Gina Smith has some hardcover copies available for purchase if you are interested. Contanct Lisa Spence for more information.( This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it ).
There will be a Bridal Shower for Abby Hellums Sunday, April 28 – there is a sign up sheet on the back table.
The next Ladies’ Fellowship will meet May 14^th. More details to follow!
The ladies’ Bible Study has resumed. They are studying the “I am” statements in the gospel of John for five weeks, concluding on April 30^th.
We are participating in the annual Real Life Crisis Pregnancy Center Baby Bottle Fundraiser. We have a basket of baby bottles at the back of the church, fill it up with loose change and bring it back by the end of this month. All proceeds go to help the Pregnancy Center’s ministry.

Dates to Mark on Your Calendar:

May 12^th – New Sunday School classes begin
May 26^th – Last meeting for this round of community groups
June 5^th – Wednesday Night – First Wednesday for Students going into the 7^th Grade
June 30^th – New set of Community Groups begin

Praise/Prayer Requests:

· Pray for Misty Merilien and her baby as the pregnancy continues.

· Pray for Kristy Baldwin’s aunt, who is battling breast cancer.

· Pray for Emri Legg, 6 week old daughter of a friend of Josh and Staci Bledsoe, was born with a mild form of spina bifada. Facing surgery and life-long trials.

· Pray for Ray Dixon, Drew’s father, he has prostate cancer. Pray God would strengthen him and point others to Christ through this trial.

· Please continue to pray for Jim Parker’s niece, Neci. Continue to pray, she is still awaiting two more operations.

Missions:

M.U.D. Ministries:

If you are interested in supporting M.U.D. Ministries, please contact Eric Hixon at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Volunteers for this week:

Sunday Morning Childcare:

Bed Babies through 2’s – Lisa Spence, Gloria Childress, Gina Smith

3’s and 4’s – Todd Gregg and Allen Bledsoe

Sunday Morning Food:

Kelli Gilliland

Hospice Volunteer:

Last Week’s Statistics:

Budget Receipts: $2,413.00

Budget Receipts YTD: $50,352.00

Budget Needs YTD: $59,119.44

Budget (Deficit)/Surplus ($8,767.44)

Building Fund this Week: $550.00

Building Fund YTD: $10,325.00

Building Fund Giving to Date: $185,446.75

Missions: $100.00

Benevolence: $25.00

Attendance: 76