Weekly Newsletter 10/25-10/31
FBC Marysville Weekly Newsletter
Recently:
- On Sunday, we enjoyed communion together reflecting on Christ's sacrifice on behalf of His Church. What a sweet thing to remember our Savior paying our debt in order that we may live eternally by His grace and our faith.
- Our very own, Sam Price, a Sophomore at North Union was named 1st team ALL Conference for the second year in a row. Way to go, Sam!
- This past Lord's Day, we enjoyed an attendance of 78 as the Lord continues to bless us greatly in a plethora of ways. Pray we would be faithful with those whom He has given us to love and steward.
- With October being Pastor Appreciation Month, Pastor Larry and I were presented with a card from the church by Russ Williams. Thank you for loving us well and making FBC Marysville such a sweet place to serve God and His people. I speak for Larry and myself when I say, you all are our true family and there is never a day where we are not grateful to the Lord that He planted us here.
Announcements:
- Start Here: November 8th, after our morning gathering, we will hold our next Start Here class for those seeking to learn about our church's history, where we are now, and what our vision is for the future. Notify Pastor Anthony if you would like to attend this. Lunch will be provided.
- Visiting Missionaries: November 15th, we will host Chad and Sarah Deible (Pictured below). They are friends of ours, we have supported them through prayer and giving, and this incredible gospel power couple will spend Sunday with us to meet you, answer questions, and worship with us. Submit questions for our q/a session with them to Pastor Anthony before the 15th.
- With the growth we have seen, our parking lot is getting more full each month. That being said, if you have a vehicle that is capable, would you consider parking in the grass area adjacent to the Eljer Park fence?
Prayer Requests:
- Those who serve in our family: We are blessed as a congregation to have so many of our people regularly serving in teaching roles, janitorial duties, on our welcome team, plus our worship and a/v teams. Pray that we would all love and serve one another well in order for our church to remain a true family who both lives and serves together.
- Betty Williams: Pray for Betty's continued ailments. One praise report for her is that her eyes are doing much better after a recent brief procedure.
- Mary Ann: An unspoken prayer request for our sister and her family.
- The Lampron's: Pray for Elleigh and myself as we prepare for a babygirl in the Spring, Lord willing.
- Community Groups: Pray that our community groups would be fruitful, that we would learn well, love each other well, and that we would grow as a result of our gathering during the week.
Weekly Devotion from James 3:1-12
As believers, we are to be set apart. The followers of Christ are to be a city on a hill or a lamp on a stand as He has commanded us to be so. That being said, there should be marks that make Christians distinct from the world and one of them should be the way we speak. In James 3:1-12, the writer addresses the tongue which he calls a 'restless evil' and illustrates its effects by referencing bridles and rudders. Both instruments which are small but serve a mighty purpose of steering large things on the path they will follow. It is easy to read this text and be convicted because as human beings, we are naturally sinful so we gossip, slander, talk one way outside of church and talk one way inside the church building. However, there is a charge that comes in verse 10 that I want to focus in on for this week.
"From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so."
With this James addresses the issue I just brought up. There can slip into the Christian life a double-mindedness regarding the way we use the gift of speech that does not honor the Lord. He follows that statement up by an illustration that explains to us once more that a tree will be known by its fruit, or in this case, the spring will be known by whether or not it puts out salt or fresh water. See, the spring here is the source. If you stumble upon a saltwater stream that is flowing and fill your bottle with it, it would be useless because it is undrinkable. It is impure due to the source being so salty that the product that comes from the spring is no longer palatable. May it never be the case for you and I. We have discussed the idea that there is no better sign of the state of a person's soul than what comes out of their mouth. Is there gossip, slander, hatred, nastiness coming from your mouth? Check your heart, the source, because what flows out from the tongue begins at the heart. Is there both blessing and curses in your mouth? This sort of double-mindedness is not honoring to the Lord
We exist to glorify God and He has given us the beautiful gift of speech. We sing glorious songs, prayer incredible prayers, uplift and encourage one another, and these are all ways we can use this gift as good stewards of His grace. If someone from Alabama came to you with their southern accent you would say, 'You're not from around here are you?' In like manner, we should be a people that when heard people say, 'They're not from around here' because we are God glorifying users of the tongue.
Anthony Lampron, Pastor