Weekly Newsletter 3/8-3/15

FBC Marysville Weekly Newsletter 

Published 3/9/2026

Announcements:

- This past Sunday, we celebrated our children's volunteers by acknowledging all of their hard work in sharing the gospel with our littlest family members. We also held our children's lesson training with our volunteers.

- Looking ahead: We will hold a worship gathering on Good Friday 4/3 at 6pm.

Prayer Requests:

- Russ Williams: Continue to pray for our brother, Russ Williams who is still dealing with abdominal complications which are making him ill. Pray for Betty as she cares for him as well.

- Pray for our home-bound members who continue to pray and give faithfully. May we be able to care for them well in their time of need.

- Pray for our town, and that we as individual church members would have gospel opportunities with fellow community members. 

Devotional thought from Acts 18:18-28:

In these ten loaded verses of Scripture, we discussed Paul leaving Corinth for Ephesus and how he had brought Priscilla and Aquila with him. When Paul got to Ephesus, he wasted no time and went straight into the synagogue to begin sharing the gospel with the Jews there. After this, Paul left from Ephesus to Caesarea where he began his second discipleship tour, visiting all of the churches in Judea, in Galatia, and Phrygia. We also learned about Apollos, a skilled man who taught about Jesus without a complete gospel knowledge until he was helped my Priscilla and Aquila. It was then that he became a powerful witness for Christ who helped the believers and ministered to the lost.

What I'm struck by this morning, are the words of Paul at Ephesus when he was asked to stay longer than he had been instructed by the Lord. "When they asked him to stay for a longer period, he declined. But on taking leave of them he said, 'I will return to you if God wills,' and he set sail from Ephesus."(Ac. 18:20-21 ESV). These are two small sentences with many implications for our lives as we walk with the Lord.

Firstly, I think this question from the Ephesians and the response from Paul begs the question, 'Would it have been good for Paul to stay and minister in Ephesus?' The question is absolutely yes! However, we cannot, in our lives, trade what is best for what is good. What is always best is obeying God's will for our lives, and Paul knew that staying in Ephesus, though a good thing, would have been disobedient to his Lord. I imagine Paul woke up each day and asked the Lord what he should do. What if we did the same? See, the issue is not having plans, it is not enjoying a good calendar that works for you. The question is, when we make our calendars, have we been discerning and thoughtful about what God wants us to do with our time?

We need to recognize as followers of Jesus that we are living for a greater will than our own. Think about when your children were little, or even when you were little. I would hope you wouldn't have dared to go on adventures without asking your parents permission to go on the excursion. I would also think it would not be your greatest thrill if your children went out without your consent and a knowledge of the details regarding what they would be doing. In the same way, Paul was asked if he could stay and play, but Paul had asked his Father who had instructed him to move on. 

As we ponder this text throughout our week and with our community groups, ask yourself this question. "Do I truly mean it when I say, 'Your kingdom come, Your will be done'?" Remind yourself that we are created by God and for God in order to be useful for His divine purposes. Our life is a mist, and we were made to glorify Him. So this week, how can we seek to align our will with God's? Ask Him to help you in this and ask yourself how you can honor Him with your time and calendar.

Written by Anthony Lampron, Pastor