COMING ATTRACTIONS

We enjoyed another exciting Sunday on the 22nd, with good fellowship, good teaching, and great preaching. The only downer was that the latest edition of our pastor's series of sermons on the book of Revelation did not record on the cassette tape recorder. Guess our adversary was not too happy with the series, and didn't want our shut-ins to hear it.

We copy and send out audio cassettes of the Sunday sermons, and the Sunday school lesson. In this way, we can minister to several groups of our homebound friends. But, sometimes the recorder fails and the process misses a great sermon.

Ice Cream supper on Sunday, August 29th, immediately following the evening worship service. This service will be led by the Truth, our church Youth group, with contemporary music, and a message by John Mew, or Minister to Students and Children. We appreciate the great job that John is doing with our youth.

On Sunday, September 5th, it will be my privilege to preach in both services . Please remember me in prayer as I prepare to preach to the church family. It is always a joy to preach to the fine folk of North FBC, and see your happy faces and hear the good singing.

Also, on that same Sunday, remember that we will pass out a list of our men for you to examine and pray over, then to come on the following Sunday, Sept 12th, to select 7 men of good report to be deacons for the next two years.

We are still praying for a music minister/worship leader to serve our church in a part-time capacity. If you know of anyone in the immediate area who might be interested and available, please have them contact me by phone or email or regular mail.

Today is Wednesday, and we look forward anxiously to another great time of prayer and Bible study in the church sanctuary. We pray for many people, and you are included in our prayers, as we designate a portion of our prayer list to what we call unspoken requests, meaning that we don't name anyone, but we pray for the needs of those who are asking and receiving of God.

See you later here on these pages, and at church, I hope.....God Bless...

DOG DAYS?

The topic of conversation the past several weeks has been the extreme heat we have endured, then the cooling down, and then, back up to 100+ heat index. Some of the old timers, including yours truly, call these times "dog days" of summer. But when asked to explain what we meant, we confessed that we didn't really know. So, with the amazing power of cyber communicating, the good old w.w.w. was consulted, and the following definition was found:

Meaning: Very hot days.

Origin:The ancient Romans noticed that the hottest days of the year, i.e. in late July and early August, co-incided with the Dog Star (aka Sirius, aka The Great Dog) being in the same part of the sky as the Sun. They thought the star contributed to the heat of the day.

I found this in a web site at: http://phrases.shu.ac.uk/bulletin_board/6/messages/229.html


This site is good for finding explanations for all sorts of phrases we use in every day speech. Check it out.

Ready for Sunday

The North FBC family has had a good week here in mid August. And we are ready for another exciting time of Bible study, worship, Bible preaching, dscipleship training on the Lord's Day, prayer and filled with singing the hymns of our faith. Isn't it great to be a Christian? God is so good to His children.
The Messenger, or monthly newsletter, is ready to be mailed and will go out next week. Please notice all the announcements about the many activities of our church. And don't forget to attend as many as you are able.
Have received several new email addresses in response to my requests in the weekly
bulletin and the newsletter. Also am sending out an email Messenger once in a while, and we call it the E-Messenger. As I have said before, I am still learning how to get all this together and out to you. Please share this page address to your friends and ask them to view our writings and pray for our church family.
Happenings next month include:

1. First meeting of the new church year for the Senior Group, the XYZ [Extra Years of Zest] on Friday night, September 10 at 7:00 PM. Our special guest will be "Minnie Pearl," whom you will remember from some time ago. All seniors are urged to attend and bring well filled covered dishes for the fellowship meal.
2. Deacon election: a list of eligible men will be provided to the church in business conference the first Sunday in September, and election will be the following Sunday. Seven deacons will be replaced.
3. Homebound Members Sunday School lesson will be recorded and delivered to each shut-in by the Sunday School each week. The ladies Sunday School class will tape and deliver these lessons on cassette tape.
4. We also have a preaching tape of both services each Sunday that is delivered to our folks who are sick at home, or shut-in.
5. A great number of Children and Youth activities going on in our church. John Mew, our Youth Director is doing a great job.
6. We will start a pre-school children's church the first Sunday in September, also a new Sunday School class for Grades 6-8 for boys and girls will start.

So, thank you for reading these ramblings, and please pray for us. Remember, God loves you, and so do we!

SUNDAY REPORT August 15 2004

Sunday afternoon of a great day of church fellowship and worship. The men and boys started off the day with a good breakfast and a meaningful testimony given by our guest speaker, the Rev. Sam Warwick, newly arrived minister of the North United Methodist Church. We pray that Bro. Sam will be in our commnunity for a long time as pastor of our neighboring church.
Sunday school numbered 97 today, with some of our regulars away for the final trip of the summer. We have a good time in these classes, and urge those who are not in our S.School to come and get involved. There is a class for all ages. We have started two new classes this year, and plan on a new class of 6th-8th graders in the coming year which will begin in October. Also, in the planning, is a pre-school worship service for all the little ones starting soon. If you are interested in helping with these classes, please talk to John Mew. We really do need helpers from the church family.Pastor Larry Shull brought an exciting and thought provoking message from 1 John about seeking to live a perfect life for the Lord. If you are not attending the preaching services, then you are missing a blessing. Pastor Shull is an outstanding preacher who clearly exposes the Word of God for all who are willing to hear.
This is being written on Sunday afternoon and my wife Carolyn and I have just returned from the 50th Wedding Anniversary celebration for Sidney and Mildred Livingston. Sidney is our Chairman of Deacons, and Mildred is one of our faithful leaders. Their children gave them the drop-in reception at the Calhoun County Country Club in St. Matthews, SC. We are very proud of Sidney and Mildred, and wish them many additional years of joy together. And we are very appreciative of their children for sharing this moment with the North church family and Carolyn and me.
Now, we are getting ready for our Discipleship Training Class, and in starting a new
subject of study tonight. We are getting into "Godlessness In The Last Days," based on events as outlined in 1 and 2 Timothy, among others. It is my joy to be a part of that class as we share and discuss biblical ideas and doctrines.
Following that, we will go into the evening worship hour and continue our study of the Great Tribulation events in Revelation, led by our pastor. God is so good to us here in North, SC, as I pray that He is wherever you are.
More chatter later, just know that God loves you, and so do we....
Sincerely, In Christ

THIS IS THE DAY THAT THE LORD HAS MADE!!

Greetings to you in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus the Christ. It is a wonderful day here in beautiful downtown North, SC, and we wish only God's best for all who have come across these writings.
We are always excited here on Wednesdays, as we prepare for the mid-week prayer and Bible study time tonight. Our pastor leads is to consider the prayer needs of our church family and friends, and then shares an insightful time of Bible study. We have a great time, and then the choir remains and practices for the Sunday services.
My hearts desire is to see our church as full on Wednesday night as it is on the Sunday meeting times.
Here is an interesting link for you, if you are concerned about the voting rules and procedures this year. You might have already seen the article in the current Baptist Courier about this. It is an interesting site, just go to www.ivotevalues.com and check it out. Many people are confused as to exactly what we can do, legally, in the matter of public elections.
God Bless and Keep You.....

To rise up with wings of eagles 

GOD IS SO GOOD!

We had another exciting day of worship and praise in the Lord's House last Sunday. Though attendance was a bit down, only 80 in Sunday School, the 'spirit' was there for us as we shared in Sunday School and Worship.
GYM OPEN: please remember that the gym will be open each Tuesday evening at 6:30 PM for basketball [ages 14 and up, including adults.]

PRE-SCHOOL WORSHIP SERVICES: We are planning to start a Preschool Worship Service for our little ones soon. John Mew, our Children's Director, is asking that all who are interested in helping with this new project come to a covered dish luncheon immediately following the services Sunday, Aug 22. Please bring covered dishes, share them with others, and discuss the beginning of this class. Let John know, 247-2711, if you can come.

NEW SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS FOR 6th to 8th graders, starting on September 5th. John Mew will be the lead teacher.
We have started several new Sunday School classes during the past church year, and all seem to be doing very well. Our appreciation to Sarah Wannamaker for her leadership in the Sunday School ministry.

A special invitation to all who check in to this Blog. We need you to be a vital part of our church and urge you to come and share with us in our Sunday School, worship services, and the Discipleship Training class. We have a full ministry in our church, with great programs for all ages, little ones up to us older ones! I especially invite you to drop by the Sunday School class which I lead each Sunday, we call it the Sunday Morning Seminary, and we do have a great time of fellowship, fun, discussion, and even coffee and donuts from time to time. Don't let the title scare you, it is not a demanding class, just discussion and sharing. We talk of various subjects each time. Please come and give us a try if you can.

Reminder...don't forget the Fifth Sunday Ice Cream Fellowship on the 29th of this month. Home churned cream and good fellowship as we enjoy this special treat on warm [hot] summer evening after church. Come and bring a friend.

Our church office is in the process of searching for a new copy machine. Due to the lightning storm several weeks ago, we lost two circuit boards in the old copier. The problem is that they are so old that replacement is not available. So we are taking bids on a new machine. As you can imagine, this is a difficult decison to make, so we ask you to join us in prayer that we will make the right decision. The copy machine is a valuable tool in the ministry of our church and we are seeking one that we feel is the right one. We never consider anything without bathing it in prayer.

Our Youth Group has a new name, TRUTH. You will be seeing that name more and more in our news items and youwill know that it is the name of a faithful group of dedicated youth, led by John and Karla Mew. Please pray for the TRUTH group in our church.
Enough for this time, remember, God loves you, and so do I. Will see you in Sunday School and church. Call your church staff if we can help you in any way...

Another great day of worship and praise in the FBC of North. Attendance was down a bit, which, I suppose, is because so many are taking their last fling at summer vacations and such. Our pastor shared two exciting messages with us, as we considered the wonderful forgiveness which our Lord showers upon us in the words of John in 1 John 1:9. Then, in the evening service, we continued our journey through the book of Revelation. What a blessing to know that the Christian will be spared from the trials and tribulations outlined in the Revelation of Jesus Christ which was given to the apostle John on the Isle of Patmos.
Let me know of any email addresses which you would like to be included in the E-Messenger newsletter which we will be sending out from time to time.
To our church family, don't miss the last Sunday of this month as we have An Ice Cream Social following the evening worship hour. Home churned or purchased, there will be ice cream for every taste. Come and invite a friend.
God Bless for now...

We enjoyed a great day last Sunday as we gathered to study God’s Word and to worship Him. It was good to have John and Karla Mew unite with our church on transfer of their membership from sister churches. John has been our Minister of Youth and Children for the past several months, and he and Karla were recently married. They wanted to wait until they were married so that they could join the church together. We look forward to having these young folks with us for a long time. John is doing an excellent job as the leader of our children and youth.
I have been trying to collect email addresses from anyone that is even remotely interested in the ministry of the North  First Baptist church, so if you have someone you would like to be on our E-Messenger  e-mail mailing list, please send me a note at
fbcnorth@tds.net      or     royster@aikenelectric.net. 
Also interested in having input to this Blog Page, so if there is anything, within reason, that you would like to see published here, send it along, and I will try to use it. Our plan is to make this a two-way communication tool, and as soon as I learn a bit more, I hope to have a comment section here on the page, so you can leave your message and comments. But, I am still learning….

Sermon titles for Sunday, August 1 are:
AM:  “Did You Know That You Can Be Forgiven For Anything?” 1 John 1:8-10
PM:  “The Day It All Breaks Loose.”    Rev. 9:1-12

You are urged to attend and hear Brother Larry Shull, our pastor, as he preaches the Word to us.
Remember: “Jesus Christ is Lord now and forever! Glory to His Precious Name!

I do appreciate the good reports we have received about this Blog Spot about our church. As I have already said several times, it is still under construction and I have great hopes that we will be able to really communicate with our members and friends. This is the beauty of computing. Just imagine, from this little office, we can publish information that goes around the world in seconds. One of our friends, Bill Courtney,Jr., is in Iraq and will be able to read this there. We pray for you, Bill, and all your buddies there. Thank you and them for your service to your country and to your God.

STILL LOOKING FOR ADDRESSES:
Send me your email addresses of those who are interested in the North Baptist Church activities, and I will add them to the mailing list.

PASTOR CELEBRATES TENTH YEAR:
Bro. Larry Shull has been the pastor of this church for ten years  this month and we have been blessed under his ministry and leadership. What a precious family they are, Larry and Brenda and" little Larry" and how thankful we are to have them. Be sure and greet them and tell them how much you love and appreciate them each Sunday.

YOUTH  AT EDISTO BEACH:
John Mew has had our church youth at the beach all this week and we are anxiously awaiting their return. The purpose of the trip was evangelism, and we a praying that they had many professions of faith for their efforts. We should hear all about it on Sunday.

SEE YOU IN CHURCH?  I pray that we will. God Bless.

 

It is a beautiful day in the neighborhood in North, SC. here are a few announcements for the church family to consider.
 
CHURCH DIRECTORY PLANNED FOR 2005
Plans are for our church to have a new Olan Mills directory of all the church family next summer. So in this next year, we would ask that all you camera buffs begin to take pictures of the different activities around the church, and let me have them so that when the time comes we will be able to have a large collection to choose from. I will be around taking pictures also. If you have a digital camera, we can upload the pictures from your camera to the church computer. Let’s try it and see how it works.
 
WILLING WORKERS NEEDED
Our Nominating Committee is busy, so if you are interested in a place of service for the new church year, let me know and I will get your request to the right place. I would like to see us start a new members class on Sunday morning, so if you are a mature and experienced Christian, you can serve the Lord by helping teach the Survival Kit  Program to our new members as they come in this next year. Let me know, please.
 
ICE CREAM  FELLOWSHIP!
Put this on your calendar…August 29, following the evening services, we invite you to join with us by bringing a churn of your favorite ice cream [or some store bought if you cannot churn]. We will have more to say about this as the time approaches. Plan on making this a great summer Sunday treat.
 
DISCIPLESHIP TRAINING  CLASS
We have an exciting time each Sunday evening in the hour prior to the evening worship service. There is a class for the children and youth, and the adults meet in the TEL classroom just off the sanctuary. I would especially like to invite you to attend the adult class. We have just finished an in-depth study of Spiritual Warfare, and will be starting another interesting subject soon. Please come and join with us, we promise an interesting 45 minutes of discussion, laughter and study.

Had a great week of VBS...a fun weekend of fellowship and worship, so I feel 'right good' today. I normally don't go in to the office on Monday, but just enjoy  relaxing at home and watching the morning movies on TCM or AMC, and the Western channel of course. I watch old movies that I remember seeing years ago when they first were shown in the movie theaters. Of course, they all look so ancient now, as do I.
Our VBS had a high attendance of 105, average attendance of 96, and my Adult Class averaged 14. A number of my adults were involved in other classes.  But, sad to say, we had zero professions of faith in Christ. It seems to me that VBS over the past few years had developed into a time of fun and recreation for the children. '
Please pray for our personnel committee as they begin the arduous task of finding our church a Minister of Music. Our current leader, a sweet lady, is having to retire after six years due to health difficulties.
Still looking for email addresses for those who might be interested in receiving
the "E-Messenger" newsletter which I hope to send out frequently. What a great way of keeping some of the church family and friends up to date on happenings around here. Our church is moving and growing and we ask you to keep us in your prayers.

God Loves YOU...and so do I....

Summer is rolling right along these days, with many church activities and meetings and such. I am finding that it is difficult to keep this blog up to date with the church news,but plan to do better [I hope!]
We are in the midst of Vacation Bible School this week, and have been having a great time with the Rickshaw Rally theme for this year. We have had a good crowd of children, willing workers, and food preparers. Our adult class is down somewhat, with only 11 adults involved each night. But, a number of our regulars are involved in helping in other classes.
Highest attendance so far has been 105, total students including staff members, which is great for our church.
I am still trying to learn how to add pictures and links to this page, so bear with me. I plan to also have an ELetter going out to those for whom I have an emailaddress. WE are still trying to develop a church web page, but that will take a bit longer.Let me know if you are willing to add your expertise to keeping all this going in the days to come.
Please join with us in our worship services this Sunday. We will have the church conference and also the Lord's Supper in the AM services. Come and bring a friend.

Another exciting Sunday at FBC! We honored the veterans of our congregation in the worship hour, and had a contemporary worship service on Sunday evening, thanks to our Minister of Students, John Mew, and all those who helped him. Our hearts desire is that our church be an exciting church where people love the Lord, love to sing and pray, and love to fellowship in God’s Spirit.
We are sending an email to all on our email list to alert them to this web blog and to help us in adding information which will be beneficial to the church family. This will be sort of a journal of our church activities and ministries.
Please let the church know your email address if you are interested in being a part of the email family. Send to royster@aikenelectric.net and he will add it to the list.

North FBC hosted the graduation of the Livingston Christian Academy on Friday evening and it was an inspiring event. Those little children are so precious, and all did their parts so very well. They sang, quoted scriptures, were dressed in patriotic dress, and made us all so very proud. Our appreciation to Ronda Smith and her staff for the outstanding ministry they provide in providing Christian education. Please pray that the school will continue to grow in number of students and in spiritual teachings. My heart was blessed when four of the older girls stated, from memory, all of Hebrews 11:1-40. Can you imagine, memorizing 40 verses of scripture!

In services this morning, we had 109 students in S.School, with a good crowd in the preaching service. We are encouraging all our members to be faithful to all the services, and especially to be much in prayer for the ministries of our church family. So many Christians these days are staying away from churches for what ever reason. Surely this must grieve the heart of our Lord.

We have a number of members and friends of the church who are on our prayer list. We hestitate to publish their names here on the Blog, but when you pray, please remember to pray for them. The are listed on the back of the weekly bulletin. We covet your prayers for the church staff also.

Another exciting day at church, and I mean all day! We started this Lord's Day with a special family breakfast at 8 AM. With a crowd of family members [estimated to be nearly 100] we saw nearly every seat in the fellowship hall filled. The men of the church did an outstanding job with a full course breakfast meal. Entertainment was provided by three sisters, called the Fralick Sisters, who blessed us with a number of old time hymns. In addition, young Lance Fogle, age 16, thrilled us with two inspiring hymns.
During the morning worship hour, the church was called into special conference to vote on several personnel positions to be filled, one of which was concerning me. The church family voted to call me as Minister of Education and Administration. This is a great blessing for me, as it will allow me to continue a ministry of serving the Lord even though I am nearly 72 years old, and have slowed down quite a bit. I am excited and looking forward to working on the staff with our pastor, Rev. Larry Shull, John Mew, our Minister of Youth and Childen, and Joan Buckheister, the ministry assistant. Plus, a great church family. I covet your prayers for the days to come. I will be reporting on a regular basis for those who read these blogs.

At 4PM, we had a drop-in wedding shower for John Mew and his fiance, Karla York,who will be married in mid June. Two very happy young people. John has really done an outstanding work in his first months of ministry to our youth and children.

Then, to wrap it all up, we enjoyed our Discipleship Training classes. I am privileged to teach the Adults in DT and we are working our way through an in-depth study about Spiritual Warfare. Following DT, our evening worship service closed the day with a presentation from our puppet ministry, and several songs from our small children. Of course we had an outstanding sermon from pastor Larry Shull about the church that makes God sick, the Laodicea church of Rev. 3:14.
God is truly blessing. Please pray for my church family.
God Bless you...

Mother's Day was a great time of worship and recognition of our mothers. In addition,we had an infant dedicated to the Lord, and the parents committed to training up the child in the way he should go. May God bless this child in days to come.
Plans are complete for the Family Breakfast next Sunday, May 16th. Eating will start at 8:00 AM, followed shortly by the Fralick Sisters singing for us. Following the program,we will meet in Sunday School at 9:45 AM.The Fralick Sisters are members of the Double Branch Baptist Church, whose pastor is my son. How exciting it is to have both my preacher boys so close to us!

CALENDAR OF COMING EVENTS:
Mom's Day is next Sunday, May 8th. You are encouraged to attend the worship services that morning as we honor our mothers on this special day. Pastor Shull will also be leading in the baby dedication services that morning. We are very proud of our babies.
On Sunday, May 16, the Men of the Church will host a special family breakfast for all the church members. This is to honor the mother's as vital members and leaders of our church. We are expecting a great time, with good breakfast treats, and special music by the Fralick Sisters of the Double Branch Baptist Church. These sisters, well known in our area, sing a variety of Christian songs, mostly without music and with great harmony. They just recently cut a CD and cassette with some of their favorites. You will enjoy them, I am sure.
And don't forget that June is the month to celebrate dear ole dad!!
That is all for the moment. God Bless YOU in a special way.

Needed!!! Would like to have the email addresses of our church members and friends who would like to be put on an email newsletter mailing list from the church. Send your address to royster@aikenelectric.net. Thanks to all.