Love From Your Pastor

Hi Friends,

Oh give thanks to the LORD; call upon his name; make known his deeds among the peoples! 2 Sing to him, sing praises to him; tell of all his wondrous works! 3 Glory in his holy name; let the hearts of those who seek the LORD rejoice! 4 Seek the LORD and his strength; seek his presence continually! (Psalm 105:1-4 ESV)

The above was an incredibly appropriate verse following what was a tremendous night at First Baptist Church!  We are thanking the Lord for the outstanding outreach that took place at Trunk-or-Treat.  We are thanking the Lord for the break in the rain that we experienced most of the night, especially while we were setting up!  We were not able to catch every single person that came and get their names at the table, but we got most.  And the totals were:  161 kids, 99 adults, and 57 workers!  That’s over 300 people on our campus last night.  How can I say “thank you” enough to everyone who pitched in and made this event a success? From the creativity with the decorated vehicles (and people), to the friendliness shared with our guests, to the people who helped set up and clean up, to all who donated candy, hot dogs, and other supplies, to the hard work of the kitchen crew, to the parking lot attendants and greeters, to the “candy runners,” etc., etc., etc… You did an AMAZING job!  And how could I forget: to all who PRAYED for this outreach – Thank you!  Please continue in prayer that the seeds planted will bear much fruit.  I had numerous comments from parents thanking us for doing this for their kids.
Now… on to Sunday!  Don’t forget that this weekend Daylight Savings Time ends!  So please don’t forget to “fall back” your clocks Saturday night.  But of course if you forget, it just means you’d get to church an hour early!  (Did I get that right?)
Did you know that we set another record for Sunday School attendance last week?  There were 111!  There is some tremendous teaching going on as well as some lively discussions during that hour.  So come check out the classes we have for all ages at 9am if you haven’t yet!  (If you accidentally come to church an hour early, just slip into one of the classes and be blessed.)  Thank you to all of our dedicated Sunday School teachers!
Please read Hosea 9:10 — 10:15 in preparation for this Sunday’s message.  It is called “Recalling Young Love,” and we will look at how Israel’s love for God had waned over time and what that led to.  We will be encouraged to remain true to our “first love.”
Remember this Sunday following the morning worship, we will have a potluck (some have been anxiously waiting for another meal together; we’re pretty good at this!), so please bring your main dishes, salads, sides, and desserts to share.  This will be followed by an important Informational Meeting.  We will be discussing the plans for the proposed Christian Education wing addition to our facility, how we got to where we are today, why we feel it is important to move forward with it, and the funds needed to complete the project.  Childcare will be provided during the meeting, except for nursery-age children.
Good things are happening at FBC, and perhaps even greater things to come!  I pray that what we read about in Acts 19 will be true of our ministry here in Brownsville:  So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily (Acts 19:20)!
Thank you again for an outstanding job stepping up and making Trunk-or-Treat 2012 successful!
Love from your Pastor,
Michael