During the month of December, our church family will have a great opportunity to hear and see what the Lord is doing in our country and around the world. On Sunday, December 11, we will have a special missions emphasis. Bro. Bob Patenaude, veteran missionary in the Far East and Asia will be our main speaker for the day. Brother Patenaude has had a unique ministry in very difficult regions of the world. In addition, he has a strong burden for American church planting. He understands firsthand the need for strong, Biblical, mission-minded churches here in the States. Your heart will be fed, challenged and convicted by the preaching of this dear man of God.
We will also have Bro. Steve Nissley, veteran pastor/church planter from the Northeast region of the United States with us that day. Brother Nissley has raised a Godly family, and he has served the Lord faithfully through many trials. Several years ago, his family encountered their darkest valley when his wife was severely affected by an error in a medical procedure. His self-sacrificing love for his wife and family through this difficulty has been an inspiration to many. While our hearts will be blessed by his preaching and burden for remote regions in our country, we will also be touched by the “Calvary love” demonstrated in this family.
Bro. Joe Rhodes from Billings, WV, will also be with us that day. Brother Rhodes and his family are currently on deputation, raising support to be church planters in the state of Montana. He is a Godly young man, sold-out to the will of God for his life, and he has a supportive wife and children. We will certainly be inspired by the veteran missionaries with us that day, but we will also be blessed by the Rhodes family, and to see that God is still calling young families who are surrendered to giving God the “strength of their youth.”
Progress Baptist Church will not have a more important Sunday during 2011! What a privilege it is to be involved in what God is doing in these days. Let’s pray and ask God to touch our hearts. Let’s prepare our hearts to receive what He has for us. Let’s trust God to give these men EXACTLY what we need to challenge us and strengthen us in our love for souls; both around the world, in our own country, and in our own community. As 2011 ends, my prayer as pastor is that every individual and family in the church will increase their commitment to pray and give to missions in the New Year 2012.
December is a month when we celebrate the fact that Jesus came from Heaven to pay the penalty for our sins. While we rejoice in the virgin birth, let’s also turn our hearts this year to those who have never heard, “Why He Came!”
Congratulations to the Progress Voice, our Bible quiz team made up of six young people from the church family. Saturday, August 20 marked the beginning of the 2011-2012 quiz year in the Piedmont Quizzing Association, and quizzers from four states competed. This month’s quiz covered John chapters 1-4, and the team did a great job, winning both of their quizzes. In the first quiz, a team bonus was awarded because five different team members had answered correctly. It is always exciting to see the entire group working toward a common goal!
Our goal and prayer in the quiz program is the the Holy Spirit will guide these young people, and that they will submit to the eternal truth they are hiding in their heart. It is possible to participate in Bible quiz for purely academic reasons, but our prayer as a church family is that these young people will use these verses as an anchor for their soul.
God bless you, young people! We’re thankful for your hard work and great testimony today!
For several months at Progress Baptist we’ve been studying the spiritual gifts outlined in Romans 12. For the first several weeks, we studied the foundation needed to properly exercise our spiritual gifts. We then moved on to the framework necessary to give structure and guidance for the most effective use of those gifts. A few weeks ago, we actually began studying the individual gifts and their use in edifying the Body of Christ, the Church, as well as in the spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
While studying the gift of teaching (Romans 12:7), I was once again reminded, but in a more powerful way than ever before, of the responsibility of responding properly to the teaching of the Word of God. Praise God for those who have the gift of teaching and use it well. But what responsibility do we have as hearers?
The answer is clear. When it is plain to see that the teacher/preacher of God’s Word has rightly divided the Scripture, we must obey! Certainly, we have a responsibility to search the Scriptures ourselves, not with a critical spirit, but with a heart’s desire to see if these things are so. (Acts 17:11) As hearers, our clearest command, however, as described in James 1:22-25, is to be doers of the Word. There is a great amount of good, solid, Bible preaching and teaching in our day. There is not, however, an equal proportion of obedience.
It is interesting to note that the same chapter in Acts (17) that commends the believers at Berea for searching the Scriptures daily also describes the three primary responses you will see any time the Word of God is declared. In verses 32 – 34, we see that some mocked, while others waited to make a decision (remember – slow obedience is disobedience!), and finally there were those who believed and cleaved to the Word and to those who had taught them.
Each time you have the privilege of receiving the Word, be sure to respond properly. Only in the past few hundred years have we had such free access to the Scripture. By failing to respond properly to His revelation of Himself, we can limit the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, homes, and churches. Luke 12:48 tells us that we will give account for the great truth and teaching we have received. Let’s search our hearts and be sure we are responding properly.
On Thursday, August 11, 2011, Bro. Larry Raynes will celebrate his 70th birthday. Brother and Sister Raynes have been a blessing to our church family, and on Sunday night, August 14, he will be preaching in our evening service. At the conclusion of the service, we will receive a love offering for this faithful man of God.
The second weekend in November we will devote our attention to what God’s Word says about the home and family. Proverbs 29:18 says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” As our hearts turn towards “home and hearth” during the upcoming holiday season, my prayer is that God will burden our parents and give our fathers a clear vision of what each family could be for Christ.
On Friday night, November 11, Pastor Farrell Shepherd, from North Wilkesboro, NC, and his family will be with us in a service that will begin at 7:00 P.M. Brother Shepherd and his sons have a quartet, and the boys also sing in a mixed group with one of their cousins. You will be blessed by their music! Brother Shepherd is also passionate about God’s plan for the Christian home. He preaches God’s truth in a clear, powerful, easy-to-understand manner. He is also a truly humble, Christ-like man, who proves with his life and ministry that he realizes, “Except the LORD build the house, they labor in vain that build it.” Come praying and expecting God to give you more light to walk in!
On Saturday evening, we will enjoy a covered-dish dinner at the church at 5:30 P.M. Afterwards, we will move into the sanctuary for a good time of fellowship, music, testimonies, and a devotion from God’s Word. Bro. Gil Bates and family from Lake City, TN, we will be with us for the Saturday evening fellowship.
Then, on Sunday, November 13, we will begin our day with the 10:00 A.M. Sunday School hour. Brother Gil will be teaching a men’s class, and Sister Kelly will be teaching the ladies. Brother Gil will preach in the 11:00 hour, and throughout the weekend, we’ll enjoy special music from the family as well. After the morning service, we will enjoy a meal together (provided! Take the day off ladies!), and then have an afternoon service beginning around 2:00 P.M. Bro. Larry Raynes, member of Progress Baptist and faithful man of God for over 40 years, will close out this special weekend for our church.
The Bible has a lot to say about, “preparing our heart.” Please read, pray, and meditate on what God’s Word says to fathers, mothers, husbands, wives, and children in preparation for this special weekend. As we soften our hearts with the water of the Word of God, we will be far more likely to receive and retain the instruction we will receive during these days.
On Sunday morning, August 7, 2011, Brother Phillip Willis and family will be with us in the morning service. Brother Willis will be preaching in the 10:00 A.M. service as well as presenting the ministry of Fair Haven Home for Men; an outreach of his home church – Life Baptist Church in St. Stephen, SC. You will be blessed by these faithful man, his family, and the ministry God has given to their home church. Come praying and expecting God to speak to your heart!
On Saturday, August 20, Progress Baptist Church will begin the 2011-2012 Piedmont Quizzing Association Bible Quiz season. The first quiz of the year will be held at Faith Baptist Church in Taylors, SC. Quizzers from Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia will be participating in the quizzes that day. This year, the quizzing material is the Gospel of John, and the August quiz will cover chapters 1-4.
Beginning on Sunday night, October 16 at 7:00 P.M., Progress Baptist will enjoy Pastor Johnny Jones from Oceana, WV, in four nights of special revival services. Brother Jones pastors the Turkey Ridge Baptist Church, and he will be a blessing to you and your family!
Please note that ALL four services will begin at 7:00 P.M., including the Sunday night service.
Visitors from the western NC and upstate SC area are encouraged to be in these special services as well. Our friends from other areas are welcome, too! Please let us know if you would like to spend a few days in the mountains of western NC during the beautiful month of October, and enjoy some good preaching and singing at the same time. We will be glad to assist you with information regarding lodging in the greater Hendersonville area.
Please join with us in prayer for God to do a great work in our hearts during these special services.
On Sunday, August 28, the young people from the church will join the Erwin family in their weekly nursing home outreach. The group from our church has been well-received the past couple of months, and we want to be a blessing to the residents, their family members who may be there visiting, as well as to the staff.
All those who are going will go directly to the nursing home after our morning service. The church will be open and available for anyone wanting to come back and stay for the afternoon.
On Sunday, August 21, the church family will have our monthly fellowship after the evening service. The Hart family is expecting their little girl in mid-September, and our August fellowship will include a baby shower for our ladies and Sister Kelly to enjoy!
So, bring a good variety of snacks, and let’s be a blessing to the Harts as they prepare for the arrival of their little girl.
