Urgent Prayer Requests
* Bill Sugar, friends of the Diamonds, Lymphoma
* Brenda & Pete, health concerns.
* Special prayer for Zachary
* Cynthia Wordlaw, need for a kidney
* Dennis fighting kidney failure
* Sandy & Rachelle, working many hours (plus Rachelle is under the weather) & Julie at Mizzou
* Dan, health concerns
* Mueller family, Alicia’s pregnancy
* Marilynn Norvell
* Aaron Wordlaw and his arthritis
* Gene & Lois Schulze at home
* Mark & Julie Johnson and the situation with their Illinois home
* Our church and need for revival
Upcoming Activities
1. Ladies Book Study, Tuesday, 6:30 p.m.
2. Bible Study (Brief Books) and Prayer
Meeting, Wednesday, 7 p.m.
3. Deacons’ Meeting, Wednesday, 7:45 p.m.
4. Bethesda Men’s Breakfast & Book Study,
Saturday, 8 a.m.
5. Sunday school, Sunday, 9:15 a.m.
6. Worship Service, Sunday, 10:30 a.m. &
Deacon election
7. Discipleship Training (Elijah), Sunday,
5 p.m.
“The more a Christian knows of his religion, the better for his peace and for his happiness.”
Charles Haddon Spurgeon
As Pam noted yesterday, we exceeded our $500 goal for the Missouri Missions Offering. We thank the Lord for the generous people of Bethesda Baptist Church! Your giving will help spread the Word of the Lord throughout the state!
Deacon Election
I call your attention to the choosing of the first deacons in Acts 6. Here is how Luke recorded this event:
Therefore, brothers, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we will appoint to this duty … And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose…
1. The “brothers” (members of the church in Jerusalem) did the choosing.
2. The men they chose were to be of good repute, full of the spirit, and full of wisdom.
3. They chose men from among the congregation.
4. By implication, some men were not chosen.
Given the size of the church in Jerusalem (thousands) there were surely more than 7 men who possessed the stated qualifications. Just because a man was not chosen did not mean he was not qualified to serve at that time.
This Sunday we will do likewise. Our membership will choose one man (not seven) to fill our open deacon position. That man should be one of good repute, full of the spirit, and full of wisdom from our congregation. Two such men have been nominated by our congregation for this position: Dan Repperger and Steve Brook. Our task is to seek the Lord’s will to discern which of these two men should be our 3rd deacon at this time. As was the case in Jerusalem, whichever man is not chosen does not mean that man fails to meet the qualifications. It simply means our church believes the Lord does not intend for him to serve as deacon at this time.
So I call on each member to pray about their vote this coming Sunday. We are not engaged in a popularity contest. Rather, we are seeking the Lord’s will for our church. Both men are Biblically qualified to serve. Both are willing to serve. Choose the man you believe the Lord would have serve at this time in the life of our church.
Ladies’ Book Study
The next ladies book study begins TOMORROW (October 1) evening at 6:30 p.m.!
If you have an interest in being a part of this study and have not yet registered, call Pam DePriest and let her know. If you forget to call Pam, just show up for the study!
“If Jesus wept at the graveside of his beloved friend Lazarus, his disciples are surely at liberty to do the same.”
John R. W. Stott
Pastor’s Postscripts
First, I have been asked why I did not deal with verses 15-18 yesterday. Simply put, there’s just too much material in the paragraph for one message. If the Lord wills, I’ll address those verses this coming Sunday morning.
Second, please make certain you read the article on our deacon election this coming Sunday. This is an important day for our church and I want everyone “prayed up”!
Third, I am skipping the “Sermon Extra” section this week given the lack of space. Since I am dealing with the same text next Sunday, we’ll share some extras on the passage in next week’s newsletter.
Fourth, Praise the Lord, we reached our church’s goal for the South Mission offering! I am so grateful to the Lord for your willingness to give. Thank you and may He bless your generosity!
Fifth, Ladies, your book study begins tomorrow (Tuesday) evening. I’m certain Pam is ready to go and I hope you are. Meet at the church at 6:30 p.m. and have a great study and a great time of fellowship!
Sixth, thank you, also, to those who attended our 5th Sunday Q & A session last night. I enjoyed the time together and I hope I provided some reasonable answers to the questions which were asked.
Lastly, men, bring your breakfast on Saturday morning at 8 a.m. and join us for fellowship and study!
May the Lord grant you a great week!