STIRRINGS AT BETHESDA
A Monthly Publication of
Bethesda Baptist Church
December 2014
Upcoming Activities
The activities for the month are provided in the December calendar. Here are the exceptions for December to our usual schedule.
* The final Discipleship Training of 2014 will be Sunday, December 14 at 5 p.m. There will be no DT on the 7th, 21st, or 28th.
* There will also be no prayer meeting on the last 2 Wednesdays of the month (24th and 31st).
Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
Our 2014 goal is $1300 and we have already collected $100. All money received for the Lottie Moon offering supports our mission activities on fields outside of North America. We will collect through the month of December. Please seek the Lord and give as He wills.
Justification is not a process. It is a verdict. It is a singular act of counting someone righteous and acceptable to God on the basis of the righteousness of another, namely, Christ.
John Piper
Christmas Party
Our annual Christmas Party will be held on Saturday evening, December 13, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Every family is asked to bring an appetizer and a drink to share. If you have any games you would like to play, please bring them as well. Well share the appetizers, play some games, and enjoy the fellowship. Please make certain not to miss this fun fellowship!
There will NOT be a gift exchange.
Nominating Committee
The Nominating Committee is finishing its work at filling open positions for 2015. If the Lord has convicted you to an area in which you may serve Him, please contact Sandy, Debbie, or David quickly. We will vote on these nominations at the business meeting on December 10.
When we possess the benefit of Christs death and resurrection, there is nothing wanting to the completion of perfect righteousness.
John Calvin
Our Newsletter
The time has come for changes to our newsletter. For five years we have published one almost weekly. A couple of years ago we began adding the monthly calendar which provides not only the church functions for the month but also the birthdays and anniversaries. But even good things need changing from time to time.
First, most of our weekly newsletters have become essentially repetitious. Week after week the items shared by our paper are the same with only minor changes. Of course, some of the activities vary week to week but these differences are captured on our monthly calendar. So, publishing a weekly newsletter for our church size is probably not a wise task. It consumes time and money (paper, ink, stamps) and basically shares the same info found in previous newsletters. So, beginning with this newsletter, we will publish only once a month. Well send out the newsletter the last week of each month with a calendar for the upcoming month.
Second, going to a monthly schedule will demand earlier input from the various organizations that wish to have information published. These groups would include the fellowship committee, the mission organizations, and various committees (e.g., Trustees) who are planning specific events for the upcoming month. Of course, most church members have e-mail so, if something is overlooked in the monthly paper, we can send out a quick e-mail on the matter.
Third, the pastor has hogged the newsletter long enough. While I enjoy writing, I suspect there are others in our congregation who would like to do some writing of their own. So, I am soliciting for additional newsletter staff. If you believe the Lord would have you take over the entire production of the paper, please let me know! I will gladly contribute a monthly article. Or, if that is a bit too much for you, would you like to share an article from time to time? I would encourage committees who wish to publish information for the church in the newsletter to write their own article and then send it to me to be included in the next edition.
Finally, I am open to any suggestions you may have. If you have anything for the January edition, it will be published during the last week of December.
May our Lord be glorified in you this week.
Pastor Bruce