(24) "Then the man who hadreceived the one talent came.'Master,' he said, 'I knew thatyou are a hard man, harvestingwhere you have not sown andgathering where you have notscattered seed. (25) So I wasafraid and went out and hidyour talent in the ground. See,here is what belongs to you.' (26)

"His master replied, 'You wick-ed, lazy servant! So you knewthat I harvest where I have notsown and gather where I havenot scattered seed? (27) Wellthen, you should have put mymoney on deposit with thebankers, so that when I re-turned I would have received itback with interest. Matthew 25:24-27 New International Version

We learn the most in this par-able from the man who hid histalent. First, the talent was onloan - not his. Second, Christpoints out how people oftenbury their gifts out of basicfear. Additionally, the storypoints out concerning spiritualgifts that one never loses whathe uses.

All by itself, this is a powerfullesson: If we use the gifts that

Pastor Henley’s Corner

The Quarterly Newsletter of Fresh Start Christian Church

Thirty-eight (38) Fresh Start members are eating less and exercising more as part of a 12 weekweight-loss contest going on at the church. The the brain child of Sis.Jordan Henley, who laughingly admits her initial motivation was to come up with a contest thatshe could win. However, Henley quickly adds that fitness is important at all ages. “Many peopleare taking medication to control chronic diseases that can either be prevented or reversed withexercise and diet choices. Many diseases are not a natural part of life but are caused by lifestylechoices,” Henley said. Her sentiments are echoed by fitness trainer Marvin Williams who oftenreminded the group that each of their bodies is a temple of the Holy Spirit. Williams considersphysical fitness a form of worship and showing appreciation to God for good health. Participantsbegan the by rising early for a week-long Jump Start workout led by Williams at 5:30a.m. Prizes will be awarded to the persons who lose the greatest percentage of body fat and thegreatest percentage of weight and inches. Contest winners will be announced on November 2.

WORSHIP SERVICES9:30 A.M. & 11 A.M.

Third Sundays 5:00 p.m.

PRAYER SERVICE6 P.M. MONDAYS

BIBLE STUDY6 P.M. WEDNESDAYS

Fresh Start Christian Church www.FreshStartChristian.com Vol. 7 No. 3 October 2013

Do not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, . . .?1 Corinthians 6:19

Preliminary Round Weigh-in Winners:GREATEST % BODY FAT - Carl Palmer, Aftan Henleyand Regena Cassel

GREATEST LOSS % BODY WEIGHT - ANNIE WILLIAMS,MELCIE DOBSON, AND REGENA CASSEL

Commitment means no excuses accepted.There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you’re interested in doingsomething, you do it only when it’s convenient. When you’re committed to something,you accept no excuses; only results.”It is incredibly easy to lose sight of your long-termgoals in the face of short-term pleasure or pain.We make excuses, avoid what’s staring us in theface, and put things off until later. Chances areyou have gotten away with this mindset before,but if you desire real, sustained change it is amindset and a habit we must rid ourselves of.When you are only interested you treat a speedbump like the end of the road, believe a mountaincannot be conquered, and fulfill your daily desires

at the expense of long term goals. Whenyou are committed you reach the end of theroad and with God’s guidance forge a newpath, climb the mountain , and deny your-self a minor daily pleasure so you canachieve beyond the goals you originally set.

Decide for yourself. When it comes toChrist, are you committed or interested?

Page 2 A Fresh WordFresh Start Christian Church

Fresh Start Christian

Church

PastorRev. James L. Henley, Jr.

SecretarySis. Mary Sanders

ElderSis. Annie Williams

Youth Ministry TeamPastor Herb SandersSis. Phyllis Robinson

Worship Center and Annex5210 Manhattan Road

P.O. Box 31473, Jackson, MS 39286Phone: 601-362-1818

Fax: 601362-1716Pastor@freshstartchristian.com

Requests@freshstartchristian.comFreshstart@freshstartchristian.com

www.freshstartchristian.com

Praise Team PracticeWednesdays, 7:10 p.m.

Youth Choir PracticeSaturdays before the first & third Sundays

Dance MinistryTo Be Announced

Parents’ Night Out3rd Fridays, 6-8:30 p.m.

(Ages 5 - 13, MUST arrive by 7 p.m.)Not Offered in December

Teen Friday4th Fridays, 6-10 p.m.

(Ages 13-18, MUST arrive by 6:10 p.m.)Not Offered in December

Girl Scouts2nd and 4th Saturdays, noon

Couples MinistryQuarterly, Second Fridays ofJanuary, April, July, October

Spin ClassTuesdays and Thursdays, 6 p.m.

A Fresh WordJanuary, April, July, October

God gives us, we cannot lose! The onewho never tried got punished, God calledhim wicked and lazy. His sit down and donothing attitude regarding the gift/talenthe had been given doomed him.

This is in contrast to the Parable of theTen Virgins. Five foolish virgins doomedthemselves by letting what they had runout. This servant with one talent nevereven used what he had. The virgins failedbecause they thought their job was tooeasy; however, the servant failed becausehe thought his task was too hard.

The wicked servant justifies his do noth-ing attitude by blaming it on God. "It was

too hard, Lord." He accuses God of beinginsensitive by expecting him to actuallydo something with what he had beenentrusted. That is why Christ calls himwicked. He calls God a liar and accusesthe master of exploiting them to satisfyhis own greed. If he did work, he says, hewould see little or none of the profit, andif he didn't succeed he would get nothingbut the master's wrath. The master asks,"Why didn't you at least invest my moneyso that I could receive interest?" Theservant, in his justification and fear, failsto even do the simple things his giftwould allow. Resentment and fear are adeadly combination. Are you still justsitting there? Get busy.

PASTOR HENLEY’S CORNERContinued from Page 1

Justin Manning

Sanaa NelsonGabryelle Lorenzo

Upcoming Events

9th Year ChurchAnniversary

CelebrationNovember 2 - 3, 2013

************Annual Health Fair

10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.*************

Friends & Family NightNovember 2, 2013 - 7:00 p.m.

*************Anniversary Worship

ServiceNovember 3, 2013 - 10:00 a.m.

Christening

was christened onSeptember 8, 2013. Proud parents DonnieEarl & LaDonna Newson pleged to raise theirson in the knowledge of Christ.

Mission MississippiPrayer Breakfast

July 11, 2013

Page 3A Fresh Word

On Saturday, September 28, 2013, Fresh Start’s best bakers competed in the“Sweetest Contest Ever” - the Baking for Jesus contest. Winners were chosen bythe audience, who gladly sample the entries, which included a lemon meringue pie,a sock it to me cake, egg custard, chocolate chip cookies, banana nut bread,chocolate cake, and cheese cake croissants. The competitors were judged on tasteand presentation/decoration.

Baking Competition

Fresh Start Christian Church

Contestants were Rev. Herb Sanders, Annie Williams, Alexandria Spann, Mother Ruth Davis, Adrianna Spann,Clara Spann and Kenosha Echols.

Annie Williams

Best Dessert WinnerKenosha Echols

On August 17, Fresh Start pre-sented The Old Ship Of Zionplay. Each character’s lifestyledetermined whether they wouldget on the ship (heaven) or not(go to hell). The characters whoboarded the ship lived conse-crated lives; were the salt of theearth or had a repentant heart.Those who did not board theship were caught up in pride,hypocritical, gossipers andbackbiters. Some were preacherfighters. Others hated to departfrom the pleasure and follies ofthis world. Some took God forgranted. Some realized thatthey do not have the love ofChrist in their hearts; so, theyreturned to the world. The playallowed the audience to observepeople confronted with choiceswhich will determine whether ornot they will be allowed to boardthe Old Ship of Zion.

The Enemy portrayed byMitchell Davis, tempts Rev.Henley who plays a pastor en-couraging his congregation toboard the ship.

A blind man, portrayed by Rev. CarlPalmer, held on to board the ship.

A widow with children played by

Connie Tobias boldly proclaims

Christ as her help as she boards the

ship.

The Enemy successfully persuades a

prideful church member played by

Monica Williams not to board the

ship.

PAGE 4A FRESH WORD Fresh Start Christian Church

Annual Mission TripGallup, New MexicoJuly 20 - 27, 2013

CAMP PINON BOARD MEMBERS

FRESH START MISSION TEAM & BRO. RAYTEEN GROUP

YOUTH GROUP