First Baptist Church

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May 15…

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Nan

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…..K

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May 29 …

..Debbie &

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Rutherfordton, NC

Sunday, May 10, 2020

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un

day, M

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M M

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If you n

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FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH STAFF Tim Marsh

Pastor 828-755-1616

timfbcr@gmail.com Beth Heffner

Minister of Music and Administration 828-980-2761

bethfbcr@gmail.com John Miller

Minister of Youth and Children 704-472-5860

johnfbcr@gmail.com Kenneth West

Organist Alison Moore

Pianist Jill Taylor

Church Receptionist jillfbcr@gmail.com

Debbie Turner Financial Secretary

debbiefbcr@gmail.com Garry Cuthbertson

Custodian George Hughes

Grounds Maintenance

BIRTHDAYS OF THE WEEK May 11………………..Ray Ramsey ………………Larry Beasley ………………Molly Mattox May 12…………….Taylor Sullivan May 13……………….Sarah Daniel May 14………....Marguerite Barnes ………………...Jason Miles May 15……………….J.T. McClain May 16…………….Darby Lambert

CHURCH FINANCES Your financial support of the church is important to our continuing minis-tries. As a church we will spend only what is necessary for the maintenance of the church. We will be good stewards of our resources in anticipation that things may get tight. However, we also know that you have proven faithful in giving. Please mail your contributions to PO Box 839 Ruther-fordton, NC 28139. You may address them to Debbie Turner’s attention for confidentiality. You can also take advantage of our online giving at www.firstbaptistrutherfordton.com. This is through PayPal. If you prefer to give online, you should be aware that there will be a small percentage of your donation taken out by PayPal to be used as a service fee. Please know that all your contributions are greatly appreciated!

FREE FABRIC FACE MASKS AVAILABLE If you are in need of a mask and do not have access to masks, please contact Beth (828) 980-2761 and she will make one for you free of charge and will deliver them to you.

If you sew and would like to make some for your family and others, Beth would be glad to share the pattern with you.

COVID-19 UPDATE FOR FBCR

MAY 2020 The Deacons and Pastor Tim Marsh met recently to discuss Gov. Cooper’s three-

phase plan to relax stay-at-home orders and slowly re-open North Carolina. The Deacon Council and Ministerial Staff concur that it is imperative to remain in compliance with local and state officials throughout the duration of the COVID-19 crisis. Currently, stay-at-home orders are extended through May 8, with phasing to begin following the expiration of those or-ders. As we understand it, churches may begin on-campus activities during phase 2 of the Governors’ plans to re-open, which may not begin until the end of May. With that said, First Baptist Church will continue worship services and children/youth activities online, at least for the next few weeks. Additionally, we will follow recommended strategies and man-dates to re-open First Baptist Church gradually. We appreciate your continued patience and support during this crisis.

FBCR GRADUATES With the COVID 19 virus in our midst, the plans of when to recognize our graduates has not been determined at this point. However, we would like to begin to receive the information we need to celebrate with you. Please call the church office, text or email Beth at 828-980-2761/bethfbcr@gmail.com with the graduate’s name, the name of their high school or college they are graduating from; and if they are a college gradu-ate, the degree and major they have earned. Thank you!

Records for May 3, 2020 Budget Requirements...... $8,410.00 Budget Offering .............. $7,887.00 Special Offerings ............... $125.00 Total ............................. $8,012.00

Budget to Date Required by 5-3-20 ..... $260,710.00 Received by 5-3-20 ..... $280,587.03

Building Fund Building Fund…………………..$0 To Date………………$127,193.36

GIFTS A monetary donation has been given in memory of Genell Clem-ents to the Local Missions Fund by Willis and Brenda Archer. A monetary donation has been given in memory of Juanita Simp-son to the Local Missions Fund by Carole Ann Simpson.

BLOOD DRIVE The Red Cross is in critical need of blood donors to offset the toll the disease has taken. Although COVID-19 continues to spread worldwide, blood drives are still being held throughout the nation because the need for blood has not diminished. I will be hosting a blood drive at our church on Friday, June 5. The Red Cross has stated that they will mini-mize risk and will implement pre-cautions to ensure safety. If you are interested in donating, please contact me at myfuturepath22@gmail.com with your name, phone number and any questions you may have. Thank you for your support! -Melea Jones

PASTOR’S COLUMN

After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. When evening came, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land. He saw the dis-ciples straining at the oars, because the wind was against them. About the fourth watch of the night he went out to them, walking on the lake. He was about to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the lake, they thought he was a ghost. They cried out, because they all saw him and were terrified. Immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Then he climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. (Mark 6:46-51, NRSV)

Prior to writing this article, I saw a neat post that Nell Bovender shared on her Facebook. A young, British father shared a bedtime story with his children, one that they heard before but wanted to hear again. It was a story of how the Corona-virus forced people to change the way they lived in modern times. Pollution dropped. Skies cleared. People enjoyed the outside. They put their phones down and began to talk again. Quality replaced quantity. Pleasure replaced productivity. The dollar no longer dominated life.

A fairy tale, perhaps, but it remains to be seen the lasting effects of COVID-19. I don’t want to be dismissive – people are hurting during this time. Yet, I hope that we are all aware that COVID-19 may change some things. I once heard that it takes forty days to form a habit. Once the habit is formed, it becomes difficult to drop it. So, habits formed during this time may last quite a bit longer than we real-ize. Perhaps they become permanent!

What might become of church? It’s been seven weeks since we’ve worshipped online. We’re meeting online. We are sharing prayer times and Sunday School over Zoom. We are giving online or mailing our offerings to the church. Our church office is closed, though we are here, working to serve you.

What might our “new normal” look like?

I have no answers, except one – I hope that the focus is prayer. Jesus left his disci-ples to pray. He left to be alone. He left to exhale, to breathe, and to get a clear sense of calling from God. But prayer is more than each of these things. Prayer is simply being alone with God in order to commune with God. We forget, Jesus became an instant celebrity in Galilee. Early on, people flocked to Jesus. Jesus had a reputation for miracles. Jesus had a reputation as an amazing teacher. Though he was not an entertainer, he entertained. He opened up the Kingdom of God unlike any religious leader, group or movement did at the time. To stay grounded, fo-cused and humble, Jesus needed God to remind him of his baptismal calling. Je-sus’ identity was God’s beloved.

Often, our focus can be on the things that we can see – budget, attendance, policies and procedures. Each of these, and more, are important. Yet, we can have the most institutionally sound practices, perfected worship opportunities, and strong organi-zation and miss God completely in the process. I hope we remember that we are, first and foremost, a gathering of people who teach one another how to pray. When we do see Jesus appear in the midst of the chaos, we will be unlike the disciples, who were afraid. Rather, we will recognize Jesus, embrace Jesus, and welcome him in the midst of the chaos, as one who will bring order.

Grace and peace,

Tim

FAMILY MINISTRY Families—I miss you so much. It’s been way too long already since we last saw one another in person. I pray for you all and think of you often. We will continue having Zoom meetings with our youth on Sundays and children on Wednesday’s. Please see the schedule below: For BOTH groups, we meet on Zoom to play some games, and each group has a specific video to watch.

Youth, May 10, No Zoom (Mother’s Day) Children, May 13, 6:30pm (All kids lessons/videos led by John) Youth, May 17, 6:00pm (Video lesson—Rebecca Marsh, Psalm 84) Children, May 20, 6:30pm Youth, May 24, 6:00pm (Video lesson—Terry Honeycutt, Psalm 103) Children, May 27, 6:30pm Youth, May 31, 6:00pm (Video lesson—Charlotte Lattimore, Psalm 121) -John

KEEPING IN TOUCH

TEXT MESSAGE SIGN UPS

*Text “FBCR” to 95577 to receive GENERAL CHURCH announcements

*Text “fbryouth” to 95577 for YOUTH MINISTRY announcements

*Text “fbcrchildren” to 95577 for CHILDREN’S MINISTRY announce-

ments

EMAIL SIGN UPS

If you are missing out on receiving church news/prayer requests you may

also contact Tim Marsh at timfbcr@gmail.com and he will add you to the

list.

WORSHIP SERVICES ON YOUTUBE

You can watch our services livestream, which means you can watch the

services as they happen. They are also recorded on YouTube and can be

watched at any time. Go to search and type First Baptist Church Ruther-

fordton on your YouTube app.

WORSHIP SERVICES ON WEBSITE

A link to our worship services on YouTube is now located on the front page

of our website. Our website address is www.firstbaptistrutherfordton.com

SOCIAL MEDIA

Don’t forget that we also have a First Baptist Rutherfordton Facebook

group and a FBC-Rutherfordton Youth Facebook group and now we are on

Twitter! FBC Rutherfordton (@FRutherfordton)

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH RUTHERFORDTON, NORTH CAROLINA SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE May 10, 2020 10:55 AM

CALL TO WORSHIP

Greetings and Announcements Tim Marsh Leader: The Lord is Risen! People: He is Risen indeed! The Written Word Psalm 31:1-5; 15-16 John Miller Lighting the Acolyte Candles Alison Moore

Hymn “The Solid Rock” SOLID ROCK

1. My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus’ blood and righteousness; I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly lean on Jesus’ name. Chorus: On Christ, the solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand, All other ground is sinking sand.

2. When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace; In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within the veil.

3. His oath, His covenant, His blood support me in the whelming flood; When all around my soul gives way, He then is all my hope and stay.

4. When He shall come with trumpet sound, oh, may I then in Him be found, Dressed in His righteousness alone, faultless to stand before the throne.

Invocation Beth Heffner REMEMBER AND GIVE THANKS

Children’s Message John Miller Mother’s Day Litany Tim Marsh Voluntary Ken West The Written Word Acts 7:55-60 Beth Heffner Morning Prayer/The Lord’s Prayer Beth Heffner Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses As we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil: For Thine is the kingdom, and the power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Message in Song Garry Cuthbertson

HEAR AND RESPOND TO THE WORD

The Written Word John Miller and Tim Marsh 1 Peter 2:2-10; John 14:1-14 Leader: This is the Word of the Lord. People: Thanks be to God.

Message in Song “I Am the Way” Goeller Beth Heffner, Soloist and Alison Moore, Piano

The Spoken Word “Just Because” Tim Marsh (John 14:1-14)

GO FORTH TO LOVE AND SERVE

Benediction Tim Marsh Departing Song “O Christ, the Way, the Truth, the Life” ST. PETER

O Christ, the Way, the Truth, the Life, be with us now, we pray; Direct our steps as we go forth to do Your will this day.

O faithful Guide, renew our trust in love that does not fail; And give us strength to work and pray, that peace may soon prevail.

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2020 COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIPS AVAILABLE

Our church Scholarship Committee has spent a considerable amount of time updating and streamlining our application process. These updates have been approved by our Deacon Council. The scholarships are available for commu-nity college/tech students, 4-year undergraduate students, and those studying for the ministry. The student must be a FBCR church member for at least one year to qualify. Please email Beth Heffner at bethfbcr@gmail.com and she will attach the scholarship packet to you on another email. Fill out the appro-priate pages and either return it back to her via email or drop it in the mail to the church at PO Box 839, Rutherfordton. The deadline to receive these appli-cations is Sunday, May 24.

Special Birthday Greetings

to

Ray Ramsey

394 Forest Hills Circle Rutherfordton

May 11

Special Birthday Greetings

to

Marguerite Barnes

187 West Mountain Street Rutherfordton

May 14