NEWSLETTER
THE PASTORS’ THOUGHTS
In I Peter 3:12 we read… 12 “For the eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”
Beloved, are we aware of the biblical promise that God watches over us and hears our prayers? How does this make us feel to read that God’s eyes and ears are attentive to us?
For example, when we have a bad day, God sees. When we face overwhelming odds, God sees. When we face an illness, God sees. When we face changes in life, God sees. We are never out of God’s sight. God is always watching over us. We are blessed! What a God we serve!
Furthermore, whenever we need God, He is near to us. When we need to talk, He will listen. When we grieve, God will comfort us. We do not have to go through life feeling alone, for we have a loving God who will listen to us. God is near and God hears our every word in prayer.
Let us not forget this biblical truth in 2012. Let us not forget that God is ever present. This new year will be a good year when we apply this passage to our lives. As Christians, we do not travel through 2012 or through life alone. We walk in fellowship with God because of our personal relationship with Jesus!
See you at Valley View,
Shawn
A Few Notes from Doug…
There have been several times in the last seven years that I have written about the history of a particular hymn or Christian song. One year, I focused on a different hymn every month and we used that as a ‘hymn of the month.’ Another year, I selected 12 different choruses or praise songs and gave the background on how those songs came to be written. We also used those as a ‘chorus of the month.’ Starting next month, I will do a 4-5 month series on ONE hymn.
Back in late 2009, early 2010 I felt a need to try and find a hobby or something. Margann had mentioned to me years ago that I should write a devotional on/about hymns. Well, when I said something to her about ‘needing something else to do,’ she once again brought up the idea of a devotional. I went to McDonald’s one day while Andrew was in a baseball clinic over at Player’s Dugout. I took a yellow tablet and some pencils and began to rough out some ideas. It was amazing, God gave me 12 of my all-time favorite hymns which I believe to be among some of the best loved in our hymnal. What was even more amazing was the concept He planted in my mind on how to go about this task. Allow me to explain.
I frequently will invite you, as an entire congregation, to ‘not sing’ for at least one stanza on a hymn, simply so you can really listen to the words (lyrics). It’s easy for all of us, myself included, to just – as I like to say – punch the ‘sing button’ and never really listen to what we’re singing. The idea for this devotional is to take a phrase (maybe two, at the most) and write an entire devotion on it, examining it in depth and including Scripture references. I plan to spread a stanza (verse) out over an entire week, with the weekend – should you choose – to think about, sing, re-read the stanza you’ve just spent the week studying. At a stanza a week, it will take an entire month to study and learn about one hymn.
For any of you with a really keen memory, you may be saying “Wait, didn’t you do something like that with the hymn ‘When I Survey the Wondrous Cross?’” Indeed I did, back in early 2010. I didn’t elaborate about my plans for the devotional, but I did do a little test run. Christian resigned shortly thereafter and my writing has been on hold for the last 18 plus months. With God’s help and strength, starting in March, you’ll be privy to the 2nd installment in my devotional series!
God Bless! ~ Doug
A letter from the Loft…
It’s that time again. February is here and that means it’s time for our annual Valentine’s Banquet. I realize that we haven’t talked much about it this year with the departure of Dr. Tom and Mary Jo Townsend and the excitement of the arrival of Dr. Shawn, Vivian, Cameron, and Katelyn Edwards. But it is here and it is an important event for both our student ministry and for our church.
I have said since coming on the scene 10 years ago that the banquet is much more than a fundraiser; it is a great outreach event in that it allows us to invite people to come and experience a sense of community without feeling pressured. In 24 hours, we have the potential to see 900 people be a part of our fellowship, if only for a couple hours. I realize that it is not our typical church service, but it does allow us opportunity to make people feel welcome and to hopefully see that this church believes in its teenagers.
With that being said, the fact remains that it is our fundraiser for the year. Through the years the proceeds from the banquet have allowed students to attend camps in Kentucky, Tennessee, and Mississippi, as well as, provided opportunity for students to do mission work in Washington D.C, Eastern Kentucky, New Orleans, Virginia, South Carolina, Mexico, Poland, and South America. We have even been able to give a substantial check to our Senior Adult Ministry. Great things have been accomplished through your support and God’s blessings.
At the time of this writing, ticket sales have been uncharacteristically slow. We still have tickets available for all shows. Please put the date on your calendar and ask some friends to come and spend an evening or afternoon having fun with us while supporting our Student Ministry.
In Christ,
Mike Heath, Student Minister
Valentine Banquet Back to the Country
Banquet dates:
Friday, February 3 @ 6pm; Cost $10
Saturday, February 4 Matinee @ 12noon; Cost $10
Saturday, February 4 @ 6pm; Cost $15
A benefit Cake Austion will follow each performance [all proceeds fund Youth mission activities]
All ticket sales will be handled through the church office: Monday-Thursday 8am-4pm; Friday 8am-12noon