Summer 2009

A life without love is like a year without summer.
-- Swedish Proverb

Summer is right around the corner! At Antioch there are many summer activities going on. Here is a refresher on the dates:

Men's Softball - check bulletin for dates.
Children's Music and Missions (Sunday and Wednesday nights) programs will continue through the summer.

Camp Sonrise ~ June 15-18
Vacation Bible School ! July 5 - 10
West Virginia Mission Trip ~ July 17-24
Youth Camp ~ August 10 - 14

Please begin to pray over each of these ministries. Please pray that the children's hearts will be open and that each ministry will be fruitful. It all begins with prayer!

Putting Into Practice the Truth

Putting Into Practice the Truth - How To Get Along With Others:

James 2:1-13 gives some fantastic guidelines on how to get along with others.

Principle:
Don't show favoritism. Many times we judge by different things such as:
appearance
ancestry - heritage or history
age - too old or too young
achievement
affluence

Problem:
There are three problems with favoritism:
1. Unchristian
2. Unreasonable
3. Unloving

Principle:
How do we treat people?
A church that loves people will grow abundantly.

Ways to show love are to:
Accept people - you can accept people without condoning their lifestyle.
Love the sinner, not the sin.
Accept others as Jesus did.
Appreciate others - find things you like about others and let them know.
Affirm others - encourage each other and build them up.

Getting along with others is a valuable tool in our everyday lives. As a Christian, it is God's command:
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.

And the way Christians are identified:
John 13:35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Baby Basket

In the church foyer, there is a basket to receive gifts for a baby boy born to Mitchell and Janell C. They are the grandchildren of Bessie P. If you would like to share your love with them over this gift from God, please bring a wrapped present and leave it in the basket. The basket will be delivered to the couple. Thanks for your love and support.

Graduate Recognition Sunday

Last Sunday was Graduate Recognition Sunday where our high school graduates were recognized and honored.

The special day began early with this great group preparing a delicious breakfast for the graduates and their families. Thank you!!

Someone very special decorated the fellowship hall beautifully.

Parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles enjoyed the delicious breakfast:

Here are our three graduates:

Marching in...

Receiving their gift from the church:
Matt F.

Eric H.

Ryan W.

Thank you church for honoring and celebrating with our seniors. Your love, support and prayers are a blessing to them and their families.

Prayer Requests This Week

Prayer is not merely an occasional impulse to which we respond when we are in trouble: prayer is a life attitude. ~ Walter Mueller

There were many mentioned for prayer Sunday night to share:

Several people were traveling over the next few days, please pray for safe travel.

Mark S. will have an MRI on his neck this week.

Bessie P.'s granddaughter in law had surgery and is in much pain, please pray for a smooth recovery.

A co worker of one of our members has been diagnosed with cancer in several places. Please pray for Marion L.

Lindsey B. who lost a newborn baby recently needs our prayers. Please lift her up for God's comfort and strength to be with her and her family.

A lady who has been visiting our church recently has a son who was involved in a helicopter crash. He is undergoing several surgeries. Please pray for his healing and his family as they stand beside him.

Recent Sightings...

Remember back in the winter we shared that several of our members had been seen frequenting a certain place in town - the Sports Complex?

Well, take a look at this...

This time they were gathered to see these guys: Our Men's Softball Team:

It was a great night of baseball for all ages!

Come out and cheer our guys on. Next game will be Thursday (May 28) at 8:15 PM.

How Are We Blessed By the Bible?

Sunday morning our pastor shared a fact that a person forgets 95% of what they hear in 72 hours! He shared this fact during a sermon entitled "How Are We Blessed By The Bible?" Surely this topic is worth revisiting!

The Bible is a book of blessing. It offers hope, comfort and strength.

Here are three ways to be blessed by God's Word:

1. Receive God's Word: If we are to be blessed by the Bible, we must welcome and be receptive to God's Word. We should receive with the right attitude.

Here are some "hearing aids":
a. Be careful - come to hear with an attentive heart, ready to receive.
b. Be calm - be relaxed. Lose any bitterness, wrath or resentment.
c. Be clean - weed the garden of the heart to prepare the soil for the seed of God's Word. Sin prevents a fruitful seed.
d. Be compliant - be ready to obey God's Word and His direction for our lives.

2. Reflect on God's Word: A mirror reflects the outside, God's Word reflects what is inside.

We can reflect on God's Word by:
a. Read it - focus on it, gaze intently into it.
b. Review it - go over and over it. Meditate and reflect on what is read.
c. Remember it - memorizing Scripture will greatly benefit our spiritual life like nothing else.

3. Respond to God's Word: to respond is to do something, to practice, live and respond to God's Word. It will change us and we will be blessed through it.
What are we doing with what we know?
Put into practice His commands. It is not how many times we have gone through the Word of God, it's how many times it has gone through us.
Being doer of the Word brings maturity.

Signs of maturity include:
Controlling the tongue
Caring Heart - thinking of needs of others
Clean mind - spiritual integrity.

May we embrace God's Word and be doers of the Word and not merely hearers. You will be blessed for it.

M&Ms End of the Year Party

Children's Missions which meet each Wednesday will break for the summer. Last meeting will be Wednesday May 27. An end of the year celebration will be held Saturday May 30. Plans are to leave the church at 9:30 AM and go bowling, followed by lunch at a local restaurant. Please see Mrs. Lisa by May 24 if your child is planning to attend.

"Graduation is only a concept.
In real life every day you graduate.
Graduation is a process that goes on until the last day of your life.
If you can grasp that,
you'll make a difference."
Arie Pencovici


Next Sunday we will celebrate Graduate Recognition Sunday.

We have three young men graduating this year:

Matt F.
Eric H.
Ryan W.

There will be a breakfast for the seniors and their families before morning worship and a time of recognition will follow in the service. Please keep our graduates in your thoughts and prayers.

Funny For the Day

Are You Ready For Some Softball???

The men's softball team will begin playing games this week. The first game will be Thursday night at 8:00 PM at the Sports Complex. Come out and cheer our guys on!

Prayer Requests

There are some prayer requests to share for this week:

Dawn S. will be having some surgery today (Monday).
Janell C. (Bessie P's granddaughter in law) will undergo surgery on Thursday.
JoAnn B. is recovering at a local assisted living facility for a few days. Please pray for her recovery.
Carol A.'s brother Charles is suffering with kidney stones and a mass in his kidney.
Felton R.'s brother had a tragedy in their family. A small great grandchild drowned in a pool this weekend. Please keep this family in your prayers.

Thank you for your love and prayers for one another.

Most Important Words

The six most important words
"I admit that I was wrong!"

The five most important words
"You did a great job."

The four most important words
"What do you think?"

The three most important words
"May I help?"

The two most important words
"Thank You!"

The most important word
"We."

The least important word
"I"

~~ Author Unknown ~~

Friends Forever

Josh and Hanna ~ 1994

“A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future,

and accepts you just the way you are.”


Josh and Hanna ~ 2008

Foundation For A Strong Family

We heard a very appropriate message on Mother's Day entitled: "Foundations For A Strong Family".

We were reminded of the saying, "as the family goes, so goes the nation". God has given us commandments to follow. These are to help us, not to hurt us. God answers "No", to accomplish a positive purpose.

How To Build A Strong Family:

Put God First. Exodus 20:3 "You shall have no other gods before Me." A god is anything that dominates or controls our life. It is anything that we give more time to than God.

Five ways to put God first:

F - Finances - Proverbs 3:9-10

I - Interest - In our work, fun, play we should do all to the glory of God
.
R - Relationships - Choose friends wisely. We become like our chosen friends. Proverbs 27:19

S - Schedule - Put God first in our time. Ask Him to help us use time wisely.

T - Trouble - Turn to God first. Psalms 50:15

Camp Deadline Sunday May 17

The deadline for Camp Sonrise will be Sunday - May 17. All children who finished grades 2 - 6 are welcome. Camp will be June 15-19 and the cost is $65.00. You won't want to miss it!

Blast From the Past

Someone has been plundering through old photos and found this one. Can anyone guess who some of these children are???? Leave your guess in the comments!

Prayer Requests This Week

Please keep in prayer these requests which were mentioned Sunday night:

Kathy C's family in the loss of her mother. The funeral will be Tuesday at 11:00 AM at Community Presbyterian Church.
JoAnn B. is still in the hospital, doing some better, but still needs our prayers.
Bessie P.'s granddaughter in law Janell is facing ear surgery soon.
Dawn S. is facing upcoming surgery also.
Mary Lou R. has been ill recently and continues to need our prayers.
Terry and Ramona L.'s daughter Lindsey and her husband need our love, support and prayers as they lost their newborn baby last week.

Thanks for the continued love and prayers for one another.

Update

The arrangements for Kathy C's mother who passed away this week are as follows:
Visitation will be Monday night from 5:00 - 7:00 PM at Harris Funeral Home.
Funeral will be Tuesday at 11:00 AM at Community Presbyterian Church. A lunch will be provided for the family by Antioch and will be held at Antioch after the funeral. Ladies, your food contribution is a blessing and ministry to families during these times.
Thank you for your continued prayers for the family.

JoAnn B. is still in the local hospital. She has been diagnosed with pancreaitis, an infection in her blood and her kidney function is very low. She will be in the hospital for a few more days to receive treatment. Please keep her in your thoughts and prayers.

Baby Basket

Mitchell and Janelle C. recently were blessed with a baby boy. To allow the church family to show it's love and support for the new family, we will be placing a gift basket in the foyer to accept gifts for the baby. You are encouraged to show your love and rejoice with the family over this blessing from God.

Prayer Requests

Many of you are aware of some of these prayer requests in our church family.

JoAnn B. is in the local hospital for an illness.

Lindsey who is the daughter of Terry and Ramona L. is grieving the loss of a newborn baby. Please remember Lindsey and her husband and their family during this time.

Kathy C.'s mother passed away this morning. Please keep the family in prayer and updates will be given for arrangements.

National Day of Prayer

Thursday is the 58th Annual National Day of Prayer. The theme this year is "Prayer - America's Hope". Here is some information on this special day:

Why We Pray

Prayer For Government

Prayer For Church

Prayer For Family

Our church sanctuary will be open all through the day and there will also be a community service held at City Hall at 12:00 PM.

Family Meal/Fish Fry

Wednesday night will be our monthly Family Meal at 6:00 PM. This month we will be having a fish fry for our Family Meal. The church will provide the fish and grits, you are asked to bring a complimentary side dish or dessert. Bring the family to eat at 6:00 PM and the meal will be followed by ministries for the entire family:

Youth Bible Study - 6:45 PM
Children's Missins - 7:00 PM
Adult Prayer Meeting - 7:00 PM

Make plans to come and be a part of Wednesday night activities.

Sermon Refresher

The sermon Sunday was about Choices. Life is full of choices and decisions. We make our own decisions, or our decisions make us.

Three things were presented: Problem, Prescription and Promise:

Problem: Indecision or double minded.
Indecision causes divided loyalties or priorities. It divides the soul between God and the world.
Indecision causes an unstable lifestyle.
a. Makes us unstable emotionally.
We should not worry about anything, but pray about everything.
b. Indecision causes unstable relationships. Causes lack of commitment.
c. Indecision causes an unstable spiritual life. It blocks prayers and keeps God from giving to us and keeps us from receiving from God.

Prescription: Get Wisdom
3 steps to get wisdom:
1. Admit the need for wisdom. Wisdom is seeing life from God's point of view. Wisdom is different from knowledge, it is the ability to apply knowledge.
The key to wisdom is asking in humility, admitting that we don't know everything.
2. Ask for wisdom.
Where do we go to get wisdom? Proverbs 2:6 tells us it is from the Lord. He is the source of wisdom. We don't get wisdom because we don't ask for it.
3. Anticipate it.
Expect an answer in faith - without doubting.
Put your eyes on Jesus, not the problems of life. Prayer should be our first option. Seeking what God wants for us - His will - not our desire.
Faith is thanking God in advance for what he is going to give to us.

Promise:
God will give us wisdom. He desires to give us wisdom and He is pleased when we come to Him. Ask Him who gives continually, liberally and generously. God's wisdom is found in God's Word. His Word gives us direction for our lives.

Our lives will be made by chance or by choice. Choose wisdom!

James 1:1-8 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.