Posts made in March, 2016

Hales Chapel Family, Thank-you for your prayers for our family as we celebrated the wedding of Elizabeth and Nathan this past Saturday. Wonderful time of celebration. Cathy and I are still trying to recover! Please, make special efforts to participate in all of the special opportunities this week related to Easter. We are looking forward to the Maundy Thursday service tonight at 7:00 PM. We will observe the Lord’s Supper during this service. The Spring Fling is Saturday from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Be sure to bring the children and to invite others to participate. Sunrise service will be Sunday at 7:00 AM at the Pavilion. Breakfast is in the Fellowship Hall at 8:00 AM followed by Sunday School at 9:00 AM. Morning worship is at 10:00 AM. We have been challenged by the videos that have been shown in the worship services related to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions. Our goal for the Annie Armstrong Offering is $5,000. Let’s pray for the church planting efforts taking throughout North America. Let’s give so this work can continue. Devotional Thought: Let’s each one reflect upon the wonderful story of the Resurrection as found in Matthew 28:1-10. Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. 2 And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. 3 His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. 4 And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. 5 But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. 7 Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” 8 So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. 9 And behold, Jesus met them and said, “Greetings!” And they came up and took hold of his feet and worshiped him. 10 Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid; go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Announcements Ø Easter Week Schedule o Maundy Thursday Service on March 24, 2016 at 7:00 PM o Spring Fling...

Hales Chapel Family, We had a wonderful worship service as we joined our hearts together in worship of the Lord through music, as the choir shared “Our God Saves,” and as we examined being the salt of the earth. We concluded the Beatitudes the week before, so I started on Sunday preaching through the rest of the Sermon on the Mount. You will want to make a special effort to join us for worship this Sunday, as Dr. Chuck Register will be preaching for us again. Chuck always does a masterful job of proclaiming God’s Word. Please, be aware of our special schedule for the week of Easter. You will want to be participate in each of these opportunities of service and worship. We have been challenged by the videos that have been shown in the worship services related to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions. Our goal for the Annie Armstrong Offering is $5,000. Let’s pray for the church planting efforts taking throughout North America. Let’s give so this work can continue. Devotional Thought: This is wedding week for the James Gang as our youngest daughter, Elizabeth, will be marrying Nathan Batchelor on Saturday, March 19th. We are happy and excited for the couple. With the focus of the wedding, I want to highlight 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7: Love is patient; love is kind; love is not envious or boastful or arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. These words related to love should challenge not only Elizabeth and Nathan, but all couples. Actually these words should be the gold standard for us in all of our relationships. Announcements Ø Dr. Chuck Register preaching on Sunday, March 20th Ø Easter Week Schedule o No Wednesday activities on March 23, 2016 o Maundy Thursday Service on March 24, 2016 at 7:00 PM o Spring Fling on Saturday, March 26th, 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM o Easter Sunrise Service on Sunday, March 27, 2016 at 7:00 AM at the Pavilion o Breakfast in the Fellowship Hall on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016 at 8:00 AM o Sunday School at 9:00 AM on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016 o Worship Service at 10:00 AM on Easter Sunday, March 27, 2016 Ø Community-Wide Revival will be April 17-20, 2016 at 7:00 PM at Antioch Baptist Church. Our guest preacher will be Dr. Jim Shaddix, Professor of Preaching at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary....

Hales Chapel Family, Good morning. I thought we had another wonderful service on Sunday as we celebrated the baptism of Sarah Boyette. I know I am biased since I sing in the choir, but I appreciated the message of the choir special. I continue to be challenged each week as we work through the Beatitudes. I want to remind you of the Wednesday Night Family Meal that will be this Wednesday, March 2nd starting at 5:30 PM in the Fellowship Hall. The menu will be grilled boneless pork chops, green beans, mashed potatoes, and ice cream bar with toppings for dessert. There will be a few boneless chicken breasts available for those who do not eat pork. Food will be great but the best part is the fellowship. Please, come and then stay for our Wednesday activities. The detailed Easter week schedule is included below but I want to highlight the Maundy Thursday service. We will not have Wednesday activities the Wednesday before Easter but we will have a special service on the Thursday before Easter. My guess is many have not heard of Maundy Thursday. It is Thursday because that’s the night the first Lord’s Supper was observed. The term Maundy comes from a Latin word which means mandate or command. Jesus commanded for us to partake of the Lord’s Supper to remember his death and to look forward to his return. We will observe the Lord’s Supper during this service but as we do we are looking at his sacrifice on the cross and the reason for it. Please, make plans to participate with us for this special time of worship. Devotional Thought: Numbers 6:24-26 “May Yahweh bless you and protect you; 25 may Yahweh make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 may Yahweh look with favor on you and give you peace.” This is a benediction or blessing that is repeated each week around the world. What is there not to like: asking God to bless those who are worshiping, asking for his protection, asking for His graciousness, favor, and peace. Yep, this is a favorite for all of us. It is important to remember Psalm 67 because the Psalm recalls the language of Aaron but adds the purpose for this blessing: so, they may be a blessing to the nations. Too much of the time we want to consume God’s blessings for our personal satisfaction instead of realizing His blessing to us is to be poured out on others. Announcements * Family Meal, Wednesday, March 2, 2016 starting at 5:30 PM * 2016 East Coast Men’s Bible Conference, March 11-12,...