Friends of Faith Baptist of North Chili,
We have been having a great Vacation Bible School this week – 47 children the first day up to a high (so far) of 56 on Wednesday. Today was our penny day and the children brought in large quantities of pennies which will be used for Shepherd’s Ministry in Wisconsin. The weather has been great – cooler than normal and (so far) no rain during the VBS hours. This morning the weather prediction was for rain and thunderstorms. I watched the weather map on-line and saw the precipitation headed straight for us…. And then, it all broke up and passed by to the south. The Lord is gracious.
Our theme verse is Psalm 147:5, “Great is the Lord, and of great power.” We have explained how God exhibits His power so that we will know we can trust Him. We talked about the difference between what God CAN do (as shown by parting the Red Sea, feeding Elijah in a famine, keeping from harm three Hebrew boys in a fiery furnace, and calming the storm on the sea of Galilee) and what God WILL do (as He explicitly promises – like healing the brokenhearted, lifting up the humble, and taking pleasure in those who fear Him). We are glad for an opportunity to proclaim the true God with an attentive audience of young listeners. Pray that the seed sown will bear fruit!
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TIME FOR A SMILE
A new doctor had just arrived in town. He claimed he could cure anything and anybody, and everyone was amazed with what he could do – everyone except for Mr. Thompson, the town skeptic.
Grumpy old Mr. Thompson went to this ‘miracle doctor’ to prove that he wasn’t anybody special. He went and told the doctor, “Hey, doc, I have lost my sense of taste. I can’t taste nothin’, so what are ya goin’ to do?”
The doctor scratched his head and mumbled to himself a little, then told Mr. Thompson, “What you need is jar number 47.”
So the doctor brought the jar and told Mr. Thompson to taste it.
He tasted it and immediately spit it out, “This is gross!” he yelled.
“I just restored your sense of taste Mr. Thompson,” said the doctor.
So Mr. Thompson went home very mad.
One month later, Mr. Thompson went back to the doctor along with a new problem, “Doc,” he started, “I can’t remember anything!”
Thinking he had the doctor stumped now, he waited as the doctor scratched his head, mumbled to himself a little, and told Mr. Thompson, “What you need is jar number 47…”
Immediately Mr. Thompson was cured and fled the room!
An absent-minded husband thought he had conquered his problem of trying to remember his wife’s birthday and their anniversary. He opened an account with a florist, provided that florist with the dates and instructions to send flowers to his wife on these dates along with an appropriate note signed, “Your loving husband.”
His wife was thrilled by this new display of attention and all went well until next year, on their anniversary, when he came home, kissed his wife and said off-handedly, “Nice flowers, honey. Where’d you get them?”
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Sunday, July 22, 2007
* Family Bible Classes – 9:30am
* The Adult Class (meeting in the auditorium) continues studying the Old Testament biographies of Samuel, Saul, David and Solomon. This week we will start II Samuel and see David’s coronation (anointing) as king of Judah.
* Morning Worship – 10:45am
* In John 5:1-15, Jesus goes back to Jerusalem where, by the pool called “Bethesda,” He meets a man who has been either lame or, more probably paralyzed, for thirty eight years! Jesus asks the man, “DO YOU WANT TO BE MADE WELL?” While that may seem like a no-brainer, the man’s response isn’t altogether convincing. Jesus heals him anyway (can we say, “Grace”?) and he takes up his bed and walks away. There is more to this story – come and see how it teaches clearly the glory of God.
* Evening Celebration – 6:00pm
* This Sunday evening we will continue a short series on the topic of Spiritual Warfare. This week we will examine “The Tactics of the Wicked One.”
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That’s all for this edition of FaithFriends. Pray with me that God’s people will be equipped and encouraged and the lost will hear the good news of the Gospel and trust Christ for their salvation!
Your faithful Minister of the Word,
Pastor Harriman
www.fbcnorthchili.org