From the Pastor's Desk:

"To God be the glory for great things He hath done"
(and is doing)

During the month of April First Baptist Church heard and experienced some great things.

We heard:

• John Roberts, the Chaplain of the Racetrack ministry on Sunday April 6th.
• Chuck Deglow, our guest speaker for our annual Spring Bible Conference April 13th-16th.
• Dave Hammer,  the Executive Director of Fairhaven Rescue Ministry spoke on Sunday evening April 20th.

We hosted:

• The NKBA VBS training session at our church on Monday, April 7th.  What an exciting night as we begin preparation for VBS which is scheduled for June 22nd - 27th.
• We watched the Children's Bible Drills:
• We had four children participate in the Church Bible drills: They were; Zack Arlinghaus, Kelsey Arlinghaus, Paul Daly and Tapanga Thompson.  All four qualified for the Associational Drills and one of them (Paul Daly) qualified for the State Bible Drills.  Congratulations to all four of you for a great job.  Our thanks to Wally Lane who faithfully worked with them during this past year on their scripture memory work.
• This is just a brief list of some of the events we heard and experienced here at FBC during the month of April. PRAISE THE LORD for His goodness!

God's Call to Prayer!
Jeremiah is called the weeping prophet and wrote these stirring words of encouragement and challenge:  "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know." (Jer. 33:3). There are four words about prayer that I would like for you to remember as you think about God's gracious invitation to prayer. 

• Directly:  God can and often times answers our prayers directly and immediately. 
• Differently.  God may answer your prayers in a way different than you expected.
• Delay:  God sometimes does not immediately answer our prayers. Our timing appears more important than God's.  We are often blinded by our emotions or we fail to see the big picture from God's perspective.
• Denial:  Sometimes God says, "no" because we ask for things that are contrary to His will. Paul prayed 3 times for God to heal him or take away his thorn in the flesh, and God said no.

What can we learn about God's denial in prayer?

God gives grace to endure.  God will be with you and it may very well be that God has a better plan.

• Prayer is about God's will, not mine.
• Prayer is about God's glory, not self-satisfaction.
• Prayer is about God's power, not my ability.

If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:

Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that Jesus Christ is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus' name, Amen.
Call us at First Baptist Church if we can be of any further assistance in your spiritual walk with Christ.

Because of Calvary,
        Bro. Hale, Ps. 16:11

"Satan trembles when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees."         
William Cowper

"I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go."  Abraham Lincoln

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  FBC:  "A Fellowship of Joy!"