Religion

Bulletin Board Briefs

• The Faulkville Baptist Church will have a Gospel Concert on Thursday, February 23rd at 7 PM featuring "The McKameys" from Clinton, TN. The church is located on Highway 80 and Zeigler Road in Faulkville. No admission charge, a free will offering will be received. For more information, please call 748-7332.

• The "Hall Sisters" of Soperton, GA will be in Gospel Concert on Saturday night, February 18th, 7 PM at Silk Hope United Methodist Church in Garden City. The church is located at 5212 Silk Hope Road in the Salt Creek area, just off of Hwy 17. The Hall Sisters are not strangers to the Savannah area since they have been in many local churches in the past 30 plus years. No admission will be charged and everyone is invited to attend this great concert. For more information, please call 927-9955.

• Southern Gospel Sing! Featuring "The Holcombes", Glenda, Bruce, Brent and Matt! Saturday, February 18th, 6-8PM at Trinity Chapel UMC, 10th & Butler, Tybee Island. For more information, please call 786-6377.

• Gospel Sing! Cokesbury United Methodist Church, 5411 Skidaway Road in Savannah. "The Georgians" from Valdosta will be our special guests on February 11th at 7 PM. For more information, please call 748-6174.

• 5th Annual Family Day at Chevis Oaks Baptist Church, 102 Sylvania Road (Ogeechee Farms). February 5th - Sunday School at 10 AM, Morning Worship at 11 AM, Family Lunch at 12:15. Prizes will be awarded in various categories on this day. For more information, please call the church at 925-3852.

• Savannah Area Sacred Harp Singers

Come and sing folk hymns from the shape note tradition. Saturday, February 11th, from 2pm to 4pm at First Christian Church, 711 E. Victory Drive, Savannah.

Sacred Harp singing (also called shape note or fasola singing) is a nondenominational community musical activity emphasizing participation, not performance. We sing from The Sacred Harp, an oblong songbook first published in 1844. All are welcome to sing or just listen. No experience or membership is required. Books will be available for loan or purchase. Call 655-0994 for more information.

• Want to be part of a new and God-led ministry? Everlasting Life International Church for all people is for you! Join us for Prayer & Bible Study on Thursday night, 7:30 - 9PM, currently meeting at the Holiday Inn Express, Port Wentworth in the Breakfast Room. For more information, please call 531-0189 or email snewson@georgiasouthern.edu

• Opportunities for new Baptist Church forming in the Pooler area: Worship Leader, key board ability a plus; Student Pastor; AWANA Ministry - If you have ever been a leader or helper in AWANA and would like to get in on the ground floor of a new ministry for children in the Pooler area. Please call 656-5522 for more information.

• Need a bit of encouragement? Then join us at 9 a.m. each Sunday for Bible Study at First Baptist of Rincon. Singles, divorced or widowed are invited to attend. Currently we are meeting in the game room in the youth building. Greeters are available to show you the way. For more info, please call 826-5536 or 754-3277.

Q & A – With Pastor Larry

Question: I am a Christian but am having lots of problems with family, money, health, work, etc. I am in God’s will for my life as I understand it. Why do I keep having one problem after another? Am I doing something wrong? Please help.

Answer: Everyday in one way or another we all face problems, difficulties and set backs. The trick is to not let the problems, difficulties or set backs get the upper hand in our lives. Every challenge that comes into our lives brings with it a great lesson from God. God is preparing us for the next step in our growth with Him. If we do not learn the lesson, we keep facing the same set of difficult circumstances.

The reason some people keep going around and around with problems is that they refuse to face them and learn from them. They might be like the person who reacts with denial. “This is not happening to me” and they bury their heads in the sand. They may try to escape their problems with drugs, an affair or simply try to drown their problem with booze and alcohol. Perhaps they develop a Pollyanna philosophy toward life and constantly say, “things are great!” when inside they don’t really feel this way. Finally, there are lose folks who simply give up and say, “this is the hand life has dealt me; I am just one of those people who will always have problems”.

My Jesus said, “I have come to give you life and to give it to you abundantly” (John 10:10). I believe Him. Why does Jesus say this to us? He says this because in James 1:2-4 God lets us in on His plan. He says that if we can adopt the attitude of joy and happiness in the midst of the struggles we will develop into the person He has planned for us to become in the first place.

Let’s talk straight for a moment. Think about one problem and challenging area you are facing today. We are going to change our outlook and focus about that particular challenge right now. Let go of the idea that everything has to work out the way you think or hope that it should. God has a bigger plan for your life than you can imagine. Trust that He is in charge.

Dr. Homer Lindsey Jr., the late pastor of First Baptist Church Jacksonville, Florida used to say, “When the bible begins a new idea and story with, “and it came to pass” always remember that your problem came to pass – and it will. Until then work at it like it depends on you and pray about it like it depends on God.” Good advice.

Action for the week: Select one challenge you are having. Pray this prayer everyday for the next seven days, “Thank you Father that you have a better plan for my life. By faith I accept that plan from you and I am taking steps in a new direction as you reveal those steps to me”. If you pray this prayer from your heart your faith will begin to take root and God will take over and direct you. It works everytime!

Rev. Larry D. Wilson is pastor of Parkway Baptist Church at 1105 East Hwy 80 in Pooler, GA.

Agapé Assembly of God Choses Rev. David Porter as New Senior Pastor

The congregation (members and friends) of Agape' Assembly of God Church in Springfield is proud to announce that Rev. David Porter has accepted the position of Senior Pastor of Agapé.

The church has been seeking a new pastor since the resignation of Pastor Jackie Gordon in September of last year. Pastor Gordon served in the position of senior pastor for many years at Agape' before deciding to make the move to pursue other ministerial opportunities. Those who ministered with Pastor Gordon will miss him greatly and will pray for his ministry to expand beyond measure.

Pastor Porter and wife Chris will reside in Springfield after living in Orangeburg, SC for the last five years. They have three children - Karen, 36; Patricia, 35; and David, 26. The Porters have been married for 39 years. Sister Chris Porter currently works for Wal-Mart and will be transferring to one of the stores in the area.

While living in Orangeburg, they served as Senior Pastors of the First Assembly of God. Being an ordained minister, Rev. Porter has served in ministry from Canada throughout the United States. He served in the Georgia District of the Assemblies of God as an itinerant evangelist for all of the churches in the district.

Rev. Porter received his evangelistic studies through the Berean Studies in Springfield, MO, Lee University in Cleveland, TN, Canada Christian College in Toronto, Canada, and Durham University in Oshawa, Ontario.

Services are on Sunday morning at 11 AM and Sunday evening at 6 PM. Wednesday evening at 7:30 PM. This church's phone number is 754-6354. Sunday School begins at 10 AM. Everyone is invited to attend any service. The church does have an active children's church, youth group, Royal Rangers, Missionettes, Women's Ministries and Honor Bound Men's Group. For more information regarding the availability of Rev. David and Chris Porter, please contact the Agapé Assembly of God Church.

Q: My boyfriend is in prison (for dealing in drugs), and now he's written me that he's become a Christian. The problem is, he says we can't live together again when he gets out in a few months, because it's wrong and God doesn't want us to. Is this true? I don't have anywhere to go. - P.N.

A: Yes, what your boyfriend has written you is true: It isn't God's will for you to live together outside the vow of marriage.

You see, God gave marriage to us, and He intended for a man and woman to live together only within the commitment of marriage. He did this because He loves us, and He knows that unless a couple is committed to each other in marriage, their relationship will never be completely stable and secure. Down inside your heart, isn't this the kind of stability you yearn for?

Instead of being upset at your boyfriend, I hope you will rejoice that his life now seems to be on a new track. After all, what future would he have otherwise? He'd likely fall back into his old pattern of living - and that's a dead-end road. But now that he has come to know Christ, he has a new life. The Bible says, "Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life" (Romans 6:4).

And what has happened to him can happen to you! You too need your sins forgiven, and you too need hope for the future. Most of all, you too need Christ - and Christ wants to help you. By a simple prayer of faith ask Jesus to come into your life today. Then commit your future to Him, and ask Him to help you and your boyfriend to live in purity as you seek His will for your lives.

(Send your queries to "My Answer," c/o Billy Graham, P.O. Box 1270, Charlotte, N.C., 28201; call 1-(877) 2-GRAHAM, or visit the Web site for the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association: www.billygraham.org.)

Do You Have Joy?

by Gary Toole, Minister

There is a little song I learned as a child, "I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart, up in my head, down in my feet. I've got the joy, joy, joy, joy all over me. All over me to stay!"

A lot of people confuse happiness with joy. Especially in this materialistic, secular world. They talk about being happy. If you are successful, you will be happy. If you are wealthy, then you are happy. But what they don't realize is, "Happiness is not joy." Happiness is superficial, but joy is down in the heart. Joy is divine. Joy is that warm peaceful feeling you have deep down in your soul in the midst of adverse circumstances. In the times when you are not happy by the world's standard.

Joy comes from the Lord. From being personally acquainted with Him. It is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Happiness is just for a season. It's temporal, but real Joy can last forever. It is there in the darkest times of your life. It can take you even through the very shadow of death, and that peaceful soothing - comforting joy will keep you from fearing any evil, because you know the Lord is with you. Joy in the midst of the storm and joy in spite of the storm.

In the bible when they were stoning Steven, he certainly was not happy, but oh, he had a peace - a joy that passeth this old world's understanding. A joy that made him say, "I see Jesus standing at the Father's right hand." Then the love of God that goes hand and hand with joy made him ask the Lord not to hold this sin of stoning him to their charge. In other words, he had a forgiving heart. Only the joy and the love of God can do that. Can you say amen?