First Baptist Church of Rancho Cordova 10720 Coloma Road Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

Phone (916) 635-4672 fax (916) 635-4677 March

Newsletter

March

2012

Our

Goal

$800

Those interested in working in the Southern Baptist Disaster Relief must complete a Disaster Relief training course(s). After completing the course(s) you will receive Disaster Relief identification which is required to enter a disaster area and a “yellow Disaster Relief hat” a Southern Baptist Disaster Relief distinctive. The-se training events are for new volunteers and for those who need refresher training. New volunteer certification: $50 Currently certified, taking additional certification clas-ses: $25 Re-certification (three year update): $50 A $20 late fee will be added to all registrations after Feb. 16th. Certification Classes: CHAPLAINCY (Crisis Counseling and Evangelism). CLEAN-UP & RECOVERY DAMAGE ASSESSMENT DISASTER RELIEF ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT MASS FEEDING

Plus many other opportunities.

WHAT IS THE SOURCE OF YOUR JOY? The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. Proverbs 15:3 Proverbs 15:3 tells us nothing ever escapes the notice of God, so nothing can surprise Him. Since nothing ever sur-prised Him, He always has exactly the right plans in place to accomplish precisely what he desires, for reward or for judgment. Such is the case with Zacchaeus the tax collector. (Luke 19:1-10) It wasn’t easy being the most hated and one of the shortest men in the city but Zacchaeus the tax collector had learned to handle it. In fact, he often overcame difficulties in unconventional ways which is how he ended up in a tree to get a look at the miracle worker he’d heard so much about. Jesus had also heard about him. “Zacchaeus,” Jesus said, “make haste and come down, for today I must stay at your house” (Luke 19:5). Within moments, Zac-chaeus turned his life over to God. He stopped cheating the people and promised to restore four times all he had taken. Zacchaeus eagerly surrendered everything he had to the Lord. For all his shortcomings, Zacchaeus realized that following the Savior was the only way to true meaning, purpose and joy. He had spent many lonely nights counting his money; now he wanted his life to count. Zacchaeus had experienced his Psalms 51 moment. King David composed Psalms 51 after Nathan the Prophet con-fronted him for an adulterous affair with Bathsheba. Zacchaeus was willing to repay up to four times because when confront with his sin he could only repent just as King David had. In Psalms 51 David talks about many things but in verse 12 he talks about joy, salvation, and being sustained. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. Psalm 51:12 Although we can never lose our salvation once we genuinely come to Christ by faith, we can lose the joy of our sal-vation through our sin. Only through confession, repentance and reliance on His Spirit can we return to Joy. An in-dividual must have hope and joy to live abundantly. Hope in the New Testament has a simple definition, “confident expectation.” We can endure almost anything as long as we have hope. When hope is gone, life is gone. Without joy, life can become difficult. Sometimes we try to avoid the ache in our heart from the lack of joy by creating insincere joy, which is never adequate. Without genuine joy it is so easy to fall into depression when our faith seems not to work for us (while we tell people that it will work for them). This can play havoc in our lives. Joy is a result of seeing God’s power work. Often this joy comes in its deepest form during times of great temptation or sorrow. Many Christians have given personal testimonies of look-ing back over their life and seeing no growth in any area except during difficult times. Joy is a fruit that will not grow In nature’s barren soil; All we can boast, till Christ we know, Is vanity and toil. But where the Lord hath planted grace, And made His glories known, These fruits of heavenly joy and peace Are found, and there alone. —John Newton

May the Lord bless you abundantly and may He restore the Joy of your Salvation.

Pastor Tom

March 1,2,3

Disaster Relief Training ~ Fellowship Church

Granite Bay

March 3

Screwtape Letters Play @ Sacramento Community

Center 2 shows; 4 & 8 pm

March 4-10

Annie Armstrong Week of Prayer

March 6

Breaking Free Bible Study 9 am Fellowship Hall

WMU Meeting, Fellowship Hall 6:30 pm

Deacon’s Meeting

March 7

Bible Study; Prayer & Praise; Choir Practice

Youth Meet

March 8

Breaking Free Bible Study 6:30 pm @ Jones’s home

March 9-10

Women’s Conference ~ “The Hem of His Garment”

March 11

Daylight Savings Time Begins

March 13

Breaking Free Bible Study 9 am Fellowship Hall

March 14

Bible Study; Prayer & Praise; Choir Practice; Youth

March 15

Breaking Free Bible Study 6:30 pm @ Jones’s home

March 15-17

Fantastic Fellowship Trip to Monterey

March 21

Bible Study; Prayer & Praise; Choir Practice; Youth

March 23

Neighborhood Meals

March 28

Bible Study; Prayer & Praise; Choir Practice~Youth

BAC Meeting

March 30

Family Movie Nite

March 31

Earlybird VBS Clinic ~ Fellowship Hall~ 9-1

This months income: $19,155.62 Monthly Need: $25,165.25

Undesignated funds: $13,575.62

Designated funds: $5,580.00

Joseph & Michelle Burton 3/8/2003

David & Andrea Hightower 3/14/1998

3/2 Marlene Cook

3/3 Mary Brown

3/3 John Sornberger

3/4 Sheri Buckley

3/5 Larry Crowder

3/5 Genny Music

3/5 Kathy Piepenburg

3/6 Sam Dickerson

3/7 Don Records

3/9 Keysean Newsome

3/10 Bonnie Crow

3/10 M.D. Smith

3/13 Debra Compton

3/15 Joseph Burton

3/17 Bonnie LaFontsee

3/20 Billie Weckner

3/21 Nathan Pearson

3/22 Al Sutherlin

3/24 Becky Simonds

First Baptist Church of Rancho Cordova

10720 Coloma Road

Rancho Cordova, CA 95670

Dated Material. Please Deliver Promptly.

Non-Profit

U.S. Postage

PAID Rancho Cordova

CA 95670

Permit No. 48

We at First Baptist Church are a loving Christian

fellowship that would enjoy helping you find God’s

purpose for your life, a life filled with His power. Listed

below are some activities provided for you and your fami-

ly here at First Baptist church. We hope you will take ad-

vantage of a program, or programs that best suit your

needs.

Because Jesus is alive today, God’s purpose for

your life is still unchangeable. God has a purpose for your

life that He wants to share with you.

Won’t you come and learn with us what God has

in store for you?

Sunday:

9:00 am Sunday School for all ages

10:30 am Morning Worship

10:50 am Children’s Church

5:00 pm AWANA Club September ~ May

Wednesday:

6:00 - 7:00 pm Bible Study with Prayer & Praise time

7:15-8:30 pm Choir Practice

Youth Meet

Other events include:

Fantastic Fellowship

a Seniors ministry with trips and activities

WMU (Women’s Mission Union) ~

supports various missions

1 Corinthians 3:16: “Do you not know that you are God’s temple? If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is sacred and you are that temple.” The Temple

The average person in the U.S. consumes 3500mg of sodium a day, which is twice the 1500mg

recommended for African—Americans, people 40 and older, and anyone with high blood pressure, and

it’s well above the 2300mg recommended for all others.

All that sodium can raise blood pressure, multiplying the risk of heart attacks, strokes, as well as

asthma, kidney stones, osteoporosis and stomach cancer.

Getting down to that recommended level can be hard, though; taste being the least of it. The

main problem is that most sodium comes from processed, packaged or restaurant foods, so cutting back

requires cooking from scratch, eating more fresh foods and eating out less often.

Sensitivity varies also; some very sensitive, others less. Genes, age and race matter also.

Controllable factors include exercise, weight and eating right.

Aerobic exercise, such as brisk walking lowers the blood pressure by strengthening the heart and

relaxing the blood vessels.

Too much body fat, especially in the abdomen, interferes with the ability of the hormone, insulin

to ferry sugar into the body’s cells. This insulin resistance may make the body more sensitive to sodium.

Some people can even reduce or eliminate completely the need for blood pressure medication through

weight loss alone.

A diet rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and low fat dairy products helps keep blood

pressure low.

The more steps you take, the more you may reduce sodium sensitivity and lower your blood

pressure in other ways.

Aim for getting no more than 2300mg of sodium per day. Some tips for that are of course, eat

fresh, whole foods. Cut back on canned meat, soups, cold cuts, frozen dinners and pizza. Avoid meats

marinated with salty basting solutions or broths. Rinse canned tuna and beans. Buy fresh vegetables, or

at least, “no added salt”, frozen or canned ones. Don’t add salt to water when cooking pasta, rice,

potatoes or vegetables.

Read labels for sodium content and have no more than 140mg per serving. Consume no more

than one food per day containing 480mg or more sodium per serving.

Watch out for certain medications, notably antacids that contain sodium bicarbonate, such as Al-

ka Seltzer or Bromo Seltzer.

Cutting back on eliminating salt altogether is not necessary or even advised. It remains a needed

electrolyte in the body, but remember; all things in moderation.

Carol Ponder,

Health Ministry Coordinator

WOMEN MISSION UNION (W.M.U.)

All meetings for W.M.U. will be held in the Fellowship Hall on the first Tuesday of each month

@ 6:30 pm, unless otherwise stated to be changed or cancelled.

We now have an updated “Prayer Chain” .

If you have a prayer request, please call our church secretary, Dorothy Dwyer @ 635-4672,

AND our Prayer Leader, Joann Sprankle @ 366-6234.

This is how it works. Joann will start the prayer chain.

1. Joann will call the Team Captains.

2. Team Captains will call the Cell Leaders

3. The Cell Leaders will call Church Family members.

4. If you are not on the prayer chain, and wish to be, PLEASE call Joann.

Please contact the WMU Director, Bert Armstrong should you have any questions.

WHAT I COULDN’T SEE The Lord is near all who call out to Him, all who call out to Him with integrity. (Psalm 145:18)

I’d been praying for my son for over a year, begging God to release him from a spiritual struggle that was

causing him to make one unhealthy choice after another. I felt like I’d been praying forever with no response. One

morning, as I sat on my bed desperately praying for him, I pictured myself bursting into God’s throne room, tugging

on His robe like an impatient child, and insisting, “Do Something!”

It seemed almost disrespectful to demand that the God of the universe answer my request now, but as He

calmed the rush of emotion, I had a greater sense that He was at work even if I couldn’t see it-that His forces were

fighting for my son against the enemy that wanted to destroy him.

Two months later the situation had hit a potentially dangerous turn that only God could fix. I still sensed the

fight for his spiritual, mental, and physical health. More people were praying for him than I could keep track of.

Hours after another prayer to God to “Do something”, I saw a drastic change in my son’s behavior that I knew came

from divine intervention.

I’m still praying for my son, but I don’t feel as frantic or desperate. Those moments of intense prayer and the

breakthrough that came so suddenly stand as reminders that there is a lot more going on then I can see.

When we are caught up in the immediacy of our concerns and needs, we tend to forget about what is going

on beyond our field of earthly vision. What a gift it is when God makes us aware of the unseen, even if it’s only

through a gentle whisper to our troubled heart, I’m working on it. Trust Me. Other times we must be deliberate about

reminding ourselves that God’s forces are fighting for us, whether we see evidence or not.

Steps of Faith

Heavenly Father, help me find more comfort and confidence in

what I can’t see. Remind me daily that you are near and doing

amazing things in your unseen world.

Deeper Walk

Read Hebrews 4:14-16

Prayer Corner Regina Patterson Prayer Ministry Coordinator