WE GIVE THANKS TO GOD

Budget Gifts 12/31/17 1/7/18 1/14/18 1/21/18 Annie Armstrong CCC Flooring Lottie Moon Grief Counseling Postage Total

ATTENDANCE S.Sch. Worship Dec. 31 48 61 Jan. 7 No services—snow, cold! Jan. 14 60 64 Jan. 21 55 66

773.00 No Svcs. 7,042.00 2,109.00

40.00 40.00

150.00 60.00

150.00 25.00

10,389.00

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9101 Amelia St. PO Box 452 Pastor Derrick Adams Amelia, VA 23002 ameliabaptistchurchva.com 804-561-4512 ameliabaptistchurch@tds.net

FROM THE PASTOR’S PEN

Amelia Baptist,

As most of you are already aware, I’ve begun a new sermon series entitled “The Psalms: A Life Of Worship”. It is my prayer that as we study the Psalms over the next several months, God would deepen our understanding of what it truly means to worship Christ both individually in our daily lives and corporately as a church body. Worship is what we are created for, and it is because of Christ that we can carry out this task appropriately. So to further aid our understanding of worship during this series, I will be providing you with some of the more encouraging articles that I have come across these past several years. Here is one for your February Newsletter…

5 Things To Remember About Worship Wherever I’ve traveled—whether it be Australia, South Africa, India, the UK, Latin America, or somewhere in the United States—I’ve found that worship is almost universally understood to mean singing with a congregation or the music associated with it.

While undeniable benefits have come from the worship music, it’s easy to misunderstand the rela-tionship between biblical worship and music. Music can be a part of worship, but it was never meant to be the heart of it.

In His conversation with the woman at the well, Jesus described the kind of worshiper God is seek-ing: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” (John 4:23) Jesus isn’t limiting our worship to a time of singing, or even a meeting. In fact, that’s one of the things He wants to set straight. The woman thought the choice of where to worship was between Mt. Gerizim, where the Samaritan temple was located, and the Jewish temple in Jerusalem. Jesus offers another option.

He doesn’t say that place doesn’t matter, but that there’s a new place. That place is in Jesus Himself, the one who is the Truth (John 14:6). He is the new temple in which people from every nation can now approach God to give Him the honor He is due (Mark 14:58; John 2:18-22). He is now our means of access and the one who makes our worship acceptable to God (Hebrews 10:19-22; 1 Peter 2:4-5).

[continued next page]

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RISE AGAINST HUNGER The Youth will be packing meals for Rise Against Hunger (formerly Stop Hunger Now) on March 17th. Each dehydrated meal costs 29 cents to package. If you would like to make a donation to support this mission, you can do so through the church. Please designate the check by writing “Youth/Rise Against Hunger” on the memo.

THANK YOU To my church family, I can’t thank you enough for the constant love, support, and prayers you gave to Johnny and me over the last 2 1/2 years during his illness. It meant more than you know. May God bless Amelia Baptist Church. -Gail Grubb

BE A VBS VOLUNTEER Informational Meeting February 18 at 12:15pm

Lunch Provided All areas are in need of volunteers!

*Classroom leaders & assistants *Rotational leaders *Prayer Warriors *BBQ Team Please plan to attend if you are willing to donate your time to God’s children or if you simply want more infor-mation about how you can help.

VBS will be June 25-29 Mark your calendar: VBS Super Clinic

on March 3, 2018

LOVE-IN-ACTION , WMU GROUP…IN ACTION!

The Love-in-Action Circle will meet on Tuesday, February 13, 2018, in the Ministry Center at 10:00am to continue sewing more luopacks for our mission project that will be added to the 51 luopacks that we made in January. Members and others interested in help-ing are asked to come and bring a lunch. Motion has been made, seconded, and approved to send up to $50.00 along with the luopacks when they are sent to be delivered. The Circle will resume their regular schedule for meetings at 2:00pm on March 13, 2018. Myra Morgan will be hostess, and Dale Johnson will provide refreshments. Vivian James will present the program. The March Mission Supper is scheduled for Wednesday, March 7, 2018. Plans for the meal and program will be discussed and decided at the February meeting.

From the Pastor’s Pen (continued from front page)

“When we believe Jesus died as our substitute on the cross, receiving God’s wrath against our sins to purchase our forgiveness and adoption into His family, we can be confident not only that our worship is accepted, but that everything we do can be an act of worship.

To expand that point, here are some further implications of Jesus’s words to the woman at the well.

1. Worship is not primarily about giving to God, but receiving. Worship isn’t something we begin. It has existed from all eternity as the three persons of the Triune God have enjoyed perfect communion from eternity. Worship is God inviting us into that relation-ship. We do not approach God based on our own choice or ability. It takes God to worship God. Not only does God draw us and enable us to appreciate His beauty and authority, He also reveals Him-self to us in His Word.

2. Worship is exalting God with my entire life, not just my singing. Worship isn’t primarily about an experience, mood, or atmosphere. It’s about making much of the authority, goodness, and holiness of God as seen in Jesus Christ. I can do that while I’m eating, drinking, driving, studying, talking, working, or playing. Any time, really.

3. Worship is meant to be a community activity. Inside or outside of a meeting, worship involves not only our relationship with God but also our relationships with those He has reconciled to Himself through the blood of Christ. If worship is now in and through Christ, I am inextricably linked to everyone else in the family. They’re not a hin-drance to my worship; rather, they’re an essential part of it. We worship God together whether we want to or not.

4. Worship is an encounter with the living God. God’s presence has always been a defining characteristic of God’s people. As Christians, we should be keenly aware of God’s promise to be with us and to be active among us. And we should long for the day when God will reveal Himself fully to us in heaven.

5. Worship in this life is only a foretaste of what is to come. While worship in the new heavens and new earth will certainly include singing, it will be much more than merely singing. Every activity will be carried out for one purpose: to magnify the glory and grace of God. Reflecting on that reality should only motivate us to greater godliness, greater gratitude, and greater joy today.

In summary, yes, music is a part of worship. But let’s not miss the grander and more glorious vision of worship God has graciously given us in Jesus Christ.”

(Crossway Article - 5 Things To Remember About Worship by Bob Kauflin)

In Christ, Pastor Derrick

UPWARD BOUND

It’s a new year and almost time for our next Upward Bound gathering. We sure hope to see you there. It will be on Mon-day, February 19. Social time will start at 10am with lunch at noon. Come see our new Ministry Center floor and bring a sto-ry to share about something new that you received this Christmas or a Christmas past. We will have a devotional and sing a few songs (with the theme of “New”), thanks to our very own Music Man, Barry Layman. Bring a bowl of tuna, chicken, egg, or some other spreadable salad for sandwiches and we will provide the bread, crackers, and chips, as well as the beverage. Looking forward to seeing you there—and bring a friend.

MINISTRY CENTER FLOORING PROJECT STATUS

We are essentially complete with some mi-nor finishing touches to add. January was busy month with all the preparation and completion work. We should acknowledge all those who helped with the project. Sev-eral members of the Ruritans and a Boy Scout Troop helped with tile removal and fastening the underlayment. We had over 20 people including our church members participating in the preparation for turnover to the installers (On-the-Spot) during the 1st and 2nd week of preparation. Like all major projects, completion/detail work is the most time consuming. We had between 4-6 dedi-cated workers for over a week participating. It has been a blessing seeing our church at work. Now let’s all enjoy! The floor is a waterproof vinyl laminate the Building Committee felt was best suited for our building and it’s uses. We need to rec-ognize that being vinyl it will show scratches and other scuff marks if abused. Let’s treat it like we would our home, enjoying it for it’s intended uses while being responsible for its condition. Care and maintenance instruc-tions will be posted for all to follow.

The next Business Meeting will be held Wednesday, February 14th at 7:00pm. Written reports and motions should be in the church office by February 13th.

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

SUNDAY SCHEDULE

9:00AM Praise Time

9:30AM Prayer Circle

9:45AM Sunday School

11:00AM Worship Service

1 2 3

4 11am Communion

(Roger/Myra in charge)

Youth Meet after worship svc.

B-Nola Johnson

5 1pm Women’s Bible Study

B-Taylor Sutphin

Tay

6 7 6:15pm Prayer/Bible Study

7:30pm Choir

8 6-9pm Ruritans in Ministry

Center

B-Barry Layman

9 10

11 11:30am Mission Friends/

Kids-in-Action

6pm Deacons Meeting

A-Robert & Jean Morris

12 1pm Women’s Bible Study

B-Warren Anderson

B-Louise Boyles

B-Sara Parrish

13 10am Love-in-Action

Circle in Ministry Center

14 7:00pm Business Meeting

followed by choir practice

15 16 17

18 11:30am Junior Church

VBS Informational Meeting

after worship service

5-6:30pm Youth Meeting

B-Ian McDonald,Sr.

19 10am Upward Bound

(No Women’s Bible Study)

20 9am Art Class

B-Mary Davis

A-Cecil & Mary Davis

21 8:30am Men’s Prayer Grp.

6:15pm Prayer/Bible Study

7:30pm Choir

22

B-Jackie Easter

23 24

25 11:30am Junior Church 26 1pm Women’s Bible Study

B-Jeanne Hall

27 28 6:15pm Prayer/Bible Study

7:30pm Choir

February 2018