UPDATE!
Thanks to the church family for ALL of your hard work! Thanks to all those who came. It was an HONOR to have you stop by and be with us. Some stayed all day, others for part, others could only come by for a little while, but we were glad to meet you.
Praying God will bless and honor the seed of the Gospel that was sown today. “Jesus is still the answer for a world that’s longing for peace!”
On Saturday, September 10, 2011, the church family at Progress Baptist will host a “Patriot Day Family Picnic” in honor of those who serve our community and country. We are inviting: law enforcement, firefighters, EMS, and veterans from the greater Hendersonville area. Please join us for this special event for the entire family and allow us to say “thank you” for all you do!
Place: Etowah Park (near the Etowah Elementary School on Etowah School Road)
Time: Activities begin at 10:00 A.M. Lunch will be served at 12:30 P.M., and a patriotic service, lasting approximately one hour, will begin at 1:30 P.M.
There will be games and activites especially for the children twelve and under. We will also have softball, horseshoes, volleyball, and flag football for the young people and adults. And there will also be time to just sit and relax!
There is absolutely no charge for anything! We simply want you to come, enjoy some time with your family, and let us serve you!
Please bring your lawn chairs!
NOTE: For planning purposes, please let us know if you plan on coming. You can write us at: info@progressbaptist.com. RSVP is not required, however! If you find out at the last minute that you can come, we’d LOVE to have you!
In Philippians 2:15, the Word of God says, “That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world.”
It is certainly no exaggeration to describe the world we live in today as “crooked and perverse.” Listen to the news at the top and bottom of the hour on your local talk-radio station, and you will be convinced that perversion has somehow become “mainstream.”
What is sadder though, is this fact; God’s children have seemingly decided that the way to rescue folks who are walking in this darkness is to dim the lights and become as much as possible like the dark world in which we live. This defies the truth of God’s Word. In Ephesians 5:8, we find, “For ye were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light.”
It is true that many will reject the light; but not all! We must continue walking in the light of God’s Word, keeping our lamp trimmed and bright. We are His ambassadors, and as such, we are the only hope of this sin-cursed world. He left us here with a command to preach the gospel and to shed His light into their sin-darkened souls.
As children, many folks learned the song, “This little light of mine; I’m gonna let it shine!” Let’s keep the light on, keep it bright, and let it shine to this world groping in the darkness of sin!
UPDATE
Thank you, and GOD bless you Progress Baptist Church Family! Praise God for the excellent turnout today!! For the size of our church family, twenty-six folks was a huge blessing to me, and I believe you honored our Lord and Saviour!
Several folks had told me over the past few weeks about work conflicts and travel plans over the Labor Day Weekend. So, I was thrilled to see all of you.
God’s Word speaks about the enemy stealing the seed. Let’s continue to pray that God will protect the seed, and that hearts, lives, and families will be changed by the power of the gospel as a result of the outreach today.
Bro. Doug
Mark your calendars! On Saturday, September 3, our goal is to distribute 2,000 evangelistic packets in our county. These packets will include a John/Romans, church tracts, and a postcard listing upcoming events at Progress Baptist.
Please begin praying for God to bless this seed, and make plans to be at the church at 10:00 A.M. on Saturday, September 3, to help sow the seed of the Gospel!
On Sunday, September 25, immediately following the morning service, young people and any others who would like to go, are invited to join the Erwin family in their weekly nursing home outreach. The residents and staff have enjoyed the special music and kindness of the young folks and children who have been able to go the past few months. God bless you!
On Sunday evening, September 17, we will have our monthly fellowship after the evening service. At the fellowship time, we will also have a shower for Stacy Raynes. She and Will Stewart will be married on October 8, 2011. The September Newsletter has details about the shower, and we look forward to this opportunity to be a blessing to this young couple.
On Saturday, September 17, the Progress Voice, our Bible quiz team will participate in the September quiz meet for the Piedmont Quizzing Association. Quizzers from four states will meet at Hampton Park Baptist in Greenville, SC, for the competition which will begin at 2:00 P.M.
On Sunday, September 4, we will begin our evening service at 5:00 P.M. Bro. Doug and the church family have been invited by Pastor Mark Alexander to join the White Horse Heights Baptist Church in Greenville, SC, that evening for their annual Pre-Labor Day Jubilee. Bro. Doug will be preaching, and his family will be singing in that service. There will also be other preaching and singing followed by a good time of food and fellowship. The service at White Horse Heights Baptist will begin at 7:30 P.M.
On Thursday, September 8, Bro. Doug will be preaching and the family will sing at the Broad River Baptist Church Tent Meeting in Rutherfordton, NC, where Bro. Brian Ezell is the pastor. There will be services under the tent each night this week, and the church family is invited to attend. These services will begin at 7:00 P.M.
During the month of December, our church family will have a great opportunity to hear and see what the Lord is doing in our country and around the world. On Sunday, December 11, we will have a special missions emphasis. Bro. Bob Patenaude, veteran missionary in the Far East and Asia will be our main speaker for the day. Brother Patenaude has had a unique ministry in very difficult regions of the world. In addition, he has a strong burden for American church planting. He understands firsthand the need for strong, Biblical, mission-minded churches here in the States. Your heart will be fed, challenged and convicted by the preaching of this dear man of God.
We will also have Bro. Steve Nissley, veteran pastor/church planter from the Northeast region of the United States with us that day. Brother Nissley has raised a Godly family, and he has served the Lord faithfully through many trials. Several years ago, his family encountered their darkest valley when his wife was severely affected by an error in a medical procedure. His self-sacrificing love for his wife and family through this difficulty has been an inspiration to many. While our hearts will be blessed by his preaching and burden for remote regions in our country, we will also be touched by the “Calvary love” demonstrated in this family.
Bro. Joe Rhodes from Billings, WV, will also be with us that day. Brother Rhodes and his family are currently on deputation, raising support to be church planters in the state of Montana. He is a Godly young man, sold-out to the will of God for his life, and he has a supportive wife and children. We will certainly be inspired by the veteran missionaries with us that day, but we will also be blessed by the Rhodes family, and to see that God is still calling young families who are surrendered to giving God the “strength of their youth.”
Progress Baptist Church will not have a more important Sunday during 2011! What a privilege it is to be involved in what God is doing in these days. Let’s pray and ask God to touch our hearts. Let’s prepare our hearts to receive what He has for us. Let’s trust God to give these men EXACTLY what we need to challenge us and strengthen us in our love for souls; both around the world, in our own country, and in our own community. As 2011 ends, my prayer as pastor is that every individual and family in the church will increase their commitment to pray and give to missions in the New Year 2012.
December is a month when we celebrate the fact that Jesus came from Heaven to pay the penalty for our sins. While we rejoice in the virgin birth, let’s also turn our hearts this year to those who have never heard, “Why He Came!”
Congratulations to the Progress Voice, our Bible quiz team made up of six young people from the church family. Saturday, August 20 marked the beginning of the 2011-2012 quiz year in the Piedmont Quizzing Association, and quizzers from four states competed. This month’s quiz covered John chapters 1-4, and the team did a great job, winning both of their quizzes. In the first quiz, a team bonus was awarded because five different team members had answered correctly. It is always exciting to see the entire group working toward a common goal!
Our goal and prayer in the quiz program is the the Holy Spirit will guide these young people, and that they will submit to the eternal truth they are hiding in their heart. It is possible to participate in Bible quiz for purely academic reasons, but our prayer as a church family is that these young people will use these verses as an anchor for their soul.
God bless you, young people! We’re thankful for your hard work and great testimony today!
For several months at Progress Baptist we’ve been studying the spiritual gifts outlined in Romans 12. For the first several weeks, we studied the foundation needed to properly exercise our spiritual gifts. We then moved on to the framework necessary to give structure and guidance for the most effective use of those gifts. A few weeks ago, we actually began studying the individual gifts and their use in edifying the Body of Christ, the Church, as well as in the spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ.
While studying the gift of teaching (Romans 12:7), I was once again reminded, but in a more powerful way than ever before, of the responsibility of responding properly to the teaching of the Word of God. Praise God for those who have the gift of teaching and use it well. But what responsibility do we have as hearers?
The answer is clear. When it is plain to see that the teacher/preacher of God’s Word has rightly divided the Scripture, we must obey! Certainly, we have a responsibility to search the Scriptures ourselves, not with a critical spirit, but with a heart’s desire to see if these things are so. (Acts 17:11) As hearers, our clearest command, however, as described in James 1:22-25, is to be doers of the Word. There is a great amount of good, solid, Bible preaching and teaching in our day. There is not, however, an equal proportion of obedience.
It is interesting to note that the same chapter in Acts (17) that commends the believers at Berea for searching the Scriptures daily also describes the three primary responses you will see any time the Word of God is declared. In verses 32 – 34, we see that some mocked, while others waited to make a decision (remember – slow obedience is disobedience!), and finally there were those who believed and cleaved to the Word and to those who had taught them.
Each time you have the privilege of receiving the Word, be sure to respond properly. Only in the past few hundred years have we had such free access to the Scripture. By failing to respond properly to His revelation of Himself, we can limit the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, homes, and churches. Luke 12:48 tells us that we will give account for the great truth and teaching we have received. Let’s search our hearts and be sure we are responding properly.
