On February 1, Brother Jerry Sexton (Bearing Precious Seed) called to give our church an invitation to participate in National Bible Publishing Month during the month of February. This year, four specific doors had been opened to the folks at BPS; Southern Sudan, Zambia, Philippines, and Mexico. We were familiar with the ministry and definitely sensed that God was leading us to be a part of spreading His Word in this way.
The church family immediately began praying about a special offering that would be received on Sunday, February 26 for this cause. In addition, a coin offering that had been received for the past year was also designated for the Bible-publishing offering. During the last week of February the coin offering was totaled and came to right at $1,100! We were excited about this great start!
On Sunday morning, February 26, Brother Sexton preached a challenging message from Esther about the urgency of getting the message out to a lost world. God continued to work and move in the service, and soon it was offering time! God had touched hearts, and His people were obedient, and when the total was given, $4,250 had come in for this year’s Bible-publishing offering! In addition to the blessing of being able to give, God has has blessed our church with a spirit of sensitivity to the Word, and we are seeing Him honor simple obedience. When God’s people respond to the Light of His Word, He always responds by giving them MORE Light to walk in!
To God be the glory, great things He hath done! We are praying and expecting God to continue to work mightily at Progress Baptist!
One thing you can count on in today’s American culture; your marriage will be attacked by the winds, rain, and floods of our perverted, sin-sick society. Praise the Lord, we have the Word of God as our foundation. At Progress Baptist Church, the first weekend in March has been devoted to taking a Biblical look at marriage.
Evangelist Randy Sutherland and his family will be with us the entire weekend, and we are praying for God to give Brother Sutherland the very messages we need to help us build strong marriages and homes for His glory. Satan, the enemy of God and everything that is pure and holy is relentless in his attacks on the home, and the sad truth is; many young couples today have never seen a Bible-based marriage. God’s Word is still true, however, and the truths we find in its pages will work in every culture.
The weekend will begin with a relaxing time of fellowship, meal, and short message on Saturday evening. Then on Sunday, Brother Sutherland will be preaching in both the morning and evening services. Pray with us for this special weekend, and to those who are looking for a strong, Bible-believing church for your home and family, why not come and spend the weekend with us on March 3 and 4? We’d love to have you as our guests!
Last year, God gave us three special days in early April; days that set the tone for the remainder of the year! Several in the church family have wondered if God was leading us to have this meeting on a regular basis, but it was only a couple of months ago that God gave clear direction to once again have three days of special services at the beginning of April. So, beginning Sunday, April 1 through Tuesday evening, April 3, we will enjoy a “Spring Jubilee”!
Services will be at normal times on Sunday, and then on Monday evening, April 2, we will begin at 6:30 P.M., allowing us enough time for three preachers! On Tuesday morning, service will begin at 9:30 A.M. followed by a nice lunch for all of our guests and the church family. Tuesday evening, we will begin at 6:30 P.M., and once again three great men of God have been scheduled to preach God’s Word!
God has graciously put many details in order already, and we are eagerly anticipating what He has in store for us! We hope many of our friends will make plans to be with us during these days.
Here is a partial list of the men you will hear during these days of Jubilee!
Pastor Joe Cox, Pastor Tony Finney, Pastor James Jones, Pastor Johnny Jones, Pastor Joshua Jones, Pastor Bruce Robinson, Pastor Larry Wells, Pastor Lee Davis, and Pastor Alfred Willis.
On Friday and Saturday, February 24 and 25, several of our teen-agers along with our pastor and his wife, will be traveling to Victory Baptist Church in Milton, FL, for a youth conference. Please pray for our young people that God will use the preaching of His Word to meet each of their individual needs.
On Saturday, March 3, twelve of our teen-agers and elementary-age children will be participating in the Blue Ridge Invitational Bible Quiz Tournament hosted by Temple Baptist Church and School in Asheville, NC. This will a first-time opportunity to participate in Bible quiz for many of our young folks, and we are looking forward to having them introduced to the opportunity to learn God’s Word in this manner! Quizzing will begin at 9:00 A.M., and will last until late afternoon or early evening.
The first weekend in March will be a special time for the Progress Baptist family. In keeping with our theme of “A Sure Foundation” we are focusing our attention on what God says specifically on the topic of marriage. Surely marriages and the Christian family are under attack in our culture, and a firm grasp of what God says on these issues is the only hope we have of building homes that will thrive and be everything God intends for them to be.
Saturday evening, March 3, we will enjoy a nice banquet together. Evangelist Randy Sutherland will be our guest speaker for the evening, as well as for the Lord’s Day services. We are looking forward to what God has in store for us!
During this week, WGCR, a ministry of Anchor Baptist Church in Pisgah Forest, NC, will host its annual Share-a-Thon. WGCR is a sound, fundamental ministry that touches many lives here in the tri-state area, as well as around the world via the internet. It is an honor for Progress Baptist Church to support what God is doing through Christian radio on this station. Please pray for this ministry and for God’s provision throughout the week. In the Friday evening service, our pastor’s family will be singing, and Dr. David Gibbs will be preaching. Pastor Randy Barton’s burden for this service is an emphasis on the family, and we are praying for God to do a great work in many hearts that evening.
The church family is encouraged to pray for the Share-a-Thon for WKJV in Asheville, NC. This is a fundamental ministry that our church is honored to support. Christian radio touches many lives; oftentimes lives that we never see. Please remember this ministry during the week, and pray for God’s provision.
Immediately following the morning service, the Erwin family and all those who can join them will be leaving for Cardinal Care in Hendersonville. This is a weekly ministry for the Erwins, and each month many of the church family enjoy going along to provide special music and to minister to the residents there. Nursing homes are a great place to share the love of Christ! Please pray for this important ministry.
Sunday, February 26, 2012, will be a special day for Progress Baptist Church as we give our first annual “National Bible Publishing Month” offering. Bearing Precious Seed ministries, located in Milford, Ohio, promotes the month of February each year as a time for Bible-believing churches to receive special offerings dedicated to the publishing of God’s Word.
The Progress Baptist Church family has been receiving a coin offering for almost a year, and all of this money will be designated for the Bible-publishing offering. In addition, 50 or more coin folders, holding $5 in quarters each, were taken by the church family. (What a blessing it was to see our small Spanish congregation in Lancaster, SC, as they excitedly took their coin folders last week during our 3-day revival! When I told them one of the countries targeted for distribution in the coming year for Bearing Precious Seed Ministries was the country of Mexico, their smiles and gratitude were very touching!)
In addition to all of the coin offering given for this cause, we will have a “pass the plate” offering on Sunday morning the 26th. What a blessing to anticipate what God will allow our church family to be a part of in this great ministry! God’s Word is so powerful and effective, and we know that, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word!”
Bro. Jerry Sexton from Bearing Precious Seed will be with us on the morning of the 26th, and we are looking forward to a wonderful day in God’s house.
