Updated Music Schedule

Hebrews 13:15: “Through Him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge His name.”

Special music is a very meaningful part of the corporate worship at GMBC. It’s a great extension of the Praise Team’s ministry! I want it to be “special” in a couple ways: That it is unique – not the normal routine of that week’s music ministry. And that it is a sacrifice of praise in our own hearts – acknowledging His Name.

Thank you for letting me put your name on this schedule! Please put together a song which could include a solo, duet, trio, or group of any size! It could include you, or members of your family, or you and a friend. Vocal or instrumental…or both! Be creative…and enjoy!

This schedule is very flexible. You can switch with someone else if the date indicated doesn’t work for you. Please confirm your plans with the praise team leader for the week you are scheduled, so that we will know where to include you in the service. I know your participation will be a blessing and encouragement to both you and others.

Thanks again,

Leeanne

SCHEDULE

Oct. 16 - Teen Group (It would be cool to see a group of teens…SAYIT age
through Saints Alive. I’d be happy to help organize.)

Oct. 30 - Men’s Quartet (Come on guys…you can do it!)

Nov. 6 - Davis

Nov. 20 - Lenoir

Dec. 4 - Piano/organ duet

December - Cantata Choir (any week)

Great Article for our Worship Teams

Below is a link to an article I came across tonight. I thought it was a good reminder.

How To Fail As A Worship Leader In 10 Easy Steps

Vacation Bible School

VBS begins Tuesday, July 5th

9:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon

at Straits E-Free Church

Services for Trisha Litzner

"God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

though its waters roar and foam,

though the mountains tremble at its swelling."

Psalm 46:1-3 (ESV)

Services for Trisha will be held Tuesday, June 21, at the

Little Bear East Conference Center

Visitation: 11:00 - 1:00

Memorial Service: 1:00

Burial to follow

Luncheon at Glen Memorial Baptist Church following the burial service.

(church members: please contact Linda Schlehuber regarding food preparations for the luncheon.)

Camp Week

As we get ready to send 60 campers to Lake Ann Camp this week, its worth asking what makes Lake Ann so special. There are many answers, but consider their core values:

1. Christ First in Love and Life.
2. We're all About Trust.
3. Life Application Discovered.
4. Program Intentionally.
5. Ask the Question that Begs Asking.
6. Challenge by Choice.
7. You Cannot Teach an Unhappy Camper.
8. If Its Not Broke, Break It.
9. Camp is Not an Island.
10. Unique Learning Experiences.

Read more about these values here.

Bonhoeffer on the Fifth Beatitude: Blessed are the Merciful

"These men without possessions or power, these strangers on earth, these sinners, these followers of Jesus, have in their life with him renounced their own dignity, for they are merciful. As if their own needs and their own distress were not enough, they take upon themselves the distress and humiliation and sin of others. They have an irresistible love for the down-trodden, the sick, the wretched, the wronged, the outcast and all who are tortured with anxiety.

...In order that they may be merciful they cast away the most priceless treasure of human life, their personal dignity and honor. For the only honor and dignity they know is their Lord's own mercy, to which they owe their very lives.

...One day God himself will come down and take upon himself their sin and shame. He will cover them with his own honor and remove their disgrace. It will be his glory to bear the shame of sinners and to clothe them with his honor. Blessed are the merciful, for they have the Merciful for their Lord."

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship

On the Beatitudes and Obedience

"The Beatitudes are among the literary are religious treasures of the human race. Along with the Ten Commandments, the Twenty-Third Psalm, The Lord’s Prayer, and a very few other passages from the Bible, they are acknowledged by almost everyone to be among the highest expressions of religious insight and moral inspiration. We can savor them, affirm them, meditate upon them, and engrave them on plaques to hang on our walls. But a major question remains: How are we to live in response to them?"

Dallas Willard, The Divine Conspiracy

Honoring the Graduates

Please make plans to join us next Sunday, June 5, as we honor the graduates that have been a part of the Saints Alive Youth Ministries. There are ten of them. They have many accomplishments in their high school years for which to give God thanks. Our prayer is that they will seek "first the kingdom of God and His righteousness..."

Saints Alive Web Page

There is now a link to the Saints Alive webpage on the Home page of the GMBC blog as well as on the Saints Alive tab of the blog. Check it out. The Saints Alive calendar is on the youth webpage. Will do my best to keep it updated.

Upcoming Sermon Series

I plan to begin a new sermon series this Sunday from the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5:1-7:29). In Matthew's Gospel, there is a general pattern of narrative backdrop followed by an extended portion of Jesus' teaching. You may want to read chapters 3 and 4 for the backdrop to the Sermon on the Mount.

D. Martin Lloyd-Jones, London's WWII pastor, wrote concerning this text,

If you want to have power in your life and to be blessed, go straight to the Sermon on the Mount. Live and practice it and give yourself to it... Face the Sermon on the Mount and its implications and demands, see your utter need, and then you will get it. It is the direct road to blessing.

...I suggest to you it [this passage of Scripture] is the best means of evangelism... The world today is looking for, and desperately needs, true Christians.

...If only all of us were living the Sermon on the Mount, men would know that there is dynamic in the Christian gospel; they would know that this is a live thing; they would not go looking for anything else. They would say, 'Here it is.' And if you read the history of the Church you will find it has always been when men and women have taken this sermon seriously and faced themselves in the light of it, that true revival has come. And when the world sees the truly Christian man, it not only feels condemned, it is drawn, it is attracted."

Welcome to Our Church Blog

Well, our church is finally arriving on the internet.
We've been experimenting with this blog as a tool for our 'face' on the internet and so far we really like the dynamics of this tool as opposed to a full blown web site. It is easy to work with and allows some interaction.

Please browse around the various page tabs and let us know what you think.

Praise Team wins Lottery!

Just wanted to see if anyone on the Praise team(s) is reading the BLOG. I know I have not used as much as I thought I would but I want to...(wow, that sounds like a line from the president's speech...the "I" man.) Anyhooo, send a reply and let me know.
Share with me your thoughts of what you think our Worship Mission & goals should be.

This Sunday is Joe's Team: Steve, Donna, Kristin, Becky, Merv, Dave, Zach, Leeanne. There will be practice on Wednesday night. THANKS!

Team Leaders' Meeting

On Sunday, May 1st, we will be having another Team Leaders' meeting during our Sunday school hour. I anticipate having these meetings once a quarter. Though it may seem at times that we are on a roller coaster ride with Team Ministry within the church, we have made progress. As expressed in our covenant agreement, I believe that every Christian has been given a spiritual gift. In addition to that, God has equipped every person with certain talents and passions. Team ministry seeks to link those three things together to aid in the ministry of GMBC.

Wrapped around the "love" chapter of scripture (I Corinthians 13) are two chapters about spiritual gifts. Chapter 12 encourages us to recognize ourselves as being a part of the bigger whole and chapter 14 gives instruction for the church in using all the gifts. The ultimate end to using these gifts according to I Corinthians 14:26 "...Let all things be done for edification."

Team Ministry is really a ministry of Ephesians 4:12!
Ephesians 4:11-13 "And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and
some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of
the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of
Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the
Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the
fullness of Christ."

Team Leaders, you are encouraged to engage the people of GMBC in using their gifts, talents and passions to fulfill the work of Ephesians 4:12. It is both an avenue of allowing people to use their gifts as well as a tool to reach out and help those that need help both in the church and in the greater community that we live in.

Revelation 22

In Ephesians 1:7-10 Paul writes,
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fulness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth." (ESV)

The closing chapters of Revelation speak to this completion of all God's purposes in redemption, at which time God in Christ will finally and fully restore all that was lost by our sinfulness. Consider God's work of restoration, of re-creation as it is highlighted by a comparison of Genesis 1-3 and Revelation 20-22...

"In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Gen. 1:1
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth..." Rev. 21:1

"...the darkness he called Night." Gen. 1:5
"...and there will be no night there." Rev. 21:25

SAY-IT Activities

The school year is quickly winding down (only 8 weeks left) and that means that SAY-IT is winding down for the school year. We will be posting a list of the Summer activities here on the blog page. So far, we are planning on a day at the Doepker's, a trip to The Mystery Spot, and an evening on the Go-Karts! If there are other ideas, please let me know.

Sermons from the 'Cloud'

Check out the new page tab "sermon audio." Personally I can't say that I'm all that excited about my sermons being available to the world, but I don't think there will be too many flocking to our web page to hear my sermons. This is a cool way to make them available to our congregation though.

Thanks to Jonathan who solved the recording issues and Jimmy who figured out how to get things up and running on this site.

Question Concerning Comments

Donna had asked a question about making comments. I thought I would answer here where everyone is likely to see it.

Only designated 'authors' can create new blog posts. Anyone can add comments to existing posts.

Every new post shows up at the top of the 'home page.' and older posts follow below it. (We can set preferences for how many and how long the older posts remain on the 'home page.')

Every post gets a label(s) and all posts - current and past, are listed under two links on the side bar on the right: by label and by month.

Worship Team is Awesome!

Hello everyone. Just wanted to say hi in case Pastor pulls up this screen during our meeting. Hope to see you there. Well maybe I am seeing you right now. Later

Bonhoeffer on Reading Scripture

In a 1936 letter to his brother-in-law Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote,
"First of all I will confess quite simply - I believe that the Bible alone is the answer to all our questions, and that we need only to ask repeatedly and a little humbly, in order to receive this answer. One cannot simply read the Bible, like other books. One must be prepared really to enquire of it. Only thus will it reveal itself. Only if we expect from it the ultimate answer, shall we receive it. that is because in the Bible God speaks to us. And one cannot simply think about God in one's own strength, one has to enquire of him.
...If it is I who determine where God is to be found, then I shall always find a God who corresponds to me in some way, who is obliging, who is connected with my own nature. But if God determines where he is to be found, then it will be in a place which is not immediately pleasing to my nature and which is not at all congenial to me. This place is the Cross of Christ. And whoever would find him must go to the foot of the Cross..."

What is the Gospel?

G.O.S.P.E.L. from Humble Beast Records on Vimeo.

Church Library

I added a link to the church's online library catalog. It is down on the right side-bar.

Too Many Design Templates

I was experimenting with different designs and colors. Obviously this one is quite simple and meant to appear very clean. What do you think?

Take Note

Linda has been experimenting with the google calendar and has added several items. For those looking for another way to keep track of your life, you could make your own google calendar and from the church calendar, select 'copy to my calendar' from any event's pop-up window.

Added a Link Today

It is amazing how easy it is to add these elements. Over on the side bar I added a link to D.A. Carson's blog - which is a daily post from his two-volume devotional series entitled, For the Love of God. I have found these devotionals very rich and insightful.

Enjoy!

Ideas / Suggestions

Please add comments here to make any suggestions for improvements to this site.
Thanks for your help!

Check Out the Calendar Page!

Be impressed now, I actually cut and pasted "html code" to make this work. I think I'll need a pocket-protector soon.
On that page is a google calendar, which Linda will keep updated. It is very nice for her because she will not have to update the blog with every new event. When she makes a change to her calendar, it will automatically show up here.
Notice the buttons/tabs at the top of the calendar which advance to future months as well as change the view to daily, monthly, or agenda.
Click on an event and a pop-up will show details for that event.

Revelation 20

Here are several cross-references related the patience of God in judgment:

Exodus 34:6,

Psalm 86:15,

Psalm 103:8,

Romans 2:4,

Romans 9:22,

2 Peter 3:9, 15

Miller Update

Miller's have sold their house and have all the funds needed to cover the short-sale!

Here is a link to their blog.

Welcome Praise Team Members

Glad you found us!

We're looking for an effective communication tool and so we're giving this blog a try. At this point, the blog is private - only invited members can read the posts and comments. Wow, don't you feel privileged. We'll keep it private until we get some of the kinks worked out and are ready to go public.

Currently, the team-leaders are listed as contributors, so they can add new posts. Everybody else is able to add comments to any post.

This is like a preliminary trial before going to a full-blown web page. The down side with the blog is its limitations with additional pages and that the 'blog conversation' itself is the 'home page.' The upside is it's free. Maybe we'll find this works so well, we will not need to go to a fee-based web-page.