December, 2017 “...encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11 Pottawatomie-Lincoln Baptist Association, Shawnee, OK ~ Dr. Russell R. Cook, Director of Missions Vol. 20, No. 12 EXECUTIVE BOARD The next regular meeting will be February 12, 2018 Meeting @ 10:30 Support Meeting February 12 @ 9:00 Mission Partnership February 12 @ 1:00 Association Office Closed December 25- January 2 for the Christmas Holiday. The office will reopen on January 3 Association Website www.plba.org State Evangelism Conference January 29-30 First Southern Del City Week of Prayer for International Missions ~ December 4-10 The gift of Love The gift of Peace The gift of Happiness May all these be yours at Christmas! Merry Christmas from your PLBA Staff
Transcript
December, 2017
“...encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” I Thessalonians 5:11
Pottawatomie-Lincoln Baptist Association, Shawnee, OK ~ Dr. Russell R. Cook, Director of Missions Vol. 20, No. 12
EXECUTIVE BOARD
The next regular meeting will be
February 12, 2018 Meeting @ 10:30
Support Meeting February 12 @ 9:00
Mission Partnership February 12 @ 1:00
Association Office Closed
December 25- January 2
for the Christmas Holiday.
The office will reopen on January 3
Association
Website
www.plba.org
State Evangelism
Conference
January 29-30
First Southern
Del City
Week of Prayer for International Missions ~ December 4-10
The gift of Love The gift of Peace
The gift of Happiness May all these be yours at Christmas!
Word of Encouragement “Twenty-Six Additions Sunday!”
On Sunday, November 4, 11:30 a.m. Marsha and I were worshipping with the First Baptist Church, Stroud. Pastor James Bond was preach-ing a powerful message from Psalm 50 about how different we are from God and how prone we are to ignore His discipline (v.17 “For you hate discipline”). He read Psalm 50:19 “You let your mouth loose in evil.” We left challenged to walk more closely to God’s will. All the while, there were some fifty to sixty people worshipping with the First Baptist Church, Southerland Springs, Texas. Associate Pas-tor, Bryan Holcombe was walking up to the pulpit to preach the morn-ing sermon (in the absence of the lead Pastor, Frank Pomeroy). Be-fore he could get up to the pulpit, he was immediately shot to death in a spray of gunfire delivered by Devin Kelley to the entire group. A total of 26 worshippers were killed and another 20+ severely wounded. Shortly after the massacre, Kelley took his own life with a self-inflicted gunshot to his head. Marsha and I enjoyed a very nice fellowship lunch with Stroud Pastor James Bond and his wife Leann. We talked about the progress of First Baptist, Stroud and the good things God is doing there. We had no idea that the “church massacre” had happened and only a handful of that Texas town’s First Baptist Church avoided the bullets. When we arrived home in Shawnee Sunday afternoon and heard of the shooting, we were shocked. And we did not then know that 8 of the 26 worshipers killed that day were from the Holcombe family. How could such a thing happen...and why? Franklin Graham speaks to the matter clearly, “We need look no further than mankind's rebellion and hostility toward Almighty God as the source of evil.” The heart of the matter is a matter of the heart and “the heart is more deceitful than all else and is desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9). Thank God, Jesus brings us eternal victory over sin and death! Twenty-six added to Heaven’s roll Sunday!
Encouragingly Yours, Russell Cook
It Might Preach! “A Word From God”
Acts 9:4-6; 13:2; 16:9-10; 18:9-10
Does God still “speak” to His people today? Can you really know if it’s God? Does He “speak” in only one way (i.e. Bible)? These have been puzzling questions for many of us. Obviously, we find answers from the way God spoke to others, particularly those in the Bible. One clear example of this is found in Acts as we read of God’s Word com-ing to Paul, the Apostle. God still speaks in some of these same ways and for some of these same purposes today.
I. God speaks in our CONVERSION (Acts 9:4-6) -to get us SAVED! A. He, first, get’s our ATTENTION (9:3b “...suddenly a light
from heaven flashed around him.”) B. He, then gives His ASSESSMENT (9:4b “...Saul, Saul,
why are you persecuting me?”) C. He, then, gives us His DIRECTION (9:6 “...get up and
enter the city; and it will be told you what you must do.”)
II. God speaks in our COMMISSION (Acts 13:2) -to get us into SERVICE! A. This involves the ACTIVITY of God’s Spirit (13:2b “...the
Holy Spirit said…”) B. This involves the ACTIONS of God’s Leader’s (13:1-2a) 1. There were PROPHETS and TEACHERS (13:1a) 2. These were MINISTERING and FASTING (13:2a) 3. These were PRAYING and OBEYING (13:2b-3)
III. God speaks in our CONCENTRATION (Acts 16:9-10) -to get us SENT OUT! (God speaks when we are ready to listen and obey) A. God speaks PROVIDENTIALLY (16:10a “...he had seen
the vision…”) B. God speaks PERSONALLY (16:10b “...we concluded
that God had called us…”) C. God speaks PURPOSEFULLY (16:10c “...to preach the
gospel to them.”)
IV. God speaks for our COURAGE (Acts 18:9-10) -to keep us STRONG! (When we feel defeated and want to quit or drop out, God
has a word:) A. Don’t be AFRAID (v. 9b “Don’t be afraid any longer…”) B. Don’t be SILENT (v. 9c “...go on speaking and do not be
silent.”) C. Don’t feel ALONE (v. 10 “I am with you… I have many
people in this city.”) D. Don’t GIVE UP (v. 11 “...he settled there a year and six
months…”)
Obviously, God does still speak! He will speak BY HIS SPIRIT, THROUGH HIS WORD, THROUGH HIS PEOPLE (Church) and THROUGH CIRCUMSTANCES. He will never speak in any way that is incompatible with His Word! The question is not, “Does God still speak?” The big question is, “Are we really listening, ready to obey?”
rrc
December 2017 2 OBU Hanging of the Green~ 7:00 p.m. 4-10 Lottie Moon IMB Week of Prayer 5 PLBA Christmas Banquet- Blackburn Chapel~ 6:30 p.m. 6 OBU Christmas Chapel ~ 10:00 a.m. 15 OBU Winter Commencement~ 2:00 p.m. 25-Jan. 2 PLBA Office CLOSED January 3 PLBA Office Reopens
A Nugget From My Spiritual Journey... Did you ever find yourself in a conundrum (puzzle) of emotions??? Perhaps we all have in recent days, due to the violent and heartbreaking news we keep hearing on every hand. When our sister church in Texas experienced their horrifying losses I think we hardly knew how to feel. As I write this late on a November Thursday night, we are just five days out from that shocking Sunday that rocked us all to the core of our beings. Here we are...headed into the Thanksgiving and Christmas months and we hardly know how to feel, with this added to the other senseless and violent losses around the world. When those things are combined with the hatred, criticism and absolute foolishness that we hear daily, I fear it begins to scar our very souls. Instead, we must always turn to the God of the universe, through the precious salvation of His Son, Jesus Christ. Without Him, we have no comfort, we have no hope. As I write this, we have just returned from a concert at FBC in Moore, OK, featuring the Singing Churchmen and Singing Churchwomen of Oklahoma and the singing group SELAH, out of Nashville. We received a surprise call today with some last-minute available concert tickets, for which I will be eternally grateful. Why? Because I immediately knew that this particular week, I NEED-ED the healing that music brings to my heart. Little did I know how God would move in many more hearts tonight! The music was a beautiful combination of Christmas music (not expected in early November) and just heart-healing gospel music/hymns, familiar to all. The Oklahoma musicians number 600+...SELAH is a group of 3! Added were thou-sands filling the auditorium—Oklahoma Baptists who love each other, music, and God. What a glorious time we had, including many times when the audi-ence joined in the singing. God was in that place! It even ministered to SELAH. Suddenly I felt like this was one place on the planet where the “Balm of Gilead” was being gently applied by our loving Heavenly Father to just weary and heartsick souls. Besides beloved songs and carols we all knew, there was a line (perhaps even the title) in a song new to me that I typed on my phone so I wouldn’t forget it: “I’ve Got Jesus, How Could I Want More?” Sometimes it is the simple truths that we forget to remember, especially as we hurt...
Merry CHRISTmas, my dear friends! Merry CHRISTmas! Marsha Cook, Director
TOTAL CHECKING AND SAVINGS TO BE ACCOUNTED FOR Beginning Bal. Income Expenses Ending Bal. 10-1-17 10-31-17 Budget -2,429.52 19,007.34 17,714.25 -1,136.43 Designated 196,696.65 203,360.30 Total Monies $194,267.13 $202,223.87
“Let this be recorded for a generation to come, that a
DEER CREEK has 80 1991 Red Hymnals in good condition and 25 1975 Mauve Hymnals in fair condition to give away. If interested contact Kathy Wallace at 918-866-2376. (Mike Haines, Pastor) FOREST will host their 7th Annual Community Christmas Dinner on Decem-ber 9. Everyone is invited to join them and bring a friend. (Jeff Bruton, Pastor)
Director of Missions ................................. Dr. Russell Cook, 405.273.4558 Moderator ..........................................................Joe Jones, 405.517.3640 Vice Moderator .............................................. Billy Benson, 405.595.1053 Treasurer ................................................... Mike Hazelwood, 405.29.2451 Clerk & Office Manager ............................ Janice Maynard, 405.273.4558 Media Manager ............................................ Tanya Bruton, 405.273.4558 Discipleship Director .................................. Nathan Howard, 405.432.9228 Family Director .......................................... Shawn Crawley, 405.229.5813 Worship Director ......................................... Jason Henson, 405.273.2105 Missions Director .......................................... Kirk Holloway, 405.258.0175 Support Director ..................................... Dr. Russell Cook, 405.273.4558 Youth Minister ......................................... Duncan Blackwell 405.273.5509 Licensed Counselor .......................................... Brett Ellard, 405.275.2222 Licensed Counselor ...................................... Larry Roberts, 405.275.2222
FAIRVIEW is prayerfully seeking a pastor. If interested please send resume to Mickey Sinor, Pastor Search Committee PO Box 126 Seminole, OK 74818 or email to [email protected] (Galen Jones, Interim Pastor)
FIRST, ST. LOUIS is prayerfully searching for a bi-vocational music minister. If interested please send resume to the personnel committee at [email protected] or P.O. Box 147, St. Louis OK 74866. (Brandon Leslie,
Pastor) FIRST, SHAWNEE is prayerfully seeking a pastor with a call to shepherd a diverse body of Christians. Send resumes to Robbie Henson, Pastor Search Committee, First Baptist Church, PO Box 1928, Shawnee, OK 74802 or email to [email protected]. (Paul Stevens, Interim Pastor) FIRST, STROUD is accepting resumes for a Part-time Plus and/or a Bi-Vocational worship leader. Please send resume to [email protected] or First Baptist Church, PO Box 600, Stroud, OK 74079. (James Bond, Pastor)
HOPEWELL is prayerfully seeking a pastor. If interested please send resume to Hopewell Baptist Church, Pastor Search Committee 33500 Hardesty Road, Shawnee OK 74801 or call Gerald Nowlin at 405-275-1799. NEW LIFE, NEWALLA is prayerfully searching for a part-time music minister. If interested please contact Pastor Rick Ham at 405-830-5216 or [email protected]. (Rick Ham, Pastor) TRINITY, MAUD is prayerfully searching for a bi-vocational youth minister. Resumes can be emailed to [email protected] or mailed to TBC, PO Box 177, Maud, OK 74854. (Butch Bradley, Pastor)
3 Rev. Bill Mitchell 20622 Hwy 102 Tecumseh, OK 74873 Retired Pastor
3 Mrs. Barbara (Paul) Calmes 2000 N. Broadway Shawnee, OK 74804 Retired Pastor’s Wife
4 Rev. Bill Howse, III 38714 Okay Rd. Wanette, OK 74878 Pastor, Victory Pointe
7 Bro. Lane Buckley PO Box 122 Wellston, OK 74881 Pastor, Trinity, Wellston
9 Mrs. Janice Maynard 1934 N. Broadway Shawnee, OK 74804 PLBA Office Manager
12 Rev. Mike Taylor 17403 Fishmarket Road McLoud, OK 74851 Pastor, Emmanuel, McLoud
13 Rev. Monte Dean 106800 S. 3450 Rd. Meeker, OK 74855 Pastor, Aydelotte
14 Mrs. Marsha (Russell) Cook 1313 Castle Creek Street Shawnee, OK 74804 Director of Mission’s Wife, PLBA
15 Mrs. Connie (Glenn) Peck 18 Comanche Circle Shawnee, OK 74801 Retired Pastor’s Wife
17 Mrs. Tina (Gary) Nickerson 36720 Moccasin Trail Shawnee, OK 74804 Pastor’s Wife, Hilltop
18 Mrs. Sally Stock 3901 N. Leo Shawnee, OK 74804 Former Pastor’s Wife
20 Rev. Danny Napier 3515 Ann Drive Tecumseh, OK 74873 Pastor, Rock Creek
24 Mrs. Mae (Bill) Mitchell 20622 Hwy 102 Tecumseh, OK 74873 Retired Pastor’s Wife
29 Rev. Lee Witt 39208 Moccasin Trail Shawnee, OK 74804 Pastor, Hazel Dell
3 Rev. & Mrs. Tuney Ropp 990795 S. 3330 Road Harrah, OK 73045 Retired Pastor
16 Rev. & Mrs. Monte Dean 106800 S. 3450 Rd. Meeker, OK 74855 Pastor, Aydelotte
18 Rev. & Mrs. Mike Mitchell PO Box 376 Davenport, OK 74026 Pastor, First, Davenport
19 Dr. & Mrs. Russell Cook 1313 Castle Creek Street Shawnee, OK 74804 Director of Missions, PLBA
19 Rev. & Mrs. Mark Streetman 300 36 Ave. SW #627 Norman, OK 73069 Pastor, First, Earlsboro
21 Rev. & Mrs. Galen Greenwalt 54 Father Murphy Drive Shawnee, OK 74801 Pastor, Earlsboro Indian
23 Rev. & Mrs. Jerry Gray 581 Peebly Road Choctaw, OK 73020 Pastor, Emmaus
29 Rev. & Mrs. Nathan Howard 130 E. 45th St. Apt. 15E Shawnee, OK 74804 Pastor, Pleasant Home
29 Rev. & Mrs. Billy Benson 31230 Old Highway 18 Macomb, OK 74852 Pastor, Macomb
