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October 2020 Volume 7 Issue 1
continued on page 3
Dear Church Family,
I made my way down the narrow aisle and found my seat on the last row of the plane. I sat down beside an older gentleman
wearing a pinstriped suit and tie, the travel attire of a past generation. Once the plane reached altitude, I took out my laptop and
began applying the final coats of lacquer to my sermon notes for the next morning. After a few minutes of listening to me pecking
away at the keyboard, the gentleman leaned over and asked, “What are you working on?” “Oh,” I stammered, “this is my sermon
for tomorrow. I’m a pastor.” His brow furrowed, “Really! What’s your church like?” What’s your church like? It’s an interesting question that I found deceptively
difficult to succinctly answer. How would you answer that question? Perhaps the
more pressing question is: What should the church be like? In Acts, Luke paints a
portrait of the church in its infancy. Though she’s far from perfect, we see that the
church was devoted to the bold preaching and teaching of the Word of God (Acts 6:1-4).
It was a church marked by vibrant fellowship and selfless community (Acts 2:42-47).
But I think one of the most superlative qualities of the infant church is also one of
the most overlooked. From its earliest days, Christ’s church has been devoted to
prayer (Acts 1:14, 2:42, 6:4). But why should the church be devoted to prayer? Three answers come to mind:
Prayer Is Powerful. In the eyes of the world, we are not a mighty people. We are
not impressive or in vogue. We are a needy people; spiritually sick souls in need of a
physician; sinners in need of a Savior; bona fide members of the “losers club,” but
made more than conquerors through the empty cross and tomb of Jesus Christ.
Finite, frail, and fallible, we are utterly dependent upon the Lord our God for all
things. “In Him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:8). Well did the
hymn writer say, “I need Thee, O, I need Thee; ev’ry hour I need Thee.”
The Lord has sweetly and sovereignly appointed prayer as the instrument of divine
invitation and intervention. Prayer is our celestial SOS beacon! Jesus promised his
disciples, “If two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for
them by my Father in heaven” (Mat 18:19). James, the Lord’s brother, explained,
Inside Letter from Jim
Page 1 Our Children’s Joy in Christ
Women’s Ministry News
Page 2 Salute to Rodney Gillentine
October Birthday List
Page 3 Prayer Needs
Stewardship at FPC
Music Ministry Notes
Page 4
Worship at FPC
• Sundays at 8:30 & 10:45 a.m. and 6 p.m.
• Wednesday service of Bible study, prayer,
and singing at 6:30 p.m.
• All services are available online via
livestream.com/fpc-tv
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and the prayers. Acts 2:42 ESV
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Women’s Ministry News by Sara Robertson, President of Women’s Ministry
Are you a female member of this church and at least 21 years
old? Well, congratulations!! That means you’re a part of
the Women’s Ministry of this Church!! As such, you are
invited to attend the monthly council meetings on the first
Tuesday of each month and weekly Bible studies and to get
plugged into the committees that match your spiritual
gifts!!
We have a Facebook page called ‘Women’s Ministry, The
First Presbyterian Church, Hattiesburg, MS’. It is a closed
group just for our women. If you aren’t already on, please
join us, and one of our admins will get you in on the
fun! We are currently printing the 2020-2021 yearbook…
they are free!! They should be available soon…grab one at
the church entrance when we meet.
This is an odd time to participate in Women’s Ministry, but
it is our prayer that God will unfold beautiful ways for us to
minister to one another and to our community. He has no
barriers, friends, and we can trust His plans and ways.
With that being said, what are your spiritual gifts? What has
God made you uniquely good at? We will be sharing some
exciting information on our Facebook page on ways to be
involved in our current committees. But we want to hear
from you! What ideas for this ministry do you have? After
all, this is for YOU! Maybe God made us for such a time as
this, sisters!! (More on this to come).
In the meantime, if you have any questions, please reach out
to me or another active member. Your 2020-21 officers
are: Vice President - Julie Durfield; Secretary - Frances
Alston; Treasurer - Allison Rester; Historian - Claudia
Powell; and Parliamentarian - Virginia Morris. We also
have these past presidents in our midst providing wise
counsel…Caroline Grubbs and Mary Abraham.
Love to you, sisters! May we be a ‘City on a Hill’ for the
Lord!
Children’s Ministry by Kathy Young, Director of Children’s Ministry
Our Children’s Joy in Christ
One thing that always makes me smile is hearing children
sing about joy. From my office, I can hear Mrs. Whitney
Middleton leading her preschool music class in “I’ve got
joy down in my heart, deep deep down in my heart.” I
love it! A favorite VBS song has always been, “I’ve got the
joy, joy, joy, joy, down in my heart.” And, now you’re
saying, “Where?” Joy is a precious gift. Joy doesn’t
depend on our circumstances and is not an emotion like
happiness. Joy goes much deeper and is rooted deep in
our souls—thanks to the work of the Holy Spirit.
I’ve been thinking about joy a great deal lately, about how
I want our children to experience joy, especially now,
when all that we know is different. They may have
questions, or get discouraged, or just get tired of the
many adjustments that have to be made in our lives. It
can be easy to dwell on the hard things. We’re human. If
we want our children to emerge from this challenge with
their joy intact, let’s work together to continually point
them to Jesus, the source of all joy.
We can first pray for our children to abide in the Lord,
and we can pray this for ourselves. Without this deep
abiding, our efforts fall flat. As we pray and trust God in
all things, we can share with our children about the good
things God is doing. We can talk about the big things
(salvation) and the seemingly small (nice weather) in
light of God’s work in the world and his presence with
his people. We can help our children look for ways to be
delighted in His goodness. We can sing joyful, truthful
songs over our children. Even when we are sad, we can
remember the promises of God and that he always keeps
them.
Promoting hearts of joy in our kiddos is the Lord’s work
and he has given us the privilege of growing them up in
Him. My prayer is that while we focus on helping our
children be joy-filled, we will become changed in this as
well. We will focus on the goodness in the midst of bad
things, the delights in the midst of challenges, and the
light of the Lord in the midst of the dark.
But let all who take refuge in you rejoice; let them ever sing for joy, and spread your protection over them, that those who love your name may exult in you. PSALM 5:11
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We salute
Rodney Gillentine
on his dedicated service
to First Pres. during
the past ten years!
Letter from Jim continued from page 1
“the prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working” (James 5:16).
Do you pine for spiritual victory? Do you long for help and healing? Do you hope to see the church filled and the lost saved? Does your heart ache for the state of our nation and culture? Then let us be devoted to prayer because prayer
is powerful!
Prayer is unifying. Prayer mysteriously tunes the blessed tie that binds. It welds
our hearts together as a people. The 19th century Presbyterian, J.W. Alexander,
wrote, “There is no way in which we can more surely increase mutual love than
by praying for one another… Dissension or coldness cannot abide between those
who bear each other to God’s throne in supplication… Often has the tenderness
of a half-dying attachment been renewed and made young again, when the
parties have found themselves kneeling before the mercy seat.” Do we desire to be a church of singular passion; namely, the glory of Jesus Christ and the salvation of sinners? Do we wish for love and friendship to reign over our fellowship? Do we intend to be inoculated against division and stand against schism? Then let us be devoted to prayer because prayer is unifying!
Prayer is pleasing. B.M. Palmer called prayer the “language of worship,” and
“the prostration of the soul in humility before God.” Few things are more
pleasing to Christ than a church of ransomed sinners, His own blood-bought
bride, the choir of the redeemed lifting their voices to Him in prayer. In
Revelation, John saw the prayers of the saints rising before the throne in heaven
as sweet incense (Revelation 5:8). Paul encouraged the church in Rome saying,
“May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such
harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, that together you may
with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans
15:5-6). So, take up your instrument of prayer and join the symphony. Let us
be devoted to prayer because prayer is pleasing to the Lord. At First Presbyterian Church we are devoted to prayer. That’s why so much of
our Sunday morning and evening worship services are dedicated to calling upon
the Lord. That’s why each and every Sunday school opens and closes in prayer.
That’s why so many of you receive regular prayer requests from Pastor Knox and
other members of our staff.
Our devotion to prayer takes front and center stage during our Wednesday night
prayer meetings. Each week, the aim of our prayers locks onto a different, God-
honoring, target: the work of the church, the specific needs of our church
family, the civil magistrate, and our missionaries. I hope that you will consider
making our Wednesday night prayer meeting a regular fixture in your week. A
church truly gripped by the grace of God will be a church on its knees. A people
filled with the Holy Spirit will be a people devoted to prayer. May it be said of
us; may it be true of us: they were a praying people.
Your Grateful Servant,
Jim McCarthy Jim McCarthy
October Birthdays
1 - Steve Everett, Cindy Dawson
2 - Dot Guice, Matthew Wiggins
3 - Charlotte Manning, Bob Satcher,
Julia McCarthy
4 - Barbara Sytsma, Grant Bennett,
Daniel Jussely, Hayden Bailey, Catherine Smith
5 - Catherine Childress
6 - Mary Smith, Katie Walley, Tyler McGraw,
Colter Durfield, Christian Pearson, Briggs Walley
7 - Rob King, Elizabeth Wohleber
8 - Pat Raulston, Carol Walker, Garrett Jones,
Easton Kelley
9 - James Duncan, Stuart Rich, Elizabeth Tullos,
Brandon Chambless, Carey Norris
10 - Olivia Clemons, Kray Johnson,
Margaret Olmsted
11 - Ben Butler
12 - Ashley Roberts
13 - Kendy Kosko, Kerry Camille Helveston
14 - Carlisle Washburne
15 - Frankie Freeman, Richard Poole,
Merrick Jackson, Emmaline Morgan
16 - Rodney Gillentine
17 - John R. Jackson, Eric Dice, Andrew Newman,
Ford Benton
18 - Rob Morris
19 - Wendel Ruff, Arden Payne
20 - Maggie Cox
21 - Myrt Smith
22 - Paulette Lewis
23 - Bettye Duncan, Lisa Gunnufsen,
Cameryn Null
24 - Marcia Gatewood, Laura Pennebaker,
Mary Allston Bennett
25 - Allison Rester
26 - Dorothy Bradford, Kerrin Hightower,
Elizabeth Gregg, Quentin Nichols, Hannah Flynt
27 - Vance McKellar, Eric Burleigh, Keaton Riley
28 - David Conway
29 - Liz Cox, Buddy Lewis, Hatten Jussely
30 - Mary Chancellor, Gene Morris, Nikki Acord
31 - Kevin Love
4901 Hardy Street Hattiesburg, MS 39402
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. POSTAGE PAID
HATTIESBURG, MS
PERMIT NO. 47
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
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Music Ministry Notes by Dr. Jesse Noote, Director of Music Ministries
Empty pews produce soundless sanctuaries. Never has
this reality been more evident than in the last six
months. Because singing is a Scripturally mandated
element of worship, it is the duty of congregants to break
forth in jubilant song whenever we gather. Our faith is a
singing faith. Lifting our voices together not only pleases
the Lord but strengthens and reinforces the strands that
hold the church together. It is as if each voice adds a
thread. The fuller the singing, the stronger the braid.
In other words, you have been missed! After what
seemed like an eternity without our principal instrument
of worship – the human voice – it is so good to hear the
sanctuary slowly filling again with the sound of our
beloved congregation singing His praise. We look
forward to the return of full and unfettered worship
when every corner of our sanctuary is covered with the
sound of Spirit-filled voices.
We long to see your churches full,
that all the chosen race
may, with one voice and heart and soul,
sing your redeeming grace.
Isaac Watts
(601) 268-0303
fpcpca.net
Prayer Needs
If you would like to request prayer
for a particular need,
you may contact any of our ministry staff
or email your request to [email protected].
Stewardship at FPC
Offering plates are available at the doors on Sundays.
If you wish to make a gift to the church, you may also:
• Give online at www.fpcpca.net/giving1
• Mail or drop off at:
4901 Hardy Street
Hattiesburg, MS 39402