Phone (985) 839-3427Fax (985) 839-3572

E-mail:fbc.natasha@gmail.com

Websitewww.fbcfranklinton.org

Wednesday Evening Worship5:00 p.m. Family Supper6:00 p.m. Activities

Sunday Bible Study 9:15 a.m.

Sunday Morning Worship 8:15 a.m. & 10:30 a.m.

Sunday Evening Worship6:00 p.m.

The Bridge November 2014Monthly Newsletter of First Baptist Church Franklinton

Paul Watts, Pastorfbc.paulwatts@gmail.com

Therapeutic thanksgivingThe spiritual disciplines are important in the life of the growing dis-ciples of Jesus Christ. Prayer, Bible study, corporate and private worship, fasting, meditation, evangelism, and many others hold the potential to be used of the Holy Spirit to help us grow in holiness and usefulness to our Lord Jesus and His work. We should prac-tice the disciplines to the glory of Jesus, but there are benefits that we reap as we walk with the Lord and the fullness of His Spirit that are seen in our own personality, relationships, and emotional state. One such benefit is seen in the practice of thanksgiving as a regular part of prayer and worship. Taking time to pause and re-flect on God’s goodness and grace gives glory and honor to God and has emotional and spiritual, even mental health benefits for the follower of Christ. This principle is seen repeatedly in the Psalms as the psalmist lays injustice, sickness, weariness, and complaints before the Lord. This may go on at great length, but finally there is a turning point. The psalmist will finally turn and look to God. He will reaffirm his hope in the Lord and begin to thank the Lord for His help and sustaining power in times past and in days to come. Oh, that we might learn this lesson and apply it faithfully in our lives! Psalm 69 is a perfect illustration of this process.

Psalm 69:1-2 (HCSB) states: Save me, God, for the water has risen to my neck, I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing; I have come into deep waters, and a flood sweeps over me. David is cry-ing out to God in desperation as one who is overwhelmed. Sound familiar? He does not stop there. David continues to lay his com-plaint before the Lord for 29 verses. He complains because of the hatred of others toward him, his own sin, disgrace and shame he has borne, injustice he has been forced to endure, and his own emotional pain and despair. David holds nothing back, but finally there is a turning point. Verse 30 states: I will praise God’s name with song and exalt Him with thanksgiving. There needs to be a point in our prayer when we stop and realign ourselves in our rela-tionship with God. He is God. He is good and merciful. He is wor-thy of our praise. Thanksgiving helps us do this. It takes the focus off of us and places it on the Lord. How do people spiral into a place of depression? It begins with the inability or unwillingness to take their focus off of the issue(s) or problem(s) that plague them. When David begins to thank and praise the Lord he is reminded that his actions are to please the Lord, and to positively affect others. He states: That will please Yahweh more than an ox, more than a bull with horns and hooves. The humble will see it and rejoice. You who seek God, take heart! (vs. 31-32).

I want to encourage our congregation to practice some therapeutic thanksgiving this November! We will find it will honor the Lord, help our own walk with the Lord, and encourage those around us. Take some time and list some of the reasons you have to give God thanks, take these things to Him in prayer and worship daily, and then share them with someone else. I want to give you an oppor-tunity to share a testimony with our congregation this November. Use your smartphone, (or your grandkids’) to video yourself shar-ing your thanksgiving testimony. It should be no longer than 30 seconds. Send your video testimony to my email, fbc.paulwatts@gmail.com. We will use these videos on our church Facebook and in our worship services to praise the Lord and encourage each oth-er. It’s not about putting ourselves on display, but about giving glory and honor to God.

A Cup with Pastor Paul http://acupwiththepastor.blogspot.com

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Remember to submit your video of your

thankful testimony!

It shouldn’t be more than 30 seconds long.

Send the video to fbc.paulwatts@gmail.com.

Dale Parker,Minister to Senior

Adults& Discipleship Training

fbc.daleparker@gmail.com

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One of the marks of a mature Christian is an attitude of thankfulness. At Thanksgiving families and friends will gather around a ta-ble somewhere. Maybe they share a tradition like we do in our family where we each have an opportunity to say what we’re thankful for. Or, someone will maybe ask the blessing and give thanks for the meal. But how thank-ful are we really? And what are we really thankful for? Several years ago I started to list in my journal some of the things I’m thankful for, and I’d like to share some thoughts for this year with you in hope that you might be in-spired to make your own list of things you thank God for. First of all, I’m thankful for Jesus Christ who gave His life for mine on the cross, and for my salvation and the assurance of eternal life. (I was saved Thanksgiving Day, Novem-ber 25, 1995.) I’m thankful for my wife, Margie, who loves me and appreciates my sense of humor. I’m thankful for love. I’m thankful that my parents are still living and that I can call each one and tell them that I love them. I’m thank-ful for my step-mom who loves my dad and puts up with our nutty family. I’m thankful for my brothers and my sister and their fami-lies. I’m thankful for my children and my grand children, my step-children and grand-children, and our two great-grandsons, all of whom bring great joy to my heart. I’m thankful for the calling God has placed on my life. I’m thankful for His mercy and grace and patience with me when I get things wrong. I’m thankful for His love and His di-rection. I’m thankful for the vision He has given me for the people of Honduras. I’m thankful for Pastor David and Nellie and their family and for their ministry to the villages of Buena Vista and Guayabo. I’m thankful for Sam and Peggy Feazel and their ministry in Honduras. I’m thankful for prayer and my times of prayer-walking my neighborhood and re-membering the people I know there. I’m

thankful that people pray for me and care about me and my family. I’m thankful that God does hear our prayers and answers them according to His knowledge and will. I’m thankful that I’m part of the body of Christ at FBC Franklinton. I’m thankful for my ministry to our senior adults and the awe-some blessing that each one is to me. I’m so thankful that I’ve had the privilege to know some senior saints who have gone on to be with the Lord and for the lasting impression they have made in my heart. I’m thankful for the ministry of caring for my sweet mother-in-law whom I miss. I’m thankful for my friends on staff, for our comradery, our love for each other, and for the privilege of praying for them daily. The list could go on and on. Did you no-tice that there’s nothing material in here? God has richly blessed each of us beyond the material to the things that really matter. So grab a pen or pencil and a piece of paper and make your own list. Then share it with your family and friends.

Happy Thanksgiving, and as always, God bless,

Brother Dale

I am thankful for........

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Save the Date An Ignite Missions Fundraiser will be on

Thursday, November 13th at 6:00 P.M. here in our fellowship hall. Dinner will be at 6:30 p.m. Please RSVP to the office so we will

have a head count for the meal, it will be catered by Sugar Shack.

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning, and Your faithfulness every night, on an instru-ment of ten strings, on the lute, and on the harp, with harmonious sound. For You, Lord, have made me glad through Your work; I will triumph in the works of Your hands. O Lord, how great are Your works! Your thoughts are very deep. A senseless man does not know, nor does a fool understand this. When the wicked spring up like grass, and when all the works of iniquity flourish, it is that they may be destroyed forever. But You, Lord, are on high forevermore. For behold, Your enemies, O Lord, shall perish; and all the work-ers of iniquity shall be scattered. But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been annointed with fresh oil. My eye also has seen my desire on my enemies; my ears hear my desire on the wicked who rise up against me. The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree; he shall grow like a cedar of Lebanon. Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God. They shall still bear fruit in old age; they shall be fresh and flourishing, to declare that the Lord is upright; He is my rock, and there is no unrigh-teousness in Him.” Psalm 921:1-15 On December 7th there will be a Honduras Mission Team Interest meeting at 5 PM in

the Senior Adult Center. Dates for the trip are June 29th - July 5th, 2015.

Cody Thomas, Student Pastor

fbc.codythomas@gmail.com

Recently on a Sunday night the church was challenged to con-sider the worth of the Kingdom of God. Bro. Paul encouraged us to consider the worth of the Kingdom by exegeting the words of Jesus in Matthew 13:44-46, “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it.” Ac-cording to Jesus, the Kingdom of Heaven is worth more than any-thing on this earth. The Kingdom of Heaven is worthy of our complete surrender because the Kingdom of Heaven is the greatest treasure. This challenged me to examine my life and the things I consider to be of worth. Whatever I consider to be of worth, the Kingdom of Heaven is infinitely more worthy, which means my heart’s focus should be on the Kingdom of Heaven, and the other areas of my life should be af-fected by it. Likewise, on Wednesday nights with the Student Ministry we have been studying the Lord’s Prayer and the implications for life application. A few weeks ago we studied the phrase, “thy Kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is heaven.” When Jesus told His disciples to pray that phrase, He was telling them to pray in line with the heart of God. The more time we spend with God, the more our desires are in line with His de-sires. The more time we spend with God, the more we start to look like Christ and act like Christ. The more

time we spend with God the more likely His Kingdom will truly come in our lives and His will will be done in our lives as it is in heaven. How do these two passages relate? The Kingdom of Heaven is worth more than anything this world has to offer. When we seek God with all of our heart and seek to know Him and experience Him through prayer and Bible study, His Kingdom comes in our lives. When we seek to spend time with God, His Kingdom which is worth more than anything this world has to offer, will come in our lives and we will glorify Him and His King-dom. In order for this to happen, we must be the church that is King-dom-minded; we must be follow-ers of Christ that consider the King-dom worth more than anything in this world. When we surrender to God, His Kingdom will come in us and be seen through us. This month there are two Student Ministry events that you need to know about. The first is Saturday, November 8th from 8:00 a.m. to noon. Dr. Johnny Deroun will come to our church to speak about Student Ministry. Every adult involved in the Student Min-istry is encouraged to attend. The second is Sunday, November 23rd – 24th … The Youth Evangelism Celebration will be in Lafayette, La. This is an overnight trip. Each student desiring to attend needs to pay $60 and bring spending money for the trip. For more information on the forum or YEC, please feel free to contact me.

- Brother Cody

REACHING In & REACHING Out

Student Ministry Events

Sunday, November 8th Youth Ministry Forum

Wednesday, November 12thYouth Bible Study lead by

East Fork Baptist Church Student Ministry

November 23rd - 24thYouth Evangelism

ConferenceCajundome in Lafayette, LACost is $60

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Youth Evangelism Celebration November 23rd and 24th

Youth Evangelism Celebration is a state-wide conference specifically catering to Jr. High and High School students. Loud music, dynamic speakers, top notch entertainers that love Jesus, and thought-provoking drama are all present at YEC. The cost of YEC is $60. Please come by the church office if you would like to sign-up and pay or if you need more information.

Our church has reserved a limited number of spots, so it is important for students to sign-up and pay early.

Butch Reviere Minister of

Musicfbc.butch@gmail.com

Note from Brother Butch

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As most of you know, October has been designated for many years as Pastor / Staff Appreciation Month among Southern Baptists (and others). A couple of weeks ago in the morning worship services, you (the First Baptist family) gifted your ministerial staff with a token of your appreciation and offered generous comments about our service among you. The words “thank you” are inadequate, at best, but do serve to at least begin to express my personal gratitude, not only for the gift, but also for the great privilege of serving with you here at FBC. But folks, know this: THE GRATITUDE FOR FAITHFUL SERVICE GOES BOTH WAYS. While we genuinely are grate-ful for all your expressions of support for your pastor and staff, each of us…Butch, Cody, Dale, Kelly, Leslie, Nata-sha, Paul, and Ted…want you to know how much we are blessed to be your “staff”; we want all of you to know that we are aware and appreciative of all of you as you faithfully invest yourselves in the life of God’s Church here at the corner of Cleveland and Self! Each of you has a calling to ministry, and yours is as vital as ours for the Body to function as our Lord intends. After all, it is really about Him anyway and not about any of us. Apart from His Life at work in us, we would all be useless for Kingdom purposes. I am reminded of a story about how to graciously receive praise from others. If memory serves correctly, what I am about to share was told by missionary Corrie Ten Boom, known for having survived Nazi prison camps during World War II. In a context of being praised for her faithful service to the Lord, she related how difficult it was to accept praise, knowing that the strength to survive the difficulties of her life and remain faithful to Jesus all came from the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Besides that, it was a great privilege to serve the King of Kings. So she began a simple and private rou-tine in those kinds of situations. When praised or thanked or in any way rec-ognized for her service, she would with sincere humility and gratitude

acknowledge the gracious expres-sions of others to her…and then…she would immediately pass those words of praise along to her Lord, reflecting deeply upon the agony of His cross, His example of humility, and the pre-ciousness of His blood shed just for her and for all humanity. Hers was a simple practice which we all would do well to embrace, don’t you think? Well, this month’s Bridge is filled with events, dates, and times, so here are a few which relate to our wor-ship ministry:

November 27th – THANKSGIVINGGiving thanks to God for His manifold blessings in our lives is always a part of our worship, but this day offers a special opportunity to be grateful and to remind others to do the same. We are so blessed!!!

November 30th – KEYBOARD PRAISEThis will be my first opportunity to ex-perience this very unique opportunity to worship. You can see by the extra keyboards in and near the sanctuary that rehearsals have already begun, and we look forward to sharing this event with our entire community.

December 7th – CHILDREN SINGINGOur children’s choirs are prepar-ing Christmas music to share with us on that day (details in the December Bridge).

December 14th – SANCTUARY CHOIR PRESENTATION

The choir will present the Christmas musical entitled THREE GIFTS, Our Christmas Offering.My life, my heart, and my praise are my Christmas offering to Jesus. You will want to invite friends and family to join us. Once again, as we offer each other various expressions of gratitude and encouragement, may our hearts hastily forward those sentiments to the One from Whom all blessings flow! May you and your family have a Hap-py and Blessed Thanksgiving season.

Is everyone as glad as I am that October is over? As much as I always look forward to all the fun times that October brings, I am certainly always thankful for the calmness that follows...if you can call Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays calm!

I am so proud of our children for stepping out and sharing their faith during the month of October! We had two spe-cial opportunities during the month, and they fully took advantage of them! I love seeing our children being bold with their faith!

In case you missed it, 4th-6th graders had the opportu-nity to pass out water during the Fair at the Baptist Asso-ciation water booth in the Commercial Building. Thirteen children took part, and I’m confident we would have had more if we had more time and space!

Also, FBC hosted a “Trunk-or-Treat” on Wednesday, Octo-ber 29th. Going into it, the children were told that this was another opportunity to bring their friends to church. We talked about how it would only be promoted by their own word of mouth. At this time, the event is still a week away, but I know for certain that the kids are telling others based on the questions that are directed back to me. So exciting!!

Our November time of fellowship is planned for Saturday, November 15th from 2 - 4 p.m. for 3rd - 6th graders. Only 40 Spots are available, so be sure to let me know if you are planning to come! The cost is $5 to cover supplies. It will be an evening of art and devotion called “How Great Thou ART.” I will be leading the devotion time, but definitely not the art portion of it!

Also, mark your calendars for two other important dates. On the evening of December 21st, the Preschool and Children’s Departments will be traveling to Columbia, MS, to board the Columbia Christmas Train. The cost is $12, and the money is due by Sunday, November 23rd. For more information, feel free to give me a call or check out the website at www.columbiachristmastrain.com.

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FBC Kids shirts are in! Choose between apple green & turquoise blue with

contrasting print. The front of both shirts has the icthus fish with the word “Follower” printed above it, and the

back of both has Matthew 4:19. Cost is $10 each color

Kelly McElveen Director of Preschool/ Children’s Ministriesfbc.playschool@gmail.com

Happy Birthday!3rd - Kaylan Seal4th - Dawson Bell 9th - Will Turner

Are you in 6th grade or below? Let me know so I can add

you to my list!

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PlaySchool News

Praise the Lord! Oh give thanks to the

Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever! Psalm 106:1

Leslie Westmoreland WINGS Coordinator

lwestmoreland.ees@wpsb.org

WINGS Ministry

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Ladie’s Night Out! Painting Party with

Ashlee Thomas

November 20th, Thursday night, 6:00 p.m. in Fellowship Hall.

Cost: $30

We will be painting a cross on a cabinet door that can be placed on an easel or used as a door hanger. You pick the cross design, paint

colors, scripture, and size of cabinet door (square or rectangle).

Please sign up on the WINGS board and check which door size you would like.

Rooted in Christ, Wednesday Night Ladies Class

will start

“The Family of Jesus” Bible Study by Karen Kingsbury

on December 3rd in the Senior Adult Center at 6:00 p.m.

Books Cost $15.00

Save The Date:Pine FBS Women’s Conference February

27th & 28th, 2015 Speaker: Julie Woodruff

Worship Leader: Lara Landon.

Children’s Church

Month of November

Leslie Varnado

for ages 3 to

Kindergarten

We will be meeting in Mrs. Cindy’s Kindergarten

Sunday school room in the Preschool Department

Sunday Night Supper11/2 Knight, Branch, Wales, Rester, Kirby, Varnado & Fortenberry

11/9 McVea, Phelps, Knight, Stokes, Knight, Brown, Knight & Gill

11/16Waskom, Thomas, String-field, Taber, Burris, Driskill, & Kennedy

11/23No Evening Fellowship Supper

11/30Fifth Sunday Pot Luck

11/2 Joe Sandifer & Lance Schilling

11/9 Tommy Wood & Richard McElveen

11/16 Richard Knight & Matt Westmoreland

11/23Howard Gibson & Mike Hickman

11/30Dennis Wager & George Cowart

Sound Schedule(Please note schedule changes)

11/2 Darren Schilling

11/9 Johnny Burris

11/16 Matt Westmoreland

11/23Mack McElveen

11/30Stephen McElveen

Wednesday Night Supper

11/5 Group A - Pulled Pork

11/12 Group B - Fried Chicken

11/19Men’s Group Chicken & Sausage Jambalya

11/26Thanksgiving Holidays No Supper

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Our November VOLUNTEERS

Nursery Schedule

11/2 Jenniffer Walle & Carolyn Knight

11/9 Ann Hingle & Velma Crowe

11/16 Pauline Bankston & Hazel Varnado

11/23Brenda Allen & Diane Cruce

11/30Tana Burris & Leslie Westmoreland

Individuals and Families...Continue to bless more chil-dren by packing additional boxes. Teach children the art of giving and showing God’s love by taking them shopping to fill Operation Christmas Child boxes.

How to Pack a Shoebox

1. SHOEBOXUse an empty cardboard or plastic shoebox (average size). You can wrap the box, lid separately, but wrapping is not required.

2. BOY OR GIRLDecide whether your gift will be for a boy or a girl, and the age category: 2-4, 5-9, or 10-14. Download and print the appropriate boy/girl label. Mark the correct age catego-ry and tape the label to the top of your box.

3. FILL WITH GIFTSFill the box with a variety of gifts that will bring delight to a child.

4. INCLUDE $7 DONATION PER ShoeBOXHelp cover shipping and other costs related to delivering your shoeboxes to children overseas by donating $7 for each gift you prepare. You can give online to discover the destination of your box. Or, you can write a check to Samaritan’s Purse (note “OCC” on the memo line) and place it in an envelope on top of the items inside your shoebox. If you are preparing multiple gifts, please make one combined donation. Note: Follow Your Box is only available through online giving.

Remember to Pray for the children who will receive your shoebox gifts.

5. DROP OFFPlace a rubber band around each closed shoebox and bring it to FBC sanctuary after October 1st.

National Collection Week,

November 17 to 24, 2014.

Announcements Operation Christmas Child Packing party: Sunday November 9th 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

Be a foreign missionary without ever leaving Franklinton. Prepare shoebox gifts to show children around the world the love of God!Everyone is urged to participate in this fun event. We are hoping to pack 500 boxes.Sunday School collections of Operation Christmas Child materials should be completed by November 2nd so the Packing Party can be set-up.Volunteers will be needed for: Packing Party set-up Sunday, November 9th at 2:00 p.m.Relay Center collections November 17th - 24th Hours are: Monday, Tuesday, Thurday & Friday 8:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.Wednesday Noon to 5:00 p.m.Saturday & Sunday 8:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.Monday (11/24) 8:30 a.m. to 10:00 a.m.(Sign-up sheet will be posted on the Missions Board)

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Newman Graham Clint Galloway

The Help Center of Churches

is asking FBC Franklinton to collect Spaghetti sauce.

Monique Wortman

Save the Date for the

Keyboard PraiseSunday, November 30th.

Two performances 2:00 & 6:00 p.m.

FBC FranklintonSanctuary

“It is good to give thanks to the Lord, and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High; to declare Your lovingkindness in

the morning, and Your faithfulness every night, on an instrument of ten strings, on the lute, and on the harp, with

harmonious sound.”

Psalm 92:1-3

Welcome Our New Members

PRSRT STDNONPROFIT

ORGANIZATIONUS POSTAGE

PAIDPERMIT NO. 27

November 2014

950 Self StreetFranklinton, LA 70438www.fbcfranklinton.org

First Baptist Church Franklinton