Life Together The Monthly Newsletter of Calvary Baptist Church www.calvaryfayetteville.com

Calvary Baptist Church 1410 N. Porter Rd. Fayetteville, AR 72703 479.442.4634 www.calvaryfayetteville.com

Volume 1 May 2014 Issue 1

Well, after about a year-and-a-half, and many requests, we have decided to restart the Calvary Newsletter. You hold in your hands the newly designed and formatted first issue. It promises to be different in a variety of ways.

First of all, it will be a monthly publication and you have the option of receiving it via email or “snail mail.” Everyone will receive this first issue in print form but for those wanting to save the postage and receive it quicker, it can be sent to you electronically. Just let the office know what you prefer.

Second, it will be a more “discipleship-focused” newsletter. Of course, there will be various announcements and other bits of information, but the primary purpose will be for your growth in the Word and your walk with Christ.

Third, and the most obvious, it has a new name and a new look. The name, Life Together, is intended to communicate the nature of the church. We are a family, a flock, a fellowship, As we seek to fulfill the “One-Another” commands of Scripture, that relation-ship will grow stronger and we will be a church characterized by faith, hope, and love.

If you have ideas or suggestions of how we can enhance or improve the newsletter please let us know. We want it to be something you look forward to receiving each month!

We’re Back!

Jimmy Tollison Worship & Students

Long my imprisoned spirit lay

Fast bound in sin and nature’s night; Thine eye diffused a quickening ray,

I woke, the dungeon flamed with light; My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

- Charles Wesley Ol’ Chuck Wesley said it so well. This verse of And Can It Be? speaks of our hearts being opened by God’s regenerating grace to behold the beauty of God Himself and His Gospel. It also speaks of our ability to approach the throne of our God and King, not in fear or with chains holding us back, but in joy, boldness, worship and obedience.

Corporate worship is designed to open our eyes to the beauties of God and His gospel as described in Wesley’s hymn. This is one form of fulfilling the Great Commandment, “[To] Love the Lord with all our heart, soul, mind and strength." When we sing, we are engaging in the very thing we were built for---that is---to glorify God by enjoying Him.

At Calvary, our goal is to sing songs that offer a wide range of emotional expression; build our appreciation and understanding of the gospel; and engage our mind, intellect, and heart together. We hope to incorporate a "blended" style of music. Older hymns connect us with the saints who have gone before and who faced the same struggles we face today. We also have a gratitude for Christian songwriters of our day and the

“When we sing, we are engaging in

the very thing we were built for…to

glorify God by enjoying Him.”

new hymns that are being written. Our goal is to create an atmosphere of worship that bridges all ages, not to appease various generations, but with the hopes of bringing all our hearts into a God-centered state of longing.

Teaching Theology for Life Colossians 3:1-11 As Associate Pastor of Students I hope to implant our students with the truths of the Scriptures so that their life is affected in every way. My goal is to disciple our students through our weekly meetings and one-on-one relationships. I believe that ‘truth is in order to goodness: and the great touchstone of truth, its tendency to promote holiness.’ I press on our students the importance of holiness, because without ‘holiness, no one will see the Lord.’ (Hebrews 12:14) And I believe that holiness is only made possible through a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. He must be our all. Without Him we are nothing.

Would you consider joining our youth group in our monthly prayer plan?

• Week 1 Send Us More God exalted in our city

• Week 2 Christlikeness God exalted in our hearts

• Week 3 Love For One Another God exalted in our church

• Week 4 Missions God exalted in the nations

• Week 5 All Ministries At Calvary B.C. God exalted in the generations

!

29

Twenty-Nine Living In The Last Chapter of Acts

New Series beginning May 4th!

I am excited about a new series of messages we will start this coming Sunday, May 4th. The Book of Acts is the only book of history in the New Testament and it describes for us the history of the church. It might well be called, How The Gospel Got From Jerusalem To Rome And Beyond. While we will be dealing with how the Lord’s church got its power and spread like wildfire, this will not be a boring history lesson! No other book of the Bible is more important for us to understand (and live!) today than this one. Within its pages we will discover the secret to power in ministry, passion for God and His purposes, and the perseverance to face any obstacle.

I hope you will be praying for this series of messages and its impact on our church and our community.

Kirk Shelton Lead Pastor

Message for May 4…

“Beyond A Shadow Of A Doubt”

Coming This Month…

• A2 Groups Kick-Off Date TBA • Shelby Cook Wedding Shower May 4 • Women’s Missionary Auxiliary May 5 • Faithful Men May 5 & 8 • Forever Young Potluck Lunch May 6 • Mother’s Day May 11 • Deacons’ Breakfast May 17 • Senior Recognition May 18 (am) • Prashant Prakash (India) May 18 (pm) • Shelby Cook Wedding May 24 • Memorial Day May 26 • Loving Hearts May 27

Gimme That iPod

Rel igion! Not so long ago in the rural “Bible belt” South you would often hear an old favorite being sung in Sunday morning worship. That old favorite was a song which went something like this, Give me that old-time religion, give me that old-time religion, give me that old-time religion, it’s good enough for me! It’s not often that song is heard today, and maybe that’s not so bad. For some there is a great desire to get back to a simpler time when the world didn’t seem quite so bad…things were more black and white and there were fewer of those hard-to-figure-out “gray areas” of life.

If you were to write lyrics for a song describing today’s expression of Christianity it might go something like this: Give me that iPod religion, give me that iPod religion, give me that iPod religion, it’s all I want for me! For many, religious life today is a cafeteria of choices. Choose what parts of the Bible you want to believe, choose which church meets your needs, choose what programs in which you want to participate, choose what convictions are comfortable and what truths on which you want to build your life…a totally “customized” religious life and experience! It’s kind of like an iPod, just download the parts you want and ignore the rest. After all, it’s your life, your music, and your religion! This seems to be the calling card of American church culture in the 21st century. A privatized “designer religion” which puts the worshiper at the center.

The truth is, we can’t approach God the way we choose our music or shop for a pair of shoes or buy a hamburger! God is who He is, and we can’t pick and choose what parts of Him or His Word we want to live by. Real joy, peace, and success in life is only experienced as we seek to know and follow a God who is more than we’ll ever comprehend in this life.

Yes, I too would like to be able to turn back the clock to simpler times but those days are gone forever. Retreating into a church mentality which still worships and does ministry as though we were living fifty years ago is not the answer---that’s not the old-time religion we need. We need a revival of the really old-time religion, an Acts 2 expression of religion where believers lived in true community, met one another’s needs in love, were passionate about sharing their faith with an unbelieving world, and challenged each other daily to grow in the Word of truth. They were being shaped by the Word, not shaping the Word to themselves! Give me some of THAT old-time religion, it’s good enough for me!

The Lonely Ember A member of a certain church, who previously had been attending services regularly, stopped going.

After a few weeks, the pastor decided to visit him. It was a chilly evening. The pastor found the man at home alone, sitting before a blazing fire.

Guessing the reason for his pastor's visit, the man welcomed him, led him to a big chair near the fireplace and waited. The pastor made himself comfortable but said nothing. In the grave silence, he contemplated the play of the flames around the burning logs.

After some minutes, the pastor took the fire tongs, carefully picked up a brightly burning ember and placed it to one side of the hearth all alone. Then he sat back in his chair, still silent. The host watched all this in quiet fascination.

As the one lone ember's flame diminished, there was a momentary glow and then its fire was no more. Soon it was cold and "dead as a doornail."

Not a word had been spoken since the initial greeting.

Just before the pastor was ready to leave, he picked up the cold, dead ember and placed it back in the middle of the fire. Immediately it began to glow once more with the light and warmth of the burning coals around it.

As the pastor reached the door to leave, his host said, "Thank you so much for your visit and especially for the fiery sermon. I shall be back in church next Sunday."

April By The Numbers… ! Average Sunday School Attendance: 97 ! Average Morning Worship Attendance: 152 ! Budget Offerings Needed: $ 27,452 ! Budget Offerings Received: $ 24,851 ! Total Tithes & Offerings Received: $ 26,190

“A privatized ‘designer religion’ which puts the worshiper at the center.”

Where Are You? The Community

• May never have attended a worship service before • May have visited the church with family or friends • Not active in any church and many are not Christians

The Crowd

• May attend the church regularly • May attend special church social

events • May send their children to Sunday

School The Congregation

• Members of the church • May only attend the morning worship

service • May attend Sunday School if no one calls

on them to pray The Committed

• Members of the church & have a growing relationship with other Christ-followers • Support the church with their attendance, prayers and offerings • Participate in a Bible study and study God’s Word for wisdom and guidance

The Core Ministers

• Members of the church & are living in community with others • Give of their time, talents, and income and are involved in ministry • Share with others the Truth of God’s Word

What Is An A2 Group? An A2 Group is small group of people (8-14) who meet together in a home to spend time in fellowship and fulfillment of the “one another” commands of Scripture. Modeled after the first church, these groups get their name from Acts 2 where God’s people first began to experience what true, New Testament community was supposed to be like. They spent time studying, praying, fellowshipping and meeting one another’s needs.

We are excited to announce that the Calvary Family will be able to experience the blessings of A2 Groups beginning this month. These groups are purely voluntary and will not replace any of the regularly scheduled meetings of the church. So far we have had 20+ families sign-up to participate and there is still room for your family!

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just

as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples,

if you have love for one another.”

---John 13:34-35