Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness, with longsuffering, bearing with one another in love. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God in Christ also forgave you.
On The Internet: The Bible Site
Right now, 200
million Christians are living under restriction and
persecution for their faith in Jesus Christ. Most do not even have their
own copy of the Bible. Now there is a unique new way that you can provide
your suffering brothers and sisters with a portion of God's Word at no
cost to you.
By visiting "The Bible Site" on the Internet you can click a button that
will send a scripture portion to a persecuted Christian, funded completely
by sponsors of the site.
The success of this exciting campaign depends upon as many Christians as
possible visiting "The Bible Site" and encouraging others to do the same.
As more people visit and make free donations, awareness will be raised
about Christian persecution and thousands of Bibles will be provided to
our suffering brothers and sisters worldwide.
It's a simple, easy and free way to make a real difference!
Next time you’re on the net visit: http://www.TheBibleSite.org
AWANA Registration Night – September 8, 2000 Calvary Baptist Church
Calvary Baptist Picnic – September 9, 2000 Cathedral Pines
Evangelist Bob Farber Returns – September 10, 2000
Evangelist Robert Farber Returns To Calvary Baptist Church September 10th - 17th. Bob will be teaching and visiting with many people within the week that he is here. Be sure to come out and share in this special time with our former pastor. His schedule is as follows:
Sunday September 10th
8:00 Welcoming Breakfast, Fellowship Hall
10:00 Teach Sunday School all ages, Calvary’s Sanctuary
11:00 Worship Service, Calvary Sanctuary
Afternoon free
7:00 Bible Study, Calvary Sanctuary
Monday September 11th
11:00 Lunch: Adina Mitchell’s residence.
OPEN TO ALL, potluck lunch
1:00 Bible Study till 2:30
5:00 Supper: Christopher Pandolfi residence, Private no guests
7:00 Bible Study, Calvary Sanctuary
Tuesday September 12th
11:00 Lunch: Elissa and Tony Caruso residence. OPEN TO ALL, potluck lunch
1:00 Bible Study until 2:30
5:00 Supper: Bob Pettis residence, 4 persons-invitation only
7:00 Bible Study, Calvary Sanctuary
Wednesday September 13th
11:00 Lunch: Ed/Marie Finkenangel residence. OPEN TO ALL, potluck lunch
1:00 Bible Study until 2:30
5:00 Supper: Carl Musumeci residence, 4 persons-invitation only
Thursday September 14th
11:00 Lunch: Elsie/Paco residence.
OPEN TO ALL, potluck lunch
1:00 Bible Study until 2:30
5:00 Supper: Hartman residence, 4 persons-invitation only
7:00 Bible Study, Calvary Sanctuary
Friday September 15th
11:00 Lunch: Rosetta Small residence.
OPEN TO ALL, potluck lunch
1:00 Bible Study until 2:30
5:00 Supper: Romero residence, 4 persons-invitation only
7:00 Bible Study, Calvary Sanctuary
Saturday September 16th
Free Day: Bob and Donna will be away
Sunday September 17th
10:00 Teach Sunday School all ages, Calvary Sanctuary
11:00 Worship Service, Calvary Sanctuary
2:30 Special Thank you Dinner, Calvary Fellowship Hall until 4:00. Open to all, potluck
7:00 Bible Study, Calvary Sanctuary
SIGNS ON CHURCH PROPERTY
" No God-No Peace. Know God-Know Peace."
" Free Trip to heaven - Details Inside!"
" Try our Sundays. They are better than Baskin-Robbins."
" Searching for a new look? Have your faith lifted here!"
" People are like tea bags-you have to put them in hot water
before you know how strong they are."
" When down in the mouth, remember Jonah. He came out all right."
" Fight truth decay-study the Bible daily."
" How will you spend eternity-Smoking or Non-smoking?"
" Dusty Bibles lead to Dirty Lives":
" Come work for the Lord. The work is hard, the hours are long and the pay is low.
But the retirement benefits are out of this world."
" It is unlikely there'll be a reduction in
the wages of sin."
" Do not wait for the hearse to take you to church."
" If you're headed in the wrong direction, God allows U-turns."
" If you do not like the way you were born, try being born again."
" Looking at the way some people live, they ought to obtain eternal fire insurance
soon."
" This is a ch_ _ch. What is missing?" --------- (U R)
" Forbidden fruit creates many jams."
" In the dark? Follow the Son."
" Running low on faith? Stop in for a fill-up."
" If you can't sleep, don't count sheep. Talk to the Shepherd."
"Light Shines Out Of Darkness"
By: Michael Leirer
Due to my illness I have been home from work for almost three years now. I take care of my children so Lisa, my wife, can bring home the "bacon". I don’t mind being a stay home dad, it is very rewarding and exciting to watch the kids grow up. This summer my neighbors, who just moved in, asked me if I would be interested in watching their two children for the summer. I was a little hesitant at first, being responsible for someone’s children, but I felt comfortable and maybe I could help them out. I told them that I would as long as they were ok with the fact that I teach my children a bible course, five days a week, and they would have to sit in on it. They told me that their children are from Canada and they’ve really never heard the name of Jesus, and they know very little about GOD, but they were ok with letting them learn
So I started with the basics, Adam and Eve, Moses, Noah and eventually worked up to Jesus. They sat in their desks amazed and gasping for more than just an hour of teaching, so I sent them along with Joshua, my son, to First Baptist Church for Vacation Bible School. These children loved it and I could see the Lord working in them, these kids never sat in a pew or been close to anybody who had the love of Jesus, but they soon became comfortable with it. I was amazed at what these children told me, of how they lived back in Canada, but the Lord took something so sad and made it beautiful. After two weeks of teaching and going to VBS, they decided on their own that they also wanted to follow Jesus, so they repented of their sins and asked Him into their lives. I was so happy that the Lord gave me an opportunity to make a difference in someone’s life. I will pray that they would continue to read and pray like we are teaching them when they return to Canada and I hope that you would do the same. I am going to purchase easy reading bibles for them to bring back home; I know that they will cherish them. Praise God for these children, they touched my life.
Angel Tree Update
As a participant of Angel Tree, a ministry of Prison Fellowship, our church joined in one of the nations most exciting out reaches to children and families. Because of the love of Jesus in our church family, Angel Tree Ministry was able to bless 27 children and their families with Back To School supplies.
Thank you,
Ellisa and Holly
Operation Christmas Child sends a message of hope to children in desperate situations around the world through gift-filled shoeboxes and Christian literature.
Operation Christmas Child provides an opportunity for individuals of all ages to be involved in a simple, hands-on missions project that reaches out to suffering children while focusing on the true meaning of Christmas—Jesus Christ, God’s greatest gift.
While you are out buying schools supplies and other Back To School materials why not get some stuff listed below for us to stock up on now so we can double the amount of shoe boxes we sent last year. Little by little we can collect an enormous amount of stuff for children who don’t have the privileges that ours do.
· Toys: small cars, balls, dolls, stuffed animals, plastic kazoos, harmonicas, yo-yos, small Etch A SketchÒ, toys that light up or make noise (with extra batteries), Slinky, etc.
· School supplies: pens, pencils and sharpener, crayons or markers, stamps and ink pad sets, coloring books, writing pads or paper, solar calculators, etc.
· Hygiene items: toothbrush, toothpaste, soap, comb, washcloth, etc.
· Other: hard candy, lollipops, mints, gum, sunglasses, flashlights with extra batteries, ball caps, socks, T-shirts, toy jewelry sets, hair-clips, watches, small picture books, etc.
Global Mission Fellowship - Trinadad Trip July 2001 - Update:
In July 2001 eight men from Calvary Baptist Church will embark on a journey of a lifetime. This journey will not be 7 days basking in the sun, nor will it be a journey of site seeing, eating gourmet foods, rest and relaxation. NO, this is a journey that will start with a 3-hour plane trip to Miami, hopping on a connecting flight for another 5 hours to a rural place that most people would never think to visit. These men will not be staying in any five star hotels, they will be staying in peoples homes that are no larger than most of our living rooms. Their meals will consist of mostly the native food (yet to be known). But their mission is clear, bring the Gospel of Jesus Christ to a country other than our own who is starving to know that there is someone, a Savior, who loves them. As Jesus said in Mathew 28:19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations..." I am proud to be a part of this team who is going. What we need most is the support of our church family; prayer support, financial support and encouragement for our wives and children who will remain here during that time.
Thank you and May God Bless you
Michael Leirer
6 Steps To Restoration
This article is taken from the In Touch magazine July Issue
For everyone there are challenges in life. Satan often uses these difficulties to discourage us, and this makes God seem far away.
These difficult times often cause us to stray from God in our fellowship with Him. This is a warning that we are entering dangerous territory. So instead of feeling like a failure or being plagued with guilt, we must seek to restore our relationship with the Lord.
This concept takes on special significance when we look at the Greek meaning of the word "restore." This term referred to setting a broken bone back in place. Though not a pleasant process, it is necessary if the bone is to ever grow properly. Just as it must be set correctly in order to grow physically, a Christian must be in a right relationship with God in order to grow spiritually.
Be Honest About Your Failures
There are six main steps leading to a restored relationship with God. First, you must be honest and recognize your failures. Stop rationalizing your behavior as anything other than what it is–sin.
This does not mean, however, that you should be overcome with guilt. God never desires for you to feel oppressed by guilt. It is a tool used by Satan to prevent you from coming to God for forgiveness. If he can convince you that you're a disgrace–too worthless to approach Holy God–he can prevent a growing relationship from developing. And if he succeeds in doing that, he also succeeds in robbing you of the joy that relationship can bring.
The truth is that when you sin, you pay God no tribute by staying away. He has paved the way for you to approach him immediately after you sin. Yes, it is difficult to face him after you’ve blown it, but there is no reason to fall prey to condemning guilt. After all, there is nothing between you and God except sin–and he is ready and willing to forgive you of that.
Secondly, you must accept responsibility for your sin. Blaming other people and circumstances for your own sinfulness won’t help.
In the end, the decision is up to you, and you choose to sin. Claiming responsibility is difficult to do–no one ever wants to do that! But it is essential for restoration to occur.
Repent
A third step in the process of restoration is repentance. Repentance means turning from sin to God with a change of mind. This eventually results in a change of conduct and attitude as well.
All too often, we do things in the reverse order. We have a sense that we must first change our behavior before we can change our minds. We have the mistaken idea that it is up to us to stop whatever sin has us in bondage.
Once our minds change, our actions will soon follow. But the best news of all is that we are not alone. God is there to help, guide, encourage, and strengthen us throughout the entire process.
Next, you need to repair your relationships with people you may have wronged. In other words, you must attempt to restore any relationships that have been affected by your sin.
Maybe this restitution is accomplished by asking the person you’ve offended for forgiveness. Maybe it’s returning something you’ve stolen. Or maybe it’s something you can't make restitution for. In this latter case, you have only one option: ask for God's forgiveness, forgive yourself, and let go of the guilt.
In the process of restoring right relations with those you’ve wronged you will also move toward restoring right relations with God through obedience to his commands
The fifth stage in restoration is to receive the message God wants to teach you through your failure. You may not want to hear what God is telling you, and you may be resistant or reluctant to learn this lesson, but you must learn it nonetheless.
The only time that failure is unprofitable is when we refuse to learn from the experience. If we learn and grow, we have not failed. We have, instead, taken the opportunity to learn more about ourselves and about God.
The final step is to respond to God’s chastisement with gratitude.
What? Be thankful for chastisement? Definitely!
Just as it is difficult for children to be thankful when a parent scolds them, it is often difficult for us to be thankful for God’s discipline in our lives. The real fruit of the experience comes years later when, like the child, we look back in gratitude to our parent for loving us enough to teach us important lessons–even if those lessons had to be learned the hard way.
Restoration isn’t an easy process. It’s for people who are serious about their relationship with God, and who are committed to living the life he has called them to. So now that you have "refocused" your life, it is important for you to establish a solid spiritual foundation. Do not let Satan sidetrack you during this time when you are just getting back on course.
If you’re serious about getting your life back on track, find a church if you do not already have a church home. Begin your own prayer and Bible study times each day. If you are faithful to spend daily time with God, He will use that time to speak to you and guide you in life, and it will be your sole defense against future spiritual attacks.
Don’t waste a minute ignoring God, running from him, or allowing un-confessed sin to keep you from enjoying full fellowship. Face your sin, confess it and move on. God has done everything he can do to provide you with barrier-free access. Now all you have to do is accept Him. He’s ready. Are you?