May 2013 Newsletter
FROM THE PASTOR:
You
are having a great time at a picnic, and all of a sudden you hear that familiar
buzz near your ear. The mosquitoes have
found you!
Researchers
have found out some interesting facts about mosquitoes. First, they are attracted to the color blue
more than any other color. If you’re
eating bananas, they love the odor that comes from your skin. They would rather bite children than
adults. And mosquitoes are attracted to
lighter-colored people. So if you’re a
blond boy wearing blue jeans and eating a banana, watch out! The mosquitoes are coming for you!
There’s
one other thing that you should know about mosquitoes. They would rather bite pigs, cattle, dogs,
and horses than people. If you live on
or near a farm, you may want to see if you can set up your next picnic far away
from a barnyard if you want a better chance of avoiding those pesky little
pests!
When
you hear the buzzing of the mosquito, it is not a pleasant sound. We don’t want to be near the tiny insect that
is making that noise. I wonder if when
we complain, we sound like mosquitoes to God?
He doesn’t like the sounds we are making at that time. We need to remember to praise God for all the
blessings in our lives, instead of pointing out everything that we think is
wrong.
The
Bible reminds us in Philippians 2:14-16:
In everything you do, stay away
from complaining and arguing, so that no one can speak a word of blame against
you. You are to live clean, innocent lives
as children of God in a dark world….Let your lives shine brightly before
them. Hold tightly to the word of life,
so that when Christ returns, I will be proud that I did not lose the race and
that my work was not useless.
FELLOWSHIP DINNER
This
month’s fellowship dinner will be held Wednesday May 1st at 6:30 pm
in the fellowship hall. Everyone is welcome, even if you don’t have
time to make something to bring. There is always plenty of food!
FELLOWSHIP BIBLE STUDY GATHERING
Those interested in a time of sharing,
praying, and fellowshipping together are welcome to gather at the home of Henry Procopio on Wednesday May 22nd
at 6:30 pm. This is a monthly gathering
but anyone is welcome to come whenever they can come. The group is studying the
Gospel of Luke. You can start at any
time. Snacks are provided.
COMMUNION
 |
| We will celebrate Holy Communion on Sunday, May 5th |
CHURCH CLEANING SCHEDULE
For May 5th Matt & Renee
Heustis
For May 12th Brenda & Tony
Alcorn
For May 19th Martha & Eli Neeley
For May 26th Kristy Wehmeyer
For June 2nd Kristy Wehmeyer
WHERE THERE’S A WILL THERE’S A WAY
Did you know that the state of Tennessee has made a Will
for you, if you have none? Their laws
may not leave your property to the people you wish. They definitely will not leave anything to
your church or any other charity. Draw
up a Will this month and don’t forget your church in your estate planning.
May SERMON SERIES
Series—Building
a Great Life
May 5th—Building
a Life of Commitment
May 12th—Building
a Life of Sacrifice
May 19th—Thanks
to God in Thanksgiving
May 26th—What
God Has Taught Us
MOTHER’S DAY
Sunday, May 12th is Mother’s Day. We will have a special gift for all mothers
present in worship that day.
HERITAGE SUNDAY
Sunday, May 19th is Heritage Sunday where we will
honor all those who have been members of the church 25 years or more.
WORSHIP COMMITTEE
The Worship Committee will meet on Thursday May 30th
to plan worship services for the summer.
Members of the committee are Martha Neeley, Tim Garrett, Brenda Alcorn,
Vickie Kegerise, Peggi Billman.
NAIL POLISH
If
you have any nail polish that you no longer like or use [even partially used
bottles] you are invited to bring them to church and give them to Peg Billman
to go to Brazil. Shores of Grace
Ministries will use nail polish to paint the nails of the girls on the streets
as an act of love.
.
CHOIR
The
Forest Grove choir will practice April 3rd immediately following
Fellowship Dinner, April 10th and 17th at 6:30
immediately following Children’s Choir at 6:00.
JOELTON HOPE CENTER
–Neighbors Helping Neighbors
In January the Hope Center gave out 33
food boxes, helping 118 people and in February they gave out 28 food boxes
helping 102 people. These are people who
live in our Joelton and Whites Creek area!
Great News! The Hope Center is about to begin its Life
Skills Learning Center. They will offer FREE classes for Personal Life Skills,
Christian Life Skills, Professional Life Skills, and Educational Life Skills.
The first 6 week session of classes
will begin on Mondays starting May 6th and will offer Introduction
to the Bible and Basic Reading and Writing Skills. If you or someone you know are interested in
these classes contact the Hope Center.
HOPE CENTER FUNDRAISER
The Joelton Hope Center will be selling B-B-Q Boston Butts
for $35 each just in time for your Memorial Day weekend events. These will be cooked all night over a hickory
fire. Pick up is on May 25th between 8:30 am and Noon at the Greenville
UMC picnic Shelter behind the church.
Reserve yours today at the Hope Center or through Martha Neeley. The
last day to purchase tickets is May 15th.
NEW ADULT SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASS
You are invited to join us for a new
adult class starting in May called If You
Want to Walk on Water, You Have to Get Out of the Boat by John
Ortberg. This is a repeat of a study we
did several years ago but is well worth repeating! Far too many of us have put
our faith in a casual Christianity that never compels us to leave our comfort
zones. But, deep within our hearts we know that Christ has not called us to
comfort, but to an exciting, sacrificial and overwhelmingly fulfilling faith.
In If You're Going to Walk on Water John Ortberg teaches us how to step out of
the "boat" of casual Christianity so that we can faithfully follow
the Lord who is calling us out onto the risky, exciting waters of the high
seas.
We have around 12 adults attending the
adult Sunday School class and there are classes for children and youth
happening at the same time, 9:30 on Sunday mornings. The adults meet in the sanctuary.
Forest Grove Prayer Chain
Forest
Grove has a prayer chain that is called when emergency needs arise during the
week needing prayer right away. To start
the prayer chain all you need to do is call Janice Baxter with your prayer
request—876-0489.
BRAZIL
Pastor Billman and Peg will be leading
a team to Brazil in June. This is a mission trip through Aldersgate Renewal
Ministries and is called the ARM BRAZIL POWER TEAM!
We will be working with Shores of Grace
Ministries in Recife and local Methodist churches. We will minister to rescued
children (most rescued from sex trafficking), to prostitutes and transvestites
on the street through prayer, words of knowledge, prophecy and mostly love! We
hope to sponsor a Father's Love Banquet for them.
On April 21st Nic shared on Facebook: In
a couple of weeks the first Project Bethany home will be open. A couple of
weeks after that it will be full and we'll need to open the second home, and
then the third, and then the fourth and so on. 18% of the children of Brazil
live on the streets. Each house can legally have about 12 kids. So the need and
the cost is huge, but in the presence of our Papa God every giant looks small.
So we are running with Him and we won't stop until all of these precious ones
have come home to Papa.
He also shared: One of our friends in
prostitution on the streets said this tonight: "You guys are different.
Normally Christians come to throw stones, but you came to throw roses."
We are excited to take a team down to
be a part of this! The trip is $2800/person. If you want to donate to this
trip, it would be greatly appreciated. If you pray for this trip, it would be
even more appreciated! To give you can write a check to “ARM”, putting “brazil
trip” in the memo and give to Frank or Peg or mail to: ARM, 121 East Ave., Goodlettsville,
TN 37072. You can also click this link to give online at Aldersgate Renewal Ministries. Click "Support Us" to open the donation page and just put "Brazil-Billmans" in the comments section. If you want to pray, just talk
to Father! The exact departure date is not know at this time but it will be
sometime around June 13-17 with the trip lasting 10-14 days.
CHEROKEE “RIGHT OF PASSAGE”
Our email inboxes get inundated
with mostly garbage these days, but every once in a while you receive a
gem like the following alleged American Indian
legend. The message, while using what is claimed to be a
Cherokee Rite of Passage as an example, is actually all about having faith
in God. Whether it is an actual Rite of Passage or not is debatable
(according to various Internet searches), but the message is worth embracing,
true or not.
Do
you know the legend of the Cherokee Indian youths' Rite of Passage?
His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.
He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own.
The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm.
The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!
Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold.
It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him.
He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.
We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us.
When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.
Moral of the story:
Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there.
His father takes him into the forest, blindfolds him and leaves him alone. He is required to sit on a stump the whole night and not remove the blindfold until the rays of the morning sun shine through it. He cannot cry out for help to anyone. Once he survives the night, he is a MAN.
He cannot tell the other boys of this experience, because each lad must come into manhood on his own.
The boy is naturally terrified. He can hear all kinds of noises. Wild beasts must surely be all around him. Maybe even some human might do him harm.
The wind blew the grass and earth, and shook his stump, but he sat stoically, never removing the blindfold. It would be the only way he could become a man!
Finally, after a horrific night the sun appeared and he removed his blindfold.
It was then that he discovered his father sitting on the stump next to him.
He had been at watch the entire night, protecting his son from harm.
We, too, are never alone. Even when we don't know it, God is watching over us, sitting on the stump beside us.
When trouble comes, all we have to do is reach out to Him.
Moral of the story:
Just because you can't see God, doesn't mean He is not there.
You should be able to view the calendar online by clicking here. My attempt to post the calendar is below - hopefully you can see May! (having trouble figuring this one out!!)
