FALL 2009 @ FPC: your next step

We want to see every member engaged regularly in:
•    public and personal WORSHIP,
•    growth in grace under the TEACHING of the Word,
•    NURTURE through mutual care and fellowship, and
•    serving in some kind of REACHING ministry to the church and to the world.
What is your next step in pursuing God, his ways, and people?

WORSHIP
Jesus unplugged: New sermon series in Morning Worship begins September 13. Bring “ordinary life” and “kingdom life” together by listening to Jesus answering questions, Jesus conversing at the supper table, Jesus talking things over, Jesus telling stories—Jesus unhurried and interruptible.

Choir: 4:45 pm each Sunday. A joyful heart and a willingness to raise your voice in praise to the Lord are all you need.

Children’s choir: ages 3-2nd grade, 6:30-7:00 pm on Sunday nights. Children’s choir trains young saints to praise God in song and to glorify God through catechism memorization. Children join us in Evening Worship and then are dismissed prior to the sermon.

TEACHING
Wednesday Night Connection:
Supper at 5:15. Call the church office for reservations.
Wednesday Night Connection starts at 6 pm. Adults choose an elective:
•    Framework of Faith: a study of fundamental Christian teaching that aims to be rigorous and refreshing, systematic and stimulating, taught by Phillip Palmertree.
•    What Did You Expect? Redeeming the Realities of Marriage: a DVD and discussion series featuring Paul Tripp.
First Wednesday nights of each month:
•    Women’s study of The Prodigal God study returns September 2, led by Maureen Boswell.
•    Men’s Forum: strength for the fight of Christian living through Fight Clubs: Gospel-Centered Discipleship.

Kid’s Connection
(New curriculum from Children Desiring God Ministries)
•    3s, 4s, and 5s – He Has Been Clearly Seen: A Study on Seeing and Delighting in God’s Glory
•    1st-3rd grade – I Stand in Awe: A Study on the Bible
•    4th-6th – Fight the Good Fight: A Study on Persevering in the Faith

Youth Connection
August 19 & 26: Join us in the sanctuary for the final two episodes of The Truth Project.
September 2: Dive into Deuteronomy, More Grace, More Love.

NURTURE
Church-wide Rally Day Breakfast
When:  Sunday, August 16 at 8:45 am
Cost:  $1.00 per person (Dress casually if you’d like.)
Rally Day, our annual celebration of our Sunday School program, will follow at 9:45 am in the Sanctuary.

New Ladies’ Bible studies:
Instruments in the Redeemers’ Hands: People in Need of Change Helping People in Need of Change by Paul Tripp—Begins Thursday, August 27, 8:15-9:15 am in the Jackson Room. Call Judy Potts (289-6075).

Study of 1&2 Kings and 1&2 Chronicles—Begins Wednesday, September 2, 8:30-10:30 am at the home of Lynda Temple (290-0123).

Men’s groups: Men groups will be back in September. Old groups will be reunited, and a couple of new groups will be forming. Talk with your group leader. If you want to join up for the first time, talk with Phillip.

Prime-Timers: Keenagers Conference at Ridge Haven Conference Center in Brevard, North Carolina. Some slots are still available. See Owen Oliver for more information.

Special Youth Events:
Canoeing on the Okatoma River (Saturday, Aug. 29th)
Fall Retreat at Lake Forest Ranch (weekend of Oct. 17-18)

REACHING
Youth Service Day: The youth of FPC want to know if any of our Senior Saints have any jobs around the house or yard that we can help you with. Once we know what you need, we will plan a time to show our love through service. Please call Grant Carroll, 601-421-1277, or Greg LeVert, 289-3160, with your request.

Reaching Out at Home: Do you have a heart for the mission field close to home? If you are, you are invited to a meeting directed toward developing and strengthening FPC ministry vehicles for local outreach and mercy ministry, English as a Second Language (ESL), church planting in North America, special needs ministry, campus ministries, military chaplaincy, disaster relief, and other ways of reaching out to our nearby neighbors and those in spiritual need across our nation. We will meet over sandwiches on Sunday evening, August 23, in the Jackson Room right after Evening Worship.

World Mission Conference: October 9-11
Guests include: Main speaker Dr. Richard Pratt (Third Millennium Ministries), Rev. Bill Bradford (Peru Mission), and Chad Smith (RUF, Belhaven College).

Phillip has posted this week’s Sweet Counsel. What’s in it? The aim of our charge, a Taste of Grace, a brief report on the PCA’s General Assembly, Mission Japan, and a look ahead to public, gathered worship.

Phillip has posted this week’s Sweet Counsel (click here). This week: a grateful look back at a great cookout and thrilling report from Peru, the launch of Wednesday Night Connection, Ascension Sunday, Reformed Youth Ministries, and a preview of public, gathered worship this coming Lord’s Day.

Phillip has posted this week’s Sweet Counsel (click here). This week: people must really like the Hollands (and s’mores!), Wes Baker’s visit, Wednesday Night Connection (with a correction), how prayers at FPC Kosciusko made my theological education possible, the trouble when Christians are wrong and non-Christians are right, and a look ahead at public, gathered worship this coming Lord’s Day.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT CONNECTION…coming May 20

We’re adding some new things to Wednesday nights to develop our TEACHING ministry (remember W-T-N-R?). Wednesday Night Connection is designed to connect us with one another in fellowship and reaching and to dig deeply into God’s Word through Bible-centered studies for children, youth, and adults.

Different sized gatherings deliver different benefits. Large gatherings are good places for robust singing, kingdom-focused prayer, and biblical preaching. Small gatherings are good places for personal accountability and tailored prayer for specific needs. Mid-sized groups can be good places for mission reports, testimonies, and connecting with one another over the Word.

Summer 2009 (NOTE: Due to the length of each DVD episode of ‘The Truth Project,’ we’re altering the schedule a bit from the original plan)

6:00   Children’s ministry; adult and youth electives will gather in their respective meeting rooms (but still, don’t be late):

ELECTIVES
•    Framework of Faith: a study of fundamental Christian teaching that aims to be rigorous and refreshing, systematic and stimulating (led by Phillip Palmertree). A number of people have been asking for a survey of systematic theology, and here it is. Join us for a study of the skeletal system of Christian living. Meeting in the Mary Thornton Room.
•    The Truth Project: a DVD-based study from Focus on the Family challenging you to look at all of life from a biblical perspective. (Find out more here.)  The Truth Project is for youth, their parents, and everyone! This is an excellent curriculum that will last through the summer months. Meeting in the sanctuary.

NOTE: 1ST Wed. nights of each month will continue to feature Women’s Bible Study and Men’s  Forum.

FUTURE SCHEDULE
September- November 2009    Framework of Faith-continued
What Did You Expect? ¬ —DVD study on marriage with Dr. Paul Tripp

December 2009        Reaching: projects for the entire church family to reach others

Phillip has posted Sweet Counsel for this week. Readers will find him thinking about: Reformed Theological Seminary, cookouts, the new Wednesday Night Connection, the question of the Lord blessing us or vice versa, and a look ahead at Sunday’s public, gathered worship.

Wes is a minister in the Presbyterian Church in America working with Peru Mission in the city of Trujillo. Wes grew up in rural Wilson County, Texas and graduated from Floresville High School in 1986. He studied at Texas A&M University, graduating in 1992 with a double degree in Biomedical Science and Philosophy.

In 1988 Wes married the former Jami Vaden of Seguin, Texas, and in December of 1992, with two children, they moved to Jackson to attend Reformed Theological Seminary. In the fall of 1993 Wes was called to be Student Supply Pastor of Lebanon Presbyterian Church (LPC) in Learned, MS. He finished his studies at RTS in December 1995 and was ordained as minister in Learned the following spring.

While serving at LPC, Wes became good friends with Alonzo Ramirez, a doctoral student from Peru, and together with classmate Bill Bradford, the three men visited Peru in the summer of 1996. Three weeks of travel, prayer, and late night conversations convinced the men that the Lord was calling them to form a church planting team to minister in Northern Peru. In February 2000, Wes and Jami packed up their family and their lives and moved to Cajamarca, Peru. With the arrival in March of 2000 of the Brad Ball family the team was complete.

The ministry in Peru has developed considerably since their arrival. The Ball and Baker families moved from Cajamarca to Trujillo in late 2001. The Bradfords moved down to the coastal city in 2005. Since then several more families have joined the team and the ministry has continued to grow. Wes’s primary responsibilities involve teaching in the Seminario Biblico Reformado and mentoring Peruvian pastors and church planters. He has also been extensively involved in administration, recruiting, and development.Wes and Jami have seven children ranging in age from five to 19 years. Jami stays busy homeschooling the children, hosting visitors and teams, and teaching in the English Institute.

Wes will give a Mission Sunday presentation at FPC at 9:30 am on May 17.

Grief Share: If you or someone you know has lost a loved one, please call us to find out more information about this seminar/support group.

No life is untouched by depression. Where do we find hope when darkness creeps into our souls? Grace in Dark Places: Finding Hope in Spiritual Depression is the theme for our upcoming Bible Conference, March 27-30. Over the course of four sessions, pastor, author, and national speaker Dr. Derek Thomas will examine the topic of spiritual depression.

Join us for the first session Thursday, March 27th at 6:00 PM at the church building on 603 Smythe St. This is a community wide event. All are welcome and invited. Come and discover hope in the face of darkness.

For more information call the church office at 289-2435.

Schedule of Events

• Thursday March 27
  • Session 1 – 6:00 PM
• Friday March 28
  • Session 2 – 6:00 PM
  • Dessert with Derek – 7:15 PM
• Saturday March 29
  • Officers’ Breakfast – 7:00 AM
  • Church-wide Supper – 5:00 PM
  • Session 3 – 6:00 PM
• Sunday  March 30
  • Q&A Interview with Dr. Thomas – 9:30 AM
  • Corporate Worship and Session 4 – 10:50 AM

52nd FPC World Mission Conference
“Do Not Hold Back”
October 26-28, 2007

Isaiah 54:2-3 – “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes. For you will spread abroad to the right and to the left, and your offspring will possess the nations and will people the desolate cities.”

Thursday, 10/18/07

• Cottage Prayer Meeting

Friday, 10/26/07  

• Lunch (Brown Bag) – 12:00 pm; Andy & Bev Warren, MTW Ethiopia
• Evening Service – 6:30 pm;
  • John & Lynne Sabin, MNA Lagniappe Presbyterian
  • Les Newsom, RUF Campus Minister, University of Mississippi

Saturday, 10/27/07 

• Officers’ Breakfast – 7:00 – 8:00; Les Newsom
• Fall Festival/Evening Service – 4:00 – 7:00 pm
  • Ken Roberts, MNA Red Water Presbyterian Church
  • Les Newsom

Sunday, 10/28/07  

• Sunday School – 9:30 am; Andy & Bev Warren
• Morning Worship – 11:00 am; Les Newsom
• Evening Worship – 6:00 pm;
  • Ed & Emily Hartman, MTW Romania (DVD)
  • Les Newsom
• Youth Fellowship with Les Newsom following worship