For more information on any events please visit the church website:
www.fbc-brenham.org
www.facebook.com/BrenhamsFirstBaptistChurch
CHURCH OFFICE HOURS:
Mon - Thurs: 8:00 am - 5:00 pm, Fri: 8:00 am - 3:00 pm.
Brenham’s First Baptist Church Contact Info:
Ph: (979) 836-2807 Fax: (979) 830-0122 info@fbc-brenham.org
Mailing address: PO Box 600 Brenham, TX 77834
I also look forward to having some time freed up to focus on two important things going on this spring. First, we continue to make great progress on our relocation. Having some time freed up will allow me to give some more attention to this as we continue with the building. As always, you can learn more about our relocation by going to https://fbc-brenham.org/about-us/ relocation/. Second, I have begun to focus on a new visioning process for our church. A few years ago, we worked through what became Vision 2020: “To be a church of ordinary people used by God in extraordinary ways.” From this vision, flowed our God Goals 2020 (build Phase One without debt; be a sponsoring church for a church start in North America; have church mission partnerships in Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South Asia, and East Asia; etc.). I am going to spend some time reflecting upon and critiquing our past vision, and I will also begin a process of discernment around how God may leading us, vision-wise, for the next five years. This visioning process for 2025 will begin with times of discussion and prayer with the ministerial staff and deacons. Starting in March or April, I will share with you my reflections of Vision 2020 and seek your prayer and feedback on Vision 2025. There will be more information about this visioning process, but I want you to know about this. As we continue with this new year, my prayer is that 2021 will be a great year of experiencing God and His renewing power!
From Pastor Ross
Preaching each Sunday is the most public act of my calling, and I take seriously the call to preach the Word of God. Therefore, I consistently seek to grow as a preacher. As I prepared for 2021 and prayed and thought about sermons for this new year, I was challenged by Tony Morgan in his short book, 4 Roles A Senior Pastor Can’t Delegate. In his section on preaching, Morgan noted the following: “No senior pastor is going to be consistently phenomenal, but if you often teach more than 40 weekends a year, the overall quality of all your messages will suffer” (p. 18). That is, he believes if senior pastors will preach less each year, the overall quality of their sermons will increase. As someone who probably averages preaching 48 times a year, I took this challenge to heart and decided that I will not be preaching more than 40 out of the 52 Sundays this year. My prayer is that this will not only increase the quality of the sermons I preach but that you will also grow in your faith as you hear others preach the Word of God. You will get to experience this starting this month. Our associate pastor, Troy Sikes, will begin a five-week sermon series on February 21 titled, “Can We Talk? A Sit Down with Your Savior.” I’m looking forward to hearing Pastor Troy preach the Word of God and responding to what God speaks through him.
A Letter From Reba It is hard to believe we are already in the second month of the year. February is sometimes called the month of love. As a Christian we should celebrate that every month. Today in Sunday School while teaching the three, four, and five-year-old children we talked about the “Church�. They learned that even though we love having a place set apart for us to worship, the building is not the church, but the believers of Jesus Christ all around the world are the church. We talked about sharing all we are given. At this age that can either be quite easy or extremely hard for preschoolers. Most have no problem with that, they generally love to share. If you need to see love in action sometime, come on up and sit in our class. When I walk in the door and one or more come running to me to give me a hug, that is the best. It is a different child each week. They know how to love one another and do it freely. As you go out in the community please show love to our friends and neighbors. Let us all share the love of Jesus every day. Blessings, Reba Pair
Sweet Hour of Prayer Happy New Year to you all! The old 2020 is over. Yes, finally. What about this new year God has given us? How are we living it? Are we so dependent upon God that Christ’s saving power can be felt working for us today? It is today we must be overcomers. Yesterday is gone. The seeds of an overcoming life are found in today’s victories. Can we say as Habakkuk did, in Habakkuk 3:19, “The Lord is my strength, He has makes my feet like the feet of a deer, He enables me to go on to the heights “? We must not be occupied with the past. Thank You, God, for the lessons learned, the blessings received, and the prayers answered. Then, as Matthew 6:34 says, “Don’t worry about tomorrow because tomorrow will worry about itself.” May our prayer be, “Lord, help me now with today’s problems.” There’s never been a time so sweet When each morn with Christ I meet. He takes me places only He can know. Places so peaceful, lovely.and so, My heart sings with pleasure That’s impossible to measure, The scope of His awesome and fearful love. It fills my soul with praises from above. Oh, Jesus, in You, only, can I find that rest. My heart, soul, and spirit are greatly blessed. Sweet Hour of Prayer Thursday 10:00-11:00 Sycamore House Garage
Piece Makers
Learning how to make the traditional Hunter’s Star quilt pattern was the focus of the January Piece Makers meeting. Members enjoyed sewing the pieces together and learning that the resulting star pattern was not as difficult as it looks. Be sure to notice the two quilts in the church hallway made by Piece Makers which will be auctioned at the FBC School fundraiser, Texas Celebration on March 5, 2021. All are welcome to attend our meetings held the first Tuesday of each month from 9 am to 4 pm in the FBC Student Center.
From Troy's Heart
Happy Valentines! Do you remember what it was like on Valentine’s Day as an elementary student? I read a story a long time ago about a student’s Valentine’s Day experience that has stayed with me. The little boy was not one of the class “favorites”. He had no real friends, yet he told his mom that he needed to get Valentines cards for each of his classmates. The night before he stayed up past his bedtime handwriting each card with loving, personal detail. Mom thought, “I sure hope his heart doesn’t get broken tomorrow.” Early the next morning, the big day, he eagerly went to the bus stop with his prized Valentines cards in hand. Throughout the day, his mom wondered how he was doing? Did he get cards from classmates…did he get at least one card? To ease his possible dejection, she even baked his favorite cookies for his arrival at home. When the school bus pulled up at the end of his street, the little boy’s mom watched him get off of the bus in his normal fashion. He walked home by himself. She positioned herself in the living room just opposite of the front door ready to hug and soothe her son. The door flew open. The boy ran into her arms and shouted, “Not one! Not one! I didn’t forget not one of my classmates.” Love is “other-person” centered! Love is more about “you” than “me.” The little boy was more concerned about his other classmates than himself. The mom was more concerned about her son than other sons and daughters. The boy loved selflessly. The mom loved, but it was more self-centered. God…Jesus…taught us to love with a prime example. Read John 3:16 and remember the story of the little boy on Valentine’s Day. I love you, Troy
Thank Yous Dear Pastor Ross and FB Brenham, At the end of such a challenging year, we thank God for partners like you. Thank you for faithfully supporting Soundside Church this year. Your generosity has helped us to keep reaching out with the Gospel of Christ. May God bless you with a Merry Christmas and a much better New Year! Pastor Aaron & Nichole Carpenter
Sympathies
-Ralph Kirkland and family in the loss of his sister, Cynthia. -Scott Stolz and family in the loss of his mother, Claudine Stolz. Scott is a former Student Minister at FBC. -Carole Burton and family in the loss of her husband, John. -Loretta Davis and family in the loss of her husband, J.T.
Preschool Ministry Memory Verse:
“He is also the head of the body, the church.� Colossians 1:18
Big Picture Question: Why does the church exist? The church exists to glorify God.
Happy Birthday:
Levi Conarroe Corban Dopslauf Jillian Brannon
Student Ministry Church Family, You are truly a blessing and so much fun! Thank you so much to everyone who came out to participate in the Men’s Cake Bake. It was great to see all your smiling faces and laugh together with you again. I have so missed that this past year. There are many people who make an event like the Men’s Cake Bake happen so thank you to some special volunteers. Thank you Patsy Herman, Merlene Schumacher, and Jackie Holmes for once again fulfilling the super-important role of Men’s Cake Bake Judges and for picking the RIGHT winner. (Your check is in the mail.) For the 2nd year in a row, my cake won Men’s Cake Bake first place prize, also known as, The Lefty. The Lefty gets its name from church member, Lefty Yarnold, who was always a fantastic supporter of the Men’s Cake Bake and made beautiful cakes every year. Lefty has gone on to receive his eternal reward in heaven, but his wife, Luan gifted me with his lucky cake pans which I used again this year for my 3-tiered German Chocolate Cake. Thank you Dan Thompson for saving my bacon…or brisket, more accurately. A barbecue smoker malfunction nearly tanked the Men’s Cake Bake, but Mr. Thompson stepped in and helped me get all the meat smoked. The whole process was over 24 hours long. Then he chopped up the 50 lbs. of meat so that I could be doing other things during the meal. Thank you to all the guys who made cakes. You guys are true heroes for stepping up and getting the job done. You all are great sports and your participation is vital to the event. Thank you to Kacy Kuespert for coordinating our student volunteers and always being willing to pitch in. Thank you to Teresa McGlasson and Jodi Beckendorf for all the prep work for the cake judging and bookkeeping during the event. Thank you so much to my wife, Bobbye, who has always been by my side in ministry for over 20 years and always serves to help me in whatever area of ministry I’m working in. I love you and appreciate you so much! MANY, MANY SPECIAL THANKS to all the cake bidders and buyers and for those who donated even though they couldn’t attend. The Lord has blessed us tremendously. We were able to raise $11,925 for the students for camp! I am so looking forward to sharing with you what God is doing this year at camp in Florida this coming summer. In Him, Bro. Chad
FBC School and EEC
“My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.” John 15:12 Thank you for allowing FBCS & EEC to serve our community! This has been an interesting year, but goal remains to love God and others well.
We are re-enrolling current student for the 2021-2022 school year. Enrollment for church members begins on February 8th, and enrollment to the public begins on February 9th. If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the school, please contact the school office. We would love to share our story and give a tour! We invite you to come to Texas Celebration (and my birthday party ~ LOL) on March 5th at the Washington County Expo Center. We will have good food, fabulous company, and many neat things to bid on! This year, we are trying something a little different. We will not be using the event center. We will have our tables under the Pavilion as well as inside the Commercial Exhibits Building. Our Live Auction will be at the Pavilion, and it will begin at 6:30. I’m excited about the change. The stage at the Pavilion will make it easier to see items during the auction. The silent auction will also be in that location. Contact a student or the school office for tickets. The kids are selling tickets until Monday, February 8th; the school office will have them available until Monday, March 1st. We also have tables available for purchase. So many good things are happening at First Baptist Church School! Check out our Facebook page. We share activities, announcements, and our weekly Bible verse. You may follow us at https://www. Texas Celebration is on March 5, 2021. Please continue to be in prayer for facebook.com/Brenhamfbcs/. the event. We would love for you to be a part of this event by attending
Texas Celebration
Serving Him, Nancy Jahns
and showing God’s love to the families we serve. Please contact our office at 836-6411 with questions or to volunteer. You may also reach Debbie Fathauer, our coordinator, through email at fundraising@fbcsbrenham.org .
CALENDAR
February 8 PTO mtg. @ 5:30 Ticket money due School enrollment to the church opens 9 100th Day of School Enrollment to the public opens 12 End of 4th term 15 President’s Day holiday – FBCS closed/EEC open 17 Report cards 17-18 Group pictures and retakes 24 School Committee meeting
Children's Ministry “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32, NIV) Good Morning, What was the greatest act of kindness anyone has ever done for you? Did your sister do your chores for you the week that you sprained your ankle and could not put weight on it? Was it the time that your friends at lunch each gave a portion of their lunches to provide you a lunch when you forgot your lunch money? How about the time your English teacher allowed you one more week to turn in your term paper because she knew that you were dealing with some big family issues that prevented you from turning it in on time? Maybe it was when you got up to pay your family’s dinner bill and the waitress informs you that a couple who was watching your family eat together already paid for your bill, and also paid for you to enjoy dessert as well. What about those every day acts of kindness like when someone holds the elevator for you or treats you with respect in spite of how you treat everyone else. Kindness usually comes unexpectantly. Sometimes it even comes when you don’t deserve it. Kindness can come from people who are being kinder than they have to be like from an English teacher. At other times it can come from friends and family like at lunch or when you are hurt. Kindness is sometimes delivered from people who are not like us or even strangers in a restaurant. Some people are kind just because God is kind and not because of how others are in response. These are the lessons that we are learning about Kindness this month in the Kids Klub. Kindness is showing others they are valuable by how you treat them. Obviously, the greatest act of kindness shown to all people is the gift of Christ to an undeserving world. This unconditional love was exhibited through the sacrifice of His life on the cross for people who did not, and do not, appreciate Him. With this as our model, we are commanded to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other. It does not matter if our political opinions agree. It does not matter where, or when, we are born or if our economical status is the same. Remember the kindnesses shown to you. They were unexpected, so you be unexpected. They were undeserved, so you give undeservedly. Kindness comes from family, friends and even strangers. So, you be kind to strangers, friends This Month’s Big Idea: and even family. When you are kind Kindness – Showing others they are valuable pray God uses your kindness to point by how you treat them. the recipients to His greatest kindness exhibited through Jesus Christ. Isn’t it a great time for you to deliver the Weekly Bottom Lines: greatest act of kindness someone may 1. Be kind to others because God is kind to you. ever receive? (Ephesians 4:32) His Servant & Yours, Bro. Alex
2. Be kind to your family and friends. (Ruth) 3. Be kinder than you have to be. (Matthew 5:41) 4. Be kind to people who are different from you. (Luke 10:2537)
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