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
Do you want 2021 to be a year of renewal in your life? If you desire this, begin praying for God to work in ways only He can work and that will glorify Him. Pray for God to give you an awareness of what He is doing in your life. Pray that you will live each day humbling yourself before God in dependency on the Holy Spirit and His leadership. Pray for lost people to come to faith in Christ Jesus. The key is prayer. Therefore, let’s pray for what God will do in our lives in this new year and pray for a year of renewal!
From Pastor Ross
There have probably been few times in our history where we are more relieved to start a new year. Who could have imagined all that went on in 2020? Yet, as we look back, we can see how God worked and His grace was displayed. As we look ahead to 2021, I pray it will be a year of renewal: -Renewal of faith in Christ Jesus and dependence upon the Holy Spirit -Renewal of the importance of church in our lives -Renewal of jobs to those who lost theirs in 2020 -Renewal of public health as COVID-19 is destroyed through God’s provision in medicine and healing -Renewal of emotional health as people grow through the stress and anxiety of the previous year -Renewal of joy in Christ -Renewal of evangelism and people coming to faith in Christ Jesus -Renewal of repentance and restoration to those who have compromised -Renewal of peace and hope to those who are grieving -Renewal of God-exalting passion -Renewal of desire for God’s Word and prayer -Renewal of seeing every area of our lives – home, work, school, and community – as places where God has established us to live our faith and share the Good News of Jesus
A Letter From Reba I have been thinking about what I was going to say this month. Usually, it is a wrap up of the past twelve months, but I think they have been discussed enough. I suggested a few years ago to start a Grateful Jar in January and to write things down that meant a lot to you. I started one this year before we knew what was ahead for us. I just now took them out and I would like to share a few with you.
1. Thankful for 19-20 preschoolers in Sunday School the whole month of January. 2. Thankful for preschoolers because they love without judgement. 3. No urgent care visits while on vacation for the first time in many years. 4. 22 preschoolers in Sunday School in February. 5. Beautiful weather. 6. Doc made me laugh today. 7. I saw a former preschooler who does not speak much English yet, but he knew me, and he started dancing in the hall when he saw me coming his way.
I know so many of my things I am grateful for have to do with preschoolers. This is what God called me to do about forty-five years ago. I accepted that call and have used my gift as best I can in several churches. I shared with a group a few years back that I view my calling to be a seed planter in little one’s hearts. I try my best to plant the seed of salvation when I share the Word with them every Sunday. What a blessing when they make sure to let me know when they have accepted Jesus as their Savior and want me to come to their Baptism. I have enjoyed watching the new church go up around the corner from our home. I pray that God will use it as a light on the hill for our county residents. May we be known as a people that love and share God in our community. My prayer as we go into this new year where we know things will be changing, that we seek God in all that we do and say. I pray for a healthy new “Let your light so shine before men in such away that year for all.
they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:15
Sweet Hour of Prayer Happy New Year! We have heard this over and over. I certainly hope this a happy new year. We hope this and hope that. 1 Timothy 1:1 says, “Jesus who is our Hope.” Only in Him do we have unshakable confidence that God will fulfill all His promises to us who believe. We hope for a vaccine for covid-19. We hope that something approaching “normal” will return to our community and nation. Hope is defined in Unger’s Bible Dictionary as; “Denoting a joyful expectation of eternal salvation.” Webster’s Dictionary defines it as; “To desire with expectation of fulfillment”. Romans 5:3-4. “We rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance, perseverance character and character produces hope.” 1 Corinthians 13:13. “ And these three remain, faith, hope, and love.” God is called “ The God of Hope”, in Romans 15:13. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that, you may overflow with hope by the Holy Spirit.” Heavenly Father, We worship You as the Creator of heaven and earth. We praise You for Your beautiful creation. We are so grateful You are not a distant or remote Father, but a close and living one. We worship and thank You that You are the God of love and hope. We honor, adore, glorify, and thank You for all You did on the cross. We thank You that we can trust in You for steadfast endurance, peace, and love that You make ours as we boldly come to you. May in the new year of 2021 we be filled with a peace that passes understanding, a Spirit of love, power, and self control, not fear, a healing of body, soul, and spirit in ourselves and in our nation. For you are our strength and our refuge. Only in You can our make hearts be glad, our tongues rejoice, and our bodies feel secure in our hope for the future. In Jesus’ name.
Piece Makers
The last Piece Makers meeting of 2020 ended with an awesome array of baby quilts, Mommy bags and burp cloths collected for New Beginnings Life Ministries. A generous donation of food items was also made to Bread Partners of Brenham. Members had fun making a fabric Christmas tree ornament for the FBC church and school staff. Sewing machine shaped cookies, games and prizes finished out the day. Meetings will resume on the first Tuesday of January in the FBC Student Center from 9 am until 4 pm. All are welcome!
From Troy's Heart
Happy New Year! Welcome to 2021! I know many of you are happy to see 2020 in the rearview mirror, BUT, although last year was hard, I think 2020 got a “bad rap”. There were some great things that happened last year:
·We learned how valuable relationships are to us.
·We learned how important our church family and worshipping together means to our faith.
·We saw the creative side of many families as they passed the time by creating funny videos. Thank you Mendozas.
·We started to look out a little more for each other. We made more phone calls just to say, “Can we help?”
·Some things we used to take for granted became invaluable. Can you say, “toilet paper”?
·We learned the pure joy of taking a deep breath. (Doesn’t that first breath after taking off your mask feel amazing?)
·We learned to accentuate the POSITIVE and GOOD around us. In the middle of so many negative voices, we focused on Philippians 4:8(Go read it. I think you will agree.)
·We discovered that family time wasn’t so bad.
So, when you hear people “badmouth” 2020, stop them and say, “But didn’t we learn a lot too?” Let’s carry over the positive things of 2020 into 2021. How about it? I love you, Troy PS: Since I talked about the expectant birth of our first grandchild in December’s newsletter, I thought I would show you a picture.
Thank Yous Thank you so much for the beautiful plant sent in memory of Wayne. His family appreciates it, especially Traci & Charles. Doris Hickman & family Thank you for the Peace Lily for Kathy Holster’s memorial service. It was and continues to be beautiful! Your love, care, support and encouragement for our family is unmatched. We are blessed to be a part of such a wonderful church body. Thank you for loving us with the love of Christ. Eternally grateful, The Holster Family Dear FBC Family, Words cannot express how grateful we are for your prayers, phone calls, words of comfort, nourishing meals and lovely flowers. You have warmed our hearts and blessed our souls. Suzie Anger, Paula & Bill Betts and family Thank you to our youth Amelia Gajeske, Mariah Morrison, Austyn McCarty and adult Aleta Thistlethwaite who helped as the backstage crew for the Jingle Jam production at the Boys and Girls Club of Washington County and Garrison Covin, & Chase Marrs who helped with the heavy lifting and stage set-up. Further thanks to Doug Baker, Kevin Turnbill, Ross Shelton, Joshua Morrison, Jackson Bartay, Aaron Redmond and Chad Marrs who helped set up. Plus not to forget the technical expertise of Bobbye Marrs and Jeff Freeman, the choreography of Mindy Holster, Libby Shelton, Paisley Covin, Macy Holster, Harley Strickland and Sabrina Covin and the super acting of Arlen Thielemann and Stacey Strickland. Without these people the Jingle Jam would not have been the success that it was. His Servant and Yours, Bro. Alex
Sympathies
-Edward Draus and family in the loss of his mother. -Suzie Anger and family in the loss of her husband, Bill Anger.
Preschool Ministry Happy New Year!
We had such a fun time celebrating last month the birth of Baby Jesus. Pajamas, crafts, cookies and more!
Memory Verse:
“We who are many are one body in Christ.� Romans 12:5
Big Picture Question:
What is the church? The church is all Christians everywhere.
Happy Birthday:
Samuel Vasquez Katie Hetzel
Student Ministry Happy New Year church family! I hope you all had the best holidays spending time with your family and loved ones. We in the Marrs household enjoyed all your cards and sweet Christmas pictures. Did you eat your ham, black-eyed peas and cabbage for New Year’s Day? It may seem like a silly tradition but we ate our New Year’s meal early so our whole family could enjoy it. Looking back on 2020 I know we could all use a little more health, wealth, and good fortune. Of course, our hope is in the Lord, but it’s fun to celebrate all things new. 2021 is sure to be full of adventures the Lord has for us. Here are some important dates to put on your calendar for youth ministry. June 13-18, 2021: Parents, please sign your student or students up for FUGE camp in Panama City, Florida. We will be leaving Sunday evening and be back Friday evening. We will be taking a charter bus so spots will be limited and registration ends soon. January 24, 2021: Don’t forget the annual Men’s Cake Bake! I hope all you men and dads out there will get in your kitchens, grease up your pans, put on your aprons, and get a little messy. This event has always been a great time of fun and fellowship for our kids and church along with raising money for our students to go to camp. I hope you will be able to come out and support our students this year by bringing or buying a cake (or both). I can’t wait to see what 2021 has for us First Family… Praying for a great year for you and HIS Kingdom! Bro. Chad
FBC School and EEC
“For I know the plans I have for you.” declares the Lord. Plans to prosper you and not to harm you. Plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 Happy New Year! May His Peace cover you! The school is making preparations for the 2020-2021 enrollment which begins later this month. If you know of a family looking for a Christian education option, please send them our way. We would be happy to meet with them and give a tour. It is our prayer that God will continue to make FBCS a place to love, learn and lead others to Christ. Please join me in praying for wisdom and discernment as we work for Him to plan for next school year. This is His ministry. I lay it at His feet. May He be glorified. In addition to enrollment, we are deep in the planning stages for Texas Celebration. Although Covid is rearing its head back, we are moving forward with our plans. This is our big fundraiser for the year. Funds raised are used to offset school expenses so we can keep tuition affordable for our community. The entire event will be held on Friday, March 5, at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Please watch for announcements concerning this event. It will be fun time of food, fellowship, and fundraising! If you would like to help with the event, please let me know. We are always appreciative of extra help!
Texas Celebration
Serving Him, Nancy Jahns
We are gearing up for Texas Celebration on March 5, 2021, at the Washington County Fairgrounds. Please be in prayer for the event. We are collecting live and silent auction items as well as monetary donations. Please contact the school office at 836-6411 with questions, to make a donation, or to volunteer.
CALENDAR
January 4 School & EEC closed; mandatory staff development 5 School & EEC open 18 MLK holiday 19 Mid-term reports go home Texas Celebration tickets go on sale! 21 Kids Heart Challenge 29 Re-enrollment for current students begins February 8 Enrollment for church families 9 Enrollment for public opens
Children's Ministry “And the God of love and peace will be with you.’” (1 Corinthians 13:11c, NIV) Good Morning, Happy New Year! And so it starts…”Goodbye to 2020” and “Hello to the New Year!” I am sure that people, more than usual, are ready to put the past year behind them and forget about it. That means they will most likely attack the New Year with fervor. Resolutions will be made, new diets will begin, the gyms will be full and closets will be cleaned. I hope that the healthier diets will prevail, gym attendance does not wane and closets do not regain clutter. However, should history repeat itself, chocolate sales will rise in February, the treadmill to the right and to the left of you will be empty come March and the clutter in the closets will brim over with those items that just don’t have a regular use or space. The point is most people will accept the fresh start, but then fall into past habits. But that is not the focus of this newsletter. Allow me to re-introduce Ebenezer Scrooge and The Grinch from Mount Crumpit. Both of these characters were, in one word, “bad” in the beginning of their respective stories (A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens and How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss). Then, something caused a change within them. For the Grinch, he realized Christmas came without ribbons, or tags, or packages, or bags. This was the catalyst that caused what some Whos in Whoville to believe his heart grew three sizes that day. Then there is old Ebenezer Scrooge who was said to keep his promise to keep Christmas cheer all through the year for every year after his frightful awakening one Christmas Eve. However, when we call someone a “Grinch” or a “Scrooge,” it does not carry with it a positive connotation. Both of those names are meant to be derogatory. Why? Both of their tales end happily and redeemed. So, the Grinch and Scrooge (although fictional) are forever remembered for the evil of their past, and not the good of their redemption. Could this be why New Year’s Resolutions are so difficult to maintain? Is it easier to return to the state of what everyone expects than to strike a new path for which most re-brand you anyway. I mean, even if you make a positive change, do people still refer to you as your old character? Is this discouragement too heavy and weighs you down back into your past? What about the judgement we pass on others? Are we calling people names that will not allow them to forget the sins of their past? How did the Grinch move past? How did Ebenezer Scrooge ignore the doubters? Again, I remember that these characters are fictional, but how can we learn from the moral of their stories? Jesus said, “’Do not judge, or you too will be judged. For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured Help is needed for a person who can to you’” (Matt. 7:1-2). Paul remanded us to “… rejoice! Strive for print copies and cut along the lines to full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in prepare the resources for the peace. And the God of love and peace will be with you” elementary Sunday school classes. (1 Corinthians 13:11). Let’s stop waiting for people to fail their resolutions and look for ways to encourage them in order to help Please contact Alex Morrison them succeed. If we do, the “…God of love and peace will be if interested. with (us).” His Servant & Yours, Bro. Alex
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