Updated Prayer Concerns
• Linda Dickens – recent stroke, making progress in her recovery. Slowly recovering.
• Doctors, nurses, other healthcare providers, leaders in these days. Pray also that a successful treatment option is discovered and made available soon.
• The Tolberts – as they transition to a new place of ministry.
• Keith Blore – had a procedure postponed, will be scheduled at a later time.
• Wayland Sherman – diagnosed with prostate cancer. Initial reports are very hopeful.
• Peggy Staggs – broke her foot recently, at home doing well.
• Bryson Davis – recovering from four wheeler accident, now recovering at home.
• Jim & Elaine Sumeral – homebound, continuing to deal with ongoing issues.
• Mike Little – home, has restarted Chemo treatments for pancreatic cancer.
• Allison Sherer- continues to do well overall, positive recent doctors’ visits.
• Caroline Madden – cognitive/physical issues, considering longterm care for her.
• Jane Ivey – Continues to visit with doctors. Hopes to try new treatment soon.
• Bill Ramey – continuing to take treatments.
• Joan Owings – NHC, continues to receive care/treatment.
• Corrie Grether – ongoing cancer treatments, Hospice is now involved in her care.
Announcements/Reminders
OFFICE HOURS: Our office hours have temporary adjusted to M-Th, 9am-1pm. Staff are working from home in the afternoons and on Fridays. Please reach out to us by text, phone or email outside of office hours. We want to be helpful to you in any way.
GIVING TO FBC: Please continue to support FBC! Your tithes and offerings are incredibly important. The two best ways to give are by dropping your offering in the mail or online through our website or app. You may also drop off your offering in person during office hours.
MISSIONS GIVING: The Annie Armstrong Easter Offering for North American Missions Envelopes are in your monthly packets now. This offering benefits our Baptist Missionaries who serve us in the US, Canada and Mexico. We welcome your gifts to this offering.
WORSHIP: Worship with us this Sunday, March 29th! A half hour service of worship will be available on our website and through our app. Likewise, you may listen on the radio at 11:05am on Sunday on WLBG 860am.
HOLY WEEK: We will be offering a special service during Holy Week that involves the opportunity for you to celebrate communion with your family at home. We’ll share more details on the worship video Sunday. For now, as you go to the grocery, purchase a small piece of bread (roll, cracker, etc) and a small grape juice that you and your family can use for the experience.
Reflecting Together
Read Joshua 4
I own a treasure. This treasure is not made of gold or any other precious metal. It is not a priceless painting or relic that I happened to stumble across at some yard sale, and it will never sell for thousands of dollars at an auction. It’s just a book; more specifically it is my grandmother’s devotional book.
The book is entitled Daily Strength for Daily Needs. It was printed in 1928, when my grandmother was about 21 years old. The condition of the book is, at best, poor. The binding is loose and the front and back covers falling apart. The pages have yellowed and feel fragile to the touch. But this book is a treasure.
In the margins of each dated page, there are notes written by my grandmother. Some of these are short prayer notes for people whom she knew and loved. They highlight key dates, events, and difficulties in their lives. There are also notations of prayers made during world-changing events such as World War II and the JFK assassination.
Yes, this little torn and tattered book is a treasure because it depicts a legacy of faith. It stands as a memorial and testimony to God’s goodness and faithfulness, especially in the most difficult of times.
In today’s passage, God commanded Joshua to have twelve men from the people, one man from each tribe, to take 12 stones from the riverbed and carry them to their new camp. These were to be memorial stones. God wanted the people to remember what He did at the Jordan and to pass that remembrance on to future generations. In the future, when the people’s children and grandchildren saw the stones and asked, “What do these stones mean to you?”, parents would be able to tell them the history of God’s work on their behalf. In short, this would be their testimony to their children and, eventually, the entire world.
The COVID-19 crisis that we find ourselves in is horrible, but it will also be historic. If history does repeat itself then this situation, like others before it, will also present the opportunity for us to give testimony to God’s goodness and faithfulness. We will be able to tell others about this time in our lives when God showed up, stepped into a frightening situation, and did something extraordinary.
And we will leave a legacy of faith, spreading His fame and His glory throughout the earth.
Consider this:
• In the midst of this crisis, what can you begin to do today to build your memorial-your legacy of faith- that will point others to Him for generations to come?