Issue 15

December 2022

Newsletter

A Southern Baptist Association

From Your Associational Mission Strategist

Luke 1:26-38

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin

betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. 28 And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was. 30 Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son, and shall call His name JESUS. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end. 34 Then Mary said to the angel, “How can this be, since I do not know a man?” 35 And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God. 36 Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 For with God nothing will be impossible.” 38 Then Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” And the angel departed from her.

I love this passage from Luke as we learn about Mary and her willingness to be obedient to be used by God. I believe we can learn some valuable lessons that will encourage us in our walk with the Lord as God wants to use each of us for His glory. The first lesson we learn is that no matter who you are, God can use you! When we look at Mary, we know that she was young, poor, and from Nazareth. These are all the characteristics that we might have thought would make her seem unusable by God. But God chose Mary for one of the most important jobs He ever asked anyone to do. The good news is that through God choice of Mary, we see no matter who you are, the Lord can use you! We never need to limit God! He can use you if you trust Him!

Mary also teaches us that no matter what problems you face as a believer, the Lord is with you. There are many things that we just don’t want to go through alone. Christmas is one instance, and we can probably list many others. We don’t like to go through trouble alone as well. If you are sick and there is nobody to comfort you, you will probably be more miserable. The one person you need more than anybody else when you face problems is the Lord. Mary teaches us that no matter what problems you face, if you are one of God’s children, God is with you!

One final thing we learn from Mary is that all things are possible with God. Mary knew that a virgin birth was impossible in the natural course of events, but she also believed that nothing is impossible with God. Whatever God promise, He delivers. No matter what He promises, He will do it. As we go through this Christmas season, may we be encouraged by Mary’s life and her example that no matter you are, the Lord can use you. No matter what problems you face, if you belong to the Lord, He will be with you. No matter what He has promised, the Lord can do it. May God burn these truths into our hearts this Christmas! Merry Christmas and may God richly bless you and all our churches!

Bro. Gary

Church News

Arabi Baptist Church will have a Children's play featuring the Ladies Ensemble December 18, at 6:00 PM.

Byromville Baptist Church will be having their 33 Annual Toyland Concert December 4, at 6:00 PM, Please bring a new toy. December 11, at 11:00 AM the Children and Youth Choir will be performing. December 18th at 11:00 AM the Adult Choir will be performing and there will be candlelight communion at the 6:00 PM Service, all are invited.

Ebenezer Baptist Church will be presenting "Breath of Heaven" Christmas Cantata December 11, at 10:45 AM.

Morningside Baptist Church will have Jeff Cleghorn Sunday December 4, at 6:00 PM, Jeff will lead in a special evening of celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ as he plays the piano and leads singing. A love offering will be received.

Morningside will also present "Glorious Birthday" featuring their Adult Choir accompanied by Pleasant Grove Baptist Church Adult Choir on December 18, at 6:00 PM. There will be a time of food and fellowship following the service.

On October 1, 2022 Mount Vernon celebrated 161 years. Dixie Rhythm Boys came and sang. A barbecue meal was served and a special dedication of the social hall was made. The new social hall is G.W and Elizabeth Johnson. Pictured is a majority of their family along with their three girls. Tammy Bartlett, Nancy Aultman, and Cheryl Hines. Miss was their son David Johnson.

On November 12 Mount Vernon hosted a packing party. They were able to make a total of 42 boxes. The children are pictured that helped fill the boxes. Fun was had by all.

Please pray for

■Associational Missionary Gary Leutzinger

■Church planters Drew and Shannon Cunningham, Santa Cruz Area, California

■ Daybreak Pregnancy Care Center

■Lost and unchurched people

■Revival in SCBN churches

■Unity in our churches and unity among our churches

■Churches without pastors

■Our schools, teachers and students

■All the events and activities mentioned in this newsletter.

Church positions available

Morningside Baptist Church is seeking a Director of Family Ministries. This position will be a part-time position and will work closely with the pastor to lead and shepherd young children, youth, and their families. In addition, this role may grow over time to include other responsibilities based on gifting, experience, and ministry needs. Please contact Stan Bowen at 229-938-4022.

Please contact the SCBN Office at 229-273-4127 if you would like to feature an available church position in the monthly newsletter.

Opportunities coming up

South Central Baptist Network events are printed in bold.

December 4-11 Week of Prayer and Mission Study for International Missions and the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering

December 8 Ministers and Wives Christmas Banquet, 6:30 PM, @ Penia Baptist Church

December 25 Christmas

December 26-Jan 2 SCBN Office Closed for Holidays

If you would like your

church news or events featured in the Newsletter please send it to [email protected]

What to do with all those old Sunday School books?

Don’t throw them away–bring them to SCBN Office

Bring your old SS literature to Houston Baptist Center. Chad Harris will take it to a Edwin L. Hodges Ministries collection site to send overseas. ELHM is a Christian literature ministry that collects donated Bibles, books, magazines, tapes, and tracts from American Christians and ships them to Bible schools, churches, missionaries, and ministries overseas. ELHM is a non-denominational, nonprofit, evangelical ministry.

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