It's VBS Week!

Today is Day 4 of VBS, and it's been a wonderful week so far! Tomorrow night we'll wrap up this year's event with a VBS Block Party at 5:15 PM with dinner in the gym and outdoor games/activities. At 6:30 PM we'll have a closing assembly in the sanctuary. Thanks for your prayers!

This Sunday @ VBC

This Sunday morning at 10:30 AM, we'll celebrate all the fun we've had this week learning about friendship with God! You won't want to miss it! Travis will bring the message titled "A Friend." The scripture is John 15:12-17. Come sing some VBS songs with us and hear the testimonies of those involved. If you cannot join us in person, livestream is available through our app, at www.vintonbaptistchurch.org, and through our Facebook page.

Keystone Paper Drive

The annual Keystone Paper Drive, which is sponsored by the JOY Seniors, runs through the end of July. Please consider donating paper goods such as paper towels, toilet paper, plates, bowls, napkins, disposable utensils, etc. Collection boxes are located in the Welcome Center and the lobby of the New Ministries Building.

JOY Seniors Schedule

This Sunday is the last day to sign up (and pay) for the JOY Senior Mystery Trip, which will take place Thursday, July 25th. The cost is $99 and includes 3 meals and all admissions. We will depart VBC at 7:00 AM and return at 8:00 PM.

The July Senior Breakout (lunch out instead of in the gym) will be Tuesday, July 30th at Liberty Station in Bedford. The bus will leave VBC at 10:45 AM. Please sign up by July 28th (whether you are riding the bus or driving) so that we will have an accurate head count.

We have had such a great response to the Sight & Sound/Philadelphia/Baltimore trip scheduled for September 24th - 26th that we have secured a second bus; sign-ups are open until Tuesday, August 20th. See all the details at the JOY Senior table.

Upcoming Summer Youth Events:

Emerald Point Water Park Day- July 24th (Wednesday)

TODAY is the last day to sign up for this event: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040C4DAFA92AAAFC1-50036554-emerald. The cost is $40 payable to the church. Emerald Point is a cashless venue. Meet at the church at 8 AM. We plan to return at 8 PM. Plan for dinner on the road and lunch/snacks at the park.

Roanoke River Tubing Adventure- July 30th (Tuesday)

Sign up here to reserve a spot:

https://www.signupgenius.com/go/9040C4DAFA92AAAFC1-50036670-river. The cost is $18 plus whatever will be spent on lunch afterward. Meet at the church at 10 AM, and we will plan on returning around 2 PM.

Budget Committee

The Budget Committee will meet Thursday, August 15th at 6:00 PM in the small dining room.

Jean McGuire

c/o Our Lady of the Valley #411

650 N. Jefferson Street

Roanoke VA 24016

Sunday, July 14, 2024

Sunday School: 188

10:30 AM Worship:

• 202 in person
• 143 online

Christian sympathy is extended to Flora Anne Chittum and family in the death of her sister, Rachel Peters Reed Pring, on July 9th.

Bible Reading Plan

I hope you're enjoying the gospel of John so far, and I hope that the details shared in last week's Witness have helped you as you read. I would like to share more from Fee & Stuart (How to Read the Bible Book by Book). I am going to quote them directly because they explain John so well:

"The thing that should most strike you when coming to John's Gospel from having read the Synoptics is how different it is. Not only is the basic scene of Jesus' ministry different (Jerusalem instead of Galilee), but the whole ministry looks quite different. Here you find no messianic secret (Jesus is openly confessed as Messiah from the start); no parables (but rich use of symbolic language); no driving out of demons; no narratives of the testing in the desert, the Transfiguration, or the Lord's Supper. Rather than placing emphasis on the kingdom of God, the emphasis is on Jesus himself (the Life who gives eternal life); rather than short, pithy, memorable sayings, the teaching comes most often in long discourses. As one scholar put it, 'John seems to belong to a different world.'"

(. . . .)

"John's special perspective accounts for two other phenomena peculiar to his telling of the story -- (1) the nature of many of his narratives and (2) the use of double meanings of words, closely related to the rich symbolism. You need to be ready to hear some things at two levels. John often starts with a narrative, which then evolves into a discourse -- and at times you cannot tell where Jesus stops talking and John himself is interpreting (this Gospel is especially problematic for red-letter Bible editions!). For example, in 3:1-21 he starts with a straightforward narrative of Jesus' encounter with Nicodemus, but at its heart are wordplays on the Greek word anothen (which can mean either 'again' or 'from above,' which Nicodemus hears as 'again' while John clearly intends both) and pneuma (the same word means 'wind' and 'Spirit')."

I hope you're enjoying your daily reading. We have about two more weeks remaining in John, and then we'll move on to Acts.

Link2Hope Volunteer Opportunity

Many people in Roanoke are hurting, lost, and looking for truth. Many church members would like to find ways to encourage those suffering and just need the tools and opportunities to do so. Link2Hope is a platform designed to do that. You can utilize it to meet relational, spiritual, and material needs and build relationships with those who need the hope of Jesus. Click here to see what it's all about and how you can get involved.

"Check out" the new books in the library:

• Sandcastle Inn (Book #10 in the Hope Harbor Series) by Irene Hannon
• With Each Tomorrow (Book #2 in The Jewels of Kalispell Series) by Tracie Peterson
• All Our Tomorrows (Book #2 in A New Beginnings Series) by Irene Hannon