This Sunday @ VBC

We're looking forward to worship at 10:30 AM this Sunday, when Travis will begin a new sermon series based in the New Testament. This week's message is "Disciples & Apostles," and the scripture is Mark 1:16-20. Because it is the first Sunday of August, we plan to observe the Lord's Supper. If you cannot join us in person, livestream is available through our app (search Vinton Baptist Church VA through your app store), at www.vintonbaptistchurch.org, and through our Facebook page.

Promotion Sunday & Blessing of the Backpacks

Mark your calendars for Sunday, August 11th when our children's and youth Sunday School classes will promote to the next level for the new school year. We will also have our annual Blessing of the Backpacks. If you are a student, please bring your backpack to church with you. If you are a teacher, bus driver, cafeteria staff, administrator, or in any other way associated with our schools, feel free to bring whatever bag you usually carry to work with you. We want to spend time praying over you and blessing you and your work for this 2024-25 school year.

JOY Seniors Schedule

We will enjoy the Sunflower Festival at Sinkland Farms, followed by dinner at Cracker Barrel, on Saturday, August 10th. We will depart VBC at 2:00 PM and return between 7:30 and 8:00 PM. The cost is $11 plus your meal.

Mark your calendar and sign up for our August 27th JOY Senior Luncheon. Lunch will come from Bellacino's and will include individual 8" pizza (cheese or pepperoni), salad (various dressings), cookie, and water. The cost is $12. Did you know that 1 out of 4 older adults falls annually, resulting in about 3 million ER visits per year? Our speaker will present on Bingocize and a Matter of Balance, which are both evidence-based fall prevention programs. Both have proven to help reduce falls in those who participate.

Sight & Sound (Daniel), guided tour of Philadelphia, Independence National Park, city tour of Baltimore, National Aquarium, Baltimore Harbor lunch cruise, all meals except lunch on day of departure and day of return . . . these are a few of the events that you will enjoy on the JOY Senior trip September 24th - 26th. See the sign-up table for details on cost, etc. The deadline for sign-up and payment is Tuesday, August 20th.

Upcoming Youth Events

We're wrapping up the summer with two August events:

• Senior Send-off- August 7th (Wednesday) - Plan to join us in bidding farewell to our seniors who have graduated! Meet at the church at 6:00 PM.
• Back-to-School Lock-in- August 9th - 10th (Friday - Saturday) - Come out for our annual fun and games! 7 PM - 7 AM. The cost is $30.

And we're looking forward to fall events:

• Wednesday Night Mission Nights resume September 11th at 6:15 PM.
• Youth Choir returns at 11:45 AM Sunday, September 15th. There will also be a Fall Parent/Student Kickoff meeting at 5:00 PM that night.
• Youth Dinner & Extreme starts at 5:00 PM September 22nd.
• And save the dates for Fall Retreat: November 8-10!

Chancel Choir Rehearsal

The Chancel Choir will rehearse next Wednesday, August 7th at 7:00 PM. Please plan to attend!

Thursday Morning Small Group Meetings

Travis' Thursday morning small group will meet August 8th at 10:00 AM in the small dining room. We'll move to lunch at Pok-E-Joe's at 11:00 AM. Our regular weekly meetings will resume September 12th and run through November 21st before we take a break for the holidays. All adults are welcome to join us for engaging conversations!

Budget Committee

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

Joan Williamson

805 Ruddell Road

Vinton VA 24179

Sunday, July 28, 2024

Sunday School: 184

10:30 AM Worship:

• 291 in person
• 203 online

Thank you to the Fellowship/Berean class for their donation to the General Budget.

Attention: Golfers

The Agape Center Vinton/Roanoke is located at 1568 Granby Street NE in Roanoke and is a resource for folks experiencing food insecurity or in need of clothing or other household items. They are hosting a golf tournament October 5th at Ashley Plantation to raise funds for this important ministry. Visit www.agapevinton.org for more info. If you don't golf, but you're interested in volunteer opportunities with this organization, you can find those details on their website, as well.

Fall Schedule @ VBC

We're gearing up for the start of the school year. Please see the August calendar available through the link below. Following are a few dates of interest for September:

9/11 - Wednesday night activities (Children's Choirs, Weeknight Worship, Youth Missions Night, etc.) resume.

9/15 - Youth Choir resumes (11:45 AM), along with Art from the Heart/Mission Kids (5 PM), and Youth Dinner/Extreme (6 PM). We will also have a Ministry Matters meeting (5 PM) in the gym. But FIRST, we'll have a church-wide Ice Cream Social at 4:15 PM!

Bible Reading Plan

We will jump into Acts in just a few days. Fee & Stuart label Acts as a continuation ("part 2") of the story that began in the Gospel of Luke: "Luke's story is thus in two major parts: (1) how the good news of God's salvation for all people began, through the power of the Spirit, with Jesus in Galilee and in Jerusalem (Luke's Gospel), and (2) how the good news of God's salvation through Jesus was, by the power of the Spirit, carried by the apostles from Jerusalem to Rome (Acts)." They explain why these two books are separated by the Gospel of John in our Bible, noting that both books together were too lengthy to encompass one scroll. So Luke was written on a single scroll and Acts was written on a separate scroll. "But in putting together the New Testament canon, the early church separated Luke from Acts (since both would have existed on separate scrolls, even when copied) through inspired insight. In the canon Luke now belongs to the fourfold Gospel, while Acts serves as a bridge between the Gospels and Paul. But in reading Acts, you need always to remember how it fits into Luke's inspired plan."

The main thrust of Acts is how the gospel spreads from Jerusalem to Europe via the Holy Spirit. The Spirit was directing believers to share about Jesus in various places, with the culmination of Paul sharing the gospel in Rome. Along the way, more and more gentiles heard and followed the gospel until the new church was made up of more gentiles than Jews. "In Acts, ... [the geography] starts in Jerusalem and then branches out to other parts of Judea (chs. 1-12); its large central section is another travel narrative, as Paul takes the gospel from Antioch to Europe (chs. 13-20); the final third (chs. 21-28) portrays Paul's trials before the same three tribunals as Jesus ... which in Paul's case results in his getting the gospel to the heart of the empire (Rome)."

From the Human Resources Committee:

VBC has an immediate opening for a paid nursery worker. If you are interested in more details, please see Terry Hough or email her at mthough@cox.net.

Dear Vinton Baptist Church,

Thank you for the flower sent to us after the passing of our mother, Geneva Dillon. We also want to express our thanks for all the ways you loved and cared for Mom as her dementia worsened - for your visits and cards while she lived at home, and then after she entered memory care, for your visits, goody bags, and many cards from friends, children, and Sunday School classes. Even when she couldn't remember you, your actions were constant reminders that she was still in your hearts.

With gratitude, Cindy Dillon & Becky Dillon Maxey