Weekly Church Newsletter | March 14, 2025

The First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg exists to help people experience God's gift of life in Jesus.

A Note From the Pastor ...

First Baptist Family,

For the observant among you, you might have noticed this week's Newsletter is a day late. This is because what was supposed to be a brief internet outage at the church for an equipment upgrade yesterday, stretched into a two day affair. The solution turned out to be a hidden power switch on a piece of equipment which hadn't been turned on when it was installed. Oh boy! There's plenty of sermon illustrations to be drawn from this experience, no doubt, but I'll spare you from them for now.

Though it is a day late, this week's newsletter is chock full. We have a lot of opportunities for mission, worship, fellowship, and discipleship coming up over the next several weeks. I encourage you to look through the opportunities below (Senior Adult Day Trip, One Day Mission Trip to LaBelle, Serve St Pete Day, Monday Fun Day, Nehemiah Action, Palm Sunday Egg Hunt & Picnic, Maundy Thursday Dinner & Worship, Good Friday Stations of the Cross, and more!) and jump in where you can!

Of all those wonderful opportunities, let me take a quick moment to highlight just one. We are hosting Nehemiah Action on Monday, April 7, which is now just over three weeks away. On this night, we hope to fill our sanctuary to overflowing with folks gathered from 40+ congregations across Pinellas County to ask our public officials to make commitments about concerns in our community. Of course, I hope you're planning to come that night, and bring others with you!

I also want you to know there are opportunities for you to serve that evening. We need folks to be the smiling face of First Baptist to welcome our full house of guests - parking lot attendants, greeters, ushers, etc. - and you can sign up to serve. I'm grateful that once again our facility can be a Sanctuary for our city and I trust we all want to be good hosts - thanks for your help!

Amid our full upcoming schedule, let us remember the commitment of this Lenten Season: to remember and re-member. So let us worship and serve, by loving God and loving people, in response to God's faithfulness to us, as we prepare to celebrate Christ's glorious resurrection on Easter!

I look forward to seeing you Sunday as we continue this Lenten journey together!

Blessings,

Ben

Worship This Sunday

March 16, 2025 | 10:30 a.m.

Songs of Worship

Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise

I Stand Amazed in the Presence (How Marvelous)

I Will Sing Praise

By The Savior's Power

I Have Decided to Follow Jesus

Sermon

"Our Heavenly Future"

Philippians 3:17-4:1

Big Idea: When we are tempted to live with an earthly mindset, we must remember our heavenly future.

Kids Worship

Our Elementary-Aged Kids current theme is Cast and Crew: Everyone Has A Part to Play. This week their lesson is Won't You Please, Please Help Me exploring Nehemiah 1-4; 6:15 in which Nehemiah Rebuilds the Walls learning to work together to solve problems.

Preschool Worship

Our Preschoolers continue their monthly theme Watch This!, in which they're learning Jesus can do anything. This week they'll learn Jesus' power is amazing by exploring the story of catching fish in Matthew 4:18 & Luke 5:1-7.

Nursery

We offer a volunteer-staffed nursery for children 2 and under for any families who would like to utilize it during worship.

Before Worship This Sunday

9 a.m. Opportunities for All Ages

Preschool Kids Choir | Room 109

A fun, music-filled time for 2 year olds through Pre-K friends learning to love music and worship Jesus.

Elementary Kids Choir | Room 206

For kindergarteners through sixth graders, a fun environment to learn music with friends and prepare for leading in worship.

FirstYOUTH | Multipurpose Room

A gathering of Middle & High School Students, for community and Bible study. Their March study is "Remember When I ..." a series on the power of forgiveness.



Digging Deeper Class | Room 204

A co-ed group of adults of all ages. They're currently studying Nehemiah.

Masters Class | Conference Room

A co-ed group of adults of all ages, utilizing the Formations curriculum to facilitate class discussion. Their March study is "Questions Jesus Answered".

Sonshine Class | Heritage Hall

A co-ed group composed primarily of retired adults, utilizing the Formations curriculum to facilitate class discussion. Their March study is "Questions Jesus Answered".

Special Needs Class | Heritage Hall Room 2

This co-ed group for adults with intellectual disabilities is part of our Special Needs Ministry. They're currently studying "Luke's Stories of Jesus' Ministry".

10 a.m. Coffee & Pastries Fellowship in the Narthex

Between our 9 a.m. offerings and the beginning of worship each Sunday we offer coffee, juice, and other goodies for you to enjoy in the Narthex. We encourage you to come a few minutes early or stop by after your 9 a.m. activity to spend some time getting to know other members of your church family of all ages. We'll see you Sunday!

Senior Day Trip to The Hacienda

Thursday, March 27

Our next Senior Adult Day Trip will be to The Hacienda in New Port Richey, a classic 1927 Florida Hotel, where we will have lunch after a scenic boat tour up the Pithlachascotte River. On the tour we will experience nature, history, and the house of Johnny Cash - all before lunch. We'll meet at the church at 9 a.m. on Thursday, March 27. The cost is $40 per person, which includes transportation to New Port Richey, the boat tour, and lunch. Please RSVP by Sunday, March 23 at the link below.

One Day Mission Trip: Painting in LaBelle

Saturday, March 29

The new Education Building at Iglesia Primera Bautista in LaBelle, Florida (which our own Troy Willingham designed!) is almost finished! We need on final push for completion before Vacation Bible School and other summer youth programs.

You might remember this building upgrade is going to be beneficial both to our mission partners at Cultivate Abundance and for future hurricane relief efforts.

We are sending down a team to put the first coat of exterior paint on the building (and our sister church Bayshore Baptist in Tampa will finish the job the next week). It is ground work to roll on two coats of paint with some cut in and brush work from a short ladder.

Please sign up to join us! We'll carpool down and back up for a one day trip on March 29.

Serve St Pete Day

Saturday, April 5 | 9 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Join us for a church-wide Day of Service as we SERVE our St. Pete Community together! The whole church family is invited to spend the morning serving our St Pete neighbors through various projects around the city, then share lunch together to wrap up the day. Please sign up at the link below.

Monday Fun Day

Monday, April 7 | 10:30 a.m.

At April's Monday Fun Day we'll Spring Into Fun with Bingo and Ice Cream!

Join us in Heritage Hall at 10:30 a.m. for the fun, and stay for a sandwich lunch.

Please RSVP by April 2 at the link below.

FAST Nehemiah Action

Monday, April 7 | 7 p.m.

We have the privilege again this year to host a gathering of people of faith from across our county as we ask public officials to make concrete commitments to making our community more just by addressing the problems of Affordable Housing and Water Quality & Flooding. We have commitments from public officials to be present, and we need your presence to show them how much these matters of justice mean to us as people of faith. Please mark your calendar and plan to attend this year's Nehemiah Action.

We want every person in the First Baptist family to be present!

There are also many opportunities to serve as we are hosts of this event - you can sign up to serve at the link below.

Palm Sunday Fellowship Picnic & EGG HUNT

Sunday, April 13 | Following Worship

On Palm Sunday, April 13 following worship we invite the whole church family to gather in the Multipurpose Room for a Fellowship Picnic!

We'll have a wonderful fellowship lunch, fun activities for all ages, AND our annual FirstKIDS EGG HUNT! (Kids, remember to bring your baskets!)

We will be accepting donations of individually wrapped candy sized to fit in Easter eggs (or financial contributions to purchase candy) beginning this Sunday.

Maundy Thursday Dinner & Communion

Thursday, April 17 | 6 p.m.

We will gather around tables in the Narthex to share dinner and communion as we remember the events in the upper room on the night before Christ was crucified.

Please RSVP so we can be prepared with enough food for everyone!

Good Friday Stations of the Cross

Friday, April 18 | 6 p.m.

On Good Friday we will gather at 6 p.m. in the Prayer Garden and engage in an communal walk to experiential stations around the church campus which will help us remember and commemorate the events of Good Friday as we prepare for Easter.

This is an event for all ages - wheelchairs and strollers are welcome!

Opportunities to Serve at Lynch Elementary

Our partner school, Lynch Elementary has several opportunities to serve, and we welcome you to explore which one(s) are right for you!

Ongoing Opportunities

Passing Out Treats - Each Thursday, 11 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Lunch Pal - One Time per week; flexible

Mentor - One or More Times per week; flexible

Room (Grand)Parent - Daily/Weekly; flexible

One-Time Opportunities

April 2 - School Photo Day

April 3 - Lion’s Pride Celebration

May 5–9 - Staff Appreciation Week

To learn more or sign up for any of these opportunities contact the church office or Lynch Elementary Family & Community Liaison Michele Killam (Killamm@pscb.org | 727.570.3170).

Please sign up here to complete the necessary forms to be ready to volunteer throughout the year when opportunities arise.

The Next Week's Schedule

Sunday

9 a.m. - Adult & Youth Bible Studies | Preschool & Elementary Kids Choirs

10 a.m. - Coffee & Pastries Fellowship

10:30 a.m. - Sanctuary Worship | Kids Worship | Preschool Worship | Nursery



Monday

9 a.m. - Weekly Prayer Meeting

1 p.m. - Quilting & Ceramics Ministries



Tuesday

1-4 p.m. - Food Pantry

Wednesday

6:30 p.m. - Choir Rehearsal

Thursday

1-4 p.m. - Food Pantry

Upcoming Events

March

26 - Time of Praise

27 - Senior Adult Trip to The Hacienda

29 - One Day Mission Trip to LaBelle

April

5 - Serve St Pete Day

6 - Blood Pressure Clinic

7 - Monday Fun Day (10:30 a.m.) | FAST Nehemiah Action (7 p.m.)

9 - Time of Praise

13 - Palm Sunday Fellowship Picnic & Egg Hunt

17 - Maundy Thursday Dinner & Communion (6 p.m.)

18 - Stations of the Cross (6 p.m.)

20 - Easter Sunday

21 - Church Campus Closed

23 - Time of Praise

Contact Us

First Baptist Church of St. Petersburg

1900 Gandy Blvd N

St. Petersburg, FL 33702

727.576.5508

fbc@fbcstpete.org