Thank You
To my First Baptist Friends
When looking for a church so long ago, I found it in FBC. I felt welcome and a sense of belonging. Never have I felt the love and kindness as I have in the outpouring of love shown to Billy and I, as at this time. God has answered our many prayers. Billy is alive. He will recover and be home one day.
I hope all of you know how grateful we are.
Billy and Geri.
HELLYN JORDAN MEMORIAL SERVICES NOV. 21
Memorial Service for Hellyn L. Jordan will be held at 2:00 PM Saturday, Nov. 21, in the sanctuary of Ashburn First United Methodist Church. An Open House to review and remember her many accomplishments will be in the church’s social hall from 2:30-6:00. Drop-in at your convenience during that time and browse through newspaper articles, awards, and momentos of this remarkable lady.
OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD Relay Center Times
GIVING AS OF NOVEMBER 18, 2020
Budget for 2020 . . . . . . . . $326,787.00
Tithes Needed to Date . . . $270,227.91
Received to Date . . . . . . . . $232,473.96
Needed for weekly budget . . . . . . $6,284.37
Tithes Received this week . . . . . . $1,990.00
Harvest Day Offering. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $15,486.00
SUNDAY SCHOOL LIVE STREAM
Carl Hobbs, the teacher for Christians Under Construction, is teaching live on Facebook each Sunday at 9:30 AM. Everyone is welcome to join.
To Join: Search for Carl Hobbs on Facebook. You will then see a link to join on his page.
Call Jonathan if you have any issues.
From Our Pastor
Are you ready for Thanksgiving? I am! I love this holiday! Some of my fondest memories involve going to my grandmother’s farm for Thanksgiving. I’ve always enjoyed the simple concept of thanking God for His wonderful goodness. I like having the whole holiday season ahead to anticipate. I look forward to Thanksgiving every year.
I also like Thanksgiving because of the pilgrims. I have a respect for them. Their lives and beliefs not only serve as a foundation for our nation, but they are also a light to show us the way to the future. Their convictions and lessons are more relevant today than ever. In this year that celebrates the 400th anniversary of their arrival in the new world, we desperately need to relearn those lessons.
It is from the pilgrims that we learn of our purpose as a nation. Yes, Jamestown was the first permanent English settlement in America, but it is from the Pilgrims who settled Plymouth that we learn our purpose and calling as a nation. The Pilgrims clearly stated this in the Mayflower Compact when they wrote, “Having undertaken, for the glory of God and advancement of the Christian Faith and honor of our King and country, a voyage to plant the first colony in the northern parts of Virginia…” Those words clearly stated their purpose was to start a Christian colony for the glory of God. That commitment shaped our nation since it was Plymouth and the late arriving Puritans who influenced English settlement – not Jamestown.
The Mayflower Compact was also a major step toward representative self-government. The Mayflower had been blown off course crossing the Atlantic and the Pilgrims did not land in Virginia where they would have been under the Virginia charter. When they landed in present day Massachusetts, they had to organize their own government. This was the first time in history that men had created their own government.
Think of it! Free men forming a society for the glory of God. Our calling as a nation is to be a Christian nation. Our present problems are the result of a national identity crisis. We have forgotten who we are supposed to be, so we have no idea what to do. Only when we reclaim our identity will we rediscover our purpose. Please pray that we do. It is our only hope.
The Pilgrims teach us to thank God for His blessings. After the first full year in the New World, the Pilgrims were filled with gratitude for all God had done. He had provided them a place to worship and obey only Him (their reason for leaving England), gotten them safely across the Atlantic and carried them through the first winter. He gave them a wonderful friend in Squanto. It was Squanto who taught them how to plant corn, catch fish, hunt and trap beaver. Squanto was the instrument God used to teach the Pilgrims how to live in their new home. That year’s crop was so bountiful that they celebrated the first Thanksgiving with 90 Indians – for three days!
When we think of all the blessings that God has given us – life, salvation, His Spirit, family, friends, food, and abundance; how can we not be thankful? The Pilgrims ought to motivate us to truly give thanks.
Last, the Pilgrims also teach us the importance of individual freedom and responsibility. The first two years of farming were communal. There were common fields, and everyone divided the produce. It became increasingly difficult to get more than half-hearted, go-through-the-motions work. Only when families began working their own fields did work and produce increase.
How timely is this lesson! An increasing portion of our nation is attracted to the communal model of collectivism, socialism, and communism. They have been led to think it is a new, up-to-date solution. It is not new. It has already been tried 400 years ago. It was discarded because it did not work. This conclusion has been verified in every place it has been tried in the 20th and 21st centuries. I pray we remember this lesson before it is too late!
We always remember the Pilgrims at Thanksgiving. This year, let’s learn from them.