WMU Project

WMU will be collecting items to support Constructors for Christ. The mission of Constructors for Christ is to spread the gospel by building churches and mission facilities. Please leave your donations at the entrance to the fellowship hall. Donations are needed by July 10, 2024.

Dishwashing liquid 12.4 oz
Multi-purpose cleaners like pine-sol
Shampoo 15 oz
Potted meat
Cake mix white or chocolate
Green beans 15 oz can
Peas 15 oz can
Staple items

Operation Christmas Child

To prepare for OCC, we will gather the following items over the next several months. A box will be located outside Nikki’s office.

June Items
Small Toys, Flip-flops,
Ball caps for boys, Socks

Homecoming Designated Account

A special offering has been set up for anyone who would like to help with the additional cost of Homecoming. If you would like to donate to this account, be sure to note it on your envelope or in the memo line of the check. After all expenses are paid, any money left in the account will go into the general fund.

Preparing for Homecoming on August 25, 2024

On August 25, 2024, First Baptist will celebrate 135 years of ministry in the heart of Ashburn. As we prepare for this special homecoming event, we need your help. If you have the names and addresses of past members or staff, we could send an invitation to please get them to Nikki in the church office: email nikkibrewer@fbcashburn.com or 229-567-9320.

Giving as of June 17, 2024

Budget for 2024 . . . . . . . .  $329,423.00
Tithes Needed to Date . . . . $152,041.26
Received to Date . . . . . . . . $121,745.28
Needed for weekly budget . . .  $6,335.00
Tithes Received this week . . . . $4,107.75

MID-WEEK DEVOTION

Don’t forget to check out Brother David’s Mid-Week Devotion in the book of Psalms. They are uploaded each Wednesday on the sermon page.

From Our Family and Music Minister

As a child, one of my favorite summer activities was swimming. But before I knew how to swim, my dad got us a little kiddy pool that he kept in the backyard all summer. One hot afternoon, I ran out the back door and went to jump in the pool, when I came to a sudden stop and saw a pool full of creatures with claws. I later learned that these were crawdads mixed in with a few crabs the neighbors’ teenage son had caught and was trying to keep alive until they cooked them. But to a young city-raised kid, they were creatures only seen on television and in nightmares.

What scared me the most was that they kept trying to claw their way out. However, they were unsuccessful because of the slick side of the pool and because they would constantly pull each other back. They acted on instinct, and none would ever escape because they held each other back. This is actually known as “Crab Bucket Syndrome.” If we are honest with ourselves, how often do we see this among Christian brothers and sisters? Unfortunately, jealousy and envy can cause abnormal reactions in believers. 

The Old Testament account of Joseph and his brothers is probably one of the Bible’s most familiar examples of jealousy. Joseph’s father, Jacob, showed favoritism to Joseph over his other sons because Joseph was born in Jacob’s old age to his favorite wife. His father even gave him an ornate robe to show his love. The jealousy of his brothers was even more influenced by dreams Joseph interpreted that put him above his brothers. His brothers hated him so much that they sold him into slavery. Of course, we know the rest of the story and how God used this incident to help Joseph’s family, but we can’t overlook the amount of hate that resulted in that jealousy.

Looking at 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Paul is writing to the Corinthian church on the importance of believers being one body. He states in verse 25b-26, “But God has so composed the body, giving greater honor to the part that lacked it, that there may be no division in the body, but that the members may have the same care for one another.” As fellow believers, we are to rejoice when good things happen to people in our Christian family. We should be happy when our neighbors are blessed. But too often, we are jealous of those who are rejoicing. Romans 12:15 states that we are to “rejoice with those who rejoice.”

To guard our hearts from jealousy, the best practice we can do as a believer is to pray for that person who makes you jealous. Honestly, ask God to work in your heart. As I mentioned in my last article, we need to pray for those who make us angry, just as we do for those who make us jealous. At first, it might be a struggle to do. It might feel impossible. But if we genuinely pray for someone and pray for our attitudes, our hearts and attitudes will change. The only way those things will not improve by prayer is if we don’t honestly desire that change.