Please make plans to join us for family night
as we continue our series on the backgrounds
of the songs we sing.

6:00 PM | Fellowship Hall

Menu for Family Night

Vegetable Soup
Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Apple Fritter

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Associational Brotherhood
Thursday, February 1st, 7:00 PM
New Hope Baptist, Sycamore
Hot Soup Supper Provided

All men are invited to join us.

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Turner Baptist Women’s Spring Meeting
Harmony Baptist Church
1661 Harmony Church Road

Monday, February 19, 2024
6:30 PM
Men and Women are invited.

First Baptist was asked to bring a type of Fruit Salad if possible.

Jonathan will be taking the bus for
those who would like to attend.
We will leave the parking lot at 6:00 PM.

The program will also include:

• Updates from NAMB missionaries planting King’s Table Church in Nova Scotia
• Updates from the Last Frontier IMB missionaries who are connected to our association
• Margaret Kelley, our State Prayer Coordinator, will give updates on our new prayer partnership with Bangladesh.
• Patsy Markham will provide details about the unique project at the Children’s Home.

The offering for the night will be given to the Georgia Baptist Children’s Home at Baxley.

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Giving as of January 30, 2024

Budget for 2024 . . . . . . . .  $329,423.00
Tithes Needed to Date . . . . . $25,340.24
Received to Date . . . . . . . . . $16,515.70
Needed for weekly budget . . .  $6,335.06
Tithes Received this week . . . . $5,413.25

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 Minster

Shortly after Saskia and I got engaged, she wanted us to get a dog together. Long story short, with a bit of manipulation and the help of Sami and Eilene, I was the proud co-owner of a golden retriever puppy the following weekend. As promised, Saskia took care of him, house-trained him, played with him, and even taught him to ring a doorbell to let us know he wanted to go outside. However, shortly after we were married and he moved in with me, it became apparent that I was his human. Saskia wakes up an extra 30 minutes early to take him outside and play at 4:45 AM. A few days last week, I started back into the routine of going and working out in the morning. Maverick stands and watches for me to come out and tell him goodbye before he plays with his football. No matter what Saskia does or how little attention I give Maverick, he is faithful and loyal to me and always shows it.

As a believer, how do you show your faithfulness to Christ? Faithfulness is found in showing up. God shows up. Our best friends show up. A faithful worker doesn’t come in ten minutes late all the time. A faithful church member doesn’t just arrive to eat the good stuff from the potluck once a month. Faithfulness is showing up. We show up as disciples to worship and honor Jesus. We show up for our kids or grandkids so they can feel supported. We show up in our work life so that tasks are completed and work gets done. We show up in our communities because we know investing in others makes for a better community. Is it fun sometimes? Of course, it is. Is it fun all the time? Absolutely not! And yet, to be faithful, we keep showing up, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, we do so while being a reflection of Jesus.

To live out faithfulness, we must go to the source. Make time to connect with God. There are many ways to do that: reading your Bible, praying, walking in nature, serving others, attending worship services or listening to a podcast or audiobook that helps you understand Scripture better. Consistency and repetition is the key. Growing and maturing in Christ and becoming more faithful is a lifelong journey. A. W. Tozer states, “Christian faith is not so much what you say you believe, but how you behave in a consistent manner.” We can put on the mask that makes everyone else think we are the most faithful believers, but God truly knows what is in our hearts. To remain a faithful believer, we must continually invest time and energy into it.

It doesn’t matter if I have been gone for just a few minutes or several hours; anytime I walk into the house, Mavrick goes crazy with excitement. However, at some point, if he intends to or not, his faithfulness will fail. Some temptation will get the best of him, and he will cease to remain loyal. As Christians, we have that assurance that Christ will always remain faithful to His children. Paul reminds us of this when he closes his second letter to Timothy. Paul writes, “But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me, so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion’s mouth” (2 Timothy 4:17). Paul reminds us that even though others had failed him, God always remained faithful. Our prayer and desire should be that we are always faithful to our Creator and Savior because He is always faithful to us. Decide today what habits you need to start or do away with to become a more faithful follower of Christ.