From Our Pastor | This Sunday is Father’s Day.  I hope that you use this day to remember and honor the men God has used to bless your life.  These could be father figures as well as actual fathers.  God has enriched our lives through the influence of these men, and we should express our gratitude.

From our Family and Music Minister | On a late afternoon, Eilene and I came home to see my dad standing at the back of a pickup truck with a load of trash bags. As we got out of the car and walked up to him, the overwhelming smell of chili and hamburgers filled the air. My dad was going through the lunch trash from Pat’s Place, a local restaurant, because my mother couldn’t find her keys, and that was the last place she remembered she had them. It was true. When she dumped her tray, she tossed her keys. (I have no proof, but I assume it was because she was talking to someone.)

From our Family and Music Minister | Throughout my senior year of high school, I lead worship at Oak Grove Baptist on the outskirts of Turner County. During one of the morning messages, the pastor taught about growing as a Christian. As he was relating the nurturing of the Christian life to a field or garden being nurtured, he made this statement: “Besides Jonathan, I know you all have spent many hours growing food or plants and seeing the constant care they need” Before I knew it, I blurted out, “I can grow weeds with the best of them.” It took so long for the congregation to stop laughing that Brother Wynton could not remember what point he was trying to make. He told me almost 20 years later that he never forgot to be prepared when you call someone out by name during a sermon.

FROM OUR PASTOR | How frightening are these times in which we live!  Our nation is fragmenting.  The economy is crumbling.  Crime is rising.  International tensions are mounting.  Political discourse is inflammatory.

From Our Family and Music Minister | Many young people will graduate from high school during the next few weeks. They now have many decisions to make that will affect their future: the choice of courses they take in college to prepare them for future work; the choice of friends that will influence them; and financial decisions that could hurt them for many years to come. However, most importantly, they will decide what they will do with God.

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. TURNER ASSOCIATION’S EVANGELISM MEETING BETHEL BAPTIST CHURCHTHURSDAY, MAY 5 GUEST SPEAKER: BRAD WATERS SCHEDULE FOR THE NIGHTEXECUTIVE COMMITTEE 6:30 PMSUPPER 7:00 PMEVANGELISM MEETING 7:30 PM National Day of Prayer National…

From Our Family and Music Minister | WOW! We had a great turnout Sunday afternoon for our outreach. We had eight teams, ranging in age from 8 to 80 plus, helping us cover the northeast side of Ashburn. More than 300 houses were covered within an hour. It is incredible what a small group of like-minded people can accomplish in a short time. We may not see the immediate result of our work, but we know we were a part of the Gospel message being distributed to every house in our community. Even though this was a group effort, I hope you will consider how you can reach out personally to others for your Savior.

From our Pastor | Are you needing God to do a work in your life?  Perhaps you are facing a great need and see no way for it to be met.  Maybe you are wrestling with some great problem that you can not solve.  Perhaps you are facing a decision and don’t know what to do.  You are at a point that you desperately need God to move.

From Our Family and Music Minister | If you have never been on a youth retreat or gone to a youth camp, let me explain the emotions that you generally experience. As you gather early in the morning, usually on a Monday, you are tired from camp prep and packing, but the excitement of camp fills you with energy. The late nights and early mornings start to catch up with you as the week progresses. (Especially at a Fuge camp, the adults know the only way to get a clean and somewhat quiet shower is to wake up at 5:00 AM.)