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H ave you ever thought about how awesome it would be to have one of those incredible gifts that we read about in the Bible? Wouldn’t it be awesome to speak in a language that other people understood and

heard you praising God? How about being able to prophesy and know all the mysteries of the word of God? Imagine having the fortitude to give away everything you have to the poor and choosing to suffer with them. Would that make you greater in the service of God than others who do less? Let’s look at a passage of scripture and see what Paul has to say about that: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 “If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” Paul had just taught about God giving us gifts. He gifts us to be able to minister to others and to show them the love of Christ. But then, Paul reminds us that these gifts do not make us greater servants than others. They simply allow us to help others. When we begin to think of ourselves as being able to do something or be something because of the gifts God has given us, it is at that point that we fail to use the gifts for God’s glory. We become clanging cymbals, self-serving proclaimers of God’s word, and even healers with great faith that make no eternal difference in anybody’s life because it has become all about us. We may give everything away we have so others will see our faith and our holiness, but it is a wasted gift if it is done to show others who we think we are. The only thing that makes any eternal difference is the use of our gifts done in love. What does love look like? First let me say that love is an action and if it is not, it is usually a worthless love. Love does not speak in another language to be heard, seen and noticed. It is all about God being glorified. Love does not proclaim to know the great mysteries of God in order to gain a large following, but rather to see others grow closer to God. Love never does a miracle to bring attention to the one praying. It always gives glory to God. Love does not give up everything to be noticed, it gives to those in need as God directs. What drives your actions? What motivates you to serve the Lord and use the gifts He has bestowed upon you? Beloved, let us always consider the motivation for all that we do and when we reach out, let it be because the love of God which has been poured into us is being poured out through us to make an eternal difference in someone’s life.

May God be glorified in you and through you today, Pete

Issue Number 06 February 12, 2019

GPBA is updating the mailing list for their newsletter. Located on the bulletin board in the hallway is a signup sheet. Please list your name and e-mail address or if you would rather receive it in the mail put you mailing ad-dress. Deadline to do so is February 17 so Arlene can make the purposed changes.

BGCO Disaster

Relief Training

TEAM Center, 7180 NW Expressway, Okarche, OK

February 16, 2019 New Volunteers $15.00

Returning Volunteer $10.00

Contact Sharon McDonald for further information.

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Sunday Servants FEBRUARY 17, 2019

USHERS Dakota Gilbert, Allen Gilpatrick, Dan Hanrahan, Todd Haseloff

Brandon Hickey, Mike Hinkle, J.R. Moler, Brian Silk

NURSERY WORKERS Glenda Calverley & Sandra Silk

HALL MONITOR Freddie Gordon

CHILDREN’S WORSHIP TEAM Ashley Morris / Bailey Sterling

DEACONS ON CALL David Epp .............................................................. 580.374.4833 Paul O’Briant ......................................................... 580.928.5094

Church News FEBRUARY 10, 2019

117 Sunday School 156 114 Life Groups 89

CONTRIBUTIONS General Fund 11,411.68 Birthday/Anniversary 0.00 Des: Celebrate Recovery 58.00 Des: FBC Scholarship Fund 1,103.06 Des: Women’s Ministry 320.00 TOTAL 12,892.74

YEAR TO DATE

Required for budget to date $55,740.00

Given for budget to date 62,967.74 Other 5,034.27 TOTAL $68,002.01

Weekly Calendar

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2019 8:00 A.M. ............................................... Praise Band Rehearsal 9:30 A.M. ............................................................ Sunday School 10:50 A.M ................... Morning Worship with Bro. Pete Parker 5:00 P.M. ...................... Evening Worship with Bro. Pete Parker 6:00-7:30 P.M. .............................................. ConnectKids Choir ..................................................... Men’s & Ladies Bible Studies ......................................................................... Collide @ FBCCC

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2019 6:00 A.M. ..................................................... Men’s Prayer Time 10:00 A.M. ............................................................ Staff Meeting

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 19, 2019 10:00 A.M. .................. Sr. Adult Choir-Hensley’s Nursing Home

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2019 6:00-7:00 P.M. ................................. Pastor’s Class in Sanctuary 6:00-7:00 P.M. ......................................................... 19 Ministry 6:00-7:30 P.M. ........................................................ ConnectKids 6:00-7:30 P.M. ................................................. Collide @ FBCCC 7:30 P.M. ........................................ Community Choir Rehearsal

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 21, 2019 6:30-9:00 P.M. ................................. Celebrate Recovery @ FBC

Roberta Oldfield ........................................................ February 17 Cindy Parker ............................................................................. 17 Kevin Gordon ............................................................................ 17 Nathan Dyer ............................................................................. 17 Rylyn Whitson .......................................................................... 17 Jessica Kennemer ..................................................................... 18 Brandon Miller ......................................................................... 18 Paiton Quinn ............................................................................. 18 Wyatt Compton ........................................................................ 18 Shirley Joseph ........................................................................... 19 Nikki Hager ............................................................................... 19 Chris Mackey ............................................................................ 20 Baylee Lakey ............................................................................. 20 Jude Lunsford ........................................................................... 20 Paul O’Briant ............................................................................ 22 Jason Crook .............................................................................. 22 Mikel Bohannon ....................................................................... 22 J.W. Coots-Bohannon ............................................................... 22 Bill Rippetoe ............................................................................. 23 Mason Racadio ......................................................................... 23

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Alan’s Notes

R ecently I faced an

extremely

disappointing

circumstance. As I dealt with

it, it was amazing what

thoughts ran through my

mind. Feelings of anger

surfaced from deep within my

being as well as feelings of low self-worth and doubt. I was

amazed at the intensity with which these feelings rolled over me

and how disruptive they were to my emotions, motivation and

attitude. Most of us have had disappointments of some shape

or fashion in our lives. I truly believe that disappointments are a

part of the human experience and how we deal with them can

define us or disable us. How then can we turn disappointments

into defining moments instead of disabling incidents?

First one needs to identify the source of the feelings. I

know where most of my disappointments have their origin. I

have never been a confident person. I can take the most off-

hand comment and turn it into a personal slight. I actually never

TRY to do that, but the enemy, that accuser of the brethren, the

devil, has found that my sense of self-worth is an easy place to

gain a foothold. He can take a comment that was never

intended for me to take personally and whisper a lie into my ear

that it is ALL ABOUT ME. Many believers have experienced

Satan’s quiet whisper that seeks to divide brothers and sisters in

Christ. Identifying the origin of the feelings can lead us to

understand whether or not the statements are true.

Once we understand that the source is a lie from the

enemy, we can combat the lie with truth. The Bible is full of

truth that should shape our understanding of our self, our

purpose and God’s plan for us. The depth to which we have

internalized this truth can shield us from the initial attack.

However, the enemy is quick and often tries different

approaches capitalizing on our vulnerabilities. Therefore, even

though we may not have scriptures ready at hand, we can and

should know where to look and be ready to rein in our emotions

until we have reminded ourselves of the truth of the scriptures.

Psychologists might call it positive self-talk. I call it letting the

Bible speak truth into our lives and then living by the truth.

Armed with scripture and prayer, we can be reminded

that our God is for us not against us and as Paul wrote in

Romans 8:38-39, “… I am convinced that neither death, nor life,

nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to

come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created

thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is

in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Never Disappointed in Christ!

Brother Alan

Stefan’s Thoughts

Dear Parents,

This week we talked about God’s great love for us, how he sacrificed for us before we ever came to him in need, and he loved us while we were still sinners. We used Romans 5:6-11 as our foundation and saw how God’s love for us, even while we were still sinners, is a magnificent and sacrificial love that is sometimes hard to fully grasp. God didn’t wait for us to choose him. God didn’t demand that we get our acts together before he sent Jesus as a sacrifice. God loved us enough to make a way for us to be restored, redeemed to him—and it is obvious that a love this amazing must be shared!

As you go throughout the week, consider reinforcing the message with your teenager(s) by asking some of these questions:

If it’s easy for us to talk about things were excited about, why does it seem so hard for us to talk about Jesus? Because I struggle doing it, too. (Then consider listing some things you love to talk about and ask your teenager(s) for some examples of things they find easy to talk about.) How can we gain confidence in talking about God like we talk about those things?

What would it take for you to sacrifice your life for someone? (This could be a good time to reinforce your deep, abiding love for your child.)

What words would you use to describe that kind of love God has for us? (Then share some words of your own!)

Thanks for being the most important faith influence your teenager(s) will ever have! We love partnering with you in that high calling!

Brother Stefan

$75 for Adults $50 for Students (ages 14-17)

After deadline cost increases to $85 for all ages. For more info contact Terri @ 928.5518

Deadline is March 3, 2019

$80 Adults / $65 for Youth Deadline is April 10, 2019

Contact Matt Riggs for more info.