First Baptist Church
Evangel Stephen Laughlin, Pastor
John Holland, Minister of Music & Senior Adults
Colin Trisler, Student/Family Life Minister
Jason Mercer, Minister of Children
First Baptist Church
201 East Court St.
Winnfield, LA 71483
Volume 81…..December 22…..Number 51
Candlelight Christmas
Eve Service
Tuesday, December 24
6 PM
The Lord’s Supper
Will Be Observed
A Celebration of
Carols
Presented by
The FBC Sanctuary Choir & the
FBC Jonesboro Chancel Choir
At First Baptist Church
Jonesboro
December 22
6 PM
PLEASE NOTE:
The evening
worship service on
Sunday, December
22 will be held in
the Fireside Room
at 6 p.m.
The December 29th issue of the
Evangel will not be printed due
to the Christmas Holidays. The
next issue to be printed will be
the January 5, 2014 issue.
A Word From Bro. Stephen
Music & Sr. Adult
Ministry
I can only think of one word to describe
last week’s performance of A Celebration
of Carols. The word is WOW! Let me say
that backwards…WOW! I have to say that
the presentation was one of the highlights
of my ministry here at First Baptist Church.
I look forward to what the Lord has in store
for the music ministries at FBC Winnfield
and FBC Jonesboro.
There are so many people that I need to
thank for making A Celebration of Carols a
success. First, a word of thanks to Clovis
Sturdivant for his work combining the two
associations into the North Central Baptist
Association. Next, thanks to Russ Givens
for the great idea of combining the two
church choirs for this performance. A
word of appreciation goes to the members
of the choir and the narrators for the time
they have spent working overtime on the
music. I believe John and Donna Grider
have found a new calling in life! Finally a
word of appreciation to Chris Adams and
Harry Foster for the countless hours of
overtime they have poured into the perfor-
mance. All I can say is “To God Be the
Glory Great Things He Has Done.”
Upcoming Events
A Celebration of Carols – Sunday,
December 22 at 6:00 p.m. at First
Baptist Church in Jonesboro.
Candlelight Christmas Eve Service –
Tuesday, December 24 at 6:00 p.m.
Senior Adult Luncheon – Thursday,
January 16 at 11:30 a.m. Bill Cox,
from Ruston, will be the guest speaker.
Sign up in the church office.
The Reason for the Season:
We are challenged from many angles every year
to “remember the reason for the season”. The way I have
always done this is to listen to Handel’s “Messiah”. As a
child of a music teacher, I have been exposed to the Messi-
ah since I was a child. Some of the music is not exactly
what we’d consider modern, but the music and the mes-
sage is beautiful!
My favorite song in the Messiah is the one that
deals with the passage from Isaiah 53:4-5, which says,
“Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows!
He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised
for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon
Him.”
We celebrate Christ’s birth this time of year, as
well we should. But let us not ever forget that reason He
was born: so that He could shoulder our sins upon Him-
self!
Merry Christmas!
My family & I have now been here for a little
over five years. We have gotten to know and love the good
people of Winnfield and First Baptist Church. You have
taught us so much about who Jesus is and how He can be
found in everyday life, both big things and small.
We have had some wonderful times as a family
here, and we have also endured some challenging ones. So
many of you have shown us great compassion and love,
and for this we are forever grateful.
Our prayer is that God will come alive in each of
our hearts this Christmas and into 2014. May all of you
have fellowship with family and friends, safe travels, and
the “peace that passes understanding”.
Love,
Stephen, Kimmerly, Jordan, Lauren, & Ben Laughlin
Welcome New Members
By Baptism
Dillon Caldwell
& Eli Little
Nursery
Worker
Needed For Sunday Mornings. If you
would like to apply for this position,
please contact the church at 628-3544.
Youth Ministry
The Duck Dynasty themed Christ-
mas party scheduled for Friday,
Dec. 20, at 7p.m. (or whenever the
Christmas parade ends) will be held
in the CLC Café. Students are en-
couraged to dress up as their favor-
ite Duck Dynasty character. A
grand prize will be awarded to the
student with the best costume. We
also will hand out some other priz-
es, and everyone will go home with
a special Christmas present courtesy
of their fearless youth leader. Sup-
per and hot chocolate will be served
that night as well. I look forward to
seeing everyone there.
I want to encourage everyone to
attend the Christmas Eve service on
Tuesday; also, we will not have
services on Wednesday, Dec. 25.
Y’all are the best!
Colin
Children’s Ministry
I would like to take this opportunity
to wish everyone a Merry Christ-
mas! I hope you have taken a mo-
ment to read this month's "Raising
Christian Kids Newsletter" on
the www.fbcwinn.com website.
Raising Christian Kids is the month-
ly newsletter and calendar for
firstKIDS. This month's newsletter
is full of ideas for families to teach
their children that Christmas is
about giving. There are so many
opportunities around us each day to
give. This month's teachable mo-
ments has examples of ideas for
parents to demonstrate a giving spir-
it to their children. I hope you will
be encouraged and find an oppor-
tunity to fulfill Acts 20:35 as we
celebrate the good news of Christ
birth!
We will be having the "Tackiest
Children's Christmas Party Ever"
on Wednesday, December 18. Chil-
dren are encouraged to wear their
most extreme Christmas outfit to
RAs and GAs this night. Prizes for
each child that wears a Christmas
outfit or accessory. So get out the
ugly sweater, Santa hat, gowdy holi-
day jewelry, or any other accessory
you may have and come have a
good time as we celebrate Christ
birth and close out our last chapter
meeting for 2013.
I will be attending the Xtreme Win-
ter Conference December 30 -
January 3 in Gatlinburg, TN. I am
looking forward to this time of spir-
itual renewal and hearing from
some of the leading evangelist,
speakers, and Christian artist. Our
children's ministry evening activi-
ties schedule will resume January
8th. I hope you have a Merry Christ-
mas and a Happy New Year!
Education Ministry
What is the best birthday party you
ever had or gave to someone else. ?
When our children were small, we
spent months planning and preparing
for their birthday parties. We chose
a theme. We planned activities. We
sought out just the right refresh-
ments. We searched for the best
party favors. We spent time and
money to make every birthday the
best for our children.
Christmas is the birthday of our
Savior. What do we do to celebrate
this most precious day of the year?
Most of us focus more on our family
and ourselves than on Christ. If God
gave a party for His Son, would we
even make time to attend? Before
you answer, remember that He es-
tablished a day each week to offer
our worship to Him. How do we do
with that opportunity?
To be perfectly honest, the vast
majority of believers will give a few
minutes at Christmas to Christ. The
rest will be about ourselves. Maybe
we could make an effort to at least
find a "hands and feet" project for
our families to accomplish during
this season. People need the Lord.
People can see Him through our
service. There are needs all
around us. Let us be bold this
season. Let us visibly serve oth-
ers in the name of Jesus. Let us
celebrate the reason for the sea-
son.
Happy Birthday, Jesus!
Theresa
The 2014 OFFERING
ENVELOPES ARE
IN THE PARLOR
First Baptist Church Serving Christ in the Heart of the Forest
December 22 & 29
2’s & 3’s
Kim Caldwell (22nd) Donna Pickett (29th)
4’s & 5’s
Al & Lesley Simmons (22nd) Phillip & Jill Riggs (29th)
Schedule
For 12/22 - 1/4
In Memory of :
Chester Derr given by Raymond & Betty Carpenter, Mr. & Mrs. John F. Lovell
Betty Turner given by Mr. & Mrs. John F. Lovell
Emma Davis given by Friends
James (Buddy) Jordan James Hardy Smith given by Jeanette Warner
In Honor of :
Joyce Walker given by Faith Sunday School Class
FOR THE RECORD (DEC. 15)
Sunday School Enr. Att.
Adults 332 174
Youth 74 30
Children 67 27
Pre School 25 16
___ ___
Total 498 247 Tithes & Offerings
Budget Required $16,033.24
Budget $13,546.00
Designated $ 4,119.59
Total $17,665.59
Giving to
Remodel Plan $ 440.00
Year-to-Date
Budget Required $801,662.00
Year-to-Date
Budget Receipts $761,834.50
Over (Under) Budget ($ 39,827.50)
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 22
Janette Clark
MONDAY, DECEMBER 23
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 24
June Griffin, Brooklyn Jordan, Brenda Kelley
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 25
Karly Avant, Christopher Bedgood
THURSDAY, DECEMBER 26
Joe Collins, Marvin Harrell, Chuck Jurek
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27
SpencerBrunson, Kimberly McCarty
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 28
Jerry Berry, Nicholas Page, Crystal Stewart
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 29
Jordan Mercer, Frank Mobley, Mary Parker, Judy Posey,
Harold Tarver, Natalee Vines
MONDAY, DECEMBER 30
Jaime Blake, Nicole McCarty, Travis Morton,
Alyssa VanBlaricum
TUESDAY, DECEMBER 31
Melanie Bartlett, Magen Frederick, LaVerne Jordan,
Dawn Shelton
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 1
Carl Greer
THURSDAY, JANUARY 2
Barbara Austin, Jared Tarver
FRIDAY, JANUARY 3
Levi Cummings
SATURDAY, JANUARY 4
Tina Long, Jonathan McDow
First Baptist Church EVANGEL (USPS 042-320) is
published weekly by First Baptist Church, 201 E.
Court St., Winnfield, LA 71483-0230. “Periodicals”
Postage paid at Winnfield, LA. POSTMASTER: Send
address changes to FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
EVANGEL, P.O. Box 230, Winnfield, LA 71483-
0230
DAILY BIBLE READINGS
Sun. Dec. 22 James 1-5
Mon. Dec. 23 1 Pet. 1-5
Tues. Dec. 24 2 Pet. 1-3
Wed. Dec. 25 1 John 1-5
Thurs. Dec. 26 2 & 3 John: Jude
Fri. Dec. 27 Rev. 1-4
Sat. Dec. 28 Rev. 5-9
Sun. Dec. 29 Rev. 10-14
Mon. Dec. 30 Rev. 15-18
Tues. Dec. 31 Rev. 19-22
Wed. Jan. 1 Gen. 1-3
Thurs. Jan. 2 Gen. 4-7
Fri. Jan. 3 Gen. 8-11
Sat. Jan. 4 Gen. 12-15
Sun. Jan. 5 Gen. 16-18
Sunday, December 22
9:00 - 9:45 AM Library open
9:40 AM Sunday School
10:40 AM Preschool Worship
11:00 AM Morning Worship
6:00 PM Evening Worship/Sanctuary Choir @ FBC Jonesboro for concert
Christmas Eve & Christmas Day
December 24 & 25
FBC Office and Daycare Closed
Sunday, December 29
9:00 - 9:45 AM Library open
9:40 AM Sunday School
10:40 AM Preschool Worship
11:00 AM Morning Worship
6:00 PM Evening Worship
Tuesday, December 31
7:00 AM Men’s Prayer Breakfast
Wednesday, January 1
New Year’s Day
FBC Office and Daycare Closed