But many of us don’t remember the story of the older “prodigal.” This is the older son that stayed home on the farm.  He had come to think that if he took care of the cattle, kept the fences mended and the eggs gather, he was being obedient to his father.  What he failed to see was his father looking down the long road longing for his younger brother’s return.  If the older son had known his father’s heart, he would have come to his father and said, “Dad, if you can take care of the farm, I am headed to the city to find my brother.”

I love the farm!  I love to gather with the saints in worship, fellowship and Bible study.  My struggle is that I may love the farm too much, and think that if I am maintaining the farm I am being obedient to the heart of my father.

Your servant,
Bro. Jim

G: August 3 – Preschool, Children, Youth teachers plus the Youth – 7 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
R: August 10 – Hayes, Burke, Gilbert, Keyser Small Group Bible Classes – 7 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
O: August 17 – Hicks, McDonald, Street, Cross Small Group Bible Classes – 7 p.m. – 8:15 p.m.
W: August 24 - Senior Adult Small Group Bible Classes - 10 a.m. – 11:15 a.m.

If you haven’t heard, the Donelson area has experienced a historic flood.  Fortunately, the church building here at First Baptist is planted on a hill and did not sustain much damage.  We did have some water running in but most of the effects have been cleaned up. 

The lack of damage has allowed us to open our doors to house the classes of the Donelson Christian Academy for the remainder of their school year.  So as you see many cars in the parking lots, many new faces walking the halls, and your classrooms different than normal, praise God that we were free of damage and ready to serve.

Your servant,
Bro. Jim

Sunday Night
All services and classes are canceled for tonight. 

Your servant,
Bro. Jim

They say that there is a story in every number.  What do the following numbers say to you?

102 — 7,000 — 13,904 — 132,000

102 — the number of  ‘Buckets of Hope’ sent by the Donelson Family @ First Baptist Church Donelson
7,000 — the goal of number of buckets set by the Tennessee Baptist Convention
13,904 — the actual number of buckets sent through the Tennessee Baptist Convention

132,000 — the total number of buckets sent by all State Conventions of the Southern Baptist Convention in the USA.

It is amazing what God can do when many work together as one.  In packing that 102 buckets sent through the Donelson Family we were sure it would take four hours or more to pack the buckets.  With the large crew that showed up to help,the buckets were packed and ready to load in less then one hour.  When it came to loading the buckets on the truck for delivery, with the many hands on deck, all was finished before everyone that wanted to help could arrive. 

I want to thank you for your giving and your hard work to make the ‘Buckets of Hope’ an outreach tools for the Haitian Baptist.

Your servant,
Bro. Jim

Infromation for this article was gleaned from “Baptist & Reflector” Vol. 176/No. 11; March 24, 2010

The sermon title for February 21 is: 

Please help us spread the word! Do you know other believers who care about helping people in need? Why not forward this e-mail and encourage them to subscribe by visiting gobgr.org!

 Haiti teams focus on urgent & long-term needs
Jan. 14, 2010

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A Southern Baptist assessment team is working out logistics for a trip into Haiti early the week of Jan. 18, to connect with Haitian Baptist leaders and craft plans for disaster relief efforts in the aftermath of the 7.0 earthquake that struck the island Jan. 12. The international community is rallying to meet urgent needs – from food, water and medical services to transportation and security, according to news reports. Search and rescue teams began combing the massive amount of rubble in the devastated capital, Port-au-Prince. Military teams from other countries began establishing communications, transport and security services – critical needs in a country where government offices and basic infrastructure were destroyed by the largest earthquake in 200 years.
The death toll among the city’s 3 million inhabitants could top 100,000, Haiti’s prime minister told reporters Jan. 13.
Serious security concerns could emerge as people become more desperate for food and water in areas where police and military control has not been established, said Jim Brown, U.S. director for Baptist Global Response. The capital’s main prison also collapsed in the earthquake, raising the prospect of criminals escaping into the city. As a result, near-term attempts to travel to the country would be ill-advised.
The five-member assessment team will evaluate ministry needs like rescue operations, medical services and shelter, as well as logistical concerns like transportation and security, Brown said. A separate Florida Baptist disaster relief team is planning its own assessment trip for the weekend and the two teams will collaborate in their reporting to the national Southern Baptist disaster relief network. The teams also will report back on long-term strategies to help Haitians rebuild their lives.
“There are two Baptist conventions in Haiti and the Florida Baptist Convention has historically partnered with one convention while the International Mission Board has partnered with the other,” Brown said. “We will combine our findings to draft the overall strategy.”
The Southern Baptist assessment team will be composed of representatives from Baptist Global Response, North American Mission Board and disaster relief specialists from Kentucky, Mississippi and South Carolina, Brown said.
Initial funding for the relief effort is coming from the International Mission Board’s disaster relief fund. New contributions toward the relief effort can be made at the Baptist Global Response website, gobgr.org. Money donated to the relief effort will be used 100 percent for ministry in Haiti, Brown said.
Apart from donating to the disaster relief fund, concerned individuals can help greatly by joining in focused prayer for Haiti’s 9 million people, more than 80 percent of whom live below the poverty line, said David Brown, who with his wife, Jo, directs Baptist Global Response work in the Americas.

“We want to encourage Christians to focus their prayers on several points,” David Brown said. “Please pray for those who have been affected by the quake – people who are trapped in rubble or homeless, those who are hungry or injured or traumatized. Pray for all those who are involved in the relief effort, that the Lord would give them strength to deal with the awful conditions they are facing. And pray for those who are trying to organize people and resources to assist with the relief efforts. Pray that God would stir up his people to respond with the love of Christ to help people in desperate need.”
—–
To donate to BGR’s Disaster Response fund, click here.

See you in the Book.

Bro. Jim

The Love Dare material reminds us that all marriages move from season to season. We move from:

• Romance – that period of warm mushy feelings that caused you do crazy things for each other
• Reality – more time together causes you to realize that there are two of you and not one of you and now you can’t just say “good night” and walk away
• Resentment – real and perceived problems are easily blamed on one another and anything but the “us” seems to be the answer

The final season of marriage is Rebuilding. If this season is not accomplished, the outcome of the season of resentment is the long winter of disillusionment that leads to the destructive ritual of divorce. The ritual of divorce hurts not only for the moment but into the generations, leaving a lack of trust and commitment in its passing. The season of rebuilding is not easy but it leads to a new season of romance.

I see the season of rebuilding to be like a hot summer’s day. If the day is spent on the roof of the house working, it does not seem to be a good day. But if the same hot day is spent on the beach, that same sun becomes a pleasure. So is the season of rebuilding. There are moments of hard work combined with great fun. The steps of rebuilding include:

• Remember – Do you remember all the great times together? Do you remember why the two of you began this journey together in the first place?
• Ask – Ask for forgiveness. Saying and meaning that we are sorry is a hard task. It seems that when we know we are wrong it makes it even harder to say, “I am sorry.”
• Deciding – Everything finally rests with the answer to one simple question, “What are you going to do about it?” After all the thought and prayer you might put into your marriage you finally have to put love into action. Love is a verb.

I see this as a repeatable cycle throughout the life of a marriage. Ideally, the cold days of resentment are shortened over the years and the spring days of romance become more of the norm. But the reality is, all growing marriages are moving through the seasons and in some strange way each season may be needed to institute ongoing growth.

I dare you to love your spouse. I double dog dare you.

Your servant,

Bro. Jim