On Sunday, August 9, Barbara Hall and Barbara Hardin were baptized and received into membership.

We welcome them both to our membership!

On August 8, the church gave a shower to the De-

Ridder’s for their newest addition - Landyn Mi-

chael, born on June 28. A big thank you to Mindi

Goard for putting the shower together.

Jeff Goard, acting silly with the kids at

Jesus Kids’ Club.

John & Rebekah Montgomery doing a puppet show at

VBS 2015.

Non-Profit Org.

U.S. Postage

PAID

Permit 14

Galva, IL 61434

First Baptist Church

of Galva Phone: 309-932-2713

firstbaptist.galva@hotmail.com

www.galvabaptistchurch.com

Donald Reul, Pastor

Rebekah Montgomery &

Jeff Goard,

Associate Pastors

Sunday Services Contemporary Praise.…8:30 AM

Sunday School…….…..9:45 AM

Worship Service……...11:00 AM

Wednesdays

Women’s Bible Study....1:30 PM

Thursdays

Family Night…………...5:45 PM

Jesus Kids’ Club….…..5:45 PM

First Baptist Church of Galva

211 NW 4th Ave.

Galva, IL 61434

Our 160th Year!

September, 2015

Monthly newsletter of

First Baptist Church of Galva

Return Service

Requested

In a small town, three churches decided to work to-

gether to improve the community. The three

preachers decided to meet regularly to mow lawns,

paint houses, and perform other outreach in the

village.

On their first day, they spent several hours in

the sun, preparing a garden for a homeless shelter.

They really enjoyed getting to know each other,

and when the work was done, they sat in the shade

sipping lemonade.

“You know, guys,” one said, “this has been

great. I’ve needed this kind of fellowship--and af-

ter one day with you, I feel like I really know you.

Can I make a confession and ask you to pray for

me? I have a terrible problem with alcohol.”

The others agreed that they would pray for their

friend. Then the second pastor spoke up. “This

has been a marvelous day. And I have a special

need, too. I’ve been a secret gambler for years. I

just can’t give it up. Will you pray for me?”

The other two pastors agreed to pray, when the

third one announced, “Well, since we’re sharing

our secret faults today, I should let you know that I

have a problem with gossip.”

AWANA begins September 24, 2015!!

From the Pastor’s desk

A man flew into Chicago & hired a taxi to take him downtown. As he was riding along they came to a

red light & the driver went right on through the red light.

The man said, "Hey, the light was red. You’re supposed to stop." The driver said, "Yeah, I know, but

my brother does it all the time."

Soon they came to a second red light & again he went right straight through. The passenger said,

"You’re going to get us killed. That light was red. Why didn’t you stop?"

The driver said, "Don’t worry about it. My brother does it all the time."

Then they came to a green light & he stopped. The man said, "The light is green. Now is the time to go.

Why don’t you go on through?"

The driver answered, "I know it’s green. But you never know when my brother may be coming

through."

Sometimes it seems as if “all” the world is going through on red & stopping on green. We’re constantly

trying things that don’t work. But the Gospel works. Folks, the Gospel works.

Preaching the “Good News” of the gospel message is our overriding goal here at First Baptist. Let us

never get side tracked or our attention swayed in other directions. The Lord has blessed us in so many

ways… lets thank Him for what He has done and continue forward in His name. Let’s not grow weary

and faint. Press On!!! Upward and onward!!!

Jesus said to us…. “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come

and drink! For the scriptures declare… ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’”

You are loved and seen by the Lord. You are never alone or forsaken. You are His!!!!! Never forget that

….and don’t listen to anyone who tells you differently. You are most precious!

Pastor Don

God Winks “The LORD is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and I am helped. My heart leaps for joy and I will give thanks to him in song .” - Psalm 28:7

Peggy Gray was going through some medical testing and was on her way to Mayo Clinic when she came forward one Sunday and was anointed and we prayed for Peggy. When she re-

turned from the clinic she had excellent news - all the tests came back showing that everything was okay. Oh, the power of prayer!

A man who attends our church was going to court for sentencing and was sure he was going to prison for 2-1/2 years - the prosecutor said so and his lawyer said the judge usually goes on

the prosecutor’s recommendation in these cases. Pastor Don had taken him to court that day and he told him that he needed to put it all in God’s hands. And he did just that. And the judge set him free!

Jane Webster has been kind enough to share several recipes with us. Be-low is one of them. We will share another one with you at a later date. If you have a recipe you would like to share, please e-mail or give it to the church office. Thanks, Jane! Sounds delicious!

Smothered Chicken Breast 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts Salt/lemon-pepper to taste 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil 8 bacon strips 1 medium onion, sliced 1/4 c. brown sugar 1/2 c. shredded Colby Jack cheese Sprinkle chicken with salt and lemon pepper. In a large fry pan cook chicken in oil for 13-15 minutes (until juices run clear), remove and keep warm. In same fry pan, cook bacon and drain on paper towel, reserving 2 Tbsp. of fat. In the drippings, sauté onion and brown sugar until brown. Place 2 bacon strips on each breast; top with the brown sugar onion and cheese.

Greeters scheduled for Sep-tember are as follows: Sept. 6 - Gene & Jane Webster Sept. 13 - Karen Steward

Sept. 20 - Sharon Bainbridge Sept. 27 - Lynn & Nancy Sutton

Wednesday Women’s Bible Study is back in session!

This year, we have TWO Wednesday Women’s Bible Studies: 11:30 AM at Courtyard Estates AND 1:30 PM at the church.

Do you have questions about spiritual things? Ever stum-ble and stammer when trying to share the gospel? Then you are going to get a lot out of our new series “Why We Believe.” Bring your questions, Bible and notebook, and get ready to learn, discuss, and grow in Christ!

Courtyard Estates Bible Studies

Wednesday, September 2, 11:30 AM

Why We Believe the Bible is the Word of God

Wednesday, September 16, 11:30 AM

Why We Believe in the Existence of God

Wednesday, September 30, 11:30 AM

Why We Believe in the Trinity

Women’s Bible Study and Discussion

Wednesday, September 2, 1:30 PM

Why We Believe the Bible is the Word of God

Wednesday, September 16, 1:30 PM

Why We Believe in the Existence of God

Wednesday, September 30, 1:30 PM

Why We Believe in the Trinity

We are beginning our Right Now Bible studies this

week with a study of videos from the book by Francis

Chan, entitled “Crazy Love.” The sessions are only 6

- 9 minutes long. We will do a session a week, begin-

ning with Session 1 during the week of August 23.

If you already are in a group - please begin your study now. Discussion questions are on the

First Baptist Church of Galva Facebook page. You may begin your dis-

cussion on the visitor’s post page. After we are done with “Crazy Love”

each group will strike out on their own and decide what to study next.

If you wish to belong to one of these bible study groups, please con-

tact the church office and we will put you in a group.

Blast From the Past

August’s baby was Stephanie Cokel No one correctly guessed it was Stephanie! Each month we feature a baby or childhood picture, along with clues, of either a member, friend or staff member of the church. If you would like to be featured in this column, just let us know - otherwise we will be asking people each month to participate - so start hunting up your baby picture now!

Clues:

I was born in southern California.

I have cross-country skied.

I am the youngest of 6 children.

I have lived in Canada.

I have taught school.

I have raised hogs.

I had my own daycare.

Who am I?

This is what happens when your child is exposed to too many commercials on TV. A Baptist pastor was presenting a children's sermon. During the sermon, he asked the children if they knew what the resurrection was. Now, asking questions during children's sermons is crucial, but at the same time, asking children questions in front of a congregation can also be very dan-gerous. Having asked the children if they knew the meaning of the resurrection, a little boy raised his hand........ The pastor called on him and the little boy said, "I know that if you have a resurrection that lasts more than four hours you are supposed to call the doctor." It took over ten minutes for the congregation to settle down enough for the service to continue.

Craft Night With the Creator

Would you like to make something simple yet wonderful that tells the story of Jesus’ birth? Bring a friend and come every oth-er Tuesday night beginning September 8 for Craft Night With the Creator.

From now until the first part of December, we will make quick, easy, yet meaningful ornaments for 9 different Christmas-themed trees. The decorated trees will be unveiled at a gala open house at the church and remain on display throughout the Christmas season. What a wonderful way to show-case your handwork and share the true meaning of Christmas with your friends and family!

There is no charge. Bring a snack to share, if you wish, and Bible as we explore the meaning behind each ornament. So we have enough supplies, we DO ask you to SIGN UP on the reservation sheet in Dean Hall. Please note if you need childcare and the ages.

Tuesday, September 8, 7-8 PM

Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Tree of Life

Supply list: We need plastic fruit, colored glitter, artificial leaves and flowers, Barbie and Ken dolls, and snakeskin. Please let Rebekah know if you have any of these items to donate.

Tuesday, September 22: 7-8 PM

Tree of Prophecy

Supply list: We need handmade papers, calligraphy pens, fancy beads, old earrings, or jewelry findings. Please let Rebekah know if you have any of these items to donate.

VBS 2015 was a success! The theme this year was “Everest - Conquering Challenges with God’s Mighty Pow-

er.” A big thank you to those that helped and especially to Nancy Sutton for all the hard work she did leading

the children and all the wonderful props and decorations that turned the gym into a real mountain summit!

Special thanks to Rebekah Montgomery, who led the story-time each day, and Valerie Currier and Malory

Huber who led the crafts, John Larson, who played Peter, and to all who helped in the kitchen serving snacks.

Also, thanks to our sound guys, Glen Ketchum and Ryan Anderson. Can’t wait for VBS 2016!

Thursday, September 17

following the potluck at Family Night

6:30 PM.

First Baptist Church of Galva

Our Awana leaders attended a workshop on Tue.,

August 25 at the Harvest Time Bible Church in Rock

Falls. It was an excellent workshop and the leaders

learned a lot of wonderful new tools to make this

year’s Awana the best!

First Baptist Church earned a plaque for having

the most leadership at the workshop!

Thanks to all who gave up their evening to at-

tend, to Rebekah for feeding us on the bus and to

our drivers, John Montgomery & Jeff Goard.

AWANA Begins Thursday, September 24th with an Open House!

Ever wonder why kids LOVE AWANA? Wonder what they

are learning?

We want to issue a special invitation to moms and dads,

grandparents, and others who bring children to AWANA

to come on Thursday, September 24th at 6 PM for a pot-

luck dinner and learn all about AWANA. Meet the club

directors and teachers and hear their plans for your chil-

dren this year. Learn how you can partner with the teachers to help your child get the most our

of AWANA.

There is excitement in the air as we prepare to welcome children age 3- junior high to AWANA!

We have a great program lined up for this year and wonderful teachers ready to help your chil-

dren grow in Christ.

Registrations are being accepted now! Registration forms are included in this newsletter.

If you would like to sponsor a child to AWANA, the cost is $52 a year. Please write “AWANA” on

your regular offering envelope or the pink envelopes in the pews or mail it to the church.

An AWANA teacher encouraged her students to memorize Psalm 23. She gave the children a month to learn the

passage, but one little boy just couldn’t retain the words. After much practice, he could barely get past the first

line. When the day came for the kids to recite the psalm in front of the congregation, the boy was nervous. When

he stepped to the microphone, he said, “The Lord is my Shepherd...and that’s all I need to know!”

Operation Christmas Child will begin col-lecting items on Sun., Sept. 6. Below is a suggested items list to bring for the col-lection in September. Remember - all items must be able to fit in an adult size shoe box and be for children ages 2 - 14. We are in need of shoeboxes, also. Please place your items in the tote locat-

ed in the entryway to Dean Hall. A complete list is in your bul-letin and on the bulletin board. We will be collecting items un-til November 8. *September 6 - 70-page spiral notebooks, pens, pencils, sharp-eners, erasers and glue sticks (no liquid glue). September 13 - Solar calculators, scissors, coloring books, cray-ons, colored pencils. *September 20 - Toothbrushes & toothpaste September 27 - Washclothes and full-sized bars of soap. *We are in most need of these items!

Rally Day is

scheduled to be

held on Sunday,

September 27,

with a Duck Dynasty theme!

There will be a singer for the ser-

vice (TBA) and food and games to

follow.

Come join us for this kick-off to a

new Sunday School year! It will be

a fun day!

AWANA directors,

teachers, helpers,

and any who are in-

terested in being a

part of AWANA:

On Sun., Sept. 20, please plan to stay after church for a soup and sandwich lunch and a planning session.

Larry Johnson is finishing up the kitchen project and the new bathroom and hallway. When he is fin-ished, it will be both beau-tiful and functional. His next project (or last pro-ject for this year) will be to move the church office and remove some walls in Dean Hall to give us more room there.

To date, we have raised $19,324.62 for the kitchen project and are at 55% of our goal. If you wish to donate towards our goal, please place your check in the offering plate and des-ignate it for the kitchen project. Thanks to all who have supported this project!

$35,000

Mountain Moving Faith

A small congregation in the foothills of the Great Smokies

built a new sanctuary on a piece of land willed to them by a

church member. Ten days before the new church was to

open, the local building inspector informed the pastor that

the parking lot was inadequate for the size of the building.

Until the church doubled the size of the parking lot, they

would not be able to use the new sanctuary.

Unfortunately, the church with its undersized parking lot

had used every inch of their land except for the mountain

against which it had been built. In order to build more park-

ing spaces, they would have to move the mountain out of

the back yard.

Undaunted, the pastor announced the next Sunday morning

that he would meet that evening with all members who had

"mountain-moving faith". They would hold a prayer session

asking God to remove the mountain from the back yard and

to somehow provide enough money to have it paved and

painted before the scheduled opening dedication service the

following week.

At the appointed time, 24 of the congregation's 300 mem-

bers assembled for prayer. They prayed for nearly three

hours. At ten o'clock the pastor said the final "Amen".

"We'll open next Sunday as scheduled," he assured every-

one. "God has never let us down before, and I believe He

will be faithful this time too."

The next morning as he was working in his study there

came a loud knock at his door. When he called "come in", a

rough looking construction foreman appeared, removing his

hard hat as he entered.

"Excuse me, Reverend. I'm from Acme Construction Com-

pany over in the next county. We're building a huge new

shopping mall over there and we need some fill dirt. Would

you be willing to sell us a chunk of that mountain behind the

church? We'll pay you for the dirt we remove and pave all

the exposed area free of charge, if we can have it right

away. We can't do anything else until we get the dirt in and

allow it to settle properly."

The little church was dedicated the next Sunday as original-

ly planned and there were far more members with

"mountain-moving faith" on opening Sunday than there had

been the previous week!