2014HAPPY

NEW YEAR

J A N U A R Y | 2 0 1 4

Pat KellyLead Pastor

“New beginnings, fresh start, this year I am going to (insert your aspiration)”, are most likely phrases that pop into your head as you enter into the New Year. I am not sure if commercialism has trained us to think this way or if our lives truly desire fresh and new. What is spiritual about this, is that God sees us as His firstfruits because of Christ: “Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures.” (James 1:16–18).

Here are three truths for us to embrace:

1. God only gives good gifts. He is offering what is not only for us, but what is good for us.

2. God’s way of giving is good. His “attitude and heart” are pure and lovely.

3. God is constantly giving. He does not give occasionally, but He gives constantly.

God’s goodness is also a part of yielding to Him and rejecting temptation.

Since God is good, we do not need any other person (including Satan) to meet our needs. Warren Wiersbe said it this way “It is better to be hungry in the will of God than full outside the will of God. Once we start to doubt God’s goodness, we will be attracted to Satan’s offers; and the natural desires within will reach out for his bait.”

As you approach this New Year, remember not only of who God is, but also of how and why He gives.

What is exciting about these three verses in James is that He is seen as both the giver and recipient of gifts. Every day, our Father has prepared in advance good and perfect gifts for us to use for His Kingdom. He is the recipient of our obedience. What if this New Year, we did not build false hopes around what makes us feel good, but rather steward what He has given us (and gives us) for His Kingdom? I have found it best to walk obediently and faithfully with hands open rather than closed.

Receive and steward well His gifts for His Glory!

Agape,

Pastor Pat

The First for the Firstby Pat Kelly, Lead Pastor

I have had a dream to start a special needs ministry since 2011 when I worked in homes with families that had children with special needs. I noticed the great need for parents as well as their children to be able to get out of the house and fellowship with others. The biggest concern was that they needed a welcoming environment to take their children. These were parents who longed to be at a church on Sunday morning, but didn’t feel comfortable in taking their children with special needs. Some parents were worried that it would be too ‘messy’. They didn’t want someone else to have to see the hard things they had to deal with. Others have been hurt by people before and so its hard to try something new.

Last year the word Joy was given to me. As believers we should find joy in everything, everywhere. “Be joyful always” 1 Thessalonians 5:16 I find great Joy in loving on children and even more specific, children with special needs.

Church should be a place that EVERYONE feels comfortable coming to. It is a part of God’s plan to love, care, and welcome children and adults with special needs into our church family and community. Everyone deserves the chance to get to hear the Gospel and to know the love of Christ.

As only God works, God gave me this dream and also echoed it in Becky’s heart. We knew that God would be glorified in this ministry and that families all around Nacogdoches that lived with special needs on a daily basis were hungry for this “on ramp” to worshiping with a body of believers. So, God birthed the JOY MINISTRY at Fredonia Hill for families with Special Needs.

On February 1st, we will have our first Respite Day. This will be a time when parents of children with special needs can have a much deserved break. Whether they choose to have lunch or to go home and take a nap, they can do so knowing that their children are having fun and are taken care of.

Here is how you can help us kickoff the JOY ministry: For Respite day to go off smoothly, we will need lots of volunteers, Nurses, special educators, and people who love playing with children. (Each child is assigned a volunteer for the day for special one-on-one attention. Other volunteers provide relief and attend to administrative responsibilities.) We need volunteers to play with the children as well as their siblings. Training will take place on Wednesday, January 22nd at 6:30pm in the Studio. If you would like to help contact me at (254) 541-3634 or btucker@fredoniahill.org.

Life is messy. Family is messy. We need to realize that we have all the support we need in Christ, the one who has already won. Relationships are what matters, and family is a foundation for each and every one of us. If we can help a few families to stay happy and healthy then the mess is worth it! Lets continue to join hands and welcome everyone to the family.

With His Joy,

Brittany Tucker

Joy Ministryby Brittany Tucker for

Becky Weems, Children’s Minister

Blake RussellWorship Pastor

While on his way home, young Aiden Wilson Tozer overheard a street preacher say, “If you don’t know how to be saved…just call out to God.” When he arrived home, he climbed up to the attic and literally followed the preacher’s advice.

Today we know A.W. Tozer as one of the great influential pastors/authors of the twentieth century. He authored more than forty books. We hear and see his quotes everywhere. I was reading some of those recently and ran across what he called the “Rules of Self Discovery.”

“Rules for Self Discovery:1. What we want most;2. What we think about most;3. How we use our money;4. What we do with our leisure time;5. The company we enjoy;6. Who and what we admire;7. What we laugh at.”

These were sobering questions for me. When I first read this quote I thought to myself: “Why does there need to be rules to self discovery? I know myself well enough. There doesn’t need to be any guidelines for me to follow.” But when I started to answer those questions, I noticed that the issue was less about me “knowing” myself, and more about the object of my affections.

There was nothing inherently “bad”, however if I asked myself for example: “what do I want most… and does this give God glory?”, my answers were put into a whole different light. We’ve become good as the Church to split our time between our own desires and God’s will. However, there’s a pretty important verse in Exodus explicitly telling us to have no other gods but Him.

My prayer is that we will be reminded daily of these seven questions. If we are walking this world, worshipping Him in Spirit and in Truth, shouldn’t everything we do glorify Him?

After A.W. Tozer died, he had a simple epitaph inscribed on his gravestone. “A.W. Tozer - A Man of God.” I hope that will be my legacy… A man of God, not a man of my own desires.

Rules for Self Discoveryby Blake Rusell, Worship Pastor

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Happy New Year! I pray your 2014 year has started with fresh vision from the Lord and a renewed and refreshed focus for you and your family.

A few weeks ago I was sitting in a church in Flower Mound, Texas and I was pondering how quickly and easily I can sometimes allow my flesh to take over and lead out in my life. In that moment with the Holy Spirit, He showed me just how ruthless my flesh is in its desire to lead my life in a self-centered way. Maybe you can relate. You start off by allowing one self-focused thought to produce an action or word and pretty soon, you’ve put together a string of several hours or days where all you’ve focused on and thought about was yourself. These are frustrating moments for me. However, in His infinite kindness and grace, there is never condemnation, simply opportunity for growth.

So, in my repentance, I began to have a conversation with the Holy Spirit about having victory over these moments where your flesh seems to creep in and gain control. Hopefully in an encouragement to you, I will share with you the two things the Spirit revealed in that moment. Both are profoundly simple, yet when applied, both are profoundly powerful.

First, we must never, under any circumstances, trust our flesh to lead our lives. Apart from the Spirit of the Lord, our flesh is only capable of reacting to the world around us and it can only do so in a selfish manner. Our flesh is made up of our soul (mind, will, and emotions) and our body (our physical makeup) and apart from submission to Christ, it will pursue self preservation at all costs. So, in every thought and in every action, we must not even for a moment, trust our flesh apart from the Spirit.

Second, we must continually submit to the Holy Spirit who is in us. Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit would lead us into all truth and so we must immediately begin to trust those words of Jesus and pursue the Holy Sprit for truth. In this exchange with the Spirit, I asked Him how often I must submit to His leading. His response was, “as often as you are vulnerable to your flesh leading the way.” I thought for a second about how easily I can switch from being Spirit-led to being flesh-led. Sadly, it can happen so quickly and sometimes without me even recognizing it. So how often must I submit to Him? Without ceasing. This is what Paul meant when He told us to “take every thought captive to the obedience of Christ” and “pray without ceasing”. We were never designed to be self-sustaining. We were created to continually rely on the power and the presence of God in us.

I want to encourage you at the beginning of this new year to take time to focus on this reality. We are so easily distracted and our eyes are so easily fixed on things which are not above where Christ is seated. We must become aware of this tendency and with desperation cast ourselves into deep abiding relationship with Jesus. He has given us the Holy Sprit for this very purpose. There is not one moment where your flesh can be trusted to lead you into the fullness of all God has for you. But fear not, He is with us and in us. In Him we have fullness of joy. In Him, we have victory. In Him we live and move and have our being. Trust Him today for more than salvation. Trust Him to lead every second of every day. Give yourself fully to Him and allow Him to transform your heart and the lives of those around you.

Shalom,

Victory over the Fleshby Kendall McDonald, University Pastor

Kendall McDonaldCollege Pastor

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Fredonia Hill

Gifts were Given in Memory of...Lenvill Witcher ........................................... MissionsWanda Hall ................................................. Missions, Lottie Moon Christmas OfferingJanell Badders ....................Missions, Building Fund Lottie Moon Christmas OfferingJeremy Paul Stripling .................................. Missions

Gifts were Given in Honor of...Jack & Janis Robertson ...................... Building FundPat & April Kelly ................................. Building FundDennis and Wilma Jones .................... Building FundJeff & Shelia Cupit ............................. Building Fund, General FundSandy McCray ...................................... General FundJuanita White ......................................... Lottie Moon Christmas OfferingJohnny & Kathy Dammon ...................... Lottie Moon Christmas OfferingKelley & Eric Faulk ...................................... Missions

Secretary's Reports

January 16th11:30amFLC Gym

Senior AdultGame DayFredonia Hill

Weekend Number

936-205-1816

Financial ReportsFinancials are available in the church office upon membership request.

Our Hearts Go Out in Sympathy to...The family of Janell Badders.

COMING February 9-166:30pm, Sun - Thurs

Questions?information@fredoniahill.org