March 24, 2011

The MESSENGER (USPS 591-280) is published weekly except the week of Christmas by

First Baptist Church, 600 Governors Drive, Huntsville, AL 35801. Periodical postage

paid at Huntsville, Alabama 31801-5178. POSTMASTER send change of address to THE

MESSENGER, 600 Governors Drive, Huntsville, AL 35801.

office: 256-428-9400

weekend minister on call: 256-428-9457

24-hour prayer line: 256-428-9460

The Messengerfbchsv.org

firsT bapTisT hunTsville

this sunday

knowing, lov ing, serv ing Christ...together

First Baptist Church

600 Governors Drive

Huntsville, AL 35801

First thoughts David hull, Pastor

The well-known Reformer Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) of Switzerland publicly smashed statues that were in his church. His point was to eliminate art and symbols in favor of a pure faith. Reacting to some excesses that he had seen in religion, he was trying to purge the church of influences that he did not think were Godly. On my sabbatical in 2008 I visited Zwingli’s church, the Grossmunster in Zurich. Do you know what I found out front? There was a huge statue of Zwingli!

The point of this is that we will always make art. Even in places where people seek to eliminate it – art returns. We express our lives through art. We worship God through art. The statue of the statue-smasher is just one example of our need to be creative.

I am thankful for the art that we have around First Baptist Church. Do you see it? Do you hear it? Do you feel it? I am thinking about . . .

• The musical artists who shared a Prism of Praise with our congregation on Sunday night and who devote their energies to helping us praise God in worship each week.

• The Building Committee who has been hard at work designing (with the help of architects) an expression of art in our new building.

• Young Adults on a retreat last weekend who decorated their cups as we thought about “The Full Life” that God wants to give to us with abundance.

• Sunday School teachers who help children to learn about Jesus through the things that they draw and make.

• Pam and her kitchen team who develop artistic food creations to feed our stomachs and to encourage fellowship in our church.

• Videos and posters that are developed by staff and volunteers which tell the story of ministry through pictures.

• Volunteers on our television team who use the broadcast arts to share our worship service with people who are not in our building.

• Mosaic and stained glass artists of yesterday who have left enduring legacies of beauty that proclaim the wonder of creation and the love of Jesus to all who will take a moment and look.

A Prayer - Oh God, help me to create art in praise of You – or let me give thanks for those who do. Forgive us, Oh God, if we smash too many statues. Amen.

Volume 62 / Week Number 12 / March 24, 2011

Life to the FullHow to Balance on an Ampersand

The Young Adult retreat weekend was full of balance. Balancing on top of a telephone pole, balancing on a giant swinging ladder, and we would

come to find out, balancing on an ampersand. As we read and study God’s Word there are

times where we see two seemingly para-doxical things. John 1:17 speaks of Jesus being “full of grace and truth”. There are others as well. Justice and mercy. Faith and works. The list can go on and on. The question arose as to how, as Christ-followers, do we live amid this

tension? Dr. Hull facilitated this time of study and discus-sion and suggested that “the goal is not to walk the tightrope between the two, but to fully incor-porate all of them into our lives at the same time”. This is what Jesus was saying in John 10:10 - “I

come that they may have life and have it to the full”. I personally learned that

balancing on a too tall, too narrow, too wobbly tele-phone pole can sometimes be easier than balancing on an ampersand. But this

is the challenge we face as the Body of Christ. And just as many of us experienced how needed a helping hand is when climbing the Ladder of Death (ahem, I mean the Giant’s Ladder), we have each other, all with different gifts, and the strong and merciful hand of the Father to help us along. Submitted by Bailey Alderson [email protected]

Drop them in the bag in Room 118

Easter Lilies

Orders are being taken now for Easter lilies to be placed

in the Sanctuary. Cost is $7.50. Order envelopes can

be found at the Welcome Centers, Church Office,

and online at www.fbchsv.org/easterlilies. Deadline to purchase is Sunday, April

17th. Please turn in envelope and payment to Kristi Taylor

in the Church Office.

March 27, 2011Third Sunday in Lent

sermon: “the Foundation of grace”romans 5:1-11

First Fellowship - 8:15 a.m.Music from the First Fellowship Band

sunday school - 9:15 a.m.Bible study for all ages

sanctuary Worship - 10:30 a.m.sanctuary Choir Anthem:

“speak, o Lord” - getty and townend/arr. Ferguson

Music from the Young Musicians handbell Choir

solo by Joe holley - “Calvary’s Love”

Evening Activities

Foundations for Life

Early Bird deadline is this Sunday!

Cost: $190 per student (multi-family discount - deduct $20 per

additional student)

Register in the church office or online at www.fbchsv.org/springcamp

Graduate Recognition SundayMay 15

Are you graduating? Please email [email protected] with name, degree, and school.

Adult Spring RetreatApril 7, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Monte Sano State Park Lodge

“The Celtic Path of Prayer”Led by Calvin Miller

Cost is $10.00

Contact the Adult Ministry Office to register at 256-428-9403 by Monday, April 4.

fbchsv.org

ministry calendar


Wednesday Night Dinner MenuWednesday, March 30

AdultsChicken Cordon Bleu

Broccoli with Cheese sauceBing Cherry Congealed salad

roll

saladFried Chicken Salad

(Reservations for salad must be turned in by noon on Wednesday.)

stEWArDshiP rEPort

3/20/11

Year-to-Date goal $2,135,358.00

offering

This Week $54,910.94

YTD $2,067,451.48

Debt retirement

This Week $505.50

YTD $29,977.50

Faith Steps to the Future:


YTD $1,699,340.03

To Date: $1,885,819.33

AttENDANCE

sunday schoolPreschool 70

Children 100

Students 115

Adults 645

Brookdale 23

Visitors 62

totAL 1015

Worship servicesFirst Fellowship 346

Sanctuary Worship 604

totAL 950

thANk YouThank you notes have been received from

Rhett and Jackie Burton, the Mauldin family, Carolyn Nalls, and Benda Kinnan. They have been placed on the bulletin board across from

the church office.

Library hours sunday 9-9:15 AM | 10:10-10:45 AM | 11:40-12:00 PMtuesday 10:00 AM-12:00 PMWednesday 4:00-5:00 PM

Direct Descendent of FBCFounder Visits Our Church

Tom McCutcheon, great-great-great-great grandson of one of minis-ters who founded what is now First Bap-tist, along with his wife Jane, visited the church's history committee March 9. Tom's forebear was John Mc-Cutchen, who, along with two fellow ministers, formed a presbytery to establish what is now the oldest missionary Baptist Church in Alabama. Neither Alabama nor Madison County had been formed at that time. The McCutcheons live in Hartselle where they operate a heating and air con-ditioning business. Jim Harrison, history commitee chairman, learned of Tom McCutcheon several weeks ago, and they have exchanged extensive information about the el-der McCutchen, a Revolutionary War veteran from South Carolina who came into this part of the Mississippi Territory before the area was officially and legally open for settlement--the first census in this area in early 1809 showed some 2,500 per-sons living in this area, "squatters" all, for land sales did not begin until late that year. Our first church minutes, June 3, 1809, reveal: Whereas a number of members of the Baptist order, being met in conference have agreed to imbody in a church capacity and having agreed to call Brethern John Nickolson, John McCutchen and John Canterbury as a presbytery and they being present accepted the call and preceeded to the work were constituted a church of Christ under the name of West Fork of Flint River upon a summary of principles as follows...etc. Our founder and his first wife Ann Walker had eight children, all born before they came into this area. He moved to Morgan County in about 1820, then to Jackson County about 1830 where he died in 1835. (by Joe Jones, church historian) The history committee gave to the McCutcheons a copy of the new FBChistory book, presented by Jud Reasons, Associate Pastor.

Tom McCutcheon, left, points to the name of his great-great-great-great grandfather on the historical marker at the front of First Baptist Church. At right is Jim Harrison,

chair of our history committee.

sunday, Mar. 27First Fellowship 8:15 AM

Sunday School 9:15 AM

Sanctuary Worship 10:30 AM

Foundations for Life 4:00, 5:00 PM

Pastor’s Class 5:00 PM

Student FUN Night 6:00 PM

Monday, Mar. 28MOPS/241 9:00 AM

Hallelujah Choir/CR 10:30 AM

tuesday, Mar. 29Beth Moore Bible St./342 9:00 AM

Grief Share/CLC 6:00 PM

Forum/118 6:30 PM

Wednesday, Mar. 30Supper/FH 4:45 PM

Prayer Meeting./FH 5:45 PM

Y.A. M&M/107 5:45 PM

Liftoff/309-310 6:00 PM

Sanctuary Choir/CR 7:00 PM

Serving the City*

thursday, Mar. 31Moms in Touch/Parlor 8:00 AM

Newcomers/Parlor 10:00 AM-12 PM

Serving the City*

Friday, Apr. 1Serving the City*

saturday, Apr. 2Serving the City*

Each of you should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in

its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

Marriage ForumGrowing Your Marriage Spiritually

6 week discussion beginning

Sunday, March 27

4:00-6:00 p.m.Room 114

Book cost: $10

Join this discussion built around the book 10

Great Dates for Growing Together Spiritually by David and Claudia Arp.

Facilitated by Bobby and Cherry Saint

Contact the Adult Ministry Office at 256-428-9403 to register. Childcare is not provided.

Palm Sunday Concert: An Instrumental Hosanna!April 17 at 5:00 p.m. in the SanctuaryOrchestra, Organ, Handbells, and Harps

Maundy Thursday WorshipApril 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Lord’s Supper ServiceMusic and Meditation

Good Friday WorshipApril 22 at 7:00 p.m. in the SanctuaryTenebrae Service

fbchsv.org

ministry calendar


Wednesday Night Dinner MenuWednesday, March 30

AdultsChicken Cordon Bleu

Broccoli with Cheese sauceBing Cherry Congealed salad

roll

saladFried Chicken Salad

(Reservations for salad must be turned in by noon on Wednesday.)

stEWArDshiP rEPort

3/20/11

Year-to-Date goal $2,135,358.00

offering


YTD $2,067,451.48

Debt retirement

This Week $505.50

YTD $29,977.50

Faith Steps to the Future:


YTD $1,699,340.03

To Date: $1,885,819.33

AttENDANCE

sunday schoolPreschool 70

Children 100

Students 115

Adults 645

Brookdale 23

Visitors 62

totAL 1015

Worship servicesFirst Fellowship 346

Sanctuary Worship 604

totAL 950

thANk YouThank you notes have been received from

Rhett and Jackie Burton, the Mauldin family, Carolyn Nalls, and Benda Kinnan. They have been placed on the bulletin board across from

the church office.

Library hours sunday 9-9:15 AM | 10:10-10:45 AM | 11:40-12:00 PMtuesday 10:00 AM-12:00 PMWednesday 4:00-5:00 PM

Direct Descendent of FBCFounder Visits Our Church

Tom McCutcheon, great-great-great-great grandson of one of minis-ters who founded what is now First Bap-tist, along with his wife Jane, visited the church's history committee March 9. Tom's forebear was John Mc-Cutchen, who, along with two fellow ministers, formed a presbytery to establish what is now the oldest missionary Baptist Church in Alabama. Neither Alabama nor Madison County had been formed at that time. The McCutcheons live in Hartselle where they operate a heating and air con-ditioning business. Jim Harrison, history commitee chairman, learned of Tom McCutcheon several weeks ago, and they have exchanged extensive information about the el-der McCutchen, a Revolutionary War veteran from South Carolina who came into this part of the Mississippi Territory before the area was officially and legally open for settlement--the first census in this area in early 1809 showed some 2,500 per-sons living in this area, "squatters" all, for land sales did not begin until late that year. Our first church minutes, June 3, 1809, reveal: Whereas a number of members of the Baptist order, being met in conference have agreed to imbody in a church capacity and having agreed to call Brethern John Nickolson, John McCutchen and John Canterbury as a presbytery and they being present accepted the call and preceeded to the work were constituted a church of Christ under the name of West Fork of Flint River upon a summary of principles as follows...etc. Our founder and his first wife Ann Walker had eight children, all born before they came into this area. He moved to Morgan County in about 1820, then to Jackson County about 1830 where he died in 1835. (by Joe Jones, church historian) The history committee gave to the McCutcheons a copy of the new FBChistory book, presented by Jud Reasons, Associate Pastor.

Tom McCutcheon, left, points to the name of his great-great-great-great grandfather on the historical marker at the front of First Baptist Church. At right is Jim Harrison,

chair of our history committee.

sunday, Mar. 27First Fellowship 8:15 AM

Sunday School 9:15 AM

Sanctuary Worship 10:30 AM

Foundations for Life 4:00, 5:00 PM

Pastor’s Class 5:00 PM

Student FUN Night 6:00 PM

Monday, Mar. 28MOPS/241 9:00 AM

Hallelujah Choir/CR 10:30 AM

tuesday, Mar. 29Beth Moore Bible St./342 9:00 AM

Grief Share/CLC 6:00 PM

Forum/118 6:30 PM

Wednesday, Mar. 30Supper/FH 4:45 PM

Prayer Meeting./FH 5:45 PM

Y.A. M&M/107 5:45 PM

Liftoff/309-310 6:00 PM

Sanctuary Choir/CR 7:00 PM

Serving the City*

thursday, Mar. 31Moms in Touch/Parlor 8:00 AM

Newcomers/Parlor 10:00 AM-12 PM

Serving the City*

Friday, Apr. 1Serving the City*

saturday, Apr. 2Serving the City*

Each of you should use whatever gifts he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God’s grace in

its various forms.” 1 Peter 4:10

Marriage ForumGrowing Your Marriage Spiritually

6 week discussion beginning

Sunday, March 27

4:00-6:00 p.m.Room 114

Book cost: $10

Join this discussion built around the book 10

Great Dates for Growing Together Spiritually by David and Claudia Arp.

Facilitated by Bobby and Cherry Saint

Contact the Adult Ministry Office at 256-428-9403 to register. Childcare is not provided.

Palm Sunday Concert: An Instrumental Hosanna!April 17 at 5:00 p.m. in the SanctuaryOrchestra, Organ, Handbells, and Harps

Maundy Thursday WorshipApril 21 at 7:00 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall

Lord’s Supper ServiceMusic and Meditation

Good Friday WorshipApril 22 at 7:00 p.m. in the SanctuaryTenebrae Service

The MESSENGER (USPS 591-280) is published weekly except the week of Christmas by

First Baptist Church, 600 Governors Drive, Huntsville, AL 35801. Periodical postage

paid at Huntsville, Alabama 31801-5178. POSTMASTER send change of address to THE

MESSENGER, 600 Governors Drive, Huntsville, AL 35801.

office: 256-428-9400

weekend minister on call: 256-428-9457

24-hour prayer line: 256-428-9460

The Messengerfbchsv.org

firsT bapTisT hunTsville

this sunday


First Baptist Church

600 Governors Drive

Huntsville, AL 35801

First thoughts David hull, Pastor

The well-known Reformer Ulrich Zwingli (1484-1531) of Switzerland publicly smashed statues that were in his church. His point was to eliminate art and symbols in favor of a pure faith. Reacting to some excesses that he had seen in religion, he was trying to purge the church of influences that he did not think were Godly. On my sabbatical in 2008 I visited Zwingli’s church, the Grossmunster in Zurich. Do you know what I found out front? There was a huge statue of Zwingli!

The point of this is that we will always make art. Even in places where people seek to eliminate it – art returns. We express our lives through art. We worship God through art. The statue of the statue-smasher is just one example of our need to be creative.

I am thankful for the art that we have around First Baptist Church. Do you see it? Do you hear it? Do you feel it? I am thinking about . . .

• The musical artists who shared a Prism of Praise with our congregation on Sunday night and who devote their energies to helping us praise God in worship each week.

• The Building Committee who has been hard at work designing (with the help of architects) an expression of art in our new building.

• Young Adults on a retreat last weekend who decorated their cups as we thought about “The Full Life” that God wants to give to us with abundance.

• Sunday School teachers who help children to learn about Jesus through the things that they draw and make.

• Pam and her kitchen team who develop artistic food creations to feed our stomachs and to encourage fellowship in our church.

• Videos and posters that are developed by staff and volunteers which tell the story of ministry through pictures.

• Volunteers on our television team who use the broadcast arts to share our worship service with people who are not in our building.

• Mosaic and stained glass artists of yesterday who have left enduring legacies of beauty that proclaim the wonder of creation and the love of Jesus to all who will take a moment and look.

A Prayer - Oh God, help me to create art in praise of You – or let me give thanks for those who do. Forgive us, Oh God, if we smash too many statues. Amen.

Volume 62 / Week Number 12 / March 24, 2011

Life to the FullHow to Balance on an Ampersand

The Young Adult retreat weekend was full of balance. Balancing on top of a telephone pole, balancing on a giant swinging ladder, and we would

come to find out, balancing on an ampersand. As we read and study God’s Word there are

times where we see two seemingly para-doxical things. John 1:17 speaks of Jesus being “full of grace and truth”. There are others as well. Justice and mercy. Faith and works. The list can go on and on. The question arose as to how, as Christ-followers, do we live amid this

tension? Dr. Hull facilitated this time of study and discus-sion and suggested that “the goal is not to walk the tightrope between the two, but to fully incor-porate all of them into our lives at the same time”. This is what Jesus was saying in John 10:10 - “I

come that they may have life and have it to the full”. I personally learned that

balancing on a too tall, too narrow, too wobbly tele-phone pole can sometimes be easier than balancing on an ampersand. But this

is the challenge we face as the Body of Christ. And just as many of us experienced how needed a helping hand is when climbing the Ladder of Death (ahem, I mean the Giant’s Ladder), we have each other, all with different gifts, and the strong and merciful hand of the Father to help us along. Submitted by Bailey Alderson [email protected]

Drop them in the bag in Room 118

Easter Lilies

Orders are being taken now for Easter lilies to be placed

in the Sanctuary. Cost is $7.50. Order envelopes can

be found at the Welcome Centers, Church Office,

and online at www.fbchsv.org/easterlilies. Deadline to purchase is Sunday, April

17th. Please turn in envelope and payment to Kristi Taylor

in the Church Office.

March 27, 2011Third Sunday in Lent

sermon: “the Foundation of grace”romans 5:1-11

First Fellowship - 8:15 a.m.Music from the First Fellowship Band

sunday school - 9:15 a.m.Bible study for all ages

sanctuary Worship - 10:30 a.m.sanctuary Choir Anthem:

“speak, o Lord” - getty and townend/arr. Ferguson

Music from the Young Musicians handbell Choir

solo by Joe holley - “Calvary’s Love”

Evening Activities

Foundations for Life

Early Bird deadline is this Sunday!

Cost: $190 per student (multi-family discount - deduct $20 per

additional student)

Register in the church office or online at www.fbchsv.org/springcamp

Graduate Recognition SundayMay 15

Are you graduating? Please email [email protected] with name, degree, and school.

Adult Spring RetreatApril 7, 9 a.m.-2 p.m.

Monte Sano State Park Lodge

“The Celtic Path of Prayer”Led by Calvin Miller

Cost is $10.00

Contact the Adult Ministry Office to register at 256-428-9403 by Monday, April 4.

Documents

March 24, 2011