IN THIS ISSUE

Blessings & Burdens Page 2

Living WaterPage 5

The Fog-Prone AreasPage 5

First Baptist sevierville | may 2015

Volume 100 , No. 6

First Baptist Church of Sevierville’s Monthly Newsletter

In Memory of Lisa Pickens May 2, 1967- April 16, 2015

A Prayer for Lisa Thank you Lord for our dear friend Lisa. She was a wonderful person, who really cared for others. Her joy, laughter, and love for her family and friends was contagious. Help each of us to stand in the gap for her dear family. They don’t need our questions, they need our compassion. They don’t need our opinions, they need our love and support. When unexpected things happen that we can’t explain or understand, give us the grace to look to You for comfort, strength, and hope and guidance. We look forward to seeing Lisa again someday, at a better time and place on the other side of the mountain..in Heaven with You.

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I once heard the great Warren Wiersbe make this statement:

“God balances our lives by giving us enough blessings to keep us happy and enough burdens to keep us humble. If all we had were blessings in our hands, we would fall right over, so the Lord balances the blessings in our hands with the burdens on our backs. That helps to keep us steady, and as we yield to Him, He can even turn the burdens into blessings.”

Just as individuals experience a mix of both burdens and blessings, churches experience a mix of the two, often simultaneously! A few weekends ago found our church dealing with a tragic death and some ministry victories at the same time.

Lisa Pickens, our long-time church employee and ministry assistant to Jerry Hyder, was suddenly and tragically gone. It was quite a shock to her family, her friends, and her family of friends in the church office. Adding to the shock was that cheerful, funny, joking-around Lisa apparently took her own life. We are still struggling to process it and to answer the “why’s” that won’t go away. Vance Havner said, “Over some of our days God writes WILL EXPLAIN LATER.” We long for the explanation.

It has been painful watching our office staff grieve. I must say, however, that I have never been prouder of them. They are handling it with grace. At the funeral, Scott Andrews, Scott Carter, and Jerry Hyder ministered beautifully to a very large group of mourners.

As a balance to those dark days, God blessed during that same time as many of our Sunday School classes did their Love Loud projects. The Lord stretched out His hand through our members, and His love came through loud and clear as they covered the county with practical ministry. It was my honor to work with our college students doing a block party for the Jones Cove community. As the saying goes, “God showed up and showed out” as many unchurched people received ministry, received love, and even received Christ through the various projects. Praise the Lord!

Our gracious God added an extra blessing during that time as our medical team ministered in Panama. God used them to provide an excellent platform for outreach by our church-planting partners, and as a result we are close to attaining a major goal in our 5-5-5 strategy. Again, Praise the Lord!

I give thanks to the Lord of the burdens and the blessings, the Lord of the good days and the bad days.

I love being your pastor!

Dan Spencer

UP 6th Grade WeekendApril 30th and May 1st

Sign up in Sunday Schoolor call the church office

Ps. 43:5

Singles of FaithFriday, May 8; 6:00pm/ParlorSpecial guest; Donny Richmond.

Children’s Church Sunday, May 10th on Mother’s Day, 8:00am & 11:00am in the ChapelSpecial Mother’s Day children’s church for grades K-6th. P.S. “Mother’s” please pick your child up at the end of the service.

Triple L LuncheonTuesday, May 12; Noon/FLCBring a side dish. Special Guest; Roger Helton.

Mens G3 (God, Guns, Grub)May 16; 10:00am-3:00pm/Ted Jordan FarmWe’ll have a pistol range, skeet shooting, BB gun range and much more! Cost is $10 for adult, $5 ages 12 and under. Sign up at the Welcome Center or online at www.fbcsev.org

RA/GA Royal Racer EventMay 16; 10:00am/Camp Smoky Hill BuildingCars can be picked up at the association office for $8.50. Everyone welcome!!

6th Grade Up Weekend RetreatMay 29 & 30You’re invited to the UP Weekend Retreat with Craig Wells. Students will enjoy fellowship and a detailed look at Daniel 1:8. Sign up in Sunday School.

Triumphant Quartet/Celebration Choir & OrchestraSunday, May 31; 6:30pm/WCA great night of praise. Don’t miss it!!

Singles of Faith 2015 RetreatJune 1-4/Blowing Rock, NC$125; double occupancy, $245; single occupancy. Information sheet available at Welcome Center or Call Kristie in the church office. No spaces reserved without payment in full at sign up.

VBS 2015 - “Journey Off the Map”June 22-26; 9:00am-12:30pmFamily Fun Night; June 28; 4:30pmAges 4 thru completed 6th grade. You can register online at www.fbcsev.org

Camp SmokyJune 28-July 2Completed grades 1-6July 12-17Completed grades 7-12Cost for FBC members is $65. Registration forms located at the Welcome Center.

SAVE THE DATE! Music Camp 2015“In The Big Inning”July 20-24; 9:00am-NoonPresentation Night; July 26Completed grades 1-6

Upcoming Events

Special AnnouncementsSpecial Friends MinistryThis ministry is in need of a Special Friends director. Please contact Tammy Rice at 429-6304 if interested.

Graduate RecognitionSunday, May 24; 11:00amIf you’re graduating from high school or college and would like to have your name called during the recognition please contact Amanda in the church office by May 18 please.

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Zawadi 2015 This ministry presents the message of salvation to each Orbit child and other Kenyan children as they are given a bag filled with gifts of school supplies, candy, toys, and clothing. Our goal for this year is 750 Zawadi Bags.  To find out how you can get involved, please visit the table in the lobby. Our church’s June mission team to Kenya will use Zawadi bags to present the gospel.

Wedding of Callie Hill & Andrew TempleYou are invited Saturday, May 30 at 4:00pm in the Worship Center.

May2015

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Mike Williams Mary OwnbyDel Schattgen Freedom Bapt. Church

of Seffner, FL Humana Medicare Risk

Adjustment Dept.AnnIE ARMSTROnGDoris TrenthamRachel FineWanda HendersonShirley HaggardBuddy Glenn Darius & Carolyn FineCharles Frost Clark & Vicky ByramRalph Robertson Joyce RobertsonJason HicksDr. Wayne Hicks Leah BrackinsTrula Brackins Donald BrackinsLIBRARy Betty DelaneyGrace WrightKen LathamPearlie ClarkJim AnthonyBill yatesTiffany HodgeEthel Delphia SchattgenDarryel OglePauline Lindsey First Baptist ChurchTiffany Hodge Jim & Jane BrackinsPARK ROAD PROJECTIn memory of Bryan

Blalock’s 77th birthday Jo BlalockGrace Ogle WrightHarold ClaboughLula ClaboKathleen SimmonsBetty SextonLynn GossettJean WheelerJoAnn CoaneEmily Delozier StoneHorace yarberryDonna DillowTiffany Hodge Lyle & Judy Pat Overbay

COLLEGE & CAREERTiffany Hodge Gary & Ethel Hollenbaugh Tommy & Kathryn Miller Burchfiel Overbay &

Associates, Inc. Michael & Jane Poe Mae Owenby Mary Gast Marie Temple Matt & Melanie Ownby April WhiteCAREGrace Wright Mary GastBill yates Darius & Carolyn FineMUSICDel Schattgen Willis & Leigh RussellJim Anthony Georgia Courtney & CraigJerry McFalls Joe & LIbby Williams

TribuTedGivinG

Attendance Report 3/1/2015 3/8/2015 3/15/2015 3/22/2015 8:15am Worship 530 450 631 538 9:30am SS 1342 1278 1278 1288 10:45am Worship 955 1073 1094 1121 6:30pm Worship 315 331 277 247

Biblical Stewardship 3/1/2015 3/8/2015 3/15/2015 3/22/2015 Total Weekly Needs $ 97,265.00 $ 97,265.00 $ 97,265.00 $ 97,265.00 Tithes & Offerings 78,248.73 84,457.08 97,977.53 71,896.77 Building Fund 1,157.00 351.00 541.00 336.00 Designated Fund 6,266.47 5,645.51 7,035.00 9,992.58

new MembersBrian WalkerLisa McCarterJoe, Melissa, Ashley & Logan WagnerJessica JohnsonBrianna BartelsChelsea & Zack BurnettNatalie KeepAmanda BurrellMark CottoneJonah LawsonAlyssa MillerAntwoine OwensEthan WhiteGarry SimsWilliam & Amanda McCoy

Recently HospitalizedMary JustusCraig RuckmanKeith RatcliffJulie VanoverLouise DelozierDelmar SextonJoe WoodsGinny DavidsonBetty Jo Trentham

• Holly Laginess in the passing of her brother, Harold Powser

• Jim Thomas in the passing of his mother, Jean Wheeler

• Shirley Craig in the passing of her sister, Betty Delaney

• Sharon Sprague in the passing of her mother, Grace Wright

• Friends and family in the passing of Ken Latham

• Shirley Elder in the passing of her brother-in-law, Roger Tackett

• Jack Anthony in the passing of his father, Jim Anthony

• Wanda Smith/Karen Kelley in the passing of their brother/uncle, Bill Yates

• Randy, Rhonda & Mason Hodge in the passing of their daughter/sister, Tiffany

• Betty Ogle in the passing of her son, Darryel Ogle

• Rich Mace in the passing of his cousin, Nick Sherfy

Sympathy to

IN HONORAnnIE ARMSTROnGOur moms; Geneva Smith

& Dude Johnson Tammy & Ray JohnsonHELPInG HAnDSCarolyn Keefer Georgia Courtney & Craig

IN MEMORYBUDGETHoneyOur grandparents Gregg & Tracy PriceJean Wheeler Dave & Dink TinoBill yatesTiffany Hodge Katie BlalockLon Sutton Beulah SuttonHarold Clabough Harvey & Pat VandykeBen Cusick Betty CusickPearlie Clark Richard & Kathleen

KaesebierTV MInISTRyJean WheelerVerlin OverbayJohnny King Joe & Libby WilliamsLon Sutton Beulah Sutton BUILDInG FUnDBill yates Katie Blalock’s SS ClassTiffany HodgeJoseph Willard Adult IV/Wallace SS ClassHELPInG HAnDSGoldean Deal Joe & Thelma DepewHarold ClaboughDel Schattgen Gary Roach’s SS ClassDr. Horace yarberry Joe & Libby WilliamsEthel Schattgen Russell Fellowship Group

Living WaterCheri Canode Crook

Serving Jesus certainly can take many shapes and forms when you are living in Northern Thailand. Whenever we are in the states someone inevitably asks us, “So, what do you do?” or “So, what is a typical day like?” I think that is both the beauty and the challenge of living life on the mission field. Granted, our ministry platform is that we do community development through the Thai People’s Welfare Foundation; however, there is no “typical day.” You never know what the Lord may ask of you each day.

For example, I shared in our last prayer update that I was recently in a village sharing the gospel with several ladies. The trip up to this village was not as bad as some, but it still involved curvy roads and four-wheel drive. Well, as I spoke, the one-year old daughter had a massive explosion of (how should I put this gently?) “Thai Thunder.” Now for me, I would immediately feel the need to clean up my daughter and maybe even the floor where the accident had happened. Sadly, the mom and grandmother both sat indifferently. My mommy’s heart first started to judge these ladies, but then I was

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Send questions or comments to newsletter@fbcsev.org

don’t know where you are or where you’re going, it’s best to stay put. Otherwise you’ll be rolling right off a cliff or into somebody’s barn! No GPS or high-beam headlights will help you through heavy fog. What good is a map or directions if you can’t see the road or the signs? And those xenon headlights only serve to light up the fog, so you can say “Yes, it’s still here, & I still can’t see a thing”.

Only the healing, warming power of the sun will burn it off. You can’t blow it away, wish it away, or run away from it. You just need more time. Because the sun will come. It will rise over the crest of the ridge & shine brighter than any man-made light ever could. It will burn away the high mists first, & then it will reach down into the low-lying hollows & coves & stream through the branches and clear out all the fog. And you will walk in the light of day again, my friend. So ‘give yourself a little extra time in the fog prone areas.’ But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its

reminded, “They have lived without water for so long, what would you expect, Cheri?” You see this village has no source for water. No well or stream. They rely solely on rainwater and when there is no rain, there is no water and without water, basic sanitation goes out the proverbial window.

As I have thought back on this “typical” experience, I asked myself what the Lord was teaching me through it. Here is what He was showing me:

1. Gratitude: Although we have had short periods of time without water, I have never had a time that I couldn’t clean my child due to the lack of water, have you? Be grateful for how generously the Lord has blessed you.

2. Mercy: Judging others is not constructive, but showing mercy is.

3. Confidence: While many times I may think that I fail as a parent, my children are under the Lord’s daily protection. In spite of my limitations, I can be confident that He loves them more than I ever could.

4. Diligence: The people who need to hear about the love of Jesus are not always the cleanest, nicest, or most convenient to get to.

Please be in prayer for “Beauty,” the little girl, and her mom and grandmother. We are partnering with an organization to help provide a deep-capped well in order to bring some relief to the villagers. I hope to get to visit with this little family as we continue to move forward with the well projects. I hope that in addition to well water that these villagers will respond to the offer of Living water

wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. Malachi 4:2

Luke 1:76-79 (this passage is part of Zechariah’s prophecy, after the birth of John the Baptist):

And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people in the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. And finally, Isaiah 44:21-23:

I have made you; you are my servant. Israel, I will not forget you. I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.I love the power & hope of the Word of God!

The Fog-Prone AreasMisty Hedrick

This tweet sort of jumped out at me one morning. ‘Give yourself a little extra time in the fog prone areas.’ So what does that have to do with anything, you ask?

Well, we all have fog-prone areas in our lives. Areas where fear, doubt, confusion, or even outright depression blanket our minds and leave us groping blindly through the mountains & valleys, and even cause us to stall out in our path. Places where light shines, but to little avail, because it just brightens up the fog & shows you how much fog is actually there. The path just won’t come clear. Sometimes we can watch the fog roll in and settle like it does over an East Tennessee haystack in October. There’s absolutely nothing we can do to stop it. And there are places where the highway patrol closes the roads until the fog lifts, to avoid fatal accidents caused by the inability to see the road in front of you. And trust me, around these parts, if you

Published monthly by First Baptist Church of Sevierville.Periodical postage paid at Sevierville, TN | 317 Parkway, TN 37862RETURN POSTAGE REQUESTEDPostmaster send form 3579 to “First Word,” 317 Parkway, Sevierville, TN 37862(865) 453-9001 | FAX (865) 428-3920 | fbcsev.org

(USPS 661-090)

Rev. Dan Spencer Senior Pastor

Scott AndrewsAssoc. Pastor of Worship

Jerry HyderAssoc. Pastor of Adults

Scott CarterAssoc. Pastor of Youth

Address317 Parkway Sevierville, TN 37862

Office HoursMonday- Friday8:00am - 5:00pm

Office Phone(865) 453-9001(865) 429-6309 (fax)

Craig MintzAssoc. Pastor of Equipping

Steve BrewerAssoc. Pastor of Discipleship

Clark ByramAssoc. Pastor of Stewardship/Administration Contact UsSenior Staff

fbcsev.org

info@fbcsev.org

facebook.com/fbcsev

twitter.com/fbcsev

Pastor on Call(865) 453-9257

Prayer Line(865) 429-PRAY

2015 High School Graduates

Abby MurrellSevier CountyHigh School

Alexis McCarterSevier CountyHigh School

Austin ConnerSevier CountyHigh School

Austin RiceSevier CountyHigh School

Benjamin WhaleySevier CountyHigh School

Caleb LittletonThe King’s Academy

Cameron WilliamsSevier CountyHigh School

Chad GibsonPigeon ForgeHigh School

Colton BryanPigeon ForgeHigh School

Connor BaileySevier CountyHigh School

Debbie VidelaSevier CountyHigh School

Emily GibbonsSevier CountyHigh School

Kelli DouglassCarson Newman

University

Kaytlin Wey GiammoCarson Newman

University

Erin ThompsonEast Tennessee State

University

JP CaylorUniversity of Tennessee

Knoxville

Lacee TinkerUniversity of Tennessee

Knoxville

Melissa WagnerSouth College

Morgan WattsUniversity of Tennessee

Knoxville

CongratulationsGRADUATES

From your family at

First Baptist Church

“Blessed is the man who finds wisdom, the man who gains understanding.” Proverbs 3:13

Zack CateEast Tennessee State

University

2015 CollegeGraduates

Jennifer CampbellHeritage

High School

Jonathan MaultsbyPigeon ForgeHigh School

Katlyn DavisSevier CountyHigh School

Kelsey HamptonHome Life Academy

Kelsey HensleySevier CountyHigh School

Kyle McMullenSevier CountyHigh School

Lillian StoltzSevier CountyHigh School

Megan HuttonSevier CountyHigh School

Michael MahaffeySevier CountyHigh School

Paul TrenthamInterlochen Center

for the Arts

Reece LaymanSevier CountyHigh School

Samuel OgleSevier CountyHigh School

Stewart WhaleySevier CountyHigh School

Sarah Beth KearHome LifeAcademy

Skye McCarterSevier CountyHigh School

Sarah FagianaSevier CountyHigh School

Tessa GrinsteadPigeon ForgeHigh School

Tori McKinneySevier CountyHigh School

Whitney HenricksonSevier CountyHigh School

William McMahanGatlinburg Pittman

High School

Amber TurnerWalter State

Autumn TurnerWalter State

Benton TinkerUniversity of Tennessee

Knoxville

Blake AdamsKing University

Brent LawsonUniversity of Tennessee

Knoxville

Cassie BalesEast Tennessee State

University

Charlie FieldsTennessee Technology

Caleb KnightCarson Newman

University