T H O U G H T S F R O M T H E P A S T O R

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4048 HIGHWAY 59 WEST † COVINGTON, TENNESSEE 38019 † (901) 476-7259 OR (901) 476-7223

E-MAIL: OGBCCOV@INTEGRITY.COM WEBSITE: WWW.OAKGROVECOVINGTON.ORG

GARY STAFFORD, PASTOR; STEPHEN SORRELL, MINISTER OF MUSIC; LARRY DICKERSON, MINISTER OF

YOUTH; JEREMY ALLEN, CHILDREN’S DIRECTOR; MEGAN ALLEN, CHILDREN’S MUSIC COORDINATOR

J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 5

T H E O A K G R O V E

M E S S E N G E R

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

S E N I O R

A D U L T S 2

S A N C T I T Y O F

H U M A N L I F E

2

B I R T H D A Y S /

S C H E D U L E

3

K I D ’ S C O R N E R 4

F O R Y O U R

I N F O R M A T I O N

5

Churchwide Music in

Worship Meeting—

Sunday, Jan. 4th after

the evening service

AWANA resumes–Wed.

Jan. 7th at 5:30pm

Upward Opening

Ceremony–Thursday,

Jan. 8th at 7pm

Upward Basketball

Games begin–Friday,

Jan. 9th at 6pm &

Saturday, Jan. 10th at

9am

Impact—Sunday, Jan.

11th at 6pm

JANUARY

EVENTS

Dear Church Family

I hope that each of you had a wonderful Christmas with your family and

loved ones. I want to thank you for your expressions of love to our family.

I also want to thank Megan Allen for doing an excellent job of leading our

Children’s Christmas Program and Stephen Sorrell for doing a wonderful

job leading our Adult Carols and Candlelight Service.

As Diane and I look back, we are grateful for God’s leading in our lives. We can see His

hand at work in leading us to Oak Grove Baptist Church. We recognize God’s provision

for us the last 15 months prior to coming to Oak Grove. God is and will continue to be

faithful.

As I write this article today, we are just hours away from 2015. At the end of a year,

many of us reflect on how things transpired in the present year as well as make plans

and preparation for the new upcoming year.

The scripture says In Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no vision, the people perish: but

he that keepeth the law, happy is he. “Recently I was reading our church Purpose State-

ment. It reads “Lift up Jesus, Love One Another, Learn Together, Lead Others to Jesus”.

I pray that this will be a reality in Oak Grove Church in 2015. I pray that we will all catch

the vision (revelation from God’s word) and see it come to fruition this new year.

Because of Jesus

Brother Gary Stafford

Faith Baptist Church

Bartlett, TN

February 27-28, 2015

Conference Cost: $30

Register online at www.myfaithbaptist.org or

give cash or check to Jeff Gwin

Signup sheet on bulletin board outside sanctuary

The Senior Adults met in the home of Eddie & Elaine Anderson for the Christmas Potluck Dinner on

December 11th. We enjoyed good food and fellowship.

We elected the following new officers: Eddie Anderson, President; Marjorie Goforth, Vice President;

Waynona Avery, Program Chairman; Elaine Anderson, Assistant Program Chairman; Janice Martin, Secretary;

and Shirley Mathis, Treasurer,

Thank you, Eddie and Elaine, for opening your house to us.

Our January meeting will be a potluck in the small dining room of the FLC. Our theme will be a birthday party, but

do not bring a gift. We will play a new fun game where we all end up with a gift to take home. Hope the weather

cooperates for our Thursday, January 8th meeting at 10:30am.

—Waynona Avery

S E N I O R A D U L T S ( A C O R N S ) Page 2

S A N C T I T Y O F H U M A N L I F E

President Ronald Reagan designated Sanctity of Human Life Sunday (SOHLS) “as a day to recognize those harmed

by abortion.” This Sunday is held on the Sunday in January that falls closest to the day on which the Roe v. Wade

and Doe v. Bolton decisions were handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court on January 22, 1973. In 2015, SOHLS

will take place on January 18th.

One way to get involved is to participate in the WMU Mission Action Project—Confidential Care for Women, which

is a pregnancy center that empowers women and men to choose life for their unborn children. Please consider

donating from the list below.

Confidential Care Wish List:

MONETARY DONATIONS will go for the following:

Pregnancy Tests

Drapes to cover client for Ultrasound

Ultrasound Gel

Ultrasound Paper

Specimen Cups

Probe Protectors

Gloves

MOBILE UNIT SUPPLIES:

RV TOILET PAPER (may find in auto department at Walmart)

RV TOILET SANITIZER

HAND SOAP

ANTIBACTERIAL WIPES

PRINTER PAPER

PAPER TOWELS

8 oz. to 12 oz. BOTTLES OF WATER FOR CLIENTS

KLEENEX TISSUES

GARBAGE BAGS (8 and/or 13 Gallon)

$20 GIFT CERTIFICATES TO WALMART or KROGER (given to clients coming from Mississippi or Arkansas – for gas

ONLY)

The WMU Quarterly Meeting will be Tuesday, January 13, 2015 at 7pm at Oak Grove, so bring your items and put

them in the box beside the Sunday School office by Sunday, January 10th.

Mike Howard

Wayne Owen

Jim Martin

Roger Ralph

Mike Howard

Roger Ralph

Mike Howard

Wayne Owen

Jim Martin

Roger Ralph

U S H E R S

Page 3

G R E E T E R S P R A Y E R

Ellen Newman,

Sandra Howard, Janet Wilson

Jim & Janice Martin,

Ron Cooke

Roger & Donna Ralph,

Andy Van Cleve

Mike Howard, Bill Elam,

Deanne Hughey

Wayne & Janice Owen,

Teresa Elam

C O U N T E R S

J A N U A R Y 4

J A N U A R Y 1 1

J A N U A R Y 1 8

J A N U A R Y 2 5

Sunday Morning

Worship

Jan. 4

Jan Bringle

Jan. 11

Harriet Cannon

Jan. 18

Teresa Elam

Jan. 25

Marjorie Goforth

Feb. 1

Carolyn Hadley

N U R S E R Y

W O R K E R S

F E B R U A R Y 1

Lenard Cannon, Andy Van

Cleve, Joe Elam, Charles

Clowes

Donald Erwin, Jason Hughey,

Ben Jones

Jeff McClain, Wayne Owen,

Ryan Howard, Van Bringle

Charles Clowes, Ben Jones

Ryan Howard

Lenard Cannon, Andy Van

Cleve, Joe Elam, Charles

Clowes

5 Micaela Jarrin

6 Morgan Deal, Josh Watts,

Jim Richards

9 Kate Howard

11 Ricky Alvarez

13 Chelsea Larson

14 Bill Elam, Jeff Gwin

15 Fay Heath

16 Glinda Pruitt

19 Clifton Pruitt, Joel Howard, Jessica

Cooke, A.E. (Buddy) Smith

21 Melba Howard

23 Wayne Ralph

24 Will Bringle, Terri Landrum

25 Teresa Elam

26 Courtney Howard

28 Joe Elam

29 Zach Watts

31 Dominick Harris

Page 4

Bible Quiz

Practices have started, and approximately 224 kids are

on teams. Upward will be kicking off Thursday, January

8, 2015 at 7pm with the opening ceremony. Then the

games begin Friday, January 9th at 6pm and Saturday,

January 10th at 9am.

Come out and join us as we work with these kids and

families and share the love of Christ.

On January 11, 2015 at 6pm, Oak Grove will be hosting

Impact, a worship service led by Youth from area

churches. All are invited to come. Please help us out by

bringing a dish for potluck at 5:30pm.

At age 20, George Ritchie fell gravely ill and was pro-

nounced dead. Amazingly, he revived, convinced he’d

had what some call a near-death experience. Ritchie’s

return to physical health left him longing so deeply to

experience Jesus again that he prayed to die.

Some 15 months later, as an army medical technician,

Ritchie became consumed with the care of a particular

patient. Then he had an epiphany, recounted in Return

From Tomorrow (Chosen Books): “If I wanted to feel the

nearness of Christ ... I would have to find it in the peo-

ple that He put before me each day. ... in caring for

[Jack] I had lost sight of myself. And in losing myself, I

had discovered Christ.

“I wondered if we always had to die, some stubborn

part of us, before we could see more of Him ... to stop

trying to recapture that otherworldly vision of Jesus,

and start looking for Him in the faces across the mess

table.”

The more we pray, the more we shall want to pray. The

more we pray, the more we can pray. The more we

pray, the more we shall pray. He who prays little will

pray less, but he who prays much will pray more. And

he who prays more will desire to pray more abundantly.

—C.H. Spurgeon

Dying to see Jesus

Pray without ceasing