The Forward Look

MONTHLY NEWSLETTER OF LMPC – JANUARY 2020

Ben’s Bin

Prayer Meeting Prayer Meeting Wednesday, January 29th, 11:30 am in the Sanctuary

We will gather to pray for our neighbors and neighborhoods, our new church

members. Rev. Blaine Hill will lead us to grow in our ability to share the Good News of

Jesus with our neighbors in the Chapin area. If you are a bold prayer warrior, we need

you. If you are a quiet, even timid person of faith, join us too (we won't make you pray

out loud, if that is not for you). But above all let us join in prayer. We will finish at

noon. Those who are free to do so, can go our for a bite of lunch afterward.

Church Events

• Jan. 1 - Happy New Year

Church Office Closed

• Jan. 5 – Confirmation Kick off

Officer Ordination &

Installation

• Jan. 11 – Officer Retreat

• Jan. 12 - Remember Your

Baptism

• Jan. 14— Merry Pres. F. Hall

• Jan. 26—Youth Chili Cook Off

The 2020 Vision puns are coming out all over the place. For those of you who hate

puns- you may have a tough time (bad puns are how eye roll). So this brings me to

the theme for the sermons and activities at LMPC for 2020: “Be Thou my 2020 Vision.”

The key verse will be: “Let us fix our eyes on Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our

faith. Who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat

down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 12:2). I think if we fix our eyes on Jesus- we

will be just fine. He said so by saying, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteous-

ness and all these other things will be added to you” (Mt. 6:33). He is on the throne

(the right hand of God), so He will help us through the tough times but also guide us

through the year. When I rowed a boat on the lake for the first time as a boy, some-

one told me to pick a point and keep my eyes fixed on that point in order to go straight

to where I go. So our point is Jesus- we want to be like Him and head in a positive,

heavenly direction. I have heard that twirling dancers (I am NOT one of them) are told

to pick a point to look at in order to keep from getting dizzy. In our busy world, having

a point to come home to- God and His family here (the church) are very important to

not just lose our focus and energy. So let Jesus be your 2020 Vision!

Blaine’s Bay

Bible Studies

“…remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35

As a child I looked forward to Christmas as a time when I would get presents, which is very common among children. But getting presents is rarely the best way to enjoy gifts. It is far more joyful to give a much needed, a very generous, or a highly personalized gift. One of the great joys of serving at Lake Murray Presby-terian Church is seeing the generosity of the people of the church. Of course, the pastors and staff are grateful for the tasty gifts and generous love offering from the church. Even more, my faith was encouraged to see the members of the church give nearly a thousand gifts through our giving tree and the the Justin Pepper House Teen and ‘Tween gift drive. In the midst of all the business of the Holdiay Season, our church understood the central meaning of Christmas: giving. Each gift that we give is a small token to remind us of God’s Christmas gift to us: his Son, Jesus Christ.

WOW Worship on Wednesday

We had a great time on Wednesday nights last Fall. In 2020 we will WOW

February 5th, March 4th, April 1st, September 4th, October 7th and

December 9th!

Mark your calendar now. Look for upcoming WOW details for January! Put WOW

Christmas Carols on your calendar for De-cember 11th. Dinner starts at 5:30, and

worship begins at 6:15.

Winter Co-Ed Disciple Bible Study, Thursdays at 10:00 am

Join us Thursday mornings at 10:00 am, starting January 9th, to dive into the Gospel of John. This is a great introduction to substantial and life-sustaining Bible study.

The Journey Sunday School Class

We meet each Sunday in the multi-purpose room of the Children’s ministry building from 9:30 to 10:15. This class is designed to help busy people drop in to hear the Good News of Jesus to prepare us for the week ahead. We are currently studying Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5 through 7. The class is taught by Pastor Blaine Hill and designed for you to get something of real spiritual value whether you can attend occasionally or every week. You can access the podcast here on the internet or through itunes.

4th Sunday Community Worship Service will be held on January 26th at 6:00 pm at Mount Zion Baptist Church.

Children’s Ministry News Cherub Choir under the direction of Mary Elise Wallace is for children ages 3 years through kindergarten. They meet each Sun-

day at 8:55 am in the multipurpose room of the Children’s Ministry Building. They are currently taking a break and will

resume on January 26.

Children’s Choir under the direction of Dr. Janet Roberts is for 1st-5th graders with the help of older youth. They meet at 8:55 am

in the choir room (upper gym building). Children are always welcome to join this group. They are currently on break and will re-

sume on January 26.

Thank you to all of the children, youth and parents who helped make the Christmas Eve Family Service special. Thank you to Pam

Hutto and Kristen Lamkin for directing our children. Great service!

Looking forward to 2020 and continuing on the spiritual journey with LMPC children and families.

New Schedule for Nursery and Children’s Church Volunteers

If you would be willing to be on our volunteer list for nursery during 10:30 worship or children’s church, please email

Jane at janej.lmpchurch@gmail.com. There are also sign-up sheets on Sunday in the Children’s Ministry Building.

During this time of transition, we depend on our volunteers. If you have children in either nursery or children’s

church, please consider helping us one or two Sundays between now and the end of May.

January Nursery Volunteers

January 5-

January 12-

January 19-

January 26-

January Children’s Church Volunteers

January 5- Jane Jermac

January 12-

January 19-

January 26-

Announcements

Year To Date Church Financial Information

Year to Date Through December 30, 2019

2019 Budget YTD Budget YTD Actual

Income $1,039,000 $1,039,000 $1, 028,818

Expenses

Administrative 46,160 33,797

Property 255,710 252,444

Missions & Outreach 90,540 5,283

Worship 6,500 5,076

Personnel 607,981 616,320

Other Committees 28,109 29,671

Total Expenses to Date $942,592

Budget vs. Actual -$10,182

2020 Pledges to date: 187 Pledges $782,410

Prayer Request

*Catherine Vitale upon the passing of her sister; *Barb

Washington; *Bob Dawkins; *Effie Overstreet; Gary Lee; *Cindy

Rohman and Family upon the passing of her uncle, Dean Moser;

Richard Roughton; Lowell Andrews; *Ann Abrams; *Clare

Effinger; *Shannon Allioner; Louie Carter; *Kim Bristow; *Theo

Blaney, sister of *Betsy Cothran; *Dottie Dunbar; *Erma

Kaminer; Nancy Triebel; Roger Colchin, son in law of *Alan and

*Janina Grimsley; *Marty Milam; *Ken Sullivan; Katherine

Neighbors; *Tommy and Marcia Warren; *Dan Morgan; *Becky

Davidson; Merle Norris; *Gerry Brossard; *Earl & *Loretta

Guilford; Mitchell Gilliland; Betty White, Bill Gresham; Elizabeth

Mills, Jack Barwick III; *David Ayer; *Jane Branch; *Allison

Jasinski; Jean Stancil; Betsy Dix; *Dick Wilkins; *Alyssa Mott;

*Daniel White; friends and family members serving in the

military *Chase McCathern; *Drew McCathern; *Alex Shuler;

(*members)

MERRY PRESBYTERIANS 1/14

The Merry Presbyterians (those 55+) will be having a winter meeting January 14 at 11:00 in the Fellowship Hall. It will be a

lunch meeting (bring a covered dish and $2 for the chicken) followed by a travel program. John Clark, author of the book,

"Scenic Driving South Carolina", will speak about the twenty-four drives around our state that are described in his book, including

itineraries and route maps. Larry Sandifer will follow with a talk on miscellaneous helpful tips learned from his and Sally's

numerous travels. Please call the church office to register (helps us determine how much chicken 345-5140).

MISSIONS IN THE UPPER MIDLANDS- January 28

It is not too often that we as a church get a chance to be missionaries to people who come from other countries right here, but

January 28 we get an opportunity right here in the upper midlands. One of our church members, Margaret Sparrow, teaches

English as a second language to children. Most of these children are Hispanic, and this would give them the opportunity to know

some Anglos who will be kind and considerate of them. We will eat with them and share some common games with them

starting at 11:00 at the old Food Lion in Newberry (709 Kendall Rd). Anyone interested in helping others or missions is

encouraged to come.

OFFICER RETREAT

January 11 from 9-1:00 we will have an Officer’s retreat at LMPC. At this meeting we will plan strategically and tactically for the

2020 year. Please pray for the deacons, elders, and staff as we try to discern God’s will for LMPC.

REMEMBER YOUR BAPTISM

January 12 we will remember our Lord Jesus was baptized and we will also remember we are united with Him as family by our

own baptism. Each person will come forward and get a marble from the youth to remember who and whose we are. Baptism is

not only an initiation ceremony- it symbolizes that God knows us by name and forgives us of our general and particular sins.

Podcasts from Lake Murray Presbyterian Church Weekly sermons and special events in worship on the web and on iTunes.

Weekly follow up for The Journey Sunday School Class on Simply Stated by Blaine Hill on the web and on iTunes here.

Sermons and the missional training podcasts from Foundation Church on the web and iTunes.