I am the light of the world; he who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.
John 8:12
The Lamplighter
December, 2008/January,
2009
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Lottie Moon Christmas Offering
for International Missions
National Goal: $170
million
Church goal: $3,000
Closing the Gap
For more than 150 years, Southern Baptist missionaries have labored to carry
the Gospel to the lost. But
despite their sacrifice—and that of generations of Southern Baptists who’ve
given faithfully to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering—our Great Commission
task is not yet complete.
More than 5,900 of the world’s nearly 11,600 people groups continue to live
and die in spiritual darkness.
Among these least-reached peoples there are few, if any, Evangelical
Christians, and no one working to plant new churches.
Closing this gap will require a missionary force 8,000 strong—some 3,000 new
missionaries—partnering with stateside churches, national Baptists and other
Great Commission Christian groups.
That’s not all. Sending this
unprecedented number of missionaries will also require extraordinary giving
on behalf of Southern Baptists.
Our national Lottie Moon Christmas Offering goal is $170 million.
The task is doable; God has given us the resources.
Will we be found faithful?
Our church
goal is $3,000.
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A Note from the pastor
Dear church family,
Greetings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This November I have been preaching through the last book of the Old
Testament, Malachi. Malachi is
only a few chapters in length, yet it has a powerful message for our day.
Malachi was a prophet of Jehovah who ministered in
In chapter 2 Malachi rebukes
In chapter 3 Malachi addresses the problem of giving to the Lord’s
work. “Bring the whole tithe
(tenth of your income) into the storehouse, that there may be food in my
house. Test me in this,” says
the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of
heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for
it” (Malachi 3:10). This is the
only time, that I know of, that God tells us to test Him.
When we honor Him with our giving He promises to pour out a blessing.
Have you experienced that?
Jesus put it this way, “give and it will be given to you.
A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will
be poured into your lap. For
with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).
In the Old Testament Israel was required by God’s law to pay a tithe
(a tenth of their income). In
the New Testament we are not under law, but we are under grace.
1 Corinthians 16:2 says “Upon the first day every week each one of
you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income . . . .”
I believe a tenth is just a beginning place.
Janet and I have always given a little more than a tenth, ever since
we got married in 1975. Some
years have been harder than others, but God has always enabled us to keep
that promise. His blessings in
return have far outweighed any sacrifice we have made.
Isn’t that just what He promised?
Praise His holy name.
Malachi’s messages ring true down through the centuries.
I encourage you to heed His warnings and obey God’s leading.
Not only will you be blessed, but your family, your church, and God’s
kingdom will, too.
Your fellow laborer,
Dr.
Stephen D. Hokuf
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Planning goals repeated for 2009
by Dan Mohler
Those who
attended our semi-annual planning session on Saturday, November 14, 2008,
decided to keep our two current goals for 2009. These are PRAYER and
OUTREACH.
Prayer:
Luke 18:1 says that “we should always pray and not lose heart or give up.”
Prayer puts us in contact with the Lord who alone is our hope and
salvation. First Chronicles
29:12 says that “wealth and honor come from Him who is ruler of all things.”
Surely we need to put more emphasis on our prayer time with God who
loves to respond to His people.
Suggestions for prayer: That God
would open our hearts to who He is; for Sunday School classes; for church
services; for revival; for a passion for the lost; and for giving.
Outreach:
We want to enhance our visitation program.
A suggested list is posted on the bulletin board.
If you are interested in being a part of a visitation tam, please see
Pastor Dan. We also want to
enhance our food distribution program.
If you are interested in helping with this, please see Pastor Dan or
Kathy Gray.
Maintenance:
There were several maintenance items that were also discussed including
painting the baptistery, new lights for the auditorium, and upgrading the
sign out front.
Food
Closet:
We are asking
everyone to bring in extra food items for our church food closet so that
those in need may have a variety of food items available to them.
There are baskets at each door.
This will be an on-going program.
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How to Survive These Difficult Times
By Pastor Dan
America
may be entering a time of refining similar to what Israel experienced when
they forgot God. America has
been arrogant and extremely prideful in thinking that its blessings from God
were due to its own innate abilities.
There is also the consideration that we are living
in the last days just prior to the rapture of the church.
It appears that the anti-Christ will come to power through a time of
chaos or great difficulty on the earth so that people are ready and willing
to follow anyone who appears to have an answer.
So what can we do to survive these difficult days?
1. Remember that God is on the
throne and history is being played out just as He said (Isaiah 43:21-21,
44:6-8).
2. Pray and seek your God as if
your very life depended upon Him (Jeremiah 29:11-13, 2 Chronicles 7:14).
3. Look for ways to save money
and pay off current debt. Do not
obligate yourself for any new debt.
Form mini co-ops to buy food in bulk with friends and neighbors.
4. Ask the Lord to bless you
(Jeremiah 33:2-3; James 4:2).
5. Look for ways to be a
blessing to others. There are
always others who are having a tougher time than you are.
Be generous where you can and be hospitable (Proverbs 14:31; Luke
6:38).
6. Tithe.
It is the Lord who gives wealth and honor and strength (Malachi
3:8-10; Proverbs 3:9-10, 16).
7. Trust the Lord and do not
allow yourself to waste time in worry (Proverbs 3:5-6; Isaiah 8:11-14;
41:10,13.
Remember that you are a child of God and your future is secure (2
Thessalonians 2:13-17; 1 Thessalonians 5; Proverbs 21:21, Isaiah 1:16-19,
40).
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Please note this:
From the Finance Committee
Gifts to Staff
The Pastors and
Staff very much appreciate the kindness shown by our congregation. As
a reminder, any monetary gift from you to them should either be given in
cash or check made out to them. Checks should not be made out
to the church - such gifts are not tax deductible (that's the bad news), but
they are also not taxable to the recipient (that's the good news!).
Budget Shortfall
As you know, our
church, like most charitable and for profit organizations, is running far
below budget for the year. We understand the "belt tightening" many of
us are experiencing. We would, however, ask everyone to pray about our
church's financial situation. Please bring this important matter
before the Lord. Perhaps you are a bit behind in your giving.
This would be a wonderful time to give that little extra. Thank you so
much.
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Looking ahead—2009
September 18-19, 2009—It sounds like a long way off. It will be here before
you know it. Mark your calendars because Women of Faith will be presenting
A Grand New Day at the
The church has
opened a designated account that, if you wish, you can set a little money
aside weekly or monthly to go toward the price of your ticket. Just write
your name and “WOF” on your offering envelope. Also, if anyone else would
like to donate money for a woman who, otherwise, would not be able to
attend, they may do so through this designated account. Please keep in mind,
there is no obligation at this time to purchase a ticket. We just need to
know if you are interested. Please contact Sandy Jackson at 410-287-2708 or
410-287-3316.
Submitted by
Sandy Jackson
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Here’s our special Christmas events:
Sun Dec 7, 8:30 & 11am &6pm
Missionaries Randy & Sandy
MOYER, guest speakers
Sun Dec 14, 11am
A Church Mouse Christmas
—presented by the children
Sun Dec 14, 6:30pm
@ North East United
Hope Has Hands
presented by combined choirs of
NEUMC choir
and our adult choir.
NO
pm services @ our church
Sun Dec 21, 11am
Hope Has Hands
presented by combined choirs of
NEUMC and our adult choir.
Wed Dec. 24, 7:30pm
CANDLELIGHT
SERVICE
Sun Dec 28, 8:30 & 11am
YOUTH Day
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Missing
in Chris Johnson’s own words
Editor’s note:
We’d like to dedicate the letter below in memory of Judith Elizabeth
Johnson. She and Chris Johnson
were to celebrate their wedding anniversary on Dec. 26.
Chris wrote this letter shortly after
Hello All:
Everyone is probably wondering how the children and I are doing and what we
are doing? I would say we are doing very well. Taylor, Liam and
I know [
After what we went through and battled through, we know that every
moment/every day is a gift and is to be cherished. We don’t sit around
crying 24/7. We miss her incredibly but want to get the most out of
every day knowing there is no guarantee of tomorrow. I cry some every
day and the kids have shed some tears but more than anything we are thankful
and happy. We feel so very blessed to have had as my wife and their
Mom for the time we had her physically with us. We are forever changed
and better because she is a part of our family and that she loves us.
She is still with us but just not physically. She is the inspiration
and my conscience to do the right thing for others and for Taylor and Liam.
She inspired me to send this [letter] to you all. She inspires me to
be the best father and friend I can be to everyone.
Every day Taylor, Liam and I talk about [her]. We laugh at a situation
in how Mom would react to it and what she would be saying. We laugh
about times in the past and we are so thankful for such wonderful memories.
There will be some emotional times ahead; but, we will be happy and thankful
that God lent us Elizabeth for the time he did. We need to remember
that God loved (
One of my aunt’s called the other day and she said she was bitter with God
because of [
Something hit me hard a few days ago as I spoke with a close friend of mine
about the celebration service. We discussed people that don’t believe
in Jesus, some of them close friends and how do they cope?—cope with the
loss of a love one and just cope in day to day life period. How they must
struggle and question what the future holds for them and their loved ones
some day. I wonder what they must think about people like me that love
Jesus and have complete faith and certainty of what He did for us and where
our true home is. I said, “They must think that we need to believe in
Jesus so we can cope with this severe loss. They must think that our
faith is a coping mechanism, almost like “fools gold’”. My close
friend said, “I think that it is important that they believe in something.”
I didn’t say anything; but, I wanted to say, “No, it is not important to
believe in something, it is important that they learn more about Jesus and
understand what He did for all of us.” I want to beg these friends who
have doubts to take the time to research and learn about the Christian
faith.
People spend so much time reading books, doing fantasy football, watching
TV, playing video games (guilty), coaching (guilty again) and getting
advanced degrees; but, when it comes to faith they will not take the time to
find out more—if they would just invest the time to educate themselves fully
regarding our Christian faith and Jesus.
If after putting in that time they said I don’t think it is for me
and I am not buying it, I would feel better. However, I think once
they dedicated the time to educate themselves they would not say that.
They would come to love our Lord Jesus with all of their hearts.
I can tell you with all I am that my faith in our Father and Jesus is not
because I need to believe to be able to cope with
Has my faith been strengthened from
I love the following poem because it hits all of these questions without
going into a multitude of verses in the Bible. However, I could
provide a ton of verses that would help with these difficult questions with
the help of my pastor Steve [Hokuf]. See, I am still learning myself.
I need to continue to study and learn. Just like I tell my football
players, “Every day you are either getting better or worse—what affects this
is your effort and your attitude.” The same is true with us in our
faith and in our day to day
lives. Also, I tell my football players and my own kids quite often,
“Giving 100% means never living with regret regardless of the outcome.”
[
“God has not
promised skies always blue
Flower strewn
pathways all our lives through
God has not
promised sun without rain,
Joy without
sorrow, peace without pain
But God has
promised us strength for the day
Rest for the
labor, light for the way
Grace for the
trials, help from above
Unfailing
sympathy and undying love”
Lord, I pray that this letter offends no one. I pray that those who
read this who are not sure about their faith and not fully committed that
they would take the time to learn more. I pray they would go to church
for a year and go to a Bible study and get their questions answered. I
pray that if they have children that they would also get involved in church
(along with their parents). What a gift and legacy they can pass on to
their children. Please help me to be the best husband, father, friend,
and coach I can be. I pray that this letter touches someone’s heart
and that they will seek You. Thank you for all of the wonderful
support and love that has been given to me and my family through this
challenging time. I pray for all of the people we have met in the past
year and 8 months
especially the children we met at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, Philippe,
Xethia, Jay Jay, Sydney, Jahare, Sahare, Beleska and all of the rest. Please
give the children and the parents comfort during this challenging time and
we pray that you heal these special children. Thanks for all you do
for me and my family, God. Thanks for the peace that you have given me
and my family because of your promise. We love you so much!
Amen.
Going to [football] practice the other day I saw a note on a church sign
which was powerful. This is what it said,
“No Jesus,
No peace”
“Know
Jesus, Know Peace”
Are youare wondering how my children and I are doing? We are doing
fine. We love you all!!
Chris
Johnson
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Mouse life is tough!
You just can’t imagine how tough life is for a church
mouse. I need to stay hidden
most of the time as there’s many people hanging around most of the
time—pastors, ministry assistant, treasurer, counselors , children,
teachers, trustees, visitors . . . .
Just when all is quiet and it’s a super time for me to
skitter through the halls, Lisa SANDERS, the custodian, comes to clean.
I skitter and scamper from one room to another trying to keep one
step ahead of her. Of course, I
like to get my tummy full of tidbits before she vacuums.
If no one else is around when she cleans, I was wondering
whether the people of the church know who serves as the church custodian.
Again, her name is Lisa Sanders.
She’s the “keeper” of God’s house.
Sometimes her husband, Rick, may help, too.
The church and childcare center sure look great after she’s finished.
Let me tell you something else.
Mrs. Sanders sings gospel songs while she works.
I sure hope she doesn’t mind me tattling.
It’s bad enough dodging Mrs. Gray’s mouse traps.
Now I’ll be on the look out for Mrs. Sanders broom.
It sure could pack a wallop!
Ouch!
I must confess, though.
I like to have the church all to myself.
That’s when I think I’m in mouse heaven.
Kat, The
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Ways to start off the New Year
According to historians, the celebration of the New
Year is the oldest holiday.
Ancient Babylonians first observed it in the spring about 4,000 years ago.
In 153 B.C., the Roman Senate declared January 1 as New Year’s Day.
The tradition of making resolutions dates back to
the Babylonians, who often promised to return borrowed farm equipment.
Using a baby to symbolize rebirth and the new year dates back to the
ancient Greeks and Egyptians.
Modern-day New Year’s customs often focus on
prosperity. In
One of the best ways to start off the New Year is
by spending time in prayer. Look
back on God’s many blessings during the completed year and ask for His
guidance in the one to come.
Also consider starting the tradition of praying for people around the world
on New Year’s Day.
*according to
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Dear church family and friends,
Special Note from Pastor Steve
and Finance Committee
Economic Slowdown Blessings?
We have all been impacted by the current financial meltdown
This is a perfect time to reflect and put things in their
perspective. We tend to place
far too much trust in our worldly possessions.
As we do that, we lose the eternal picture that should continually
guide and encourage the believer in Christ.
For the Christian, heaven is our home—do you believe that?
The Bible clearly states that we will enjoy all the riches of
heaven. Do you believe that?
Do you really believe that?
May we suggest that many of us need to confess we are too focused on worldly
matters. (Of course, the Bible
tells us we need to plan for our future, take care of our families, etc.;
but, it should be done with eternity’s values in view.)
Remember how excited you were when you accepted Christ?
Are you just as excited now, or even more?
If not, you need a personal revival.
We need to honestly and fervently ask the Lord, as David did, to
“renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10).
As people individually experience this revival in their heart,
imagine the wonderful impact it will have on our church!
It will be contagious, and it makes us excited and joyful to
think about that.
When Christians are revived in their faith, they will respond to life’s
challenges with renewed vigor and a positive attitude.
After all, they will be instantly reminded that Jesus is with them
and will never leave them, that their sins are forgiven, that they
will be reunited with loved ones in heaven, and all the many other promises
clearly outlined in God’s Word.
Maybe you are reading this and you aren’t really sure you are going to
heaven. The Bible says that
Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins.
He took your place! Trust
in Him as your Savior! Pray a
prayer something like this:
“Dear Jesus, I know I am a sinner, and I believe in my heart that you died
for me; I ask you to come into my life, forgive me for my sin, and save me.”
If you pray that prayer (and mean it), Jesus will become a living
reality to you. Praise the Lord!
A revived heart will also be a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Our church is running far below budget for the year, as many of you
know. We are designating
December as “Stewardship Emphasis Month”.
Perhaps during this “belt-tightening” period you have fallen behind
in your giving to the Lord. We
are asking everyone to prayerfully put this matter before God, and to ask
the Lord what He would have you do personally to help.
The deacons and trustees have asked us to share this budget shortfall with
you. As we prayed about this,
however, the Lord placed on our hearts the issue of revival as the prime
focus. People who are excited
about their faith will be cheerful givers.
We have been encouraged—have you?
Yes! God can produce
blessings out of this economic slowdown.
Absolutely! To God be the
glory. Thank you, Jesus.
May you and your family have a Merry Christmas and blessed New Year.
Love in Christ,
Pastor Stephen D. Hokuf
Richard Brasefield, Chairman of the Finance Committee
Matthew 6:19-21: “Do not store
up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where
thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven,
where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and
steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
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