Pulpit to Pew by Pastor Richard Eckman:
Looking forward to Thanksgiving? Why? For any of these reasons?
- Great, a day off from school.
- A paid holiday from work.
- Delicious meal to look forward to.
- The whole family will be together.
- A great time to remember all our blessings.
- An opportunity to praise God.
David speaks in Psalm 103:1,2: “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits.” Each of us must plan now how to make our Thanksgiving more meaningful and how to “forget not all His benefits.” May I offer several suggestions:
- Set aside a special time to remember and thank God again for saving you from sin. Ps. 103:3a “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities.” If you haven’t invited Christ to forgive you and save you, do so.
- Attend church as a family to have your thoughts directed God-ward. Our services the Sunday before and the eve before Thanksgiving will center around PRAISE.
- Plan to spend time as a family on Thanksgiving Day sharing God’s blessing and thanking Him (before the delicious dinner.)
- Take of “His benefits” to you and share them with others. Give a turkey or some food to a family in need.
Show your Thanksgiving by THANKS-LIVING this year.
Library by Virginia Wright:
Psalms 139:13-17: “For Thou hast possessed my reins: Thou hast covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise Thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are Thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well. My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned when as yet there were none of them.”
Thought: It is good to know that whatever our make-up, God’s will made it so. We know from the above scripture that even our physical appearance and our body members are designed by God Himself. We are NO accident or being of chance. We were fashioned by God. So, whether we be beautiful, pretty to look upon, or just plain and uncomely, we are God’s creation. We can be content in the fact that we are unique and God is pleased to work in our lives if we but let Him. (Just think that of all the strikingly beautiful birds, God still mentioned the lowly sparrow).
Some people in this world cruelly “pick” others apart, – too fat, too thin, mean, ugly – always something negative. They don’t take the time to look for the qualities which God searches out. Our time here on earth when people look at us for either our good or bad appearance is short. Before we realize it, we are on the threshold of Eternity. How wonderful to know that our merciful Lord disregards our outer appearance and looks on the beauty of a clean heart and the radiance created there by our love and loyalty to Christ. Let’s be thankful for our blessings!!!
Senior Conquerors (Youth 7th-12th grade) by Pastor Eckman:
Oct. 7th, 12 youth traveled to the Calvary Baptist church in Sturtevant for a HOBO Night. Along with quizzing on Philippians, some exciting games and good hobo food, we heard Mr. Jim Morgenroth. He presently is an instructor at Northland Baptist Bible College and a former missionary to Bolivia.
Oct. 15th, the youth were invited to Carol Unger’s home for a Singspiration and refreshments. An inspiring time was had by all.
Oct. 21st the youth had a hayride on the Ralph Gebhardt farm. Thanks again to him and to all the youth who attended.
In November activities include: a Skit Night in Sturtevant on Nov. 4th at 5pm, a Singspiration on the 12th at 8pm and Bowling on the 18th at 6pm. Come and join us for an activity or the training hour Sundays at 6pm. Nov. 5th at 6pm Mareo Moreno will relate his summer experiences in Japan.
Feature on Maranatha Baptist Bible College by Dennis Hale:
Maranatha Baptist Bible College is a four year college which trains people to serve Christ and it is located in Watertown, Wisconsin. Also there’s a graduate school and High School Academy on the Campus.
It is a miracle school. It was founded in 1968 and is starting the 11th miraculous year. The campus is located on the west side of Watertown. We have 3 men’s dorms and 1 house and 3 dorms for the women. We also have 12 small modular classrooms and the main hall which is 3 stories high and contains many classrooms. Also in the main hall is a bookstore, snack shop, cafeteria, nurse’s office, dating parlor, post office and quite a few other offices.
Maranatha has a 2 year practical Christian training degree program. It also has a Missions program, Evangelist’s program, Preacher’s program and Christian education programs. It’s a great place to get a Biblical based education.