Pastor Charles’ Reflection

“God Said No!!”
I asked God to take away my bad habit. God said, No. It is not for Me to take away, but for you to give it up. I asked God to make my handicapped child whole. God said, No. His spirit is whole, his body is only temporary. I asked God to grant me patience. God said, No. Patience is a byproduct of tribulations; is isn’t granted, it is learned. I asked God to give me happiness. God said No. I give you blessings; happiness is up to you. I asked God to spare me pain. God said, No. Suffering draws you apart from worldly cares and brings you closer to Me. I asked God to make my spirit grow. God said, No. You must grow on your own, but I will prune you to make you fruitful. I asked God for all things that I might enjoy life. God said, No. I will give you life, so that you may enjoy all things. I asked God to help me LOVE others, as much as He LOVES me. God said...Ahhhh, finally you have the idea. THIS DAY IS YOURS, DON’T THROW IT AWAY. May God bless you. ‘To the world you might be on ordinary person, But to one person you just might be the world.’ May the Lord bless you and keep you, May the Lord make His face shine upon you, And give you peace...forever’ Good friends are like stars...You don’t always see them, But you know they are always there. (Sent to me by Rose Marie Hodges who has been extremely ill in and out of the hospital for the past two years. She is doing better and on the way to better health. Keep her and Charles in your prayers.) Eleanor Sent me this one with music. I wish you could hear the song. “Made Me Glad” by Miriam Webster I will bless the Lord forever, I will trust Him at all times,
He has delivered me from all fear. He has set my feet upon a rock, And I will not be moved, And I’ll say to the Lord, You are my Shield, my Strength, my Portion, Deliverer, My Shelter, Strong Tower, my very presence Help in times of trouble. Whom have I in heaven but You? There is none I desire beside You, And You have made me glad. I’ll say of the Lord, You are my Shield, my Strength, my Portion, my Deliverer. My Shield, strong Tower, my very present Help. He is a good God and loves us so much that He cannot take His eyes off of us. We ask Him “God Bless America.” A friend of mine from Wallburg, N.C. created a bumper sticker that reads, “America Bless God” Selah. See you Sunday if Jesus tarries.
In Jesus’ Grip, Pastor Charles

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A 92 year old pastor was asked to speak at his former church on the greatest lesson ever learned in his 50 years of preaching. He said he thought about it for a few days and boiled it down to just one thing that made the most difference in his life and sustained him through all his trials. On the morning he was to preach he rose from the high back chair and walked slowly, with great effort and a sliding gait to the podium. Without a note of any kind he placed both hands on the pulpit to steady himself and then quietly and slowly began to speak, “The one thing I could always rely on when tears and heartbreak and pain and fear and sorrow paralyzed me... The only thing that would comfort me was this verse...’Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so, Little ones to Him belong, we are weak but He is strong...Yes, Jesus loves me...The Bible tells me so.’” When he finished, the church was quiet and you actually hear his foot steps as he shuffled back to his chair. A pastor once stated, “I always noticed that it was the adults who chose the children’s hymn, ‘Jesus loves me’, for the children of course, during a hymn sing, and it was the adults who sang the loudest because I could see they knew it best.

March YWOM Meeting— 03/21/10
Our monthly Bible study will be held on March 21st at 5:15 at the Red Bowl Asian Bistro 2760 Celanese Road, Rock Hill. We will be discussing chapter 4 of Living Free by Beth Moore. Books can be found at Shepherd’s Fold or LifeWay. You are not obligated to order a meal, just come fellowship with other women who seek to learn what God desires for us through this very powerful Bible study. Thank you to Donna who will be leading our March study.

Opportunities for Worship and Service:
Good Friday, April 2nd—Worship, beginning at 7:00 PM.
Easter Sunday, April 4th—7:00 Sunrise Service—7:45—Breakfast for those attending the Sunrise Service; 8:45—Sunday School; 9:45 Morning Worship.

Attention NewKirk Seniors: Our next meeting will be March 22nd at 6:30. Pizza will be ordered from Pizza Hut, so bring your favorite dessert and drink.

Annie Armstrong Easter Offering For Home Missions— March 7-28. Our goal is $1,200.00 and we will have a Mission March every Sunday in March.

Men Of Missions Work day on March 20th beginning at 9:00. We need to finish the windows at Mrs Eleanor Self’s home.

Newkirk Annual Easter Egg Hunt
March 27th 11-1- We have only two weeks until our church wide Easter Egg Hunt. The committee is busy planning wonderful activities for the day. We need your help. We are requesting donations of candy and prizes to stuff in the eggs. Acteens have volunteered to stuff the eggs March 24th. We will also be having a prize/bake goods walk which we will need items for that day. If you would rather make a monetary donation please see one of the members of the Children's Committee. I encourage you to invite friends and their families who do not have a church home. We look forward to a day of Christian fun and fellowship. Hope to see you there.
Newkirk Children's Committee - Melissa Jackson, Renee King, Roxie Totter, Linda Tanner

Please note change: Monday, April 12th—Deacon Council will meet at 7:00 P.M. All deacons are urged to be present: Donna Daniels, Neil Dove, Bucky King, Jackie Massey, Junior McWaters, Travis Jackson, Michelle Goodman, Sherry Tucker

Who Owns The Backyard? By Steve Goodier
Vicki Huffman, in PLUS LIVING (Harold Shaw Publishers, 1989), tells about a man who loved to hunt and bought two pedigreed setters that he trained to be fine bird dogs. He kept them in a large, fenced pen in his backyard. One morning he observed a little bulldog trotting down the alley behind his home. It saw the two dogs and squeezed under the fence. The man thought he should perhaps lock up the setters so they wouldn't hurt the little dog, but changed his mind. Maybe they would "teach that bulldog a lesson," he reasoned. As he predicted, fur began to fly, and all of it was bulldog fur. The feisty intruder soon had enough and squeezed back under the fence to get away. To the man's surprise, the visitor returned again the next morning. He crawled under the fence and once again took on the tag-team of setters. And like the day before, he soon quit and squeezed out of the pen. The incident was repeated the following day, with the same results. The man left early the next morning on a business trip and returned after several weeks. He asked his wife what finally became of the bulldog. "You won't believe it," she replied. "At the same time every day that little dog came to the backyard and fought with our setters. He never missed a day! It has come to the point now that when our setters simply hear him snorting down the alley, they start whining and run down into the basement. Then the little bulldog struts around our backyard as if he owns it." How do you manage those problems you encounter daily? I don't mean that we must fight with them, but do you persistently take them on until you persevere? Do we persist in our faith and prayer life? Dale Carnegie made this observation: "Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all." If we have the faith of a mustard seed and perhaps the “tenacity of a bulldog”, “all things are possible through Christ Who strengthens me.”

From Mama’s Rules for Livin’ by M. McCullough
“When you become a parent remember: Don’t allow anything in your life that you don’t want reproduced in your children’s lives.”
“When you become a parent remember: If raising children was going to be easy, it wouldn’t have started off with labor.

Youth Fund Raiser BBQ—We will have plenty of delicious BBQ here at the church and delivered to businesses with an order of 8 or more on Friday, March 26th from 10:30 to 7:00 P.M. Eat in or carry out. The cost per plate is $8.00 and the young people and others have the tickets for you to purchase. We will have as a supporting cast— slaw, beans, rolls, tea and water. Desserts will be available for an additional cost. With that said, we need the help of as many of our church family who will take time to bake goodies, we need 8 drivers to assist in delivering plates, and if you want a whole butt, please place your order by March 21st. No butts will be sold this year unless you pre-order. The butts are $25.00 each. Call the office to place your orders for butts or a large number of plates. If no one is at the office when you call, please leave a message on our answering machine. Bryan Bogue and the youth are working hard to raise funds for their summer mission trip. (These have already committed to assist: Keith Trotter will make the BBQ sauce, Neil Dove is getting boxes to deliver the BBQ to businesses, Junior McWaters will get 400 plates, Sherry Tucker is checking with Capt. Steve’s for slaw. Others will help in getting things prepared for the big day. Bill and Ann Gordon’s brother-in-law will be cooking the BBQ again this year. Young people, please sell the tickets to coaches, teachers, friends and strangers, merchants and whomever you are around. Let’s make this a big successful day. If you will put a flyer advertising this event at a business or school, please see Bryan or come to the office.

REQUEST FROM OUR YOUTH: We are asking any and all members of our congregation (as they are able) to make any baked goods to sell separately at the BBQ Fund Raiser for the Youth on March 26. Please bring the baked goods to the church anytime after 10:00 AM on Friday, March 26. AND We are asking for sponsors of a hole for the Golf Tournament on April 17, or donate money for prizes. Please contact Bryan or the church office if you are interested in helping us out.

Be sure and mark your calendar for March 28 at 6:00 PM for our Easter Cantata.

OTHER MINISTERS FOR SUNDAY, March 21, 2010
Children's Church: Donna Daniels & Nancy Frump
Infants’ Nursery— Sherry & Erica Tucker
Usher/Greeter Teams– Chipper Smith, Tim Seay, Austin Seay, Daniel McCallum
TELLER: March 22—Catherine McCallum

CHURCH CALENDAR
Mar. 20—9:00—Men on Mission Work Day
Mar. 21—9:45—S.S., 10:45-Worship/Mission March—5:00—Youth
Mar. 22—6:30-NewKirk Seniors
March 23—7:00-GROW “W”
March 24—6:45-RAs, GAs, Acteens, Mission Friends & Adult Bible Study, 7:30—Choir Practice
March 26—11:00 to 7:00—BBQ—Youth Fund Raiser
March 27—11:00—1:00—Easter Egg Hunt