Pastor Charles’ Reflection:

Christians are not perfect people. We know that, the world knows that and God certainly is aware of that fact. Someday when Jesus comes to take us to be with Him, we shall be perfect for we shall be like Him. In I John 2:15-17, we read, “Do not love the world, nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in Him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world. And the world is passing away, and also its lusts; but the one who does the will of God abides forever.” Jesus said, “Be ye perfect,” in Matthew 5:48. That is the goal, the ideal which we are striving. If we are not striving toward perfection, we are sorry Christians. We must aim at the moon, even if we hit the streetlight on Cherry Street. The mighty Mississippi always flow southward, but sometimes it flows eastward, westward, northward, but the general trend of the river is in the southward direction. So, although the Christian sometimes goes in the wrong direction, although we often sin, the trend of our life is upward and Godward. It is sad, but Christians often get into the wrong places, mentally and spiritually. 1) Some Christians get under the tree of discouragement as did Elijah, the Old Testament prophet. After proving that God was a mighty God over Baal and the false prophets, Jezebel, the wicked queen, was violently angry and threatened to kill Elijah. How quickly he forgot the recent victory and asked that God let him die. We are discouraged to easily, we forget that God cares for us, we forget the messages of the past, we forget how God has brought us out of our troubles, we worry about everything that we cannot control. We forget His promise in Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee...” That is our problem, we look at the trouble, instead of looking up to God. When we do this we dishonor Christ when we sit under the tree of discouragement. 2) Sometimes Christians get up on the housetop of self ease. David was idle on the roof of his palace. The battles were over, he had nothing to do. Temptation come to him in the form of a beautiful woman and broke four of God’s commandments, namely coveting, lustfulness, adultery and murder. A life of self-ease shrivels the soul. Someone said, “an idle brain, (or hand) is the devil’s workshop.” David was tempted when he was not busy for God. Are you on the housetop of self-ease with too much time to gossip, find fault, criticize the church or pastor, rather than saying a good word for the church and praying for the pastor. As I said in the message Sunday, “If you can’t say something good about the church everyday, ask God to keep you quiet.” Anybody can find fault over the phone, but let me remind you, if people talk about someone else in your presence, they will talk about you to someone else. I would say some of us are guilty of the same. Let me encourage you to get a Biblical life. The life of self-ease brought David’s downfall. 3) Some Christians get into the doubting castle of unbelief. John the Baptist while in prison, began to doubt if Jesus was really the Christ. We may doubt our salvation. We may doubt if there is anything to the Christian religion after all. We may wonder if the Bible is the Word of God. If you love a person and begin to doubt him/her, you will soon cool off and that is true to the church, God’s Word and Jesus. When a person believes in something, he gives his best to it. 4) Some Christians get into the ring of wrangling. A couple of the disciples wanted prestige, and position as they sought the highest places. When Jesus spoke to them about their request, He said that the one who would be highest must first be lowest, that the one who would be greatest must first be the servant of all. Most church quarrels start after such wrangling. This is my____, my_____, my____. Some one wants the high place, someone wants the entire church to go his/her way. The church needs men and women who will take any place for Christ. We grieve the Spirit of God when we wrangle. 5) Some Christians get into the sieve of self-confidence. Simon Peter fell to that sin, but recovered and became a dynamic force of the Kingdom of God. When we think that the work we are doing for the Lord is successful because of us, our talents, our work, our brilliance, we are certainly riding for a fall. It is either all for God, and we must trust Him for all that we do, have and achieve. It matters not now much we do, how hard we work, IF GOD IS NOT IN IT, OUR EFFORTS ARE AS TINKLING BRASS AND A SOUNDING CYMBAL. 6) Some Christians get on the slippery path of worldliness. Lot chose to live in the wicked and worldly city of Sodom and lost his wife and daughters as he almost forgot God. Let the Christian be warned that the world is after him/her. When a Christian is active for the Lord, he/she is a marked person and the world goes after him with position that will bring worldly recognition. There is not sweet fellowship with God on the slippery path of worldliness. Let the Christian have a good time, but let it be in the right way. If we could get church members to give as much time and energy to the Lord’s work as they do to the world, we would have the strongest churches on earth. 7) Some Christians become ensnared in the meshes of disobedience. Moses had been faithful for years, then came a careless moment. God told him to speak to the rock and water would come out. But Moses was angry with the people, wanted to show them his power so he struck the rock. As a result he lost the Promised Land. When we disobey God we lose many wonderful things He offers us. God may not call you to preach, or occupy some prominent position, but He does call you to give Him your best wherever you are. Yes, there is a crown for us, if we’ll be faithful to our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. See you Sunday as you exercise your faithfulness to the things of God and not the world. In Jesus’ Grip, Pastor Charles (Yes, I know this is a long article, but you will have to admit there is a lot of truth in it. Selah!)

Christian is active for the Lord, he/she is a marked person and the world goes after him with position that will bring worldly recognition. There is not sweet fellowship with God on the slippery path of worldliness. Let the Christian have a good time, but let it be in the right way. If we could get church members to give as much time and energy to the Lord’s work as they do to the world, we would have the strongest churches on earth. 7) Some Christians become ensnared in the meshes of disobedience. Moses had been faithful for years, then came a careless moment. God told him to speak to the rock and water would come out. But Moses was angry with the people, wanted to show them his power so he struck the rock. As a result he lost the Promised Land. When we disobey God we lose many wonderful things He offers us. God may not call you to preach, or occupy some prominent position, but He does call you to give Him your best wherever you are. Yes, there is a crown for us, if we’ll be faithful to our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ. See you Sunday as you exercise your faithfulness to the things of God and not the world. In Jesus’ Grip, Pastor Charles (Yes, I know this is a long article, but you will have to admit there is a lot of truth in it. Selah!)

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.

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

Interview with potential Youth Minister. We are trying to schedule an interview with Ms. Kristen Easler. The 28th is filled with a meeting of the New Facility Committee at 4:00 Adult Choir warm up time and Cantata from 5:00 to 7:00 followed by Christian fellowship. April 4th is Easter. I am scheduling the interview on April 11 at 5:00 with an invitation from our Deacon Council for any parent and/or youth who wishes to sit in on the interview to be in attendance.

“Smile, it gives your face something to do.”

“God is so big He can cover the world with love, and so small He can curl up inside your heart

The New Facility Committee will meet on the following schedule: March 28th at 4:00; April 4 at 7:00; April 11 at 7:00; April 18 at 7:00 and April 25 at 7:00. We will schedule additional meetings as needed. Please be much in prayer for the NFC and the folks in the city of Rock Hill planning departments.

There will be no services at NewKirk on Wednesday, March 31st. We encourage you and your family to be present for the Good Friday service on April 2 at 7:00. On Easter, we will have the Sunrise service at 7:00; Breakfast for those attending the Sunrise service at 7:45; Sunday School at 8:45 and Worship at 9:45. We will observe Communion at the 9:45 service. We will NOT observe communion on Good Friday.

On Monday, April 5th the High School Class will paint the S.S. class beginning at 9:00. On Sunday, April 11th, Mr. Coley Creech will bring our morning message as he challenges us to build the Family Life Center and work on our sanctuary. He is with the group of 200 who will work on our FLC. You don’t want to miss his challenge.

REQUEST FROM OUR YOUTH: We are asking any and all to make any baked goods to sell at the BBQ Fund Raiser for the Youth on 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.

Attention ALL Ladies! - Live Via Simulcast with Beth Moore - "So Long, Insecurity" - Saturday, April 24th ~ 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. at Fort Mill First Baptist—$30 per person (includes catered lunch) Deadline for online registration is Friday, April 16 We are trying to get a group of ladies together to attend this event. Let me know if you are interested and I will get your ticket ordered. Thanks, Roxie

Seventh Anniversary of the Iraq War. I am sure none of us forgot on purpose, but very little has been mentioned about this long and costly war during which over 5,418 U.S. military personnel have given their utmost and 95, 680 Iraqis have died since the 2003 invasion. It has cost $747.3 billion since 2003 and the Congressional Budget Office has projected that additional costs for the next 10 years could range from $440 billion to $865 billion. Pray for this war to come to an end and for our loved ones to come home.

Some “Godly” humor:
1) How come the waitress gets 15% and God gets 10% or less?
2) Things eased up on Guardian angels after the air bags were invented.
3) Eve said to Adam as she saw all the leaves on the floor, “Will you please pick up all your clothes.
4) Little John the Baptist: Matthew 18:4-5. “Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child, is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My Name welcomes me.” Johnny’s mother looked out the window and noticed him playing church with their cat. He had the cat sitting quietly and he was preaching to it. She smiled and went about her work. A while later she heard loud meowing and hissing and ran back to the open window to see Johnny Baptizing the cat in a tub of water. She called out, “Johnny, stop that! The cat is afraid of water.” Johnny looked up at her and said, “He should have thought of that before he joined the church.”

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

March 26 - 10:30—BBQ Youth Fundraiser
March 27 - 9:30-Choir Practice 11:00—Easter Egg Hunt
March 28 - 9:45-S.S., 10:45-Worship, 4:00– New Facility Comm., 5:00-Youth, 6:00-Easter Cantata
March 29 - 7:00-Finance Committee
March 30 – 7:00-GROW All
No Wednesday Night Services
April 2nd. — 7:00–Good Friday Service

OTHER MINISTERS FOR SUNDAY, March 28, 2010
Children's Church: Melissa & Travis Jackson
Infants’ Nursery— Roxie & Russ Trotter
Usher/Greeter Teams– Keith Trotter, Arlyn Dail, Mark Tucker, Jack Tucker
TELLER: March 29—Catherine McCallum