Pastor Charles’ Reflection:
HIS EYE IS ON THE SPARROW
It was chilly in Manhattan but warm inside the Starbucks shop on 51st Street and Broadway, just a skip up from Times Square . Early November weather in New York City holds only the slightest hint of the bitter chill of late December and January, but it's enough to send the masses crowding indoors to vie for available space and warmth.
For a musician, it's the most lucrative Starbucks location in the world, I'm told, and consequently, the tips can be substantial if you play your tunes right. Apparently, we were striking all the right chords that night, because our basket was almost overflowing.
During our emotional rendition of the classic, "If You Don't Know Me by Now," I noticed a lady sitting in one of the lounge chairs across from me. She was swaying to the beat and singing along. After the tune was over, she approached me. "I apologize for singing along on that song. Did it bother you?" she asked. "No," I replied. "We love it when the audience joins in. Would you like to sing up front on the next selection?" To my delight, she accepted my invitation. "You choose," I said. "What are you in the mood to sing?"
"Well. ... do you know any hymns?" I cut my teeth on hymns. Before I was even born, I was going to church. I gave our guest singer a knowing look. "Name one." "Oh, I don't know. There are so many good ones. You pick one." "Okay," I replied. "How about 'His Eye is on the Sparrow'?" My new friend was silent, her eyes averted. Then she fixed her eyes on mine again and said, "Yeah. Let's do that one." She slowly nodded her head, put down her purse, straightened her jacket and faced the center of the shop. With my two-bar setup, she began to sing. “Why should I be discouraged? Why should the shadows come?”
The audience of coffee drinkers was transfixed. Even the gurgling noises of the cappuccino machine ceased as the employees stopped what they were doing to listen. The song rose to its conclusion. “I sing because I'm happy; I sing because I'm free. For His eye is on the sparrow And I know He watches me.
When the last note was sung, the applause crescendoed to a deafening roar that would have rivaled a sold-out crowd at Carnegie Hall. Embarrassed, the woman tried to shout over the din, "Oh, y'all go back to your coffee! I didn't come in here to do a concert! I just came in here to get somethin' to drink, just like you!" I embraced my new friend. "You, my dear, have made my whole year! That was beautiful!" "Well, it's funny that you picked that particular hymn," she said. "Why is that?" "Well . .." she hesitated again, "that was my daughter's favorite song." "Really!" I exclaimed. "Yes," she said, and then grabbed my hands. By this time, the applause had subsided and it was business as usual.. "She was 16. She died of a brain tumor last week." I said the first thing that found its way through my stunned silence. "Are you going to be okay?" She smiled through tear-filled eyes and squeezed my hands. "I'm gonna be okay. I've just got to keep trusting the Lord and singing His songs, and everything's gonna be just fine." She picked up her bag, gave me her card, and then she was gone.
God has been arranging Divine Appointment in human history since the beginning of time, and it's no stretch for me to imagine that He could reach into a coffee shop in midtown Manhattan and turn an ordinary gig into a revival. It was a great reminder that if we keep trusting him and singing his songs, everything's gonna be okay.
The next time you feel like GOD can't use YOU, just remember... Noah was a drunk; Abraham was too old; Isaac was a daydreamer; Jacob was a liar; Leah was ugly;   Joseph was abused; Moses had a stuttering problem; Gideon was afraid; Sampson had long hair and was a womanizer; Rahab was a prostitute; Jeremiah and Timothy were too young;   David had an affair and was a murderer;  Elijah was suicidal; Isaiah preached naked; Jonah ran from God; Naomi was a widow; Job went bankrupt; John the Baptist ate bugs; Peter denied Christ;  The Disciples fell asleep while praying; Martha worried about everything; The Samaritan woman was divorced, more than once;  Zaccheus was too small; Paul was too religious; Timothy had an ulcer...AND  Lazarus was dead!
No more excuses now!! God can use you to your full potential. Besides you aren't the message, you are just the messenger. God bless.
I hope and pray that you will allow God to use you in the coming months as we build a new Family Life Center and remodel our sanctuary. He will use your tithes and offering, your talents, your prayers, your faithful attendance, your service in the choir, ushering, teaching, greeting, preparing food for our volunteers, donating items needed for our big week in July and anything you do for HIS GLORY! Remember it is His church, and all that is within. We do it for His glory or it will be for naught. All of us make mistakes and we must learn how to deal with them. Biting each other’s head off won’t work and we will look funny walking around without a head. Thank you for being God’s people and all that you do to build up HIS KINGDOM, INCLUDING NewKirk Baptist Church. See you at Sunday School and Worship this coming Lord’s Day.
In Jesus Grip, Pastor Charles
(Thanks to Charles and Rose Marie Hodges for the above article.)

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Our Week for the construction of our Family Life Center and work on our sanctuary will be July 8-17th. We will have 200 volunteers on our campus and we will feed them lunch. That is over 1600 meals to be prepared by our folks. We need your help. More later from our Food Committee.

Do you know that our weekly budget needs are $3,354.00? We hope you will be aware that your faithfulness is important as we fulfill our mission ministry with a vision of winning our community to Jesus Christ. When we give and do our part weekly, we will not get behind on our giving to God.

Wednesday, April 21st Quarterly Church Conference. We encourage all organizations to have a written report to give to the church in conference.

NewKirk met our goal for the Annie Armstrong offering, with God’s blessings.

Mama’s Rules for Livin”……..
“Trials are opportunities to prove God’s faithfulness.”
“True friends are those who, when you’ve made a fool of yourself, don’t think you’ve done a permanent job.”
“The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow...do good anyway!”
“A gem cannot be polished without friction., The child of God cannot be perfected without adversity.”
“Temptation is sure to ring your doorbell, but you don’t have to ask it to stay for dinner.”

April 11 - 4:15 - The Youth Council will meet. The members of this committee are Denny Saverance, Gaylyn Massey, Jackie Massey, Junior McWaters, Bryan Bogue, and Pastor Charles.

April 11 - 5:00 - The Deacon Council, interested parents and Youth will interview a potential Youth Minister, Ms. Kristen Easler. Bryan has highly recommended her as our next Youth Minister. (More on her below). 7:00 The New Facility Committee will meet.

Monday, April 12, Deacon Council will meet. Our current deacons - Sherry Tucker, Donna Daniels, Junior McWaters, Neil Dove, and Jackie Massey will be joined by our newly elected deacons: Michelle Goodman, Travis Jackson and Bucky King. Jackie and Junior will rotate off of our deacon council and we thank them for their service. We will ordain Michelle and Travis on Sunday, April 18th.

More on Kristen Easler. She is a graduate of Rock Hill High School, currently a sophomore at Winthrop University working toward a B.A. Degree in Integrated Marketing Communications, student leader of International Club, student leader and President of On-Campus Fellowship of Christian Athletes, active member of Westminster PCA, Middle School Ministries Student Intern of Fellowship of Christian Athletes; and Fellowship Christian Athletes, intern for York, Chester and Lancaster Counties.

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

Our 2010 Baccalaureate Service honoring our graduates will be on Sunday, May 23rd. We are aware of the following graduates for this year. If you know of others from NewKirk or if we have the wrong information on you, please call the church office. This year’s graduates are: Russ Trotter, Caroline Odell, Bryan Bogue, Allyson Kelly, Jamey McWaters, Hayley Smith, Hannah Gordon, Hope Marten, Sydney Heaton and Chad Smith. Pastor Charles has requested that you inform him of your plans regarding a job, or continuing your education, or military. If you plan to be PRESENT or NOT TO BE PRESENT for the service, please call the church office and let us know. There will be a luncheon following worship for the graduate and his/her family. We need to know your plans to allow us to prepare food for this occasion. Please plan to wear your robe.

This coming Sunday, April 11, is a big day at NewKirk. Mr. Coley Creech will bring the morning message. Coley is the leader of the volunteer team coming to help us build the Family Life Center and remodel our place of worship. You do not want to miss out on his encouraging and challenging message.

Our Prayer Vigil this month will be done in the privacy of your home. We encourage you to pray at home during Sunday, April 11th. The suggested prayer guide will be available on the table near the church office. Be faithful in prayer and meditation.

Just for the fun of it.
Bryan Bogue sent me a cartoon entitled, “This is why we don’t have dinosaurs.” The cartoon depicted two dinosaurs standing on a rock as they watched Noah’s Ark float off in the distance, saying to each other, “Man, was this the day?” Don’t miss out on the blessings of God by missing the boat, or the appointed time to meet Him in worship.

Would you like to go to White Oak Conference on Thursday, December 2, 2010 to hear Guy Penrod, formerly of the Gaither ensemble, and Jeff and Shari Easter? The tickets are $24.50 for reserved seats. There are two options: 1) Dinner at 5:30 and concert at 7:30 P.M. or 2) Concert at 5:00 and dinner at 7:00 P.M. If you are interested in going, please make your check out to Charles L. Tanner and give it to him by April 25th. He will order tickets on the 26th of April.

OTHER MINISTERS FOR SUNDAY, April 11, 2010
Children's Church: Michelle & Ray Goodman
Infants’ Nursery — Lee Ann & Kellee Seay Usher/Greeter Teams – Chipper Smith, Tim Seay, Austin Seay, Daniel McCallum
TELLER: April 12 — Bonnie Stafford

CHURCH CALENDAR
April 11 — 9:45-S.S., 10:45 - Worship/w. Coley Creech, 4:15 - Youth Council, 5:00 - Youth, 5:00 - Interview w/Potential Youth Minister, 7:00 - New Facility Comm.
April 12 - 7:00 - Deacon Council
April 13 - 7:00 - GROW
April 14 - 6:45 - RAs, GAs, Acteens, Mission Friends, & Adult Bible Study, 7:30 - Adult Choir Practice
April 17 - 1:00 - Golf Fundraiser @ Pinetuck