F EBRUARY 2015 Bella Vista Baptist Church Phone: (479) 855-3748 Prayer Room: (479) 855-6644 E-mail: [email protected] www.bvbaptist.com 1 Cor. 13:13 Something to Think About When we are young we tend to be full of energy, anticipation, and eagerness to charge forth and “change the world.” Many times in our eagerness to “make things better” we criticize things that are in place before we really understand them and tear down fences before we realize why they were constructed. On the opposite end of life, we tend to have more wisdom. We’ve lived longer and seen more. We (hopefully) have thought through and weighed things and even likely seen the damage some of our own well intentioned but misguided efforts have caused. At this age we sometimes get frustrated because we have the understanding but often not the energy to do the things we wish we could. I find myself somewhere in the middle. I do not have all the energy I once had, yet I am far from ready to trade in my running shoes for a rocking chair. I have learned a fair amount through foolish mistakes—both mine and others, yet there is still so by Pastor Michael McCauley choosing to take it one day at much I have yet to learn. a time. My prayer this Knowing I am somewhere morning was, “Dear Jesus, between high energy with little experience and low help me love You more energy with more wisdom, I completely today, and help me to see others as you see have been trying to make the them and love them as you most of my situation. I still love them.” use my energy at times to simply outwork or outlast The second priority I my problems, but I am preached on was the priority learning there is a lot of truth of worship. I’ve learned that in something my father was our word worship was once fond of saying: “You derived from the Old English can work hard or you can “weo rths cip e” meanin g work smart!” With that I’ve “acknowledge of worth, or been looking at the idea of worthiness”, continued its priorities. meaning in modern English The past two Sunday mornings I’ve preached on priorities—priorities for both us as individual Christians and priorities for us as a church. The first sermon I preached on was the priority of love. I asked the questions, “Do we love the Lord our god as we should?” and “Do we love each other as God intends for us to?” I believe we answer those two questions decision by decision, day by day throughout the entirety of our lives. It might be too much to take in when we look at the big picture so I’m as “worth-ship.” Simply put, it is acknowledging who God is in the way we live our lives. I talked a lot about experiencin g God and questioned what we are ex p ect i n g fro m Hi m. Scripture teaches us we will seek Him and find Him when we seek Him with all our hearts (Jeremiah 29:13). As we live our lives in light of His worthiness of all our devotion, we will desire to seek Him yet more, and in s u ch , d i s c o ve r and experience Him in deeper and more fulfilling ways. Is worship a priority for you? Bella Vista Baptist Church Page 2 We will be learning: ♦ Families help each other ♦ Do what is right ♦ God wants us to work together ♦ Make right choices During February, our AWANA Puggles will learn: ♦God Loves Me When I am Afraid ♦God Loves Me When I am Sleeping ♦God Loves Me All the Time ♦God Loves My Family Preschool Birthdays: Kimberly R. We would like to welcome baby Emma Jayne Merrell. Emma was born to proud parents Ethan and Nancy Merrell . She is welcomed home by her big sister, Madeline. We are expecting several new arrivals during the next few months. If you have a desire to rock a baby we have several time slots open during the 11am worship service. Levels of Biblical Learning—Jesus (Part 2) These are the Biblical concepts about Jesus that we as the nursery and preschool department at BVBC try to impart. I would encourage you as parents to maybe include some of these concepts in your daily talk and interactions with your little ones. Babies to 2s: ♦God chose a family for Jesus ♦Jesus was born ♦Jesus grew and had a family ♦Jesus went to church ♦Jesus told people about God ♦Jesus loves me ♦Jesus helped people because xxHe loved them 3s to PreK (additional): ♦ Angels told Mary and Joseph that Jesus would be born ♦ Jesus was sent to earth by God ♦ Jesus read the Bible at church ♦ Jesus did things that people cannot do ♦ Jesus is God’s Son ♦ Jesus did everything God told Him to do Phone: (479) 855-3748 Fax: (479) 855-3740 Page 3 What we are learning this month: ● in Children’s Worship: Week1: February (Nahum 1-3) How did God help Birthdays: Judah? God protected His Kobe Jones..........02/06 people from their enemies. Tobin Bowman.......02/10 Week 2: (Jeremiah 1) God Justin Cascio ........02/20 chose Jeremiah before he was Ethan Saxon ........02/20 born to be a prophet to the Jarrett Green ......02/24 Joshua Chester .....02/28 nations. Week 3: (Jeremiah 36) Jeremiah wanted God’s judgment. God wanted His people to know they were in danger, to stop sinning and to turn back to Him. Week 4: (2 Chronicles 36:1-21) Judah was taken into captivity. God allowed their enemies to capture them and destroy Jerusalem. ● in Sunday School: We are learning about Old Testament heroes. We will learn about Gideon (Judges 6-8); Ruth (Ruth 1-4); Samson (Judges 13-16); Elisha (2 Kings 4:8-37). We see that God wants people to do what is right even when no one is watching and that He expects us to show His love to those in need. Dates to Remember: 02/14—Church-wide Valentine Dinner 02/18—Mustache Night for Choir & AWANA 02/22—Praise Kids (3rd-6th) rehearsal 2-5pm Please join us as the Personnel Committee and Staff are hosting a baby shower for Nancy & Ethan Merrell on Sunday, February 15 from 2pm to 4pm in Fellowship Hall Nancy has registered at Walmart and Target for items they need. Emma Jayne Merrell January 19, 2015 7 lbs 1 oz. ~ 19” long Page 4 Bella Vista Baptist Church Phone: (479) 855-3748 Fax: (479) 855-3740 Young at Heart News by Pastor Daniel So far this winter we have had unusually warm weather and no ice or snow. I am thankful for that but, realistically I do understand that we are not through with winter just yet! So, even though it’s sunny outside this afternoon, I want to take this opportunity to remind you that if our weather turns snowy and icy please be cautious about getting outside. If you believe that we may have called off church because the roads are too icy for people drive, call our church office (855-3748). Just as soon as the decision to cancel church has been made we update our outgoing message to say that church has been cancelled. As always, if you feel it is unsafe for you to get out, please don’t. Your safety is very important to us. Music News We are busy in the planning phase of our Easter community concert. It is our hope that again this year the churches in Bella Vista will combine their talents to provide an Easter celebration that will be worthy of our Lord and Savior. Please pray for our church leadership and the leadership of the other participating churches that God will guide us and give us godly wisdom. It is our heart that these community endeavors will be an opportunity for us to reach the lost in our community. The only way we can be successful is if this event is bathed in prayer. Please pray faithfully for this Easter program. Page 5 Our next movie nights will be on Friday, February 30th. We invite you to come at 6pm for nachos and hotdogs; then, then we will start the movie at 6:30pm. (Ice cream sundaes will be served at intermission.) Our movie this month is, “Mom’s Night Out”. Be sure to invite a friend to join in this fun evening! “Mom’s desperately in need of a break from parenting duties and a girl’s night out...however, they have to rely on their husbands to watch the children for 3 hours. Naturally, everything that can go wrong, does, resulting in an unforgettable night for all involved.” by Pastor Daniel Also, please prayerfully consider if God is calling you to serve in our worship ministry. Here are just a few areas that you could serve in: choir member, handbell choir, children’s choir volunteer, orchestra, audio/visual team, drama team, set design and construction team. If God is calling you into this ministry please come to see me so we can get you involved. The Kingdom Ringers Handbell Choir will resume their weekly rehearsals Thursday, February 5th at 6:30pm. If you have an interest in handbells now is the time to join us! We have still have DVDs for our Christmas musical/drama, “Four Tickets to Christmas” on sale. We are asking for a donation of $5 per DVD to cover the cost of the materials. Page 6 Bella Vista Baptist Church After our fellowship, a devotional by Shirley Willis, and a business meeting, Shaneace Gard, Assistant Director of “Kids for the Future,” will present our program. The school’s goal is to work with children with various physical and emotional disorders, and from different home situations and backgrounds, so that they can be successfully integrated into the Public School system. Shaneace and husband, Dylan, are members at Bella Vista Baptist and work with our children on Wednesday evenings during AWANA. The program will begin at 10:15am and is open to anyone who is interested. Stitch n’ Chat is starting up for the new year. Please join us for an afternoon of fun and fellowship. On: Sunday, February 8th from 2pm to 5pm in Fellowship Hall Bring any needlework or craft project you are working on, or if you want to learn to knit or crochet we can help. This is a drop-in event—come for all or part of the time. For more info. contact Joan Abrams, 295-0598. All ages welcome! Threads of Love Wednesday’s— Wednesday’s—February 11th & 28th at 9:30am Join us to help complete our projects to be sent to Guatemala. (We meet the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of each month.) Phone: (479) 855-3748 Fax: (479) 855-3740 Thank You Church Page 7 Dear Church Family, thank you so much to those who kept me in their prayers during my recent surgery. Also, thank you for all of the prayergrams, cards, calls, and food. It is so wonderful to have such a warm and loving church family. My thanks to God for a wonderful outcome. Love, ~ Joyce Kramer Thank you all so much for your love and support for our family following the birth of Emma Jayne. The meals and gifts have been such a blessing to us. We are truly blessed to be belong to such an amazing church family. ~ Nathan, Ethan, Madeline, and Emma Jayne Merrell Bella Vista Baptist Church’s policy for hazardous weather conditions is as follows: 1. Monday through Friday - if the Bentonville Public School system cancels school due to bad weather conditions, all activities at our church for that day will be cancelled. Also, our church office will be closed. Local TV stations will advertise which school systems are closed. 2. Saturdays and Sundays – if you think there is a possibility that church services or Saturday activities may be cancelled because roads / parking lots are icy, CALL THE CHURCH OFFICE. Our church answering machine will be updated with all closing information (just as soon as the decision to cancel has been reached). 3. At all times – you alone should make the decision whether or not conditions are safe for your family to travel! You know the condition of your driveway and your street better than we do. If you believe that roads may be icy please use extreme caution. Bella Vista Baptist Church NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION U.S. POSTAGE PAID BENTONVILLE, AR 72712 PERMIT #222 50 E Lancashire Blvd. Bella Vista, AR 72714 February 2015 Phone: (479) 855-3748 General E-mail: [email protected] BVBC Pastoral Staff Michael McCauley, Senior Pastor E-mail: [email protected] RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED Daniel Salls, Associate Pastor E-mail: [email protected] Dave Brown, Associate Pastor E-mail: [email protected] ************************************************************ Lighthouse of Prayer ......(479) 855-6644 Freedom Ministry............(479) 855-1119 Stacy Craig........... [email protected] Nancy B…[email protected] Carolyn [email protected] Nancy [email protected] Julie [email protected] AWANA [email protected] FOR THOSE SENDING CARDS, THE FOLLOWING IS THE BEGINNING OF NEXT MONTH’S BIRTHDAYS: March (FROM 1ST—5TH) 1– Norma Young 4– Stacy Craig 2– Justin Evert, Peter Bulza 5– Clyde Plunk, David Brown, Ethan Merrell 3– Leslie Dixon, JD George 1 –J. Walter Rodriguez, Barbara Tavares 2 –LaVerna Lemmer, Steve Vance 3 –Jean Jerome 4 –Wanda Clemmons, Tom Campbell 5 –Bob Cartwright, Lee Siler, Chloe Vance 6 –Tommy Pitts 7 –Brock Moore 8 –Kathy Estrada, Wanda Rodinski, Julie McCauley 11 –Harold Mize 13 –John Graham, Bill Tonihka 14 –Kathy Stuart 18 –Katie Weaver 19 –Rebecca Dollar 21 –Marcia Mincer, Red Herring 22 –Adam Sheffield 23 –Monty Herrington 24 –Josephine Keith 25 –Oran Loyd, Lois Melroy, Jack Orlicek 27 –Duane Holcomb, Frank Burr Connie Ford 28 –Chuck Freeman, Doug Thomas 29 –Vicky Weatherly February Anniversaries (50+years) Jim & Barbara Erskine........ 02/14/51 If you are celebrating your 50th + anniversary this month and were not on our list, please contact the office. We have several anniversaries in our database with the year missing. ~ Thank you! FEBRUARY 2015 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat Regular Weekly Events: Sundays: Worship (8:30am, 11am, 5pm); Bible Study (9:45am) Tuesdays: Men’s Breakfast/Bible Study (6:30am) Wednesdays: Meal (4:45pm); Children’s Choirs (5:30pm); xxxPrayer Meeting (5:45pm); AWANA (6:15pm); Youth (6pm); Choir (6pm) Thursdays: Handbell Rehearsal (6:45pm) 1 2 Deacon’s Meeting 4pm 8 VBS Task Force mtg 12:30pm (at Nancy M.’s home) 9 3 Women’s Bible Study 7-8:30pm CR 10 Finance Committee Mtg. 6:30pm 4 Women On Mission 5 Women’s Bible Study 9:30-11am CR 6 11 12 13 Women’s Bible BHS School Thread’s of Study Holiday Love 9:30am 9:30-11am CR (teacher work day) 7 14 Valentine Banquet 5pm Women’s Bible Study 7-8:30pm CR Stitch N’ Chat 2-5pm FH Registration deadline for Valentine Banquet 15 Lord’s Supper AM Services 16 17 18 19 Women’s Bible AWANA Women’s Bible Study Mustache Night Study 7-8:30pm CR 9:30-11am CR 26 28 27 29 30 31 Women’s Bible Thread’s of Women’s Bible Movie Night for Easter Musical Senior Adults Rehearsal Love 9:30am Study Study 6pm, nachos & 9am-noon GH 7-8:30pm CR 9:30-11am CR hotdogs 6:30pm, movie Baby Shower for Nancy Merrell 2pm FH 22 Praise Kids (3rd-6th) rehearsal 2-5pm GH 20 21 Feb. 14 Chur ch Banquet at 5pm in Grace Hall Everyone MUST have a ticket Order your tic ke ts today ~ or der envelope available at t s he Welcome Center. Turn envelope, wit in h your ticket money inside church office , at the or put your en offering plate v elope an . Check bac k at the Welc ome Center (after today) for your ticke ts.