“Missions exists because worship doesn’t…Worship, therefore, is the fuel and goal of missions. It’s the goal of missions because in missions we simply aim to bring the nations into the white-hot enjoyment of God’s glory.” – John Piper, Let the Nations Be Glad!
As the people of God, we are called to worship God above all else and to lead others to join us in worshipping him. However, many of us get distracted, and our worship diminishes. We find ourselves busy with church programs, good intentions, and life in general. Because of this we also begin to neglect the call on our lives to bring others to Christ. Our calendars fill up, and other concerns become more pressing. It is time that we put first things first!
The purpose of Community-Wide Worshi
p event is not to reach the lost. But we do pray that it will set the hearts of those that attend on fire so that they will win the lost. The goal of Community-Wide Worship is to unite churches and their members to reach a community. We have invited Justin Falloon, Worship Pastor of FBC Bethalto, to help us achieve that goal, by leading us in song, prayer, and scripture reading. So, join us August 25th at FBC Cabool from 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm! Let us
be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. – Ephesians 5:18b-21
We are in a world broken by sin, with fallen bodies, and sinful people. But we must be clear; our biggest problem is not outside of us but inside of us. As we respond to life in a broken world, our hearts are revealed. Therein, we find sin lying to us, promising life and happiness but giving death(James 1:14-15) and sorrow. Sins of lust promise escape and extasy, but lead to prison and shame. Sins of anger promise justice and power, but cannot fulfill them. Sins of greed guarantee security and rest but leave us wanting and restless.
After we’ve given into these sins, we begin to believe there is no way out. But God’s Word provides us with a roadmap to joy again. The power of the Gospel is freedom from sin and the restoration of Joy.
I pray you’ll join us , Sunday, July 16th thru August 27th, as we examine King David’s response to his own sin in 2Samuel 11&12, Psalm 51, and Psalm 32 during our regular worship services. We pray this will be an excellent opportunity for us to find Restoring Joy.
Preaching Schedule
| July 16th | 2 Samuel 11 &12 |
| July 23rd | Psalm 51:1-2 |
| July 30th | Psalm 51:3-6 |
| August 6th | Psalm 51:7-9 |
| August 13th | Psalm 51:10-12 |
| August 20th | Psalm 51:13-17 |
| August 27th | Psalm 32 |
We have a problem! You all love each other too much. Alright maybe you don’t love each other too much, but we do have a problem. On Sunday mornings, from 10:45 to 10:50, we have 5 minutes to finish our Training Groups (Sunday School, Membership 101, Foundations, Prepare, or Tread-In), check on our children, use the restroom, and most importantly fellowship. Read more
With the upcoming child dedication, January 17th, it is important that we take a moment to discuss its meaning and purpose.
Do you need a time to get away with the girls? Have you been looking for something to do with your daughter or mother? We have a wonderful opportunity for you Read more
When we think about the desperately lost places in the world we often think of Africa, Asia, or some place across the pond. All the while, there is a multitude of lost nations just 14 hours from our front door (Cabool, MO). Toronto, Canada has 6 million people living in the metropolitan area. It contains 1/5 of the entire population of Canada and over 1/2 of the city’s population is foreign born. However, in this diverse city there is only one Canadian National Baptist Convention church for every 167,000 people. As one church planter has stated,
The largest growing religion in Toronto is “none.”
Therefore there is desperate need to pray for workers for this harvest.
God in his divine wisdom has already begun this work. In 2013 Daniel Yang and Mike Seaman answered this call to plant a church in this harvest field. In January of 2013 these two men providentially met and God joined their hearts together around one agenda, making disciples in Toronto. Out of this meeting came the birth of Trinity Life Church (TLC) in September 2013. God has blessed their efforts and allowed the seed of their core group to grow into 90 – 1oo regular attending adults. Watch this video to hear their heart for the city and then consider doing more.
The Call to More
PRAY
Please be in prayer for this ministry in the following ways:
- The LGBTQ community is HUGE in Toronto and Canada. They are the most protected and elevated community, along with Muslims, within the city. Trinity Life Church desires to serve both of these communities and build bridges with the local churches. If they’re going to make any headway in their city with the gospel, then they need to actively pursue relationships here. They need much wisdom on this issue!
- Space is a huge issue in Toronto especially downtown. Since they’re growing, they need a space that will accommodate them. The other issue is, space is very expensive in downtown. They need God to provide!
- Pray God would bless them with continued fruitfulness in this diverse and much needed ministry.
ENCOURAGE
As was stated before in a previous post, if we are to do more then we must care. Take time to express your care by sending the leaders of this church a note of encouragement or a written prayer. You can also follow the church on Facebook for more ways to encourage them.
GIVE
Send Toronto is the North American Mission Board’s primary vehicle of supporting missions in Toronto. When you give to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering that money supports things such as church plants in this city. Considering assisting our church reach its goal of $3,000 this year by giving over and above your regular offering Simply place it in the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering envelope and place it in the offering plate.
If you would like to give directly to Trinity Life Church and support their ministry you can do so here.
GO
If you are interested in pursuing a mission trip to Toronto, please fill out the form below and begin praying that God would make a clear path for this ministry.
Let’s begin our call to more by considering the ministry of an organization by the name of Plant Midwest. Plant Midwest is a unique ministry which exists to encourage and equip all those participating in the church planting movement here in the Midwest. To that end, they host quarterly meetings for church planters, potential planters, pastors of established churches, leaders, and street missionaries from various regional gatherings and associations throughout Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Michigan, and Nebraska. Not only do they provide these quarterly meetings but they are catalyst for churches to partner together as we carry out the gospel mission. Read more
Every year Southern Baptist Churches across America begin collecting an offering titled the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering. Named after a woman, Annie Armstrong, who transformed the way Southern Baptist do missions, this offering specifically supports missionaries across North America. One hundred percent of these funds are given directly to the missionaries and their work. This long-standing offering began in 1895 with approximately $5,000. However, in 2013 the offering collected was 57 million dollars. God has used the faithfulness of Southern Baptist for the last 119 years to do an incalculable work of missions through this offering.
We are praying that he will continue to do so in 2015. However, dangers exist in holding an offering such as this. It can be a temptation for Southern Baptist to merely put some money in an offering plate to support missions in general. Mrs. Annie would have been horrified by the thought of this. I want to issue A CALL TO MORE. Do more than drop a few dollars in a plate, commit in your heart to make this a season of care for missions. This can be accomplished in four specific ways.
Pray
Each day this week we will be posting specific missions and missionaries you can be praying for throughout your day. Take time to stop and pray for them with your family, in your small groups, and on your own. Don’t allow this to be a momentary thought rather devote your heart to lifting up the needs of these ministries and ministers to our Great God.
Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for my soul. I cried to him with my mouth, and high praise was on my tongue. If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. But truly God has listened; he has attended to the voice of my prayer. (Psalm 66:16-19 ESV)
Encourage
Take time to read about each missionary or ministry and send them a note. We will include in each post a link to their Facebook page and/or an e-mail for you to send them some words of encouragement. In one year Annie Armstrong wrote 18,000 notes to encourage others to give, honor her legacy by sending messages to each of these missionaries. However, don’t allow this to be a one week event. If you use Facebook, follow them so you can see how God is using them and continue encourage them in the future. Missionary work can seem fruitless at times, because the fruit is not always immediate. Encouraging words can often bolster their perseverance in this difficult task.
Give
Don’t let this title scare you. Some may be saying, “Here we go again. They just want our money.” Let me exhort you with these words; Southern Baptist Missionaries are not rich, nor will they get rich doing this work. Many sacrifice nearness to relatives, good retirement plans, and benefits in order to barely get by, just so they can be more intentional about sharing the gospel and making disciples. This is not a task which bring fame and fortune, however it does exult the name of Christ among the nations. However, we must be realistic and see that this takes money. It takes money to have a place to live, food to eat, and a place to meet. It takes money to have the necessary resources for the work of ministry. So, give sacrificially in the same way they have sacrificially given their lives to this work. This can be accomplished through the offering time at your local church or at this link. Our church has a goal of $3,000, please consider joining us in this goal.
Go
I find it no coincidence that Christ encourages his disciples to pray for the missionaries (Luke 10:2) and then he sends them(Luke 10:3). So, I ask you to pray for more missionaries and I encourage you to consider how you might go on mission. Whether that be intentionality in your current community, taking short-term mission trips, or dedicating your life to being a missionary. This Sunday we will continue our sermon series through Gospel Mission, so join us in finding how you can be a part.
And he said to them, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest. Go your way; behold, I am sending you out as lambs in the midst of wolves. (Luke 10:2-3 ESV)
The following video assists us in seeing how we can continue in the legacy of Annie Armstrong.