Newspaper Page Text
June 15, 2011
PAGE 5B
Reporter
Vacation Bible Schools
Through
June 17
First Baptist
Church of High
Falls will discover a
PandaMania VBS
Come discover
PandaMania Vacation
Bible School at First
Baptist Church of High
Falls through June 17 from
6-9 p.m. for ages 3-13 years
old. During PandaMania
Vacation Bible School, kids
rotate through seven sta
tions each day with their
crews and discover where
God is wild about you.
First Baptist Church of
High Falls is located at
4408 High Falls Road.
Kickin’It Old
School at
Garden Hill Baptist
Garden Hill Baptist
Church will be “Kickin’ It
Old School” during
Vacation Bible School
through June 17, from
6:30-8:30 p.m. Children
ages 4 and up are invited
to attend as we embark on
an adventure that never
gets old: learning God’s
Word. We will travel
through the Old Testament
and the New Testament
with lessons, crafts, snacks,
music and fellowship.
Garden Hill Baptist
Church is located at 88
Vining St.
June 20-22
New Pine Grove
Baptist goes to the
beach
New Pine Grove Baptist
Church will have Vacation
Bible School “Beach Blast”
for ages 4-12 on June 20-22
nightly from 6:30-9 p.m.
Since the theme is Beach
Blast you may get wet,
please send a complete
change of clothes for your
child.
New Pine Grove Baptist
Church is located at 2455
Hwy 42 South.
St. Paul Missionary
Baptist to have a
family affair
St. Paul Missionary
Baptist Church invites
everyone to join them for a
family affair Vacation Bible
School on June 20-22
nightly at 6-8 p.m. Family
affair VBS is for adults,
teens and children.
St. Paul Missionary
Baptist Church is located
at 591 Elbert Jackson Rd.
June 20-24
First Baptist takes
a Big Apple
Adventure
First Baptist will go to
the Big City, Bigger Fun on
June 20-24 from 9 a.m to 12
p.m. Join us as we grab a
cab and get ready for fun
around every corner in the
Big Apple Adventure, where
faith and life connect. As
kids explore the big city,
they’ll learn how to step out
in faith and connect with
Jesus and share the message
of Christ with their world.
First Baptist Church is
located at 95 West Morse St.
Forsyth Presbyterian
explores the
Rainforest
Forsyth Presbyterian
Church will hold their
Vacation Bible School June
20-24. A snack supper will
be held at 6 p.m. followed by
green tree games, canopy
crafts, sky high storytelling,
swing vine science, rainfor
est rhythm and more. You'll
have fun and learn more
about Jesus.
For more information call
994-2942 or 994-3177.
Forsyth Presbyterian
Church is located at 63
North Jackson Street.
June 22-24
Antioch First
Missionary Baptist
to have VBS
Antioch First Missionary
Baptist Church invites all to
attend their VBS on June
22-24 nightly at 6-8 p.m.
Antioch First Missionary
Baptist is located at 1096
Old Cabiness Road.
June 24-25
Dayspring to have a
“Summer Camping
Adventure”
Dayspring Presbyterian
Church invites children
ages 4 through 6th grade to
a "Summer Camping
Adventure" on Friday, June
24 and Saturday, June 25. -
Students will learn how the
truths found in God's Word
serve as a guide for any sit
uation in their lives. Come
experience fun, games,
Bible study and exciting
adventures.
For more information, call
the church office at 994-
4503. Dayspring is located
at 1045 Hwy. 41 South &
Thornton Rd.
June 26-29
Russellville Baptist
visits Hometown
Nazareth
Russellville Baptist
Church invites you to strap
on your sandals and get
ready to see what life was
like in Nazareth when
Jesus was a kid on June
26-29 nightly from 6-9 p.m.
for ages Pre-K to 7th grade.
We will meet Jesus' mom,
Mary, and hear what it was
like to raise God's very own
Son. A light dinner served
each night.
For more information,
contact Jered Day at 770-
883-9421. The church is
located on Russellville Rd.
June 27-30
Mt. Zion Baptist to
hold VBS in
Nazareth
Travel back to Bible times
at Hometown Nazareth:
Where Jesus was a Kid on
June 27-30 from 6:30-8:30
p.m. nightly. Come be a
part of history as we see,
hear and touch what it was
like to live in Jesus’ home
town and where we will
stand up for our faith
among people who doubt
that the carpenter's son is
really God's Son. Mt Zion
Baptist Church is located
at 7015 Rivoli Road.
July 10-15
New Providence
Baptist goes to the
Big City for Big Fun
Join us as we grab a cab
and get ready for fun
around every corner in the
Big Apple Adventure,
where faith and life con
nect. New Providence
Baptist Church will take a
"Big Apple Adventure" to
explore the big city, they’ll
learn how to step out in
faith and connect with
Jesus and share the mes
sage of Christ with their
world on July 10-15 nightly
from 6:15 -8:45 p.m. for
ages 2 year olds through
the completion of 6th
grade.
July 18-22
Bethany Baptist
decodes Egyptian
files
Bethany Baptist Church
invites you to Vacation
Bible School on July 18-22
with an Egyptian Kick-off
and Registration Party on
Sunday, July 17. The
theme will be The Egypt
File, Decoding the Mystery
of Life. VBS is for ages 3
years old through children
going into the 6th grade.
For more information, call
478-974-0002. Bethany
Baptist Church is located
at 365 Pea Ridge Rd.,
Bolingbroke.
Email Vacation Bible
School news to
news@mymcr. net.
Pastor Column
Deny and blame? Why not just confess?
BY DR. DARRELL WATSON
^^ien is the last time you felt a
% / deep sense of re-
% / % / morse for a sin
m# mf committed; the
™ * kind of remorse
which causes a pain descending
all the way down to the marrow
of your bones. The kind of re
morse displayed by the publican
in Jesus’ parable, “But the tax col
lector stood at a distance. He
would not even look up to heaven,
but beat his breast and said,
‘God, have mercy on me a
sinner.” I am beginning to
believe that it is not our nat
ural tendency to experience
this kind of remorse which
has been designed by God to lead us to a place
of repentance; repentance being a change to our
essence by the power of God’s love.
Refusing the gift of remorse is a part of
the Adam and Eve narrative found in
Genesis. In the Garden of Eden, when
Adam and Eve partake of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, rather than
allow themselves to feel a deep sense of
remorse, the Bible tells us they try to
cover up their sin. The way the Bible
illustrates this point is when Adam and
Eve realize they are naked, they cover up
their nakedness with fig leaves. After
trying to cover up their sin, they then try
to hide from God. After God finds them
and confronts them, rather than telling
the truth, they lastly play the blame
game. Adam says, “It is not my fault,
Eve made me do it.” Eve says, “It is not
my fault, the serpent made me do
it.” Adam and Eve deny the
truth, cover up the truth, and
then seek to blame someone else
rather than allowing a deep
sense of remorse to lead them to
a place of repentance. This story
is in the Bible because it illus
trates the common human experi
ence. Acknowledging this, I find
myself asking the following ques
tion, “Why do I/we deny
rather than confess, conceal
rather than reveal, blame
rather than accept personal
responsibility for the sins we
have committed?” Perhaps it
is because we do not understand that
there is grace at the end of repentance.
Grace being at the end of repentance
may very well be the greatest gift learned
by King David. When David became king
of the united tribes of Israel and Judah,
he began to neglect his responsibilities.
It was customary for the King to lead his
troops in battle, but David sends his
troops out while remaining in Jerusalem
in his palace. While there, he beholds
the beautiful wife, Bathsheba, of one of
his generals, Uriah, who is out on the
field of battle. With lust in his heart,
David invites her to the palace, sleeps
with her, and she becomes pregnant.
David’s first response; he tries to cover-
up his indiscretion by calling Uriah in
from battle so that he will sleep with his
wife. Uriah refuses! David tries to get
him drunk so that he will sleep with her,
but fails a second time. So David must
revert to more extreme measures to cover
up his sin. David engineers a battle to
ensure that Uriah is killed. After Uriah’s
death, David moves Bathsheba to the
palace to live with him.
Even though it seems that David is
going to get away with covering up his
sin, God sends Nathan, the prophet, to
confront the King. With an ingenious
parable, Nathan confronts the King and
when David realizes he has condemned
himself, David confesses, “I have sinned
against the Lord” (II Samuel 12:13a). It
is when David repents that David experi
ences the grace of God. Psalm 32 cap
tures David’s experience of grace.
“When I kept silent, my bones wasted
away through my groaning all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy
on me; my strength was sapped as in the
heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my
sin to you and did not cover up my iniqui
ty.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions
to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt
of my sin’ (3-5).
David realized that there is grace at the
end of repentance!
How many of you like me want to expe
rience God’s grace? We will not experi
ence God’s grace as long as we seek to
cover up our sin, or try to hide our sin, or
even seek to blame our sin on another.
Guilt and remorse over a sin committed
are both gifts from God. They are gifts
designed to lead us to the place of repen
tance so that we can then experience the
life transforming power of the grace of
God. Thank
God we do
not have to
conceal, or
kill, or lie,
or deny our
sins. What
God wants
us to do is
repent,
because
there is
grace at the
end of
repentance!
H. Darrell
Watson,
DMin. is
pastor of
First Baptist
Church in
Forsyth.
This weekly
column is
sponsored by
the Monroe
County
Ministerial
Association.
Aiilo ■ Ha me * Life
Auto, Home and
Life Insurance...
For your insurance needs, you can
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The Good News, and
Monroe County news,
in Puerto Rico
433 North Frontage Road
Forsyth, GA 31029
478-994-9802
Helping You
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The Reporter went to Puerto Rico with men
from Forsyth United Methodist Church re-
cently. Pictured left to right are Michael
Joseph, Jody Barfield, Chip Davis, Tommy
Henry’s of ^ Mult i D ;i er r
J Shop with Gifts jor
Heidt and John Knox while on a scouting trip
to Jerusalem Methodist Church on the island
Bolingbroke ah occasions!
of Culebra off the eastern coast of Puerto
GOOD FOR MONTH OF JUNE ONLY!
Rico. Thirty members of FUMC will travel to
Culebra on June 25 on a mission trip to assist
(q) Pewter "Ware A f> / 1-«—« (p)
'NJ Serving Pieces 3 U / O U J -1 J -1
the local Methodist church and congregation
with building repairs and Vacation Bible
i c„i3l'p„„ 40% OFF i:
School. Donations to enable this worthy
MON - SAT: 10 AM - 5 PM
cause are welcome and should be sent to
Forsyth United Methodist Church, 68 W.
Johnston St, Forsyth, Ga 31029 marked Cule
bra Mission trip.
478-992-9878
6009 U.S. 41 S. • Bolingbroke
I-75N, Exit 175 • 1-475, Exit 15.