Newspaper Page Text
Page 2B
February 9, 2022
ABfeporter
PASTOR’S CORNER by Rev. Hambric Brooks
Spotlight on Local Churches
Prayer should be the
root of our lives
P rayer is one of the most
misunderstood and
underutilized spiritual
disciplines in our world
today. Many Christians
misinterpret scripture, and they
understand prayer as con
vincing God what we need
him to do for us or asking
God to be a vending ma
chine. We pray for some
thing, he answers, and we
go on to the next thing.
When Jesus came to earth,
he didn’t pray like the other
rabbis of his day. They em
ployed prayer to control God,
to display their piety, or to
persuade God to act. Unfortu
nately, that is how many people approach
prayer today. If we examine how Jesus
prayed, his prayers were different from
the other religious leaders. Jesus’ prayers
were personal, and they helped him
relate to His father.
For Jesus prayer was intimate, unend
ing, and the root from which he found
strength and power for his ministry.
There are many instances in scripture re
corded about Jesus and the importance of
prayer in his life. We see numerous times
where Jesus went to be alone and pray.
It was a time of connection to his father
and that time refueled him for ministry.
If you think about all that Jesus did in
his three years of ministry, it is amazing.
The disciples saw him perform many
miracles, from healing the sick to raising
the dead. They could have asked him to
teach them many things. How can we
love our neighbor better? How do we
minister to the widows and orphans?
How do we make the blind see? How do
we make the lame walk?
What did they ask instead? “Lord teach
us to pray’’ His response is found in
Mathew 6:9-13 9 “This, then, is how you
should pray: ‘“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name, 10 your king
dom come, your will be done, on earth
as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our
daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation, [a]
but deliver us from the evil one.
[b]’(NIV)
Out of all the many things the disciples
could have asked they asked Jesus to
teach them how to pray. Have you ever
wondered why? I believe
it is because they noticed
something different about
how Jesus related to God,
and they knew that every
thing Jesus did while on
earth was covered in prayer.
Many times, I believe
Christians have lost sight of
the importance of prayer.
We tend to look for the
next great Christian devo
tional guide to direct our
hfe, or the next self-help
book, the next best seller
about the bible, or the next new thing to
excite us about our walk with Christ. It
may be time for us to examine ourselves.
It maybe time to rearrange our priorities.
A nationwide survey by the Barna
Group asked pastors to identify their
highest ministry priorities-among the top
results were Evangelism at 46 percent,
preaching at 35 percent, and coming in
dead last behind everything else, Prayer
at 3 percent.
Do those statistics shock you? If not,
they should. Prayer doesn’t need to be
an optional accessory in our spiritual
hfe. It shouldn’t be just a bookend for the
day, or how we begin and end meetings.
Prayer should be the root from which
everything else grows in our lives. If you
want to be more like Jesus spend more
time in prayer and communion with
him.
Rev. Hambric Brooks is the pastor of
First Baptist Church of Forsyth, 95 W.
Morse Street. The Pastors Corner is spon
sored by the Monroe County Ministerial
Association, which meets on the second
Thursday of each month at 9 a.m. at
Christ United Methodist Church, 417 N.
Frontage Road, Forsyth.
Rev. Hambric Brooks
CHURCH CALENDAR
Email church calendar news to Diane Glidewell at news^mymcr.net by
Monday at 10 a.m. Church information is published free of charge as space
permits.
Feb. 9
Circle of Care Food
Distribution will be at
Christ UMC
The Circle of Care, with
the assistance of com
munity churches and other
volunteers, will distribute
food packages provided
by Middle Georgia
Community Food Bank
on Wednesday, Feb. 9 at
Christ United Methodist
Church, 417 N. Frontage
Road, Forsyth. Recipients
should begin lining up at
10 a.m. Future monthly
distributions are planned for
the second Wednesday of
each month. Check Christ
United Methodist Church’s
Facebook page or cal
478-994-1232 for updated
information.
Feb. 10
Bonus Food distribution
at St. James Baptist
St. James Baptist Church,
110 James Street, Forsyth
will have a bonus food
distribution on Thursday,
Feb. 10 at 11 a.m. Middle
Georgia Community Food
Bank asked the volunteers
to help distribute extra food
resources this month.
Feb.20
Tessie Hall Baptist
celebrates Family &
Friends
Tessie Hall Baptist Church,
320 Boxankle Road, Forsyth
will celebrate its Family &
Friends Day on Sunday,
Feb. 20 at 10 a.m.
Feb.22
Red Cross Blood Drive
at First Baptist of High
Falls
First Baptist Church of High
Falls, 4408 High Falls Road
will host a Red Cross Blood
Drive on Tuesday, Feb. 22
from 2-7 p.m. in the Fellow
ship Hall.
Food distribution at St.
James Baptist
St. James Baptist Church,
110 James Street, Forsyth
will host a drive-through
food distribution on Tues
day, Feb. 22 beginning at
11 a.m. in partnership with
Middle Georgia Community
Food Bank. The distribution
is at St. James on the 4th
Tuesday of each month,
weather permitting.
Feb.26
First Baptist of High
Falls has Chili Cook-off
& Dessert Contest
First Baptist Church of High
Falls, 4408 High Falls Road
will have a Chili Cook-off
& Dessert Contest on Sat
urday, Feb. 26 starting at 6
p.m. in the Fellowship Hall.
JV academic team wins in tiebreaker
The Mary Persons JV academic team won in a tiebreaker round to take 1st place at
GATA Winter South. Mary Persons Varsity academic team advanced to the play
offs as the # 8 seed and came up short against the # 1 seed. The next tournament
is scheduled for March 5 at Mary Persons for JV State. JV members include Wil
liam Little, Isabel Sneddon, Skyler Perry and Grayson Bellwin. Varsity members are
Christian Smith and Corbin Lane.
MONROE IN COLLEGE
Austin
Hartley
gradu
ated from
Mercer
Univer
sity with
a Bachelor
of Busi
ness
Adminis
tration in
Accounting in December
2021. He is employed with
McNair McLemore &
Middlebrooks in Macon as
a staff accountant. Austin
is the son of Mike & Leigh
Hartley of Monroe County.
Georgia State
University announces
the following local students
have been named to its
President’s List: Stepha
nie Pierotti of Forsyth,
Laurel Sparks of
Forsyth, Teresa Wilcox
of Forsyth. To be eligible
for the President’s List,
degree-seeking students
must have earned a GPA of
at least 4.0 for a minimum
of nine semester hours
of academic credit taken
at Georgia State during
the fall or spring
term with no
incompletes for the
semester. Eligible
students must have
a minimum GPA
of 2.0 for all classes
taken at Georgia
State. Georgia
State University
has a student body
of nearly 52,000
from all backgrounds and
connections to Atlanta’s
business, government,
nonprofit and cultural
organizations.
Georgia State
University announces
the following local students
have been named to its
Dean’s List: Ja Derius
Buckner of Forsyth,
Zachary Butler
of Forsyth, Stephen
Grubb of Juliette, Wal
ter Pompa of Forsyth.
To be eligible for the
Dean’s List, degree-seeking
students must have earned
a GPA of at least 3.5 for a
minimum of nine semester
hours of academic credit
taken at Georgia State
during the fall or spring
term with no incompletes
for the semester. Eli
gible students must have a
minimum GPA of 2.0 for
all classes taken at Georgia
State.
Georgia Southern
University recognized
approximately 2,200
students for excellence
in academics on the Fall
2021 President’s List. To
be eligible for the Presi
dent’s List, a student must
have at least a 4.0 grade
point average and carry a
minimum of 12 hours for
the semester. Local stu
dents named to the list are
Grace Copeland of
Forsyth, Joshua Hawkins
of Juliette, Mary Jones of
Forsyth, Wilekia Mayes of
Culloden, Bradley New
man of Forsyth, Leah
Olson of Forsyth, Maleah
Smith of Forsyth, Dey-
ana Stokes of Forsyth.
Georgia Southern Uni
versity, a public Carnegie
Doctoral/R2 institution
founded in 1906, offers ap
proximately 140 different
degree programs serving
more than 27,000 students
through 10 colleges on
three campuses in States
boro, Savannah, Hinesville
and online instruction.
Georgia Southern
University recognized
approximately 3,420
students for excellence
in academics on the Fall
2021 Dean’s List. To be
eligible for the Dean’s List,
a student must have at least
a 3.5 grade point average
and carry a minimum of
12 hours for the semester.
Local students named to
the list are Myjah Bled
soe of Culloden, Laurie
Finch of Forsyth, James
Finch of Forsyth, Arthur
Freeman of Forsyth, Wil
liam Freeman of Forsyth,
Valarie Griffin of Forsyth,
Joshua Haas of Forsyth,
Evan Hoyt of Forsyth, Lily
Keck of Forsyth, Bethany
Maddox of Forsyth, Cariee
Pergerson of Forsyth,
Taylor Shortt of Forsyth,
Amelia Squires of Juliette,
Dylan Steed of Forsyth,
Conner Watson of
Forsyth
CALENDAR
Continued from Page 1 B
March 10
Monroe County Schools
Literacy Night
Monroe County Schools
Literacy Night featuring Car
men Deedy will be Thursday,
March 10 at 6 p.m. at Mon
roe County Fine Arts Center,
27 Brooklyn Ave., Forsyth.
There will be door prizes and
booths with local authors.
March 12
Boy Scout Troop 51
Pancake Breakfast
The annual Boy Scout Troop
51 Pancake Breakfast will
be Saturday, March 12 from
7-10 a.m. at Forsyth United
Methodist Church. Tickets
are $8 each and the menu
is all-you-can-eat pancakes,
sausage, grits, coffee, juice,
and milk. Proceeds benefit
Boy Scout Troop 51. Tickets
can purchased in advance
by calling 478-258-1453
or emailing auriebpippin®
yahoo.com.
March 16
Friends of the
Library scholarship
The Friends of the Monroe
County Library is awarding
a $1,000 college scholar
ship to a 2022 graduating
senior from Monroe County.
Applications are available at
the Monroe County Library.
CHURCH PAGE MADE POSSIBLE
Deadline is March 16.
On-Going
Monroe County Library
has Book Sale,
temporary hours
Temporary hours of the
Monroe County Library, 62
W, Main Street, Forsyth (due
to COVID) are 9 a.m.-6 p.m.
Monday-Friday, closed on
Saturday and Sunday.
The Friends of the Monroe
County Library has extended
and expanded its Lobby Book
Sale until March 1, adding
an entire table of children's
books. All sales support the
ibrary.
Monroe County
Bicentennial Exhibit
ends this month
The Monroe County Bicen
tennial exhibit, sponsored
by Georgia Power and the
Monroe County Histori
cal Society, is on display in
the Monroe County Annex
atrium. A new exhibit is
displayed each month. The
theme in February is “Busi
nesses”. The exhibit is free
and open to the public dur
ing all hours when the Annex
is open. For more information,
call 478.971.1460 or email
gsta n bery@cityoffo rsyth .com
Lee’s Haircutting
Lee Smith
994-1666
Mon - Fri 10 to 7
...Unless Playing Golf
Freeman Funeral home
A name that can be trusted for funeral and burial arrangements
26 Brentwood Place • Forsyth
994-6483 • 994-6576
“Servicing Each Family With Equal Respect”
W ANIMAL^
MEDICAL
CLINIC
Dr, Brandon Pinson
Ready to Meet
Your Pet Needs
• Boarding • Bathing
• Medical Management
• Wellness & Preventive
• After Hrs. & Emergency
60 S. Jackson St. * Forsyth.GA ♦ 478-994-4986
Voted 2014 Best Veterinarian by readers of the Reporter