Newspaper Page Text
Page 3B
May 11, 2022
sReporter
Spotlight on Local Churches
PASTOR’S CORNER by Rev. Hambric Brooks
CHURCH CALENDAR
The biggest fish story ever told
S pring has always been my
favorite time of year. The earth
begins to wake back up, every
thing is coming out of winter
and in full bloom. You can
see the beauty of God everywhere you
look in creation from green grass and
new flowers to the birth of
baby birds. I also love this
time of year because its
warm outside, not too hot,
not too cold, usually in
the low 80s. With spring
comes two of my favorite
pastimes, baseball and
fishing.
When I was younger my
springs and summers were
filled with both of these. I
still get to fish every once in
a while, but my playing days
of baseball have changed from participant
to spectator. I get to enjoy watching my
son Thomas play the game that taught me
so much about life and friendships.
I also passed on the love of fishing to
him. When I was a boy I had a pond about
200 yards from my house that I fished at
almost everyday in the spring and sum
mer. Where we lived before moving to
Forsyth we had a neighborhood pond. If
I came home during the spring or sum
mer afternoon and couldn’t find Thomas,
I knew where to go look; he was at the
pond with his buddies fishing. The stories
we would share were always entertaining.
He would tell me a story of the huge bass
he caught, or about the one that got away.
I would then reminisce and tell him one
of my fishing stories, and we have been
blessed to make some of those stories
together through the years.
If you’ve ever been around a fisherman,
you know they have stories. Usually the
more they tell the stories the bigger the
fish gets. I could tell you all kinds of stories
about fish that got away, or ones I had
caught, and a few that even made me go
swimming after they had broken a line.
But today I want to tell you about one of
the greatest fishing stories of all time. None
of the fishing stories that you’ve heard in
your lifetime can match the one in Luke 5.
Here is a little background information.
At this point in scripture Peter, James, John
and Andrew are not disciples of Jesus,
yet. They’re just professional fishermen.
They’ve been out all night fishing on the
Sea of Galilee. They’ve caught nothing.
They’re going through tough times in their
job. They’ve worked hard, but no results.
They come ashore after 10 hours of fishing
and are cleaning their nets on the shore.
They’re tired, they’re discouraged. They
have no fish to show for their hard work.
Jesus comes along and he’s talking to a
crowd and he asks these guys, Can I use
one of your boats as a platform to speak
from?
Well pick up the story in Luke 5. “One
day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of
Gennesaret, with the people crowding
around him and listening to the word
of God, he saw at the water's edge two
boats, left there by the fishermen, who
were washing their nets. He got into one
of the boats, the one belonging to Simon
[that’s Simon Peter], and asked him to
put out a little from shore. Then he sat
down and taught the people from the
boat’.’ Why is he doing this? There are a
few reasons. First, water amplifies your
voice. If you’ve ever been in a boat you
know you can speak much further across
the lake than you can on ground because
ground absorbs sound waves. It’s a smart
communication tool so Jesus could speak
to hundreds of people who were on the
shore listening to Him. Also, Jesus is about
to choose these four guys as his first four
disciples. He’s going to ask them to leave
their business and follow him. So he’s plan
ning to do a miracle in their work. One
they will understand: a miracle of fish to
a bunch of fishermen. In verse 4 it says
“When Jesus had finished speaking he
said to Simon, ‘Now launch
out into deep water, and let
down the nets for a catch.’ [Re
member they had just fished
all night.] Simon answered,
‘Master, we’ve worked hard all
night and we haven’t caught
anything.” Ever felt like this. “I
worked all night and I haven’t
caught anything. Haven’t
made a sale, haven’t closed
a deal, haven’t sold a house.
We’ve worked all night and
we’ve caught nothing. You can
hear the discouragement in
his voice. Sometimes this happens in life.
Sometimes you give it your best shot and
you still come up short. Sometimes you
work hard and you work diligently and
you work long and you’ve got nothing to
show for it. Sometimes you do what you
think is the right thing to do in your job,
and you make a decision, you may even
think God’s leading you to do it but it still
doesn’t pan out. You go start this business
and it falls apart. You hang in there when
your marriage is falling apart. You get
some counseling, you read books, and you
really try to make it work, but you don’t
see any improvement at all. It just isn’t get
ting any better.
The fact is, this miracle has a lot to teach
us because everybody’s fishing for some
thing. It teaches us what do you do when
you come up empty. When these fisher
men did what Jesus tells them to do in this
miracle they not only receive a miracle, but
they’re blessed more than they can handle.
Jesus uses Simon Peter’s boat as a platform
to preach the good news. Then the Bible
tells us the rest of the story. “After Jesus
finished speaking he said to Simon, ‘Now,
launch out into deep water and let down
your nets for a catch! When they had
done so, they caught such a large number
offish that their nets began to break. So
they signaled their partners [that’s James
and John] in the other boat to come and
help them, and they came and filled both
boats so full [with fish] that they began to
sink.”
Friends, that’s a fish story! I don’t think
I can even top that one! Here’s the point:
they caught more in 10 minutes than
they had caught in 10 hours. When you
put your trust in God you don’t worry
about timing. You may go a month or two
months or a year or two years without
work. It doesn’t really matter because if
you trust God and have made Jesus Lord
of your life you can know that he is work
ing on your behalf for good in all you do.
(Romans 8:28). God can do more in 10
minutes in your life than you can do in 10
years. Trust Him, and live life the way He
has called you to live. Galatians 20:20 says:
I have been crucified with Christ. It is no
longer I who live, but Christ who lives in
me. And the life I now live in the flesh I
live by faith in the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me. Are you hop
ing for a miracle? Put your faith in Christ.
Rev. Hambric Brooks is pastor of First
Baptist Church, Forsyth, 95 W. Morse St.
The Pastors Corner is sponsored 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
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.
May 11
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, May 11 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 call
478-994-1232 for updated
information.
May 14
St. Peters Rock Mis
sionary Baptist has
Gala honoring First
Lady
St. Peter's Rock Mission
ary Baptist Church, 10496
Highway 87 Juliette will
present a Gala honoring
First Lady Jacinto Johnson
on Saturday, May 14 at 12
noon. For more information,
contact Ruth Middlebrook
at 478-986-5269.
Living Word Commu
nity Church has yard
sale
Living Word Community
Church, 1278 Juliette Road,
Forsyth will have a yard
sale on Saturday, May 14
from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. There
are two rooms full of items
to sell and there will also be
Bake Sale items. Proceeds
will benefit mission projects.
Rocky Creek Baptist
Church Motocyde
Ministry Community
Breakfast
The Rocky Creek Motorcy
cle Ministry will hold a com
munity wide breakfast on
Saturday May 14, 2022 at
9 AM, Rocky Creek Baptist
Church 225 Rocky Creek
Rd. Forsyth, to celebrate
Emergency First Respond
ers. All First Responders are
encouraged to attend. The
Motorcycle Ministry hosts
a Men's breakfast every
2nd Saturday of the month,
and all men are invited to
attend.
May 15
East Juliette Baptist
has Homecoming
East Juliette Baptist Church,
183 J.H. Aldridge Drive,
will have Homecoming on
Sunday, May 15. There will
be Special Singing at 11
a.m. with Titian Fountain.
Morning worship will follow
with Dr. Randy Reese bring
ing the message. Dinner on
the grounds will follow the
morning service. Everyone
is invited.
First Baptist of High
Falls hosts Family
Movie Night
First Baptist Church of High
Falls, 4408 High Falls Road
will host Family Movie Night
on Sunday, May 15 at 5
p.m. Grab some popcorn
and come watch “Sabina,”
a true story about love and
forgiveness.
May 22
First Baptist of High
Falls starts a Why?
message series
First Baptist Church of High
Falls, 4408 High Falls Road
will begin a Why? Sunday
Morning Message Series
on May 22 that will include
Why Am I Here? What's
My Purpose? Is Life an
Illusion? Is there Meaning?
You matter to God; we
want you here. May 22 -
June 30 will be Forty Days
of Purpose and Prayer,
along side a book called
"What on Earth Am I Here
for?" By Rick Warren.
May 24
Food distribution at St.
James Baptist
St. James Baptist Church,
110 James Street, Forsyth
will host a drive-through
food distribution on Tues
day, May 24 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.
June 6-8
VBS at First Baptist
Forsyth
First Baptist Church Forsyth,
95 West Morse Street will
have Vacation Bible Schoo
on Monday-Wednesday,
June 6-8 from 9 a.m.-12
noon for children enter
ing kindergarten to 5th
grade. VBS this year will
follow the theme of learning
God’s truth through science
experiments. Plan to be a
part of a fun and exciting
week—register at the church
website.
June. 12-17
VBS at First Baptist
Church of High Falls
First Baptist Church of High
Falls, 4408 High Falls Road
wi I hold Vacation Bible
School June 12-17
May 8-June 19
Pregnancy Center An
nual Fundraiser
From Mother’s Day to
Fathers Day the Annua
Baby Bottle fundraiser for
the Pregnancy Center of
Monroe County is under
way. Pick up a baby bottle
at a participating church or
the Pregnancy Center at
562 N. Lee Street, Forsyth
and fill it with coins, cash or
checks. For more informa
tion, call 478-994-3173.
Ongoing
Rock Springs Church
Clinic
The Rock Springs Church
Health Clinic in Forsyth is
open every Wednesday
from 8:30 a.m.-noon. New
patient consultations are
available at 1 p.m. on the
2nd and 4th Wednesday
of each month. The clinic
is near Monroe County
Hospital at 100 MLK Jr.
Drive; the phone number is
478-992-9581.
Monroe Co. Boys & Girls
Club offers summer camp
The Boys & Girls Clubs
of Central Georgia will
host in-person summer
camps in three middle
Georgia counties: Bibb,
Candler and Monroe.
Spanning over nine weeks
from May 31 to July 29
(closed only during the
week of July 4-8), kids
ages 6-18 are invited to
attend. The camp runs
Monday through Friday
from 7:30 am to 5:30 pm.
The cost of registration is
$200 and includes break
fast, lunch, and program
materials. For teens 13-18
the cost to attend is free.
“The summer camps at
The Boys & Girls Clubs
of Central Georgia are
an amazing opportu
nity for our youth,” said
Vice President of Youth
Development Joseph
Matchett. “Our summer
camp experience includes
stimulating programs
that are both fun and
educational for all ages.
Our main focus during
the summer is preventing
learning loss and creating
unique, impactful experi
ences that will be enjoy
able and memorable for
our youth.”.
Summer Camp applica
tions are at local clubs.
Applicants must register
in-person. Forsyth-
Monroe County Boys &
Girls Club, 500 Highway
83 S„ Forsyth is open
Monday-Friday 2:30-7
p.m. 478-992-5605. Cash
is not accepted. Commu
nity members can donate
to help send a child to
summer camp.
CHURCH PAGE MADE POSSIBLE BY:
•5; DISC
V CENTERS Of AMERICA .
■ FORSYTH
• Back • Neck • Arm • Leg • Pain
•Auto Injuries • Family Care
• SPORTS INJURIES
DR. GARY BIGGS
Certified Physiological Theraputics
478-994-1562 In Office X-Ray
255 Tift College Drive • Forsyth Most Insurances Accepted
Monday. Tuesday, Wednesday: 9 a.m. - 12 p.m., 2 p.m. - 6 p.m.
Thursday by Appointment Only • Friday: 9 a.m. -12 p.m.
www.ForsythDiscCenter.com
Lee’s Haircutting
Lee Smith
994-1666
Mon - Fri 10 to 7
...Unless Playing Golf
r ANIMAL^
MEDICAL
CLINIC
> i
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
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”
WBIB-FM 89.1
Forsyth-based Christian Radio
Believers in Broadcasting
478-957-9164
www.wbibfm.com
We are here to serve the
local church and community.
Sunday morning local sermon schedule:
9 a.m. Dayspring Presbyterian Church
10 a.m. Rock Springs Church
11a.m. New Providence Baptist Church
facebook.com/believersinbroadcasting
RAFF, INC.
Better Built By Raff
Jerry Raff contractors
jerraff@bellsouth.net 478-256-0253
www.facebook.com/raffinc