Pastor's Blog

This entry is coming from the Le Pavillon Hotel in New Orleans, LA.  Lisa and I drove over late yesterday afternoon in order to be here for Willie Pierre’s surgery.  Originally, it was scheduled to be an early surgery but now has been set for 11:00AM.  Pray for Willie as this is a serious surgery. 

Wendy Johnston is having surgery in Mobile this morning.  Bro. Kerry is with Wendy and her family during this procedure.  Pray for Wendy. 

Exie Woods remains hospitalized as does Vaughn Womack.  The visitation for John Smith is tonight at 1st Baptist. 

The team from Moline, MI traveling to Guatemala yesterday placed 20 folks on Delta and 20 folks on Continental.  The ones on Continental went through Houston and arrived on time.  However, the ones on Delta went through Atlanta and the weather forced them to leave Grand Rapids late which means they missed their connection in ATL.  So, hopefully they will arrive in Guatemala shortly after noon today. 

Members of the Friendship family are asked to remember the GRACE meal this Sunday.  Also, the deadline for paying the various deposits i.e. summer GRACE trips, Wild Week is January 30th.  That also is the deadline for students to turn in their order forms for the gourmet apples. 

Game night and late night bowling take place this Sunday night. 

Lisa and I are scheduled to get home at some point this afternoon and then we will be joined by the seven girls (11 – 12 year olds) from our Upward team for a slumber party!  We should be in great shape for our 8:00AM game tomorrow! 

I hope you will have a great day with Jesus.   

Larry Whitehurst just called me to give an update on Vaughn Womack.  The doctor told him this morning that the leukemia he has is the most aggressive kind a person can have.  They are moving Vaughn to another hospital in Mobile and will begin treatments immediately.  Please pray for Vaughn and his family. 

Also, I listed the wrong time for John Smith’s funeral in my earlier entry today.  The correct time is 10:00AM on Saturday, 1/19.  I apologize for the error! 

Yesterday was a wet and cold day but we had a great day in our respective Bible studies and worship.  Ralph Rimmer taught our senior high students and did a good job.  Thanks Ralph! 

Our students will be having a game night/late night bowling combo this Sunday night.  Church attendance in the evening service is a must and we will return to the church at 1:00AM.  All students are encouraged to attend and bring a friend!

Miss Exie Woods had a rough day yesterday with an elevated temperature.  Edna Morgan did fine through her surgery.  Jackie Goff is scheduled for surgery today.  Wendy Johnston & Willie Pierre are scheduled for surgery tomorrow.  Vaughn Womack has luekemia.  John Smith’s funeral service will be Saturday morning at 10:00AM from 1st Baptist.  Pray for all of these respective needs. 

The team from Moline, MI depart today for a week of ministry in Guatemala.  Pray for them as they travel and then do ministry.  By the way, Reggie Quimby, who is one of our state missionaries and leads the Alabama Baptist/Guatemala partnership, visited the L.G. Camp, Jr. mission house yesterday and came away impressed.   

A GRACE meal will be served this Sunday immediately following the 10:30AM service.  The proceeds help our high school students going to Guatemala this summer.  Our students are also selling gourmet apples for Valentine’s Day. 

Ken Freeman will be with us the dates of Sunday, 2/10, through Wednesday, 2/13.  Pray frevently for these days of revival. 

I hope you will have a great day with Jesus. 

Today is a wet Wednesday in Grand Bay.  We have enjoyed some beautiful days recently but we can surely use the rain.  I am thankful to God for His providing what we need when we need it! 

The law enforcement officers are calling the death of John Smith a homicide.  John, 67 years old, was found inside his business Monday night.   John was a very active member of First Baptist Grand Bay serving as a deacon, treasurer, and Sunday School teacher.  His wife, Sheryl, is a teacher at Grand Bay Middle School.  The authorities are now looking for John’s van which was stolen.  Pray for the Smith family during this most difficult time. 

Also pray that the authorities/volunteers can find the body of the fourth child from last week’s terrible incident on the Dauphin Island bridge.  Today’s weather is going to make the search much more difficult.  What a tragedy!

Edna Morgan will be having surgery today.  Exie Woods was better yesterday but remains hospitalized.  Vera Bosarge’s brother has prostate cancer and will be undergoing surgery on February 19.  Jim Sciple continues to recover at home.  Pray for these folks!

Dave & Donna Westhouse will lead a team of 40 from Moline, MI to Guatemala tomorrow.  These folks are a very vital part of GRACE Ministries and have been partnering with us for the past several years.  They do an excellent job of ministering to the Guatemalans.  Pray for them as they make those last minute preparations today. 

Jason Westbrook celebrated his 50th birthday this past Saturday and then I read where the Smurfs are turning fifty years old in 2008.  Coincidence?  You decide!  By the way, Troy & Sommer Brock celebrated their wedding anniversary this past Saturday while Michael & Alisia Crawley celebrated their 20th wedding anniversary yesterday.  Happy birthday/anniversary to these folks!

It is reported that fourteen percent of all Americans surveyed say they have seen a UFO.  Folks in a Texas town are all in an uproar right now as they have reportedly seen one a repeated number of times in recent weeks.  Most reported UFO sightings are in California, Colorado, and Texas. 

I hope you will have a great Wednesday with Jesus! 

Jim Sciple did in fact come home from the hospital Sunday morning.  (He had actually left a message on my cell phone but I didn’t check my messages until yesterday afternoon – I check my cell phone messages once a week whether I need to or not!)  I received an e-mail from him yesterday and he was giving God all of the glory for His protection and watchcare.  Continue to pray for Jim.

Miss Exie Woods continues to be hospitalized and she is very weak.  She is such a sweet lady and certainly needs our continued prayer support.  Emogene Rivere did not have heart surgery last Friday but did have a heart cath.  They were doing a procedure yesterday to check for possible blockages in her legs. 

I received a phone call and an e-mail around 10:00PM last night telling me of a possible murder in Grand Bay.  As of this morning (5:30AM), there is no story on the internet about this so I am going to wait before sharing the name and details.  My source is very reliable so I know the person is deceased.  He was a very active member of a sister church in Grand Bay.  I have known him for twenty plus years.  Pray for that family. 

I want to thank the folks who took the time to attend the student ministry committee meeting last night.  In my opinion, that was a productive time.  Please begin praying now for the dates of February 10 – 13 as we will host Evangelist Ken Freeman. 

We will have a GRACE meal this Sunday.  We are not pre-selling tickets but do want to encourage our folks to participate in this meal.  The menu will be roast and all of the trimmings.  Our students going to Guatemala will be selling gourmet apples too for Valentine’s Day. 

Mark Mast added a comment to yesterday’s entry which goes back to T. Garrett’s questions about debt and investing.  You will do well to read his comments. 

I hope that you will have a great Tuesday with Jesus. 

This week’s Bible readings are as follows:  today Genesis 40 – 42, Tuesday 43 – 45, Wednesday 46 – 48, Thursday 49 – 50 (one book completed – congratulations!), Friday Exodus 1 – 4, Saturday 5 – 7, Sunday 8 – 10. 

We had a good day yesterday with the highlight being Ryan Sessions making a public profession of faith in the 10:30AM service.  That service also saw several folks making other decisions and the evening service saw a good number of folks at the altar.  It is always a wonderful thing to see the Spirit of God moving in our services.  We give Him the glory for all He is doing! 

We had a good, albeit brief, meeting about our Summer ’08 GRACE Ministries trips.  Simply put, all persons signed up must pay their deposit by January 30.  We have a few openings on two of our trips so contact me if you are interested. 

Jim Sciple was supposed to come home from the hospital yesterday and I am assuming that he did.  Miss Exie Woods was readmitted to the hospital on Saturday but was showing signs of improvement yesterday.  She has had a tough go of it for the past six weeks.  Emogene Rivere (Janice Smith’s sister) had heart surgery on Friday and is not doing so well.  Pray for Jim, Miss Exie, & Emogene. 

We have four members of the Friendship family scheduled for surgery this week – Edna Morgan (Wed), Jackie Goff (Thur), Wendy Johnston (Fri), and Willie Pierre (Fri in New Orleans).  Pray for these respective procedures. 

Jim Aldridge’s mother passed away on New Year’s Eve.  She lived in the Syracuse, NY area and they had a memorial service there.  Yesterday afternoon, Jim and his family had a private memorial service in his home.  Pray for Jim, Bev, and the family during this time. 

The members of our student committee (middle school and senior high) are asked to attend a meeting tonight at 6:30PM in the student ministry building. 

I hope you have a great Monday with Jesus! 

I have gotten several requests for the reading assignments in order to stay on track to read through the Bible in 2008.  Here is where you need to read today and for the following three days:

Today:  Genesis 28 – 30
Friday, 1/11: Genesis 31 – 33
Saturday, 1/12: Genesis 34 – 36
Sunday, 1/13: Genesis 37 – 39

Monday, 1/14, I will list the week’s reading selections.  Thanks for your interest!  Haven’t started yet?  Don’t worry, just begin with today’s selection and you can catch up later. 

Several folks from TN have asked if we had any picture book since they can’t. . .  Well, you get the picture! 

I begin by giving props to our college/young professionals Bible study group for lending a helping hand last night in getting some more uniforms for Casa Aleluya off the container and packed for shipping.  Five boxes of those uniforms will be shipped to Dave & Donna Westhouse in Moline, MI today and their team will take the uniforms via suitcases to Guatemala one week from today.  Don & Ruth Nederhood and their team from Byron Center, MI are doing likewise on their upcoming trip, 1/25 – 2/1.  We have also had teams from GA & TN lend a helping hand in this process.  So, thanks to all who are willing to help as the container situation remains unchanged. 

Jim Sciple did well during his surgery yesterday.  I will visit him and Winston Etheredge this morning.  Ted Ezell is recovering at home. 

One of the news outlets is reporting this morning about the man in Idaho who literally used a circular saw this past Saturday to cut one of his hands off.  He believed that he had seen the “mark of the beast” on his hand so he cut it off and cooked it in the microwave.  He called 911 and the police arrived to find his hand in the microwave.  They have placed him in a mental facility for the time being. 

I want to remind our senior high students that we are having “game night” this Friday, 1/11, from 6:00PM – 10:00PM.  Y’all come! 

I also want to remind our folks going on one of our GRACE mission trips this summer that their $100 non-refundable deposit is due by the 30th of this month.  Folks wanting to be a part of our November 18 – 25, 2008 GRACE trip need to sign up this month. 

Bret, I did call Ryan yesterday so I am making progress.  E-mail me your phone numbers please! 

I hope that you will have a great Thursday!   

As I write this entry, Jim Sciple is having double by-pass surgery.  One of these is from his quadruple surgery of ten years ago and the other is a main artery on the front of his heart.  I visited with Jim & Jeannie early this morning and he is at perfect peace with the surgery and all it involves.  Pray for the doctor is performing this surgery, for Jim, and for Jeannie as she waits on the surgery to end.  Bro. Jerry is there with her as the surgery progresses. 

Wow!  Last night I heard the news reports of the father throwing his four children from the bridge leading to Dauphin Island.  It is the headline of today’s Mobile Press-Register which reports that he confessed to throwing his four children, ages 3, 2, 1, and 4 months old from the bridge at some point Monday morning.  He will be charged with four counts of capital murder but that doesn’t even seem sufficient if he in fact committed these terrible murders.  (Personally, I will not be surprise to hear him recant his confession in the near future)  My real hope is that he has told a lie regarding this and it proves to be false but that doesn’t appear likely.  We live in a dark world! 

We are on our regular schedule today with a service this morning at 10:00AM and then the usual evening activities. 

I hope you will have a great Wednesday with the Lord. 

P.S. – Our out of town blog readers can go to www.al.com and read the Press-Register story on the four children. 

This entry is really late today but sometimes things happen for a reason.  I just received a call from Jeannie Sciple informing me that her husband, Jim Sciple, had a heart catheterization this morning and didn’t do so well.  They have scheduled him for by-pass surgery first thing tomorrow morning.  According to Jeannie, a front artery is 99% blocked and the doctor says it has to be by-passed now or it could prove to be fatal.  He has a couple of other blockages too.  Pray for Jim as he prepares mentally, emotionally, spiritually, etc. for this procedure. 

Ted Ezell & Winston Etheredge are undergoing surgery today.  Bro. Kerry & Bro. Jerry are with these guys and/or their families during this time.  Pray that all will go well. 

I just finished a very informative meeting with Terry Stephan who coordinates mission work for Dauphin Way Baptist Church.  He led a team to Guatemala in November and will be leading another one in April.  These teams are basically made up of folks from within churches of the Mobile Baptist Association.  Terry is doing a great job of introducing folks to mission trips.  He has trips scheduled for Athens, Greece; London, England; and Mexico in the coming months.  If interested, please contact me and I will put you in touch with Terry. 

Well the SEC once again proved to be the dominant conference in college football as LSWho won it all last night against another one of those Little Eleven Conference teams.  (Why would you have eleven teams in a league and call it the Big Ten?)  I told Ross Genzink earlier today that we have teams like those in the Little Eleven – we call ’em high school teams! 

Lisa arrived home safely last night and it only took her about six hours to clean the house!  (Can you say, “Happy Camper?”)  They had a great time in Chicago and I appreciate Mark Mast giving them the heads up on where to go, what to do, et cetera.  It is unbelievable but that trip actually saved me money! 

Speaking of Mark, there have been several comments on the debt issue so make sure to go back and read them. 

I hope you have a great Tuesday afternoon with Jesus.