Pastor's Blog

SPRING FORWARD!  SPRING FORWARD!  SPRING FORWARD!  Yes, this is time change Sunday which means we lose an hour of sleep tonight.  So, move your time pieces forward one hour prior to going to be tonight.  (I will actually move all of our manual time pieces forward this morning and we will go ahead and make the adjustment today which seems to help some)

Front pew shower for Marcus & Rachel Hatcher tomorrow!  Place gifts and cards on the center section front pew during any of our services.  Remember, twins!

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow – morning and evening.  The three deacon nominations will be presented and voted on during the evening service.

Yard sale items can be brought to the CAB following the evening service tomorrow.  Yard sale this Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

Church wide work day on Saturday, 3/27, from 8:00AM until 11:00AM.

I pray that you will have a great Saturday with Jesus!

Tragedy struck the Friendship family yesterday morning as Christopher Bryan passed from this life.  He was only fifteen years old.  Pray for his parents and siblings during this most difficult time.

I appreciate Bro. Jerry & Bro. Abel being there for this family as I was out of pocket.  Others were also there and I am grateful to each one of them.

Audrey Everett was taken into surgery yesterday afternoon and the surgery was a success.  She will be in the hospital for a couple of days.  Pray for Audrey, Matt & Jennifer.  Claire Turner was her nurse yesterday which is a huge blessing.  Claire is as sweet and compassionate as they come.

Ronnie & Dicey Collier are neighbors of Katelyn Johnson’s parents.  They both were taken to the hospital on Sunday night and diagnosed with the virus plus other issues.  She is slowly improving but he is not doing well and is in ICU.  Pray for this couple who are like family to Katelyn and her family.

The service for Billy Wilks will take place tomorrow, 3/13.  If I understand correctly the visitation with the family will be from 10:00AM until the 11:00AM service time at the Heritage Funeral Home in Escatawpa, MS.  Pray for the Wilks family.

I want to publicly say “thank you” to our State Senator, David Sessions, for voting against the recent gambling bill sponsored by Del Marsh.  The bill failed by two votes.  Thank you Senator David Sessions!

SPRING FORWARD Saturday night before going to bed!  Do not forget!

Lisa and I were visited by Ben & Ireland Mast yesterday afternoon.  What a pleasant time of fellowship.  Really good young couple who will be moving to Canada soon in order for Ben to begin his first pastorate.  Pray for Ben & Ireland.

Spent yesterday morning securing the vehicle for Matt & Bonnie Cain.  Finally done with that part of the process.  Now have to go this morning and purchase a tag.  Once the title arrives from Montgomery then the process of getting the vehicle to Guatemala will begin.  Pray for a quick return of the title, please. Still thanking God for allowing just the right vehicle to be in Mobile, Alabama.  God is so good!

Spoiler alert – this blog may very well be in its’ final days.  In the early years it was a valuable source (personal opinion) of information regarding sicknesses, deaths, et cetera within the Friendship family and even the Grand Bay community.  However, with the advancement of social media the news on here is old news when it comes to those type things.  I plan on going through the end of March and then we will see.  This blog is in its’ fifteenth year.  That is a fairly long time.  The average number of posts per year is like three hundred and fifty nine which is basically averages one every day.

I pray that you will have a great Friday with Jesus.

Audrey Everett, daughter of Matt & Jennifer, was taken to the hospital last night and then moved to a second hospital.  It appears likely that she “could” have an appendectomy today.  Pray for Audrey and her parents.

Billy Wilks, brother to Miss Peggy Howard, passed from this life yesterday afternoon.  Arrangements pending.  Pray for the Wilks family during this time.

Spring forward one hour this Saturday night before going to bed!

Buybuybaby.com is the website where Rachel Hatcher has registered for her babies.  Front pew shower this Sunday, 3/14.  Simply leave all gifts/cards on the center section front pew.

Church yard sale and auction March 18 – 20.

Church wide work day March 20 from 8:00AM until 11:00AM.

Regular schedule this Sunday morning and evening.  Our present deacons (Rick Bradley, Jeff Holifield, Jimmy Tagert, Grand Tillman, TJ Vice, Raymond Wilkinson) will present the three new deacon nominees in the evening service for the church’s approval.

God answered prayers and blessed on Tuesday as we were able to find a vehicle in Mobile for Matt & Bonnie Cain.  It is a 2013 Honda Pilot 4WD.  I will be making the final purchase this morning and then make work of getting the title and tag.  Thank God for His provision.

I pray that you will have a great Thursday with Jesus.

First, we ARE going to have a church wide work day on Saturday, 3/20, even though that is the final day of the yard sale.  We have done this in years gone by and it has worked well.

Speaking of the yard sale, we need folks to bake homemade cakes for the auction portion of the yard sale.  If you are willing to do this, please contact Bro. Jerry.

SPRING FORWARD by one hour this Saturday, 3/13, before going to bed.  Yes, we basically lose an hour this Sunday.  Very important to remember!

Front pew baby shower this Sunday, March 14, for Marcus & Rachel Hatcher and their soon to be delivered twin boys.  Registered at buybuybaby.com.  You can buy a gift else, diapers, et cetera or bring a gift card.  Place items on the front pew of the center section in our auditorium.

Regular schedule on our campus this morning (10:00AM) and evening (6:30PM).

Our Easter Sunday schedule is sunrise service at 6:00AM followed by three other worship services at 7:30AM, 9:00AM & 10:30AM.  No Sunday School or evening service.  Evangelist Michael Mason will be our guest messenger that day.

Evangelist Johnny Tucker will be our guest messenger on Sunday, May 2.

Evangelist Danny Long will be our guest messenger beginning Sunday, May 16, through Wednesday, May 18.  Pray for all of these services involving these evangelists.

Regular schedule this Sunday, 3/14.  Lord willing, I will be in the pulpit for all three services.  I hope to be joined by many members of the Friendship family.  Remember, spring forward!

I pray that you will have a great Wednesday with Jesus.

Edwina Perkins’ surgery went well.  The test results will be back in about two weeks.  However, the doctor was thinking positive.  I think Lisa told me Edwina came home late yesterday afternoon.  Keep praying for Edwina.

Keep praying for Miss Cora Martin.  She is improving step by step.  Sweet lady!

A big “thank you” to Rhett “McGyver” Butler, Eddie Albritton & Sammy Bowden for a job well done last night in rearranging one of our Sunday School rooms.  I appreciate their time.  Folks, if it is not in Rhett’s trailer then it has not been made yet!  Just saying!

We are going to have a church wide work day on Saturday, March 20, beginning at 8:00AM.  All hands on deck as we ready for Spring and Easter.

Speaking of Easter, we will have four services that Sunday.  Sunrise at 6:00AM and then 7:30, 9:00 & 10:30AM.  Evangelist Michael Mason will be the messenger for the day.

On Saturday, April 3, our children’s ministry will have Bible study followed by a giant egg hunt.  I believe those times are 9:00 – 11:00AM.

Evangelist Johnny Tucker will be our guest on Sunday, May 2, which will also be our senior adult day.  Looking forward to hosting Bro. Johnny & Miss Judy.

You already know Bro. Michael & Bro. Johnny but you do not know Evangelist Danny Long and his wife, Pam.  Bro. Danny will be preaching a series of services for us beginning Sunday morning, May 16, through Wednesday evening, May 19.  Begin praying now for these services.

I pray that you will have a great Tuesday with Jesus!

The Lord blessed us with a good day yesterday.  The highlight was seeing Michael Holt follow Jesus in believer’s baptism.  The runner up highlight was seeing our 8:00AM attendance be the highest it has been since Sunday, March 29, 2020.  Another highlight was having four friends from Michigan attend our 10:30AM service.  One of them posted the following on social media yesterday, “it was worth it to hear Pastor Teddy preach!”  I told the person who sent me that quote that I sure wish all of the members of the Friendship family felt the same way!  LOL!  One final highlight – seeing Sonny Bates back in his normal place for our services.  What a blessing!

Edwina Perkins will be having surgery this morning as they are going to remove her thyroid.  Pray that all goes well.  I appreciate Edwina’s faithfulness to our church.

Linda Green will be having heart surgery next Tuesday, 3/16.  Pray for Linda.  She has been the epitome of faithfulness to the church for so many years.  Pray for Linda.

There will be a front pew shower for Marcus & Rachel Hatcher this Sunday, March 14.  Rachel is registered at buybuybaby.com.  Or you get buy a gift else, a gift card, et cetera and place those things on the center front pew this Sunday.  Rachel will be giving birth to two twins!

Soccer parents meeting tonight.  Contact Bro. Abel for the details.

Bro. Jerry is spaced out!  (Do I have your attention now?)  He has no more space to store items for the yard sale.  So, please do not bring anything until after our 6:00PM service this Sunday, 3/14.

Time change this Sunday, 3/14.  Spring forward one hour before going to bed Saturday night.

I have a major announcement forthcoming.  I am waiting on one confirmation and will then make the announcement.

Wait, there was one more highlight from yesterday – listening to Cash Westbrook read his Bible verse during the AWANA presentation last night.  LOL!

Tonya (last name being withheld) joined us for SS yesterday.  We struggled to find a class old enough for her age but we finally did.  LOL!

Joey & Bibbi need to get control of their children.  Just saying!

I pray that you will have a great Monday with Jesus.

The celebration of life service for Edna Glover’s sister, Arlene Hepinstall, takes place today at 1:00PM.  It will be preceded by a time of visitation with the family beginning at 11:30AM.  Everything will be at Sharon Baptist Church in the Laurel, MS area.  Pray for the Hepinstall family.

Miss Kittie Camp called me yesterday to let me know that her doctor is not satisfied, at this point, with the results of her heart surgery.  He will check her again next week and “may” have to go back in.  Miss Kittie asked us to pray that her heart will heal without having to do anything else surgically.

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow morning and evening.  I hope to be joined by many members of the Friendship family.

I pray that you will have a great Saturday with Jesus.

The visitation with the Jim Broome family takes place tonight from 6:00 – 9:00PM at the First Assembly of God in Richton, MS.  The celebration of life service takes place tomorrow at 2:00PM.

The visitation with the Arlene Hepinstall family takes place this Saturday from 11:30AM until the service begins at 1:00PM.  The visitation and celebration of life service will both take place at the Sharon Baptist Church.

I have copied and pasted the email that was sent out by Franklin Graham yesterday.  Pray, call, and encourage others to do the same.

Dear Friend,

Late last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a very dangerous piece of legislation—the Equality Act—and now it’s headed to the Senate. The Biden Administration has said they want to pass this within their first 100 days.

I cannot say this more emphatically—for people, for businesses, for churches, and for ministries of faith, the Equality Act is a threat to life as we know it in our nation today. It’s a real game-changer.

This is not about politics—it’s about Biblical truth and religious freedom. I urge you to contact your U.S. senators and ask them to vote NO to the Equality Act. You can also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, and they will connect you with a Senate office. I also encourage you to let the White House know about your strong opposition to this bill. The progressive Left is zealous about this issue and will pull out all the stops to try to make it the law of the land.

• Under the broad reach of the Equality Act, schools, churches, and hospitals could be forced to accept the government’s beliefs and mandates about sexual orientation and gender identity. That would be highly intrusive and incredibly far-reaching. It will threaten everyday speech where people can be fined or lose their jobs for using the wrong name or pronouns.

• The Equality Act will legislate that we allow boys in girls’ sports, boys in girls’ locker rooms, men in women’s shelters, and men in women’s prisons. It will force teachers and students to publicly pretend that a biological male is a female. Schools will be coerced to instruct first, second, and third graders that they can choose to be a boy or a girl, or neither, or both, making biological sex (and science) a relic of the past.

• The Equality Act will use the force of law across all 50 states to threaten the right of Christian and other religious ministries to hire people of shared faith to pursue a shared mission. Can you imagine a Christian organization being forced to hire people who have no passion for its beliefs, teachings, and mission—or who might even be hostile toward its deeply held beliefs? That doesn’t work.

• The Equality Act will strip health professionals of their rights of conscience. It will force doctors and medical professionals who long to do no harm to engage in gender transition treatments such as hormone-blocking, cross-sex hormones, or surgery. It is obvious that a Catholic or faith-based hospital should not have to perform gender transition surgeries that go entirely against what they believe.

• The Equality Act will be a tool used by the government to deny or threaten accreditation to religious colleges and universities if they do not satisfy the demands of the secular Left to apply sexual orientation and gender identity to dorms, sports, places of privacy, and even teachings. The Act could be used as a weapon to threaten the availability of federal student loans and grants to students at certain disfavored religious schools.

These are just a few examples. Friends, this is a pivotal time for our nation. The impact of this legislation is immense. We must not remain silent and accept what we know is wrong—especially when we have the power to do something about it!

People of faith need to PRAY. Churches need to recognize the significance of this and pray corporately, asking for God’s intervention and mercy to extend the religious freedoms we have been blessed with for so long.

We must act now in the remaining days before the Equality Act comes up for a vote in the U.S. Senate. As individuals, churches, and organizations, we need to let our senators know how important this is to us, and that we are asking them to vote an emphatic NO to the Equality Act.

Sincerely,

Franklin Graham
President

Bobby Broome’s and Ann Clark’s nephew, Jim Broome, passed from this life yesterday afternoon.  Arrangements pending.  Pray for the Jim Broome family.

The visitation with the Vice family takes place today from 10:00AM until noon at Heritage Funeral Home in Escatawpa, MS.  A graveside service will take place in the Orange Grove Cemetery shortly after noon.  Pray for the Vice family.

Yesterday, I posted the obit for Edna’s sister, Arlene.  That service will take place this Saturday in the Laurel, MS area.  Pray for the Hepinstall family.

Nina Stringfellow was in hopes of being discharged from the hospital either yesterday or today.  Nina has been really sick and continues to need our prayer support.

Debbie Kendrick is quarantining in hopes of getting an earlier surgery date.  She is presently scheduled for April 6.  Keep praying for Debbie.

Keep praying for Carol Lucky too.  She is at home and still taking dialysis at the facility in Grand Bay.  Carol is a woman of great faith.

Keep praying for Myrtle Bowden too.

Regular schedule on our campus this morning and tonight.

The annual yard sale is upon us as it will take place March 18, 19, & 20.  Contact Bro. Jerry if you want to donate items or help with the work.

Soccer sign ups have ended.  Bro. Abel tells me there are one hundred and forty eight players in the various leagues.  Practice begins soon and the first Saturday of games is March 27.  All games will be on Saturdays and each team will practice once a week.

I pray that you will have a great Wednesday with Jesus.

Arlene Bush Heptinstall, 87, of Laurel, passed away on Friday, February 26, 2021, at South Central Regional Medical Center.

The visitation and funeral service will take place at the First Baptist Church of Sharon on Saturday, March 6, 2021. The visitation will be at 12 p.m. and the funeral will follow at 1 p.m.

She was born on December 16, 1933, in Jasper County and graduated from Sharon High School in Laurel, MS.

She was preceded in death by her parents Blanche and T. J. Miller, her first husband of 33 years Harold Bush, her second husband of 26 years Calvin Heptinstall, and brothers Thomas Lee Miller, Henry Miller, and James Miller.

She is survived by her three children Dr. Theresa Sanchez, Ernest Bush, and Tommie (Les) Rodgers; stepchildren Joyce (Gordon) Watson and Donna Crooke; grandchildren Jennifer (Nathan) Holly, Kelly (Casey) Buchanan, Laken (Jerry) Phillips, and Zachary and Elisha Rodgers; step grandchildren Jonathan and Christopher Watson; Joseph, Hannah, and Lydia Crooke; great grandchildren Anna Kate and William Holly and Sadie Buchanan; three siblings Annie Ruth Graham, Edna Holifield (Allen Glover), Sydney Miller and numerous nieces and nephews.

Arlene graduated from The University of Southern Mississippi with a Bachelor of Science degree in home economics and worked as a homemaker, substitute teacher, church secretary, and was the Sharon Elementary School secretary for 14 years.

Arlene loved people and loved the joy of laughter. She sought the company of others and was more than a school secretary. She was the unofficial school counselor, nurse, and life coach for many children, parents, and teachers.

She was a member of the First Baptist Church of Sharon where she taught Sunday school, first to young adults and later to adult women. She also enjoyed singing in the choir for a number of years.

Arlene was a gifted seamstress. After her retirement, she became an avid quilter and enjoyed various needle work projects. She enjoyed quilting with the Sharon Quilting Club for many years.

Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the family urges visitors to wear a mask and social distance at the service.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to the First Baptist Church of Sharon, the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art, or the Ellen Young Gunn Steinway Project through the Jones College Foundation.