Pastor's Blog

Tim Knighten is at the M.D. Anderson Hospital in Houston today for tests.  He will meet with the doctor tomorrow.  Pray that all goes well and that he will get a great report.

Wow, the Friendship family has been hard by sicknesses from covid to the flu and all in between.  Praying for all those who are battling sickness.

The Lord blessed us with a good services yesterday.  Our morning attendance in the auditorium was down but there were tons of folks helping with the preschool and children’s ministries.  Our evening attendance as not good and I do not understand that at all.  I know it is a busy time of the year but what better time to be in church than the Christmas season?  I am very thankful to those who attended yesterday morning or last night.

A love offering of six hundred and thirty-two dollars was given in a special offering yesterday morning.  This will help provide food for those in need during this season.  Thank you to those who gave and to those who brought food items.

A group of our men met last night after the service to discuss the roofs on our buildings.  Tyrone Crawley made a nice presentation, answered questions, et cetera and this information will be shared with the church family this Wednesday.  I am thankful to Tyrone and those folks who attended the meeting.

Regular schedule this Wednesday morning and evening.

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

Good morning!  We have several folks within the Friendship family who are battling various sicknesses right now.  Pray for them even though you may not know all who are included in this group.

Basketball tonight and tomorrow.  Bro. Abel was in the CAB at 4:30AM this morning cleaning the floor and setting things up so all is ready to go.  Pray for this ministry!

Speaking of basketball, Marie Brooks made a table cloth for the scorers table and covers for the team chairs.  Very nice labor of love by Marie!  We are grateful!

Miss Jeanette and the adult choir will lead us in a worship experience this Sunday evening beginning at 5:00PM.  Pray for this service and join us!

Regular schedule on our campus Sunday morning – Sunday School at 9:00AM followed by worship at 10:00AM.

Christmas Eve – Sunday School at 9:00AM followed by worship at 10:00AM.  Special service from 5:00PM until 6:00PM.

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

The following was taken from Pastor Jack Bailey’s blog entry today.  No permission asked for or granted to reprint.  (Dr. Jack, sue me!)  Of our thirteen readers, at least three attend other churches so this is for them too.  (Dr. Rex, you can stop reading now)

A Second Lieutenant is the entry-level commissioned officer rank in the United States Army. A Second Lieutenant is generally placed in command of a platoon consisting of 16 to 44 soldiers, including two or more rifle squads lead by a senior non-commissioned officer. The Second Lieutenant has a single bar on his helmet. In Vietnam, that bar was a target and as a result, the Second Lieutenant had the shortest life span of any solider in the Vietnam war. It is an old battle tactic, target the leader, the one in charge. There are several reasons you should pray for your pastor, if not every day, at least on Saturday night or Sunday morning. [1] He is Satan’s primary target in your congregation. Never think that he is not human, just as human as you are. Your pastor, no matter how efficient, is not superman: he desperately needs your prayers. [2] Your pastor has an awesome responsibility. He stands behind the pulpit to deliver God’s message. Any mistake he makes can lead someone astray or possibly cause discouragement. I can assure you; he wants to get it right and your prayers will help him do so. [3] Your pastor has a difficult task. He serves five generations from infants to senior adults. If you think it is easy to satisfy five generations, you have another think coming. He is to be bold as a lion and as harmless as a dove. [4] His message on Sunday could affect the eternal destiny of those who hear him. [5] If you pray for your pastor, you become a partner in his ministry. You will share not only in his ministry but in his rewards.

John Charles Ryle said, “No one is in more spiritual danger than your pastor.” The devil is no respecter of persons; nor does he respect age. He has been giving me fits for the past two months and I don’t even know why. I have thought about retiring {again}, resigning, retreating and even relocating but I know that none of those things are going to fix the problem. I will tell you exactly what keeps me going, the Spirit within, the Word, ministry and good Christian fellowship. I am a glutton when it comes to prayer and fellowship. I want all I can get. I have four or five prayer partners who text me to remind me that they are praying for me. If you were to check with them, you would find that my response is always–THANK YOU!

For years I heard Missionaries say, “The thing we need most is not money, we need your prayers.” I would chuckle on the inside and think vainly, “That sounds spiritual, but I doubt that you really mean it.” THEN I went on a mission trip to Nigeria. After spending 10 days in Nigeria, I apologized to the LORD for my ignorance. I had no doubt, even before the trip was over, PRAYER was indeed the thing they needed most. If you don’t think Missionaries need prayer it is probably because you have never been in their position. The same is true with pastors. If you served a Baptist Church for one month as pastor, you would pray faithfully the rest of your life for your pastor.

The Lord blessed us with a good day in our services yesterday.  Bro. Abel did a nice job of sharing from the Word regarding the interruptions of Christmas from Matthew 1:18-25.

Mariam Moates sent word to me about thankful she is for the gifts given to the residents of the convalescent home.  Their Christmas party went well.  Thank you to each person who bought gifts, attended the party, et cetera.  To God be the glory!

Basketball games in our CAB this Friday night (6:00 – 8:00PM) and Saturday (8:00AM until 4:00PM).  Pray for this ministry.

Regular schedule on our campus this Sunday.  Our adult choir will lead our evening service which will be a Christmas songs time of worship.  Pray for Jeanette as she leads us during this time.

Our Christmas Eve Sunday will see us have Sunday School at 9:00AM and worship at 10:00AM.  We will then gather at 5:00PM for our annual Christmas Eve service.

The week of Monday, December 25, will be a quiet week on our campus.  There will be no services/classes on Wednesday, 12/27.  On Sunday, December 31, we will have a 10:00AM worship service and nothing else on our campus.

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

Good morning!  Friendship family, if you have not already brought your gift to the church for tonight’s party at the convalescent home then please do so before noon today.  Very important.  I assume that everyone has taken care of this but just making sure.  The party will begin at 6:00PM at the convalescent home.

Tina Sprinkle asked me to let our Girls in Action and our Royal Ambassadors know that the bus going to the party at the convalescent home will leave the church at 5:45PM tonight.  Those children will return to the church at 6:40PM for their Christmas party which will end at 7:30PM.

Regular schedule on our campus this morning (10:00AM) and evening (6:30PM).  One change for today – the meeting scheduled for this morning and evening will now take place following the evening service this Sunday, 12/17.  Unforeseen circumstances dictate this change.  Thank you in advance for understanding.

Miss Jeanette Bates will lead our adult choir in leading us in a evening of worship with Christmas songs this Sunday, 12/17, beginning at 5:00PM.  I hope many folks will join us for this special service.

On Christmas Eve we will have Sunday School beginning at 9:00AM followed by our morning worship service at 10:00AM.  Then we will have our annual Christmas Eve service beginning at 5:00PM and ending no later than 6:00PM – guaranteed!  Praying for a packed house for that service.

Basketball games in our CAB this Friday night and Saturday.  Thank you Bro. Abel for leading this ministry.  Pray that God will be glorified!

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

Jason Husband learned yesterday that he will need forty radiation treatments (five days a week for eight consecutive weeks).  Daphne has been a huge help in getting Jason to the radiation oncologist and will be working to set up the radiation schedule.  It is very possible that Jason may need some of his friends to help get him to and from these treatments.  You can contact Daphne for the details, how you can help, et cetera.  Pray for Jason.

Spoke to David McCarthy yesterday and he continues with him in home physical therapy.  He will see the doctor on Monday, 12/18.  Keep praying for David.

Regular schedule on our campus tomorrow morning and evening.  Men’s meeting about the roofs on our church buildings immediately following each service.  Again, thanks to Tyrone Crawley for doing the work up to the point in getting quotes, et cetera.  I am grateful.

Our GA’s and their leaders continue to run their post office.  Take advantage of this opportunity to send Christmas greetings while also supporting missions.

We will have a Christmas Eve service from 5:00 – 6:00PM.  Praying for a packed house!  Join us!

Pray for John Potts and his family today as they gather for the celebration of life service for Kristie.  A lady of great faith!

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

The Lord blessed us with a good day of worship yesterday.  Praise Him!  For me, it was good to be back in the pulpit yesterday morning.  So many members of the Friendship family were very gracious in their words of support and in welcoming me back.  Thank you!

Our children’s choir did a nice job of sharing their musical in our evening service.  They were assisted by a few members of our youth group.  And the preschool choir under the direction of Leslee Harrington was precious!  Thank you to Miss Tena Hovel for another job well done leading our children’s choir and to all who assisted her.

Yesterday marked Bro. Jerry Hovel’s final day on our church staff.  We thank him for his years of ministry here and wish him the best as he moves into retirement.

Speaking of Bro. Jerry, the annual yard sale was his idea and he has always led it.  Someone has volunteered to take over the leadership from this point forward.  I am just checking to see if there is anyone else who desires this position.  If so, you need to let me know no later than this coming Sunday, December 17, 2024.  If not, I will allow the one who has already volunteered to assume the leadership.

The celebration of life service for Kristie Potts takes place tomorrow in Holland, Michigan.  Lord willing, I will fly up tonight and back home tomorrow night.  John & Krisitie are dear friends and huge supporters of GRACE Ministries.  I did not think Kristie would live until I got back from Guatemala but she did and I am thankful for the opportunity to attend this service.  My hope is to squeeze in some family visits while in Michigan.

If you have not brought your gift for the convalescent home party then please do so today, 12/11.  The office will be open until noon and then from 1:00PM until 4:00PM today.

Regular schedule on our campus this Wednesday, 12/13.  Important note for our men.  Our buildings are in need of shingles.  Tyrone Crawley has spent a great deal of time working on getting quotes, et cetera.  So, we are going to meet with any men interested in learning more, giving input, et cetera following the 10:00AM and the 6:30PM service this Wednesday.  I do not expect these meetings to be long but they are important.  Pass the word!

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

“Hey, it’s good to be back home again, you know it is Sometimes this old farm feels like a long lost friend Hey, it’s good to be back home again I said, hey, it’s good to be back home again”  (John Denver)

The Lord blessed us with safe travels yesterday and we made excellent time getting to Grand Bay from the Atlanta airport as we got home just before midnight.  Praise Him!

Word came to me earlier this morning that Kristie Potts peacefully passed from this life.  Kristie was a godly lady with tons of faith.  Pray for John and the family as they walk through this valley.

Basketball leagues begin play tonight and continue tomorrow.  Pray for this ministry.

Regular schedule on our campus Sunday morning and evening.  Children’s choir program Sunday evening.

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

Coach David McCarthy had knee replacement surgery this past Tuesday.  He did well and came home the same day.  Pray for his recovery.

December seventh always brings two things to my memory.  First, Pearl Harbor.  Lisa and I visited there thirty years ago and it still impacts me today.  Thank God for those who have served and are serving in our military.

Second, Craig Kirschenman’s birthday.  Craig has been in Heaven for a few years now but he would never let me forget his birthday – never!  LOL!  I miss Craig!

Today is travel day for Deidra, Lizzi, Sydney, Audrey & me.  We will fly into Atlanta where Lisa will be waiting so we can drive home.  Expected time of arrival in Grand Bay is probably around 2:00AM tomorrow.  Pray for traveling mercies.

Keep praying for Jay Oakwood, Larry Whitehurst, Robert Baria, Jason Husband and Kristie Potts.

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

Happy eighty-eighth birthday to Lisa’s dad, Charles Clark.  I hope he has a great day.  Charles has been nothing but good to me for  over forty-four years.  I am blessed.  One day he and I will share a convalescent home room!  Just saying!  Happy birthday, Charles.

By the way, our second daughter, Daphne, celebrated a milestone birthday this past Sunday, 12/3.  She had a good day as Brad is very good at making sure she does every year.  Happy belated birthday, Daphne.

Regular schedule on our campus this morning and evening.

Members of the Friendship family who have purchased a gift for a resident of the Grand Bay Convalescent Home are asked to bring those to one of the services today, 12/6, or Sunday, 12/10.  Questions?  Contact Mariam Moates.  Thank you for giving to the Lord!

I spoke to Jason Husband, Jay Oakwood and Larry Whitehurst via the phone yesterday afternoon.  Jason has an appointment with a specialist next week.  Jay is doing much better and was very encouraged by the support he and Angie have received from the Friendship family.  Larry is still waiting on the doctors to diagnose exactly what is wrong with him.  He has good days and not so good days.  However, his faith remains strong.  Pray for Jason, Jay and Larry.

FYI, Jay’s main concern was how to join the Crimson Tide nation.  I sent him a link to the application.

Please continue to pray for Kristie Potts and her family.

Our basketball leagues begin play this Friday night and Saturday.  Pray for this ministry.

Lord willing, I will be in the pulpit this Sunday morning, 12/10.  Looking forward to it!  Join us for the service.

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

Jay Oakwood is in ICU due to an issue with his diabetes.  Pray for Jay & Angie.  What a great couple!

The arrangements have not been completed for Jo Nell’s & Peggy’s friend, Bo.  It appears the service will take place next week.  Pray for the family.

Please continue to pray for Kristie Potts, her husband, John, and their family.

Regular schedule on our campus this Sunday morning and evening.

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