Pastor's Blog

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 KJV)

Today’s Bible reading –   Joshua 12-15

This post is a bit late.  I apologize.  As I write this entry a few minutes before 8:00AM, the rains have been coming pretty hard.  However, “they” are saying the rain will stop around 10:30AM and then begin again late tonight and last through tomorrow.  We are full steam ahead with all of our plans for this morning, tonight and tomorrow.  We cannot control the weather.  We can say, “this is the day the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it!”

Yancey Hall was scheduled to have his kidney stones “blown up” (there is a medical term but I do not know what it is) late yesterday afternoon.  I cannot verify if that took place or not.

Melinda Eckert was still in the ICU when I visited late yesterday morning but was expecting to be moved to a regular room soon.  I think she may be discharged today.  She is a very blessed young lady in just getting to the hospital in time.

Eddie Hall’s mother, Miss Jimmie, is back in the hospital as she is battling pneumonia.  Eddie says it is “better” but it appears she will remain hospitalized over the weekend.

The celebration of life service for Miss Nell McArthur will take place on Monday afternoon in Preston, Mississippi.  Carl Ray & Sara Nell remain at home and will travel to Preston on Monday.  Pray for the family.

The adult choir musical takes place tonight beginning at 6:00PM.  It will include the observance of the Lord’s Supper.  Friendship family, this is our Sunday night service so please be present.

Worship services tomorrow at 7:30, 9:00 & 10:30AM and then a special service at 3:00PM.  Jonny Gaston will be preaching in the 3:00PM service and, Lord willing, I will be preaching the three morning services.  No evening service tomorrow.

It has been a tough few days for me.  First, my credit card was scanned by someone while Lisa and I were in NYC.  Keep in mind that I never even took that card out of my pocket except to check into the hotel.  I was told that the “thieves” just have to get close to you and they have a reader that can gather all of your cc information.  Crazy!  I told the lady telling me that we will did not have such gadgets in South Mobile County.  Fortunately, the fraud department with my card company recognized the charges as being out of character for me and denied their approval.  No harm, no foul I guess.

Remember the Titanic?  That boat that could not sink.  It did!  Remember my chicken coop built by Soy?  The one that is totally varmint proof.  Well let’s just say that the Titanic went down again while we were in NYC.  Had a double funeral yesterday morning!  Had already had a double memorial service last Saturday morning.  The moral of the story?  Do not believe it when Soy tells you that “there is no way anything can get into the coop!”  Whatever!

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

Lisa and I are on a flight from New York to Atlanta. As I have written previously, I do not post an entry on Good Friday. However, I felt the need to post an entry tonight because of some happenings today and to provide some other updates.

Mrs. Nell McArthur, mother of Sara Nell Moulds, passed from this life earlier today. The arrangements are pending. If they decide to have a service on Saturday, I will make an exception and post that tomorrow as the funeral will be in Mississippi.

Melinda Eckert suffered a heart attack today. She was rushed to the hospital by her co-workers. It is my understanding that she had a one hundred percent blockage in a main artery and they placed a stent. She is in CCU with hopes of being moved to a regular room tomorrow and then possibly discharged on Saturday.

There is an update on Holly Lybarger, daughter of Rob & Reb Nevin, on the last entry I posted. Keep praying for Holly as she continues her radiation treatments.

Carla K has one more radiation treatment tomorrow and then begins chemo on Monday.

Heard that Courtney Hubbard did not get a favorable report from her doctors in Houston. She and Mark are regrouping and need prayers for direction. Pray for the doctors to have wisdom in how to proceed from this point forward. Courtney remains positive as do Holly & Carla – amazing!

All Preschool and Children’s Sunday School department teachers are asked to be in their rightful place by 9:00AM this Saturday, 3/26. We should conclude everything between 11:30 – 11:45AM.

Adult choir Easter musical on Saturday night, 3/26, beginning at 6:00PM. Friendship family, this is our Sunday night service so please be faithful to attend.

Lisa and I were treated to supper by T. Garrett Wright last night. We had a delightful time as we are not normally the ones being treated. So kind of T. Garrett to pick up the tab. Please know that when you go out to eat in NYC with T. Garrett that you are going to a fancy place with “different” food. I tried octopus. Have now had it twice – first and last time! Folks, if you cannot pronounce the name of the food then you probably should not be eating it! My main meal was simply a salad.

T. Garrett should be in town in the near future and we will have him over for some real food – roast, Mississippi pink eye purple hull peas, mashed potatoes & gravy, corn bread, et cetera. Things you can pronounce and that are good for you!

I pray that you will have a good rest of this Thursday evening.

Wednesday evening greetings from New York City.  Several folks have sent messages inquiring as to why there was no blog entry today.  Do I need to tell them to go back and read the earlier entries?  LOL!  (Those deacons never cease to amaze me!)

At any rate, here is a quick recap of what we have been doing since arriving in NYC yesterday afternoon.  We arrived at LGA, checked in to the hotel, caught the #2 train and headed to The Brooklyn Tabernacle.  We got to the church at 5:15PM and were about #150 standing in line for the 7:30PM service!  Are you kidding me?  Nope!  One of the most amazing things I have ever seen.  We were able to get good seats but they had the front section reserved.  Lisa used some of her connections and we ended up on the second row when all was said and done.  Great seats! (BTW, the folks at the front of the line had been there since 3:00PM)

The drama was moving.  Most realistic “Jesus” I have ever seen portrayed in a church drama.  His body was battered and bloodied.  A really good response to the invitation.  I would guesstimate seventy five or more prayed to receive Jesus as their personal Savior.  For Lisa and me, definitely worth the trip just to be able to attend that service.

Today, we began the morning by walking from 42nd Street to 59th Street in order to walk in Central Park.  Great place to walk.  We then hit Chinatown.  We were talking about the price of something when Lisa said to me, “do you know how much this would cost in the States?”  I gently reminded her that we were in the States!  The Chinese economy did well today and that is all I will say about that!

The craziest thing I have seen is this store next door to where we are staying.  It is called Carlos which is the Cake Boss dude.  His name is Bobby or Buddy or Billy.  Never heard of him.  Lisa tells me that he has a television show.  You cannot get in the place and the prices are “whoa Nellie!”  Lisa did get an individual cheesecake.  I tried it and will give my vote to Hope’s Cheesecake in Gulf Shores every time!

We are about to meet T. Garrett Wright for supper.  That will be an interesting time – always is!  The dude is super smart and knows something about everything.  Looking forward to seeing T. Garrett.

Probably will not post tomorrow.  Hope your evening is good!

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 KJV)

Today’s Bible reading –   Deuteronomy 32-34; Psalm 91

As a church family, we continue to be hospital free.  Thank the Lord!

Carla K met with her radiation oncologist and her oncologist yesterday.  Both were pleased with the progress of the radiation up to this point.  Plans call for the chemo treatments to begin on Monday, 3/28.

We had another good numerical representation at the prayer time last night.  Thank you to each person who attended.

Dale & Karla are in Texas and will eventually end up in South Bend, Indiana before finishing this trip in North Alabama this Sunday.  Pray for their ministry and their safety in travel.

In case someone did not read the third blog from yesterday, it is my hope that someone will bush hog the remaining front side of the back forty.  It is obvious what needs to be cut.  Too much for the mowers yesterday.  Again, I am very grateful to the guys who worked yesterday.

As you read this, Lisa and I should be headed to NYC.  (Will someone please make sure Carla Kyser knows where we are?)  Lord willing, we will attend the services at The Brooklyn Tabernacle tonight.  Then tomorrow will be whatever Lisa says it will be – can you say Chinatown?  Each time I think of Chinatown I think of Bruce Gill!  I do miss Bruce!

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

This morning, 3/21, eight men – Junior Bosarge, Bobby Broome, Bob Evans, Danny Lewis, Kenny Lingle, Steve Morris, Carl Ray Moulds,  & Bernard Suthoff came to the church for work day.  They accomplished much from cleaning some of the back forty, painting, electrical work and burning the wood pile.  Really nice job by these eight men!  So, I want to say a very special “thank you” to each of them for a job well done.  What a great group of guys!

We also had some anonymous folks show up and give the auditorium foyer a good cleaning.  They know who they are and I appreciate their efforts as well.

We did not have a tractor available today.  If someone wants to come and bush hog around the front part of the back forty before this Saturday, 3/26, that would be awesome.  It is very clear what needs to be cut.

Just an observation – the last time the wood pile was burned Soy, Phillip and Rusty basically burned the entire back forty.  Blamed it on the wind.  Today, it was windy and not even one blade of grass outside of the burn pile was burned.  SMH!

Jean Isabel Jackson
6/9/1923 – 3/19/2016

Age 92, a native of Conneaut, Ohio and a longtime resident of Bayou La Batre, AL passed away on Saturday, March 19, 2016. She was preceded in death by her husband, Andrew Lee Jackson Sr. She is survived by her children, Billy (Geneabeth), Sharon (Chester), Andy, Jr. (Glenda), Carol Ann (Chuck) and Teddy (Rachael), 16 grandchildren, 32 great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, other relatives and many friends. Funeral service will be held at First Baptist Bayou La Batre on Wednesday, March 23, 2016 at 2 pm with visitation starting at 12 noon until service time. Interment will be in Oddfellow Cemetery.

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 KJV)

Today’s Bible reading –  Deuteronomy 30-31
Tuesday, March 22 Deuteronomy 32-34; Psalm 91
Wednesday, March 23 Joshua 1-4
Thursday, March 24 Joshua 5-8
Friday, March 25 Joshua 9-11
Saturday, March 26 Joshua 12-15
Sunday, March 27 Joshua 16-18

What a wonderful day we had in our services yesterday.  Yes, it was a blessing to see the baptismal waters stirred by seven folks last night.  It was also a blessing to see our deacons preside over the Lord’s Supper service as they did a nice job.  God is good and we give Him the glory for all He did!

It was great seeing Carla Kyser in our 8:00AM service and Chase Chambliss in our 10:30AM service.  What a blessing to this pastor!

The arrangements for Mrs. Jean Jackson will be completed today.  It is my understanding that the family wants to have the service on Wednesday but that will have to be confirmed with the funeral home.

Prayer time tonight from 5:00 – 7:00PM in the auditorium.

GriefShare tonight from 6:00 – 8:00PM in the choir room.

GROW ministry tonight beginning at 6:30PM in the church office.

While we are at it, Mission of Hope this Friday night, 3/25, beginning at 7:00PM.  Bus leaves the church at 6:15PM.

Once we get to the point of hiring a contractor to replace the CAB roof, Les Hacker will oversee that project for us.  He will not be involved in the work but will simply make sure we get what we are supposed to be getting.

Hopefully, there will be signs all around South Mobile County advertising our Easter Sunday service times.  Special thanks to my wife for having those made and to Danny Lewis for putting them together.  Thanks to those who have placed them in their yards.

Someone from outside the Friendship family commented to me yesterday about the Friendship soccer league.  They said something to the effect of “that is so great!”  (I asked to make sure they were talking about the league being run by Curly, Larry & Mo and they were!) As much as I hate to admit it, the soccer league has the potential to overcome the basketball league numerically in a hurry!  I may go buy a soccer jersey!

Speaking of basketball, our SNBA (Sunday night basketball action) numbers were really good last night.  Jason Taylor came back which helps me as he is only about ten years younger than me.  Outside of Billy Teasley and Eddie Albritton, the rest of those boys are just young pups!

Lord willing, Lisa and I will leave early tomorrow morning heading to New York City in order to attend the Tuesday night service at The Brooklyn Tabernacle.  They will be presenting their Easter drama.  A few years ago, the deacons led the church family to send us to see the BT Christmas drama and it was fantastic so we expect the same tomorrow night.  We plan to be back Saturday night.

I am using vacation days to make this trip.  As such, not sure if I will blog or not but leaning toward not blogging.  I never blog on Good Friday anyway.  The daily Bible readings are posted.

I found myself pulling for Oregon to beat St. Joe’s last night.  Why?  Because I figure Oregon has a more legitimate shot at beating Duke!  Sorry Zach!  How did SFA let ND off the hook?  I am told A&M had a massive comeback to beat NIU.  Good stuff!

Dr. Rex, check your e-mail, please.

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

“Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.” (Psalm 19:14 KJV)

Today’s Bible reading –  Deuteronomy 28-29

As I posted yesterday, Teddy Ray Jackson’s mother passed from this life yesterday shortly after noon.  The arrangements are pending.  Pray for the family.

At the time of this writing, the Friendship family has no one in the hospital.  We are grateful for this fact and give thanks to God.  Still praying for those battling cancer.

Ladies, please note that there will not be a wedding shower today.

They say “no news is good news” so I am taking that position regarding yesterday’s soccer games.  I received no report from Curly, Larry or Mo so I assume all went well.  With those three in charge what could possibly go wrong?

Regular schedule today/tonight.  We will observe the ordinance of the Lord’s Supper as well as the ordinance of baptism in tonight’s service.  The deacons, under the leadership of Jeff Holifield, will lead the Lord’s Supper and I will do the baptisms.

We will be receiving a special offering for the CAB roof in all three services today.  The Finance Committee will bring a motion regarding this project to the church family at the very beginning of our 6:00PM service.

I apparently do not have anything wrong with me.  How do I know?  Charles & Soy let me weed eat yesterday morning and then mow our entire five acres without either of them even looking my way.  So, I must be as healthy as a horse!

Made an appearance at the t-ball fields yesterday to watch Titus & Logan play.  Prayers do get answered!  They were playing t-ball on two fields and Pee Wee Roberts was the umpire on the other field!  Awesome!  I did pass by that field and in those brief few seconds saw Pee Wee miss two or three calls!  Will the GBUAA ever learn?

Caught some of the NCAA tourney late yesterday afternoon and last night.  Hated to see UK go down but was not totally surprised.  The SEC just does not have it when it comes to basketball.  A&M is the conference’s last hope and I do not see them carrying the banner very far.  I actually watched most of the second half of the Warriors vs Spurs game.  Who was that wearing Curry’s uniform?  The dude shot almost as bad as Levi Seymour (note that I said “almost”).

Speaking of Levi, SNBA tonight following the service.  Simple concept – attend the evening service and then stay for the basketball action.

I pray that you will have a great Sunday with Jesus.  Go to church!

This afternoon around 12:30PM, Teddy Ray Jackson’s mother, Mrs. Jean Jackson, departed this life and entered Heaven.  Pray for the Jackson family as they go through this time of sadness.  Arrangements pending.

The wedding shower for Jessica Hall that was scheduled for tomorrow afternoon, 3/20, has been cancelled.  Ladies, please take note.  Thank you!