Pastor's Blog

Here is the information for the study tonight:

Topic: Prayer Meeting/Bible Study
Time: Apr 1, 2020 06:30 PM Central Time (US and Canada)

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us04web.zoom.us/j/579766787

Meeting ID: 579 766 787

Our daughter, Daphne Hutto, will be hosting this meeting.  If you have questions or need more information please contact her via e-mail at daphnehutto@gmail.com.  Please note that we can see you during this time of interactive Bible study.  Translated – Jason Taylor put a shirt on, please!

Bro. Abel will be hosting a student ministry Bible study at the same time.  I will post those details once I have them.

I am sending this with the blessings and permission of Deanna Wetterer.  She found out this morning, 3/31, that she has tested positive for COVID-19.  She began running fever on the night of Sunday, March 22, and immediately went into self quarantine.  She was tested on Thursday, March 26, and the results just came back today.  She is seemingly now on the downhill side of her sickness.  That is a good thing.

Deanna asked that I tell folks to take this thing seriously and to stay home if at all possible.  Her attitude is great, her faith is strong and we need to pray for her.  Her daughter is seeing to her needs from a distance.

By the way, the last time Deanna was in a service at Friendship was Sunday, March 15, which is the last time we met as a group.  Just FYI for those who will wonder.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15 (NASB)

The church office will be open today from 8:00AM until 3:00PM.  It will remain open even during the lunch hour (noon until 1:00PM) when it is normally closed.  I am asking folks to not come by just to chat but I do encourage folks to feel free to stop by with their offering if they so desire.  You can bring a check or cash by the church office.  (By the way, the bigger your offering the more time we will give you to chat!  Just kidding!  LOL!)

Also, you may place a check made payable to Friendship Baptist Church in Lisa’s drop box or mail a check to P.O. Box 756 Grand Bay, AL 36541.  Obviously, you can give online 24/7 at friendshipfamily.net.  We will also have the auditorium open for prayer tomorrow from 10:00AM until 11:00AM and then again from 6:30PM until 7:30PM and, once again, the offering plates will be on the platform on either side of the pulpit to receive checks or cash.

We are going to have an online interactive Bible study tomorrow night beginning at 6:30PM.  We will be using Zoom and I will share the details of how to log on and join the meeting in tomorrow’s blog entry.  She does not know it yet but Deidra will be hosting the meeting and I will be teaching from our house.  (Bro. Jerry Hovel will be in the auditorium for those who would rather just go by and pray during that hour)  We can host up to one hundred devices using this means.

Our schedule for this Sunday, April 5, will be music & preaching live streamed at 8:00AM, Sunday School with Bro. Jerry at 9:00AM and Power Up at 9:30AM.  My hope is to have some folks being “testers’ this Sunday but I have to wait to see if we get the proper equipment in hand by this Friday.  A “tester” will actually come to our campus.

What are we going to do on Easter Sunday which is April 12?  As it stands right now, we plan to have a sunrise service beginning at 6:00AM, another service on our campus at 8:00AM and then the live stream at 10:30AM.  There will be no Sunday School lesson or Power Up on Easter Sunday.  Remember, this is a fluid situation and could change at any time based on several factors.

I did not realize that Jerry & Gloria Whitmore were a part of our live stream for the past two Sundays so we can add Virginia to the list of states represented.  The governor of Virginia just put a stay at home order in place effective until June 10 – wow!  I sure hope he is able to lift that order before that date.

Jay Oakwood sent me a text yesterday saying that he got a “no cancer” report from his latest test.  Praise the Lord!

Keep praying for Andy Hamil, Myrtle Bowden, Eddie Albritton, Sr and for the person having the scan this week.

My dad has been placed on a type of hospice care.  The focus now is on “quality” and not “quantity” of life.  I am not even sure what all of that means but I know that my mama and my siblings are making the very best decisions they can and they have my unwavering support.  I have not given input even though they have asked simply because I am not there day by day and they are so I do not feel I have the right to have a say so.

Our goal is to go paperless within our church office.  Bro. Jerry & Bro. Abel have begun the implementation of this process.  Our plan is to communicate with the Friendship family via text messages, e-mails, a phone tree and our website which includes the church calendar.  We need your help.  Would you send your name, your cell phone number if you receive text messages and a valid e-mail address to me at pastor@friendshipfamily.net?  This data will then be entered into our office computer and we will be on our way to being paperless.  Stop right now and do this while you are thinking about it even if you think we already have this information on you.  Obviously, we would like the cell phone and e-mail address of each member of your family who is involved in the Friendship family.  Please pass the word!

I pray that you will have a great Tuesday with the Lord.  We are seeing March 2020 end today and it will definitely be a March to remember!

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15 (NASB)

Talked to Eddie Albritton last night about his dad and that situation has not seen much change.  The plan right now is discharge him from the hospital on April 8.  Keep praying.

Keep praying for Andy Hamil as he waits on the medical folks to decide his next step in this battle with his malignancy.

Karla Bosarge got her test results back and it appears she has a malignant thyroid.  The doctor is thinking that at a minimum they will need to surgically remove at least half of her thyroid.  Pray for Karla.

As far as I know, Jay Oakwood is still waiting to hear from his latest test.  Pray for Jay.

Another person is having a test done this week to help the medical folks get a better idea of their situation and the necessary steps to follow.  Pray!

Keep praying for Myrtle Bowden.

Pray for all of the senior adults within the Friendship family as we walk through this different time.  Senior adults, if you need anything then please call the church office.  We have folks ready and willing to help.

Our church office will be open today from 8:00AM until 3:00PM.  We will follow that schedule through this Thursday, April 2.  Bro. Jerry, Bro. Abel and I will all three be in the office each day, Lord willing.

Our second Sunday of going “live stream” seemed to go well.  We had folks from five other states (Georgia, Louisiana, Michigan, Tennessee & Texas) and four other countries (Canada, El Salvador, Guatemala & Mississippi) viewing the music/message.  If you know of someone from another state or country who viewed then please let me know.  The numbers were very good too.

Bro. Jerry Hovel did a nice job with the Sunday School lesson yesterday morning as did Dale with the Power Up message.

Dale Bosarge did a nice job with our Zoom Bible study last night.  It is very possible that we will use something like that this Wednesday night for our mid week service.  Stay tuned.

I want to say “thank you” to those who gave to the Lord through Friendship last week.  Our offerings were good.  So, we need to repeat the process again this week.  You can give online, mail a check to P.O. Box 756 Grand Bay, AL 36541, drop a check or cash by the church office during office hours today through Thursday, drop a check in the drop box at Lisa’s office or bring an offering to the auditorium this Wednesday morning or evening.  Last week saw us receive offerings in all five of those ways.

Plans call for us to use the same format as yesterday for this coming Sunday, April 5.  Live stream at 8:00AM followed by Sunday School at 9:00AM and then Power Up at 9:30AM.  We hope our plans for Easter Sunday will be significantly different – time will tell.

Let me once again say “thank you” to our media folks, our instrumentalists and our worship leader for a job well done yesterday.

Wash your hands frequently.  Do not touch your eyes, nose or mouth – good luck with that!

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

“Thank you church family for your prayers and words of concern on my mother’s (Emily Cohron) passing.  The food provided was excellent and greatly appreciated.  Once again God has provided for His believers.

Forever grateful to the Friendship family for your love to the Emily Cohron/Danny Lewis family.”

As announced just a few minutes ago, meetings of ten or more persons are prohibited in Alabama from tomorrow afternoon, March 28, 2020, at 5:00PM until Friday, April 17, 2020.

Three things – there will be no work day in our auditorium tomorrow, 3/28.

We will not be able to allow folks who have the capability to watch the 8:00AM music/message live online to physically be in the auditorium.

If you know of persons from the Friendship family who do not have the means to watch the music/message online then let me know and we will make arrangements to have them in our Preschool Building this Sunday as long as we keep the number at nine persons or less.

Folks, nothing about this excites me!  However, at this time, we must abide by the regulations put in place by the authorities.  Please pray for all of this to end soon.  Pray for those who have been affected by this virus.  Pray for our leaders.  Pray.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15 (NASB)

Bibbi Bosarge will lead a work day beginning at 8:00AM in the morning (Saturday) to sanitize the auditorium in preparation for Sunday’s 8:00AM service.  We probably only need like five or six folks to help.  If you plan on coming to this work day, please send me a message today so we can know who to expect.  Thank you!

Our Sunday, March 29, 2020, schedule on our campus is as follows:  8:00AM live stream worship service; 9:00AM live stream Sunday School lesson with Bro. Jerry Hovel teaching; 9:30AM live stream Power Up children’s church with Dale Bosarge; 6:00PM interactive Bible study led by Dale Bosarge via Zoom.  Remember, our media teams says it is best for folks to stream from our website for the best quality video & audio.

We will be able to allow up to thirty six folks, outside of our necessary folks, to physically attend our 8:00AM service.  Twelve of those folks can be in the auditorium and twenty four will be in our Preschool Building.  Interested?  Please contact me no later than noon tomorrow (Saturday) so we can make arrangements accordingly.  Social distancing will be in place.

I do not have an update on Eddie Albritton, Sr but do ask that you keep praying for him.

Andy Hamil has been diagnosed with prostate cancer.  He asks for your prayer support.

Another very active member of the Friendship family has a medical situation that merits our prayer support.  Not sure if I can go public with that one yet so please pray.

Jay Oakwood is still waiting on the results of his procedure from last Friday.  Pray that he will receive good news.

I spoke to my dad via the phone last night.  His mental state remains one of confusion.  Prayers appreciated as my siblings have to make some decisions relating to his care.

Deidra sent word last night that the schools in Guatemala are closed until at least April 21, 2020.  Remember, they just started in early January so it is different than Alabama.  I will say that I am very thankful to our school staff and church staff in Guatemala as they have been ministering to the poorest of the poor by delivering basic food supplies every few days.  The Guatemalans are suffering and the food prices have increased.  We are having to make adjustments/changes to how we do things in Guatemala during this unprecedented time.  Pray for wisdom.

John Milton readied my garden spot with a tiller yesterday morning.  My hope is to get some seeds in the ground today.  Logan Wainwright has my zero turn mower torn completely apart and the amazing thing is that he knows how to put it all back together with no parts being left extra!  Pretty amazing to me!

I have plans to take a two day break from blogging this weekend.  If something happens that necessitates an entry then I will post one.  Otherwise, look a blog Monday morning, March 30, 2020.

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

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15 (NASB)

Let me begin by saying “thank you” to each person who helped with the meal yesterday for the Lewis family.  I walked over and saw Raymond Wilkinson & Danny loading it and it appeared to be plenty.  The family was appreciative!  By the way, Danny spoke at his mother’s COLS and did an excellent job!

I also want to say “thank you” to each person who came through the auditorium to pray either yesterday morning or last night.  Some folks also brought their offerings and that is a blessing as well.

I appreciate those who are giving financially.  We have received online offerings, offerings through the mail, offerings brought to the church office, offerings place in Lisa’s office’s drop box and those brought to the auditorium yesterday.

Ok, after several days of praying, thinking, phone calls to the state health department,  and meeting with one of our media guys here is the schedule for this Sunday, March 29, 2020.  We will once again live stream our service but this time it will be our 8:00AM service.  Bro. Jerry will then teach Sunday School from at 9:00AM and Dale Bosarge will do a Power Up children’s church program beginning at 9:30AM.  So, we will be live from 8:00AM until 10:00AM but those programs can be watched throughout the day on Sunday at a time of one’s choosing.  Our media experts tell me that going live at 8:00AM should greatly help our stream.  They also strongly recommend using the live stream from the website instead of using FB live.

Also, we are going to allow a few folks to join us on our campus for the 8:00AM service.  However, we need to know in advance who wants to join us as our numbers are limited.  I anticipate that we will be able to accommodate thirty six folks in addition to those necessary to do the live stream.  That would be twelve in the auditorium and twenty four watching a live feed in our Preschool Building.  Social distancing will be in place.

In order to be properly prepared, I need those who want to physically attend our 8:00AM service this Sunday, March 29, 2020, to personally contact me via e-mail no later than this Saturday, March 28, at noon.  If you do not have e-mail then you can text me or give me a call.  I will then contact you letting you know where you will be i.e. auditorium or Preschool Building and giving you instructions.  Please pass this word especially to those who do not have the capability of viewing our service online.  We do not need anyone who is sick, regardless of the type sickness, to attend this service.

I spoke to Bibbi Bosarge last night and we will have a work day this Saturday, March 28, 2020, beginning at 8:00AM.  We will wipe down i.e. sanitize the auditorium and the bathrooms in the Preschool Building.  Should not take much time if just a few folks will come to help.

In closing this long entry, I am pleased to announce that Dale Bosarge will lead an interactive Bible study this Sunday evening, March 29, 2020, beginning at 6:00PM.  This will be done online via ZOOM.  This Bible study can handle up to one hundred devices.  The exact details will be posted over the next couple of days via this blog and Dale’s video presentations.  I can tell you that the maximum amount time will be forty minutes.  Just FYI.

The church office is open today, 3/26, from 8:00AM until noon.  Bro. Jerry will be manning the office today.  Our counters will be making a deposit this afternoon if anyone wants to bring their offering to the office before noon.

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

Emily Cohron, age 90, a native of Illinois and a resident of Robertsdale, AL passed away Saturday, March 21, 2020. Mrs. Cohron was a longtime member of the Robertsdale First Baptist Church and Silverhill First Baptist Church. She was a founding member of the Fish River Baptist Church. Mrs. Cohron was a Sunday School teacher and involved with the many areas of ministry to include children’s ministry. Mrs. Cohron also enjoyed collecting and organizing history, so it was fitting she archived for the church too. A thoughtful person, Mrs. Cohron was known to send birthday, anniversary and congratulation cards to so many throughout the years. She is preceded in death by her husband, Nick Cohron, son, L Nick Lewis, step daughters, Mary Sue Kolar and Virginia Jerkins. She is survived by one daughter, Linda Farrell; four sons, David Lewis (Ann), Danny Lewis (Pam), Michael Lewis (Lou), Bill Cohron (Tamara); two step daughters, Margaret Ann Dawson (Allen), Donna Faye Skipper (Gary); three brothers, Richard Jorgensen, John Zell, Bruce Jorgensen; 20 grandchildren, many great grandchildren and eight great great grandchildren. Private family graveside services will be held Silverhill Cemetery. A Celebration of Life Service will be held at a later date.

“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.” Colossians 3:12-15 (NASB)

If you are bringing food for the Lewis family then please have it in the Preschool Building kitchen no later than 10:00AM this morning.  Thank you for helping minister to Danny & family.

The church auditorium will be open today from 10:00AM until 11:00AM and then again from 6:30PM until 7:30PM basically for two purposes.  First, some folks have expressed the desire to come to the church building and pray.  Second, folks will have the opportunity to also leave their offering in the offering plates which will be placed on the platform near the pulpit.

I ask that folks maintain the six foot distance and one way to do this is to “enter only” through the breezeway door (West side) and then “exit only” through the front door (North side) making sure it fully closes as you leave.

Larry Whitehurst will oversee the morning time and I will do likewise in the evening.

Please note that outside of these two hours the church campus will be closed today – no services, no classes, nothing.

The church office will be open today from 8:00AM until noon.  You can bring your offering there either this morning or tomorrow morning.

Eddie’s father remains in the hospital.  Keep praying.

Keep praying for Levi Seymour’s sister as she recovers from surgery.

Kirk Lightfield’s father was discharged from the hospital and is obviously much better.  Thank you for praying.

John & Laurie King made it back to Canada safe and sound.  We give God the glory.

Dale Bosarge is working on a plan for our Easter Sunday service(s) in the event we are not allowed to gather corporately.  As it stands right now, here is the ruling from the Alabama Department of Public Health – “All non-work-related gatherings of 25 or more persons are prohibited.”  This is not a suggestion or a recommendation but rather an order.

Our Sunday, March 29, 2020, plans will be announced tomorrow (Thursday).

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