Prayer Request

I received the following e-mail from Pastor Ken Dyer of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Knoxville:

Please be in prayer for the family of Margaret Solomon [of Knoxville]. Margaret passed away on Friday evening around 5:30 PM after a very long struggle with illnesses. The family would appreciate your prayers.

Margaret was a long time attendee of HCF until she became ill. Also, she was most instrumental in the beginning of Harvest Food Pantry and served as the coordinator for several years.

The final arrangements are being made and as soon as I know them, I will send out the details.

Ken Dyer
Pastor
Harvest Christian Fellowship

Please join me in prayer for this family!

Sad News

I am very sorry to report that I received word from Brother Boone today informing me that Mill, the young man I requested prayer for on Monday, passed away yesterday morning.

Over the years I have made several trips to Thailand and became acquainted with this family. Sam, Mill's brother, worked in the orphanage until he got married. I believe he is now pastoring one of our churches there. Just a couple years ago, another of his brothers died of drowning.

Please join me in prayer for the comfort of the Holy Spirit in this family.

Happy Anniversary

I failed to post that yesterday was Jay & Jennifer's wedding anniversary. We thank the Lord for them and pray His continued blessing in their marriage!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY JAY & JENNIFER

It is no secret

The other day the tune to an old song came to my mind and I began humming it. It seemed to stay with me all day. I remembered some of the words, but had to google for the rest of them. I discovered an interesting history to the song, It Is No Secret What God Can Do. Here are the lyrics.

The chimes of time ring out the news; another day is through.
Someone slipped and fell.
Was that someone you?
You may have longed for added strength, your courage to renew.
Do not be disheartened, for I bring hope to you.

(Refrain)
IT IS NO SECRET what God can do.
What He's done for others, He'll do for you.
With arms wide open,
He'll pardon you.
IT IS NO SECRET what God can do.

There is no night, for in His light you'll never walk alone.
Always feel at home wherever you may roam.
There is no power can conquer you, while God is on your side.
Just take Him at his promise.
Don't run away and hide.
(Refrain)

You can find the history of the song here.

Urgent Request from Thailand

This morning I received an urgent prayer request from my friend, Boonyong Bureenok in Thailand. I am posting a portion of his e-mail here so you can join me in prayer for this very special and urgent request. I believe the young man Boone mentions in his e-mail is only about 16 years old.

Chip,

Happy new year to you all!

I have an urgent request! Mill, Sam's brother, one of my nephews callapsed while on his way to school. He is at the hospital, ICU now.

Sam called me again saying that doctor does not expect him to live long, only 24 hours.

Chip, we believe in the Lord of miracle, don't we? Please pray!

God bless you, my friend.
Boone
Korat, Thailand

Happy New Year

Wishing you all a very happy, healthy, and prosperous New Year!

Pray for Pakistan

Brother McKinley posted an e-mail from our overseer in Pakistan on his blog today. With the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto yesterday, chaos spread across the country. According to the Overseer of Pakistan, "Some people say this has been done by the Christian countries and their people."

Please join me in prayer for the safety of Christians in Pakistan as they continue to minister in troubled times.

A New Blessing for New Beginnings

God is so amazing! Since August, Willis Lawson has graciously allowed us to use the Sam & Zella Lawson Memorial Chapel for our weekly worship services. It is a small building and had no air or heat. For the past several weeks we have been using a small gas heater, but it didn’t heat all that well.

A few days ago, Willis told me that he is going to have a heat/air unit installed. Work began yesterday and should be completed today!

We are so thankful for Willis. Had it not been for him, we may still be meeting in homes. While we do not want to get too comfortable where we are, neither do we want to fail to recognize the blessing of the Lord! To God be the glory!

We appreciate you very much, Willis, and pray God's richest blessings on you!

Christmas with Family

Yesterday our family got together to celebrate Christmas at my parents home. All my brothers, sisters-in-law, nieces and nephews where there, and we had a wonderful time together. The Lord has blessed me to be in a very loving and caring family, and I am thankful for my parents and my three brothers and their families.

Here are a couple of pics from our time together yesterday.

Merry Christmas

I just wanted to take this opportunity to wish you and your family a very merry Christmas! I pray you will experience the joy of our Lord and Savior as you celebrate with family and friends today!

A few pics

Prayer Request

I received word today of another death via automobile accident in the Morgan County area. The victim, Eric Phillips, was the cousin to Savannah Human, whose husband was tragically killed in an automobile accident in October. Please join me in prayer for the Phillips family.

Christmas Party

We will be having a special Christmas party for our children on Wednesday, December 19. Accordingly, we will not be having services at the church on that night. The children's party will be in the home of Roy and Faye and will begin at 7 PM.

Special Thanks

New Beginnings would like to express our deep appreciation to Pastor Ken Dyer and Harvest Christian Fellowship in Knoxville for their prayers and support of our ministry here in Crossville.


Harvest Christian Fellowship is a loving, caring congregation that delights in sharing the love of our Lord and demonstrating the joy of a life with Christ. If you live in Knoxville or are just passing through, we encourage you to visit with them--you won't regret it! You can visit their website here.

A few pics from our Christmas Dinner

Change of plans

Due to some unforeseen obstacles, New Beginnings has had to cancel our Christmas Banquet scheduled for December 16. Instead, we will have a Christmas Dinner at Roy & Fayes on Monday, December 10.

Christmas Spirit

"Until one feels the spirit of Christmas,
there is no Christmas.
All else is outward display-
so much tinsel and decorations.
For it isn't the holly,
it isn't the snow.
It isn't the tree
not the firelight's glow.
It's the warmth that comes
to the hearts of men
when the Christmas spirit
returns again."
-- Anonymous

God's call requires commitment

“One of our country’s most beloved Presidents was Abraham Lincoln. He had the great misfortune of being at the helm of our nation during one of it’s most troubled times. The once united States had split in two, and the armies of the North and South were waging an incessant war that claimed the lives of more men than have died in any war since.

“Lincoln felt the tragedy of this war more than anyone could have guessed. He mourned the deaths of soldiers and spent long periods visiting the sick and wounded in the Union hospitals. The constant shedding of blood was sometimes almost more than he could bear. Then, in the midst of the war, his own son died and the President was literally brought to his knees.

“In the middle of the week, Lincoln did what he often did during those days, he found refuge at a Presbyterian church in Washington, D.C. He went with an aide, sat with his stovepipe hat in his lap, and tried hard not to interrupt the meeting by sitting off to the side, near the preacher’s study.

“The minister opened the Scriptures and taught from God’s Word. And when he finished, the president stood quietly, straightened his coat, took his hat in hand and began to leave.

His aide stopped him and said, ‘What did you think of the sermon, Mr. President?’
He said, ‘I thought the sermon was carefully thought through, eloquently delivered.’
The aide said, ‘You thought it was a great sermon?’

“Lincoln replied, ‘No I thought he failed… he did not ask of us something great.’”

Even in the midst of such turmoil in his life, President Lincoln knew that when one listens to God he should expect that the Lord will call him to something great.

I believe that God is, indeed, calling us to something great. I believe God wants to use New Beginnings to help make a difference in the lives of people on the Cumberland Plateau. I also know, however, that such a call requires something on our part as well!

Someone said, “You must get involved to have an impact. No one is impressed with the won-lost record of the referee.”

Jesus said it this way, “…If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24).

Announcements

THANKSGIVING--We will have a special Thanksgiving Service this Wednesday (11/21) at 7PM. Please come prepared to give thanks to the Lord and share at least one thing for which you are especially thankful this year.

CHRISTMAS--New Beginnings' first Christmas Banquet will be held on Sunday evening, December 16, at Cumberland Mountain State Park. More information will be forthcoming, but please mark your calendar for this event.

What do people see?

Of 18 to 30 year olds in this country who have quit church, a whopping 26% say their reason for leaving was that the church is simply too judgmental, this according to a LifeWay Research report printed in Leadership Journal (Fall 2007).

It would be very easy for churches to assume that this generation simply doesn’t want to hear the truth, but the fact is that they do want to hear the truth but they also need to see some realities of true Christianity!

In reading from the gospel according to John, something jumped out at me recently. Jesus had returned to Bethany six days before the Passover and He had dinner with Lazarus, Mary and Martha. His disciples were apparently there too, but then John records this:

“Much people of the Jews therefore knew that he was there: and they came not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus also, whom he had raised from the dead” (John 12:9).

As I pondered this passage it occurred to me that these people of the Jews who came to see Lazarus were needing to verify that this Jesus was truly who He was declared to be. They needed to see that Lazarus was, in fact, risen from the dead. They needed to see that there was, in fact, a change! Indeed, it was because they saw Lazarus alive again that many of them believed on Jesus (John 12:11).

It is a theological truth that sin separates us from God. Our sin is an offense to Him and prohibits us from enjoying fellowship with Him. It was Adam’s sin in the Garden of Eden that broke the perfect fellowship between him and God. That same sin, because it is so repulsive to Holy God, resulted in judgment.

“But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2).

This does not, however, diminish God’s love for us! The Scripture is very clear on this subject. Paul said, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8, emphasis mine). John attested to this when he wrote, “Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).

Could it be that one of the reasons so many people have decided that they don’t need church is because they see so few examples of true change in the lives of those who call themselves disciples of Christ? Could it be that we Christians are sometimes too judgmental and legalistic—harshly sharing truths of Scripture without the grace and love of our Lord Jesus Christ?

I am convinced that the key to evangelism today is not so much in the words we say, but in the authentic love we share!