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From your m issionary
page 2
Church news
page 3
Pinecrest block party pics
page 4
Jan/ assn’l youth event
page 5
Great but not new idea
page 6
VBS jum pstarts
page 6
Prayer needs
page 7
Calendar
page 7
Positions available
page 7
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From your missionary
As you read this article we
are leading up to the
Christmas celebration
where we as believers
celebrate the birth of our
Savior. In our preparation
for this celebration I had
some thoughts. Many times
I am afraid for many
Christians it has just
become routine or a
tradition and we go
through this season without
Gary Leutzinger
it being a truly meaningful
time. Sometimes we have
to think about things from another perspective in
order to truly appreciate and really celebrate
something that has essentially changed history.
So I pose the question, what if Jesus had never been
born and what would our world look like if God, in
the person of Jesus Christ, had never come to earth.
Here is something to ponder: Harvard and Yale
would not exist, because they were started as
Christian institutions of higher learning. The founders
of these schools believed that to study “science” was
to study the work of God. It was a way of learning
more about what He was like. Our way of dating
history would be completely different, since all of
history is divided into the things which occurred
before Christ and the things which occurred after
Christ. There would not be churches anywhere in our
communities. Our Georgia Baptist colleges would not
exist, because they were started as Christian
institutions of higher learning. We would have half a
Bible. We would not have heard of the love of a
personal God. God would never have visited the
world and we would have no hope of His returning to
the earth. There would be no Christmas – no gifts
symbolic of God’s greatest gift. There would be no
Christmas carols or hymns. The world without Jesus
would be like winter without Christmas, and the
world would be without hope.
There is good news, however, Jesus was born and
God entered the world. (Hallelujah) This is why we
sing about Emmanuel at Christmas. GOD IS WITH
US. He was with us 2000 years ago, and He is with us
now in this present moment to show us what God is
like. We have a God who cared enough to come. He
showed us what He was like and His name was love.
He was the friend of sinners and failures. He showed
love and compassion to the outcast of the world. He
healed the sick and raised the dead. He taught us not to
use values of this world to determine our worth, for He
said, “The last will be first, and the first will be last.”
He taught us that our value to God was more important
than what anyone else thought about us. And because
Christ showed us what God was like, we want to be
like Him. We have been transformed by His grace and
renewed by His love. We extend grace to others
because it has been extended to us. We forgive because
we have been forgiven. We give because He gave to
us. We live because He has given us eternal life.
As we go through this Christmas celebration, I hope
we will remember these things because I truly believe
that each of us will be drawn closer to Christ and the
celebration just won’t end after December 25. We
will celebrate Christ and the reason why He came
everyday of our lives!
Merry Christmas!
Bro. Gary
Get the newest Sons of Jubal CD, Washed
Away, for only $15 at Houston Baptist Center.
A great present for yourself or someone else.
Page 3
Church news
Wenona Church will present We’re Glad You’re
Here December 21 at 10:45 a.m.
Cordele First Church will have Christmas Eve
services at 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m.
Year-to-date undesignated receipts
Lake Blackshear Church will present The First Noel
December 7 at 7:00 p.m.
Penia Churh will present The First Noel December
7 at 6:00 p.m. On December 14, their children will
present a Christmas play at ?:00 p.m.
Pincecrest Church will present We’re Glad You
Came December 7 at 6:30 p.m.
Unadilla First Church will present God With Us
December 14 at 6:30 p.m.
Vienna First Church will present He Is Here
December 14 at 6:30 p.m.
Northern Heights Church will present A Smoky
Mountain Christmas Change of Heart December 21
at 11:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
Acorn Pond. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $400.00
Agape. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100.00
Antioch.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,112.50
Arabi. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,336.64
Bakersfield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00
Bethel. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 836.00
Byromville. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,784.30
Dooling. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00
Drayton.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,500.00
Ebenezer.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,0101.37
Filadelphia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,225.56
First Cordele.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,544.00
First Unadilla. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,500.00
First Vienna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,503.64
First Warwick.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,340.41
Harmony.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,065.18
Hatley. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,800.00
Lake Blackshear. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,531.44
Lakeshore. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 920.00
Liberty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,307.37
Lilly. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
Mars Hill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
Morningside. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412.05
Mt. Pleasant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00
Mt. Vernon.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 270.00
New Harvest.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 669.78
Northern Heights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,048.00
Oakfield. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
Omar Heights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50.00
Penia.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,621.58
Pinecrest.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,229.38
Pinehurst. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0
Pleasant Grove. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,773.50
Riverview.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,000.00
Rock Hill. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75.00
Sharon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,062.48
Smyrna. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,399.08
Tippettville.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200.00
Victory. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 425.00
Wenona. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 500.00
Zion Hill.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,359.00
TOTAL.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109,612.26
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Save the date!
Matt Papa in concert
February 8, 2015
Crisp County Middle
School Auditorium
Page 6
A great, but not new,
idea–January Bible Study
Year after year, churches across the country discover
that a great way to start the new year is with
LifeWay's annual January Bible Study. These
short-term studies bring the entire church together
around one biblical topic. And it isn't just for January.
In fact, it's flexible enough to use any month, any day
of the week, with any age group.
This year’s January Bible Study identifies ways God
continues to call His people to be set apart and holy,
reflecting His character. The Book of Deuteronomy
records Moses' final messages to the people of Israel
as they prepare to move into the Promised Land. He
presented a challenge to a new generation of Israelites
who had not experienced the Egyptian captivity or
God's miraculous acts of deliverance on their behalf
(that generation died during the wilderness
wandering). God is presented as being compassionate
to His people, while calling them to live a life that
reflects His character. Moses warned the Hebrews of
the consequences of failing to follow God's standards.
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday is January 18. Go to
http://erlc.com/article/bulletin-inserts to download
bulletin inserts.
Participants will be reminded that only through Christ
can the curse of sin be broken and that they are called
to reflect God's holiness. They will also realize that
God is both compassionate (love) and holy, with both
working in total harmony.
To order and for more information visit
http://www.lifeway.com/January-Bible-Study.
RENEW GA
January 22, 2015; 7-9pm
Central Baptist Church, 1681 W 3 rd Ave, Albany
Prayer and worship event designed to elevate
spiritual renewal in Georgia. Featuring Don
Hattaway President of Georgia Baptist Convention.
VBS Jumpstarts are to help church and associational
VBS leaders with ideas on enlistment, planning, and
promotion to kick off there VBS year. Closest
jumpstarts are:
January 20, First Baptist Church, Perry
January 22, Byne Memorial Baptist Church, Albany
Register online at www.gabaptistsundayschool.org.
Page 7
Please pray for these
Opportunities coming up
™Associational Missionary Gary Leutzinger
™Lisa Chalk (Pastor Richard Chalks wife)
™William Johnson
™Happi Keenan
™Roy Taylor
™Linnie Tukes (Pastor Kenneth Tukes’ mother)
™Lost and unchurched people
™Possibility of HBA sponsoring a pregnancy care
center
™Revival in HBA churches
™Unity in our churches and unity among our churches
™Churches without pastors–Bakerfield, Byromville,
Mars Hill, Pinecrest, Warwick First.
Houston Baptist Association events are printed in bold type.
HBC is an abbreviation for Houston Baptist Center.
Church positions available
Byromville Church is seeking a full-time pastor.
Send resumes to Joe Kent, 3435 Nellieville Road,
Pinehurst 31070 or [email protected].
Nov. 30Dec. 7
Week of Prayer for International
Missions and Lottie Moon Christmas
Offering
Dec. 1
Ministers Christmas Dinner,
6:30pm, HBC
Dec. 4
Administrative Committee Meeting,
6pm, HBC
Dec. 23Jan. 4
HBC closed. Reopen Jan. 5, 2015
January
Call to Prayer Month
Jan. 4–11
January Bible Study
Jan.11
Associational Youth Event, Penia
Church, 6:30pm
Jan. 18
Sanctity of Human Life Sunday
Jan. 20
VBS Jumpstart, Perry First Church
Jan. 22
Morningside Church is seeking a temporary/parttime pianist for playing hymns for congregational
singing on Sunday mornings only. If interested,
contact Stan Bowen at 229-273-3553.
VBS Jumpstart, Byne Memorial
Church, Albany
Jan. 22
RENEW GA, Albany, 7-9pm
Jan. 25
Smyrna Church is seeking a part-time minister of
music.
If interested, contact Linda White at
229-268-6792.
Evangelistic Harvest Day in
participating HBA churches
Jan. 29
Associational Leadership Team
training, 6:30pm, HBC
Unadilla First Church is looking for a pianist. Call
478-627-3615.
Vienna First Church is seeking a pianist for Sunday
AM worship and weekly choir practice. Contact Jim
Bolton at 229-268-4386.
Return to Bethlehem
A true Christmas experience
December 6 & 7
6–9pm
Norman Park Convention Center
No cost. Everyone welcome. 229.769.3051
Birthdays &
Anniversaries
Dec. 3
Dec. 7
Dec. 8
Valorie & Kenneth Tukes
Doug James
Deedy& Eric Eidenire
Russ Stephens
Dec. 10 Ray Sullivan
Dec. 14 Rose & Ray Burnette
Dec. 15 Happi & Chuck Keenan
Dec. 16 ` David Leutzinger
Dec. 17 Janice & James Gauthier
Dec. 19 Roy Taylor
Dec. 22 Peggy & Roy Taylor
Dec. 23 Geneva Gamble
Dec. 29 Leala Sheffield
Dec. 31 Sara & Fred Jones
Page 8
Houston Herald is published m onthly by Houston Baptist Association.
Send news and/or com m ents to P O Box 1274,
Cordele, GA 31010, em ail to secretary@ houstonbaptist.org or call 229-273-4127.
^
Hous on Baptist Association
2116 Hwy 41 ^ P O Box 1274 ^ Cordele, GA 31010
www.houstonbaptist.org
229-273-4127 (phone); 229-273-0626 (fax)
Associational Missionary: Gary Leutzinger
a.m @ houstonbaptist.org
N O N PR O FIT
O R G AN IZATIO N
PO STAG E PAID
PER M IT N O . 35
VIEN N A G A
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