Baptism

Josie Dowling was baptised on April 19th at First Baptist Church, Byhalia. Pray for Josie as she embarks on her spiritual journey!

Bible Drills

Several youth and children from First Baptist Church, Byhalia participated in Bible Drills this year. Bible Drill is a tool used in the Baptist Church to help children and youth to learn to be comfortable navigating around the Bible and to learn many verses that will help them answer doctrinal questions. In the program, they have to memorize the books of the Bible in order, find books of the Bible and specific verses within a limited time (10 seconds for children and 8 seconds for youth), and memorize specific verses related to doctrinal topics and questions. They compete against the clock at three different levels. The first is Church Bible Drills that was conducted at FBC In late March. The second level is an Association drill for Marshall County, held at Slayden Baptist Church, and on Tuesday April 15th our group participated in State Bible Drills held at Longview Heights Baptist Church. All participates showed skill and determination by making it all the way to the last level of competition, and in the process, they are learning to use their Bibles as a tool for growth.

Pictured are (back) Zackery Langley, Hannah Hamblin, Jimmy Story, Jeromy White, Josh Dowling, Kipp Gill, and Cameron Langley. They are all youth drillers. The children drillers are (front) Chase Langley, Mick Gill, Dana Story and Evie Gill.

New Members David and Debra Meyers

David was born July 10, 1958 in Muskegon, MI. He was raised in Fruitport along with three brothers and one sister. David moved to Memphis in 1980. He drives a truck for a local furniture supply warehouse.
David has three children Darren 25, Gina 21, Derrick 19.
David accepted Jesus in 1970 at Cloverville Baptist Church in Cloverville MI.

Debra was born February 15, 1961 in Tupelo Ms. She was raised in Saltillo MS. along with one sister and one brother.
Debra has two children, Valerie 27, and Nathan 23. Valerie has two children Jacob 9 and Andrew 7.
Nathan is married to Crystal and they have two children, Bradly 4 and AnnaBelle 3 months.
Debra accepted Jesus in 1968 at Saltillo Baptist Church in Saltillo MS.
Debra works at Kroger in Memphis TN.


David and Debra married on November 3,2001. They lived in Memphis for five years.They bulilt a home and moved to Byhalia in 2007.
David and Debra both were active members at Capleville UMC in TN. David was a cub scout and then boy scout leader for 15 years. He was on the board of trustees, and served numerous positions there.
Debra was a childrens' Sunday school and was a VBS teacher for many years. Debra was also a Tiger scout leader for two years.

David enjoys projects around the home and likes to build things, Debra is a multi-media artist and enjoys using found objects in this effort.
They love to take walks to the lake with their three dogs, and just enjoy the blessings that God has given them.

Easter Egg Hunt Pictures

Baptism Announced!

Josie Dowling's Baptismal Service has been set for Sunday Morning April 19th at the beginning of the morning worship service. We join with Josie's family to celebrate her new spiritual birth. Pray for Josie as she takes this important step of obedience.

Community Crusaders

You may be wondering, "What is Community Crusaders?" We have developed an evangelism strategy that reaches the community and teaches our members to share their faith. The strategy has four levels.

• The entry level is called Sidewalk Evangelism. In this stage we go to events and pass out literature for the church and tracts. We generally invite people to church and occasionally get the opportunity to share our faith.
• The next level is called Community Crusaders. In this stage, we actually go door to door throughout the community inviting people to church. We give them a free gift and try to go to every home on the street. We go out six times a year, three times each semester. The next opportunity to be involved in Community Crusaders is Saturday April 11th at 10:30 am.
• Our next level of outreach is Evangelism Explosion. This is a 13 week course that teaches people to share their faith. It involves on- the-job training because we go out every week and use what we have learn in class. The great thing about this strategy is that the Gospel is shared every week. We will start a new class in the fall. Come join us.
• The last level of outreach that we promote in the church is the model taught in Scripture. We hope that after people have gained confidence through our evangelism strategies that they will be sharing their faith "as they are going" (Acts 1:8) It is great to hear that one of our members has led someone to Christ in their daily walk with the Lord.

All of these opportunities are open and available to anyone who will attend. If you have been saved, you ought to be able to tell someone else how to come to the Lord. It is not as intimidating as you think. You will find that many people want to talk about spiritual things. They just don't because nobody has ever asked. Come join us as we share Christ with Byhalia.

Easter Egg Hunt!

I wanted to take this opportunity to invite all children, birth through 6th grade to attend our Easter Egg Hunt. It will be Saturday April 11th, in the Fellowship Hall at 2:00 pm. Bring a few plastic eggs filled with treats and your child's own basket. We look forward to fellowshipping with you!

A Word from the Pastor - April

Time continues its steady march and spring is here. In just a few days we will gather to celebrate the most important holiday on the Christian calendar - Easter. In 1 Corinthians 1:18 Paul says, “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” As Christians, we should never lose sight of the cross. It has been said that the believer who tires of hearing the gospel may not be a believer. The cross is the central theme of our belief structure. Jesus died in our place.

Notice that Paul doesn’t say that the cross is powerful to those who are saved. He says that it is the power of God to those who are being saved. It is true that God saves us as soon as we believe, but there is also a sense in which we are being saved everyday as we follow the Lord in obedience. The cross is what brought us to God and the cross is what keeps us in His presence. If we ever feel like we are slipping away from God, we need to go back to the cross. That is the purpose of observing the Lord’s Supper. We are to remember what Christ did on the Cross in our place.

As we reflect upon the cross in the course of our daily lives, we will find that the cross will bring us closer to God. The more we study the cross, the more unworthy we feel to receive it. As a result, we will serve the Lord with a deeper gratitude and commitment. We will serve the Lord with a greater sense of humility and will reach out to others in the same way. We will come to church looking for ways to serve rather than ways to be served, and we will find that we are more in the center of God’s will than ever before.

We do not deserve the cross. We deserve punishment, but God is a God of love and reaches across the gulf of sin to make a way for us to enter His kingdom. Oh, the glory of the cross, and oh, the power of the resurrection. Don’t let this Easter simply be a day of mandatory church attendance and enjoyable family gatherings. Reflect upon the cross and the Savior who died in your place.

Thank God for the cross!
Thank God for the Savior!
Thank God for Easter!

Bro. Anthony P. Langley, Pastor

From the Youth Pastor

It's already April! That means that M-Fuge is only two months away. I'll be getting more details to you soon. I encourage everyone to begin praying for the students that will be attending camp. Pray for those whom the Lord allows us to minister to while we are there. I hope everyone is exited about what God is going to do.

Secondly, with April here it means that school is almost out for the summer. I know that many, if not all, students are looking forward to that. The end of the school year brings volleyball. Many young people are already asking to play. Don't worry; it will be here before you know it. I know everyone is anxious. I look forward to the warm weather and fellowship.

Lastly, Easter is in April. What a great time of the year. I hope that all will joyfully celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Take time to reflect on that awesome day. Our faith hinges on the resurrection of Christ. The power of Christ has made salvation available to all. Death could not contain our savior. We serve an awesome God.

Russ McClure

View from the Pew - April

I usually don’t like watching preaching on TV – but I have started watching “Cowboy Church” on the RFD channel. Those preachers preach to people at rodeos and other ranch type events. The sermon on “Inches” got my attention. Inches save lives – and takes lives. The length of a man’s fingertips to his elbow is about 17 or 18 inches – The same length from his brain to his heart. Noah built his ark using this measure, which was called cubits – still the distance from his brain to his heart. So look how short a distance it is for your brain to tell your heart to believe and trust in God.

This preacher gave an example of trying to get two cows in a pen. They would get these cows within inches of going into the pen but then the cows would turn and run. They never gave up. They finally got those two cows in the pen. How many times have you witnessed to a friend who was within inches of accepting the Lord but ran away? Did you give up? Remember, an inch is as good as a mile if you did. So, go that one more inch of witnessing to them and get them into the pen.

How many times have you been within inches of being in an accident and then thanked God for saving you? How may times have you told yourself, “I only missed doing that by an inch”? Don’t miss leading a friend or a stranger to the Lord by an inch. When you reach out your hand to shake another’s hand remember you are only 17 or 18 inches away from making a friend and letting your heart tell your brain the right words to say and maybe being only one inch from leading someone to the Lord.

By: Betty Ballard

“A view from the pew” is a regular feature of your church newsletter. The congregation is encouraged to submit articles to the church office by no later than the third Thursday of the month. The Pastor will determine which content is acceptable and which articles will be included.

Upcoming Youth Events for April

• April 4th— Youth Laser Tag
  Meet at the church at 5:30 PM
  $10 per youth
  Bring money for a fast food dinner
• April 5th— Fried Chicken Fundraiser
  Immediately after morning services
  Held in the Fellowship Hall
  Donations support youth camp
  

Upcoming Events for April

• April 4th—Men’s Breakfast and Workday begins at 8 AM in the Fellowship Hall.
• April 5th is Palm Sunday—The Lord’s Supper will be celebrated during the morning Service.
• April 5th—Associational Bible Drills will be held at Slayden Baptist Church beginning at 2 PM.
• April 11th—The Community Crusaders will be taking Easter Lilies to people in the community. The program starts at 10:30 AM in the Parking Lot.
• April 11th—Easter Egg Hunt for babies through 6th Graders at 2 PM. Meet in the Fellowship Hall.
• April 14th—Statewide Bible Drills will be held at Longview Heights Baptist Church—2 PM to 5 PM.
  

New Members!

We are happy to welcome David and Debra Meyers to the church as our newest members. They joined by letter and statement on March 22. We look forward to getting to know them and helping them to find their place of ministry through our church. We will share more information about them in a future post.

We are also happy to welcome Josie Dowling to our church family and to the family of God. Josie made a profession of faith on March 22 and will be baptized soon!