Woodlawn Baptist Church

We would like to challenge all Sunday School classes to appoint an Outreach Leader for their class.  Each outreach leader will then enlist people to attend Visitation on Tuesday evenings at 6:45 to visit absentees or prospects for the class.  Names and addresses will be provided for each visit.  Please get involved in Visitation through the Sunday School!

Don't Forget Our Benevolence Committee!

On behalf of the Benevolence Committee I would like to thank everyone for their donations and help. During the month of January we served 45 households; which included 60 children, 52 adults, 11 seniors for a total of 121 people.

As Benevolence Chairman I see people very Tuesday and Thursday in need of everything from food and clothes to utility bills.  It's very hard to tell a lady standing there crying that you can't help her.  Worst of all is the children that are caught up in the middle through no fault of their own.  They just know they're hungry or losing their homes and have no heart of lights.  We even see it in our own church; families dealing with cuts in their pay and being laid off from their jobs!!!  There are people in our church who are in need but are too proud to ask for help.  Please help me by telling of any members that need assistance!!

We want to be able to serve our community and our economy doesn't seem to be getting any better.  There are a great number of people still in need of our assistance with food, rent and utility bills!!  Your donations are needed so we can continue to serve our community.

For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink...Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?  And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of  these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.  Matthew 25: 36-37, 40

All items are greatly appreciated:

Canned Fruit
Canned Meat
Canned Pasta
Cereal
Crackers
Dried Beans
Hamburger Helper
Instant Potatoes
Jelly
Macaroni & Cheese
Peanut Butter
Rice
Soup
Spaghetti & Sauce
Tuna
Vegetables

Is Spring really on the way?  I can't believe the winter we've had, can you!  As most of you know I grew up in Massachusetts so I grew up with snow but living in Virginia for the past many years has really spoiled me…my idea of snow now is it's supposed to come over night or in the morning and then be gone by the next day; not be on the ground for weeks!  I guess I'm really getting old because all I wanted to do was sit in front of the fire with a good book and cup of tea, I had absolutely no desire to go out and "enjoy the snow".  Somehow to my way of thinking the words "enjoy" and "snow" do not belong in the same sentence!

The word passion in the bible is often translated zeal.  Without zeal life becomes drab.  Without zeal everything becomes a "have to" and nothing is a "want to".  Without zeal we give up when the going gets tough.  Without zeal we don't reach our potential and opportunities are lost.  Without zeal talents are wasted (talent is like money; it only grows when you put it to work).  Without zeal a team won't succeed.  Without zeal a church won't grow.  Jesus said ...we must do the work of him who sent me.  John 9:4 NIV.  The zeal that Jesus had wasn't taught, it was caught!  He caught it by spending time with the Father and by getting in on the plans of the Father to save a lost and dying world!  We can't conjure up zeal.  We can't maintain zeal in our own strength because the things of the world crowd in on us and wear us down.  So how did Jesus maintain His zeal…how did the prophets maintain their zeal?  …The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this.  II Kings 19:31 NIV.  …The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. Isaiah 9:7 NIV.  …The zeal of the LORD Almighty will accomplish this. Isaiah 37:32 NIV.  How did Paul maintain his zeal?  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Romans 12:11 NIV.  According to scripture if you're lacking zeal the remedy is spend more time with Jesus!

I would say that the vast majority of us think we're spending plenty of time with Jesus.  What goes through your mind when you think about spending time with Jesus?  "I go to church on Sunday" "I attend Sunday School" "I pray when I eat" "I read a devotion every morning" What more can I do?  Have you ever considered the sin of omission?  We think a lot about the sins we commit but what about what we omit?  He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest… Leviticus 5:16 NIV.  Has God ever convicted you about attending church on Sunday night...on Wednesday night…to serve on a committee…to attend visitation… to send cards to the home bound…to give to benevolence…to serve in the nursery…to teach Sunday School…to love the unlovable…to turn the other cheek when someone offends you…to share a ministry with someone you don't particularly care for…to give to a special offering…etc., etc., etc? 

…your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you… Isaiah 59:2.  In light of the sin of omission mentioned in Leviticus 5:16 and the consequences of sin mentioned in Isaiah 59:2 do you still think you're spending plenty of time with the Lord? 

There's just one more thing I'd like to point out.  Look at Leviticus 5:16 again; He must make restitution for what he has failed to do in regard to the holy things, add a fifth of the value to that and give it all to the priest…  A fifth!  Ouch!  Most of us struggle with a tithe…a tenth…10% but a fifth…20%...that's twice as much as a tithe!  I'd say the Lord takes the sin of omission pretty serious wouldn't you!

Love & hugs,
Carol

We don't change God's message;
His message changes us.