Fall is here and Thanksgiving is just around the corner! A time to give thanks to the Lord for His many blessings. Praise and thanksgiving to God do more than make us feel good. They also increase our comprehension and apprehension of God’s goodness. And through that, we receive a greater capacity to enjoy Him and experience Him in our lives. While many people spend a great deal of time enlarging their prayer lists, we must also spend time enlarging our praise list and counting the blessings of God—naming them one by one. Thanksgiving is about more than turkey; it’s about recognizing God’s goodness in our lives. As you count your blessings today, let that guide your thoughts. Give God praise for His goodness, and you’ll enjoy Him so much more!

IT's COMING!! Beginning in January we are going to be making some changes. First, Derrick Smith will become bi-vocational associate pastor at Arbor. He and I will be alternating series on Sunday. Our young people will be back in our services. We will once again be one. We will separate Wednesday nights as the youth will have a worship service and I will have a Bible study for adults. The Personnel Committee, Finance Committee, Deacons and staff are unanimous in this change. I think you will see a new enthusiasm in our fellowship. I will still handle the day-to-day administration plus take my turns preaching. A new era and a new beginning is ahead.

And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

Genesis 3:15

This amazing prophecy given by God to Satan (the serpent) in the garden is a loaded statement.  First this prophecy speaks to the virgin birth of Christ.  Enmity between your seed and her seed speaks to the self-sufficient seed of God placed inside of the womb of Mary from the Holy Spirit.  Also, you will strike His heel speaks to the death of our Lord on the cross.  When Jesus died Satan thought he had won a great victory but three days later Jesus would rise from the grave and crush the head of Satan forever defeating sin and death.  The amazing prophecy in the garden speaks to the ultimate plan of our great God.  Salvation through a risen Savior.

The victory that is prophesied in Revelation is also prophesied at the beginning of the Bible. You and I can walk in victory and claim what is already ours through Jesus Christ our Lord.

The youth cake auction is November 20th.  We appreciate all of your support. 

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this wonderful church. 

Youth Memory Verse:

and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.

Romans 3:24 

There are so many reasons I have to be thankful, and one that is prominent in my mind right now is my church family. THANK YOU so much to those of you who called, texted, and brought food over to Ian and I while I was recovering; it thoroughly blessed us and helped us more than you know. I don’t know that we would have made it without all of you and Thank You just doesn’t seem like enough.

As far as this month’s schedule goes, the choir is in full swing for Christmas, and we are excited to present what we’ve been working on! There’s still room if you would like to join! We practice upstairs in the choir room at 8:30pm on Wednesdays.

We are also wrapping up our study of 30 Life Principles by Charles Stanley in our Young Adult small group on Monday nights at 6:30pm in the FLC. Dinner is served so come hungry for food and for Christ! 

November is a month of thankfulness and we as a body of believers and as American citizens have so much to be thankful for. Not only do we live in a country that allows us to worship freely in public places, but we also have a God who provides all that we need. In Luke, he recounts the words of Jesus: “Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds!” If you are like me, you’ve caught yourself taking God’s provision for granted. But how awesome it is that He provides everything that we could possibly need! David, the Psalmist and King, also observes this in the 23rd Psalm: “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” David was a shepherd as a young boy and so he knew what the sheep needed from their shepherd: everything. The sheep are unable to provide for themselves, nor protect themselves. David compares God to being his Shepherd, in that David relied on God for everything. He also states that God is sure to give everything that His flock needs; He is a good Shepherd. David never ceased to give praise to God for His provision. 

How often do we go 364 days wanting more than what we have or complaining about not having enough and then wait until Thanksgiving showing our gratitude? I would encourage you, as well as myself, to set a goal to give thanks to the Lord for all He has given and all He has done every day of the year. Don’t wait for a special occasion to praise the Lord for what He has done, make it a part of your daily routine. As Psalm 107 repeats over and over, “Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever!”

November Birthdays

1^st Gwenie Wynn

3^rd Kathy Gordon, Gary Smith

5th Keith Rogers, Meredith Morgan

6^th Dana Bunday

7^th Aubree Henry

8^th Wayne Moore

10^th Mary Mathis

11^th Dustin Conger

12^th Janice Guy, Matthew Stembridge

13^th Laverne Pate, Julian Tucker

14^th Tracy Parker, P.K. Stembridge

15^th Robbie King, Mike Yarbrough, Neveah Sirmans

17^th Carlee Pate

18^th Dwight Huggins, Tia Pridgen, Blake Yarbrough

19^th Teresa Paul, Matthew Parker

20^th Wanda Kimbrell

24^th Nell Cobb, Andrew Alexander

25^th Erin Hester

26^th Julie Parker

27^th Terri Capps, Melinda Stembridge

This temporary filler text disappears once you click it. This is just placeholder example text that can be deleted. Type your own unique, authentic, and appropriate text for this tab here.

This temporary filler text disappears once you click it. This is just placeholder example text that can be deleted. Type your own unique, authentic, and appropriate text for this tab here.