Slideshow image

Good afternoon, Mt. Carmel and Happy Thursday! (Have you found it as difficult as me to know what day of the week it is? LOL. I used to be able to gauge my week by Sundays and Wednesdays—my two favorite days—but now I have to keep looking at my watch to remind myself.)I want to thank the church family so much for the amazing ways you have responded to the opportunities we have been given to bring the light and love of Jesus into the community during this time! The trailer at the church that is collecting items for Page One and for the Experience Bags has had people regularly stopping to drop off items! It has been such a blessing to see people caring for people while it could be very easy to only focus on our needs.I was talking to one of our church members today on the phone, and when I asked her if she needed anything at all, she immediately responded, “Thank you for asking, but no, I don’t need anything. Just keep helping people who can’t help themselves right now. I’ll be just fine.” She was such an encouragement to my heart! I pray that we, as followers of Jesus, can be this type of encouragement to others as well!

I wanted to keep you updated on the last two days:

KIDS MINISTRY 

This morning, Leigh Ann Pettit introduced this week's lesson from the Gospel Project for our kiddos. There is also a Pastor Brian on this video--and he is bald, too! ;) I hope you and your children can watch the lesson on the ten plagues of Egypt and talk about the Passover night in Israel! What a glimpse of how the blood of Jesus causes God to pass over our sins! The video can be found here. 

ONLINE BIBLE STUDIES

On Wednesday morning, Jamie and I sat down with Pastor Donnie Lam and his wife, Sarah, for a time to simply be transparent to both of our church families. We shared of our own personal challenges—as well as how the Word of God continues to be an encouragement to us. If you would like to watch the video, you can click here.On Wednesday evening, Aaron Weakley and I discussed the men who Jesus chose to be His disciples. Aaron did an excellent job teaching this lesson. If you would like to watch the video, you can click here.On Thursday morning, Pastor Micah and six of our Mt. Carmel teens met together for a time to discuss how this pandemic was affecting the lives of teenagers—and the encouragement that Romans 5 offered to them. If you would like to watch the video, you can click here.On Friday morning, Lisa Gerrity and Paige Nichols will be sharing a study together at 11 a.m. on our church website and Facebook page. I hope you can join them. 

COMMUNITY OUTREACH

As I noted in Tuesday evening’s e-mail, John Thomas has found out that Page One could use our church’s help. So many of you have been able to bring items, and we are so grateful for your willingness to share! There is one other way to help of which we have recently been made aware. The delivery of meals from Page One to the elderly and shut ins has experienced a loss in volunteers—because many of their volunteers were considered high-risk because of their age. This has left them in need for two or three people who would be willing to help with making these deliveries. If this is something of which you might be interested, please contact the church office—of you can contact John Thomas directly. This would be a blessing for our community!Next Wednesday, the delivery of the Experience Bags (thank you, Monica Hinegardner and Pastor Micah) will take place. Please pray that these special treat bags display the love of Jesus to the homes of our van riders. If you do not know about the Experience Bags, Pastor Micah made a video to explain what we are doing. You can view the video here.

Tomorrow morning, we are making a delivery to the Sheriff’s office with some donuts, coffee, and a basket of treats on behalf of the church. Please pray that this small act of love would be an encouragement to the men and women who are on the front lines for our county. Also, Jamie is making plans to bless and encourage the staff at Page Memorial Hospital next week. 

PRAYER REQUESTS

With the cancellation of school classes for the remainder of the academic year, much additional time and effort is being invested into continuing the education of our students. Many of our church members are educators here in Page County. Let’s pray that God gives them extra wisdom as they encounter obstacles they have never faced before in education. Many of our church families will be greatly adjusting their work and family schedules to help their children learn from home. Let’s pray for an extra measure of grace and understanding as parents will be relied upon in greater (and sometimes unfamiliar) ways.

Many of our students lost their Senior year of high school and college. Let’s pray that God provides strength, hope, and encouragement in spite of this great loss. And as a ministry of our church, please especially pray for God to provide both in abundant ways for the students and staff of MCCA. Pastor Mike and the MCCA staff are working very hard to meet the needs of all our MCCA families.

Please pray that God’s will is completed in each of our hearts during this time. I don’t know what God’s purposes for this pandemic might be for the world, but I do know He has a purpose for me—and I don’t want to miss it. May we all continue to point people to the Good News of the Gospel during this time! You may not have the opportunity to sit or stand on a platform right now with a microphone, but for those of you with social media, you still have a voice. Use it for Jesus! May I encourage you to daily share about the goodness of Jesus. Share about your faith in God during this time. And if you don’t have time to record a video or write out your thoughts, share what comes across your news feed that glorifies Jesus!  

I look forward to seeing you on the other side of the camera on Sunday! If you join us on Facebook, share the church service with others, invite others to join you in a church “watch party” on Facebook (it lets you comment back and forth with just a few friends), and pray that God will be magnified through your computer screen, smartphone, or tablet! Finally, we will be singing a new song on Sunday. Let me encourage you to spend some time before Sunday listening to the song to become familiar with it. You can find a link to “All My Ways Are Known to Him” by City Alight here.  

God bless you! Have a wonderful day! Jamie and I love you!

Pastor Brian