Church News
Sharing the Journey
Greetings in the Name of our
Savior Jesus Christ! I pray that you
are doing well during these hot days
of summer. I pray that since our last
newsletter you have had a happy
Mother’s Day, Memorial Day, and
Father’s Day!
This morning, I was thinking
about the song “My Jesus” by Anne
Wilson. You have probably heard
this song. The lyrics to the chorus
are: He makes a way where there
ain't no way. Rises up from an empty
grave. Ain't no sinner that He can't
save. Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus.
His love is strong and His grace is
free and the good news is I know that
He can do for you what He's done for
me. Let me tell you 'bout my Jesus,
and let my Jesus change your life.
This song gives music and
words to a notion that I have been
repeating at every opportunity: we
serve a God that “Still Can!” Folks,
we serve a God that is still capable of
the kind of miracles that we see in
Scripture. For example, we serve a
God who is still able to completely
heal as He did the woman with the
issue of blood in Mark 5. We serve a
God who is still able to save 3,000
souls like He did on the Day of
Pentecost in Acts 2. We serve a God
who is still able to deliver from a
(literal or figurative) burning fiery
furnace like He did with Shadrach,
Meshach, and Abednego in Daniel 3,
just to cite a few.
A lot of people get
discouraged and through that
discouragement will be tempted (and
sometimes fall to the temptation) to
say things like, “Good luck getting
20 men here on Sunday morning.” Or
“What good is it to have an online
presence with worship?” Or one of
my favorites, “I just don’t think it’s
worth the trouble.”
Christian, we are not called
to look at the world around us and
bellyache about how nothing will
happen. Better than that, it’s not our
job or our calling to just give up
when things seem hopeless. Instead,
these are the times that we need to be
giving God the glory and trusting
Him through the “storm”, because we
serve a God that “Still Can!”
One night the disciples were
out in the boat on the sea; Jesus had
gone to the mountain to pray (we
could call this Jesus’ “prayer
closet”). Suddenly, Scripture tells us
that a great storm arose and then
around 3AM on our clock, Jesus
walked on the water toward the boat.
You remember the story, the
disciples were fearful, thinking they
were seeing a ghost. Jesus says to
them, “Don’t be afraid, it’s Me.”
Peter called out to Jesus and said, “If
it’s You, command me to get out of
the boat and come to You.” Jesus
says, “Come to Me.” Peter gets out of
the boat and walks on the water to
Jesus. But something significant
happens: Peter takes his eyes off of
Jesus, the fear takes hold, and Peter
begins to sink. He cries out to Jesus,
“Lord, save me!” Jesus catches him
and says, “You of little faith, why did
you doubt?” Could it be that Jesus
says the same thing to us when we
take our eyes off of Him and begin to
sink? Keep your eyes on Jesus; trust
a God that “Still Can!”
God bless and keep you!
Daniel
Phil. 4:13
Happy 4th of July!
Church Office will be closed Thursday, July 4th.
WITH SYMPATHY
Sincere sympathy is extended to the family and friends
of James Seay, who passed away on Monday, April 29,
2024. James was a humble servant of God, who always
had a smile for everyone.
Heartfelt sympathy is extended to the family and friends
of Joan Frith, who passed away on Monday, June 3,
2024. She was a dear sister in Christ and served several
years ago with the Youth and Adult choirs.
CHURCH COUNCIL MEETING
The Church Council will meet Wednesday, July 3, at
5:30 p.m. Come prepared to plan events for the church
calendar through December 2024. Those on the church
council include: Pastor, Deacons Chairperson, Music
Director, Stewardship Chairperson, Sunday School
Director, WMU Director, and Youth Coordinating
Chairperson. Other committee chairpersons are
encouraged to attend if they have items to add to the
calendar.
Hamburgers and Hot Dogs
On Sunday, July 28, we
are celebrating Family and
Friends Day. We will be
grilling hotdogs and
hamburgers after the
worship service for lunch
in the fellowship hall.
Bring your loved ones,
bring your neighbors, and bring your favorite side dish
or dessert to go with the hotdogs/hamburgers provided
by the church.
BUSINESS MEETING
The next Business Meeting will be August 14th at 6:00
PM. A new slate of Officers, Teachers, and
Committees will be presented for the church’s approval.
The Nominating Committee is beginning to work and
needs each member to consider where they can serve.
God has certainly gifted everyone with something that
they can do in His service. Prayerfully consider where
you want to serve and be ready to let the committee
know.
Saturday,
August 24
WMUV
Meetings
Tuesday - July 23 – 6:30 p.m.
Tuesday - July 27– 6:30 p.m.
OPPORTUNITY FOR MISSION GIVING
In July, the WMU of OLBC will be sponsoring a food
pantry fundraiser to help support the Grace Network
of MHC. Our items to donate in July are pasta, toilet
paper, feminine products, and deodorant. Tracy
Hinchcliff, director of Grace Network, states that they
are seeing a 20% increase in their food needs. Of course,
you can donate any non-perishable items, such as
canned vegetables, soup, potato products, pancake mix,
spaghetti sauce, or apple sauce. You can also make a
monetary donation. Please have your items in by
Sunday, July 21.
THANK YOU
Thank you to everyone who donated to the WMU
Missions Project for the Pregnancy Care Center in May.
The church donated $730 to this effort.
Christmas Child Thank You
Thank you to those that came out to
sort and begin packing our
anticipated 60 Operation Christmas
Child Shoeboxes. We still need
several items to complete the
shoeboxes. While you are
shopping, please purchase a few of
the following:
Pencils, pens, glue sticks, rulers, calculators,
composition books, crayons, colored pencils, markers,
scissors, paint sets, toothbrushes, underwear, combs,
hair brushes, hairbows, washcloths, tools, sewing kits,
coloring books, jump ropes, yoyos, balls, matchbox
cars.
Put This On Your Calendar
There are two WMUV events
upcoming that may be of interest
to you. Join us as we celebrate
150 years of women on mission
in Virginia at CrossRoads on
Saturday, September 7, 2024.
The Ladies Getaway is Friday, November 1 through
Saturday, November 2, 2024. Both events require
advance registration. See Donna Winebarger for more
information
SCHOOL CLOSINGS FOR INCLEMENT WEATHER
The Wednesday evening service is NO LONGER tied to the notice of schools closing for inclement weather. The church office will send out an email IF there has been a decision to cancel Wednesday services or you can call the office or a deacon to verify the cancellation. For announcements concerning Sunday Morning Services, listen to B99 FM radio or watch TV Stations, WDBJ, Channel 7 or WSLS, Channel 10, for possible church cancellations.
THE GRACE NETWORK OF MHC
OLBC is just one of over one hundred congregations
and other groups that partner with Grace Network to
help families in crisis in Martinsville and Henry
County. “Grace Network strives to give short-term
assistance and to help find long-term solutions.” Each
month we can help needy families by giving nonperishable
food items, toiletries, cleaning supplies,
and paper products. Check out the church bulletin to
see what OLBC has pledged to give. You can be a part
of this ongoing mission when you donate to this
worthy cause. Visit their website at www.gracenetworkmhc.org to learn more.
Sharing the Love
Each week our folks are visiting friends throughout the community to let them know we love and care for them. Sometimes it is to sit and pray with someone suffering from injury or illness and unable to get out. At other times it's to get to know neighbors in the area and to introduce them to the ministries of Oak Level, if they do not have a church home of their own. In every instance it is another opportunity to go in the name of Jesus in order to be an ambassador of love. If you have never experienced the joy of visiting others or meeting new friends in this way, please know that you are more than welcome to join us. Visitation times are flexible according to your schedule, and there are plenty of folks that you already know who would be honored to go with you. Contact any deacon or the pastor for more information.
Newsletters
We publish our newsletter at Oak Level Baptist Church every two months. If you would like to have a copy, please feel free to download one of the newsletter PDF files.
July 2024 - August 2024 Newsletter (in PDF format)
May 2024 - June 2024 Newsletter (in PDF format)
March 2024 - April 2024 Newsletter (in PDF format)
November 2023 - December 2023 Newsletter (in PDF format)
July 2023 - August 2023 Newsletter (in PDF format)
May 2023 - June 2023 Newsletter (in PDF format)
March 2023 - April 2023 Newsletter (in PDF format)
November 2022 - December 2022 Newsletter (in PDF format)
September 2022 - October 2022 Newsletter (in PDF format)
July 2022 - August 2022 Newsletter (in PDF format)
March 2022 - April 2022 Newsletter (in PDF format)
January 2022 - February 2022 Newsletter (in PDF format)
November 2021 - December 2021 Newsletter (in PDF format)
September 2021 - October 2021 Newsletter (in PDF format)
May 2021 - June 2021 Newsletter (in PDF format)
March 2021 - April 2021 Newsletter (in PDF format)
January 2021 - February 2021 Newsletter (in PDF format)
November 2020 - December 2020 Newsletter (in PDF format)
September 2020 - October 2020 Newsletter (in PDF format)
June 2020 - July 2020 Newsletter (in PDF format)
April 2020 - May 2020 Newsletter (in PDF format)
February 2020 - March 2020 Newsletter (in PDF format)
For older PDF newsletters, please click to visit our Archive page.
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