Have you ever tried to build character in your life, but realized you fell short? Maybe you tried really hard to stop being unkind, but the more you focused on trying to not do it, the more you did it.
 
Trying to do the right thing and build character in your life can be challenging. Even though it’s not always easy to be a person of character, it’s the right thing to do. So how do we get from being unkind to kind? How do we get from being upset to being at peace? How do we let these fruit of the spirit become real in our lives?
 
The answer is in focusing on the Holy Spirit. This verse says that the Holy Spirit produces these fruit in our lives. So instead of focusing on how many times you mess up each day by not being patient or kind, focus instead on God. Realize that He has put His Holy Spirit in you and so you have the ability to be kind. You’re not doing it in your own strength, but you’re relying on what’s already in you to live out a life of character.
 
Choose today to believe that you’ve got what it takes to be a person that is loving, full of joy and living out the fruit of the spirit. Focus on God and realize that with His help, you can do it!
 
Bro. Brian
 
 College/Student Sunday March 24th
  
This Sunday, March 24th the college and Main Event students will be leading out our morning and evening worship services. I am asking our church family to pray for these students as we prepare for this special Sunday.
-------------------------------------------------
 
ETERNITY
 
I hope everyone has enjoyed their Spring Break. This is the last week of our series in “Eternity”, by author and Pastor Francis Chan. I must say this has been an awesome series. Several students have been moved by this study. Please continue to pray for our group and the work that God is doing with our young people.
 
-------------------------------------------------
 
We're Having' a BAR-B-Q!
The Main Event is hosting a BBQ lunch on April 7th after morning service. All proceeds will help us get to SOAR in Dallas this year.  We will have all the trimmings and to-go plates as well.  Hope to see you there.

===========================================================================

SOAR19
JULY 3-5, 2019
GAYLORD TEXAN,
GRAPEVINE, TEXAS

​WWW>GOSOAR.COM

Do you like watching superhero movies? You know, the ones where the hero is fighting crime, using his or her awesome superpowers and saving lots of people? Those types of movies are action packed and fun to watch.
 
Did you know that God did an equally awesome, superhero thing? See we were stuck in our sin, separated from God and there was nothing that we could do to know God. However, God did something incredibly more amazing than shooting spider webs from his wrists and leaping from building to building. He found a solution to our sin problem. He sent His son Jesus who sacrificed His own life to bring us back into relationship with God.
 
God rescued us in a huge way. He gave the most important thing He had, His son Jesus to rescue us from the dominion of darkness. We can now live and have a thriving relationship with Him. That’s a great reason to be happy. You now have the opportunity to live a life free from darkness and in relationship with the one true God!
 
So the big question, “Do you know Him?”
 
Bro. Brian

ATTENTION
SOUP LUNCHEON
The college ministry is having a soup lunch this Sunday March 3rd after morning service.  We are charging $5 dollar’s a bowl and it’s all you can eat!  We will have a variety of soups to choose from.  We hope that you all will stay and support this college ministry. All proceeds will be for Passion 2020.
 
-------------------------------------------------
 
ETERNITY
 
Last week we started a new series in Main Event entitled “Eternity”, by author and Pastor Francis Chan. I was blown away by the response that our students showed when we closed the service after our small groups. We also had a student to accept Christ into his life. Please continue to pray for our students and leaders as we go through this study. See you Wednesday @ 6:45.
 
-------------------------------------------------
 
PT practice this Wednesday at 5:45!  Please be on time.
 

We live in a world where we value instant everything. Instant answers online. We enjoy instant responses on social media and through text messages. Everything is fast and pretty easy. In the fast-paced world, we live in, it’s often easy to forget the basic things that God tells us to do.
 
God tells us to be kind. Being kind is tough especially online. We can often forget to filter what we say to others because we don’t have to say it that person’s face. We are to forgive others. Other people will let you down, say unkind things about you and it’s easy to hold those things against others. However, we are to forgive others.
 
That might almost seem impossible, especially if the person has really hurt you. However, because of what Jesus did for us, we have the ability to forgive others. We don’t always have to allow others access to hurt us again, but we do need to forgive them.
 
Today, if you’ve been hurt by someone, choose to forgive. If you’re tempted to be unkind, choose to practice kindness. Know that God has given you the ability to forgive and be kind, so choose to tap into that ability inside of you and live your life based on what Christ did for you.
 
Bro. Brian
 
 Valentine's Banquet

Thanks again to all that helped with our Valentines banquet this past Saturday. We had a good crowd of people that attended and I couldn’t be more proud. It was an honor to serve our church members a meal and to bless them with a few door prizes. I’m already getting excited for next year.
Also, don’t miss out this Sunday morning. I will have a Power Point to show our church family the pictures from our banquet.
 
-------------------------------------------------
 
ETERNITY
 
This week we are starting a new series in Main Event entitled “Eternity”, by author and Pastor Francis Chan. I am really excited about this series and I know you will enjoy it too. Please be in prayer for our students and leaders as we go through this study. I know God is going to do great things.
 
-------------------------------------------------
 SOUP LUNCHEON

The college ministry is having a soup lunch Sunday March 3rd after morning service.  We are charging $5 dollar’s a bowl and it’s all you can eat!  We will have a variety of soups to choose from.  We hope that you all will stay and support this college ministry. All proceeds will be for Passion 2020.

 
We often get wrapped up in the pursuit of happiness. It’s easy to think that if you could just do or be better that you’d have it made. So we work and work, trying to get more friends, or improve our grades to get into a better college. We do things like getting a job after school so we can get a car. And we think that if we can do enough, be enough or have enough, we will be happy.
 
The problem with doing more, being more, or having more is that these things are empty. There’s no amount of good grades that will truly make you happy in the long run. No amount of friends, or money will complete you. You can try and work to fill your life with stuff, and still feel empty.
 
Today’s Bible verse addresses these issues. The last part of the verse talks about not depending on your own understanding. What that means is don’t depend on what you think seems good. Don’t depend on what you see on TV or what you hear in the halls at school from your friends to tell you what will make you happy.
 
True happiness comes from a relationship with Jesus Christ. When you let Jesus into your life, He will show you how He sees you. It’s when you get to know and trust Jesus that you’ll find true happiness. If you want to be happy and live your life to the fullest, you need to choose to do what this verse says. You need to trust the Lord with all your heart. This isn’t always easy, but if you’ll spend some time getting to know God you’ll see that trusting Him brings you true happiness.
 
So choose today to trust in the Lord. Don’t get caught up in all the things of life and let them steal your happiness. Trust in God and look to Him for answers.
 
Bro. Brian
 
-----------------------------------------------
YOUTH PRAISE TEAM

PT practice this Wednesday at 5:45!  Please be on time.
 
 
------------------------------------------------
 
VALENTINE'S BANQUET
 
Don’t forget, The Main Event is having a Valentines Banquet for the Young at Heart on Saturday, February 16th at 5:00PM in the fellowship hall.  We are inviting all members, ages 62 and up to join us for this fun night!  If you didn’t sign up there is still time.  Please let me know before Friday February 8th if you plan on attending. By signing up we will have an idea on how much food to buy. We hope that you will be able to join us.  I’m looking forward to it! 
 
-------------------------------------------------
 
This Wednesday night will be in series #5 of our “Spiritual Fitness” journey.  We will be talking about “Rest”.  Can’t wait!  See you at 6:45PM

2 Timothy 3:5 “having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people”.
 
If you’ve ever played guitar, you know that the more you practice the more your hands get calloused. These callouses form on your fingertips and you begin to lose sensitivity in those areas. Callouses are a natural part of playing guitar, the more you play, the more calloused your hands get.
 
It’s often easy to develop callouses when it comes to the things of God. For example, it’s really easy to get used to hearing the gospel. You may have heard hundreds of times about God’s love toward you. You might have heard all the stories in the Bible tons and tons of times. If you hear it enough, sometimes you take it for granted or even become a bit calloused to the things of God.
 
This is an example of living a Godly life, but not really experiencing the power of that life. If you become calloused to the gospel, it means you’re no longer excited about the things of God. As you lose excitement, you begin to stop living in the light of God’s word. Doing this causes the gospel to lose it’s power in your life. So today, choose to not become calloused to the things of God. If you’ve lost some of your excitement for God, determine to spend more time in God’s presence. Choose to make time with Him a priority. Make knowing Jesus the most important thing in your life.
 
Bro. Brian
 
 
 

PT practice this Wednesday at 5:45!  Please be on time.
 
 
------------------------------------------------
 

 
The Main Event is having a Valentines Banquet for the Young at Heart on Saturday February 16th at 5:00PM in the fellowship hall.  We are inviting all members, ages 62 and up to join us for this fun night!  I will have a signup sheet in the foyer for those that are interested in attending.  By signing up we will have an idea on how much food to buy. We hope that you will be able to join us.  I’m looking forward to it! 
 
-------------------------------------------------
 
This Wednesday night in Main Event we will be starting our fourth lesson in our “Spiritual Fitness” Journey.  I will be talking about “Temperance (Self Control)”.  See you Wednesday night!
 
-------------------------------------------------
“Don’t let one bad choice lead to many bad choices. The best thing to do is to make the right decision from the start.”
 

Have you ever felt that people look down on you because you are young? Inexperienced, perhaps not qualified? The verse above is a great reminder that God uses the young for His will. 
 
Perhaps you feel like you are too young or don’t know enough to make a difference for God. However, that is not the case. What you know is enough. You are not too young to be used in a big way by God.
 
Challenge yourself to be a leader this New Year. Decide that you’re not going to just sit back and let life happen to you, but that you’re going to stand up and make a difference in the lives of those around you. Choose to be an example of God’s love to the people around you.
 
Bro. Brian
 Youth Praise Team
 PT practice this Wednesday at 5:45!  Please be on time.



VALENTINE'S BANQUET
The Main Event is having a Valentines Banquet for the Young at Heart on Saturday February 16th at 5:00PM in the fellowship hall.  We are inviting all members, ages 62 and up to join us for this fun night!  I will have a signup sheet this Sunday in the foyer for those that are interested in attending.  By signing up we will have an idea on how much food to buy. We hope that you will be able to join us.  I’m looking forward to it! 
 
-------------------------------------------------
 
This Wednesday night in Main Event we will be starting our second lesson in our “Spiritual Fitness” Journey.  I will be talking about physical exercise and way we can exercise our faith for God.  We had a good crowd of students last week and I’m hoping for another big crowd this Wednesday.  See you then.
 
 
 
 
 

How do you know that a car is a car? There are certain characteristics about a car that make it unique. These are the things that help you recognize a car. For example, you notice that it has four wheels, side mirrors, windows or an engine. These things make a car different than a horse, or a house.
 
How you know a car is a car is a lot like what today’s Bible verse is talking about. There are certain things that make a Christian a Christian. One of those things is love. As Christians, we should be loving each other, not tearing others down. Love is a characteristic that should define Christians.
 
Love shows up in many areas of our lives. How do we treat our mom? What do we do about the old lady down the street that needs help bringing in her groceries? These things are all examples of showing love to others. Love should be a trademark for Christians.
 

SOUP LUNCHEON
Thank you First Baptist for supporting our college ministry this past Sunday.  Our soup lunch was a success.  We raised a little over $400 dollars.  All the money raised will go towards Passion 2019 in Atlanta Georgia.
 
Youth Praise Team Practice this Wednesday at 5:45PM