The Sweet Dropper

REPORT
FPC hosted Mississippi Valley Presbytery on Tuesday. How many ministers and elders were here? When we convened at 9:00 am there were about 65. At 10:30 there were around 90. Guess when the largest crowd was here? If you guessed lunchtime, you were correct! Our ladies fed 110. When we adjourned at 4:30 pm a remnant of 60 or so remained. So it goes.

Our ladies did an outstanding job of planning and preparing meals and refreshments for the presbyters, who were very appreciative. I cannot tell you how many comments I received on how good the food was and how good our facilities looked. Our custodial staff and inside-outside committee and “squeaky-clean committee” did a great job. Preschool and PDS accommodated our guests beautifully. And I was encouraged to see many of you at the 11:00 am worship service as well.

Men’s Rally report: Sixteen FPC men attended last Friday’s Mid-South Men’s Rally at First Presbyterian Church of Jackson. There was food, warm fellowship, rousing hymn-singing and strong preaching from Rev. Rick Phillips of Greenville, South Carolina. Rick exhorted the near capacity crowd in two messages. In the first, we heard our calling as men summarized by the description of Adam’s work in the Garden of Eden: “working” and “keeping.” In the second, we were challenged in a very pointed way to consider how we ought to do those things in various areas of life. In addition to the 16, we saw and greeted Will Hammond, Tommy Galligan, Pat Davey, Tim Muse, and Rusty McKnight. And yes, you heard correctly that the church van suffered a tire blowout on MS 25 south of Carthage with yours truly at the steering wheel. With some help and encouragement from the men from Main Street Presbyterian in Columbus, we got ‘er done.

Joe has launched the website for the Culpeper, Virginia church plant. Check it out at culpepermission.org.

MEANDER
Gallup has just released a new poll on religiosity in the 50 U.S. states. The results indicate that Mississippi is the most religious state in the U.S., with 85% of respondents saying that religion is “an important part of daily life.” Alabama was a close second. The four New England states brought up with year with fewer than 50% of respondents reporting that religion was important. If anyone is interested in planting a church in Vermont, we ought to encourage him. As a pastor and native Mississippian, I take little pride in the survey results; rather, they suggest that we are most liable to be ‘tone deaf’ to the gospel and most likely to suffer from self-righteousness and Pharisaism. The bottom line is: we must continue to preach the gospel and to pursue God, his ways and people, whether we are in 85% territory or 42% territory. You can find a full report on the poll here.

ANTICIPATE
Morning Worship: I’m preaching Genesis 20 ( “God of Another Chance”). We’ll sing Love Divine, All Loves Excelling, I Need Thee Every Hour, and a setting of Psalm 37 which teaches us the wisdom of resting, trusting and waiting patiently for Lord, especially when it appears that the wicked are gaining the upper hand and the righteous languish.
Evening Worship: I’ll begin the series on Revelation (‘The Unveiling: The Revelation of Jesus Christ’). My plan is to zero in on some significant themes in the book and highlight how John’s vision gives deep pastoral insight into how we should live in the community of believers right here and right now. We’ll sing All Praise to God, Who Reigns Above, Faith of Our Fathers, Abide with Me, and How Firm a Foundation.