Pastor's Notes

As I write this, they are talking about the arrival of our first major snow storm of the year. The temperatures have gotten much colder in the last week. I am amazed at how quickly the weather can change in a week. As a reminder, in inclement weather, please call the church first to make sure that the parking lot is plowed and that the roads are clear for traveling. Because I do not drive to church, I do not know the condition of the roads. Please use common sense in making a decision on whether to drive in poor weather.

Sarah and I are excited for the Christmas present that we have for the children. We believe that we have been successful in keeping it a secret from them, and will share with you next week what we are doing.

This week we are celebrating Christmas. May we join with the chorus of the angels who sang "Glory to God in the highest". As we remember the birth of Christ, may our praise be to God for His wondrous gift.

New Year's Eve will be a great time of fellowship for the church family. We hope that you are able to make plans to be with us for the evening. The next day, the family and I will be heading to South Jersey to celebrate Christmas with my family. We will probably over night there and come home on Saturday. Maybe I will be able to get a stromboli while I am down there. It is always neat to see how differently things are made from state to state. That is one of the examples.

-Pastor Stephen Racite

Pastor's Notes

This past Monday, Betty Wright went home to be with the Lord. Betty has been a dear friend, and one who has been a great encouragement to me in the ministry. I have missed her presence in the services over the last several months, and will miss her words of encouragement in the years to come.

Sarah was invited to go shopping on Thursday, and Mom even paid for the baby sitter so that it was just her and mom shopping. If I understood her correctly she was able to finish shopping for everyone in one day. I am so glad that I do not have to go shopping now. I guess I do need to get a gift for her. I am still racking my brain for an idea, which makes it hard for me to get something, and I do not like to just go looking until I find something.

As we approach the Christmas season, please feel free to bring in poinsettias and place them in the front of the church. The flowers will add to the beauty of the sanctuary as we prepare to celebrate the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. This is a time of year when we can remember that Jesus Christ, the Son of the Living God, was born to die for our sin. His birth and death was in the perfect timing of God's will.

It is my desire to see our children's programs grow, especially after the New Year. If you know some young people, please invite them to our Sunday School, Junior Church, and Sailor's Kids programs. Obviously, there is a service for the adults during these times as well.

-Pastor Stephen Racite

Pastor's Notes

Many of you have been praying for the Perkins Family for the last few years as Scott has been battling brain cancer. The family has been through many trials, as Katey had cranial surgery while still an infant, Scott was in Walter Reed for several months as he was diagnosed with brain cancer while on active duty with the Air National Guard. Recently, Scott was medically discharged from the military. Now, he is taking the last of his chemotherapy sessions and they have seen some improvement. However, Katey is preparing to have another cranial surgery on December 21. Shelly is also having some surgeries scheduled. If you would like to send them a card, please e-mail me for their address.

CHANGE!!! Our New Year's Eve Open House will not be at the parsonage, but will instead be at our Maranatha Campus. Please bring some board games that you enjoy playing, and some snacks to share. If you have a favorite ping pong paddle, there is a ping pong table. There is also a fusball table for those of you who like table soccer. Lord willing, we will set up a television and movie player to watch a movie for those interested - I just bought one that I need to screen first. As the New Year approaches, we will pray it in, and celebrate as a church family. We will still start at 7pm and if you choose to leave before midnight, that is not a problem.

-Pastor Stephen Racite

Pastor's Notes

I hope that Everyone had a good Thanksgiving! We had a good time around our house, enjoying time with each other. We watched some movies, ate a big turkey dinner, and made a craft together. It was a relaxing day to enjoy some time together.

There is a lot that is coming up this week. We will be having a Theology Class, and a Ladies Bible Study on the same night. I have a meeting on Friday in South Jersey and will be traveling with my friend, Pastor Roof, down and back. I am looking forward to the time of fellowship with him.

The Christmas Dinner will be on Saturday, December 19 at 5:30 PM. The church will provide a ham and turkey for the dinner, and we ask that you bring a side and/or dessert to share. I look forward to this time of fellowship together as we remember the birth of our Savior, and that He came to die for our sins.

It is interesting listening to Joel talk, he is using more and more words, but he has a hard time with his siblings names. Stephen is "Oonan", Rebekah is "Nekah" and Jennifer is "UhHuh." Perhaps in the near future, we will be able to tell which one of his sisters and brother he is complaining about. Until then, we are continuing to teach him their names.

As we prepare for Christmas, we will set up a table in the back for non-perishables. During this time there are some families that are going through a season of difficulty, and we would like to be able to minister to them, and share with them an example of God's Great love.

Pastor Stephen Racite

Pastor's Notes

Sarah and the children were delayed a day in coming home because of a problem with the van. As they were preparing to leave her parents house, the check engine light came on. Rather than try and make a lengthy trip with something major wrong, she took the time to have it checked out. It seems that the problem should not affect the operation of the vehicle, but the amount of pollution that we create. We will need to get it fixed in the next couple of weeks.

This Wednesday we will have our Thanksgiving Eve service. We encourage you to join us for this time of fellowship as we rejoice in what God is doing in our lives. Please bring a praise and a pie for our fellowship. I trust that this Thanksgiving will be one that we remember for many years because of all of the blessings that God has poured out on us. May we rejoice for he is a great God and worthy of praise. While we have the privilege of setting aside one day of the year, may our daily lives be ones of offering praise to God.

For Christmas, we will have a Prayer Meeting Service on December 23. There will not be a Christmas Eve Service. The following week, we will have no Prayer meeting, but a New Year's Eve fellowship at the Parsonage. We enjoy this great time of fellowship. Please let me know this week whether December 12 or 19 works better for you for a Church Christmas Dinner. It seems hard to believe that this coming up on us so quickly.

-Pastor Stephen Racite

Pastor's Notes

Sarah and the children left on Wednesday to visit with her family in North Carolina. Her sister and nephew are flying in from California, and her brother teaches at the school where her Dad is the administrator. They have a busy time planned. Her grandmother was supposed to fly in from Ohio, but she broke her arm and is unable to make it.

They had hoped to make it to North Carolina on Thursday, but due to heavy rain and high winds they stayed at my parent's house for an extra day. Mom took them to an outlet mall. I always hated those trips. We went once a year right before school started, and we had to carry the bags with our clothes in them after Mom bought them. We would get there early and they threw us out at the end of the day.

Brendan and Melissa Homquist were originally scheduled to be with us in July for our Vacation Bible School on July 19-23, 2010. However, they recently e-mailed us to let us know of a change in their itinerary. Melissa is expecting, and so they will be unable to come home until September. We rejoice with their newest gift. If you believe that you could help in any way, please let Dale Conklin know so that we can begin making plans. We will be doing a Sea Quest theme this year. I will keep you informed.

Men, we will be scheduling some project nights on Thursdays from January through April here in the church. There are some minor and major projects that we can accomplish together. This will be a time of fellowship, and a chance to finish some projects around the church.

-Pastor Stephen Racite

Pastor's Notes

How exciting it is to be reminded that this world is not our home. There is much about Heaven that we have been told in Scriptures, of the beauty of the Heavenly city, of a street of gold, of the absence of tears, illness, death, and the sun. However, the greatest delight we have in Heaven is that we shall be in the presence of our God and Savior for all eternity.

There is much about Heaven that we do not know. God has given us but a foretaste of its glories. If this is so, I can only begin to imagine how much greater the joy and delight that will be there when we arrive home. May our hearts and minds be encouraged as we consider the study of our future home. May our prayer be "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."

It is our delight to have the Stelzers with us this morning. Dr. Stelzer has spent 20 years in the ministry, and is currently a professor in the Bible department at Pensacola Christian College and Pensacola Theological Seminary. I have had him as an instructor on both the undergraduate and graduate level, and look forward to having him share the Word of God with us this morning.

Basic Baptist Beliefs: a study on the Biblical Distinctives of Being a Baptist. Starting next week, Pastor Bossley will begin teaching this class during the Adult Sunday School hour. This class will examine the reasons why we identify ourselves as a Baptist Church. We will examine both the doctrinal positions and their practical import into what we believe. Come join us for this time of study, and bring your children for classes for their age.

-Pastor Stephen Racite