Pastor John Scripture Reference: Acts 2: 22-41

 by William F. Sherman God of the glorious sunshine, God of refreshing rain, whose voice bids earth awaken and clothe itself again.  With life of richest beauty, in plant, and flower, and tree; Thou God of light and splendor, we rise and worship Thee.

By George Whitefield Christmas is much more meaningful than we sometimes realize. The celebration of the birth of Christ has been esteemed a duty by most who profess Christianity.  When we consider the condescension and love of the Lord Jesus Christ, in submitting to be born of a virgin, a poor sinful creature; and especially as He knew how He was to be treated in this world; that He was to be despised, scoffed at, and at last to die a painful, shameful, and ignominious death; that He should be treated as though He were the off-scouring of all mankind; […]

  by Alex McFarland A church congregation functioning at its best is a beautiful thing to experience.  I was recently reminded of this while attending a funeral service.  My heart was stirred as I watched fellow church members shower the bereaved family with love, prayers, and home-cooked meals.  About a week after the funeral, one of the family members approached and told me, “Our pastor has been so faithful, and we’ve really felt God’s love throgh all of the members reaching out to us.  We’ere gonna be okay.”

Sunday school begins at 9:15-10:15am and Worship at 10:30am on News Year’s Day.  There will be no evening activities at the church.

First Baptist Church of Perryville will have a Christmas Eve Candlelight Service at 7 PM.  Our Christmas Eve worship service features 1 portion singing by candlelight.

3 As I urged you when I went into Macedonia, stay there in Ephesus so that you may command certain men not to teach false doctrines any longer 4 nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies. These promote controversies rather than God’s work—which is by faith. 5 The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1:3-5 (NIV)

Pastor John Scripture Reference: James 1:16-18

For many families, contraception has simply become a fact of contemporary life. Despite its pervasiveness, Christians should be aware of the origins of the phenomenon. History recounts the rise of modern birth control as being one of strange associations.

A number of churches have recently found themselves on trial for the practice of biblical church discipline, which some courts in the last few years have found is a violation of the rights of the person disciplined. If that is the direction American jurisprudence takes, it will be a new one. Throughout the history of the American republic, civil courts have denied that they have any jurisdiction over ecclesial decisions of local churches. Here is a small collection of opinions on the matter handed down by America’s judges over the past 150 years.