On My Heart...

Quick note to our church family (and other kind readers) of what is on my heart this morning...

... Recently read an old book titled "How To Pray" by a R.A. Torrey. It has been a life changing book! I read a lot of books and I rarely say that, but this small book is worth reading. Currently all of our deacons and council are reading the book and they are saying the same thing about it. Ask Bill Marriott or Henry Zigan or Martin Bauer what they think about the book. I imagine any deacon will give you a strong recommendation to read it.

... I'm excited about our new Church Council. We had our first leadership meeting this past Sunday night. I look forward to how we can work together to serve the Lord and the church. Pray for these eight men: Billy Andrews, Jeff Salyer, Ray Wagner, Andrew Roth, Henry Zigan, Bo Bogardus, Sean Hall, Michael George.

I've got to take a break. More to come...

Pastor Noel

Upcoming PM Series

Leave a Comment on our New Blog

Check out a new blog we are using to get the word out about an upcoming message series.

www.InvestigatingEvidence.com

Leave a comment about any objection to the Bible's trustworthiness and I will be sure to address it during this message series.

Pastor Noel

Tomorrow, tomorrow...

Tomorrow I will begin a new series of messages I have titled, "Everyone Lives Forever, Somewhere". I think that sometimes we get in the middle of the busyness and stress of life and forget why we are still here, what our purpose is as believers and as a church.

My prayer is that in the next four weeks we can recapture a real sense of urgency for sharing the good news of God's love and forgiveness with those who haven't yet experienced it. I pray that we while see real change in our lives and our church in these next few weeks.

On another note... Our Ukraine mission team will land back in Columbus around 5:30 pm on Monday. Pray for their last Sunday in country. All the reports we have heard are that it has been a great trip.

Pastor Noel

Lord's Supper

This Sunday morning we will share in the taking of the Lord's Supper in our main worship service. Ordinarily we do this in the evening, so this will be a special event.

I've been thinking about what I want to say for a while now. As I have studied the first Lord's Supper in Scripture, I believe the Lord has shown me a great insight into how to communicate the importance and value of this special celebration.

We will be focusing on the account of the events just preceding the Lord's Supper in John 13. I encourage you to prepare by reading the chapter and asking the Lord to prepare your heart. It will be a good day of worship!

Pastor Noel

New Ministry Staff

Dear FBC Heath Family,

As I shared with you back in January, we are making a concerted effort to increase our outreach to young families by improving and expanding our preschool, children, and youth ministries.

The first step in that was to begin the process of renovating our preschool facilities. The cost of that project will be around $190,000, and it is our commitment to pay cash for this expense. So this past March we began to collect the needed funds. As of today, four months later, through your generosity and sacrifice, you have given $140,722.45! Construction will begin as soon as we have the needed funds in that account.

This Sunday we will take another step in this effort to reach more young families. We will ask the church to create two new ministry staff positions. Both of them will be under the umbrella title of “Family Ministry Directors”. We have asked Phil and Christine Lintz to serve in these positions once they are approved.

Phil will be working along side Pastor Troy in the youth ministry. We will eventually see that ministry split into a junior high and a senior high ministry. It is our desire to see our youth ministry grow to reach more and more young people. One of the steps we believe is needed for this is to free up Troy’s time to focus on the Senior High youth and then to have Phil focus on reaching and discipling the younger ones.

It is often difficult to preach a message to teens when you have 12-year-olds and 18-year-olds in the same group. Many of the issues an eighteen year old in our culture will face are different from those the twelve year old encounters.

Troy and I have spent much time talking and praying about this, and we believe this will be a valuable step toward increasing the effectiveness of our youth ministry.

Christine will work with Pastor Wally in the preschool and children’s ministry. With the new preschool facility, our new security procedures, and our expanding children’s ministries, we simply need more hands on deck. Christine has become a great assistant to Pastor Wally and an effective leader alongside many others in our children’s ministry in the last year. Pastor Wally and I are looking forward to seeing how an expanded role for Christine will help us reach more families.

In order to facilitate these new positions and also to increase Pastor Troy’s salary to better reflect his responsibilities, we will need to make some financial adjustments. I believe at this time, with the financial climate of our nation and state, we do not need to increase our budget requirements. So I have asked Scott, our administrator, to identify sufficient funds that we can move from one area of the budget to another to take care of this need. He has put together a recommendation that will accommodate the change without negatively impacting any of our ministries. After the church approves this ministry step, we will ask the finance team to officially make those changes.

If you have any questions, please call or email me or Pastor Wally at the church. Or you can contact any of our church council members. We will try to answer all your questions during the week. Sunday we will vote without discussion in our morning worship service.

I am thankful for how the Lord has provided our church with such excellent leaders… both those I get to work with on staff and those godly, faithful laypeople in our church.

In Christ,

Pastor Noel

Fourth of July Message

I am very excited about what I believe the Lord has shown me in His Word to share with you on Sunday morning!

In the Scripture story of a man by the funny name of Hezekiah we see that he makes a grave mistake near the end of his life that tarnished his legacy and hurt his nation. I believe it is that same error that we are facing as a nation, and perhaps even as a church.

Sunday we will focus on Isaiah 39 and the passages that give us background to the story.

My prayer is that the Lord will shake us from our complacency and our selfishness as a nation, as a church, as fathers and mothers, and as the children of God!

I hope you will make plans to join us, even though it is a holiday weekend.

Pastor Noel

Graduation and Recitals

This has been a busy week, not a good week to have a cold. Today there is a homeschool recital and then a graduation service to follow. Tonight is dance recital number two. Wednesday's recital lasted until nearly 11:00 p.m.! But the nine minutes my girls were dancing were really exciting. During the other three hours and twenty one minutes I read the new Craig Groeschel book, The Christian Atheist. Pretty good book.

Two big events coming up at the church...

Youth leave for youth camp this Sunday!

VBS begins the following week (6/26)!

Be in prayer for these events.

By the way, a lady in our church, Tonya Carlisle, is expecting to give birth to her baby today. She is only at 34 weeks, so we are all in prayer for mom and baby.

Pastor Noel

Ready for Sunday!

I'm sitting at an airport in birmingham AL this morning waiting to catch a flight home. I flew down yesterday to spend some time with my mom who is undergoing treatment for cancer. We had a good day yesterday... My sister and her boys from Atlanta were in too so it was good to spend time with them.

It has been a very busy week. Due to the holiday on Monday everything has been compressed, but tomorrow is the beginning of a new week.

I am really looking forward to worship tomorrow. I will be preaching the last message in our series on Joseph in Genesis. We will be focused on the one thing you see throughout Joseph's life that allowed him to handle everything that came his way.

..............

Sometimes people ask me what I am especially praying for right now. Well, let me share...

... Of course I am praying much for my mother as she goes throughout her treatments.

... I am praying for Edward Rafferty who lost his mother this week.

... I am praying for a very serious community issue that impacts a number of people in our church and also impacts the whole faith family in our area. Just pray that the Lord's will be done.

... I am praying for our missions work in Kenya. I had a good meeting with the Kenya team this week. I am enthused for this ministry right now.

... I am praying for youth camp and vacation Bible school, both of which are just around the corner.

Well, it's time to line up to get on the plane...

Pastor Noel

Memorial Weekend Wrap Up

Well as I'm preparing my Connect Group Bible study for tomorrow morning and thinking back through the weekend, I am so thankful for the last three days. I got to spend some good quality time with my girls; I was able to ride my bike with some good weather, finally; we had a great day of worship; I got to go out on a date with my wonderful wife; and I got to spend some time with some good friends...

This upcoming week will be extra busy because I'm starting one day behind, but it should be a good week.

Tomorrow morning starts off with my Men's Connect Group, then a quick meeting with the bank (they are lowering my interest rate on my mortgage!!!), then staff meeting, then hopefully I can focus on preparing for upcoming messages for a few hours.

I hope you had a good weekend and I pray that this next week is a great week for both you and me...

Pastor Noel

A Blessing For My Girls

In the morning message today, I shared how I prayed and asked the Lord to show me what I should pray for my daughters. I wrote down what I felt like the Lord wanted me to pray and I shared it with them by praying this prayer over them. For more info, you can listen to the message when it is posted on our church website next week. If it would help you to pray about what you should specifically pray for your kids or grand kids, you can take a look at the prayers I prayed.

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Hannah...

… Lord, I thank you for Hannah, my first daughter. Donna and I prayed and asked you for her and she is one of the best answers to prayer we have ever received from you. You have shown us your kindness through Hannah and we will always praise you for that.

… Lord in heaven, you have given Hannah such a sensitive spirit. That sensitivity shields her from some temptations. I pray that never changes. You have given her an exceptional intelligence. I pray she always uses that to serve you and your kingdom. You have given her remarkable self-discipline, which can help her accomplish much in life if she doesn’t lose it through distraction. So I pray that you keep her focused on the right priorities and never let the world steal the value of this special gift from you.

… Lord, thank you for the salvation that you have given to her. My greatest desire for my girls is that they would become your girls… that they would be children of God. Thank you for convicting Hannah’s heart and giving her the gift of faith so that she could call on you. Thank you for forgiving her sins and securing her eternal life through the sacrifice of Christ.

… Lord, I ask that you increase Hannah’s faith. I know she struggles with fear and worry at times. I pray that you remind her of your faithfulness and trustworthiness. You have been so good and so faithful to our family through the years. I cannot count your blessings. Please let the memory of that faithfulness always be at the forefront of Hannah’s thoughts and let it guard her mind with the peace that passes understanding.

… Lord, I pray that you give Hannah a strong desire to study and know your Word. I believe you have specifically gifted her to excel in this. I ask that you will give her a special insight into what she reads. I pray the Holy Spirit will be her teacher. I pray that she will have the commitment to your Word as an eleven year old that will allow her to be used in an unusual way to teach your Word as a teen and as an adult. I pray that Donna and I will do the things we should do to foster this special gift. I pray that we will be a catalyst in what you want to do in her life and not a hindrance or a distraction.

… Lord, I ask even now that you bless Hannah’s future family. Please protect her innocence and purity. Fix in her mind the value of being a godly wife and a godly mom. Don’t let the world teach her that those are somehow less important roles than the roles the world may offer. I pray for her future husband. I pray that you protect his innocence and his purity. I pray that his parents are leading him to a close walk with you.

… Father, I give you my daughter, Hannah. She belongs to you. Use me to guide her, to teach her, to protect her. But Lord, don’t let me take her back. My desire is that she always be set apart for your honor.

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Emily...

… Lord, thank you for Emily, my baby daughter. You gave her to me and Donna at a time in life when so many good things were happening. She was the best of those things. Your undeserved goodness to us is amazing. Praise you for your kindness.

… Lord, thank you for the salvation that you have given to her. My greatest desire for my girls is that they would become your girls… that they would be children of God. Thank you for convicting Emily’s heart and giving her the gift of faith so that she could call on you. Thank you for forgiving her sins and securing her eternal life through the sacrifice of Christ.

… Lord, there is no doubt that Emily is fearfully and wonderfully made. I thank you for her winsome personality and her caring, soft heart. I believe you have gifted her with an unusual ability to encourage people and to bring joy into their lives. I pray that you will protect that. I ask that this special giftedness become a real ministry that changes lives and I pray that this ministry begins very early in her life. Please give Donna and I the direction we need to foster this ministry and to put her in the best situations to help her be a blessing to others.

… Lord, thank you also for giving Emily such a quick, sharp mind, and a love for reading, especially an early passion for reading your Word. I pray that her love for reading the Bible will be a transforming thing in her life. I pray she will be daily washed in your Word in such a way that her purity will be guarded, her wisdom will increase, and her joy will be contagious.

… Lord I ask that you give Emily greater focus. I know that she struggles with distractions, but with your help she can overcome this. I believe you have such important things for Emily to do in this life. I pray that she doesn’t miss any of them because of distraction.

… I pray, Lord, that you will make Emily into a prayer warrior. I pray that she will draw near to you in a special way and that you will draw near to her in a special way. I ask that you will increase her faith and expand her understanding such that prayer becomes one of the most important things in her life. I ask that this devotion to prayer becomes a source of help and strength not only for her but for our church and our community. I ask that you make her a leader in this ministry throughout her life. I pray that you will be honored in an uncommon way because of her heart for prayer to you.

… Lord, I ask even now that you bless Emily’s future family. Please protect her innocence and purity. Fix in her mind the value of being a godly wife and a godly mom. Don’t let the world teach her that those are somehow less important roles than the roles the world may offer. I pray for her future husband. I pray that you protect his innocence and his purity. I pray that his parents are leading him to a close walk with you.

… Father, I give you my daughter, Emily. She belongs to you. Use me to guide her, to teach her, to protect her. But Lord, don’t let me take her back. My desire is that she always be set apart for your honor.

Pastor Noel

Wrap Up for the Week

It's been a pretty good week. I began the week praying that the Lord would help me be very productive this week. He has done so. Every item on this week's to-do list has been marked off. (That never happens.) Sermon is ready to go. I was able to make a ton of visits and pastoral phone calls. I was able to do every pending counseling request...

Yesterday was a very good day. I drove over to the Stowe Center in Columbus, a church and community mission our church helps sponsor. There I watched eleven of our church kids serve over 100 people in the soup kitchen. They did an excellent job. It is amazing to see how mature these kids can be when they are engaged in service. All the kids seemed anxious to come back for their assigned serving day in June.

I hope to have a lazy day today. This morning, I need to put together a little bit of lawn furniture Donna wanted, and then I'm going to spend a few hours on my bike. Maybe a family picnic this evening.

I hope to see you tomorrow. We are going to have a great day of worship.

Pastor Noel

A Good Finish

A couple posts ago I said that Tuesday was a day with a good start and a good finish. Let me tell you about the finish.

One of our young church members, Matt Parker, who owns a consulting business based in Columbus asked me to attend an open house for some new offices he opened. It was an honor to attend.

At the open house were a bunch of people I didn't know, political leaders and consultants from around the state and even some who had flown in from around the country. Some of these were Matt's business peers, some were clients, some were potential clients.

During the program part of the evening, Matt shared how the business started and a little of their history and services. Then Matt got to the part about his faith in Jesus Christ. I stood there with a heart filled with pride, the good kind, as this young business man boldly talked about his relationship with Christ and then went on to honor the Lord in very specific words.

Unfortunately, few men today would have the courage to so boldly profess their faith before their business peers and clients. I am thankful to the Lord that we have some of those men, women, and young people in our church family.

It should thrill us all when our Lord is honored!

Pastor Noel

How To Be A Blessing To Your Kids

I just finished the first draft of my Sunday message. It has been a convicting study process. Since we are focusing on the life of Joseph in our Sunday messages these last few weeks I have spent time this week learning how Joseph and his father Jacob sought to be a blessing to Manasseh and Ephraim (Joseph's sons).

I realize that sometimes we just take the growth, maturity, and spiritual development of our kids or grandkids for granted. Joseph and Jacob were much more intentional. I have been convicted as I have outlined the things they did.

So Sunday we will study through this. I think it will be helpful whether your kids or grandkids are young or old. It is never too late to have some influence on those around us. In fact, the principles we will learn will teach us how to have influence in the lives of everyone around us, not just kids and grandkids.

Looking forward to Sunday!
Pastor Noel

A Good Start

Yesterday had a great start and a great finish. I'll tell you a little about the start here and I'll fill you in on the finish in my next post.

Yesterday was day one of our Tuesday morning men's Connect Group for the Summer semester. Things went well. All the men shared some personal prayer needs and we prayed individually for each of those needs. We also began to look at the Genesis story of the life of Joseph. I can't wait to see what the Lord will do through these 15 weeks.

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Today I will be preaching at Violet Conners' funeral. I sat down yesterday with her husband and their three adult children. I've got to say there have been few times I've been with families that seem as close and as supportive of each other as them. I am actually looking forward to the funeral today. It will be a real celebration of Vi's life.

Pastor Noel