This last Sunday Pastor Toby began his brand new Sunday morning sermon series entitled The Power and the Glory: The Gospel of God in the Book of Romans. We are excited about this new series, and believe that God has so much in store for us as we move through this New Testament letter. We hope that in the coming weeks and months your own life with Christ will be nourished as we feast together on the rich substance of this book.

One of the things that we really hope to have happen within our church is a focused effort to dig into the rich mine fields of Romans. We want to encourage everyone to not simply make the book of Romans a once-a-week meal on Sunday mornings, but to invest time and energy to daily study the book along with the pastors as we prepare weekly to dig into the upcoming verses. Because of this we want to let you know of some key resources that you can obtain for your own personal study throughout this new year. These resources include some of the major commentaries that Pastor Toby, along with Cade and Michael, will be using in their own preparation and some other great books which can assist your reading of this book as God opens up its content – a message of the power of God and the glory of God revealed in the gospel of God.

I. Commentaries

To begin with, we want to let you know about some of the commentaries that our pastors will be reading as they prepare for Sunday mornings. These can be obtained easily from such online sites as amazon.com and wtsbooks.com. We encourage you to pick one (or all!) and read along in your own time with God each week in anticipation for the upcoming sermon.

II. Other Resources

In addition to the commentaries listed above, there are three other resources that can be great helps, especially as devotional tools. We encourage you over the next year to pick these books up. Read them, and use them for your own personal Bible study and as a guide as we prepare each week for Sunday’s sermon.

First Baptist Church Henryville can look back on 2011 with thanksgiving. There have been struggles, changes, and tragedies, yet through it all our fellowship has been grounded on the life-giving hope of an unchanging gospel. Because of that gospel our church has seen a year of bright hope and promise. Lives have been changed. The story of Christ, his cross, and his love for people has been proclaimed faithfully. Our members have been involved in missions, ministry, service, and as always our focus has been the joy that is ours in Jesus Christ. 2011 has been a very good year.

As we bring 2011 to a close and look ahead into 2012 we are excited as we anticipate all that God will do over the coming months. The next year will bring new sermon series, new Sunday School emphases, new missions opportunities, and new ways for the gospel to be proclaimed to our town, state, and world. 2012 will have youth events, women’s conferences, new Bible studies, new sermon series, and of course the big mission trip to Honduras. Along the way there will be some regular and traditional events, as well as some sorrows, sadness, and pain that are graciously unknown to us today. In the midst of the new, the old, and the painful our church will be upheld by the good news of what God has done for us through Jesus Christ. 2011 has been good, but we hopefully expect that 2012 will be even better, and so as one year passes into another we want to celebrate the unchanging gospel that has given and will continue to give us hope.

2011 will close focused on the story of Christmas. Beginning on December 11, Pastor Toby will be preaching a three-sermon series entitled The Message of the Manger: Following the Star to the Cross of Christ. On December 21st during our Wednesday Worship, we will leave the church and go into the community for a night of caroling. On Christmas Eve (Dec. 24) our annual Candle Light Service will prepare our hearts for the message of a God who entered our world as a tiny baby. Then on Christmas Day (a Sunday this year) we will begin our worship time with a special church-wide Sunday School hour (beginning at 9:45 am) entitled “Breakfast in Bethlehem.” Breakfast will obviously be served, and we will unwrap the greatest gift our world has even been given, a gift delivered not in a silvery sleigh but in a humble and dirty stable. After breakfast we will go upstairs (at 11:00 am) for the last Sunday Morning Worship of 2011.

And then, just a few days later we will ring in 2012 with a weekend of exciting worship. On New Years Eve (Saturday, December 31st) we will gather (at the church) for a time of fellowship, fun, and worship. A few hours later we will return on New Years Day as we gather for our weekly Sunday Morning Worship Service. 2012 will begin exactly where it should begin, with God’s people meeting together in worship. That service will kick-off a brand new sermon series (The Power and the Glory) that will be fully unveiled that morning. That night during our evening worship (6:15) we will gather as a local church for a time of singing, worship, and celebration as we give thanks in song for what God has done in 2011 and our only hope as we step into 2012.

We hope that you can be a part of all these exciting weekend worship services. We hope that you’ll invite your friends and family. We hope most of all, however, that as one year ends and another begins, that you will focus your heart and commit yourself not simply to new resolutions (which may be forgotten by March) but to the only source of hope, joy, peace, and life – not a new message of novelty but to an old, unchanging, and glorious gospel of a crucified yet risen savior. He will make all the difference in 2012 and forever.

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On Sunday July 3, 2011, First Baptist Church Henryville began to mobilize and join together to participate in an overseas short-term mission trip to the Central American nation of Honduras. Honduras is one of the poorest nations in the Western Hemisphere, and like so much of the world it stands in drastic need of both physical aid and the transforming gospel of Jesus Christ.

First Baptist Church Henryville is joining together and partnering with other Southern Baptist churches across the United States to bring medicine and so much more to the people of Honduras. We are connecting with a team led by Woodlawn Baptist Church in Vicksburg, Mississippi to send a team of individuals to that nation for a week in the summer of 2012. We will be working through an independent Southern Baptist mission agency called Baptist Medical and Dental International (BMDMI: A link to their website may be found under recommended sites) to work alongside a local Honduran Baptist church to bring in medical and dental care, food, clothing, children’s ministries, and preaching and evangelism.

The trip will be from July 3-10, 2012. We will be flying into the capital city of Tegucigalpa and from there will be heading out into the countryside to a small village to work.  The cost estimate for the trip is $2,000.00 per person and we are asking for a commitment (along with a non-refundable deposit of $200.00) no later than November 13, 2011. Individuals who join with us to go to Honduras will be able to minister and serve in a variety of ways like evangelism, children and sports ministry, medical and dental assistance, pharmacy and give-away ministry, veterinary teams, and team support (i.e. kitchen, variety of jobs, etc.). No matter your age, your interests, or your talents, there is definitely a place for you with our team.

We are excited about what God is doing at FBC Henryville. We are passionately committed to being a church that engages to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to Southern Indiana, the United States, and the other nations of the world. That is our commitment, and we hope that you will come alongside us and make the glory of God and the need of the nations your passion as well.

So how can you be involved? Well, there are three major ways that each person can join with our mission to Honduras:

1. First, every person can pray. We know that not everyone will be able to physically go with us in the summer of 2012. Everyone, however, can pray. Pray for our church as we seek to make the gospel known among the nations. Pray for our leaders as they seek to guide us in discipleship. Pray for the people of Honduras that we will be serving. Pray for yourself as you diligently seek God’s will regarding your participation in this trip.
2. Second, we ask that every person support our church in sending a team to Honduras. You can support our mission’s ministry in a number of ways alongside your prayers. There will be opportunities for you to donate clothes and other materials for our ministry there and to give to the people we will be serving. You can help us raise money for the trip. Two thousand dollars can be a daunting amount for a person! Throughout the next year we will be striving to raise money in a number of ways, and we would definitely like all the help we can get! Finally, you can help sponsor another team member by helping to offset the cost of their trip. If you cannot go, we would ask you to prayerfully consider setting aside a certain amount of money to help someone else go.
3. Finally, you can go. Every Christian is under orders to make the proclamation of the gospel a passionate priority. Some Christians are called to be senders – those who mobilize and support the preaching of the gospel around the world. Others are called to be goers. Those are the only two options other than disobedience. For our mission endeavor in Honduras we are going to need many senders to come alongside us and support this effort, but we also need goers. We hope that you will consider being one of those who goes with us. Nothing impacts a person’s discipleship like participating in missions. It truly is a life transforming moment and we would love for you to be involved. Be warned, however. Count the cost. Making the commitment to go will be costly. The trip may be difficult and exhausting. And finally, it will be addictive. Once you step out in faith and take the love of God to the nations, your life will never be the same. Everything else will pale in comparison.

 We hope you’re excited about this mission opportunity. The leadership here at First Baptist certainly is. We hope to have you join with us this year as we go from Henryville to Honduras.

A Week of Your Life from Ken Summerall on Vimeo.

On Sunday evening (July 3rd) our church will gather for worship. During that service we will be emphasizing the task of missions for the local church. We will be worshipping the God who commands us to go and beginning a time of prayer as we seek to continue to be a local church that spreads a passion for God’s name among all the peoples of earth.

We will be hearing a mission report from a group that just returned from assisting a local missions group in Tennessee, and we will be unveiling and beginning the prayer and mobilization for a mission trip in the summer of 2012.

Make plans now to attend!

Our Lord, before ascending into heaven gave us one last instruction on what He wanted us to do.  Read here what He said in Matthew 28:18-19  And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.  (19)  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:.

Jesus gave instruction that we are to take the gospel into every nation, and as your pastor I want to lead you to be obedient to this command.  The way I plan to do this is by offering two trips a year.  One trip will be a foreign trip, and the other will be a local trip.

This coming year we will be taking a trip to South East India.  I am really excited that we have 7 people from our church who are going on this trip.  I was apporached by many who wanted to go but could not because of the dates of the trip.  So next year I’m gonna plan a trip durning the summer or spring break so more peope will be able to go.  I’m thinking that we will go to Peru instead of India so that will also make the price a little cheaper as well.

For a home mission trip this year we went to Jelly stone and had a great turn out.  We are still looking at what we will do for home missions next year.  We may go to Eastern Kentucky or West Virginia.  We are in the process of working out when and where that trip will be.

So be praying about being involved and where God wants you to go.  I realize that because of circumstances, health, scheduling, or money that not everyone can physicaly go on these trips, but I want to encourage you to be a part of the trip in some way.  You can pray, give, and encourage those who are going.  I want all of us to be a part of this mission trip.  We are not going as a small group.  We are going as a church.  I can’t wait to see what God does with us.  He is so good to us.

I want to thank all of you for your contributions for Pastor Peter’s scooter. It is so awesome to think that he will soon be able to get to the villages with ease. I’m so thankful to be a part of a church who is willing to give for such a cause as this. Thank you so much
In Christ,
Toby