Pastor's Blog June 2016

John Chowning, SBC Pastor

Summer 2016 is here! Schools are out of session, and our young people are enjoying a two month break from the daily grind of school and engaging in academic study. Many families will be traveling for much-needed vacations. Others will be active with other summer activities such as softball and baseball. Farmers will be in the midst of busy and productive seasons that "make or break" their year. So, summer is always a very busy and enjoyable time.

We have a busy summer schedule at Saloma Baptist Church. In addition to our ongoing Sunday and mid-week services and activities (and please make regular church attendance and participation a key part of your summer schedule), we will be involved in the weekly Sunday morning Green River Lake State Park Ministry. Thanks to all those who are involved with this mission - our 21st year - and please join in prayer for the opportunity to reach people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

We have a tradition of having a summer mission project to keep us focused on the importance of global missions. We will once again be working to raise mission funds for our 12th water well in Zambia - in support of the work there of Lonnie and Fran Turner. All age groups in the church are a part of this mission project including the children during our upcoming Vacation Bible School.

Vacation Bible School is scheduled for July 15-17. Bro. Jason England and the VBS Team certainly welcome the participation of all children, youth, and adults in this very special ministry. There are servant leadership opportunities for youth and adults - and the children of all ages are encouraged to participate as students. Bible study, music, recreation, fellowship, crafts, refreshments, etc. are part of VBS. Support of our summer mission project - the water well for Zambia - is part of VBS.

Bro. Jason England and others in our church will be involved in Audience 1 Sports Ministry. This Christian ministry provides Christ-centered sports events for children and young people. Many lives are being touched through Audience 1. This ministry's influence has become regional with hundreds, actually thousands, of people being impacted by the Gospel of Jesus Christ in the venue of sports. Several of our SBC members and families are involved in this ministry and our church is one of the strong supporters. Pray for Audience 1!

We are also celebrating our church's 65th anniversary this summer. Our annual Homecoming Celebration will be on Sunday, August 28. This will be a wonderful way to end the summer with an old fashioned day of worship, fellowship, food, praise and worship, etc. as we give God praise for the rich history and legacy of our church and as we anticipate the continuing opportunities - today and tomorrow - to minister to our community and world in the name of Jesus Christ.

Yes, Summer 2016, is upon us, and it is a busy time. Let's make this a Christ-centered summer - one in which Jesus Christ pervades all that we do!

Pastor's Blog for May 2016

On the second Sunday of May each year, we pause to celebrate Mother's Day. This is certainly the case at Saloma Baptist Church as we gather on Sunday, May 8, and once again honor the mothers of our church family.

The writer of Proverbs spoke of the characteristics of a "noble wife/woman of character" in Proverbs 31:10-31.  Verse 10 reads as follows:  "A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." He adds in verse 26 these words:  "She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue." Finally in verses 30-31, the writer concludes, "a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate."

I think of those strong women in my own life who certainly epitomize what the wisdom writer shares in Proverbs 31. I think of my late maternal grandmother, Dollye Elliott Brockman, who lived to age 94 and was a strong Christian influence to four generations of our family. While she lived a simple life and was a homemaker, she was a strong influence for all who knew her and was in many ways the strong driving force who insisted that chidren and grandchildren would get good educations, serve the Lord with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and live Christian lives. I think of my late mother, who passed away at a much younger age - 63 years old, and she was a strong Christian influence for my brother and me, insisted that do our very best in school, to attend and finish college, and to grow up to be hard working men. She was a wonderful mother and wife.

And I am certainly blessed to be the husband of Catherine (Cathy) Pence Chowning, for soon to be 45 years (in August of this year). She truly is the essence of a "wife of noble character" as the writer of Proverbs discussed in chapter 31. She is a strong Christian, outstanding mother and grandmother, hard working professional in the healthcare industry, and faithful servant for the Lord. I have been truly blessed by the Lord bringing us together and giving us a wonderful life together. I praise God for and honor her during the month of May! In all areas of her life, she expresses the sentiment that the Proverbs writer expressed in chapter 31 about what it means to be a "woman/wife of noble character."

And, yes, God has blessed us with three beautiful daughters and three beautiful and smart grand-daughters (and, yes, I note that we have a great son and great grandson, but this is about the women in my life).

I firmly believe that God uses the women in our lives to do His kingdom work and ministry. I firmly believe that God has blessed my own ministry with strong support and encouragement by the women in my life. And I praise God for the women of Saloma Baptist Church - those who have gone home to be with the Lord and for those who remain in our midst - who are helping move our church forward in kingdom mission and ministry!

Join me in saying thanks to the women in our lives during the month of May and expressing a prayer of thanks to God for the many ways in which He is using them to advance His kingdom.

Pastor John Chowning

Saloma Baptist Church

May 2016

Pastor's Blog for April 2016

We live daily in the power and spirit of the Resurrected Lord. So often following the high point of Easter Sunday, we return to the "humdrum" of everyday living. Unfortunately, our spiritual life often enters into a stale period as well following such celebrations as Easter. 

Join me in 2016 to making a commitment that we will not return to an apathetic approach to our relationship with Jesus Christ. We have the spiritual power as displayed in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We have eternal life through our faith in the Risen Lord. The Holy Spirit indwells us once we have professed our faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord! 

Will we live daily in the power and spirit of the Resurrected Lord? Will we daily show the love and compassion of the Risen Lord in how we live and treat others? That is my prayer!

Pastor's Blog for March

The month of March is a busy and eventful time for most all people. From the "March Madness" that basketball fans enjoy with tournaments and championships at stake to the official beginning of the spring season to the remembrance of the passion and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ, March is a season of transition, transformation, and new beginnings. It is also a month in which we can go from snow and cold temperatures on one day to very warm temperatures and bright sunshine the very next day.

Easter Sunday is early this year - Sunday, March 27 will bring our annual celebration of our Lord's resurrection. From Palm Sunday on March 20 through Easter Sunday on March 27, we will observe what is called Holy Week in the Christian tradition. Holy Week is a very special week and should be a time in which we daily take time to consider that course of events that led to Calvary where Jesus Christ died for the atonement of our sins. In many ways, there is a very clear "road to Calvary" that we can follow through the combined accounts of the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) in the Bible. It is important that we take time this year to study and pray for greater understanding of the "road to Calvary" and the impact this historic event has on our lives 2,000 years later.

On Easter Sunday, we will join together once again for a joyous celebration of the historical fact that "He arose, He arose, Hallelujah, Christ Arose!" But before we get to the empty tomb and the wonderful and transforming truth of the Resurrection, let's be sure we go by the "Way of the Cross that leads Home."

Pastor's Blog February 2016

February is the shortest month of the year. In many ways, it's a "bridge month" in that it connects January, which is typically the height of our winter weather, with March, which brings us multiple signs of spring. We will often see a mix of weather patterns in February - need we be reminded of last winter's heavy snow and sub zero temperatures during the last half of February - and let's hope and pray we don't have a repeat of such weather this year.

Rather than debating whether the groundhog saw his shadow or not and whether we will have six more weeks of winter weather, let me throw out some challenges for this bridge month of February:

•Make Sunday School-Small Groups a weekly priority every Sunday morning at 10 am.
•Be faithful in worship attendance. Join us as we continue in my sermon series on the fruit of the Holy Spirit based on Galatians 5:22-23.
•Support our ongoing collection of items for Zambia that is coordinated by our WMU.
•Attend our Winter Bible Study that continues on Sunday evenings at 5 pm. The study is on 2 Corinthians and is led by Dr. John Hurtgen.
•Support the Shoe-Per Bowl mission project in partnership with Audience 1. Donate new or gently-used shoes that will be sent to people around the world. Financial donations are welcome to help defer the shipping costs.
•Join us in observing Focus on WMU Sunday on February 14. Dr. Twyla Hernandez will share about her recent mission trip to Cuba which our church supported.
•Join us for Easter Cantata Practice on Wednesday, February 10 at 6 pm. We will be preparing a really powerful musical presentation for Easter Sunday. The children are also working on an Easter cantata. Bring your young ones to practice on Sunday evenings.
•Invite unchurched people to visit our church and then help in reaching out to them. Share Jesus with those who don't Him as Savior and Lord.

These are just a few of many ways in which Saloma Baptist is ministering to and positively impacting our community and world for Jesus Christ. We invite you to join us as we move forward as the people of Gof!