the messenger · 2019-01-31 · the messenger january 2019 volume 7, issue 1 one of the biggest...

The MESSENGER

Volume 7, Issue 1 January 2019

One of the biggest goals that people have at the beginning of

each year is to get in shape! Many of us will be checking out all of

the newest and best diets and workout plans, trying to figure out

which one might be the best one for us to try. One of the workout

plans that has become extremely popular over the last several

years is called CrossFit. Participants work at a high intensity rate

across a variety of exercises, and if you stick with it, you will get in

shape.

Being in good physical shape is definitely a good thing. Scripture communicates

that the bodies we have are temples that the Holy Spirit indwells and we are to hon-

or God with our bodies (1 Cor. 6:19-20). One of the ways we honor God with our

bodies is to work out and keep it in good physical shape, so programs like CrossFit

are definitely something we should consider as we enter into a new year and take

evaluation of our lives.

However, Scripture also communicates that physical training isn’t the only kind of

training that is good for us. In 1 Timothy 4:7b-8 Paul says, “train yourself to be godly. 8 For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding

promise for both the present life and the life to come.” So as we head into 2019, we

are going to be doing our own “Cross Fit” on Sunday mornings! Don’t worry, I’m not

going to have you doing burpees and pull ups in the Worship Center!

On January 6, we will be starting a new message series titled “Cross Fit.” If we

want to live godly lives, it all starts at the cross. So we will be looking how to draw

on the finished work of Jesus at the cross to experience the life that many of us are

looking for at the beginning of each and every new year. It’ll be good for those of

us who have been in church for years as well as our unchurched friends who are

looking for something as a new year starts but aren’t sure where to find it. So be

thinking of who you can invite to come to church in 2019. I’m looking forward to

learning and growing with you and meeting the friends you invite to come with you!

In His Name,

Jason White, Lead Pastor

512.282.0875, x14

[email protected]

A Message from Pastor Jason White

Freedom

Initiative Update

2

Music Ministry

News

2

Family Ministry

News

3

Student Ministry

News

4

January

Calendar

6

Inside this issue:

Exercise Classes

Help Needed

Women’s Conference

5K & Kids Dash

New Sermon Series

Special Points of

Interest:

The MESSENGER

We only have 3-months left in our 3-year Freedom Initiative

Campaign that we started in March of 2016! We are hoping to

be completely debt free at the finish line, but we still need your

help! You can give during the offering time at one of our services

(mark Freedom Initiative on your check), online (at manchacabaptist.org), or in person at the church office

throughout the week. Did you know that you can also donate stocks, bonds, property, etc. by contacting the

office as well? Thanks in advance for partnering with us to set the church up for future success in this commu-

nity!

So….. what’s your new year’s resolution. I’m not doing them anymore. Society puts so

much pressure on us to make drastic changes overnight that we know we can’t sustain but

try anyway. January is the record month for new gym memberships and personal trainers’

schedules book up and then decline over the next several weeks.

I can think of so many goals in my life that I never achieved, and each failure came with its’ own feelings of

defeat and guilt. I can’t say that I’ve ever made a drastic change that I was able to sustain, long term. Wait,

there was one thing I did a few years ago that actually stuck and it changed my life forever. I’d like to tell you

about it.

I have always been a musician. There was never a doubt in my parents’ minds that it would be so. From

the time I was big enough to hold a guitar or sit at a piano, I was. I wanted to be John Denver, when I was

little, and by the time I was 15, my father was driving me to paid gigs. I always believed in Christ and knew he

was the one true Messiah, but I straddled the line between understanding the gift God gave me and wanting

to use it for fame, money and self-worth.

On the 4th of July 2012, God called me into ministry and Bart Millard, the singer of the band “Mercy Me”

gave me some advice on repentance. He said that it wasn’t just about asking for forgiveness, but it meant

turning 180 degrees from my sin. For me to do that, it meant leaving behind my career and the way of life I

had always known. God told me to, so I did it and never looked back. Listening to country music reminded

me of where I had been, so I didn’t want to do it anymore. I started listening to Christian music and more spe-

cifically, worship music. New stuff, old stuff- anything I could find. I submersed myself in music that glorified

God. It was life changing. I realized quickly that the music that we listen to influences our behavior in many

ways. What you surround yourself with will influence you subconsciously. Basically, we are what we eat, met-

aphorically speaking. If you spend your commute to work listening to a politically charged podcast, you will

naturally find yourself making conversation about it and even sometimes adopting the commentator’s point

of view. If you listen to angry music, you may find yourself personalizing someone else’s anger to fit yours.

I’m not saying that all secular music is bad. Not my place to judge. I will say this, though….. In 1 Corinthians

15:33, Paul says “Do not be deceived, bad company ruins good morals.” What kind of company are you

keeping when you drive from point A to point B? Are you fueling yourself with the holy spirit or are you sur-

rounding yourself in humanity’s failures set to a catchy tune? I never thought about it until that day my life

changed. It was like I woke up from a deep sleep and realized that I can worship God in my car, on a plane,

on a train in the grocery store or really anywhere.

I started leading worship at a church and I challenged the people of the church to listen to nothing but

Christian music for 30 days and then to give testimony. Some did and it was amazing to see that entire fami-

lies were changed. People that had “road rage” where worshipping in their cars on the way to work. Some-

one even told me that it’s hard to yell at your kids for fighting in the back seat when Chris Tomlin is singing in

the background.

Music Ministry - Surrounding Ourselves in the Spirit

(Part One)

“ONLY 3-MONTHS TO GO!”

Volume 7, Issue 1

Family Ministry - It’s Not Just A New Year, It’s A New You! “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come; The old has gone, the new is here!” - 2 Corin-

thians 5:17

As I (Tanner) look back in my life I can think of several times that I have tried to “recreate” myself, but one

sticks with me most. In 8th grade I was actually a bit of a shorty, standing at 4’11”, it was so bad people

thought my younger sister and I were twins, which I absolutely hated. But, by the end of 8 th grade I started to

grow very quickly and grew to 5’5” by the beginning of freshman year. So, during this time of growth I decid-

ed I was going to recreate myself before high school started. Be a new and better me! I was tired of being

bullied for being smaller and for my interests in the chess club as well as the band, so I saw this as the perfect

opportunity to change that. I started growing out my hair, I ditched the collared shirts and the Jynco jeans,

and traded them for band or skate board shirts, vans, and skinny jeans, quit band and being in the chess club

and pursued my talents in baseball and even played football my freshman year. I successfully recreated my-

self from the outside. The thing was, after a while, it didn’t last because on the inside I was still me when it was

all said and done.

I think many of us try and do the same thing with New Year’s resolutions. We try and figure out things that

will “recreate” or “rebuild” or “reinvent” or “change” something about us we don’t like. It can be our appear-

ance, our health, our relationship status, our financial situation, or family structures and time. Heck, even do-

ing more stuff for God can be a New Year’s resolution. We feel like we need to be this “better” Christian and

clean ourselves up for Jesus and the more and more we try to meet this standard we have built up in our

heads, the more and more frustrated we become when it doesn’t work out because we can’t recreate our-

selves.

(continued on next page)

Music Ministry, continued Being a pastor, sometimes it’s hard when people come up to me and say. “I like that song you lead today

in worship, but I don’t recognize it.” Sometimes I want to say “It’s literally the number one Christian song in the

country, how have you not heard it?“ I want people to have the joy of worship that I experience all the time,

not just on Sundays.

I still like all kinds of music and I always will, but as a Christ Follower, I feel that it is imperative for us to sur-

round ourselves with the Spirit at all times and music just seems like a really easy way to do it. When I was a

Deputy, I wore a bullet proof vest every shift. Some of my co-workers didn’t and I couldn’t understand why.

My training officer told me he didn’t wear a vest because it was bulky and uncomfortable. Sometimes things

that save us are uncomfortable at first, but we need protection.

I challenge you to pray about this. Don’t use the fact that you don’t like what’s on Christian radio right

now as an excuse, because it’s not a good one. In this day and age, with Amazon Music, Spotify, Apple Mu-

sic and all the other formats, there is no reason not to try to submerse yourself.

My family (6 people on 6 smart phones) has access to all the recorded music in the world for $15.99 a

month. I could listen to a different worship song all day for years, if I didn’t like what’s on Christian radio.

Who is with me? 30 days. I want to know. I want to see who reads this. Call me. Email me. Text me.

Come by my office. You hired me to be your worship pastor, so here’s my pastoral advice. We can change

this community and experience true biblical growth, but the enemy is going to attack us. Let’s surround our-

selves with the Holy Spirit, lift each other up in prayer and worship Him through everything we do.

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in

the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me and let us exalt His name together.

I sought the Lord, and He answered me, and delivered me from all my fears.

- Psalms 34: 1-4 (and a really good worship song by Shane and Shane)

Keith Davis, Worship Pastor

512-282-0875

[email protected]

After much prayer and consideration it has been decided that MBC

Students Main Service will no longer be on Sunday nights but instead on

Sunday mornings during Bible Fellowship. During the morning we will have

worship (still working on a long term solution for this), and a message. We

feel this will be a benefit because we can reach more students during this

time.

For small group time we will be switching over to MBC Student Commu-

nity Groups. During this time we will discuss the message given on Sunday

morning in greater detail and facilitate discussion around it, as well as dive

in deeper to how it applies in everyday life. For HIGH SCHOOL students it

will be on SUNDAY NIGHTS from 5:15-6:30pm at Tanner and Ashlee’s house

in Kyle. For MIDDLE SCHOOL students it will now be on WEDNESDAY NIGHTS from 6:30-7:45pm at the church.

We are really excited about this time and feel it can be so much more intentional with small group discussions

and with peers their own age.

This change will take place beginning January 2019. We are excited about these changes and the direc-

tion the Lord is leading MBC Students and would encourage you to be praying for what God is going to do

next year. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact Tanner Shumake, Student Pastor,

[email protected].

The MESSENGER

Family Ministry, continued

Please, don’t take away that the list of things above are bad goals. I would argue that many of them have

self and kingdom value! But we (Jenny and Tanner) want to encourage you to sit and live from 2 Corinthians

5:17 this year. This is written for all believers. You no longer have to try and recreate yourself, because Jesus

has made you completely new. The Greek used in this verse points us to a couple things. First, the word used

for new means made in amazing quality that has never been seen before and is permanent. Second, the

word creation is meant for us to look back to Genesis 1, when God looks at what He has made and says it is

good. So, if you are in Jesus, God looks at you and says, “wow, you are amazing in quality, permanently new

and you are good!” We want to encourage you to live in and from that new life you have been given this

year and remind your families of their new lives as well. Because, you are never alone, you are deeply loved

by Him, you are infinitely desirable to Him, you are always in His company, you are fully accepted. So, let us

ask you, can you embrace this new identity you have been given? Can you see yourself as God sees you?

Let’s not believe the lies we are fed from society and maybe even ourselves, our old selves are dead and

have no power. You are new, and you are good. Let this new identity flow from your life into your families.

Because, this is your new identity, this is the new you!

Love,

Your Family Ministry Team

Student Ministry News

Tanner Shumake, Student Pastor 512-282-0875, ext. 22

[email protected]

Jenny Childress, Children’s Pastor

512-282-0875, ext. 26

[email protected]

Volume 7, Issue 1

Operation Christmas Child O.A.S.I.S.

O.A.S.I.S. (Older Adults Still In Ser-

vice)

ALL Senior Adults are invited for our

monthly gathering on

January 11, at 11:30am, in Room E115,

for some good food,

wonderful fellowship and dominoes!

Wednesday Dinner Menu

Jan. 9

Sausage Wraps, Hot Dogs, Chips,

Dessert

Jan. 16

Breakfast: Biscuits & Gravy, Pancakes, Fruit

Jan. 23

Baked Chicken, Mashed Potatoes, Corn, Dessert

Jan. 30

Chicken & Sausage Gumbo, Chicken Noodle

Soup, Dessert

Operation Christmas Child

(OCC) is a ministry of Samaritan's

Purse. MBC collects various

items all throughout the year.

Items to be donated all year are:

shoeboxes, and cash donations

which we will use to buy items for

the boxes and for shipping.

To find out more information about OCC, or to

volunteer to serve in this ministry, please contact

Marta Knight 512-657-2366.

Ladies Ministry Events

IF:TABLE - ALL LADIES are invited to our Jan.

IF:Tables. For locations and times, please contact

Amanda Burchett:

[email protected]

LADIES BIBLE STUDY - All ladies are welcome for

Bible Studies on Fridays at 9:30am in Room E115.

LADIES COFFEE - Ladies meet at the Texican Ca-

fé at 9:00am the 4th Sat. of each month

(excluding Nov. & Dec.) for coffee, Dutch-treat

breakfast and great fellowship.

Exercise Classes to Begin Help Needed

Is your new year’s resolution

to be healthier in 2019? If so

then you are invited to attend

a lunch time exercise class led

by MBC’s own Lindsey Lear.

Classes begin Jan. 10th and

will be held on Thursdays from

12:00-12:30pm in the Gym. This class is for adults of

any age, and will be exercises that can be adjusted

for any fitness level. Got questions or want to know more? Contact

Lesa Yanes in the Church Office at 512-282-0875.

Sad to see it go…

but it’s time to take down

the Christmas decorations

here at MBC - and we need

your HELP!

If you are available,

please join us Friday, Jan. 4th at 10am

and again Saturday, Jan. 5th at 10am

to put all decorations back in storage.

The MESSENGER

SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT

1

Basketball Ages 18+ 7:00-9:00pm Gym

2 3*Adventurer’s Acad.

1:30-3:30pm Gym *Open Studio 10:00am-2:00pm E115 *Exercise Class 12:00-12:30pm Gym *Men’s Lunch Golden Corral 10:45am *Adapted Sports 6:00-8:00pm Gym

4

Ladies Bible Study 9:30-11:30am Room E115

5

6 7

Strickland School 5:30-7:30pm

Gym

MBC Kids Weekday 9:00am-2:00pm

8


9KW 9:00am-2:00pm -

Family Meal 5:45-6:30pm Gym - Men’s Study 6:30-7:30pm Room S204 - Women’s Study 6:30-7:30pm Room S207 - Sr. Adult Study 6:30-7:30pm Room E115 - AWANA 6:30-7:45pm

10*Adventurer’s Acad.


11


O.A.S.I.S. Pot-luck

Lunch & Games 11:30am Room E115

12

Sunshine Soccer 8:00-9:00am Gym

13

Deacon Meeting 2:30pm Room E115

14

Strickland School 5:30-7:30pm

Gym

MBC Kids Weekday 9:00am-2:00pm

15


16KW 9:00am-2:00pm

- Family Meal 5:45-6:30pm Gym - Men’s Study 6:30-7:30pm Room S204 - Women’s Study 6:30-7:30pm Room S207 - Sr. Adult Study 6:30-7:30pm Room E115 - AWANA 6:30-7:45pm



18


Central TX Badgers Gym 5:30-8:30pm

19

Project Linus 10:00am—2:00pm

Room E115

20

Marcy Richie Baby Shower

Kids Worship Room 2:00pm

21


22


23KW 9:00am-2:00pm




25



26

Ladies Coffee 9:00am,

Texican Cafe

27 28

MBC Kids Weekday

9:00am-2:00pm


29


30KW 9:00am-2:00pm




January 2019

Volume 7, Issue 1

Baby Shower HLCC Women’s Conference Every year,

women from

across Texas

come together

at Highland

Lakes Camp

and Confer-

ence Center to

experience life

change and

celebrate in community with other sisters in Christ.

They leave refreshed and ready to take the next step

towards the heart of God.

Your heart will be encouraged through thought

provoking Bible study, authentic worship, uplifting

praise, relevant topical seminars, hands-on ministry,

laughter and lots of sweet fellowship.

Registration is now open on the Highland Lakes

Camp and Conference Center website:

https://hlccc.org/events/womens-conference-

register/

5K and Kids Dash

Manchaca United Methodist Church’s annual 5K Run and Kids

Dash is fast approaching and they have asked for help! This event is

their biggest fundraiser in support of three area South Austin Schools

– Menchaca Elementary, Paredes Middle School, and Akins High

School. In years past, the proceeds from the race have been used

to purchase interactive technology at Menchaca Elementary; send

8th graders from Paredes Middle School to Texas State University for

an all-day field trip; and fund college entry exams, college, trade-

school, and vocational training applications, prom, and graduation

activities for homeless students at Akins High School. You can help

by signing up to run, being a financial sponsor (as an individual or

through your own business), or volunteering along the way. They

need everyone’s help for the race to be a success! The race is

scheduled for Saturday, February 23, 2019, at 8:00 a.m. The Kids

Dash will begin at 9:00 a.m.

Please visit their website for more information: www.manchacaumc.org

Sign up for the race at: tinyurl.com/2019sochac

Questions? Contact Jena Abel, [email protected]

http://www.manchacaumc.org

http://tinyurl.com/2019sochac

mailto:[email protected]

1215 W. FM 1626

P.O. Box 400

Manchaca, TX 78652

December 28, 2018

Phone: 512-282-0875

Fax: 512-292-0043 E-mail: [email protected]

“Blessed are they who keep His statutes

and seek Him with all their heart.”

- Psalm 119:2

New Sermon Series

Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage

PAID Permit #2

Manchaca, TX

Return Service Requested

the messenger · 2019-01-31 · the messenger january 2019 volume 7, issue 1 one of the biggest...

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