Our Christmas Cantata

2007 Christmas Parties

Once again the Christmas parties at Morning Star were a blast this year. From great food and good fellowship to goofy White Elephant gifts, there is no mistake that this year's parties were a success. The host families were the McAdams, Sanchez, Myers, Scotts, and the Metras. A special thanks to these families for opening their homes as well as leading the group parties.

At the Metras' home, we enjoyed good singing with guitar accompaniment, Scripture reading, and a "White Elephant" gift exchange. The gifts this year were, once again, an interesting assortment of household items (in other words, junk) to wedding figurines, and even a singing pig! Yes, I ended up with the pig, and it sings, "I've been everywhere, man, I've been everywhere!" - the song on the motel commercials.

We enjoyed the fellowship with one another, as always! A special THANKS goes to Ed Foster and his family for entertaining all of the children at the church building while the rest of us enjoyed a children-free Christmas party for the adults. The children enjoyed pizza, games, and a movie. I know that the Fosters did not get out of there much before midnight!

By the way, it is not good white elephant protocol to leave your "gifts" around the host/hostesses' house! We have a certain guest who loves to do this every year. I think that we will schedule a party at HIS house for next year....right, Elroy??!!!

Monday Travel in NZ

 

Yesterday (Monday) we left Hamilton to drive through the mountain range to Hawkes Bay. It is about a four hour drive. We stopped at Lake Taupo on the way where GFA missionaries, Jerry and Linda Craven, are pastoring. Silsbees have friends here that they are visiting and I am hanging out with Joe Fleener. Joe teaches at the Shepherds Bible College here, the mini-MacArthur world of NZ. Neat place. Heard Joe teach his OT survey class last night. Enjoyed it very much. will show pics of that later. Head back over the mountain range today. Very curvy, two-lane road. Pray for us!

Snapshots of the ministry here in NZ

From left to right:

1. Daniel, Bob, Heidi at the Lane's home on Friday night.
2. Speaking on Martin Luther at the Lane's home Friday night.
3. Speaking at the Silsbees on the Doctrine of the Local Church on Saturday night.
4. Sunday morning in the school hall where the church meets - Daniel
5. Lori - an exceptional pianist
6. A good congregation - about 40.
7. I think this scene could be anywhere all over the world in small churches - two men counting the offering.
8. We had to set up and tear down for a number of years. This church has been doing it for some time now. I thought this was a nifty idea for protecting the electric piano. (They can store stuff at the school.)
9. The outside of the school building where GNBC meets.

Pastor Bixby has been a tremendous blessing to each of us at Good News Baptist Church. We have kept him very busy by formally speaking to us daily, as well as gathering informally for fellowship and encouragement. His ministry from the Word has been well received. Thanks from all of us down under. We truly appreciate your ministry to us through sharing Pastor Bixby.

From NZ

 

I think it is wonderful that the government school allows the church to have such a large and permanent sign. It really is an ideal situation that God has granted the Silsbees and the believers here.

I am very excited about what I am seeing here. I am really very happy for Scott and Lori.

Praying this week for MSBC as you prepare for your Lord's Day.

Blood Drive on August 1, 2007

Thanks to the hard work of Bill and Nancy Hunt, we were able to have a blood drive. I think that this was a good effort and that it was appreciated by people in our community. This is definitely something we ought to do again next year. Thanks, Bill and Nancy, for organizing this.

Joy returns to Rockford

That's both a figurative and literal statement.

Joy McCarnan is on her way across the Atlantic Ocean and will soon be reunited with her friends at Morning Star Baptist Church.

Be sure to let Joy know how good it is to have her back in our midst this Sunday, and ask her about the snails in the picture. Yes, she did eat them.

Barb Garard's "Farewell"

We enjoyed an ice cream church fellowship after the Sunday evening service in honor of Barb Garard. Barb is leaving to join her parents in Enid, OK, as well as prepare for her wedding day in August. We honored Barb with two dozen roses.

Barb has been involved in many different ways at Morning Star, but her passion is ministering to the deaf. Barb has ministered to the deaf who have attended MSBC by signing for the services. She has also been teaching sign language to our children on Sunday evenings at 5:00 PM.

We love you, Barb, and will miss you! May the Lord bless your new ministry in Enid as well as married life with Paul!

3426 Colony Bay Drive

That's our new address, and we held our first services there on Resurrection Sunday. We had 145 in attendance on Sunday morning and were already pulling out the folding chairs.

Pastor mentioned it on Sunday evening, but it is well worth repeating...Thank you to all of those who worked so hard throughout this whole process, and specifically on Friday and Saturday, to get everything ready for our services on Sunday. I hesitate to mention names because of the fear of inadvertantly leaving someone off the list, but it is appropriate to start with Bill Hunt, who worked closely with the developer to ensure that this project would be completed by our targeted deadline, and then dedicated numerous hours of "sweat equity" to put the finishing touches in place for our inaugural service.

Thanks to Jenna Boeke (at least that's how I think we got the coverage), the Rockford Register Star showed up to chronicle the day. We even got a front page above the fold (in newspaper talk) picture. We'll have more pictures to post soon.

Shepherds' Conference

Pastor and I are having a great time at the Shepherds' Conference in sunny Sun Valley, CA. We are extremely greatful to Lighthouse Baptist Church in Simi Valley, CA for opening up their facility for us to stay so as to help us save money on hotel costs. We really appreciate Pastor Roger and his church for their sweet hospitality. Thank you, Morning Star family, for giving us this incredible opportunity to attend this valuable conference. We are "soaking up" the teaching and preaching of the Word. We just finished this evening's session with Al Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is an incredible teacher and preacher of the Word.

We were a little disappointed last night because John Piper could not make it to the conference. Tragically, his father passed away in South Carolina, so he needed to be with his family. We spent some time during the service praying for him. However, we were blessed by having C. J. Mahaney as a replacement--pretty good replacement, I'd say! He was a blessing. His message was on humility, which was pretty much taken straight from his book on the same subject.

We are so blessed to have a church who gives so that we can have spiritual refreshment as well as our souls fed. Thank you all for your prayers for us this week!

Building Progress

A special "thank you" to all of the men who helped move the office furniture. Again, the Lord showed Himself faithful to us by providing this office furniture as well the finances even this week to cover the expense. Praise the Lord for His provision!

I have included some pictures of the building in the latest stages. This week the drywall crew will be mudding and taping. There will be drastic changes in the look of the building over the next few days.

We also are in need of staging. Bill Hunt and I have priced this, and we will need about $2,400 to cover this expense. Praise the Lord for the faithfulness of His people in giving toward these projects!

Morning Star's newest addition

Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.
Psalm 127:3 (ESV)

Name: Brookelyn Hope Scott
DOB: February 26, 2007, 8:27 am
Questions everybody asks: She weighed in at 7 lbs. 1 oz and was 19 1/4"

Mom and baby are doing very well!

Congratulations to Jason and Heidi, and to Bethany and Brianna.

Office Furniture for New Building

I received a phone call from a business that will be moving in just a few doors down from our new building. This phone call is a direct answer to prayer. They told me that they heard from another source that we needed some room/cubicle dividers. My response, of course, was an emphatic, YES WE DO! Not only do they have dividers that they would like to sell, but also office desks, chairs, guest chairs, community room table, kitchen cabinets-- and all in excellent condition.

Please pray as Bill Hunt and I meet with them this coming Saturday, February 24, at 9:00 AM. The business is ID Technologies, and our contacts will be Jeff (the owner) and Bonnie (one of the secretaries) The Lord provides!

We are still in need of many new items for the building. Please consider giving toward the building fund especially over the next month as we will encounter many expenses. If you would like to give for a specific project, please let Chris or Pastor know.

Hymn of the Month

Praise, my soul, the King of Heaven,
To His feet thy tribute bring;
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
Who, like me, His praise should sing?
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise the Everlasting King!

Praise Him for His grace and favor
To our fathers in distress;
Praise Him, still the same forever,
Slow to chide and swift to bless.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Glorious in His faithfulness!

Father-like He tends and spares us;
Well our feeble frame He knows,
In His hands He gently bears us,
Rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Widely yet His mercy flows!

Angels, help us to adore Him,
Ye behold Him face to face;
Saints triumphant bow before Him,
Gathered in from ev'ry race.
Alleluia! Alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!

lyrics by Henry F. Lyte (1793-1847)

VCY Rally

This past Saturday almost thirty people from our church travelled to Waukesha to see and hear Dr. John MacArthur speak at the VCY Rally. The group ranged from people who have followed Dr. MacArthur's ministry for more than twenty years to some who had never heard of him. Dr. MacArthur exposited from Luke chapter 15 on the passage commonly referred to as "The Prodigal Son". What we heard was a one hour summary of a passage that he spent six weeks preaching at Grace Community Church. You can read transcripts of those sermons here.

While most people were familiar with the parable, Dr. MacArthur skillfully explained what the story would have meant to those who were hearing it nearly two centuries ago. In contrast to those who argue that we need to bring Scripture into modern times, Dr. MacArthur emphasized that we need to do the exact opposite...we need to take the hearers back to the time in which the Scriptures were written. As he succinctly stated "The meaning of Scripture is the Scripture." By transporting us back to the culture of middle eastern peasant life, with its emphasis on shame and honor, Dr. MacArthur shows how this parable of a father and two sons (if you only focus on the prodigal son you're missing the point) illustrates the joy of God in the the salvation of lost sinners, and why this concept was so inconceivable to the Pharisees.

For those that weren't able to attend, you can listen to this sermon (as delivered at Moody's Founder's Week conference) for free (for at least a couple of weeks) by clicking here.

More Building Pictures

This is exciting! There is much progress being made on the construction of the building. I dropped by today and took some updated pictures that I will be showing on Sunday.

TheHVAC guys have almost completed the ductwork throughout; the plumbers are busily installing piping; the cement workers are leveling the floors in the mezzanine; and the electricians will soon begin their work. Many have asked to see the building in person--please let Bill or I know what time would work for you, and we will meet you there. I know that Bill Hunt will be going there again tomorrow, so if you would like to see it, call him to let him know!

There is no particular date that we are shooting for to be into the building. However, I am pushing for sometime in mid March. Some things are still progressing slower than we would like to see, but this will give us more time (and hopefully money) to purchase some accessories that we need just to move in. Please be in prayer for the progress of the buildout, Bill Hunt and I as we continue to meet with the buildout crews, as well as the financial commitment that we have made for this project!

Building Underway!

As you know the buildout is underway at our future location of MSBC. I just returned from a meeting with Jamie and Mike, the developer and buildout manager. There are a few kinks that we are working out, but overall, everything is going well. I have included a few pictures of the progress.

We are in need of many items before we move in such as refrigerators, microwaves, pictures, office furniture, etc. Please keep the building needs in mind as you give toward the building project. If you have any specific questions or would like to see the building in person, please let Bill Hunt or me know. We have keys and would be glad to show you around.

See and hear Dr. John MacArthur

On Saturday, February 10, 2007, we will be taking a group of young adults to the VCY Rally in Waukesha, Wisconsin to see (and hear) Dr. John MacArthur. Dr. MacArthur is Senior Pastor at Grace Community Church in Sun Valley, California, and is President of the The Master's College and The Master's Seminary in Santa Clarita, California. He is also heard around the world on the Grace to You radio program. Our book table includes many books authored by Dr. MacArthur.

In addition to speaking at the VCY Rally on Saturday evening, Dr. MacArthur will be speaking in Chicago for the Moody Bible Institute's Founder's Week. Click here for a schedule of speakers.

We will announce more details later.

New Zealand update sent via email

We have emailed an update to everyone for whom we had an email address. If you have not received that email message, entitled "...tears and a taxi...", please let us know. There are new people we haven't met at MSBC, and some of you may have changed your email address. We understand Amanda will also post a hard copy of the update.

New Year's Eve Gatherings

Happy New Year! What a great time our church had as we met in homes around the city for our New Year's Eve Gatherings! There were parties at the Berryman's, Lee's and Myers'. We had a great time of fellowship as we sang together, prayed together, and shared testimonies together.

At the Myers' home, we sang with guitar accompaniment many of the "songs-of-the-month" for the past year of 2006. We had a season of prayer for about 40 minutes as we prayed for the spiritual and physical health of our church. There are still many who are exsperiencing physical struggles as well as spiritual.

Both Bill Hunt and Pat Berryman also said that they had a wonderful time of fellowship in their homes. Let's have a Christ-centered focus this year as well as saturating ourselves in the Word and in prayer. We look forward to what God has in store for Morning Star as we embark on a new year for His glory!