This blog has now made the jump to wordpress. So, head on over to our new home - http://msbclife.wordpress.com.
See you there!
Saturday, December 04, 2010
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Books Mentioned from the Pulpit Recently
Mentioned by Brian Hanson
Mentioned by Pastor Miller
Mentioned by Pastor Bixby
Saturday, October 09, 2010
Farmer Update
Dear gospel partners,
Home in Wisconsin
At the end of August, we returned to our home in Wisconsin for the first time in almost a year, and for over a month now, we’ve enjoyed being in one location. During this time, we’ve met with four different churches where we have friends from our years at Northland. We’ve especially enjoyed some extended time with our home church in Norway, MI.
In addition to these meetings, one of our biggest accomplishments has been to pare down the rest of our stuff – currently stored in a friend’s basement. Hopefully, by the time we leave Wisconsin in a week, everything in their basement will be packed and ready for a flight to Cambodia.
Visa miracle
In other news … some of you have been following our updates about the visa situation. To catch everyone up to speed, below is an email excerpt from our future co-worker, JD Crowley, in Cambodia (dated 9/10):
Thanks for your prayers.
So far, it appears that the Lord is continuing to direct the king’s heart in a way favorable to us. This answer to prayer has served as a great encouragement to our faith. Please be sure to praise the Lord for this miraculous work in our behalf, and continue to ask that no further problems arise in the process of receiving the MoU.
Departure for Cambodia
We have now been on the road for 16 months. In all honesty, the first year of our travels was a time of great blessing and contentment – visiting strong churches who share a similar philosophy of ministry, communicating our vision for mission in Cambodia, enjoying fellowship of friends, old and new. Well, we are officially in the discontented stage! I think it’s primarily SIL that is to blame. After 9 weeks of focused study on language and culture acquisition, we really are chomping at the bit to get our feet on the ground in Cambodia. Along that line, the Lord is encouraging our hearts with your eagerness to join with us in this mission. We recently crossed a major “threshold” and now have approximately 55% of our needed support. We are praising the Lord for this encouraging development; we thank you for your partnership in this mission; and we are earnestly praying that he would enable us to leave the States in May, 2011. Please join us in asking him to do this.
Thank you again for your continued support. May the grace of Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Jeremy Farmer
Missionary to Cambodia
Home in Wisconsin
At the end of August, we returned to our home in Wisconsin for the first time in almost a year, and for over a month now, we’ve enjoyed being in one location. During this time, we’ve met with four different churches where we have friends from our years at Northland. We’ve especially enjoyed some extended time with our home church in Norway, MI.
In addition to these meetings, one of our biggest accomplishments has been to pare down the rest of our stuff – currently stored in a friend’s basement. Hopefully, by the time we leave Wisconsin in a week, everything in their basement will be packed and ready for a flight to Cambodia.
Visa miracle
In other news … some of you have been following our updates about the visa situation. To catch everyone up to speed, below is an email excerpt from our future co-worker, JD Crowley, in Cambodia (dated 9/10):
You’ve been praying for over a year now that we would be able to renew our official agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (equivalent to our State Department in the U.S.) so that we could remain in Cambodia as an official International Organization. What we lacked was a letter of support from the Ministry of Religion, something that had never before been required and that the Ministry of Religion rarely provides for anyone. Yesterday I was allowed an audience with the Minister of Religion to explain our work and situation. He was quite friendly and agreeable, write a letter of support for EMU, but would enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with EMU, officially placing us under the jurisdiction of his ministry. He has done this for only a few organizations.
I’m supposed to go back to his office on Monday to do the paperwork. Please pray that everything would work out. If EMU has this MoU with the Ministry of Religion, it would be the final document that Foreign Affairs needs to renew our MoU with them and stay in the country. This is a significant breakthrough.
Thanks for your prayers.
So far, it appears that the Lord is continuing to direct the king’s heart in a way favorable to us. This answer to prayer has served as a great encouragement to our faith. Please be sure to praise the Lord for this miraculous work in our behalf, and continue to ask that no further problems arise in the process of receiving the MoU.
Departure for Cambodia
We have now been on the road for 16 months. In all honesty, the first year of our travels was a time of great blessing and contentment – visiting strong churches who share a similar philosophy of ministry, communicating our vision for mission in Cambodia, enjoying fellowship of friends, old and new. Well, we are officially in the discontented stage! I think it’s primarily SIL that is to blame. After 9 weeks of focused study on language and culture acquisition, we really are chomping at the bit to get our feet on the ground in Cambodia. Along that line, the Lord is encouraging our hearts with your eagerness to join with us in this mission. We recently crossed a major “threshold” and now have approximately 55% of our needed support. We are praising the Lord for this encouraging development; we thank you for your partnership in this mission; and we are earnestly praying that he would enable us to leave the States in May, 2011. Please join us in asking him to do this.
Thank you again for your continued support. May the grace of Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Jeremy Farmer
Missionary to Cambodia
Thursday, September 23, 2010
New MSBC Blog
I'm pretty excited about this. We have a new blog/website that is going to be hosted by the pastoral leadership. Kevin Thompson has been doing an excellent job at maintaining the church blog and I encourage you to look at it often. This blog will overlap some of what Kevin is doing but it is different. It will be a blog where the pastoral team tries to communicate with you about everything pertaining to the church as well as things that we think would be of interest to you. Some features about this blog.
1. Sunday's music will be available to you shortly before and after the Sunday service. Click on the tab that says "Liturgy [date]" and you will be able to see what we are planning on doing or what we did. We will provide whenever possible a link to the music so that you can hear it or download it. Check out the music we plan to use this coming Sunday.
2. Comments on messages that we have preached or intend to preach.
3. We'll give insights that we have had in our devotions that we feel may be a blessing to you.
4. Sometimes we'll state our philosophy for a particular direction and you'll be able to see it in writing before your eyes.
The site is still in construction. Pastor Jess is not hooked up yet, but you will find that there are things there already. If you don't know how to use a blog reader that automatically notifies you every time there is something new then I strongly suggest that you suscribe for an email alert every time something new is posted. There is a subscribe button available on the site. Just put your email in there and you're set.
The reason we are doing this is because we are persuaded that we cannot over communicate about anything. We are trying to utilize all the tools at our disposal to be informational and helpful. Check out the site and go there regularly!
http://msbcstuff.wordpress.com/
Thanks to Shannon Brown who is helping us with the construction.
1. Sunday's music will be available to you shortly before and after the Sunday service. Click on the tab that says "Liturgy [date]" and you will be able to see what we are planning on doing or what we did. We will provide whenever possible a link to the music so that you can hear it or download it. Check out the music we plan to use this coming Sunday.
2. Comments on messages that we have preached or intend to preach.
3. We'll give insights that we have had in our devotions that we feel may be a blessing to you.
4. Sometimes we'll state our philosophy for a particular direction and you'll be able to see it in writing before your eyes.
The site is still in construction. Pastor Jess is not hooked up yet, but you will find that there are things there already. If you don't know how to use a blog reader that automatically notifies you every time there is something new then I strongly suggest that you suscribe for an email alert every time something new is posted. There is a subscribe button available on the site. Just put your email in there and you're set.
The reason we are doing this is because we are persuaded that we cannot over communicate about anything. We are trying to utilize all the tools at our disposal to be informational and helpful. Check out the site and go there regularly!
http://msbcstuff.wordpress.com/
Thanks to Shannon Brown who is helping us with the construction.
See You at the Pole Organized by MSBC Youth
See You at the Pole is an annual event led by Christian young people accross the country. It their opportunity to openly display their faith and share their testimony at school by gathering around their flag poles for a time of public prayer. This year, our own Callista Miller organized a local See You at the Pole event at AC Thompson Elementary School.
Missions Update - Bixbys Celebrate 10 Years
From Our Missionaries in France...
We are grateful to God for the 10 years of covenantal companionship He has graciously given us so far. Though the waters of our God-given love may not be as swift and vigorous as the energetic brook of the first days, it is very true that the passage of time has only made the river’s current run deeper and stronger as we have experienced more and are learning better how to rely on our Savior’s grace in every stream of life. Truly His grace has abounded to us, and we are more contented in His gift of companionship than ever before. We are determined by His grace to commit ourselves anew to the vows we made 10 years ago today:
To be my companion and my wife by covenant;
And I do solemnly promise before God and these witnesses
To love you as Christ loved the Church,
Giving Himself for her:
To be your head, even as Christ is the head of the Church,
Leading her, protecting her, and providing for her,
Both materially and spiritually:
To strive by God’s grace and empowerment
To dwell always in harmony with you,
Being patient and kindhearted and humble in spirit,
Not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult,
But blessing instead;
To dwell with you according to knowledge,
Giving honor unto you as unto a weaker vessel
Whether in plenty or in want,
In health or in sickness,
In joy or in sorrow,
Until God by death shall separate us.
To be my companion and my husband by covenant;
And I do solemnly promise before God and these witnesses
To reverence and honor you,
As the Church doth reverence and honor Christ as her head,
To submit unto you in all things,
Even as the Church is subject unto Christ,
To strive by God’s grace and empowerment
To dwell always in harmony with you,
To be patient and kindhearted and humble in spirit,
Not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult,
But blessing instead;
To look well to the ways of our household
In all chastity, meekness and faithfulness,
That I may be one in whom your heart may safely trust
Whether in plenty or in want,
In health or in sickness,
In joy or in sorrow,
Until God by death shall separate us.
The Bixby Family
Established September 23, 2000
Established September 23, 2000
We are grateful to God for the 10 years of covenantal companionship He has graciously given us so far. Though the waters of our God-given love may not be as swift and vigorous as the energetic brook of the first days, it is very true that the passage of time has only made the river’s current run deeper and stronger as we have experienced more and are learning better how to rely on our Savior’s grace in every stream of life. Truly His grace has abounded to us, and we are more contented in His gift of companionship than ever before. We are determined by His grace to commit ourselves anew to the vows we made 10 years ago today:
I, Timothy, take you, Ruth,
To be my companion and my wife by covenant;
And I do solemnly promise before God and these witnesses
To love you as Christ loved the Church,
Giving Himself for her:
To be your head, even as Christ is the head of the Church,
Leading her, protecting her, and providing for her,
Both materially and spiritually:
To strive by God’s grace and empowerment
To dwell always in harmony with you,
Being patient and kindhearted and humble in spirit,
Not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult,
But blessing instead;
To dwell with you according to knowledge,
Giving honor unto you as unto a weaker vessel
Whether in plenty or in want,
In health or in sickness,
In joy or in sorrow,
Until God by death shall separate us.
I, Ruth, take you, Timothy,
To be my companion and my husband by covenant;
And I do solemnly promise before God and these witnesses
To reverence and honor you,
As the Church doth reverence and honor Christ as her head,
To submit unto you in all things,
Even as the Church is subject unto Christ,
To strive by God’s grace and empowerment
To dwell always in harmony with you,
To be patient and kindhearted and humble in spirit,
Not rendering evil for evil, or insult for insult,
But blessing instead;
To look well to the ways of our household
In all chastity, meekness and faithfulness,
That I may be one in whom your heart may safely trust
Whether in plenty or in want,
In health or in sickness,
In joy or in sorrow,
Until God by death shall separate us.
For more information, log on to www.hopeforfrance.org
Saturday, September 11, 2010
Saturday, September 04, 2010
Boat Races
Have you ever wondered what Christian teens do for fun? Have ever wondered just what Pastor Jeremy does with our teens. Well, now you know!
Baptisms
This past month we saw many people worship the Lord through the waters of baptism. What a blessing it was to hear the different testimony of how the Lord has sovereignly worked among His people.
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Get Ready for Missions Sunday!
This coming Sunday we are going to have a very special and full day. We are having a Missions Emphasis Sunday and will turn the SS hour into a service, thus having three services for the day. The children will go to SS as usual, but the teenagers will join the adults for the service in the main room. The schedule is as follows.
AM 1 - Speaker: David Hosaflook. Many of you saw the moving "Dispatches from the Front" about the ministry of this man in Albania. I know that you will find his speaking to be very powerful.
AM 2 - Speaker: Bob Bixby
PM - Speaker: Jason Rice - Slovakia. Jason returns to us after being on the deputation trail. We were his first meeting. He and his wife have three boys.
AM 1 - Speaker: David Hosaflook. Many of you saw the moving "Dispatches from the Front" about the ministry of this man in Albania. I know that you will find his speaking to be very powerful.
AM 2 - Speaker: Bob Bixby
PM - Speaker: Jason Rice - Slovakia. Jason returns to us after being on the deputation trail. We were his first meeting. He and his wife have three boys.
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