July 28, 2024
“That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us!’ So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there.” ~ Acts 16:9-10 (NLT) ~
Beginning Now
I know this may come as somewhat of a shock to some of you we now have less of 2024 than we have already completed! That’s right, July 1st, we gain the second half of this year. How do I know this tidbit of information? I’ll tell you. (The fact is, I have wanted to tell you all month, I just never had the right opportunity to do so. But I decided to go ahead and tell you whether I was ready or not.)
I know that we are in the second half of 2024 because on July 1st I had to turn my Billy Graham Devotional Flip Desk Calendar backwards. I am now reading the backside of his devotions! (Even for being the backside, they are still really good!)
All that being said, it brings me to what I really want to talk about this week.
You may be thinking, with less than half a year to go, why start anything new? Why learn anything new? Why not just sit back and wait? Why not take the next five months to just get all of my ducks in a row and then on January 1, 2025, start the new stuff then?
That reasoning is why I can assure you that some of our best ideas are still waiting for the right moment.
Waiting for the right time. We call it preparation. It’s really procrastination. Eventually the due diligence phase yields to the do-nothing phase.And another good idea gets covered in cobwebs.
Keep in mind what the late publisher and author William Feather said: “Conditions are never just right. People who delay action until all factors are favorable do nothing.”
There’s something to be said for beginning now and filling in the details as you go. Not that details aren’t important or that preparation isn’t necessary, but at some point you’ve got to quit compiling data and start pursuing results.
Do you know what the problem is? There’s no failure to face in the preparation stage. There’s no disappointment to deal with in the dream-casting stage. It’s only after the plan has been put into practice that you confront results that maybe don’t meet expectations. It’s easy to get nervous. It’s easier to plan just a little longer.
When theApostle Paul had planned to go one direction with his mission team, God told him no. Instead as we saw inActs 16:10-11 God called him a different direction entirely. Paul listened. Paul stayed obedient. Paul went to Macedonia a place he had not planned on going.
WhenAbraham was older than just about everyone who will be reading these words, God told him, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family, and go to the land that I will show you.”
~ Genesis 12:1 (NLT) ~
Abraham went, not having a plan in place, not knowing exactly what lay ahead, only that he was following the voice of God.
There are times when it’s time to do just whatAbraham did: take the first few steps, even if all the questions haven’t been answered and all the problems aren’t solved in advance.
There’s something to be said for beginning now.
Blessings on your week. Maybe God is leading you to be a part of one of the IMMMERSE Bible Study groups beginningAugust 6th and 8th. Our study is titled BEGINNINGS. Meanwhile, we look forward to seeing you in worship or online this Sunday morning at First Southern. Here, I believe, you will find there really is something to be said for beginning now.
Pastor Terrell
ScheduleforSunday,July28,2024:
The Saints Class @ 9:00 AM Room #201
Ruth Class @ 9:00 AM Room #202
Prayer Room open @ 9:00 AM Room #206
Preschool Worship opens @ 10:15 AM KID CITY
Sunday Morning Worship @ 10:30 AM in Worship Center
Kidz4Christ (K-6th) dismissed during Morning Worship Schedulefortherestoftheweek:
Tuesday@ 10 AM Men’s Bible Study in Room #202
Wednesday@ 6:30 PM Youth Group in Fellowship Hall with our activities. Share the Good News of Jesus! Gospel Conversations Total : 49,126
This study begins August 6th and 8th . Tuesdays @ 10 a.m. - Men in Room #202 & Women in Fellowship Hall
Thursdays @ 6 p.m. in Fellowship Hall - open to all Immerse: Beginnings Bible is the second of six volumes for use in IMMERSE: The Bible Reading Experience. Beginnings takes the reader on a new and unique journey through the first five books for the Bible: The Pentateuch.
Register on your Connection Card.
Do you have skills in anything electronic, or are you interested in learning? We have an immediate need for help in our Sound Booth. Marc and team are doing a great job with this ministry, but they need help. We need at least one more person for weekly needs as well as to fill in for illness or vacation. Please contact Marc or Pastor Bart if you feel a nudge from the Holy Spirit that this is something you could do as a ministry for the Lord and for His Church here at First Southern.
Morning Worship
“No One Like You, Lord”
“Days of Elijah”
“It is Well with My Soul”
IMMERSE: The Bible Reading Experience
Welcome & Offertory Prayer
2820 N. Pleasant View Drive
Prescott Valley, AZ 86314
928-772-7218
fsbcpv@firstsouthernpv.org
www.firstsouthernpv.org
Church Office Hours: Monday - Thursday, 8:30AM - 2:30PM
Senior Pastor Terrell Eldreth: 619-244-6265
PastorTerrell@firstsouthernpv.org
Worship Pastor Bart Young 928-254-8713
PastorBart@firstsouthernpv.org
“There is a Redeemer”
“We Will Remember” “Come, Jesus, Come”
Rev. Jerry Ferguson
“Faith is Always Expressed in Action” Hebrews 12:1-3
“Open Our Eyes, Lord”
“We Will Remember” Kidz4Christ dismissed
Offerings and Connection Cards will be collected in the Offering Boxes located just inside the two main entrances into our Worship Center, as well as in the Office Hallway.
