This week our Bible reading plan that we are following as a church family (you can get a copy here) brings us to the book of First Kings.  The first half of First Kings traces the life of Solomon.  It is under his leadership that the nation of Israel rises to its peak of size and glory.  Solomon’s wisdom and accomplishments bring him and Israel worldwide fame.

Tragically, we see Solomon’s zeal for God diminish in his later years, as his pagan wives turn his heart away from God.  The result is that “the king with a divided heart will leave behind a divided kingdom.”  For the next century this Book of Kings traces the twin histories of two sets of kings and two nations of unrepentant, disobedient people who move farther and farther away from God.

Last Week at Grace

We had a wonderful Homecoming Sunday at Grace!  A big thank you to Corrina Rose Logston and Jeremy Stephens for the wonderful music and it was great having Adam and Lindsay Wood here with Adam being a blessing through the preaching of God’s Word!  And a special thank you to everyone who brought food and those who served in the kitchen to make our fellowship time so sweet!

You can check out Jeremy and Corrina’s group at:
https://www.facebook.com/highfidelitybluegrass/
https://www.facebook.com/CorrinaJeremy/

We also had a precious time of Parent/Child Dedication this past Sunday.  Please be in prayer for these parents as they strive to honor God with their lives and the raising of their children!

We have had other families that wanted to participate in the parent/child dedication but were not able to be here this past Sunday.  This is something that we want to be able to facilitate…it’s too important to put off!  We are looking at possibly having another dedication service in two weeks.  If you are interested and would like to sign up or if you have any questions, click here.

        

This Week at Grace

I want to encourage you to make time in your schedule for Wed. night at Grace!  Wednesday nights are special at Grace–but its not the same without you.  We have an excellent Student and Kids ministry here at Grace–but it only helps your children if they are here and if you bring them!  Make it a top priority for your family to take a break from the unrelenting hustle and bustle of the week…and spend an hour Wednesday night with your church family, praying and studying God’s Word.  You won’t regret it!

The youth are having their second movie night–don’t miss it and invite others.

The kiddos are continuing their SWEET series on Wed. night at 6:30…I know the kids have been loving it!

In the adult Bible Study we will be deviating just a little bit from our series and looking at Psalm 73.  I encourage you to read it a few times and join us for Bible Study.  We are a church family…don’t miss the family “reunion” this Wednesday night!

This Sunday at Grace we will be taking some time to commemorate Memorial Day.  Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, from the early tradition of decorating graves with flowers, wreaths and flags. Memorial Day is a day for remembrance of those who have died in service to our country. The official holiday was inspired by local observances of the day that had taken place in several towns throughout America in the years after the Civil War.

If you have a relative who lost their life, while on active-duty in our Armed Forces, would you send an email to marcus@marcuskelley.com?  Please let me know their name, branch of service, area of operation and their relation to you.  Thank you so much.

The Bible says:

John 15:13 (NKJV) — 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

We are thankful for all of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedoms.  Let’s honor their sacrifice by using the greatest freedom we have in America–the freedom to worship–this Sunday at Grace!

Coming up!

VBS is right around the corner!  Invite, invite, invite!!  If you haven’t registered your kiddos or you would like to volunteer click here! Pre-K through 6th Grade!  Help us let everyone know! Be a bringer!

Please be in serious prayer about this time that we will have with all of the children and families!

Now is the time to share Jesus!

His and yours,

Pastor Marcus D. Kelley

This week at Grace we are continuing our Bible reading plan as a church family that will take all of us through the Bible in a year.  If you haven’t been able to keep up so far–or are just starting–jump in where we are this week and go from there!

Last Week at Grace

This past Saturday we had an awesome day at the Relay for Life event!  Our Grace Baptist Relay for Life team was able to raise over $2,000!  Thank you to everyone on the team, all of those who helped out, hung out and gave your money…it takes everyone to do it…thank you for representing our church family in such a wonderful way in our community.

   

    

This past Sunday we had another God-blessed day!  We had a full church for worship, many first-time guests, three baptisms, great worship and special music, people indicated that they received Christ, and we were able to honor our High School and College graduates!  I want to say a special thank you to all of you that give up your seats or “scoot” over and go out of your way to make all of our guests feel welcome.  It may seem like a small thing but it makes a BIG difference…good job!

After church, I was able to go have lunch with all of the graduates.  These are special young people and I am excited about what God is going to do in their lives.

   

   

This week at Grace

Don’t miss this Wednesday night as we continue our Bible Study series through the Bible.  Wednesday night is a great, casual environment to invite your friends and family to church.  The youth and children teams are doing an amazing job on Wednesday nights…we have something for all ages.  Starts at 6:30!  We will have our monthly business meeting at the conclusion of our Bible study.

Mother’s Day is THIS Sunday, May 14. It is always a special opportunity to honor the moms in our lives.  Moms, each of you will leave with a special token of our appreciation this Sunday.  But we will also have a random drawing for one special mom to win a $100 gift card!  ALL moms will be eligible–but you will have to be present to win!  We just want to do something different this year and bless our moms in the most practical way possible and let you know how much we appreciate you.

We will also be recognizing all of the children from Children’s Church who have completed memorizing the Ten Commandments!  Each child will receive a certificate and a “10” dollar gift card to show them how much we appreciate all of their hard work.  We will also show a GREAT video of the children reciting and singing the Commandments…you don’t want to miss it! If you weren’t with us for the whole ten weeks and your kiddos haven’t had a chance to memorize them yet–let us know and we will make sure that you get the simplified version of the Commandments to help you teach your child–when they get them memorized we want to let them know that we appreciate them, too!

We will have an awesome day of worship and the Word–we won’t have worship services Sunday night so make every effort possible to be here Sunday morning!

Don’t forget about your 3…we all have people in our lives that we should be praying for, witnessing to, and inviting to Grace!  Let’s be about the Great Commission and reach West Tennessee…it will only happen one person at a time as we are faithful!  Be a bringer!

Parents! Coming up on Sunday May 21st–(the same day as our Homecoming) we will have our Parent-Child Dedication at Grace.  This dedication is for parents and children of all ages…whether you have a newborn or maybe you have never participated in a child dedication service before–you can participate in this one–as parents dedicate themselves and their children to the Lord.  Please don’t miss it!  You need to register online at the Grace Baptist website…you can click here to register.

A few reminders

• May 14th, Mother’s Day at Grace
• Decision America Tennessee Tour with Franklin Graham May 19th, 7:30 pm in Jackson at the Fairgrounds Park.  With special guest Jeremy Camp.  Make plans now to attend and invite everyone you know for an exciting evening of live music, prayer, and a powerful message of hope!
• May 21st, Homecoming at Grace–after worship we will have a “pot-luck” meal. Former Music Director Adam Wood will be coming and bringing the message that morning and we will have a very special music concert following our fellowship meal!
• Grace Baptist Book Club for Tweens (9-12) starts May 23rd.  For more info contact Karen Callis
• VBS starts June 4th-7th…please be in serious prayer for this time with the children and begin NOW inviting everyone you know to join us!  Registration is open and you can also sign up to volunteer at www.gracepinson.org

I hope you have a great week!  See you Wednesday night!

Psalm 20:4–5 (NKJV) — 4 May He grant you according to your heart’s desire, And fulfill all your purpose. 5 We will rejoice in your salvation, And in the name of our God we will set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions.

His and yours,

Pastor Marcus D. Kelley

This week at Grace we have begun reading through the books of Ruth and 1 Samuel.

Ruth is the story of a poor, widowed, Moabite woman who forsakes her pagan heritage in order to hold fast to the people and God of Israel.  “Because of her faithfulness in a time of national faithlessness,” God rewards her by giving her a new husband, a son and the incredible privilege of being the great-grandmother of King David…and thus a direct ancestor of King Jesus!

The First Book of Samuel describes the transition of leadership in Israel from judges to kings.  The characters that are prominent in this book: Samuel, the last judge and first prophet; Saul, the first king of Israel; and David, the king-elect, anointed but not yet recognized as Saul’s successor.

This past Sunday at Grace

We had a wonderful time of worship through music and the Word this past Sunday!

      

We had great worship and Sunday School attendance (if you aren’t in a class–join one now!  Let me know if you have any questions and we will point you towards the right class) and many guests and visitors.  Please continue to pray for and invite your friends, family and coworkers to join us at Grace.  The children performed special music by singing the “Ten Commandments Song.”  It was a blessing to see our children doing such a good job singing in our worship service…thank you to all of those that lead them!

We also had three saved at Grace this week…and our Grace Family grew by five!  I hope that we will all praise God for His goodness!

 

 

Please be sure and welcome The Cole family: Josh, Misti, Peyton, and Paxton Cole.  And also welcome Malcolm Morris.

This week at Grace

This Wednesday night we will have our last mid-week meal until school starts back (it makes me sad!) and the menu will be Grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, baked beans and chips.  The cost is only $5 per person; it starts at 5 pm-till service starts and is definitely worth it!

Our Bible study will be out of 1 Samuel 16-17…

The youth and children are currently in two great Bible studies…Wednesday nights at Grace are awesome!  Make plans to be here and bring someone with you!  Starts at 6:30!

This Sunday we will be recognizing all of our High School and College graduates.  Please keep these young people in your prayers as they enter into the next phase of their lives. Pray that God will use them mightily!  We will also have three baptisms at the beginning of the service…so don’t be late to get a seat!  Alex Plunk will be bringing the special music.

Sunday night we will be continuing our sermon series on “Angels and Demons.”  This week will be looking at what Scripture has to say about demons.  Bro. Joe Burton will be filling in and leading worship Sunday night and Mrs. Susan Patterson has graciously agreed to play piano for the service.  Join us Sunday night at 6 and make sure you let them know how much you appreciate them helping out.

Please begin praying now for our Sunday services…that God will be glorified, the lost saved, and the people of God edified.

A few reminders

• Relay for Life May 6th, Chester Co. High School 10 am-10pm.  You still have time to sign up to participate in this worthwhile event…sign up is in the foyer.
• May 14th, Mother’s Day at Grace
• Decision America Tennessee Tour with Franklin Graham May 19th, 7:30 pm in Jackson at the Fairgrounds Park.  With special guest Jeremy Camp.  Make plans now to attend and invite everyone you know for an exciting evening of live music, prayer, and a powerful message of hope!
• May 21st, Homecoming at Grace–former Music Director Adam Wood will be coming and bringing the message that morning.
• Grace Baptist Book Club for Tweens (9-12) starts May 23rd.  For more info contact Karen Callis
• VBS starts June 4th-7th…please be in serious prayer for this time with the children and begin NOW inviting everyone you know to join us!  Registration is open and you can also sign up to volunteer at www.gracepinson.org

May God bless you this week as you serve Him!

Pastor Marcus D. Kelley

One more thing…just for fun:

We made quite a few promotional videos in April…to get the word out about the Easter Egg Drop and our Easter services.  Making videos isn’t always easy!  If you haven’t already seen it–here is the “blooper” video…enjoy!