Register NOW for Waves of Glory Dance Camp

Waves of Glory is the dance ministry at Whittington Church – expressing praise in motion. For the fourteenth year, the ministry will host a camp for all interested girls age 5 (by September 1 2017) through 14 years old. Each group of girls will learn a fun contemporary worship dance to modern Christian music. The instruction for camp will be on Sunday, July 8th, Monday, July 9th and Tuesday, July 10 from 6:00-8:30pm. Family and friends are invited to join us Tuesday at 9:00pm for a dance worship service.

The Registration Cost is $25.00 per child or $40 for two children and is due by June 26th. Cost includes instruction, refreshments and a t-shirt. Children must be pre-registered in order to be guaranteed a shirt.

Send registration form and check payable to:
Whittington Church
PO Box 9
Whittington, IL 62897

Download the form, complete and return with payment before June 26.

Waves of Glory Dance Camp Registration Form

Sunday Morning Adult Connection Classes for June-August 2018

Hebrews: The Key To Living By Faith

(Room 206-Norma Webb, Leader)

This group will use the New Testament Epistle to the Hebrews as a platform for studying life in Christ in the New Testament Church.

 

2 Samuel

(Room 204-Jack Denham, Leader)

This quarterly formatted group will take an in depth look at this Old Testament book, exploring how God worked through David to provide for the salvation of humanity through the promised Messiah.

 

Jesus as Teacher

(Room 202-David Goss, Leader)

How are we to understand the teachings of Jesus? He often used stories to illustrate what God expects of His children. While they are “down to earth”, they call for us to reach deep, to see ourselves being Christ-like in our daily walk with Him.

 

Ladies Class

(Pastor Mark’s Office-Desra Lindeman, Leader)

This ladies group brings discussions and topics each week that are pertinent to our practical lives.  Come listen in or actively engage in the discussion.

 

Greek Language

(Church Library Room-Andy Ahlfeld, Leader)

This group will be an introductory look at the original language of the New Testament.

 

Google God: What The Bible Has To Say About Things We Are Interested In

(The HELPS Building-Mark Minor, Leader)

This class explores the importance of using only the Bible to develop our worldview by allowing scripture to lead us to Truth concerning issues that we feel are important.  Possible topics could include: race, eternal security, sexuality, public education, alcohol…or whatever topics the class deems important.

 

Coaches & Spouses Class

(The Fellowship Hall-Bob Pankey, Leader)

Coaching is a unique calling…whether you’re coaching 5 year old T-ballers (YIKES!) or 18 year old high school athletes.  Being the spouse of a coach is ESPECIALLY unique!  This class will be an ongoing discussion centered around teams, homes, families, our own children and how to handle the pressures that come with each…all centered around God’s Truth & Wisdom.  Come alone or with your spouse, come no matter what you coach…even if you’re not currently coaching at all!

 

 

Forgiveness

Throughout my life, I have been very blessed by reading short devotions, stories and lessons.  Deep devotions like Oswald Chambers ‘My Utmost for His Highest’.  Inspirational stories like those found in Guidepost Magazine.  Nourishing kernels of truth like the Bible based lessons of ‘Daily Bread’. These little ‘nuggets’ (in writing, that means a story of less than 600 words) are often used by God to get me through my day or speak truth to my soul or provide the very answer I need to a problem I face.  Well, without trying to compare or imitate, it is my desire to share a few words each week that might do the same for you.  Sort, personal, maybe instructional—but at least some thoughts that are ‘tasty’ and worthy of ‘chewing on’.  Here goes…

FORGIVENESS

The prison cell was locked and the keys hung on the jailer’s belt.  Now, surely, the jailer could rest since he had each offender securely ‘put away’.  But as he trudged from the cell and up the stairs to the living quarters, the jangling of keys on his waistband constantly reminded him that he was responsible for the ones he had imprisoned.  Would the prisoners try to escape?  If the prisoners did escape, was not the jailer and his family in mortal danger of retaliation?  Was he sure he had locked each cell tight?  Did the prisoners have friends who might try to engineer a ‘breakout’?  These and many other thoughts flooded the jailer’s mind.  As he sank into his easy chair, he began to realize a truth:  The one who holds the keys to the prison cell is more the prisoner than the one inside the cell.

Are you a jailer?  Well, yes you are– if there are those you have not ‘forgiven’.  You may ‘hold the keys’ but the burden of ‘keeping people locked up’ is a tiring and taxing task.  It takes a lot of time and energy making sure the people who have ‘done you wrong’— some so long ago you don’t remember why— stay locked up and punished for their crime.

Is this story making any sense?  Satan uses unforgiveness as a chain to wrap around our lives, our families and our churches.  To use Jeff Foxworthy’s famous ’You might be a Redneck If... routine, check the following… see if any fit YOU:

You might be holding on to unforgiveness…

*If have you ever changed  aisles at the grocery store simply because you saw this certain person, you might have unforgiveness.

            *If you have ever let loose a sinister snicker when told of the bad misfortune of someone who is on your ‘list’, you might have unforgiveness

            *If you love to forget the good but broadcast the ‘gossip’ about someone, you might have unforgiveness.

            *If you sit in a certain place at church in order to avoid sitting near ‘so and so’, you might have unforgiveness.

            *If, at the mention of so and so’s name, a spirit of anger rises within you, your stomach starts to turn, your neck muscles tighten, and your jaw gets rigid  then you might have unforgiveness.

Get the picture… If so, then who’s really the prisoner here?

Your unwillingness to forgive is harming YOU.  Emotionally, spiritually and probably physically.  Forgiving is so that YOU can get better and experience peace and relief— not the offender. It doesn’t matter if the other party deserves or receives your ‘forgiveness’.  The issue of forgiveness is between YOU and God, not the offender. And I know it’s hard.  It is a choice and a process.  But do it!  Forgive!  For God’s sake… and for yours!

-Mark Minor

 

 

 

Visit Israel with Pastor Mark

I hope you consider joining me on this trip to Israel.  It truly is a ‘trip of a lifetime’.  Reading the Bible is never the same once you have stood where Jesus preached to the multitudes and multiplied the fish and bread.  Or taken a boat journey across the Sea of Galilee, walked the streets of the Old City of Jerusalem, prayed at the Wailing Wall, viewed the Dead Sea from a cable car as you travel to the top of Masada… or of course, when we visit the Garden Tomb.

The trip is suitable for people of all ages .  You can view the sights from the comfortable tour bus or walk the hills and trails of the Holy Land.  Our three hotels (Dan Panorama in Tel Aviv, Nof Genosar in Galilee and Dan Jerusalem in Jerusalem) are 4 star hotels.  For those who are interested, I will have a Study Guide for each day— complete with Scripture references, maps and historical perspectives— to enrich and enhance our Bible knowledge.  It is truly a fun, amazing and inspiring trip!!

Call, email, text or Facebook me for any inquiries or information about the trip.   Looking forward to experiencing God’s Promised Land together with you!!

Mark Minor
618/967-5091
mminor@midwest.net

Cost per person/ based on room for two:  

$3999 per person (based on double occupancy)

*Single occupancy rooms are available: additional $920 per person

**Deposit of $300 is due by February 5, 2018 to secure reservation.  Payment of remainder of cost will be as follows: 50% by April 1. Remaining fees due by May 1, 2018.

Itinerary: 

May 25:  Depart St. Louis
May 26: Arrive Tel Aviv
May 27  Galilee  (North) area: Capernaum, Sea of Galilee, Nazareth, Meggido and  much more
May 30: Jerusalem: Old City, Dead Sea, Masada, St. Peter, Wailing Wall, Temple Mount, Garden of   Gethsemane, Mt. of Olives, Garden Tomb and much more…
June 5:  Depart Israel
June 5:  Arrive St. Louis

Tour Guide, Ronny Simon

Our tour guide in Israel will be Ronny Simon.  Ronny serves as a Lt. Col. In the Israeli Army (IDF), is the author of 4 books about Israel and was voted ‘Tour Guide of the Year’ in 2011.  He also serves as visiting adjunct professor at numerous Christian colleges in America.  Mr. Simon’s website is www.israel-tours.com.

Price for Trip Includes:

• Airfare to and from St. Louis
• 10 hotel nights: One in Tel Aviv, Three in Galilee, Six in Jerusalem
• Breakfast and Dinner daily
• Travel on bus coach
• One ‘free’ day
• 8 days of guide
• All entrance fees to sites on itinerary
• 4 lunches during trip
• Farewell dinner before departure
• Gratuities (Hotel, Driver, Guide)

Not included:

• Personal expenses
• Meals and sites NOT on itinerary

Note from Pastor Mark Minor:

** I have asked our tour guide (Ronny Simon) and hosting organization (Nitzan Travel Services LTD)  to include ALL customary expenses in the trip price so, to the best of our ability, there will be no surprises or hidden fees.

 

 

 

 

Whittington Church History

Written by David Goss

 

Whittington Church had its beginning in modest economic times but in a small railroad community dotted with many business establishments, including a bank. In 1924, a small group met and the Whittington Missionary Baptist Church was formed. While the erection of an adequate building was a necessity and met with disciplined financial and labor support, it began immediately to support a variety of Southern Baptist benevolent and mission activities, and remains true to its missionary ideal.

Surviving the modest times of the Twenties, Thirties, and Forties meant modest pastor salaries and needed building improvements. By the Fifties, full time pastors were called and a parsonage was built. Great growth in the Eighties and Nineties led to building a fellowship hall, which survived a Christmas fire in 1985. Soon new sanctuary and classrooms were built with much volunteer labor, only quickly found to be too small. Frequently nursery workers were pleading for more cribs, and youth activities required more than a multi-purpose room. The current auditorium/sanctuary and additional rooms were built in 2000.

In addition to pastoral care from Senior Pastor Mark Minor, Associate Pastors Greg Shelton and Bob Pankey, and Children’s Ministry Director Becky Jones, hundreds of our church family provide a variety of ministries reaching out into a five county area. Best known is the HELPS Ministry that provides food, clothing, and household items to hundreds of people; it even has had its own building for over thirty years. A monthly Seniors Meal provides fellowship for area senior adults. Numerous other groups meet regularly at the church or in homes to provide spiritual nourishment to individuals and families.

Acreage to the west of State Route 37 provides a fenced ball diamond and gathering place for church picnics. For many years, Christmas at God’s House and The Last Supper Easter Drama have brought hundreds for a time of spiritual awakening. Active youth groups date back to the beginning and have for many years included a variety of mission trips and activities. Our church provides an outreach ministry to local schools and two prisons. Members give generously to provide Christmas toys to over a hundred families and to the children of those incarcerated.

Whittington Baptist Church was adopted when the church property was incorporated and registered in 1953. However “Whittington Church” is now used, indicating that many of our members and attendees come from a variety of church backgrounds. Through the years “going to church” has become “being the church” in the community and beyond.

We hope that you decide to visit us for one of our services, then connect with one of our many groups or activities. We have a place for you! Be blessed!

Waves of Glory Camp Registration

Registration is now open for our Waves of Glory Dance Camp which will be July 9-11, 2017. The registration deadline is June 23, so please download the brochure below and mail in your registration before that date.

Click to print the Brochure and Registration Form: waves registration flyer 2017

 

Celebrate Recovery

Celebrate Recovery is a Christ-Centered Recovery Program that offers help for our hurts, habits and hang-ups. This is for any type of issue: worry, anxiety, anger, finances, eating issues, control issues, denial, people pleaser, workaholic, time management, codependency, alcohol, perfectionism, depression, fear, low self-esteem, relationship issues, drugs, pornography. ANY hurt, habit or hang-up!

A light meal will be provided at 6:00pm. Program will start at 6:30pm. Nursery and childcare available.

Schedule for the evening:

6:00-6:30pm – Light Meal *Free* (Soup, Sandwich, etc.)

6:30-7:15pm – Welcome, Worship, Recognition/Awards, Testimony/Teaching

7:30-8:15pm – Breakout to Small Groups

Everyone is welcome!! Bring a friend!

 

Journey – Devotions With a Purpose – December 30, 2016

Japheth Shall Dwell in the Tent of Shem

FOCUS VERSES

Genesis 9:27 May God extend Japheth’s territory;
may Japheth live in the tents of Shem,

There is a thread that runs so true throughout the Bible.  Our God, who sees the ‘end from the beginning’, has ordained it so.  Because of this, our Lord deals in strategies often playing out in hundreds of years.  Like a chess master, He can make a moves that will not impact the ‘game for centuries or even millennia.  As humans, we would miss it.  But the Lord of the Universe doesn’t miss a thing— and the vital importance of even a seemingly small ‘thing’ can make a monumental difference in the outworking of history.

Take, for example, the prophetic words uttered by Noah in the passage above.  To refresh our memory… the Flood is over and all of Noah’s family have disembarked.  Ham, Shem, Japheth— Noah’s three sons— and their wives are now tasked with the job of repopulating the earth.  These three genetic ‘seedbeds’ will provide the DNA codes for the ‘races’.  An incident (Genesis 9) involving Ham causes Noah to utter three specific prophecies on the future generations of his sons.   These prophecies may not seem like a big deal… but we understand the implications more fully when we come to the spread of the Gospel and the ‘direction’ of the book of Acts.

One more ‘refresher…  Shem is the ‘father’ of the Semitic peoples, which includes the Jews.  Japheth is the ‘father’ of the ‘white or Caucasian races, which includes the bulk of the peoples of the Roman Empire.  NOW, notice the final lines in Noah’s prophecy: ‘may Japheth live in the tents of Shem’.  What does that mean? Ahh… much!

The leaders of the Jews had rejected the Messiah Jesus.  Their Council had him put to death. Many, many Jews became disciples of Jesus, but the nation of Israel— to this very day— has refused to recognize or follow.  So who is that accepted, embraced, proclaimed and followed this son of Shem, this Jewish Messiah?  That’s right:  Japheth!!  Japheth is ‘living’ in the tents of ‘Shem’!

Most of the book of Acts focuses on Paul’s mission trips to ‘Japheth’.  The Romans, the Greeks, the Macedonian, perhaps even  Spain— those in provinces to the ‘west’.  And why? Because in the centuries to come, much of the ‘heavy lifting’ of the evangelizing the world has fallen on the shoulders of ‘Japheth’.  It’s not that the rest of the world was ‘neglected’… but history plainly shows the Good News of Jesus was carried to the ends of the Earth, by Japheth— just as Noah said.

 

Journey – Devotions With a Purpose – December 29, 2016

Fighting the Good Fight of Faith

FOCUS VERSES

1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 13 In the sight of God, who gives life to everything, and of Christ Jesus, who while testifying before Pontius Pilate made the good confession, I charge you 14 to keep this command without spot or blame until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ

Faith must be a very precious object.  One way we can know it’s value is to see how hard the Enemy works to separate us from our Faith.  And it is a fight… a hard fight… to hold on.  But you must!

Talking to a car salesman once, I ask him about the ‘tricks of the trade’.  In a moment of candor, he mentioned some of the ‘strategies.  One strategy he called the ‘puppy dog close’.  It goes like this— If you can get a potential customer to take a car home with them for a weekend, just like a puppy dog that finds it way into someone’s home,  it will be very hard for the potential customer to ‘let go’.  If all works as planned, someone just got separated from their money.

Faith is similar, in that the Enemy has ‘tried and tested’ means of separating us from our Faith.  Paul refers to some of these in the early chapters.   In 1 Timothy 1:19, 20 we learn of Hymenaeus and Alexander who have ’shipwrecked’ their faith (NIV).  In 1 Timothy 4:1 Paul warns us that deceiving spirits will attempt to get us to ‘abandon’ our faith. Chapter 5:8 challenges us to do the spiritual works required of a saint or we will have ‘denied’ the faith.  Lastly, if we substitute ‘religious chatter for truth we will begin to ‘wander’ from the faith.   The methods may be different but the danger is the same.

‘Shipwrecked’ speaks of a clash of values (happens a lot during college years) and if our faith is not strong, it will break and we are sunk.  ’Abandon’ is a term of seduction.  Leave one ’love’; and go to ’another lover’.  A temptress who promises a ’better time.  The seduction will surely come.  Is your love for Jesus strong enough to hold? ‘Deny’ is the work of hypocrisy.  Similar to  ‘if you like your insurance policy you can keep it’.  Say one thing, but mean another.  Whatever is convenient for the moment.  Is that your faith?  Strong when in church but totally different at work or school? ‘Wander’ is the sheep who nibbles his way out of the faithful pasture.  Do you know people who had faith but now live on past memories of faith long gone.

Strengthen your grip!  Above all, never ,never let go of faith in Jesus!

 

 

 

 

Journey – Devotions With a Purpose – December 28, 2016

When Bad Things Happen to Good People

FOCUS VERSES

Romans 8:28 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose

It happens every day.  A church is hit by a devastating tornado during a worship service.  An accident claims the life of a young child of Christian parents.  The biopsy comes back positive. A business fails.  An soldier dies on patrol  A person walks out on a marriage for a ‘new’ relationship.  Bad things DO happen to good people— even God’s people.  We often struggle for answers.  Sometimes the answers are ‘poor’, i.e. not grounded in solid Biblical truth.  Answers such as  ‘this is God’s punishment’…or ‘you didn’t have enough faith’.  Such answers have the appearance of being ‘spiritual’ but most often are just poor attempts to explain an outcome we did not expect. There are better, more honest and Biblically based answers.

Take a moment to look at some ‘better answers’ of why bad things happen.

1. We live in a ‘broken world’. It’s true.  Our world is ‘broken’ because of sin.  The world was given to us by God in the beginning to rule over, but now, because of sin, it rules over us.  We are susceptible to accidents, disasters and tragedies.  The forces of this earth (gravity, inertia, collisions, etc.) affect both saints and sinners.  The natural laws of planet earth affect us.  Does God directly cause the hurricane or flood or volcano.  Usually not.  They are just part of this broken world we call planet Earth.  Someday, the world will be made ‘right’ (read Romans 8:20-22 for more insight into this).  Until then, we must live in the broken down world.

2. We live among ‘broken people’ People are evil.  We are born with a sinful nature and a free will.  This is a dangerous combination.  As a race, we can do wicked things and cause great pain and harm to each other.  It is not God’s will for humans to kill the innocent person, but because of ‘broken people’ with free wills, it sometimes happens.
3. There are ‘logical consequences’ to our actions Sometimes we reap what we sow.  For example, if a person has smoked for 40 years and then develops lung cancer or emphysema, should we be real surprised.  Or if we run up our credit cards to maximum levels and make bad financial decisions, we could reasonably figure that bankruptcy might be the outcome.

4. God has a ‘greater plan’ and will use the ‘bad’ for good’ to His glory. Sometimes, we must pull out our spiritual binocular and focus long range. God uses the ’bad’ in our lives to change and bless us.  Some have experienced heart attacks… only to realize their need for Jesus and become saved.  Some have conquered drug addictions… and start powerful ministries. As our devotion verse says: ‘bad’ things may happen to us, but God can use even the bad to bring forth good and positive things.