Announcements
 
MEET OUR GUEST SPEAKER
Our guess speaker for today is Dr. Vincent Bacote. He is a Professor of Theology and Director of the Center for Applied Christian Ethics at Wheaton College. He is also a theology editor for Christianity Today Magazine. Dr. Bacote is an editor of theology for Christianity Today Magazine. Dr. Bacote is a good preacher and servant of Jesus Christ. He is a graduate of Trinity Evangelical Divinity University in New Jersey. He presently serves on the faculty at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of two books: The Political Disciple and the Spirit in Public Theology. He has also written several articles with the theological impact.
 
Dr. Bacote is married to Shelley Bacote and they have two lovely daughters, Laurel and Juliana.
 
We are delighted to present to you this morning Dr. Vincent Bacote as our guest speaker.
 
 
THANK YOU
To Pastor Fullwood and my Bellevue family, I thank and praise God for your faithfulness, prayers, calls, and cards. I appreciate the love you showed to my sister Pamela when she fellowship with us during worship services on many occasions, traveled with the EONS, attended the Prayer Breakfasts and the Women’s Retreat – 2019. Thank you for showing God’s love to me, Victoria, the Washington, Wells and Steward families. With Love always.
                                                                                                                                                                       Kim Davis
 
OFFERING ENVELOPES
 
We want to thank everyone for your faithfulness in giving to our Church for the past year. We have been able to keep the Church office open, pay our bills, support our missionaries and continue to minister to our community in a variety of ways. Thanks again for your faithfulness.
 
We apologize that the offering envelopes for 2021 will not be ready for pick up on the first Sunday in January. They are scheduled to arrive about the middle of January. We encourage you to continue to give to our Church in 2021. Please place your offering envelope number on the envelope with your offering. This step will make it possible for us to credit your offering to your account.
 
 
 
READING THE BIBLE THROUGH
 
We want to commend everyone who read the Bible through or listened to Bible tapes through the Bible for 2020. His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light on our path (Psalm 119:105). We encourage you to join us again in 2021 reading the Bible through.
 
I also suggest that you read with a pencil and pad. Record the promises of God and make a diligent effort to obey His instruction. Remember that our blessings come with our obedience.
 
We want to commend the following members who read the Bible through for 2020. This includes members who listened to tapes of the Scriptures last year. Congratulations!!! Let us do it again in 2021.
 
Mrs. Donita Rochell                                                                                                                                                      
Mrs. Doris Anglin                                                                        Mrs. Rosa Marie Bouier
Mrs. Ruby Lambert                                                                    Mrs. Ruby Rucker
Ms. Rosemary Sheckels                                                       Mrs. Rosie Reed
Mrs. Wilma Buckley                                                                  Ms. Renee Lumpkin
Mrs. Mary Winn                                                                              Mrs. Maxine Perdue
Mrs. Eartha Campbell                                                             Ms. Patricia Pool
Mrs. Corrie Council                                                                    Ms. Vivonette Paige
Mrs. Deborah Fullwood                                                          Dr. Carl Lambert
Mrs. Adrienne Lambert                                                          Mr. Taylor Robinson
 Mrs. Emma Robinson                                                                 Mrs. Rosa Pryor
Mrs. Cari Magee                                                                               Mrs. Kathleen Clayton
Mrs. Dorothy Boyd                                                                         Mrs. Bernitha Robinson
 
Blessings, Pastor Fullwood
 
PRAYER FOCUS PRAYING ALWAYS
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and request. Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
 
Dr. Frank Laubach gives many ideas for experiments in prayer:
Pray for whoever comes to memory.
Pray when you can’t sleep at night.
 
Pray while taking a walk.
Pray, using a prayer list of missionaries, pastors, of the sick and sorrowing, neighbors, and coworkers.
Pray while reading a newspaper – pause and pray for accident victims, for world leaders.
 
Pray for the Lord to give you open doors to witness.
Paul, recognizing the kind of world in which he lived, with Satan’s powers so intense, tells his friends to pray at all times in the Spirit. And Paul also reminds the Ephesians to pray for all Christians, “and also me.”
 
Why not follow Paul’s example and ask many of our friends and fellow church members to pray for us. And then, let us “give ourselves wholly to prayer…and pray on every occasion in the power of the Spirit.” By Conrad M. Thompson
 
A Word of Encouragement the Pastor
 
We had a great time in  the parking lot worship service last Sunday. It was great to see all of you come to the parking lot to receive God’s Word. The Spirit of God was working; we could feel His presence. Thank you for taking the time to commune with us. Our last communion as a body of believers was the first Sunday in March.
 
The Lord gave us a very beautiful day to commune together on the Church parking lot. I would not have dreamed that this could happened a year ago, but the Lord made it all possible for us to have worship together. I especially want to thank all of our participatation. We were careful to wear gloves and masks so you were kept safe from the virus that is wreaking havoc in our world.
 
We thank the Lord for His protection and we thank all of you for trusting God enough to come out and share with us. The message on Sunday reminded us that we have much to remember when it comes to the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. We should remember that he suffered for us. He could have easily come down from the cross; He had the divine power to do so; but he stayed on the cross so that our sin debt could be paid off.
 
What a blessing! His suffering and death also reminds us that God loves us. He loves us unconditionally. He loves us when we are doing right and he loves us when we are doing wrong. Paul said it this way in Romans 5:8, “God commended his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.” A third thing we should remember about Christ suffering and death is the provision that He made for us. In Jesus death on the cross, God made the provision for our salvation. The Lord has made a way for us to be saved. In summary we gave three things that we should remember about the death and suffering of Jesus: 1. He suffered for us 2. God loves us and 3. God has made provision for our salvation.
 
Why should we remember the suffering and death of Jesus? He instructed us to do so. He said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” When we eat the bread and drink from the cup we should remember the suffering and death of our Lord. Remembering his suffering and death is an act of obedience. A second reason why we should remember Jesus’ suffering and death, it is a renewal of our covenant relationship with the Lord. We are in covenant relationship with our Lord. He is our Redeemer and we are the redeemed. He is our Savior and we are the saved. Every time we eat the bread and drank from the cup in memory of His suffering and death, we renew our covenant relationship with Him.
 
A third reason why we should remember the suffering and death of our Lord: It reminds us that we belong to him. We have been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Paul reminded us in First Corinthians 6:19-20 that we are not our own; we have been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ. So that makes each believer very precious in the sight of the Lord. Jesus Christ died on the cross so our sin debt could be paid off. We are redeemed by His precious blood.
 
Here are some benefits that God given to the redeemed. We have his presence, protection, and provision. Satan cannot do anything to you without God’s permission. You are never alone because the Lord promised never to leave us or for sake us. We have his provision; which means he will provide for all of our needs and finally he has given us the gift of eternal life. Jesus’ suffering and death did not just cancel our sin debt. His suffering and death made it possible for us to receive the gift of eternal life. In First Corinthians 15, Paul said it this way. “In Adam all die, but in Christ all will be made alive.” This is the message that we have from the suffering and death of Jesus Christ. Amen