LIVERMORE FALLS — At the Sunday, August 27, First Baptist Church Livermore Falls service, the summer days are winding down, leaves beginning to change colors. But the First Baptist Church is getting busy with many activities planned for the upcoming fall and winter seasons. Many improvements have been done between spring and summer, including a new handicap chairlift, pavement for the entire parking area and walkways, work on the Parsonage and more.
Today, we welcomed back our Pastor, Rev. Russ Thayer and his wife, Carol. They recently returned from vacation and have many tales to tell about their adventures. Rev. Russ and Carol welcomed all in attendance to the worship service and he read announcements, after Maggie Houlihan played lovely Hymns to set the mood for worship.
After announcements, Pastor led the congregation as we sang two praise songs: “Praise the Name of Jesus” and “Blessed Assurance”. He then read the call to worship from Psalm 62, Verses 1 & 2. He led us into prayer time and The Lord’s Prayer. We then sang the Hymn, “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”. As the offering was collected, Maggie Houlihan and Margaret Emery played “Jesus Loves Even Me”. Special music was a special treat: Richard Poland sang the beautiful “His Eye Is On the Sparrow”.
Pastor Thayer based his sermon on scripture from the Book of Matthew, Chapter 22, Verses 34 – 40. The sermon is titled, “The Bottom Line”. The scripture tells us to (1), “Love the Lord with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” And (2,)”Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” As Christians, we must remind ourselves that it is necessary to love God so much that he becomes the central being in our lives.
Then we can love ourselves and others because God shares His love with us, and He wants us to share our love with others. Pastor Thayer tells us that beyond loving our parents, grandparents, children, and other family members(that’s easy love), we must also find a way to love our neighbors. This is the difficult kind of love. We may not like what our neighbors do, how they lead their lives, what they do. However, we need to find love in our hearts for them. God loved us so much, He gave His Son, Jesus, to pay for our sins.
We need to share that love with all others as we go through our earthly journey. Pray for others and remember that all people on earth are children of God, as are we. “The Bottom Line” is this: no matter how we feel about other people we must ask ourselves how God feels about them. Are we capable of sharing that love? What does God want us to do?
Our final Hymn was “Love Lifted Me”, followed by the Benediction and “Go Ye, Go Ye Into the World”.
Announcements:
1. In September, we will collect Peanut Butter for the Food Cupboard.
2. The Worship Team will resume rehearsals, beginning Thursday, August 31, at 1 p.m. All who love to sing praises to God are welcome to help us make many “joyful noises” to the Lord.
3. The next Hymnsing will take place on Sunday, September 24th at 7:00 pm. Please join us as we make more “joyful noises.”.
4. On Labor Day, September 4, there will be an all-Church Bar-B-Que at the parsonage from noon until 3 p.m. Pastor Thayer will be at the grill serving hot dogs and burgers. Please bring your favorite food to share, and bring a lawn chair.
5. The next Soap ‘n More Store will be open from 9 to noon on September 23.
6. Get ready for the Gospel as played and sung by Brad White in concert. Brad visits us every year , and this year he will bring joy to our Sanctuary on September 26 at 7 p.m. Don’t miss this wonderful performance.
7. The Coffee Hour will begin again next Sunday, September 3, after Worship. There is a sign-up sheet for those who want to provide treats to share.
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