Dear Church Family,

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He

held up a sign which said: "I am blind, please help." There were only a few

coins in the hat. A man was walking by. He took a few coins from his pocket

and dropped them into the hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and

wrote some words. He put the sign back so that everyone who walked by

would see the new words.

Soon the hat began to fill up. A lot more people were giving money

to the blind boy. That afternoon the man who had changed the sign came to

see how things were. The boy recognized his footsteps and asked, "Were

you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?" The

man said, "I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different

way." I wrote: "Today is a beautiful day but I cannot see it."

Both signs told people that the boy was blind. But the first sign

simply said the boy was blind. The second sign told people that they were so

lucky that they were not blind. Should we be surprised that the second sign

was more effective?

He replied, “Whether he is a sinner or not, I don’t know. One thing I do

know. I was blind but now I see!” John 9:25

Does the way you live your life shout out loud to people that you

were once blind in sin, but now you are free or do people even realize you

aren’t blind any more?

Joshua 24:15,

Rob Brazell

A love offering for the food closet

will be received

Sunday, October 2, during the A.M. Service

It takes about $10

to prepare a bag

of food for distribution

and we need enough

for at least

seventy families.

October 21st-23rd- Revival/Homecoming! We originally scheduled our

fall revival and homecoming for the month of September. However, with

the remodeling of our sanctuary we were forced to push this time of wor-

ship and celebration back a month. This year our church celebrates 180

years of establishment and on September 17th our sanctuary will have her

100th birthday. We cannot wait to celebrate this time and thank God for all

that He has done in the life of Mount Elon Baptist Church. We could not

imagine a better way to rejoice than to incorporate our fall revival in with

our homecoming festivities. Each night of revival we will have a different

pastor from our past to bring the message; Friday night we will have Rev.

Marvin Lynch, Saturday night we will have Dr. Bob Cline, and Sunday

morning we will have Rev. Robin King. After the Sunday morning wor-

ship service we will have dinner on the grounds. Once again, we hope that

everyone is already praying for this time of worship and that you have

already begun inviting your family and friends to be a part of this special

time. The Lord’s Supper will be observed Sunday 10/23/11 also.

If there is someone you would like to extend a written invitation to please

contact Karen at the church office.

Special dates

• World Communion Sunday, October 2, 2011 • Columbus Day Observance, October 10, 2011 • Reformation Sunday, October 30, 2011

The Latin phrase Ecclesia semper reformanda est means “The church is always reforming”; implied is “And that’s good!” Ongoing change and growth are important for individuals, too, but for many of us, change is hard. Use this prayer poem to embrace positive change, safe in the arms of our unchanging God. Cradle to grave — How shall my life flow? Always the same, Never daring to grow? Since GOD is the same, always faithful and near, I’m free to move forward in spite of my fear. So… Naming the Lord as my Power through strife, I Go forth braving newness — in faith and in life! —Heidi Mann

Harp This multi-stringed musical instru-ment is associated with David, who played to soothe King Saul and later wrote many Psalms. The harp also represents praise music in general, as

well as all the instruments people use to glorify God (see Psalm 71:22). The idea that angels play harps comes from Rev-elation 14:2 (“And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of … harpists playing on their harps”).

For the heart

I hear no one boast, that he has a knowledge of the Scriptures, but rather that

he owns a Bible written in

golden characters. And tell me then, of what profit is this? The Holy Scrip-

tures were not given to us that

we should enclose them in books, but that we should engrave them upon our

hearts.

—St. John Chrysostom

Published in: October 2004

Always Reforming

Fellowship Family Night

December 16

6:30 pm

Bring Covered Dish/Desserts

Business Meeting

Sunday, October 16

after

A.M. Service

Property Committee Meeting

Sunday,

October 23, 2011

9:00 am

Keen Teens

October 26, 2011 11:30 am

Please bring a

covered dish and dessert.

Program: Please bring an item of

interest for show and tell. Perhaps

a toy from your past or momen-

to . Please come and bring a

friend.

Hannah Plowden

Meetings for October 11. 2011

3:00 pm

Home of Annie McFarland

Workers for October

Nursery Workers Toddler Church

2 Wayne & Pat Howell 2 Missy Grooms

9 Louise Raines & Denise Skinner 9 Lindsay Brazell & Lori Johnson

16 Lindsay Brazell & Shannon Howell 16 Shannon Privette &

Casie Yarbrough

23 Paul & Ashley Reardon 23 Jennifer Tiller &

Missy Grooms

30 Wayne & Pat Howell 30 Angie Raines &

Candyce Chapman

Greeters and Building Security for October

Wayne Howell & Billy Jordan

September’s Perfect Attendance

Saturday, October 15

8:30 am

Please bring dozen size egg car-

tons before Oct. 15th, pls leave

in kitchen.

Fellowship Family Night

Wednesday, October 19

6:30 pm

Covered Dish and/or Dessert

Missy Spencer

Shelby Galloway

Susan Lloyd

Lynn Oates

Ruth Elmore

Annie McFarland

Reginald Kea

Cecil Grooms

Robert Pitts

Rob Brazell

Benjamin Cribb

Phil Howell

Billy Jordan

Mary Jordan

Jeff Rockel

Angie Raines

Jacob Raines

Caleb Raines

If you have perfect attendance for

each month, please be sure to sub-

mit your name to Missy Spencer.

We appreciate your faithfulness.

2 Janice Tiller

9 Peggy Gainey

16 Susan Lloyd

23 Lord’s Supper

30 Doralynn Flowers

Flowers for the month

Deacon’s Meeting

October 9, 2011

Eyes on God

The move to our new home was very stressful on our puppy. As we sold our furniture and boxed up our belongings, he became increasingly anxious. When the big day came and the truck was packed, we took one last walk through the empty house. Unable to comprehend what was happening, our anxious dog stayed right at our feet. He could make no sense of his circumstances but trusted us to take care of him. During that traumatic time, he never let us out of his sight. That reminds me of King Jehoshaphat’s prayer when a mighty enemy advanced against him and the situation was desperate. Jehoshaphat prayed, “We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you” (2 Chronicles 20:12, NRSV). God came through for his people that day, and he’ll come through for us, too, when all seems lost. Just stick close and keep your eyes on him.

Wednesday Night Schedule

6:30 pm Adult Bible Study

Prayer Meeting,

TeamKID and Youth

7:30 pm Choir Practice

Birthdays

Sunday Schedule 10:00 am Sunday School

11:00 am Worship Service

5:00 pm Praise Team

Practice October 2011 Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1

2

Food Closet Love Offering

5:00 pm Praise Team

3 4 5 6 7 8

9

8:00 am Deacon’s Meeting

5:00 pm Praise Team

10

11

WMU Hannah Plowden

3:00pm

Meeting at Annie McFar-

land’s

12

6:30 pm

Adult Bible Study &

Prayer Meeting

Youth

7:30 pm choir practice

13 14

15

8:30 am

Food Distribution

16

12:00 pm Business Meeting

5:00 pm Praise Team

17

18

19

6:30pm Family Night

Supper

No Adult Bible Study &

Prayer Meeting or Youth

7:30 pm choir practice

20 21

6:30 pm

Fall Revival

Rev. Marvin Lynch

22

6:30 pm

Fall Revival

Rev. Bob Cline

23-Lord’s Supper

9am Property Com. Meeting

Revival Last Day

Rev. Robin King

Dinner after service, 12pm

HomeComing

5:00 pm Praise Team

24

25 26

6:30 pm

Bible Study & Prayer

Meeting ,Youth

7:30 pm choir practice

Keen Teens 11:30 am

Topic– Show & Tell

27

11:30 am

Ladies Eat at Mr. B’s

28

29

30

Fall Festival

5:00 pm Praise Team

31

2 Tom Yarbrough

4 Malcolm Woods

Billy Jordan

8 Rob Brazell

13 Louise Galloway

22 Austin Howell

23 Tricia Pitts

25 Patricia Arrants

29 Bobby Goff

Elizabeth Skinner

Charlene Norris

9 R.D. & Elaine Chandler

11 Johnny & Janice Tiller

12 Danny & Serena Norris

16 Toy & Shelby Galloway

19 Scott & Candyce Chapman

Gary & Jenez Dabbs

20 Doug & Lori Johnson

25 Jason & Heather Smothers

Living by Son-Light

Some of our days seem very dark. Sickness, the death of a loved one, the loss of a job or another struggle overshadows life. In our despair, it can be difficult to sense God’s presence. If God were here, we reason, surely he’d be shining his light on our dark circumstances. When life is bright and joyous, it’s easy to sense God; the sun becomes a natural metaphor for God’s Son, Jesus, the Light of the world. But even on cloudy days, the sun still shines, its presence not bound by our limited vision. And in the darkest night, the sun remains; the warmth it gave before dusk lingers, enough to preserve us into the dawning of a new day. Sometimes we even catch its reflection in the moon. “Weeping may linger for the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5b, NRSV). Trust in God; even in life’s dark times, the Son still shines!

Many new parents choose “Bible names” for their babies. Of the following names, which two (one boy’s and one girl’s) are not found in Scripture? A. Eunice B. Priscilla C. Judith D. Clara E. Derek F. Obed G. Reuben H. Joel

The benefits of journaling

Regular writing is a rewarding, beneficial way to improve your spiritual life. Journaling allows you to: • express thoughts and emotions in a safe way, • analyze problems and find patterns, • face fears by writing them down, • record and remember God’s work in your life, • record prayers and answers, • remember life lessons that God is teaching you • and stay focused on your priorities. To begin, all you need is a pen, paper and some regular quiet time.

Rhinos are unique creatures. Weighing up to 5,000 pounds, cov-ered with inflexible plates of thick skin, a rhinoceros can run as fast as 30 or 40 mph. When a rhino perceives a threat or is irri-tated, it charges with enormous power. The last thing anyone wants aimed at him is a pointed 18-inch horn with all that weight and speed behind it. The rhinoceros is single-minded when it comes to doing what God made it to do — protect all members of its herd, especially the young ones. And the rhino does it immediately, without thought for itself. Perhaps the rhi-no can teach us a thing or two about stewardship. Shouldn’t we be quick to serve God’s kingdom as stewards through the use of our talent, time and treasure? And shouldn’t we put the full force of our convictions behind our actions? Such dedication would be rhino-like in its immediacy, persistence and perpetui-ty.

How To Be A “Rhino” Steward

Time to step down

Americans enjoy an abundance of freedoms. From what we’ll pursue to what we’ll eat for lunch, we’re constantly making decisions about what we want out of life. So it’s hard to find peace when our plans go awry and we lose control of our circumstances. A wise person suggested, “For peace of mind, resign as gen-eral manager of the universe.” What if we stepped down and let God be God? He created the universe, after all. Shouldn’t we trust him to run it?

A guide for giving

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on com-forts, luxuries, amusements, etc. is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. "If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable ex-penditures exclude them.” —C.S. Lewis

“I Believe”

I believe in sunshine; but I cannot clasp its ray. I cannot capture ocean tides; just watch them day by day. I believe in thinking; yet no brick can think a thought. I believe in loving; though love can’t be boxed or bought. I believe in gifts from God … diverse, yet clear … and thus: I believe God’s Love enfolds, sustains, and blesses us! —Peggy Ferrell, Poems and Prayers Answer: D and E