EMMETT FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH
April 2021
Discover Christ's Transforming Love
126 S. Hayes Ave. Emmett, Idaho 83617
Lance Zagaris, Pastor
Pam Hodges, Worship Director
A Word From the Pastor
Acts 4:5, 7-22 (NIV)
5 The next day the rulers, the elders and the teachers of the law met in Jerusalem.
7 They had Peter and John brought before them and began to question them: “By what power
Lance
Junior Church & Nursery Available During Worship Service!
The Nursery and Junior Church ministries during worship reopened on April 4, Resurrection Sunday! We had approximately 18 youth in attendance. It has been nearly one year since we stopped these ministries due to COVID-19.
The goal is to have people rotating weekly in the nursery (upstairs Room 6) and rotating monthly in the Jr. Church. We will offer Jr. Church for the following ages/grades:
- Nursery (upstairs Room 6): Adult Rotation
- Preschool – Kindergarten (upstairs Room 2): Vi Rexford/Other
- Grades 1 – 5 (Upstairs Room 5): Jolene Zagaris
- Grades 6 – 8 (downstairs Teen Room): Gideon Gragg
With the exception of nursery, families are encouraged to worship together until the children are released for Jr. Church just before the sermon. Parents may pick up their children at their classrooms at the close of worship (Masks optional).
We believe that the role of ministries like Nursery and Junior church can benefit children and youth in ways like Solomon described the benefits of learning and living out the Proverbs of God’s word!
“for gaining wisdom and instruction; for understanding words of insight; for receiving instruction in prudent behavior, doing what is right and just and fair; for giving prudence to those who are simple, knowledge and discretion to the young— let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance— for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and riddles of the wise. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” ~Proverbs 1:1-7
Note from Mike & Ranada Hassemer
We cant express how blessed we are through your continued partnership with us in ministry here in Alaska. You check helps us cover some ongoing ministry hospitality expenses we have.
Since November 1st we have had an intern from Pioneer Bible Translators to Siberia staying in the bonus space. She is from Texas and wanted to get a taste of winter in the arctic :) She is getting the full experience with 7" of snow again this past week. She is uncertain when her team will be allowed into Russia & is doing various ministry activities with organizations here. In the meantime, our calendar is also being booked with other housing needs starting mid May.
Mike is busy in the workshop assisting a ministry bush family with this kitchen cabinetry mods. He also has helped a former ministry fella with a drywall project- huge! He also teaches "the one Sunday School class & looking at studies for our couple's bible studies with we hope to be able to start again soon!
I will be turning 65 in May and through much prayer have decided to retire from teaching. God is placing many new opportunities to serve others during times that are in conflict with school. I am trusting His provisions and leading for both of us. One of the big prayer days was when your support arrived in the mail! Thank you again for your prayers & encouragement. We hope to come visit face to face soon.. this has been a long year.
Blessings and love to all,
Mike & Ranada Hassemer
Not every day is a good day, live anyway. Not everyone will tell you the truth, be honest anyway. Not all deal are fair, play fair anyway. Not all you love will love you back, love anyway.
what Happy couples know
Wanna know the secret?
In this 4-part series, Andy Stanley introduces three habits of happy couples. Start practicing them today and you just may live happily ever after.
(Recommended by Wayne Rexford)
*FBC has a subscription for Right ow Media which has something for everyone!
You can access Biblically-based videos on topics like marriage, parenting, youth, recovery, leadership, finance and much more.
Suspicious of God
by Lysa Terkeurst, Proverbs 31 Ministries, Encouragement for the Today
"My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast! I will sing and make melody!” Psalm 57:7 (ESV)
I trust God. Until I don’t.
That doesn’t feel like a very Christian thing to say. But if I don’t acknowledge this struggle, I can’t address it. And I don’t think I’m the only one.
So many of us raise our hands high as we proclaim our God is a “good, good Father,” but then we find ourselves lying in our beds at night with tear-stained pillows, facing realities that don’t feel very good at all.
It’s hard not to feel suspicious of God when our circumstances don’t seem to line up with His promises. And it’s difficult not to doubt the light of His Truth when everything around us looks dark.
Which brings us to Psalm 57 — a passage penned by David in the midst of a season when his circumstances and God’s promises appeared to be in complete and total opposition.
The Day a Doubter Believed (Pastor Greg's Daily Devo)
“Then Jesus told him, ‘You believe because you have seen me. Blessed are those who believe without seeing me.’” —John 20:29
If you have a hard time believing there’s a God in Heaven who loves you, if it’s difficult to wrap your mind around the fact that God has a plan for your life, then Easter is for you.
Everyone struggles with doubts now and then. Oswald Chambers, author of the well-known Christian devotional My Utmost for His Highest, said, “Doubt is not always a sign that a man is wrong; it may be a sign that he is thinking.”
One of the disciples of Jesus was super skeptical. In fact, we call him doubting Thomas. After the resurrected Jesus appeared to the disciples, they told Thomas about it. But Thomas said, “I won’t believe it unless I see the nail wounds in his hands, put my fingers into them, and place my hand into the wound in his side” (John 20:25 NLT).
Yet the next time they met together, Thomas was there. And sure enough, Jesus appeared and said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” (verse 20 NLT).
Thomas simply said, “My Lord and my God!” (verse 28 NLT). He didn’t want to know anything more than what the others knew, but he just needed to know for himself.
So you can come to Jesus with your skepticism. You can come to Jesus with your doubt. You can even come to Jesus if you’re an outright atheist.
However, you can’t live off the faith of someone else. You need to come to the Lord and say, “I have these questions,” and then put your faith in Him.
Someone might say, “Show me, and I’ll believe.”
But God effectively says, “Believe, and I'll show you.”
You can turn your skepticism into faith, and you can turn your doubt into belief.
Youth Appreciation
A community event for the entire family. Show gratitude to our youth (Kids & teens) & honor our graduates of 2021. Join us for worship, games, prayer, prizes & snacks. Donations for prizes are needed. Contact Pastor Nathan at Emmett Nazarene if you would like to give – 365-2215.
Sunday, Apr 25, 2021, 06:00 PM
Emmett Church of the Nazarene, North Washington Avenue, Emmett, ID, USA
kind words and kind deeds keeps lifes' garden free of weeds.
What I learned from my career - Kathy Osborn
Over my working career of 25-years, I can clearly see how the Lord guided me in my journey and helped me through some of the more challenging times. During my career, as with most people, I had some great bosses and some challenging ones, some difficult situations and some great, memorable ones.
I believe the Lord gave me the strength and wisdom to endure, while staying strong to keep pursuing what was right. At times I would question why I was in the situations I was in, or why He did not answer my prayers the way I thought He should. I now see that He was there, every step of the way. He taught me how to use my influence and God-given gifts to identify ways to turn a negative into a positive or to help others through their struggles.
Finally, it happened! My prayers were answered via a car wreck! Driving home from work one day I was rear-ended and sustained a neck injury ultimately resulting in surgery. I believe this was a God thing. It resulted in an insurance payout that helped to reduce our debt. Being forced to stay home, I did a lot of thinking and praying. I decided I wanted to work with children. I thought about pulling money out of my retirement to start a daycare. This was a risky option, but I was feeling desperate. I realized the stress of my job was affecting my health. I would often go home crying which was hard on my husband. At one point, he even (jokingly) offered to go beat up one of my bosses!
One day during a youth group activity at church, Margaret Castle told me about an opening at Shadow Butte for a Youth Mentor. It sounded like just what I wanted! I thought it wouldn’t hurt to check it out. Things just fell into place. I had no experience in dealing with other people’s children so in the interview I used examples of dealing with “adult children”. I was offered the job! I calculated the amount of monetary cut I would have to take and figured it would be a leap of faith, but we could do it - barely. I talked to my husband and he told me I was crazy to be leaving the high paying job that I had, to go to a $7/hr. job, but he would support me in whatever decision I made. I prayed some more. I considered that I could do some consulting work on the side helping people with resumes, interview preparation, etc. At the time I didn’t realize how hard it would be to market myself or take money from someone who needed a job.
One day, as I was commuting back and forth to Boise, the song ‘The Voice of Truth’ played on the radio and it spoke to me. I finally made my decision to leave my seemingly ‘important, high paying, high stress’ job that I’d had for 20 years and go to work at Shadow Butte as an entry-level Youth Mentor. At my going away party I had people tell me how I had helped them and how much they appreciated me. It was an eye opener and a humbling experience.
Working at the school for a few years, I met wonderful people, learned a lot, and loved it! I ended up becoming the school secretary which helped with the monetary issue as it was a definite struggle. I was told by some of those people that I had been a big help to them as well.
Ultimately, my time working with children ended and I returned to work with adult employees where I had a great supervisor who became a close friend. She supported and supported helped me through dealing with my mother’s illness. She says I helped her more than I know, she calls me her “Earth Angel” and she says God led me to her.
I believe the Lord led me through every step of my career. Looking back, I see now that although my prayers weren’t answered as I thought they should have been, He had different plans for me. Evidently, I was needed elsewhere, and my career was not the goal. I retired earlier than I planned due to my mother’s illness and was able to spend some quality time with her prior to her leaving this world. I took her on her final trip to see my brother in Oregon and was able to take care of her in the final year of her battle with cancer/COPD. Now I am able to spend time with my Dad as well.
Some people feel their job/career is what defines them. Many people have bad difficult bosses, or various struggles in their jobs. After I retired, I felt I had no purpose, and all my hard work and struggles were for nothing. Looking back, I believe my career was a continual learning experience and God used me where he could help others and used others to help me get through some tough times. I thank Him for the experiences that job gave me .. even those I thought were good, bad, or indifferent. Had I not gone through the difficulties and learning experiences throughout my career, I may not have leaned on the Lord each day. He got me through it. I may not have been able to retire and spend time with my mom. He saved me from making a poor decision with my retirement funds. And I may not have gained the valuable skills, wisdom, and strength that I have today.
God is still working in me and guiding me. After my mom passed away, I was once again struggling with my value/purpose and lo and behold Lance called me to see if I’d be interested in being the church Secretary! I love this part-time job! And taking on the Treasurer role as well has filled the need for challenge and learning that I thrive on. Even though I have been a member of the church since 2000, I am now getting to know more of the people and inner workings of the church. And I’m able to give back to Lord for all He has done for me!
Philippians 4:13 - I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.
Romans 8:29 - 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.
A Prayer in Spring
There are many blessings,
That each new Spring brings
You can see it bloom about
And hear the song it sings.
With winter's bleakness over
And brighter days ahead
Comes promises of new life
Springtime loves to spread.
As God unfolds the flowers,
And their buds begin to show
He gives to us the assurance
Grace in our hearts will grow.
He sends us the robin's song,
With the promise to provide
A shelter under His mighty wing
Where in His love we can abide.
He melts the snowy covers,
And sends the refreshing rain
Sprinkling us with His mercies
To heal winter's ache and pain.
God's given to all His son,
To shed upon us a new light
And the real blessing of Spring...
Is keeping Jesus in our sight!
Deborah Ann Belka
3-Ingredient Baked Caesar Chicken
YIELD Serves 4
PREP TIME 5 minutes
COOK TIME 23 minutes to 30 minutes
INGREDIENTS
- 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 2 pounds total)
- 1 cup creamy Caesar dressing
- 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 1/2 cup)
- 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh parsley leaves (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 400ºF.
Pound 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts one at a time: Place 1 chicken breast in a gallon-sized zip-top bag and pound with a rolling pin or the flat side of a meat mallet to an even 1/2-inch thickness. Set aside and repeat with the remaining breasts.
Pour 1 cup creamy Caesar dressing in a baking dish large enough to fit the chicken in a single layer. Place the chicken breasts in the baking dish, then flip them so that they are evenly coated with dressing.
Bake until the chicken is golden-brown, cooked through, and registers 165°F on an instant-read thermometer, 20 to 25 minutes. Meanwhile, finely grate 2 ounces Parmesan cheese (about 1/2 cup) and coarsely chop enough parsley leaves to get 2 tablespoons, if using.
Heat the broiler to high. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the chicken in an even layer. Broil until the cheese is melted and lightly browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Serve the chicken garnished with the parsley if using.
Chuckles
"What are you doing?" his mother asked.
"The box says you can't eat them if the seal is broken," the boy explained, "I'm looking for the seal."