PSALMS 96:
Oh, sing unto the Lord a new song; sing unto the Lord, all the earth.
Sing unto the Lord, bless his name; show forth his salvation from day to day.
Declare his glory among the nations, his wonders among all peoples.
For the Lord is great, and greatly to be praised: he is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the nations are idols; but the Lord made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before him; strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.
Give unto the Lord, O ye kindred of the peoples; give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; bring an offering, and come into his courts.
Oh, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness; fear before him, all the earth.
Say among the nations that the Lord reigneth. The world also shall be established that it shall not be moved; he shall judge the peoples righteously.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad; let the sea roar, and the fullness thereof.
Let the field be joyful and all that is therein; then shall all the trees of the forest rejoice.
Before the Lord; for he cometh, for he cometh to judge the earth; he shall judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with his truth.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Sandy Gibbon's Testimony
I've been a believer, of Jesus Christ, my precious Savior, since I was nine years old. I've belonged to many churches and have been surrounded by a great many witnesses of the power of Jesus in their lives. I have heard countless testimonies of people who have lived and suffered every kind of circumstances in their lives that has drawn them to Jesus. I've seen many have life changing situations that came because of Jesus' power. They accepted by faith in the fact that He came to earth as a person, lived and ministered to people here on earth, was crucified and raised from the dead on the third day and then was here for 40 more days and left earth and lives at the right hand of God. He's not just some figure-head but He sits there and talks to His Father about you and I and wants so desperately, as does, His Father, God to be in and among us and give us a life that is abundant and free and beyond what we could imagine. No fairy tale but a real life with the purpose to love Him more as He loves us more and prepares us to live with Him in a place that He is now preparing for us for all eternity. I am one of those witness, too.
I praise God because of all He has done in my life and has placed me in a church that is not only loving but seeks to draw others to God and build those who are part of the church for that time when all those who believe that Jesus is who He says He is and that He did die, was raised and ever lives to help us in our daily lives. On that glorious day when I depart this life however it may be I will be in the presence of my dear Savior and my lovingly Heavenly Father and will sing His praises forevermore.
It is a privilege for me to be a part of Second Baptist Church and I'm thankful for a loving God who has given me a church family to love and care for me. To Him be the glory!
I praise God because of all He has done in my life and has placed me in a church that is not only loving but seeks to draw others to God and build those who are part of the church for that time when all those who believe that Jesus is who He says He is and that He did die, was raised and ever lives to help us in our daily lives. On that glorious day when I depart this life however it may be I will be in the presence of my dear Savior and my lovingly Heavenly Father and will sing His praises forevermore.
It is a privilege for me to be a part of Second Baptist Church and I'm thankful for a loving God who has given me a church family to love and care for me. To Him be the glory!
Michelle Dorris's Testimony
One of my favorite verses:
He gives strength to the weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:29-31
I like these verses because even when I feel I can not go any further God is there for me. When I put my faith in Him he will give me the strength I need to continue. Not just a small amount of strength, but enough strength to soar as an eagle.
What an awesome God we have!
He gives strength to the weary, and his understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
Isaiah 40:29-31
I like these verses because even when I feel I can not go any further God is there for me. When I put my faith in Him he will give me the strength I need to continue. Not just a small amount of strength, but enough strength to soar as an eagle.
What an awesome God we have!
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Laura Palmowski's Testimony
It is a wonderful privilege to write out my testimony, but at the same time, somewhat difficult in knowing where to begin.
I too was raised in a Christian family. I remember as a little girl listening to and learning Bible stories written on little cards. We attended church all through my grade school and high school years, but my father had passed away when I was in the seventh grade.
Sometimes I look back and wonder why I did not receive Christ as my personal Savior during this time, but I didn’t. it wasn’t until I was thirty-three years old that I took that step to the altar and accepted Jesus as my Savior. It was a tremendous relief because I had realized for a very, very long time that I was definitely an “unsaved” person.
During my thirties and some of my forties my personal like was stormy and turbulent. Sometimes life seemed plenty stressful.
When I first read the poem, “THE FOOTPRINT OF GOD”, it seemed to apply directly to me and I quote,
“God…you said you’d stay by me in the good times and in bad.
Why then did you leave me each time my life was sad?”
“My precious child,” God answered “When your life had pain,
I knew;
the single set of footprints was the times I carried you.”
When I look back to those years, I now understand that God was there all along and he brought me through.
I feel very grateful for these past ten years. As my spiritual maturity has grown, so have God’s blessing in all areas of my life.
My husband and I joined Second Baptist in January of 2003 and we both agree that our Sunday school class and Second Baptist in general, has really enhanced and impacted our spiritual growth.
God offers the gift of eternal life to all. Pray to Jesus, acknowledge that he died for your sins and rose from the dead. Ask him to forgive you of your sins and to be your Lord and Savior. Ask him to guide your life from now on. God made the plan of Salvation so simple that even a child understand it.
John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life”.
Tom Hartwell's Testimony
Tom Hartwell's Testimony
As I read the words of all the testimonies posted on this site a fact was reaffirmed to me that brought me to tears.
At 308 South Russell, stands an empty building. It is an attractive place, complete with steeple, stained glass windows, many new rooms and a huge gym. It was indeed built to be a house of God, but it is just a huge, empty, building, UNTIL, these dear people step into it! Then it becomes a CHURCH, -"OUR CHURCH"! Full of people we love, people we trust, people that we are always happy to see. There are people here that we have literally trusted with the lives of our children, trusting that they will be taught about Jesus in the way that they should be taught. We trust that when our child makes a commitment to Christ that their little minds are cultivated, watered and nurtured so they will grow stronger in the ways of the Lord.
We have so many loving, talented people that it's hard to list them all. We have teachers, preachers, singers, musicians, nursery workers, cooks, laborers, encouragers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, missionaries, someone to represent almost every skill that you can think of!
Most importantly, these people are here not only because the church has something to offer them, but because they have something to offer the church! The church doesn't EXIST without talented people who WANT to work for Jesus!
You are so grateful for your salvation and for all the blessing that God bestows on you that you WANT to work for Him so other people will experience the same thing. That is EXACTLY the way God intended it to be!! What if God gave His Son to die for us, and nobody cared?!! But YOU PEOPLE CARE!!
I've seen you all cry and suffer when one of our dear friends is called home but that is only as it should be. I've seen it written..."We enter this world crying while our friends stand around us smiling. We should try to live our lives so that when we leave this world smiling our friends stand around us crying."
You guys all demonstrate that kind of love, a kind of love that all churches do not have!I have felt this love grow stronger because of these revival preparations.While I think there is no better church than this one, I think God is in the process of showing us that we have become complacent about getting lost people here to hear the message that all of you are working so hard to share. I believe we will do better at that in the future. They are not here only because they haven't been asked.
I have been a member here for almost 60 years. I think about my CHURCH often, and always with pleasure.
As I read the words of all the testimonies posted on this site a fact was reaffirmed to me that brought me to tears.
At 308 South Russell, stands an empty building. It is an attractive place, complete with steeple, stained glass windows, many new rooms and a huge gym. It was indeed built to be a house of God, but it is just a huge, empty, building, UNTIL, these dear people step into it! Then it becomes a CHURCH, -"OUR CHURCH"! Full of people we love, people we trust, people that we are always happy to see. There are people here that we have literally trusted with the lives of our children, trusting that they will be taught about Jesus in the way that they should be taught. We trust that when our child makes a commitment to Christ that their little minds are cultivated, watered and nurtured so they will grow stronger in the ways of the Lord.
We have so many loving, talented people that it's hard to list them all. We have teachers, preachers, singers, musicians, nursery workers, cooks, laborers, encouragers, plumbers, electricians, carpenters, missionaries, someone to represent almost every skill that you can think of!
Most importantly, these people are here not only because the church has something to offer them, but because they have something to offer the church! The church doesn't EXIST without talented people who WANT to work for Jesus!
You are so grateful for your salvation and for all the blessing that God bestows on you that you WANT to work for Him so other people will experience the same thing. That is EXACTLY the way God intended it to be!! What if God gave His Son to die for us, and nobody cared?!! But YOU PEOPLE CARE!!
I've seen you all cry and suffer when one of our dear friends is called home but that is only as it should be. I've seen it written..."We enter this world crying while our friends stand around us smiling. We should try to live our lives so that when we leave this world smiling our friends stand around us crying."
You guys all demonstrate that kind of love, a kind of love that all churches do not have!I have felt this love grow stronger because of these revival preparations.While I think there is no better church than this one, I think God is in the process of showing us that we have become complacent about getting lost people here to hear the message that all of you are working so hard to share. I believe we will do better at that in the future. They are not here only because they haven't been asked.
I have been a member here for almost 60 years. I think about my CHURCH often, and always with pleasure.
Saturday, March 8, 2008
Rebekah McAnally
I was born into a Christian family and my dad was a pastor. When I was three months old my dad was diagnosed with a disease called Multiple Sclerosis. It is a disease that effects your nerves and most of the time it will get better and just sometimes you will have the symptoms. That was not the case with my dad. He got to the point where he couldn’t preach anymore when I was about one.
As the years went on my dad got worse. He went from walking, (which I don’t ever remember him to walk) to a walker, to a wheel chair, to just sitting in bed and not moving anything but his fingers on his left hand.
This was a very difficult time for my whole family, what was great to know was that no matter what happed we had God by our sides. God always managed to get dad out of the hospital or get him better when not even the doctors could. He would always be in and out of the hospital and I even remember one year my grandma had to be in charge of my birthday party because my mom and dad were in the hospital. It never seemed to bother me that much though. I knew that he would be out in a couple of days because that is what always happened.
My eleventh birthday was coming up in December and I was so excited because it was my last birthday in grade school and also I was excited because my brother was turning sixteen five days after my birthday.
November of that year was when we took my dad out of the second nursing home which was about forty-five minutes away from where we lived. That December my dad got sick. I thought it would be fine because he would go to the hospital and come back and he was always better.
On December 17, 2003 my dad went in to the hospital. The next day the 18th I went to see him in ICU and he couldn’t talk. When I came out of his room the doctor wanted to talk to my whole family, so she sat us down in a little room and told us that my dad had a 20% chance of living. By this point I was hysterical and was so upset.
The next day was my brothers 16th birthday and it was almost Christmas time and this was just not supposed to be happening. That night I prayed and prayed and I could just feel God just put me in his arms and say everything will be all right. The next morning the person I was staying with woke me up at like 5:30 a.m. and said your mom is going to come and tell you something. At that point I knew. I just started to cry and I knew, my dad had passed away. When my mom finally got to tell me I don’t remember crying. I was at a peace.
I knew what had happened had happened for a reason. At first I was mad and then I realized what God had done in my life. He always gives us two roads to follow and at that point being an eleven year old girl I had to make a decision. I could have gone down the road that would have led me to bad things but I chose not to.
Now four years later, I am able to tell others about how God has changed my life. I am not saying it is easy because losing my dad at eleven was NOT an easy thing. But because of those bumpy roads, I am who I am today. God does things in our lives to make us stronger and to make us have to lean on Him and I really don’t know what I would have done without him by my side.
Rebekah McAnally
As the years went on my dad got worse. He went from walking, (which I don’t ever remember him to walk) to a walker, to a wheel chair, to just sitting in bed and not moving anything but his fingers on his left hand.
This was a very difficult time for my whole family, what was great to know was that no matter what happed we had God by our sides. God always managed to get dad out of the hospital or get him better when not even the doctors could. He would always be in and out of the hospital and I even remember one year my grandma had to be in charge of my birthday party because my mom and dad were in the hospital. It never seemed to bother me that much though. I knew that he would be out in a couple of days because that is what always happened.
My eleventh birthday was coming up in December and I was so excited because it was my last birthday in grade school and also I was excited because my brother was turning sixteen five days after my birthday.
November of that year was when we took my dad out of the second nursing home which was about forty-five minutes away from where we lived. That December my dad got sick. I thought it would be fine because he would go to the hospital and come back and he was always better.
On December 17, 2003 my dad went in to the hospital. The next day the 18th I went to see him in ICU and he couldn’t talk. When I came out of his room the doctor wanted to talk to my whole family, so she sat us down in a little room and told us that my dad had a 20% chance of living. By this point I was hysterical and was so upset.
The next day was my brothers 16th birthday and it was almost Christmas time and this was just not supposed to be happening. That night I prayed and prayed and I could just feel God just put me in his arms and say everything will be all right. The next morning the person I was staying with woke me up at like 5:30 a.m. and said your mom is going to come and tell you something. At that point I knew. I just started to cry and I knew, my dad had passed away. When my mom finally got to tell me I don’t remember crying. I was at a peace.
I knew what had happened had happened for a reason. At first I was mad and then I realized what God had done in my life. He always gives us two roads to follow and at that point being an eleven year old girl I had to make a decision. I could have gone down the road that would have led me to bad things but I chose not to.
Now four years later, I am able to tell others about how God has changed my life. I am not saying it is easy because losing my dad at eleven was NOT an easy thing. But because of those bumpy roads, I am who I am today. God does things in our lives to make us stronger and to make us have to lean on Him and I really don’t know what I would have done without him by my side.
Rebekah McAnally
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
Karin Turnbull's Testimony
Karin Turnbull
Revival time is an exciting time in a church. It is a time for the unsaved to come to the Lord, but it is also a time for long time Christians to renew their faith. I fall in that category. Some one made a remark recently that their testimony was not very powerful. Any testimony is powerful in the eyes of the Lord. I used to feel like that person. I was raised in a family that believed in serving the Lord. One night in a revival, I was saved as a young girl in my home church back in Granite City. I gave my heart to the Lord at that time and I have never regretted making that decision.
Having been saved at a young age and being raised in a strong Christian home, I never lived the wild life nor did a lot of things I would live to regret. But we all have sin in our lives. I am thankful to have a God that loves me in spite of my sins. He is always there for me and I am never alone, no matter what I have to face. God sent me my husband, Gary, who also loves the Lord. We have been so blessed to have the Lord on our side in our marriage and in raising our children.
Second Baptist has been my church home for 36 years now. I am so thankful for people like Bob English who believe in visiting. Everett Henshaw and Bob visited us and invited us to Second Baptist. We felt after attending here only one time this was where God intended us to be. There are so many people here who love the Lord and are truly caring. Not being from this area and having no family around, I am so grateful to have a strong group of Christian friends who have always been there for us.
My prayer is that as we prepare for this revival, each of us asks God to cleanse our hearts of anything that would be a barrier to our being receptive to his word and his will in our lives and in our church. May God continue to bless Second Baptist and may our spirit flow throughout the whole area.
In closing, I would like to share one of my favorite verses – one that has sustained me throughout my Christian life.
Hebrews 13:5
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
Karin Turnbull
Revival time is an exciting time in a church. It is a time for the unsaved to come to the Lord, but it is also a time for long time Christians to renew their faith. I fall in that category. Some one made a remark recently that their testimony was not very powerful. Any testimony is powerful in the eyes of the Lord. I used to feel like that person. I was raised in a family that believed in serving the Lord. One night in a revival, I was saved as a young girl in my home church back in Granite City. I gave my heart to the Lord at that time and I have never regretted making that decision.
Having been saved at a young age and being raised in a strong Christian home, I never lived the wild life nor did a lot of things I would live to regret. But we all have sin in our lives. I am thankful to have a God that loves me in spite of my sins. He is always there for me and I am never alone, no matter what I have to face. God sent me my husband, Gary, who also loves the Lord. We have been so blessed to have the Lord on our side in our marriage and in raising our children.
Second Baptist has been my church home for 36 years now. I am so thankful for people like Bob English who believe in visiting. Everett Henshaw and Bob visited us and invited us to Second Baptist. We felt after attending here only one time this was where God intended us to be. There are so many people here who love the Lord and are truly caring. Not being from this area and having no family around, I am so grateful to have a strong group of Christian friends who have always been there for us.
My prayer is that as we prepare for this revival, each of us asks God to cleanse our hearts of anything that would be a barrier to our being receptive to his word and his will in our lives and in our church. May God continue to bless Second Baptist and may our spirit flow throughout the whole area.
In closing, I would like to share one of my favorite verses – one that has sustained me throughout my Christian life.
Hebrews 13:5
I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.
Karin Turnbull
John Otey's Testimony
Hello to all,
My name is John Otey and I would like to take a few moments to share with you how I met my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on 13 April, 1974. Let me start by saying that my decision to accept Christ was pretty basic and simple, yet with eternal life changing significance. At 14, I was really a pretty good kid that had been brought up in church all my life, and had a family that attended church regularly and loved me while providing me with a proper environment to grow up in. I did not have any desire to use drugs or alcohol, but still I had sins in my life and knew I was lost. How did I know that I didn't have Jesus in my heart? Because I had been waging a "white knuckle pew" wrestling match for about seven years. I had known inside of me that I needed to walk down the church aisle and had kept putting it off. Well on this particular Saturday I was about to experience the power of the Holy Spirit telling me that today was going to be my day of salvation.
This was Easter weekend and my family and I were visiting at my Mother's parents home in Crab Orchard. My Grandfather was a preacher and my Grandmother was a homemaker. In their home Christ was the head of their household and their lives. My Grandparents loved and cared for me more like a son than a grandson. They had helped Mom and I get through some tough times when my Father had died in 1962 and we spent quite a bit of time in their home. Please bear with me as I relate family information because it is very important, and relevant to my spiritual beginnings as a new Christian. Grandpa knew that I was lost and without Jesus in my heart. He had guided me by giving me Bibles with passages of scripture underlined, introduced me to "The Roman Road to Salvation," and generally loved me and encouraged me.
This particular Saturday, Grandpa had asked me if I wanted to go with him to Johnston City in the afternoon. He had to go see the funeral home director because he was preaching a funeral on Easter Sunday afternoon. So I rode along and we talked, as always in length, and the conversation turned to my spiritual condition. The further we drove, the more I could feel the Holy Spirit working on my heart and when we pulled up in front of the funeral home, it was there that I prayed and ask Jesus into my heart. Folks there is no doubting that at the point when I asked Jesus to forgive me for my sins and come into my heart-he did what he promises us in the Bible-HE SAVED ME! You must realize, that even as much as my wonderful family loved and cared for me, they could not save me, only Jesus Christ could, and did on that warm April 1974 afternoon, sitting in front of a funeral home in a little brown Chevrolet.
Later, when we returned home, the sharing of the good news began. I can remember my Mom, Step-Father, Grandma and Grandpa all rejoicing in my decision. The next day I went forward at church at the invitation time and that was a little intimidating because it was Easter and the church was packed. Here I shared my decision publicly and was encouraged by so many folks that had known me from my birth in 1959. The next Sunday morning found us back home in the Peoria area and I walked down our home church aisle to share my decision and present myself as a candidate for baptism and church membership. Let me share a very powerful, if not disturbing exchange I had with one of my Sunday School teachers earlier that morning. I had shared with everyone my decision of the prior weekend and I will never forget the look of shock, for lack of a better term on my teacher's face. Very sadly, she said to me, "John, I always thought you WERE a Christian." Those words hit me like a hammer that day, and as I have grown older I use that as a great realization, NEVER ASSUME A PERSON IS SAVED IF YOU DON'T REALY KNOW. The most important decision we make while on this earth is what do we do with Jesus?-accept or reject. Share Jesus with everyone and let God and His Holy Spirit do their work.
I am combining years of life experiences and bringing this to a conclusion. I have had times in my adult life when my relationship with Jesus has brought him grief and pain due to my sins. All of us experience disappointment, disgust, and discouragement. Some of us can add a fourth "d-word" to that list also-divorce. My first marriage ended in divorce and this was a low point in my life in all aspects. A few months after trying to be "intelligent" and get my life on track with all of my wisdom, I found that what I really needed was to get God back into my life and get on my knees and ask him to forgive me for my sins. One of the first steps was to get back into church. I started coming to Second Baptist and you know what? The people I met came at me with open arms of Christian love, not judgment and persecution, or telling me I was a "second class person" because I was divorced. They encouraged me to come back to God and to get back to work for him in His Church here at Second Baptist. That was 1989 and I can truthfully say that once I quit trying to manage my life, and let the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit set in the driver's seat-what a change it has made.
Please understand, I could not make it through my life without Jesus Christ at its center. I could share so much that he has done for me and my family to bring us through all times, good, bad, and otherwise. He brought me a loving, Christian wife when I just gave everything up to God one cold December night and looked up at the stars and prayed, "God, I have made such a mess of my life, I'm tired of doing things my way-please take over and take care of me, because I can't take care of me." You know one of the first things God did was force me to take inventory of my blessings and then proceeded to give me the strength to be the Father, Son, Husband, and Believer that only He could help me to be.
I leave you with this thought-God is ABLE! He is ABLE to bring us through diseases, sickness,
deaths, hurt, family struggles and pains, divorce, suicide, unemployment, and the list goes on.
I invite anyone who reads this and says, "You know I just don't know how I am going to make it much further in this life." Jesus tells us that: "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, AND THAT NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME."
All you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart, and start living at that moment for HIM!
Thank you-John Otey
My name is John Otey and I would like to take a few moments to share with you how I met my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on 13 April, 1974. Let me start by saying that my decision to accept Christ was pretty basic and simple, yet with eternal life changing significance. At 14, I was really a pretty good kid that had been brought up in church all my life, and had a family that attended church regularly and loved me while providing me with a proper environment to grow up in. I did not have any desire to use drugs or alcohol, but still I had sins in my life and knew I was lost. How did I know that I didn't have Jesus in my heart? Because I had been waging a "white knuckle pew" wrestling match for about seven years. I had known inside of me that I needed to walk down the church aisle and had kept putting it off. Well on this particular Saturday I was about to experience the power of the Holy Spirit telling me that today was going to be my day of salvation.
This was Easter weekend and my family and I were visiting at my Mother's parents home in Crab Orchard. My Grandfather was a preacher and my Grandmother was a homemaker. In their home Christ was the head of their household and their lives. My Grandparents loved and cared for me more like a son than a grandson. They had helped Mom and I get through some tough times when my Father had died in 1962 and we spent quite a bit of time in their home. Please bear with me as I relate family information because it is very important, and relevant to my spiritual beginnings as a new Christian. Grandpa knew that I was lost and without Jesus in my heart. He had guided me by giving me Bibles with passages of scripture underlined, introduced me to "The Roman Road to Salvation," and generally loved me and encouraged me.
This particular Saturday, Grandpa had asked me if I wanted to go with him to Johnston City in the afternoon. He had to go see the funeral home director because he was preaching a funeral on Easter Sunday afternoon. So I rode along and we talked, as always in length, and the conversation turned to my spiritual condition. The further we drove, the more I could feel the Holy Spirit working on my heart and when we pulled up in front of the funeral home, it was there that I prayed and ask Jesus into my heart. Folks there is no doubting that at the point when I asked Jesus to forgive me for my sins and come into my heart-he did what he promises us in the Bible-HE SAVED ME! You must realize, that even as much as my wonderful family loved and cared for me, they could not save me, only Jesus Christ could, and did on that warm April 1974 afternoon, sitting in front of a funeral home in a little brown Chevrolet.
Later, when we returned home, the sharing of the good news began. I can remember my Mom, Step-Father, Grandma and Grandpa all rejoicing in my decision. The next day I went forward at church at the invitation time and that was a little intimidating because it was Easter and the church was packed. Here I shared my decision publicly and was encouraged by so many folks that had known me from my birth in 1959. The next Sunday morning found us back home in the Peoria area and I walked down our home church aisle to share my decision and present myself as a candidate for baptism and church membership. Let me share a very powerful, if not disturbing exchange I had with one of my Sunday School teachers earlier that morning. I had shared with everyone my decision of the prior weekend and I will never forget the look of shock, for lack of a better term on my teacher's face. Very sadly, she said to me, "John, I always thought you WERE a Christian." Those words hit me like a hammer that day, and as I have grown older I use that as a great realization, NEVER ASSUME A PERSON IS SAVED IF YOU DON'T REALY KNOW. The most important decision we make while on this earth is what do we do with Jesus?-accept or reject. Share Jesus with everyone and let God and His Holy Spirit do their work.
I am combining years of life experiences and bringing this to a conclusion. I have had times in my adult life when my relationship with Jesus has brought him grief and pain due to my sins. All of us experience disappointment, disgust, and discouragement. Some of us can add a fourth "d-word" to that list also-divorce. My first marriage ended in divorce and this was a low point in my life in all aspects. A few months after trying to be "intelligent" and get my life on track with all of my wisdom, I found that what I really needed was to get God back into my life and get on my knees and ask him to forgive me for my sins. One of the first steps was to get back into church. I started coming to Second Baptist and you know what? The people I met came at me with open arms of Christian love, not judgment and persecution, or telling me I was a "second class person" because I was divorced. They encouraged me to come back to God and to get back to work for him in His Church here at Second Baptist. That was 1989 and I can truthfully say that once I quit trying to manage my life, and let the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit set in the driver's seat-what a change it has made.
Please understand, I could not make it through my life without Jesus Christ at its center. I could share so much that he has done for me and my family to bring us through all times, good, bad, and otherwise. He brought me a loving, Christian wife when I just gave everything up to God one cold December night and looked up at the stars and prayed, "God, I have made such a mess of my life, I'm tired of doing things my way-please take over and take care of me, because I can't take care of me." You know one of the first things God did was force me to take inventory of my blessings and then proceeded to give me the strength to be the Father, Son, Husband, and Believer that only He could help me to be.
I leave you with this thought-God is ABLE! He is ABLE to bring us through diseases, sickness,
deaths, hurt, family struggles and pains, divorce, suicide, unemployment, and the list goes on.
I invite anyone who reads this and says, "You know I just don't know how I am going to make it much further in this life." Jesus tells us that: "I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE, AND THAT NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME."
All you have to do is ask Jesus into your heart, and start living at that moment for HIM!
Thank you-John Otey
Toni Stewart's Testimony
Hi,
My name is Toni Stewart. I am so thankful to be a part of the Second Baptist family.
As a young child my family lived only a few blocks from Second Baptist Church. My parents were good and loving parents, but we did not attend church as a family. Back then it was safe for me to walk to church and I did. I am thankful for all those that touched my life back then, but I really wanted my family to be there. I was saved in the Pastor's office after the worship service one Sunday morning. I had been struggling with this decision for some time and was so excited to be forgiven and part of God's family. Leona Evans was my G A leader and she knew my parents and took me home from church that wonderful morning.
Leona came in with me and spoke to my parents. They were not happy about my news. I came to understand many years later that they did not understand and that they were wrong in their reaction, but as a child, well....let's just say this was a spiritual setback that took me years to recover from.
It was very easy for me to lose my way. My family spent weekends at the lake water skiing and boating and little by little I stopped attending church. I was never a bad person, but I did alot of things I am not proud of during the following years. No excuses, just facts.
Many years later I found myself dropping my son off at Second Baptist Church where he attended with his friends. History was repeating itself. My son was saved at a lock-in here on New Year's Eve 1989. During that time my husband and I were spending alot of time with his friend's parents. They were and are some of our closest friends today and are members here. They loved us where we were, they prayed for us, my son and his friends prayed for us, Christian family members were praying for us. Of course, we had no idea that anyone was praying for us at the time.
On the Thursday night before Mother's Day 1990, our Pastor and my son's Sunday School teacher came to visit him concerning baptism. I asked a few questions while they were at our home. After they left I made a decision that would change my life forever. Yes, I had been saved as a child, but due to circumstances that is as far as it went. That night I decided to live for Jesus and shared my decision with my family. On Mother's Day morning, May 13, 1990, I made a public profession of faith. I could not wait for the invitation to come forward! That evening I was baptized and became a member of the Second Baptist family along with my son! Before long my husband was there too, but his journey is his to tell.
I cannot begin to tell you everything that has brought me to where I am today on this blog, but I can tell you that if you need the Lord, if you want to be a part of a loving church family, if you just want some peace, come....as I tell my little ones in Sunday School..."Jesus Loves You."
Thank you for this opportunity to share and to all those working so hard so others can come to know Christ.
God Bless, As Always,
Toni
My name is Toni Stewart. I am so thankful to be a part of the Second Baptist family.
As a young child my family lived only a few blocks from Second Baptist Church. My parents were good and loving parents, but we did not attend church as a family. Back then it was safe for me to walk to church and I did. I am thankful for all those that touched my life back then, but I really wanted my family to be there. I was saved in the Pastor's office after the worship service one Sunday morning. I had been struggling with this decision for some time and was so excited to be forgiven and part of God's family. Leona Evans was my G A leader and she knew my parents and took me home from church that wonderful morning.
Leona came in with me and spoke to my parents. They were not happy about my news. I came to understand many years later that they did not understand and that they were wrong in their reaction, but as a child, well....let's just say this was a spiritual setback that took me years to recover from.
It was very easy for me to lose my way. My family spent weekends at the lake water skiing and boating and little by little I stopped attending church. I was never a bad person, but I did alot of things I am not proud of during the following years. No excuses, just facts.
Many years later I found myself dropping my son off at Second Baptist Church where he attended with his friends. History was repeating itself. My son was saved at a lock-in here on New Year's Eve 1989. During that time my husband and I were spending alot of time with his friend's parents. They were and are some of our closest friends today and are members here. They loved us where we were, they prayed for us, my son and his friends prayed for us, Christian family members were praying for us. Of course, we had no idea that anyone was praying for us at the time.
On the Thursday night before Mother's Day 1990, our Pastor and my son's Sunday School teacher came to visit him concerning baptism. I asked a few questions while they were at our home. After they left I made a decision that would change my life forever. Yes, I had been saved as a child, but due to circumstances that is as far as it went. That night I decided to live for Jesus and shared my decision with my family. On Mother's Day morning, May 13, 1990, I made a public profession of faith. I could not wait for the invitation to come forward! That evening I was baptized and became a member of the Second Baptist family along with my son! Before long my husband was there too, but his journey is his to tell.
I cannot begin to tell you everything that has brought me to where I am today on this blog, but I can tell you that if you need the Lord, if you want to be a part of a loving church family, if you just want some peace, come....as I tell my little ones in Sunday School..."Jesus Loves You."
Thank you for this opportunity to share and to all those working so hard so others can come to know Christ.
God Bless, As Always,
Toni
Message from Dr. Steve Hale
"According to researcher George Barna, 75% of American adults do not believe in the existence of absolute truth, and sadly enough, 88% of teenagers agree. Even in the Church, 62% doubt the existence of absolute truth". Add to this the fact that researcher Thom Rainer found that only 4% of today's youth are Bible-based believers, we can easily see the need for such efforts as our Winning for Christ crusade.
The messages that God has given me to preach are timeless truths for truthless times. As I travel the nation, the voices of cynics and skeptics are silenced as the power of the Gospel prevails in seeing lives changed, marriages reconciled, and teens finding hope for the future.
As we prayerfully and expectantly look to these days, "may God do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think."
Steve Hale
The messages that God has given me to preach are timeless truths for truthless times. As I travel the nation, the voices of cynics and skeptics are silenced as the power of the Gospel prevails in seeing lives changed, marriages reconciled, and teens finding hope for the future.
As we prayerfully and expectantly look to these days, "may God do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think."
Steve Hale
Tuesday, March 4, 2008
J. J.'s Testimony
Hi, My name is J.J. Woods and I attend 2nd Baptist Church of Marion Illinios. I am thirteen years old and I go to MJHS. I became a Christian when I was five. I was shy and did not go forward to publicly profess my faith and get baptized until at least seven months later, the Sunday before 9-11.
Since then, I have been active in church and attend regularly. God means a lot to me. As a matter of fact, I remember a time when some people from my church and I were going to Chuck E Cheese's. We were late leaving though, and it turns out that there was a wreck that was so big, it closed the bridge to Paducah. If we had not been late, we may have been in that wreck instead of being detoured back to Marion.
Our church is having a revival coming up. There will be a student night on Monday, March 17. There will be pizza and a give away for (2) I-PODS. It will be a great opportunity for outreach and a motivation for your non-Christian friends to want to come to church.
I would really like it if, by chance you are a non-Christian and my testimony convinces you to come to church just this once for the revival night, that you would tell the youth leader how you were informed about this event and he/she will point me out if you want to say hi. I would like to meet anyone who came because of my entry on this blog.
J.J. Woods :)
Since then, I have been active in church and attend regularly. God means a lot to me. As a matter of fact, I remember a time when some people from my church and I were going to Chuck E Cheese's. We were late leaving though, and it turns out that there was a wreck that was so big, it closed the bridge to Paducah. If we had not been late, we may have been in that wreck instead of being detoured back to Marion.
Our church is having a revival coming up. There will be a student night on Monday, March 17. There will be pizza and a give away for (2) I-PODS. It will be a great opportunity for outreach and a motivation for your non-Christian friends to want to come to church.
I would really like it if, by chance you are a non-Christian and my testimony convinces you to come to church just this once for the revival night, that you would tell the youth leader how you were informed about this event and he/she will point me out if you want to say hi. I would like to meet anyone who came because of my entry on this blog.
J.J. Woods :)
Pat Pulley's Testimony
Hello, my name is Pat Pulley. I just recently moved to Richmond Virginia with a new career opportunity but my wife Vicky, still lives in Marion and attends Second Baptist Church. I travel home on occasion to see Vicky and family but I always enjoy seeing my church family and friends at Second Baptist. I love to hear and read the testimonies of other Christians and their journey for the Lord.
This is my story. My spiritual journey began in a small church. Mom told me that she and Dad brought me as a baby and put me on a pillow on the church pew because there wasn’t a nursery. As I grew in that church, there were so many people who cared about me and the wonderful Bible stories and the Sunday school lessons will always be part of my memory. I started to understand that God loved me and He had a wonderful plan for my life. The Holy Spirit began to show me that I was separated from God’s Love because of sin and without forgiveness of sin; I could never be part of God’s family. The Holy Spirit taught me that I was a sinner but the Sunday schoolteachers and church family showed me the saving grace of Jesus and told me of His infinite love for me. As a 9-year-old boy, with a deacon’s hand on my shoulder, I prayed the sinner’s prayer and asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I wonder sometimes where I would be today if not for the dedicated Sunday school teachers, deacons and church leaders who took the time to share God’s plan of salvation with me. But that’s not the end of the story.
The church began to grow and we as a church were following the Great Commission to make disciples. Many lives were changed, people were saved and that small church was making a big impact on the community. As I grew older, I began to take an active part in the church to serve wherever I was needed. God continued to bless. I met the love of my life at that church, we were married and together we raised our children there. Our daughter and son were saved and baptized in that church and later my grandson was saved and baptized there also. But that is not the end of the story.
Over the years there has been lots of troubles and heartache with the loss of work, physical illness and death of family and friends. But I can say that Jesus has never forsaken us and has always been a source of strength and encouragement. Our journey has been long but we have found His Word to be true. I remember our past and see where He was always there in good times and bad, and I can look to the future, with the assurance to know that He will always be with us.
That small church where I started my spiritual journey some 60 years ago was Second Baptist. The church is larger but the hunger to share the gospel is still there. One day this old body will return to the dust and that will be the end of this story. But I will be more alive then because I will be in Heaven with my Savior and with God’s Family. That time has not yet come, and I will continue to anticipate the wonderful plans God still has for me and tell others of His love.
If you are a Christian, I trust that you rejoice in my testimony. If you are not a Christian, there are many people at Second Baptist Church that would be glad to share the saving grace of Jesus Christ and His love for you.
The story continues and I am resolved to share the love of Jesus to those around me until He calls me home. Even though I am in Richmond, I pray for the coming revival that God’s people will reach out for the lost and we continue to tell the world of God’s Love.
Pat Pulley
This is my story. My spiritual journey began in a small church. Mom told me that she and Dad brought me as a baby and put me on a pillow on the church pew because there wasn’t a nursery. As I grew in that church, there were so many people who cared about me and the wonderful Bible stories and the Sunday school lessons will always be part of my memory. I started to understand that God loved me and He had a wonderful plan for my life. The Holy Spirit began to show me that I was separated from God’s Love because of sin and without forgiveness of sin; I could never be part of God’s family. The Holy Spirit taught me that I was a sinner but the Sunday schoolteachers and church family showed me the saving grace of Jesus and told me of His infinite love for me. As a 9-year-old boy, with a deacon’s hand on my shoulder, I prayed the sinner’s prayer and asked Jesus to be my Lord and Savior. I wonder sometimes where I would be today if not for the dedicated Sunday school teachers, deacons and church leaders who took the time to share God’s plan of salvation with me. But that’s not the end of the story.
The church began to grow and we as a church were following the Great Commission to make disciples. Many lives were changed, people were saved and that small church was making a big impact on the community. As I grew older, I began to take an active part in the church to serve wherever I was needed. God continued to bless. I met the love of my life at that church, we were married and together we raised our children there. Our daughter and son were saved and baptized in that church and later my grandson was saved and baptized there also. But that is not the end of the story.
Over the years there has been lots of troubles and heartache with the loss of work, physical illness and death of family and friends. But I can say that Jesus has never forsaken us and has always been a source of strength and encouragement. Our journey has been long but we have found His Word to be true. I remember our past and see where He was always there in good times and bad, and I can look to the future, with the assurance to know that He will always be with us.
That small church where I started my spiritual journey some 60 years ago was Second Baptist. The church is larger but the hunger to share the gospel is still there. One day this old body will return to the dust and that will be the end of this story. But I will be more alive then because I will be in Heaven with my Savior and with God’s Family. That time has not yet come, and I will continue to anticipate the wonderful plans God still has for me and tell others of His love.
If you are a Christian, I trust that you rejoice in my testimony. If you are not a Christian, there are many people at Second Baptist Church that would be glad to share the saving grace of Jesus Christ and His love for you.
The story continues and I am resolved to share the love of Jesus to those around me until He calls me home. Even though I am in Richmond, I pray for the coming revival that God’s people will reach out for the lost and we continue to tell the world of God’s Love.
Pat Pulley
Rick Stonecipher's Testimony
I grew up in a good home but we rarely attended Church and I never really understood what Jesus did for me. Throughout my teen years I struggled with an alcohol problem and it wasn’t until College that God placed someone in my life to share about Jesus. I felt God drawing me to him and after my roommate shared his faith with me I realized I too needed God in my life. I placed my faith in Jesus and asked for His forgiveness and mercy. I asked Him to come into my heart and be my savior.
Since that moment in my life He has completely set me on a new track, one that leads to Him. He took the desire for alcohol out of my life so I could draw closer to him. I am so thankful for how He has blessed my life.
I am also thankful for the time He allowed us to be a part of Second Baptist. My relationship with Jesus was strengthened so much because of so many Godly teachers and the preaching of Brother Bob. I know what Jesus has done for me and I know He can do the same for anyone, no matter what their situation. That’s the power of Christ!
In His service,
Rick Stonecipher
Since that moment in my life He has completely set me on a new track, one that leads to Him. He took the desire for alcohol out of my life so I could draw closer to him. I am so thankful for how He has blessed my life.
I am also thankful for the time He allowed us to be a part of Second Baptist. My relationship with Jesus was strengthened so much because of so many Godly teachers and the preaching of Brother Bob. I know what Jesus has done for me and I know He can do the same for anyone, no matter what their situation. That’s the power of Christ!
In His service,
Rick Stonecipher
Monday, March 3, 2008
Tammy Spees Testimony
Grief and loss. Two words that to some are just words, but for others, those same two words can trigger memories and feelings untold.
Praise God, I grew up in a Christian home, knew the Lord personally and always put Him first in my life. However, I don’t think it was until 2003 that I truly knew what it meant to completely rely on Him and to understand the meaning of being “at the end of myself with no answers or resources.”
On March 13, 2003, my life changed forever. It would be changed forever in more ways than one. It was this particular Thursday that I suddenly became widowed at the young age of 35 with a daughter 15 years old, and a son just a month away from being 13.
I have always been the type of person that has it all together and can fix just about anything. This time, I couldn’t “fix it”. I could not fix it for my children. I couldn’t bring my in-laws son back, couldn’t bring a best friend back, and Lord knows, I couldn’t even help myself. Even though, during hardship so difficult that I thought I couldn’t make it, God was there. I remember calling out the name of Jesus when I was sitting beside my husbands still body in the emergency room. Grief and shock was so devastating that I could barely walk (literally) and yet, there was an inner peace that settled on me. I just said, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” over and over.
In the draining dismal days following, there were times that all I could get out of my mouth was, “Help me God! Please, just help me!” I remember lying in bed at night, looking up at the ceiling with tears flowing down my face like rain and simply saying “Help me!” And He did!
God carried me through the rough times. He directed me to every scripture in the bible about being widowed and every scripture about Him being our “very present help in time of trouble”. It was truly the Lord that brought me through the grief and hardships. He has restored my family, comforted me, been a ‘father to the fatherless’ and a ‘defender of widows’. Psalm 34:18, 19 became vividly real. "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." I could state scripture after scripture that took on a new meaning and comforted me when I needed it. I would not be the happy, confident, carefree woman I am today had it not been for the Lord.
Was it all easy? No way! Were there moments of intense anguish? You bet! There is a natural progression of grief and loss that we in these earthly bodies go through. It’s been an adventurous five years, but I can tell you from experience, that the Lord comforts, lifts, and holds us in the palm of His hand. It was the Lord and those two precious kids of mine that got me out of bed each morning. Each time I felt as if I couldn’t make it, I would fall to my knees and pour my heart out to God. I would get up off of those knees with a new found strength and peace. Just weeks after our loss, God spoke to me and said that I would always be cared for and that I should never worry about anything. He would provide and take care of me. He had my back!
He has provided, and each time I’m tempted to worry about something and take it into my hands, God quickly reminds me of those words He spoke into my spirit five years ago.
Yes, joy and laughter are present in our house once again and I have two kids that love life and love the Lord. I am a blessed woman of God!!
Tammy Spees
Friend and Colleague of Tom and Rose Fields
Praise God, I grew up in a Christian home, knew the Lord personally and always put Him first in my life. However, I don’t think it was until 2003 that I truly knew what it meant to completely rely on Him and to understand the meaning of being “at the end of myself with no answers or resources.”
On March 13, 2003, my life changed forever. It would be changed forever in more ways than one. It was this particular Thursday that I suddenly became widowed at the young age of 35 with a daughter 15 years old, and a son just a month away from being 13.
I have always been the type of person that has it all together and can fix just about anything. This time, I couldn’t “fix it”. I could not fix it for my children. I couldn’t bring my in-laws son back, couldn’t bring a best friend back, and Lord knows, I couldn’t even help myself. Even though, during hardship so difficult that I thought I couldn’t make it, God was there. I remember calling out the name of Jesus when I was sitting beside my husbands still body in the emergency room. Grief and shock was so devastating that I could barely walk (literally) and yet, there was an inner peace that settled on me. I just said, “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus” over and over.
In the draining dismal days following, there were times that all I could get out of my mouth was, “Help me God! Please, just help me!” I remember lying in bed at night, looking up at the ceiling with tears flowing down my face like rain and simply saying “Help me!” And He did!
God carried me through the rough times. He directed me to every scripture in the bible about being widowed and every scripture about Him being our “very present help in time of trouble”. It was truly the Lord that brought me through the grief and hardships. He has restored my family, comforted me, been a ‘father to the fatherless’ and a ‘defender of widows’. Psalm 34:18, 19 became vividly real. "The Lord is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." I could state scripture after scripture that took on a new meaning and comforted me when I needed it. I would not be the happy, confident, carefree woman I am today had it not been for the Lord.
Was it all easy? No way! Were there moments of intense anguish? You bet! There is a natural progression of grief and loss that we in these earthly bodies go through. It’s been an adventurous five years, but I can tell you from experience, that the Lord comforts, lifts, and holds us in the palm of His hand. It was the Lord and those two precious kids of mine that got me out of bed each morning. Each time I felt as if I couldn’t make it, I would fall to my knees and pour my heart out to God. I would get up off of those knees with a new found strength and peace. Just weeks after our loss, God spoke to me and said that I would always be cared for and that I should never worry about anything. He would provide and take care of me. He had my back!
He has provided, and each time I’m tempted to worry about something and take it into my hands, God quickly reminds me of those words He spoke into my spirit five years ago.
Yes, joy and laughter are present in our house once again and I have two kids that love life and love the Lord. I am a blessed woman of God!!
Tammy Spees
Friend and Colleague of Tom and Rose Fields
Mary Walters Testimony
Since I began having grandchildren, I have become very aware of the importance of a strong support system.
Along with the joy of grandchildren, there have been some heart breaks. My church family has prayed through these years and still today.
It has been wonderful to be able to share with people who really care and love me and my family.
Second Baptist Church has a great staff.
Mary Walters
Along with the joy of grandchildren, there have been some heart breaks. My church family has prayed through these years and still today.
It has been wonderful to be able to share with people who really care and love me and my family.
Second Baptist Church has a great staff.
Mary Walters
Shari LaChiana Testimony
Shari's Testimony
When I was young my parents would take us to church and I loved going. I knew about Jesus and knew we had a God but never really knew why we worshiped them. We had attended a few chuches in the area and never found the fellowship. My brother had been attending Second Baptist and kept urging me to attended and I finally did.
During that time my husband and I wanted children but like a lot of couples, things don't always workout the way you want. I was diagnoised with sever endometriosis; but we tried different procedures anyway to have a child. Nothing worked. Adoption was our best chance to fulfill that dream. After a year of hard work we received our adoption license in Dec. 2000.
I was still attending church almost every Sunday and enjoyed the fellowship and love that I needed during those times.
In the spring of 2001 I felt my heart open up to the Lord and I excepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and I am so thankful I did, because I would have been lost without him.
Then in Jan. of 2002 came a big bump in my road. I was diagnosed with M.S.. There were difficult times at first but God never left my side. He gave me the strength to go on.
I knew God still wanted us to have a family, so I never gave up on that dream. I prayed daily and put my worries in His Hands.
God led us to change the Social Service group we were with and to get a lawyer, so we could
network on our own. It was a lot of work, but with the help from family and friends we were finally led down the right path God had intended us to be on.
After all the prayers and I know there were a lot, we got a call in Jan. 2004 from our lawyer. "You have a baby boy". He was truely a gift from Heaven and I still thank God daily. God led us to renew our license again in Dec 2005.
Just remember don't ever give up on what you belive in because Gods greatest gift to us are His children. Psalm 127:3
Shari LaChiana
When I was young my parents would take us to church and I loved going. I knew about Jesus and knew we had a God but never really knew why we worshiped them. We had attended a few chuches in the area and never found the fellowship. My brother had been attending Second Baptist and kept urging me to attended and I finally did.
During that time my husband and I wanted children but like a lot of couples, things don't always workout the way you want. I was diagnoised with sever endometriosis; but we tried different procedures anyway to have a child. Nothing worked. Adoption was our best chance to fulfill that dream. After a year of hard work we received our adoption license in Dec. 2000.
I was still attending church almost every Sunday and enjoyed the fellowship and love that I needed during those times.
In the spring of 2001 I felt my heart open up to the Lord and I excepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior and I am so thankful I did, because I would have been lost without him.
Then in Jan. of 2002 came a big bump in my road. I was diagnosed with M.S.. There were difficult times at first but God never left my side. He gave me the strength to go on.
I knew God still wanted us to have a family, so I never gave up on that dream. I prayed daily and put my worries in His Hands.
God led us to change the Social Service group we were with and to get a lawyer, so we could
network on our own. It was a lot of work, but with the help from family and friends we were finally led down the right path God had intended us to be on.
After all the prayers and I know there were a lot, we got a call in Jan. 2004 from our lawyer. "You have a baby boy". He was truely a gift from Heaven and I still thank God daily. God led us to renew our license again in Dec 2005.
Just remember don't ever give up on what you belive in because Gods greatest gift to us are His children. Psalm 127:3
Shari LaChiana
Sunday, March 2, 2008
Chris and Jacquelyn Blumenstock's Testimonies
Jacquelyn Blumenstock's Testimony
My name is Jacquelyn Blumenstock and I am 31 years old. I have been attending Second Baptist Church since I was 7 years old. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful husband and three beautiful children.
I was saved when I was 9 years old. I remember struggling during the invitation scared that someone would make fun of me, but felt the tug to go. This went on a couple of Sundays, the Lord tugging at my heart to accept him. Finally one Sunday I could not take it anymore and went down during the invitation and asked Jesus into my heart. I was so full after that. I have never felt alone since then. I really didn’t have a big change in my life at that time. I mean, what do you do horribly wrong when you are 9 years old.
As I got older, I wasn’t a bad kid. I attended church camps and youth functions. As I got into high school I went through a small period of time that I am not proud of. I was searching for something in my life, at the time I did not know what that something was. My rebellion did not last long because it did not bring me joy.
When I was 17 years old, I met this country boy. He actually went to church on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights and also on Wednesdays, who does that? He really slowed me down. God brought me into the lives of a healthy family. I did not know what that was until then. Disfunction, that is all I knew. It was actually suffocating at first, but I grew to love it, even if I did not want to admit it.
Well I married that country boy and we had been attending his church for three years, but I talked him into coming back to my church home at Second Baptist. I finally felt like I was back home again.
A couple of years after we got married God began to tug at my heart again. I was so confused wondering if I was even saved. We had attended a revival at a church in Herrin with some other family members and I remember that my husband and I were suppose to be the good church goers, the ones the other members were suppose to see as an example. Little did I know that God was going to break my heart that night and tell me that I have not been living my life for him, so needless to say, from that point on, I made a commitment to my Lord to change and live my life for him.
After that time I had two children only 19 months apart and could not get by on my own. I began to cry out to God for help and began to seek him more than I ever had. I would go for walks with my girls in the stroller and talk to him the whole time, 45 minutes sometimes rather than listen to music. I began studying the bible and began a bible study that my church was hosting called, Beloved Disciple by Beth Moore. I fell in love with the Lord through that bible study and have clung to him ever since.
I think of myself as a child hanging onto the leg of her daddy. That is how I am with my God. I hang onto to him and he leads me in the paths that he chooses for me. I cannot and will not stop singing praises about my God. Though I did not know what I was looking for during my teens and my early adulthood, I know now that I was truly searching for the one true joy in my life. I was surrounded with blessings but still empty because I had not allowed my God to be the first and number one joy in my life. I know that now and I cling to him because with that joy brings fullness in my family as well.
Thank you for the opportunity to ramble on, but I hope that this will help you come to meet the one true joy, Jesus Christ.
Jacquelyn Blumenstock
Chris Blumenstock's Testimony
Hello,
My name is Chris Blumenstock. I have been a member of Second Baptist Church in Marion, IL. now for 11 years. I am 31 years old and have been married 11 years. I have been blessed with a great wife and 3 wonderful children.
I would like to share with you just one of the many wonderful blessings I have been given by my Savior Jesus Christ, the blessing of my church family. I cannot put into words the help and love they have shown me over the years. I was hesitant at first going to Second Baptist because it was too big for me and I would not matter. I just knew that one more face in the crowd would not matter to anyone, I could not have been any more wrong. I have been welcomed and loved several times over since that day.
One way in which my church family loved me was to challenge me to become active in Christian service. I had never realized that I had been content to sit by and watch others do the work of the church. They also have been helpful in assisting me with discovering the talents and gifts God has given me to help me accomplish that work.
I have gained relationships through the church that are as dear to me as my own family. Another one of the blessings from God is people who you can share laughter, joy, hurt, sadness and all that life can throw at us. I know that my God loves me and one of the many ways I see that everyday is through my church family.
You may have read other comments on this site that have mentioned our upcoming revival services. I hope that people who read our stories are touched and may consider attending one or all of these services. Also, I hope that anyone who is searching for a church home and does not have one would come and visit us so that we can do for you what has been done for me by this congregation. Most importantly, it is my hope and prayer that if you are reading this and you do not know Jesus Christ, or have never experienced the love of our Savior that you would come and give us an opportunity to share Christ with you.
Thank you.
Chris Blumenstock
My name is Jacquelyn Blumenstock and I am 31 years old. I have been attending Second Baptist Church since I was 7 years old. The Lord has blessed me with a wonderful husband and three beautiful children.
I was saved when I was 9 years old. I remember struggling during the invitation scared that someone would make fun of me, but felt the tug to go. This went on a couple of Sundays, the Lord tugging at my heart to accept him. Finally one Sunday I could not take it anymore and went down during the invitation and asked Jesus into my heart. I was so full after that. I have never felt alone since then. I really didn’t have a big change in my life at that time. I mean, what do you do horribly wrong when you are 9 years old.
As I got older, I wasn’t a bad kid. I attended church camps and youth functions. As I got into high school I went through a small period of time that I am not proud of. I was searching for something in my life, at the time I did not know what that something was. My rebellion did not last long because it did not bring me joy.
When I was 17 years old, I met this country boy. He actually went to church on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights and also on Wednesdays, who does that? He really slowed me down. God brought me into the lives of a healthy family. I did not know what that was until then. Disfunction, that is all I knew. It was actually suffocating at first, but I grew to love it, even if I did not want to admit it.
Well I married that country boy and we had been attending his church for three years, but I talked him into coming back to my church home at Second Baptist. I finally felt like I was back home again.
A couple of years after we got married God began to tug at my heart again. I was so confused wondering if I was even saved. We had attended a revival at a church in Herrin with some other family members and I remember that my husband and I were suppose to be the good church goers, the ones the other members were suppose to see as an example. Little did I know that God was going to break my heart that night and tell me that I have not been living my life for him, so needless to say, from that point on, I made a commitment to my Lord to change and live my life for him.
After that time I had two children only 19 months apart and could not get by on my own. I began to cry out to God for help and began to seek him more than I ever had. I would go for walks with my girls in the stroller and talk to him the whole time, 45 minutes sometimes rather than listen to music. I began studying the bible and began a bible study that my church was hosting called, Beloved Disciple by Beth Moore. I fell in love with the Lord through that bible study and have clung to him ever since.
I think of myself as a child hanging onto the leg of her daddy. That is how I am with my God. I hang onto to him and he leads me in the paths that he chooses for me. I cannot and will not stop singing praises about my God. Though I did not know what I was looking for during my teens and my early adulthood, I know now that I was truly searching for the one true joy in my life. I was surrounded with blessings but still empty because I had not allowed my God to be the first and number one joy in my life. I know that now and I cling to him because with that joy brings fullness in my family as well.
Thank you for the opportunity to ramble on, but I hope that this will help you come to meet the one true joy, Jesus Christ.
Jacquelyn Blumenstock
Chris Blumenstock's Testimony
Hello,
My name is Chris Blumenstock. I have been a member of Second Baptist Church in Marion, IL. now for 11 years. I am 31 years old and have been married 11 years. I have been blessed with a great wife and 3 wonderful children.
I would like to share with you just one of the many wonderful blessings I have been given by my Savior Jesus Christ, the blessing of my church family. I cannot put into words the help and love they have shown me over the years. I was hesitant at first going to Second Baptist because it was too big for me and I would not matter. I just knew that one more face in the crowd would not matter to anyone, I could not have been any more wrong. I have been welcomed and loved several times over since that day.
One way in which my church family loved me was to challenge me to become active in Christian service. I had never realized that I had been content to sit by and watch others do the work of the church. They also have been helpful in assisting me with discovering the talents and gifts God has given me to help me accomplish that work.
I have gained relationships through the church that are as dear to me as my own family. Another one of the blessings from God is people who you can share laughter, joy, hurt, sadness and all that life can throw at us. I know that my God loves me and one of the many ways I see that everyday is through my church family.
You may have read other comments on this site that have mentioned our upcoming revival services. I hope that people who read our stories are touched and may consider attending one or all of these services. Also, I hope that anyone who is searching for a church home and does not have one would come and visit us so that we can do for you what has been done for me by this congregation. Most importantly, it is my hope and prayer that if you are reading this and you do not know Jesus Christ, or have never experienced the love of our Savior that you would come and give us an opportunity to share Christ with you.
Thank you.
Chris Blumenstock
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Charlie McKenzie's Testimony
The testimonies on this site are wonderful. They take me back to my youth when I was a member of a small country church where we often had “testimony meetings.” It was exciting to hear many of the long time Christians give their testimonies. I was always struck by the sincere, thoughtful, and thankful expressions as they told how God had worked in their lives. Sometimes there was scripture included; sometimes there were tears, but always gratitude. As one would sit down another would be rising to their feet to share what was on their heart. Those of us who were younger also participated and the typical testimony went something like this—“I’d like to stand for Jesus and thank Him for saving my soul.” That one line testimony for me was always heartfelt, but also heart pounding and always followed by a flow of relief that I had not missed an opportunity. I was grateful that I knew Jesus Christ as my Savior, and I had been given the courage to take a public stand for Him.
Once again, decades later, I am taking this opportunity to take a stand for Jesus. “Thank you Jesus for saving my soul.” My life has not been perfect and sometimes I would not even describe it as good. I am forever grateful to take my stand for Jesus because He has always been with me through it all.
If you don’t know Jesus Christ or don’t understand what you have heard about Him, please consider this as a PERSONAL INVITATION to join us. Let us introduce you to Jesus Christ and help you understand His saving grace. Come and hear about Him. He will change your life.
We are getting ready for revival at Second Baptist Church. If you are part of us, we are praying for you and we hope you are praying for revival to happen. Please pray that God will do a work in many hearts in these coming days both inside and outside the church.
May God bless each and everyone who reads these testimonies.
Charlie McKenzie
Once again, decades later, I am taking this opportunity to take a stand for Jesus. “Thank you Jesus for saving my soul.” My life has not been perfect and sometimes I would not even describe it as good. I am forever grateful to take my stand for Jesus because He has always been with me through it all.
If you don’t know Jesus Christ or don’t understand what you have heard about Him, please consider this as a PERSONAL INVITATION to join us. Let us introduce you to Jesus Christ and help you understand His saving grace. Come and hear about Him. He will change your life.
We are getting ready for revival at Second Baptist Church. If you are part of us, we are praying for you and we hope you are praying for revival to happen. Please pray that God will do a work in many hearts in these coming days both inside and outside the church.
May God bless each and everyone who reads these testimonies.
Charlie McKenzie
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