Westside Whistle V.3 I. 1

Are you going to be ready when the Lord calls?

'FRIENDS are people that you meet and leave an everlasting impact in your life, but often you forget how much they were a part of your life without realizing they are not there anymore .”

This week’s edition is coming early because as you read on, you will see that it is packed full of information that you need to know and take note of.

BIBLE BYTE:
2 SAMUEL 7:1-7 & 8-17:
(David Plans to Build a Temple & God's Covenant with David)

1 Now it came about when the king lived in his house, and the LORD had given him rest on every side from all his enemies,
2 that the king said to Nathan the prophet, "See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of God dwells within tent curtains."
3 Nathan said to the king, "Go, do all that is in your mind, for the LORD is with you."
4 But in the same night the word of the LORD came to Nathan, saying,
5 "Go and say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD, "Are you the one who should build Me a house to dwell in?
6 "For I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day; but I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle.
7 "Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel, which I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?'"'
8 "Now therefore, thus you shall say to My servant David, 'Thus says the LORD of hosts, "I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel.
9 "I have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you; and I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who are on the earth.
10 "I will also appoint a place for My people Israel and will plant them, that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly,
11 even from the day that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel; and I will give you rest from all your enemies The LORD also declares to you that the LORD will make a house for you.
12 "When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you, who will come forth from you, and I will establish his kingdom.
13 "He shall build a house for My name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever.
14 "I will be a father to him and he will be a son to Me; when he commits iniquity, I will correct him with the rod of men and the strokes of the sons of men,
15 but My lovingkindness shall not depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you.
16 "Your house and your kingdom shall endure before Me forever; your throne shall be established forever."'"
17 In accordance with all these words and all this vision, so Nathan spoke to David.

REMINDERS, NEWS, & UPDATES:

SPECIAL DATES TO REMEMBER IN DECEMBER:

WEDNESDAY, January 13th take a minute to record a message of support and love to Brennan and Sara Uthe.

SUNDAY, January 17th is the final day that Brennan and Sara Uthe will be with us as they are relocating to Bouie, Maryland.

SUNDAY, January 24th we will not be able to meet at the Pritchard Community Center, so we are holding our regular Sunday morning worship service at Ricky Young’s building down at highway 84 between U.S. 62 and the Western Kentucky Parkway on/off ramps.  (This is the building we held our last members meeting in.)

SUNDAY, February 21st is our next scheduled members meeting and we will also be unable to use the Prichard Center that day due to them having other commitments scheduled.  The location and schedule for that day will be announced soon.

GOING TO THE FAR EAST:
Yes, if you have not heard by now, Brennan and Sara Uthe are leaving Westside Baptist Church and moving east to Maryland where Brennan is taking a new calling effective January 19, 2010.  This means that THIS SUNDAY is your LAST SUNDAY to sing along with Brennan and Sara.  We wish them well and my God bless the two of them in their new church.  We are going to be having a pot luck dinner following our regular worship service at the Pritchard Community Center.  If you plan to attend and are bringing something, please call Nancy Shores and leave a message on her phone to let her know so we can coordinate the food.

A SPECIAL GIFT FOR THE BRENNAN AND SARA:
This WEDNESDAY EVENING at the Clarity Center, I will have my camcorder set up for any and everyone in attendance that night to record a special thank you and good luck message for us to burn onto a dvd to present to Brennan and Sara.  We may also show the DVD during the pot luck in the background Sunday.  So please come out to the Clarity Center this Wednesday evening at 6:30 PM and record your message for Brennan and Sara.

WBC “GREATER THINGS”:
Wednesday evenings, “GREATER THINGS” are still going on for Westside Baptist.  We are still meeting at the Clarity Solutions Center located at 116 E. Memorial Drive in E-Town starting at 6:30 pm.  We always have a time of prayer and then community service work to follow.  We hope to see you there.

LOTTIE MOON CHRISTMAS OFFERING UPDATE:
It is my pleasure to say we did surpass our 2008 offering.  Our 2009 LMCO raised $275.00.  This may not sound like much, but you take and add it to all the other Southern Baptist churches that took up funds for this offering, and across America, we will be raising millions of dollars that will allow our international missionaries to go spread the Gospel of Christ to countless numbers of people this year.  Westside Baptist, the International Missions Board, and I thank each and every one of you who graciously donated to the Lottie Moon offering for 2009.

WHAT IS ON THE www.wsidebaptist.com WEBSITE:
With the changes going on at our church, you can find our most current schedule of event via the calendar on the home page, Copies of the Westside Whistle (coming soon), listen to past sermons you may have missed, a week’s worth of Daily BIBLE Bytes to read, and much more. Check it out as often as you can, you will probably find something new, different, or updated when you do.

WINTER WEATHER WORSHIP CANCELATIONS::
Now that winter is here, we wanted to remind you that WE WILL ALWAYS TRY to hold all our scheduled worship services, small groups, and Greater Things Programs as scheduled.  In the chance that must cancel services, we will post notices on the website, send out a text message notice, send out an email,, or try to contact you as best we can.  But if you do not feel safe driving due to poor weather conditions, it is up to you to best decide on to try to attend or not.  The leadership at WBC wants you to be safe, but we also want you to be active in your church.  This is not any type of change; we have always operated in the idea that as long as humanly possible we want to always hold our regular services and programs for you.  Stay warm, stay safe, and stay focused on God first.

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN JANUARY:
January is national braille awareness month.  For more information on braille, visit www.braille.net

It is also National Mentoring Partnership month; you can get more information at www.mentoring.org

If you know of an event, concert, or item of interest you would like shared through this newsletter, please email the details to Robbie Blair at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  I will do my best to get them in the next week’s newsletter for you.

IN CLOSING

It is said that the start of a new year is always filled with the opportunity for change.  We just did not know how much of a change Westside Baptist would see so soon in 2010.  We may not have known, but God did and we need to be thankful for that.  We have been blessed with an amazing worship leader for the past three years at Westside Baptist.  The music has been enjoyable; the messages within the music have been based upon scripture and true, and the focus always on God’s word first and foremost.  Brennan’s laugh will be missed, his dedication to U of M everlasting, and his love and dedication to each of us ongoing.  Sara’s singing beside her partner and husband truly added a greater depth of sound and energy to our Sunday mornings.  Her love of life and Jesus Christ has always been present.  We know that God does have GREATER THINGS for you both.  Every time you both a facing west and watching a sunset, please take to heart in knowing that your friends from Westside Baptist will not forget you and are constantly praying for the new ministry opportunities being presented to you both.  We wish you well, we pray for your continued spiritual growth, and may God always be the guiding force in your lives each day.

Serving Our Savior,

Robert Blair,
Westside Baptist Church Elder