Praying for a Post-Pandemic World
Posted in Missions | By Jordan Cox | Posted on Thu Sep 9, 2021
Our IMB Europe partner, Jacob Boss, encourages us to pray for his team and ourselves as we seek to minister to a post-pandemic world.
Weekly Bible Reading Forecast: Week 36
Posted in Bible Reading Forecasts | By Bradley Patton | Posted on Sun Sep 5, 2021
Weekly Preview
We’re staying with Ezekiel this week to cover most of the second half of his prophetic ministry. As I promised last week, here’s part two of the Bible Project video on Ezekiel. We make a turn from judgment to hope in Ezekiel 34 on Thursday. The message of hope is important – especially for people who live in exile, away from their homeland. The apostle Peter speaks the same message in 1 Peter to the “elect exiles in the Dispersion” about the “living hope kept in heaven for them.” As we read Ezekiel, let’s allow the words of hope to point us to Jesus – our living hope who is seated at the right hand of the Father and interceding for us.
Updated COVID-19 Precautions
Posted in Uncategorized | By Jordan Cox | Posted on Wed Sep 1, 2021
Hello, church family!
We have some important updates to share with you about worship this Sunday and the next several weeks.
Face coverings are strongly recommended while indoors on campus for the next month. We are taking this approach at the request of the Jefferson County Department of Health due to the increased number of COVID cases in our community and the heightened concern surrounding the Delta variant. Personal responsibility continues to be important as we care for one another and love our neighbors.
Beginning this Sunday, 9/5, all volunteers serving with kids ages 12 and younger, along with all volunteers in our special needs ministry, will wear face coverings while serving for the next month. Because the COVID vaccine is available only for individuals 12 years and older, this precaution will contribute to a healthier environment for the youngest among us each Sunday.
As the complexity of COVID continues to evolve, we are consistently evaluating our approach to ministry with the health of our community as a main priority. Please continue to pray for those who have been directly impacted by the virus and for wisdom as we navigate these circumstances together. We trust God to lead us and look forward to all that he will do in the days ahead!
Weekly Bible Reading Forecast: Week 35
Posted in Bible Reading Forecasts | By Bradley Patton | Posted on Sun Aug 29, 2021
Weekly Preview
Let’s read another prolixitous prophet. Ezekiel saw some crazy things as he sat by the Chebar canal in Babylon with the first phase of Judean exiles. He’s in Babylon while Jeremiah is still in Judah. Here’s part 1 of an overview of the whole book that will get us through this week. Remember, the prophets are primarily concerned with calling Israel back to covenant faithfulness in accord with Moses’ prediction in Deuteronomy 30 that exile will be the punishment for disobedience. Ezekiel is no different. He wants Israel to put away her heart of stone and receive a heart of flesh.
Fall Kick-Off Event Rescheduled
Posted in Uncategorized | By Shades Mountain Baptist Church | Posted on Tue Aug 24, 2021
Hello, church family!
The Fall Kick-off Event that was planned for tomorrow night (8/25) is going to be rescheduled for mid to late September.
We have a great team of volunteers that has been working for months to put together a fun and engaging night for our friends and church family. The purpose of the night is to offer a rallying event as we relaunch full-scale Wednesday night programming for the first time in eighteen months. We want the night to be something that we each eagerly invite our friends and neighbors to be a part of and experience some of what God is doing at Shades. Because of the growing concern about COVID in our community, delaying this event better positions it to accomplish this goal.
This rescheduled event is now going to include our new Pastor, George Wright, and his family as a part of the fun!
George will preach his first sermon on Sunday morning, 9/12. It is going to be a really special morning as we step into a new season of ministry under his leadership! Instead of having a reception for the Wrights that afternoon, they will be front and center at the Fall Kick-off Event in September to meet our church family and engage folks from the community. The date, event details, and more information will be sent out in the coming weeks – so be on the lookout!
All mid-week programming for preschoolers, children, and preteens will begin after the Fall Kick-off Event.
Wednesday nights at Shades have a long history of meaningful ministry for all ages – and that’s going to continue! So many of you have stepped up in recent weeks to invest in the next generation through mid-week ministry – THANK YOU! This will allow us to launch these ministry offerings with full volunteer teams and the best possible environments for kids of every age.
Wednesday night programming for students grades 7-12 will gear-up beginning next week, 9/1!
Students and parents, stay tuned for details on these creative gatherings from our Student Ministry team coming soon.
Limited mid-week offerings for adults will begin next week, 9/1 – Financial Peace University and Foundations: Biblical Storyline.
Due to the number of weeks required for these courses, they will begin as planned and continue through the fall. Childcare will be available when full fall programming begins. Registration is still open for both of these classes. Go to shades.org/events for more details and to sign up.
Are there changes for any other events?
At this point we are moving forward with all other ministry for the fall as planned, but with open hands. We all have encountered a level of fatigue related to COVID and necessary changes, but it has taught us all to be flexible and ready to adapt when needed. We will continue to listen to state, county, and local guidance regarding our ministry operations at Shades, making the best possible decisions for our large church family with varying perspectives about the pandemic.
We are grateful for your continued prayers and efforts to support the complexity in decision-making for our church family. We continue to pray James 1:5, “If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. We are asking God to generously give us wisdom, and trust him to lead us through the exciting days ahead!
Weekly Bible Reading Forecast: Week 34
Posted in Bible Reading Forecasts | By Bradley Patton | Posted on Sun Aug 22, 2021
Weekly Preview
We’ve spent a few weeks now with our friend Jeremiah and we’ll finishing our time with him this week. He’s taken us on a long downward spiral with the people of Judah as they’ve walked the slow march toward exile. Yet amid the suffering and lament he’s shown us glimpses of coming grace from Yahweh for his people. His discipline is sure, but even more certain is his steadfast love which endures forever. As believers on this side of the cross, we can read Jeremiah with hope knowing that the true Shepherd and Righteous Branch is indeed shepherding with justice and reigning in righteousness. He is our God and we are his people. We can stake our whole lives on the steadfast love of the Lord in Jesus Christ.
Weekly Bible Reading Forecast: Week 33
Posted in Bible Reading Forecasts | By Bradley Patton | Posted on Sun Aug 15, 2021
Weekly Preview
Jeremiah’s prophetic roller coaster of emotions makes several more loops and turns. Israel’s long, slow slide into exile finally comes to pass. The Chronicler sets the biblical and theological framework for Israel’s return under Ezra/Nehemiah and ultimately the New Testament writers.
Weekly Bible Reading Forecast: Week 32
Posted in Bible Reading Forecasts | By Bradley Patton | Posted on Sun Aug 8, 2021
Weekly Preview
We’re back into the prophets this week – this time, the prophets who prophesy during Josiah’s reign. We’ll have to learn to hold the tension between the patience of God and the justice of God. We’ll hear about a lot of idolatry and injustice this week. I’ve been helped by Andy Crouch’s definitions of these terms from his book Playing God. Idolatry is worshipping false gods; injustice is an attempt to play god in someone else’s life. Here’s the quote: “God hates idolatry and injustice because they are the same thing: the introduction into God’s very good world of false images, images that destroy the true images God himself placed in the world to declare his character and voice his praise. Whether making false gods (idolatry) or playing false gods (injustice) the result is identical – the true image of God is lost, and not just lost but replace by something that purports, often very persuasively, to represent the ultimate truth about reality.”
Pray and Serve
Posted in From the Pastor | By Shades Staff | Posted on Wed Aug 4, 2021
August is here, and so are a jam-packed few weeks! Our new church year begins soon, and so as we look ahead, Pastor Danny identifies some key ways you can be involved. Take a look!
Weekly Bible Reading Forecast: Week 31
Posted in Bible Reading Forecasts | By Bradley Patton | Posted on Mon Aug 2, 2021
Weekly Preview
We’ll finish Isaiah this week, continue along the narrative story from Kings and Chronicles, and jump into Nahum (who prophesies after Sennacherib, which is why his prophecy is included this week). Hold onto your hats: Isaiah has a wonderful ending with a beautiful vision of the new heavens and new earth, Kings and Chronicles will give you whiplash between the “good” and “bad” kings, Nahum will bring a big vision of God and a big vision of his judgment on evil empires.