Hey everyone! I guess I just want to start by saying how blessed my wife and I are to have you guys as our new church family. Transitions are hard, and change can be difficult, but the love and the grace that the body of Sandusky Baptist Church has given us has helped our transition go smoothly. My wife and I look forward to getting to know all of you, and to see Sandusky Baptist grow to meet new faces.

As I begin my tenure here and as I get to know the students, I see a great need for direction inside the student ministry. My wife Victoria and I are very confident in our calling to minister to the next generation, and to see them come to a growing and lasting relationship with Jesus Christ. My first Sunday here I got to read a passage out of Luke 19 about Zacchaeus. What we see here in this story is Jesus giving a man, who was the most outcast of the outcast and most hated of the hated, a place to belong. Jesus invites himself over to this sinner’s house, and embraces his company. It's this moment that a seed is planted in Zacchaeus for salvation. In the very next verses when Zacchaeus came down, he welcomed Jesus joyfully. I don't know about you, but for me, knowing my sin and who I am, I would be terrified if Jesus invited himself over to my house. I mean, my laundry ain't clean, and I'm sure the dishes are still in that pile from this morning. Now the Savior of the universe is going to dine with me in my home? But you see, that's really the beauty of Christ. Romans 5 says that even as we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That means no matter how many dishes you have in your sink, or laundry you have in your basket, Jesus wants you. Your sin and mine are like the laundry and the dishes, and our hearts are like our homes. When Jesus invites himself over, Zacchaeus knows who he is, a sinner, and he knows who Jesus is, our Savior. And when Zacchaeus heard Jesus' invitation, his whole life changed. It's in this moment that we see Zacchaeus go from a slimy, creepy tax collector, to a child of God and heir to the Kingdom of God. Zacchaeus welcomed Jesus joyfully, and I have to imagine that Jesus was just as

SANDUSKY BAPTIST CHURCH

NEWSLETTER

July/August 2018

THE ROCK

NEW

joyous. It's in this moment that Zacchaeus believed. We see next the crowd that was a witness to the beautiful picture of love and grace. They were disgusted and they complained that Jesus would dare dine with the likes of Zacchaeus. But Zacchaeus, whom Jesus gave a place to belong, and who now believes that Jesus is His Savior, decides to behave according to the works that have been given him by Jesus. Zacchaeus says,

Dates & Times of Sale:Thursday & Friday Aug 2nd & 3rd (9 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.

and 2-5 p.m.)Saturday, Aug 4th (9 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.)

Please Buy: Girls Size 5 Jeans Girls Size 5 or 5/6 Shirts

Girls Size 4 Underwear Please Do Not Buy:

Tank tops/spaghetti strap tops/sleeveless shirts

Shorts or dresses Long sleeve shirts or jackets Winter clothing Plain or solid color tee shirts – please buy ones with

some design on them (this is for outerwear tee shirts, not underwear tee shirts)

School Supply ListNotebook paper (wide rule only)Crayons – Crayola only (No Rose Art) Boxes of 24 colors or lessBlunt ScissorsGlue Sticks or Elmer’s GlueErasers

#10 PencilsPensPencil Boxes Pencil Pouches

CALENDAR JULY 3RD

Patriotic Music & Luncheon11:15 a.m.JULY 4TH Independence Day Office Closed JULY 25THChurch Ministry Conference 6:30 p.m. AUGUST 12TH The Trinity Quartet & Fellowship Meal 6:00 p.m. AUGUST 15TH Fellowship Meal 6:15 p.m. AUGUST 19th Deacon Meeting

Klothes 4

Volunteers are needed:Please call the LBA office at 316-

8382 if you would like to volunteer!

Schedule appointmentsJuly 25-27 & July 30 & 319 am-12pm or 2pm-4pm

Make Appointment Reminder Calls

August 1st and 2nd (can be done from home)

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD

Black & white composition booksSpiral NotebooksColored pencilsRulersProtractorsCompassesPocket foldersBackpacks

Sandusky Baptist Church 915 Catalina Place Lynchburg, VA 24502 434•239•8410

sanduskybc@aol.com • sanduskybaptist.net

JULY2 Ronnie Eubank16 Cathy Baldwin19 Donna Gilliam21 Mary Ferguson22 Shirley Poff30 Helen Brown

James Wilson31 Esther Alcindor

AUGUST2 Anna Lee Meade7 Linda Hawks

Belinda Honnen8 Robert Ragland10 Jerry Baldwin

It’s hard to believe that Christmas is less than 6 months away, and that means we will be starting

cantata practice soon.If you are interested in joining us

this year, please see Sarah Stephen.

"You know what, I am a sinner, and I am not worthy, but you know what, this man Jesus changes all of that. Here's what I am going to do. I'll give half of all that I own to the poor. And if that's not enough to pay back all that I have stolen, then I will pay back four times as much as what I stole." Obviously, there's a bit of paraphrasing but you get the picture, right? Nowhere in this story do we see that Zacchaeus needed to give things away, make things right, to get his house in order, to come down the tree. It was Jesus who said, "I don't care what your house looks like! I don't care how much sin you have, Zacchaeus! I love you, I am coming over for dinner, and tonight you will see that I am your God". Again, I’m paraphrasing.

This is our vision for the student ministry at Sandusky Baptist Church. We desire for our students to have a place to belong, so that they can believe, and that belief will produce behavior that reflects the heart change that only Jesus can bring.

 

Over the next few weeks, you will probably see some changes. Some big and some small. But no matter what the change is, I want the body of Sandusky to know that no decision is made outside of the vision for the student ministry of Belong, Believe, Behave.

God Bless, Ethan Fisher 

We are collecting items for the 2018Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes. This is a year-long, church-wide effort.

Item suggestions include: Little Stuffed Animals • Toothbrushes •

Crayons Bar Soap • School Supplies • Wash Cloths •

Socks • Balls • Combs • Little Dolls • Brushes • Puzzles •

Crafts • T-shirts • Bracelets

Pastor’s Corner Our church is pleased to welcome Ethan Fisher as our Student Pastor. Ethan is a recent graduate of Liberty University and began his ministry with us in June. He will begin work on his Master’s Degree at LU this Fall. His wife, Victoria, who likes to be called “Tori”, will begin work on her nursing degree this Fall at LU. If you have yet to meet them, please introduce yourself to them, and give them your personal welcome. Our Church Will Host

Marty & Ginny Day are leading a Neighborhood Bible Study in

their home each Sunday at 6pm. For more information,

Please call 434-515-1725 or Email mandgday@gmail.com

See You There!

NEIGHBORHOOD BIBLE STUDY