Celebrate the joy of Christmas each Sun-day in December with a new Christmas Message Series . What a great oppor-tunity to invite some-one to join you this year! Started Sunday, December 7th!

WHY GIVE? The Bible tells us in Deuteronomy 16:17, “Everyone must appear with a gift suited to his means, accord ing to the blessing the Lord your God has given you” (HCSB). As follow-

ers of Christ, we are called to give of the bless-ings we have received to bless others. When we give to the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering, we are helping send and sup-port our missionaries who share Christ’s love with the lost and hurting. One hundred percent of the

offering is used in this one sacred effort. TODAY IS THE DAY we all give our offerings as we go way over our Goal of $17,000+

We’re behind in our Ministry Plan Giving for the year. Let’s close that gap in December. Gifts must be received or post-marked by Wednes-day, Dec. 31, to re-ceive 2014 tax credit.

OUR INVESTMENT IN GOD’S MISSION

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 7 Ministry Plan Giving: $13,989.61 Ministry Plan Giving To Date: $460,623.86 Ministry Plan Projected To Date: $543,736.83

Outlive Your Life OutLive Your Life Giving November: $2,087.00

Giving To Date: $67,017.80

LifeGroups: 220 1st Super Sunday PM: AM Worship: 284 PM Nursery: Extended Session: 28 Mid-week groups: 215

MORNING WORSHIP 10:30 AM THIS WEEK AT PETAL FIRST BAPTIST SPECIAL INTERESTS

SUNDAY, DECEMBER 14 9:00 a.m.—LifeGroups 10:30 a.m.—Morning Worship 3:00 p.m.—Student Praise Band/Team Practice 5:00 p.m.—Student Ministry Sr. High LifeGroup

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 17 5:00 p.m.—Family Supper 6:00 p.m.—Opportunities for the entire family 6:00 p.m.—Youth Christmas Party 7:00 p.m.—Celebration Choir

CHRISTMAS/NEW YEAR’S HOLIDAY SCHEDULE

Wednesday, December 17 Regular Activities Sunday, December 21 Christmas Candlelight Service Wednesday, December 24 NO Wednesday Night Activities December 24-26 Church Offices Closed Sunday, December 28 Worship ONLY/No LifeGroups Wednesday, December 31 NO Wednesday Night Activities December 31 - January 1 Church Offices Closed

There will be a brief Special Called Church Family Meeting, Sunday, Dec. 21st, following the morning worship to approve the Temporary Church Ministry Plan outlined below.

Mail for Members is a Christmas card delivery service just for our church family. Mail Trays are in the Main Foyer. Deposit your money in Lottie Moon envelopes provided and drop in the basket on the table or in the offering basket during Worship. Open now. Closes Sunday, Dec 28!

Be here for the first Sunday in January as Pastor Brad brings the exciting Annual State of the Church Message . We will take a look back at what the Lord did in 2014 and launch forward into 2015!! Don’t miss it!

Mississippi Baptists are offering a Disaster Relief Training, Saturday, Jan. 17, 2015. It will be held at First Baptist, Gautier, MS. Training begins at 8 AM. Contact Brad Amacker 601.543.5307 or the church office for more information and to sign up.

Need a Last Minute Christmas Gift Idea? We have the perfect Christ-mas Gift...Petal FBC shirts and hats. Get your shirt in Adult men and women sizes Small through 2XL, in your choice of white, black or royal. Hats in khaki or black. Come by the church office or pick up yours on a Sunday or Wednesday. Cost is $17 for the shirts and $10 for the hats. Best news is all the proceeds go to Petal FBC Mission trips in 2015. Give a gift that will also help make a difference next year!!

Year 2014 2015

Personnel 225,282.00 278,051.00

Ministry 227,245.00 227,245.00

Coop Program 34,500.00 39,317.00

Mortgage 90,000.00 150,000.00

Total $577,027.00 $694,613.00

WELCOME We are so glad you chose to worship with us today! Our hope is that

your experience this morning helps you feel connected to the Lord

Jesus Christ and to His church here at Petal First Bap,st.

CONNECTING Please help us by filling out the Connec,on Card in this folder and

holding on to it un,l the end of the service. Drop it in the offering bas-

ket or give it to one of our staff in the foyer.

TRANSFORMATION By the end of the message, you may realize your need to Connect with

Jesus Christ or Connect with this church family. It is the first step of

Transforma on in your life! We invite you to come to the Pastor at the

front during the invita,on hymn and discuss your decision. You can do

that in several ways:

• By placing your faith in Jesus as Savior and following Him in be-

liever’s bap,sm by immersion. It is the ABC’s! Admit you are a

sinner, Ask Him to forgive you of your sins; Believe Jesus is God’s

son; Confess Him as Savior and Lord and Commit your life to Him.

• By transferring membership from another Bap,st church.

• By statement of your faith in Jesus and having previously been

bap,zed by immersion into membership in another church of like

faith and order.

• By statement of your previous profession of faith in Jesus and

willingness to be bap,zed by immersion.

THE OFFERING As the offering baskets are passed, our members and regular

a=endees are given the opportunity to honor the Lord with their fi-

nances. As our guest, you are not expected to contribute, though you

are welcome to par,cipate if you choose to do so. We also offer an

online giving op,on for those who choose to use this method. Please

go to our website and click on the giving link.

PRESCHOOLERS AND CHILDREN ARE PRECIOUS We believe children are precious so we have a special place designed

just for them, while you worship so you can enjoy the Service.

• Birth to age 2 are cared for in our preschool area. One of our ush-

ers or members can show you to the area.

• Age 3-through Pre-Kindergarten cared for in Extended Session

which is also in our Preschool Area

• Kindergarten and above are in worship with their parents.

All of our preschool and children workers provide a safe and nurturing

environment in well equipped facili es. You can relax! They are in good hands!

A LOOK AHEAD

Dec. 21 Family Christmas Worship (Candlelight Service)

Dec. 24 No Wednesday Night Ac5vi5es

Dec. 24-26 Church Offices Closed for Christmas

Dec. 31 No Wednesday Night Ac5vi5es

Church Offices Closed (All Gi:s to the Church Must

be Postmarked by this Date)

Jan. 1 Church Offices closed for New Years

Jan. 4 Annual State of the Church Message

Monthly Deacon’s Mee5ng

Jan. 5 Feed Petal Primary Teachers

Jan. 6 Students Return to School

Jan. 7 Family Friendly Wednesday Nights Resume

Jan. 17 Church Workday (Kitchen & New LifeGroup Space)

December 14, 2014December 14, 2014

CHURCH STAFF Brad Eubank Pastor 205.287.1436 brad@petalfbc.com 601.545.1012

Chris Robbins Students 601.310.8469 chris@petalfbc.com

Laurin Mizell Worship 601.606.8433 laurinmizell@hotmail.com

Dee McDermitt Ministry Assistant 601.582.7738 dee@petalfbc.com

Luci Hutchinson Ministry Assistant 601.520.5614 luci@petalfbc.com

CHURCH OFFICE HOURS 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, Monday through Friday

Petal First Baptist Church 992 Highway 42, Petal, MS 39465

Phone: 601.545.3198 website: www.petalfbc.com

EXTENDED SESSION

December 14, 2014 Pre-K 4’s—Silvey Gist, Hailey Gardner 3’s—Jillian Moore, Melody Barrentine

2’s—Sheila Garvin, Jennifer Scott Babies to 1—Tina Stevens, Sue Williams

December 21, 2014 Pre-K 4’s—Silvey Gist, Yvette Townsend

3’s—Jillian Moore, Emily Shows 2’s—Sheila Garvin, Sharon Williams

Babies to 1—Tina Stevens, Andrea Gardner

DEACON ON CALL—December To better serve you, if you have a ministry need outside of

regular office hours, please feel free to call either of these men: Michael Blanton (601.818.0477) and Charley Morgan (601.549.0016)

WORSHIP

WORSHIP