Hey IBC, IT'S SUMMER! Summer for our church is always incredibly exciting and filled to the brim with opportunities for fellowship, growth, and missions. Be sure to check the church website, bulletin, and announcement video each week so you don't miss out on any of our fantastic opportunities. This Sunday, our Youth Minister candidate, John Bailey, is coming in view of a call to be voted on by our church. I could not be more excited about the potential of having John on our staff. This Saturday, we will have a come-and-go meet-and-greet at the Grange from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Attached to this email is John's bio. Please be in prayer for John, his family, and our church as we seek to follow the Lord's will this Sunday.
MINISTRY HIGHLIGHT: LOVE WEEK is NEXT WEEK!!! Love week is one of my favorite weeks of the year as we go out into our community and represent Jesus by serving in many capacities. This Love Week will undoubtedly be the best one yet! Your staff has worked incredibly hard to be intentional about the Gospel in new ways throughout this upcoming week. Will you join me this week by praying and serving in some capacity as we join together to make much of our Savior! Also, it is still not too late to sign up! Just go to loveweekmarshall.com to get more information and to sign up.
The IBC worship ministry is excited to announce the release of a brand new CD project entitled "I Speak Jesus." This professional recording features the music of our adult choir, youth choir, and children's choirs. We have a special release concert event planned for Sunday, June 5th, at 6 p.m. in the IBC Worship Center. This will be a night of worship featuring the music from this recording, followed by an ICE CREAM EXTRAVAGANZA for everyone in attendance. CDs and/or download cards of the "I Speak Jesus" project will be available for purchase for $5 each. Come join us, and bring a friend. It's our prayer that this project will be a powerful tool for spreading the hope of the Gospel. Help us make the most of it.
PASTOR'S PRAYER REQUEST: We have many things we need to be praying for this week. Please keep all those affected by the Uvalde school shooting in your prayers. This deadly school shooting has brought so much loss and heartbreak. Please pray that the Gospel will be presented to all of those hurting because He is the only one who can bring peace? This week is proof that we live in a fallen world. I want you to know where I stand as your pastor regarding the article published this week highlighting hundreds of cases of sexual misconduct within Southern Baptist churches spanning back decades. This article shows us that sin is present everywhere, and no one is immune to falling into temptation. We mourn with the victims and pray that the truth will be brought to light and that every guilty party will have justice served to them. The numerous accounts of sexual misconduct and cover-ups by churches send me past the point of anger and disappointment as a pastor, husband, father, and Christian. It is heartbreaking to hear how so many people have used their place of power within a church to abuse others. The Southern Baptist Convention and its leadership have caught the blame in the news articles that have come out this week, but we need to remember that every church within the SBC Is autonomous and responsible to background check their pastors and volunteers. Each church is also responsible for reporting all abuse to the local authorities. As your pastor, I want you to know that IBC takes the safety of all of our people very seriously. We have numerous protocols in place as we strive to keep everyone who comes into our church safe. We are currently reviewing new protocols to ensure that we take every precaution possible to provide a safe place for everyone who enters. Would you join me in praying for the victims of sexual abuse and misconduct? Would you also pray that sinful people and their actions will not be used by the enemy to bring distrust to the faith of the local church?
SERMON PREVIEW: This week we will discuss a topic that Christians don't talk about often, but Jesus certainly did. This week we will speak on the theology of hell. Have you ever heard someone ask, "How can a good loving God send anyone to hell?" Come this Sunday to hear how Scripture answers this question.
THIS SUNDAY'S ANNOUNCEMENTS:
WE ARE STILL THE CHURCH!
Pastor Shawn