The eleven

Patrice
Olivia
Katrina
Steve B.
Steve G.
Cesar
Veronica
Jeremiah
Jill
Kalena
Joel

A list of names to many folks. Some of you probably can't even put a face to the name. We can!

Tonight, in an incredible ceremony at the YMCA pool just around the corner from our church, these eleven souls, saved by grace, followed Christ in baptism!

Oh, the stories. Saved out of pride. Saved from despair and hopelessness. Saved from wallowing in their sin. Saved to a new hope. Saved to relationship with the God that loves them.

Saved to eternal life in Jesus Christ.

Oh, the wonder of it all! God is so-o-o-o-o-o-o good.

The Crowd!

The obedient eleven:
Kalena

Joel

Jill

Jeremiah

Veronica

Cesar

Steve Berlin's testimony

Steve G.

Patrice

Olivia

...and Katrina!

Galkin Evangelistic Ministy

Richly blessed! Richly, richly blessed.

The Galkin Evangelistic Ministry Team (check out their site here) rolled into town last Saturday and have nourished the body of Christ here at MBC through God's word and through rich worship.

You can share in the feast by accessing Will Galkin's messages to us on our website (here). Despite the ice, broken brakes and other attempts by Satan to thwart this ministry, God has already used these folks to strengthen believers and to bring one lost couple to a saving relationship with Jesus Christ.

We look forward to our remaining days with these special friends.

It's a family ministry in the sweetest sense!

Will Galkin ministers to the Body through God's good word.

Christie and Josh using their gifts and talents.

Caroline (above) and Reba (below) beautifully used of God.

Blessings

Attention Everybody! Tonight we start a series of special meetings with the Galkin Evangelistic Team. These meetings will go every night through the first half of this week. The conclusion will be on Wednesday night. Pre-service meetings start at 6:30 and the service is at 7:00. So come out with your family and friends with your heart ready for conviction and blessings.

New posts

Tonight, I added three new posts on the site. To catch up, simply click the following links:

• Christmas Cookie Exchange
• The MBC Christmas Eve Service
• A near death experience

Enjoy catching up on God's goodness to all of us at Messiah Baptist Church!

COOKIES!

On December 15th the ladies of the church held their annual cookie exchange here at the home of the Pond family. We always have fun and end up with lots of yummy goodies to enjoy throughout the holidays.

This year we were blessed to have our Pastor Counterman's mother in town for the event, and she graciously consented to share her heart with us that night. Her challenge to us was to slow down and remember the real reason we celebrate Christmas. It is always so easy to get caught up in everything that the world has added to Christmas, but it's vital that we don't lose sight of God's gift to us and what the birth of Jesus really means.

Our pastor's wife, Liesl, and her mother-in-law, Jo Ellen.

Jo Ellen challenging hearts.

After the devotion and snacks, some of the ladies participated in a little craft project that we had planned for the evening. We made a photo calendar for the new year. It was a fun project and I think everyone enjoyed it...at least I hope they did.

The finished product

All in all, it was a very enjoyable evening. It was warm inside in spite of the freezing (literally) cold outside. The food was wonderful, the devotion challenging, and the fellowship was oh so sweet!

Christmas 2008

We had a rich Christmas Eve service at Messiah Baptist Church. Families and members of the congregation volunteered to sing, read, play, and two very young brothers gave us a memorized flannel graph presentation of the Christmas Story.

And what Christmas Eve service could be complete without a candlelight singing of Silent Night?

Glory to God in the highest!

Christie, Susan, and Bethany Stevens

Christie and Caleb Stevens in trio with Corbin Matamoros

"Away in a Manger" to melt your heart with Papa, Elijah, Cana and Eden Counterman

Brady and Mason Shine tell the Christmas Story

Holy Cow!

Hmmm...November 11th was the last post. Let's catch up on things. We'll kind of work this back to front. Unlike one heifer who worked things front to back.

In rural Texas, you don't want bored bovine. What are they going to do? Nibble some more grass? Find some different flavored water? One night, one such critter grew tired of his boundaries and found an escape. It saw some pals in the pasture across the way and began a-mosey'n. Across the highway. In the dark of night. Cloaked in black outerwear.

At that time, our intrepid warriors, Pastor and his bride with the children secured in their car seats, came out of the darkness. They had been to the site of their new home build and with hearts light and filled with joy, headed toward home. The beast came into the headlights far too late for any Hollywood avoidance maneuver. Car, meet cow. Cow, meet car.

This is the front end the day after the introduction.

And this is how the cow looked.


Quite honestly, neither one looks very good. Neither was driveable.

Praising God that none of the Counterman's were hurt. Apparently the heifer took to flight after meeting up with the bumper and glancing off the windshield. No doubt God's good hand kept the beast from coming through the windshield. It could have been catastrophic. But it wasn't.

The Counterman's now drive a Suburban and keep constant vigil for the lost...farm critters.

(Pastor looks kind of like Hemingway kneeling over a bull elephant on the Serengeti, doesn't he?)