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Greetings
from the Pastor.jpg) :
Providence, we are blessed
during this month of August to pause and
give praise to God for allowing us to
celebrate the establishment of a church
called First Providence.
Lest we forget, it is God’s
unmerited favor and mercy that has brought
us thus-far to celebrate one hundred and
forty nine years of service to this
community and the Central Savannah River
Area (CSRA).
Therefore, it is with great
pleasure I extend to you my heart felt love
and gratitude as I say
“Happy
Anniversary.”
Yes,
it is true. God has brought us through good
and bad times. I am so thankful, by God’s
grace, the good times outnumbered the bad
times.
As I penned this note from
the Pastor’s Desk, I am challenged by the
Spirit of God to encourage each of you to
continue allowing others to see Christ in
you as this church family has over the past
one hundred and forty nine years. We never
know whose life we may touch as we walk
daily on this Christian journey.
Having shared this, I am
reminded of a story of some businessmen who
attended a conference in the city of
Chicago. In their rush to get home, at the
conclusion of the conference, as they rushed
through the Airport, with their tickets and
briefcases, one of the salesmen
inadvertently kicked over a table, which
held a display of baskets of apples. Apples
flew everywhere. Without stopping or looking
back, they all managed to reach the plane in
time for their nearly missed boarding. All
but one; He paused, took a deep breath, got
in touch with his spirit of love and
compassion for the girl whose apple stand
had been overturned.
He told his buddies to go on
without him. Upon waving good-bye, he yelled
to one of them to call his wife when they
arrived at their home destination and
explain why he decided to take a later
flight. Then he returned to the terminal
where the apples were all over the terminal
floor. He was glad he did because the girl
was totally blind. She was crying, tears
running down her cheeks, as she helplessly
attempted to pick up her spilled apples.
Believe it or not, the terminal crowd
twisted and swirled about her, but no one
stopped to show her love and compassion.
The business man, observing
this, knelt on the floor with the girl,
gathered up the apples, put them into the
baskets, and helped her set the display of
apples up once more. As he did this, he
noticed that many of them had become
battered and bruised; these he set aside in
another basket.
When he had finished, he
pulled out his wallet and said to the girl,
"Here, please take this $20 for the damage
we did and asked if she was okay?" The girl
nodded through her tears. The businessman
then said, “I hope we didn’t ruin your day.”
As the salesman turned and started to walk
away, the blind girl called out to him,
"Mister...." the businessman turned to look
back into her blind eyes, as she continued
to ask, "Are you Jesus?"
The businessman stopped in
mid-stride, and he wondered. Then slowly he
made his way to catch the later flight with
that question burning and bouncing about in
his spirit: “Are you Jesus?”
As we approach the
celebration of one hundred and forty nine
years of First Providence existence, let us
continue to live with love and compassion in
our heart, so that others may ask us, “Are
you Jesus”.
Again, I say
“Happy Anniversary”
and keep on living a life that reflects the
love and compassion of Jesus Christ.
Be blessed! I’ll pray for
you, you pray for me and let’s watch God
change things.
Because of Calvary!
Dr. Alexander
Pope, Jr.
To God Be The Glory!
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First Providence Baptist Church
149th Anniversary
Sunday, August 23,
2009
10:45 am
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Pastor's 25th
Anniversary Celebration
"Supper with the Pastor & First
Lady"
Alexander Pope Retreat & Family
Center
Friday, September 19, 2009
6:00 pm
"An Evening with the Pastor &
First Lady"
Marriott Augusta Hotel & Suites,
Oglethorpe Room
Saturday, September 20, 2009
6:00 pm
(see the newsletter for more
information)
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