Dear ones,

 Please join this Pastor during the month of March and become part of “March Gladness”.

 We will turn the tables on the Evil One and use a term taken from the lexicon of the sports world.  Whereas Satan perverts, we shall glorify.  By definition, glad is “feeling, or characterized by pleasure or joy; happy; pleased”.

 With that definition in mind, during the month of March, every day, think about what makes you glad then praise God for your “gladness”.

 The Psalmist says in Psalm 70:4:  “Let all those that see thee rejoice and be glad in thee:  And let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be magnified”.  God’s deliverance of His servant will give joy (make him glad) to all who trust in the Lord, because they see in it the assurance of their own salvation.  Moreover, one can be glad because His saving help is sure and it is effective.

 This Pastor is glad he is saved and that he has a right relationship with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.  We are glad that God sent this preacher to FMBC as it’s Pastor.

 On today, I am sure you can join the Psalmist and this Pastor in our delight in the house of the Lord.  Psalm 122:1: “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord”.

 Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!  Hallelujah!

 Let the church say Amen.

 Pastor J. Amos Jones

Musings with the Pastor.  Kudos to Sis. Pat Ward and the cast and crew of the play “BONES”.  The play was well written and very entertaining and had a significant message.  The actors performed well and the “back stage” crew worked flawlessly to bring it all together.  Again, Thank you Sister Ward, cast and crew for a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon.

 Black History month has come and gone, but it is this Pastor’s desire that Black History will remain.  Even to the casual observer, there is a parallel to be found in the history of the African American and the history of the children of Israel.  Both histories reflect great suffering at the hands of their oppressor, the most vile expression of man’s inhumanity to man.  Praise be to God, we also find His great love and His great compassion.  Most of all, we find His great deliverance.  Just as God delivered the children of Israel from captivity in Egypt and Babylon with a high hand, so He did with and for people of color in this “the land of the free and home of the brave”.

 “That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, what mean you by these stones?  Then ye shall answer them, that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off; and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel forever”.  (Joshua 4:6, 7)

 When we dress in the old-fashioned garb of the time of slavery, this Pastor is reminded of the struggle and God’s continuing deliverance.   To God be the glory for all that we now enjoy.

  Pastor J. Amos Jones

During February as we consider Black History and the contributions made to our society by people of color, I am reminded of a refrain from a song of years ago:  “What the World Needs Now is Love, Sweet Love”. 

Hear what Jesus tells us in Matthew 22:37 – 40:  “Thou shalt love the Lord, thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.  And the second is like it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.  On these two commandments hang all the law and prophets”.  Doctrinally, we understand the concept of vertical and horizontal love, however, add to the mix, love in action, as presented by the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 13.  What if in 2015 all our personal interactions were motivated or directed by love?  Ministry gifts are good, but only if ministered in love.  With our economy in such dire straits, benevolence is good, but not apart from love. 

 Consider the Apostle’s description of love.  Love is patient and kind.  Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.  Love does not demand its own way.  Love is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged.  It is never glad about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.  Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.  Love is greater than faith and hope.  Love of God and love for fellow-man.  The driving force in times past and it is obvious to this Pastor that LOVE is just what the world needs now.

 Be blessed as you walk in love.

 Pastor J. Amos Jones

What a blessing Spirit-filled, Holy Ghost led, women are to the and in the Kingdom of God.  Women have always contributed to the furtherance of the Kingdom in a significant manner. 

 The New Testament is rich in examples of Godly women used mightily by the Lord in the early church.  It has been this Pastor’s good fortune to have known, and to know, Godly women who model the examples of the women of the early church.  What a blessing!

 When this Pastor came to this church in 1973, there were caring, working, warm, and loving women who loved the Lord and His church, and sought the best for their new Pastor.  (Just as there is now).  Women like Addie Lee Dogan, a nurturer personified.  Boy, did she love her Pastor and his family.   Minnie Ola Branch Johnson, who was the musician and quite a soloist; Clara Ellis, who was a culinary artist extraordinaire.  (Sister Ellis could feed a multitude with one watermelon).  Then, there was Melvina “Su Su” Ennis, also a nurturer.  (who would remind the Pastor that she “voted for him”).  Also there was (and still is) Katherine Holloway, a worker and a blessing.  Thank you “Ms. Katherine”.  Praise God for Verdell Cooper, Catherine Miller and Ivy Miller, workers indeed, whom the Lord has received unto Himself.  How faithful our heavenly Father has been.  Through-out these forty-one years, God has always provided women who love the Lord and are seeking the furtherance of His Kingdom.  (And for that I am grateful).

  Be blessed ladies as we celebrate Women’s Annual Day.