May 17

Women's Luncheon

May 18

8:30  and 11:00 FSBCA Worship

10:00 EFBC Worship

May 18

2-on-2 Volleyball

May 24

1^st - 3^rd Swim Party

May 24

Men's BBQ

May 27

D-Backs vs. Giants

May 29

Organ Stop Pizza

June 7

4^th - 6^th Swim Party

June 16-20

Vacation Bible School

VBS Training: Outrigger Island

This training is for Island Guides of all age groups. The training is May 31 at 8:00 am at FSBCA and is for new and returning teachers. You won't want to miss it because prizes will be given away!

This newsletter is designed to keep friends up to date on the ministries of our congregations.  For more info, go to First Southern Baptist Church or Estrella Falls Baptist Church.

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Thoughts On Memorial Day

Memorial Day was originally called Decoration Day, a day to decorate the graves of Civil War soldiers.  After WWI, it was expanded to remember those who died in any of our country’s wars. Like many of our holidays, it has changed from a specific day (May 30th), to a specific day of the week—Monday, May 26th this week. As a church, we will take a moment on Sunday as well to remember and honor those who have died fighting for our country.

From the revolutionary war (25,000 dead) to now, over 1,300,000 Americans died while fighting for us. Our bloodiest war was our Civil War, in which 625,000 people died—nearly 2% of the population. Our next most costly war was World War II, in which 405,000 Americans died for the peace and safety of the world.

Why do we remember and talk about these things?

• To remind us that war is very costly and very horrible, even when it is necessary.

• To remind us that our freedom has a high cost

• To remind us to honor those who gave their lives.

• To remind us to pray for those in current wars.

On Sunday, in addition to our

How To Pray

Scientists have never heard of a human society that did not believe in and practice some form or ritual of prayer.  No matter what people believe about God, it appears to be a nearly universal human instinct to attempt to communicate with Him.  

The desire to pray may be universal, but the technique of prayer has shown tremendous variety over the years:

•  Many cultural traditions emphasize bodily movement.  Native Americans dance.  Some Hindus whirl.  Many Jews sway back and forth. 

• Many traditions emphasize body position.  Muslims face Mecca.  Christians often kneel.  Jews usually stand.   Some groups lie prostrate on the floor. 

• Outward signs often accompany prayer.  Catholics make the sign of the cross, Protestants fold their hands, and some groups anoint with oil or light a candle.  Hindus chant or repeat a mantra. 

• In some cultures, people go to extreme measures to get the attention of their Gods--yelling, banging drums, beating their breasts, or cutting their arms.

• In some cultures, prayer is to be done in specific places--on a mountain, under a tree, at a cemetery, at an altar, or in a sanctuary dedicated to worship.

• In some traditions, prayers are memorized and used for specific purposes.  In other cultures, prayers are completely spontaneous expressions. 

• In some cultures, prayer is to be done by anyone and everyone.  In others, prayer is something best left to priests, shamans, and religious leaders.

• In some cultures, prayers are shouted.  Others are whispered or kept silent.

So in this mass of conflicting thoughts and attitudes, and in light of a tendency to ignore or discount prayer in America, what can be said for certain about prayer?  Jesus gave some very simple and clear instructions on how to pray.  We invite you to join us on Sunday as we learn how to pray in our continuing series, Tool Time. 

See you Sunday!

Pastor Jack Marslender

We are excited about what God continues to do in our women's ministry!  We have over 212 ladies now signed up and registered for our fifth annual women’s luncheon this Saturday.  Our theme is “Legacy of Love.”   We will highlight some of the personal “legacies of love” we’ve experienced and then focus our greatest attention on the perfect “Legacy of Love” given by God through His Son, Jesus Christ. 

Please be in prayer for this wonderful gathering of women and girls.  We want to laugh and enjoy great food and fellowship.  But most of all we are praying that lives will be changed for eternity.  We’ve had the privilege of watching some women in our church grow in Christ by leaps and bounds this past year.  That is part of what we will be celebrating this weekend.  Pray that God alone receives the glory and that lives are renewed and challenged to walk more closely with their Lord, and perhaps come to know Him for the first time.  That would be cause for a celebration!

Our Building & Grounds Team invites you to a work day at FSBCA from 8:00 am to 11:00 am to do a variety of jobs from landscaping to painting this Saturday.  You are also invited to JB's (Litchfield & Van Buren) for breakfast at 7:00 am!

We invite you to join us for another Diamondbacks Game on Tuesday night, May 27, against the San Francisco Giants. Tickets are only $7.50 each and can be reserved by email or on your Connection Card.