Join us for a night of prophetic intercession led by Lady Kena Pitts of Regeneration Church and guest ministers: Pastor Rita Smith, Pastor Angelic Simmons, and Evangelist Melissa Smith. Prepare to be delivered, transformed, to birth the supernatural, and thrust into your NEXT! Saturday, September 17 at 6pm, Embassy Suites by Hilton Birmingham Hoover. Click here to register for free. Event hosted by Lady Kena Pitts, Regeneration Church, www.WeAreRegeneration.org.
Pastor JG & Lady Kena Pitts cordially invite you to celebrate the opening of Regeneration Church on Sunday, September 18, 2022 at 9:30am at AmStar Cinemas Alabaster. Learn more and sign up for email updates at www.WeAreRegeneration.org.
Senior Scene
En Gedi on the Dead Sea was amazing on our trip to Israel in 2019. But more lasting than the sights was my conversation on the long flight with Pam and David, a young married couple. Pam worked at a crisis pregnancy center, and she described a ministry opportunity back home for men, even old guys like me.
Pam explained that the most important factor when an expectant mother is weighing an abortion is the opinion and support of her male partner. Nothing else comes close. Pam spoke of the urgent need for men trained to work with the partners of women in crisis. I had always believed that abortion was a tragedy, but now, I realized I could do something to avert this heartbreak. When I got home, I contacted the Pregnancy Test Center in Vestavia (also known as Sav-a-Life) to enlist as a client advocate.
Client advocates help young people cope with pregnancy, parenting, and sexuality. The training for this role emphasizes understanding the client in a spirit of non-judgmental love. The training also explains how to present Christ so that the client can become a Jesus follower as the Spirit leads. I wondered how a sixty-something could relate to a twenty-something. I need not have worried. In my experience, the young men are desperate for words of knowledge and hope. Many do not have a father active in their lives, so they are open to my experiences and spiritual testimony. The needs are all over: from happy to be expecting and in need of advice, all the way to needing reasons why keeping the baby is the best course. Most of the young men need confidence. They are starved for someone older who made it to tell them: you can make it too.
The openness to the Gospel is thrilling. I was on full-time staff with an evangelistic ministry but never had the response rate I have with these clients. Most will ask Christ into their lives when the offer of eternal life is presented in a loving, factual, and non-threatening manner. The leader of my small group at church once told a parable of a couple who retired and moved to a comfortable retirement village. They spent their days collecting seashells on the beach. When they died and stood before the Lord, he asked how they invested their retirement years. They presented their seashell collection. As seniors, how do we want to end our days? What will we present to the Lord? A worthy goal is to be working with young lives for the kingdom of God.
-Bill Norton
Join us at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church from 9 am – 12 pm each day for a Food Truck Party VBS at VHBC! We’re Giving Thanks for God’s Daily Bread. Rising 1st graders through Rising 6th grades welcome! Families are invited to stay after VBS each day for a lunch in the Fellowship Hall!
On April 30, 2022, in conjunction with St. Elias Lebanese Food Festival, the ‘9th Annual Cedar Run 5K & Cedar Shake Fun Run’ will take place. All proceeds from the run for three years will go to Just Keep Smiling. Consider signing up to participate, whether it is running or walking in the 5K or Fun Run, creating a team or securing a sponsorship with a wide range available. Invite your company to support the JKS mission. Details can be found at www.StEliasCedarRun.org.
Regardless whether running is for you, make plans to enjoy and support the St. Elias Lebanese Food and Cultural Festival on April 29-30. There are other opportunities for supporting Just Keep Smiling as well. Just Keep Smiling ‘Auction & Appetizers’ on Thursday, September 29 at Regions Field is a great night for a great cause. Visit www.justkeepsmiling.org for more on the 501(c)3 and these events.
Easter is April 17! Here is a list of Easter Week Services and Activities happening in and around Birmingham. Click on the links for more details.
April 10:
Palm Sunday Service at Vestavia Hills United Methodist
Easter Egg Hunt at Vestavia Hills United Methodist
April 11-13
Holy Week Lunches at Vestavia Hills United Methodist
April 14
Maundy Thursday Communion at Clearbranch UMC
Maundy Thursday at CrossPoint Church
Maundy Thursday at Vestavia Hills United Methodist
Maundy Thursday at Double Oak Community Church Mt. Laurel
April 15
Good Friday at Shades Mountain Community Church
Good Friday Worship at Clearbranch UMC
Good Friday at Vestavia Hills United Methodist
Good Friday at Double Oak Community Church Mt. Laurel
April 16
THE BIG HUNT at Clearbranch UMC
April 17
Easter Services at Clearbranch UMC
Easter at Vestavia Hills United Methodist
Easter Sunday at CrossPoint Church
Easter at Shades Mountain Baptist Church
Easter Sunday at Indian Springs First Baptist Church
Easter at Shades Mountain Community Church
Easter at Double Oak Community Church Mt. Laurel
Samford University’s Orlean Beeson School of Education will host New York Times best-selling author Charles Martin for the 11th annual Tom and Marla Corts Distinguished Author Series. Martin will share his exploration of biblical truths in his book What If It’s True?: A Storyteller’s Journey With Jesus. In his book, Martin addresses fundamental questions of faith to challenge readers to not just think differently, but live differently. Martin will be joined by friend and fellow New York Times best-selling author Patti Callahan Henry. Henry was the 10th anniversary Corts Distinguished Author and will return to introduce Martin and share insights from her new book Once Upon a Wardrobe released in October 2021.
VIP Tickets include special seating, a 5:30 reception in the foyer of Brock Recital Hall, and a VIP Book Signing with both authors, which includes a copy of Charles Martin’s book, What If It’s True?: A Storytellers Journey with Jesus and Patti Callahan’s book, Once Upon a Wardrobe. Read more about Charles Martin here.
Special Feature
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Phil. 4:6-7, ESV).
The best time to start anything was yesterday and the next best time is right now, so the saying goes. The daily commute, baseball practice, and homework can all become so overwhelming that for most of us, we are just trying to make it to the weekend! But we are called as parents to a holy vocation, indeed a vocation that many would-be parents envy as they struggle with infertility. This holy vocation is to raise our children in the covenant of God’s grace. I don’t expect this will come across very well but everything else is a distraction when it comes to our relationship with the Lord. But even tithing a couple hours of our day to the Lord sounds taxing when you have work, commitments, and then your children’s school and their extracurricular activities – what is a Christian to do?
Re-read the verse I started this article with. The modern hustle and bustle creates anxiety – but the solution is to seek the Lord who calms the seas through prayer and giving thanks. The promise God gives us is His peace – a deep and abiding, peace from the anxieties and distractions of this world. As parents, we are called to lead our children. This means starting at home by setting a time for family prayer and devotion. If you have never done this before, I know it can be awkward at first. But again, do not be anxious but be faithful. As a trivocational pastor with three little ones I can sympathize that the days can get away from you – so be encouraged by starting slow and growing from there.
We can pray or have devotion anywhere- even in the carpool line! While driving our kids to school I pray over them for the new day and during the evening they pray for tomorrow and give thanks for the day that has passed. If everyone gathers over a meal then end the meal with a short portion of the Gospel and reflect upon it. You will be amazed by what your kids take away from our Lord’s parables and teachings. Older children are fed a lot at school – so fill them with spiritual knowledge to benefit their soul. Use a catechism as a tool and work through a question a night and dig into the Scripture references to get your pre-teen or teen deeper in the Word and in their faith. Your grandchildren will thank you one day when they too are being raised in the faith.
-Rev. Andrew Brashier
Senior Pastor of the Anglican Church of the Good Shepherd
Author of A Faith for Generations: A Family Prayer Guide in the Anglican Tradition
The Christmas season in America is filled with holiday traditions and symbols, both secular and spiritual. Universal among them is the famed Star of Christmas – a symbol of the birth of Christ since the Wise Men first saw it in the ancient sky. In popular culture, several entertaining characters have sought to become the face of the Christmas season, but have failed to capture it. Only One can truly be the REAL Star of Christmas. Join Kingwood Church on Sundays as we discover the One who outshines them all!
Candlelight Service: December 19 at 10:30am online or in-person
Breakfast in Bethlehem (1st-5th grade): December 19 at 10:30am in-person
Pleasant Hill Farms presents A Nativity Christmas, an open house to benefit Perfect Pathways Adult Day Center. Come enjoy refreshments, live music, children’s activities, and see over 100 Nativities from all around the world. December 18: 6-9pm; December 19: 7-9pm. Tickets can be purchased at eventbrite.com or at the door. To enable social distancing, tickets are limited. Groups are welcome.
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