Church Staff Rev. Scott Stancil Pastor

Ricky Stark Minister of Students & Education

Brian Dailey, Minister of Music & Senior Adults

Carol Petty CDC Director

Hayley Smith Ministry Intern

Encourager THE LYMAN FIRST

WEEK OF OCTOBER 21, 2009

Church Family and Friends-

I’ve been told that October is Pastor Appreciation Month. If that’s

true, it’s pretty cool to have an entire month to myself! It’s almost like 31 birthdays! Whitney and I have been so blessed by the many cards and gifts. You

guys are so kind and encouraging. Thank you.

In that spirit, I wanted to make this a “Pastor Who Appreciates” letter. I want to

tell each of you how much I love and appreciate you. Our family is so thankful to

be a part of this wonderful church. People often ask me, “What would you do

differently right now if you were given a choice?” My answer each time is,

“Nothing. I wouldn’t change a thing. I love what I do and I love the people that I

serve along side.” It’s true. You guys are a blessing!

I also want to acknowledge Ricky Stark, our Minister of Students and Education,

and Brian Dailey, our Minister of Music and Senior Adults. They don’t get the same

attention this month that I do, but what amazing guys they are. We are so blessed

to have these young men as part of our ministry team. They’re talented, gifted,

and most importantly, so godly. Join me today in giving thanks for Brian and

Ricky.

There are so many exciting things happening at First Lyman. If you haven’t been in

a while I hope you’ll come this Sunday morning and be a part of our series on

Creation. If you’re visiting and considering membership, I hope you’ll step out in faith this week and become a part of the family of faith.

I love you and it’s my joy to be your pastor,

God bless, Pastor ScottPastor ScottPastor ScottPastor Scott

Sunday • 9:45 am Sunday School

• 11:00 am Morning Worship

• 5:30 pm Preschool & Children’s

Activities

• 5:30 pm Evening Fellowship

• 6:00 pm Evening Worship

Wednesday • 5:20 - 5:45 pm Fellowship Meal

• 5:45 - 6:30 pm Children’s Choirs

• 6:30 - 7:00 pm Children’s Missions

• 5:50 - 6:00 pm Praise and Prayer

• 6:00 - 7:00 pm Covenant Groups

• 7:10 pm Adult Choir

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November Birthdays 2 - Erica Clyburn

4 - Bonnie Clayton

5 - Lindsey McMakin

8 - Mary Jo Sutton

10 - Kara Gillespie

11 - Margie Walker

12 - Sophie Harris 13 - Drew Ryals

16 - Mary Lynch

17 - Nell Britt

17 - Bill Corn

17 - Alvin Freeman

18 - Will Freeman

21 - John Eubanks

22 - Josie Eubanks

22 - Glenda Farmer

22 - Brian McMakin

23 - Steve Mabrey

23 - Jake Bentley

26 - Kevin Crowe

28 - Mary Owens

30 - Avonda Mitchem

30 - Curt Hadden

Please wish these individuals a

Happy Birthday!

ENCOURAGER UPDATE

From The Pastor

10/25 - Kelvin Mitchem

141 Brookhaven Drive

Moore, SC 29369

11/1 - Tommy Eubanks

206 Edgewood Street

Lyman, SC 29365

Deacon of

The Week

WEEKLY AT

Lyman First

Budget Needs To Date: $418,034.06 Budget Receipts To Date: $385,676.54

Budget Receipts October 11: $9,426.00 Total Receipts October 11: $11,440.55

Budget Needs To Date: $428,592.02

Budget Receipts To Date: $393,918.64 Budget Receipts October 18: $8,242.10

Total Recipts October 18: $8,589.10

Offering

Extended Care 10/25/09

Babies: Claudette Owens / Pat Baldwin

Toddlers: Lindsey McMakin / Larry Arms

2-4 Yr. Olds: Jarred Smith / Judy Smith

Extended Care 11/1/09

Babies: Glenda Thackston / Debbie Young

Toddlers: Shanda Owens / Susan Freeman

2-4 Yr. Olds: Curt Hadden / Shanna Hadden

Childcare

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MEMORIALS

Given In Memory Of Loran Westbrook:

Daphenel Campbell

Homebound

Of The Week

10/25 - James Laws

Greenville Living Center

Room 107

809 Laurens Road

Greenville, SC 29607-1914

11/1 - Lucy West

1308 Holly Springs Road

Lyman, SC 29365

Dear Church Family-

Our sincerest thanks and appreciation for the many prayers, phone calls, food and

cards during my mother’s recent illness. It

was a true blessing to know so many of you

were offering up such wonderful prayers for

Mama’s recovery. They were heard!

With much caring-

Brenda Burrell & Beulah Weaver

Attendance October 11, 2009

Sunday School: 193

Worship: 242

October 18, 2009

Sunday School: 179

Worship: 224

ChurChurChurChurcccchhhh NewsNewsNewsNews

From the Minister OF From the Minister OF From the Minister OF From the Minister OF

STUDENTS & EDUCATIONSTUDENTS & EDUCATIONSTUDENTS & EDUCATIONSTUDENTS & EDUCATION

Don’t forget to pray for our adopted

missionary

Alissa Stewart, who is serving in Uganda!

Student MinistryStudent MinistryStudent MinistryStudent Ministry

From The Minister Of Music From The Minister Of Music From The Minister Of Music From The Minister Of Music

& Senior Adults& Senior Adults& Senior Adults& Senior Adults

I get to hear so many wonderful comments each week about our

worship services- things like, “The choir sounds great.” “The Pastor’s message

really spoke to my heart.” “The music and the message went together so well

today.” “Wow, the congregation is really singing out.” All of these things are

true, and they’re wonderful to hear! It’s an amazing thing to stand up together and lift our voices in praise to God. What a beautiful sound! There’s nothing

like hearing God’s people worshiping as one. Let us never forget that it is the presence and the

Spirit of God that is making our time together so special. God is truly blessing our worship here

at First Lyman.

I want to remind us all that praise and worship doesn’t occur just on Sunday mornings. God

wants to bless us with his presence and his Spirit every day of the week. Spend time alone with

the Lord in prayer and in his Word. Read his Word aloud. Open up a hymnal and read the text of

a hymn as part of your praise to God, or better yet, sing it to Him! Worship Him throughout the week, and then, when we gather together on Sunday, our time together will be that much

sweeter, an overflow of your personal worship.

I can’t wait to see you and worship with you Sunday, expecting the Lord to do great things!

Brian

Culture. What are we supposed to do with it? In many of our minds, “culture” is a dirty

word—a symbol of depravity—but is it necessarily so? A formal definition of “culture”

would be “that quality in a person or society that arises from a concern for what is excellent

in the arts, letters, manners, scholarly pursuits, etc.” Another way of saying this would be

“the outflow of humanity” - where there are human beings, there is culture. Culture is not a

bad thing in and of itself. God’s first command to Adam and Eve had to do with

culture: “Rule and subdue the earth.” Unfortunately, instead of being involved in culture,

many Christians today have withdrawn from culture. And the evidence is all around us: we have our own pop

music, our “(fill in the blank) alternatives,” and in more recent days, our own movies—really, really ridiculously

bad cheeseball movies. And the message to the world is, “We don’t like you. We want nothing to do with

you. If you want to hang out, come to us. But we’re sure not coming to you.” This is the total opposite of the

message of the New Testament in which Jesus tells us to GO and where we’re commissioned not to withdraw

from culture but rather to transform culture. And this mentality was evident in the church for centuries, as can

be seen in the holidays we celebrate. Many of our major holidays in the Christian tradition correspond to

pagan holidays from the culture surrounding the Christians of their day. While pagans were celebrating the

winter solstice and worshiping solar deities and the rebirth of the sun, Christians decided they would

commemorate the birth of the Son who is the Christ. They did not withdraw—they transformed. When

pagans were worshiping their fertility gods in the spring and using fertility symbols such as painted eggs and

bunny rabbits, Christians did not reject their culture—they transformed it by using these items as symbols of

the life-giving power of Jesus Christ and his resurrection, and that is why we celebrate Easter as we do

now. Even Halloween—ignorantly condemned by many Christian sects as Satanic—may be further evidence of

the gospel’s transforming power in a culture. The name itself derives from a Christian emphasis: the term

“Halloween” comes from “All Hallows Eve,” referring to the night before All Hallows or All Saints Day (the day

the church celebrated the memory of the Christians who had gone before them). Many scholars believe that

this celebration of saints was moved to this time from its original date in May to correspond to a pagan

holiday. Thus, Christians have long celebrated Halloween to point to the true life that saints experience in

contrast to the fear of death and of departed spirits in the culture around them—and to highlight and mock the

folly of pagan superstition (hence the reason many dress up and act silly on that day). Once again, Christians

did not withdraw—they went into their culture and transformed. So this Halloween, dress up, have a little fun,

get a sugar high—and be reminded that we have been called not to boycott but rather to engage and

transform, going to where people are and pointing them to Jesus.

Ricky

Ladies mark your calendars for

Ladies Night Out on December 1 at 6:00 PM!

You will not want to miss this special event with Frankie D. Sherman as our guest speaker, Brian Dailey with our special music, and as always, a

delicious meal!

If you would like to be a table hostess please contact Penny Eubanks or Judy Smith. Tickets will be on sale soon!

Lyman First’s Overflow Ministry

Pray for our: Women’s Fall Retreat

In the Fellowship Hall November 13-14, 2009

Let God’s Love Overflow

Fri: 6:00 to 9:00 PM Sat: 8:30 AM to 12:00 Noon

Registration begins Sunday in the vestibule

Cost is $20 and includes: Friday night supper

Saturday morning breakfast All supplies

Deadline to register is Nov. 4 ARE YOU...

On the OUTSIDE?

AFRAID to let people see THE REAL YOU?

Feeling pretty WORTHLESS?

Wishing you could UNDO YOUR PAST?

Scared you've GONE TOO FAR away from God?

OVERWHELMED by fear, guilt, and shame??

TIRED of all the mess around you?

THEN YOU ARE...

Awanita

November 6-8

Join us for our 2nd Annual Trunk-or-Treat

Wednesday, October 28 at 6:00 PM Free hot dogs, fun, fellowship, and a

trunk decorating contest!

We need your help in making this a real “treat” for our community: 1) Decorate a trunk and give out candy 2) Help serve hot dogs in the fellowship hall 3) Donate bags of candy 4) Donate desserts and baked goods 5) Invite friends, family, and neighbors to come Challenge for each Sunday School class: Sign up for at least 5 trunks per class

Please call the church office if you would like to host and decorate a trunk.

EXTENDED CARE needs YOU!

Workers are needed to take care of our

children during Extended Care! Interested in being a baby rocker?

a toddler watcher?

a 2’s, 3’s, and 4’s zookeeper?!

See Paulette Bentley or Hayley

Smith to get your name on the list!

OPERATION CHRISTMAS CHILD SHOEBOXES It’s time to stuff shoeboxes again!

Special “collection day” on Sunday, November 22

We will have everyone bring their filled shoeboxes to the front of the church to have a time of prayer over them. It is such a joy to

see what God can do in the lives of these children through a simple gift!

For your convenience, plastic shoeboxes will be available in each adult Sunday School class starting this Sunday. Please bring a $1 donation for each box you take to help cover the cost of the shoeboxes. The plastic boxes are as much a gift to the children as the items inside

because it gives them a place to keep their treasures safe and dry!

BASKETBALL SIGN-UPS

We are forming our fall basketball teams and want YOU to play! We will have teams in the following age

categories:

5 - 7 Coed 8 - 9 Coed 10 - 12 Boys 10 - 12 Girls 13 - 15 Boys 13 - 15 Girls

We also need coaches for all the teams, so please call Steve Mabrey

if you are interested in being a coach.

Sign-up sheets are located in the vestibule.

Greer Baptist Association’s Baptist Women Day of Prayer Monday, November 2, 2009 6:00 PM at Lyman First Baptist Church

Guest Speaker: Debbie Webster, Equestrian Chaplain and Special Olympics Coach

Special Music: Saved By Grace (Lisa Wolfe, Margaret Wood, Paula Patterson) Menu: Baked Potato W/All Trimmings, Salad, Rolls, Dessert

Cost: $3.00 per person Mission Project: Please bring canned goods to be given to the

Middle Tyger Community Center

The Overflow Women’s Ministry Team is looking for small group leaders for the Fall Women’s Retreat. Small group leaders will lead groups of 6 - 8 women in breakout sessions, using provided questions to lead discussion of retreat topics. Please consider leading a small group at the retreat! Sign up in your Sunday School class or by calling Katie Johnson at 473-2217.