In Focus Church

Focal Lines

January 2009

Preparing for the Lean Years

I do hope, for you and your family, that the Christmas and New Year's seasons have been a joyous and blessed time. So much happens in such a short period of time that when it's all over you feel drained of your adrenaline. When you sit down for a few minutes your eyes grow heavy and you begin to doze off. The cure, for me, is to watch a bowl game, which is not too difficult since there are 34 for choose from. I have to be careful not to overdose on my cure or then I'll have to go through withdrawal.

The year 2008 is now history and 2009 is a reality. If there was ever a good time for a change in the year this was it. The way 2008 was going it was just getting worse and worse. Our hope is that with 2009 things, like the economy, will get better.

As I read the Torah portion for the last week of December I thought, "how timely this passage is." The portion was about Joseph interpreting the dreams of Pharaoh. Remember what he said, "Behold, seven years of great abundance are coming in all the land of Egypt; and after them seven years of famine will come... (Gen. 41:29-30). Joseph explained to Pharaoh that his dreams were actually warnings from God concerning a period of abundance followed by famine. The solution was to lay up stores during the seven years of plenty so that there would be sufficient food in the coming years of famine.

As we all know, life is uncertain, and it is only prudent to lay up savings and provisions. The Proverbs say, "In the house of the wise are stores of choice food and oil, but a foolish man devours all he has" (Proverbs 21:20 NIV). The events of 2008 have proven the truth of that proverb. The modern society of America has promoted a lifestyle of squandering all available wealth, overspending, relying on credit, and going into debt. Although we live in the most affluent times that mankind has ever enjoyed, the time of abundance came to an end and the famine began.

God gave Pharaoh a clue as to what was going to happen in his country, but it took a man who had a relationship with God to know just what was going to occur. Our new year of 2009 may be a lean year. The good news is, God will be providing His counsel and those who know Him will know what to do. Our hope is not in a new president or political party, but in the Lord Jesus Christ who is our Savior.

IN JANUARY

Celebrating the Lord's Supper

On Sunday, January 11, 2009 we will be serving the Lord's Supper and also featuring the Altar of Incense. The Pastor will be teaching on the incenses of myrrh and frankincense, and how they are symbols of the ministry and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Altar of Incense is a place of prayer and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Each person present will be given the opportunity to burn frankincense and myrrh on the Altar of Incense as he spends time in prayer and worship before the Lord. This will be a wonderful occasion you can use to invite a friend to join you in as you come to enjoy a unique worship experience.

Sunday Nights in January

g 4th The Bible: A Cryptic Book

g 11th Yeshiva- Exodus 1:1-6:1

g 18th Yeshiva- Exodus 6:2-9:35

g 25th Yeshiva- Exodus 10:1-13:16



Davidic Dance

In preparation for Founder's Day in February, please join us for Davidic Dance practice,

Saturday, January 10th at 10:30AM.





Volunteers for Celebrate Recovery

We will be volunteering at Celebrate Recovery, Friday, Jan. 9th.

We need folks to come and support the Celebration Large Group time, pray during the small groups time in the prayer room.

Come and experience celebrate recovery for yourself!



Prophetic Woman Gathering

Benji Mallory

Lift Jesus Higher Ministries

Carrollton, Georgia

January 15 - 17, 2009

This conference is an opportunity to get clarity about your prophetic gifting in the Holy Spirit. It is time for you to 'arise' and shine for the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. Make your calling sure by attending this great gathering with other women who are sold out to God.

For information, please see the flyer on the bulletin board.





GEORGIA MEN'S ADVANCE

Men of Character

Men of Action


January 23 - 25

IN FEBRUARY

Founder's Day 2009 - 20th Anniversary

It's not too soon to mark your calendars and to begin praying for our upcoming Founder's Day Conference. The dates are February 20-22, 2009. Our guest speaker this year is Benji Mallory of Lift Jesus Higher Ministries in Carrollton, Georgia. Benji has been a frequent speaker at the Full Gospel Businessmen's Fellowship Conventions and Women's Aglow Conferences. She has been a featured guest on Focus on the Family. Her gifting and ministry is in the area of the prophetic and exhortation. This will be her second visit to In Focus Church and she will be a great blessing to us as the Lord uses her to minister in a powerful way. Be sure to get the word out about our Founder's Day Conference and especially to those in need of ministry. The services for the conference will be held on Friday, February 20th and Saturday, February 21st at 7:00 p.m. On Sunday, February 22nd at 10:00 a.m. we will be celebrating our 20th anniversary of ministry, and have a church wide fellowship meal following the service.



20th Anniversary T-Shirts

As part of our 20th Anniversary Celebration we are offering In Focus T-Shirts. The shirts are maroon in color with imprints on both front and back. On the front is the special 20th Anniversary ribbon logo and on the back is the In Focus Worship Center logo. The price is $10.00 for sizes child (small) to adult (X-large) for a short sleeve shirt and $12.00 for a long sleeve shirt. To get your T-Shirt, you must place the order at the Worship Center and pay for each shirt at the time of ordering. To be assured of getting our T-Shirts before Founder's Day, the deadline for placing an order is Sunday, January 25, 2009.

IN MARCH

Israel, Now is the Time Holy Land Tour and Mission Trip March 3-17, 2009

Be in prayer concerning the upcoming Mission Trip in March. In light of the present situation in Israel our trip could be impacted. At this time everything is still going as scheduled and those on the team have paid for their tour in anticipation of being able to make the trip of a life time. It could very well be that when March comes our volunteer services will be much needed on our arrival in Ashkelon. We will be there to extend a helping hand, expressions of love and full support to Jewish people who are being shot at with rockets on a daily basis.

John Daly, our contact in Ashkelon, has made a request for assistance to meet a special need. The children in the schools we ministered in last March are experiencing a very difficult time right now. With the daily threat of rockets they can not go outside to play, but must remain inside. John said the children need games they can play while indoors, and is asking for financial donations that can be used to purchase games for the children.

The "Bracha Box," which contains food for a family for a week, is also much needed at this time. The cost of a "Bracha Box" is $15.00. I realize that our own economy has taken a hit recently and money is tight for us. However, as the Lord leads you, please consider giving a donation that will meet the need of a Jewish child and family who are experiencing both physical and emotional trauma. It is just one of the ways we can share the love of the Messiah with the Jewish people. For more information contact the In Focus Office at 706-234-8963.

Looking Ahead

January
3 Men's Breakfast, 8:30 a.m. Chick Fil A
9 Celebrate Recovery
10 Davidic Dance Practice 10:30 a.m.
11 Lord's Supper and Altar of Incense
15-17 Prophetic Woman Gathering, Benji Mallory, Carrollton, GA
18 Open Church
23-25 Men's Advance

February
7 Men's Breakfast
13 Celebrate Recovery
20 -22 Founder's Day Conference



Reading the Bible in 2009

"The Bible, the greatest document available for the human race, needs to be opened, read and believed" according to world renowned evangelist Billy Graham. Here, at the beginning of the new year of 2009, is good time to make the decision of reading the whole Bible in a year. Reading through the entire Bible in one year may loom as too large a task when first thought about. But it is kind of like the question the "wise man" was asked. "How do you eat an elephant?" "One bite at a time," was his reply.

So how do you read the Bible? One chapter at a time. There are 1,189 chapters in the Bible. When you divide 365 days into 1,189 chapters it comes to 3.25 chapters a day. Thus, if you were to read 3.25 chapters a day you would read the Bible through in one year's time. Since we are very time conscience, it would mean taking about 15 minutes out of our day to read our Bible. Now, that sounds like something you can do.

To assist you in your reading, a Bible reading chart is available at the In Focus Worship Center. The Bible reading chart lists all of the books of the Bible with their chapters. As you read through the Bible, you can use the chart to check off the chapters as you read them each day. The chart is free.



Floyd County Baptist Association

January is our month to collect food for the Baptist Center.

Please bring any of the following items to the church. Thank you for helping this great ministry!



Food Pantry

shopping list
Ramen Noodles Peanut Butter, 18 oz. Applesauce, 25 oz.
Grape Jelly, 32 oz. plastic Tuna, 6 oz. Evaporated Milk, 12 oz.
Pop Tarts (Cherry or Chocolate) Spaghetti-O's Spaghetti (dry pasta)
Spaghetti Sauce Macaroni and Cheese (boxed) Vienna Sausage



The Joy of Soaking - Tuesday evenings at 7:00 PM

Sometimes it is good to look up the meaning of a word and be reminded of its full understanding. So I went to Mr. Webster's dictionary and looked up the word "soak." Here is what I found. To soak is "to lie immersed in a liquid and become saturated by, to penetrate or affect the mind or feelings, to place in a surrounding element to permeate thoroughly." "To Soak implies usually prolonged immersion as for softening or cleansing." Some words that have a similar meaning and Webster connects with "soak" are penetrate, permeate, saturate and steep.

From this word study I came to realize that "to soak" takes longer than just one minute or so, but involves an extended period of time. The purpose being to allow for a saturation process to take place so that the item being soaked is affected by or takes on a likeness of that which it is immersed in. Picture with me a dry sponge being thrust into a bucket of water. While the sponge is immersed in the water, it begins to soak up the water. The longer the sponge remains in the water, the more saturated it becomes with the water. When the sponge is then pulled up out of the water, it is no longer a dry sponge, but a soaking wet sponge.

Now let's make the application of the term "to soak" to the believer being in the presence of God. We have used terms like "tarrying," "waiting," and "doing carpet time" as ways of describing our being in the presence of God. Terms like "anointing," "slain in the Spirit," and "under the Power" are also used to explain what its like to experience the glory of God coming upon us. In a similar way, "to soak" pictures yet another manner in which a believer can spend time in the presence of God and be ministered in a powerful way. Soaking is worth the time and effort. Not only do we increase our awareness of the Lord's presence, but all the benefits of His presence are released into our lives.

Soaking is something that can be done privately in our own home whenever we choose. There is something powerful however about doing it in a group. For the past few weeks on Tuesday evenings we have discovered that when believers gather together, there is a corporate anointing and entering the presence of God is more focused. Join me and others on Tuesdays at 7:00 p.m. for an evening of soaking in the presence of God. As worshipful music is played you will begin to sense the Holy Spirit moving in your life, hear Him speaking, and experience His healing presence.