Fourth Street Church of God

40 Days In The Word

msfarmer — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:12:48 +0000

On Sunday mornings, beginning on January 29^th, we will launch into a church wide campaign called 40 Days in the Word. I am asking our small groups and Sunday School class to join with us as we dive into God’s Word with the intent to love, learn, and live the Word of God. The weekly studies will go along the Sunday messages and there is a personal work book that goes along with the campaign so everyone can be involved.

As we move ahead in this New Year, please join with me in praying this prayer from Habakkuk; “LORD, I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds, O LORD. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known …” Habakkuk 3:2 (NIV) I believe that God has great things for us in 2012!

Going and Coming

msfarmer — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:05:44 +0000

This coming weekend, February 5, we will be saying goodbye to Jim O’Dell as our music pastor. Jim has been with us for five years and now that he has felt that God has called him elsewhere, we will miss him. I would like to ask all of you to join with me after our 10:00 service for a come and go time in the Fireside Room to say farewell and to celebrate with Jim and Rhonda what God had done and is doing in their lives.

During his time with us, Jim has blessed us with his talent and knowledge of music. He has brought a level of excellence to our worship team that will be remembered. And he has introduced us to new music that will remain part of worship times.

Even though I will miss seeing and talking with Jim on a regular basis, I do look forward to see what God has planned for us as a church family. Jim has had a great worship team around him that will continue to lead us in our worship on Sunday mornings. And for the immediate future, Theresa will step into the role of leading this valued ministry.

Concerning our youth pastor position, I am excited to tell everyone that the Youth, the Youth Leaders and myself, have recently had the opportunity to interview two possible candidates for the position. Both interviews were done over the internet using Skype, so that we could actually see each other as we talked back and forth. And both interviews went very well.

The next step is to set up interviews with the potential candidates and the Board of Trustee’s. We hope to have those in the first part of this month. After that, the plan is to invite the one we all agree on to come to Fourth Street so that we can meet face to face. Please continue praying for this process that we would clearly hear what it is that God has planned for us do.

Peace and Blessing,

Pastor Mike

O LORD my God, you have done many miracles for us. Your plans for us are too numerous to list. If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them. Psalm 40:5 (NLT)

Join Us for “Courageous” January 29th!

msfarmer — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:07:41 +0000

POT LUCK and MOVIE

Following the 10am service in the Family Life Center on January 29th.

Honor Begins at Home

Four men, one calling: To serve and protect. As law enforcement officers they are confident and focused. Yet at the end of the day, they face a challenge that none of them are truly prepared to tackle: fatherhood.

While they consistently give their best on the job, good enough seems to be all they can muster as dads. But they quickly discovering that their standard is missing the mark. When tragedy hits home, these men are left wrestling with their hopes, their fears, their faith, and their fathering. Can a newfound urgency help these dads draw closer to God … and to their children?

Filled with action-packed police drama, riveted moviegoers will find themselves laughing, crying, and cheering for the everyday heroes who long to be the kinds of dads that make a lifelong impact on their children.

Protecting the streets is second nature to these men. Raising their children in a God-honoring way? That’s courageous!

Bring Family, Friends, Co-workers, Neighbors!

MAIN DISH (last name begins with A-H)

SIDE DISH or SALAD (last name begins with I-P)

DESSERT (last name begins with Q-Z)

For the movie bring your camping chair for more comfortable seating.

Back To Our Regular Schedule

msfarmer — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:13:02 +0000

The New Year is here and it’s time for us to get back to our regular schedule.

Sunday Service Schedule

8:30 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. – Fourth Street provides two identical services for morning worship. Join us at a time that is convenient for you. Nursery for children up to 23 months is available for both services and Children will be excused for Children’s Church during the regular 10:00 a.m. service.

Wednesday

6:00 to 6:30 p.m. – Dinner
6:30 to 8:00 p.m. – Study classes (Pre-K – 12th grade)

Happy New Year!

msfarmer — Tue, 03 Jan 2012 22:04:41 +0000

The New Year is here and with all the busyness of the Christmas season behind us, it is time to look ahead – and what a year I believe is ahead for us. It seems as if we just get busier and busier as God continues to work in our midst. And it is exciting to see what He is going to do next.

God has provided us with another opportunity to show His love in a practical way to one of the residents of our community. The City of Madera has asked us to team up with them and help a member of our community by cleaning up his yard. We will be cutting weeds, removing leaves, cleaning out rain gutters, and some low level tree pruning. The date for this event is January 7^th. We will meet at the church at 9:30 and proceed over to 521 Rotan at 10:00. Bring your gloves, rakes and let’s show God’s love to this individual and his neighbors.

Also, we have purchased the public viewing rights for the movie “Courageous” and will be showing it in the Family Life Center on January 29^th. This movie, from the creators of “fireproof,” was shown in theaters all over the world and is described by Franklin Graham as “One of the most moving films I have ever seen!” So mark your calendar now and plan to join us for an exciting and entertaining day.

Peace and Blessing,

Pastor Mike

New Year’s Day Service

msfarmer — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:12:00 +0000

We’re still in the holiday season and we want to give our worship team a break, so this Sunday, New Year’s Day, we will have just one combined service at 10:00. We will be talking about what it takes to build a lasting relationship with God and with other people. Please Join us!

Next week we will go back to our regularly scheduled service time of 8:30 and 10:00.

Happy New Year!!

Special Christmas Sunday Service

msfarmer — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 15:38:58 +0000

Please join us for a special combined Family Christmas Service on Christmas Day, Sunday December 25, at 10:00 a.m. The service should last about one hour.

Let’s celebrate Jesus together!!

Merry Christmas!!

msfarmer — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 17:34:36 +0000

The Christmas season is here and so is the business of getting ready to celebrate this festive holiday. During the Advent season we joyfully and prayerfully celebrate Jesus’ first coming, and we look forward to His second coming. While at the same time, we acknowledge that He is present with us today offering His redeeming love to anyone and everyone who acknowledges Him as their Lord and Savior.

Even though we are busy preparing for Christmas, I would like to ask you to prayerfully consider a few questions that will challenge us as a church family. 1: What do you believe God would like to see at Fourth Street a year from now? Two years? Five years? (How about in your own life?) 2: What steps do we need to take to get there? How will we accomplish God’s purposes? 3: What are personally willing to sacrifice to see it happen?

I believe strongly that God would like to see us to continue to grow. And I want to see our church family grow, because that is what I believe God wants for us. As we continue to grow, we will have to face the problems that come with that growth.

This is a good problem to have, but I would ask each and every one of you to be praying that we would do what it is that God would have us do (or maybe there are some things that we are doing that we should discontinue doing) as we continue to grow in Christ. God is great and it is exciting to be where He is moving and working.

I pray that you have a joy filled Christmas season as you prepare for the coming of our King!

Peace and Blessing

Pastor Mike

Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. …he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!” …When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.” …After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child. All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished. Luke 2:9-18 (NLT)

Thank You!!

msfarmer — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 18:28:32 +0000

November is a month when we are encouraged to be thankful. Here at Fourth Street we have a lot to be thankful for! We continually see God moving in the various ministries of our church. One example of that is what went on at the Children’s Ministry Harvest Night this past Wednesday.

That evening, there were over 70 children, and many of their parents, who were here and had a great time. There were games and cake walks. There were creatively decorated trunks (and a pick-up bed) full of treats. There was even a tractor pulled hay-ride that all were able to enjoy.

What really excited me though was the fact that we had so many people here whom we don’t normally see on a Sunday morning enjoying the time they were here. And what was even more exciting to see was the many who do regularly attend on Sundays taking the time to meet and talk with them.

Over all the evening was a huge success. And it was only possible because of the many people who stepped up and volunteered their time to see that evening happen. So I want to thank all of you who had a hand in this.

Thank you for praying for this event. Thank you to the many of you provided the treats and cakes. Thank you for opening your trunks and making the children feel special. Thank you to those who set up and decorated the Family Life Center, and those who cleaned it up. And I cannot forget Farmer Jerry and his little helper Rodney who provided the hay ride. I am grateful to all of you.

And I also want to offer very special thanks to the leaders of our Children’s Ministry who give so much of their time and energy to this ministry. You are doing a great work and the evidence is seen in the lives that are changing because of how you serve our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

Thank you,

Pastor Mike

As we pray to our God and Father about you, we think of your faithful work, your loving deeds, and the enduring hope you have because of our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (NLT)

EXCITING HAPPENINGS

msfarmer — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 15:17:32 +0000

What a great time we had a few weeks ago in the park. I have heard nothing but positive comments about it and I am already looking ahead to next year!

Church in the Park was a huge success. But did you know that there was a small army of people behind the scenes, serving us in a way that made that experience such a success? And that is not counting those who prayed diligently for our time there. I want to say thank you to all of you. And a very special thank you to Ron Gray, Michelle Anderson, Brian Clancy, who did a fantastic job of organizing all the volunteers who stepped up and served the rest of us. And thank you to Jim O’Dell and Rodney New for the Worship.

One of the things that really excited me about that experience was to see all the guests we had. Many of you invited your unchurched friends and family members to join you in the park, and they came. They heard about the difference God can make in their lives and I believe that God will continue to work in their hearts and draw them to Himself. So, I want to encourage those of you who invited people to continue to reach out with God’s love to them, pray for them and expect God to do great things in their lives. Keep up the Good work!

Also, I am continually encouraged to see how many of the ministries around here continue to change lives as people are encouraged to get to know Jesus more and more. There are several groups that are meeting in homes on different nights throughout the week. And here on our campus, on Tuesday there is Celebrate Recovery and Wednesday is a very busy night with FSKid’s, Youth, and The Gathering for adults. All of these ministries are touching lives and making a difference, and they are led by faithful volunteers. Thank you all!

I am continually encouraged to see how God is working in and through our church family as we seek His Kingdom together.

Peace and Blessing, Pastor Mike