GOOD NEWS YOU CAN USE...

A Literary Arts Ministry Newsletter - Issue 2

43 Years of Dedicated Service

On Sunday, March 20, 2022, Pastor and First Lady Armstrong celebrated their 43rd Year Pastoral Appreciation Day.

By the grace of God, they have served as pastoral leaders overseeing one assembly, committing their lives to guide and help others.

They have experienced many transitions, challenges, and triumphs during this time, staying steadfast in the Word and trusting God in their walk of faith. As a result, God's favor rests upon them through unmeasurable blessings.

We as a congregation are grateful to God for His act of kindness, blessing us with a pastor who preaches and teaches the unadulterated gospel and a first lady who stands by his side with a heart of mission.

Our prayer is that God will continue to keep our Pastor and First Lady for many more years to come. Join us in congratulating them on a job well done!

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, Pastor and First Lady Armstrong. Thank you for your service.

SPOTLIGHT!!!

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SHARE YOUR GIFTS & TALENTS... (James 1:17)

Tim Brown is a native of Nashville, TN, and a graduate of John Overton High School. He is married to Rochelle Brown and a father of three children and four grandchildren.

He is a graduate of the Nashville Fire Academy and currently serves as a Fire Engineer for the Nashville Fire Department with 14 years of service. He is responsible for transporting firefighters and operating firefighting equipment at emergency scenes in his current role.

Tim acknowledges that each day brings about new challenges as first responders must meet people where they are, usually under challenging circumstances. He feels blessed to serve not only his community but also his fellow brotherhood as a peer support member and chaplain. Involvement with the peer support program and chaplaincy affords him an excellent opportunity to fulfill his life's purpose.

Tim loves the people God has placed on his pathway in life. Micah 6:8 is a scripture he embraces as a guiding light. It positions him to help peers in crisis and share the hope that has genuinely changed his life, Jesus Christ.

As a chaplain, he cannot convert, but he finds when you genuinely love people, they want to know what motivates your life. He states that he relies on his faith in Christ and leans on his church family to keep him lifted in daily prayer.

Tim is a member of the following teams: Urban Search and Rescue, Hazardous Materials Technician, Tennessee Disaster Mental Health Strike, Tennessee Federation of Fire Chaplains, Metro Police Volunteer Chaplain, Federation of Fire Chaplains, and IAFF Union Local 140 Trustee and has participated in some significant Nashville events such as the 2010 Nashville floods, and the 2020 Nashville Tornadoes and Christmas Day bombing.

Since 1990, Tim has served as an ordained deacon for Saint Matthew Missionary Baptist Church. He is the Sunday School department's superintendent and advisor for the brotherhood and youth department ministry.

Displayed below are some highlights of our spotlight champion.

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WHAT I LEARNED by Mercelle D. (age 9)

I learned about Bethany Hamilton-Dirks and what she went through in the book 100 Extraordinary Stories for Courageous Girls.

Bethany was an amazing surfer. Unfortunately, her left shoulder and arm got bitten by a shark when she was on the board! So, she had to go to the hospital. The paramedic said, "God is with you. He will not forsake you." She trusted him and believed.

I learned from reading this book that God is always with you. Always trust Him no matter what happens.

Bethany still has one arm and continues to surf! She tells people about God and surfing. I am going to remember Joshua 1:9. It says, "Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid. Do not be discouraged. For the Lord, your God will be with you wherever you go."

INSPIRATIONS FOR THE SOUL

by Davina Dean

A NEW THING

It's springtime. I look back over this first quarter of the year and see how far God has brought us. Also, I look forward to the new things that He will do.

God has been good to me during a pandemic, inflation, wars, rumors of wars, and uncertainties. My family is physically well. Both my husband and I are still working, and our children are in school and thriving. We are not suffering any lack.

Satan would have us focus on the unknown circumstances of the future and compare what we have with what others have. If we allow him, we will feel anxious about tomorrow or inferior to others. We will think that what we have is not a blessing but just ordinary. We get dissatisfied and start longing for what may not be for us. So, how do we know what new things God has in store for us? I am going to start by taking Him at His word.

Matthew 6:33 says, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well."

God's love for us is immeasurable. We have no idea what tomorrow holds, but we know that God will care for us. I encourage you to read Matthew 6:25-33; it breaks down how God cares for our daily needs. Matthew, the writer, uses beautiful word pictures to illustrate God's concerns for our needs.

Psalms 117:2 states, "For great is his love toward us, and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD."

As we move forward into the unknown future, we continue to hope in the Lord Jesus. We hope in Him because He loves us. We trust in God's will for our lives because He continues to demonstrate His love to us.

In Romans 8:38-39, the Apostle Paul wrote, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Remember this, whatever the new thing God has for us this season will be because He loves us.

Be encouraged!

______________________________

by Pastor W. B. Armstrong

HOW'S YOUR FELLOWSHIP

I was sitting in my office, meditating on what the Lord would have me accomplish; how to maintain holiness and righteousness in this evil world of sin.

I thought about the many lives lost during this pandemic and how many funeral services I have attended. Death only released them from an earthly form; their fellowship with God before death is the same fellowship after death.

My advice to all is that you can't live one thing and die another; "...Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His," Romans 8:9. Jesus said, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life," John 5:39-40.

Let us be mindful of our fellowship in the Lord.

______________________________

by Minister Theresha Armstrong

A TRUE LOVE STORY

"For God so loved the world that He gave His Only Son [the unique one] so that everyone

who believes in Him may not perish, but may have eternal life." (John 3:16)

LOVE is a four-lettered word with a powerful impact. Some only view it as a spoken word,

but it is a word of action in reality.

God demonstrated love by sending His only begotten son to die for our sins. Jesus displayed His willingness to give His life so that all who would accept Him as Lord could have eternal life.

To walk in the example of Christ, His followers must emulate His sacrificial act of love. Yes, we must be willing to die from self-will and yield to God's will.

How is that possible? Once we accept Jesus as Lord, we have the Holy Spirit living within who provides the strength and power needed to live by the Will of God. It's up to us to embrace the power within and move forward in it.

Why should we take on this love quest? For one, God loved us first, and He expresses His love for us daily at the rising of the sun and close of the day.

Through the selfless act of Jesus, we have secured the promises of the Father's love from now to eternity. So, move beyond the spoken word of LOVE and choose to act upon it.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT...

Submitted by Dorothy McClain

by Unknown Author

There are four steps to accomplishment:

Plan purposefully
Prepare prayerfully
Proceed positively
Pursue persistently

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Article by "God Says"

"During World War 2, a soldier was separated from his unit on an island. The fighting had been intense, and in the smoke and the crossfire, he had lost touch with his comrades.

Alone in the jungle, he could hear enemy soldiers coming in his direction. Scrambling for cover, he found his way up a high ridge to several small caves in the rock. Quickly he crawled inside one of the caves.

Although safe for the moment, he realized that once the enemy soldiers looking for him swept up the ridge, they would quickly search all the caves, and he would be killed. As he waited, he prayed, "Lord, please spare my life. Whatever will happen, I love you and trust you. Amen."

After praying, he lay quietly, listening to the enemy begin to draw close. He thought, "Well, I guess the Lord isn't going to help me out of this one." Then he saw a spider begin to build a web over the front of his cave. "Hah," he thought, "What I need is a brick wall and what the Lord has sent me is a spider web. God does have a sense of humor."

As the enemy drew closer, he watched from the darkness of his hideout and could see them searching one cave after another. As they came to his, he got ready to make his last stand, but then he heard the leader of the soldiers say: "you may as well ignore looking in this cave... if he had entered here this web would be broken!" So, they left, and he was delivered! To his amazement, however, after glancing in the direction of his cave, they moved on.

Suddenly he realized that with the spider web over the entrance, his cave looked as if no one had entered for quite a while. "Lord, forgive me," he prayed. "I had forgotten that in you, a spider's web is stronger than a brick wall. He will use the most foolish things in this world to confound the wise!

God is your protector if you believe in him.

Bless someone with this story."