An overzealous little boy was pledging his devotion to his mother, when he began to brag of what he would do for her, when he grew up. "Mom, when I grow up I'm going to buy you an electric can opener, an electric toaster, an electric stove and an electric chair."
It has been said that the joys of motherhood are experienced when the children go to bed. There are many days when that statement feels true to a weary mom, but in reality she would disagree.
A mother loves unconditionally. She lives sacrificially for her children and family. She weeps for her children during the hard times, and she rejoices and gives praises of encouragement, when her children need it. Her love began before her child was born and her love continues until her last breath. Even when she is gone, her child still remembers her love and feels the prayers that she prayed while she was on the earth. The love she has for her child would be impossible to humanly measure. Only God, himself, loves her child more.
We at Broadway Baptist Church want to wish all the mothers that are reading this article a very Happy Mother’s Day! For no one is more deserving of a special day of recognition than Mom. May your day be filled with happiness, joy and love.
Broadway Baptist Church would like to invite you to come and worship with us this Sunday at 710 E. Third Street as we celebrate Mother’s Day. Our Life Groups, which are for all ages, start at 10 a.m. Our morning service starts at 10:50 a.m. and our evening service starts at 6 p.m. Our midweek service is on Wednesdays at 7 p.m. (We offer Bible Study for all ages.) Come worship with us and be blessed.
Emmanuel Fellowship Church
We invite you to join us this Sunday at Emmanuel Fellowship Church. Our Sunday morning services are at 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. Both morning services are filled with the same warm fellowship, dynamic worship and life-giving messages, as well as top-notch children’s ministry and nursery care for children up to fifth grade.
This week, we will be beginning our sermon series, “Transformed.” Come join us as we take seven weeks to seek transformation in our spiritual health, physical health, mental health, emotional health, relational health, financial health and vocational health. We will also be honoring all the mothers in both services at EFC this week with a blessing and a gift, so don’t miss this special time. And if you’re looking for a way to treat the mom in your house to breakfast, come early and come hungry. We will have a waffle bar breakfast with all the fixin’s set up in the Salvage Yard from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m. so you can attend before or after first service. Cost is $7 a plate, but Moms eat free!
We also want to extend an invitation to our weekly Lifegroup meetings, Wednesdays at 7 p.m. For more information, please contact the church offices at 236-9200.
EFC’s Wednesday evening children’s ministry is in full swing for the Spring semester, with children ages six months through fifth grade exploring what kind of love we should have in our hearts as followers of Jesus! They meet Wednesday evenings from 6:45-8:30 p.m. and are loving their time together in the “Faith Factory!”
The Salvage Yard youth ministry, for grades 6-12, meets Wednesday evenings at 6:45 p.m. for their worship service and for many other various events. Find out more on their facebook page at www.facebook.com/InTheYard.
We also invite you to step into The Growth Central Bookstore when you visit EFC. It’s stocked with Bibles, study aids, marriage and parenting resources, worship music, inspirational gifts, original art and fiction books — there’s something for everyone! The bookstore is open between Sunday morning services, from 10:30-11 a.m. and again at 12:30-1 p.m.
For more information about the ministry of EFC, log onto the church website at www.efcsweetwater.com.
First Baptist Church
First Baptist Church invites you and your family to join us on this Sunday, May 11, for Bible study, beginning at 9:15 a.m. for all ages, followed by the Sunday morning service, which begins at 10:30 a.m. First Baptist Church is located at 213 East Third Street, next door to the Post Office. We warmly greet you. Your presence will enhance our worship experience and our fellowship together.
Koinonia coffee is held at The Welcome Center before Bible study each Sunday morning. Coffee is the perfect complement to meeting old friends and new. It is an invitation to sit and talk for a while, to share stories, to get to know one another better. You are invited to join friends each Sunday morning as we all share a warm cup of Koinonia Coffee.
The FBC Heritage Timeline is located on the first floor hall leading to the Welcome Center. You can add special moments and memories during your time here at FBC on the Timeline!
The Missions item to be collected for the month of May is boxed rice. Each month we have collected different items which are being used to restock our pantry which is to be used as a resource for needy families. We are also collecting baby items for the Women’s Resource Center. You can bring items to the baby crib set up next to the office.
Kid X continues on Wednesday nights at 6 p.m. This is a very special time for children in Kindergarten through fifth grade to begin understanding and developing a relationship with Jesus Christ. Please consider helping with this very rewarding and fulfilling ministry!.
May 11 we will celebrate together as we dedicate the children who have been born into First Baptist Church since 2009. We will pray for the children and their families during this special worship service.
Wednesday, May 14, at 6 p.m. we will have our quarterly Church Conference. There will be a fellowship meal at 5:30 p.m. so come early. Hope to see you there.
On May 16-18, the sixth through twelfth grade students will be going to Junction for a camp out and Bible study. The goal is for students to experience God’s creation together and grow close with one another.
Saturday, May 17, at 9:30 a.m. Pre-Kindergarten through first grade students will leave the church and go to the Abilene Zoo. After the zoo, they will go to the park and be back in Sweetwater about 2 p.m.
May 25 will be a very special service remembering those who have passed away since January 2013. If you have a loved one you would like to have recognized, please bring a picture to the church office.
Lad and Lassie Camp, for second through third graders, will be June 6-7 at Lueders. The cost is $58. Sign up on the message board today.
For in depth information on First Baptist Church Sweetwater, find us on Facebook or at www.fbcsweetwater.org.
First Presbyterian Church
First Presbyterian Church of Sweetwater welcomes all to join us for worship. Our church is a warm and loving church, and we want you to feel comfortable and at liberty to call on us for anything you need pastorally. We would love to have you be our guest.
Sunday school will meet at 9:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 11. Mike Fry will be teaching a study on Revelation for the adults. There will be Sunday school for the children. Lou Ann Cumbie and Linda Rasco will be greeters. Caroline Brennan will be the worship assistant for the worship service.
All committees will meet Wednesday, May 14, at 5:30 p.m. in the fellowship hall. Everyone is invited to join a committee. The committees are: Christian Education, Congregational Care, Mission and Outreach, Property and Worship.
The mission of First Presbyterian Church is to make disciples for Jesus Christ by being an oasis of God’s love. Worship services are each Sunday at 10:45 a.m. We are located at the corner of 14th Street and McCaulley, across from the high school. Find out more information about our ministry by calling 235-5491 or visit the church’s website www.fpcsweetwater.org.
First United Methodist Church
Sweetwater First United Methodist Church wants to invite you to join us on Sunday mornings to worship and praise our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The United Methodist Church is open to all persons and is a place where all are welcome and encouraged to “come as you are” with the expectation that by the grace of God you will leave different. The change that a relationship with Christ brings about is a life-changing encounter and we believe that while God accepts us as we are He loves us enough not to leave us in our sins. We believe that Scripture informs all aspects of our lives and should be our rule and authority.
The first service begins at 8:45 a.m. and is built around a traditional model with great hymns of the church. This service uses a more liturgical framework and often employs a wonderful choir. Immediately following the first service we have Sunday school classes for all ages and stages of life. We invite you to try one of our many opportunities to come together and seek God in small groups that emphasize God’s Word and proclaim His glory. At 10:50 a.m. we have a second worship service that has a decidedly contemporary flavor and incorporates more of progressive style and pace. This second service also has a children’s church for kids in preschool through third grade. The children stay through our time of praise and then go to their own worship service.
Sweetwater FUMC also has youth activities on Sunday nights beginning at 6 p.m. with a prayer and praise time that we call Adoratio. Every Tuesday and Wednesday FUMC hosts the Gaylord’s Pantry and a clothes closet from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Please enter through the North (4th Street) entrance if you would like to receive God’s blessing through either of these ministries.
News this week: This Sunday we will be looking at a high view of love through the lens of Hosea. The love God called this prophet to was a costly and difficult love but it is a great example of how God loves us — even when we are “unlovely.” We will also be honoring our moms in both worship services.
Activities this week:
Sunday worship at 8:45 a.m. and 10:50 a.m.
Adoratio at 6 p.m.
Wednesday at 10 a.m. — Morning Bible study.
Fun activities are offered at different times during the month for fourth through sixth graders (Club 456) and first through third graders (UMKids). If you have any questions call Linda at our church office (325-236-6617) or email churchoffice@fumcsweetwater.org. If you need prayer or have the need to contact our pastor you can call the same number or email him at pastor@fumcsweetwater.org.
HIGHLAND HEIGHTS UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Our Mission Statement: “To glorify Christ in all that we do by bringing People to Christ and equipping them to serve Christ.”
Happy Mother’s Day! We wish all mothers and ones who have served as mothers a special celebration with their families and/or friends. A beautiful floral arrangement will be displayed in the sanctuary to honor and remember our mothers for their unconditional love and being a blessing in our lives.
Join us for Sunday school at 9:30 a.m. and worship service at 10:45 a.m., with Pastor Claude bringing the message entitled, “The Sheep know my Voice: Enter by the Sheep’s Gate.” Worship assistants are Lisa Peterson serving as worship leader, Brenda Alexander leads the congregational hymns and plays the keyboard, pianist is Eugenia Hill and the greeter is Jo Whitfield. Brenda will sing a special musical selection honoring all mothers during the morning worship.
Our Samaritan Hospitality House collection will be consecrated this Sunday. “The House” located in Colorado City, is an outreach ministry for families traveling over 300 miles who come to visit loved ones incarcerated in area prisons. They are provided free weekend lodging in a homelike atmosphere. The collection will be delivered during the following week.
Evangelism committee meets Monday, May 12, at 6:30 p.m., in the Friendship Sunday School classroom. Following coordinators reporting upon their respective outreach ministries, decorative snack sacks will be compiled for West Texas Children’s Advocacy Center.
May is the month of high school and college graduations. Bless This House is calling upon prayer for each graduate as they embark upon a new path in their life’s journey. Through God’s guidance, pray each graduate has the confidence and optimism to recognize the doors of opportunity that He places before them.
You are always invited to join us at 1801 Lamar Street, sharing in our vision of making Disciples of Jesus Christ, growing spiritually, fulfilling our God-given gifts, witnessing to others, and ministering to ones in need.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
(The Mormons)
Mother’s Evening Song
By Ella S. Brewer
Long ago when twilight gathered,
I would turn my wayward feet
Toward my home, with fear and trembling
At the shadows I would meet.
Then I’d scurry through the meadow,
Falter ’neath low-hanging trees,
Stalked by elves of childish fancy;
’Til upon the evening breeze
Came the sounds of sweetest music
That my soul has ever known—
’Twas the voice of Mother singing
Just to lead me safely home:
“Guide us, O thou great Jehovah!”
Every word I’d understand:
“We are weak, but thou art able;
Hold us with thy powerful hand.”
Gone the fear that stalked my footsteps,
Gone the phantoms of the night,
As those words in happy cadence
Filled my soul with pure delight.
Gentle breezes spread the chorus
Over all the friendly land:
“We are weak, but thou art able;
Hold us with thy powerful hand.”
Many years since then have brought me
Their full share of night and day;
Oft I’ve stood dismayed and fearful
In the shadows by the way.
But from the past those words still linger,
Helping me to make my choice:
“Guide us, O thou great Jehovah!”
In my mother’s singing voice.
And again the shadows vanish
And my soul is strong and brave,
For I know she still is singing
In that home beyond the grave—
Singing songs of praise and glory
In that far-off happy land:
“Guide us, O thou great Jehovah—
Hold us with thy powerful hand.”
When the last great shadows gather
And my day on earth is done,
Then I know I’ll hear her singing
Just to guide me safely home.
(from the Ensign magazine, March 1998)
Calendar:
May 11 — Mother’s Day.
May 12 — Family Home Evening for families.
May 14 — Mutual for the youth at 6:30 p.m.
May 16-17 — Father/son camp out.
May 25 — Sweetwater Branch Conference.