Heartline Newsletter/July-August 2016

New Monmouth Baptist Church
Heartline
Editor Bill Roberts
Dear Friends
The two great commands, on which, according
to Jesus, all the others depend, are concerned
with relationships, with God and with one another. (Matthew 22:36-40) With the coming of
Jesus and the gift of the Spirit, the focus on
relationships sharpened as is the emphasis on
reconciliation, made possible through the
cross, which
must be the
basis for all
relationships.
You have
probably
heard me say
a number of
times, "it is all
about relationships" and it
is true. Relationships are the glue that holds the church
together. It is because of Jesus desire to build
community that so much of his life and teachings are spent addressing the subject
of community. Jesus spent two and a half
years seeking to build a small group of followers into a true community.
It has been estimated that 44 percent
of the letters of the New Testament concern
themselves with how we should get along with
one another. This emphasis is particularly
clear when we look at the number of times the
words "one another' occur, especially in Paul's
letters There are 59 times the words "one another" occur, and each time the words are presented as a command.
We are to love one another, be devoted, honor, live in harmony, build up, and be
likeminded towards one another. Other one
'anothers' include the words accept, admonish, care for, serve, bear burdens, be patient,
July August 2016
be kind and compassionate, submit, consider,
look to the interests of, bear with, teach, comfort, encourage and the list goes on an on.
You get the point. The bible is concerned
about relationships.
Whether it is the trustees, the deacons,
the men and women's groups the youth
groups,................. our goal is to love one another. This kind of love must be seen among
members, and our worship services should be
places where we see "love one another" lived
out and where the spirit of love is clearly manifest. That is a difficult challenge at times, because there are people we may not necessarily like. But in spite of how we feel, we must
work to love them in spite of our feelings. Love
is not a feeling for the Christian; it is an action
and such action is nowhere more clearly modeled than on the cross.
When people hurt us, ignore us, say
nasty things about us, our natural reaction is to
react in kind, but Jesus says no, you are to
love them. This takes a lot of effort and even
more prayer, but it must be done if love is to
permeate our ministry community. If just one
person harbors an unloving spirit toward another member, the body is injured and its ministry is impaired.
Jesus reminds us that we are to love
one another as He has loved us, so the next
time we are tempted to treat a brother or sister
with disrespect, or the next time we have less
than kind words to say about them, just remember Christ died for them just as He died
for you and that He loves them just as much
as He loves you. If He loves them, who are
we to do anything less..
Yours in faith and fellowship,
Pastor Tom
Vacation Bible School
“V.B.S.
“SUBMERGED”
“Jesus Sees, Jesus Knows, Jesus Saves”
God blessed us with an exciting week of
Vacation Bible School! The chorus of one of
our favorite songs exemplifies the message we
shared. “We all need a Savior, we all need a
friend. When we trust in Jesus, His love
comes pouring in.”
Over 80 volunteers welcomed 140 children each day to our campus for a “walk with
Jesus”. We “submerged” our thoughts, sharing
time, and prayers into a better understanding of
the Gospel Story. With a “hands-on” activitybased curriculum in one hand; and a Bible in
the other, children heard repeatedly that God
loves them, God knows all about them, but that
God hates our sin. Jesus, who led a sinless
life, took the punishment we deserve, because
He Loves Us. Volunteers handed out over 15
Bibles to children, who did not have a Bible. I
was blessed to observe the absolute “joy-filled”
smile of a mom when she saw her child’s Bible.
God is good!
I am grateful to the NMBC community
for their prayers, generosity and many volunteer hours that helped to make VBS possible.
Teachers spent time alone with many of the
campers who desired Jesus in their life. Please
continue to pray for these children and their
families. You may watch our video on https://
www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMScytXpl4Y.
During VBS we collected a “van-load” of
“back to school” supplies that we delivered to
Lunch Break.
We had many teen volunteers, a majority from outside NMBC, some of whom were
not familiar with the Bible stories we studied
and the “saving Grace” we receive freely from
Jesus. We will continue to keep in contact with
these families and volunteers and that if they
do not have a church home, they may consider
worshipping with us. The impact of our VBS
continues to go beyond these families and individuals. We just sent curriculum and decorations out to three churches within a 10 mile radius of us, who will be sharing the Gospel with
their community in the weeks ahead. All to the
praise and glory of God!
Search me, God, and know my heart; test
me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139: 23 – 24
Blessings, Marilyn Vines
VBS Coordinator
NMBC VBS 2016
No Condemnation for the Believer
What is Condemnation? It can be defined
as “To pronounce guilty, or to sentence to punishment or judgement.
That was our situation when we were sinners. We were judged for sin found guilty, and were
under a sentence of eternal death, Romans 3:23
and Romans 6:23. Then Jesus came and died in
our place and took our condemnation.
There is an old song, “When Jesus comes
the tempter’s power is broken. Indeed, when Jesus came He didn’t just defeat Satan, He crushed
him Genesis 3:15 Genesis 3:15 (NKJV)
15
And I will put enmity Between you and the
woman, And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head, And you shall
bruise His heel."
It is impossible for
Satan to regain any eternal
power over believers. We
are no longer part of Satan’s Kingdom, so never
refer to yourself as a sinner. You were once a sinner. That’s over. Now by
God’s grace you are a
saint. I have at times
heard believers pray, God
forgives us, we are nothing
but sinners. That is not correct, in my opinion and
it does not glorify what Christ has done. If we are
still sinners we are back in Satan’s kingdom. As
believers, we can experience failure, but we are
still saints - children of God who need to repent.
I also feel if we consider ourselves nothing
but sinners, we may be tempted to excuse our
failures and thus live on a low spiritual level. If we
consider ourselves to be saints, we will aspire to
better things and trust God to make us like Jesus.
Col 2:6
Romans 8:1 states. Romans 8:1 (NKJV)
There is therefore now no condemnation to
those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not
walk according to the flesh, but according to
the Spirit. To be in Christ means to be in relationship with Jesus by Faith. Faith unites us to
Christ so His death becomes our death and His
perfection our Perfection. The apostle Paul states
in Galatians 2:20 (NKJV) 20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who
loved me and gave Himself for me.
What could Paul possibly mean? He was not
nailed to a cross next to Jesus. Secular history records his death by beheading. Paul was not in the
public scene when Jesus died. He entered the
Bible narrative in Acts 7 about 10 years after Jesus’ death
Paul meant His sins and his old sin life
died on the cross with Jesus. Now he lives by
faith, Christ living in him. Christ bore the punishment we no longer have to bear. He became our
perfection, which we cannot attain on our own.
As flawed as we are, He is our righteousness, it is
in Him.
Satan is the accuser of believers Rev
12:10. But Christ is our Advocate. 1st John 1:9.
An advocate is like a defense lawyer who pleads
and defends. We belong to God and Satan cannot condemn us. The Holy Spirit convicts us of
our sin, but always in love to bring us back to a
closer walk with God. Satan accuses us in hatred
to make us despair of God’s help and if we do
that, we open ourselves to sins.
Paul opens chapter 8 with no condemnation
and ends chapter 8 with no separation and uses 5
questions to help us understand
Romans 8:31-35 (NKJV) Question 1, Vs 31
What then shall we say to these things? If
God is for us, who can be against us? We
know God is for us because he tells us that He
first loved us.
Question 2, Vs 32 He who did not spare His
own Son, but delivered Him up for us all,
how shall He not with Him also freely give
us all things? How shall he not freely give us
all things. God gave His only son for us and
will surely give us all things. Phil 4:19
Question 3, Vs 33 Who shall bring a charge
against God's elect? It is God who justifies.
God’s in charge and none can bring a charge
against God who has already justified us.
Question 4, Vs 34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also makes intercession
for us. God takes care of all who condemn
us
Question 5, Vs 35 Who shall separate us from
the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
Believers, we have a great salvation, We
have no condemnation Vs 1 and no separation.
Vs 35. No power under, on or above the earth
can separate us from God’s love. So believer,
never doubt it. Rather, rejoice, and give worship and praise to the God of goodness and
grace.
Pastor Dan 3
YOUTH REPORT, June 2016
Pastor Nick and Andi
"to
equip the saints for the work of ministry,
for building up the body of Christ" (Eph 4:12
I am so thankful for the call that the Lord
has on my life to serve Him by serving and loving His Bride (the church)! Andi and I together
believe that the Lord has us where He wants us
and is at work in transforming lives to the glory
of His beautiful name here at NMBC.
The church is literally an assembly of believers that have like things in common, spur
one another on to be deeper committed disciples, unite in vision and mission to proclaim
truth to the lost through evangelism, carry out
the ordinances (baptism and communion), and
to bring glory and worship to God. Spending
time reading the book of Acts the Holy Spirit has
challenged me to be apart of a vibrant community where individuals, families, and neighborhoods are being transformed by the Good News
of Jesus.
As I have prayed these past few months
about how the Lord is calling us to minister
more effectively here in New Monmouth, Ephesians 4:12 has constantly come to the forefront.
As one of the pastors here at NMBC a mandate
that the Lord has given me (and all church leaders) from His Word is to equip and encourage
the saints for the work of ministry - for the building up the Body of Christ.
We all need training. We all need to learn
and be competent about what we believe, why
we believe, and how that belief impacts our lives
daily. A personal relationship with Jesus is life
transforming. Once I was lost, and just at the
right time God who is rich in love transformed
my heart and I am now able to enjoy a relationship with Him forever! "By grace alone, through
Faith alone, in Christ alone" is a mantra I have
shared with many young men I have been
blessed to disciple. Understanding that the
Church has been commissioned (Matt. 28:1820) we are called to prepare ourselves by knowing the Lord's Word and be able to apply it to
help others see Jesus more clearly (2Timothy
3:16-17; 1Peter 3:15).
I challenge each person here at NMBC to
pursue a relationship with someone who is able
to assist you in your relationship with Jesus in a
discipleship relationship. Commit to a relationship with another brother or sister that can point
you to the Word, pray with/for you, and challenge you to mature in Christ! With each day of
growing and trusting in Jesus, use what you are
learning to minister to others! We are all being
equipped for work that has eternal implications let's commit to seeing the Lord be magnified in
all we say and do!
Secondly, Ephesians 4:12 tells us that
the church is responsible to encourage one another. I could think of no other time where encouragement is vital. Your brothers and sisters
in this community need encouragement! They
need you to call them and let them know you
are praying for them. Your encouragement will
be reminders to your brothers and sisters of the
kindness of God! As each of us battle sin,
temptation, and the person we once were prior
to placing our faith in the grace supplied by
God, encouragement will build us up so that we
are fit and confident to continue to grow our faith
in the Lord and point others to know Jesus personally! Even your leaders and pastors need
encouragement (thank you to all who say
"Amen!" as we preach, take notes, and share
how the Word of God is challenging you each
day - this is a GREAT encouragement to us!).
Church, please join me in prayer. Ask the
Lord how we can be a part of the equipping and
encouraging that the Lord is calling us to. Do
you need to be equipped? Reach out to a pastor or other church leader so that we can serve
you! Do you need encouragement? Spend
each day with the Lord reflecting on His faithfulness (He is so faithful!). We as a church need
to take the call to encourage one another more
seriously. This world is committed to deconstruction and we need to be reminded that
through the power of the gospel, God is at work
at constructing and building up His church!!
Grace and peace,
Pastor Nick
Camp of The Woods 2016
This summer, we once again had the
privilege of spending a week up at Camp of the
Woods in the Adirondacks with many members, past or present, of NMBC, a total of 47.
Dante Immordino was on staff at COW and
was able to join our picture. The week of July
4th at Camp always holds a special place in our
hearts, as the four-corner town of Speculator
celebrates with a great firework show and
Camp musicians hold an amazing patriotic
concert.
Our chapel speaker this year was Pastor Charles Zimmerman, one of the pastors at
Calvary Church in Souderton, PA. He spent
the week, working through several passages
within the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 57. Many of us also took advantage of the seminar this year, given by Jon Nielson, who is the
Director of Undergraduate Ministry for Christian Union at Princeton University. Each day,
he gave us tools for reading and teaching the
Bible well.
Another special moment of the trip: the
young men hiked up Cascade Mountain in the
early hours of the morning to see the sunrise.
The view was spectacular. Others also canoed and hiked throughout the week. As always, it was a refreshing time of fellowship,
reflection and fun! We are already looking forward to next year.
Standing in back (left to right): Frank
Timari (not pictured: Roberta), Kristine and
Paul Castellitto, Carol and Eric Finlayson, Renate and Jim Dubois, Cullen and Blake Finlayson, Jim Marcantonio, Tim Pham, James Bottari, Rich and Hannah Immordino, Daniel Del
Russo, Andrew Keeran, Annemarie Kitchen,
Nicholas Misciagna, Matthew Keeran, Dante
Immordino, Emily, Gabby, Allan, Tammy and
Ben Briggs, Andy and Karen Bottari, Jillian
Marcantonio, Deb Roberts, Aiden, Josh and
April Keeran, Theresa and Paul Kitchen, Marisa Garcia
Standing front center: Alyssa Kitchen,
Caleb Dubois, Luke Davis, Molly and Abigail
Keeran, Paul and John Kitchen.
Sitting in front: Dottie and Bill Roberts,
Paula Kitchen, Nanci Duffy, Madison Garcia
Jillian Marcantonio
Rhythmic Gymnastics at NMBC
Sports are one of the great blessings in
life. Working on new skills and slowly mastering a sport can bring so much happiness and
contentment, especially from a coach's perspective. Helping a young person develop the
confidence needed to achieve not only in the
sports arena, but outside of it, is one of the
most rewarding experiences to be had.
Rhythmic gymnastics is one such sport--it
takes years to master and climb to the top of
that particular athletic field. There are very
few sports that cater to girls and young women, and rhythmic gymnastics does exactly
that. It not only helps build confidence and
poise, but it also brings a sense of place and
purpose. It's a sport where a girl can truly
flourish because the sport itself was designed
for girls. Many girls begin rhythmic gymnastics nervously; having no idea whether they'll
be good at it--can they handle the dance?
The flexibility? Can they toss and catch the
five apparatus (ribbon, clubs, ball, rope, and
hoop)? Will they make friends? Feel part of a
team? What about stage fright--will they learn
to cope with it? Competing...is it fun?
The answer is yes to every question. A
girl can try rhythmic gymnastics and, if she
sticks with it and works hard, emerge a confident, poised, graceful woman ready to tackle
the whole world. There is something very special in knowing that you belong to an Olympic
sport that includes only around 2,000 gymnasts around the entire United States. It's a
small sport. We are hoping to change that-we want every girl to have the chance to not
only be a rhythmic gymnast, but also to have
the chance to experience why God plays such
an important role in the athletic arena.
When God is included in the sports experience, the entire perspective changes. It
stops mattering so much whether the girl
competing after you is better than you. Suddenly 2nd or 3rd place sounds just as good as
first. Some of the worries fall away, or at the
least, don't seem so crucial. The quality of
your performance is what matters, and Whom
you're performing it for is the biggest satisfaction.
Our program is known as Jersey Shore
Rhythmic Illusions: "Jersey Shore" after the
beautiful region that we're so fortunate to call
home, "Rhythmic" for the name of the sport
that we are so grateful to practice and share
at NMBC, and "Illusion" for a beautiful type of
pirouette involving a standing split. An illusion
pirouette is very difficult to perfect, but like all
of us in the sport, we never stop trying. Our
biggest goal in rhythmic gymnastics is to never stop trying. We want every girl to have the
chance to be a rhythmic gymnast, even if she
never dreamed that it would be her type of
sport. We want the girls who are afraid to try a
new sport; the ones who are nervous because they're afraid that they're not athletic
enough; the ones who might be nervous
about competing; the ones who were turned
away from dance studios for not being flexible
enough or the right "type." Those are the type
of young people that we can turn into rhythmic gymnasts, if they will join us on this sports
journey. We know that they can do it with
hard work and determination, and certainly
God knows it, too.
Adrienne and Lauren Coleman
Barrie C. Beaver AGE: 76 • .
Barrie C. Beaver, 76, of Vernon
Township, died Monday, July 11, 2016,from
complications due to Acute Myeloid Leukemia at Memorial Sloan Kettering in New
York City. Barrie lived in Hawthorne, before
moving to Vernon Township 43 years ago.
He went to college at Montclair State,
where he met the love of his life, his wife
Barbara. He studied math and started his
teaching career at Nutley High-school in
New Jersey, before moving to Vernon Township High School in 1974, where he spent
the next 25 years. A much beloved math
teacher he continued teaching following his
retirement, he taught part-time at Veritas
Christian Academy in Sparta.
The son of the late Irvin B. and Mildred (nee Casler) Beaver, He is survived by
his wife, Barbara (nee Lais) Beaver; two
children, Susan Brockner and husband,
Thomas, of Tafton, Pennsylvania, and Dr.
John Beaver and wife, Corina Hadjiodysseos, and two grandchildren, Florence and
Ares, of Chicago, Illinois; as well as one
brother, Irvin Beaver of Middletown.
Barry grew up in New Monmouth
Baptist Church and was very active in the
youth and Sunday School program . We
had the privilege of leading Barry in the Senior high youth group for 4 years.
Bees were one of his hobbies. His
son John tells the story of Barrie taking him
along to harvest honey, when John was a
child, and while the bees rarely stung Barrie
they would attack John, no matter how
much his dad would try to make sure his son
was covered and protected.
An active member of the Vernon United Methodist Church, Barrie was a member
of the Emmaus Community serving as their
treasurer. A devout Christian, Barrie read his
Bible every day, and practiced the forgiveness, kindness and generosity that he
preached. He was an active member of
many churches, for the past 20 years the
United Methodist Church in Vernon. He
taught Bible studies and Sunday school for
years, and was the Church's Financial
Chair.
Bill Roberts.
New Baby
Madeline
Gray entered
the world, July
22, at 12:13
weighing in at 9
pounds, 22.5
inches. Mom
and baby are
doing well. I
Congratulations to Chelsea and Mike
Gray, proud parents and Jen and Dan Lee,
proud aunt and uncle and our very own Carol
and Brad Newcomb, very proud grandparents!!
Deb Roberts
New women's class
During VBS, the women’s class had a
great time studying several encounters that
Jesus had with women in
the Gospels. We were
able to better understand
how Jesus encounters
us even today, as well as
how we should encounter others, following Jesus’ example.
This August, we will be hosting a
women’s Sunday School class concerning
specific women who lived in the first few
centuries of the church. Each woman had a
major impact on those around her and lived
out her faith in many great ways. Though
not primarily about the Bible, the class will
explore the many biblical truths and mandates that these women lived out in the
Greco-Roman world.
We will meet during the 9:00 am service for the four weeks of August starting
August 7, 2016.
Jill Marcantonio
New Monmouth Baptist Church
4 Cherry Tree Farm Road
New Monmouth, NJ. 07748