LIVERMORE FALLS — At the Nov. 6 service of the First Baptist Church of Livermore Falls we welcomed Daylight Saving Time in preparation for a long winter, even though the temperature felt more like September!

Maggie Houlihan played several familiar and beloved hymns on the pipe organ in preparation for the morning Worship service. Kay King Watson welcomed the congregation to the service and read several announcements. She led the congregation as they sang: “Surely the Presence of the Lord Is In This Place” and “Holy Ground”.

Pastor Russ Thayer read Psalm 111 as the Call to Worship. He then led us into Prayer Time. There were many calls for prayers praises as people shared their concerns and praises for various events during the past week. Our first Hymn was “Majesty”, before Pastor Russ declared “Happy Time” in a joyous voice. That is the way he leads us into the giving of Tithes and Offerings. He tells us that God wants us to give happily to His church so that we may continue to spread God’s love to all who may attend and those beyond the doors of the church. Maggie Houlihan and Margaret Emery played “Heaven Came Down” as the ushers passed the collection plates. The Worship Team sang a “Salute to the Armed Forces” accompanied by Margaret. Several former members of the Armed Forces stood as their song was sung, and the entire congregation stood and sang “America the Beautiful” to end the salute. Rick Merrill carried and displayed the American Flag, helping to make it a moving experience for all.

Pastor Russ read scripture from the Book of Luke, chapter 5, verses 36 – 39. The Title of his Sermon was: “Out with the Old, In with the New”. Sound familiar? The Pastor is preparing our church membership for a change – he declares it to be a “big change”! We are looking forward to the possibility of welcoming a new Pastor and his family into our church soon. Pastor Russ has been a wonderful interim for us, and he has been preparing us for change. In his recent sermons, he has talked about the comfort of doing things the same for many months or many years. Sometimes we don’t want anything in our lives to change because the “same old” is too comfortable. Today he told us about the Jewish leaders in the time of Jesus. Jesus always told people the truth, but He presented it to people from a new perspective, not in the old ways that Jewish people were used to hearing. They did not like the new ideas Jesus was teaching. In so many ways, we don’t want to accept that we need to make changes in our lives to make our lives better. It’s the same with our church; we will experience other opinions and ideas from a new Pastor. Hopefully, we will accept the new changes with love, patience and understanding that will help our church to grow in knowledge and love for others who join us.

Our last Hymn was “Here, O My Lord, I See Thee Face to Face”. We shared Communion and ended with “Blest Be the Tie That Binds”.

Announcements: 1. We are collecting Mac & Cheese for the Food Cupboard this month. 2. Each Sunday, there is Sunday School for all ages. 3. There is Bible Study every Tuesday in the Vestry at 10:00am. 4. There will be “Ladies’ Night Out” on Thursday night, November 10 at 5 p.m. 5. The Worship Team rehearses at 1 p.m. each Thursday. 6. Coffee Hour takes place in the Vestry each Sunday after the Worship Service. 7. The next Soap ‘N More Store will take place on Saturday, November 26 from 9 a.m. to Noon.

Our Worship Service is held every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. We welcome all who want to attend and learn more about the love we share with God, our Father. Please join us and welcome the change God will make in your life!

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