The Bridge April 2015 Editon First Baptist Church, Franklinton, LA

1. Contact us
950 Self Street
Franklinton, LA 70438
Phone: (985) 839-3427
Fax: (985) 839-3572
Prayer Line: (985) 839-3337
Office E-mail:
fbc.natasha@gmail.com
Prayer E-mail:
fbcfranklinton.prayer@gmail.com
Website:
www.fbcfranklinton.org
Service Times:
Sunday Services
8:15 a.m., 10:45 a.m. & 6:00 p.m.
Bible Study Groups
9:30 a.m.
Wednesday Evenings
5:00 p.m. Family Dinner
6:00 p.m. Evening Services
The Bridge April 2015
Monthly Newsletter of
First Baptist Church Franklinton
Photos from Be the Church Sunday...Courtesy of Mrs. Carolyn McElveen

2. Paul Watts,
Pastor
fbc.paulwatts@gmail.com
A Cup with Pastor Paul
http://acupwiththepastor.blogspot.
com
2
The Power and Centrality of
The Resurrection....
The Christian faith has characteristic aspects common to many world
religions. Most faiths believe in some higher life source, personal or
impersonal. Most have prophets whose writings reveal a certain ethi-
cal framework for life and blessings. Almost all world religions offer
some explanation for the creation and some hope of what comes after
this life. While there are a few common characteristics, the Christian
faith has many claims that reveal its distinctive teachings about God
and the exclusivity of the one way He has prepared for our salva-
tion/reconciliation through His Son, Jesus Christ. The Incarnation
(God becoming flesh in the person of Jesus Christ in order to reveal
Himself and serve as the blood sacrifice for sin) and the bodily res-
urrection of our crucified Lord Jesus Christ are two teachings that
are essential to genuine Christianity. A disbelief of either of these
teachings would necessarily place an individual outside of the Body
of Christ and the salvation God freely offers. The physical resurrec-
tion is the lynchpin of the Christian faith.
Jesus stated the resurrection was an integral part of the purpose for
which He came. This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life
so I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I
have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this
command from My Father, John 10:17-18, HCSB. Jesus predicted His death
and resurrection on numerous occasions. The resurrection was the
proof of Jesus’ divinity, obedience and perfect accomplishment of His
purpose in defeating sin and death. He also went to great pains to
demonstrate the physicality of His body after the resurrection. He
walked, spoke, broke bread and even ate with his disciples.
The Apostle Paul was adamant concerning the literal nature of the
resurrection. He stressed the veracity of the resurrection of Jesus al-
most to the point of redundancy. Romans 10:9 leaves little doubt that
Paul saw belief in the resurrection of Christ essential to saving faith:
If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart God raised Him
from the dead, you will be saved, Romans 10:9, HCSB. Paul’s emphasis on
the resurrection in so many of his letters may seem repetitive to those
of us who have grown up hearing the resurrection story, but just as in
Paul’s day, many struggle to believe Jesus rose from the dead and one
day His followers will do the same. These usually also struggle to be-
lieve in the creation story as we have it in Genesis, the miracles of the
Old Testament and the miracles of Christ. Many go to great lengths to
explain these things away or somehow make them fit into some other
naturally occurring phenomenon. What type of God would we serve
if He were bound by the laws of nature? His power and identity are
demonstrated when He does things that are “supernatural.”
We have cause to celebrate on Easter, not only because our
Lord and Savior is alive, but also because His resurrection is a
foreshadow of our own. Paul said, If we have put our hope in Christ
for this life only, we should be pitied more than anyone. But now Christ has been
raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep, 1 Corin-
thians 15:19-20, HCSB. Many Christians have died in faith.
Many will be alive when Jesus comes again. Both groups will
receive glorious resurrection bodies at the return of Christ.
Christ’s resurrection is central to our faith and our hope of
eternal life with God. In the words of Paul, if Christ has not been
raised, your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins, 1 Corinthians
15:17, HCSB. May we celebrate the resurrection this Easter
and all of its ramifications! Let us shake off any doubts or
fears and praise God for His wonderful plan of redemp-
tion!
Join us for
Carry the Cross!
It will take place
Good Friday at 9:00 a.m.
We will meet in the
parking lot of Dirt Cheap.
This is a walk carrying the
cross from there to the
Fair Grounds. We will partake
of communion as a group
when we arrive at the
Fair Grounds.

3. Dale Parker,
Minister to
Senior Adults
& Discipleship
Training
fbc.daleparker@gmail.com
Sometimes when we read the ac-
count in Exodus of God speaking
to Moses from a burning bush, we
are tempted to think, “I wish God
would speak to me in a burning
bush, that way I would be a better
Christian, or that way I would know
what God wants me to do with my
life.” But the same God who spoke
to Moses, Joshua, Elijah, David,
Solomon, and Paul has spoken
and is speaking to us through His
word today. It’s humbling to think
that the God of the universe would
stoop down to reveal Himself to us
through His word. He could have
left us alone and in the dark with
our imaginations, and we could
have become religious (like anyone
else without God), but we would
never know Him or our desper-
ate need for Him. In giving us His
word, God demonstrates a portion
of His love for us.
In the late 1700’s, a pastor named
Charles Simeon reminded his con-
gregation of the great treasure they
possessed in the Bible. He wrote:
“Let us suppose that Jesus Christ
were now to come amongst us, and
to teach us in our Churches, as once
He did in the streets and the syna-
gogues of Judea; should we not, if
we knew Him to be that very Jesus,
listen to Him with deepest atten-
tion? If we could suppose Him now
addressing us from the cross, and
appealing to His sufferings as an
unquestionable demonstration of
His love, and an irresistible argu-
ment for our adherence to Him;
should we not be melted to tears?
Or, lastly let us suppose that we
saw the heavens opened, and Jesus
standing at the right hand of God;
let us suppose He spoke to us now;
as once He did from Mount Sinai,
with thundering, and lightnings,
and earthquakes, and the sound
of the trumpet waxing louder and
louder; should we not tremble?
Were we to hear Him speaking to
us in any of these ways, the word
would not more certainly be His,
than this word is which we now
possess; and therefore whatever
sentiments of fear or love or grati-
tude we should feel on account of
such revelations of His will, we
ought to feel in reference to that
sacred volume which we have in
our hands; whenever we look upon
it, we should say, ‘This word of Him
who came down from heaven to
instruct me; of Him who died upon
the cross to save me; of Him who
now sits enthroned in glory; and
will hereafter fix my doom accord-
ing to it.’”
Recently Margie and I were at a
Voice of the Martyrs conference in
Lake Charles. One of the presenters
showed a video of some Christians
in China who received a suitcase of
Bibles. Many of them were crying
with joy, some were kissing their
Bibles, some were hugging their
Bibles, and many of them opened
them and immediately began read-
ing them.
Do you treasure your Bible? Do
you read it, meditate on it, and try
to memorize it every day? Do you
open it like a medicine chest search-
ing for a “pill” to fix what ails you,
or do you prayerfully open the
Bible and say, “God, reveal Your-
self to me today.” When you read
the Bible, do you instantly go to the
familiar verse(s) in the passage, or
do you read around the verse to
see God? Remember, reading and
studying the Bible is a privilege God
has given us.
Memory Verses for the
Month of April
April 5: “But as many as received
Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, to those who
believe in His name, who were born,
not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of
God.” John 1:12-13
April 12: “For by grace you have
been saved through faith, and that
not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
not of works, lest anyone should
boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9
April 19: “But when the kindness
and the love of God our Savior to-
ward man appeared, not by works of
righteousness which we have done,
but according to His mercy He saved
us, through the washing of regenera-
tion and renewing of the Holy Spirit,
whom He poured out on us abun-
dantly through Jesus Christ our Sav-
ior.” Titus 3:4-6
April 26: “These things I have writ-
ten to you who believe in the name of
the Son of God, that you may know
that you have eternal life, and that
you may continue to believe in the
name of the Son of God.” 1 John 5:13

4. Cody Thomas,
Student Minister
fbc.codythomas@gmail.com
Reaching In . . . . . Reaching Out
4
God was a gardener. Not
just any gardener either but, the
perfect creator of all things gar-
dening; He created plants! Gen-
esis 2:8, And the Lord God planted a
garden in Eden, in the east, and there
he put the man whom he had formed.
Genesis 2:8 says God planted a gar-
den in Eden. I’m not 100% posi-
tive that God got out in the dirt
with His straw hat and overalls
and physically planted a garden,
but it is cool to know that God is
a gardener. I like to think of my-
self as a pretty good gardener. (I
gave myself the title “pretty good
gardener” after people started
asking me questions about gar-
dening). One of my favorite gar-
dening verses is Galatians 6:7, for
whatever one sows, that will he also
reap. This verse applies to both
physical gardening (if I sow to-
matoes, I will most likely reap to-
matoes) and spiritual gardening.
The Apostle Paul, though writing
to the church in Galatia, is refer-
ring to spiritual gardening.
Whatever we sow spiritual
ly,that is what we shall reap. If we
are continually seeking the Lord
in prayer and Bible study (sow-
ing), we will grow in our under-
standing of who God is and then
in return experience Him on a
greater level (reap). If we take the
commandment, Go and make dis-
ciples seriously (sowing), then the
Lord will use us in mighty ways
throughout the world, and disci-
ples of Jesus Christ will be made
(reap). If our level of Christianity
extends to mere church on Sun-
day morning (sowing), then we
are missing out on truly experi-
encing the magnificence of the
Creator of the Heavens and the
Earth (reap).
Think about your life;
what are you sowing? Are you
sowing a life that God approves
of? Are you sowing a relationship
with Christ through daily submis-
sion to Him? If you are sowing
things in this world that are con-
trary to the life God desires for
you to sow, repent, turn to Christ
for strength, and follow Him. Al-
low the great Gardener to pluck
away the impurities in your life
and sow within you His Spirit.
I found this written in the back
of my mother’s Bible, and I’d like
to share:
“Everyone is thinking of planting
a garden this time of year. Here
is a suggestion of how to plant a
most successful garden. I plan to
dig in and get mine started. Per-
haps you’ll want to do so, too!!
Plant four rows of peas (P’s)
- Prayer
- Promptness
- Patience
- Preparation
Plant four rows of squash
- Squash Gossip
- Squash Indifference
- Squash Criticism
- Squash Negative Thinking
Plant four rows of turnips
- Turnip for church services
- Turnip for whatever needed
- Turnip with a friendly smile
- Turnip with determination
to seek the Lord ”
Cultivate well, keep saturated with
love and reap a harvest of peace
and happiness. Lots of good luck
in your garden this year.
Guys’ Campout
Friday, April 10th
Meet up at the church at 4:00 p.m.
Youth Sunday School
Preparation
April 12th and/or
April 19th
9:30 a.m.
Youth Sunday Service
Preparation
Wednesday, April 22nd at 6 p.m.
Youth Sunday
Sunday, April 26th both services

5. Butch Reviere
Minister of
Music
fbc.butch@gmail.com
Note from Brother Butch
Question:Who told the earth to
“go green” about this time every year?
Who told the ornamental pear trees and
the cherry trees to go first? Who told the
pecan trees they could sleep a little lon-
ger before beginning their Spring ritual?
Why are there 365 days in a year? Why
not 300…or 500? Of course, it’s because
the earth is spinning away on its axis while
making its annual trek around the sun.
Fewer days in a year would mean we all get
fried during the day, and more days would
mean we all turn into popsicles, especially
at night! The skeptics, the atheists, the
disbelievers would all say the answers lie
in some cosmic accident. You and I know
the answers lie in the creative excellence
of Almighty God, Who spoke into exis-
tence the earth and all that is on it, plant
and animal, with we humans being the cli-
mactic demonstration of His Divine cre-
ativity.
Everywhere we look, especially
this time of year, there are reminders of
the intricacy and precision of our Creator.
How can we not be amazed and thrilled
and overflowing with praise continually?
I wonder sometimes whether my vision
of Him has been clouded by focusing too
much on the mundane and the ordinary.
Maybe even my attention to that which
is legitimately important is out of order,
leaving me wrestling in my own strength
with life’s issues, though I am surround-
ed by Omnipotence, Omniscience, and
Omnipresence; and He is ready to guide
me into joyful solutions to all challenges.
How can I (we) not praise Him?
The Psalms are filled with admo-
nitions to give Him praise. The 146th is
a great example: Praise the Lord! Praise the
Lord, O my soul! While I live I will praise the
Lord; I will sing praises to my God while I have
my being.The Psalmist continues by listing
some of the blessings God gives to His
own: truth, justice, food (provision), free-
dom, healing, encouragement, love, pro-
tection, hope. This Psalm ends with…
you guessed it: Praise the Lord! Should we
not be constantly praising Him?
Creation forever demonstrates
His glory, and the blessings all around us
declare that He is worthy of our praise.
More than all of that, the greatest and
most profound reason for our humble
thanksgiving and unending praise we will
celebrate in just a few days. The darkest
Friday in history tried to snuff out the
Light; but, three days later, the Light was
unleashed to rain light and truth upon on
all who would receive it. The price for our
sin was paid. Our debt was canceled. The
shackles were unlocked. The bound were
set free. The broken were healed. The rev-
elation by God the Father of Himself to
all mankind was completed in the death,
burial, and resurrection of His Son and
our Savior, the Lord Jesus, the Christ. For
He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us,
that we might become the righteousness of God in
Him. (II Corinthians 5:21) “…who Him-
self bore our sins in His own body on the tree,
that we, having died to sins, might live for righ-
teousness—by whose stripes you were healed. For
you were like sheep going astray, but have now
returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your
souls.” (I Peter 2:24-25)
Nicole C. Mullen put it this way
in her song, “My Redeemer Lives”: “The
very same God that spins things in orbit
runs to the weary, the worn and the weak.
And the same gentle hands that hold me
when I’m broken, they conquered death
to bring me victory. Well I know my Re-
deemer lives. I know my Redeemer lives.
All of creation testifies; this life within me
cries. I know my Redeemer lives.”
As we celebrate God’s revelation
of Himself from Creation to the Cradle
to the Cross to the Empty Tomb to the
present, may we determine again to live
boldly for His glory and to “make His
praise glorious”.
As we celebrate
God’s revelation
of Himself from
Creation to the
Cradle to the Cross
to the Empty Tomb
to the present, may
we determine again
to live boldly for His
glory and to “make
His praise glorious”.

6. 6
Kelly McElveen
Director of Preschool/
Children’s Ministries
fbc.playschool@gmail.com
Happy Birthday!
Logan Jenkins - 6th
Daisy Trosclair - 8th
Sawyer McCune - 17th
Luke Burris - 21st
Braxton King - 23rd
Are you in 6th grade or below?
Let me know so I can add
you to my list!
Have you ever looked for something that you absolute-
ly know you have, find something else along the way,
and become completely sidetracked with what you were
originally looking for? That happened to me earlier in
the month as I was looking for one picture, found an-
other and then just became caught up in the memories! It
wasn’t long before I realized the time, had to lay the other
picture aside and get back to what I had started to do in
the first place.
This sometimes happens to me in my walk with the Lord,
too. I’ll be headed down one path, knowing that this is the
direction He has for me, become just a little distracted by
something else, and before long I feel that nudge to get
back to where I was headed in the first place!
Thankful for having a task to do, small moments of
accomplishment, sweet memories, and the gentle nudge
of the Savior leading me!
Let your eyes look straight ahead; fix your gaze directly
before you. -Proverbs 4:25
The picture from Christmas 2003 or 2004 that got me
sidetracked
From left,
Gentry,
Katherine,
Mary Anne,
Mallory,
McKinley,
Sydney,
Kaitlin,
Crockett
In back,
John Michael
& Nick
Have a
Blessed April,
Kelly McElveen

7. 7
PlaySchool
News
PlaySchool registration always seems to sneak up on me! I don’t know if I just try to avoid
the date that I have marked in my calendar because I know that Commencement comes right on
the heels of registration, or if I am just a little nervous about starting a whole new year. I really
think it’s the saying good-bye that makes me put registration off as long as possible. I was blessed
this year with a large number of returning PlaySchool friends, which only means that it will be
that much harder to let go in May!
However, I followed through and got new registration forms in the mail during the week I
had planned to. If you know of someone with a small child who might enjoy this ministry, please
let me know! I would love to talk to them about the PlaySchool program! PlaySchool begins its
approximate 42nd year in the fall, and we would love to have lots of new friends in September.
Some key points about PlaySchool that you may want to know when talking to someone
about this ministry:
*PlaySchool is for children who will turn 3 or 4 years old by the end of the calendar year.
*PlaySchool has 2-, 3- or 4-day programs. Each runs from 8:00 a.m. until 11:00 a.m.
*PlaySchool is tuition based, but the tuition is low cost (between $40-$80 a month!).

8. Leslie Westmoreland
WINGS Coordinator
lwestmoreland.ees@wpsb.org
WINGS
Ministry
8
Ladies Tea
Saturday April 18th, 2015
Speaker: Laurin Stack
Entertainment: Cara Williams
Tickets on Sale at the office
and by each hostess
April News
Women in
God’s Service
New WINGS Shirts
are coming soon!
To get yours, sign-up on the WINGS
Bulletin Board. Cost is $15 each.
Women of Hope Conference
at St. Timothy’s Methodist Church in
Mandeville. Cost is $25.00
April 24th 7:00 p.m. -9:00 p.m. and
April 25th 9:00 a.m.-12:30 a.m.
Speaker: Jennie Allen and
Music: Ginny Owens
Ladies’ Night with Lysa Terkerst
at the Church of the King
in Mandeville on April 21st
This is a free event.
Doors open at 6:30 p.m.,
event at 7:00p.m.

9. Children’s
Church
Month of
April
for ages 3
to
Kindergarten
We will be meeting in
Mrs. Cindy’s Kindergarten
Sunday school room in the
Preschool Department
Sunday Night
Supper
4/5
Easter - No Evening Services
4/12
Bell, Keaton, Lebo,
McElveen, Schilling,
Thomas, Varnado and Watts
4/19
Bankston, Burris, Galloway,
McElveen, Sandifer, Schilling
and Waskom
4/26
Cooke, Creel, Mobley,
Morgan, Owen, and Sylvest
4/5
Joe Sandifer
& Lance
Schilling
4/12
Tommy
Wood &
Richard
McElveen
4/19
Richard
Knight
& Matt
Westmoreland
4/26
Howard
Gibson
& Mike
Hickman
Sound Schedule
(Please note schedule changes)
4/5
Mack McElveen
4/12
Matt Westmoreland
4/19
Stephen McElveen
4/26
Darren Schilling
Wednesday Night
Supper
4/1 Group B -
Fried Chicken
4/8 Spring Break
No Evening Services
4/15 Group C -
Meatballs & Spaghetti
4/22 Group D -
Country Fried Steak
4/29 Group E-
Chicken Rotel
9
Our
April VOLUNTEERS
Nursery Schedule
4/5
Pauline Bankston &
Hazel Varnado
4/12
Brenda Allen &
Dianne Cruce
4/19
Tana Burris &
Leslie Westmoreland
4/26
Emily Phelps &
Linda Crain

10. 10
Operation
Christmas Child
April Items to Collect:
- Combs, Brushes & Hair Accessories
Missions
Our Goal is $10,000
Received to Date: $2,757.00
Missions Opportunity: Mission India
October 17th-30th, a group from our church will
be heading to India to share the Gospel with Darzi
Muslims. The Darzi are an unreached, unengaged
people group. Please
pray the Lord will
burden those He
would have take part
in this trip. Prayerfully
consider whether the
Lord may want you to
step out in this way.
Please contact Brother Paul if you have any questions
or would like to sign up for the trip.
Help Center
of Churches Items to Collect:
- Spaghetti Sauce
International MissionsNorth American Missions
Here is a link to the Engineering Ministries International website
showing the EMI project to design a master plan and mission house
for Ignite Missions in Honduras. EMI is now recruiting for the
design project team. If anyone is interested, this page will tell you
how to apply.
http://www.emiusa.org/projects/projectprofile_5645.php
Engineering Ministries Mission Trip Dates: June 6th - June 15th
Honduras Mission Opportunity
On-Going Missions

11. 11
Jimmy Morgan, Jr., Alicia
Morgan & Chrissy Dkyes
Seven-Fourteen Prayer Ministry
In preparation for the
National Day of Prayer on
May 5th, you are encouraged
to be a part of the “Seven-
Fourteen Prayer Ministry
from March 4th to May 4th,
simply by praying for at least
21 minutes each day.
When you pray, focus in two
directions. First: Praise and
Thanksgiving for What He is
Doing. Spend about 7 minutes.
Second:Intercessory Prayers,
Prayers for our church, our
school, our community, our
nation and leaders, and oth-
ers that God brings to your
mind and heart. Spend about
14 minutes.
You may find that designating
either 7:14 a.m. or 7:14 p.m.
as your prayer time helps you
to be faithful to pray. Select
the best time of day for you to
spend in prayer with God and
commit those 21 minutes to
prayer.
Can you imagine what God
can do in our hearts and lives,
in our church and schools, in
our commuity and nation, if
we obey 2nd Chronicles 7:14?
Let’s Pray.
“If my people who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and
seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and
will forgive their sin and will heal their land. - 2nd Chronicles 7:14
Jimmy Morgan, Sr. Patrick & Jennifer
McNutt Family
Marvin Magee Gilda McCain Peggy & Ralph Parks
Kandis Simmons
Welcome to Our Church Family
New Members

12. PRSRT STD
NONPROFIT
ORGANIZATION
US POSTAGE
PAID
PERMIT NO. 27
April 2015
950 Self Street
Franklinton, LA 70438
www.fbcfranklinton.org
First Baptist Church
Franklinton