LIVERMORE FALLS — At the First Baptist Church of Livermore Falls Jan. 8 service a chilly, winter morning turned into a bright day filled with sunshine and promise! We had many visitors in our congregation today, due to the fact that we were awaiting the afternoon funeral of our dear and beloved friend, Harold Souther. Harold was valued member of this church and loved by all. We will sorely miss him!

Maggie Houlihan filled the sanctuary with wonderful music to set the tone for our service about the coming of Jesus into the world. Kay King Watson welcomed all, read the Announcements and then led us as we sang two Praise Songs: “As With Gladness, Men of Old”, and “The Word Made Flesh”.

Rev. Russ Thayer gave the call to worship as he read from Psalm 84, Verses one and two. He went on to lead us into prayer time and the Lord’s Prayer. Kay presented a mission moment as she spoke to us about our donations to the Retired Ministers and Missionaries Mission, and the importance of making donations to that cause. We sang the Hymn, “What Child Is This?”

Rev. Thayer announced that it was “Happy Time”, which means it is time to collect our offerings and gifts to our church and God’s work. He has helped us to understand that it is a privilege to donate money for works that God means for us to do in His name, for our church building, our community outreach and in the world. Special music was provided by the Worship Team as they sang “Jesus, Jesus, Oh, What A Wonderful Child”.

Scripture from the Book of Matthew, Chapter 2, Verses one through twelve was used for Rev. Thayer’s Sermon. The scripture verses tell the story of the kings from the East who set out to follow a star that would lead them to the Christ child, proclaimed to be the King of the Jews. This happened two years after the birth of Christ, in the time of King Herod. The sermon titled “Magi”(meaning the group of Kings) told the story of the Kings who traveled to Jerusalem to find the newborn baby and worship him, as well as to give Him their finest gifts of gold, incense and myrrh. King Herod heard about their search and called them into his presence. He told them to find the child and report back to him so that he could also visit and worship the baby. He had no such intentions because he wanted to be the only ruling king. The Magi did find Jesus, who was two years of age. He was with his mother, Mary, in Jerusalem. They bowed down in worship and gave Him their gifts. Then, they remembered Herod’s directions, and knowing of his ill intent, they found a different route to travel back to their countries.

Rev. Thayer explained that Jesus was born to save us, to be the “King of our Lives”, and we should follow the paths He has chosen for us. Each one of us is born with special gifts and we should use those gifts to serve God. It is important to God that we use our gifts to serve our church by serving on committees, helping to make and serve meals for special occasions, sing in the choir, serve as an usher, help take care of the church’s financial goals, serve as a custodian, help clear the parking area, etc. Whatever our special gifts, God needs and wants each one of us to use those talents for His glory and blessings . What gifts do you use to serve Him?

We ended the service as we sang “We Three Kings” and “Go Ye, Go Ye Into the World”.

Announcements: 1. We are collecting canned soup for the Food Cupboard. In February, we will collect canned tuna fish. 2. Sunday School is available for all ages: Adults at 9:45 am, and children, during Worship Service. 3. Weekly Bible Study every Tuesday at 10 a.m. 4. Mary’s Lunch, every Thursday at 11:30 a.m., all ladies are invited. 5. The Worship Team rehearses every Thursday, after Mary’s Lunch, at 1 p.m. 6. The next Hymnsing will take place on Sunday, January 29 at 7 p.m. 7. The Soap ‘N More Store will be on Saturday, January 28, from 9 a.m. to noon. 8. The next Men’s Breakfast will be on Saturday, February 11.