Godby's Blog

Work coming along

2009-06-26T15:31:00.000-07:00

I am building a man-room behind the garage, and we're coming along well. The footer is done. The blocks are done. And now, the floor joists are installed. Should just be a few more weeks and a little more money.

Coming Home

2009-06-19T12:18:00.000-07:00

Angie and Nathan are away at Angie's Grandmother's home. Sam is away at 4h camp. Everyone will be home tonight. That's great! Homecomings are great.

Thanks Tina and Jeff

2009-02-13T07:29:00.001-08:00

Good morning, WUBC!

We had a wonderful time of fellowship and fun at Jeff and Tina Jones' house. They are very gracious hosts, and I want to express my thanks to them for opening up their home to us. Of course, the Steelers won, and as far as I know, everyone is happy about that with the possible exception of Louie. Everyone be sure to offer Louie your sympathies the next time you see him.

A while back, there was a young seminary student playing basketball in an open league near where he was going to school. While playing, he noticed an older gentleman sitting in the bleachers, waiting for the gym floor to be vacated so he could clean the floors. While the older man waited, he was reading his Bible. The young student, feeling a little proud about his new education, went to speak to the man about what he was reading. He asked, "May I ask where you are reading in your Bible?"

The man looked up from his Bible and replied, "I'm reading from the Book of the Revelation."

"Wow. That's a difficult book," said the young student. "Do you understand what you're reading?"

"Sure do," replied the man.

Surprised by the man's certainty, the young student asked, "Well, perhaps you could explain it to me?" The young student smiled as if to suggest that this man who cleans floors likely doesn't understand what he's reading.

Then, without hesitation, the old man replies, "The message is simple. God wins." With that the young student smiled and walked away.

Have a great day!

Todd

A Great Homecoming

2008-12-02T13:58:00.001-08:00

Good morning, WUBC!

I am back from vacation and ready to go to work.

For my vacation, I went home. No, not my home on Waldo Run in good ole Doddridge County. I went home to Milton on the Mud, and it was a wonderful time with family and extended family. I had the pleasure of being with my Grandmother, parents, sisters and brother. I was able to spend time with all those who had married into the family, with cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews. There were so many people there, my brother and I had to completely enclose the back deck with temporary plastic walls where we placed tables and chairs we borrowed from my home church, Union Baptist out back-o-Milton. We had Turkey and ham with all the extras, and the fellowship was wonderful. There is something very special about going home that is indescribable. It is a sense that can only be experienced to be understood.

Some day, we all will share in a great homecoming with a table and fellowship prepared by our Lord, Jesus Christ. Words cannot express the joy we will one day have together as we sit with old acquaintances and meet great saints of our Lord. We will sing and celebrate the majesty of our Lord who died and rose again so that we can be there, and it will be a great time of eternal Thanksgiving with Him.

You know. Sometimes I get discouraged by our efforts to invite friends to come to church with us. Sometimes, I get very tired of trying to find new, dynamic ways of doing outreach in an attempt to help others find the salvation we share in Christ. We try to make our services appealing to the unchurched, we try to communicate the good news relevantly to a generation that does not understand their need, and we try to plead with people to make the decision to be close followers of Christ. All the while we hear things such as, "I know I need to go to church, but I just don't have the time." Or, "I will be there someday," but someday never comes. Or, we hear, "I can't go to that church because that is where so and so goes."

All of those excuses are great, except for one thing. Those excuses exist in a temporary, life journey in a world that will someday melt with fervent heat. They exist in a moment that serves to get the one issuing the invitation to give up and leave the question of church attendance for another time. The excuses fail to take into account that there is a great homecoming one day for the saints of the Lord, and a terrible day of judgment for those who decided to reject His invitation.

For the sake of the Kingdom and for the sake of a broken soul, let us not become discouraged in well-doing. Let us all be renewed and dedicated to answering the call of Christ to compel whosever will to come.

Thanks

2008-11-05T04:11:00.001-08:00

Good morning, WUBC!

We are approaching Thanksgiving. As we noted this past Sunday, we have begun our series about having an attitude of gratitude. We are going to REWIND and REMIND. In other words, we are going to remind ourselves of the good stories in our lives, remind ourselves of the good efforts that people have made, and then we are going to take time to tell them thanks.

So often in our lives, we live in a feeling of dread. We dread having to get up to go to work. We are anxious about changes we see in the world and in our communities, and we worry about a lot of things we cannot control. Indeed, we replay our worrisome tales in our minds over and over again. Further, we re-tell the terrible tales to those who will sit with us in our misery. Indeed it is true that misery loves company. In so doing, we never seem to get out from under the burden of worry and dread. This leads to an attitude that never approaches gratitude for the good things God has given to us.

Perhaps now is a good time to rewind and remind. Go back through your memory banks and remind yourself of some of the good stories and of some of the good things you've heard about. To quote an old hymn, "Count your blessings." You'll never break loose from negativity by circulating the same negative stories. Replace the old hurts and old pains with a new attitude of gratitude. I am certain that with some serious prayer and reflection, you can find something to be thankful for.

Announcements

Nov. 6 - Budget and Nominating Committees to meet. Budget meets at 6 PM, and Nominating meets at 7 PM
Nov. 9 - ABW Sunday. The ladies will be in charge of the service, so plan to come out and enjoy the day hearing about missions at the Weirton Christian Center.
Nov. 11 - ABW work party at 6 PM
Nov. 14-16 - Women's Retreat
Nov. 17-23 - Shoeboxes are due - We need volunteers to receive these shoeboxes. We need about 2 volunteers each evening.

New Birth

2008-10-28T04:03:00.001-07:00

Good morning, WUBC!

I got a call from Steve Kelly yesterday at about 1:20 PM saying that he is a Grandpa again. Emma Claire was born on Oct. 27, 2008. She is 7 pounds and 3 ounces and mom and baby are doing just fine. Steve and Vicky plan to stay there for a week to help the family out. Praise God for this new baby, and keep them all in your prayers.

Birth is used to describe the Christian experience in the Bible. For example, John 3:5-7 tells us that if someone is not born again, that person cannot see the Kingdom of God. A new birth is literally to be born from above. The Spirit of God so works in a person's life that they are transformed from a life of sin and condemnation to a new experience. This experience is going to be very personal and unique. However, we can discern, according to Scripture, that there should be some characteristics shared between persons who have truly been born again.

For example, we are told in Gal. 5:22 that the fruits of the Spirit are things such as love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance... Though someone may not exhibit all of these characteristics at the moment of their new birth, we should expect to see these things increasing in the Christian's life as they grow in their faith. Then again, we are told that those who claim to be a brother or sister but demonstrate a very critical spirit are to be put out of the church for God to judge. You may take a look at 1 Corinthians 5, and look for the word, "reviler."

The Bible also tells us to "make our peace calling and election sure." - 2 Peter 1:10. In the context of this verse in 2 Peter, we are told to diligently add these things to our personal lives...faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance patience, godliness, brotherly, kindness, charity. If we aren't deliberately adding these things, then it may be fair to say that someone hasn't had a true "new birth." Indeed, the Bible speaks of the fact that there will be "weeds" in God's garden alluding to the fact that there will be deceivers and imposters on the inside of the church. Read Matthew 13 for this.

As we praise God for this brand new life in Steve Kelly's family, may we all pause a moment and consider our own new birth. Have we made every effort to grow into Christ after our new birth, or have we stopped growing, become stagnant or even backslidden in the faith? It is a question that each of us should consider occasionally. Having said that, the child of God should not spend every day worrying about whether or not he or she is truly saved. However, a reality check is healthy on occasion. Have a great day!

Youth News

2008-09-30T03:30:00.000-07:00

Good morning, WUBC! "Real Faith for Real People"

What an incredible production this past Sunday! For those of you who weren't here, the youth did an outstanding job with their mime to the song, "Everything." It was a powerful presentation of how Jesus rescues us from those sins that entangle our lives. Indeed, it addressed some very mature and serious issues of our youth. I thank God for the great leaders and the wonderful youth that made all of this happen. May God continue to bless your efforts.

Sadly, Angie and Carl Utter, and Sarah and Kristin Reed are leaving us. They have found a new home and jobs in Fayette County, and they are making a brand new start together. They have all contributed many great and wonderful things to the ministry of WUBC, and we are very saddened to see them go. At the same time, we are excited about their new start, and we wish them all the best in the Lord.

With that in mind, I want to inform everyone that we are changing the youth/children's ministry slightly. In an effort to give the kids some time of their own with the pastor, the youth group will meet on Wednesdays at 6:45 PM. At that time, I will offer some Bible teaching with the help of my wife, Angie and also with the help of Dee Dee. I will stay with the kids until 7:15 at which time I will go upstairs to the adult discipleship group. The adults will meet at 7:00 as usual, and they will open with some announcements and prayer. Remember parents, the youth will begin their meetings at 6:45, so plan to bring everyone out. Also, if you cannot make it at 6:45, get here when you can.

Adults: I am not going to appoint someone to get you going. I am releasing that to you. heehee! Now I expect you all to behave yourselves while I am downstairs, and don't make me come up there to straighten you out.

Youth: After I leave to go upstairs, Dee Dee and Angie are planning some activities, so the fun will keep on going. Try to invite someone out for our Wednesday night youth groups as well as for our adult Bible studies.

Also, we are approaching our invite a friend Sunday. This is a time for meeting and eating with our friends, so everyone try to make a friend soon.

Later, and God bless,

Todd

A Week of Renewal

2008-09-23T06:07:00.001-07:00

Good morning, WUBC!

The first two nights of our Bible Conference at Life Builders was wonderful! It is a joy to be able to worship with the extended family of God. For those of you who may be interested, my mom and dad will be singing tonight at the Conference, and it begins at 7 PM. Dad, being the colorful man that he is, should be a joy to see in action.

Sunday night, you all would have been so proud of Dee Dee Doll. She sang beyond herself, and the church greatly appreciated her ministry. I want to thank Dee Dee through this email and ask that you all pray for her very powerful ministry of the Word through song.

I want to remind you all to be sure to invite a friend coming up on the 12th of October. Invite anyone you wish, but make an effort to get someone who doesn't attend church anywhere. I believe that it is vitally important to the advancement of the Kingdom of God that we fill our church without causing other churches to sacrifice their faithful attenders to do so.

Sorry this note is so brief, but we have many things happening this week. May God bless you all.

Announcements

September 21-24 - Bible Conference at Life Builders Fellowship
September 26 - Homecoming parade
September 26 - Fifth Quarter and Youth Mime practice
September 28 - One Month to Live group begins
October - Good Sense Budget Course at West Union Grade School
October 12 - Invite a Friend Sunday. Invite someone now so they can make plans to be with you.
October 19 - Tessa Knotts to speak at our morning worship service.

2008-09-09T09:21:00.001-07:00

"What's your dream. Welcome to Hollywood. Everybody's got a dream. What's your dream?"

The words above are uttered at the end of the movie, "Pretty Woman." It is a movie about a girl being rescued by her knight in shining armor. Well...those of you who have seen the movie know that it is about much more than that, but anyway, you understand. At the end, a man is asking in a general way to anyone who will listen, "What's your dream?"

Well, I would like to ask that same question of our church. What do you dream of with respect to your church? What vision do you have for her? What would you like to see us do? Would you like to see a new building? A new and different ministry? Perhaps a new mission? A new church plant? What would you like to see?

Proverbs 29:18 - Where there is no vision, the people perish...

The quote from Proverbs above speaks of having a revelation from God. Without hearing from God, without sensing His plan, the people will become directionless and the work will end. It is vitally important that we as a church search for God's will, else we run the risk of simply going through a routine; living in a rut, and finally dying out.

So, I ask you. What's your dream for WUBC? What future do you see for her? Please, join with me in earnest prayer before God asking Him to reveal his vision for us. This is a very important request, so please pray with me over the next few weeks while we actively seek His will and learn His vision.

2008-09-01T17:37:00.001-07:00

Deuteronomy 30:6 "The LORD, your God, will circumcise your hearts and the hearts of your descendants, that you may love the LORD, your God, with all your heart and all your soul, and so may live."

An uncircumcised heart is one that is closed and not open to divine grace and guidance. Just as uncircumcised ears (Jer. 6:10) are closed to sound, and uncircumcised lips (Ex. 6:12, 30) do not open well in speech, an uncircumcised heart is not open to the reality of faith.
Presently, we are beginning a new theme for our ministries at WUBC. That theme is "Real Faith for Real People." More than a nifty slogan, its purpose is to focus on the truth that we have a genuine, reliable faith in God who will sustain us in all the issues of life. Indeed, as Real People, we experience trials and struggles as does everyone else in the world. We have temptations and doubts do occasionally come. The difference is in the idea that we have a real faith to see us through. Our prayer, therefore, is that we all would have circumcised hearts that are open to the grace and guidance of God.

Friends and Fifth Quarter

2008-08-25T07:32:00.000-07:00

Prov. 18:24 A man that hath friends must shew himself friendly: and there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother.

We are coming upon a time in our church when we again reach out to the high schoolers after every home football game. Our church, West Union Baptist Church, wishes to invite all Doddridge County High School students to come to the church after home games for a time of food and friendship. We will meet outside, behind the church, and we will be showing that evenings game film, relaxing by a nice warm fire, eating some hardy snacks, and tuning in to the Fifth Quarter sports broadcast on WDTV ch. 5. We welcome this opportunity to show ourselves friendly to the community around us, so please pass this invitation on to every student. This should be another great season for Bulldog football.

Go Dawgs!

Words

2008-08-22T09:08:00.001-07:00

James tells us that the tongue is “a restless evil, full of deadly poison” (James 3:8). Indeed, we can do a lot of damage with our tongues. Whoever said that “sticks and stones can break my bones but words will never hurt me” did not take a good look at Scripture.

Words can help a child develop his or her athletic skills to perform better, or words can cause a child to withdraw from sports keeping their talents underdeveloped. Words can help a student perform better on a math test, or they can cause the same student to not even care about academics. Words can empower people to step out into ministries, to sing a song, to teach a lesson, or to witness to friends. Or, words can stifle creativity, destroy self-esteem, ruin marriages, or shorten careers.

Just curious; have you used your words to build up or to tear down lately?

My first blog

2008-08-20T07:20:00.000-07:00

Hey all,

This is my first attempt at blogging, so be grace-filled in your criticism.

I was talking with a friend last night whose opinion I value greatly, and she recommended that I learn how to blog and twitter. It is a language of which I was unfamiliar, so I had to ask a lot of basic questions. Anyway, after a little searching, I have decided that I can use this space to keep those who are interested up to date with the goings on of the West Union Baptist Church. It is my desire that this space will help our ministry at WUBC to continue to be a blessing to Doddridge County locals as well as interested persons across the U.S. Indeed, some of our friends in Cuba, Spain, or Russia may be interested in knowing what is happening in good ole Doddridge. I will try to faithfully post something each week.

Enjoy as we attempt to fulfill what Jesus said when He told us that we would do greater works than He.

Todd