A Word from our pastor

Happy New Year!!!!! Almost difficult to say isn’t it? I can’t believe it
is 2010. I thought for sure Jesus would be coming back by now, but
He is giving us more time to tell others of His amazing love!
Since it is His plan to allow us to be able to share this amazing life let’s
get busy and begin sharing that He is our everything. Some may ask,
our everything? Yes. God Himself tells us we can depend on Him
for our everything. “Exodus 3:14” "And God said unto Moses, I AM
that I AM: and He said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel,
I AM hath sent me unto you."
The torch
Adrian Rogers said: “Have you ever noticed that the title God chose
to describe Himself is an incomplete sentence? Now, most people
would finish that sentence, “I am…” but not our Lord. He
purposefully did not complete the sentence. “I AM.” He is. Are you Gordon Keller
1st Baptist Church of Branford

hungry? He is the bread. Are you in the dark? He is the light. Are Pastor
you searching? He is the truth. Are you lost? He is the way. Are you
in need? He is your Shepherd.”
God’s Word further describes our needs being met in (Philippians 4:19) “And my God shall supply all
your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Understand God has promised His Children
He is our everything. Do not misunderstand, He does not say He is going to give us everything we ask or
wish for. What He does promise is that He will make sure our needs are met. Notice the One from
whom this supply shall be coming, through the Son.
(Hebrews 4:16) “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need.” He then tells us we can ask boldly for those needs. When we must do

Volume 14, Issue 1 January 2010

In this issue: Special points of interest:

Bro. Herb 2 ∗ Pictures from “A Baby Changes Everything”

Dinner Theater
AWANA 4
∗ Middle School Youth begins
Birthday’s 8
∗ Special Thank You from the Church Secretary
Calendar 9

without or wait for something we think we must with Jesus in control? God bless you all and
have right now, or be told no, He sill is our supply remember, He’s got the whole world in His
of what we must have. He provides the grace and hands!
mercy to go through grieving, hardship, difficult
IN HIS SERVICE
sickness, or even thinking we have been forgotten.
If we truly desire to have a great year, we had
better learn He is our everything. If He is coming
again, and He is, we had better tell all this year He
is their everything also, if they will surrender their
lives to His will. BROTHER GORDON
How can it not help to be but a Happy New Year
 Page 2 The Torch

From My Heart
I just want to say thank you
to everyone involved in mak-
ing this Christmas so success-
ful. Congregation; thank
you for your support, the
attendance was great.
Choir; what can I say, you
gave your all and the Lord
blessed it. Soloist; each of
you did a great job and sold
your songs. Children; you
sang your hearts out and
stole the show. Tech crew;
Bro. Herb Stucky your awesome, you make the
Minister of Worship difference.
Above were my remarks
after our first Christmas to-
gether. Let me just say
“ditto”. But let me add,
Elaine Boney (drama direc-
tor), Robert Bradow (Dinner
Coordinator), Braxton Koon
(technical director), Rox-
anne Worsley (set director),
Wanda Petrena (costume
director), Shelly Fletcher
(promotional director) and
all the actors and villagers,
you added so much, making
this the best Christmas yet.
Truly, “A Baby does Change
Everything.” We love you
church and thank you for the
opportunity to lead you in
worship. May 2010 be a
great year for FBC Branford.
Enjoy the pictures and
memories:
Bro. Herb
Scenes from “A Baby Changes Everything”
 Volume 14, Issue 1
M i d d l e S c h o o l Yo u t h
By: Kevin Fletcher
Have you ever done any social experiments?
You know, where you set up certain scenarios
without anyone else knowing about it, and see
how everyone reacts to what you've done.
We had a new toilet paper dispenser/ maga-
zine rack installed in the men's room (men, a
little note here, don't try this experiment in
the ladies room, as experimental data is diffi-
cult to compile without looking like some
kind of weirdo) of the office where I work.
It's mounted on the wall on the right hand
side of the toilet, and holds two rolls of toilet
paper (hereafter referred to as "TP") side by
side, with one roll being closer to the person
using said TP by exactly the width of the roll
of TP. Get the picture, one roll just slightly
closer to you than the other roll. The reason
this holder was installed was that the original
TP dispenser was mounted down below toilet
level to your right and was awkward to reach
without formal training in yoga. So now,
within easy reach of the toilet, are three rolls
of toilet paper, a real treasure trove for those
in need.
I noticed one day that someone had mounted
the rolls of TP backwards, where the paper
rolls off the backside from underneath instead
of over the top and out the front. Being
slightly picky about such things, I promptly
moved to rectify this atrocity. But halfway
through turning the rolls around to the
PROPER direction of rollage, I had an idea. "I
wonder," thought I, "if others are as disturbed
as I am over which way the TP rolls, and will
it affect which roll of TP they use?" So I only
turned one roll around, the closer of the two
in the double dispenser, and left the other
roll, and the one on the wall that's so hard to
reach, rolling off backwards. It was soon ap-
parent that the frontward facing roll was ap-
proximately three times more favored for
usage than the other two combined.
AAAAHHHHH, results. "But (no pun in-
WNL Begins...
tended)," thought I, "was the favored usage
due to ease of rolling, or ease of reach?" So
the next week, I switched the rolls around,
with the backward rolling roll closest to the
subject of intense scientific research, and
turned the other two rolls around to roll off
the front of the dispenser in the proper fash-
ion, as I'm sure the Creator of the universe
intended for them to work. Now it gets inter-
esting. In this configuration, the somewhat
farther away properly rolling roll had a slight
advantage over the closer backwards rolling
roll, with the difficult to reach even closer roll
not in the running (again, no pun intended) at
all. Well, I had one more arranging of the
rolls to try. This time, the only forward facing
roll was the difficult to reach, but incredibly
close roll, with the other two rolling off back-
wards. In this configuration I'm sad to say, the
closest of the backward rolling rolls was the
winner by a nose (the gags are too easy here).
Do you see the significance here? Can you
grasp the implications, the relevance, the
enormity of this? We will use the roll closest
to us more often as long as it's not difficult to
reach, but only when it's rolling in the right
direction. Get it rolling the wrong way, make
it a little less accessible, just slightly more
difficult to use, and we'll reach right around it
and use the properly rolling roll, a roll that is
prepared to do the job and is facing the right
way. And don't even get me started on that
roll that you have to contort yourself around
in an un-human fashion to use. It only gets
used when the other two rolls are completely
unavailable, and even then it's a toss up be-
tween using it or one of the leftover card-
board tubes from the other two rolls. I'm
talking seriously difficult to reach.
A little while back, a church on the way into
town (Living Springs, for all you locals) had a
sign on their marquee that read "God uses
Page 5
those closest to Him most often." Yeah, most
often, but not always. God will use those
closest to Him most often, as long as they're
not to difficult to reach. Or, maybe they're
"coming off the roll backwards", meaning,
they're in reach, but they're not living their
life for God at the moment. Are you talking
to God daily, digging into His word, seeking
out His will for your life? In other words, are
you easily within reach of God when He needs
to use you? I've gotten myself in that situation
before, not a fun place to be. Kind of lonely
really. Lots of friends and family around all
the time, but still lonely without the closeness
of a proper relationship with God. I really
missed God, and it wasn't that He had gone
anywhere, it was I, like the prodigal son, who
had gone away from the Father. Thankfully,
God is faithful and stands and watches for us,
and while I was yet a long way off, He saw
me, and welcomed me back into a relation-
ship with Him. And then He started using me
again. Let me have the Middle School Youth
Group again. Fun group to teach. Now if only
they'll study the seventies so they can under-
stand some of my illustrations better. Who
ever heard of someone who doesn't know
what the "rope-a-dope" is?
To be used by God we must be in the right
position, we must be in reach, and we must
be available. Sure, God will use us if we're
coming off the roll backwards, or if He has to
really reach to get us, and sometimes when
others just aren't available. But wouldn't it be
better to have ourselves in position, ready,
easily reachable, prepared to be used by God?
 Page 6
Yo u t h & C h i l d r e n
“Be an Eagle in 2010”
“For the eyes of the Lord
move to and fro throughout
the earth that He may strongly
support those whose heart is
completely His.” 2 Chroni-
cles 16:9
Once upon a time in the long,
long ago the Eagle and the
Mark Worsley Chicken were very good friends.
Youth Pastor Everywhere they went, these
friends went together. It was not
uncommon for people to look up
and see the Eagle and Chicken
flying side by side through the air.
One day while flying, the Chicken
said to the Eagle, “Let’s drop down
and get a bite to eat. My stomach
is growling.” “Sounds like a good
idea to me,” replied the Eagle. So
the two birds glided down to
earth, they saw several animals
eating and decided to join them.
They landed next to the cow. The
cow was busy eating corn, but
noticed the Eagle and Chicken
were sitting on the ground next to
“The size of a leader is her. “Welcome,” said the cow.
“Help yourself to the corn.”
determined by the depth
of his convictions, the This took the birds by surprise.
height of his ambitions, They were not accustomed to hav-
the breadth of his vision, ing other animals share their food.
“Why are you so willing to share
and the reach of his
your corn with us?” asked the
love.” --- D. N. Jackson Eagle. “Oh we have plenty to eat
here. Mr. Farmer gives us all we
want,” replied the cow. Well the
Chicken and the Eagle joined in
and ate their fill. When they
finished, the Chicken asked more
The Torch
about Mr. Farmer. “Well,” said
the cow, “he grows all our food for
us. We don’t have to work for the
food at all.” “You mean,” said the
Chicken, “That Mr. Farmer gives
you all you want to eat?” “That’s
right,” said the cow. “Not only
that, but he also gives us shelter
over our heads.” The Chicken and
the Eagle were shocked! They had
never heard of such a thing. They
had always had to search for food
and work for shelter.
When it came time to leave, the
Chicken and the Eagle began to
discuss the situation. “Maybe we
should just stay here,” said the
Chicken. “We can have all the
food we want without working.
And that barn over there sure beats
those nests we’ve been building.
Besides, I’m tired of always having
to work for a living.”
“I don’t know about all this,” said
the Eagle. “It sounds too good to
be true. I find it hard to believe
that one can get something for
nothing. Besides, I like flying
high and free through the air. In
fact, I find it quite challenging.
Well the Chicken thought it over
and decided to stay where the food
and shelter was free. But the
Eagle loved the challenges of life
and his freedom too much to give
it up. After saying his goodbyes to
his friend the Chicken, the Eagle
set sail for the wild blue yonder.
Everything went fine for the
Chicken. He ate all he wanted.
He never worked. He grew fat
and lazy. But then one day he
heard the Farmer say to his wife
that the preacher was coming the
next day and they should have
fried Chicken for dinner. Hearing
that, the Chicken decided it was
time to check out and rejoin his
good friend Mr. Eagle. But when
attempted to fly he found that he
had grown to fat and lazy. In-
stead of flying, he could only
flutter. So the next day, the
Farmer’s family and the preacher
enjoyed a fine fried Chicken meal.
And that’s the reason why Eagles
soar and Chickens flutter.
The Living Bible translates Prov-
erbs 14:12 like this: “Before every
man there lies a wide and pleasant
road that seems right but ends in
death.”
It’s my prayer for our church
family that we all are more the
Eagle; willing to take on the
challenges for the new year.
Eagles spur revival. Eagles
cause growth. Eagles soar –
and pull others up high with
them. Just as Eagles stand out
among other birds, Christians
should stand out and above the
rest of the Crowd.
“The size of a leader is deter-
mined by the depth of his con-
victions, the height of his am-
bitions, the breadth of his vi-
sion, and the reach of his
love.” --- D. N. Jackson
 Volume 14, Issue 1 Page 7

Ta x e s

Notice to Donors: Do not file your 2009 federal

income tax return until you receive your contri-
bution summary from the church. If you donated
$250 or more you will receive a contribution
statement.

F ro m yo u r s e c r e ta ry
It’s hard to believe that I
have been the church secre-
tary for 5 years! What an
awesome opportunity the
Lord has given me.
I first wanted to thank my
church family for being a
family to me. The people I
see and talk to on a regular
basis bless and encourage
me everyday. As someone
who gets to see “behind the
scenes”, it amazes me the
work that people do for
God that no one else sees.
They do this not for their
glory, but because they
love the Lord. That is
awesome!
Our pastors are true men
of God and I appreciate
that more than they could
ever know. Bro. Gordon
has taught me never as-
sume someone is saved...
Ask them! Because it’s not
about a religion, it’s a
about a relationship with an
all mighty God that gets
you into heaven.
Bro. Mark, the work he
does with our children and
youth can be tiring, but he
continues to encourage
them to live for the Lord.
He regularly encourages
our youth to give back to
the congregation through
work days, and just re-
cently Christmas caroling
to some of our member
that could use a little lift
for Christmas.
Bro. Herb, he brought mu-
sic back into my life, and
for that I will forever be
grateful. The bible says the
Lord will give you the de-
sires of your heart... To
play my flute in the Florida
Baptist Worship Choir and
Orchestra is more than I
would have ever dared to
ask for. It’s hard to please
everyone when it comes to
“style of worship”, and I
appreciate the work he
does helping us to worship
our Lord.
I believe what I do in the
office is a ministry for God
and I will strive to please “Hard to believe it's been
Him. I hope God allows
me to stay in this place a 5 years that I have been
long time, because there is
no better place to be!
your secretary”
Thank you for allowing me
to serve you through the
church office, and remem-
ber I always have a piece of
candy on my desk and an
ear to listen!
Love all of you
Shelly Fletcher
 Sunday, January 3, 2010
6:00 PM
Christian Life Center

**Special concert for the Young @ Heart, Monday January 4th at 11:00 pm. Bring
a covered dish and join us for lunch before the concert , meat will be provided!
 Volume 14, Issue 1 Page 9

The Young@Heart had the regular scheduled meeting on Monday, December 7th at 11:00 am. They met and had a
wonderful covered dish dinner, played a few games and gave away gifts, shared their best Christmas stories.
Photos by George Petrena

Grace Vaught and Leota Fletcher ready for Christmas John Hall and Joe Vaught enjoying conversation.

Don Kahle and Garry Forester Aline Petty always brings something wonderful to eat

Barbara Kahle, Norma Forester and Shirley Koon getting Olga Knott with her mother, Florence Lugo
ready in the kitchen
 Page 10 The Torch

Birthdays
The Pastor, Staff and congregation of the First Baptist Church 2 Dale Kaman, Jemma Thompson,
extend love and Christian sympathy to and a donation made in
their memory to the FBC Worship Center : 3 Sharon Richardson, Bill Tindale

4 Brenda Langston, Kimberly Walker

The Inez Humphries Family
The Leon Hatch Family 5 Todd Cangelosi, Wilbur Hall, Joe Vaught

6 Dola Hall
A donation was made to the FBC Worship Center in mem-
ory of Inez Humphries by: 7 Cherry Lumbert
Scott & Barb Tomlinson 8 Steve Eliason, Joella Humphries, Randy Nemeth
Mr. & Mrs. Walter Boatright, Jr.
Mr. & Mrs. Hansel Ross 9 David Bass, Lindsey (Walker) Taylor
Billy Brannan
Jesse Wood 11 Robert Arrowood
Maranatha SS Class
12 Dick Hiller
Jean Williams
Jerry & Virginia Coker 13 Kayla Alford, Velma Carrington, Bill Sorrells
Joy SS Class
Jo & Jim Bob Brown 14 Michelle Aderholt
Wannie Mae Brannan
Craig & Judy Lamb 15 Doyle Hayes, Robert Kelly
Jerry & Jeanette Scarborough
Clydie Wheeler 17 Lauren Cangelosi, Keri (Frierson) VanAernam
Don & Tina Meyer 19 Landen Lewis
Lawanda Bachara
Johnie W Boatright 20 Tom Koon

A donation was made to the FBC Worship Center in 21 Ricky Aderholt, Alaina Tyre
memory of Leon Hatch by:
22 Ella Clark (1st Birthday!!), Eddie Hatch
Martha Sue Brown
23 Erin Morris
Jesse Wood
Jean Williams 24 Will Campbell, Johnny Howard, Travis Lockwood, Marc Severance
Jerry & Virginia Coker
Dan Terry Barnes, Jr. DMD & Melissa 25 David Campbell
Don & Tina Meyer
Lawanda Bachara 26 Tori Aderholt, Betty Hall, Elaine Nemeth
Brian & Cherry Lumbert
27 Cash Blalock, AW Gaylard
Amanda Grimmett
Johnie W Boatright 28 Gage Clark, Keiron Felty

29 Delani Cannon, Gary Croxton, Kiara Janosh

A donation was made to the FBC Worship Center
in memory of Billy Walker & Dee Wood 30 Joslyn Barrs, Ross Sears, Oveda Williams
by Lawanda Bachara
31 Teresa Bullock, Caden Coker
 Volume 14, Issue 1 Page 11

January 2010
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2

Happy New Year

3 Deacon Meeting 4 5 6 7 8 9

Terry G. Hall in Young@Heart, Upward Basketball

concert 6:00 pm 11:00 am

10 11 12 13 14 15 16

Stewardship Business Meeting Upward Basketball

17 18 19 20 21 22 23

Upward Basketball

24 25 26 27 28 29 30

Upward Basketball

31

Trustee Meeting

Sundays
9:00 am ……................................................Sunday School
10:15 am ………...............................…......Morning Worship
4:30 pm.......................................................Choir Practice
6:00 pm …….....................…....................Evening Worship
Wednesdays
6:30pm.........................................AWANA (2 yrs—5th grade)
6:30 pm …....................................…Youth (6th—12th grade)
6:30 pm ………................……..….......Prayer & Praise Service
8:15 pm....................................................Orchestra Practice

Mondays
5:00 pm.................................................................SHARE Thursdays
10:00 am....................................................Ladies Bible Study
Tuesdays 6:30 pm......................................................Adult Bible Study
6:30am …………....…….........….……...Men’s Prayer Group
 Non-Profit Organization
1st Baptist U.S. Postage
Church of PAID
Branford Permit No. 33
Branford, FL
607 Suwannee Ave NW
PO Box 853
Branford FL 32008

Phone: 386-935-1363
Fax: 386-935-6256
E-mail: lighthse@gotjesus.net

It's not about us, it's

about Him!

We’re on the Web!

www.branfordbaptist.com
Church Information
STAFF Worship Times
Rev. Gordon Keller...........…Senior Pastor
gkeller@gotjesus.net Sunday School……........……..…...9:00 am
Sunday Morning…………….........10:15 am
Bro. Herb Stucky.......... Minister of Worship Sunday Evening……….....….........6:00 pm
hstucky@windstream.net Wednesday Evening………….....…6:30 pm

Rev. Mark Worsley......... Minister to Student Contact Information

markfbcb@yahoo.com
Shelly Fletcher……….Secretary/Receptionist
shelly@gotjesus.net
Angela Blalock................Financial Secretary
Church Office…….......……..386-935-1363
Fax…………….....………...386-935-6256
Website:.....................branfordbaptist.com
Email……….…….....lighthse@gotjesus.net
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please call us or send us an email.

The First Baptist Church exists…

Under the Divine Leadership of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, we worship God, work diligently to
extend His kingdom, and exalt the Christian standard of living while promoting Christian fellowship.