This Sunday is a special treat, as we welcome Edgar Aponte to the FBC pulpit. Edgar serves as Vice-President for Mobilization at the International Mission Board. He will be with his wife, Sara, and their children. I know you’ll give them the warm welcome FBC is known for. 

IMB’s Vice-President for Mobilization serves in an incredibly strategic role. Edgar’s role is helping mobilize Southern Baptist churches to get involved in international missions. Unfortunately, not all 45,000 SBC churches are as engaged in the Great Commission as ours is. Only a tiny percentage gives as generously as our church does to missions, and only a tiny percentage goes to the field as much as our church does. Edgar is all about trying to change that. He is thankful for generous missions-giving and missions-going churches like ours, and I’m sure you will hear that on Sunday. 

Edgar is on fire for the gospel, and I’m sure you’ll be edified by the message. It will be a timely lead-in to our Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Remember, our Ingathering Service will be on December 9^th. 

It has been such a blessing in 2018 to walk through Romans as a church family. Beginning December 2^nd, I’ll be preaching a four-week Christmas series from Ruth. It’s called Under The Bethlehem Star. The action in the book of Ruth primarily takes place in Bethlehem, and the whole story points to the coming of the One who was born in that city. I encourage you to be reading over the four chapters of Ruth in preparation. We’ll take one chapter a week:

December 2: Ruth 1

December 9: Ruth 2

December 16: Ruth 3

December 23: Ruth 4

I’m so excited to share this Advent series with you!

His Grace, For His Glory, To The Nations,

Dr. Thurman Hayes, Jr.