Pastor's Blog

It's about time for spring...

3/5/2019

Praise the Lord the first day of spring is only 15 days away. I realize that doesn't guarantee anything when it comes to weather but it does give some hope. People often complain about the weather but honestly it doesn't do any good. You can't change it unless you change your address and move to a warm weather state. What bothers me most is how it impacts our ministry. I'm thankful that our people are adaptable and that for the last snow we were able to move our morning service to 4:00 PM and had a good crowd of 80 people as well as a solid first Sunday offering.

Besides the snow this past weekend something else my wife and I couldn't change was another plumbing problem in our basement. We had a backup in a drain which flooded the basement and set things in motion for some immediate change. First of all we couldn't stay at home because we couldn't use the plumbing so we were able to check out the brand new Hampton Inn. That was actually a positive thing because we had a relaxing time together Saturday night and Sunday morning. I'm thankful for our homeowners insurance which is taking care of cleaning up and restoring our basement. It could have been worse.

Maybe you have had a life event which has been out of your control lately. For some who are reading this blog, it could have been worse. Whatever happens remember that when you are God's child and faithful to HIM, to those who love HIM and are called according to HIS purpose, "All Things Work Together For Good". Sometimes we can't see it right away but God has a plan and we need to trust HIM.

Talking about the weather, I understand it will be 50 degrees and raining this Sunday. That kind of weather shouldn't keep any of us from gathering to worship our Lord and Savior. Hope to see you as the church gathers this Sunday.

EXPECTING THE BEST IN 2019

1/3/2019

You can have your best year ever in 2019. Here is a summary of my message from 1/30/18.
Hebrews 11:1 says, "Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen." We must believe that God can do bigger and better things than we ever imagined.

Remember David the shepherd boy who faced the giant. Read I Samuel 17:1-52
We all have giants that we face. Financial, physical, emotional, and then relationships at home, work and school.

Here are four steps to expecting God's best.

1. Start your day with God's principles. Psalms 5:3, II Timothy 3:16 & 17

2. Saturate your mind with God's word.
Psalms 119:9&11, II Peter 4:5

3. Set your goals according to God's purposes.
I Samuel 17:46 Believe that God will give you the victory.
I Corinthians 9:25&26 Run the race with purpose to win.

4. Spend your time with God's people.
Psalms 119:63
Hebrews 10:25
Psalms 37:4
Matthew 9:29

Practical steps - Begin a daily time in God's Word and prayer. Get involved in a small group or Bible Study. Invite one person a week to join you at Calvary.

Remember that the biggest room in the world is the room for improvement. "Good, better, best, never let it rest til your good be your better and your better be your best."

A Strange Birthday Celebration by J.E. Greenlee

11/26/2018

There was once a great king. His love for his people knew no limits. Although the
kingdom was very large, the king knew every person by name. Everything the people of the
kingdom had was a gift freely given by the loving king so to show their love and appreciation to the king for all he had done for them, the people decided to have a great celebration to honor his birthday. Everyone agreed it was a
marvelous idea. Preparations for the celebration were very elaborate. No expense was
spared by the people. They adorned their homes with lights, decorations, and expensive
ornaments. There were parties, dinners, and celebrations throughout the kingdom.
All the people brought gifts for their friends and family. Many of the gifts which the
people gave each other were quite expensive, involving considerable indebtedness. In fact,
the people spent more on the birthday celebration than they spent at any other time of the
year.
Many who were not citizens of the kingdom, and who did not even know the king,
joined in the celebration. Their celebration of the king’s birth was marked by excessive
drinking. Since they did not know the king, they invented a good natured, fat fellow in a red
suit. He laughed a lot, but never said anything. But that didn’t matter because they were too
busy celebrating to listen anyhow.The day set for the birthday celebration drew near. The gifts which the people had
brought for each other were piled high. The decorations were beautiful. Huge amounts of
food were prepared in all the homes and banquet halls.
The king watched eagerly during all the preparation. A number of people
mentioned him and spoke of what a great king he was. The king waited
each day expecting at any time to hear from the people about his role in the celebration. Weeks in advance, he
prepared his house to receive the many people who would be coming with their presents for
him.
The great day of celebrating his birth finally arrived, and some of his people did
come bringing gifts and thanking him for his goodness to them. But to his dismay, most of
the citizens never came to his house at all on this day of celebration. And the gifts brought to
the king by those few who came were meager when compared with the gifts they had given
themselves.
For the most part the people said they had been so busy with all the celebrations
and personal plans that they had forgotten about the king. Several said they had thought of
him, but really could not work it into their schedules or budgets to come to see him or bring a
gift. A few were known to be quite put out when it was suggested that going to the king’s
house or remembering him with a gift was important. Those people who did come to his house and who brought their loving gifts were welcomed and blessed by the king. He told them again of his great love for each of them.
And each received from the king a priceless gift. But when they had gone and he was alone
a gain, the king fell to thinking of the vast numbers of his people who had forgotten and
forsaken him. How could they have forgotten? How could so many of his beloved people
who had found the time and money for shopping and feasting and partying and decorating
and all sorts of celebrations how could they possibly be so thoughtless, so ungrateful, or
so selfish? Did they not know that he too, had feelings? Was not the purpose of the birthday
celebration originally planned to honor him? When the king was alone, pondering these questions,
he felt the tears well up in his eyes. And in his loneliness, he wept.
One thought brought some hope and consolation. Even though they had forgotten
him, he had not forgotten them.

Sacrificing to reach the world...

10/4/2018

From the Pastor's Heart:
The great commission clearly states that we should take the gospel to the end of the earth. What have you done lately that is sacrificial in nature to win the world to Christ? Stephen Curtis Chapman sang the song years ago that said, "Across the street or around the world the missions still the same to share the message of faith in Jesus name."
One thing you can do is put together a shoe box for a child in another part of the world. Through partnership with "Operation Christmas Child" we can provide children with simple hygiene items and toys that will help to bring the gospel message to someone who so desperately needs it.
Our church contributes every Christmas season to the Lottie Moon Offering for International Missions which supports several thousand missionaries around the world. We are also partnering with a local pastor in South Asia who is starting a school in a slum area where there are no known believers. Any investment that we make will make an eternal difference.
God wants us to do what we can. Give, Pray or Go. Ask God what HE would have you to do.
Until the Whole World Knows,
Pastor Don

One thing you can't do in heaven...

8/27/2018

In my message this past Sunday I spoke about one thing we can't do in heaven. You can view the video of the entire service on this website. 10,000 years from now most of the things that matter the most to us on the earth won't matter for all eternity. Money, cars, careers, sports, popularity, and beauty won't last. Only one life will soon be passed and only what's done for Christ will last.
In heaven we will have all of our questions answered about God and His Word. We will have a great time of fellowship. We will experience worship at it's best. We will enjoy the presence of God. One thing we can't do in heaven is tell someone else how to get there. Everyone in heaven will already be saved. The only time and place that we can share the good news of Christ is here and now. Who have you told lately about Jesus? What kind of difference are you making on planet earth for heaven's sake.
We have a great opportunity coming up, Round Up Day on September 9th. Invite family, friends and neighbors to join you for this very special day. We have a goal of 125 in Sunday school and 200 in worship. Will you help us meet that goal? There will also be a meal served after the service.
Together let's round people up on that Sunday for the glory of God.
In His Love,
Pastor Don

Contentment is missing...

7/31/2018

It seems to me the more that I observe people that there are few who are genuinely content with what they have. So many are looking for their next opportunity so hard that they are missing the mark in making a difference where they are. I've tried to live with the thought of "bloom where you are planted" and "God has you there for a reason.
So many times it's economics that cause people to be discontent. Remember there will always be someone who has more but more is not necessarily what you need. I'm reminded of these verses of scripture:

But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
If we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. I Timothy 6:6-8

But seek first the kingdom of God and HIS righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you. Matthew 6:33

I see many people who have great needs but I also see some that have very little yet are satisfied with what God has provided. If you have more than you need then look for opportunities to be generous. If you lack in some basic necessity then seek the King and HIS kingdom and watch God provide. We each have a choice to be content and to be a giver rather than a taker. Which will you be?

Content in Christ,
Pastor Don

Thankful to be a Southern Baptist...

6/19/2018

This past week I traveled to the Southern Baptist Convention in Dallas, Texas it was once again a joy to be called a Southern Baptist. For the first time in years I took messengers with me from our church. It was different to say the least and perhaps a little more exciting having five others with me who have never participated in the convention. Our church members were able to see that we are a part of a much greater body of believers than just our church.
Highlights of our trip included the election of officers including Dr. J.D. Greerar as President and an African American and a Hispanic as 1st & 2nd Vice-Presidents. The two secretaries elected were both from Missouri, Dr. John Yeats and my good friend Don Currence. We also witnessed 79 new missionaries commissioned from the International Mission Board who will be going to the ends of the earth taking the good news of the gospel. Hearing Vice-President Mike Pence share his testimony and commend Southern Baptists for their relief efforts as well as taking the message of the gospel to all fifty states and around the world.
What a joy to know that we share a common cause and mission with 37,000 churches and over 15 million believers. I'm indeed thankful to be a Southern Baptist Pastor.
Yours for Kingdom Growth,
Pastor Don Satterwhite

The importance of family...

5/5/2018

Most weekends I spend at least one or two days, Friday and Saturday with my family. This is because when all is said and done they will be the one's who will be with you in the end. You start together with them in life and ministry and hopefully if the Lord is willing you will end with them. I'm very thankful that God has blessed me with a loving and caring family. I'm speaking not only of my wife, children and grandchildren but also of my brothers. I believe that heritage of a close family came from the long and loving relationship of my parents and from the way that we stuck together when things weren't so good. We had our share of troubles but God carried us through every trial.

The family of God which exhibits itself through the local church is also a family. How we relate to each other is a reflection of our relationship with the Father. We share a common faith, "For you are all the children of God through faith in Christ Jesus" Galatians 3:26. We also share a common mission, "to know Him and to make Him known." When troubles and trials come we need to love one another and stick together for the common good and the glory of God.

I love serving as the pastor of Calvary and trust that God is going to do greater things in the future as we are obedient to Him.
Yours for the Family,
Pastor Don

Pray for our students...

3/1/2018

The following poem was written by my friend Greg Stier of "Dare to Share"

There’s a generation in crisis

Right before our very eyes.

Can you feel their secret pain?

Can you hear their silent cries?

Suicide and school shootings
Are now a common thing.
Death is right among us
And teens can feel its sting.

Some turn to social media
Being fed by just their feed.
Measuring their self-worth
By the lives that others lead.

Some turn to drugs and alcohol
And look for hope in highs.
But short-term satisfaction
Cannot stop their inner cries.

A handful turn to violence
They bully, they fight, they kill.
They take vengeance for their pain
And innocent blood is spilled.

We mourn the loss and make a plan.
We lock our schools down tight.
We hire guards and enact laws
We won’t go down without a fight!

But there is another enemy
Invisible to human eyes.
He whispers lies in tingling ears
And cheers when our teens die.

Satan's army is in the millions
And he has a plan to win.
Armed with empty promises
He destroys our teens with sin.

But now’s the time for us to fight
It’s not just through locks and laws.
It’s through prayer and the Gospel.
It’s through the power of God!

It’s by energizing every church
To mobilize their youth
To gospelize their schools
Until teens hear the truth

Until they hear the truth that Jesus
Died for them upon a cross.
Enduring ultimate grief and pain
He entered into human loss.

Until they hear the hope of Jesus
That he was raised up from the dead
So they too can be resurrected
From this life of sin and death.

So rise up church and be the church!

Let’s fight for these young lives!
Upon our knees we’ll call on God
And then we will arise!

We’ll rise to charge the gates of hell
To snatch teens from the flames!
We’ll fight the fight until it’s won!
And we’ll win in Jesus’ Name!

Dedicated to the victims and survivors of the most recent school shooting in Parkland,Florida.

Love makes the world go around...

2/6/2018

A popular song many years ago said, "What the world needs now is love sweet love, that's the only thing that there's just too little of." God's love is available to everyone in the world. "For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." Have you recieved God's love which was expressed through Jesus Christ death on the cross to pay the penalty of your sin. When you trust Christ alone as your only hope for heaven you can know that you have eternal life.

If you have recieved this love, God wants you to share that love with others. All you need to do is tell others what they need to believe, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved." What are you doing to make a difference for eternity in someone else's life?

You can pray a simple prayer like this "God, I know I'm a sinner and can't make it to heaven on my own but the best I know how I place my faith and trust in Jesus Christ as the one who died and rose again for me. Thank you for saving me. If you will sincerely pray that prayer you can know for sure that you have eternal life. Trust Him today.