Striving for a Gospel-driven and enduring response to post-earthquake needs in Haiti
Morning Star's missions/disaster relief ministry arm, Global Grace Missions, is currently collecting funds and seeking strategic wisdom for a right response to the current situation in Haiti.A more immediate opportunity came up to collect baby formula and medical supplies at our building in Rockford and get them to NY by Friday for a flight to Haiti with a team of Haitian medical personnel. Literally overnight in the less than 24 hours between 3pm Tues.,1/19 till 7pm Weds.,1/20, we saw over $250,000 worth of medical supplies, surgical equipment, and formula come in from all over the community.
Thank you to the area hospitals, local media stations, the Morning Star family, and individuals throughout Rockford and neighboring communities!
Our lead pastor, Bob Bixby, spent the last part of January and first part of February accompanying a medical/trauma response team (Haitians and Americans) as a French-speaking chaplain. Since that time, we had a 2nd 24hr drive for needed supplies (PowerBars, jerky, crutches, canes, baby bottles, and autoclaves), and another of our leaders, Jeremy Scott, accompanied the shipment to Haiti (1/30-2/1). There is a second trip effort underway now to send a small team to the same area for a week (March 15-22). Read more about Morning Star|Global Grace relief efforts on the Global Grace blog.
"A 'Crown and Joy' Church in 2010"
Pastor Bixby preached a 2-part series from Philippians on January 3rd and January 10th. The audio files can be accessed at SermonAudio or via podcasts: here to get set up with free downloads or audio podcasts):
New year! New schedule!
Morning Star will be transitioning back into a mid-week Bible study meeting for adults on Wednesday nights at 7pm (Kids 4 Truth and teen meetings will continue). Life Groups will meet every other Sunday night (beginning January 17th). Note: There will be a new Life Group forming in Freeport under the leadership of Rick Bovell. If you have not yet found a Life Group to join, please email or call someone on the leadership team (815.520.3697) for more information. The other Sunday evenings, we will meet corporately at 5pm at the Sandy Hollow/Alpine facilities.
Missionary appointees to Cambodia
Dr. Jeremy Farmer, who
preached for our 2009 Bible conference meetings, returned with his family for the November 8th weekend. Dr. Farmer spoke both for the Sunday School hour (9-10am) and the evening meeting (5-7:30pm). The Farmers are en route to
Cambodia for ministry there.
The audio recordings of Dr. Farmer's lectures from this summer on the topic of From Creation to the Cross are available on SermonAudio.com (key words/speaker: "Jeremy Farmer"), and you can hear a presentation about his future ministry here, given at his church in Wisconsin.
"FOR THE SAKE OF HIS NAME"
2009 Morning Star Missions Conference (Oct. 25-28)
In spite of churchwide struggles with various illnesses and scheduling conflicts, God gave us a spiritually encouraging missions conference.
Dan and Lyn Sehested were with us (ministry workers we support in Romania), along with two new visiting deputee
couples and their families. Dan and Angela Huffstutler (Kenya) led the direction of the conference this year,
and candidates Joel and Shelley C. (Central Asia) were also with us. The men expounded on the theme of God's glory as our preeminent priority in any and all missionary undertakings: "For the Sake of His Name." On Wednesday evening,
Dr. David Hesselgrave returned to Morning Star to take part in a panel discussion.
The audio recordings will be available on SermonAudio, and please feel free to inquire about obtaining video recordings.
Radio ministry off, BUT podcasts & free downloads continue!
We regret to inform our listeners that our Sunday morning program has been cancelled in conjunction with the recent sale of Radio 91 to KLOVE. Morning Star messages are still available for free online as free downloadable MP3s. Check out our audio resources here on the website for sermon downloads. You can also subscribe to podcasts there. Years of archived sermons up until just recent ones are available anytime from our MSBC SermonAudio profile. Keep listening!Kids 4 Truth is back!
Our children's program started up again on September 2nd. Morning Star uses Kids 4 Truth's curriculum, and our meetings begin at 7pm each Wednesday evening. Children whose parents are attending nearby Life Group meetings may be dropped off at the Morning Star building at 6:45. Learn more about K4T here.
Clearwater's 2009 Christian Life Conference
School years at Clearwater Christian College open with a conference for which Pastor Bixby preached this year the first week of September. The administration at Clearwater asked that we would join them in praying for these meetings: "The purpose of this conference is to start out the semester dealing with spiritual character; from the origination of a personal walk with God (salvation) to the consistency of the Christian walk. There is a vast difference between professing Christ and living as a Christian. This Conference is a concentrated time during Chapel and evening sessions to focus on establishing or renewing a personal, ongoing walk with God, and how to live that life as independent, responsible adults."Bible school at Morning Star
July 20-24 was Morning Star's week of vacation Bible school, and was a blast. Friday evening's carnival was open to all parents who would like to join. Many (MANY) photos of the week's festivities were taken and have been posted with limited access online. If you would like to see photos of your child/children, or are just curious about the VBS in general, please email Joy McCarnan to request photo albums' access info.
2009 BIBLE CONFERENCE
with Dr. Jeremy Farmer, June 7-10
Our annual expository Bible conference was brought this year by
Dr. Jeremy Farmer.
Dr. Farmer taught Bible and Greek at Northland International University. The Farmers are en route to
Cambodia for ministry there.
The topic of this year's lectures was From Creation to the Cross. The audio recordings are available! Dr. Farmer's messages are available on SermonAudio.com (key words/speaker: "Jeremy Farmer"), and you can hear a presentation about his future ministry here, given at his church in Wisconsin.
WHAT IS A HEALTHY CHURCH MEMBER? by Thabiti Anyabwile (new book for Life Groups)
In lieu of midweek services, the adults have begun meeting together in small groups called Life Groups. Most of the groups have finished working through the book Respectable Sins by Jerry Bridges. Various groups meet (most of them on Wednesday nights) at locations on different sides of Rockford.
{There is a Thursday group (every other Thurs) primarily made up of Kids 4 Truth teachers and workers who have K4T during Weds groups.
Please consider participating in one of these Life Groups if you have not already done so.}
The next book that the Life Groups will study together is
Thabiti Anyabwile's book
What Is A Healthy Church Member? —
for a $10 copy of the book, please contact Natalie at church or by email: natalie@wordcentered.org.
If you would like to find out more about Life Groups in general, please email or call someone on Morning Star's leadership team (815.520.3697) for more information.
THE BEAUTY OF HOLINESS
2009 Grace and Truth Conference
The Grace and Truth Conference took place on April 24-25, 2009. Read about the speakers and the theme, the beauty of holiness, by browsing through the conference website. Audio should be available soon. Unusual Sunday meeting times & topics
on April 19th & 26th: The relationship between
para-church organizations & local churches
Matt Olson, the president of Northland International University (Dunbar, WI) visited with us
on Sunday, April 19th. Discussion was devoted to how para-church organizations can minister to the local church generally and, more specifically,
how a Christian college can relate in a healthy and constructive way to the goals of the local church. During the normally scheduled Bible Hour (from 9-10am), the teens and adults
will meet together. This was an opportunity for parents of children who will soon be attending college, and an informative time for all of us who are investigating the
usefulness of para-church organizations. This was an afternoon meeting (at 3pm) in lieu of an evening service.Along similar lines, on Sunday, April 26th (following the Grace and Truth Conference), Dave Burggraff of Shepherd's Theological Seminary (Cary, NC) and Dick Stratton of Clearwater Christian College (Clearwater, FL) were our guest speakers in the Bible Hour (from 9-10am) and the afternoon service (also an early service at 3pm in lieu of an evening service).
Designated Sunday school rooms
The adults are meeting now in the main auditorium at 9am for Sunday school. The back classrooms will be used, however, so please continue to avoid entering through the back door until after 10am, for sake of keeping that area as warm as possible. The children and teens will proceed directly to their Sunday school classes at 9am, without a combined-classes opening time. Email Jess Miller, our new Bible Education ministry coordinator, if you have any questions related to the Sunday school programs for adults, teens, and children.A cold start for 2009
This winter's fluctuating weather has required some scheduling and location adjustments. If you have a question about cancellations, venue changes, or delays, please email or call someone on the leadership team (815.520.3697) for more information.TEACHING THE NATIONS
2008 Missions Conference
This fall's missions conference was October 19-22. We had a wonderful time with Michael and Liz Cole, future colaborers of Tim and Ruth Bixby in France, Kyler Welch, representing "The Antioch Initiave" of Slavic Gospel Association, and Dr. David Hesselgrave, who has authored books on cross-cultural communication, world religions, church planting, and more.The Hiding Place showing in Rockford
Our friends at Overshadowed Productions has brought their dramatization of Corrie ten Boom's story to us. Following their scheduled performances in the Chicago area, Overshadowed has been using Morning Star's buildings as a venue on October 10th (8pm) and October 11th (7pm). Admission is free for these two performances only.
To reserve a free ticket, please email Anouk Scott asap.
HEAR THE CALL OF THE KINGDOM
The Gospel According to Matthew
The exposition of Matthew (most Sunday mornings) will continue into 2009 and following. Pastor Bixby began this series in January 2008.
Bible meetings with Ken Casillas
The meetings with Dr. Ken Casillas this past June 1-4 were excellent. He preached and taught through the book of Jeremiah.
Please email Jeremy Scott if you would like PDFs of Dr. Casillas' handouts, and the messages are all available online from Morning Star's SERMONAUDIO profile.
Conferences come to a successful end
On April 11-12, the Lord gave us a wonderful Grace and Truth Conference for the ladies. Pastor Bixby opened with a paper addressing the theme, "Courageous Femininity," Holly Stratton described foundational doctrine from Ephesians, and Theresa Bixby spoke on practical applications as seen in the life of Abigail. Barb Moore and Anouk Scott also prepared workshops on various topics from which the ladies could choose. The 100 or so ladies in attendance came from all over the United States, and we truly believe that God blessed us with edifying and encouraging lessons and fellowship during these two days.
In addition, some eighteen people from Morning Star attended this year's Together for the Gospel conference in Louisville, April 14-17. Sermons preached by John MacArthur, Thabiti Anyabwile, Ligon Duncan, Mark Dever, John Piper, C.J. Mahaney, R.C. Sproul, and Al Mohler are available to anyone as free downloadable mp3s from the T4G website
Pastor Jeremy officially on staff
As of December 2007, Jeremy Scott has been voted on to join the Morning Star staff as a part-time pastor. He begins working in this capacity in the official sense in January 2008. Please keep Pastor Jeremy and Anouk in your prayers as this year promises to bring a lot of change for their family!SERVING A MERCIFUL SOVEREIGN
2007 Missions Conference
The church family enjoyed a wonderful time getting to know missionary candidates and hearing sermons, particularly the 4-part series on Jonah preached by Pastor Tim Bixby. It was an honor to get to know these families better, as well as to hear Dr. David Hesselgrave's lecture on contextualization. All the messages from the conference are available at the Morning Star page on SermonAudio.com, under the keyword search ["Missions Conference 2007"].Missionary guests this year were Tim & Ruth Bixby (to France), Daniel & Jennifer Arnold (to Germany), Melissa Carlson (to Sweden), and Dave & Kimberly Deets (to Italy). It was a blessing to have them with us.
Global Grace Director back from Jamaica
Thank you for keeping Chris Metras in mind last week as he was in Kingston, Jamaica. He traveled with two men from Southeast Valley Baptist Church to assess post-hurricane damages and needs. Chris is still praying particularly for wisdom to discern how and to what extent Global Grace might be able to help.Pastor Bixby's trip to New Zealand
In mid-August, Pastor went to NZ to visit the Silsbee family. He wanted to be a blessing to the Silsbees and to become better acquainted with their ministry there in Good News Baptist Church. You can see photos and read about trip highlights at Pastor's blog, the Bixby family blog, or at our own church family blog, Morning Star Miscellanies. Please continue to remember Scott, Lori, Heidi, and Daniel in your prayers.First deacons installed
Sunday evening, July 8th, the congregation of Morning Star Baptist Church installed our first three deacons and committed to pray for them, their families, and their ministry as they take on the service of this God-ordained office. Technically, these men (Bill Hunt, Terry Miller, Jack Cook) have already been "deaking" for years – ministering faithfully to Morning Star's leadership and congregation, but on this night they were commissioned officially. To celebrate the occasion, there was a time of food and fellowship after the service at the church building.Mexico team members report
During the last week of June, three of our young ladies joined a To Every Tribe Ministries outreach team ministering in a tiny fishing village near the northeastern coast of Mexico.
They shared a report with the Morning Star church family on Sunday evening, July 8th. It was a blessing to learn about the mission's theocentric philosophy and to hear how God used the trip in the lives of team members and villagers.
The ladies challenged everyone to consider participating on a trip next summer if at all possible.Where-the-Rubber-Meets-the-Road Theology
Our annual Bible conference was June 20-24. This year's theme was "Where-the-Rubber-Meets-the-Road Theology." Dr. Burggraff did a wonderful job teaching lectures on the theology of war, of worship, and of social responsibility. He also gave an introduction to Dispensationalism. Recordings will be available soon from SermonAudio.com.Resurrection Sunday in the new location
Morning Star's first meetings in the new building were on Sunday, April 8th (Easter). About 145 people met together to commemorate the Lord's victory over sin and death and to fellowship together as believers. The Rockford Register-Star included a write-up here, and you can view more photos here (click on the Easter Celebration link in the tan "Related Content" box).
The address for our new meeting place is 3426 Colony Bay Drive / Rockford, IL 61109 (see map and get directions online). Pass the word along to visitors!
iTunes Users: Sign Up for Podcasts!
If you have iTunes on your computer (available for Mac or PC users) you can subscribe to Morning Star's featured sermon downloads. To sign up, simply open up iTunes and use one of the following ways of subscribing:1. Either click on Podcast directory (near the foot of the iTunes window), search for "Morning Star Baptist Church" (there are 3, but ours says "Bob Bixby") in the iTunes Podcast directory,
2. Or click on the Advanced tab (near the top of the iTunes window), click on "Subscribe to Podcast" and then type in the following URL:
feed://sermonaudio.com/rss_source.asp?sourceid=msbc
To receive a notification whenever new events are posted here, please send an email to subscribe@wordcentered.org.
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Upcoming events
Grace & Truth Conference
(Fri. April 30 - Sat. May 1, 2010)
Make your plans now to join us for the annual Grace & Truth Conference for women! Speakers this year will be Holly Stratton and Elizabeth George. Register online soon and get an early-bird discount!
PANCAKE BREAKFAST
all you can eat!!!
(Saturday, March 6th)
The teens are working to earn money for summer camp at Northland Camp. They will be hosting a donations-only pancake breakfast. Please come--bring a big appetite and whatever $$$ you're able to bring for donations.
Ladies Bible Study (one Tues./month) Jane Cook will be teaching Lesson 6 in the I Peter series. The next meeting's details will be announced soon.
Jail ministry (ongoing)
Several of our people are meeting weekly to minister to local prisoners. If you are interested in joining the group or in helping them buy Bibles, please contact Keith Kilburn.
Men's Fellowship (Thursdays, 6:30am)
Pastor leads an early morning study with the men who are able to attend (at the church building). Currently, they are studying the writings of various Puritans.
Men's breakfast meetings
(Weekly/Alternating, Saturdays)
Two separate men's groups meet on alternating Saturday mornings at 7am for encouragement and fellowship. To sign up, contact Chris Metras or Jeremy Scott.
Partnering workers overseas and in the USA
Scott and Lori Silsbee
Hamilton, New Zealand
church website and family blog
Tony and Belinda Jones
St. Helena Island, SC USA
church website
Jack and Jennifer Mitchell
Grace Dental Mission
recent prayer letters
Duane and Hannah
Bangkok, Thailand
website and current news
Scott and Tara
Eastern Asia
request to join mailing list
Karyn
Eastern Asia
request more info
Tim and Ruth Bixby
en route to France
deputation journal and website, and French church blog
Michael and Liz Cole
are also en route to France
deputation journal and website and family blog
Daniel and Jennifer Arnold
en route to Germany
deputation profile page, and family blog
Bob and Bonnie Bixby
Pessac (Bordeaux), France
Bordeaux Bits blog, church website, and the church blog (in French)
Dan and Lyn Sehested
Beius and Stiuca, Romania
website and current news
Matt and Susan Bixby
Universidad Cristiana de Las Americas in Monterrey, Mexico
ministry website and blog