///FROM THE
PRESIDENT'S DESK
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Dr. Carroll A. Baltimore, Sr.
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"Merry Christmas and the Need to Spread the Word About Healthcare"
Merry Christmas greetings to you and yours!
It is my prayer that the Lord has blessed you richly through 2013 and that the peace, love and good will on earth that He brings will be yours during this holiday season and throughout the New Year.
I want to remind you that this Monday, December 23 is the deadline to sign-up for health care coverage that begins on January 1, 2014. Many of us are aware that there is a wide-spread campaign to spread misinformation about the Affordable Care Act and to discredit President Barack Obama.
We, however, must work to spread the news that the Affordable Health Care Act is working! There are hundreds of thousands of people who are now poised to receive health insurance that didn't have it before. In addition, there are many others in our community who stand to benefit from this law. However, like the Shepherds who spread the news about the birth of Jesus, we must go and tell it on the mountain over the hills and everywhere that now is the is the time to for us to sign-up for health care and to make certain that everyone in our community is covered.
Please direct members of your church and community to HEALTHCARE.GOV.
The website is working and we need to counteract the misinformation that the site in not functional. In this regard, PNBC is partnering with Enroll America to help ensure that we are getting the word out about the need to sign-up for health insurance and we are sponsoring a training with Ms. Etoy Ridgnal of Enroll America at our upcoming Midwinter Board meeting January 20-24 in Orlando, Florida. The training will take place on Wednesday, January 22 and we encourage you to come out and to participate as we get critical updates about healthcare and plans for 2014 and the future of PNBC.
I am looking forward to what the New Year will bring as it is written: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him."(I Corinthians 2:9)
Yours for Souls,
Dr. Carroll A. Baltimore, Sr.
19th President
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"A Child Shall Lead Them!"
By Dr. James E. Victor, PNBC Missions Director
The prophet Isaiah spoke of the
surprising leadership that children provide.The theme is also echoed in the New Testament when we hear those treasured words spoken by angels, "to you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior which is Christ The Lord."
In the Christ child, a new and transformative leadership was emerging.God was leading through the lives of children. In our own time, we at PNBC are blessed to see similar theophanies of transformative leadership emanating from our young.
 | | Nylah Capell |
Ms. Nylah Capell, a member of the Zion Grove Baptist Church, recently presented $1,014 to the Missions Ministry of PNBC through the Esther Smith Christmas Missions Drive held at the Liberty Baptist Church in Atlanta on December 3, 2013.
The precocious eight year old, with the help of her grandmother, was inspired to conduct bake-sales to support the elementary education of children who are still recovering from the 2010 earthquake in Haiti. She also sacrificed the average creature comforts of normal eight-year-olds in order to accomplish her goal.
In September, the Missions Ministry sponsored 10 children to attend school for a year in Haiti through a partnership with Grace International Ministries headquartered in Hialeah, Florida.
Gifts like Nylah's and others enable this convention to equip students with books, uniforms, tuition, and materials for the 2013-2014 school year.The smiles of these children tell it all.
Isaiah's words still ring true, "and a child shall lead them."Nylah Capell provided stellar leadership and so should we.
During this Christmas season, won't you consider following Nylah's example by making a contribution to missions so that others may be blessed through your heartfelt generosity.
Rev. James E. Victor, Jr.
Director of Missions
2014 PNBC MIDWINTER BOARD SESSION
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The PNBC Midwinter Board session will take place January 20-24 in Orlando, Florida. In addition to taking care of our convention business and finalizing plans for the Annual Session, attendees will take part in workshops on The Affordable Health Care Act and the Church and efforts to control gun violence. There will also be a an eye-opening presentation by the Pew Research Center's Religion and Public Life Project on the nation's changing religious landscape and the implications that it has for the African American Church.
The meeting will also take place during the national Martin Luther King, Jr. observance and we will draw attention to Florida's Stand Your Ground Laws and the need for Justice for Trayvon Martin.
The meeting will take place at the Double Tree by Hilton Orlando at Sea World. This beautiful resort property is located adjacent to SeaWorld and directly across from Aquatica, SeaWorld's new water park. There is complimentary shuttle service ready to take you to all Orlando has to offer: Great restaurants, great shopping, great golfing, and great theme parks! The DoubleTree by Hilton Orlando at SeaWorld is a newly renovated, African American owned, resort that offers all of the amenities you deserve--great eating, pampering, and pool side relaxation.
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HOT BLOGS...
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"More Isn't
Always Better"
The corporate retailer drumbeat to shop until we drop will grow louder and louder as Christmas Day approaches. The commercials will tell us that we shouldn't be satisfied with what we have. We will be told that if something is bigger, newer or flashier that it is better, and that if we can just get it under our Christmas tree we will find true happiness and satisfaction.
Often we find ourselves giving in to these tempting messages and lusting for that brand new flat screen TV or Audi SUV. The problem with this, however, is that when we passionately long for something that someone else has we are coveting and the Bible says (Exodus 20:17) that coveting is sin.
Indeed, Jesus warned about coveting. He said, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; for a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Lk.12:15). What Jesus was saying is that more isn't always better.
Yet we live in a society that misbelieves that more is better and that things can make us happy. In this regard, sometimes we find it hard to rejoice in what others have; we want what they have ourselves.
Sometimes we envy the rich who seem to have it all. But the problem is, most of the time they don't have it all! Many are missing that special something called peace and contentment.
We can covet and we can posses, but there's a better way. Jesus said, "See ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you." (Mat. 6:33, 34).
When you're content,
you won't covet - and it is possible. Paul says it's true: "I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances...And my God will supply all your needs according to his riches in Glory." (Phil. 4:11,19).
This Christmas let us do our best to be content with what we have and let us remember that more isn't always better.
Merry Christmas &
Happy New Year!
Pastor Kip Banks, Sr.
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