Sherwood Baptist Church

Yesterday we worshiped at Sherwood Baptist Church, 2201 Whispering Pines Road, Albany, GA 31707, 229.883.1910, www.sherwoodbaptist.net, Michael Catt, Senior Pastor.

Scripture – NIV

2 Chronicles 14-16 –

And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.

Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles. He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.

“Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.

Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”

The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

The Spirit of God came on Azariah son of Oded. He went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The Lord is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you. For a long time Israel was without the true God, without a priest to teach and without the law. But in their distress they turned to the Lord, the God of Israel, and sought him, and he was found by them. In those days it was not safe to travel about, for all the inhabitants of the lands were in great turmoil. One nation was being crushed by another and one city by another, because God was troubling them with every kind of distress. But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”

When Asa heard these words and the prophecy of Azariah son of Oded the prophet, he took courage. He removed the detestable idols from the whole land of Judah and Benjamin and from the towns he had captured in the hills of Ephraim. He repaired the altar of the Lord that was in front of the portico of the Lord’s temple.

Then he assembled all Judah and Benjamin and the people from Ephraim, Manasseh and Simeon who had settled among them, for large numbers had come over to him from Israel when they saw that the Lord his God was with him.

They assembled at Jerusalem in the third month of the fifteenth year of Asa’s reign. At that time they sacrificed to the Lord seven hundred head of cattle and seven thousand sheep and goats from the plunder they had brought back. They entered into a covenant to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, with all their heart and soul. All who would not seek the Lord, the God of Israel, were to be put to death, whether small or great, man or woman. They took an oath to the Lord with loud acclamation, with shouting and with trumpets and horns. All Judah rejoiced about the oath because they had sworn it wholeheartedly. They sought God eagerly, and he was found by them. So the Lord gave them rest on every side.

King Asa also deposed his grandmother Maakah from her position as queen mother, because she had made a repulsive image for the worship of Asherah. Asa cut it down, broke it up and burned it in the Kidron Valley. Although he did not remove the high places from Israel, Asa’s heart was fully committed to the Lord all his life. He brought into the temple of God the silver and gold and the articles that he and his father had dedicated.

There was no more war until the thirty-fifth year of Asa’s reign.

In the thirty-sixth year of Asa’s reign Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah and fortified Ramah to prevent anyone from leaving or entering the territory of Asa king of Judah.

Asa then took the silver and gold out of the treasuries of the Lord’s temple and of his own palace and sent it to Ben-Hadad king of Aram, who was ruling in Damascus. “Let there be a treaty between me and you,” he said, “as there was between my father and your father. See, I am sending you silver and gold. Now break your treaty with Baasha king of Israel so he will withdraw from me.”

Ben-Hadad agreed with King Asa and sent the commanders of his forces against the towns of Israel. They conquered Ijon, Dan, Abel Maim and all the store cities of Naphtali. When Baasha heard this, he stopped building Ramah and abandoned his work. Then King Asa brought all the men of Judah, and they carried away from Ramah the stones and timber Baasha had been using. With them he built up Geba and Mizpah.

At that time Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: “Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the Lord your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand. Were not the Cushites and Libyans a mighty army with great numbers of chariots and horsemen? Yet when you relied on the Lord, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war.”

Asa was angry with the seer because of this; he was so enraged that he put him in prison. At the same time Asa brutally oppressed some of the people.

The events of Asa’s reign, from beginning to end, are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa was afflicted with a disease in his feet. Though his disease was severe, even in his illness he did not seek help from the Lord, but only from the physicians. Then in the forty-first year of his reign Asa died and rested with his ancestors. They buried him in the tomb that he had cut out for himself in the City of David. They laid him on a bier covered with spices and various blended perfumes, and they made a huge fire in his honor.

1 Timothy 2:1-3 –

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior,

Bob’s thoughts:

This is a church that has been on our wish list for a long while. We have enjoyed the movies they have made and we’ve shared them as part of our ministry, but had doubts of ever traveling so far as to be able to worship with them. My combat helicopter squadron was celebrating a 50 year reunion in Jacksonville, Florida, and my wife skillfully arranged for us to make an appearance there, drive to Albany, Georgia, and fly home from there after worship.

I thought we might be something of an oddity, coming there to worship because of seeing the movies they made, but it seems many folks were drawn to visit because of the videos.

What was a surprise to me: I am often greeted by a Marine or thanked for my service, but this day I lost count of how many members were Brother Marines and Brothers in Christ, including at least two pastors. I did not know Marines have had a base there in Albany since the 1950s and enjoyed the commemorative display at the airport as we prepared to leave.

We were welcomed by many and engaged in conversation; amazingly most everyone I saw said good morning with a smile. This is unusual for a church with two services.

There is a mosaic stained glass cross panel at the top of the arch in front which was opened to reveal the immersion baptismal for two baptisms.

The signage was good; I’m sure we only saw a small part of the complex, and believe they have an exceptional business manager.

The message dove into “God and Kings” with appropriate Scriptural support. It developed smoothly and most importantly referenced current application. Sermon points were listed for disciples.

I was overwhelmed by the music and choir. I believe there were fifteen instruments and they sounded stupendous together. The praise team and the ample choir sang together seamlessly. What wowed me was what was behind the singing, the joy that was evident by the smiles and the faith was apparent behind the worship in song.

Pastor Mike talked about being open to God’s leading for the church without his undue influence, a most refreshing outlook. My life didn’t make much sense when I struggled doing what I was sure God wanted without asking.

I felt somewhat isolated at my Marine reunion as I haven’t kept up with a lot of those I served with. One highlight was dinner with my wife, and another was a chance to get to know a friend from Vietnam and his wife. The orchestration of God to move us to minister to each other was a mountaintop of that evening. It developed into an incredibly low valley with calls and texts from family of overwhelming depression and breakdown. We were unable to intercede while onboard flights headed home and the frustration led to wondering where Christ was when we realized we were helpless to do anything but pray. Only when we let God take over did we see the mountaintop again.

The spiritual warfare around this visit has been incredible; I pray God uses this somehow for His glory.

Jan’s thoughts:

This church has been on our list to visit for quite some time. Since this weekend we were in Jacksonville, Florida, for a Marine reunion, we drove over here for worship.

The church is located on Whispering Pines Road, which is as lovely as it sounds. I’m sure we only toured a small portion of this sprawling campus. The signage was well placed, but with a facility this size they wisely provide floor plan maps.

We arrived early to allow time to wander, and many more people than expected greeted us with a smile. Once we spoke and our northern accent gave us away, they asked where we were from. But this was definitely one of the friendliest congregations with whom we have worshiped.

In no time at all other Marines noticed Bob’s t-shirt and stopped to introduce themselves and speak with him, though they made a point to include me in their welcome and the conversation. Several staff members took time to talk to us at some length about the church, Sunday school classes, the sizable number of Marines in the congregation, the facilities, and of course, the movies. The movies have proven to be an exceptional outreach tool that regularly bring numerous visitors to the church.

The bulletin is simple, colorful, and printed on quality paper. It included a pre-punched note sheet which looks like it’s intended to be kept in a 3-ring binder.

The worship area is huge of course, but the moment we sat down a gentleman next to us and a woman in the row in front welcomed us warmly.

I loved the look of the stage area, the simple decorations and constantly changing colors of the lighting.

The choir loft was at balcony level with a stunning cross above it. I looked away for a moment and when I looked back the cross was gone. In its place was a baptistery and we witnessed three baptisms. As the person was being immersed the pastor said, “Buried with Christ in baptism,” and as the person was stood back up he said, “Raised to walk in a new way of life.”

Several individual accomplishments were acknowledged, including a double amputee who finished the Ironman triathlon.

The media pastor spoke about the brand new Sherwood Church app that had been introduced the week before. He gave a brief tour, indicating some of its abilities.

Senior Pastor Michael Catt presented the message, the first in a series called “God and Kings,” in which he spoke of “The Revival Under King Asa.” He spoke about Asa’s commanding the nation to seek God and tear down the high places. Scripture notes that when the people did so, God gave them peace.

He admonished his listeners to seek God, not God’s blessings and to cease any ugly social media posts. He challenged everyone to pray mightily starting now for those in leadership at any level in our country. Ask God to get ahold of their hearts and minds, and if they are resistant, ask Him to raise up others who will seek Him.

To which I can add only “Amen.”

Our prayer for this church:

Lord, we know You have led this church to great things in Your Name, and when we hear that You have more plans, it’s hard for us to imagine what You have in mind. We just look forward to hearing about where You lead them next and pray for them to hear Your direction clearly. Amen.