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Friendship Baptist Association
EVENTS
Key Leader Conference
Monday, August 21, 2017
click here for more information
Disaster Relief Training
Saturday, August 12, 2017
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UPDATE FROM THE ALABAMA LEGISLATURE AND ACTION NEEDED!
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The Alabama House of Representatives is expected to take up HB56, sponsored by Rep. Connie Rowe (R-Jasper) on Tuesday, March 1. This bill would legalize internet gambling in Alabama in the form of fantasy sports. We believe this bill (a statute) is unconstitutional because gambling is illegal in Alabama and requires a constitutional amendment to legalize it. The fantasy sports lobbyists argue that it is a game of skill, and thus, online fantasy sports is not gambling. However, players put down money in order to win money, and lucky breaks in the sporting events can change the outcome of the game.
One Las Vegas casino operator was asked if fantasy sports was gambling. He said that he knew nothing about team sports, but he knew gambling, and fantasy sports IS gambling. New York State's Attorney General, along with attorneys general from around the nation are embattled in court fights to ban fantasy sports companies, such as FanDuel and DraftKings, while at least 17 state legislatures (Alabama included) are being "fast tracked" to legalize fantasy sports before they "catch on" to what is happening. Even Attorney General Luther Strange has been quoted as having told Alabama Legislators that fantasy sports betting is acceptable.
Click here to read the white paper prepared in November 2015 by the national Stop Predatory Gambling organization, on whose board I have the privilege of serving. Please call your House Member TODAY and ask him/her to oppose HB56 when it comes to the floor for debate. Also, call your State Senator and ask him/her to do the same. If this bill passes, it will put a casino on every phone, tablet and computer in Alabama!
Other news:
SB232 (allowing Alabama citizens to purchase multi-state lottery tickets within the state), sponsored by Sen. Trip Pittman (R-District 32), had a public hearing this past week and is scheduled to be voted out of committee on March 2. Another lottery bill (HB13, by Rep. Alan Harper) has passed out of committee and could come to the full House for a vote any day. The companion bill to HB13 - SB19, by Sen. Jim McClendon - is still pending action in the Senate Tourism and Marketing Committee.
HB45 ("Human Dignity Bill"), sponsored by Rep. April Weaver (R-Alabaster), passed the House and has been sent to the Senate for action. Several other pro-life bills are currently making their way through the Legislature, all of which are supported by ALCAP. We will keep you posted on their progress.
HB46 (a distillery tasting bill), sponsored by Rep. Alan Harper (R-Aliceville) and SB132 (companion to HB46), sponsored by Sen. Bobby Singleton (D-District 24), have both passed out of committee and will be coming to their respective houses any day.
HB83 (wineries allowed to open one additional tasting room off-site), sponsored by Rep. David Faulkner (R-Mountainbrook) and SB166 (companion to HB83), sponsored by Sen. Linda Coleman-Madison (D-District 20), have both passed out of committee and will be coming to their respective houses any day.
HB176 (allowing brewpubs and breweries to sell limited amounts direct to the public), sponsored by Rep. Anthony Daniels (D-Huntsville) and SB211 (companion bill to HB176), sponsored by Sen. Bill Holtzclaw (R-District 2), have both passed out of committee and will be coming to their respective houses any day.
[NOTE: REPUBLICANS AND DEMOCRATS ARE SPONSORING THESE ALCOHOL EXPANSION BILLS!]
HB140 (allowing a wet/dry vote in Lexington, AL with a population of about 730), sponsored by Rep. Lynn Greer (R-Rogersville) has passed the House and is headed to the Senate. A few years ago, the Legislature passed a bill that allowed municipalities of 1,000 people or more within dry counties to have wet/dry elections. That bill carved out exceptions and the Alabama Supreme Court ruled it unconstitutional. So, in 2015 the Legislature passed another bill that applied to the entire state. Now, this bill will allow a municipality of less than 1,000 people to have a wet/dry vote and, if it passes, other small municipalities will start seeking similar legislation. We need to stop this terrible bill from passing in the Senate!
SB226 (making Kratom an illegal drug in Alabama), sponsored by Sen. Arthur Orr (R-District 3), has passed out of committee and will be going to the floor of the Senate for a vote soon (we hope)!
These are just a few of the bills being monitored by ALCAP. Please encourage others to sign up to receive our alerts and do not be annoyed if we send out several different alerts in a short period of time. Bills are passing at a rapid pace in Montgomery and we want to keep you informed so that you can contact your legislators about each one that is important to the families and churches of Alabama. Please like us on Facebook too!
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Alabama WMU
Celebrates 125 Year Anniversary
Click here to see pictures of
Alabama WMU Celebrates 125 Year Anniversary.
If you need more information on any of the above
just call the FBA office. 205-274-2879
Visit our Baptist Center.
Highway 160, at the corner of Wallstown Road.
Click here for pictures
I pledge allegiance to the Bible....God's Holy Word.
The Bible Reading Campaign continues into 2013!
Office hours for the Friendship Baptist Association are:
Monday-Thursday 8 AM-4:30 PM
Friday 8 AM-Noon
Women on Mission website: http://www.womenonmission.com/index.php
DISASTER RELIEF PICTURES Click here
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Share the Vision – Build the Bridge to Jesus
The members in session meeting on October 20, 1998 at Park Avenue Baptist Church established Evangelism as the #1 priority of this association.
In the office building, member churches of the Friendship Baptist Association have access to a video and audio cassette library available with items to be checked out for one week. Some of these cassettes include Focus on the Family by James Dobson, Beth Moore Bible Studies, and outreach training kits.
Member churches also have an Electric Media Library with equipment available to be checked out for one week. This includes radios, VCRs, TVs, projectors, projection screens, and a power point machine. Also available is a canopy. In the electric library, the association has the means to reproduce non-copyrighted materials, such as: audio cassettes, video cassettes, and posters. There is a laminating machine capable of laminating a 25" wide poster.
Should one of our churches sponsor an event (Revival, Deacon Ordination, Easter Cantata, Christmas Musical, etc.) and would like to post it in the Alabama Baptist Newspaper or on the web site, please submit entries to the association office seven days prior to the first Thursday of the month, or seven days prior to the third Thursday of the month so the information can be printed.
CHURCH COVENANT
Having been led, as we believe, by the Spirit of God to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and, on the profession of our faith, having been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, we do now, in the presence of God, and this assembly, most solemnly and joyfully enter into covenant with one another as one body in Christ.
We engage, therefore, by the aid of the Holy Spirit to walk together in Christian love; to strive for the advancement of this church in knowledge, holiness and comfort; to promote its prosperity and spirituality: to sustain its worship, ordinances, discipline, and doctrines; to contribute cheerfully and regularly to the support of the ministry, the expenses of the church, the relief of the poor, and the spread of the gospel through all nations.
We also engage to maintain family and secret devotions; to religiously educate our children; to seek the salvation of our own kindred and acquaintances; to walk circumspectly in the world; to be just in our dealings, faithful in our engagements, and exemplary in our deportment; to avoid all tattling, backbiting and excessive anger; to abstain from the sale of and use of intoxicating drinks as a beverage; to be zealous in our efforts to advance the kingdom of our Saviour.
We further engage to watch over one another in brotherly love; to remember one another in prayer; to aid one another in sickness and distress; to cultivate Christian sympathy in feeling and Christian courtesy in speech; to be slow to take offense, but always ready for reconciliation, and mindful of the rules of our Savior to secure it without delay.
We moreover engage that when we remove from this place we will, as soon as possible, unite with some other church where we can carry out the spirit of this covenant and the principles of God's Word.
The Friendship Baptist Association is a family of 31 churches who voluntarily join together to encourage, strengthen and help each other in their common commitment to carry out the great commission of Jesus Christ. The objective of this association is to promote fellowship among member churches and to provide education and training in missionary, evangelism and stewardship programs of the association in cooperation with the Alabama and Southern Baptist Convention.
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 Please Pray for Our Troops and Missionaries Around the World.
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