Faith Temple, Taylors, SC

  Pastor Raymond D. Burrows and Mrs. Ann Burrows   In about the year 1990 or midway through Bible college and sitting in a chapel service one day, the Lord called me into the role of pastor and that clear directive was greatly appreciated. Thus, since August 23, 1992, I have enjoyed the privilege of full-time pastoral work for two congregations, i.e., Joanna Assembly of God (1992-1995) and Faith Temple (1995-present). For that privilege, I am extremely grateful to the Lord and to the respective congregations.   In the Bible, the role of a “pastor” comes from the background of a shepherd. Through Jeremiah, God, to Israel, said, “And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding. In the New Testament, Saint Paul said, “And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Chr...

       Mr. Fred Duck   “We met a little over a year ago, and you brought joy in my life,” Mr. Fred Duck said about Pastor R.D. Burrows as he visited and testified at Faith Temple on Sun. morning, Nov. 19, 2023. “God blesses all of us, not for ourselves but so that we can bless others… I feel so good I don’t know what to say. I love everybody. I just turned 86 years old a few days ago, and God blesses me to still work 40 hours a week. I mean work… really, really work.”  Mr. Duck works as a brick mason and attends Mt. Grove Missionary Baptist Church in Travelers Rest (near Faith Temple, Taylors, SC) with his wife and many of his family.  “I’m on no kind of medication,” Mr. Duck said. “God is blessing me, and I can’t thank him enough. I want to hear the Word this morning for it’s food for my soul… I love you. I pray that God bless all of you… Hold to God’s unchanging hand… ‘Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your understandi...

  Mr. Jerry Martin Brother Jerry Martin is writing down testimonies to print in the Faith Temple (Taylors, SC) bulletin. Jerry wants to share inspiration from our church folk. “We’d like to do a testimony column,” Jerry said, speaking from Faith Temple’s pulpit on Sun., Nov. 5, 2023. “This is not about coming down to you and sticking a microphone in your face — because people really panic and lock up, then… You can’t give your WHOLE testimony at all times. That’s called a ‘biography.’ We’d like to get your testimonies: simple, short.” Churches enjoy oral testimonies (spoken statements), but Jerry wants to jot down testimonies (written statements). He plans to write about what the Lord has done or is doing for you. As an example, Jerry penned part of his testimony last week. He wrote about the day he “actually realized that there was a God!”  “That might not mean anything to anybody else, but to me that was kind of important,” he said.   Jerry believes in sharing. “There’...

  Thanksgiving came… what a wonderful time of year to be grateful! Last Thursday, many people thanked God for various things. Food, shelter, clothes, and family often top our lists. God’s grace is listed hopefully first.    “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).     Being grateful is good but being grateful can have nothing to do with God at all, Marshall Segal of   desiringGod.org   says.     “Even when it [gratitude] is offered   to him   — often in some trite, ambiguous, once-a-year way — it has little, if any, regard for him beyond his gifts. No affection, and no allegiance,” says Segal.     God does not bless us simply so we will be thankful and give him recognition. He blesses us so we will be filled with faith and joy in him, Segal says.    Pastor John Piper says,...

  Cindy (left) and Tony McCall  Tony and I recently went to the Pine Grove Assisted Care facility to visit Brother T.G. Jones and to try and be a blessing to him. During our visit we heard a man start playing Gospel music on the piano down the hall in the community room. After a few minutes we looked out in the hallway and saw many people rolling their wheelchairs down to the community room to see what was going on. Soon, people began worshipping and praising the Lord and raising their hands in praise. We were truly touched and blessed to watch this take place.    Isn’t this just like our God? We came to bless someone else, and we ended up being the ones receiving a blessing — all because of people being sincere and open with the Lord.   “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare what He has done for my soul” (Ps. 66:16).

  Mr. Michael Campbell Brother Michael Campbell spoke at the Faith Temple’s Brotherhood meeting at 8:30 a.m., Sat., Nov. 4, 2023. Brother Millard Robertson cooked and served breakfast, which was superb.    Michael quoted Ephesians 5:25: “Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it.”     “Are we going to GO to church or BE the church?” Michael asked. “The church isn’t the building.” He asked if we should keep our faith hidden when things go against the will and direction of God. Are we just going to “go along?” “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing,” Michael said, using a quote attributed to Edmund Burke but traced to a John Stuart Mill speech in 1867.    The FT Brotherhood meets for breakfast on the first Sat. of each month at 8:30 a.m. in Fleming Hall.

  Mrs. Roseanne Phillips Mrs. Roseanne Phillips says, “I often questioned my relationship with the Lord when I would hear stories from different people sharing their experiences in Christ; I would immediately think, ‘Well, why don’t I see, feel, speak, hear, etc., these things in detail?’ And I would wonder, ‘Am I where I think I am with the Lord, or am I fooling myself?’”   She says that one morning as she was talking to her “precious Lord,” the Holy Spirit spoke to her heart.     “He told me, ‘We have a one-on-one relationship with Christ like no other. The evil one will put these doubts and fears in our heads,’” she says. “God heard my heart. He reached out and calmed my soul. He is so kind, so gentle, so lovely. Yes, He knows us as individuals, and our relationship to Him is very unique.”    “Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will declare   what He has done for my soul” (Ps. 66:16).

  There’s a plague of Bible illiteracy in our country … but how well do church folk know the Bible?    Not well, says One Accord Resources (OAR), the group from which Faith Temple purchases Sunday school books.     OAR says this lack of Bible knowledge has come from churches moving away from planned and balanced curriculum.    “Not that long ago, nearly every church used Bible curriculum each week in their small group gatherings,” OAR says. “The advantage to this approach is what we call ‘scope and sequence.’ Scope and sequence refers to the well-planned and balanced diet of God’s Word.”     You may recall the 2012 news story about a 17-year-old girl who collapsed at work with a swollen tongue, says   thegospelcoalition.org . “Turns out she’d eaten almost nothing but McDonald’s chicken nuggets her entire life. No fruits. No vegetables. Just deep-fried chicken. She learned it the hard way: man doesn’t live by breaded nuggets alo...

  Ms. Linda Trammell Ms. Linda Trammell gives this testimony for today:  “When I wake up, I thank the Lord for letting me live through the night!” she says. “That is a special blessing. Another day of surprises; I’m just glad to be here to experience whatever comes my way.”    She’s thankful for God’s awesomeness.    “When I go outdoors, I thank Him for the beautiful blue skies, the sunshine, the different trees (this time of the year they so pretty; the different autumn colors), and the flowers that are still blooming. These are things that I am grateful for every day, and I thank Him over and over for them. I can’t help it because it is so awesome. God is awesome! He made all the beautiful things for everyone to enjoy. Simple things, but yet so important.”    She says an occasional rainy day is nice because we usually need the rain and we have a tendency to slow down and read a book or do something that needs to be done that we h...