This post is by some of Yogi’s friends. Below are a couple of letters detailing the establishment of a fund at Saraland Baptist Church, where Yogi currently serves as Pastor.

Dear Friends:

As most of you know, Hannah Taylor, Yogi and Kelli Taylor’s daughter, underwent serious surgery on Friday to remove a neuroblastoma tumor from her body as well as bone marrow from both hips, and samples from the lymph nodes to see if the cancer had spread. She will be in the hospital at least ten days.

Although Yogi and Kelli have health insurance, the costs of deductibles and their part of the medical bills will be substantial (20% of the total cost). Also with this are the costs of staying at the hospital, eating out, etc. With this in mind, a fund has been set up at Saraland Baptist Church in Saraland, Alabama where Yogi is Pastor. You can contribute to the Hannah Taylor Fund and have a real part in helping Yogi and Kelli provide the best possible care for Hannah. Below is a letter from the Chairman of Deacons at Saraland Baptist Church giving details as to how this can be done. Please join us in bringing glory to God by sacrificially giving to help Yogi, Kelli and Hannah in their time of need.

Most Sincerely in Christ,

Kyle Claunch
Jonathan Hill
Thad L. Key

Dear Friends:

Saraland Baptist Church has established the Hannah Taylor Fund to allow our members as well as friends of Yogi to contribute to the expenses this unfortunate cancer surgery has caused.

Contributions may be made to Saraland Baptist Church with the “for” line of the check reading “Hannah Taylor Fund.”
Our church’s mailing address is:

Saraland Baptist Church
P.O. Box 749
Saraland, Alabama 36571

The members of our church covet your prayers for our loved ones and praise Jesus for your sympathy in our Pastor’s time of need.

Autrey D. Key
Chairman of Deacons
Saraland Baptist Church

I found this quote very encouraging and I hope that you will as well! 

“Be much alone with God.  Do not put Him off with a quarter of an hour morning and evening.  Take time to get thoroughly acquainted. Converse over everything with Him. Unbosom yourself wholly – every thought, feeling, wish, plan, doubt, – to Him.  He wants [to] converse with His creatures; shall His creatures not want [to] converse with Him?  He wants, not merely to be on ‘good terms’ with you, if one may use man’s phrase, but to be intimate; shall you decline the intimacy, and be satisfied with mere acquaintance? What! intimate with the world, with friends, with neighbours, with politicians, with philosophers, with naturalists, or with poets; but not with God!  That would look ill indeed.  Folly, to prefer the clay to the potter, the marble to the sculptor, this little earth and its lesser creatures to the mighty Maker of the universe, the great ‘All and in all!’”

Edwards, Jonathan Letters and Personal Writings, ed. George S. Claghorn (The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol.16; New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1998), 789-790.

Grace Baptist Church, of Jackson MS, is hosting the 2009 Deep South Founders Conference.  It will be held at Grace Chapel of Reformed Theological Seminary. Deep South Regional Founders Conference is affiliated with Founders Ministries as a sponsored Regional Conference.

This year’s guest preacher is Revered Jeff Noblit.  Senior Pastor/Teacher of Grace Life at the Shoals in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.  He has served on the pastoral staff for 28 years, the last 21 as senior pastor.  Rev. Noblit is the founder of Anchored in Truth Ministries, an expository preaching ministry, and is the author of the The Accountability Notebook and the witnessing booklet,  The Great Answer to the Great Question.  He has written articles for various magazines and journals and has contributed to the book, Calvinism: A Southern Baptist Dialogue.

The Schedule will include other preachers such as…

• Pastor Earl Blackburn (Heritage Baptist Church in Shreveport, LA)    
• Pastor Mark Brown (Lakeside Baptist Church in Lake Providence, LA)
• Pastor Don Elbourne, Jr. (Lakeshore Baptist Churchin Lakeshore, MS)
• Dr. Phillip Dancy (Pastor of First Baptist Church in Winona, MS)
• Rev. Mike Gaydosh (Founder of Solid Ground Christian Books)

The Conference is this month, January.  It will run from Thursday night (15th) to Saturday at lunch (17th).  It will be a great time for many to come and join with like minded brothers.  Please pray for all who attend!  Pray that their hearts will be teachable, minds renewed, spirits refreshed, and passion (for God’s glory) rekindled!

Yogi

Here is a pic of my son over the Holidays.  I thought that I would share it with you all!

Noah

We all know that Christmas is not about the gifts… however, it is really nice when you get some great ones!  The Lord showed us grace this year, even among the financial hardships.  I would like to share with you my top 3 picks for this year’s Christmas… drum roll please!

#3 Pick for this year’s Christmas is…  Drive thru History with Dave Stotts(by Focus on the Family)

# 2 Pick for this year’s Christmas is…  a tie between

1)Missionary Patriarch, The true story of John G. Paton (Vision Forum INC.)

2)  The 1599 Geneva Bible, Calvin Legacy Edition

and the moment we have all been waiting for… the #1 pick for this year’s Christmas gift is… The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (12 vol.s)

“Dear Lord, may this gifts not be a measure of success or to fulfill an ungodly appetite.  Instead may they aid me in further godliness, passion for Your glory, and in knowledge that I may be a faithful witness… rightly dividing the Word of Truth with family, church, and community.  I pray that my excitement would not cloud my judgement, lest I sin against You my King!  Amen!”

It is good to always check our hearts and make sure that we are recieving such things in a spirit that is pleasing to our King!

One of the things that I enjoy about an extended stay with my in-laws is that it offers the opportunity to visit other churches in their area.  It just so happens that their area is north Alabama.  There is no shortage of churches in north AL (anywhere in Alabama for that fact), however, in the mix are some really good churches.  One of those is First Baptist Muscle Shoals.  It was about an hour and 15 min. drive for us from her parent’s house but we don’t get to visit other churches very often so it was worth the drive.  I was hoping to get to go to FBC Muscle Shoals in the morning and then go to Grace Community Church in Huntsville, AL.  Paul Lamey is the Pastor/Teacher at GCC and he blogs at Expository Thoughts with wordpress.  However, those plans got pushed back and I will see him on another visit, Lord willing!

It is worth mentioning, that FBC Muscle Shoals changed their name to “Grace Life at the Shoals.”  They changed it this passed summer because they were not the First Baptist Church in Muscle Shoals, but still bared the FBC name.  The current staff and church sought to rectify the situation by changing the name to “Grace Life.”  I think that is a great mark of integrity.

This church is the home church of Paul Washer.  One who is becoming dear to my heart every time I hear him preach.  He is the founder of Heart Cry Missionary Society.  His latest sermon has been well noted in the blogging community, and in many other circles, when he delivered the 10 indictments against the American Church.  This man is truly a gifted man.  He wasn’t there, I would have liked to have met him.

However, it was my great delight that I was able to sit under Jeff Noblit, the teaching Pastor.  He was great.  I really enjoyed his personal appeal to his people.  He was teaching through a series on ffinances, and at first I was wishing that he would preach from some great doctrinal passage but the Lord showed me what wisdom Bro. Jeff was giving to his people.  He wasn’t just preaching/teaching to them, but shepharding them in very practical ways by the Word.  I was grateful for his message! 

It was nice in many ways, more than just the preaching.  When we arrived, the people were friendly, both entering the building and those who sat around us.  One of the Elders came and talked with me for a long time making sure that my family and I were welcomed.  That ment a lot to Kelli and I.  But I was mostly encouraged by the number of children that were in the service.  My wife and I feel strongly that we need to have our children in the service with us not in children’s church or the nursery.  We enjoy multi-generational worship, but not many people share this joy.  It appeared that Grace life at the Shoals was at least friendly to this view (with so many little kids in the service) and that was encouraging!

One more thing to love about the church was their book store!  It was great.  Packed with solid treasures.  And of course I bought one, “Southern Baptist Sermons on Sovereignty and Responsibility” by: Manly, Johnson, Howell, and Fuller.  It is compiled by Dr. Thomas J. Nettles.  I am enjoying every bit of it! 

The next time you take some vac. time or just a trip to see the in-laws, take a few minuntes to plan a time to worship at a Bible teaching church.  Even if you have to drive an hour or so… it will be worth it!

Yogi Taylor