Choir Praise Service

This past Sunday was Choir Praise Sunday.  It was a great service of praise unto the Lord!  The choir had the opportunity to spread the Gospel in song and remind all of just Who we serve.  With so much going on in our lives, it is important to be reminded that the God we serve is a powerful, loving, and healing God!  Although we don't often understand what is going on in this world and we don't always understand God's plan, we can have peace, hope and joy because God is still in control!!  The peace, hope and joy that we have as Christians is NOT dependent on our earthly circumstances!
So much is going on with those who love the Lord...Jones in critical condition in the hospital...My Dad fighting through chemo and radiation treatments...and so much more.  Singing praise unto God helps us to take our mind off of what is going on with us and give praise, glory and honor to the One who is our shield and the lifter of our head (Psalm 3). 
Church, stand strong in the Lord...sing praises to Him...God has a plan and a purpose for YOU...and remember that we are God's workmanship - created in Christ Jesus for good!

Prior to Ministry...

If you will remember, during advent, we talked about the contrast between the journey of John versus the journey of Jesus.

John was called to bring a message of repentance to the people…a warning…a chance for them to change.  Jesus brought a message of redemption…he brought about the change…He was the change!

We have talked about the birth of Jesus and all that this brings for us as His people.  Today, I want to jump to a time after Jesus has grown up and is preparing for His earthly ministry.  It seems from the scriptures that Jesus has been fairly low key as a child…yes, He taught in the synagogue as one with wisdom beyond His years…but hasn’t actually begun His public ministry.  Jesus was in constant communication with the Father.  The Father wasn’t ready for Him to begin that part of His ministry.  God has a plan and a purpose for each of us…Jesus wanted to live out that plan and purpose – but in God’s time.  So, how does He begin His public ministry…where He begins to call and to heal and to touch and to change others?
Matthew 3:13-17 – Jesus is first baptized.  He is baptized by John who has been preparing the way.  John has been telling people about the importance of repentance and that the kingdom is at hand.  Jesus is baptized – not because He is a sinner and has repented…but as a sign that He is publicly showing others who He belongs to and He is ready to serve.  He commands us to baptize as well.
Matthew 4:1-11 – the temptations
Jesus then spends 40 days tempted by the devil.  Hard to say that the devil isn’t real if you read this scripture.  Jesus is tempted just like we are tempted.

Jesus is tempted with earthly things…things that would sway us – and Jesus was human.  He overcomes the temptation which was not an easy thing to do…but Jesus knows what He is on earth for and He is willing to fulfill the will of His Father.  Think about it…Jesus begins His ministry first with an outward sign of allegiance to the Father…a sign to show that He belongs to God and He is willing to serve.  THEN, He undergoes great temptation after 40 days of fasting and prayer…He does the right things and is working towards the right goals and HE STILL goes through temptations!  We wonder what is going on when things don’t go our way…when we are serving and it seems the devil is in our work…when we face all kinds of temptations…why would what we are called to do have any easier of a path than Jesus??  What does that say to us?  It means we don’t give up or weary in doing good…we are called for a purpose and a plan and that doesn’t mean it is easy…but we persevere and CARRY ON!!!

Pastor Appreciation

This past Sunday was Pastor Appreciation Sunday and the anniversary of my 8th year at FMBC!  It was a great service and I enjoyed having a Sunday to worship without leading.  I occassionally need that.
Lynn brought the message on Sunday.  This was special for me because Lynn as not only instrumental in getting me to the church, but also was the one who baptized me in the church. 
He reminded us that we need to stop and consider those in our lives who have helped us along.  We need to remember our Lord and Savior, Jesus, who is with us every step of the way.  Our faith is so important in our everyday lives.  That's why reading God's Word is so important.  We also need to think about those who make a difference for us in so many ways in our daily lives.  Think about those who have been mentors, given solid godly advice, and have shown you what it was like to live for Jesus.  Take the time to thank those people for what they have meant to you.  We don't do that enough.  Life moves at such a fast pace, rarely do we stop to realize what is going on around us and who truly means so much to us.  As I looked at the church on Sunday, I see so many people who have meant so much to me and still continue to do so.  I can definitely say thank you to God for a wonderful, loving church family!!
This week, stop, reflect on those that have meant so much to you, and tell them thank you.  Maybe we begin by telling the Lord thank you first...

In need of a Savior...

We serve a loving God – a God who keeps promises and takes the time to listen to us.  But the God we serve doesn’t like sin…in fact sin is what can separate us from Him – something we did, not something He did.

Isaiah 59:1,2 – reminds us of that.  God is able to save and willing and ready to hear.  But what we do keeps us from Him.  What we do distances us from the Lord.  God isn’t the one who changes – we are!  We separate ourselves from Him. Paul tells us about it too.

Romans 3:10-28 – note that several of the verses quoted are from the same chapter of Isaiah that we were just in. 

1 - Paul is talking with Jews who are trying to justify their actions by using the law.  They are doing all the right things (checking all the boxes).Paul explains that the law….the commandments….the instruction is so that you recognize your sin, not so that you are justified. If we are truly worshiping the Lord, we will see our sin.  If we are truly studying His Word, we will see our sin.  If we are truly giving ourselves in prayer, we will see our sin.  The law is like a mirror.  If we truly measure ourselves according to the law…the Word…we will see what is wrong.  But, the Scriptures themselves don’t save us…they point us to what does.

2 – We are not better than anyone else.  We are all sinners.  None of us DESERVE to have the grace of God.  We will always fall short.  That means that we shouldn’t treat anyone else less than ourselves.  We are not better than anyone…regardless.  We are all sinners in need of a Savior. 

3 – The Good News:  We are sinners, but there is a Savior!
Our redemption is in Jesus Christ.  His blood was shed that we, through faith, can have forgiveness of the sins that we have committed.  This is the solution…it isn’t our good works that brings God in to listen to us OR our churchly work OR anything other than the blood of Jesus Christ.  Let’s look at one more chapter for today:  Romans 5:1-11
Because of Jesus, we have an offer of new life.  Only because of Jesus, whose birthday we just celebrated.  He is the only reason that we can be forgiven of those sins and that God can even look upon us.  He is the reason that we can offer up our prayers.
What do we do?  Accept Him as Savior…confess our sins…trust Him

Happy New Year!

It’s a New Year…lots to look forward to in the New Year.  We have so much to do and so little time to do it.  It often seems like we have all the time to get everything accomplished, so we grow complacent and not willing to do as we have been called to do.  We get use to the same thing day after day and same worship Sunday after Sunday that we stop putting our heart, soul and passion into worship and into service.  As Christians, we are not here to sit around and watch the days go by.  We are here because we have a purpose…a call…a job to do.  We are called to make a difference…we are called to serve – If He is our KING!  That doesn’t mean that we work ourselves so that we do nothing well.  That means we give 110% to what God has called us and for the purpose in which He has called us.  There are a couple of verses we need to consider as we look at this New Year and our service to Him:
1)      Ephesians 2:10
This says that we are God’s workmanship – we are His creation.  We are made by Him…just like we are…not to be like anyone else – but to be you.  We are also made to do great things!  Things for Him, good things just for Him!  That means we aren’t doing it for ourselves.  We aren’t being selfish in our work, but working for His glory!  This purpose was set before we even knew about it…before our parents knew or anyone else.  Just like God told Jeremiah – He created us and knew us even before we were born!  That means He had a purpose for us even before we even arrived here.  That doesn’t make us important – it makes OUR MISSION IMPORTANT!!
Your mission is important because you were called for this!!!
The second verse is a caution:
2)      2 Timothy 3:12-17
If we live for Him, we are persecuted.  There will be imposters – people who appear to be Christians but actually just lead you astray.  Stay focused on what you know to be true and that is from the Word of God – which isn’t always going to tell us what we want to hear!  Notice something else – Scripture is given so that you and me may be complete – thoroughly equipped for EVERY GOOD WORK!
Wow!  We were created for good works, we were made for good works, and we have the tools to equip us to do those good works!  That sounds to me like we have no excuses to get complacent and to do nothing.  We must get to work!  HAPPY NEW YEAR!!