Posts from 2023 (Page 3)

Weekly Update – July 13th, This week, we have had the opportunity to host our annual Vacation Bible School.  The theme for this year is, Twists and Turns: Following Jesus Changes the Game. Every day children from our church and all over our community have come to learn about how big our God is and how much he cares for them.  This has been shown through the different memory verses that we have had, as well as through our teaching…

Weekly Update – July 6th, 2023 In your life, there may be many kinds of communities to be involved with, but none will rival the true community you are redeemed to.  You can join a gym, play a team sport, interact with your neighbors, and form all sorts of good relationships, but there is still something different about the true community.  The reason I say this is because, ultimately, a true community is the only type of community that is…

Weekly Update – June 29th, 2023 At Sunday’s Members’ Meeting we announced some updates to our staff and deacons. To our staff, we added Daniel Holsten and Matthew Klika. Then, Bob Berning, Jake Norman and Kamto Eze will join Nate Johnson and Alex Martin as deacons. Let me explain exactly what that means for us now. For our staff, the addition of Daniel Holsten and Matthew Klika brings some intentionality to a few needed areas. Daniel will come on as…

Weekly Update – June 22nd, 2023 Every year, the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) meets in June for its annual meeting.  The convention contains just over 47,000 churches with anywhere from 8-12,000 messengers attending this annual meeting on behalf of member churches.  The SBC was formed in 1845 with the singular purpose of, “eliciting, combining, and directing the energies of the Baptist denomination of Christians, for the propagation of the Gospel.”  First Baptist Church is an active member of the SBC…

Weekly Update – June 15th, 2023 As you all know, Vacation Bible School is just around the corner.  Every summer our church has a week where we specifically focus on teaching the children of our church and the community the gospel of Jesus Christ.  This week always requires a lot of effort, resources and time.  Therefore, for the sake of simply doing something because we have always done it, I want to remind you, just as I have done in…

Weekly Update – June 8th, 2023 In Philippians 1:4, the apostle Paul starts off his letter by expressing his thankfulness for the Philippians “partnership in the gospel.”  This coming Sunday, we will see Paul talking about his situation in prison as a circumstance that will serve “to advance the gospel” (1:12).  With Paul starting off his letter with this word “gospel” and continually using it throughout, it was necessary for us on Sunday to take some time to clearly define…

Weekly Update – June 1st, 2023 Summer is easily my favorite time of the year.  I know some complain about the hot weather, but I love it.  I love the warm nights, the bright sun, the afternoon storms and the different pace that summer often brings.  With summer though, there comes a temptation.  Anytime there is an opportunity for leisure and refreshment, the evil one will bring the temptation to focus inward and to neglect what the Lord is doing…

Weekly Update – May 25th, 2023 Over the last 5 months, we have been slowly walking through our newly adopted statement on Biblical Sexuality.  There are nine points to this statement.  This week we will look at point four.  Point one can before found HERE.  Point two, HERE.  Point three, HERE.  Point four is as follows: God has designed marriage to be a covenantal, sexual, procreative, lifelong union of one man and one woman, as husband and wife.  This covenant…

Weekly Update – May 18th, 2023 Last Sunday, we had, what we called, a parent/child dedication.  At First Baptist Church, we want to be a community that not only celebrates children, but we also want to be a place that stands with parents to equip, support, encourage and pray for them as they seek to lead their children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.  That means that as joyful as it was to watch six young families present…

Weekly Update – May 11th, 2023 The phrase “listen to your heart” is not an uncommon mantra of our modern day.  If you don’t know what direction to take in making a decision in life, you might hear the advice, “listen to your heart.”  If you are unsure about what to do in a relationship, you might hear, “listen to your heart.”  If you are unsure about whether something is right or wrong, you might hear, “listen to your heart.” …

Weekly Update – May 4th, 2023 On many Sundays over the last few months, we have read larger portions of scripture during the sermon time.  As we have been going through 1 Samuel, it is helpful to sometimes read a chapter or more at a time, to understand the full context of story that is given.  We don’t typically have to do this in Paul’s letters or even the gospels, but with Old Testament narrative, this is necessary.  Nevertheless, no…

Weekly Update – April 27th, 2023 The plan of God, from before the creation of the world, is that we would be redeemed through his son Jesus Christ (Eph. 1:4).  Due to sin, we have all been separated from God, made strangers to his promises, as we live without hope in this world (Eph. 2:12).  But God, being rich in mercy saved us (Eph. 2:4-5).  God’s plan wasn’t just for us as individuals though.  What I mean is that when…