Posts by Michael Nelson (Page 10)

Weekly Update – October 27th, 2022 In our September members’ meeting, the main proposal that was presented, was a complete rewrite of our church’s constitution.  The reason for this proposal is so that our church might best reflect the structure that is presented in the New Testament.  What we see throughout the New Testament is what we call congregationalism.  This is where the final authority for all matters, specifically regarding doctrine and direction, rests in the hands of the congregation…

Weekly Update – October 20th, 2022 We need each other.  Have you ever thought about that?  Sure you have.  We have talked about it in various ways in the past.  That doesn’t mean it is any less true though.  We need each other.  I’m not simply referring to a basic human need for interaction or the need of others for our physical necessities such as food and water.  Instead, I am talking about the need we have as Christians to…

Weekly Update – October 13th, 2022 Last Sunday we looked at Titus 2:1-10 and the effects that sound doctrine has upon the church.  Where Titus was stationed, on the island of Crete, some false teachers had come into the church, and with their false teaching they were “upsetting whole families” (1:11) and causing many to “turn away from the truth” (1:14).  As a result, those who turned away from the truth, ended up with lives that were “detestable, disobedient, unfit…

Weekly Update – October 6th, 2022 I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimony about Christ was confirmed among you— so that you are not lacking in any gift, as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will sustain you to the end,…

Weekly Update – September 29th, 2022 This week I want to highlight a couple of points from our members’ meeting last Sunday night. This is the first time we have held our members’ meeting at this time and it seemed to be a great transition for us. We started with dinner at 5:30pm before we moved into our meeting that night. What resulted was one of the largest crowds we have had in years for a members’ meeting. Here are…

Weekly Update – September 22nd, 2022 This coming Sunday night, we will have our regularly scheduled “members’ meeting” for the third quarter of the year.  Most churches call these meetings, their “business meetings” but we have opted to call them “members’ meetings” instead, in order to convey a different sort of tone for this time.  You see a “business meeting” sounds cold and informal.  It is almost as if you are here to simply cast a vote and make sure…

Weekly Update – September 15th, 2022 There are two things that I want to update you on this week as we consider life at First Baptist Church. First, I want you to be aware of our new Bible Study and Sunday School options for Sunday mornings. Then second, I want to highlight an aspect of the sermon from this previous Sunday, as it pertains to what we will be considering at our Members’ Meeting on Sunday night, September 25th. First,…

Weekly Update – September 8th, 2022 Last Sunday, we took a look at Titus 1:1-4 and Paul’s introduction of his letter to another disciple in the faith, Titus. Paul said that he had been entrusted by the command of God to preaching the hope of eternal life for the sake of the faith of God’s people (Titus 1:1-3). Then, with this knowledge, Paul tells Titus that God’s people will be pressed towards living a life of godliness before others. As…

Weekly Update – September 1st, 2022 Last fall, in our series titled, “Why Church?”, we asked a number of questions, such as: Why Gather?, Why Pray? and Why Evangelize? One of the questions that we did not ask is, “Why Home Groups?” Since the summer of 2018 our church has held home groups, but when Covid came, with the exception of one that began meeting virtually, we paused meeting together in smaller groups outside the walls of the church. Well,…

Weekly Update – August 18th, 2022 Last Sunday we took a look at Ephesians 4:17-5:2 and how we are called to live the Christian life. The calling given to every single one of us is to “be imitators of God” (Eph. 5:1) as we live lives that are transformed (Eph. 4:17-24) together in the church (Eph. 4:25-32). The best way to sum up what this looks like is to say that as Christians united together in the church, or for…

Weekly Update – August 18th, 2022 Over the next few weeks, we will examine a few different topics that are pertinent to the context of our church.  This week we will look at our vision/mission, as well as some opportunities for this fall.  Then in September, we will take a few weeks to examine biblical leadership as we consider our own leadership structure at FBC.  Nevertheless, even though we are taking a few weeks to examine topics from the scriptures,…

Weekly Update – August 11th, 2022 As First Baptist Church, we believe that we are to strive to be the true community that God has designed his people to live within in the church. Now, the reason why I would call it a “true community” is because there is no other community that rivals it.  All other clubs and organizations gather based upon preferences, talents, or other demographics, but the church is the gathering of people who are united together…