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Church Membership
Weekly Update – October 1st, 2021 Typically when the average church goer thinks of membership, it is usually with the idea of having your name put on an official role at the church in which you attend. Some would agree that it is necessary, whereas others would see it as something completely optional. There seems to be a sense among Christians (and rightly so) that being a part of a church is good, but yet as long as they are in a church,…
Children in the Service
Weekly Update – October 14th, 2021 Many times the worship service may seem as a sort of break for tired and weary parents. The worship service provides an hour for parents to refresh, listen and fellowship with others while their children are being cared for and taught by a loving teacher. That is why on the outset, the idea of having children in the worship service may not always seem that appealing. Some may think that it is an inconvenience to parents and…
Reading Scripture Together
Weekly Update – October 7th, 2021 Over the last few weeks, we have been asking different questions about who we are and what it is that we do as a church. So far we have asked, “Why Gather?”, “Why Preach?”, and “Why Pray?” All of these questions are meant to fit under the larger question of “Why Church?” Now we won’t be able to ask every single question, because if we did, our series would extend way beyond 12 weeks.…
Sermon Listening
Weekly Update – September 30th, 2021 When it comes to the topic that we considered last Sunday, the topic, “Why Preach?”, not only should we understand why it is that we value preaching as the central part of our service, but then, how do we actually listen and benefit from preaching. I wrote and posted this a few years ago, but in light of last week’s message, it seemed appropriate to post it again. Consider the following article: “Many times…
Why Gather?
Weekly Update – September 30th, 2021 In the book of Ephesians, the apostle Paul is clear to say that God redeems us, as fallen sinners, into a family (Eph. 2:13-22). There is no lone Christianity. This is not a “Jesus and Me” type of salvation only. Instead, we are made alive and re-made for corporate worship. Then, as we gather together, we do so as a picture of what heaven will one day look like. Revelation 7:9-10 gives us a glimpse: “A…
A Clear Purpose
Weekly Update – September 6th, 2021 Last Sunday, we began our series titled, “Why Church?” by looking at the vision and mission of First Baptist Church. We stated that our vision is see our families, community and world transformed by the power of God. That is a lofty vision that may perhaps leave us with a sense of vagueness in how we ought to fulfill it. Well, that is where our mission comes into play. Our mission provides a bit of…
A New Day
Weekly Update – September 9th, 2021 After a year and 1/2 of scaled back services and activities due to Covid-19, September 12th will almost seem like a new day for our church. On this Sunday we will kick off all of our fall ministries. Then the next week, our Ladies Bible Study will begin, along with a Thursday Men’s Prayer morning, then Awana and our Sunday night Bible study will begin the following week. To kick off this new day,…
An Interesting Weekend
Weekly Update – September 1st, 2021 What an interesting weekend! On Friday morning I woke up feeling incredibly sick, so I went and took three tests that day to see if it was Covid. I didn’t really need three, but I wanted to confirm, just in case one was off. Well, all three came back positive. Then, due to the fact that I had been around a number of people from church on Thursday, we decided that it was best…
Opportunity and Invitation
Weekly Update – August 26th, 2021 September 12th is a day that I have been looking forward to for several weeks. It is not as though this day is significant for any reason, but at least in my mind, it is a date that will kick off many of the ministries of our church. For the last year and a half, we have restricted many of our functions as a church, but coming in September, my hope is that we…
Finding Hope in God
Weekly Update – August 19th, 2021 One of the most disheartening developments over the last week involves the plight of the Afghan people. Whatever you think about the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, whether they should have stayed or come home, is not the argument here. The treatment of fellow image of God bearers by a wicked terrorist organization should cause us all to cry out to God for mercy upon these people. Beyond this, it is even more…
Why Share the Gospel?
Weekly Update – August 12th, 2021 Have you ever thought about why you would share the gospel with someone who doesn’t know Christ? Hopefully you have. Typically answers to this question would be, “because I don’t want that person to go to hell”, or “I want that person to be in heaven one day.” Those are both good answers, but yet they don’t go quite deep enough. This past Sunday in Ezra chapter 6, we saw that when the people…
The Formation of Habits
Weekly Update – August 5th, 2021 This summer I did a bit of reading on the formation of habits. After a busy period of life, I realized that I needed to take a step back and consider how to form better habits for the time that the Lord has given to me each day. One book that I read is titled, The Common Rule. In it, Justin Earley gives eight basic habits that shape his life. I won’t share all…