Spirit-Empowered Effort

Weekly Update – January 28th, 2021

The last few weeks we have been looking at what it means to grow as a Christian. The process that Scripture lays out for us is what I like to call, Spirit-Empowered Effort. What this means is that God has given us his Spirit to effect change in our hearts and move us towards him, but at the same time, we must push and fight and struggle to put off sin and pursue Christ. Over the last two weeks we have looked at both sides of this balance with Romans 6:1-14 and the call to “Put Sin to Death,” as well as Galatians 5:13-26 and the call to “Walk by the Spirit.”

As we think about both of these calls from the last few weeks, we already answered the question as to whether or not growing as a Christian even mattered. Again, yes, it does matter whether or not you are growing spiritually as a Christian. But this week, we are going to ask the question, “What is it that motivates us to pursue Christian growth.” To answer this , we will consider Ephesians 2:1-10 and the topic of “Gospel Driven Holiness.”

This week we will continue in our brief series titled, Growing Your Faith. Our message will be titled “Gospel Driven Holiness” from Ephesians 2:1-10. I hope that you will join us in person or via livestream.

Serving Him with You,
Pastor Michael Nelson

Lottie Moon Christmas Offering: Every year at this time, we raise funds to support missionaries all over the world who are serving with the International Mission Board (IMB). The goal of the IMB is to raise 175 million dollars this year. Our goal at First Baptist Church is to raise $9000. If you haven’t already, will you consider partnering with us by giving, as we seek to support international missions? You can give on Sunday mornings through one of our offering boxes located in the foyer or the welcome center. Just mark your envelop as “missions” or “Lottie Moon.” Or you can give online HERE. Choose “missions” under the Fund tab. You can find more information about this offering HERE.

Special Members’ Meeting: Unfortunately over the last few weeks the commitment we received from MBL Development for the purchase of the 4 acre land, north of the church, fell through. Even so, there is another group called Elevate Design who is interested and wants to move forward with purchasing the land. The project and the purchase price is very similar to what MBL Development proposed. Therefore, we will meet on Wednesday, February 10th at 7:00pm in the sanctuary to discuss and vote on the sale of the land. Again, if voted yes, the money received will go to remodeling the church. If you have any questions before that date, feel free to connect with me. If you cannot attend in person, there will also be the option of attending through zoom. Contact the church office for that link.

Health Guidelines: With no changes from the Health Department, we will continue in Phase 2.5 here in Jackson County. That means masks are still required. You can find the official guideline on mask wearing from the health department HERE. You can also find a video that outlines what Phase 2.5 looks like for our church HERE.