Introduction: There is a quote that I used all the time during my young adult years. You may be familiar with it. The quote is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi and it says: “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” I think the main point of this quote is valid…if all we do is ‘talk’, and…
I’m quickly growing in the belief that hope is one of the most powerful forces on the planet. I’m not sure if I made this up or if I stole/adapted it from someone else, but “if you want to destroy a person, destroy their hope.” Our main focus for this Sunday is on praying that God would open our ears…
“Open the eyes of my heart Lord. Open the eyes of my heart. I want to see you.” As we continue in our new sermon series: ‘Open’…we had the special blessing of celebrating a baptism last week and will be celebrating another one next Sunday! Last Sunday we heard of the amazing impromptu baptism of one of our youth. This,…
This Sunday, we are beginning a new series focused on seeking God’s will in our prayer lives every day. This series pairs well with our closing hymn for this Sunday, “Open My Eyes, That I May See.”[we wrote previously about this song here] In this series, we will be exploring the following topics: – Open our minds to understand the…
This Sunday is Rally Day at First Baptist Church—a time to celebrate what God has done and look with anticipation to what lies ahead. God has been up to some great things in the ministries and lives of the people of First Baptist. We have no shortage of reasons to praise God for what He has done over the past…
Scripture references: Isaiah 53:3, 6. Mark 14:22-25, 27, 29-31, 51-52, Mark 15:46, Mark 16:5-6, 8, Amos 2:6-16. Introduction: “Man of sorrows, Lamb of God. By His own betrayed. The sin of men and wrath of God has been on Jesus laid.” On this communion Sunday, we come together to remember what Jesus accomplished in His death, burial and resurrection. This…
Introduction: “I need thee every hour, stay Thou nearby; Temptations lose their power when thou art nigh.” As we approach Labor Day weekend and the end of our first summer meeting together as one unified body…I am struck by the focus our combined worship format has put on the theology behind the songs we sing on Sunday mornings. This week…
In the second verse of “Amazing Grace,” we sing the words: “Twas Grace that taught my heart to fear, and grace my fears relieved.” These words shows us the immense power that the grace of God has on our lives. The Gospel Coalition defines grace as:“God’s saving grace is the unmerited favor of God that reconciles sinners through Jesus Christ.”…
Have you ever played the game Bean Boozled? The basic premise is that each style of jellybean could be one of two flavors. Green could be “Lime or Lawn Clippings,” blue could be “Berry Blue or Toothpaste.” What makes the game interesting is that you cannot tell which flavor you’re getting until you eat it. If you’re unlucky enough to…
What is the crowning achievement on your resume of life? What I mean by that is, what gives your life meaning, value, and worth? What do you find acceptance and significance in? We spend our lives building our “resume” to prove to people that we belong, that we are worthy of their love and attention, that our lives have purpose…