Pastor's Blog

2 Corinthians 4:5/ For we do not proclaim ourselves; we proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6/ For it is the God who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.”

During this season of spiritual discernment let us embrace a missional approach to imagining our ministry future that is also inspired by a Biblical understanding of our existence.

The time has come once again in the life of The First Baptist Church when we, as an entire congregation—not just the elected leaders—must set apart quality time to pray and seek direction and empowerment from the Holy Spirit to discern and discover where God is leading First Baptist, and how God wants to prioritize our mission for the next few years.

On Wednesday nights I have been discussing the book by Danny E. Morris and Charles M. Olsen entitled Discerning God’s Will Together: A Spiritual Practice for the Church.

Since our theme for this month is “Explore Your Call", I want to recommend three primary ways in which we respond to the call of God on our lives.

How do we recognize God's call in today's world?  1 Samuel 3:1-20 provides insight into this question.

The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him. Jesus grew in strength. Jesus was known as the author and finisher of the faith, who

What’s In a Name?  Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign.  Look, the young woman is with child and shall bear a son, and shall name him Immanuel (Isaiah 7:14).

With the Birth of Jesus Christ, God came to the earth in human form to take the future of our well-being into God’s own hands.

“The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the rose it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing.”  Isaiah 35:1-2

“The mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains…All the nations shall stream to it.”

How eager are we to embrace God’s vision for an international church?

In Luke 17:11-19 an individual’s life is changed, and God’s heart is moved by the coming together of gratitude and faith in response to a divine healing.

In Jesus’ economy, every person wanting a job would be given a job, because there is no shortage of work to be done in our world, and no shortage of resources to go around for everybody.  He believes, “The more people you put to work, the stronger the economy will be for everyone.  Employing the greatest number of people for the greatest good is his underlying economic theory.  There is simply no way to lose out on that approach.”

Debt Forgiveness - Matthew 18:21-35

What are the consequences in modern life of the failure to forgive those who are indebted to us, or who transgress against us, whether in personal or business affairs, whether at church or in civil society, whether in community interactions or in international conflicts?