Leadership Update!
Seize the Moment – Day 240
Leadership Update!
A leadership update this morning: Indiana’s governor just announced a new targeted county-level system of restrictions on social gatherings that goes into effect this Sunday, November 15. This is a major adjustment from the Stages 1-5 plan and your church leaders are in discussion on its implications to us. I encourage you to read the state-wide directive to learn more.
The good news is that churches are exempt from these restrictions, but we are still a place of concern for community health and well-being. Therefore, we are to wear face masks when not social distanced and to follow social distancing plans for all activities. As you know, we have been on top of safety and sanitary efforts at FBC, and we will continue to do so. This is a new normal.
We are fully open and I encourage everyone to prayerfully come back to church and rebuild good spiritual rhythms in their lives, we also call you to prudence and patience if you have health concerns. Never forget that your mental, emotional and spiritual health are important, too.
In other news: thank you to everyone who participated and voted in Sunday’s congregational meeting. We had a good turnout, well exceeded our quorum, and the 2021 budget and slate of officers all were approved with a high majority of votes. It is so good to dwell in unity as a church, especially in a culture that is so divided over everything. I am hopeful for our future!
As you drive by our church building, you will see a lot of great work being done. All of our new HVAC units are being installed. Those antiquated, original to the Wal Mart building HVAC units are finally going away and new more energy-efficient and cost-effective units are going up. More visible improvements on their way; stay engaged and remain hopeful for 2021.
2021 is going to be a year of promise!
Seize the moment and be hope-bearers!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Galatians 2
On-Purpose Christians!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 11. Happy Veteran’s Day to all of my fellow veterans! Take time today to thank the veterans in your life because our freedoms are only possible because of their blood and sacrifice. Today, please take time to pray for our veterans and their families, past and present.
Listen to Paul from Galatians 2:16 & 20, “We know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified…. I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”
Jesus Christ gave His life for a purpose—so that God’s family can be restored to Him. That means you can be saved—accepted, justified, redeemed, restored into right relationship with God—through the shed blood of Jesus Christ. Jesus lived and died on purpose!
All of us who claim Christ as Lord and Savior are called to live with the same intentional focus—on purpose—for Jesus Christ by not only receiving Christ through faith, but then living our lives on purpose for Jesus, through faith and thankfulness for His life, death, and resurrection.
Many understand and embrace their salvation, if not celebrate it every Sunday, but do each of us understand that we are called, saved, and transformed by the love of God to walk with Jesus and His purposes to restore God’s family back to Him.
Seize the moment and live on purpose for Jesus
Have a wonderful day!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Galatians 1
We Can’t Serve Two Masters!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, November 10.
Paul emphasizes from the very beginning of his letter to the Christians in the region of Galatia that the gospel he received and proclaimed is not from man. It is from Jesus Christ; his ministry as an apostle to the gentiles (non-Jewish people) is a grace bestowed upon him by God. Neither his faith nor his ministry is of himself; it is all from God. Therefore, he lives and does everything for God. Paul was very clear who he was a servant of; and it was not the church or any man, including himself and his good intentions.
His ministry would not been as effective or impactful for going-on 2,000 years if it was man he was serving. When we serve God, God can use us in ways that are beyond our imaginations.
Listen to Paul from Galatians 1:10, “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”
Paul breaks people pleasing down to a simple choice: if you serve man you are not serving Christ! This is one of those either-or moments that confronts us. To refuse to acknowledge the choice put before you this day and to stubbornly believe that we can serve both God and man is to ensure we are stuck in people-pleasing patterns of living. But to humble ourselves and acknowledge the Holy Spirit’s confrontation of our motives and intentions is to set our face and feet to seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, trusting that all these other things will be added unto us (Jesus’ words from Matthew 6:33).
So, today, I ask: Who do you serve?
Seize the moment and seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness.
Have a wonderful day!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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2 Corinthians 13
Passing the Test!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, November 9.
As some of you know I just finished my doctorate and I graduate next month. It was a wonderful four years and my fourth college degree. I love school! Do you? Do you remember taking tests in school?
Honestly, everyone gets a little nervous when they hear the word test, even life-long students like me, so what should we do when Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:5, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves”?
What should such a test look like?
Let’s get some context for his statement: Paul lays out his goal in 2 Corinthians 13:9-11, stating, “For we are glad when we are weak and you are strong. Your restoration is what we pray for. For this reason I write these things while I am away from you, that when I come I may not have to be severe in my use of the authority that the Lord has given me for building up and not for tearing down. Finally brothers rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
Based on this, there would be 4 questions to determine whether or not you would pass the test he calls us to:
- Are you rejoicing in the presence of the God of love and peace?
- Are your relationships “restored” meaning they are spiritually healthy, meaning they are filled with wholeness, forgiveness, and grace?
- Are you comforting one another in the hardships, griefs, and loneliness of life?
- Are you living in peace with yourself and others throughout all circumstances?
Seize the moment and examine yourself today. By yourself and under your own power it is impossible to pass this test, but with God all things are possible.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Responding to Jesus by Giving Thanks – Week 2
“Three Church Marks that Lead a Pastor to Give Thanks!”
1 Thessalonians 1:1-3 (NAS95)
Last week, Pastor Ken opened up our November sermon series on “Responding to Jesus by Giving Thanks” and today, I continue from the same book of the Bible: Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians. Please turn with me to 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3,
Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace. We give thanks to God always for all of you, making mention of you in our prayers; constantly bearing in mind your work of faith and labor of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father.
From this passage we learn three characteristics of the early church that caused the early church leaders to give thanks to God always for all of the people.
Before we examine these three characteristics, I want to make two quick observations from this Scripture:
Now, what can we learn from the three characteristics of the early church that caused the early church leaders to give thanks to God always for all of the people? According to 1 Thessalonians 1:1-3, church leaders; hence, the people of the churches should focus their thoughts or “bear in mind” these three areas: (1) Work of Faith; (2) Labor of Love; and (3) Steadfastness of Hope.
“But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.”
Biblically, these are the three areas we should excel as Christians in character and conduct, as individuals, as families, and as communities. This is how we are called to stand out and shine like stars in these dark days!
Let’s now apply them to our lives. It has been said,
“Faith rests on the past; love works in the present; hope looks to the future” (Moody Bible Commentary, 1879).
1. Work of FAITH!
“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance. It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”
“work of faith … in our Lord Jesus Christ in the presence of our God and Father.”
While this applies to all three of these points, I will only say it once, all that I am teaching today invokes the teachings of every sermon series from 2020: we are called to the work of faith, the labor of love, and the steadfastness of hope in response to the Plans of God, the Passion of Jesus Christ, the Priorities of Jesus, the Promises of God, and the Presence of God. All that we have been discussing this year, through each of the sermon series, is being called forth in this passage.
“Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Let us not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.”
“My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.”
When our work is the work of faith (when our trust is in God) we manifest the “fruit of the Spirit”, but when our work is of any of source, we show the world ourselves—the “deeds of the flesh”!
Work of faith proves who we serve and to whom we belong! What you do is important because it is the only way you can show the world the life of Christ that is in you… This is a life that brings thanksgiving to Paul!
2. Labor of LOVE!
“And working together with Him, we also urge you not to receive the grace of God in vain— for He says, ‘At the acceptable time I listened to you, And on the day of salvation I helped you.’ Behold, now is ‘the acceptable time,’ behold, now is ‘the day of salvation’— giving no cause for offense in anything, so that the ministry will not be discredited, but in everything commending ourselves as servants of God, in much endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labors, in sleeplessness, in hunger, in purity, in knowledge, in patience, in kindness, in the Holy Spirit, in genuine love, in the word of truth, in the power of God; by the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and the left, by glory and dishonor, by evil report and good report; regarded as deceivers and yet true; as unknown yet well-known, as dying yet behold, we live; as punished yet not put to death, as sorrowful yet always rejoicing, as poor yet making many rich, as having nothing yet possessing all things.”
“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord.”
When we labor in love, though we may not get the results we want (success vs failure), we will live lives that give glory to God and invoke thankfulness from our faith communities! Love does not always win in this world, as the world defines winning and losing, but God’s love never fails. But, without God’s love, even if you score a win in the eyes of the world, you still lose! We must do all things in God’s love if we are truly giving thanks!
“If I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but do not have love, I have become a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing. Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails; but if there are gifts of prophecy, they will be done away; if there are tongues, they will cease; if there is knowledge, it will be done away.”
And that leads us to Paul’s final admonition…
3. Steadfastness of HOPE!
“Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand; and we exult in hope of the glory of God. And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
What leads Paul and church leaders to give thanks? The people of God maturing in Christlikeness and reflecting Him in this life, more and more, one day at a time, until the Day of His royal visitation.
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Hymn: Victory in Jesus
Hymn: Victory in Jesus
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
When you wake up, do you automatically think of the victories that Jesus has given you? If not, make that a daily practice as we serve the One we love!
YOUTUBE:
If you would like to read the words to this hymn or hear the melody played, click on this link:
LYRICS:
How He gave His life on Calvary to save a wretch like me
I heard about His groaning, (of His blood’s atoning) of His precious blood’s atoning
Then I repented (repented) of my sins (repented of my sins) and won the victory
Oh victory in Jesus (victory in Jesus), my Savior (my Savior) forever (forever)
He sought me and He bought me with His redeeming blood (bought me with His blood)
He loved me ‘ere I knew Him and all my love is due Him
He plunged me to victory beneath the cleansing flood
How He made the lame to walk again and caused the blind to see
And then I cried, “Dear Jesus, come and heal my broken spirit”
I then obeyed His blest command and gained the victory
And I heard about the street of gold beyond the crystal sea (beyond the crystal sea)
About the angels singing (the angels are singing) and the old redemption story
Oh and some sweet day I’ll sing up there the song of victory
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God’s Design and Plan: Navigate
God’s Design and Plan: Navigate
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV)
As we conclude on building our PLAN, Tuesday we talked about where we PLACE OUR TRUST. Wednesday was why we do not LEAN ON our own understanding. Thursday was in all your ways ACKNOWLEDGE Him. Today is why we need to let God NAVIGATE.
Let’s wake up and start our day by asking God everyday “What would You have me to do for You? For where You lead me, I will follow.”
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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God’s Design and Plan: Acknowledge
God’s Design and Plan: Acknowledge
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV)
As we continue to build our PLAN, Tuesday we talked about where we PLACE OUR TRUST. Wednesday was why we do not LEAN ON our own understanding. Today is in all your ways ACKNOWLEDGE Him.
To acknowledge God is more than just a head nod, like saying, “Oh yeah, I see you there.” This is a full on recognition, giving a high regard and reverence to God, letting everyone know that without Him, we can do nothing!
There is a song written by Mylon LaFevre that states, “Without Him, I could do nothing. Without Him, I’d surely fail. Without Him, I would be drifting like a ship without a sail.”
And there are three little words that proceeds this charge…IN ALL THINGS. This means in all that we say, in all that we do, in how we treat our family, our neighbors, even those with whom we don’t always get along.
Only then will it be evident to ALL who see us that Jesus is Lord of our lives, and He is leading and guiding us every step of the way.
Wake up! Let the Holy Spirit throw some cold water on our faces to bring us back into focus. Be fully aware of and in fellowship with Him in all your ways!
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God’s Design and Plan: Lean On
God’s Design and Plan: Lean On
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV)
As we continue to build our PLAN, Tuesday we talked about where we PLACE OUR TRUST. Today, we understand why we do not LEAN ON our own understanding.
If you lean on or against someone or something, you rest against them so that they partly support your weight, or so that it is partly supported by that thing. This means you are placing your trust in your own understanding rather than trusting in the Lord with all your heart. When that ‘moves’, we move with it.
Another view is that if something is leaning, then it is not plum, or perfectly straight, and may cause the object to eventually fall down. Would you want to lean against something that is already leaning? Our natural understanding of things will mislead us or even fail us because it shifts with whatever is going on around us. We need to fully trust what God is leading us to do and not say “I can’t do that”. Rather we need to say, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me!”
We need to wake up and realize where we are placing our trust, and do it with all our heart, and take self out of the picture by not leaning on what we think it to mean. We need to be like Jesus, totally surrendering to our Father who loves us and say, “Not my will (understanding), but Your will be done!”
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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God’s Design and Plan: Place Our Trust
God’s Design and Plan: Place Our Trust
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” (ESV)
When we finally realize the design God has for our lives, then we need to have a PLAN to fulfill it. So the P in plan stands for where we PLACE OUR TRUST.
This concept of placing trust in the Lord was nothing new to Solomon. I am sure that he heard it many times from his father, David, as this was a phrase that he used many times throughout his writings in the books of Psalms. While Israel and its armies were known for their victories, they knew that it was the Lord who gave them those victories. David wrote in Psalm 37 to ‘trust in the Lord and do good”, but Solomon took it a step farther in saying to trust in the Lord with all your heart. We cannot put our trust in man, for they will fail us. We cannot put our trust in money, because it can quickly disappear. We need to place our trust in the One who created us and already knows what the future holds.
Join me today in placing our trust in our Lord as we lift up our community and our nation as people are placing their votes. Let’s follow Paul’s instruction to Timothy and offer up petitions and prayers for everyone, including those who are in leadership over us “so that we may lead tranquil and quiet lives in all godliness and dignity.”
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God’s Design and Plan: Nature
God’s Design and Plan: Nature
“It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.”
“ His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
As we conclude our acrostic of DESIGN, Monday was what DRIVES us; Tuesday was how God uses our EXPERIENCES to shape us. Wednesday, was what SPIRITUALLY STIRS us to best connect with God. Thursday, was how we IMPACT those around us. Friday was with what are we GIFTED. We finish out with what is your NATURE.
Wake up from your spiritual slumber and seek after the Master Creator and Designer who wants only the very best for you! Live your life each and every day being led by the Holy Spirit, and not the sinful nature of man.
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Responding to Jesus by Giving Thanks – Week 1
“In All Things”
It is my privilege and honor to be able to bring the message today that I believe God has given me to share with you, His beloved children. Let’s stand for the reading of God’s Word as we turn to our passage today:
“We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work. Be at peace among yourselves. And we urge you, brothers, admonish the idle (undisciplined), encourage the fainthearted, help the weak, be patient with them all. See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone. Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:12-18(ESV)
I am thankful to be working with Pastor Jerry as we serve this body of believers here at FBC. I am thankful for a group of elders and trustees that have come around us that have joined in this partnership to lead this church. I am thankful for Jody and Kevin as the ministry directors as they work with us in leading the NextGen ministries. I am thankful for the volunteer leaders that serve in the various ministries, for without them, we could not do or offer these ministries. And most of all, I am thankful for the people of FBC who love and support all of us!
As I was reading through this first letter to the church of Thessalonica, it could have been written to our church here in New Castle. In the first 3 ‘chapters’ of this letter, Paul was thanking God for what was happening in the church even after he had left. He was encouraging them to keep being faithful, letting them know he was praying for them. He also was encouraging them to keep spreading the Gospel until Christ’s return by living out their faith in their daily lives so that others would see the message of hope being ‘fleshed out’ in front of them.
He precedes these words with how we can do it, and then proceeds to tell us why. So let’s look at those together more intently (or intensely, as the case may be)
1. HOW?
“…who labor among you and are over you in the Lord and admonish you, and to esteem them very highly in love because of their work…”
-over you in the Lord (led by the Spirit)
-admonish you
DEFINITIONS OF ADMONISH:
to indicate duties or obligations to;
to express warning or disapproval to, especially in a gentle, earnest, or solicitous manner;
to give friendly earnest advice or encouragement to;
to say (something) as advice or a warning
Expositor’s Bible Commentary says:
“admonish” means correction administered either by word or deed. It implies blame on the part of the one admonished. Naturally, this process arouses resentment, since discipline is never pleasant. Still the apostle presents admonition as necessary for the congregation and requires respect for those who exercise it.
Esteem in love: This is a part of respect that has been lost or forgotten In this day and age of “my rights” and “me first”, we have pushed love out of the picture.
encourage the fainthearted
help the weak
be patient with them all (Jerry quote)
“See that no one repays anyone evil for evil…” (v15a)
“Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing.”
“always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.”(v15b)
Hebrews 13:16
“And don’t forget to do good and to share with those in need. These are the sacrifices that please God
-Always joyful…in all ways…full of joy
Philippians 4:4
“Rejoice in the Lord always, again I will say, rejoice!”
~What could he mean by that?
Expositor’s Bible Commentary:
“Intimately related to constant joy is incessant prayer—the only way to cultivate a joyful attitude in times of trial. Uninterrupted communication with God keeps temporal and spiritual values in balance. “Continually” does not mean nonstop praying. Rather, it implies constantly recurring prayer, growing out of a settled attitude of dependence on God. Whether words are uttered or not, lifting the heart to God while one is occupied with miscellaneous duties is the vital thing. Verbalized prayer will be spontaneous and will punctuate one’s daily schedule.”
Colossians 3:17
“And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”
Philippians 1:3-4
“Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy.”
2. WHY?
BENEDICTION:
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24(ESV)
“Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it.”
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Hymn: I Will Sing of My Redeemer
I Will Sing of My Redeemer
God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
Philip Bliss, a contemporary of D.L. Moody and Major Daniel W. Whittle, was known for several great hymns like Hallelujah! What a Savior!, Wonderful Words of Life and the music for It is Well by H.G. Spafford.
I will sing of my Redeemer, and His wondrous love for me.
On the cruel cross He suffered, from the curse to set me free.
Sing , Oh sing, of my Redeemer. With His blood, He purchased me.
On the cross, He sealed my pardon. Paid the debt and made me free.
Take some time today to reflect on these words that remind us of the great price that was paid that we might have life, and have it more abundantly!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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God’s Design and Plan: Gifted
God’s Design and Plan: Gifted
“It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.”
As we continue our acrostic of DESIGN, Monday was what DRIVES us; Tuesday was how God uses our EXPERIENCES to shape us. Wednesday, was what SPIRITUALLY STIRS us to best connect with God. Thursday, was how we IMPACT those around us. Today is with what are we GIFTED.
It’s time for us to wake up and realize how special the gifts are that Holy Spirit has placed in our lives! If you have not taken a spiritual gifts test, then I challenge you to seek out one of the pastors or elders and ask them to help you find out what your gifts are!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
More about Spiritual Gifts:
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God’s Design and Plan: Impact
God’s Design and Plan: Impact
As we continue our acrostic of DESIGN, Monday we talked about what DRIVES us. Tuesday, it was how God uses our EXPERIENCES to shape us. Wednesday, we focus on what SPIRITUALLY STIRS us to best connect with God. Today’s focus will be how we IMPACT those around us
It’s time for us to wake up and see how our lives impact our friends, family, neighbors and co-workers and what God is calling us to do! Read this whole chapter and accept the challenge to share the precious faith, hope and love that has been given to us through Christ!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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God’s Design and Plan: Stirs
God’s Design and Plan: Stirs
“in God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can man do to me? I must perform my vows to you, O God; I will render thank offerings to you.
For you have delivered my soul from death, yes, my feet from falling, that I may walk before God in the light of life.”
As we continue our acrostic of DESIGN, Monday we talked about what DRIVES us. Tuesday, it was how God uses our EXPERIENCES to shape us. Today, we focus on what SPIRITUALLY STIRS us to best connect with God.
It’s time for us to wake up and realize that since we are all uniquely designed, it will take different things to stir us spiritually. For some, it is music; for others, it’s the spoken word; for others, it is art; while still for others, it is the written word. Whatever stirs you, use it to better connect with the God who loves you!
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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God’s Design and Plan: Experiences
God’s Design and Plan: Experiences
“I have said these things to you, that you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
As we continue our acrostic, yesterday we talked about what drives us. Today, I want us to see how God uses our EXPERIENCES to shape us.
It’s time for us to wake up and realize that we all have something to share in building up the body of Christ. Find God and His peace in every situation you face, and be ready to give Him the glory for what He has done.
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God’s Design and Plan: Drive
God’s Design and Plan: Drive
“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. In those days when you pray, I will listen. If you look for me wholeheartedly, you will find me. I will be found by you,” says the Lord.”
My son, Kyler, will be taking a test soon to become a licensed landscape architect. He has an eye for design and knows how to draw up and engineer the plans for the design to become a reality. He is able to see the finished product and knows the work that will be required for it.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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Responding to the Presence of Jesus – Week 7
The Unavoidable Consequence of the Presence of God
I love science – creation is so COOL! And the universe that God created contains some very strange and wonderful surprises. One of those surprises is holography.
Any Star Wars fans here? Remember the scene from the first (or fourth) movie – A New Hope? “Help me, Obi Wan Kenobi! You’re my only hope.” That was a holographic movie, which exists in the science fiction world of Hollywood, but not quite yet in real life – however, they’re getting closer. What we do have today is holograms – holographic still images.
A photograph is a two-dimensional representation of real life, and a hologram is a three-dimensional representation of real life. The photograph looks the same no matter what angle you look at it. The image in a hologram actually appears to rotate three-dimensionally as you change the angle that you look at it.
When a photograph is cut in half you only see half of the picture. The cool thing is that when you cut a hologram in half, the whole scene can still be seen in each piece – you just see less of it at one time.
In a similar way, the Word of God is like a hologram. The Bible as a whole presents an overarching storyline from Genesis to Revelation. When you look at scripture in smaller chunks, and explore it from different angles, you get a glimpse of the whole story. And whether you know it or not, we’ve been doing that for the last six weeks as we talked about “Responding to the Presence of Jesus!”
Let’s do a quick recap …
Responding to the Presence of Jesus Series
Matthew 18:15, 20 – “If your brother sins, go … I am there with you.”Exodus 33:12, 14 – “You say to me, ‘Bring up this people!’ But you yourself have not let me know whom you will send with me … ‘My presence will go with you.’”
Isaiah 6:1, 8 – “I saw the Lord … and the train of his robe filled the temple … and the Lord said, ‘Who shall I send?’”
John 13:34-35 – “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Philippians 4:8-9 – “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.”
1 Peter 2:9 – “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
1 John 4:9-12 – “In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.”
1 Peter 2:9-10 – “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
As we look back, we see that every week, when we talked about the presence of God from different perspectives, it always resulted in God sending people to do or say something. Why was that? What is it about the presence of God that results in people going somewhere and doing something?
Pastor Jerry mentioned last week about the rebellion in Genesis 11 at the Tower of Babel. God divided the nations (Deuteronomy 32:8-9), but He didn’t give up on them (Acts 17:26-27). He immediately chose Abram (Abraham) and supernaturally created a nation of God’s own possession (Genesis 12).
Genesis 12:1-3 – Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
God promises Abraham that all the nations, the nations He had just divided, will be blessed because of his family. God was going to bless the rest of humanity through Abraham and his descendants. Fast forward to the Exodus, and how God delivered Abraham’s descendants (now called Israel) from Egypt. Three months after God parted the sea and defeated the armies of Egypt they were now at the foot of Mt. Sinai.
Exodus 19:3-6 – … The LORD called to [Moses] out of the mountain, saying, “Thus you shall say to the house of Jacob, and tell the people of Israel: 4 ‘You yourselves have seen what I did to the Egyptians, and how I bore you on eagles’ wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”
God recommissions Israel to go into the chaos and emptiness of the rest of the fallen world and be His representatives to the nations – a kingdom of priests – to bring order and fullness.
Isaiah 61:1-6 (Luke 4:16-22- Also quoting from Isaiah 42:7; 49:(6) 8, 58:6) –
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
because the LORD has anointed me
to bring good news to the poor;
he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
to proclaim liberty to the captives,
and the opening of the prison to those who are bound;
2 to proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor,
6 but you shall be called the priests of the LORD;
they shall speak of you as the ministers of our God; …
Here at the beginning of His ministry, Jesus signals that by the end of His ministry on Earth, there will be a group of people who will be called priests of the Lord – Ministers of our God – accomplishing the will of God “on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
“…All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
You might remember in Week 1, Pastor Jerry used this verse to highlight that we “gather to scatter.” Jesus recommissions His people, now identified as the church, to go into the chaos and emptiness of the rest of the fallen world and be His representatives to the nations – a Kingdom of Priests.
And ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, Peter quotes from the book of Joel to explain what’s going on.
“And it shall come to pass afterward,that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
your old men shall dream dreams,
and your young men shall see visions.
29 Even on the male and female servants
in those days I will pour out my Spirit.
The Holy Spirit now empowers the people of God so that they can truly be a Kingdom of Priests – representing God in the world – bringing wholeness where there is chaos and fruitfulness where there is barrenness. Look at Paul’s letter to the Galatians:
Galatians 3:23-29 – Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. 24 So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. 25 But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, 26 for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.
We are heirs of Abraham according to the promise. What was the promise? That all of the nations of the world would be blessed through his descendants. God wants to bless the world through us! And this thread goes all the way through the rest of scripture into Revelation.
Revelation 1:4-6 – John to the seven churches that are in Asia:
Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, 5 and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood 6 and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.
Revelation 5:8-10 – And when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. 9 And they sang a new song, saying,
“Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth.”
But we still have a question. Why is this such a big deal to God? Why Is having a Kingdom of Priests so important to God? Let’s go back to the beginning … like “In the beginning …” Genesis chapter 1
God’s Original Commission and Creation
v.2 The Earth was, in Hebrew, “tohu wa vohu” – Without Form and Void – wild and waste – unformed and uninhabited – Dark Waters – chaos and emptiness.
- Day 1 – Light and darkness – Order
- Day 2 – Sky – Waters above from Waters below – Order
- Day 3 – Land – Waters from Dry Land – Order
- Day 4 – Sun, Moon, Stars – Filling
- Day 5 – Birds, Fish – Filling
- Day 6 – Land Animals – Humans – Filling
- Day 7 – Rest – Sabbath
The Spirit of God hovers over the chaos of a wild and waste world and brings order and fullness.
The Commission
26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.”27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.
28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
God commissions humans to go into the rest of the world and have dominion. This is a word that I’ve struggled with as a Christian, but recently I discovered my struggle was with how I defined dominion. Dominion is a Biblical word that means to bring order and fullness to a world of chaos and emptiness – to be God’s representatives and continue to do what He had done in creation.
But there was the fall – a rebellion. But notice, the commission for humanity never changed.
There was actually a second rebellion at the beginning of Genesis 6 that we don’t have time to get into this morning, but that brought about the flood. And after the flood …
Gen 9:1, 7 – And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. …
7 And you, be fruitful and multiply, increase greatly on the earth and multiply in it.”
God recommissions humans (Noah and his family) to go into the chaos and emptiness of this “newly washed” world and have dominion – bring order and fullness. To be His representatives and continue to do what He had done in creation.
It is in God’s response to these two rebellion accounts that we see the Passion of God. What does He want?
He Wants To Partner With Us In Accomplishing His Will On Earth
When God thought about creating humans, His plan, His perfect will, was to create us to be Stewards of God’s Creation, Bringing Order and Fullness, and Accomplishing God’s Will “On Earth As It Is In Heaven”
Even after Sin, even after Rebellion (both in Heaven and on Earth) God’s plan never changed. But to accomplish His initial plan, He now needed a rescue plan.
How was God going to accomplish this rescue plan? Here again we can see it in fractals all throughout scripture, but I think it is best seen in this passionate response that God gives in Ezekiel 34:11-12 –
“For thus says the Lord GOD: Behold (LOOK!), I …, I MYSELF will search for my sheep and will seek them out. 12 As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and thick darkness.”
The Rescue Mission of God is to search for His lost sheep – To seek and save the lost (Luke 19:10).
And this is where we discover the Two Calls of God that he issues to every individual:
Call #1 – Come & Repent – Why? So that He can Reconcile Us To Himself and Restore Us to the Family – Reconciled and Restored by Grace alone!
Call #2 – Go & Represent – Why? So that we can fulfill God’s initial plan, to bring order where there is chaos, and to bring fullness where there is barrenness, AND to partner with God to accomplish His rescue plan, by Recognizing and Living Out Our Identity.
And What Is Our Identity? – Priests in the Kingdom of God Representing Him to the World
1 Peter 2:9-10 – “you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.”
We have seen all throughout this series that The Presence of God in our lives will ALWAYS propel us to be on Mission for God. Why? Because that is His passion.
The Holy Spirit was not given to the church just so we could feel good. The Holy Spirit was given to the church to equip us to function as priests in the Kingdom of God Representing Him to the World.
Jesus didn’t die to save us so that we could simply sit around and wait to go to Heaven. That was never in the mind or heart of God. That’s a false, self-centered image.
Jesus died to save us so that we could join Him in the rescue mission for lost image bearers. Jesus died to save us so that we could partner with Him in bringing order to the chaos we find in the world. Jesus died so that we could partner with Him in bringing fullness where there is barrenness in the world.
Remember the quote from C.S. Lewis’ the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe? Mr. Beaver whispers to the children, “They say Aslan is on the move – perhaps has already landed.” Scripture is clear, we serve a God who is continually on the move.
Unavoidable Consequence of the Presence of God
The Presence of God is not static . The Presence of God does not just stand still and wait for us to find Him. The God of the universe is in pursuit of you and me and when we finally see that, and embrace Him, we also embrace His ongoing mission.
A Christian who does not see themselves as a priest in the Kingdom of God, who is not fully committed to the Passion and Mission of God, is a Christian with spiritual Alzheimer’s. That person has forgotten who she, and who God created her to be. And God is moving on – with or without us – His Passion will not allow Him to stay and coddle us. There are more image bearers that need rescued! The AMAZING thing is that God’s passion is to partner with us in that mission!
The call on your life and my life is the same now as it has always been.
Come & Repent, AND then Go & Represent.
Our difficulty is that we’ve focused so much on the first part of the call – Come & Repent – that we’ve either forgotten the call to Go & Represent or we were never taught how to do it – And THAT’s a discipleship problem.
A world without the rule of God is “tohu wa vohu” – wild and waste – without form and void – chaos and emptiness. God wants us to see it, and then work to accomplish God’s will “on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
Look at your family. Is there wild and waste – chaos and emptiness? What can you do to bring the rule of Christ to your family? What can you do to reduce the chaos and fill the emptiness? Not in a heavy-handed way, but with the Spirit of Christ, operating out of His loving-kindness.
Look at your neighborhood. Is it “tohu wa vohu”? You are the temple of the Holy Spirit – where Heaven meets Earth. What can you do to make your neighborhood more like Heaven and less like the chaos we find in the world?
In your work responsibilities, have you allowed God to help you establish your priorities in how you accomplish your work? Can you imitate what God did in creation and make a difference, in your workplace or in your coworkers, and step back and say, “This is good!”?
Can you look at your world, and find ways to make disciples, teaching them to live and act the way Christ taught us to live and act? Isn’t that the Great Commission?
There is a lot wrong with the world – and you are NOT responsible for fixing EVERYTHING. But what are the things you ARE responsible for? Where do YOU have authority? What have YOU been given to steward?
If you have already responded to the “Come & Repent call” then you represent God in the world. What does God see when He looks through your eyes? What would God do if He could work through your hands? Where would God go if He could walk in your shoes? How would Jesus pray if He heard what you heard?
You are image bearers of the Creator King. You carry the only name that can rescue people from darkness and bring them into His glorious light. You are the temple of God. The Holy Spirit dwells inside you. The Unavoidable Consequence of the Presence of God is that He is on the move. His passion has not changed or diminished from the beginning of creation. God so loved the world that He sent His Son to deliver us from the chaos and emptiness that imprisons us.
And the Presence of God in us impels us to Go. To do anything else is to tarnish His image and to bring shame to His name. To refuse to Go, is to desecrate His temple and to quench the Holy Spirit.
Come & Repent. Go & Represent. This is the passion and mission of God.
If you have not responded to that FIRST call on your life, now is the time to do it – Come & Repent. Be reconciled to God. Be grafted back into the Family. God’s passion is for you to be restored to the position that He designed you to hold – as a priest in the Kingdom of God.
If you have responded to the first call, have you heard and responded to the SECOND call? Go & Represent. You are a priest in the Kingdom of God. God’s passion, from the beginning of creation, is to partner with you in transforming the world. He’s given you His Holy Spirit. He has gifted you with Spiritual Gifts. You are the Temple of the Holy Spirit and every place you set your foot is a place where Heaven meets Earth.
God is on the move, and He has called you to be part of that adventure! Answer His call this morning.
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Hymn: What Wondrous Love is This
What Wondrous Love is This
“Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote: “Not father or mother has loved you as God has, for it was that you might be happy He gave His only Son. When He bowed His head in the death hour, love solemnized its triumph; the sacrifice there was complete.”
This beloved American folk hymn first appeared in 1835 in a collection entitled William Walker’s Southern Harmony. The appealing music and simply stated words has ministered to people everywhere, sharing the truth of Christ’s love for all of us.
“What wondrous love is this, o my soul, o my soul! What wondrous love is this, o my soul! What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul. To bear the dreadful curse for my soul.”
Take some time today to reflect on the wondrous love of Christ in your behalf and share your Lord and His wondrous love with others.
If you would like to receive a personal phone call today, all you have to do is dial the phone number below right now and one of us will call you soon.
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what wondrous love is this, O my soul!
What wondrous love is this that caused the Lord of bliss
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul, for my soul,
to bear the dreadful curse for my soul!
when I was sinking down, sinking down;
when I was sinking down beneath God’s righteous frown,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul, for my soul,
Christ laid aside his crown for my soul!
to God and to the Lamb, I will sing;
to God and to the Lamb, who is the great I AM,
while millions join the theme, I will sing, I will sing,
while millions join the theme, I will sing!
and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing on;
and when from death I’m free, I’ll sing and joyful be,
and through eternity I’ll sing on, I’ll sing on,
and through eternity I’ll sing on!
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2 Corinthians 12
Seize the Moment – Day 220
Self-Sufficiency or God’s Sufficiency!
2 Corinthians 12
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, October 23.
I don’t like failing! I prefer to be sufficient to accomplish whatever task that needs to be done, but that whole mindset is a dangerous trap of pride and arrogance.
There is no rest in self-sufficiency!
Paul gives us a powerful teaching from the Lord in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10,
And [the Lord] has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.
The teachings of Jesus Christ are counter-intuitive to our corrupted desires for self-sufficiency and power. We want to live as independent powerful beings, but God has hard-wired us to be dependent creatures—dependent on God and one another!
My weaknesses constantly remind me of my inability to live this life on my own power. For it is only then, when I am confronted with my weaknesses, that I can begin to live according to God’s design and in harmony with why Jesus came to show us the way and to die for our true freedom.
Christ emptied Himself so that we can be become full of Him! We are freed from self-sufficiency to live in God’s sufficiency!
Seize the moment and find rest, not in the ongoing work of your own hands, but in the finished work of His nail-scarred hands; not from the sweat on your own brow, but in the shed blood of His thorn-pierced brow. Surrender to God’s sufficiency today!
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2 Corinthians 11
Pray for Your Church!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, October 22.
How is your prayer life for your local church and the larger Church throughout the nation and world?
Paul makes a big statement that can easily be missed in his long list of sufferings for Christ. He writes in 2 Corinthians 11:28, “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.”
The “everything else” Paul referenced is found in verses 21-33 and actually continues into chapter 12. Paul clearly went through a lot to be faithful to God’s call upon his life as an apostle of Jesus Christ to the gentiles. He suffered greatly and in many ways, but Paul is highlighting something here that we can relate to.
Paul says that he feels a daily pressure of concern for the churches.
Are you concerned for the state of the American church or for the persecuted church throughout the world or for the unity of the church in its many denominations and variations? Or maybe you have a more specific local concern for one specific church or locality of churches? Or even more specifically, maybe you have a concern for a specific person or group of people in a church or community.
However you are experiencing the daily pressure of concern for the church, it is my hope that you will bring that concern to the Lord in prayer. Are you praying for the church and its leaders?
Seize the moment and make time to pray for your church and the larger Church.
As Paul teaches us in 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
Have a wonderful day as you live in God’s amazing grace!
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2 Corinthians 10
Daily Victories!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, October 21.
Are you winning the daily victories in your Christian life?
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, “For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.”
A stronghold is a military term that gives us the image of an enemy fortress that has been established on your rightful homeland that causes you to live a limited life; a life other than abundant life Jesus’ promised in John 10:10.
In everyday ways, a stronghold is like a kink in a garden hose—a garden hose is intended to bring fresh drinkable water from the source to the destination, but the stronghold blocks the flow of God’s Spirit through you so that you do not manifest the fruit of the Spirit or utilize the gifts of the Spirit for the work God has called you to do.
In the context, Paul is specifically talking about strongholds of thought, ideas, and the accompanying behaviors that flow from an unbiblical belief system.
One of the ways I am winning daily victories is making these phone calls through the COVID-19 pandemic. These help me fight the good fight for Christ; my devotional time is a pathway of relationship with God and I hope it is the beginning point for you to make time for God in each of your days.
We each must destroy strongholds and take every thought captive so that we may walk in obedience to the commandments of Jesus Christ and bring God glory through our everyday decisions.
Seize the moment and structure your life for daily victories. Spend time in God’s Word today. Jesus is praying for you…
Have a wonderful day as you live in God’s amazing grace!
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2 Corinthians 9
God’s Bountiful Promise!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, October 20.
It is always interesting to me when people share with me that they don’t find the Bible practical in their everyday lives. If you find yourself thinking the same way, check out 2 Corinthians 9. Maybe the deeper issue is that the Bible pokes its nose into the intimate places of our lives, like how we deal with money.
Money matters because how we spend money shows what we value!
I encourage you to read 2 Corinthians 9, especially verses 6-15. You will find some beautiful teaching and powerful promises that have the potential to liberate you from fear and insecurity, as well as elevate your worship to a God who loves you in ways that words cannot fully express!
Paul promises us in 2 Corinthians 9:6, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”
It is my heart’s desire that you will decide today to sow bountifully so that God can reap a bountiful harvest in your life. I am not preaching a prosperity gospel to you; I am simply asking you to trust God at His word, especially in the areas of your insecurities and fears, such as with your money.
Can you take God at His Word? As Malachi 3:10 promises of God, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”
There is only one way to know if you can trust God and His promises… It is through belief that you will experience the bountiful promises of God!
Seize the moment and trust God today by living a generous lifestyle.
Have a wonderful day as you live in God’s amazing grace!
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2 Corinthians 8
The Grace of Giving!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, October 19.
Did you know that a generous lifestyle brings glory to God?
Listen to Paul’s motives for giving in 2 Corinthians 8:9, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.”
Generosity gives glory to God because that is who our God is—we serve a generous God! Just look at Jesus, who made us rich through his glorious generosity. This is the gift of salvation made possibly only through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ!
This is the extravagant love of John 3:16!
Our giving is worship to who God is; our giving is the celebration of what Jesus Christ gave to us; our giving is freedom from our insecurity and self-centered lifestyles; and our giving is glorious generosity for all to see and witness to what Christ has first done for us—the transformation of our story through the glorious Gospel!
Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8:7, “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in the grace of giving.”
Seize the moment and practically point people to the glory of God by excelling in the grace of giving!
Remember: what you do with your money reflects the god you truly serve!
Have a wonderful day as you live in God’s amazing grace!
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