COVID-19 Update
A short leadership update:
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Seize the Moment – Day 66
The Rest of God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 22 and the start of Stage 3 in Indiana and at FBC.
The weekend is almost here and it’s Memorial Day Weekend—a long weekend for many! I hope you take some time to rest in God for whatever you are planning.
Jesus returned the religious leaders of His day back to God’s original design of honoring the Sabbath day in Luke 13:16: “Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?”
Jesus’ ongoing conflict with the religious leaders was because He would not observe their rules for the Sabbath day, what Jesus called “heavy burdens”—a yoke of slavery put on the people. Rather, Jesus declared “Freedom!” in His easy yoke of grace where the burden is light.
One of the ways you know you are in the easy yoke of Jesus is your ability to rest—mentally, emotionally, and relationally, not just physically. Are you struggling to rest? Whose yoke are you in?
Your ability to rest mentally and physically from your unfinished work demonstrates your faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ.
Your ability to rest emotionally from your worries and anxieties demonstrates your hope in the sovereign grace of God.
Your ability to rest relationally from your need to have other people meet your needs demonstrates your trust in the Holy Spirit’s constant companionship.
We were designed to find our rest in the Trinitarian fellowship of God!
Seize the moment and rest! Can you prioritize time this Memorial Day weekend to find the rest of God by not multitasking God with the many other things spinning in your mind, churning in your heart or on your to-do or honey-do list? I pray that you strive to enter into the rest of God!
If you need a more personal touch from your church than this daily phone call, please dial the phone number below and someone will call you today. We are praying for you!
YOUTUBE:
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Seize the Moment – Day 29
Stewarding Your Life!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church. Today is Wednesday, April 15
At the heart of so much anxiety and unhappiness is comparison. Comparing oneself with what others have—their abilities, their resources or possessions, their jobs or service to the community… whatever!
This is true because to compare yourself to another person is to miss the whole point!
In Matthew chapter 25, verses 14-15, Jesus starts one of His most famous parables, “For [the Kingdom of Heaven] will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted to them his property. To one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away.”
A primary lesson of Jesus’ Parable of the Talents is that we are not owners of our lives, but stewards—household managers of what God has given us! You may have a 5 talent life, 2 or 1, but that is not the point, so don’t it make it the point! Because, stewards are not owners…
What you have isn’t what should define you; those things are temporary. It’s your relationship with the Giver that defines you; that is forever!
Seize the moment and steward the gift of your life well by growing in your relationship with Jesus! Learn from Him how to be generous with what God has given you. Don’t compare yourself to others, but rather invest what you have into others. And watch the multiplication happen… along with peace and happiness, too.
What are you doing with the gifts God has given you?
If you would like a personal phone call or need some practical assistance, please dial the phone number below and someone will be in touch with you soon.
God is with us!
YOUTUBE:
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Seize the Moment – Day 24
When Fear Wins the Day!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church. Today is Friday, April 10
Fear causes people to do and say hurtful things. Fear changes the chemistry of your brain as you go into survival mode. Faith keeps us calm and helps us make better decisions—ones that are more right and true for long-term thriving. My advice in the COVID-19 pandemic is unchanging: “Remain Calm and Pray! God is with us!”
In Matthew chapter 21, verse 9, we read this account of Jesus entering Jerusalem, to ultimately find Himself on the Cross, “The crowds that went ahead of [Jesus] and those that follow shouted, ‘Hosanna to the Son of David! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest!’” That is how the people of Jerusalem greeted Jesus—with faith! Hosanna–God saves!
Now listen to those same people days later, after their fears had been agitated by local leadership. From Matthew chapter 27, verses 22-23, “‘What shall I do, then, with Jesus who is called Christ?’ Pilate asked. They all answered, ‘Crucify him!’ ‘Why? What crime has he committed?’ asked Pilate. But they shouted all the louder, ‘Crucify him!’” Kill the One we thought was going to save us, but now threatens our way of life.
How do you react when you think something or someone is threatening your way of life or livelihood? Do you go on the attack and let your survival mode take over?
Seize the moment and Remain Calm…Pray! Now is a time for God’s people to be patient and to trust the Lord! Please join us tonight for our online Good Friday Service at 6:30 pm.
How can you practically help other people remain calm today and over this Easter weekend?
God is with us!
YOUTUBE:
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DIY Sunrise Service
that works best for your family 🙂
- Christ Arose (Up From The Grave He Arose)
- In Christ Alone
- Forever
others what the resurrection means to you personally. If you are
living alone, consider reaching out to someone else by phone to share
the hope of the resurrection with this message.
Christ has died. Christ is Risen. Christ will come again!
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Celebrating Jesus at Christmas (Week 2)
3 Wise Men and a Baby
Cast
Angel #1 : Grace Logan
Kid #1 & Kid #2 : Maxwell Richardson & Josiah Plumhoff
Inn Keeper : Caden Upchurch
Inn Keeper’s Wife : Kaitlyn Giddings
Joseph : Dylan Bunner
Mary : Nora HamiltonAnimals : Addy Durham, Brenna Evans, Lucy Kinnaird & Anna Plumhoff
Shepherd #1 : Jacob Hamilton
Shepherd #2 : Aubrey Whitaker
Shepherd #3 : Emma Durham
Multitude of Angels : Willow & Alana Ingalls, Helen Estelle, Bella & Lily Dailey
Gaspar : Jonah Kinnaird
Melchior : Caleb Kinnaird
Binky : Danny Hurst
You can listen to the production here:
You can watch the video version by clicking HERE.
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Grow: Mentor & Discipleship (Week 3)
Speaker: Dan Buschow
#RIPPLESTARTER
II Timothy 2:2 These thing you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to reliable men who are qualified to teach others.
I Corinthians 11:1 Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.
We must be willing to fight for each generation!
Are You Ready?
Growth and Discipleship
- Being Christ-Centered – Christ is in the middle of everything in your life – Spiritual Discipline
- Being Christ-like – Having and Displaying to your qualities of Christ – Kindness – Forgiveness – Sincerity – Caring – Accepting
Great Commandments
- Mark 12:30 –Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. Are You?
- Mark 12:31 – The second and greatest is this, Love your neighbor as yourself. Do You?
Great Commission
- Mark 16:15 (TLB) Go into all the world and preach the good news to everyone, everywhere.
- 28:18-20 – Go and make disciples of every nation.
21 Day Challenge
- Learn to have a daily quality quiet time.
- Learn to share your story in world.
- Learn to live a life of joy.
- Learn to be accountable to someone so you can be accountable for some one.
Ignite Passion, Purpose, and Faith in someone in their world!
Heb. 10:24 And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds.
Four PRACTICAL WAYS TO BE A #RIPPLESTARTER
1. Desire to make a Connection
- Look Up
- Look Around
- Use Your Sling Shot
2. Discipline to have a Conversation
- Make the phone call, Send a text/private message, Email
- Set a time and place
3. Delight when you find Common Ground
- Ask questions
- Look for where you are connecting
REMEMBER – #Ripplestarters ignite passion, purpose, and faith!
4. Determination to be Consistent
- Cup of Coffee
- Season of Life
- Life-long Relationships
Think About This…
You cannot have a life-long relationship until you have a cup of coffee!
Let’s Start some RiPPLES
Wake Up
Stand Up
Speak Up
Rise Up
Isaiah 6:8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am I. Send me!”
Listen to Dan’s Message here:
You can watch the video HERE.
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Grow: Discovering Love (Week 3)
“Our Response to His Rescue: Loving God With All Our Hearts”
2) Young Life [deficit, busiest time of year, emotional stress of caring for so many kids and leaders] = STRESS
Story: Jonah and his retainer!
How does it feel when you do something for someone you love and they overlook it? How does it feel when YOU know what you’ve done, how you’ve taken care of them, and they don’t realize of acknowledge it, or even worse, believe that someone else or they themselves did the thing you actually did?
wants us to love him in return. He wants our full attention, our passion, our appreciation, our deepest love. He wants us to love him with all our hearts, all our minds and all our strength- with everything we have.
does it mean? What does it look like to love God like that, to that extent?
a new place, a land that He promised would become their new home.
God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery.” The context for the commands he gives is that He is the one who rescued them, gave them the life they’re entering. It is the memory of what God has done for us that motivates us to obey and trust His commands.
[**how would MY life be different? what has God done for ME?]
thinking. I don’t think she had a pushy attitude, I don’t think she was thinking “I’ll show them, I can be here just as much as they can”. No, I don’t think she was considering who else was there at all. I think her sole focus was getting to Jesus. He was the only one she saw.
appearance. When this woman brought in the alabaster jar, and opened it up, the smell would have filled the room, drawing even more attention to what she was doing. Rabbis weren’t even supposed to talk to women in public, and they definitely weren’t supposed to touch a woman, let alone a prostitute. She slips in behind him, on the floor, low as she can get, and starts to pour the perfume out onto his feet. And as she does, she begins to weep.
Listen to Katie’s Message here:
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Grow: Spiritual Growth with Joe Bruce (Week 5)
Joe’s Garage
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Belong: We are God’s Family! (Week 3)
Teaching the Next Generations
Guest Speaker: Natalie Werking
Let’s look at some qualities that help to define Generation Z:
- Tech Innate. They grew up in this age of technology. (previously we were tech savvy, tech adept). They don’t know a world without cell phones. They can manage five screens at a time. This is nothing for them. They spend 5-8 hours a day on screens. They are sometimes called “screenagers”. They have access. They can Google anything. Their attention span is about 8 seconds (compared to a goldfish which is 9 seconds). Technology is affecting all of us. I used to go to Grandma’s house and make cookies and pies with her. Nowadays she is checking Facebook.
- Diverse. They are the most diverse in history. About half of Generation Z is non-white.
- Women. This is the age of women. More females than ever are going to college. Rates of females going to college soared last year. We are seeing a resurgence of feminism.
- Activists. They are informed about what is going on in the world and they want to do something about it. Millennials before them were sometimes known as “slacktivists”. They wanted to do something, they just really didn’t want to do something. With Gen Z we are seeing incredible rates of volunteerism. They are passionate about causes.
- Success. For the first time in history this generation says that their education and professional achievement are number one to them. “Knowing who I” am is at the top. Even hobbies and gender identity rank far above family, religion, race, money and politics.
- DIY. They want to do things themselves.
- Morality Shift. We see a shift in morality for the fist time in about 70 years. Only about 34% would say that lying is morally wrong. And they have enormously more choices than ever before. If you sign up for Facebook you now have 58 gender options to choose from. By comparison, when Ellen came out in 1997 she lost her job and did not work for 6 years. That wouldn’t happen today if a celebrity made an announcement like this.
- 4%. This is how many Gen Z kids claim to have a biblical worldview. Remember that this generation is the largest in history. So at a drop of 2% we are still talking about a very large number!
In the 1960’s, there were 10 things listed as Biblical values. The general population agreed with about 8 out of 10. Now there has been a big shift and the distance from these values is much further. Their questions are answered by Google and Alexa, not the Bible – not even their parents.
They are drawn to the supernatural. And things are becoming darker. They are looking for answers. We are on the verge of a mental crisis. They are losing their grip on skills for social interaction which makes them ripe for depression and all kinds of other problems.
Matthew 18:10-14. Where to Start? The disciples have been arguing about who is the greatest amount them. Jesus plops a child in front of them and tells them to be like the child. He then tells the parable about the lost sheep and then he talks about kids again. Is Jesus pointing us to kids? Was anything Jesus said by accident?
He really cares about that one lost kid. Leave the 99 and go out to find that lost kid. There are lost out there. Maybe it’s not about us. Maybe it’s about them.
Barna’s Research tells us that most people (85%) make their commitment to Christ between the ages of 4 and 14. From 15 – 30 only 10% and after 30 only 5%. It’s almost as if Jesus read Barna’s research!
It’s not about us, but about the kids younger than 15. Many Muslim countries forbid evangelizing kids under age 15. They know that’s when it is most effective. They allow adults to go to church – just not kids. The fact is, if you want to change a country, you start with the kids.
John 21:3-6. A New Reality. After Jesus revealed himself the disciples were faced with a new reality. Peter went right back to what his old ways. He went out to fish. It was what he knew best. The other disciples joined him. They didn’t catch anything that whole night. Jesus showed up again the next morning and told experienced fishermen where to fish. They caught more than they could handle. Same boat. Same guys. Same strategy. They just followed Jesus’ directions and changed location.
The end of John 21 is where I began today. Jesus told Peter to feed His lambs.
We can stay here in our church and keep fishing, doing our thing. What if all it takes is a slight location change. An Easter egg hunt in the city park? Dive at Parker School? Where would Jesus have us cast our nets?
Cultural sociologists tell us we are on the verge of a major cultural shift like we haven’t seen since the 1940s. Businesses are changing the way they reach this generation. The army is changing the way they recruit this generation. What will we, the church do to reach Generation Z?
We have a huge generation of young people that is globally connected, loves diversity, is passionate about activism and a good cause. If we can reach them, I am convinced that they can complete the great commission in their lifetime!
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