The blog contains daily devotions and notes from the weekly messages.  We encourage you to review the notes during the sermon or through the week!  Most of the posts will have an audio and/or video link at the end of the notes.  From time to time the pastors will share other insights and devotions here.
 
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Seize the Moment – Day 1420

Boast in the Lord!

Isaiah 39

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, February 5.

 

The final chapter in Isaiah’s “Book of Hezekiah,” composed of Isaiah 36-39, foreshadows the emphasis of the remaining chapters of Isaiah – the destruction of Jerusalem at the hands of the Babylonian Empire. Little did King Hezekiah know that he would set the stage for such a great calamity, a century prior to it occurring, through a simple act of pride – the sin of boasting. Isaiah 39:2 records his actions, “Hezekiah was pleased, and showed them all his treasure house, the silver and the gold and the spices and the precious oil and his whole armory and all that was found in his treasuries. There was nothing in his house nor in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.”

 

At best, Hezekiah was naïve, but that is difficult to believe knowing his story. Most likely, Hezekiah was trying to impress a potential ally against Assyria, trusting in the military adage, “An enemy of my enemy, is a friend.” That was not true in the case of the Babylonians. After entertaining the son of the Babylonian king and showing him everything in his kingdom, Isaiah rebuked him with a word from the Lord in Isaiah 39:6, “Behold, the days are coming when all that is in your house and all that your fathers have laid up in store to this day will be carried to Babylon; nothing will be left.”

 

Seize the moment and boast in the Lord, not in your wisdom, might, or wealth, for everything you have is from God. As Jeremiah, a prophet who lived through the Babylonian destruction of Jerusalem, quoted of God, “Let him who boasts boast of this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the Lord who exercises lovingkindness, justice and righteousness on earth; for I delight in these things” (Jeremiah 9:23-24). Importantly, Paul quoted Jeremiah in 1 Corinthian 1:31 and 2 Corinthians 10:17.

 

God bless 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.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 

 
 
 

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Everyday Discipleship Wk 5

Everyday Discipleship with Real People
 

Teaching #5: “The Call to the Great Community!”

 
 
 

(If you are just beginning your journey, please click HERE to read the introduction

 
Loving accountability from the first 3 weeks:
 
1) Bible intake of Matthew 1 to John 12: Y or N [Note: if this pace of Bible intake is too much for you, please know that

     grace abounds! Don’t quit; keep going! Find a pace that works for you.]

2) Use the S.O.A.P. Bible journaling technique: Y or N
3) Pray the Lord’s Prayer every day: Y or N
4) Memorize John 13:34-35: Y or N

5) Calendar a weekly time for spiritual friendship: Y or N

 

+ Disciple = intentionally following Jesus’ way and teachings

+ Discipleship = intentional journey and life-long commitment to learn and manifest the fruit of who I am in Christ

+ The “Big Three” = transformative practices of Bible intake, prayer intimacy, and spiritual friendships

+ Great Community = intentional community of disciples who are called in love, gathered for love, and sent on mission

 

1) The Great Community is the “church” (ekklesia in Acts 11:26), which literally means, “the called out gathering or assembly.” While it can be used to describe any assembly of people, in the New Testament it is the work of the Holy Spirit to ingather those who have been called in Christ for God’s will. The church is God’s idea; not mine or yours!

2) Read 1 Peter 2:4-12.  Why is God calling us out of the world and into fellowship with Him and one another?

3) Memorize Matthew 5:14. What is the difference between being a “city on a hill” vs. a farmhouse on a hill?

+ Meditate upon this truth within the context of Matthew 5:13-16. How is Jesus calling us to be His church?

4) Read Acts 2:38-47.  What brings the church together?  What were some of the activities of the early church?

5) We are the church!  Jesus is the head, and we are the many members of His one body. This imagery gives the body structure and purpose. Read Ephesians 1:22-23; 4:11-16; Romans 12:4-8; and 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.

6) We are commanded to gather as the church. Read Hebrews 10:23-25. Why are we supposed to gather today? What difference does it make to gather regularly?

7) The kingdom of God is a relational kingdom! As fellow members of the church our relationships have significance. What is the “so that” of Jesus’ prayer in John 17:22-23 and how does that connect to the new command of John 13:34-35? What then is the ultimate purpose of all that we do as the church and as a local assembly of believers?

+ “so that the world may know that You sent Me, …”

+ “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, …”

 

Action Items for this week:

 

1) Bible intake for this week: John 13-21 & Acts 1-12.

2) Write a SOAP journal entry for either each chapter or each day. Bring your notebook. Are you willing to share?

3) Review this handout as you prepare to read your Bible every day. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you “become” conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).

4) Memorize Matthew 5:14 and be intentional about gathering with your local assembly of believers (church).

 
MATERIALS TO DOWNLOAD & PRINT:
 
 
 

If you would like to watch this lesson on YouTube, click HERE.

 
 

If you would like to view the entire service including music, etc. click HERE.

 
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1418

Today’s worship song focus :

They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love

John 13:35 (NASB95)            

 

 By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

 

A favorite song of the late 1960’s and early 70’s, it was written by a young Catholic priest by the name of Peter Raymond Scholtes. Taken from the words that Jesus gave His disciples in John 13, Scholtes wanted to show the connection between the church and its role in the life of the world. While it had a folk style of music, he wanted to connect the faith story of the church’s young people to the disheartened landscape of the culture in America.

 

And they’ll know we are Christians by our love, by our love
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love

 

We need to wake up and take to heart the words of this song. It is an important part of the message of grace, hope and love that we are to share with our part of the world and beyond. That is when we will truly see our mission of transforming stories through the gospel of Jesus Christ being fulfilled.

 
 

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.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 

If you would like to listen to this song, click HERE

 
 

They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love

 
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.
We are one in the Spirit, we are one in the Lord.
And we pray that all unity, may one day be restored.
 
(Chorus)
And they’ll know we are Christians,
By our love, by our love.
Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love.
 

We will walk with each other, will walk hand in hand,
We will walk with each other, will walk hand in hand,
And together we’ll spread the news, that God is in our land

 

We will work with each other, we will work side by side,
We will work with each other, we will work side by side
And we’ll save each man’s dignity, and guard each man’s pride.

 

All praise to the Father, from whom all things come,
And all praise to Christ Jesus, God’s only Son
And all praise to the Spirit, Who makes us one.

 

 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1417

Set Your House in Order!

Isaiah 38

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, February 2.

 

If I came to you, saying, “You had better get your house in order.” How would you respond? This is the situation Hezekiah found himself in Isaiah 38:1, “In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him and said to him, ‘Thus says the Lord, “Set your house in order, for you shall die and not live.” ’ ” Hezekiah wept bitterly. Through his tears, he cried out, “Remember now, O Lord, I beseech You, how I have walked before You in truth and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in Your sight” (3). He responded to his crisis with prayer. Just like in Isaiah 37, when Hezekiah did not run to Egypt for rescue, now, in Isaiah 38, he did not run to doctors for a cure. Again, he threw himself at the mercy of God, who responded to his humility in verses 5-8:

 

“Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, ‘I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will add fifteen years to your life. I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria; and I will defend this city.’” This shall be the sign to you from the Lord, that the Lord will do this thing that He has spoken: Behold, I will cause the shadow on the stairway, which has gone down with the sun on the stairway of Ahaz, to go back ten steps.”

 

God moved back the shadow to emphasize that it was He who healed Hezekiah. This was not the work of a doctor; this was the intervention of a merciful God.

 

Seize the moment and throw yourself at the mercy of God! This is the way to get your house in order, no matter the circumstance.

 

God bless 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.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1416

The Enemy at the Gate!

Isaiah 37

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, February 1.

 

There was an enemy at the gate of Jerusalem. The emissary of Sennacherib, the king of Assyria, had left his ultimatum – surrender or be sacked! The leaders brought the message to King Hezekiah, and he responded in Isaiah 37:1-2, “he tore his clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and entered the house of the Lord. Then he sent Eliakim who was over the household with Shebna the scribe and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.” He led his nation in seeking God for rescue and deliverance from the enemy at the gate. What a godly leader!

 

The prophet Isaiah gave Hezekiah God’s answer in Isaiah 37:6-7, “Thus says the Lord, ‘Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me. Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land. And I will make him fall by the sword in his own land.’” When you read through the words of the emissary in Isaiah 36, you see what the Lord was referring to, as Sennacherib went too far in his mandate to execute God’s righteous judgments and had taken on grandiose notions of his person and empire (23-29). God kept His word and sent forth the angel of the Lord to destroy the Assyrian army camped outside the gate of Jerusalem, and Sennacherib died at the hands of his own sons, in the temple of his false God in Nineveh (36-38). God’s justice was poetic, and it all came about because Hezekiah asked for God’s assistance in his crisis, as recorded in verses 21-35, “Because you have prayed to Me … I will defend this city to save it for My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.”

 

Seize the moment and pray about the enemy at the gate, trusting God for His victory!

 

God bless 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.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 

 
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1415

The Book of Hezekiah!

Isaiah 36

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, January 31.

 

Just like Isaiah 6-8 described the historical situation of Isaiah’s prophetic ministry at the time of King Uzziah’s death, so Isaiah 36-39 narrate the crisis of King Hezekiah’s kingship when Assyria invaded Judah. That is why these four chapters are nicknamed, “The Book of Hezekiah;” they are different than the rest of Isaiah. Isaiah 36:1 places you immediately into the drama, “Now in the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah, Sennacherib king of Assyria came up against all the fortified cities of Judah and seized them.” The parallel accounts of this historical event are found in 2 Kings 18:13-20:19 and 2 Chronicles 32, as you will find connections between these devotions in Isaiah and the ones done on those chapters in the history books.

 

In Isaiah 36:10, Rabshakeh, the emissary of Sennacherib, delivered a message to Hezekiah, speaking to the men on the wall of Jerusalem in their own language, “Have I now come up without the Lord’s approval against this land to destroy it? The Lord said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’” He wasn’t lying! As we have already learned, God did send Assyria against Israel to be “the rod of My anger and the staff in whose hands is My indignation” (Isaiah 10:5), but in his greed and pride, Sennacherib reached too far – God did not intend for Assyria to take Jerusalem from His people; it was not yet the appointed time for the destruction of Jerusalem, which wouldn’t come for another 125 years at the hands of Babylon. God had placed a godly king, Hezekiah, on the seat of David. The defenders of Jerusalem did not allow themselves to be intimated; rather, they went to Hezekiah to report to him the words of the emissary (21-22). Together, the leaders sought God’s guidance (see Isaiah 37).

 

Seize the moment and seek God for the courage you need to stand up against evil (James 4:7).

 

God bless 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.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 

 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1414

The Highway of Holiness!

Isaiah 35

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, January 30.

 

Traveling in the United States is reliable because of our safe and secure highways. You can drive from coast to coast with very little hassle; I know because I’ve done it twice. Because of this, we take this ease of travel for granted, but this would not have been the situation in antiquity; hence, the glorious imagery of the Highway of Holiness, as described in Isaiah 35:8-10:

 

A highway will be there, a roadway, and it will be called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean will not travel on it, but it will be for him who walks that way, and fools will not wander on it. No lion will be there, nor will any vicious beast go up on it; these will not be found there. But the redeemed will walk there, and the ransomed of the Lord will return and come with joyful shouting to Zion, with everlasting joy upon their heads. They will find gladness and joy, and sorrow and sighing will flee away.

 

The Highway of Holiness symbolically describes God’s redemptive work amongst a fractured people in a hostile land; it’s the prescribed way of returning to the place of God’s presence (Zion). In Isaiah 40:3, we learn that it would be established by the Messiah, “A voice is calling, ‘Clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness; make smooth in the desert a highway for our God’” (cf. Matthew 3:1-3). In Hebrews 10:19-20, the Bible makes it clear that it was accomplished at the cross, “Therefore, brethren, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He inaugurated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh.”

 

Seize the moment and draw near to God on the Highway of Holiness – Jesus testifies in John 14:6 that He is the only way to get to the right destination!

 

God bless 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.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1413

The Sword of the Lord!

Isaiah 34

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, January 29.
 

Do you know who the Edomites are? Edom was the nation of the descendants of Esau, who sold his birthright for a single meal to his brother Jacob (Genesis 25:21-34). Isaiah 34 records the oracle of their utter destruction as “a day of vengeance, a year of recompense for the cause of Zion” (8-10). Isaiah named the Edomites as the object of God’s wrath in verses 5-6:

 

For My sword is satiated in heaven, behold it shall descend for judgment upon Edom and upon the people whom I have devoted to destruction. The sword of the Lord is filled with blood, it is sated with fat, with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams. For the Lord has a sacrifice in Bozrah and a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

 

The Edomites became the representatives of all the enemies of Yahweh, as it was Esau’s refusal to repent which led to his rejection (Hebrews 12:15-17). The judgment of Edom was recorded in Isaiah 63:1-2, “Who is this who comes from Edom, with garments of glowing colors from Bozrah, this One who is majestic in His apparel, marching in the greatness of His strength? ‘It is I who speak in righteousness, mighty to save.’ Why is Your apparel red, and Your garments like the one who treads in the wine press?” This imagery of the Divine Warrior covered in blood is captured again in Revelation 19:13-15, “He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. … From His mouth comes a sharp sword, … and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty.” This is the final victory of Jesus Christ!

 

Seize the moment and spend time daily in God’s Word – wield the sword of the Lord to live the victorious life (Ephesians 6:17; Hebrews 4:12; 2 Corinthians 10:4-5).

 

God bless 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.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 

 
 

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Everyday Discipleship Wk 4

Everyday Discipleship with Real People
 

Teaching #4: “The Third of the Big Three:

The Importance of Spiritual Friendship!”

 
 
 

(If you are just beginning your journey, please click HERE to read the introduction

 
Loving accountability from the first 3 weeks:
 
1) Bible intake of Matthew 1 to Luke 17: Y or N
[Note: if this pace of Bible intake is too much for you, please know that grace abounds! Don’t quit; keep going! Find a pace that works for you.]
2) Use the S.O.A.P. Bible journaling technique: Y or N
3) Pray every day and during Bible time: Y or N
4) Read and reflect on the Tyranny of the Urgent: Y or N
5) Memorize 1 Thessalonians 5:17 & Lord’s Prayer: Y or N
 
This is about who you are in Christ! A disciple is a person who intentionally follows the ways and teachings of Jesus.
Discipleship is the intentional journey to Christlikeness; it’s a life-long commitment to learn and manifest who you are as a disciple through the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.
The third of the “Big Three” is spiritual friendship! The first is Bible intake and the second is prayer intimacy. This is the cord of three strands of your discipleship – “A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart” (Ecclesiastes 4:12). This is the way you experience spiritual vitality in the custom-made yoke of Jesus (Matthew 11:28-30).
 
 
 
Jesus sets the example of having spiritual friends!
 
1) Let’s start by reading Luke 22:39-46:
+ “as was His custom” (39)
+ How did Judas know where to find Jesus? (Luke 22:47)
+ “And He took with Him…” (Matthew 26:37) This event was Jesus’ point of greatest need for spiritual friends. 
     What kind of friend are you being? What are your next steps?
 
2) Reflect on the implications of Jesus’ example of spiritual friendship in the foot washing of John 13:5-20.
+ Memorize Jesus’ new command in John 13:34-35:
“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
+ How do Mark 2:2-5 & Galatians 6:1-2 teach us about how to fulfill the law of Christ as a spiritual friend?
 
3) Internalize (head to heart) Jesus’ prayer in John 17:20-23:
+ “they may be one, just as We are one” (22)
+ “that they may be perfected in unity, so that…” (23)
 
4) As you think about Jesus’ intentionality with His disciples, meditate on John 15:14 & Matthew 12:50:
+ “You are My friends if _________________________.”
+ “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
 
5) Read 1 Corinthians 16:17-18. Spiritual friendships refresh you and help you keep a right perspective on life.
 
 
 
Action Items for this week:
 
1) Bible intake for this week: Luke 18-24 & John 1-12.
2) Write a SOAP journal entry for either each chapter or each day. Bring your notebook. Are you willing to share?
3) Review this handout as you prepare to read your Bible every day. Invite the Holy Spirit to help you “become” conformed to the image of Jesus Christ (Romans 8:29).
4) Memorize John 13:34-35 and be intentional by setting up a weekly time to invest in your spiritual friendships.
 
 
MATERIALS TO DOWNLOAD & PRINT:
 
Tyranny of the Urgent (part of your learning tools for last week)
 
 

If you would like to watch this lesson on YouTube, click HERE. (This link will be live shortly)

 

If you would like to view the entire service including music, etc. click HERE.

 
 
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 1411

Today’s worship song focus will be

Revelation Song

Revelation 4:8 (NASB95)

 

“ Each of these living beings had six wings, and their wings were covered all
over with eyes, inside and out. Day after day and night after night they keep on
saying, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God, the Almighty— the one who always
was, who is, and who is still to come.”
 
Written from a heartfelt desire to truly see the throne room of heaven being filled with worship, Jennie Lee Riddle began writing this song in the middle of “being a mom”…changing diapers, caring for kids and getting ready to make a spaghetti dinner. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, she began writing the words that painted a picture of what Revelation 4:8 describes and what it might look like. The words flowed as she became lost in her worship of the Most High God:

 

Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, Holy, Holy is He
Sing a new song to Him who sits on Heaven’s mercy seat

 

We need to wake up with a new hunger and desire for more of God in our lives. Immerse yourself in worship today. Empty yourself of your own selfishness and allow the Holy Spirit to fill you up afresh and anew with the love and joy that can only come when we join with the angels in declaring “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty!”

 

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.

 

YOUTUBE:

If you prefer a video, Pastor Ken reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page.

 

If you would like to listen to this song, click on this link:

 
 

Revelation Song

 
Worthy is the Lamb who was slainHoly, holy is HeSing a new song to Him who sits onHeaven’s mercy seat
 
Worthy is the Lamb who was slainHoly, holy is HeSing a new song to Him who sits onHeaven’s mercy seat
 
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God AlmightyWho was and is and is to comeWith all creation I sing praise to the King of kingsYou are my everything and I will adore You
 
Clothed in rainbows of living colorFlashes of lightning rolls of thunderBlessing and honor strength and glory and power beTo You the only one who’s King
 
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God AlmightyWho was and is and is to comeWith all creation I sing praise to the King of kingsYou are my everything and I will adore You
 
Filled with wonder awestruck wonderAt the mention of Your nameJesus Your name is power, breath and living waterSuch a marvelous mystery
 
OhOh, You’re worthy, mysteryYou are worthy
 
Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God AlmightyWho was and is and is to comeWith all creation I sing praise to the King of kingsYou are my everything and I will adore YouI will adore You
 
Source: LyricFind
Songwriters: Jennie Lee RiddleRevelation Song lyrics © Capitol CMG Publishing, Downtown Music Publishing, Integrity Music, TuneCore Inc.
 
 
 

 


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