Today’s hymn focus will be “I’ll Fly Away”

2 Corinthians 5:8 (NLT)          

“Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord.”

I’ll fly away, o glory, I’ll fly away. When I die, hallelujah, by and by, I’ll fly away

Wake up with this song in your heart and on your lips as you prepare for your day!

YOUTUBE:

I’ll Fly Away

Holy to the Lord!

Exodus 28

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

Believers in Jesus have been clothed in righteousness; we have taken off the soiled clothing of sin and put on the new garments of salvation. This kind of language is anchored in today’s chapter of Bible reading.  

Exodus 28 is all about the ornate garments the priests of the old covenant were required to wear to be a minister of God! As verse 4 summarizes, “These are the garments which they shall make: a breastpiece and an ephod and a robe and a tunic of checkered work, a turban and a sash, and they shall make holy garments for Aaron your brother and his sons, that he may minister as priest to Me.”

The entire chapter is packed with intricate details that seem cumbersome, if not comical, by today’s informal and relaxed standards in nearly every area of culture, including church life. An important detail is captured in Exodus 28:36-38: “You shall also make a plate of pure gold and shall engrave on it, like the engravings of a seal, ‘Holy to the Lord.’ You shall fasten it on a blue cord, and it shall be on the turban; it shall be at the front of the turban. It shall be on Aaron’s forehead.”

Just as Aaron and his sons had to have “Holy to the Lord” visibly located on their foreheads to minister to the LORD, we, too, must have the presence of the Holy One visibly in us.

Only that which is holy from the inside-out will bear the fruit of the Spirit for the world to see! One day, all of God’s people “will see His face, and His name will be on their foreheads” (Revelation 22:4). Until that Day…

Seize the moment and live knowing that God will write His name on your forehead for all the world to see that you are “Holy to the Lord.”

YOUTUBE:

Form Follows Function!

Exodus 27

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

Have you ever noticed when something is different than before, it jumps out at you?

In Exodus 27, we learn that there is more than one way to build an altar. Listen to verse 1: “And you shall make the altar of acacia wood, five cubits long and five cubits wide; the altar shall be square, and its height shall be three cubits.”

This is different than the last time God gave instructions on how to build an altar. Listen to God command Moses in Exodus 20:24-25, right after Moses had received the Ten Commandments:

You shall make an altar of earth for Me, and you shall sacrifice on it your burnt offerings and your peace offerings, your sheep and your oxen; in every place where I cause My name to be remembered, I will come to you and bless you. ‘If you make an altar of stone for Me, you shall not build it of cut stones, for if you wield your tool on it, you will profane it.

Do we make the altar out of acacia wood or out of uncut fieldstone?

Both! For the altar in today’s chapter, its functionality required it to be easily carried around as it was a portable altar. Its function determined its form!

The same is true in our lives! We are now the temple of the Holy Spirit and we, too, are to offer right sacrifices to God upon the altar of our lives. But each of us has been uniquely shaped for God’s glory based upon the function God had in mind for our lives. We are different by design—coming in unique shapes and sizes, all intended by God for good works that bring Him glory!

Seize the moment and discover how God designed you. Find true freedom, peace, and contentment by walking in the good works that God intended for you for His glory.

YOUTUBE:

Designed by God for Good Works!

Exodus 26

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, July 28.

Did you know that you are uniquely designed by God for good works?

Exodus 26 is a very detailed chapter as it lays out the instructions for the building of the tabernacle, which was Israel’s approved house of worship until the temple was built by King Solomon much later in their history. The tabernacle was Israel’s portable sanctuary during their wanderings in the desert and throughout their conquest of the Promised Land.

This is important to know because the tabernacle had to be assembled and reassembled every time Israel would make or break camp, which turned out to be quite often. The tabernacle was an ornate sacred place, and it was a well-built sturdy place.

This required skilled workers—master craftsmen and craftswomen! Listen to an example of this from Exodus 26:1, “Moreover you shall make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twisted linen and blue and purple and scarlet material; you shall make them with cherubim, the work of a skillful workman.”

Again, we read from Exodus 35:25, “All the skilled women spun with their hands, and brought what they had spun, in blue and purple and scarlet material and in fine linen.”

Paul speaks this over every new covenant believer’s life in Ephesians 2:10: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”

When we use what we have for God’s glory, there is no insignificant work! Even the smallest job is for the glory of God and that makes it of great importance!

Seize the moment and use all that you have—your education and vocational training, your athletic abilities and hobbies, your good looks and charming personality for the glory of God! You have been designed by God for this very purpose!

YOUTUBE:

Giving is an Affair of the Heart!

Exodus 25

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, July 27.

Giving has always been an affair of the heart! Whether it’s our time, talents, or tangible resources, our giving is a product of God’s work in our hearts.

In Exodus 25, the LORD started to show Moses the patterns of all that Moses was commanded to lead the Israelites to build: the tabernacle and all its furniture. Specifically described in this chapter are the ark of the covenant, the table of showbread, and the golden lampstand.

Just these three items alone would take extraordinary amounts of resources to construct. Just like with the bread and water to nourish the Israelites, would God cause the necessary resources to appear like dew on the desert floor or flow from the desert rocks?

No, this time God would work a miracle from His people! God’s instruction to Moses in Exodus 25:2 was to “Tell the sons of Israel to raise a contribution for Me; from every man whose heart moves him you shall raise My contribution.”

This time, God does not provide by causing the water to burst forth from a hard rock; rather, God provides by moving upon the hearts of His people!

Generous givers are people whose hearts have been moved upon by the LORD to provide for His work—to build on earth as it is in Heaven, according to the pattern of all that God has revealed to us!

How has God worked on your heart?

Paul commands in 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

Seize the moment and ask God to purpose your heart to be the way He provides for His will to be done on earth as it is in Heaven! Giving is an affair of the heart!

YOUTUBE:

People of the Book!

Exodus 24

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, July 26.

A big thank you to Pastor Ken for doing an excellent job the last two weeks with these daily calls. My family had a restorative time on our trip to the New England states, specifically exploring three amazing destinations: Cape Cod, Acadia National Park, and Niagara Falls.

God’s people are people of the book!

This has been true ever since Moses recorded the Old Covenant. From Exodus 24:3-4 & 8, observe Moses and the people after receiving the covenant code from God:

Then Moses came and recounted to the people all the words of the Lord and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, “All the words which the Lord has spoken we will do!” Moses wrote down all the words of the Lord. Then he arose early in the morning, and built an altar at the foot of the mountain with twelve pillars for the twelve tribes of Israel. … [After sacrificing young bulls as peace offerings to the LORD] Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Behold the blood of the covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.”

The people sealed their commitment to be a people of the book through the “blood of the covenant.” While in the Old Covenant, this was done through animal sacrifices, in the New Covenant our commitment is sealed through the blood of the perfect Passover Lamb, our High Priest and only Mediator with God, the Lord Jesus Christ.

Paul explains the importance of our commitment to the book in 2 Timothy 3:16-17, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the [person] of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.”

Seize the moment by reading, reflecting upon, and responding to God’s Word today! We have an exciting journey ahead of us as we walk through the Bible one chapter at a time.

YOUTUBE:

Today’s hymn focus will be “The Heart of Worship”

John 4:24 (ESV)                      

“God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”

This modern-day hymn was written by Matt Redman in 1999. While his worship band was impacting churches around the world, worship in his home church had a missing dynamic. His pastor asked the congregation what they were bringing to God in worship, or if they were just soaking in the music as consumers. He decided to strip away every diversion and distraction and stopped using the musicians and the sound & light systems.

At first it was awkward, but eventually they rediscovered their own voices being raised in worship, unaccompanied, offering up prayers from their hearts and experiencing God in a fresh way.

I’m coming back to the heart of worship, and it’s all about You,            

it’s all about You, Jesus. I’m sorry, Lord, for the things I’ve made it,       

when it’s all about You, it’s all about You, Jesus.

We need to wake up and ask ourselves “What are we bringing as our offering to God in our services at FBC?” …For true worship demands a response from the heart!

YOUTUBE:

The Heart of Worship

The Disciples: Jude & Judas Iscariot

Luke 6:13 (NLT)                     

At daybreak he called together all of his disciples and chose twelve of them to be apostles.

Jude or Judas, Son of James, was also known as Thaddeus. The use of both names or saying that he was James’ son was probably to help clarify and set him apart from Judas Iscariot. While the Bible does not talk much about him,  Jude saw numerous demonstrations of Jesus’ divinity. Church history has him being a missionary to Syria and Persia, where he died along side of Simon the Zealot.

Judas Iscariot is notorious for other reasons. He was not from Galilee like all the other disciples, but rather was from Judea. He served as the group’s treasurer, but was known to help himself to the funds, showing his greed when Mary anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume, saying we could have sold it and given to the poor. He betrayed Jesus for 30 pieces of silver, which he later regretted and tried to give back. When they refused, he went out and hung himself.

These twelve men all had been with Jesus for nearly 3 years, seeing all the miracles and healings and hearing His teachings. But one chose the love of money over the love of the Master. He heard the truth, but he chose to listen to his own heart. Don’t make that same mistake! Listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit as He reminds you of God’s love, grace and mercy.

YOUTUBE:

The Disciples: James, son of Alpheus & Simon the Zealot

 Matthew 19:28 (NLT)

“Jesus replied, “I assure you that when the world is made new^, and the Son of Man sits upon his glorious throne, you who have been my followers will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

While the scriptures do not have a lot to say about him, James the son of Alphaeus was a witness to Jesus’ years of ministry on earth and His resurrection. He was empowered by the Holy Spirit and a leader in the early church alongside the other apostles. Tradition says that James, son of Alphaeus, evangelized in Persia (modern-day Iran) and was martyred there.

Simon the Zealot may have been associated with the political group that wanted to overthrow Rome’s control over the Jewish people, or he may have been extremely passionate about the Word of God. Either way, when he became a disciple of Jesus, he learned that Jesus came not to fight flesh and blood for a nation, but spiritual forces for souls. Jesus made it clear that salvation was available for everyone, healing and preaching to anyone willing to listen. Simon went on to be a missionary to Persia, where he died a martyr’s death.

Once again, these men were not out to make a name for themselves, but rather make sure that people knew about the name of Jesus, the giver of life, hope, joy, grace and peace. It does not matter if people remember our names, but rather they remember the Name that is above all names, Jesus

YOUTUBE: