Seize the Moment – Day 1362
Today’s song focus will be
Hark the Herald Angels Sing
Luke 2:13-14 (NASB95).
And suddenly there appeared with the angel
a multitude of the heavenly host
praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace among men with whom He is pleased.”
Hark! The herald angels sing, “Glory to the newborn King”
Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled.
We need to wake up and join with the angels in proclaiming the first message of good news or the Gospel to those around us that are still in need of its powerful message. If you give no other gift this Christmas season, give the message of God’s love for all who will receive 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.
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:
Hark! The Herald Angels Sing
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Seize the Moment – Day 1361
The Exclusivity of Marriage!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, December 8.
Pastors often quote the words of Jesus, after the pronouncement of husband and wife, “So they are no longer two, but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together, let no man separate” (Matthew 19:6). Exclusivity is the practice of excluding or not admitting other things. Unique to our marital vows is the promise of exclusivity – I choose you! In saying yes to the one, you are saying no to every other person. In the beautiful words of the Shulammite about Solomon in Song of Solomon 6:3a, “I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine” (cf. 2:16).
The husband-wife relationship is intended to be an exclusive embrace, which provides a firm foundation on which to build their future. Even children must be taught this, as I have instructed my children throughout their developmental years, “You can have anything that is mine, except the one thing I will not give.” My message has been consistent and clear to my children, marriage is a life-long, exclusive commitment to love your spouse, and nothing, including the beloved children, can be allowed to compromise the integrity of that commitment. The best gift you can give your children is a strong marriage.
This exclusive embrace leads to a profound mutuality because no other person is allowed to meet the needs of the other. While the husband and wife become one flesh on their wedding day, they must learn how to belong to one another, as Paul counsels in 1 Corinthians 7:3-4, “The husband must fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to her husband. The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does; and likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does.”
Seize the moment and trust God for His gift of love – “be subject to one another in the fear of Christ” (Ephesians 5:21).
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 1360
The Mutuality of Marriage!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, December 7.
The mutuality of marriage is a beautiful sharing that happens between a husband and a wife when they begin to satisfy one another’s needs. It is this open sharing of one another that leads to a mutual dependence for the satisfaction of one another’s needs. This especially happens within a couple’s sexuality, which blossomed between Solomon and the Shulammite in Song of Solomon 5:1, which continues the garden imagery of the previous chapter, “I have come into my garden, my sister, my bride; I have gathered my myrrh along with my balsam. I have eaten my honeycomb and my honey; I have drunk my wine and my milk. Eat, friends; drink and imbibe deeply, O lovers.”
The mutuality of marriage is a deep level of experience that intertwines their lives and sense of well-being – the two become one and life is not the same, ever again, without the other person. While this is a beautiful gift, it has some unintended consequences as people have expressed in the idiom, “You can’t live with him, and you can’t live without him!” This is quite the paradox, as a wife can be annoyed by her husband’s habits at home but miss him so much when he is away on a business trip that she can’t sleep. For a reason that is not explained in the book, verse 8 captures such a moment when the Shulammite goes looking for Solomon, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, if you find my beloved, as to what you will tell him: for I am lovesick.” She felt incomplete apart from him. Just as we feel incomplete when we live our lives apart from God.
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 1359
The Wedding Night!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, December 6.
In America, marital conflict often arises in two primary places – money and sex. The key to success is to be generous with whatever is in your power to give to your spouse. Sex in the marriage is God’s precious gift of intimacy, intended to be the consummation of the marital vows on their wedding night, twining their souls and making them one flesh. Utilizing imagery from nature, the consummation of Solomon’s marriage to the Shulammite is poetically shared in the call and response of husband and wife, starting with Solomon’s description of his new wife in Song of Solomon 4:12-15:
A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a rock garden locked, a spring sealed up. Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates with choice fruits, henna with nard plants, nard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all the trees of frankincense, myrrh and aloes, along with all the finest spices. You are a garden spring, a well of fresh water, and streams flowing from Lebanon.
Solomon’s poetic wooing of his wife on their wedding night is followed by her response to him in verse 16, “Awake, O north wind, and come, wind of the south; make my garden breathe out fragrance, let its spices be wafted abroad. May my beloved come into his garden and eat its choice fruits!” This garden imagery is powerful, as it reminds us of the generous nature of God – the Sower of Matthew 13, who abundantly sows the good seed with the intent of growing the Kingdom of Heaven in humanity, so that we will bear the good fruit of the Spirit in and through our lives.
Seize the moment and trust God for His gift of love – “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:6-7).
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 1358
The Wedding Day!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, December 5.
The wedding day is a significant event in any person’s life. Regardless of the logistical details of the events surrounding the wedding ceremony, a couple must never lose sight of the fact that their most important investments of time and energy must go into preparing themselves for their life together.
Solomon’s wedding day was approaching quickly, and the desire to be with one another was growing in intensity. The Shulammite was experiencing the natural insecurities that happen to a person right before their wedding day, so she went searching for her beloved, yearning to make him her own (1-4). This was a precarious moment, where patience and self-control were warranted. As a lady in waiting, she cried out in Song of Solomon 3:5, “I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or by the hinds of the field, that you will not arouse or awaken my love until she pleases” (cf. 2:7). She knew that the integrity of her vow, which would be consummated on their wedding night, must be proven by her character leading up to it. She desired to present herself to her husband as a “holy and blameless” bride, just as we desire to do the same for our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 5:25-27).
The wedding day finally arrived with the procession of Solomon in all his grandeur as the king (6-11). This was the moment she had yearned for, and she was rewarded by her beloved’s “gladness of heart” on their wedding day (11). We, too, yearn for when we will be presented to the King “as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 19:7-8; 21:2). May you be found holy and blameless on the day of Christ Jesus.
Seize the moment and trust God for His gift of love – “And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure” (1 John 3:3).
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 1357
The Anticipation of Love!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, December 4.
Do you remember anticipating your wedding day? Maybe you’re still waiting for such a love to come into your life. If so, be wise in how you wait because love is a powerful source of energy. Solomon’s fiancée, the Shulammite, expressed her eagerness to marry Solomon in Song of Solomon 2:3-6:
Like an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. In his shade I took great delight and sat down, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He has brought me to his banquet hall, and his banner over me is love. Sustain me with raisin cakes, refresh me with apples, because I am lovesick. Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand embrace me.
Kimberly and I wed in 1999, at Fayetteville Christian Church, outside of Fort Bragg, North Carolina. We met at the church when we were both serving in the 82nd Airborne Division. In anticipation of our wedding day, Kimberly turned down a promotion, sacrificially making the decision to end her time in the US Army so that we could get married without the complication of both of us being in the service. With this significant gesture of love and hopefulness, Kimberly allowed me to raise my banner of love over her, trusting that I would provide for her well-being in the future. In response, I eagerly wrapped my arms around her and pledged myself to her as we anticipated our wedding day. Decades later, I am in awe of the gift of God’s love to sustain us in the radical decisions we made for one another, which set us on the path we still walk today.
Seize the moment and trust God for His gift of love – “walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us” (Ephesians 5:2).
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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Advent 2023 (Wk 1)
A Return to Bethlehem
The Kidz Zone Time Machine with Cyndi
And the government will a]rest on His shoulders;
And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace,
On the throne of David and over his kingdom,
To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness
From then on and forevermore.
The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.
Quotes from a version by Casting Crowns (verse 4)
The little Lord Jesus, lay down His sweet head
Lord of all creation, lay down His sweet head
The Savior of the nation, lay down His sweet head
at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.
For one will hardly die for a righteous man;
though perhaps for the good man
someone would dare even to die.
But God demonstrates His own love toward us,
in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Much more then, having now been justified by His blood,
we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.
Cyndi & Jody sit with the children and share about the circumstances surrounding Jesus’ birth.
If you would like to watch this presentation on YouTube, click HERE.
If you prefer the entire service with music and announcements, etc., click HERE.
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Seize the Moment – Day 1355
Today’s song focus will be
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Matthew 2:6 (NASB95)
“‘And you, Bethlehem, land of Judah,
Are by no means least among the leaders of Judah;
For out of you shall come forth a Ruler
Who will shepherd My people Israel.’”
Written in 1868 by Phillips Brooks, it was originally created as a Christmas hymn for the Sunday School Children at Holy Trinity Church, after he had taken a pilgrimage on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem on Christmas Eve. Louise H. Redner wrote the music for this song, a simple melody inspired by God late in the night just before the Christmas Eve service.
O little town of Bethlehem, how still we see thee lie;
above thy deep and dreamless sleep the silent stars go by.
We need to wake up and see that this song not only beautifully describes the little town asleep in that December night, but according to British Hymnologist J.R. Watson, “gracefully modulates from a description of Christmas into an examination of the meaning of Christmas; first in its encouragement of charity and faith, and then into the coming of Christ into the human heart.”
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:
O Little Town of Bethlehem
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Seize the Moment – Day 1354
The Intoxication of Love!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, December 1.
The Song of Solomon, also called the Song of Songs, is about the love between a man and woman.[1] This masterful song begins during the couple’s courtship, climaxes in their marriage, and blossoms in the sacredness of marital intimacy. Different church traditions, at different times throughout church history, have preferred a less literal interpretation of this book, attempting to avoid its explicitly sexual nature by allegorizing it to symbolize the love relationship between Jesus and His church. While I believe it should be taken at face value, as a poetic celebration of the love relationship between a man and woman, as God intended it to blossom through biblical marriage, I do believe that the marriage union, in and of itself, is intended to symbolize something greater. As Paul concluded in his teaching on Christian marriage in Ephesians 5:32, “This mystery is great; but I am speaking with reference to Christ and the church.”
Solomon captures the intoxication of new love, such as has been described by the poets and song writers of every generation. The intoxication of love is a universal experience because it is a good gift from God, built into our design as men and women. The opening lines, Song of Solomon 1:1-2, illustrate their passionate pursuit of love in one another’s embrace, “The Song of Songs, which is Solomon’s. May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine.” Have you ever been drunk on love, intoxicated by the all-consuming embrace of another? Have you ever lost sight of everything else in your life as you gazed into the person’s eyes? This is the kind of love that Solomon was describing in his song – a passionate all-consuming love. Does it excite you to think of such a love?
Seize the moment and trust God for His gift of love – drink deeply of it in your marriage today.
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.
FOOTNOTE:
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Seize the Moment – Day 1353
Life Beyond the Sun!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 30.
There is a purpose for your life, and to understand it, you must return to the beginning of the big story of God and His creative intent in making humanity – “God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27). When we understand this, then we realize that we will not be satisfied with any vain conceit or selfish ambition under the sun, only with the fulfillment of our created design. You were redeemed to reflect the image of His Son (Romans 8:29).
The Preacher’s conclusion sought to understand the purpose of life when confronted with the futility of all things under the sun. In Ecclesiastes 12:13-14, he gave us a profound truth that is the key to not only understanding his book, but the meaning of life, “The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person. For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil.” The Moody Bible Commentary summarizes about the Preacher’s conclusion:
As image bearers, to fear and obey God is at the core of what it means to be human. … But if that is not enough, the narrator then gave a second, more negative reason: God’s final judgment (v. 14). … Only the fool would not fear and obey Him. Ultimately then the only place to find meaning in this meaningless life under the sun is in the One who is beyond life under the sun: God Himself.[1]
Seize the moment and live life beyond the sun by reflecting the glory of the Son, who is the eternal light by which all God’s children will dwell forever – “And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb” (Revelation 21:23).
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.
FOOTNOTE:
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