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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.
Note:
We realize it isn’t easy to always find what you are looking for, so we are in the process of organizing these blogs. Click HERE to go to an index of blogs that reference our YouTube channel in order to get you where you need to go…
To find a particular book and chapter, use the magnifying glass in the upper right hand corner of this page. Type the name of the book and the chapter. It should appear as one of your choices. (ex: John 2)
31
Mar '20
Matthew 12
31
Mar '20
Seize the Moment – Day 14
Stand united!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church. Today is Tuesday, March 31
Two character traits I highly value in a person are integrity and loyalty. Integrity speaks to the unity within yourself and loyalty speaks to the unity without, towards others. We see them both in Jesus and He is our rock on which we build everything else!
Jesus said in Matthew 12:25, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.” He was talking to religious leaders who were accusing Jesus of using evil forces to do His miracles. It’s amazing how people can turn against each other! And we are seeing plenty of that these days and not just because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Our current crisis is just helping us see the truth of how broken and divided we are. The new American past-time is to divide against each other!
My hope and prayer for you and your life is that you will be united with Christ and through His work in your heart and mind, you will use your words and time to build unity. That starts by being unified within yourself. That is your personal integrity. This comes through a personal relationship with God, where you walk and talk with Jesus and learn how to be gentle and humble in heart (also known as unity with God). Unity with God leads to loyalty in relationships.
Seize the Moment: A house divided will not stand the storm we are currently facing!
Everyone has opinions, those are easy! Not everyone has integrity; that is hard! Reach out to someone today to build a unified house. Let’s build on the Rock of Jesus Christ!
Please dial the phone number below if you would like a personal phone call and someone from First Baptist Church will get back to you as soon as possible.
God is with you!
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page. Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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30
Mar '20
Matthew 11
30
Mar '20
Seize the Moment! – Day 13
Rest!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church. Today is Monday, March 30
There I was in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, outside of Dahlonega, Georgia. I was in the Army’s highly-coveted Ranger School. And to be perfectly honest: I was beat! For the first time in my life, I couldn’t do it! To put it in the words of Jesus, “I was weary and heavy-burdened!” At the age of 22, those were the worst days of my early professional life. Looking back 23 years later, it was one of the most important experiences of my life.
In Matthew 11:28-30, Jesus Christ invites all of us who are at the end of our own power, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”
Have you realized yet that you can’t control the world or people around you, nevertheless your own world? I truly hope so because the greatest gift I can give you today is the invitation to surrender control and to find rest for your soul. How? By answering Jesus’ invitation to enter into a personal relationship with God through Him! It’s freedom! It’s rest!
Seize the Moment: Take a break from social media & network news today, from your need to know all about it, and find rest for your soul with the One who does know all about it.
Please dial the phone number below if you would like a personal phone call and someone from First Baptist Church will get back to you as soon as possible.
God is with you!
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page. Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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29
Mar '20
Responding to the Passion of Jesus (Week 4)
29
Mar '20
2020 Sermon Series #2:
“Comfort the Suffering!” [Part 1 of 2]
Key Verses: 2 Corinthians 1:3-5
Passion Narrative: Matthew 26:14-16, 20-25, 47-56, 69-75; 27:1-5, 24-26, 32-66
Written and delivered by Pastor Jerry Ingalls from the building of the First Baptist Church of New Castle, Indiana through an on-line service to the Church of Jesus Christ during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
I heard a person say recently, “I wasn’t planning on giving up this much for Lent this year.” I laughed and then I thought to myself, “I challenged our church to fast from impatience this year.” Then, I literally, got emotional by this thought: “O LORD, WHAT HAVE I DONE?????” I was taught, wrongly I might add, to never pray for patience… Then, I got a grip and repented because I am just not that powerful. My prayer for us to be a more patient people is not going to cause a world-wide pandemic. Lord, have mercy on us, bring good out of the dark days of living in such a fallen and broken world. Lord, please show your love, grace, and mercy, in and through your people—the Church of Jesus Christ. Please Lord. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
Today, we enter back into our series of messages on the Passion of Jesus Christ. Here is the big point of today’s sermon: Jesus suffered so that we can be comforted; so, let us comfort those who are suffering! Listen to Paul in 2 Corinthians 1:3-5,
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ’s sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too. If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.
We think of Jesus’ suffering as primarily on the Cross of Calvary, but can you imagine the agony Jesus faced as He was abandoned by all of His closest friends, betrayed by one of them which led to incredible suffering at level of His human experience, and condemned to death by both the religious and political courts of His day. Jesus suffered all this so that, through putting our faith in Jesus Christ, we will never be abandoned, betrayed, or condemned by God. Jesus suffered so that we can be comforted; so, let us comfort those who are suffering!
I want you to realize how much God loves you and to what cost He demonstrated His love for you—not as a theoretical idea, but as a visceral reality—and how much security you have in your relationship with God. When we realize this, our faith response is to comfort those who are suffering—to be the hands and feet of Christ in a world that needs the saving love of the God. A world filled with people who are very obviously experiencing our fallen nature and who are living in the effects of a very broken world—death, loneliness, suffering… the list is too long.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a 20th century church martyr who stood up against evil and would not let the gates of hell prevail, said in his most famous of works, Cost of Discipleship,
Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ. It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: “[you] were bought at a price,” and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us. Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God.[1]
God is with us through this because He has already poured out His wrath on Jesus as the propitiation for not only our sins, but “of the whole world” (1 John 2:2, 4:10) and He is now working to draw all people to Himself (John 12:32). The Church must seize this moment to lift up Jesus Christ and be the hands and feet of Christ to a world that God is redeeming and will one day make His home with us, in the New Heaven and New Earth (Revelation 21—22)!
As you read through the Gospel of Matthew, chapters 26-27, you see that Jesus was “social distanced”, too. To the max! As I read through Matthew 26—27 Jesus was:
- Abandoned by people: Matthew 26:69-75;
- Betrayed by people: Matthew 26:14-16, 20-25, 47-56;
- Condemned by people: Matthew 27:1-5; 24-26;
and then Jesus
- Died on the Cross for all people: Matthew 27:32-66.
What love! What grace! Jesus suffered so that we can be comforted; so, let us comfort those who are suffering!
I proclaim that “God is with us” because of the Passion of Jesus Christ, His finished work on the Cross, and His resurrection! The author of Hebrews teaches us in Hebrews 4:14-16,
Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Because of what Jesus Christ has done and His finished work, you can hang on tightly to the following promises of God:
- In John 10:27-30, Jesus explains, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.”
- In Romans 8:38-39, Paul declares, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
- In 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, Paul proclaims, “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”
- In Hebrews 13:5-6, the author commands, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we can confidently say, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?’”
Apart from the vicarious suffering and death of Jesus Christ, none of these promises could be yours. Through a faith response to Jesus Christ, all of these promises are yours.
What will you do with all that God has blessed you with through His suffering?
Right now, with the ongoing onslaught of the novel COVID-19 pandemic, people are scared and we are experiencing “social distancing,” which is increasing the enemy’s tactics of isolation, loneliness, anxiety, and fear. States are closing up, travel restrictions are tightening, colleges, schools, and churches have gone on-line, non-essential businesses have closed their buildings, including community gathering places such as churches, local restaurants and businesses, and social organizations like the YMCA. People are rightly taking robust steps of precaution to preserve their lives and the lives of their communities, such as not gathering in groups larger than 10 and keeping social distances over 6 feet.
While this has felt like a military siege operation by an invisible enemy, we as a church are inviting you to seize the moment: We are asking you to pray and to ask God for everyday opportunities to bring faith, hope, and love to our communities and the world. That is what my daily phone calls are attempting to do: To encourage you to seize the moment and to be on mission as more than a congregation who meets in a building once a week, but as the Church.
Our congregational community and our congregational work cannot be closed because WE ARE THE CHURCH! Our building may be closed, but we are not! In fact, I am seeing evidence that says FBC is healthier, more vibrant, and making a larger impact than ever!! We are not only going to survive the COVID-19 crisis, we are going to get healthier as we learn to be the Church in new, unconventional (if not untraditional) ways! Like every living organism, we are changing to survive and to thrive in our new environment!
Are you joining with us in this effort personally or are you just praying for Jesus to return and sticking your head in the sand hoping it can all go back to the way it was soon? I, too, want this to end sooner than later, but things will never go back to the way they used to be; they can’t!
I want to share with you a very important quote from a recent article that will illuminate how we can make a difference, right hear and right now:
As with so much else in the coronavirus pandemic, the response here will depend on the level of social solidarity we feel, and the degree to which we’re willing to look out for each other. Social isolation and loneliness among older, sicker populations isn’t something caused by the coronavirus, but it will be worsened by it. The question is whether the intensity of the problem will force us to see, and respond, to pain we typically ignore. “A lot of my work is premised on the idea that extreme situations like the one we’re in now allow us to see conditions that are always present but difficult to perceive,” Klinenberg says. “We’re going to learn a lot about who we are and what we value in the next few months.”[2] (emphasis added)
There is a prophetic call to the Church in that last sentence. Not just to the institutions that have been called churches, but to you personally: You are the Church of Jesus Christ. Here it is: “We’re going to learn a lot about who we are and what we value in the next few months.” It is for a time such as this that the Church of Jesus Christ needs to respond to the Passion of Jesus Christ by being willing to decrease the suffering of people in our world today!
Jesus suffered so that we can be comforted; so, let us comfort those who are suffering!
We are called to respond in faith! Don’t let people’s fear and rejection get into your heart. Don’t take it personal when people move away from you, whether physically or socially or emotionally. People are scared and when we are scared we make decisions that hurt others. This has more to say about the fallen world we live in, than about you or me and how we feel. There is much to lament in our world situation; that is real and undeniable.
Please don’t give into despair! Hang onto hope because God is with us! Remember the sufferings of Christ and to what end He was willing to go for our salvation. Let us conduct ourselves, in remembrance of Him with a certain hope for the New Heaven and New Earth.
God’s peace and presence, all of His promises, are ours because of the finished work of Jesus Christ, and can’t be shaken by these dark days of suffering or taken away by even death itself.
It is by how we conduct ourselves during this coronavirus pandemic that the world will determine the Truth of the Gospel.
Will the world see the Suffering Servant of humanity, the Crucified Savior of the world, through our practical words and actions of faith, hope, and love?
This is our time to shine, people of God. The darker the night, the brighter the stars shine!
Jesus suffered so that we can be comforted; so, let us comfort those who are suffering!
You can listen to this message here:
To watch the video click HERE
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Cost of Discipleship (New York, NY: SCM Press Ltd, 1959), 45.
[2] https://www.vox.com/2020/3/12/21173938/coronavirus-covid-19-social-distancing-elderly-epidemic-isolation-quarantine [accessed March 12, 2020].
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28
Mar '20
Matthew 10
28
Mar '20
Seize the Moment! – Day 11
Faithfulness in the Face of Fear!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, March 28: this is the Day the Lord has made, let us REJOICE and be GLAD in it.
Over 20 years ago I served in the Army as a paratrooper. A paratrooper’s job is to jump out of an airplane in order to seize a foothold deep behind enemy lines, to help the Army win the war.
The Army’s secret to a successful military jump is TRUST! Every paratrooper goes through rigorous training to learn to trust the jumpmaster, trust the training, and trust the equipment. To say that I got over the fear of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane and hitting the ground with the force of jumping out of a 2-story window, with full combat gear, at night, is to miss the point of how the army trains its paratroopers—you learn to trust your jumpmaster, your training, and your equipment, so much, that you remain faithful in the face of fear!
It’s the same now, in my daily walk with Jesus… The key to successful Christian living is trust! Jesus taught us in Matthew 10:28, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” I have learned that fear is real and the only way to be faithful in the face of it is to trust the Jumpmaster of my soul, His training, and His equipment—His Word and Spirit.
Until we learn to trust God with our lives and our death, and until that trust is worked deeply into us, fear will limit our ability to be faithful in the face of it.
Seize the Moment: Start your day off with God every day. Pray and ask God to build your trust in Him. God has a mission for you: Are you ready to jump in?
Dial the phone number below if you would like a personal phone call and someone from First Baptist Church will get back to you as soon as possible.
God is with you!
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page. Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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27
Mar '20
Matthew 9
27
Mar '20
Seize the Moment! – Day 10
Compassion Acts!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, March 27.
This is the Day the Lord has made, let us REJOICE and be GLAD in it.
Being a parent can be very challenging and scary. When my first child was younger he had night terrors. It was scary because we couldn’t wake him up when he was having an episode. Oh, how we prayed because it felt like he was harassed and helpless! We prayed out loud over our son and we spoke lovingly and reassuringly to him knowing that our voices would help him through his dark and scary experience. We gave him a way home and we called upon the Good Shepherd to help him.
Matthew 9:36 shares, “When [Jesus] saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, which is a title of intimacy, much like that of a parent to a child. A shepherd knows His sheep and cares for them personally. He leads and guides them to safety because He has compassion on them.
Compassion is like the love of a parent for a child in need. We wouldn’t let our son go through his night terrors alone because compassion acts!
Seize the Moment: Who do you feel compassion for? Pray for that person or situation and then act. Allow compassion to lead you to where the Good Shepherd needs you.
Please press 9 if you would like a personal phone call today and someone from First Baptist Church will get back to you as soon as possible.
God bless you.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page. Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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26
Mar '20
Matthew 8
26
Mar '20
Seize the Moment! – Day 9
Outcasts, Outlaws and In laws!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and I am reaching out to you today with a message of faith, hope, and love.
Today is Thursday, March 26
This is the Day the Lord has made, let us REJOICE and be GLAD in it.
Have you ever heard my joke about in laws and outlaws? It’ll make you laugh, or grimace: What’s the difference between an in law and an outlaw? The outlaw is wanted! 🙂
Jesus loves with the perfect love of His Father in Heaven. Matthew 8 is a dramatic chapter, on purpose! Because it is the illustration of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Like any good teacher, Jesus demonstrated His teaching with real life illustrations.
Jesus heals a leper, who back in the day was an outcast of society. They were “social-distanced” to the max, but Jesus met His human need by touching and healing him. SCANDAL!
Then you have the Centurion, the Roman oppressors of the Jewish people. Jesus not only heals the Centurion’s servant, but Jesus praises the Roman’s faith. SALT IN THE WOUND OF THE SCANDAL!
Then, Jesus heals Peter’s mother-in-law… WHAT!?! DOES GOD’S LOVE KNOW NO BOUNDARIES??!!??
It doesn’t! To drive home the illustration: Matthew 8 ends with the healing of Legion, which by the way got Jesus kicked out of town!
God’s love has no boundaries! How about your love?
Seize the Moment: Reach out to an outcast, outlaw, or an in law, today. We all need love! And you never know how one act of kindness can make a difference in someone’s life!
I am personally praying for you… Please the number at the bottom of this page if you would like a personal phone call and someone from First Baptist Church will get back to you as soon as possible.
God bless you.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page. Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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25
Mar '20
Matthew 7
25
Mar '20
Seize the Moment! – Day 8
Shine Bright in this Dark Night!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and I am reaching out to you today with a message of faith, hope, and love.
Today is Wednesday, March 25. Today is the Day the Lord has made, let us REJOICE and be GLAD in it.
Years ago, we were tent camping in the Badlands. The night sky was captivating! I was overwhelmed with wonder at the vast multitude of individual lights that were piercing the darkness of that pitch black night. It was a holy moment that changed my focus, in an instant.
I learned that the darker it gets, the brighter the stars shine!
Many of us are scared, disappointed, and overwhelmed, right now. That is real and there is no denying it. This is one of those times where it is easier to stay in the comfort and safety of our “tent” because it is cold and dark out there.
But, there is something waiting to captivate us and change our focus in an instant: It is the awe-inspiring love of God!
Just as a vast multitude of individual lights pierce the darkness of the pitch black night, so God’s love pierces the darkness of our current world situation when we, a vast multitude of individual lights, proclaim God’s love in practical ways.
How?
Jesus invites us in Matthew 7:12, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them.” And you thought your mother made that up… J
You are called to be one of the lights that pierces the darkness. But you have to get out of your “tent” to shine the love of God to another person. Yes, it is really dark out there, but trust me: The darker it gets, the brighter the stars shine!
Seize the Moment: Shine!
God loves you with an everlasting love. I am personally praying for you… Please dial the number at the bottom of this page if you would like a personal phone call and someone from First Baptist Church will get back to you as soon as possible.
God bless you.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page. Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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24
Mar '20
Matthew 6
24
Mar '20
Seize the Moment! – Day 7
Prayer is about Relationship!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and I am reaching out to you today to bring you some hope.
Today is Tuesday, March 24 and a lot has been happening around us that could cause us to worry about tomorrow, but Jesus says in Matthew 6:33, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”
Isn’t that a truth we all need to hear—simple to agree with, but not easy to live (almost superhuman, especially in today’s world). I am not inviting you to experience guilt this morning because you are worried or anxious. No! Rather, I am inviting you to the heart of Jesus’ ministry and teaching: Jesus is inviting each of us to a grace-paced life with His Father—into a vital, life-giving relationship, day by day, moment by moment. Jesus is inviting you to walk with Him on a daily journey, that has no ending!
In Matthew 6:9-13, Jesus’ teaches us how to experience the heartbeat of this relationship with God! Please join with me in the prayer He taught us to pray: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed by your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, for yours is the Kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.'”
God doesn’t want you to walk alone through this time, so why don’t you consider starting an ongoing conversation with Him right now? Is there someone you can invite to join you along the way? Consider sharing this message with one other person today.
God loves you and your church family is praying for you… Dial the number at the bottom of this page if you would like a personal phone call and someone from First Baptist Church will get back to you as soon as possible.
God bless you.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page. Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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23
Mar '20
Matthew 5
23
Mar '20
Seize the Moment! – Day 6
Seize the Moment!
A Devotion
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and I am reaching out to you today to bring you some hope.
Today is Monday, March 23
The days may feel dark and the news gloomy, but let us learn to “Seize the Moment” and not lose perspective. This too shall pass.
Seize the moment to love God and to love people!
In Matthew 5:13-16, Jesus teaches His people: “You are the salt of the earth” and “You are the light of the world”. You are God’s plan to show the world God’s love and compassion. Jesus is calling us to be a different kind of people by giving our life a new purpose!
How will you be salt and light to at least one person today?
In light of the Henry County decision to close all non-essential businesses until May 23, please don’t allow yourself to get paralyzed by the news or let fear, anger, anxiety, or any such emotion to get the last word. Instead, make a choice right now to invest your time wisely, and choose to “Seize the Moment” as a divine opportunity.
Remember, the Church of Jesus Christ can never be closed because we are the Church!
Please pray with me, “Jesus, my life has been disrupted. I cast all my fear and anxiety on you and I ask You: how do YOU want me to be the Church today? In Jesus’ Name. Amen.” Now, be open to His still quiet voice and His providential opportunities.
God loves you and we are praying for you…
Please call the number at the bottom of this page if you would like a personal phone call and someone from First Baptist Church will get back to you as soon as possible.
God bless you.
NOTE: The name of this devotion has changed from Siege Devotions to Seize the Moment Devotions. This reflects a change in thinking from taking a defensive stance to an offensive one. We want to be on the offense in this situation with the Pandemic that has hit our world. As we understand how God wants us to live during these times, let’s all take the initiative to seek what is best for our families and communities to the glory of God.
YOUTUBE:
If you prefer a video, Pastor Jerry reads his devotion on YouTube as well. Click HERE to visit the page. Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
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22
Mar '20
A New Message in the Face of the COVID-19 Pandemic (Week 2)
22
Mar '20
“Be the Church of Jesus Christ!”
Once again, I have put aside the message the message for this Sunday, to bring you a special word. This is a pastoral word, that both informs and encourages the people of God to stop seeing church as a building they are to attend a meeting in once or twice per week and to be the Church of Jesus Christ. I am blending a pastoral update on the state of FBC, as we enter week #2 of “The Siege”. That is my name for what is happening and I am actually calling my daily devotions, “Siege Devotions”, but I am getting ahead of myself. More on that in a minute. Today’s message, once again, is not my normal preaching style as I am not walking you through a scripture and teaching it to you verse by verse. This is a pastoral message for a time such as this.
Please lean in and don’t get distracted. I understand that it is easy to get distracted at home, too. Trust me; I get it! If you do, then this will be ready for you to go back to and listen or read as many times as you need on our media page and possibly through social media platforms. We are even considering a YouTube Channel because I have a group of brothers (a congregation I preach to at GEO, one of our state prisons in New Castle) who are missing my preaching, or at least that is what I’ve been asked to consider providing so the prisoners can get God’s Word into their hearts from trustworthy teachers. All Glory to God and for His grace to empower us all!
Here is the Scripture for today. From Matthew 16:13-20,
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
PRAYER. Let us pray for people as they are being drawn to God for answers at this time.
Last week’s message is a must listen-to. If you did not listen, then please go to our webpage and click on it. There are other key communications and resources listed, right there on our homepage. Here is the link: www.newcastlefbc.org and you can scroll down on our homepage where we are putting COVID-19 resources & food resources. You can go to the media page to watch/listen. You can also go to our blog page where you can find my daily devotions, which I am writing and then calling you with every day and we are posting them as blogs so people who missed a call can go back and see what they missed. If you haven’t noticed, that 10 AM phone call is a not-so-subtle hint that every one of us needs to be reading God’s Word, every day, in unity as the one body of Christ—your leadership and I will do everything WE can during this siege to keep us united to Christ and to one another. As pastors and elders, WE will not let the enemy win! If you have not been getting those calls, contact us through the webpage or get us your phone number, today so that you can start with us tomorrow in Matthew 5, the Sermon on the Mount & the Beatitudes. This is a TEAM effort because no one of us can do it alone!
As Pastor Ken announced earlier in this broadcast, WE are investing the financial resources of our church to connect you—the Spirit-filled people of God, our church’s most precious resource—with everything WE can to help you during “The Siege” of 2020. As I said, last week: There is an enemy at our gate and one of the enemy’s tactics is to cut us off from one another so that he can divide and conquer. Remember, my first vocation was as a professional military officer—I am professionally trained as a Battle Captain by Fort Leavenworth’s CAS3 course—the Combined Arms and Service Staff School. The best defense is a strong offense! That is why we are all doing the intense cleaning at home—by the way, thank you to Jamie Forrest, our amazing custodian, who is cleaning champ and working super hard for you and the safety of the Henry County Health Department and any other civil authorities who have been given use of our church building to do blood drives, mass testing, whatever is needed to bring thriving to our communities! FBC desires to lock arms with the community and be 100% in to defeat the enemy at the gate. We are all in this together!
Beyond cleaning the building and practicing CDC-recommended and government-mandated “social distancing policies” until further notice, your church is going on the offensive in new and creative ways! The CHURCH of Jesus Christ is NOT CLOSED, even if our building is not available for our traditional usage. Even if we can’t gather again for a while, we can still take steps towards growing our church in depth and breadth. God is with us!!! By the way, please pray for your elders who are gathering tomorrow (Monday, March 23) night to discern and determine how long we will be closed and doing on-line services beyond our current March 28, 2020 date. As we all must agree to at this time, that date is no longer responsible or right, though at the time of setting that 2-week date, I couldn’t have imagined what I am seeing happen before my very eyes throughout our community and country. This is truly unprecedented! It’s an impossible task we have been given, but, honestly, any and all community organization leadership feels next to impossible right now. Please pray for all the leaders: your church, and leaders of all sectors throughout the community, state, nation, and the nations. We need you!
Pastor Ken and the Family Ministries leading this initiative and paying the $200/month bill for you are putting RightNow Media (https://www.rightnowmedia.org) in your homes. If you don’t use this, then you are making a strategic error in your personal & family practices to seize this moment for good and God’s glory. Additionally, your church, with Scott Underwood (elders) and Tiffany Lee (staff) are ensuring 572 people (as of Saturday) get a phone call every day from me personally by paying $110/month for Call Multiplier (https://www.callmultiplier.com). Delora Hartsock (with many volunteers helping her, especially to stay informed about prayer requests) is working hard to ensure you are getting updated via emails for information and prayer requests. In fact, we willingly doubled our monthly bill for our Constant Contact email platform to increase how many people can get email updates from the church. Utilizing Remind App and other technologies, Kevin King (youth ministries director) and Jody Maddy (children’s ministry director) are working hard using our text (Remind App) and Realm systems to keep families connected and equipped. If you haven’t been hearing from us, get us your info. Please, don’t add to your “social distancing” by not trusting your church with your contact information. Get that to us right now by clicking on “contact us” at the bottom of your screen.
After you do that, consider clicking on the “give” button on the top right of our webpage because during “The Siege” all that we are doing takes your prayerful commitment to keep us going. Don’t let the enemy win! The Church must remain healthy through this time for our culture to come out better than before on the other side. Please contact Lisa Abrams, our bookkeeper, if you have questions about how to get your gifts to the church at this time, especially if giving on-line or through texting is not an option for you. Thank you!
Our webpage and social media presence, combined with all the additional resources I mentioned above, are essential to your local church’s response. Please take time to thank Mr. Dick Kinnaird, who is an unsung and invisible hero, before and during all this. He is working with staff, elders, and people from our congregation to keep our webpage up to date. Him, with our Worship Planning Team (Kevin Stonerock, Winnie Logan, David Maddy, Emily Hurst, Brandon Atwood, Christy Ragle, Curt Ferrell, and Pastor Ken Durham) are working so hard to put these on-line services together.
Finally, brothers and sisters in Christ, let me tell you the final and critical aspect to our plan to be on journey together during “The Siege”: IT’S ALL OF US, YOU AND ME BEING THE CHURCH!
Listen to Matthew 16:13-20 again:
Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.
Allow me to read from a fellow Bible teacher who provides material for Logos Bible Software,
The rock which Jesus referred to in this passage was neither Peter nor Himself; it was the rock on which they were standing—the foot of Mount Hermon, the demonic headquarters of the Old Testament and the Greek world. We often presume that the phrase “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” describes a Church taking on the onslaught of evil. But the word “against” is not present in the Greek. Translating the phrase without it gives it a completely different connotation: “the gates of hell will not withstand it.” It is the Church that Jesus sees as the aggressor. He was declaring war on evil and death. Jesus would build His Church atop the gates of hell—He would bury them.[1]
The gates of hell will not withstand it! What is the it? THE CHURCH! The church is not a building or even a religion. The church is God’s Plan A to bring His salvation through Jesus Christ to all the nations through everyday people in their everyday lives. When you confess Jesus Christ as the Christ, the Son of the living God, like Simon Peter, then you can hear these words for yourself, as from Jesus:
“Blessed are you, enter your name here! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail enter your name here. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”
I believe, with the full weight of God’s Word behind me, that you are just as important to this generation as Peter was to his generation. YOU ARE THE CHURCH!
Pray and then start doing whatever God tells you to do! I won’t limit you. Let the Holy Spirit lead you because the gates of hell will not prevail. Use common sense principles to stay healthy in this time and get focused on doing the work of God. DON’T GET SUCKED INTO THE PATTERNS OF THIS WORLD! Which is self-medicating with Netflix or Marijuana. Now, is not a time to numb yourself and lose yourself in entertainment. Don’t put your head in the sand! That is not faithfulness!!! ENGAGE! WIN THE BATTLE! SEIZE THE MOMENT CHURCH! Make phone calls, send cards, text message, use Social Media like a champion for God, take care of your neighbors and love them as yourself, share what you have!! YOU HAVE BEEN BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING! Let God lead you to be the Church! Let God break you of the lie that being a Christian is about going to a building once per week. It is not! It is about living for Jesus according to faith God has given you and saved you with. You are the Church of Jesus Christ! WE ARE THE CHURCH!
There is an enemy at the gate and the Church must arise because only we have the promise of Jesus Christ: “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” This is a promise to and for the Church of Jesus Christ.
None of this is flippant—this is the strategy of God to defeat the enemy at our gate—your pastors and elders and leaders at FBC are connecting you to God and to one another and resourcing you to be in the Word of God to grow in what you know, how you feel, and how you live with Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Why? Why spend more money at a time when money is not coming in due to us not meeting in person? BECAUSE YOU ARE THE HOPE OF THE NATIONS—YOU ARE THE CHURCH!! And God will always provide for HIS CHURCH, when HIS CHURCH IS DOING HIS WILL!!!! The gates of hell shall not prevail!
As a pastor and fellow elders, I can say with confidence: We, the pastors, elders and leaders of First Baptist Church, are confident that we will not only survive in this time, but that on this Journey that God is inviting us all to be on together—as ONE PEOPLE CALLED THE CHURCH, that we will each be transformed more and more through a deeper more personal relationship with Jesus Christ, but we will also be experiencing thriving happening in our community that could not have happened any other way. Because we believe God will take what the enemy intended for evil and use it for good!
Here is OUR leadership call to you: Press into Jesus and pull together so that we can defeat the enemy at our gate! People pull together when we KNOW that we have a common enemy. I pray that all people in all places will realize that we always have had a common enemy–the devil, the enemy of all our souls! We are not one another’s enemy—we all need Jesus and we all need one another!
Join me again real soon because in my next message, I want to teach you about this Jesus and how knowing Him can help you live your life in a victorious way that helps you be part of the solution to bring about VICTORY!
PRAYER for the Church of Jesus Christ around the world for a time such as this.
You can listen to this message here:
Footnote:
[1] Michael Heiser, “What did Jesus mean by ‘Gates of Hell’?” https://blog.logos.com/2018/04/jesus-mean-gates-hell/ [accessed March 22, 2020].
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