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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.
Click HERE to go to our YouTube channel in order to see video versions of these blogs. You can also reach the videos from within each blog page.
Note:
To find a particular book and chapter of the Bible, 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). The entire New Testament blogs are ready to go. The Old Testament is complete through the book of Job for the videos on YouTube. You can search the blogs up through the book you see below…
13
May '20
Luke 5
13
May '20
Seize the Moment – Day 57
I am Willing!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, May 13.
I spent close to a dozen years on active duty military service in the US Army. It was an all-volunteer army which means that every single person who was following orders allowed their own lives to be significantly inconvenienced for the sake of the mission—these veterans, my brothers and sisters, were willing to sacrifice their own freedoms to defend the freedoms of those who either could not or would not do the same for them. I honor our veterans and I pray for them.
In Luke 5:12-13, a man “covered with leprosy” begged Jesus, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” “Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man, ‘I am willing,’ He said, ‘Be clean!’ And immediately the leprosy left him.”
What a wonderful miracle! What was Jesus’ next move? In our experience with religion, a revival tent would have gone up in verse 15 to accommodate the “crowds of people” who wanted to hear Jesus and be healed. But that wasn’t Jesus’ next move! Verse 16 says, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.”
Jesus was on a mission and while most people hear that kind of language about Jesus’ life, they may not realize that this is military language. Jesus was under orders from His Father so while the people wanted to take control of his plans and schedules, Jesus broke off to listen to His Father. Rather than following the crowds, Jesus stayed on mission!
You see, being on mission means you have to know your marching orders from God for each and every day.
Seize the moment: Before you let other people take over your life in the name of Christian charity or church volunteerism, spend some time with God to listen to your day’s marching orders. Who is directing your steps—your emotions, other people, or God?
FBC wants to help you in practical ways, so please dial the phone number below if you would like someone to call you today. We are praying for 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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12
May '20
Luke 4
12
May '20
Seize the Moment – Day 56
As Was His Custom!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, May 12.
The officers meeting went great last night and your leaders are working to ensure our 5-stage reopening plan goes smoothly. Thank you for trusting us to take the right steps for your safety and the well-being of our communities. Please prioritize 5 minutes to read through Stage 2 guidelines on our webpage. If you have any questions or concerns, please call the elder on call. (Phone number at bottom of this page)
Over my first decade serving at FBC, I have heard many people say that they are lost without gathering for church on Sunday morning. Why? Because it is such an engrained habit that it has become their custom.
Customs are good, Jesus had customs. Listen to Luke 4:16, “On the sabbath day [Jesus] went into the synagogue, as was His custom…” We see this in verse 44, “And [Jesus] kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.” But we must assess and know what motivates and shapes our customs.
Jesus’ customs were motivated and shaped by His mission to proclaim the good news of the Kingdom of God—the gospel. Going to the Jewish meeting place was His custom because that is what God’s plan for His life required of Him. For Jesus, his life mission shaped His custom—to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10) and Jewish synagogues was where His target audience met (Matthew 15:24).
As a pastor-teacher, I have continued to enter the Christian meeting place multiple times every week because my mission shapes my customs—to get the word out about Jesus by whatever means necessary to empower and equip you, the church, to trust and obey Jesus with your entire life (Ephesians 4:11-16). God’s call upon my life shapes and directs my customs. Which is to not draw a crowd, but to mobilize the church into the community!
What shapes and directs your customs?
Seize the moment: “Trust and obey, for there is no other way to be happy in Jesus.”
FBC wants to help you in practical ways, so please dial the phone number below if you would like someone to call you today. We are praying for 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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11
May '20
Luke 3
11
May '20
Seize the Moment – Day 55
U-Turns to God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, May 11.
FBC enters Stage 2 today in our reopening plan. Check out our webpage www.newcastlefbc.com to learn more about what that means. If all goes well in our communities, we will move to Stage 3 on May 24. Join me in praying for our communities, state, and national health departments, medical personnel, and first responders who are on the front lines. Let’s be great partners with our communities to the glory of God by being the church every day to people in need!
Why is this so important? So we don’t have to do a U-turn later…
Speaking of U-turns, did you know that is what the word repentance means? Repentance is a word of freedom and love. John the Baptizer said in Luke 3:8, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.”
What a beautiful image! John is saying to his audience, don’t assume you are already connected to God, but enter into a relationship with God. Do a U-turn and come home! It’ll become visible in your words and deeds.
Jesus builds upon this image in John 15:16, “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…”
Both John and Jesus invite us to repent from assumptions and presumptions that keep us disconnected from God’s power and by repenting to produce the good fruit that shows it.
Seize the moment and do a U-turn into the arms of God this morning. No matter what your yesterday looked like, God is waiting for you to U-turn back to Him today. His mercies are new every morning. Welcome God into your new week and watch what He will do in and through you to His glory.
FBC wants to help you in practical ways, so please dial the phone number below if you would like someone to call you today. We are praying for 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.
Views: 205
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10
May '20
Responding to the Plan of God – Week 4
10
May '20
2020: A Year of Celebration!
Image Bearers Steward Family to Reflect God’s Glory!
Key Verses: Deuteronomy 6:4-9; Genesis 12:1-3; and Ephesians 5:25—6:4)
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.
The family is the primary small group of the church. The Plan of God begins in the home and then goes with us wherever we go. The mission of God has always started in the household. No matter your current life season or what your household looks like, please know that this message is for each of us as restored Image Bearers of God. The ultimate purpose of our lives is not determined by how any of us feel about our own lives—we are here to reflect God’s glory by loving, caring, and stewarding for His creation as agents of God’s Kingdom!
Listen to one of the oldest books in the Bible. The fifth book of Moses, Deuteronomy 6:4-9,
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
The Word of God is the primer by which we teach children to read and write and that which we hide in our hearts so that we do not sin against God. How can households with children start integrating Bible memory work, reading from the scriptures, cursive writing with the Psalms? How can we work a biblical worldview into how we search on Google and read news stories and engage social media? You don’t need kids to do this… This is an opportunity for each of us.
As a congregation, we invite people to be in groups together for Bible study and fellowship, but those were never meant to substitute God’s original design for spiritual growth as a priority of the home. God’s plan for your holiness, maturity in Christ, and social needs was intentionally designed and instructed for your family. The family is God’s first small group, but when we don’t have that, what a blessing it is that there are small groups for singles, widows and widowers, and people who do not experience spiritual unity in their family units.
That is God’s grace by being a part of a congregation, because whether at home or in an congregational small group, God’s purpose for your home or small group is the same.
How is your small group helping you mature in Christ? How is your home prioritizing spiritual growth?
We were designed to live in community, in relationship, because God has always and will always exist in perfect community within Himself—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.[1] There never was a time that God was or will be lonely. He is perfect within Himself. God didn’t create humanity because He was lonely or somehow incomplete without us. God created His creation out of His great love and capacity to love, to delight in us and for us to delight in Him, to know and to be known.
Humans are designed and commanded to steward the world that God created. We are to reflect His Image and to respond to His plan by loving, caring for, and stewarding God’s creation. That important job began with Adam and Eve, of course, but we can’t forget that the family has been, from the very beginning, God’s primary plan! The church came much later and when it did come, it did not replace the family; rather, it brought families together with a common vision of the resurrection from the dead and the coming of Jesus Christ to make all things new—to cultivate the soil of this dying world and to plant seeds in human hearts for that which is to come.
It was through the family that God designed us to bless all the families of the earth! Listen to Genesis 12:3c in God’s great commission to Abraham and Sarah,
“And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Families gather together and make communities and then communities coalesce together to make societies. The larger the group, the more diverse and difficult it gets, but at the heart of every society is the family unit and at the heart of the family is the need for spiritual leadership.
Listen to a 2-minute sermon clip from Tony Evans who explains this with his unique charm:
https://sermons.love/tony-evans/4411-tony-evans-why-men-matter.html (show 7:35-9:31)
We are local congregations made up of family units, whether it is one individual or a five-generation group of people. And local congregations together make up the larger Church, who is called by God to look like Jesus—the body of Christ! As Paul says in Romans 12:5, “so we, who are many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another.”
Local churches are only as healthy as the individuals and families who covenant together to be a congregation. The Church is only as healthy as the congregations of each community, county, state, nation, and world. We are the only Jesus the world sees…
If your family is a church, how healthy are your members? And what do they think about you as a person who is responsible for the spiritual growth of the other family members? How do you and your family affect the health of our congregation? What does the world see through us?
Image Bearers are called to steward their own families first because that is where we are transformed into Christ’s image the most. Guess who God is using to cause you to be more gentle and humble, kind and generous, loving and patient? Yes, your parents or your children, your aunts and uncles, your cousins, nieces and nephews, your grandparents…your spouse!
As Paul said in Romans 8:29,
“For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren.”
The family is where that begins and continues. The family only grows up as each family member matures. So if a parent never matures, but remains focused on themselves (the epitome of immaturity), they are hindering their child’s ability to mature into adulthood. An easy example is when you watch a parent deal with their child’s temper tantrum at a restaurant. We expect that, but it is an altogether different matter to watch a parent throw a temper tantrum at a basketball game and everyone, but them, knows it and is looking around for the grandparents (the parent’s parents) to bring the adult child back into conformity with the family expectations of attitudes and behaviors. Ultimately, this is why we have police and the department of corrections. When this can’t be done in families, local churches and community organizations such as schools, society has created mechanisms to deal with it—the police and department of corrections.
When I always get my way, I’m not forced to grow or change or sacrifice or be obedient or anything. In fact, it is dangerous for any of us to always get our way! When I have to put someone before me by holding my tongue or suspending my opinions, I have to grow in my Christlikeness. Whether it is my immediate family, my extended family, or my church family, those people are sanding off my rough spots, removing the selfishness of my heart, breaking my pride and arrogance, if I choose to let them. I can, if I want to, pull myself out of God’s plan for my life, but it is usually to my detriment personally and to the detriment of the family and church. Christians are formed in the crucible of relationships—at home and at church! Don’t bail before the blessing!
Are you maturing because you are willing to remain as a member of a family or church?
The church is a multigenerational family built on individual members and their families. The purpose of the Church is to respond to the plan of God in such as way that we reflect God as one mature body and not act like children. This is what Paul is teaching us in Ephesians 4:11-16,
And he gave the [leaders of the church] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love [italics added].
We are to speak the truth in love! Two sides of the same coin—never to be separated. But our culture has lost this skill and unfortunately with it so have many in our families and churches.
Church membership has fallen into the same dysfunctionality as the modern family—we have become deceived that church and family are about our personal happiness and fulfillment, to meet our needs. What a dangerous situation it is when your personal well-being is dependent on another person always doing what you want them to do—making you happy and feeling self-fulfilled. That is not real family, nor biblical church, that is self-centered consumerism.
When you read about developmental lifecycles of the human, infants and toddlers are cute as a button, which keeps us from eating our own, because they are also some of the most narcissistic and manipulative human beings you will ever meet. They use their smiles, giggles, and those big beautiful eyes to get exactly what they want out of us, their parents and grandparents. And we love to give it all to them, until we don’t! Then, when cute doesn’t work, hang on to your sanity because here comes their sin nature and we call it the “terrible twos”.
We cannot be a church full of disgruntled toddlers and expect to function well. The terrible twos is supposed to be a phase, not a lifestyle choice! Maybe that’s a prophetic word for America…
Family is designed by God for His glory! Before your family is about your satisfaction, it is about your sanctification. Before it is about your happiness it is about your holiness. God is forming you into His image and He will use members of your family and church to do so.
Learning how to serve in love starts at home. Listen to this passage from 1 Timothy 5:1-8,
Do not rebuke an older man but encourage him as you would a father, younger men as brothers, older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, in all purity. Honor widows who are truly widows. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, let them first learn to show godliness to their own household and to make some return to their parents, for this is pleasing in the sight of God. She who is truly a widow, left all alone, has set her hope on God and continues in supplications and prayers night and day, but she who is self-indulgent is dead even while she lives. Command these things as well, so that they may be without reproach. But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
Powerful! To not steward your family is to deny your faith and to be worse than an unbeliever.
In conclusion, listen to the famous household scripture from Ephesians 5:25-6:4,
Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. ‘Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your father and mother” (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’ Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.[2]
Are you serving your family in love? Is your home the primary place of your spiritual growth or have you abdicated your responsibilities to someone else in order to have time to pursue other plans for your life?
Trust me when I tell you, a couple hours a week of church activities will never get you the results you are looking for, for yourself, your kids or grandkids. We are not enough to get anyone where they need to be, so here is the way Jesus has invited you to become what God commands: you are invited to make Him the center of your life: your ambition, your personal identity, and all your planning—family & finances, career and retirement. Because He owns everything that you are called to steward!
I’m calling you to respond to God’s plan! How will you respond?
Image Bearers of God steward their families to the glory of God! It always starts at home—your family is your first ministry because the family is God’s building block of not only the church, but of the New Heaven and New Earth that we are invited to proclaim with our love, care, and stewardship of creation, beginning around our kitchen tables. That can be in the season or circumstance of it being just you and Jesus over a cup of coffee and a bran muffin, or it can be the season of chaos where the cereal is flying and the dog is barking, but that is where God designed it to begin.
There is always grace for today and hope for tomorrow. So no matter what has happened in your life and in your family, today is the day of salvation. Start with what you do have and don’t focus on the past. Be a good household manager of what you do have for the glory of God!
Listen to the Message here:
To watch the video click HERE
FOOTNOTES:
[1] In Genesis 2:20-25, there is something in the Garden of Eden that was incomplete. We were made in the Image of God (Gen 1:27), but not yet able to experience community as God does within the Trinity.
[2] This is so important to God that He makes our success at this as a requirement to be a leader in His Church (1 Timothy 3:1-5).
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09
May '20
Luke 2
09
May '20
Seize the Moment – Day 53
I Am One of You!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Saturday, May 9.
The classic Christmas story begins with a worldly power play, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be registered” (Luke 2:1).
From the very beginning of the Christmas story is the juxtaposition between God’s way of showing His greatness and how people of the world attempt to show their power.
The world leader, Caesar Augustus, wants everyone to see his greatness so he orders a census of all the people under his control. Caesar, acting as a sovereign over the Roman Empire, disrupts the lives of so many so that he can show himself greater than all under his authority. Essentially, the world’s way is to say, “I am better than you… and I’ll prove it to you…just watch me!”
God, the true Sovereign, demonstrates His greatness in Luke 2 not by setting Himself apart from His people, but by saying, “I am willing to become one of you!” The incarnation is the visible expression of God’s greatness! Jesus meekly left Heaven and came to earth to show us the way back to Father (Philippians 2:5-11). Jesus came not to tear us down, but to elevate us (Ephesians 2:6-7) by saying “I am with you!” and even more radically, “I am one of you!”
While Caesar was busy showing the world how great he was by counting all of his people, God was showing His greatness by becoming one of His people. Emmanuel—God is with us!
Seize the moment and follow the way of Jesus Christ. Jesus came to save people and build them up with His words and actions. Jesus came from Heaven to earth to serve you, how far are you willing to go to help someone else in their needs?
FBC wants to help you in practical ways, so please dial the phone number below if you would like someone to call you today. We are praying for 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.
Views: 181
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08
May '20
Luke 1
08
May '20
Seize the Moment – Day 52
May it Be to Me as God Says!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, May 8.
I got excited this morning because we are starting the Gospel of Luke, the third of the Synoptic Gospels. Big word alert! Synoptic simply means “same view” and when used of the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke it means that these three authors generally see the ministry of Jesus from the same view, which is quite different from John’s Gospel. Some people have made a big deal about what has been called the “Synoptic Problem” which is an area of New Testament Studies, but I assure you there is no substantial problem here, just a catchy title to help with book sales.
As we start with Luke 1 today, it is my hope that you have been reading each chapter along with my morning devotion. If so, keep it up because you are doing it, maybe for the first time—reading and learning about the Jesus of the Bible, for yourself. I invite you to start today if you have not yet been reading along. Fall in love with the Jesus of the Bible.
Consider memorizing Mary’s simple words from Luke 1:38, “I am the Lord’s servant…May it be to me as you have said.” God had just delivered an important message to Mary and that was her response. God is still in the business of delivering important messages to people and He primarily uses His Word. So as you go to read your Bible, pray these words, “I am the Lord’s servant, may it be to me as God says.”
The real problem in contemporary Christianity is not with scholarly issues like the “synoptic problem,” but when people say they are a Christian, but never spend time with Jesus and therefore don’t look or sound anything like Him. “That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable!” [Quote attributed to Brennan Manning and popularized by DC Talk]
Seize the moment and spend time with Jesus, the Lover of your soul today, and He will transform you from the inside out. I am praying for you as you do this.
FBC wants to be there for you personally, so please press 9 if you need someone to call you today. We are praying for 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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07
May '20
Mark 16
07
May '20
Seize the Moment – Day 51
Belief!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, May 7.
What does it mean to believe?
If I say, I believe that chair is a good and safe place to sit down and enjoy my morning cup of coffee while I read my Bible, then I act upon it: I put all my weight and I trust the chair to support me. I don’t do a half squat in the chair and start feeling the burn within seconds just to keep the illusion that I believe…
Belief is not just an act of the mind to understand a truth or the will of our hearts to trust. Biblical belief requires the work of God in us to act upon what our minds and hearts say is true. It is the coming together of our whole person into a lifestyle that proclaims what we believe.
As Mark concludes the Gospel of Mark, he describes the events of the resurrection, but he doesn’t end with an optimistic view of the disciples. Jesus is raised from the dead, but over and over again the disciples struggled to believe. Listen to Mark 16:8, “And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.”
Mark continues to say of the disciples, “they would not believe” (v. 11) and again, “they did not believe” (v. 13). Jesus gave three eyewitnesses a personal encounter, but the disciples would not believe.
Seize the moment and pray that Holy Spirit will work in you to align your lifestyle (from the inside out) to the teachings of Jesus Christ. The evidence of belief is not displayed in what building you find yourself sitting on a Sunday morning, that’s more true than ever, but in how you live for Jesus all week long. Don’t get distracted from being the Church—Shine His Light!
FBC wants to be there for you personally, so please dial the phone number below if you need someone to call you today. We are praying for 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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06
May '20
Mark 15
06
May '20
Seize the Moment – Day 50
Truly, Jesus is the Son of God!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, May 6.
Here is a brief church update before the devotion. We have finalized the FBC 5-Stage COVID-19 Response Plan. If we have your email, this comprehensive plan will be emailed to you today.
Specifically, people have been asking about this Sunday. Please know that we understand that the Indiana Governor stated that churches can open on May 8, but we are not yet ready to open up for this Sunday, May 10. We want to ensure all planning, communications, and preparations are of God and are done properly. FBC’s Stage 2 will begin next week and with Sunday, May 17. Thank you for trusting us to do this right and not rushing anything. As the Governor stated yesterday, that how we respond today will determine how we can move forward in the coming days.
If you drive by the church building this week you will see that our front entrance and portico area are being used as a state COVID-19 testing site through Saturday night. Truly, the Church never closed because we are being good partners to bring thriving to our communities. This is why we exist!
Please join us in doing the right thing–BE the Church that Jesus gave His life for!
Listen to Mark 15:39, “And when the centurion, who stood facing [Jesus], saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, ‘Truly this man was the Son of God!’”
Here is a pagan centurion who watched how Jesus died declare, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” My question for you and us is this: What do our unbelieving neighbors say about us when they see us using our building, which has been closed to us,, but has remained open for blood drives, financial and practical assistance, food distributions, and COVID-19 testing.
Seize the moment and shine the light of Jesus Christ! May your neighbors be able to say the same about Jesus because of the way you live your life. Truly, Jesus is the Son 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.
Views: 181
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05
May '20
Mark 14
05
May '20
Seize the Moment – Day 49
Press into Jesus and Trust Him!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, May 5.
Before I share the devotion for this morning, here is a very short church update: The elder meeting went great last night. After praying all weekend about it, we met to discuss our church’s reopening plan based on the 5 Stages as presented by the Governor on Friday. We are finishing it up today in partnership with staff, so please pray for that process. It is a faithful and wise plan that we are working to communicate simply and clearly in the coming days so that you can know what to expect, not just for this week, but in any given week in the coming months based on what Stage (1-5) we are in as a county or state, as determined by current health department information. In these stressful days, your elders are pressing into Jesus and trusting Him for wisdom and guidance, safety and protection.
How are you handling the stress?
One of the most powerful images of Jesus is found in Mark 14:36, in what could have been one of Jesus’ most stressful (and tempting) moments in his earthly ministry. Listen to Jesus pray, “Abba, Father, all things are possible for you. Remove this cup from me. Yet not what I will, but what you will.”
Under stress, Jesus did 2 things: 1) He pressed into the intimacy of His relationship with His Father. ‘Abba’ (daddy) was a new way to relate to God and Jesus invites us to see God this way. 2) Jesus pressed into the trust that comes from such an intimate relationship. Trust doesn’t come easy for people, but what else does Jesus need to do for you than what He did on the Cross for you to be able to trust Him?
Seize the moment and press into the intimacy of your relationship with God and trust Him. God loves you, cares about you, and is inviting you right now to trust Him.
FBC wants to be there for you personally, so please dial the phone number below if you need any practical assistance today. We are praying for 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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04
May '20
Mark 13
04
May '20
Seize the Moment – Day 48
Stay on God’s Plan!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Monday, May 4.
A story from my college athlete days. It was the 1996 NCAA Division I Track & Field Championships. I was in peak condition and I was ready to compete at my highest level. But I made a mistake and I paid for it in spades. I let the overwhelming odds of competing against the Hungarian who would become not only the NCAA Champion that day, but also the gold medalist in the 1996 Olympics a few months later inside my head. I choked because I went off plan. I allowed my circumstances to take control…
Christians are to remain hopeful in the face of what feels like overwhelming odds. When everything looks out of control, we are to walk by faith and not by sight. We are to stay on God’s Plan as His Image Bearers! Reflect on Jesus’ reassuring words from Mark 13:23, “So be on your guard; I have told you everything ahead of time” and then in v. 31, “Heaven [the skies] and earth will pass away, but my words never pass away.”
Be assured that against all evidence presented by media outlets and from our own daily circumstances that the world is not out of control, but rather on a foreseen path towards the completion of all things. God has already told us so that we can remain focused! So that we can stay on plan!
Seize the moment and remain faithful to God’s Plan: How are your responses to today’s circumstances helping people see God’s love and mercy? How are you stirring one another up to love and good works? God is with us!
FBC wants to be there for you personally, so please dial the phone number below if you need any practical assistance or would like to talk to someone today. We are praying for 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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