Today’s worship song focus :

First Things First

Revelation 2:4-5a (NASB95)     

and repent and do the deeds you did at first;”

The brotherly trio of Caleb, Jordan and Josh Ward make up the group “Consumed by Fire”. They grew up traveling with their father who was an evangelist, serving others through church planting and medical missions. After their father had a catastrophic stroke, the boys took a hiatus to care for him. Following his passing in the spring of 2022, they reemerged with a fresh passion and commitment to the calling of their ministry through song. Jordan said this song “spearheaded the creation of a new direction for us… We’re saying, ‘Lord, we want what You want.’”

First thing’s first I seek Your will Not my own
Surrender all my wants to you Keep the first thing first

We need to wake up and take the words of this song as a prayer for our own lives. By returning our hearts to our first love, Jesus, we are then moved to love others in the way that He loves us!

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:

First Things First

Fast to Break the Yoke of Slavery!

Isaiah 58

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

As I read Isaiah 58:6-11, I find myself contemplating the invitation to fast during Lent, which is an annual rhythm of preparation for Holy Week, which many Christians around the world participate:

Is this not the fast which I choose, to loosen the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free and break every yoke? … Then you will call, and the Lord will answer; you will cry, and He will say, “Here I am.” If you remove the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger and speaking wickedness, and if you give yourself to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then your light will rise in darkness and your gloom will become like midday.

 Throughout this 40-day period, the church has historically participated in the spiritual discipline of fasting as a means of focusing oneself on the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Good Friday) and His resurrection from the dead (Easter). When I consider the invitation to join with the larger church body in this ancient practice, I seek wisdom from Jesus, who said in Luke 5:34-35, “You cannot make the attendants of the bridegroom fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you? But the days will come; and when the bridegroom is taken away from them, then they will fast in those days.” These are those days as we await the return of Jesus Christ, who has ascended to the right hand of the Father, where He is interceding for us (Romans 8:34). Until His return, we fast to remind ourselves that there is nothing of this world that can satisfy our needs; we are fulfilled in Christ alone!

Seize the moment and find your satisfaction in the easy yoke of Jesus Christ (Matthew 11:28-30), which shatters all other yokes that seek to enslave you (Galatians 5:1).

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.

Lowly of Spirit and Contrite of Heart!

Isaiah 57

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

“I dwell on a high and holy place, and also with the contrite and lowly of spirit in order to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. … Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,” Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.” But the wicked are like the tossing sea, for it cannot be quiet, and its waters toss up refuse and mud. “There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”

Seize the moment and come to God lowly of spirit and contrite of heart (Psalm 51:17). Jesus promises to guard your heart and mind with His peace that goes beyond anything this world can offer you (Philippians 4:6-9).

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.

Salvation is for Everyone!

Isaiah 56

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

From the beginning, God desired for all the nations to be saved and to know His loving embrace. God expressed His heart to save all the peoples in Isaiah 56:6-7:

Also the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to minister to Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one who keeps from profaning the sabbath and holds fast My covenant; even those I will bring to My holy mountain and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; for My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples.

This passage is quoted by Jesus when He cleared the temple in Matthew 21:12-13, and, as if to put an exclamation point on the context of His quote, in verse 14, Matthew highlighted, “And the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.” That which was formerly excluded from the people of God has now been invited to come and find salvation in Christ. Jesus’ heart to include the foreigner and the outcast into the fellowship of God, and to heal the blind and the broken as a sign of sabbath rest was one of the reasons they sought to kill Him, as seen in Luke 4:24-30. Jesus took a crowd who was lauding him and stirred them up to the point of trying to kill him, simply by spotlighting that God had always desired to save even those outside of Israel. Furthermore, Paul, who went through a similar experience in Acts 21:21-22, emphasized this truth in 1 Timothy 2:3-4, “This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth”(cf. 2 Peter 3:9).

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.

Drink of the Living Water!

Isaiah 55

You often hear people say, “There is nothing for free in this life.” Contrast that thought with the image of a flowing stream or a cascading waterfall, both of which are sources of living water, which refresh one’s body with a single drink. God yokes this bountiful imagery of His provision with the coming Messiah in Isaiah 55:1-3a:

Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost. Why do you spend money for what is not bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance. Incline your ear and come to Me.

Seven hundred years later, Jesus invites His disciples in John 7:37-38, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” The people hear in Jesus’ words the messianic invitation of Isaiah. This was not the first time Jesus referenced the living water; in fact, the first time was his scandalous interaction to the Samaritan woman at the well. In John 4:13-14, Jesus promised her the living water (10), “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”

Seize the moment and be satiated through the living waters of Jesus Christ – “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Revelation 22:17; cf. 7:17; 21:6).

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.

Today’s worship song focus :

Every Move I Make

Psalm 139:1-3 (NASB95)     

“ O Lord, You have searched me and known me.

² You know when I sit down and when I rise up;

You understand my thought from afar.

³ You scrutinize my path and my lying down,

And are intimately acquainted with all my ways.”

Written by David Ruis and recorded by David Crowder Band in 1999, this energetic song of worship reflects our faith and trust in God’s plan. We are reminded that He is our guide, our protector and our source of strength because of His constant presence in our lives.

            Every move I make, I make in You, You make me move Jesus

            Every breath I take I breathe in You.

            Every step I take I take in You, You are my way Jesus

            Every breath I take I breathe in 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 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:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MPvnZILn6EY

Every Move I Make

The Wounds of the Suffering Servant!

Isaiah 53

Churches gather on Good Friday to commemorate the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, often reading the entirety of the fourth Suffering Servant Song, found in Isaiah 52:13-53:12. As it was written seven hundred years before Jesus’ crucifixion, it is considered one of the most accurate prophecies of His atoning sacrifice. The details, as recorded in Isaiah 53:4-12, are undeniable:

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. … As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

Seize the moment and meditate upon the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Matthew 27:33-66; Mark 15:22-47; Luke 23:33-56; John 19:16-42) – by His wounds you are healed (1 Peter 2:24).

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.

Put on Good Shoes for the Journey!

Isaiah 52

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, February 22.

Years ago, during a long multi-day backcountry hike on the Appalachian Trail in the Smoky Mountains, the tread on my right hiking boot broke off. My hiking boots were old and high mileage, but I never would have imagined that I would lose my sole on the Appalachian Trail. When it started to rain, and the trail became very slick, like walking through a stream, I started to slip and fall, causing me to become frustrated and fatigued as I walked. I learned my lesson: put on a good pair of shoes before you start a journey!

When Paul taught Christians “how to stand firm against the schemes of the devil,” he commanded, “put on the full armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11-17). This included a good pair of shoes, as described in Ephesians 6:15, “shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” Just like I had lost my sole on the Appalachian Trail, you don’t want to lose your soul during the long arduous journey of life because you are not stable on your feet. Walk securely in your knowledge of Jesus and His gospel, allowing Him to stabilize you through storms and difficulties. This image was not new to Paul; it came from Isaiah 52:7-10:

How lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace and brings good news of happiness, who announces salvation, and says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” Listen! … The Lord has bared His holy arm in the sight of all the nations, that all the ends of the earth may see the salvation of our 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.