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.
 
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Seize the Moment – Day 620

Today’s Advent hymn focus will be

“O Come, O Come Emmanuel”

 
“Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel .”

 

Anglican Priest and hymn writer John Mason Neale enjoyed finding early and medieval Greek and Latin hymns to help people focus on the feasts and fasts of the Christian year. He is credited for translating this late 8th or 9th century Benedictine Gregorian chant into English in the mid 19th century. History tells us that in the weeks prior to Christmas, the monks would sing a verse a day to prepare their hearts and minds.

 

O Come, o come Emmanuel, and ransom captive Israel

That mourns in lonely exile here, until the Son of God appear

 

If you look at each of these verses, they have a double purpose. Not only what His coming as a babe in a manger means, but also preparing our hearts and growing excitement for Jesus’ return to take us home.

 

Friends, Jesus is God with us. He has not only come in history, but He is coming again…and this gives us a huge reason to rejoice this season!

 

Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel has come to thee, O Israel!
 
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 
 
If you would like to hear this song, click on the link below:
 
 

O come, O come, Immanuel

 
1
O come, O come, Immanuel,
and ransom captive Israel
that mourns in lonely exile here
until the Son of God appear.
 
Refrain:
Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel
shall come to you, O Israel.
 
2
O come, O Wisdom from on high,
who ordered all things mightily;
to us the path of knowledge show
and teach us in its ways to go. Refrain
 
3
O come, O come, great Lord of might,
who to your tribes on Sinai’s height
in ancient times did give the law
in cloud and majesty and awe. Refrain
 
4
O come, O Branch of Jesse’s stem,
unto your own and rescue them!
From depths of hell your people save,
and give them victory o’er the grave. Refrain
 
5
O come, O Key of David, come
and open wide our heavenly home.
Make safe for us the heavenward road
and bar the way to death’s abode. Refrain
 
6
O come, O Bright and Morning Star,
and bring us comfort from afar!
Dispel the shadows of the night
and turn our darkness into light. Refrain
 
7
O come, O King of nations, bind
in one the hearts of all mankind.
Bid all our sad divisions cease
and be yourself our King of Peace. Refrain
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 619

Enter the Rest of God!

Deuteronomy 3

 

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

 

Have you entered the “rest” of God?

 

Deuteronomy 3 reviews the conquest of the land in the Transjordan that would give “rest” to God’s people (20). To enter this rest, they had to march into battle first. Listen to verse 1,
 
“Then we turned and went up the road to Bashan, and Og, king of Bashan, with all his people came out to meet us in battle at Edrei.”

 

The Promised Land was not a place of rest until the kingdoms that served false gods were removed from the area. Deuteronomy 3 references places such as Bashan and Mount Hermon, which are just names to us, but were commonly known as the ancient domains of evil. The ancient worldview of these geographic locations is significant for us to be able to grasp the depth of God’s victories so that His people could enter His rest:

 

Canaanite (Ugaritic) peoples, then, literally believed Bashan to be the gateway to the Underworld—the dwelling place of the dead. … According to Jewish theology of the Second Temple period (from books like 1 Enoch), the sons of God (called “watchers”) of Gen 6:1–4 descended to Mount Hermon in Bashan before carrying out the deeds described in Gen 6:1–4. Bashan and Hermon thus had sinister reputations.[1]

 

God conquered these ancient domains of evil so that His people could live free from evil influences. In the same way, Jesus defeated the domains of evil on the Cross. Paul proclaimed in Colossians 2:15,
 
“When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.”

 

Seize the moment and “be diligent to enter [God’s] rest, so that no one will fall” by trusting Jesus and His victory over evil (Hebrews 4:11).

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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 
 
 

FOOTNOTES:

 

[1] Michael S. Heiser, “Bashan and the Gates of Hell,” in Faithlife Study Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2016).

 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 618

Give Thanks for God’s Provision and Protection!

Deuteronomy 2

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 25. Happy Thanksgiving!

 

In remembering where we have come from to where we are now, no matter what may be facing us tomorrow, we have much to give thanks for today because “God is good and His lovingkindess is everlasting” (Psalm 136)!

 

Psalm 136 recounts the goodness of God to the nation of Israel and after every historical episode you hear this refrain, “For His lovingkindness is everlasting.”

 

Deuteronomy 2 retells a segment of the epic journey of the Israelites from Mount Seir to the Transjordan where two-and-a-half tribes would ultimately settle. It is a theological travel log with the aim of emboldening the younger generation to trust that God will keep His word and do His part in the conquest of the Promised Land.

 

The following are two promises for which they needed to trust God:

 

1) Provision. Moses recounted God’s provision throughout their wanderings in the wilderness in verse 7: “For the Lord your God has blessed you in all that you have done; He has known your wanderings through this great wilderness. These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have not lacked a thing.”

 

2) Protection. Moses detailed how God either gave them favor with the nations as they wandered through the desert or He gave them the nations, as in verse 30: “But Sihon king of Heshbon was not willing for us to pass through his land; for the Lord your God hardened his spirit and made his heart obstinate, in order to deliver him into your hand, as he is today.”

 

Don’t just believe in God, believe God! God always provides for that which God promises! Give thanks for God’s provision and protection!

 

Seize the moment and give thanks to God in every circumstance of your life for His lovingkindness is everlasting (1 Thessalonians 5:18; Psalm 136).

 

Have a great day! Happy Thanksgiving! 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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Seize the Moment – Day 617

 

The Right Place at the Right Time!

Deuteronomy 1

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Wednesday, November 24.

 

When I teach people conflict resolution skills, I highlight the importance of saying the right thing at the right time and in the right place. Location and timing are key!

 

Deuteronomy is the last of the five Books of Moses. It means “second giving” and is composed primarily of the final sermons of Moses, which he gave to the new generation on the eve of their entrance into the Promised Land.

 

Moses wanted to ensure that the young people who would enter the Promised Land were not ignorant of God and His ways, so, at 120 years old, he passionately recounted the story of Israel and gave them, for the second time, the Law of God.

 

Deuteronomy 1:1-5 begins the book with a key phrase, “These are the words which Moses spoke to all Israel across the Jordan in the wilderness … In the fortieth year, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses spoke to the children of Israel, according to all that the Lord had commanded him to give to them …”

 

And the people listened attentively to Moses’ words because they were facing the task that their fathers had forsaken forty years prior. This moment had loomed over them their entire lives!

 

This was the right place and the right time for Moses to confront them with what lay before them. In verse 37, Moses grieved that he was not allowed to enter the Promised Land with them: “The Lord was angry with me also on your account, saying, ‘Not even you shall enter there.’”

 

This was his last chance—the right time and the right place—for Moses to fulfill God’s call to the people he faithfully, though not perfectly, led for over forty years. He gave them his heart, yet again!

 

Seize the moment and pray about the right place and right time for you to communicate what is important to you to the people in your life!

 

God bless your day!
 
 
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Seize the Moment – Day 616

 

The Politics of Inheritance!

Numbers 36

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Tuesday, November 23.

 

It pains me to see families fight over estate issues, but the politics of inheritance are real, especially when there is a transfer of property or wealth.

 

As we enter the final chapter of Numbers, a concern was expressed in the inheritance laws regarding the tribal allotments of land. Previously, in Numbers 27, Moses decreed that Zelophehad’s daughters were allowed to inherit their father’s property because he had no sons (1-11). Now in Numbers 36, as they are about to enter the Promised Land, the question was raised: Would the tribe lose an allotment of the Promised Land forever if a daughter were to marry outside the tribe (1-4)?

 

Even though Israel was one nation, each tribal leader was like a prince over their own tribe and looked out for their people’s best interest, which included protecting their allotments of the Promised Land.

 

Moses’ decision in verses 6-9 legislated marriage to mitigate the politics of inheritance between the tribes of Israel with the hope of minimizing tribal infighting in the future:

 

Every daughter who comes into possession of an inheritance of any tribe of the sons of Israel shall be wife to one of the family of the tribe of her father, so that the sons of Israel each may possess the inheritance of his fathers. Thus no inheritance shall be transferred from one tribe to another tribe, for the tribes of the sons of Israel shall each hold to his own inheritance.

 

Preserving the promises of God through the inheritance laws is essential to the covenants of God! In Galatians 3:29, Paul expresses this reality for New Covenant believers,
 
“And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s descendants, heirs according to promise” (cf. Galatians 4:7).

 

Seize the moment and accept your birthright through Jesus Christ. God’s politics of inheritance allows you to be His child and enter His Kingdom!

God bless your day!
 
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Seize the Moment – Day 615

God Provides for Justice!

Numbers 35

 

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

 

Before they entered the Promised Land, the Israelite leaders were required to make provision for justice; in fact, that is what Numbers 35 is all about!

 

First, in verses 1-8, God commanded each tribe to give the Levites some of their cities and pasture lands around those cities to live. This was a necessary provision because the Levites had no right of land ownership because their inheritance was the Lord and service in the tabernacle (Numbers 18:23).

 

Second, in verses 6-34, God commanded the Israelites to give up six more cities –the “cities of refuge” to ensure effective justice in the land. Verses 10-15 explain God’s provision for justice:

 

When you cross the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall select for yourselves cities to be your cities of refuge, that the manslayer who has killed any person unintentionally may flee there. … You shall give three cities across the Jordan and three cities in the land of Canaan; they are to be cities of refuge. These six cities shall be for refuge for the sons of Israel, and for the alien and for the sojourner among them; that anyone who kills a person unintentionally may flee there.

 

God loves justice! Deuteronomy 32:4 describes of God,
 
“The Rock! His work is perfect, for all His ways are just; a God of faithfulness and without injustice, righteous and upright is He.”
 
Psalm 89:14 proclaims of God,
 
“Righteousness and justice are the foundation of Your throne; lovingkindness and truth go before You.”

 

God provides for justice! God anticipated the Levites’ practical needs so that they would not have to live at the mercy of the other tribes of Israel. God planned cities of refuge to protect justice and ensure legal due process.

 

Seize the moment and do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God (Micah 6:8)!

God bless your day!
 
 
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Table of Blessings

Table of Blessings

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18

 

Pastor Jerry Ingalls hosted today’s time of sharing.

 

Those sharing today:

SCOTT LEE

 

I am thankful for the things God has seen me through this year. (ex:  a motorcycle accident)

And now as a new father.

 

Prayer of Blessing over fathers.

 

JILL STONEROCK

 

God took care of me and Kevin during times of financial dryness and broken bones.

There were also times of spiritual dryness during COVID.  I was distracted by all of the Media Hype.

It gave me a false sense of being in charge and responsible to solve the world’s problems.

 

I finally stopped and began to draw closer to God as He called me back to Him.

 

 TITUS RAGLE

 

I am a student athlete at Valop University.  My coaches called me out as a leader on my team.  I am not certain why.  God reminded me that it was a platform for glorifying Him. 

 

A back injury stopped me from playing during the Spring season.  I was asked to speak to the team and give a devotion. 

 

They call me Pastor Titus now. 

 

I wanted to begin a small group but couldn’t imagine that many fellow athletes wanting to join.  God has drawn several fellow players to the group and are looking to me to God to renew their faith!

 

CHELSEA ELDRIDGE

 

I am Natasha’s sister and I thank God for the bond that we have shared. 

 

NATASHA HAMILTON

 

Our lives have really changed over the years.  We experienced so much together.  We lost our mom, but it drew us closer together.  I am so proud of my sister.  I pray for her all the time.
 
 

You can watch the video HERE.

 

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Seize the Moment – Day 613

Today’s hymn focus will be

“There Shall Be Showers of Blessings”

 

“ I will bless my people and their homes around my holy hill. And in the proper

season I will send the showers they need. There will be showers of blessing.”

 

Major Daniel Webster Whittle (his rank from his service in the Civil War) had moved to Chicago in 1857 and began attending a bible study at Congregational church where he met Abbie Hanson, and they married in 1862

 

When I did the hymn “I Know Whom I Have Believed”, I told his story of his conversion while he was recovering from losing his arm just above the elbow. But this was not the only tragedy he encountered. He was traveling as an evangelist with Philip Bliss and his wife when the train on which they were riding crashed into a ravine. Whittle survived. James McGranahan lived nearby and came to help.  He and Whittle actually met beside the wreck and formed a friendship that was to be very fruitful in evangelistic ministry and the creation of gospel music.

 

            “Showers of blessing, showers of blessings we need.

            Mercy drops ‘round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.”

 

We need to wake up and realize that God is always with us, promising to supply all our needs. Even in the storms, with the rain falling and the winds howling, God is with us every moment. Though the sorrow may last for the night, His joy comes in the morning.

 
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.
 
 
If you would like to hear this song, click on the link below:
 

There Shall Be Showers of Blessing

 
1
There shall be showers of blessing:
This is the promise of love;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
Sent from the Savior above.
 
Chorus:
Showers of blessing,
Showers of blessing we need;
Mercy-drops round us are falling,
But for the showers we plead.
 
2
There shall be showers of blessing—
Precious reviving again;
Over the hills and the valleys,
Sound of abundance of rain.
 
3
There shall be showers of blessing;
Send them upon us, O Lord!
Grant to us now a refreshing;
Come, and now honor Thy Word.
 
4
There shall be showers of blessing;
O that today they might fall,
Now as to God we’re confessing,
Now as on Jesus we call!
 
5
There shall be showers of blessing,
If we but trust and obey;
There shall be seasons refreshing,
If we let God have His way.
 
 

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Seize the Moment – Day 612

 

Leaders are not the Point!

Numbers 34

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Friday, November 19.

 

Do you get distracted by the personalities and preferences of your leaders?

 

The orders to conquer the Promised Land were given in Numbers 33 and the boundaries of conquest were established in Numbers 34:1-15. It is time to call forth the tribal leaders who will execute the commands of God.

 

In the remainder of Numbers 34, Moses named the leaders beginning with this statement in verses 17-19,
 
“These are the names of the men who shall apportion the land to you for inheritance: Eleazar the priest and Joshua the son of Nun. You shall take one leader of every tribe to apportion the land for inheritance.”

 

The Hebrew word for leader means “one lifted up” and denotes a chieftain, sheik, or ruler. A leader is a person lifted above the rest!

 

Every tribal leader in this list, except for Caleb, although strategically placed by God for this critical time, is a once-mention in the Bible. These leaders served as great military leaders, city planners, religious overseers, and community organizers in a time of great leadership need, but they will never be mentioned by name again.

 

Why? Because leaders are never the point! The leaders are “lifted up” to lead, not to be celebrated!

 

God gives leaders to His people to play their part in seeing God’s will done in and through His people. When people start focusing more on the leader than they do on the mission of God, then they will become disunified by their preferences and distracted by their personalities (e.g. 1 Corinthians 1:10-17).

 

God gives leaders to equip the people to walk in the unity of the Spirit as the one body of Christ to fulfill the purposes of God (Ephesians 4:11-16).

 

Seize the moment and listen to your leaders to stay on mission for God. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus Christ, the only Name worthy of faith!

 

God bless your day!
 
 
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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Seize the Moment – Day 611

 

The Promise of the Promised Land!

Numbers 33

 

Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, November 18.

 

Do you know why God gave His people the Promised Land?

 

Numbers 33 is a historical lesson intended to embolden the Israelites as they received the command to enter and conquer the Promised Land. Verses 1-49 provides a thorough travel log from Egypt at Rameses to their current location on the plains of Moab opposite Jericho, which would be their first military objective to get a foothold in Canaan (Joshua 6).

 

Numbers 33:50-53 records God’s command to the Israelites at this historic moment:

 

When you cross over the Jordan into the land of Canaan, then you shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their figured stones, and destroy all their molten images and demolish all their high places; and you shall take possession of the land and live in it, for I have given the land to you to possess it.

 

Just as in Egypt during the ten plagues, God was bringing His judgment upon evil and destroying the worship of false gods. God reminded the Israelites of His purposes at the beginning of the travel log in verse 4:
 
“While the Egyptians were burying all their firstborn whom the Lord had struck down among them. The Lord had also executed judgments on their gods.”

 

This has been and always will be God’s intent for His people: to bring all the nations back to Himself and rescue them from the dominion of the lesser gods—to bless the nations with His presence! God chose Abraham for this very reason, and this is the promise for which we, the Church of Jesus Christ, have been called: “And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed” (Genesis 12:1-3; Galatians 3:29).

 

Seize the moment because you have been blessed by God to be a blessing to all the nations!

God bless your day!
 
 
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.
Videos are posted about a week after the devotion appears in the blog.

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