For His Glory
https://vimeo.com/678884536
#1 A Different FOCUS Philippians 2:1-4
#2 We Is Greater Than Me 1 Corinthians 12:17-31
#3 Church is More Like FOOTBALL than GOLF
Together
Everyone
Accomplishes
More For His Glory
#4 Joining the TEAM – No Try Out Necessary
Spiritual Gifts
Heart
Ability
Personality
Experience
#5 Finishing STRONG John 17:1-5
https://vimeo.com/678884185
#1 Worship Defined –
Christian Worship is the believers’ love RESPONSE of all that they are – heart, soul, mind, strength – to all God is and says and does.
#2 The HEART of Worship
#3 The INVITATION to Worship
#4 The ELEMENTS of Corporate Worship
#5 The EXIT: You are ENTERING the Mission Field
We Grow Together
https://vimeo.com/678883660
7 Reasons to Read the Word in 2022
#1 I need to be FED.
They are more precious than gold, than much pure gold; they are sweeter than honey, than honey from the honeycomb. Psalm 19:10
#2 I need PROTECTION.
Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Eph 6:17
#3 I need to GROW.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and forever! Amen. 2 Peter 3:18
#4 I show my HEART when I read the Word.
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for You, my God. Psalm 42:1
#5 I need MORE of God in my life.
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
#6 We need each other to GROW.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.
#7 We need to have GOSPEL-CENTERED conversations.
All the believers were together and had everything in common. Acts 2:44
The Bible describes God as a Good, Good Father
WRONG IDEAS ABOUT GOD, THE FATHER
Thankfully our Good, Good Father:
Is Full of Grace
Is Perfectly Just
Sets boundaries for those He loves
Is Pleased with His children
And Desires to be intimately involved in His children’s lives.
He is truly a Good, Good Father!
Our Adult Choir did a great job presenting For the Sake of Love – An Easter Musical. Click/Tap the listen button to enjoy it again.
Moving Forward – Finishing Well
Joshua 13, 14, and 23
#1. WHEN GOD SAYS YOU’RE OLD, YOU’RE OLD, BUT YOUR’E NOT DONE.
When Joshua had grown old, the Lord said to him, “You are now very old, and there are still very large areas of land to be taken over. Joshua 13:1
#2. CONFIDENCE TO MOVE FORWARD
#3. REMEMBER THE NEXT GENERATION
Summer time is a patriotic time. On Memorial Day we celebrate the brave men and women who gave the ultimate sacrifice for our country and we celebrate our nation’s birth on the 4th of July. It is truly great to be an American.
I am a patriot. I love the United States of America. I thank God that I was born in this country. I am thankful for the men and women that gave their lives to defend our freedom. As of late, I have a problem. I can’t recognize the country that I love. It is as if someone was able to take the country I love and replace it with one I don’t recognize. Our country is plagued with civil unrest, racial tension and the current sexual revolution. As a Pastor, I have to ask myself what can I and my church do to reclaim the country we love. There are no easy answers, but the suggestions below are a good place to start:
This should be the starting place for every American believer. We have access to the power of God through prayer. In Ephesians, chapter 1, Paul is praying for the Ephesian believers when he writes,
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you, the riches of His glorious inheritance in His holy people, and His incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength He exerted when He raised Christ from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. Ephesians 1:18-21
Pray often, specific, and passionate prayers to the only One that brings lasting change and revival to our great country.
In all likeliness it is going to get worse before it gets better. In 2 Timothy 3:1-5 Paul describes the terrible time in the last days:
“But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.”
These verses, though written long ago, describe the days we are living in. This is no time for “Casual Christianity.” It is time for the Church of Jesus to be ready and informed to be change agents in our society. One place I turn to keep informed about current events is a daily podcast entitled, The Briefing, by Dr. Albert Mohler. Dr. Mohler informs the listener about current news issues from a Christian worldview. He is insightful and does an amazing service to the Christian community by helping Christian leaders and believers interpret the times we live. Try it out at www.albertmohler.com
This is not time for believers in Jesus Christ to be silent. Some of the problems we see in our culture today are caused by the church being silent too long. Once we understand what is happening in our culture we must know the truth contained in the Word of God and speak up for what is right. Read how Jesus prayed for His disciples and for us.
My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified. John 17:15-19
In Ephesian 4:15, Paul writes about the attitude we should have as we stand for that which is true:
“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.”
Taking a stand for the truth and communicating that truth in a loving manner is a power tool in the hand of our Heavenly Father. While we may not recognize the land that we love, we can be part of the solution. God is not done with the United States of America. We are still “One Nation under God.”
This article by Sean Vickers originally appeared in The Dalhart Texan.
WHY DOES EVERYTHING HAVE TO BE SOO COMPLICATED?
Why does everything have to be so complicated? Have you ever asked yourself that question? I know I have. As life goes on it seems to get more and more complicated with layer after layer of details piling up until it seems unmanageable. This makes one long for the simple life.
Allow me to introduce you to a song that has captured my heart and my desire for simplicity. It’s called Simple Pursuit and was written by Matt Redman. Here is the first verse and chorus:
God take us back, the place we began
The simple pursuit of nothing but You
The innocence of a heart in Your hands
God take us back, oh God, take us back
To an unswerving faith in the power of Your name
A heart beating for Your kingdom to reign
A church that is known for Your presence again
God take us back
Nothing and no one comes close to You
Nothing could ever come close
Nothing and no one; it’s You, and You only
Nothing could ever come close
When I heard the song for the first time I immediately knew it would be a favorite of mine. This song reminded me of the message Jesus had for the church of Ephesus found in Revelation, chapter 2. This church honored Jesus with their deeds, but Jesus told them they had forsaken Him as their first love. Wow. That would be a hard thing to hear from your Savior. The church at Ephesus had left their simple pursuit of their Savior and become satisfied with going through the motions with passionless service and activity.
I am thankful that this passage does not end here. Jesus prescribed a remedy for the church’s heart problem. This same remedy is for anyone that is overwhelmed with details and feels their relationship with Jesus growing cold.
Jesus said to the church at Ephesus and He says to us today, “Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first.” To get back to a simple pursuit of Jesus it is important to remember our Savior and what it was like when we first trusted Him. This will give us an idea how “far you have fallen.” When a person first places their faith in Jesus Christ as their personal Savior it is normally a time of joy, gratitude, and amazement in the amazing grace of God. When our life and faith gets too complicated we forget the joy of our salvation. Some of you reading this article may not know the amazement that I am writing about.
If there has never been a moment in your life when you trusted Jesus let me invite you to one of the many Bible believing churches in Dalhart. We celebrate Jesus every week as we gather to worship. You are certainly welcomed at First Baptist Dalhart. You would be my honored guest.
The second part of Jesus remedy is to “repent and do the thing you did at first.” Repent means to change your mind or change directions. Simply put, repentance is turning back to Jesus and simply pursuing Him while doing the things we did when our faith was new and fresh. Do you remember a time when you worshipped from the heart, when you were growing in your faith, when you served Him without hesitation and with joy, and when you desired to talk to others about your faith? If these are distant memories, they don’t have to be. It’s time to get back to a Simple Pursuit of your Savior.
This article originally appeared in the Dalhart Texan and was written by Sean Vickers.
For to us a Child is born,
to us a Son is given,
and the government will be on his shoulders.
And He will be called
Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6 (NIV)
