Excitement is Everywhere.

I love the excitement here at FBC as we get ready for the 40 Days in the Word. Everyone is serving with a since of expectation and excitement. Our In-Touch Ministry is ramping up for a solid campaign strategy of reaching out to those who are not in a small group. The event coordinator has time lined everything that will take place and is making sure all the deadlines are met. What a great team I have. I am a blessed pastor.

WALK ACROSS THE ROOM AT THE MEN'S BREAKFAST

The men of FBC had a chance to see a clip from Bill Hybels from his series "Walk across the room" We will be looking at different parts in the upcoming breakfasts. The message is we need to reach out to people in our community, neighborhoods, and in social settings.
The breakfast was great, the food, the fellowship and hearing from John S. made the morning very special. As usual the food was fantastic. Tom B. closed the breakfast with an emotional plea for each of us to reach out to our brothers and sisters that may not be like us. He shared some of his past and his passion for family members of other races. He again made the point we need to walk across the room and meet those who are different, and invite them to be a part. I am looking forward to our next breakfast together.

GIVE GOD YOUR FEARS.

Have you considered what would happen in your life if you had someone to give your fears to? We love to share our worries with everyone, we share all the good things that happen in our lives, as well as the bad. But what about the Fear that strangles some to a life of pain and immobility. According to God's word  “And he did rescue us from mortal danger, and he will rescue us again. We have placed our confidence in him, and he will continue to rescue us.” (2 Corinthians 1:10 NLT, 2nd edition) God is ready to take our fears, our hurts and our pain. We must first trust that his word is true. We are looking at the truth of his word as we continue to answer the question. "How do I know I can trust the Bible" If you have ever ask yourself that question, I pray you will join us on Sunday morning, or on our website to discover the reliability of the Bible.

HOW RELIABLE IS THE BIBLE?

How reliable is the Bible? Examine the evidence and seek the truth.  During this week’s message I will look at three tests that Historians apply to ancient books to determine the truth. 1. Do we have reason to believe the writer cares about truth? The “Honesty Test” 2. Do we have reason to believe the facts have been passed faithfully through time? The “Telephone Test”. 3. Is there evidence outside the document that supports the internal claims.  The “Corroboration Test”.  I hope you will join us for this comprehensive study.  Sunday morning at 8:00 AM and 10:45 AM, or on the the website. 

Expect God to Answer Your Prayers

Saturday, January 07, 2012

Expect God to Answer Your Prayers by Rick Warren

“If you want to know what God really wants you to do, ask him ... but if you don’t ask in faith, don’t expect the Lord to give you any solid answer.” (James 1:5-6 TLB) God wants to direct you in life, but two things need to line up: You have to ask the right person, God, and you have to ask with the right attitude — in faith, expecting an answer.  Have you ever asked God for something and didn’t expect to get it? That’s why you didn’t get it. God works in our lives according to faith. So many times we say, “God, please guide me!” and we walk away not even waiting for guidance. We just immediately start to work. We say, “God, I want you to give me wisdom; help me make the right decision.” But we don’t really expect him to do that. We think it all depends on us.  God has promised to give us wisdom, if we will ask. Wisdom is seeing life from God’s point of view. Wisdom is the ability to make decisions the way God makes decisions. Think about this: God never makes a bad decision. He never makes a mistake. He says if we trust him and listen to him, he will guide us. But we must ask in faith.

Welcome to 2012 "Delve in 12"

As we begin this wonderful new year, I am reminded of how faithful God is to His own. 2011 is over, we are a strong, healthy group of believers that have lived our lives for Him. We saw 20 people attend and commit to our membership class in 2011. We saw a number of new families move into our community in a terrible economic time. So we look forward to 2012..The theme of the this year 2012 is going to be the year of delving into Scripture. The definition for delve is to carry on intense and thorough research. To dig deeper. This year we will dig deeper into Gods word.
In February we’re going to kick off the New Year with a series called Forty Days in the Word. I’m very, very excited about that, probably the second most I’ve been excited about anything since Forty Days of Purpose because I want you to know how to study the Bible.

Where does the Time go?

I was reminded this week that I have not put anything on this blog since July. My first question is where does the time go? I was sure I updated just a few weeks ago. As I get older a few weeks turns into a few months.

God has kept me busy and blessed me and the church family with so much since July. We have had guests every week, some from out of town just passing through and some like the couple Sunday that said they have lived in Mesquite for 6 years and have been going to come to church, but have been busy. (Bet they haven’t been on there blog for a while!). I continue to be amazed at how people view church. I have to remind the church family that we are not a time share. They are welcome every week, not just once a month or once every 6 months. I guess some people feel like if they show up every once in a while that they are doing there duty to God. On the other hand after they sat through one of my long messages they may feel like they have suffered long enough for a while and need the time to unwind. I guess we will leave that between them and God.
Vic and I have recently completed 11 years in this ministry, the one that we said we would do for 5 years and then move to another area. We have learned that there is God’s plan and there is our plan! So far God’s plan is that we continue to be blessed by pastoring a wonderful church 100 miles from our main home. He has given us so much to make the journey so worth while. Each week we give God thanks for all he has done for us and praise him for the opportunity that He has given us both.

Recently I ran into a group of people who came against God a few years ago and tried to destroy His church. I once again was so thankful that God had taken these folks out of the fellowship and allowed us to grow in unity instead of the dysfunction of a few who felt like they knew better than God how a church should be ran. They are now in there fifth year of trying to do it their way. It is a very sad situation and our hearts hurt for people who will not admit that they have sinned against God and continue to try and build a church on there own strength. Again there is God’s plan and there is our plan. I am grateful that God is still in control at FBC and that He will build His church and each one of us must see it as a privilege to serve.

As we get ready for the holiday season, I am looking forward to seeing what He will do in the upcoming months. We are planning our annual Thanksgiving dinner and a time of putting the Thanks back into Thanksgiving. As soon as that is over we will be getting ready for our Christmas Celebration. This year will be a great challenge as Christmas eve is on a Saturday! We will have our Candlelight Service and then do only one service on Sunday.
Stay tuned and I will try and be more diligent in keeping this post current.