What a year we have completed. 2012 is behind us and 2013 is going to be great. We will focus on what it means to Lean in 13. The focus in 2012 has been Delve in 12 as we took on the challenge each week to dig deeper and deeper into God word. We accomplished out goal by having a record number of people complete one of the CLASS programs to learn what it means to dig deeper. This year we will focus on Leaning on Christ for all of the things that we face. I received a letter from one of the members explaining how she leans everyday on her walker, while leaning on her family for support and being able to live each day, leaning on her Lord. She gave me some wonderful words that I would like to share with you so enjoy. LEAN IN 13 Webster’s New World Dictionary defines the word lean as to rely upon. When we have to put our hand out to lean on something, we trust that it will hold us up and we will not fall. When we trust the Word of God to keep us from falling, we depend on his love and strength. Proverbs 3-5 tells us, “Trust in the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress; my God; in him will I trust.” As Paul told the church at Corinth in I Corinthians 4-10, even today we are to believe the promises of God and be strong in our faith. In verse21, he tells us that we should believe the Lord is able to perform miracles for us. Lean on him, he will not fail you. In Matthew 11-18 Jesus tells us to “come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” We rely and lean on the Lord’s strength when we are weak and tired. Some must lean on crutches or a cane when they are old and weak or injured. We rely on these to help us in our physical weakness. We lean on the Lord to comfort us in times of grief and loss and the fear that seems to cripple our soul. David tells us in Psalm 23-1 “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want,” a fact that you can trust and lean on and you know that he will not fail you. In Psalm 27-1 David also tells us, “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?, The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid.” This is a promise of deliverance that we can rely on today as we lean on him. In Psalms 32 7, David tells us the Lord is his hiding place. In John 14-1, Jesus tells us “Let not your heart be troubled you believe in God, believe also in me. We are not to worry about the future. Lean on his “everlasting arms” to hold you as you travel your road of life. Some scoff at us for leaning on God and call religion a crutch. We should look them right in the eyes and say, thank you for noticing that I do. Ida Mitchell

FACING LIFE WITH FAITH SUNDAY'S OUTLINE

Hebrews 11:6 "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." I. FAITH IS: 1. BELIEVING when I don't see it. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." Hebrews 11:1 2. OBEYING when I don't understand it. "It was faith that made Abraham obey when God called him and go out to a country God had promised to him. He left his own country without knowing where he was going." Hebrews 11:8 (GN) 3. GIVING when I don't have it. "...by faith (Abel) was commended as a righteous man when God spoke well of his offering ... " Hebrews 11:4b "Out of ... extreme poverty welled up rich generosity ... They gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability." 2 Corinthians 8:2-3 4. PERSISTING when I don't feel like it. "It was by faith that Moses left Egypt and was not afraid of the King's anger. He held to his purpose like a man who could see the invisible." Hebrews 11:27 (JB) 5. THANKING GOD before I receive it. M"By faith the walls of Jericho fell, after the people had marched around them for seven days." Hebrews 11:30 "When you pray and ask for something, believe that you have received it and you will be given what you ask for." Mark 11:24 (GN) 6. TRUSTING if I don't get it. (Hebrews 11:35-40) "They were all commended for their faith yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better ..." Hebrews 11:39-40

Facing Life With Faith Posting Date: 09/22/2012 By Pastor Bill Stevenson Recently it seems there's been a crisis of confidence in our country, the economy's been going down, unemployment's been going up. A lot of people I've talked to lately are very uneasy, on edge about the future: "Am I going to have a job six months from now? How do I live with confidence?" Recently I saw a graph on today’s consumer confidence. It didn’t look good; in fact it was bad news. How do you handle that kind of situation? Over the next four weeks we're going to look at facing life with faith. How does faith make a difference when you're going through tough times like many of you are going through? Why is it important to have faith? The Bible says "Without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him." Now it says that without faith, it is impossible to please God which indicates how important it is. You see the Christian life is really pretty simple. Sum it up in two words: love and faith. Love God with all your heart. Love your neighbor as yourself. And have faith. That's it. Faith is something you can't describe in one sentence. Because faith is like a diamond, it’s multifaceted. It has lots of aspects to it. This Sunday we will look at the first one “faith is believing when I don't see it”. Hebrews 11:1 says “Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." This may sound like a contradiction, but the Bible teaches that faith is visualizing the future in the present. It's being sure of what you don't see. It is seeing it in advance. Man says: "Seeing is believing." God says the opposite "Believing is seeing." And some things in life, you have to believe them before you can see them. In 1960, JFK stood up and said: "Let's put a man on the moon by the end of the decade." When he said that, the technology had not even been invented to put a man on the moon. But some things have to be believed before you can see them. Faith is trusting God to turn dreams into reality. Because nothing happens 'til somebody believes it's possible. And we're going to look at this in the weeks ahead. Some of you are trying to face a full-time problem on part-time faith and that won't work. You need a full-time, head-on, full-born faith to handle the problems you're going to have in 2012 and beyond, no matter who wins the election. So why don’t you come and visit us to hear the full message this Sunday? Morning services are at 8:00 a.m. and 10:45 a.m. Also at 6:00 p.m. we have an hour=long discussion of the days sermon for more in-depth study and understanding. We are located at 700 Hardy Way, next door to the new Police Station. For more information, transportation or to request prayer call 346-7061 or visit our website at fbcmesquite.com.

Sunday Night Pot Luck and "Ol Time Religion Sing" What a great night of celebration as we broke bread together and then spent time singing songs from the past.  .

What is the Point of Life? Posting Date: 08/03/2012

By Bill Stevenson This Sunday we are going to look at life's most important question as we start this new series of "Answering Life's Toughest Questions" What is the Point of Life? When we don't understand the point of life it causes all kinds of negative effects in our lives. Solomon, one of the wisest men who ever lived says there are five results that happen in your life when you don't know what is the purpose;...Life seems useless, tiresome, un-fulfilling, insignificant or uncontrollable. If you don't know the purpose of life it's all seems meaningless. When you do not know the point of life, you have three options: try to make up your own meaning, escape, or seek the real meaning of life. Many people try to make up some meaning for life. We were made to have something at the center of our life. If it's not God at the center, people try to put something else there like being addicted to making money, or sports, or work. People are trying to fill their life with meaning. Some say, "You came from nothing, you're going to nothing, you weren't created, you were a cosmic accident and when you die-that's it. The Bible tells us differently - You matter, you matter to God. Other people try to escape when they believe life has no meaning; using TV, food, sex, drugs or even suicide. If you do not know the meaning of life, there is despair. Life seems useless, pointless, and insignificant. This is because life without God has no meaning. On the other hand, you can seek the real meaning of life. "Long ago God chose us to be his very own. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by sending Jesus Christ to die for us. And he did this because he wanted to!"He adopts us into his family, you were made to be a part of God's family and when the time is right, he will gather us all together to be with him forever. Here at First Baptist Church, we are committed to helping you prepare for eternity so when you get to the final exam you will know the right answers. The greatest waste is to live your entire life without ever knowing the point of it. Come join us this Sunday to seek the truth about "What is the Point of Life" Our regular Sunday morning worship services are at 8:00 a.m. and 10:45a.m. Also at 6:00 p.m. we have an hour-long discussion of the days sermon for more in-depth study and understanding. We are located at 700 Hardy Way, Mesquite. We are next door to the new Police Station and across from the Storage Units. For more information, transportation or to request prayer call 346-7061 or visit our website at fbcmesquite.com.

Men's Breakfast

Men’s Breakfast was great. We were not only blessed by great food, Sticky Buns, Sticky Buns and or yes some great egg casseroles (thank you Leslee), but Brother Jim McGuire shared his testimony with us. Jim is 86 years young and still gets excited when talking about what God has done and is doing in his life. Jim has been our pastor at Highland Manor on Sunday mornings, until he was recently ask to fill in as interim pastor at Beaver Dam Baptist Church. I know that they are blessed to have him. Jim gave some great stories and antidotes of his many years serving God. One of his favorite stories was talking about His grandfathers reaction to the fact that people wanted to have toilets in the house! You had to be there to hear the rest, but I got a huge laugh. We had some guest join us, Tom’s grandson Carson joined in on the feast, and can that boy eat!. He will grow to be very big if he continues putting down the plates of food. Brendon brought his best friend Jason and Don’s son joined us. It was a wonderful time of fellowship and we are looking forward to our guest speaker in May. Please put on your calendar that May the 12^th you can come and have breakfast, bring a friend and listen to give a great testimony. See you there.

Your Pastor

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.