first-baptist-church6f6e8aa8

Who are we?

mark@shamrockfirst.com (Mark Howard) — Sat, 04 Feb 2023 16:31:43 GMT

Who are we? What is our purpose?
What are our goals? What makes us unique?

As we continue the process of defining ourselves, let's establish some guidelines.
Let's agree on some realities, some values that are scriptural,
and therefore, some truths that cannot be denied.

1. We must have faith in the Father! Jesus promised to build the church! We can't build it, and neither can we rebuild it. We must faithfully allow God to mold us and make us according to His plans.

2. We must be intentional about evangelism! Jesus came to earth to "seek and save the lost." If we are not intentional about reaching the lost, then we will never live up to His perfect example. Every member of our Body must be trained to share Jesus without fear! Then we must plan and promote evangelism as a primary objective of the entire church.

3. We must be devoted to disciple-making! Our Sunday School must rethink its purpose. Sunday School is not merely a place of Bible Study. It is a place where true Christian disciples are made! Disciples are those who have forsaken all to follow Jesus! Disciples are those who willingly take up their cross to follow Jesus!

4. We must be fanatical about fellowship! The greatest commandment requires us to love one another! Fellowship is not just about potluck dinners. Fellowship is about love. Fellowship requires looking past the faults of others. Fellowship requires sacrifice of selfishness.

5. We must be aggressive about assimilation! The church is not a closed society. We must allow and encourage new people to become an active and important part of the Body … to be adopted into the "First Family."

6. We must have goals that are global! To become an "Acts 1:8" church, we must actively pursue mission opportunities around the globe.

7. We must be simply single-minded! We must make the main thing the main thing! We can't minor on the minors. We must major on the majors! We can't stay so busy doing good things that we miss out on the best thing! We must have the courage to be single-minded!

With these ground rule defined, let's consider the example of the dynamic, revolutionary, world-changing, first century church. The seven realities mentioned above were alive in the first century church. They did have faith in the Father! They were intentional about evangelism. They were devoted to disciple-making, etc. And the early church had three primary functions:

1. They brought people into relationship with God and with God's people – to belong.

2. They provided the resources to help God's people grow spiritually – to believe.

3. They led God's people to become ministers and missionaries by matching people with ministry opportunities – to become.

It should be our goal to imitate this revolutionary first century example in the twenty-first century.
The first century church was a place to belong, to believe, and to become. Could we become such a church?

Trying Something New

Wed, 18 Jan 2023 18:03:00 GMT

How a website re-design teaches spiritual lessons.

I think the older I get, the less I enjoy change. I am not anti-change, but change is HARD!

When Ruth told me that she was going to re-design our church website I thought, "That's a great idea to promote more people having access to what's going on in our Church family." I am fully aware that a new look from time to time is useful to re-invigorate communication. A little update in look and content can boost our interest. It also is something that all of us can utilize when we have the opportunity to direct others to the ministry. You know what I mean...

"Hey, you should look at our new, really cool website!"

What I did not anticipate was that change is HARD! I am not as patient with change as I used to be. The new design program that we are using is not like the old one. With the old system, I could maneuver more easily and I had the things that I needed to produce what I was responsible for. I don't know if I've said this yet but, change is HARD!

Certainly, change just for the sake of change is no reason to change, however, when the "old" no longer accomplishes what it is designed to do in the best way, it's time to try something new. It's not that the old was bad, it's simply served its usefulness. It's time to try something new even if that is hard.

Most of the time, when it gets right down to it, the "new" incorporates enough of the "old" that it allows us to handle the learning curve. Best of all, we can discover that the "new" allows us to experience things we might not in the "old". Many times it broadens our experience altogether.

We can do hard things, right?

Worship styles can be like that; especially music styles. The Church has utilized various musical styles throughout the centuries in true worship. So, which is the right one? I would tell you that the right musical style is the one that allows a congregation to worship God together. I would also say that the style is not nearly as important as the heart of the worshipper.

I am blessed often when I set my own, sometimes old, preferences aside and embrace worship music that is new to me. I love it when I see and hear Jaden and our worship leaders singing heartfelt, Christ-centered songs. Singing along at first might seem hard, but I can do hard things and soon I find myself joining them in the praise. What about you?

How about this as something to consider...

...but let the Spirit fill your life. 19 When you meet together, sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, as you praise the Lord with all your heart. 20 Always use the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to thank God the Father for everything. 21 Honor Christ and put others first. - Ephesians 5:18-20

I'll See You in Worship!

Pastor Mark

Be the change you seek

Tue, 12 Mar 2019 17:01:27 GMT

Learn to see differences and embrace them.

It is not easy to see the world through another person's eyes, and we must strive to do that every day.

Make it happen

dudaadmin@acst.com (Duda-Realm Admin) — Tue, 12 Mar 2019 17:00:13 GMT

Change your life and the world will thank you.

Use your voice and live by your actions. It is not an easy path, but it is the right one.