Our generation lives between two walls: the construction of the Berlin Wall and the West Bank Wall in Israel. One fell 25 years ago this Sunday. Families and friends reunited after years of separation, war, and communism. Another was built over eight years ago and still divides families and friends because of terrorism, war, and […]
Read More »On Sunday evening at 6:00PM, our Finance Committee will recommend our 2015 Budget to you to be adopted on November 9. Our deacons have already heard this budget presentation, and our staff are eager for you to hear this report. Our vision for 2015 is to use our resources so that people will Come to […]
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This Saturday is the 13th annual First Love service day at First Baptist. I am so grateful to Tom Perrin, Jr., for his leadership of this project. He and his team have put in tireless hours checking on projects, arranging volunteers, and placing people in the right slots. This year is also Hannah Singletary’s first […]
Read More »Preparing for a wedding today is a bit like a small conference. Invitations, dinners, engagement ceremonies, save the date cards, counseling, rehearsal, rehearsal dinner, reception. It’s almost enough to make you forget that everything that happens before and after the wedding really count. Practice does not make for perfect marriages. Belief in Christ gives us […]
Read More »Households today are a complicated mix of success and failure. Divorce rates are lower than the previous generation. Individuals who do marry are waiting longer to get married and to have children. Christian marriages appear to be doing better and are lasting longer than ever. At the same time there are challenges. In Leon County, […]
Read More »Fourteen years ago, the Lord smiled on First Baptist when Steve Wofford became our Church Administrator. He has guided us through the Great Recession of 2008, taken on the CLC and other projects, and guided homeless people personally through times of great crisis. Jane and he have been instrumental in establishing a Christian sorority and […]
Read More »This weekend, Luke Hinson and I will be leading a retreat for our Senior Adult and SingleFocus groups on the topic of God’s Forgiveness: Past, Present, and Forever. When Jesus threw Peter (and the church) the keys to the kingdom of heaven, one of the keys on the ring was forgiveness. Forgiveness is a key […]
Read More »At our Life Groups:EQUIP training weekend September 12-13, Rick Howerton challenged us to look away from the church and see the future church. Around us in offices, homes, neighborhoods, and mission projects, we’ll see the people that will one day be a part of the church. There’s only one caveat. We need to show them […]
Read More »This Sunday, we’ll have the privilege of meeting Rev. John Rice who comes in view of a call to be our Executive Pastor. John grew up in Jacksonville and graduated from Fletcher High School then Palm Beach Atlantic College. He received a Master of Divinity degree from Southern Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He and his […]
Read More »Fasting has never been high on the list of Baptist disciplines. Feasting, yes. Fasting… maybe if we’re in a real bind. Jesus certainly warns us about fasting for attention (Matthew 6). That doesn’t get us out of the practice; I have just ignored the discipline. Prior to Easter, most Christians forego something like chocolate. Other […]
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