In my last post, we showed that Jesus’ resurrection affects life today. We respond to him with courageous faith and see evidence of it in your lives and in those around you. According to Mark, here’s what courageous faith looks like. Group action. Just as a few bystanders saw a paralytic responding to Jesus, a […]
Read More »The reigning, risen Jesus invites you to have courageous faith. Throughout the summer, we’ve been studying the components in the Gospel of Mark. During challenging times, we recognize how Jesus is alive and well. Death is losing its grip on us, and Jesus is Lord. He makes it possible for us to face these days […]
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The last time I walked door-to-door in Jesus’ name, I was on a mission trip to Bardstown, Kentucky. We spread the word about our youth group-led VBS. Last Saturday night, 18 of us from FBC and over 100 folks from our community walked the Providence Heights Neighborhood off Levy street. We responded to a request […]
Read More »Summer is a great time for me to catch up on history. I’m intrigued by the era when our nation was founded: 1630-1800. These years are also the formative ones for Baptists in America. In my last post, I refreshed your memory about some of the persecution that Baptists endured because of our views about […]
Read More »In 1771, “America” was a much different place spiritually. Most of the first colonies subsidized their “chosen” ministers’ salaries with tax revenue. Separate Baptists like Isaac Backus in Massachusetts were arrested and John Leland, John Weatherford, and David Barrow were assaulted by mobs and beaten with whips. In Caroline County, Virginia, 6 Baptists were arrested […]
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Today, I’m spending a lot of time reflecting on this week’s events and preparing for worship with you tomorrow. It’s been an incredible week. We’ve had the spiritual high of Mount Everest Vacation Bible School, and the anger, grief, and despair of the Charleston massacre. It’s hard to put into words the range of emotions […]
Read More »The latest victims of the sins of racial hatred and murder are the brothers and sisters of Emmanuel AME Church in Charleston, South Carolina. This kind of action has happened before in other churches and schools. The forces of evil pick the good people and congregations who care about Christ, salvation, the gospel, peace, justice, […]
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We climbed Mount Everest today at First Baptist Church. Vacation Bible School is off to a great start. With the assistance of 200 adult and youth volunteers, 266 children learned how to conquer challenges with God’s mighty power. Today we learned Elijah’s story from 1 Kings 17 and memorized 2 Corinthians 9:8, “And God will […]
Read More »Last Tuesday, I attended a meeting in Mayor Andrew Gillum’s office regarding “Operation Safe Neighborhood.” As you know, Leon County has the highest crime rate in our state. A recent shooting in Frenchtown the last weekend of May served as another example of the problem. Not all of these incidents result in death, but most […]
Read More »Parker and Drake are alumni of good Weekday ministries. Parker graduated from a Mom’s Day Out when Kelly worked (for pay) in San Angelo. Methodists and Baptists taught Drake how to be prepared for Kindergarten. He’s our ecumenical preschooler. Both benefited from loving people who could have done anything with their lives. Their teachers worked […]
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