First Baptist Church of Brownsville, Oregon

 

This will be shorter than usual, as I need to head out the door in a couple minutes!  But a few reminders:

 

Saturday: Men – We are on lesson 2 in our study of the book of James.  But lesson 2 is actually based on Psalm 15.  So if you have a book, you can work on the lesson.  If you don’t have one yet, we will have copies for you Saturday morning, but you can prepare by reading and studying Psalm 15.  We meet at 6:45am.

  Hope you can make it!

 

At 2pm FBC will be hosting the memorial service for George Van Leeuwen.  Please pray for comfort for the family and a powerful witness for any unbelievers who will be present.

 

  Hope to see you at Sunday School at 9am, and of course the worship service at 10:30!  We will be studying Colossians 2:1-5.  Have you ever dreamt of finding an incredibly valuable treasure chest?  Well, in Christ, we have the ultimate treasure chest available to us!  Join us to learn about it!

 

Monday: Trunk-or-Treat 2016!  I am sending out another plea for candy!  We have about 300 lbs, and we are still shooting for 500!  Justin continues to lead the contest, but frankly as long as the candy comes in I don’t care which bucket it ends up in!  We’d love to be able to be generous with the candy for all those trunk-or-treaters who will join us Monday night from 6:00-7:30!

  Please be in prayer for this event, and even if you’re not putting in a vehicle or helping in some way, you can come and just greet the people who will be enjoying the free food we’re providing.  Let’s show ourselves friendly to our community, letting them know that God loves them and we do too!

 

God Bless You and let’s have a Christ-centered next few days here!

 

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael

 

 (2 Kings 22:2)

 

What a great description of the young king Josiah!  In chapter 18, it essentially said the same thing about Hezekiah.  Of course, there were many other kings of whom it was said, “He did evil in the sight of the Lord…”  Israel’s and Judah’s history are full of examples of both good kings and bad kings.  When I read about men like Josiah, I find myself thinking, I want to be like that.  And I pray for my children, that they will follow that example.  Of course, we know that we all stumble, and there is only One King who ever did everything completely right in the Lord’s eyes… our Lord Jesus!  He wants us to look to him as our ultimate King and righteous Ruler.

 

 is only 11 days away!  Thank you for all the volunteers and all who have agreed to decorate your vehicles!  And thank you for making me the Round 3 winner of the heavy-weight candy contest!  I beat Justin by 4 lbs this week, but he’s still ahead (so keep filling my bucket!).  We are about halfway to our goal of 500 lbs.  So please keep an eye out for those candy sales!  We have half-sheet flyers you can use to invite your friends and neighbors, please help us spread the word!  Thank you for praying for an effective outreach to our community.

 

  This would be a great time to join in this outstanding Bible study book by Chuck Swindoll based on that practical epistle of James!

 

 – This Sunday we continue our study by looking at 1:24-29.  This passage includes the phrase from which I took the title of this series – “Christ in you, the hope of glory.”  What a great promise!  This is another wonderful passage to inspire us to live out our Christian faith on a daily basis.  Please spend some time reading and praying through these verses in preparation for Sunday.

 

May God bless you greatly today!

 

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael

 

2 Kings 4:1-7 is a powerful true story of God taking interest in a widow in dire straights, who was about to lose her two children to slavery to pay off her debt.  I’d encourage you to read it and see the miraculous way the Lord provided for her!  

 

I had a great reminder from the Gospel Transformation Bible in the comment about 2 Kings 4:1-44 — “The author of Kings was writing to an audience perhaps already experiencing the tragedy and difficulty of life in exile.  As such, the several miracles recorded in this lengthy chapter would have functioned to remind God’s people of His power to restore the blessings forfeited due to repeated infidelity and covenant breaking.  Even in the midst of famine or the death of a husband, the Lord can and will provide.  He can make the barren fertile and restore life by the power of resurrection.

 

Until our Lord returns to make all things new, His people will live like aliens in a world to which they do not fully belong.  For believers living in this fallen world, we live in exile. As resident aliens, tragedy and suffering will be a normal part of our lives in this fallen world (John 16:33; 1 Pet. 4:12).  But even here, the Lord desires to set before the eyes of His people the hope of all things being made new.  The miracles recorded in this chapter continue to remind us that we look forward to greater things.  One day we will be satisfied at the table of the Lord.  Death, hunger, and debt will no longer have any place.”  Amen to that!

 

Men – BREAKFAST this Saturday at 7:00 am!  Please join us for some feeding of the body and the soul!  Men need one another if we are to run the race of life with endurance.  So we hope to see you Saturday.  Also, the study books for our new study, JAMES: Practical & Authentic Living

 are in!  Come this Saturday and get your copy.

 

  We have around 16-20 vehicles signed up so far, and we’re shooting for 40!  So please talk to Elizabeth if you need help with ideas about how to decorate your trunk, and let her know you’ll be there!  Also, we are shooting for 500 lbs. of candy again!  We have around 168 lbs so far, so we need to keep it coming in!

 

Last week I won round 1 in the “heavy-weight” battle with Pastor Justin, but this week he creamed me!  While I won the first round by 3 lbs, he won round two by 18 lbs!  So now hopefully he’s done whining about it, and we can all stop worrying about him moving back to Alaska!  I’m kidding of course.  But seriously, I’m fully expecting round 3 to go to me!  Big time.  I’ve got catching up to do.  I’m sure you’ll help me this week!

 

  Sunday we continue our study in the great book of Colossians with the message, “From Rebellion to Reconciliation”.  I hope you’ll come prepared to learn about the powerful truth of what it means that God has reconciled us to Himself through His Son!

 

Finally, thank you so much for the gracious show of appreciation this week!  I was humbled by all of the kind words, cards, etc. that came our way.  Your love for your pastors is evident, and we are grateful for it!

 

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael

 

 (1 Kings 18:36)

 

The confrontation of the prophets of Baal by the prophet Elijah is one of the most memorable events recorded in the Bible.  It’s a powerful scene!  If you haven’t read it recently, it would be a great refresher of God’s power and the exclusivity He demands in worship.  He is the only true God and there is none other!  The events are recorded in 1 Kings 18:17-40.  

 

I liked the note in my Gospel Transformation Bible on this: “The competition between Elijah and the prophets of Baal was certainly dramatic: a single prophet of Yahweh versus 450 prophets of Baal.  It hardly seemed fair, and the consolation prize for the losing side was death!  But all of this drama had a purpose, and that purpose was to produce repentance and to change the hearts of God’s people, in order ‘that this people may know that You, O LORD, are God, and that You have turned their hearts back’ (v. 37).”

 

May we turn our hearts back to Him today if we have strayed in any way!  And may we be used by the Lord to turn the hearts of many in our community back to Him!

 

We hope to accomplish that as we all have an impact on the world around us, on the people in our circles of influence (our ‘oikos’).  And we hope to work on the hearts of people even through our Trunk or Treat event!  October 31 is coming on us quickly.  We are so thankful for the people who have signed up to have vehicles decorated, but we are looking for many more!  Make sure to get your name on the list in the foyer.  We also will need help with various volunteer positions, with kitchen help, etc. And, of course, we need candy, candy, candy!  Thank you for making me the winner of Round 1 of the “heavy-weight” contest!  The totals so far are: Me 34.8 lbs, Justin 31.1 lbs.  So keep it coming!  Last year our goal for candy was 500 lbs, so if we’re shooting for that again we’re 434 lbs short with 4 Sundays to go!  I have faith that we can do it.  And I have faith that you will keep me ahead of Justin!

 

Remember we have a membership class offered on October 16 from Noon to 3pm.  Please let me know soon if you’d like to join in!

 

This Sunday I will be preaching on Colossians 1:15-20.  This is one of the most important passages on Christology (the study of Jesus Christ) in all of the Bible!  Please be sure to be here with us!  Packed with powerful truths about who Jesus is, these verses are vital to our lives as Christians. The title of the message is “Christ Over All”.  Is He the Lord of all in your life? I look forward to seeing you Sunday!

 

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael

 

 (1 Kings 3:9)

 

What would you ask for if the Lord came to you and said, “Ask me for one thing, anything; whatever it is, I’ll give it to you”?  I had an interesting discussion about this with a couple of our kids yesterday.  They had good answers, about wanting to go to heaven, or wanting to see Jesus face to face.  

 

In 1 Kings Solomon had the chance to ask for anything he wanted, and what he asked for pleased the Lord.  He wanted the wisdom and understanding to be a good king for the people of Israel.  It’s a great true story, but also sad when we consider how far Solomon fell in spite of his great wisdom.  Not until the perfect Son of David, the ultimate King, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Wisdom of God… not until He came do we see perfect wisdom lived out in perfect righteousness.

 

In Colossians 1:9-14, we see Paul asking the Lord for wisdom for the believers of Colossae.  He also asks for other things.  It’s an incredible model prayer.  And it’s convicting to read it and compare how my prayers typically sound.  Please spend some time reading, meditating, and praying through Colossians 1:9-14 in preparation for our message Sunday morning.

 

You’ll see in the bulletin this Sunday a flyer about “Pray 31”, a strategy to get Christians praying for America for 31 days straight.  There is a little prayer guide book on one of the tables in the foyer.  I’d encourage you to pick one up this weekend.  The goal is to pray 31 days, through the month of October for our country.

 

So looking forward to being with you again Sunday!  

 

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael

 

P.S. Now that it’s October (almost), it’s time to start planning how you’ll decorate your vehicle for Trunk or Treat!  And time to look for those good sales on bags of candy!  This year’s contest is Pastor Michael vs. Pastor Justin!  Who will be the “Heavy-weight” champion!  Bring your candy and put it in my container!  Please!

 

 (2 Samuel 22:29)

 

David expresses a beautiful thought here – even when we live in the midst of darkness, there is One who lights the way for us!  His Word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path.  Jesus is the Light of the world.  Have you ever tried walking through your house in the dark?  It can be painful!  Without keeping your focus on God, it’s easy to stumble around in the dark of this world.  Look to Him to be your light every day!

 

This Sunday we will jump into the first chapter of Colossians in our current sermon series.  Please prayerfully read Col. 1:3-8 in preparation.  It is a great statement from Paul about how he prays always with thankfulness for the believers in Colossae.  This week I was reminded of just how thankful I am for you, the Christ-followers of FBC Brownsville!  And I was challenged again to faithfully pray for you. 

 

Thank you also for praying for Pastor Justin and Lynsey during their time at the D6 Family Ministry Conference in Louisville!  Things seem to have improved since a rocky start to the trip!  Pray for a better trip home tomorrow.

 

Thanking God for you!

 

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael

Who is your Paul? Who is your Timothy? Who is your Barnabas?  Watch this video: 

 

(Galatians 6:18)

 

Paul concludes Galatians with the most appropriate word:

grace.  This is the message of Galatians for guilty sinners, like me, and like you.  It’s also the message of Colossians.  Paul begins his letter to the believers at Colossae with the same word.  This Sunday I will be starting a new series, COLOSSIANS: Christ in You.

  I’m excited about this study!  I’d like to encourage you to take some time to read the whole letter (only 4 chapters) between now and Sunday.  I plan to read the whole letter in the worship service.  That is, after all, how the original hearers would have received it.  I’ll also do an introduction to the book, and we’ll take a look at the first two verses.  I hope you’ll plan to be with us as we start this series on this incredible, Christ-centered epistle!

 

Men, a reminder that tomorrow is again our monthly Men’s Breakfast at 7am!  Please join us for a time of spiritual and physical nourishment.  The Saturday morning men’s group will soon be starting a new study in the book of James.  Now would be a good time to decide to be a part of the group!

 

Husbands and Wives, is your marriage in need of a tune-up?  The Family Life Weekend to Remember is an excellent opportunity for you to get away with your spouse and work on this very important relationship.  It is coming to Portland November 18-20, and through this weekend they have a Buy One, Get One free offer!  So if you register one of you, your spouse is registered free.  For more info and to register, click here: 

 

Looking forward to a great weekend with you!

 

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael

 

(1 Samuel 18:1)

 

Do you have a friend like that?  Do you have a prayer partner whom you can share anything with?  I love this description of the loving friendship experienced by Jonathan and David.  There was genuine selflessness and caring between them.  If you don’t have someone like that in your life, I pray you will soon!  In fact, I appreciate this verse so much it found it’s way into my sermon notes for this week!  You’ll have to come Sunday to find out how!

 

Before I begin a new in-depth study of the book of Colossians (starting Sept. 18), I will be speaking this Sunday on “Pray for Me”, the campaign we’ve been promoting to get adults in our church to pray for the youth, children, and families of the church.  I want to urge you strongly to join in as a Prayer Champion, and if you have youth and/or children, to have them be a part of it.  You can see more info at

.

 

Please spend some time meditating on Luke 2:52 and 1 Timothy 4:12 as these two passages will form the backdrop for the message.

 

After the service, there will be a light lunch and opportunity to match up adults (pray-ers) with youth and children (pray-ees).  Please stick around and join us!

 

  Make sure you get your kiddos signed up for this outstanding ministry.  Please pray for the Awana ministry and for the children and leaders for this upcoming year.

 

I want to thank the church for the blessing of allowing me time away with family.  We had some refreshing and enjoyable times together.  I’m so thankful for Pastor Justin filling the pulpit so admirably.  What a blessing he has already been to FBC!

 

May the Lord bless you with His love and peace today and always!

 

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael

Dear family,

 

I was reminded this morning that I’ve been asking you all you memorize Joshua 22:5.  I was

reminded,

because I haven’t been doing a very good job myself.  I must ask forgiveness, I fell short on what I asked you to do. So for those of us who haven’t yet memorized it, let’s rise to the challenge today.  That meant for me, this afternoon I wanted to be intentional to make sure I had it memorized. I also wanted to share with you the context this verse comes from.

 

Joshua was thanking the Reubenites, Gadites and the half-tribe of Manasseh who came from the east side of the Jordan river and helped their brothers conquer the west side of the Jordan river.  In verse 2 Joshua commends them for keeping all the Lord’s commands.  In verse 3 he tells them they have been careful to “keep the charge of the Lord your God.”  So then in verse 4 he releases them to return home to their families.  And this is where we find ourselves

with

verse 5.  I found it very challenging that Joshua doesn’t let them off the hook.  These people have followed God, obeyed his commands, helped their brethren; but we don’t see Joshua say, good job, go home, relax, and take it easy.  No, instead he starts verse 5 with “Only be very careful to observe the commandment…”  He reminds them that they have been faithful, but now that the tough stuff is over, to still be careful to remain faithful.  It’s easy for us to lose focus on the Lord’s commands when we have everything we need and we’re settled in peace.  It’s in those moments we need to be very careful to continue to observe all that God has commanded us.

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