First Baptist Church of Brownsville, Oregon

Hello FBC!

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Romans 6:14)

“The gospel message calls believers to humble defiance of sin’s claim to ‘reign’ in our physical bodies and everyday lives (Rom. 6:12).  Because believers ‘have been brought from death to life’ (6:13), we can ‘present’ ourselves and every part of our bodies to God.  Eyes, ears, hands, feet, voices, minds – our entire bodies, once ravaged by sin (3:13-18), become tools ‘for righteousness.’  Sin’s ‘dominion’ is broken.  The law’s tyranny ended in Jesus’ death.  We do not groan under law, leading to sin; we are ‘under grace,’ which ushers us into God’s ‘dominion’ (6:14) – His own goodness and fullness.  We become fully human again as intended at creation, before the effects of Adam’s fall dimished us.” (Gospel Transformation Bible)

This Sunday we will continue our short series, PHILEMON: Reconciled!  We will be looking at verses 8-16 of Philemon in a message entitled, “Once a Slave, Now a Brother.”  This is a powerful letter, full of important truths for our Christian lives!  Please read Philemon again before Sunday, and pray for the Lord to be speaking to us through His awesome Word.

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Hello FBC!

Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. (Romans 1:24-25)

Today in the One Year Bible we read Romans 1:18-32, which is a powerful, yet disturbing passage.  Speaking of this passage, the Gospel Transformation Bible says, “The gospel gains urgency in the light of God’s verdict on humanity.  Transgression gives rise to divine wrath (v. 18).  Examples of transgression are ingratitude (v. 21) and idolatry (v. 23).  Homosexual behavior is also depicted as odious in God’s sight (v. 26-27).  None of us is innocent of a number of the sins described (see v. 28-31).  Even if we do not practice every sinful deed found here, we may secretly approve and even envy when others cross God’s moral boundaries.  We thereby fail to love God (because we break His commandments) and to love our neighbor (because we support our neighbors in their folly).  The outcome is judgment.

     Behind the good news of the gospel lies the tough news that all people are implicated in acts and attitudes that God has promised to punish unless His means of grace are embraced.  The gospel is the antidote, for through trust in Christ comes ‘the obedience of faith,’ believing as God requires.  Our lives grow in the richness of knowing and being known by Christ.”

A few important things to point out for this weekend:

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Hello FBC!

He has not dealt thus with any other nation; they do not know His rules. Praise the LORD! (Psalm 147:20)

“There are innumerable reasons why it is both right and good to praise the Lord.  Psalm 147 alternates between two broad categories of the praise of God.  On the one hand, the God of Israel is the one true God who has made and who rules the heavens and the earth.  To pick out one sample statement, He determines the number of the stars; He gives to all of them their names (v. 4).  The vastness and scope of the galaxies and starry hosts of the universe are the result of God’s planning, design, and determined will, and His naming all the stars (there are 100 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy alone!) indicates His rightful jurisdiction over them all.  On the other hand, this same God, the Creator and providential Ruler of all, is also the God of His own people, Israel.  Again, to pick out one poignant statement: He has not dealt thus (good and gracious, providing and protecting) with any other nation; they do not know His rules (v. 20).  Indeed, how kind God was to give this people, the people of His choosing, His word, His law, His rules that are a reflection of His character and care, in that God’s commands outline a safe and good path for God’s people (cf. Psalm 19:7-11; Psalm 119).

     These, then, are some of the reasons why God should be praised and why His people should be thrilled, awe-struck, and amazed, that they are His people and He is their God.  What a God this is!  What a privilege to be the people of God, ultimately the very body of Christ!  The one true and living God, the Creator and Ruler of all, is our God.  Praise be to the Lord!” (Gospel Transformation Bible)

Men, I want to tell you about a few great opportunites coming up:

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Hello FBC!

She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” (2 Kings 4:7)

The miracles we read about in 2 Kings 4 today are fascinating and have some great implications.  Once again I love how my Gospel Transformation Bible puts it:  “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.  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!

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I was driving back to the church this afternoon, I heard an excellent and convicting message on James 4 about how we speak.  The men’s group on Saturday mornings has been going through James, so I thought it was timely.  If any of you enjoy listening to good messages, here’s a link to the one I heard today:  http://www.growingthrugrace.com/RadioBroadcastArchive.aspx

Grace be with you!

Michael

Hello FBC Friends!

Behold, how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell in unity! (Psalm 133:1)

It was interesting that this was our reading in the psalms in the One Year Bible today.  In the blurb in The Times (Brownsville’s weekly paper) about the community-wide church service during Pioneer Picnic this Sunday, the last words were these same words from Psalm 133:1.

I appreciated these comments I read today about Psalm 133:  “The unity of God’s people has been, and continues to be, a sign of God’s rich blessing.  Here the psalmist reflects on those who are bound together in the worship of Yahweh at the temple, and he revels in their union in faith and practice as the true people of God… Spiritual and physical blessings are both good gifts from God above, and those who see God’s hand at work in both ways unite in their common praise of their gracious God.  As believers on this side of the cross, our minds are naturally brought to the unity we have in Christ (John 17:21-23).  The basis of our unity is even greater now that the fulfillment of those priestly laws has come, and the true Mediator of God’s people with their heavenly Father intercedes for us.  If there was beauty in the unity of God’s people at the temple, how much more is the glory of our union shown as we, in Christ, display our devotion and love for Him.” (Gospel Transformation Bible)

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Hello FBC Friends!

A worthless man plots evil, and his speech is like a scorching fire. (Proverbs 16:27)

This verse is somewhat startling!  And yet so true.  I’ve been thinking about how easily our words can do tremendous damage.  Sometimes without trying to, meaning anything, or even noticing, we can say things that cause damage.  It’s so easy to do, yet we must be diligent to prevent it.  Remember the Smokie the Bear commercials?  “Only YOU can prevent forest fires!”  We need to pray for the Lord to rein in our tongues!  James dealt with the same thing:  And the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.  The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell (James 3:6).  Wow!  Instead, let’s use our speech for uplifting others, for putting out fires instead of starting them, for giving glory to God.  Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. (Ephesians 4:29)

This week I will be continuing our series, “Dollar$ & $ense” with a message about work.  Our memory verse is Colossians 3:23-24 — Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward.  You are serving the Lord Christ. (ESV)

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Hello FBC!

But these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:31)

John tells us near the end of his gospel account that Jesus did many other signs besides what he had written.  Which is pretty amazing because John wrote about so many things that Jesus did and said!  But apparently there were many other things.  John affirms here that what he did write, he wrote for a purpose: so that his readers would believe that Jesus is the Christ (the Messiah), the Son of God, and that by believing they might have life in His name.  The gospel of John in the gospel of belief.  John is passionate that all people would believe the truth about who Jesus is and what Jesus said.  Do you believe?  Are you allowing that belief to transform how you live and think?

This Sunday we’ll be reminded about another key truth from John’s gospel: that God so loved the world that He gave His only Son (3:16).  We’ll be talking about how blessed it is for us to be givers.  But our ability to be givers only manifests itself because of the greatest Giver of all – God Himself!

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Happy Friday FBC!

When I think of Your rules from of old, I take comfort, O LORD. (Psalm 119:52)

The 119th Psalm is the longest chapter in the Bible.  Thankfully, the One Year Bible breaks it up into a number of days!  What an amazing testimony of the glorious truth found in God’s Word.  David expresses many emotions that come through the reading, studying, and obeying His commands in Scripture.  He talks about them being his “delight.”  In the above verse, he says thinking about God’s rules causes him to take “comfort.”  Do you delight in God’s Word?  Does thinking on it bring you comfort?  I hope so!

This Sunday I will be speaking on “God’s Absolute Standard,” dealing with honesty in our financial dealings (and all of life).  Our memory verse for this Sunday is Leviticus 19:11

“You shall not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another.”

This past week we had a meeting to begin preparations for VBS, which will be here at FBC July 31 – Aug. 4.  If you missed it, but would like to help, please contact Pastor Justin or Lynsey Hostetter.  Lynsey is planning on a BRIEF meeting immediately following the worship service this Sunday, so please be ready to stay and see how you can help!

Happy Memorial Day! As we enjoy the beautiful weather, and perhaps opportunities to enjoy fellowship with friends and family, let’s remember to be grateful for those who gave their lives so that we can enjoy the freedoms we do.  And thank you to all active military and veterans for serving our great country.  God Bless You

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael

Hello FBC Friends!

And Jonathan, Saul’s son, rose and went to David at Horesh, and strengthened his hand in God. (1 Samuel 23:16)

Something I read in a comment on the above verse this morning intrigued me, especially in light of the fact that I will be speaking about seeking counsel this Sunday:

“A true friend does not minimize or make light of the sorrow or difficulty another may be experiencing but, rather, helps the other find strength in God.  Jonathan’s encouragement of David in the present circumstances, ‘strengthening his hand in God,’ helps prepare him for a later dire situation, where David will again find strength in God (1 Sam. 30:6).  ‘The sweetness of a friend comes from his earnest counsel‘ (Prov. 27:9).”

The writer of this commentary continues, talking about both verses 16-17 of 1 Sam. 23:  “In the present episode, Jonathan encourages David by reminding him of God’s purpose to make David king.  How much grander is the Christian hope: ‘We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain, where Jesus has gone as a forerunner on our behalf’ (Heb. 6:19-20).  The calling of all Christians is to ‘encourage one another and build one another up’ (1 Thes. 5:11).  Yet we do this ultimately because we ourselves have been befriended by God Himself in the person of Jesus.  In Jesus we have a Friend, the Great Friend, the Friend of Sinners (Luke 7:34).  ‘No longer do I call you servants… but I have called you friends’ (John 15:15).” (Gospel Transformation Bible)

The sermon this week is called, “Be a Wise Guy (or Girl)”. We will be looking at the importance of seeking counsel, especially when it comes to finances.  Our memory verse is short this week!

“The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.” (Proverbs 12:15)  Let’s be ready to recite that together this Sunday!

Here are a number of other important things I wanted to share with you today:

• Saturday at 7am is our Men’s Breakfast in the fellowship hall.  Let’s come together and strengthen one another’s hand in God!  Following the breakfast there is a work day scheduled up at our FBC cemetery.
• Please pray for Judy C and Rosemary as they conclude their time in Senegal this week.  They are scheduled to return home this weekend.
• Thank you for praying for Lisa Goracke as she had hip surgery this week.  She is now home and recovering, and the doctor says the surgery went well.  
• Please pray for Jared and Myriah Lemerande and their baby (Eva) who is only 25 weeks along.  Myriah is in Riverbend hospital with pre-term labor right now.
• Fred & Loraine Anderson are celebrating their 50th wedding anniversary Saturday from 2-5pm.  Contact the Anderson’s if you’d like to attend and don’t know where it is.  An invitation is on the bulletin board in the church foyer.
• The youth are doing their progressive dinner activity this Saturday. Those youth who have signed up need to meet at FBC at 3:30pm Saturday.  Thank you to everyone hosting them!
• The Awana Awards Night and Barbecue is this Sunday night at the church beginning at 5pm!  Join us for a great celebration of all that’s been accomplished this year.
• Caleb is turning 16 on Sunday! (Yikes!)
• There is a Vacation Bible School helpers meeting next Tuesday at 7pm at FBC.  Make sure to be there if you’d like to help with VBS this summer! Contact Lynsey Hostetter for more info.
• Next Wednesday, May 24, is WorldVenture’s (the world missions of Conservative Baptists) Global Prayer Day. https://www.worldventure.com/prayerday/ 

Looking forward to an event-filled weekend together as we strengthen one another in our walk with Christ!

Love From Your Pastor,

Michael