Hi FBC Friends!
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. (Romans 1:8-10)
I believe that the most important thing I can do for you is to pray for you. That, along with faithfully teaching and preaching the Word of God, is my primary purpose. I am trying to faithfully pray for you by name each week. It is helpful when you put prayer requests on your cards on Sundays. And you can also call or email with prayer needs. But I also pray regular for God to be at work in your life, for you to grow spiritually, and I thank Him for you. I am grateful to God for you, and praying for your growth in the faith!
This Sunday I will be preaching on Revelation 4:1-11, “An Open Door to Heaven”. This is one of the most profound passages in all the Bible describing the worship of Almighty God in Heaven. Worship is a 7-days-a-week activity for followers of Jesus Christ, not a Sunday-only event! In order to truly benefit from the corporate expression of worship on Sundays, we each must be worshiping the Lord privately throughout the week. We worship by spending time with Him listening to His Word. We worship by praying to Him – Adoring Him, Confessing our sins, Thanking Him, and presenting our “Supplications” (requests) to Him. We worship by the way we live our lives to His honor and glory. We worship by serving “the least of these.” Please read the passage in Revelation before Sunday, asking God to open your eyes to the glorious throne room scene. And begin now to prepare your heart for a wonderful time of corporate worship on Sunday. The order of service will be a bit different: we will sing, pray, hear part of the sermon; sing again, hear another part of the sermon; sing some more, hear the last part of the sermon; then sing again, then receive the offering while watching a worship-full video. (The kids will still be dismissed about mid-way through the service so they can go to Junior Church and Children’s Church.) Come prepared to worship our great God before His throne!
Remember that next Sunday is a baby shower for Lora and little Ezra.
March 1 will be a baptism service. Let me know if you want to participate!
The Awana “Section-a-Thon” has kicked off. Consider a generous pledge for our clubbers who are raising money for Awana in Haiti.
We have 4 men going to Haiti this spring. Consider a donation for rice and beans to help the people of Terre Blanche who have experienced crop failures.
A great opportunity for service – We are looking for a coordinator for the nursery, to schedule the nursery workers for Sunday services! Contact Laura Stoneberg or Elizabeth Beach for more info.
(All these items are in the bulletin this week with more detail. Please make sure to read it!)
Thanking God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because of your faith!
Love From Your Pastor,
Michael