Good Afternoon FBC Friends!
PRAISE THE LORD! And, THANK YOU! Last Sunday may go down as one of our “memorial stones” (Josh. 4:7) moments at FBC Brownsville. After much prayer, and through the generous and sacrificial giving of many people, we had a special offering for the Christian Education classrooms of $44,169.90! Add that to the $20,000 that had already come in towards the end of 2012, and the over $200,000 already in the fund, and we are over $268,000 and ready to move forward with this next phase of expansion! We have much to rejoice over, much to be thankful for, and much responsibility to be good stewards of what God has blessed us with! PRAISE THE LORD! Please be praying for this next stage in the days ahead. Also be praying about ways in which you may be able to help with some of the work in the coming months.
In today’s New Testament reading, we are in Matthew 13. Jesus of course is the master teacher. His parables are rich with truth. Sometimes they take quite a bit of thought to grasp what He means. Even His own disciples often had trouble understanding. Thankfully, He sometimes explained very clearly what the parable meant. In the beginning of the chapter He told the parable of the sower. I’d encourage you to read that today even if you’re not following the reading calendar. In verses 18-23, He spells out what the different soils in the story mean. There’s the seed sown along the path, which gets snatched by the evil one. There’s the seed sown on rocky ground, that falls away when hard times hit because it has no root. There’s the seed sown among thorns, that ends up unfruitful because of the cares of the world. And then there’s the seed sown on good soil, that bears much fruit because of hearing the Word of God and understanding it. That good soil is what we are praying for in our ministry! Our goal is to make fruit-bearing disciples who have deep roots and will stand the test of time! Will you pray for our children, our young believers, and our brand new believers, that they will prove to be the seed sown in the good soil?
MEN: This Saturday is our monthly BREAKFAST at 7am – don’t miss it! Invite a friend and come enjoy a meaningful time with other guys trying to follow the Lord together. We will also be blessed to hear from Aaron Savage, our local Youth for Christ missionary.
This Sunday I will be sharing the 2nd of 3 messages on EXALT. We will be in Psalm 50, with a sermon called “Glorify.” As usual, I urge you to read the passage ahead of time, prayerfully, asking God to speak to you through His Word. Also, be thinking about how you will prepare yourself to come into the presence of our Mighty God this Sunday. As I said last Sunday, every day of the week should be a time of preparation for worship. But please consider allowing Saturday evening to be a specific time of getting ready for the next day’s worship service. Read the Scripture. Pray. Let go of your cares and worries. Get to bed on time. Let’s together seek to grow as people who wholeheartedly exalt the Lord’s name!
One special item I’d also like to have you consider if you are able: A FREE Missions Conference in Vancouver, WA January 18-19. The speakers, which include Ravi Zacharias, look like they will be incredible. You may want to go both days, or just Friday night, or just Saturday. I know you’ll be blessed. The theme this year is “No Reserves. No Retreats. No Regrets.” For more info go to www.missionconnexion.com. There are a few people already planning on going, so if you are interested in carpooling, let me know.
Friends, I am so excited about our future here at First Baptist Church! I consider myself the most blessed pastor in the world to be able to serve with you here in Brownsville.
Love From Your Pastor,
Michael