Hi Friends!
Today’s daily reading in Philippians includes one of the greatest passages on “Christology” found in the Bible! If you haven’t already, take a moment to read Phil 2:5-11. What an amazing God-Man! What an incredible Servant-Savior! I especially found myself wanting to meditate on verse 8:
And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
May we keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. May we follow His example of humility. May we take up our cross and follow Him.
This Sunday we will continue our series in Galatians by looking at 1:11-24. It’s a little longer passage than the first two messages, so please take some time to read it before you come Sunday! We will look at Paul’s defense of his apostleship, which is essentially him sharing the personal transformation that happened in his life as a result of his encounter with the risen Lord. I will be asking you to consider your testimony. What was your life like before you met Christ? How did you come to know Him (or be known BY Him)? What has happened in your life since your initial salvation? Every Christian needs to be able to articulate the story of our faith.
A few things to remind you of:
1. Tim Watson will be here for Facilitator Training May 3-5. Luanne Bagley has asked that you let her know by this Sunday if you’d like to be on the list to attend.
2. April 17th is the monthly get-together for the 55+ crowd (Christian Adventurers) at 12pm. I will be showing pictures and sharing some of my thoughts from the trip to Haiti I took in March. So… if you’d like to see & hear about the trip, I’m sure nobody would mind if you come that day (even if you’re under 55)!
3. April 21st is Elizabeth Beach’s 40th Birthday! We will do a simple potluck, along with cake and ice cream, following the morning service. She does not need any gifts. But if you’d like to bless her perhaps a card or a note with a list of a few things you appreciate about her!
4. April 26-28 is our FBC Missions Conference! It will take place Friday night beginning at 6pm, Saturday from 9am — Noon, and Sunday morning during Sunday School and the Morning Worship. Our theme is “Developing a Great Commission Heart.” Missions is not just for the “super-saints”, it is for ALL Christians! There is a flyer in this Sunday’s bulletin with more details. We will need you to sign up on the sheet that is in the foyer (on the missions table) to let us know how many are planning to come Friday night, Saturday morning, or both, so we can arrange for the food. I want to strongly encourage everyone to be a part of as much of this great weekend as possible. We will be joined at this conference by many of our FBC-supported missionaries, including: Tony Villanueva (CEF), Joe & Linda Markee (Haiti), Tim and Joy Watson (Germany/Russia), Paul & Sheila Gunderson (formerly Indonesia), Sam & Wanda Miller (Brazil), Beth Arends (OSU Internationals), and Gary & Barbara Bauman (Japan). Also David & Hillary Ker, relatives of Roger Ruckert who are working on literacy in Mozambique. This will be a wonderful opportunity for us to get to know these brothers and sisters better, learn more about their ministries, and learn how we can be more helpful to them in their mission. Please plan to be here! We will also be taking a Special Offering for World Missions on Sunday the 28th. Please be in prayer about how much the Lord would want you to contribute. A generous, sacrificial gift would be a great blessing, as we have some missionaries who are badly underfunded, and a project or two that the Global Outreach Commission could contribute towards.
These are busy days for FBC! More importantly, let’s pray that they will be faith-growing days for each of us!
Love From Your Pastor,
Michael