Hello FBC!
As I read God’s Word this morning, two key words continually popped up (almost slapping me with the force of the repetition!). Righteousness and Faithfulness. I saw righteousness 5 times, and faithfulness 5 times. And I may have missed some others. I want to encourage you to get out your Bible and look at the following verses, paying special attention for those two words:
Psalm 89:1, 2, 5, 8, 14
Proverbs 11:5, 6
Philippians 3:7-11
Did you look them up? Why not? Go do it! …. OK, now, what did you think?
God’s faithfulness is something that makes us want to sing! It makes us want to proclaim it to the next generation! It makes us stand in awe of His might! It proceeds God everywhere He goes! His righteousness is part of the foundation of His throne! When we walk in it we keep on the straight and narrow path! It is not from our own efforts of keeping the law, but it is His – and we get it placed in our account by faith! (Sorry for all the exclamation points, but these things get me excited.) These verses remind me of the great hymn, “Great is Thy Faithfulness!” What a wonderful song to fill your thoughts today. It also reminds me of a newer worship song called “Holiness (Take My Life)” which includes the verses: “Faithfulness, faithfulness is what I long for. Faithfulness is what I need. Faithfulness, faithfulness is what You want from me,” and “Righteousness, righteousness is what I long for. Righteousness is what I need. Righteousness, righteousness is what You want from me,” and the chorus says, “So take my heart, and form it. Take my mind; transform it. Take my will; conform it to Yours, to Yours, O Lord!” Amen!
Now to some important upcoming events:
Saturday: Men’s breakfast at 7am. Guys – don’t miss this! Invite a friend and come enjoy. Bring your sons. I can just about guarantee that the food is going to be great! And we have a special speaker that day, but it’s a surprise who it is. So you’ll have to come to find out. See you Saturday!
SUNDAY: 9am Sunday School – We have been close to or right at 100 for a number of weeks! If you haven’t tried out our classes yet, why not come and check it out this week? And especially if you have kids, bring them to this very important opportunity for growth in the Word of God!
10:30 Worship. I am fully expecting this Sunday to be powerful! We will hear a testimony from one of our own that is sure to bless you. We will share in Communion together. Of course we will sing songs of worship to our great God and King! And we will continue our journey through Hosea with a message from chapter 6, verses 1-10. If you come prepared having read that ahead of time, I think you will be better prepared to hear what the Lord would have for you. We will be discussing the idea that repentance can’t be in words only, or performing certain rituals. It really needs to be a change of heart that bears the fruit of repentance.
5:30pm Evening Care Group – This Sunday will be a tremendous opportunity to hear some more testimonies of what God is doing in people’s lives. Everyone is invited. And perhaps the Lord has given you reason to stand and share your heart. There will also be a time of worship in song to correspond to the testimonies.
October 31: We are only 20 days away from our “Trunk or Treat” event! What a great way to be a blessing to the families in our community. Kids will come and enjoy the creatively decorated cars, trucks, motorcycles, etc., etc. while also getting their bags filled with candy! That is, if we all continue bringing in the candy! I was shocked to see the girls box starting to overflow last week, in spite of the fact that so many were away at women’s retreat! Guys – this is our week to catch up! It’s all going to a good cause. We have also had a number of you sign up to bring hot dogs, buns, cookies, etc. Thank you! But there are still a number of blanks on our sign up sheets, so please consider helping out and sign up on the sheets in the foyer. Most importantly, please be praying diligently for the effectiveness on this outreach!
I think that’s all for now. Looking forward to seeing our Lord continue His work in our church in the days ahead!
Love from your pastor,
Michael