by Pastor Rick | Dec 23, 2024 | Click Date to Respond
Good morning MABC family and friends,
It case you missed it and weren’t paying attention, the Advent calendar says only two more days until Christmas! Tomorrow night is Christmas Eve and we will be worshipping together at 5:00 pm. We will sing together, pray together, share in the communion together and praise the Lord Jesus together. Hope you can make it! Don’t forget to check the card box in the foyer. As we close our first year together, I want to thank you for your faithfulness to attend worship services on Sundays. Now, I know that church attendance doesn’t make you any holier or get you into heaven, but it does show me a level of commitment to your faith. The Bible urges us not to forsake meeting together (Hebrews 10:25). Your faithful attendance attests to your desire for community which is one of the greatest benefits of being in a church body.
One of the great debates out there is whether or not being religious has any effect on mental health such as depression. I came across an interesting study being discussed on NPR’s Hidden Brain radio program. One of the thoughts being discussed was this idea that church attendance leads to better mental health. The hypothesis put forward was that it wasn’t church attendance itself that made a difference but family. Families considered more stable tend to be church going families. So is it the stable family and not church attendance? My thought was maybe the family is more stable because they are faithful church attenders! One of the researchers finally alluded to that and that was the conundrum. How do you sort that out?
One of the things they did then was to study students 13-18 years of age and their classmates. This took the family aspect out of it. Did they have friends who tended to be religious or more friends who were not? How did that effect the student’s mental health? The interview I read didn’t provide any of the details of the methodology or data but it did come up with one very important find:
When we look at the most depressed individuals, what we find
is that increasing religiosity by one standard deviation – which is
going from not going to church at all to attending church once a
week – decreases the probability of being at risk for moderate to
severe depression by as much as 20%.
Jane Fruehwirth, Economist, University of North Carolina.
God knew this years and years ago when he led the author of Hebrews to encourage the readers to gather together. If attending church once a week made a significant difference in the mental health of the students studied can you imagine what two times per week would do? Or maybe even three? I know that at one of those points the decrease would not be as great and it would level out but what is that number? P.S., as a former wellness instructor at the college level I know there are some studies that show that regular attenders are also healthier physically!
Thank you all for being regular attenders and a part of the MABC family. Continue to pray for and encourage one another as look to 2025!
Merry Christmas!
P.R.
by Pastor Rick | Dec 16, 2024 | Click Date to Respond
What a beautiful weekend! And what a great start to the week! By Friday the temps will take a dip though. Look at the temperatures forecasted for the next week beginning today:
57 – 57 – 44 – 56 – 40 – 46 – 48 – 52
I don’t know about you but that seems to the pattern of life doesn’t it? Up and down, highs and lows, good times followed by some harder times. It is a good reminder to me that God has never promised an easy life. Our life will be marked by times when things seem to be going well and then a mild “cold front” moves in and we experience a little hiccup in life, a minor setback. It could be that a huge “cold front” moves in and the temperature plummets drastically. Have you ever just been going along with everything seeming to be hunky-dory and then…BAM! It seems like the storm of all storms hits. We may feel lost and even hopeless.
It is in those times when the angel’s words to the shepherds in the fields surrounding Bethlehem ring true the most. “Do not be afraid!” We are to trust in the Lord but sometimes we are trusting for the wrong things. We are trusting in him to take care of our financial needs…our health needs…our relational needs. Know that God will meet your needs but on that night in Bethlehem God took care of your greatest need – the forgiveness of sin once and for all so that you might have eternal life in Heaven where it will always be perfect weather. No matter what earthly needs the Lord takes care of here on earth, there will always be another need…another problem…another heartbreak. We are not afraid because we know that these issues are only temporal. God has taken care of the biggie!
Don’t be afraid! Psalm 23 says the Shepherd will lead you to greener pastures and still water but you will walk in difficult places at times (the valley of the shadow of death). Don’t fear for he goes with you…his rod and his staff comfort you. He doesn’t say I will meet you over there…HE IS WITH YOU! That’s good news! Jesus promised to be with us when he gave us the difficult task of the Great Commission. He knew it wasn’t going to be easy.
Some of you are in a tough season. Maybe you are caught in the middle of a couple of fronts. When those fronts meet up we often have great storms. Yet, even the most severe storms pass and the sun comes out again. And it will be so with life. But the Son will shine on us…do not be afraid…He is with you.
P.R.
by Pastor Rick | Dec 9, 2024 | Click Date to Respond
Hey MABC family & friends!
If you didn’t make it last night to the Christmas program…you missed it! And when I say “it” you missed the story of a young girl who didn’t believe in Jesus, the virgin birth…you know, the whole Christmas thing. As she was led through the biblical account of Jesus’ birth, she slowly began to see the “light!” You know, the light we have been talking about the past couple of Sundays in worship. Please check out the MABC Video Live Stream on YouTube.
The truth is there are a lot of people celebrating Christmas this year who don’t believe in Jesus or at least don’t have the right relationship with Jesus. While a recent Lifeway Research study found most Americans (72%) say Christmas celebrates a historical event, many aren’t sure exactly why Jesus came to earth. Another study finds only 22% of Americans believe they can retell the entire biblical Christmas story accurately. If they are not sure why Jesus came to earth, I doubt they can have a right relationship with him. Maybe, just maybe, they need to attend a worship service this year so they can begin to hear why Jesus came to earth! Maybe, just maybe, they need a personal invitation to attend that worship service. Maybe, just maybe, that personal invitation comes from you. You have two Sundays left before Christmas and a Christmas Eve service. Would you ask the Holy Spirit to reveal to you someone that you know, may encounter, cross paths with who needs a personal invite to worship? If you are intentional about it…pray earnestly about it…I am sure that someone will be brought to mind.
If you are a Facebook person, would you please do me and our church family a favor? First of all, like our Facebook page. The more likes we get the better exposure we get on Facebook. Two, share our posts with your friends and family. Again, our message has a greater reach when it is shared. I am not just talking about getting people in the doors but maybe a Monday morning recap of the sermon strikes a chord with someone and compels them to seek out Jesus like the shepherds did. I just posted about our Christmas program from last night. Share that with your friends and family. Do you know if any of your “Facebook friends” are like the little girl in our program…they just don’t quite believe? You can participate in sharing our desire to be a “neighborhood church’ and resource by sharing our “Parents Day Out” event and post so that the word can spread about that little church in the Delano District doing something cool! Who knows, just maybe, a child from a family who doesn’t go to church will show up and hear something about Jesus? Maybe, just maybe, that child shares what they heard about Jesus with their family? Maybe, just maybe, they make their way to a church between then and Christmas. Any church…as long as they find one!
Don’t forget to pick up some invite cards and share them. I know you will be out and about over the next couple of weeks. Share a card with someone whether it is the Advent series card or the MABC card. The good thing about the MABC card is that they can scan the QR code and hear the gospel. Maybe, just maybe, they seek out a church family to learn more about Jesus and Heaven will rejoice.
I am working from home today. Having some hardware issues and data retrieval I am working through. Don’t forget our Christmas night with AWANA and youth group tonight. Going to be a blast!
Pastor Rick
by Pastor Rick | Dec 3, 2024 | Click Date to Respond
Good Monday morning MABC family,
Let me begin this morning by sharing a couple of sentences from Les’ MABC Update email this morning.
The most perfect gift is the sharing of Christ. The second most perfect gift is the giving of oneself because of Christ.
These are very important aspects in the life of the follower of Christ. If Jesus is the model we are trying to fashion our lives after, then we must center our lives around these two statements. If we dare to call ourselves “Christians” then we are saying that we are ‘little Christs. This word was originally used as a jeer or a derogatory term, implying that those who were trying to follow Jesus were lesser versions of him. The early followers of Jesus were simply called “The Way” because they were living a life that was radically different than the rest of the world. The Way emphasized loving and caring for others. That was what Jesus had called them to do.
This week let’s look at the first statement…The most perfect gift is the sharing of Christ. Our mission statement begins with that very thought:
Our Mission: To Make Disciples.
The two bible verses used to substantiate that are 1 Timothy 2:3-4 and Matthew 28:19-20.
Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. Matt. 28:19-20 NLT
This is good and pleases God our Savior, who wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth. 1 Tim. 2:3-4 NLT
Notice the action associated with each verse. “Go” in the Matthew passage, known as the Great Commission, means “as you go about your day.” When you go to the doctor’s office, when you go grocery shopping, when you go out to eat…when you go anywhere! Do you look for ways to strike up conversations about your faith? Do you ask people you encounter if there is anything that you can be praying for in their lives? Christmas gives you all sorts of entry points into faith based conversations if you are willing. Are you willing is the big question.
Also, take note that the discipleship aspect comes after the action portion of each verse. Make disciples means to teach them about the new found faith they just discovered because you shared the Gospel with them.
Remember Jesus’ words in Luke 19:10…
For the Son of Man came to seek and save those who are lost Luke 19:10 NLT
This Christmas, let us seek (go after) those who need the hope of Jesus in their lives. After all, this is the season of hope.
P.R.
by Pastor Rick | Nov 25, 2024 | Click Date to Respond
Good morning MABC family,
We are embarking on one of two greatest seasons in the year for followers of Jesus. No, football season is not one of them! The two seasons are Advent and Easter. Again, those are the two times of the year that people are open to an invitation to join you in a worship service. Who are the people around you that don’t belong to a church family? Who are the people around you that aren’t followers of Jesus? Who are the people around you that say they are Christians but don’t participate in church life? Those are the people each of us need to build relationships with so that we can encourage them to think about their relationship with Jesus or lack of a relationship with Jesus.
Last week I mentioned our aging population. I hope you didn’t take too much offense to that statement! The fact is that Sherry and I, as retirees and AARP eligible citizens are in that population. Sometimes I fight it hard but the aging process always seems to come out just slightly ahead. And so it will be with Meridian Avenue Baptist Church. Unless we reach the next generation the honest truth is that one day we will age out. We all need to be conscious of the future because God was concerned about the next generation…and the next…and the next. Psalm 78:5-6 tells us it is our responsibility to make sure the next generation knows the Lord…even those who are not yet born.
If we consider yesterday’s message about being thankful for our church family, then this family has a responsibility to make sure the next generation learns about the Lord. We need to think about the next generation and help them to become disciples that make more disciples. And we must understand that we may not be here to see it but that shouldn’t matter. Scripture says that the next generation – even those not yet born – are our responsibility. The generation of those born between 2000 and 2015 – from 9 yrs. to 24 yrs. old today – are said to be the largest demographic group in the world today. And also the largest generation to turn from the church and organized religion as well as the largest demographic proclaiming no religious affiliation. The Kingdom Church has a lot of work to do.
Barna Research has revealed some interesting statistics regarding our evangelistic efforts. Once a person reaches adulthood, accepting Christ becomes increasingly rare. Evangelism is most effective in the childhood and teenage years. Two-thirds (2/3) of Christians came to faith before the age of 18. Less than one-fourth (1/4) of current believers came to Christ after the age 21. Less than 5% of those who identify as Christians made that decision after age 30.
Are we, as MABC, prepared and willing to do whatever it takes – short of sin – to reach the next generation of people? Are we willing to sacrifice some of our comfort, our likes and even our traditions to reach those in the next generation? Or will we be content to be the generation that closes shuts the doors for the last time. We have some new people attending who have gone through that in the past year. Visit with them if you get the chance and ask them what that was like. I will be doing so as well because that is not the legacy I want to leave behind.
Have a great week and may your Thanksgiving be one of many blessings.
Pastor Rick
