Couple of things to remind you about. One, don’t forget the missionary coming tomorrow evening to MABC. She will be speaking about 6:15 pm in the Fellowship Hall. It’s always great to hear from those we support through the ABC. Bible study this Wednesday is bumped up a little bit. Steve has moved praise team practice up 30 minutes to allow us to start earlier. We will show the video on campus at 7:00 and then at 7:15 we will start Facebook live for the discussion. I will be trying something a little different for this week’s lesson to see if we can make it more engaging. We will keep trying until we get it right. Email me if you need the link to the video source (PastorMABC@outlook.com). There is one more upcoming mission reporting session that I want to get the word out well enough in advance for you to get it on your calendar. On February 4 th , Gordon and Lee Ann Hwang, ABC Missionaries to India, will be sharing at Prairie Homestead Vespers. Time for that is 3:00 pm.
Today we tackled a tough topic – sin. More importantly, being aware of our own sin. Unless we fully recognize the gravity of sin it is hard to fully comprehend the magnitude of God’s grace. German minister Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about cheap grace in his book The Cost of Discipleship. “Cheap grace”; he said, is “the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline. Communion without confession. Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ”; When we fail to acknowledge the magnitude of sin, we cheapen the grace offered to us through Jesus Christ’s death. The Romans devised crucifixion to be painful and excruciating. It was to be an example of what happened when you crossed the Romans. Prior to being hung on a cross, Jesus was beaten so badly, disfigured beyond recognition (Isa. 52:14). Jesus endured great pain and anguish because of my sin, your sin and the sin of the world. Let’s never take that for granted. “Repent” John the Baptist exclaimed as he readied the world for the coming of his cousin, the Messiah, Jesus. What have you done that you need to repent of today?
Next week, we get a great look at what happens as we become active participants in revival, helping others to experience and awakening. One of two things will happen and we will follow the adventures of Paul and Silas as they set out in obedience to Jesus’ Great Commission. What will it take for us to be active participants in the next Awakening? I will share one aspect with you right now because we have talked about it previously in our series. Paul and Silas were men of prayer. We must continue to be a people of prayer. We need to seek God’s will individually and corporately. I can tell you from my past work that we need to be in serious prayer about reaching out into our community. One of the major reasons churches plateau or decline in attendance is a lack of evangelism. We are looking at making a major push to connect with our community for Easter. Begin to pray for that outreach now even though Easter is slightly more than two months away. Pray that God would provide the laborers and that the hearts of the people we try to reach will be softened to hear our message.
Enjoy the warm up this week. For the “old ball coach” anything above freezing is shorts weather! Pastor Rick
Jeremiah 3:15 NIV – Then I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will lead you with knowledge and understanding.
Meridian Avenue Baptist Church had been without a Lead Pastor for two years this week. In that time we have been blessed by having Rev. Dick Sipe help us through the rewrite of our Constitution and Bylaws, Rev. Jim Zier helped us celebrate the 2022 Christmas Season and pastor us through February of 2023 when Rev. Fred Becker came and pastored our church until the end of 2023. We have been blessed through the ministries of these men and I, for one, am grateful for the time they spent with us.
This year we shall walk beside Rev. Rick Neubauer, our new lead pastor. We each have expectations of the days and months ahead and there is hope of wonderful things to come our way.
The pastor and church agreement that Pastor Rick, Janet (Chair of Pastoral Search) and Randy (Chair of Leadership Team) will sign has this sentence in it. “In awareness of the support needed for ministry together, the congregation and minister mutually agree to support one another in private and public prayer.” It is a promise that we, the congregation of Meridian Avenue Baptist Church, will support our minister in private and public prayer.
The relationship between a pastor and the congregation is a partnership of mutual caring and compassion. A pastor, any pastor, cannot lead a congregation unless the congrations is willing to follow. We, the congregation and our pastor, are fully in this together as we seek God’s direction for us in Christ’s church.
So, pray for our pastor, pray for one another, pray for God’s guidance and pray for wonderful things to happen at Meridian Avenue Baptist Church as we near our centennial anniversary year and beyond.
2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV – Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
How many times have any of us become weary of the routine events of daily living; experiencing nearly identical patterns day after day. Living a routine lifestyle is comfortable but offers little excitement. Humans frequently enjoy having something new and exciting come their way. New things have an appeal that attracts us and very often distract us. The Christian faith offers newness that disrupts the daily routines in a number of ways. Many have reread a scripture in the Bible and have it suddenly reveal something that they never before observed or thought of. Many have attended a worship service and have experienced a conviction to serve they never before felt. Some, during a period of prayer, felt a presence and, perhaps, a Spiritual direction they had never before felt. Such disruptions are blessings that are personal in nature and instrumental in spiritual growth. I hope that everyone may experience such disruptions in their lives.
Matthew 26:41 NIV – Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.
the devil whispered in his ear, please come play with me
we will have a real fun time, walk away if you don’t agree
I’ll show you the game Temptation, so many kids have played
take my hand, your life will change, please don’t be afraid
the devil spoke a bit louder, you MUST make up your mind
you know you want to join me, for our souls are intertwined
OH, the power I can show you, all your wants will be fulfilled
one does not need anything else for a better life we’ll build
the devil began screaming, if you don’t listen we are through
you must follow now or never know of the many things I do
all the happiness I can give you by letting evil take control
you shall want for nothing more, all for the price of a soul
the devil suddenly froze as the young boy turned to speak
just because I am not a grownup don’t think that I am weak
my loving parents warned me of how you deceive through hate
my belief in God is firm and strong and you are a bit too late
Written by Gary Adcock, shared with permission. Gary Adcock has been my friend for over 50 years, going back to our days in school. Other poems by Gary can be found at allpoetry.com.
Psalm 5:1-2 NIV – Listen to my words, Lord, consider my lament. Hear my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. A Kenny Rogers song from the late 90s includes the following lyrics in the chorus.
I’ve had some bad times, lived through some sad times, But this time your hurting won’t heal
It is probable that most of us have experienced sad and bad times where it seemed that the pain and sadness would never end. Painful times weigh heavy on the body and soul. Such times can take us to the very limit of our endurance and faith. Some may have even lost their faith if it were not well rooted to begin with. In times such as these we might ask God why we have to go through such woeful times.
There is no simple answer for such troubles that come our way in this fallen world. Still, there are some things we can remember when we next face them.
We are never alone in our pain and sadness. In Matthew 28:20, Jesus said, “I am with you always, even to the end of the age”. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed for I am your God. I will strengthen you, yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand”.
In these times God may seem far away but he is always with us. He stands ready to guide our everly step as we respond to our suffering. Still, people who believe in Him continue to suffer all over the world.
We live in a broken world, one in which humanity creates situations that bring suffering even onto the innocent. God does not create this suffering but all things are under his sovereign control and in his hands “all things work together for good”(Romans 8:28).
More immediately, when we go through periods of pain and sadness, there are a few things we can try.
Remember better times – Even while your mind is occupied with your current troubles it is possible to remember times of happy blessings. Take time, even in your sorrow and worry, to remember the times when prayer was answered and joy was abundant.
Pray – It may be difficult to find the words to pray when you are hurting, still, the Lord knows the desires of your heart. Reading through the Psalms quickly reminds us that King David was at times overcome with grief and feelings of abandonment. In Christ, we are never truly alone, no matter how much we may feel so, and prayer draws us closer to our Lord and God.
Letting Go – Letting go isn’t always easy. Sometimes we must let go of a lost loved one, remembering them fondly but not immersing ourselves in our sorrows. At other times it may be the letting go of anger or disappointments. Human relationships are loaded with interactions with imperfect people, why should we expect any relationship to be perfect in every way?
Waiting for it – Humans are impatient, always wishing to feel better immediately. Getting over any bad time takes a period of healing. Have the patience to allow God to be faithful and to heal you in his time when he knows you are ready.
Matthew 18:21-22 ESV – Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
The sign next to the front door of the church read, ‘The most influential person in your life is the one you refuse to forgive’. Have you ever given that idea any consideration? If you focus on the person you cannot forgive, all too often you lose your focus on those who should be foremost on your mind. Anger and hurt have the power to consume your attention.
The problem with anger is that it can temporarily give a person an ego boost, a false and dangerous boost. It is normal to feel upset or angry with someone who offends you and it is easy to fall into a sense of righteous anger. Unchecked anger often allows someone to elaborate on the wrongdoings of others causing people to imagine deeds greater than those that were actually done. Forgiving someone does not mean that you endorse the actions of another. We have all heard the phrase ‘accept it and move on’ but the word accept is fuzzy and has different levels of meaning to people. To some, to accept something is the same as endorsing something.
Acceptance does not mean to endorse or to justify the actions of another. It means that we acknowledge that some event occurred and we will no longer let the event have control over us. Forgiveness is an attitude more than it is a decision. To make a decision to forgive is not enough, we must be prepared to forgive over and over again.
