Jan 03

Worship Service 01/03/2021

Preacher: Jeremy Herbert

Theme: What Will Be New This Year?

Texts:

  • Colossians 3:1-17
  • Deuteronomy 29:29

 

Notes:

  • What will be new this year?
    • How or Why would they be new?
  • God doesn’t always reveal what He is doing, or why He is doing it
    • But He does give us His truth and His presence to go with us through it
  • Let us prepare our hearts for 2021 by focusing on our new life in Christ
    • We have a new life in Christ
      • Colossians 1-2: What Christ did for us in salvation
      • Colossians 3: What Christ is doing for us in sanctification
    • Seek Christ every day
      • “Whatever masters my meditation masters my heart.”
      • Actively seeking Christ keeps us from seeking lesser things–something we are inclined to by nature
      • Our hope is not based on us being as good as others are–our hope is based on Christ and His perfections
      • Christ still continually intercedes for us
    • Set your mind on Christ every day
      • Put these off: v5-9
      • Put these on: v12-17
      • These are all active choices
    • Remember that Christ is life
    • Remember that Christ is coming back
      • Meditating on the truth of Christ’s imminent return will help put the rest of life in its proper perspective
      • The time to reach others for Christ is counting down
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Jan 01

Time to Read Through the Bible

This article covers how much time it takes to read through the Bible, and breaks it down book by book:

https://www.crossway.org/articles/infographic-you-can-read-more-of-the-bible-than-you-think/

Dec 31

2021 Reading Plans from Ligonier

Here are some more reading plans for 2021 from Ligonier:

https://www.ligonier.org/blog/bible-reading-plans/

Dec 27

Worship Service 12/27/2020

Preacher: Bruce Miller

Theme: God is faithful, even if we don’t understand why things are happening

Texts:

  • Job 1-42
  • Deuteronomy 29:29
  • Philippians 1:21
  • 2 Tim 3
  • James 5:11

Notes:

  1. Job 1: Satan’s first thesis: believers are faithful only for the material rewards they receive
  • Faith in wealth, possessions, and friends may fail
  • Faith in God never fails
  • No angel–holy or fallen–is omnipresent
  • 2020 is bad
  • But in the span of minutes Job has lost nearly everything–wealth, family, security
  • If Job’s faith was in his wealth, his faith would have failed
  • If Job’s faith was in his family, his faith would have failed
  • Satans thesis is proved invalid

2. Job 2: Satans second thesis: believers are faithful as long as they have physical health

  • “Behind every great man is a great woman”*
  • *but not in Jobs case
  • Job has no idea why any of this is happening–yet he remains faithful
  • Satans thesis is proved invalid

3. Job 3-37: Job’s “friends” arrive

  • They start strong but mourning with him in silence
  • Job’s pain is so great he laments ever being born
  • Job’s friends speak out of the well of their ignorance
  • He asks for sympathy–his friends have none
  • They call him to repent–but are unable to find a sin for him to repent of
  • By chapter 14 Job now prays for death
  • By chapter 19 Job’s faith still endures
  • Job 21: Job asserts that the wicked may prosper, and the good may suffer
  • Job’s friends: No
  • Job 32-35: a new “friend” arrives to not be very helpful
  • If Job’s faith had been in his friends, his faith would have failed.

4. Job 38-42: God intervenes

  • He challenges Job regarding Job questioning God’s character
  • Job answered with the humility God expected
  • God asserts His sovereignty over creation
  • Job continues to draw close to God–despite his lack of understanding
  • Job 42: God confronts Job’s friends, demands repentance, and appoints Job as their mediator
  • Not *everything* they said was wrong–but they slandered Job and they slandered God

5. Job 42: God blesses Job

Final Observations

  • Wealth is fleeting
  • Health is fleeting
  • Friends will let us down
  • We may not know why we suffer
  • But
  • God is always faithful
  • God is always good
  • God is worthy of our faith
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Dec 20

Worship Service 12/20/2020

 

Speaker: Dan Poynter

Theme: Laboring in God’s Service

Texts:

  • Nehemiah 1-3
  • Galatians 6
  • 1 Corinthians 15
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Dec 18

Worship Services For the Rest of December Virtual Only

Services for Faith Baptist Church will be virtual only for the next couple of weeks.
Here is the link for this Sunday’s service:

Dec 13

Worship Service 12/13/2020

Preacher: Caleb Ogle

Thesis: Beware

Texts:

  • 1 Peter 5:8-11
  • Ecclesiastes 4:9-11

 

Context:

  • Peter is writing to Gentile Christians who were enduring persecution under the Roman Empire

 

Bad News: You have an enemy intent on your destruction

Comforting News: There is hope in Christ

Good News: God is going to do great things, and has already gained the victory through Christ

 

Notes:

“Be sober, be vigilant” — be mindful, be aware, be on the lookout.

Our temptations and struggles are common to other believers and we can help bear one another’s burdens

Our sufferings are:

  • for a purpose
  • for a time
  • for your good
  • for His glory

We are often tempted to overcorrect away from one sin or temptation into the arms of another sin or temptation

How do we defeat our enemy?

  • The way up starts with being down–humility
  • Cast your care on Christ
    • You can’t do it without Him
    • He cares for you and desires to help you
  • “I can do this in my own strength”
    • We might not say it out loud, but when we neglect God’s means of grace we live it
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Dec 13

Read Through the Bible

Here are some links to several websites that provide different reading plans for reading through the Bible. There are some for reading through the entire Bible in a year, others for reading through the entire New Testament multiple times, and some for reading through in a particular order (chronologically, thematically, etc).

Reading Plans

 

Apps

The only time I have successfully read through the entire Bible in a year, it was largely due to the app ReadingPlan for helping me to stay on track. It is free, it is well designed, and you can import dozens of different reading plans. Sorry Android users, it is available for iPhone / iPad only.

You can download it here.

Dec 06

Worship Service 12/06/2020

Preacher: Jeremy Herbert

Thesis: Choosing the Path of Joy

Texts:

  • Psalm 1
  • Revelation 1-2

 

3 Elements of Our Path

  1. A desire: what we are  looking for (joy).
    • In this life, and in the next
    • Blessed = joy, happiness, fulfilment
  2. A direction: where we think we will find what we are looking for
  3. A destiny: where we will end up based on:
    • the steps we follow to achieve our desire
    • the direction we took

 

The Path we choose reveals two things:

  1. The object of our joy
  2. The object of our faith

 

Choose the right path!

  1. The desire of the godly
    • We are all in awe of something or someone
    • Whatever we are in awe of–good or bad–will control your life
      • Good gifts make terrible gods
    • Do you delight to do God’s will?
      • God desires not only our obedience, but our affection
      • Wisdom is just truth applied
      • We do what we truly believe
      • Blessing does not mean that we get everything we desire
      • Blessing does mean that the closer we are to Christ, the more joy and contentment we have
      • Blessing also does not mean that if we make right choices, only good things will happen to us
  2. The direction of the godly
    • People never think they will be the ones to fall
  3. The destiny of the godly
    • We position ourselves for fruitfulness
      • Spiritual  fruitfulness
    • One way we declare God’s glory is when we choose God’s word over sin
    • A wasted life:
      • Not that we are valueless in the eyes of God
      • But wasted time, energy, opportunities
    • The destiny of the ungodly
      • Loss in this life
      • Loss in the next life
    • “Jesus is rescuing me every day”

 

Live it out!

  1. Are you experiencing spiritual fruitfulness?
    • Galatians 5:22-23
  2. Are you experiencing spiritual health?
  3. Are you experiencing spiritual joy?
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Nov 29

Worship Service 11/29/2020

Preacher: Caleb Ogle

Thesis: The light of the world

Texts:

  • John 8
  • 2 Corinthians 4
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