Celebration: Let the Good Times Roll!

John 15:9-11, Philippians 4:4

(sermon outline for Sunday March 29)

Followers of Jesus can celebrate God’s goodness and grace throughout the seasons of life.

• Celebration brings true joy into focus.

The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot.

                                                -Augustine of Hippo

• Genuine celebration arises out of obedience.

If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. 

John 15:10-11 NIV

• Celebration promotes numerous life benefits.
• Creates an aura of festivity.
• Brings a spirit of healing and refreshing.
• Helps us to relax and enjoy the good things of the earth.
• Can be an effective antidote for sadness and melancholy.
• Gives a sense of balance and perspective.
• Frees us from self-importance.
• Leads to more celebration.

• Celebration energizes us to live the other disciplines.

Celebration gives us the strength to live in all the other Disciplines.  When faithfully pursued, the other Disciplines bring us deliverance from those things that have made our lives miserable for years which, in turn, evokes increased celebration.  Thus, an unbroken circle of life and power is formed.     -Richard Foster

Celebration is never a denial that life has its challenges.  Rather, celebration is a confession that every challenge is temporary, the grace of God is sufficient, and our future is secure in Christ.

Celebrating Life at Easter

Spring has sprung, Easter is just around the corner, and we as followers of Jesus are Celebrating Life.

Celebrating Life is the theme of our worship series in April.  As we continue learning to use our spiritual gifts and practice the spiritual disciplines, we are celebrating the many gifts and opportunities God sends our way.

April 5, Palm Sunday, marks the beginning of Holy Week as we revisit the passion of Christ.  April 12, Easter Sunday, we celebrate the resurrection of Christ.  On April 19 we will commemorate the Lord’s death, burial, and resurrection through the elements of Communion just as Jesus shared the Last Supper with his disciples.  On Sunday evening April 26 we will meet in Chipley Hall for the inaugural concert of our Student Worship Team and Band. 

On April 10-11 we have an awesome outreach opportunity as we share the Easter story through the drama and music of the Pensacola Easter Pageant.  PEP is our gift to the community.  Begin preparing for PEP by praying for the participants and by inviting your friends, neighbors, and colleagues, especially those with no church connection or faith commitment.

These are exciting days at First Baptist Church.  Come and celebrate life with us all throughout the month of April.

Celebrating Life

After 13 weeks of focusing on the Spiritual Disciplines in worship and Bible study, we conclude our series this Sunday by exploring the Discipline of Celebration.

Learning to Celebrate Life through all of our highs and lows, through all of our joys and all of our burdens, and through all of our triumphs and all of our trials really does require spiritual discipline.

I hope that each of us will continue to grow in our daily practice of the spiritual disciplines.  At the conclusion of his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Foster offers these words of summary, words that become a challenge for me and for you:

    We have come to the end of this study but only to the beginning of our journey.  We have seen how meditation heightens our spiritual sensitivity which, in turn, leads us into prayer.  Very soon we discover that prayer involves fasting as an accompanying means.  Informed by these three Disciplines, we can effectively move into study which gives us discernment about ourselves and the world in which we live.

    Through simplicity we live with others in integrity.  Solitude allows us to be genuinely present to people when we are with them.  Through submission we live with others without manipulation, and through service we are a blessing to them.

    Confession frees us from ourselves and releases us to worship.  Worship opens the door to guidance.  All the Disciplines freely exercised bring forth the doxology of celebration.

    The classical Disciplines of the spiritual life beckon us to the Himalayas of the Spirit.  Now we stand at timber line awed by the snowy peaks before us.  We step out in confidence with our Guide who has blazed the trail and conquered the highest summit.

These are exciting days at First Baptist Church.  Come and celebrate life with us all throughout the month of April.  I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we gather for worship and Bible study.

Guidance: Making Decisions…Wisely and Together

Acts 15:22-35           

(sermon outline for Sunday March 22)

Historically, biblically, and currently, God guides communities of believers.

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us….

Acts 15:28  NIV

• God normally provides divine guidance to communities of believers, rather than individuals.

The aim of God in history is the creation of an all-inclusive community of loving persons, with Himself included in that community as its prime sustainer and most glorious inhabitant.    Dallas Willard

• God guides communities with multiple catalytic influences.

Individual guidance must yield to corporate guidance.  There must also come a knowledge of the direct, active, immediate leading of the Spirit together.  I do not mean “corporate guidance” in an organizational sense, but in an organic and functional sense.              Richard Foster

• Teachings of the Bible
• Leadership of the Holy Spirit
• Spiritual discernment
• Visionary and prophetic leadership

• When individuals submit to God’s guidance for the community, good things happen.
• Individuals within community make better marriage and family decisions.
• Individuals make wiser business decisions.
• Spiritual harmony exists within a diverse community.
• Spiritual momentum accelerates and awakens the dormant.
• Spiritual gifts support the overall mission of the community.
• The effectiveness of the group is exponentially greater than the effectiveness of the individuals.
• The community looks more like the body of Christ.

Just as God guided ancient communities of faith, God will guide us in making decisions….wisely and together.

How Accurate is Your Spiritual Navigation System?

A few weeks ago while we were visiting Central Florida, Amanda and I spent an afternoon touring the Kennedy Space Center.  We visited the Astronauts Hall of Fame, we rode the Space Shuttle Simulator, and then we took a bus tour to the launching pad where Discovery was awaiting a re-scheduled launch day.

During our tour, we were informed of the importance of navigational technology.  From piloted navigational systems, to automated navigational systems, to advanced global positional systems, emerging navigational technologies have enabled great advancement in aerospace exploration.

How dependable is your spiritual navigation system?  On a practical level, how does God guide you in your daily living? How do you make wise decisions that enable you to grow spiritually, live authentically, and serve faithfully?

As we continue Celebrating the Spiritual Disciplines, this Sunday we will be focusing on the Discipline of Guidance as we talk about Making Decisions…Wisely and Together.

Also this Sunday we look forward to sharing in the celebration of baptism at the beginning of our Midmorning Service.  Our next baptism is scheduled for Sunday April 19.

On Sunday afternoons we are continuing our ten weeks of Ministry Madness.  Last Sunday many of our folks participated in Meet the Church as we joined with others from around the Panhandle in a variety of mission projects.  This Sunday we focus on the areas where we live as we participate in a Neighborhood Prayer Walk.

Every week I marvel at the many ways God is growing us in faith and friendship.  May God continue to grow us as we gather to worship and as we prepare to serve.

Worship: Close Encounters with God

John 4:19-26

(sermon outline on Sunday March 15)

Worship occurs when the gathered community experiences and responds to the initiatives of God.

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.                           John 4:23-24 NIV

• Holy expectancy:  Our preparation for worship.

• Spiritual encounter: Our experience in worship.

To worship is to quicken the consciousness by the holiness of God, to feed the mind with the truth of God, to purge the imagination by the beauty of God, to open the heart to the love of God, to devote the will to the purpose of God.                    -  William Temple

Possible ways we experience God in worship:

• Inviting us to follow Jesus
• Confronting our sin
• Affirming our identity in Christ
• Equipping us to serve
• Confirming our calling
• Re-enforcing our courage
• Building synergy

• Missional living: Our response to worship.

When you gather with other followers of Jesus to discover, encounter, and offer yourself to God, you are engaging in authentic worship.

Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. 

Hebrew 10:25  NIV

Practicing the Spiritual Disciplines

During this first quarter of 2009 our church family is studying the Spiritual Disciplines.  Each week in Bible study and worship, we are focusing on one of the disciplines that have helped believers across the centuries become more effective followers of Jesus.  And we are discovering that these Spiritual Disciplines are practical and relevant for the season in which we live.

A few months ago, we began challenging each other to participate in a Spiritual Gifts Assessment in order to discover, affirm, and channel our spiritual gifts into ministry action.  Our goal is for every church member to discover his or her spiritual gifts and to commit those gifts to the service of the Lord in the church and community.  We are discovering that the practice of the Spiritual Disciplines empower and enable us to transform our ordinary lives into extraordinary opportunities for ministry.

Some of us have been practicing the Spiritual Disciplines for many years and we are growing in our consistency of applying them to life.  Perhaps some of us have been introduced to the Spiritual Disciplines and we have practiced them off and on, but not with continuity. Still others of us are becoming acquainted with the Spiritual Disciplines for the first time, and trying to put them into practice seems a bit overwhelming. 

Here are a few suggestions on putting the Spiritual Disciplines into practice in your own life:

• Begin by focusing on two or three of the disciplines most needed in your life and grow from there.
• Do not be discouraged if you cannot practice all the disciplines consistently all the time.
• Expect to discover how the disciplines interact, overlap, and complement one another.
• Remember that the word practice indicates a gradual learning process.

This Sunday we are studying the Discipline of Worship.  In Bible study we will look at a variety of biblical passages related to worship.  And in each of our morning services, I will be describing worship as Close Encounters with God.

Invite a friend to join you as we gather for worship and Bible study this Sunday.

Confession: Tell It Like It Is

 I John 1:8-9

(Sermon outline for Sunday March 8) 

The discipline of confession fosters forgiveness, healing, growth, and community.

For a good confession three things are necessary: an examination of conscience, sorrow, and a determination to avoid sin.             St. Alphonsus Liguori

Confession is a difficult discipline for us because we all too often see the believing community as a fellowship of saints before we see it as a fellowship of sinners. Richard Foster

• Our spiritual journey begins with a confession of faith

That if you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.      Romans 10:9 NIV

• As believers we must regularly confess our sin.

If we claim that we're free of sin, we're only fooling ourselves. A claim like that is errant nonsense. On the other hand, if we admit our sins—make a clean breast of them—he won't let us down; he'll be true to himself. He'll forgive our sins and purge us of all wrongdoing. If we claim that we've never sinned, we out-and-out contradict God—make a liar out of him. A claim like that only shows off our ignorance of God.   I John 1:8-9 The Message

• Private confession or public confession?
• Personal sin or corporate sin?
• Acknowledgement of sin
• Assurance of forgiveness

• We may grow as we practice other experiences of confession.

• Confession of our needs
• Confession of our fears
• Confession of our covenant with the church
• Confession of our calling or mission in life.

 

As we practice the discipline of confession, we discover that God wants to forgive our sin, to make us whole, to cultivate our growth, and to connect us with this dynamic spiritual community called church.

True Confessions: Telling It Like It Is

How truthful are your confessions?  When you talk to God do you sweet talk the Lord, skirt the important issues and skip any blatant and perpetual sins, or do you tell it like it is? Do you readily confess your need for God’s guidance, or do you set out to build your own kingdom and later ask God to bless your construction, or destruction?

This Sunday, we continue our journey through the spiritual disciplines as we focus on Confession: Tell It Like It Is.  From a variety of biblical texts we learn that the discipline of confession fosters forgiveness, healing, growth, and community.

In his book, Celebration of Discipline, Richard Fosters proposes that Confession is a difficult discipline for us because we all too often see the believing community as a fellowship of saints before we see it as a fellowship of sinners.  We are in God’s family because we are sinners saved by grace.  God desires honesty and truthfulness from us in all of our communication, especially our confession.

The first confession we are invited to make is our confession of faith, our initial commitment to follow Jesus as our Lord and Savior.  On March 18 and March 22 we will be celebrating baptism with those who have recently made professions of faith or who have recently joined our church family from other faith traditions. The first opportunity for baptism is March 18 at 6:30 immediately following our Midweek Worship Gathering.  A second opportunity is March 22 at 10:30 at the beginning of our Mid-morning Worship Service.

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we gather for worship and Bible study.

Springing Forward

In March we are springing forward in a multitude of ways. On Sunday March 8 we spring forward as we set our clocks ahead one hour to begin Daylight Savings Time. Adjust your clock and your schedule and make it a priority to be in worship and Bible study.

On March 18 and March 22 we spring forward with baptism.  On Wednesday night March 18 we will celebrate baptism at 6:30 at the conclusion of our Midweek Worship Gathering.  On Sunday morning March 22 we will celebrate baptism at the beginning of our Midmorning Worship Service. If you or a member of your family are ready to share a public profession of faith or transfer your membership and you wish to be baptized, please contact Elizabeth Smith in the pastor’s office, or contact one of our ministers.

On Sunday mornings during March we are springing forward with the final weeks of our Celebrating the Disciplines series as we focus on Service, Confession, Worship, Guidance, and Celebration.  On Sunday afternoons and evenings we are engaging Ministry Madness with a variety of equipping and ministry opportunities.

Also during March we are prepping for PEP.  We will host the Pensacola Easter Pageant on Friday evening April 10 and Saturday evening April 11. PEP is more than a concert…it is a prime outreach opportunity.  Begin praying and preparing now for a grand Easter Celebration which will culminate with a high moment of worship on Easter Sunday morning.

March is an opportune time for you to spring forward by inviting a friend or neighbor to join you for worship and Bible study.