Summer Faith, Summer Fun!

For many, Memorial Day weekend marks the beginning of summer. Summer can be a season of growth and adventure for the whole family. In fact, summer can be a great time to grow in your faith while having fun with friends and family.

At First Baptist, we kick off the summer this week with Senior Recognition Sunday as we spotlight graduates in the class of 2010. This Sunday we will meet for Bible study at 8:45 and a Combined Worship Service at 10:00.

As we continue our series on Passion with a Purpose, we will focus on John 10:1-10 and the topic, “Living Life to the Maximum.”

Next Wednesday June 2 we will host the first of several missionaries. Rusty Griffin, missionary to Afghanistan and son of our own Eleanor Griffin, will be sharing in our Midweek Gathering. We are looking forward to hearing stories from this strategic part of the world.

Our next opportunity for baptism is scheduled for Sunday June 6 at the beginning of the Midmorning Service. If you or a member of your family have recently made a Christian commitment, please contact one of our ministers to assist you in preparing for baptism.

Let’s make this summer a season filled with faith and fun as we…

• Worship faithfully
• Serve passionately
• Live authentically
• Give generously

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

Living Your Faith….Authentically

How can others who cannot peek inside your heart, glance inside your mind, or scan your soul, know for sure that you are a follower of Jesus? What is the primary evidence of your credibility and authenticity? According to John 13:35 your Christian identity is best revealed in the way you love others: This is how everyone will recognize that you are my disciples—when they see the love you have for each other (MSG).

Last week I was reading the story of Elijah McCoy, a master mechanic and engineer who was born in 1843 to former slaves who had escaped from Kentucky to Ontario via the Underground Railroad. His parents sent him to study in Scotland, where he earned a degree in engineering. Later in his career, working in partnership with the Michigan Central Railroad, McCoy invented a lubricating cup that automatically dripped oil. He received a United States patent in 1872, and installation of his invention on locomotives began shortly thereafter. His design greatly increased engine efficiency, and soon every company wanted one of the "McCoy Cups." So many inferior copies were made that train engineers began to demand "the real McCoy," and not a “knock off” or an imitation.

Authentic Christian living tends to be a more powerful and persuasive influence to pre-Christians than sermons, songs, or religious programs. Pre-believers are more interested in the genuineness of your personal faith than they are your doctrinal purity or your denominational loyalty.

For the growing Christian, faith is not a game wherein we pretend to be something we are not. Growing Christians do not try to act hyper-holy or super-religious because deep down we know that we are merely sinners saved by grace.

This week rather than striving to be religious, strive to be real. Believe it or not, those who surround you already know you are not perfect. The real question is “do others see the evidence of God’s grace at work in my life in spite of my imperfections?” The core of your character and the genuineness of your faith are revealed in the crucible of daily living. Let others see who you are under pressure. Let them witness the way you wrestle with moral and ethical decisions. Let them see the ways that you are learning to apply and practice the teachings of Jesus in your unique circumstances. And especially let them see the way that the love of Christ shapes your attitude, reaction, and disposition toward others, for according to John 13:35, this may be the real litmus test of authentic faith.

Speaking of the power of authentic Christian witness, Scottish minister William Barclay writes, "More people have been brought into the church by the kindness of real Christian love than by all of the theological arguments in the world, and more people have been driven from church by the hardness and ugliness of so-called Christianity than by all of the doubts in the world."

No matter where you are on the spectrum of Christian growth, be authentic…be genuine…be real!

Invite a neighbor to join you this week as we gather for worship and Bible study this Sunday to learn to live more authentically.

Let’s Spell “Summer” with a Capital “T”!

Summer is just around the corner and the calendar is filled with opportunities to connect with a variety of ministries, mission projects, and fun activities.

For many in our First Baptist Family, summer is the busiest season of the year. Our staff previewed the summer calendar yesterday and it is loaded with great options. In addition to our weekly opportunities for worship and Bible study, during the next 12 weeks we are offering numerous opportunities for connecting through fellowship, discipleship, ministry, and mission involvement: Saddle Ridge Ranch (VBS), Chapel Choir California Tour, Russia Mission Trip, Children’s Camp, Mission Fuge, Costa Rica Mission Trip, “Go Ye” International Music Mission Trip, World Changers, our August Concert Series, and Baptism at the Beach.

In fact, folks are going to be so busy, if we are not careful, we will lose sight of our priority commitments and our spiritual purpose. In order make the most of our summer opportunities…camps, retreats, mission trips, recreation, and personal travels….while staying connected to church family, ministry initiatives, worship and Bibles study, I invite you to spell summer with a capital “T” by dedicating to God your Tithe, your Time, and your Talent.

• Tithe: Dedicate all of your resources to God by bringing the first 1/10 of your income, a tithe, into the “storehouse” to support God’s work in our community and in our world. We are a “sending” church. “Sending” requires “spending.” “Spending” requires a strong stewardship base. Your faithful giving empowers the missions and ministries of our church throughout the year and especially during the summer months.
• Time: Summer is busy. Dedicate your time…your calendar, your schedule, and your priorities…to fulfilling your God-given purpose. No one can participate in every activity or mission project. Be faithful in worship and Bible study, and choose wisely from the menu of options.
• Talent: Serve God by offering the best of your talents and your spiritual gifts in both the church and the community. God created us to serve. Find your niche and invest yourself enthusiastically.

As we continue to prepare for a great summer, I look forward to seeing you this Sunday in worship and Bible study.

A Prayer for Conscientious Wisdom: Invocation for Law Week 2010

Good and gracious God, you have given us the privilege and the stewardship responsibility of living in one of the most beautiful and resourceful communities in the world. Even as we count the many wonderful blessings we share by living in this great land, we also sense that we live in a time of heightened concern and anxiety. Our nation is engaged in a multi-national military conflict. Our economy is slowly emerging out of a recession. And this week our eyes are turned toward cleanup of the Gulf.These concerns remind us of our need to confess our sins, and to embrace your plan for living life with purpose and integrity.On this National Day of Prayer, we pray for our nation. We pray for the men and women who serve in our nation’s military that they will perform their humanitarian mission with effectiveness and precision, and return home safely and soon. And we pray for our local, state, and national leaders that they will rise to a new level of bipartisan cooperation and moral courage commensurate to the challenges of our day.Specifically on this day during Law Week, I pray for every member of our legal community. I pray for our elected officials as they work together for the common good and the bright future of our community. I pray for legal staff members as they provide strategic support for a variety of leaders. I pray for our attorneys to provide careful counsel and appropriate advocacy to all clientele. And I pray for our judiciary as they administer decisions with both legal discernment and conscientious wisdom.Our aim is to live according to the words your ancient prophet conveyed which instruct usf us…”to act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God.”We offer our prayer in the name of the one who exemplifies the truth that makes us free indeed. Amen.

(I offered this prayer as the invocation at the Law Week Luncheon sponsored by the Escambia-Santa Rosa Bar Association on May 6, 2010.)

Discover Your Purpose

May is a great month to connect with purpose. God created each of us with unique potential and has given each of us specific spiritual gifts and talents. Does your current lifestyle and commitment level correspond with God’s purpose in your life?

This month we are continuing our series from the gospel of John entitled Passion with a Purpose. Each Sunday morning and Wednesday evening, our message will be based on a passage in John’s gospel that encourages us to be the light and love of Christ in our community.

On May 2, we will observe Heritage Day. During each of our morning services we will recognize those in our church family who have been members for 50 years or more. After the midmorning service, Heritage Club members are invited to enjoy lunch together in Chipley Hall.

Also on May 2, we are serving as the host church for Law Week Worship Service. Each year, members of the Pensacola Bar Association are invited to attend a local church in the community during Law Week. We look forward to welcoming members of the Bar from across our community as well as recognizing those who are a part of our church family.

There is a great menu of activities coming up this month:

May 5 Quarterly Celebration in Chipley Hall

May 9 Baptism

May 12 Allie Yniestra Choir in Chipley Hall

May 16 Hymns, Spirituals, and Apple Cobbler 6 p.m.

May 23 Children’s Choirs Spring Concert 6 p.m.

May 26 AWANA Awards Night in Chipley Hall

May 30 Senior Recognition: Combined Service

Spring is a busy time of the year. Discover more of God’s purpose in your life as we gather each week for worship and Bible study.

Tentative Sermon Schedule for May

May 2 When God Moved into the Neighborhood John 1:1-14

May 9 The Other Side of Jordan John 1:19-34

May 16 They’ll Know We Are Christians by Our Love John 13:34-35;14:23-24

May 23 Organic Christian Living John 15:1-11

May 30 Live Life to the Maximum John 10:1-10