A Time to Remember and Never Ever Forget

The last Monday in May is a unique holiday. Memorial Day does not generate as much holiday enthusiasm as Christmas, Easter, or Independence Day, perhaps because it is more an observance than a celebration.  This important holiday is not just another “day off” but a day to remember those who have lost their lives in the military service of our country.

In a culture that is increasingly attention-deficient, remembering is a painful but necessary discipline.  Remembering historical facts should help us to remain consciously aware of the harsh realities of global conflict.  Revisiting stories from the battlefield may enable us to learn from both the successes and the failures of our national ancestry. When we remember the fallen we keep alive the individual and corporate legacies of valor and courage that inspire and challenge us to be responsible citizens of the free world.

To fail to remember is to develop a convenient amnesia that eventually robs succeeding generations of their national heritage.  To fail to remember creates a contagious apathy that leads to a neglect of both freedom and citizenship.   To fail to remember can produce a false sense of protection and a perceived exemption from future warfare.  A loss of memory eventually leads to a loss of national identity.  Remembering is a painful but necessary discipline, a discipline that forges vision from memory, and a discipline that extracts wisdom from knowledge.

In The Roadmender Margaret Fairless Barber suggests that “To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward.”

This year take time to observe Memorial Day…A day to remember the past with gratitude and to look to the future with hope and faith.

This Sunday is Senior Recognition Day, a day set aside to recognize and encourage our graduating high school seniors.  We will meet for Bible Study at 9:00 a.m. and then meet in a combined service of worship at 10:30 in the sanctuary. 

I look forward to seeing you this Sunday as we continue learning to “be doers of the word.”

Let’s Make It an Aloha Sunday

Let’s make this Sunday an Aloha Sunday.  I invite you to join me in wearing an Aloha shirt or your beach colors to both of our worship services this Sunday morning.  Then on Sunday evening we will meet at Casino Beach at six o’clock for Allelulias by the Sea.

Allelulias by the Sea is a beachside concert presented by our Sanctuary Choir and Orchestra that is scheduled once every four years.  This musical extravaganza features a wide variety of musical genres including Broadway tunes, patriotic music, and inspirational selections. What a great opportunity to invite a neighbor or colleague who is not currently connected with a church family!   So bring a friend and a chair, and join us for a fun evening on one of the World’s Most Beautiful Beaches.

What a week we have had at First Baptist!  We have been sweetly saying “goodbye for now” to dear friends, including our pastor emeritus, who have now gone to be with the Lord.  But we have also been saying “welcome to the world” to new babies being born.  And we have been saying “hello” and “welcome to First Baptist” to new friends and new members who are joining us.

We are learning a couple of important lessons in all of this: Life is short and things are constantly changing.  How do we make the most of our time on earth?  How does our faith equip us to make every day count?

This Sunday morning as we continue our series on Real Religion  we are exploring “Real Time: The Vapor Factor” from James 4:13-15.

I look forward to seeing you Sunday in your beach colors as we continue learning to live by the book.

Project Alabama: Pray, Give, and Go

In Pensacola, we know a little bit about storms and the devastation that can be left behind.  We also know what it feels like to see your church campus heavily damaged.  Many members of our First Baptist Family are ready and eager to assist our neighbors to the north.

This week we have launched Project Alabama: Pray, Give, and Go.  We will be joining hundreds of churches and faith-based organizations in ministering to the physical, spiritual, and emotional needs of our Alabama neighbors.

First, I encourage you to continue praying.  The devastation across Alabama is horrific.  As I write these words, there have been 251 storm-related deaths confirmed in Alabama and a total of 340 deaths across the South. There are still over 400 folks unaccounted for.  Pray for the residents of storm-damaged communities and pray for the relief workers who are there to assist.

Second, I invite you to give.  Give a generous and sacrificial gift to assist those in need.  Donations given through our church will be channeled through our existing ministry partners and through our FBCP volunteer teams.  Make your check payable to FBC Pensacola and designate it for Disaster Response.

Third, consider going to Alabama on a volunteer work crew.  If you have not already signed up, call the church office and leave your name and phone number, and indicate whether you are available on weekdays, weekends, or both.  All kinds of skill levels will be needed during the recovery period including carpenters, cooks, counselors, and cleaning specialists.

Our first team is going to the Birmingham area this week to deliver supplies and assess needs.  After we send teams to one or more communities, we hope to adopt at least one church and community for a long-term partnership, much like we did in Gautier, Mississippi following Katrina.

In the weeks and months ahead, I envision the following:

·        We will devote thousands of dollars to the recovery effort.

·        We will send dozens of volunteer teams to do clean up and home repair.

·        We will send ministry teams to offer encouragement, lead conferences, and share in worship.

·        We will help our adopted church to re-build and re-tool for the future.

Keep posted on upcoming trips and opportunities by checking the Project Alabama link at www.fbcp.org.

This Sunday is Mother’s Day.  We look forward to hearing a testimony from Todd and Nicole Blancheri, and then an encouraging word from James 2:14-18 on “Real Faith.”

I look forward to seeing you in worship and Bible study this Sunday.

Real Religion: Exploring the Book of James

Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world. 

James 1:27 NIV

During the month of May, we are beginning a new sermon series entitled Real Religion: Exploring the Book of James.  On Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings, we will be digging into some of the specific ways James teaches us to be “doers of the word.”

May is filled with great opportunities to serve and to celebrate.  On May 1 we will celebrate Heritage Day, a day to recognize all of those who have been members of First Baptist Church for 50 years or more.  On May 8, we observe Mother’s Day, and on May 29 we will meet for a combined worship service as we recognize our high school graduates on Senior Recognition Day.

On Sunday evenings we will enjoy great concerts.  The A Cappella Singers and the Sanctuary Bells will share in the Spring Forth Concert on May 1. On May 15 we look forward to our Spring Children’s Choirs Concert.  Then on the evening of May 22 we will gather at the Pavilion at Casino Beach for Alleluias by the Sea.

Also, our next quarterly Congregational Meeting is scheduled for Wednesday May 4.  During the first fifteen minutes we will receive brief reports from our major committees and ministry partners. Then we will hear stories and testimonies from our Mission Cycling Team.

Spring is a great time to treasure the relationships that are important to you and to expand your network of relationships by reaching out to those who need to be connected to God’s family.

I look forward to a month filled with engaging worship, inspiring music, and growing friendships.

Topic for Sundays and Wednesday in May:

May 1              “Real Religion” James 1:27  (Heritage Day)

May 4              Congregational Meeting/Iran Team

May 8              Seamless Unity” James 2:14-26(Mother’s Day)

May11            “The Best Seat in the House” James 1:1-13

May15            “Real Wisdom” James 3:13-16

May18.           “It Only Takes a Spark” James 3:1-12

May22            “The Vapor Factor” James 4:13-15

May25            Stories from England by Gerald and Elizabeth Craft

May29            “Don’t Fool Yourself!” James 1:19-24 (Senior Recognition Day/Combined Service)

A message from the pastor…

Overnight and today we are watching the horrific video footage following the devastating storms that trampled many communities in Alabama, Mississippi, and Georgia yesterday.  Many of us have been busy contacting friends and family members to check on their safety. Others of us have already learned of friends who lost homes, businesses, and loved ones.

At our house, in addition to thinking about our many friends who were affected in Tuscaloosa, Birmingham, and Cullman, Amanda and I are grieving over the destruction inflicted on the Williams Community, our former place of service, where at least two lives were taken and multiple homes were destroyed when one storm followed a similar path to the Palm Sunday tornado of 1994.

Our First Baptist Family is no stranger to storms.  As veteran survivors of successive storms in recent years, we can identify with the grief, the loss, and the monumental challenges facing our neighboring states in the days ahead.  Today I am calling on our First Baptist Family to respond in the following ways:

PRAY!  Pray for those who are hurting and grieving.  Homes can be rebuilt, but loved ones cannot be replaced.  We serve a God who is "our refuge and strength, a very present help in our time of trouble."  Pray for those whose lives were turned upside down to discover renewed hope in the aftermath of the storm, and pray for  relief and recovery workers to labor with cooperation and perseverance.

GIVE! Consider giving a generous financial gift to assist with rebuilding following this disaster.  Make your check to FBC Pensacola and designate it Disaster Relief.  All gifts given through FBCP will be channeled through our existing mission partners in Alabama.

GO!  In the days ahead, we will be assembling teams to assist with the relief work in Alabama.  Today we are working with leaders in Alabama to assess the needs.  We know that this will be a lengthy clean-up and rebuilding effort, much like the aftermath of Katrina.  Our hope is to target a specific area for partnership.  Stay tuned for opportunities to participate on a Disaster Relief Team in the weeks ahead.

I am honored to serve a loving, praying, and caring church family. 

With continuing prayers for our neighbors,

Barry

Celebrating Our Heritage

This Sunday is Heritage Day at First Baptist.  During each worship service, we will recognize members of our Heritage Club, individuals who have been members of First Baptist Church for 50 years or more.  We are the beneficiaries of a potent heritage of mission and ministry because of the investment of these veteran Christians who have served the Lord faithfully across the generations, serving as our living examples of what it means to be a follower of Jesus.

As we approach Heritage Day, we are reminded that our history and our future are birthed from the same Spirit, but they are not identical twins.  At First Baptist we celebrate our heritage by appreciating our senior saints and giving thanks to God for the effective ministries of yesteryear.  We can embrace our future by listening to the Spirit’s creative leadership for our day and by following God’s commission for us to be faithful servants in our community, faithful managers of all our resources, and faithful witnesses in our world.

In May as we continue learning to be doers of the word, we start our new series, Real Religion: Exploring the Book of James.  This week we are looking at the definition of “real religion” in James 1:26-27.  On Sunday evening we will meet in Chipley Hall at six o’clock for Hymns, Spirituals, and Apple Cobbler featuring the A Cappella Singers and Sanctuary Bells.

As we celebrate our heritage and embrace our future, I look forward to seeing you in worship and Bible study this Sunday.

Make the Spirit of Resurrection Contagious Among Us

T’was Easter Sunday, the full-blossomed trees filled all the air with fragrance and with joy.

                                     Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

This Sunday is Easter…the day designated to celebrate the greatest news in the world…” He is not here; he has risen, just as he said.”

On Easter Sunday morning, I typically arise early to begin my prayer and devotional time.  In addition to wording my own prayers, I often find that prayers written by others deepen my conversation with God.  One of my favorite Easter prayers is “A Pastoral Prayer for Easter” penned by Dr. John Killinger who was a guest with us here at FBC Pensacola just a few months ago:

O God, whose love was revealed at a cross and whose power was shown at an empty tomb, our hearts swell within us at the thought of your presence.  We know that we live too often on the wrong side of Easter, worrying about things that are trivial in the light of the Resurrection of Christ. Forgive us for our lack of faith, and teach us to live more daringly, more expectantly, more joyfully. Let the discovery of the first Christians, that evil is doomed in the world, take hold of our minds and transform them into vessels of hope and excitement. Show us how to submerge our self-interests, which are small and unworthy, into confidence in your eternal kingdom, which will come despite wars and injustice, ignorance and prejudice, illness and death.  Grant that we may become your agents of conversion and commitment in the world, feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, caring for the sick, and teaching the illiterate.  Make the spirit of resurrection contagious among us, that we may honor our Lord in active discipleship.  And grant that his name may ring out in every nation, like the gladness of bells, calling men and women everywhere to the mystery of redemption in the community of faith.  For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.

Dr. Pleitz said it very well:  “Easter is a blessed reminder that ALL is well…we are victorious even in death.”

This Sunday is Easter. Arrive early.  Bring the whole family. Place your flowers on the flowering cross.  Be prepared to worship.  And ask God to “make the spirit of resurrection contagious among us.”