<![CDATA[First Baptist Church - Pastor's Ponderings]]>

<![CDATA[First Baptist Church - Pastor's Ponderings]]>Fri, 25 May 2012 04:44:25 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[50 Different Directions]]>Wed, 09 May 2012 06:12:21 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2012/05/50-different-directions.html50 Different Directions

Have you ever felt like an octopus on roller skates? Our proverbial legs are all moving in opposite directions. We can start to feel pretty pooped with games, graduations, and parades stacked on top of all the regular stuff.

Why did Socrates make this statement? “Beware the barrenness of a busy life.” Even in ancient times people apparently equated busyness with significance. Is there something in our human DNA that drives us to pack all our days with a whirlwind of activities?

Life in Bible times was ordered primarily around care and cultivation of crops and livestock. Early civilizations in the Fertile Crescent usually worked from sunrise to sunset. Such diligence was highly esteemed by the Hebrew people as noted in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament. Yet there is another truth that God places along side a disciplined and diligent life.

God’s compassion is expressed in the biblical mandate that we honor a Sabbath of rest. Without a Sabbath day we become like that hobbit Bilbo Baggins on the occasion of his 111th birthday. Bilbo said, “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter, scraped over too much bread.”

We are not under the Law, but under grace. Yet our loving heavenly Father knows our spirits and souls need to be refreshed and refilled with a day of worship and reflection on God’s truth. Biblical commands such as keeping Sabbath or tithing our income are principles that actually bless our lives.

Change usually cannot happen immediately, especially when things are already set in our schedules. But our great Shepherd would call us to move toward practicing a Sabbath rest, with corporate worship as a higher priority.

Be Blessed!

Les

]]><![CDATA[Opportunities]]>Mon, 23 Apr 2012 09:00:28 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2012/04/opportunities.htmlPeriodically I like to chronicle a few of the exciting opportunities our church family can enjoy and also help serve. Be sure to mark these down and participate as you are able. Enjoy!   Les

April 28                  All church bowling free         5-7p.m.
                                      Pizza and soda is $2 per person

April 29                 Deacon breakfast during Sunday school hour

May 2                   Last Wednesday night meal and final AWANA
                                      Thanks Jan (meals) and Shirley (commander)

May 3                     National Day of Prayer at 1st Christian Church
                                      11:45 to 1:00p.m. Entire county gathering

May 6                     FBC youth lead services and graduates recognized

May 6                     AWANA awards in sanctuary    4p.m.

May 13                   Mother’s Day to include Baby/Child dedication
                                      Call Cari Myers or church office to be included

May 15                   Sonshine Preschool graduation        6:30p.m.

May 17                   High school Baccalaureate at FBC    6p.m.

June 2                    TABS (senior adults) Abilene, KS outing, all are welcome

June 9                    All church picnic and swim (swimming is free)
                                      Meal, fellowship, games           5 to 7p.m.
                                      FBC rents entire water park     7:30 to 9:30p.m.

June 11-15              Vacation Bible School                     9 to Noon

June 24                   Q. business meeting/youth meal        12:30p.m.

June 30                   TABS (senior adults) breakfast at Water’s Edge

July 8,15,22,29       Adult Sunday school electives         9:45a.m.

Aug. 3-5                 Annual youth retreat at camp Wajato near Lyons, KS

]]><![CDATA[Men's Bible Study Schedule]]>Tue, 13 Mar 2012 08:55:56 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2012/03/mens-bible-study-schedule.htmlMen’s Courageous Living Study

March 25      Courageous Call
             It takes courage to fight for my family.

April 1           Courageous Priorities
             It takes courage to value what matters most.

April 8                     No Study It's Resurrection Sunday
            Enjoy your family and friends.

April 15         Courageous Legacy
             It takes courage to impact future generations.

April 22         Courageous Faith
             It takes courage to stand for Christ.

Who:            Men out of high school age 18 and older; married or single
                    Study Facilitator - Les
When:           Sundays 6:15 to 7:45 p.m. = 90 Minutes
Where:         FBC upstairs in room #313 [Shalom Classroom]
What:           Will include discussing brief clips from the Courageous movie
                    Fun and honest confidential conversations
                    Digging deeper into God’s Word together
Bring:            A Bible, pen, notebook, and a teachable heart

]]><![CDATA[Next Step: Courageous Living Bible Study]]>Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:33:46 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2012/02/next-step-courageous-living-bible-study.htmlJust over 100 people attended the Courageous movie in our fellowship hall (based on the number of pop corn bags taken). I would like to thank Jerry Love for setting up the sound system and also thank Royal and Kimber Mellinger for getting the machine and making pop corn.

The creators of the Courageous movie have designed a four week Bible study as a follow-up to this movie. They included a DVD with movie clips to get discussions started. Each session is focused on studying God’s word. After looking over the material, I think the content would be beneficial for both men and women. There are practical applications for both the gents and the ladies.

One idea, I passed by Cari Myers, was an optional Sunday school elective on Sunday mornings during the Sunday school hour. We would continue with our normal classes, but I would just offer this study as an additional option for four weeks. Cari will solicit our Christian Education board’s input on this idea. If a few dozen people attended this study, we could set up round tables in our fellowship hall and have smaller discussion groups around each table.

Another idea was to have this as a men’s study on Sunday evenings while the ladies do their Beth Moore study. This might even increase the attendance at the Beth Moore study, if several guys came out for this Courageous Living discussion.

Is anyone interested in this follow-up study? When would you like to see this fun learning opportunity offered?

Let me know what you think.

Les

]]><![CDATA[Prayer Thrust Approaching]]>Wed, 08 Feb 2012 08:20:30 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2012/02/prayer-thrust-approaching.html

FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER
We agree! We agree that we need God to work in our life, family, church, community, nation and world. We agree that Jesus is the name of salvation, deliverance and strength. We agree with what Jesus says in Matthew 18:19, “Again, I tell you that if two of you agree about anything you ask for, it will done for you by my Father in heaven.”

The booklet “SEEK GOD FOR THE CITY 2012” has a page of prayers for each day from February 22 to April 1 (Palm Sunday). The prayers reach into the city to include specific groups of people and families. They also reach beyond the city to include our nation and the world. In short, it is a comprehensive, Bible-based prayer guide that expresses the hearts of Christians seeking a move of God.

Of the 100 prayer books that FBC purchased, there are about 15 left. You can still pick one up for $2.00 in the back of the sanctuary. Again, our 40 day prayer thrust will begin on February 22.

See you Sunday!

Les & Debbie Cantrell

]]><![CDATA[Responding to 2012 Doomsday Predictions]]>Wed, 25 Jan 2012 10:03:05 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2012/01/responding-to-2012-doomsday-predictions.html2012: Doomsday All Over Again
Written by Dr. Lawrence Terlizzese

Progress or Regress
It is the end of the world again. The world was predicted to end at least eight times in the past 30 years, from the Jupiter Effect in 1982 to what became a common punch line, “88 reasons why the rapture will happen in 1988.” Then there was the granddaddy of all false apocalyptic prophecies: the millennium bug of 2000, when it was widely held that all computers would fail at the turn of the millennium. Let’s not forget the two failed predictions of the end in 2011. Now the world faces yet another prediction of the end with the Mayan calendar prophecy of 2012. In an age of super-science, computers, space travel and accelerating progress, why are people fascinated with the end of the world?

We have all heard the phrase “What goes up must come down.” This captures the popular attitude towards progress and regress. Americans believe strongly in human perfectibility and the inevitability of technological progress. This idea states that as technology moves society from its primitive state to an advanced condition it will eventually improve, bringing a better tomorrow. The world is getting better and better. Faith in progress provides the engine for all the accelerating technological changes from space exploration, media, computers, to science and medicine. Historian Robert Nisbet noted the essential role of progress in our belief system when he said that progress does not represent one aspect of modern life, but in fact provides the keystone idea and context for the entire modern worldview, including democracy, equality, social justice and, of course, science and technology.{1} The modern world does not exist without the belief in progress. Technological improvement makes no sense without the larger telos, or purpose of history, guiding it. Simply put, all of this innovation leads to a utopian future.

So we are left with the question, If America is so progressive why is it so obsessed with the end of the world or apocalypticism, a belief that is not progressive, but regressive? This view of history does not move toward a utopian society of universal peace, ease and convenience, but rather toward calamity. Progress and regress share the same view of history. Any belief in progress necessarily has a regressive interpretation. They each look at the same circumstances and data and draw complementary conclusions. One sees the dawn of a great society, the other sees the end of the world. They represent complementary ideas in the same way life and death complement each other. What lives eventually dies, so what progresses will also necessarily regress.

All people intuitively know that they will die one day; so then society, the collective “person,” knows it too must one day die. If progress takes place we know that its opposite, regress, will also happen. Regressive thought states that the progress we take for granted potentially has a downside and in fact will result in something catastrophic. Our society will one day come to an end. It cannot live forever any more than an individual can live forever in a mortal body. We know that what goes up must come down. The current obsession over the end of the world in movies, such as 2012, Melancholia and Contagion or wildly popular novels such as the Left Behind series, the predictions of popular preachers or the Mayan prophecy all cater to our regressive and pessimistic side. This is not as bad as it first sounds. Death creates the foundation of all religion, philosophy and culture as attempts to provide answers for our questions and solace in times of doubt and need. The reality of death causes people to look for the meaning of life. Christians need to harness the regressive side of culture because it warns of imminent danger and offers the opportunity to introduce people to Jesus Christ. Regressive thinking, like the knowledge of our own death, makes us all aware of our need for God and the Savior. Believers must take advantage of this primal consciousness of the end to tell people about what the Bible says concerning the end of the world and the return of Christ. But in order to do this successfully we must first establish guidelines on how to identify false prophecy.

What the Bible Says
Today people are searching for the meaning of life in the wrong places, such as the prophecies of Nostradamus, astrology and, again, the Mayan prophecy of 2012. It is a sign of the end times when there are many false prophets talking about the end of the world (Matthew 24:11). The false prophet shows that people are aware that the end is near.

There are two rules in Scripture that will help believers identify false prophets, which should be followed without exception. First, prophecy must never set a date regarding when the world will end. Jesus spoke clearly about the signs of His return and the end of the world when He said, “But of the day and the hour no one knows” (Matthew 24:36). Anyone who comes to you with a firm date as to when the world will end such as December 21, 2012 should be avoided. Cultists continually violate this cardinal rule. For example, the Jehovah’s Witnesses have predicted the end of the world eight times between 1914 and 1975. Popular radio preacher Harold Camping predicted the end in 1994 and twice in 2011. The speculation surrounding the year 2000 was much like it is today over 2012. Scientific evidence was proffered predicting that all computers would fail at the turn of the last millennium. This warning was taken very seriously by most people who made preparations for the potential disaster, demonstrating the pervasive sentiment of impending of doom.

However, many Bible-believing Christians also fall prey to the error of date–setting, even if this practice is often veiled in vague language and logic. For example, when prophecy experts identify leading political figures as the Antichrist, such as Hitler, Mussolini or Saddam Hussein, they engage in false prophecy. This approach will invariably get us into trouble because it starts the clock ticking. If Saddam Hussein were the Antichrist, then logically Christ should have returned before the end of his life, since the Antichrist is the precursor to the coming of Christ (Rev. 6:2; 2 Thess. 2:3). However, we know that did not happen. In this way, identification of the Antichrist with any leading figure becomes false prophecy.

How much better it would have been to say Hussein was like the Antichrist or prefigured the Antichrist, rather than identify him as the Antichrist. This simple switch in focus spares us the humiliation of false prophecy, but retains all the power of moral denunciation that apocalyptic thinking offers.

This leads to the second rule of indentifying false prophecy: all prophecy must have a moral imperative. This means people should not engage in speculation and prognostication for the fun of it. A biblical approach to prophecy gives a warning about future judgment and a chance to repent: “Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of the prophecy, and heed the things which are written in it; for the time is near” (Rev. 1:3; see also 2 Thess. 2:1, 5-10). Prophecy engages in denouncing moral outrage, which is why it couches things in the strongest possible language. To say that the world is coming to an end or that someone is the Antichrist gets a lot of attention, but requires a moral cause to justify its claims.

If the prophecy gives a date and it lacks the moral imperative, then the prophecy reveals itself to be false and sensationalistic. The Mayan 2012 prophecy fails on both counts. Although it causes us to contemplate the end, it sets a date and offers no reason for why the world should end. It is simply doomsday all over again!

Notes

1. Robert Nisbet, History of the Idea of Progress (New York: Basic Books, 1980), 9, 171.

© 2012 Probe Ministries

]]><![CDATA[Powerful Verses to Stand On]]>Thu, 19 Jan 2012 07:25:21 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2012/01/powerful-verses-to-stand-on.htmlI love God's word so much. There are many verses that have sustained, encouraged, and empowered me over the years. I hope these few that I selected will bless you as much as they have me.
"I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you" (Josh. 1:5).
"... Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine" (Isa. 43:1).
"The Lord has sought out for Himself a man after His own heart" (1 Sam. 13:14).
"The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous runs into it and is safe" (Prov. 18:10).
"He has shattered gates of bronze And has cut bars of iron asunder" (Ps. 107:16). "But solid food is for the mature, who because of practice have their senses trained to discern good and evil" (Heb. 5:14).
"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit" (Prov. 18:21).
"He who tends the fig tree will eat its fruit" (Prov. 27:18).
"'Is not My word like fire,' declares the Lord, 'and like a hammer that shatters a rock?'" (Jer. 23:29).
"But Jesus answered and said to them, 'You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God'" (Mt. 22:29).
"The unfolding of Your words gives light..." (Ps. 119:130).
"I am watching over My word to perform it" (Jer. 1:12).

Be Blessed!
Les

]]><![CDATA[Flashes of Glory: The Power of God on Display]]>Mon, 16 Jan 2012 08:25:33 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2012/01/flashes-of-glory-the-power-of-god-on-display.htmlRevival is more than an isolated experience ... more than a week of extra services ... more than hype and manifestations. It is a "flash" of God's glory, which will one day cover the earth, being displayed before our eyes today. It's a divine foretaste of His kingdom come.

Such divine flashes illuminate American history. On several occasions, God has poured out His Spirit, and entire cities have turned to Him. Prayer meetings have swelled into the streets, and millions around the world have ultimately felt the impact. But could a reviving "flash" of this magnitude occur again?

The First Great Awakening (1734 . 1760)

Shaken from their spiritual slumber by the powerful preaching of men like Jonathan Edwards and George Whitefield, congregations across New England felt the presence of God descend in their midst. Many of these churches had fallen terribly out of step with God's plan, even to the point of ordaining unconverted ministers.

However, as the message of repentance and the lordship of Christ was heralded, the spiritual dam broke, and living water flooded the American landscape. So many souls were converted that some thought the millennial reign of Christ was at hand! The moral impact of this divine visitation laid the foundation for the formation of our system of government after the American Revolution.

The Second Great Awakening (1790 . 1840)

Spearheaded by evangelists like Asahel Nettleton, James McGready, Charles G. Finney, and a host of dedicated circuit riders, revival spread across the colonies and even the wild frontier territories. As power fell from heaven, believers lay prostrate before God in repentance. Tent meetings were filled for weeks at a time with thousands eager to hear the gospel.

Society was transformed as the revival spilled out of the church and into the world. Social reform movements sprang up to address societal evils such as child labor, alcoholism, poverty, the suppression of women, and the terrible blight of slavery.

And, in an unprecedented way, missionary organizations were founded that still carry the gospel to the farthest corners of the world. It was during this era that the famous hymn "Just As I Am" was penne d a fitting message that described the hearts of so many Americans whose lives were forever changed by the revival.

The Great Prayer Revival (1857 . 1858)

By 1857 the need for revival was again apparent in our nation's churches. Preoccupied by growing wealth, hearts had grown spiritually cold, and most had forsaken God completely.

Jeremiah Lanphier, a concerned businessman, decided to pray that God would change people's hearts. On September 23, 1857, he held a prayer meeting in the Old Dutch Reformed Church on Fulton Street in New York City. Only six people participated, but Lanphier persevered. Every week, more people came. When the stock market crashed, the prayer meeting was flooded with suddenly awakened souls. At its height, more than 10,000 were estimated in attendance.

Additional prayer meetings sprang up across the Eastern Seaboard, the frontier, and even into California. God was on the move once again, and as many as 50,000 people a week were being converted.

It has been said that there are revivals without much preaching, but there are never revivals without much praying. The Great Prayer Revival of 1857 . 58 stands as eloquent testimony to that fact. God only needs a few brave souls who will step out in faith and believe Him to do mighty things.

So, when will the next "flash" of God's glory occur? Judging from the pattern of history, a revival in North America is long overdue. We need a new work of God for a new generation, so the world may know that there is indeed a God who lives, who empowers, and who changes the destiny of those who call on Him.

Revive Magazine, Summer 2011, Volume 42, Issue 3, p. 22. ]]><![CDATA[Seek God for the City 2012]]>Sun, 08 Jan 2012 18:20:30 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2012/01/seek-god-for-the-city-2012.html

FORTY DAYS OF PRAYER
We agree! We agree that we need God to work in our life, family, church, community, nation and world. We agree that Jesus is the name of salvation, deliverance and strength. We agree with what Jesus says in Matthew 18:19, “Again, I tell you that if two of you agree about anything you ask for, it will done for you by my Father in heaven.”

The booklet “SEEK GOD FOR THE CITY 2012” has a page of prayers for each day from February 22 to April 1 (Palm Sunday). The prayers reach into the city to include specific groups of people and families. They also reach beyond the city to include our nation and the world. In short, it is a comprehensive, Bible-based prayer guide that expresses the hearts of Christians seeking a move of God.

We are excited that already over 40 of you signed up to receive a booklet and agree with each other in prayer. We find it amazing that we can sit in our respective homes and pray in agreement - the same thing on the same day. Debbie will be in the back of the sanctuary this Sunday to continue the sign up. The cost for the booklet is $2.00 -- a great deal! We hope you agree with us.

See you Sunday!

Les & Debbie Cantrell

]]><![CDATA[Great Faith]]>Mon, 19 Dec 2011 06:26:39 -0800http://www.fbcmcpherson.com/1/post/2011/12/great-faith.htmlFaith says, "I trust God's character and God's word more than I trust my circumstances." Our circumstances do not define ultimate reality. Confidence in the Lord is the evidence of our faith.

Jesus met a Roman commander of between 80 and 800 well-equipped and highly trained special forces soliders. The number under this man's command was based on his rank as a centurion. With compassion and courage this centurion came to Jesus seeking healing for his young servant. Through his encounter with Jesus we learn several things about great faith.

1. Faith is specific not general.
2. Faith is built on God's character.
3. Faith recognizes God's grace.
4. Faith rest squarely on God's word.
5. Faith sees into God's unseen domain.
6. Faith can be wonderful and astonishing to God.
7. Faith receives from the Lord.

Today, it is perfectly okay to acknowledge our circumstances. However, we choose to continually confess with our mouths the truth of God's character and God's word. One day our faith will be sight; we will see face-to-face what we have known and increasingly anticipated all along. ]]>