FBC Weekly Update

Greetings, everyone! I am looking forward to being back with you, my beloved people, as we gather for worship on the Lord's Day. My deepest thanks to all those who assisted with the worship service last week, especially Bro. Jerry Scott for so ably bringing the preached word on "Grace" (follow the link to listen to the message and you will be blessed as I was), Deacon Don Burns for the reading of Scripture, and Pastor Kyle for putting it all together. It was a blessing to know that you all were in such good hands as my family and I were away to bury my brother. Sunday morning, we were able to fellowship with my friend Jamie Tickel, pastor at First Baptist Joplin, whom we had not seen in many years. If you are ever in the Joplin area on Sunday morning, drop in and see them at 9 am or 10:30 am. Since they were not passing out bulletins, I was not able to get signed "proof" that we were there, so you will just have to take my word for it! Seriously, if you are traveling on the Lord's Day, please take advantage of the opportunity to find and fellowship with a Bible-teaching congregation. (Because of our current circumstances, I recommend calling ahead or visiting their website to make sure they are meeting in person).

TOMORROW IS THE LORD’S DAY! As we assemble tomorrow, we will once again focus on Acts 2. Lord willing, we will examine Peters's sermon on the day of Pentecost as given in verses 14-41. We will at the very least be reading the entire passage since it should be considered as a whole. We will study as much as time permits. If you would, take a few moments to read, reflect, and meditate on the following passages that will form the outline for our gathered worship tomorrow. Click anywhere on the link to bring up all the selections. It will take approximately 10 minutes or so to read them all.
Fighter Verses: Psalm 34:1-3 Call to Worship Psalm 89:1-4, 15-18 OT: Genesis 22:1-14 NT: Romans 6:12-23 Assurance of Pardon: 1 John 1:7-10 Sermon: Acts 2:14-41 Benediction: Numbers 6:24-26

THIS WEEK I have been asked to serve as camp pastor for Super C Kids' Camp near Polo sponsored by Midland Ministries, Monday through Thursday. Prayers appreciated as children entering grades 4-6 gather there. I'm not sure how many campers will be involved total, but we have at least one camper from our church going (Keely H.). Temperature checks will be done upon check-in and some throughout the week as needed. Pray for the unction of God's Spirit as the Word is proclaimed to young and tender hearts.

COMING UP Tentatively scheduled Member Meeting Sunday evening, July 12, at 6 pm, in the Great Room.

FIGHTER VERSES As noted above, our Fighter Verses this week are Psalm 34:1-3. This is the beginning of eight weeks of memorizing Psalm 34 in its entirety. Similar to Psalm 119, this psalm is a modified acrostic, meaning each line begins with a different letter of the Hebrew alphabet. Usually, an acrostic psalm begins with the first letter (ALEPH) and ends with the last letter (TAW), but Psalm 34 has no line for the sixth letter (WAW) and the line for the 17th letter (PE) is out of order, coming last. I know this information is a little "inside baseball," but I share it as a reminder that David himself was not above using a simple structural device like an acrostic (under the Holy Spirit's inspiration, of course) to compose the psalms. The doctrine of verbal (the words themselves), plenary (full or whole) inspiration of the Scripture includes the use of such devices by the biblical writers.


BONUS
Remember the toys that used to come with a notice on the box "batteries not included"? It is my belief that the current culture we live in should include a similar notice: "discernment not included." Consider that one of the great benefits of this technological age is the unfettered access to myriad sermons, lectures, conference messages, Bible studies, podcasts, panel discussions, etc., simply by clicking a link on our device of choice. This benefit is both blessing and curse because the technology does not come with a "discernment not included" notice. One thing I hope to be able to do is point you to resources from trusted speakers, writers, preachers, teachers, professors, and the like, that will serve to equip you for Kingdom living and Kingdom ministry under the Lordship of Christ. No human being is infallible, but some are more trustworthy than others. Dr. James White is among the trustworthy and discerning teachers, and I commend to you his message to the G3 Conference entitled "An Exegetical and Historical Examination of the Woke Church Movement."
In case you don't know what "woke" means, it is a term used by those on the theological and social progressive left to refer to those who are awakened (that is, affirming and embracing) to the social and racial justice movement as it currently is being advanced by them. White rejects "wokeness," and he does so by means of this examination of Colossians 3. This message is from January 2019.


See you in church!


Grace and peace,


Pastor Greg