“With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
This is one of those psalms to pray when the wheels have fallen off the thing and nothing is going your way. The context note tells us that it was a prayer of David’s when he was in the cave. That alone gives us some hope that this is a good prayer for hopeless-seeming situations even without any of the other words. Read the rest…
This past Sunday we began a brand new sermon series called “Who We Are.” For the next few weeks we are going to be taking a look at who First Baptist is; at who God made us to be. Along the way we’ll be talking about identity as a church and how we can stand firmly in line with God’s design for us. If you want a better idea of who First Baptist is or what it looks like for a church to wrestle together with God’s plans for them, you won’t want to miss a single part of this series. Thanks for reading and listening.
Making Connections
Do you know who you are? We talked back before Christmas about the fact that Jesus helps us become fully who God made us to be. As powerful a truth as that is, though, if we don’t have at least some kind of a clue as to who that might be, it’s hard to move with anything resembling intentionality in that direction. This applies to us as individuals to be sure, but it applies every bit as much and maybe even a little bit more as a church. The funny thing about the church is that it is made up of individuals. It is made up of individuals who might know themselves incredibly well, but who may or may not understand who God made them to be and how God designed them to work as a group. Read the rest…
“I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
This is more of a note of explanation than inspiration. Many interpreters over the years have read this verse and come to the conclusion that Jesus’s point is that it is better to be either on fire for Him or else against Him than it is to be merely half-heartedly committed to Him. This may preach well, but it is almost totally wrong.
The city of Laodicea was located a long way from a source of fresh water. There were two different sources within the region. One was a hot springs and one cold. In order to get the water to the city, it had to be carried there via aqueduct. This got water for the city, but by the time it arrived from either source, it was neither hot nor cold.
Hot water was useful. You could wash with it. You could bathe in it. You could cook with it. The same was true of cold water. You could drink it, wash with it, cook with it. Both hot and cold water were useful. The water, however, arrived lukewarm. Have you ever picked up a cup of water to drink and found it to be stale and at room temperature? It’s gross. It’s worthless. It serves no useful purpose. The only thing you want to do is spit it out.
That’s Jesus’s point here. Hot and cold both symbolize usefulness and passion. Either was good. But, half-hearted commitment benefitted no one anything. Jesus wants all of us, not some of us. Splitting our attention between Him and something else does Him no good. It doesn’t help us any either. Give yourself to Jesus fully and without reserve. He’s worth it.
“…as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Here, Paul is talking about his current physical situation and how some folks are responding to it. Just before v. 20 here, he talks about people who are sharing the Gospel out of both pure and selfish motives. Either way, Paul says, the Gospel is proclaimed, which brings him joy. Verse 20 is followed by his much more famous declaration that to live is Christ, but to die is gain. Read the rest…
“Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.” (ESV – Read the chapter)
Have you ever struggled with feeling known? One of the challenges of social media today is that a person can have hundreds, even thousands of followers, but no one who really knows them. We need to be known. This desire isn’t just a symptom of an unhealthy ego, it is a fundamental need as humans. Read the rest…
The Nexus 