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10/21/2021 0 Comments

Forever language

Beloved of God,
It was so good to have so many of you join us this week for our BASIC dinner and MoTR night. I want to say a special thanks to the folks who manned the grill, served the food, set up activities for kiddos, and cleaned up after. It was so good to be with all of you.
     On Sunday we will be having our bi-monthly congregational meeting. It is going to be an important one, and likely will demand some more time to move through the agenda. We are planning on having Pizza available for lunch as we work. If you are a member of this church, please plan on being present.

    Our Scripture reading for this week comes from Hebrews 7:23-28. The author of Hebrews is teaching about the wonder of having Jesus as both our high priest, and our perfect sacrifice. It is “forever” language, it’s the language of completion and perfection. Jesus has secured a salvation for us that needs no renewal or refurbishment. It is salvation for always.
    And yet Jesus doesn’t just hang it up. Despite having offered a perfect sacrifice that saves us from our sins entirely, Jesus persists in his role as priest. Verse 25 tells us that, he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. Jesus loves us enough not just to “save” us and “shelve” us. Instead, he stays involved in the ongoing work of sanctification through our lives. He doesn’t quit just because the work is done.
As you run into moments of discouragement, or despair, remind yourself that your High Priest, who has completed perfectly the work of salvation for you, still stands ready to intercede for you. You are not abandoned or alone.
Please join me this week in praying for:

An end to this pandemic.
Wisdom for the congregation as we meet together on Sunday.
Those among us who are recovering from sicknesses or hurts in body, mind, or spirit.
Those who are trying to do good and necessary work, but are feeling worn through, or stretched thin. Pray for their refreshment and renewal.
Those in positions of public trust at the federal, state, and local level.
First responders who address emergencies on our roads, in our wildlands, in our towns and even in our homes.
Doctors, nurses, PA’s, paramedics and others working to keep us all well.
Members of our community and others who are facing big changes and big decisions.
In praise for fellowship over burgers, loud happy kid noises, and the blessing of each others’ company.
One another (please email if you’d like to be added to our prayer ministry).[email protected]

You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world,
Marshall

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10/14/2021 0 Comments

Members of one body

Beloved of God,
     I hope you are planning on joining us for BASIC dinner on October 20th. Our MoTR program for children will be “hosting” dinner that evening, and if you have kiddos in tow dinner will be covered and some special activities will follow. If you don’t have children, please come anyway. It will be so good to be together and break bread after a long hiatus.
    Please be praying as we approach our congregational meeting on October 24th. There has been much work to develop consensus over the last 9 months, and the hope is that we can address the remaining proposals for revision in this meeting in order to vote on them all In a succeeding meeting. Copies of the bylaws including revisions to date will be available this Sunday.
    I mentioned last Sunday that I intend to begin calling for a vote on those who petition for membership on the same day that they come forward and testify about their faith. I want to say a few words about why I think this change is important.
    Each Sunday as we come to worship, whether we realize it or not, we are participating in a regular meeting of this church as defined by our bylaws:
Meetings for the purpose of worship and ministry are held as scheduled by the pastor and associate pastor(s) in consultation with the church council, the deacons, and/or various ministry leaders.
You will notice that the purpose of these meetings is worship and ministry, which means there is a narrow sense in which Sunday worship is a meeting. But I think that when persons are petitioning to join our church by offering testimony, or by making confession and seeking Baptism, and committing to follow Christ in our company, that is not a business function. That is a ministerial function. I believe that we need not wait, sometimes months at a time, in order for those folks to be received by the fellowship of believers and welcomed into our midst.
    There is a long-standing paradigm of this practice in Baptist churches, and while each Baptist church is autonomous, I believe this practice accords with the intent of our bylaws. In order to keep faith with you, here is my commitment around this practice as your pastor:

I am not going to exceed the express limits of this provision by bringing up business that does not pertain directly to matters of worship and ministry, namely, the petitions of individuals seeking to join us as we follow Christ.
As I call us into that moment, I will neither make the motion to receive a member, nor offer a second on such a motion. It will be your responsibility either to receive them or reject them.

I will tell you that this very Sunday, there are some faithful folks who have been among us for more than six months. They are going to be petitioning this congregation for membership, and I hope you will be praying for them and for this church as we prepare to hear from them. Recall as you do the Apostle Paul’s words about what constitutes a church body.
Please join me this week in praying for:

An end to this pandemic.
Those among us who are sick, hurt, or suffering in body, mind, or spirit.
Those among us facing difficult decisions and new possibilities.
Doctors, nurses, PA’s, paramedics, and others working to keep us all well.
Parents in our community who are facing worry as they care for their children.
First responders as they address emergencies on our roads, in our wildlands, in our towns, and even in our homes.
In praise for the change in the weather, and the shift of the seasons; they are signs of God’s presence and care for creation.
Folks among us, and in our community, who are missing someone they lost through the year.
Each other (please email [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).

You are the salt of the earth; you are the light of the world,
Marshall

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10/7/2021 0 Comments

God Calls Us to be Faithful

Beloved of God,

    In the coming weeks, the church council is going to be asking that the congregation submit nominations for the 2022 council. The church council is tasked with stewardship of the church finances, real estate, property, and personnel, other than the pastoral called staff. I hope that if you hold these gifts, or know somebody among us who does, that you will consider submitting a nomination.
    We are currently a congregation of about 125 members, and not all of us will have gifts that suit the task that the council is given. Please be thinking and praying about this over the next few weeks. It may be that you are more gifted than you realize, or that you see a gift for this work in someone that they do not yet see in themselves. More information will follow through the month.
    Please mark your calendars for our BASIC kickoff event on the 20th of October. I am so excited to have this opportunity for fellowship to start up again, and to renew the ancient Christian discipline of eating together. Adults can eat for $6, children 6-12 for $3, and anyone younger than that is on us. See you soon. Come hungry!

Our Scripture reading this week is from the book of Hebrews 4:12-16, and it's a set of verses that will be deeply familiar to us as Baptists. It is obviously a grand endorsement of the power of God’s Word. It is also a picture of astounding grace, and a call to proper Christian confidence. But I want us to notice the way these verses caution us against despair, and give us a reason for hope.
The previous passage, from about Hebrews 3:12 on, is offering a word of caution from Israel’s history. It seems that the community who originally received this message had been dealing with the problem of apostasy, folks who lived as Christians for a while and then just...disappeared. We’ve seen this before says the author of Hebrews and this breach of faithfulness doesn’t end well. The most pointed word about this comes right here in Heb 4:12-13. We are on the hook even for our small breaches of faithfulness, not just the big ones that we find when people turn their back on their faith. God sees all of it, and we’re accountable for all of it.
You can see why somebody with a clear view of themselves might despair, can’t you? And this is why the next verses are so very important.

Heb. 4:14     Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has ascended into heaven, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. 16 Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

God calls us to be faithful with a perfect understanding of just how weak we are. While God doesn’t soften the call, God gives us a High Priest in Jesus who offers perfect help where our imperfect faith may fail. Beloved of God, be faithful in everything. But when you are not, seek out our High Priest, who will not withhold from you His mercy and grace.

Please join me this week in praying for:

An end to this pandemic
Doctors, nurses, PA’s, paramedics, and others working to keep us all well.
Those facing difficult circumstances personally, professionally, and financially in a season that is already hard.
Those among us who are hurt or sick in body, mind, or spirit.
For young people, especially students, who are bearing the effects of COVID on themselves and their friends.
First responders as they address emergencies on our roads, in our wildlands, in our towns and even our homes.
The church council as they enter the last quarter of the year, and for next year’s council as they are called into service.
Those in positions of public trust at the federal, state, and local level.
Each other (please contact [email protected] if you’d like to be added to our prayer list).