Fee Fee Baptist Church

Tag: A Word From

  • A Word From Our Prayer Warriors – Vol. 63, No. 1

    Do you need some ideas to direct your prayer time on those snowy and wintery days so typical of January? Find a comfortable chair, grab your favorite hot beverage, slip on a warm sweater, and have a Personal Prayer Retreat!

    • Read a short book from the Bible: Mark, Ephesians, Philippians or 1 John. Talk to the Lord about what you are reading as you go. Share with Him what you feel when you read His words. Confess any sins He reveals. Let Him know what encourages, challenges, confuses, or stresses you as you hear His heart through this portion of Scripture.
    • Play a worship CD and sing your worship to God.
    • Pray some of the great prayers of all time. You might start with the Psalms or John 17. Use Google to look at Great Prayers or Famous Prayers. If you find you can’t pray parts of the prayer, sincerely stop, and talk to God about it. Ask Him to search your heart, to show you why it’s difficult for you to pray the part in question.
    • Ask the Lord to refresh you spiritually and physically. Prayerfully select Scripture from the following: Ps 23:2-3, 62:1-5, 91:1, Prov. 11:25, Is 30:15, Mt 11:28-29, Acts 3:19, Heb 4:1-11. Sit and meditate on the verses, letting each word or phrase soak in. Ask God’s Spirit to let you see and experience all He has for you from these Scriptures.
    • Bring a specific burden to the Lord and ask Him for wisdom, comfort, perspective, direction, correction, or help with it. Tell Him exactly how you feel, even if you feel angry, discouraged, confused, or skeptical. Invite Him to speak to you about your concern. Take time with this. Heart-to-heart conversations are not to be hurried.
    • Spend time in intercession for those whom you have committed to pray. Ask the Holy Spirit to show you how to pray for them. He may lead you to intercede for their spiritual, mental, physical, emotional, or relational lives. Linger over the things God shows you to pray about and that seem especially significant.
    • Ask God what He would like to talk to you about, and then just listen. Let Him pick the topic for a change. Write down what you believe He is saying so that you can reflect on it and respond to it.
    • Make notes or journal about what was most significant or enjoyable about what you and God have shared together. Keep these notes to reflect upon in the future.1

    If you follow all or some of these steps, you will find that the prayer concerns we normally mention here have been included in your prayers.

    Have a happy, prayerful, and blessed 2023.

    Larry Condra

    Prayer Warrior

     

    1Cynthia Bezek, “Ideas for Your Personal Prayer Retreat”, Pray!, Jan/Feb 2007, p. 32.

  • A Word From Interim Pastor, Matt Easter – Vol. 62, No. 25

    It’s Christmas!

    At Christmas we celebrate the Incarnation: when God became human. As I mentioned in my sermon on Sunday, there is perhaps no greater mystery of our faith than God becoming one of us. On Sunday we explored the ways the New Testament describes Jesus as fully God and fully human. Here I wanted to dig a bit deeper into the theology of the Incarnation.

    The early Church stressed the central importance of God becoming human. Simply put, if Jesus didn’t become one of us, then none of us will be saved. Jesus had to become one of us in every way (yet without sin). Heretical views wouldn’t cut it. Some heretics were teaching Jesus was not actually a human, but only appeared that way (like a hologram). Others claimed he was only a human who God later adopted as his son. Others believed Jesus was human on the outside and divine on the inside (like a human-divine Reese’s peanut butter cup). None of these answers will do. The Church has insisted that Jesus was completely human and completely God, “unconfusedly, unchangeably, indivisibly, inseparably” (Definition of Chalcedon, AD 451). Jesus was not a human hologram, he was not merely adopted as God’s son, and he was not God in a human shell. No, Jesus had to be the true God-man to save humans. But why? Two theologians from the 4th century (both named Gregory, incidentally!) give us the answer.

    First, Jesus had to become human like us physically. Gregory Nazianzen wrote, “For that which he has not assumed he has not healed.” Gregory explains, “If only half Adam fell, then that which Christ assumes and saves may be half also; but if the whole of his nature fell, it must be united to the whole nature of him that was begotten, and so be saved as a whole” (“Epistle 101”). All of humanity has fallen, and so at Christmas we celebrate the messiah who redeemed our entire fallen human nature.

    Second, Jesus had to experience life like we do. Gregory Nazianzen’s friend, Gregory of Nyssa, explains in his “Address on Religious Instruction” that Jesus united to every phase of human experience to redeem us. He offers the example of washing dirt off garments. A person laundering a garment does not remove only a few stains but tries to clean the whole garment from top to bottom to achieve uniform brightness and cleanliness. In the same way, human life is stained with sin from beginning to end: from birth to death. It would make no sense to cleanse one end while ignoring the other. Therefore, Christ had to assume flesh through birth and be obedient to death in order heal humanity. Jesus experienced an entire human life, and since the incarnate Christ was resurrected, humans who die with him can look forward to their own resurrection in the Last Day.

    Hail the Incarnate Deity!

    Merry Christmas,

    Matt Easter

    Interim Pastor

  • A Word From Our Prayer Warriors – Vol. 62, No. 24

    Many of our Christmas traditions center around children. The Christmas story itself revolves around the birth of the infant Jesus and his dependance upon his family: Mary and Joseph. In human terms, children are meant to grow from dependence to independence. But in our relationship with God, maturity means moving from independence to dependence on Him. Jesus illustrated our dependent ways when He taught His disciples and all of us who have come to believe in Him – to pray, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). He was teaching a prayer of dependence. Jesus illustrates our dependence even more clearly in the metaphor of the vine and branches.

    “I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing,” (John 15:5).

    It is impossible to forget that during December so many of our personal and church activities focus upon the birth of our Lord. That is as it should be. Likewise, in this time of transition and beginning of the pastor search process we need to pray for strong consistency and focus on all the present ministries of the church. Please pray that the Lord will grant great power to our interim pastors, Dr. Matt Easter and Derald Harris, as well as to our staff, leaders, and workers in all of our ministries and worship this month.

    Our new Pastor Search Committee must be a continuing major focus for our prayers. As they organize and prepare themselves for the task before them, pray for deep spiritual cleansing and fullness of the Holy Spirit in each team member. Pray this for each member by name:

    • Mia Baugher
    • Ashley Bowman
    • Betsy Brisch
    • Don Jack
    • Caitlin Knepper
    • Brian Land
    • David Pfeiffer
    • James Wittig

    As Jesus said in John 15:5, it is not our activity that produces fruit, it is our relationship with Him.

    Merry Christmas and God Bless Fee Fee Baptist Church!

     

    Larry Condra

    Prayer Warrior

  • A Word From Interim Pastor, Derald Harris – Vol. 62, No. 23

    Fee Fee Family,

    I am honored to be one of your Interim Pastors.

    I am enjoying and being inspired by Pastor Matt’s messages on Sunday mornings. My role is more focused on the administrative side of the ministries of the church. I am working with our great staff as they lead in ministering to the community and to our members. I will be leading Bible Study on Wednesday nights. And I am available to assist in ministering to the spiritual needs of our congregation. My time will be somewhat limited until the end of the year when I officially retire from my full-time job at Missouri Baptist Children’s Home.

    It is hard to believe, but Christmas is just around the corner. For all too many people, this is a season of high stress. We create much of that stress for ourselves by everything we try to do in just a few short weeks.

    During the Christmas season we decide to have more parties in one month than the rest of the year combined. In addition, we say, “let’s write a personal note to every person we’ve ever met in our lives.” If that weren’t enough, we redecorate our houses on the outside and the inside. Then we try to buy a special gift for every person we love. And, as if all of this wasn’t crazy enough, we say, “Let’s let the kids out of school for 2 weeks!”

    It’s crazy what we do to ourselves. No wonder we have stress! Our hectic schedules and the stress they bring often cause us to lose sight of what Christmas is all about.

    The most important thing about Christmas is seeking Christ. Much of the Christmas story is about people seeking Christ – from the lowly shepherds who were told by an angel how to find the baby to wise men who were led by a star.

    But the most important element of the story is not the search for Christ. It is when both the shepherds and the wise men found Jesus. Matthew and Luke tell us that finding Jesus caused the shepherds to glorify and praise God and the wise men to fall on their knees in worship.

    It is my prayer that you enjoy all the activities of Christmas – the various church and school programs, family events, etc. – but that through all of that, you will truly seek Christ. And when you find Him, be sure to share Him with others.

    May you have a blessed Christmas season.

    Pastor Derald Harris

  • A Word From Our Prayer Warriors – Vol. 62, No. 22

    November is here and the Thanksgiving holiday is approaching. Here are a few Bible verses to remind us to always be thankful to and for our Lord.

    “Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever,” (1 Chron. 16:34).

    “Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus,” (1 Thess. 5:17-18).

    “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him,” (Colossians 3:17).

    “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful,” (Colossians 4:2).

    Even though we are in the midst of more changes at FFBC, there is still so much for us to be thankful for. While we will be searching for a pastor, it is important to remember we still have a Shepherd who is the head of the church (the global church and of FFBC). And we have staff and deacons that seek the Lord first while also leading (and serving) FFBC.

    Here are some prayer suggestions for this month:

    • Wisdom and discernment for our Deacons, the Personnel Committee, our Staff, and those who will be on the Search Committee during the pastor search process. Also, that we be patient for the Lord’s timing.
    • Pastor Zach and his family as they follow the Lord into a new ministry.
    • Our interim pastors Matt Easter and Derald Harris.
    • The pastor (and his family) the Lord has planned to be the next pastor at FFBC.
    • The work occurring now in getting ready for the Christmas Presentation in December.
    • Operation Christmas Child ministry.
    • The Worship Services and Bible Studies.
    • Be still and listen for what the Lord leads you to pray about.

    Do you have a Blessings / Give Thanks jar, box, or notebook? If not, this might be a good month to start one. In our day-to-day living, it is easy to forget the blessings we receive, or not even notice things for which to be thankful. Like a sunset or sunrise, hearing a chorus of bird calls, listening to the rain, feeling a gentle breeze, watching clouds and their ever-changing patterns, or perhaps a car accident that didn’t occur, blessings coming out of a difficult circumstance, having time to spend with family and friends, and so on.

    Nanette Tipton

    Prayer Warrior

  • A Word From Interim Pastor, Matt Easter – Vol. 62, No. 21

    Hello Fee Fee family! Thank you for the kindness you’ve shown me and my family these first few weeks together. I knew many of you already, and so serving at Fee Fee as interim pastor has come naturally. My wife (Andrea) and our three kids (Evie, Ellie, and John) felt at home on week one. You have been so gracious, and we are very thankful. I’m looking forward to working with Derald and the staff in the months to come.

    The role of interim pastor is unique. As interim, I am not your permanent pastor, but am instead called to help prepare us for the next season of ministry. God already knows who the next pastor of Fee Fee Baptist Church is … we just need to find him. In the meantime, I will be walking with you during this season of transition so we can hit the ground running when the new pastor arrives in God’s timing.

    God has done great things at Fee Fee Baptist Church since 1807, and God isn’t done working. I am reminded of Paul’s encouragement to the church in Philippi: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6, NRSV). This verse is not primarily about the work that God does in us as individuals (although that is surely true too), but about what God is doing in the church. In fact, the Greek word for “you” here (and throughout the letter) is plural. When you read “you,” think “y’all” or “you guys”: “I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among y’all will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” The main idea is not that God began a good work in each individual believer, but rather that God began a good work among the believers as a group. It’s about the church.

    I believe Paul’s encouragement to the Philippian church in the first century is God’s word for Fee Fee Baptist Church today. God began a good work among y’all in 1807. That was a long time ago – Napoleon was marching across Europe at the time – but God isn’t done with us yet. God’s mission for Fee Fee stays the same: “Fee Fee Baptist Church exists to make disciples who build their lives on Jesus and pursue the good of our community for the glory of God.” This is a bold goal that requires a bold faith in God. But we’re not alone, as Moses told the Israelites: “Be strong and bold; have no fear or dread of them, because it is the LORD your God who goes with you; he will not fail you or forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). God’s not done with Fee Fee, so let’s keep building and pursuing together.

    In Christ,

    Matt Easter, Interim Pastor