Fee Fee Baptist Church

Tag: Grounded

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 61, No. 1

    I want to start off 2021 by letting you know that I am praying for you. I am praying that you are reading through the New Testament with us during our Grounded initiative. Also, I am praying that you are part of a virtual transformation group to discuss God’s Word with others. I think God’s Word is something that we need more of this year!

    Besides God’s Word, I’d love to pose a question to you: What is something else that we need more of in 2021?

    I think there are a lot of pretty good answers. I bet a lot of you thought we need more vaccines, and you’re not wrong! However, our staff just finished reading a book together that gave me a different perspective on what we need more of in 2021. That book, Christians in the Age of Outrage, shares some challenging statistics as the author, Ed Stetzer, encourages the church to be a positive influence in our increasingly divided culture. The final chapter of the book begins with these two alarming statistics:

    1. Only 14% of people with no friendships with evangelical Christians describe Christians with one or more of these positive descriptors: compassionate, principled, charitable, and/or ethical.
    2. Only 46% of people who have friendships with an evangelical Christian describe evangelicals with one or more of these same positive descriptors.

    What does that mean? Simply put, the majority of lost people don’t see Christians as being kind. Over 80% of lost people who don’t have a friendship with a Christian don’t see us as being kind. And, maybe even more alarming is the fact that over 50% of lost people who have a friendship with a Christian still don’t see us as being kind. That leads me to what I think we need more of in our country this year: kindness!

    It breaks my heart that the majority of lost people, even those who have a friendship with an evangelical Christian, don’t see believers as being compassionate or charitable. We know that Scripture tells us that it is God’s kindness that leads us to repentance! I think that His church showing kindness to others could make a huge difference in 2021.

    We all know that last year was incredibly challenging. And while there might be a light at the end of the tunnel, it is still going to be quite some time before this pandemic is behind us. So what can we do in the midst of this storm? I think we can start by simply committing to being kind to others around us.

    For my family, one of our goals for 2021 is to do six different “random acts of kindness” during this year. We want to set aside specific times where we will intentionally be kind to our neighbors and our community.

    We know that Jesus tells us that the greatest commandment is to love God and the second is to love our neighbor as we love ourselves. What do you think our church can do this year to show God’s love for others and to demonstrate kindness to the lost world around us? It’s my prayer that our church will be full of kindness this year!

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • Prime Time – Vol. 61, No. 1

    On a recent Live Prayer time, I was encouraged by the number of you who had accepted the challenge of reading through the New Testament in 90 days together. It is exciting and encouraging to think that God can transform us through the power of His Word.

    I’m sure there will be days when we get behind. Saturdays and Sundays are a great day to catch up since there are no assigned readings on the weekends. If you are like me, some days are just busy. I just finished reading Matthew 5-7 and it is 10:38. That is p.m. – not a.m. As I finished today’s passage, I was struck by what it must have been like to hear Jesus teach the radical concepts He taught His disciples in the sermon in the mount. Yes, I just said the disciples. I think we often think He was teaching a crowd but reread 5:1. He started with just His disciples who He was preparing for the days and mission ahead. It quickly becomes obvious that God’s way of living usually contradicts the worlds. I’m sure by the end of chapter 7, great crowds had gathered to hear the radical way of living that God expects of His followers as He said, “You have heard it said, but I say to you.” Imagine their surprise when He concluded by commanding them to be perfect!

    If you would like to talk with others in the church who are reading through the New Testament, please consider joining a Transformation Group. You can join at any time. A different person will be the leader each weekday and will share their take on the Scripture reading for that day. Others in the group can then comment or just give it a thumbs up. All you need is a smart phone or tablet and the Marco Polo app. Let me know if you are interested.

  • Prime Time – Vol. 60, No. 25

    Hope you all had a very Merry Christmas! As we quickly approach the new year, I want to encourage you to join me in a challenge. Beginning January 4, the entire church family will begin reading the entire New Testament by reading about three chapters a day using the Grounded reading plan. You can find this plan online but if you do not have a computer or a smart phone, we will have copies available in the Welcome Center.

    Our emphasis for 2021 is on discipleship and there is no better way to become more grounded than engaging with Scripture five times per week.

    I am personally challenging each one of you to sign up for our Marco Polo groups, which is a virtual mini discussion group, that will talk about what you read in Scripture Monday through Friday. All you need to do a Marco Polo group is a smart phone. I know that many of you have already stopped reading because you think this is too hard. Please take a minute to talk to a staff member or a deacon, like Bob Foster or Bob Nowlin, about their experience with Marco Polo.  I think they can convince you otherwise. All you have to do is download the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play and we will give you instructions of what to do next.

    Consider stretching yourself this year and become a faithful disciple of Jesus!

  • A Word From Pastor Zach – Vol. 60, No. 25

    2021 is right around the corner. After what we have endured this year, I know many of us our ready to put 2020 in our rearview mirrors! With the new year coming, it is always a great time to set some goals for the new year. While we often talk about losing weight or exercising more, I’d love for you to consider what spiritual goals you would like to set for the next year.

    How would you like to have 228% higher odds of sharing your faith in 2021? How about having 231% better odds in discipling others? Or how about 407% better odds in memorizing Scripture this year?

    What if I told you that academic research has been done and has shown that those percentages to be true, based on one particular factor: reading Scripture at least four days a week!

    The Center for Bible Engagement (CBE) calls it the “power of 4.” The study they conducted found that reading your Bible at least four days a week increased your chances of sharing your faith and discipling others and memorizing Scripture by those incredible percentages!

    Also, when it comes to changing negative behaviors, reading Scripture at least four days a week made a huge difference as well. It lowered the odds of getting drunk (by 57%), sex outside of marriage (by 68%), pornography (by 61%), and gambling (by 74%).

    However, and this is key, they found there was NO statistical difference in behaviors between Christians who read or listen to the Bible two to three days a week and those who do not engage Scripture at all or only once a week. In other words, there is astronomical change at 4 days a week, but not much change at all if you read the Bible any less than that.

    This study is a reminder to all of us about the importance of reading God’s Word! It is going to be a major emphasis for our church in 2021. We are having a special initiative to kick off 2021. We are calling it Grounded: A Study through the New Testament. We have developed a reading plan where we will read through the New Testament together over 18 weeks. There will be daily readings every weekday (Monday-Friday), and the weekends will be a grace period where you can catch up on your reading. What better goal is there to set for 2021 than to read through the New Testament with your church?!

    We are committed to providing resources and accountability to help as we take this challenge together. We have a free digital devotion that goes along with the daily reading that we can send to you. We are starting virtual transformation groups where you can have accountability and share what God is teaching you. We are providing weekly family devotions so discipleship can happen easier in the home. I will be preaching through the New Testament as we read through it together as well.

    The key is engaging with Scripture at least 4 days a week. The studies show how that can revolutionize your spiritual life. Would you commit to joining with your church in doing that this year?

    In Him,

    Pastor Zach

  • Family Front – Vol. 60, No. 25

    I hope you enjoyed using your Advent Boxes to lead your family in celebrating the true meaning of Christmas this year! Continue to enjoy and celebrate together the coming of our Lord, even into the new year!

    Make it a New Year’s resolution to have Family devotions.

    Why? It’s God’s Command (Deuteronomy 6:6-9, Ephesians 6:4, and Proverbs 22:6). Beginning January 1, 2021, we will provide you with Grounded Family Devotions to help you with daily devotional time and to lead your family closer to Jesus. Grounded is a reading plan the whole church will be going through to read the New Testament in 90 days.

    But why wait? We all want to help our children to come to love and believe in the one True God. Setting time aside each day will show our children that God is the center and priority of our lives. If you need some devotional materials in the meantime, your child receives a devotion booklet each month. Preschoolers receive a page each week. Those are a good place to begin!

    Upcoming Kids’ Activities:

    Wednesdays: AWANA plans to start up again mid-January, with the hope that the virus does not escalate after Christmas. We will keep you updated.

    Sundays: Preschool care is provided for birth through Pre-K during 11:00 a.m. worship. Through at least January 3, elementary children will worship with their parents, as there will be no KidsZone; however, PraizPaks will be provided for both worship services. We hope to start preschool and children’s Bible study in January, as well as KidsZone.

    Wishing you a very blessed new year and praying we will ALL be able to join together again in person very soon for Bible Study and worship!

    “(Mary) is going to have a son. You must give Him the name Jesus. That is because He will save his people from their sins.  All of this took place to bring about what the Lord said would happen,” (Matthew 1:22).

    Isn’t it wonderful that we can trust and depend on what God says! What a great way to start the New Year!