Bought this milk last night too - so little and cute! It's a quart!
Went to the 8:45am service at Marshfield First Baptist Church this morning...
There are a lot of mega-churches around here. This one was a bit smaller, but still large in comparison to the churches we’ve been visiting!
As soon as we arrived they were baptising 2 people - a lady and a young girl. The “tub” was clear and you could see each person as they were dipped back under the water. It was visually very beautiful.
They had a band and a large chorus of singers. The only song we knew was "How Great Thou Art" and boy, did they sing it in a fast tempo! At the end of the service, during the altar call, one man played guitar and sang - “Do not Pass me By” - great lyrics.
The pastor began by asking “Who Are We?” He referenced Acts 2:42-47. (In the bulletin there was a page you could write notes on - I’m liking that - it beats scribbling on post-it-notes!) He talked about being a fellowship of believers. In Acts, there were over 3000 that were followers. He read the definition of "community" from Websters: a unified body of various kinds of people, who share ownership in a cause. Acts 2:44 says they were together and had everything in common. He discussed togetherness and common ground - when not present, the church is ineffective. The word together implies a connection. Hebrews 10:25 states there is obedience in being together. We do not live this life alone.
He told this great bit of information about Redwood trees. They grow to be 200-240 feet tall, with a diameter averaging 10-15 feet, some are as wide as 20 feet. You would expect deep roots, but nope! Their roots average 6 feet deep. Their strength is in the fact that the roots spread out 50-100 feet in every direction! And they intertwine with the other trees. Depth, no...width and breadth, definitely yes! They cannot sustain themselves alone, they exist together, held to each other to live.
Great parallel to how the church should be.
In Acts, life as the church WAS life. They met together daily. They met in the temple courts to worship and fellowship. They met in homes and broke bread. He paraphrased from Rick Warren - they prayed, ate, consulted, planned, witnessed, shared, strategized and stood strong against attack - together.
He asked, how can we be the church daily? And why should we? We are better together than we are alone, we can help each other be stronger and can study and learn together.
He asked, what did this 3000 have in common? Acts 2:5 says they were from every nation - so there was a lot of uniqueness, but they had this in common - everyone was seeking the Messiah. All together makes us who God wants us to be. There is always potential for conflict. But if the church isn’t a community, the differences will tear it apart and referenced Eph. 4:1-5 as a guideline.
The church has a common story - all followers were once dead, now are made alive through repentance, forgiveness and grace; a common calling - called to obedience, holiness, to respond to life as He does, to glorify God; common goals - to build the kingdom of God, build lives on truth of Scripture, make disciples, seek to worship and use our gifts.
He asked - What do we need to do to build this community? Questions must be asked of yourself - Do you need to seek forgiveness from someone? To offer forgiveness to someone? Have you given everything to God? Have you asked Him how He can be glorified with the things He has given you. Do you need to renew your commitment to Him? Do you pray for other churches?
He ended with - the greatest thing one can do is love God and love others. Good sermon.
The youth minister got up later on and added...do what God wants you to do - you won’t be happy anywhere else.
He called up a young man, Daniel, who just committed to being a leader for the youth group. And called up a family - Christie (mom) and Tabitha and Lane - who just became members - and he asked for added prayer for them.
Nice church. They also have 13 Disciple groups! I’d be bouncing back and forth between so many of them! Some of them were...Service - ministering to those who are in need of some assistance with chores around the house; Run for God - strengthening one’s faith, for all level runners (cool!) ; Faith Evangelism - learning a clear, simple approach for sharing; R12 - Romans 12 - about experiencing God’s grace, not earning His love through performance; David - seeking a life like his - a Beth Moore study! ; Financial Peace - practical steps to get out of debt, manage money, spend and save wisely; Balancing Life’s Demands - practical Biblical insights to help put “first things first” and find peace in the midst of a busy life; Wed Prayer Meeting - to pray for others, the community, etc.; Worship Ministries - music rehearsal (miss that!); and Children’s Ministries - Sunday and Wednesday nights, for younger children and junior and senior high students.
Something for everyone...
A couple of cows in someone's backyard by the church...
Had to check this place out...
We then packed up and headed out. We decided to meet up in Golden City. Greg had met a couple of bicyclists yesterday who said he HAD to stop at Cooky's Cafe - they serve over 100 different kinds of pie!!
So he rode real fast (flat roads, yay!)...and I drove real slow...
Yum!! We each picked three slices to sample from - Greg chose Dutch Apple (his favorite!), Blueberry and Lemon Meringue, and I chose Chocolate Pecan (my favorite!), Butterscotch and...
...Gooseberry!!
They had a note book that they have all the bicyclists sign when they visit...it was started in 2010 and filled with hundreds and hundreds of names and comments! So awesome!!
Glad we stopped there! It was a nice break to have together too...
And finally...
Greg had a good ride today, more than 60 miles (the pie helped!)
We arrived at Crawford State Park very late and had to find a spot and set up in the dark (THAT was fun!) The pay off - looking up! It was pitch black out and we could see SO many stars...the Milky Way...and four satellites whizzing by!
The words from today's song came to mind...O Lord my God, when I in awesome wonder...consider all, the worlds Thy hands have made...I see the stars...
That sounded like a great sermon. I especially like the example of the redwood trees. something to think about. I can't wait til you get back. Funny, John was just talking about the fellowship of the believers as we were studying Acts...Oh, and can you email some of that pie !!!! mmmmmmmm
ReplyDeleteHello! Yeah, I loved the redwood tree analogy too!
DeleteSorry...all the pie...be gone! Wish they were around the corner at home! They'd have LOTS of customers! : )