Hello First Family!

Today’s devotional thought comes from our very own Brother Jonathon Rager as he shares the Code word Sheep…

This powerful metaphor from the Bible, about the relationship between the Good Shepherd, and His sheep should encourage us who belong to Jesus to keep listening to “The Good Shepherd” to be safe under His leading and protection. Just like I remember the names of our sheep so many years ago, Jesus knows our name and we respond to His voice and follow Him.

As the sheep of “God’s Pasture”; “True Believers,” we are to care for each other as well. We are also to reach the lost for Christ. This old song from Sunday School of long ago says;

1. “Hark tis the Shepherd’s voice I hear. Out in the desert dark and drear. Calling the sheep who’ve gone astray, Far from the Shepherd’s fold away.
2. Who’ll go and help this Shepherd kind, Help Him the wandering one’s to find? Who’ll bring the lost ones to the fold, Where they’ll be sheltered from the cold?
3. Out in the desert hear their cry, Out on the mountains wild and high; Hark tis the Master speaks to thee, Go find my sheep where’re they be.

CHORUS: Bring them in, Bring them in, Bring them in from the fields of sin. Bring them in, Bring them in, Bring the wandering ones to Jesus.

See ya soon!

Rev. Jonathon Rager

Hello First Family!

Today’s Code word is Gate.

When we think of a Gate, we think of a passageway through a fence or entrance into a property. A gate is an important feature in security and in transitioning from one area into another. Ancient city gates were important in biblical times as major places of trade and where the city elders would govern. Jesus referred to Himself as the Gate in one of the seven “I Am” statements in the Gospel of John. In John 10:9 Jesus states, “Yes, I am the Gate. Those who come in through Me will be saved. They will come and go freely and will find good pastures.” In this passage, Jesus is talking about the behavior of sheep to their shepherd. As sheep were grazing in the open pasture, shepherds would build temporary sheep pens by stacking rocks on top of each other. These sheep pens would be used to organize and protect sheep at night from the dangerous predators looking for a quick meal. Shepherds could not build the gate of the sheep pen out of rocks, so the shepherd became the gate as he would lie down in the opening of the walled sheep pen. Sheep could not get out because of the shepherd and predators could not get in. So, by Jesus saying, “I am the Gate,” He was stating that anyone who wanted to be saved had to come through Him. Thank you Jesus!

Today’s verse to ponder is from Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” When you see a gate today, think of Jesus and thank him for providing the Way. See ya tomorrow on our Journey to the Cross.

Pastor Kevin

It has been a great week of Code Words to kick off our Journey to the Cross. As a reminder, the Code words already shared are Done, Change, Probe, Hand, Condescension, Sacrifice, and Picture. Today’s Code word is Freedom.  

The sentiment of the word Freedom runs strong in our congregation. Every week, when we gather together for worship, we are surrounded by real American heroes that have served our country to fight and protect our freedom. I am so proud of these heroes and feel the impact of their sacrifice every time I gaze on our Wall of Honor. I would encourage you to stop by the Wall of Honor in the Southeast hallway of our Sanctuary building and linger for a few minutes as you thank the Lord for those that have ensured our freedom. Today’s Code word refers to Christ who ensured our ultimate freedom from sin. O.S. Hawkins recalls the story of the Exodus from Exodus 12. On the night of Passover, the Israelites took the blood of the lamb and placed it on the doorposts of their home. There, the death angel would see the blood of the lamb and pass over the house leaving it protected from the plague of the death of the firstborn. In the same way, Jesus, the perfect and spotless Lamb of God, shed His blood for humanity. And by faith, people apply the blood of Jesus to their lives to escape judgment and be free from sin.

Today is a great day to stop and gaze on the Lamb of God and thank the Lord for His sacrifice that ensured our eternal freedom from sin. Our verse today is John 1:7, “The blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses us from all sin.” Hallelujah!

Pastor Kevin

Hello First Family!

Today’s Code word is Picture. Cell phones have changed everything about the way we live. They have changed the way we communicate, the way we get information, the way we spend our free time and the way that we remember moments through digital pictures and videos. I was in a meeting yesterday when one of our amazing committee members made a reference to taking pictures. The committee is planning on taking pictures of our ministry leaders and displaying them so everyone will know who they are. This committee member dated himself when he cautioned that we would need to pay for the cost of the film and processing. However, as the way that we process and store photos changes, the reason for capturing moments is the same, we want to remember.

Conversely, O.S. Hawkins uses the word picture in a different sense. He states that the Old Testament gives us a picture of the Messiah in the New Testament. In a sense, the Old Testament stories and episodes, give the reader a picture of life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Scholars call this process foreshadowing. One of the most valuable aspects of the Old Testament for contemporary readers is the preparation of the heart for the expectation and realization of the advent of the Messiah. This process of preparation can be seen in the foreshadowing episode of Abraham and Isaac in Genesis 22:1-14. Abraham was commanded to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac. But, at the last minute, God provided a substitute and the boy was saved. God provided a Messiah, a substitute sacrifice, to take our penalty for sin. And through faith in Jesus, we too are saved! Praise be to God! Today, look around for pictures in nature, in your relationships, and in your quiet time that may give you a greater glimpse at the heart of God. Today’s verse is from Hebrews 11:6, “ But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.” Diligently seek Him today!

Pastor Kevin

I am convinced that we are no more like Christ than when we condescend into the world and share the Gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost and perishing world. Let the grace and mercy of God dominate your thoughts today while you focus on His amazing love acted out in His condescension for all humanity. Today’s verse is from John 14:18, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” Praise be to God!

Pastor Kevin

Hello First Family!

Happy Leap Year Day! God has given us an extra day this year to make a difference. Tell someone today that Jesus loves them!

Pastor Kevin

See y’all soon! God Bless!

Pastor Kevin

The Code word for today is Change. Our attitude toward sin must change. The Bible uses the word Repentance to help us to understand how our attitudes are to change toward sin. Repentance means to change one’s mind toward something or a change of direction. The Greek word for Repentance is metanoia. This word gives us a picture of a soldier who is marching with his troop in formation and then about faces, or changes direction. A better illustration for us to understand today, Repentance is like a person who is driving down a street and realizes they are going the wrong direction and then does a U-turn to correct course.

Practically, repentance means that as we live our lives, when we realize we are sinning, we stop and change course. We leave the sin behind and live in a new way for the Lord. This is accomplished in three ways. First, evaluate your actions against God’s Word. 2 Timothy 3:16 teaches, “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;”  Second, if your sinning, decide to stop. Ephesians 4:1 exhorts, “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,” And, lastly, choose to replace that sin by pursuing Jesus. Jesus commands in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”

As we grow as disciples, we will desire to obey His teachings more and more and choose ourselves, less and less. As we Journey to the Cross together, let us strive to change our attitudes toward sin and self, while at the same time thinking more and more about the commands of Jesus and applying them to our everyday lives. Pray today for a change of mind and heart concerning your sin. See ya tomorrow! God Bless!

Pastor Kevin

Hello FBC Family,

I am glad that you are joining many of us in the church for this 40 day Journey to the Cross. We are focusing our devotional time together around the events and experiences of Jesus as He journeyed to the cross in the New Testament. We will focus on key words or “Code” words each day to try to intensify our understanding of what Jesus was seeing, hearing, and feeling during His last days of ministry. I am praying that this will be one of the most memorable experiences for you and for our church family this year as we prepare our hearts and lives for the celebration of the Resurrection.

Today’s Code word is Done! Our focus passage today is found in Titus 3:5, “It is not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” What a great reminder. There are many today that will begin a season of giving something up or fasting from something as an act of worship during this Lent (40^th) season. Many will think that this act of fasting will in some way please or appease God, that God will look at their act of fasting and grant them grace in exchange. The Bible gives us a different picture of grace. Ephesians 2:8 teaches, “For by grace are you saved, through faith.” Mankind does not work for grace, God grants it. Grace is God’s unmerited favor, meaning that man can’t earn it. Mankind is to receive the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. This is a great place for us to start on our Journey to the Cross. We must accept that what is needed for God’s grace has been done. Christ died on the cross so that we could experience the grace of God through faith in Jesus. I pray that this season will help you understand and accept that your salvation is not spelled D-O, it’s spelled D-O-N-E! Until tomorrow…

Pastor Kevin