It was May 16, 2011, 10:18 a.m., and that's when it all began.

Mike Popovich and his daughter, Rachel, walked into First Baptist Church for the first time. A trailer full of boxes and boxes of books for his office and supplies were ready to be unloaded and put into his new office. It was the beginning of an incredible - and very fast - first year.

Mike, Cindy and Rachel have been a blessing to us in so many ways that I don't think we could list them all. From the 'big things' to the 'little things', Pastor Mike's impact on the family of FBC has been exactly what God wanted it to be. He'll be the first to tell you it wasn't an easy first year, but he'd be quick to say it was a blessed first year.

From clearing up some financial junk to helping couples with relationship 'junk', we have seen how he is the right man for this church for such a time as this. The relationship that Mike and Cindy have has also been an inspiration for others, being a good example of a godly relationship. And Rachel, with the help of some of our local college folk, has been involved in getting our college ministry pushed into the forefront so we can get some leadership and some roots down in this much needed area.

Take a minute to congratulate them when you see them out and about. Shoot an email sharing your thoughts and memories from this first year. I know they'll appreciate it.

Looking forward to many more years!

"If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature (creation); old things are passed away;; behold , all things are become new!" 2 Corinthians 5:17 (KJV)

If you and I are in Christ - we have a working, growing, loving relationship with Him - we are no longer the person we used to be. Sin does not have the throne in our lives. He does. And notice how the original says this - behold, all things are become new. It implies that this change - us, as a work in progress - is continuing to grow, to become more like Christ. We have chosen to turn away from our sinful past practices, and now pursue the one True Living God.

You and I stand in the place of danger and temptation. We may fail in many, many ways, but the wonderful truth is that the Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed us and we are a new creation in Him.

What it's NOT:

Bunches of meetings where nothing gets accomplished and people get to hear themselves talk.

A clubhouse or a clique, where only 'the right kind of people' are allowed in.

A self-centered, selfish group that is more concerned for themselves than 'the lost and least of these...'

A culture that is so 'foreign' and so 'exclusive' that no one would want to be a part of it. (Stuffy!)

What it IS has been seen here at FBC in the past few months.

We've seen people reconnecting with Christ and with others SO THAT the message of the Gospel begins to spread. We've seen people stepping into ministry opportunities that stretch them a bit, but allow them to connect others to the Gospel and to the church for community and discipleship. We've seen generosity rise to new levels, levels we haven't seen for many years. We've seen people step out on missions to foreign soil and have their lives changed. We've seen the generosity of groups step in to help people with some major work/remodel on a home - hands and funds coming from places not expected.

We've been experiencing God's grace, God's mercy, God's favor as we begin to shore up the forces and prepare them for battle. We will become more and more like the church that Christ built. We will be a church that exists to introduce people to Jesus Christ and help them to become fully devoted followers of Him.

A Christ follower doesn't keep the relationship to himself. "Don't hide it under a bushel..." He lets it shine in whatever way he can. Testifying, evangelizing, sharing, serving, loving, giving, forgiving...all words that require ACTION.

What about it, FBC Pocatello? Will you join us as we BE the church in the body AND in the community? If you haven't found a place to BE, contact anyone of the leaders and we'll get you connected. Click on the CONNECT tab on this page and you'll be put in contact with someone who can help you.

Can't wait to see what God does next! Will you join us?

New online access for connecting with people who are connected to First Baptist Church. This is a great tool for communicating Small Group information, Ministry group schedules and events such as training, identifying a need and recruiting people who are gifted/skilled in specific areas and so much more. Be listening/watching in services for roll out dates and timelines.

In addition, many have been asking when we'll be able to have the ability to give tithes/offerings online. Once we're up and running, there will be a link for you to do that and more. It allows us to set up registration and receive payment for events such as camp, retreats, etc. One streamlined and simple process.

Coming in February, we'll be offering a Membership Class here at the church. Pastor Mike will be teaching it and the plan is to offer it on a Sunday following second service. Watch the bulletin for more details.

Also in the works is an updated Small Group process; new teaching for our Youth ministry, utilizing the web to communicate, encourage and update both parents and youth; in the early spring a Sunday set aside for celebration, which will include testimonies, baptism and more.

Stay tuned and stay connected to FBC for more! God's moving in a mighty and exciting way - don't miss out!

Roger Stockwell, one of our elders, has assembled a team of passionate and motivated people to develop our first ever Warming Shelter here at First Baptist Church.

There are people literally on the streets of Pocatello in the coldest of nights (0 and below!) with little to no place to go.

Not anymore! FBC Pocatello will open their doors on those extreme nights from 8 p.m. until 6/7 a.m. so folks can come in out of the cold. It will NOT be a sleeping shelter or housing. Simply a place to come in, seek shelter from the storm, get warmed up and receive a little hope and help.

We have the space...time to put it to use! If this is something that would interest you, you can contact Roger at rogers@fbcpoky.com for more information. In addition, he can tell you what teams will be needed for those nights and what type of ministry can be done.

But the one that got me was Richard himself. As he sat there, struggling to see the screen, his face lit up and his eyes filled with tears. He was excited to be able to finally share his story, but was also hit with the love that this church has shown him. "I never have had a church treat me like this one does, Karl. And I never come to church this much on my own before either. I really like it here. And I like the people here, too."

Sometimes, in the midst of all the 'junk' that goes on in churches, we miss out on the subtle yet glaring reason why we are here - to seek and save the lost, to heal the sick, to feed the hungry, to minister to the widows, the orphans and the prisoner.

His last comment got us the most - "I like the people here. Well, most of them. There's some I don't like, but I'm learning to get along with them. I think that's what we're supposed to do as Christians, is find ways to get along with others. Even if they have a different opinion, I've still got to learn to get along with them. I think that's what it's about."

One man showing a body what a portrait of grace looks like. I'm a better man for it.

My son, Austin and his wife, Missy, just brought little Daniel into the world this last month. So the pain to which I refer here is very fresh in their minds right now. But what happens over time? That pain goes away as we watch little kids grow into toddlers, then to teens and then into adult hood. The pain is very real at the time, but it's the joy of watching that little one grow, develop, experience many firsts' and so much more that allow that pain to fade away over time.

We are there right now as His church. We have gone through, and still need to go through some more, pain in our family. Hurts that haven't been dealt with; accusations that haven't been forgiven; current levels of distrust that need to be addressed, talked through and dealt with. It's all part of a growing body. It's all part of birth pains of a church on the brink of being something more than we currently are.

Pastor Mike Popovich brings with him a level of communication and accountability that will help us, if we desire, to be more than we are. Sure, we can stay where we are and continue to hold onto stuff that has happened to us. We can continue to hold onto a 'power base' that we've established. And we can continue to receive exactly what those things will bring us. But it won't be close to anything that God wants to do with us, for us, through us and in spite of us!

The challenge is on the table right now - come as you are, no perfect people allowed. Bring your flaws, bring your fears, bring your frustrations and lay them all before a perfect God. Allow Him to work on your heart to move you to a place of forgiveness, acceptance and authenticity. Let THAT be the overflow of our hearts as we move from the early stages of life with a new senior pastor to the mature stages of life in the months and years to come.As we deal with the pain that is very real, we will soon begin to experience the joy of seeing God's people grow and blossom into amazing believers. We will begin to see some amazing things happen in the life of this community we live in and in the life of His church. We will be living in expectation and anticipation more and more as we draw closer to Him!

I hope you'll join us during this series over the next few weeks. God is doing some amazing things in the life of His people.

See you in church...Karl Pettit, Pastor of Arts/Worship

His last message was a good reminder and challenge for all of us that call FBC home. "God is about to do a new thing...do you see it? God is busy preparing His people for His service...are you ready? Will you join Him? Do you see the new thing yet?"

I appreciated much of what he had to say and embrace the call to join in the work that is set before us in this next chapter. Anytime you read a book, you look forward to the next chapter with anticipation, excitement, intrigue, curiosity and more. That's how we need to look toward tomorrow in His church. We have God preparing the way for us, laying out all the opportunities He wants us to take part in. He is preparing Mike's heart for the season of new things that God wants to take him through. Are we ready to join him? Are we willing to step into the next things for God and of God?

Is your 'house' in order for God to use you to do what only you can do? I look forward to whatever God is already at work doing here. And I hope to be right alongside you in the journey.

In your time of prayer and worship, take time out to do two things:

1. Thank God for the McQuaids and the service they brought to us here at FBC. Pray that God would continue to bless them and keep them in His care and service.

2. Thank God for the Popovich family and the ministry that is beginning here. Pray that God would continue to bless them and direct their steps and path for His service, to move the church to the next place that God desires it be.

See ya in church...Karl

“Then, in front of all of them, I told Baruch, ‘These are orders from GOD-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel: ‘Take these documents—both the sealed and the open deed—and put them for safekeeping in a pottery jar. For God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, “Life is going to return to normal. Homes and fields and vineyards are again going to be bought in this country.”’ -Jeremiah 32:13-15 (The Message)

The devastation in Japan is almost beyond comprehension! One wonders if life will ever return to normal there. But history informs us that it will, although considerable time will be required. Certainly the people there need our prayers and God’s help to endure the personal and corporate losses.

Likewise, in our lives and in the life of our church there are times of great trials, pain, and loss. Sometimes such experiences come at the hand of Satan, our adversary, and other times at the hand of our own crazy choices. Even God can and does bring times of discipline upon His people that are disruptive and painful.

But in the midst of it all God has a purpose, a good purpose. He designs and desires a rich life of obedience and purpose for us as individuals and as a church. When circumstances are hard and the way forward seems almost impossible, remember that on the other side of our ‘trials by fire’ things “work together for good to those who love Him” (Romans 8).

Pastor Bob McQuaid

Upon what foundation does your faith rest? Will it endure the storms of life? Will it hold up under the pressures of time? Is it unshakable, no matter what happens to you?

I heard about a woman recently who used to go to church and take her children to church. But after her husband left her and divorced her, she stopped going. She no longer takes her children. She blames God for the unfortunate breakup of her marriage. She says, “I don’t understand why God did that to me!”

For many people faith is based upon an informal contract with God. They believe in him and in return he blesses them. When things go bad or hardships come, they give up their faith.

For other people faith is based upon the essential goodness of important people in their lives: parents, extended family, and friends. They are loved and supported by these important people and, in turn, believe in the essential goodness of God. But when these people fail them, they stop believing in a good God, they give up their faith.

For some people faith is based upon things they were taught as children and youth by churches and parents. They never really examined or thought about these things too much. They never really embraced them as their own. When people and events challenge their faith, it doesn’t hold up.

There is only one sure foundation upon which faith can stand and become stronger through the years. That foundation is Jesus Christ. Take note of the steps to a stronger faith mentioned in Colossians 2:6.
• One, accept Christ as Lord of your life. Accepting Christ as Lord of your life is different than and more than accepting Christ as your Savior. It means you have given up ownership of your life to God. You are not in charge. Where you go, what you do, who you become, is all in God’s hands.
• Two, build your life on Christ by:
 Immersing yourself in His life and teachings (found in the Gospels)
 Talking with Him at all times about all things (the meaning of “pray without ceasing”)
 Living in the joy of the Lord by counting your blessings and thanking God for his goodness.

Pastor Bob McQuaid

No one has ever been able to tame the tongue. It is evil and uncontrollable, full of deadly poison. We use it to give thanks to our Lord and Father and also to curse other people, who are created in the likeness of God. Words of thanksgiving and cursing pour out from the same mouth. My friends, this should not happen! (James 3:8-10 Good News Bible)

If you speak only to your friends, have you done anything out of the ordinary? Even the pagans do that! (Matthew 5:47 Good News Bible)

One of the things that surprised me when I began my work as a young pastor was that there were church members who would not speak to another member. In fact they would go out of their way to avoid someone by sitting in a seat where they would not be near them, altering their traffic pattern so as not to come face-to-face with them, or looking straight ahead or in another direction when meeting them, acting as though they were not even there.

Now I realize there are occasions when we are so focused on a task or destination that we are not aware of who is around us. And we all need to be lenient with one another and allow for such occasions. But most times that is rare.

Another thing that surprised me when I began my work as a young pastor was how some Christians speak to another Christian with words of condemnation and judgment, often in a cruel tone or manner.

In the words of Colossians, Let your conversation be always full of grace, (Colossians 4:6 NIV) and ears to hear.

Pastor Bob McQuaid

“Meanwhile these three remain: faith, hope, and love; and the greatest of these is love.”
- 1 Corinthians 13:13

Do you love your life? Sadly, many people do not even like their lives, let alone love them. Do you love what you do everyday? Unfortunately, many people hate what they do everyday. Do you love yourself? The truth is, many people are very unhappy with themselves.

God says, “I have good plans for you, not evil.” The first step toward changing your life is to believe what God has said and wants your life to change. “There is no greater love than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends,” said Jesus.

With God’s love as your foundation, the second step toward change is the belief that all the resources for change are in your mind. God created you in his image and in so doing gave you a powerful mind. Your state of mind will shape your outlook on life. Your positive or negative mindset will determine whether new doors of opportunity are opened for you or slammed in your face. “As a person thinks in their heart, so they become,” says the Bible.

“People become really quite remarkable when they start thinking that they can do things. When they believe in themselves they have the first secret of success,” said Dr. Peale. If you say, “I can’t,” you won’t. If you say, “With God’s help, I can,” you will.

What don’t you like about your life? Begin to change it by changing your mind, your outlook on life in general and your life in particular. What don’t you like about yourself? Set in motion the things that will change who you are by changing your mind: about your past, about your potential, and about your future. What don’t you like about your job, your lifestyle, and your surroundings? Start changing those things by changing how you think about those things and how they can be different. Remember that God is on your side, he has good intentions for you, and that he sent his Son to give you eternal life which is all about the quality of our existence. You can make your life what you want it to be through belief in God’s love and in yourself.

Dr. Albert E. Cliffe was a chemist by profession and on Sundays the teacher of one of the largest Bible classes in Canada. One March morning, when a stormy gale was sweeping the city, Al Cliffe hailed a taxi in Toronto. To the glum and somewhat surly young driver he said a cheery good morning. “Wonderful day, isn’t it?” Any day to Al Cliffe was a wonderful day. “You should have your head examined,” snarled the driver. “What do you mean a wonderful day with this lousy weather! This country is on the way out. No opportunity here anymore; nothing any good.”

After the young driver was finished emptying himself of his gripes, Dr. Cliffe asked, “What’s the matter, son?” This really set the fellow off. He said, “I’m a war veteran, gave three years to my country, but what’s the country doing for me? I can’t get a job in my line. I’m a graduate engineer. I walked the streets of my own city finally taking this job, a taxi driver. I’m disgusted, fed up, completely turned off.” Cliffe said, “My friend, do you want to know what will get you off this negative dead center and start you going?” “I’d sure like to know what,” the driver snorted. “Now, don’t discount what I’m going to say. It’s enthusiasm that will turn things around for you—real enthusiasm—the genuine article.” At this the driver turned around suddenly to stare at his passenger, nearly running up on the curb. “Enthusiasm,” he exploded. “Aw, come off it, mister. What is there to be enthusiastic about anyway?”

“Life,” answered Cliffe. “It’s wonderful to be alive and young as you are. Add up your assets. Your future is out there ahead of you, and don’t write Canada off either. It’s a great land and you and I live in one of the finest cities in the world.” The driver listened. “Where did you get all this enthusiasm, sir?” “Jesus Christ,” was Al Cliffe’s brief reply. “I was a believer once, too,” the driver said. “Become one again, son. Think enthusiasm, act out enthusiasm, talk enthusiasm, and you will become enthusiastic. Then you will go places and life will become exciting.”

About two years later the taxi driver went to see Dr. Cliffe. “You really got to me that morning,” he said. “I gave it a lot of thought and I did as you said. I deliberately tried to make myself enthusiastic. As I did that, I realized I was getting more fun out of driving a taxi. One day I picked up a fare at the Royal York Hotel. It was another rainy day, but I told this man that every day is a good day and spoke with enthusiasm about the country and engineering, in which I was trained, and to which I was going to return one day. And you know what this man said? It went something like this: ‘With the cheerful outlook you have and your outgoing personality, you shouldn’t be driving a taxi. You say you are trained in engineering? Where did you go to school?’ So I told him and he invited me to come see him at his office to talk about a possible job in his organization. ‘I like enthusiastic people working for me,’ he said, ‘when they are organized and have enough know-how. So come along and we’ll check out your education and if it is okay, we will get you started.’ Well, I guess I’m doing okay. I’ve had two promotions and I love what I’m doing!”

Do you love your life? Do you love what you are doing? Do you love yourself? When you live in the power of God’s love, everything can change.

Pastor Bob McQuaid

“When, Lord, did we ever see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you a drink? When did we ever see you a stranger and welcome you in our homes, or naked and clothe you?...The King will reply, ‘I tell you, whenever you did this for one of the least important of these followers of mine, you did it for me!’” – Matthew 25:37-40

In his book, Soul Survivor, Philip Yancey quotes Robert Coles as saying,

“I think back to my days of working in Dorothy Day’s Catholic Worker soup kitchen. One afternoon, after several of us had struggled with a “wino,” a “Bowery bum,” an angry, cursing, truculent man of fifty or so, with long gray hair, a full, scraggly beard, a huge scar on his right cheek, a mouth with virtually no teeth, and bloodshot eyes, one of which had a terrible tic, she told us, ‘For all we know he might be God Himself come here to test us, so let us treat him as an honored guest and look at his face as if it is the most beautiful one we can imagine.’” (The Spiritual Life of Children by Robert Coles).

In these days of economic hard times there are more people who seem to be living on the edge, more homeless, more hungry hand-to-mouth families, more relying on charity or government help to get by. Sometimes we succumb to the temptation to look down on the down-and-outers as losers or hangers-on. But we know nothing about their life journeys, what has shaped them and brought them to their place.

Let us be careful about our attitudes. Let us be generous with compassion. Let us see God in them!

Pastor Bob McQuaid

“Jesus replied: “A certain man was preparing a great banquet and invited many guests. At the time of the banquet he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’ “But they all alike began to make excuses. The first said, ‘I have just bought a field, and I must go and see it. Please excuse me.’ “Another said, ‘I have just bought five yoke of oxen, and I’m on my way to try them out. Please excuse me.’ “Still another said, ‘I just got married, so I can’t come.’” - Luke 14:16-20

The message, “All is ready,” is still being delivered today. Come to God’s banquet table because life is a feast with God in it! There is a place reserved for you at God’s table. Come, give your life to God. Receive Jesus as your Savior. Don’t miss the warmth, love, acceptance, fellowship, and nourishment awaiting you at His table. Don’t give silly excuses like the people in the parable.

“I am not good enough to sit at God’s table; I’m not worthy.” Of course not; no one is.
“I am not ready yet; maybe at a later time.” The Bible says, “Today is the day of salvation,
now is the accepted time.” Don’t miss God’s call.
“The church has too many phony ministers and members.” Don’t let other people keep you
from the blessings of God’s table.
“I don’t understand the Bible.” All you have to understand is that God loves you and wants
you to come to his feast of life through faith in His son, Jesus Christ.

Come, for all is now ready.

Pastor Bob McQuaid

_They strengthened the believers and encouraged them to remain true to the
faith. “We must pass through many troubles to enter the Kingdom of God,”
they taught. – _Acts 14:22

In a sermon at evening worship, March 9, 1938, Dietrich Bonhoeffer preached,

_“God will take no one into his kingdom whose faith has not proven genuine
amid tribulation and suffering.”…“A Christian’s life consists not in words,
but in experience. No one is a Christian without experience. We are not
talking here about life experience, but of the experience of God….The
experience about which we are speaking here leads us into the depths of hell
and into the jaws of death and into the abyss of guilt and into the night of
unbelief. Yet in all these things, it is not God’s intention to take God’s
peace from us. In all these things we experience from day to day more of
God’s strength and victory, and the peace made at the cross of Christ.”_

(Bonhoeffer was killed by Hitler just before World War II ended.)

I believe that if the church in America is to regain effective witness for
the gospel of Jesus Christ, it must enter into the depths of suffering. We
have learned the ways of the world: marketing, personalities, entertainment,
numbers and success. They have failed us. Instead of producing powerful
communities of faith we have created nomadic believers who chase the latest
large church, popular preacher, awesome music, and feel good teaching. We
have given birth to a generation of followers who must be constantly
stimulated by a new book, ‘life-changing’ conference, or the most recent
DVD.

Meanwhile, believers in China, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the Middle East
are living like first century Christians: hunted, abused, hated, imprisoned,
and killed for the sake of Christ.
Isaac Watts raised questions long ago. They are relevant again.
_Must I be carried to the skies
On flowery beds of ease,
While others fought to win the prize,
And sailed through bloody seas?_
_Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
To help me on to God?_
_Pastor Bob McQuaid_

So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water – John 4:5-10

Going to the well was a routine daily chore and the woman expected no more from it than a supply of fresh water. But on this day her life was about to change. The trip would be far from routine. By chance she would meet Jesus there as he waited for his disciples to return with some lunch. He was on his way from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north. In route he stopped at Jacob’s well in Sychar, Samaria.

I have called her encounter with Jesus “by chance,” but I know that it was really by Divine appointment. I believe that all of us have those moments, those encounters, when God breaks in upon the routine of our lives and attempts to engage us in such a meaningful way as to change our direction, even our destiny. Do you believe that? Have you experienced such experiences?

You may have gone to work or to the store or to the exercise club or to wherever that day, as you routinely do. You didn’t expect anything more than work, or groceries, or exercise, or whatever, but something unusual happened. It may have been that on the way you witnessed the results of a terrible auto accident, a body covered on the pavement. It left you shaking and for a while, thinking about your own life and family.

Or you may have arrived at your destination only to discover that the co-worker who is always at the desk beside you, or the person in the meat department who always greets you, or the person who is always on the exercise machine beside you and so full of jokes and laughter – that person is gone, having suffered a fatal coronary attack the day before.

Or you may have a “chance” conversation with a new employee at lunch who shares a story of family tragedy and turns your head in a serious direction. The results of such encounters are really up to us. We can engage God in a personal epiphany or brush it all off as pure chance.

How will you encounter God today, this week? Look for Him! He will change routine tasks into encounters with the Divine.

Pastor Bob McQuaid

So he came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about noon. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water – John 4:5-10

Going to the well was a routine daily chore and the woman expected no more from it than a supply of fresh water. But on this day her life was about to change. The trip would be far from routine. By chance she would meet Jesus there as he waited for his disciples to return with some lunch. He was on his way from Judea in the south to Galilee in the north. In route he stopped at Jacob’s well in Sychar, Samaria.

I have called her encounter with Jesus “by chance,” but I know that it was really by Divine appointment. I believe that all of us have those moments, those encounters, when God breaks in upon the routine of our lives and attempts to engage us in such a meaningful way as to change our direction, even our destiny. Do you believe that? Have you experienced such experiences?

You may have gone to work or to the store or to the exercise club or to wherever that day, as you routinely do. You didn’t expect anything more than work, or groceries, or exercise, or whatever, but something unusual happened. It may have been that on the way you witnessed the results of a terrible auto accident, a body covered on the pavement. It left you shaking and for a while, thinking about your own life and family.

Or you may have arrived at your destination only to discover that the co-worker who is always at the desk beside you, or the person in the meat department who always greets you, or the person who is always on the exercise machine beside you and so full of jokes and laughter – that person is gone, having suffered a fatal coronary attack the day before.

Or you may have a “chance” conversation with a new employee at lunch who shares a story of family tragedy and turns your head in a serious direction. The results of such encounters are really up to us. We can engage God in a personal epiphany or brush it all off as pure chance.

How will you encounter God today, this week? Look for Him! He will change routine tasks into encounters with the Divine.

Pastor Bob McQuaid

The days allotted to me had all been recorded in your book, before any of them ever began. (Psalm 139:16, Good News Bible).

Teach us how short our life is, so that we may become wise. (Psalm 90:12, Good News Bible).

God is our shelter and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not be afraid, even if the earth is shaken and mountains fall into the ocean depths; even if the seas roar and rage, and the hills are shaken by the violence. (Psalm 46:1-3, Good News Bible).

Here we are again at the outset of a New Year. How swiftly time seems to fly by! As we face 2011 I am reminded of some spiritual lessons by the writers ( David, Moses, and sons of Korah) of the Psalms:

Although our lives are brief, they have purpose because all our days are in
God’s hands. He has allotted a specific number of days to us because He
knows how many we need to 1-get to know Him and 2-accomplish the work
He has given us to do.

Whatever 2011 will hold for us, we are in God’s care. No personal or national disaster can separate us form His love and care. There may be trouble ahead
but we have a Shelter and a Strength.

So whatever else we may do in the year ahead, let us use our time wisely by
intensifying our pursuit of God and passionately serving our Lord through our
witness and compassion for others.

Pastor Bob McQuaid

The Weekly Word…

700 years before the birth of Jesus, the prophet Isaiah received the Word of the Lord promising the coming of God in flesh:

“The Lord himself will give you the sign. Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son and will call him Immanuel (which means 'God is with us').” (Isaiah 7:14)

The Biblical narrative has a central theme: the love of God. From beginning to end it is the story of the endeavor of the God of creation to call, win, and keep a people of his own, people who love him above all else. It is a love story.

And so it was that 700 years after Isaiah, God set foot upon his planet, our place, in the form of a tiny baby in a small village in the Middle East, called Bethlehem. Shortly thereafter, the Apostle John described humankind’s encounter with the Divine this way:

“The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us. We saw his glory, the glory which he revealed as the Father’s only Son.” (John 1:14)

While you and I may be tempted to give up on humankind, God has not. In fact, while God could have wiped the surface of the earth clean, started all over with a new human story, he did not. Instead,

“God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him might have eternal life. For God sent his Son into the world to save the world, not to condemn it.” (John 3:16-17)

Praise be to God!

Pastor Bob McQuaid

From time-to-time there are mysterious sightings of images of the Virgin Mary. A few years ago it was on the glass windows of a bank building in Florida. Then it was on a cement overpass on a Chicago freeway. People flocked to the one in Florida to the extent that the bank had to vacate the building. One thing seems obvious: people are hungry for manifestations of God’s presence.

In his book, At The Entrance to the Garden of Eden, Yossi Klein Halevi, a Jew, records his search for God with Christians and Muslims in the Holy Land. In one of his many conversations with Muslim clerics he asks a sheikh what he considers to be the greatest quality of God. Expecting him to say mercy or justice, the two divine qualities emphasized by the Koran, Halevi is surprised by the answer. “God’s greatest quality is His presence. His constant presence among us,” answers the sheikh.

Jews and Christians also believe that God is a personal God, a God who is present. And we Christians believe that God came to us in a special way in Jesus Christ. The great I AM, the Creator of the universe, became flesh and dwelled among us. Jesus was Immanuel, God with us.
• The One who formed the earth, walked on earth.
• The One who breathed life into the lungs of humans, emerged from the womb and gasped for His first breath.
• The One who placed the stars in the heavens, looked up at the stars through human eyes.
• The One who separated the seas from the dry land, sailed the Sea of Galilee.
• The One who filled the mountain streams with water, thirsted.
• The One who fed the plants, birds, and animals, hungered.
• The One who created humans for fellowship, was rejected by humans.
• The One who loved, was hated.
• The One who held the power of life and death, died.

God was present among us.

Scripture:  Matthew 1:18-25                                  God Became One of Us!

In order to convey the beauty, wonder, and awe surrounding the birth of Jesus, Matthew began his gospel with a wonderful story.  He told how an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and told him that Mary, his fiancée, would have a child by the Holy Spirit.  This Son, the angel declared, would be the anointed one of God promised through the prophet Isaiah long ago.  Then Matthew quoted Isaiah:

“Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel,” which, as Matthew explained, means “God is with us.”

It was a promise right out of Judah’s turbulent past.  Around 735 B.C.  Assyria to the east was rattling its swords and threatening the peace and security of both Syria and Israel.  So Syria and Israel wanted Judah to form a military alliance with them and go up against Assyria.  But Ahaz, the king of Judah, refused to join the alliance and so Syria and Israel laid siege to Jerusalem.  Consequently, the hearts of both Ahaz and the people of Judah shook with fear, according to Isaiah. 

Therefore, the Lord sent a message to Ahaz that he should not be afraid because the plans of Syria and Israel would not succeed.  But Ahaz was still afraid.  So through the prophet God told him to ask for a sign – but Ahaz refused to ask!  So, in a bit of frustration God said,

“Ok, if you won’t ask, I’ll give you a sign.  A young woman will conceive and bear a son.  His name will be Immanuel (that is, God is with us).  Before the child is old enough to know right from wrong the two nations threatening you will be destroyed!”

So it was.   Three years later the Assyrians destroyed Damascus, the capital of Syria, and in 722 B.C. Israel suffered the same fate at their hand.  God was with Judah as he had promised and verified with a sign.  When Isaiah delivered his message to Ahaz, “God is with us,” he was unaware that seven hundred years later his words would be applied to the incarnation of God in flesh.

Writing a few years earlier than Matthew, Paul put in his letter to the Colossians what was already commonly held by the Christian community. That is, that Jesus was “the image of the invisible God…for in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell.”  - Colossians 1:19

Yes, God Became One of Us!

Pastor Bob McQuaid

MONEY HAS POWER!

“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
-Luke 12:34

Money has power! Money can be used:

• to purchase things we don’t need – or - food for the homeless,
• to build a larger portfolio – or - a house of worship,
• to send the message of hate – or - of the gospel,
• to spread fear – or - hope.

How we use our money reveals what is dear to our hearts, as Jesus said.

That is why the widow gave all that she had. Her heart, her first love, was God. So when she went into the temple court where the tithes and offerings were received, she gave without reservation. She had so little and so many needs called for her attention. But her heart was with the Lord so she gave out of love for Him (Mark 12:41-44).

You have power in your hands. How are you using it?

Pastor Bob McQuaid

Lectio divina is a classic method of Scripture reading that has been used widely among believers, especially in Benedictine monasteries, beginning in the sixth century.

The lectio divina format is as follows:

• Read a Scripture passage (lectio)
Begin with prayer, then read the passage, using a translation that enables you to understand what you are reading.
• Meditate on that passage (meditatio)
Enter the passage by imagining yourself in that setting. Smell, taste, hear, and touch the details of the scene, story, or teaching.
• Pray (oratio)
Talk with God about what the meditation on the passage has said to you.
• Contemplate (contemplatio)
Transition your thoughts from yourself to God. Think about God’s being, purposes, will, and activity. Contemplation has no agenda.

As an exercise to acquaint us with lectio divina:
• Select one of the following Scripture passages: The Lost Sheep – Luke 15:1-7; The Lost Sons – Luke 15:11-32; The Widow and the Judge – Luke 18:1-8; The Rich Man - Luke 18:18-30.
• Pray and read the passage.
• Meditate on the passage by putting yourself into that setting. With whom do you identify? What does the passage say to your life?
• Pray, talking with God about what the passage has said to you.
• Contemplate by turning your thoughts away from yourself and onto God.

Pastor Bob McQuaid

Fan Into Flame: 2 Timothy 1:5-8

1. Timothy had sincere faith that was nurtured by others.
We all are spiritually indebted to others (take a moment to name some of them). Today I challenge you to intentionally nurture others in the sincere faith that has been within you for so many years. Share your faith and faith journey with others. By word and action help others come to experience the living Christ.

2. He was reminded to fan into flame the gift of God.
Regardless of how long we have been on our faith journey, we need frequent times of spiritual refreshing, renewal, and recommitment to our Lord. Unless we pay attention, our passion for God and his ministry will wane; the flame will die. While our exercise of the gift of ministry within us may necessarily change throughout life, we never retire from being his servants. So I call upon you to consider your call to ministry and ask yourself this question: “How should God’s claim upon my life be exercised at this point in my life?”

3. God gave him the spiritual resources of power, love and self-discipline.
This is an appropriate time for us to focus on the inward disciplines of the Christian life. In his book, Celebration of Discipline, the Path to Spiritual Growth, Richard J. Foster lists meditation, prayer, fasting, and study as the inward disciplines that lead to spiritual growth. He points out that Christian meditation is radically different than that of Eastern religions. The goal of Eastern meditation is to completely empty the mind and become detached from the world. The purpose of Christian meditation is to fill the mind with God; to become attached to him.

C.S. Lewis said, “What we would here and now call our “happiness” is not the end God chiefly has in view….But God wills our good, and our good is to love Him and to love Him we must know him: and if we know Him, we shall in fact fall on our faces. …Whether we like it or not, God intends to give us what we need, not what we want. Once more, we are embarrassed by…too much love, not too little.”

Pastor Bob McQuaid

Scripture: Luke 11:1-4

Do you believe that God answers prayer? If you answered ‘yes,’ you are in the majority. Most people do believe in prayer. However, that does not mean that most people pray. They don’t—at least not on a regular basis. Most people pray when they are in trouble, when they are in a jam, or when their lives are threatened.

When an airplane loses power in a violent electrical storm, passengers pray—some for the first time or maybe the first time in a long time. A woman’s car slides off the road on a winter day, goes down an embankment, and comes to rest in an isolated spot almost out of view. She is trapped in the wreckage for days. She prays. A mountain climber falls several hundred feet and stops when his arm becomes lodged in a crevasse. He is there for days before being rescued. He prays.

What drives you to pray?

What are the lessons on prayer contained in Luke 11:1-4?

• One, praying is like sitting down and talking with a loving father.
• Two, praying is like sitting down with a loving father and sharing your desire for a better, more just, and righteous world.
• Three, praying is like sitting down with a loving father and telling him all about your life, how you are doing physically, spiritually, and relationally.
• Four, praying is like sitting down with a loving father and admitting your mistakes and asking for forgiveness while forgiving other persons who have wronged you.
• Five, praying is like sitting down with a loving father and asking for his guidance and help.

Like a loving father, God will give the Holy Spirit to anyone who asks. So, in the words of the hymn, “All your anxiety, all your care, bring to the mercy seat; leave it there. Never a burden He cannot bear; never a friend like Jesus!”

Pastor Bob McQuaid

Do you have any idea how revolutionary that statement was in the first century? In Paul’s world life was defined by one’s religion, national origin, class, financial status, education, and gender. Were you Jew or Gentile, a Roman citizen or a member of the conquered population, a slave or a freeman, a peasant or member of the financial elite, illiterate or literate, a woman or a man? It made a huge difference! The answers to these questions determined your freedom of movement, choice of vocation, legal rights including property ownership, freedom of worship, educational opportunities, and financial future including that of your children.

But in the Christian community it is all different, said Paul. When we were baptized into Christ, everything changed! We were clothed with Christ. Then he spelled out specifically what he meant.

It is that baptism is the great equalizer. In Christ we all are accepted. We all are the same value. There are no religious, ethnic, national origin, or language differences that separate us. There are no socio-economic, political, financial, educational, or class distinctions that separate us. There are no gender differences that separate us.

Now, let’s be real! The world and, sadly, much of the church is still divided by these things. In the world, your religion, ethnic background, national origin, and language do make a difference. In fact, if you have the bad fortune of being born in the wrong place, your life may be in jeopardy because of these things. In the world, your finances, education, and class do define who you are and what you can become. In the world, women are still second-class citizens.

But in the church, because we have been baptized into Christ, all of these barriers should be gone. However, even in the church it is always easier to divide people than to unite them. It is always easier to obsess about labels and petty procedures than to live out the grand purposes of God among us. It is always easier to look back than to look forward. It is always easier to follow the world than to follow God. It is always easier to live like citizens of this world than citizens of the kingdom.

But God is building a new community where barriers are broken down and things that separate people are destroyed. A community where all are one in Christ. And God has begun building that new community with his people of faith. The church should be the prototype for God’s new community. It should look like what is to come.

Here, in this community of faith called First Baptist Church, we don’t care whether you came from a religious tradition that is familiar to us or from some other or from none at all. It doesn’t matter to us whether you have come to us from a Presbyterian church or a Catholic, Episcopalian, Baptist, Methodist, or whatever church. We don’t care whether you have a doctor’s degree or not even a high school diploma. It doesn’t matter whether you have dark skin or pale skin. We don’t care if you are old or young. We don’t care if you are a woman or a man. We don’t care if you make $500,000 a year or $5,000 a year. We don’t care about where you have come from. We don’t care about any of these things because we have been baptized into Christ and such things do not matter any more. The past is gone! It is the future that we have!

Come, be a part of God’s new community!

Pastor Bob McQuaid

ANSWERS TO PRAYER

Scripture: Exodus 3:1-10
Thought for Today: “So come, I will send you to Pharaoh to bring my people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.”(NRSV)

Having found themselves being severely and cruelly oppressed in Egypt, the Hebrew people cried out to God! For a long time things just seemed to get worse but when Moses was fully grown, educated in Egypt and hardened by life in the desert, God sent him as an answer to prayer. That is often God’s method--he answers prayer through people. There was no bolt of lightening from the heavens, no earthquake, no rushing wind, not even a mystical presence--rather, a flesh-and-blood person--Moses--capable of wisdom and daring, but also of mistakes and inaction.

You may be an answer to prayer for someone! You may have a healing touch in your hand! You may know an encouraging word that someone is desperate to hear! You may possess the love that someone has never had! There is someone engaged in hand-to-hand combat with a life-threatening illness, someone alone and forgotten in a nursing home, someone without home or family, someone locked in a prison cell, someone in need of a hot meal, someone near you for whom you can be an answer to prayer!

Like Moses, God has prepared you to help others. You may be surprised at such an idea—so was Moses. You may think that you cannot do it—so did Moses. But whom God calls, God equips. Whom God sends, God empowers.

Prayer: Here am I, Lord, send me. Amen.

Pastor Bob McQuaid