Continue reading »]]> Annual Salad LuncheonWednesday, May 9th
11:30 am – 1:00 pm

All men and women of the church are asked to support this event by attending and bringing a friend.  Consider inviting your office co-workers or neighbors for a pleasant spring afternoon lunch.  Tickets are just $6.00 each and they are available from any circle leader.  In order to be a successful venture, all women of the church are asked to donate a salad.
Again, this year we will have a craft and white elephant sale available during the luncheon.  Stop by and view all the fabulous items for sale.  You might find that one thing you just can’t live without and you don’t want to pass up that opportunity, do you?  See you at the luncheon!

NOTICE:  We are in need of white elephant donations.  If you have something that you would like to donate, please contact Norma Jean Smoot.

Continue reading »]]> Make it a date and Don’t be late!
For what you wish to know?
Fun, Fellowship, Talents and Treats
at the FBC Variety Show.

No tickets necessary – Free will offering

Be sure to invite your family and friends!

Join us Sunday, May 20 at 7pm for our very first variety show. If you have a talent, a poem, or anything really – that you’d like to share, please sign up on the posted announcement in the hallway outside the Fellowship Hall by Thursday, May 17.

Continue reading »]]> *A few notes about previous revivals.

1. Revivals are outward focused. They usually begin when preachers and churches stop worrying about themselves and their pulpits and get involved in the greater nation around them. Revivals occur when Churches work together and grow beyond their individual walls. American revivals offer us a hint as to what we must do when we recognize that they all seem to have taken place in tent meetings. Revivalists left their sanctuaries and preached in open air settings, not only so that they could reach those who might not darken the sanctuary doors but also as a testimony to the outward focus of the Church in the midst of a revival.

2. Revivals are not afraid to take on the tough issues. Revivals are not based upon minor issues or petty concerns. Revivalists are not afraid to take the tough stand, and they have clear answers to the tough issues of the day. They are willing to take sides in what today would be recognized as political issues, leading the charge in movements in opposition to slavery in the 1850s, and in support of civil rights one hundred years later.

3. Revivals are not ashamed of the gospel. Revivalists do not turn away from calling people to personal salvation and personal transformation in Jesus Christ. They recognize that the transformation of the nation begins with the change of heart of one individual. In a nation of millions, the first step to transformation begins with the changing of individual hearts and behaviors. Revivalists believe that the only thing that can transform our lives is personal transformation in Jesus Christ.

4. Revivals are intellectually rigorous and understand the value of education in both framing and shaping the society. The messages of the revivalists were not overly emotional or created to gain personal approval, but they were intellectually compelling and true to the inspiration of the scriptures. The Revivalists know that the place to make a societal impact is in the righteous education of the young. It is fascinating to me that the eventual landing places of our most famous revivalists were not pulpits, but Universities. Jonathan Edwards ended his career as the President of Princeton, and Charles Finney as the President of Oberlin College.  Nearly the entire University system was created by the Church in times of Revival, and in the 20th Century, the Revivals of the 1950s resulted in the founding of many of our Christian High Schools.

5. Revivals extracted a cost, a penance if you will, from the nation. The most intense revivals in our national history resulted in social, economic, and sometimes military upheaval. The Revivalists did not incite riots or mob scenes. The actions of the revivalists and the subsequent actions of the people sometimes provoked unintended responses.  The best example of this can be found during the Second Great Awakening, when anti-Slavery activism resulted in the election of Abraham Lincoln and the subsequent Civil War.  The revivalists were not ambulance chasers or rabble rousers, but their actions did have consequences. And these consequences were at time painful to themselves and the nation they loved.

For more information about revivals.  Follow the link to a famous sermon from Charles Finney.  It is long, but it provides a clear articulation and understanding of what the revivalists were attempting to accomplish. http://www.gospeltruth.net/1868Lect_on_Rev_of_Rel/68revlec15.htm

Continue reading »]]> “If my people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, I will forgive their sins, and I will heal their land.”
I Chronicles 7: 14

I have discovered that many American Christians love the passage of scripture listed above. We are drawn to it because we know that our nation is in need of repentance. We are angered and frustrated by the current lack of morality and civility in our public sphere and we are desperate for change. That, however, is usually where we stop. We freeze at the point of complaint because we also know that true repentance leads to personal transformation. We stop in our tracks because we know that repentance is not just a change of heart, but a change in action. And we know that change is as difficult as it is rare.

Thankfully, rare and impossible are not the same thing. The United States of America has a history of public and national repentance. From the personal mea culpa to national Great Awakenings, our nation is no stranger to the penitent heart of the sinner.

This nation was born in the cauldron of the First Great Awakening, sparked by the sermons of Jonathan Edwards, who preached the now-classic “Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” and the Methodist revivalists John Wesley and George Whitefield. While many are aware of the preaching of Jonathan Edwards, and it was as compelling as it was popular, it is more accurate to place George Whitefield in the center of what is now known as the First Great Awakening.

George Whitefield was the superstar of 18th century American preaching. He was the Billy Graham of his time, ministering to common people and public figures alike. His preaching and ministries made an impact on many of our founding fathers, including Benjamin Franklin (who is not often linked with revivalists in our modern retellings of our founding).

Benjamin Franklin was quite fond of the preaching of Whitefield. He commented favorably on his preaching style, was amazed by the clarity and the power of his voice, and wrote enthusiastically of the transformative power of his words upon the city of Philadelphia. He wrote in his Autobiography, “It was wonderful to see the Change soon made in the Manners of our Inhabitants; from being thoughtless or indifferent about Religion, it seemed as if all the World were growing Religious…” While Franklin never gave Whitefield the satisfaction of a proper conversion, the two remained close until Whitefield’s death in 1770.

The intellectual and spiritual power of the First Great Awakening helped to establish the Christian character and tone of the American Revolution. In stark contrast to revolutions before and after, the American Revolutionaries did not cannibalize each other after the removal of the British, nor did they hold long animosity toward their English progenitors. The American Revolution was in many ways unique, not in the manner in which we fought, but in the way in which we won. The Great Awakening helped to shape the moral character of the soon to be born nation. It provided our nation with men who were bold enough to fight, but wise and loving enough to, upon the advent of victory, put down their weapons and return to civil society as honorable men. This stands in marked contrast to the French, Russian and Chinese revolutions, each which resulted in protracted periods of violence years after their victories had been won.

America, however, did not remain faithful to the vision of the Great Awakening. By the next generation, universities that had been founded in the enthusiasm of the First Great Awakening had begun to fall into atheistic disrepair. Princeton University, a school that once called Jonathan Edwards to be its President, now had only two self-identified Christian believers. Supreme Court Justice John Marshall surveyed the situation and declared that the Church was too far gone to ever be restored. Thankfully God’s grace is more powerful than our human reason can imagine.

By the end of the 18th Century the Second Great Awakening began with the ministry of Francis Asbury who, following in the tradition of his Methodist forefathers, traveled the newly formed nation on horseback and preached revivals in towns and cities. The atmosphere of revival eventually touched the life of a young lawyer named Charles G. Finney. Finney, an attorney in Adams, New York, accepted the Lord in 1821 and immediately began to share his faith with any who might hear. His personal rebirth created a revival, first in his own Church, then in his town. He left his law practice and within two years became a licensed preacher in the Presbyterian Church. Finney would continue to minister to the nation by leading revivals and articulating a human rights understanding that would call upon the nation to reject the institutions of slavery. Like Jonathan Edwards, Finney would end his life not in a pulpit but as the President of Oberlin College in the great state of Ohio.

The Second Great Awakening changed the political and intellectual landscape in America once again. This time, slavery was identified as the most egregious societal sin in America. While slavery was legal, the popular preachers of the Second Great Awakening began to change the hearts of American men and women, so that eventually a sizeable portion of the nation believed it to be essentially immoral. In the same way that the First Great Awakening led to the American Revolution the Second Great Awakening inevitably led to the Civil War.

I share this brief historical reminder with you because many within the 21st Century American Church have begun to see the need for another Great Awakening. Once again, we have seen the nation back-slide into decadence and sin. Our cultural chieftains, like Justice Marshall in our past, bemoan the depths of our depravity and wonder aloud whether we can ever again reclaim a righteous spirit in the nation.

The past gives us great insight into our future. Our circumstances, though dire are not unique. We have a history of failure, both intellectually and spiritually. We have a veritable tradition of back-sliding and an almost inevitable retreat from excellence. The good news, however, is that our nation is not doomed to intellectual and spiritual decline. We certainly have a sinful history, but we also have a unique history of national repentance. Few nations can point to a time in their past when they did seek after the will of the Lord. We can show the evidence of multiple Great Awakenings. We can go to cathedrals and houses of prayer and show our children where the movements and the revivals began.

That, however, is not our task. Our task is not to remember the past, but to set ourselves on the path to the next Great Awakening. Once again we have fallen and many believe that we no longer have the moral resolve to get back up. God, however, is not through with us yet. Now is the time for prayer. Now is the time for revival. Now is the time for transformational change in our nation. And we are the ones who must answer the call. The call has gone out to our preachers, our teachers, our governmental leaders, our lawyers, and our laborers. They have been called. You have been called. Will you answer God’s call?

Blessings,
Pastor Dan

Continue reading »]]> “If the Christian faith is true – if, in other words, Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead three days later to launch God’s new creation and, by his Spirit, to reenergize his followers to be its active agents – then the moment of Jesus’s death is, like Jerusalem on those ancient maps, the central point of the world… Jesus’s death is in fact given its full meaning and its fully central place in the history of the world by what happened next (the resurrection).”
“Simply Jesus” N.T. Wright

As we prepare to enter Holy Week it is time once again to reflect on the central story of the Christian faith: the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. When we reflect on Jesus’ death, our first and most basic understanding is that the death of Jesus pays the price for our sins. We believe that Jesus died to set us free from sin and to become our Passover lamb. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. His death gives us life.

When we reflect upon His resurrection, our minds immediately turn to the promise of eternal life and the coming Kingdom of God. When Paul tells us that Jesus is the first fruits of the resurrection we hear God’s promise that we will not cease to be at the conclusion of our mortal life. There is more to come. His life gives us life.

What then is Bishop Wright talking about when he speaks of Jesus launching a whole new creation? What could he be talking about when he writes of the Holy Spirit re-energizing his followers to be the active agents of this new creation? Isn’t the work of salvation complete? Isn’t our job just to spread the word and bring in the sheaves?

It should go without saying that the work of the Church is to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with the whole of the world. This however does not mean that our only responsibility is to bring people to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. While the cross is the central moment in time for us (and the world) it should be noted that the message of Jesus contained far more than just a call to salvation, it also contained a call to life.

In order to understand the fullness of the gospel of Jesus we must broaden our perspective of his work. The church’s discussions surrounding salvation is dominated primarily by our contemplation with what God is saving us from. Another way of saying this is that we typically see God as rescuing us from our bad decisions, previous sins, or in stark terms, our just desserts. This, of course, is true. The blood of Jesus Christ does indeed cover our iniquities and frees us from sin. But is that all that the work of Jesus accomplishes? What if Jesus was not just trying to save us from something? What if he was trying to save us “to” something?

This is the question that is posed by N.T. Wright. It is certainly not his alone, nor is it a 21st Century innovation. The Church has for generations attempted, in various ways, to answer the question of what Jesus was trying to save us “to.” Answering this question is to inquire what the Kingdom of God looks like and what role we play in it.

While many believe that the Kingdom of God is a Heavenly one, the words of Jesus seem to point to the Kingdom as being something that is far closer than we might accept or believe. Some, even to this day, have made attempts to structure societies or nations to become the Kingdom of God. The Holy Roman Empire made attempts to bring about the Kingdom of God amongst men, and while few saw holy leadership from the emperors or even the Popes, the attempt to order the world in this Kingdom model (articulated in Augustine’s “City of God”) cannot be ignored. In the Reformation period, Protestants like John Calvin also made attempts to create a Godly society that lived with scripture as the basis for law. Sadly each of these societies made the tragic mistake of imposing religious order on fundamentally non-Christian people. Their newly claimed authority “forced” them to punish the wicked and use the sword to destroy the unbeliever. Each time they resorted to the use of raw power they moved closer in character to Caesar than to Christ.  The failure of these earthly kingdoms (the sad legacy of Christendom) has caused many in the church to abandon the possibility of seeing the Kingdom here on earth at all. This however is the Christian version of throwing the baby out with the bath water.

What if the Kingdom of God in Jesus Christ is not only to be built on the victory of the Cross, but also on the character of the Cross? This demands a radicalized rethinking of the Christian kingdom, which would reject the old models of Christian governance for a new model of Christian action. This new model would resolve to live within an intentional separation of Church and State in which the Church (those who follow Jesus, not any denominational entity) refuses to impose a legal structure on others, but lives by a self-imposed biblical lifestyle.

Think what might happen if followers of Jesus lived lives of marital fidelity, gave the tithe, were concerned with almsgiving, valued their children, restrained our own violent impulses, and generally lived a gospel centered, God-loving lifestyle. Think how subversive that would be. Think how transformative that would be. Think how persuasive that would be to a world that currently sees the followers of Jesus as angry, hate-filled hypocrites.

If you read the second chapter of the book of Acts, you discover the character of the early Church. It was caring, loving, holy and persuasive in its call to the world. What it lacked in political clout it more than made up for in persuasive love and uncompromising faithfulness to God.

It is easy to look back on the dying embers of Christendom and remember the good old days when our preachers were popular and received the acclamation of the world, but that was the privilege of the Pharisees not the apostles. We have this opportunity to embrace the power of weakness, the power of sacrifice, the power of self-less love. We have a chance to embrace the Kingdom of God where we forgive those who have wronged us, love our enemies, and render unto Caesar that which is Caesar’s.

But Pastor Dan, you may ask, isn’t the resurrection about God’s victory over death and the powers of this world? Doesn’t that mean that we have already won? Shouldn’t we live like the winners? To that I can only say, of course we are winners. We, however, are winners who are instructed to carry our cross. We are winners who follow the One who rose to the greatest heights of glory by going to the greatest depths of self-sacrifice. Winners who are called to daily die to self. We are winners because we follow Jesus Christ who has saved us in order that we might do “even greater things than these.”

This Easter let us endeavor to live as those who in Jesus Christ are saved from sin, and let us live as those who are saved to serve.

Pastor Dan

Continue reading »]]> Congregational Care Team
VISITATION BREAKFAST

Sunday, April 22, at 8:15 a.m., the second breakfast for the Visitation Small Group will be held.  Pastor Dan will address the group regarding visitation tips and explain the planned visit experience for Saturday, April 28.

Saturday morning the group will meet at 10:00 a.m. at the church, going out in teams to visit Shut-Ins and any hospital patients.  A brief orientation will be given by Pastor Dan to the participants.  A light lunch will be served at noon following the visits with discussions regarding the experiences.

Those who attended the first session are encouraged to return, as well as anyone wishing to participate in visiting the FBC Family.  It is requested that those visiting on Saturday attend the Sunday breakfast.

Questions may be directed to Pastor Dan or Team Leader, Gail Black.

Continue reading »]]> Annual Salad Luncheon
Wednesday, May 9th
11:30 am – 1:00 pm

All men and women of the church are asked to support this event by attending and bringing a friend.  Consider inviting your office co-workers for a pleasant spring afternoon lunch.  In order to be a successful venture, all women of the church will be asked to donate a salad.

Continue reading »]]> PATHFINDERS SCHOLARSHIP

It’s that time of year again to think about gathering college acceptance letters, transcripts, and letters of recommendation in preparation for applying for the Pathfinders Scholarship.

Applications may be obtained from the church office and must be returned no later than Sunday, May 13.  Completed applications must include a copy of an official transcript, a copy of college acceptance letter, and three letters of recommendation.  Materials may be left in the church office, addressed to Scholarship Chairman, Gail Black.

The scholarship will be awarded in June on Graduate Sunday.  Those receiving the scholarship should plan to be in attendance or have a representative in church that Sunday.