Thinking about Life and the Lord!

The following article was written by Pastor Rick Warren and was sent out in his Ministry Toolbox email (Issue # 362 on 10-1-08). I thought it was applicable to the sermon series I am presently preaching at FBC called First and 10: The Bible's playbook for the game of life. Last Sunday I preached on the Lord's commandment regarding a Sabbath. We can identify with what a USA Today article said about life for many people. “Today people are souped up, stressed out, and over scheduled. In this brave new world boundaries between work and family are disappearing. Everybody is mobile and every moment is scheduled.” The Bible tells us that hurry and worry and scurry have dramatic negative effects on our life and ministries. If you’re serious about slowing your life down to a more humane pace of life, you’re going to have to make five counter-cultural changes in your lifestyle. Learn contentment. It starts in the heart. Paul says this about contentment in Philippians 4:12 (NIV): “I have ...

Dr. Emil Turner, Executive Director of the Arkansas Baptist Convention, recently posted a fantastic article related to how our relationships with those we lead has a direct effect on our ability to lead them. Let me encourage you to go here and read this great article: http://www.absc.org/WeblogEmilTurner/p/7441/Default.aspx

One of the topics that rises to the surface during an election year is the role of faith or the role of a Christian in relationship to politics. Throughout the nation we hear the voices of the skeptics decrying the participation of people of faith in the political arena. Worn our phrases, such as “separation of church and state”, are used in an effort to silent God’s people. Amazingly every other influence in the world is debated and discussed in relationship to politics, but somehow religion and personal faith seems to be dismissed. Historically, we clearly recognize the fact that the whole concept of “the separation of church and state” has been grossly distorted from its original intent. The phrase was taken from a letter of Thomas Jefferson to a Baptist group meeting in Connecticut simply to assure them that the government could not infringe upon their religious freedoms, nor could they discriminate against a church or denomination. The intent of the phrase today is to keep peopl...

I have just posted a 5 part series of blogs called " The Christian's response to the present US economy" on the First Baptist Church of Marion, AR website. I hope you will take time to go there and let these blogs encourage you. Here is the link: http://www.fbcmarionark.org/?q=blog/3

The story is told of two farmers. Both of the farmers needed rain, so each decided to pray for God to send the rain. While praying, only one of the farmers got his fields prepared for God to send the rain. Here is the question: Which farmer do you think had faith and believed God? The obvious answer is the farmer who prepare the field had faith in God. This summer at First Baptist Church of Marion, AR we are trying to prepare the fields of our hearts, homes, and church for God to send the rains of repentance, revival, and renewal upon us. For this to happen in your life, you and I need to get ourselves ready to receive what God has for us. To do so, we need to confess any known or unknown sin in our lives. We need to make sure that Jesus is the priority of our lives and we are not being distracted by lesser things. We need to spend time in God's Word and in prayer. We need to be faithful in all things, including the little things like our attendance and tithe. My prayer is that w...

The following prayer was prayed by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt as he leads the nation in prayer on June 6, 1944 as the Greatest Generation launched its mightiest battle of the Second World War commonly known as D-Day. As we have just celebrated Memorial Day and look toward July 4th, these words should be reminders to all believers to pray for our nation, our president, and our military personnel worldwide as they sacrifice their lives so that we might remain free and the greatest nation on earth!

James Byrnes, Secretary of State under FDR, said that the difference between successful people and average people can be summed up in these 3 words, and then some. He said, "Average people do what is expected. Successful people do what is expected, and then some." I believe the same could be said for a Christian. Sadly, most of the Christian people I know, even members of our own church, are not even "average" by this definition because they do not even do "what is expected." For many believers, attendance is optional in their minds. Coming to worship on Sunday night or Bible study on Wednesday night is not even on their radar. Tithing is not even a consideration for them as the choose disobedience. It never crosses their minds to tell someone they know about Jesus, much less invite them to church or Sunday School. Is this what Jesus meant in Luke 9:23, when He said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily ...