CHOOSING TO HUNGER – First Baptist Church of Tallahassee

CHOOSING TO HUNGER

July 24, 2020

As followers of Jesus Christ, we’re referred to as to honor him in all issues, love others in his identify, and assist others to seek out and comply with him. For us as a church, this implies our focus should at all times be on worship, service, and mission as we search to comply with him collectively. These items look totally different and can proceed to look totally different for some time as a result of of our present circumstances, however reward God he continues to work.

Worship and the ministry of the Phrase proceed, each in particular person and just about. We now have been bodily gathering because the church for over a month now whereas persevering with to reside stream each of our providers on Sunday morning at 9:00AM and 11:15AM. A number of of our Sunday Morning Bible Examine courses have begun bodily assembly as properly, together with each our youngsters and our youth, whereas others are persevering with to just about collect week by week. We proceed to submit every day reside prayer instances (9:30AM) and our Wednesday evening Grownup Bible Examine (6:00PM) every week, whereas our youth, school, kids, and a few grownup Bible research proceed to assemble just about in the course of the week as properly. God continues to attract individuals to himself via our ministries, blessing us with two baptisms in June and several other extra coming within the following weeks.

IN SERVICE TO THE COMMUNITY

Service and mission alternatives in our group proceed as properly. It’s as soon as once more time for Backpack-a-palooza — an essential effort to equip at-danger college students residing at The HOPE Neighborhood with faculty provides for the upcoming faculty yr. Please contemplate sponsoring a toddler by visiting fbctlh.org/occasions/backpack-a-palooza earlier than August 2. There proceed to be alternatives to serve these in want of short-term shelter in the course of the pandemic on the Salvation Military (to enroll name Kathy Bland at (850) 321-6398 on the Salvation Military). Past Tallahassee, our youth this week had been in a position to go to Ft. Walton Seashore for a number of nights, doing service initiatives in that space.

In terms of ministering throughout the church, we’re persevering with to encourage individuals to enroll to serve others within the church who may not be capable of get out of their home for issues like groceries, medicines, or different primary provides. One other alternative to minister to our self-quarantined members is to easily attain out to them with a video or telephone name. If you want to minister in both of these methods, please contact Pleasure Stein (x131). She’s going to take your data and we’ll work to pair you up with members in want as these wants come up or get you a listing of individuals to whom you possibly can attain out. And in case you are one of our members who want some easy errands run (or anything we may also help you with), please additionally contact Pleasure.

PLANNING IN UNCERTAIN TIMES

As we glance towards the subsequent a number of weeks, we all know there’s a lot of uncertainty, particularly surrounding faculty and what that may appear to be. We need to proceed to hope for our academic leaders and for our dad and mom they proceed to assume via one of the simplest ways to go ahead. For us as a church, we sometimes attempt to coordinate the beginning of our fall Wednesday evening actions with faculty, and proper now our supposed begin date for starting to bodily collect on Wednesday nights once more is August 19. This consists of Grownup Bible Examine, Youngsters’s ministry, and youth ministry.

We need to proceed to focus on the significance of the practices we have now put in place after we collect, which embrace sporting masks, social distancing, and making hand sanitizer accessible at each entrance and exit. We’re loving our neighbor as we proceed to do what we are able to to guard each other from Covid-19.

EMBRACING THE SEASON

In so much of methods, our present circumstances are like a quick. Jesus tells us that we should always have each instances of fasting and feasting in our lives and that fasts assist us starvation for God in methods we wouldn’t be capable of expertise after we’re full and happy. Whereas none of us selected these circumstances, we are able to select how we’ll reply to them.

I hope we select to starvation for God, to lengthy for his presence and energy amidst our uncertainty and loss, understanding that he’ll fill us with His righteousness after we flip to him (Matt 5:6). Let’s preserve worshipping, serving, and reaching out to our neighbors with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

God bless,
Pastor Gary