First Baptist Church
1521 S County Road 75 W
Danville, Indiana 46122
Phone: 317-745-2266
info@firstbaptistdanville.com
Copyright © 2010 First Baptist Church of Danville, Indiana.
Our theme this year as a church family is “LEARN HUMBLY.” Our goal has been to live in a “listening” posture. God is ever teaching us through the Bible, the people around us and our everyday circumstances.
On Monday I was processing a minor knee injury. I love to run and was training for a race but had to face my mortality when I couldn’t make it lap around the track without intense pain. My soul was aching more than knee. There’s never been a day in my life that I can remember that I couldn’t run.
A couple hours later a tweet from the songwriter Lacrae hit me hard, “If your world crumbles without it, you probably worship it.” It helped me refocus on the “ONE THING” that really matters.
The greatest joy in life is not found in running around a track or any other temporary pursuit. It’s found in a growing love relationship with the most amazing Being in the universe!
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart.” – Psalm 37.4
I hope your day is filled with His whispers of hope!
your brother,
Jon
If you were to choose a logo for your life what would it be?
That’s the question John Ortberg asks in his book, “the me I want to be”.
McDonalds has the golden arches that help communicate their brand…pleasure.
Nike has the “swoosh” that helps communicate its brand…success.
Apple has the apple that helps communicate its brand…smart.
One day Jesus gave His followers a logo in the form of a cross.
Peter must have been thinking, “Horrible brand to launch an organization!”
But sacrificial love is the way of the Kingdom of God!
And sacrificial love is what He calls us too!
And as for a logo’s it’s doing o.k. for itself.
“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9.23
Have a great day loving big!
Jon
Not long ago I bought my new “wheels” for the Indy Mini Marathon. I love the 1st run in a new pair shoes! The old shoes slowly become “packed”, lose their bounce and have the “uplift” of a sack of potatoes. But lacing up that new pair of running shoes feels like strapping on pillows with wings!
LIFE can get heavy like an old pair of running shoes. But I love the “uplift” that comes with remembering again that our HOPE LIVES! Peter reminds us of this truth in 1 Peter 1.3, “Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy He has given us new birth into a LIVING HOPE through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…”
Our HOPE is found in Jesus who lives to help us run our race as we follow Him by faith!
How good is it to be able to wake up each new day and know that the future is looking beautiful because God has promised to help us run this race of life!
This weekend we are going to be celebrating the HOPE we have through Jesus Christ! Team Crevier will be with us to share their basketball skills but also give us a window into their faith journey!
I sure hope you can make it!
Have a great day enjoying “uplift” of the HOPE we have in Christ!
Jon
We all know that offense sells tickets but defense wins championships!
One night we were playing capture the flag with a bunch of friends. Pride was on the line. We did not want to lose this one. So we decided to storm their flag with all ferocity of General George Patton! But we gave little thought to our defensive strategy. We left our flag unprotected. As the enemy crept from the shadows toward our flag they sliced through our resistance like a hot knife through butter. It was game over.
God calls us to be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have in Christ (1 Peter 3.15). Do you know why you believe what you believe? Can you explain why you trust the Bible as truth from God? How are your defensive skills in the realm of faith?
This weekend we’ll have a defensive skills coach, Jay Seegert, in the house! He’s president of the Creation Education Center. He’ll be answering questions and pushing our defensive limits on Sunday (9:00, 10:30, 6:00) and Monday (7:00)! Hope you can make it out! You can check out his website at www.CECwisc.com.
Have a great day enjoying the hope we have in HIM!
One thing God has been hammering into me lately is the importance of relationships. It’s so easy for me to just fly through life and miss the treasure of really knowing and enjoying the people around me. I can also fly by the joy of being a friend of God. I know following Jesus is a team sport. I know I was created to enjoy life in community. I know great commandment is about relationships i.e. LOVE GOD and LOVE OTHERS. So I’m pushing hard into a way of thinking that values relationship above all! I do admit I wish this crock-pot slow process of becoming like Christ was a little quicker. But as the Harley Riders say, “The journey is the destination.” So let’s strap on our LOVE BIG bandannas and ride on! J
“The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.” Gal.5.6
Your brother,
Jon
Do you know that feeling when the fever breaks and you start to feel “health” again.
Not long ago I was slobber-knocked by a virus that turned my throat into a cauldron of pain! (OK I’m a wimp.) It was agony to cough… it hurt to breath… sneeze… eat… drink! Before the pain set in I had to speak to our church and sounded like bullfrog! I apologize to you if you had to endure that talk. For several nights it was 8 hours of restless tossing and turning and waking up feeling like I’d been tazered in the Adam’s apple.
Then it happened. One afternoon the pain began to subside. I slept like a rock through the entire night.
If felt so good to wake up fresh… rested… pain free! I love the feeling of HEALTH returning!
So it is in the realm of the soul! The most painful sickness is beyond the reach of Advil and Ampicillin. It’s the pain of soul sickness. The journey of following Jesus by faith is one of HEALTH returning!
What a gift to wake up to another day of life knowing my heart/soul on the road to recovery!
I hope you’re staying virus free and enjoying the soul health that Jesus Christ provides!
Your brother,
Jon
HOPE is one of those life essentials.
Wake up with it and it’s a good day. Wake up without it and it’s a long one.
Our God describes Himself as a God of HOPE – “May the God of HOPE fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him…” – Romans 15.13.
One of the best places to fill up our “HOPE-TANK” is at the manger where Jesus is born! I mean the Christmas story explodes with hope! I can’t wait to celebrate another Christmas!
He’s the HOPE of the world.
He’s the HOPE for our everyday life.
I HOPE you can join us if you don’t have a church home.
May your soul overflow with the HOPE He provides today!
Jon
(Note: Sunday morning I opened up this email from my brother that was 100% wind in the sails! I hope it encourages you as well…)
Well, actually it’s an old bald man, but once, I was boy! Hey, it’s Rob. Hope you are doing well. I woke up this morning to a thought that wouldn’t leave my head and at first, I was just amazed that it didn’t have anything to do with pizza or milkshakes but after milling this over I wanted to share it with you. So please hang in for a few minutes before deleting this message!
The question that was in my mind was, “What are you thankful for?”. The answer that was stuck between my ears was…”You”. That’s right. You. You as an individual. You as teammate in the body of Christ.
The body of Christ is an incredible thing in that when we place our faith and trust in God, He places us on a team of fellow humanoids who are “God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God has prepared in advance for us to do.”
That seems simple doesn’t it. God has planned and prepared it, so just go do it! But the reality is life can be so attractive at times that it pulls our attention away from doing His will. Other times, life can be so hard that we don’t know what to do. (This week I had the flu and therefore asked the Lord to take me home in the midst of my suffering. Please don’t pat me on the back for my toughness as I’m trying to overcome pride…and Nicole’s laughter!)
One of the things that prompted my question this morning was waking up to the reliving of my 3rd-6th grade years while making the scary walk home up Mill Street after school was let out. You see, I was on the smaller side of things back then and we had some bullies that lived in our ‘hood. They would grab a handful of rocks in one hand and fling them at us as fast as they could with the other hand, making us “dance” all the way home. Sometimes, there would even be an honest to goodness fist fight with blood along for the ride. How in the world did I survive? At the end of journey was a home filled with family who loved me, cared for me and encouraged me to keep on and not be afraid. By the next morning, I was fired up and ready to go back to school and conquer the world even if it meant facing a 5-foot bully!
What do we do when life is so hard, we don’t want to roll out of bed? What do we do when life is so busy we don’t have enough time to do all the things we need to and want to do?
Could I suggest going to church?
I know that sounds old-fashioned but don’t delete me just yet. I don’t mean go to the church building. I mean go to church. Go spend time with the family of God, who loves you, cares for you and wants to encourage you to do the good works which God has prepared for you.
Just this past week in Life Group (9AM-ish on Sundays), we were encouraged by Ephesians 1. Did you know that God adopted us, redeemed us, lavished us with His grace, made us alive while we were dead, brought us near to God, provided peace with God, made us fellow citizens and has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ, just to name a few! Boooom Baby! That’s better than a 3 TD day by #18!
My apologies for sending one of the longest emails in FBC history, but if you are not feeling encouraged, loved or cared for, I would encourage you to be an active participant of a small group or a life group so that you can either get encouraged or be an encouragement to your teammates in Christ. There is value in “the team”!
Have a great week serving The King!
Rob
One of my favorite quotes is from a professor who was like the Bob Knight of speech class. He was ruthless. But he used to say, “Success is moving from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm.” That quote pumps me up at least once a month! I’ve told it to every team of ball players I’ve ever coached. I thought about it this week while watching Brett Favre throw a couple interceptions but then somehow continue to play with enough enthusiasm to almost win the game!
Following Jesus can be a discouraging pursuit at times when we get a glimpse of how far we have to go. But it’s a journey of many steps and many failures that fire us up to run a little harder. David had some pretty painful failure moments. But rather than quit he ran to the ONE who loves Him and found the grace to get backup and carry on! Psalm 51 is a song that describes his journey through failure…CONFESS IT…PRAY for God’s cleansing…LEARN humbly…RUN hard after HIM!
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.” – v.1
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” – v.10
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” – v.12
May God help you keep moving from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm!
Jon
Not long ago I was in another country for a few days. It was a blast but as I returned home my entire being seemed to sigh…”AHHHHHHHHHHH”! When the fridge is full and love is in the house there is no better place on planet earth than HOME sweet HOME!
“HOME” was God’s idea! And He has given us all the info we need to build homes that are marked by “Shalom” peace. Home is to be a place of rest and refuge from frigid winds of everyday life in a world that can be less than peaceful!
As a church family we’re jumping into a three week focus we’re calling “LOVE in the house”! I’m praying that this focus will push the love levels in our home up and too the right! As I’ve thought about this theme it’s caused me to thank the Lord again for my mom and dad who worked and prayed to provide a home filled with the Shalom peace that God’s presence brings. He is the “love big” professor that will bless your home if you let Him – “Now about brotherly love we do not need to write you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other.” – 1 Thess.4.9.
Have a great day loving big!
Jon
First Baptist Church
1521 S County Road 75 W
Danville, Indiana 46122
Phone: 317-745-2266
info@firstbaptistdanville.com
Copyright © 2010 First Baptist Church of Danville, Indiana.