We attended a service at First Baptist Church in February 22, 2015. I was impressed then and am still equally impressed. If you are interested you can read about my impressions at: https://bertdsblog.blogspot.com/2015/02/feb-22nd-first-baptist-church.html
The Pastor's message, and the atmosphere then, left a lasting impression on me. I didn't remember his message until I scanned the post above and then it came back to me. One thing that wasn't in the post was he announced that the following Sunday there were going to be representatives from 5 local civic groups giving a brief description of their groups, so that church members could get involved if they were interested. As he was talking about this it occurred to me that he was opening up a "sea" for members to fish in. He was giving his flock a "sea" of opportunities to become involved in other organizations and to spread the Good News while they rubbed shoulders with others in those organizations. By the way, they still don't take up an offering, no mention of an offering was even made. As I was walking out I saw a small, unobtrusive kiosk where offerings could be dropped in a slot.
They now have 3 services. At 9:00 there is a contemporary service in one auditorium and a "classic" service in another. (I think they must have put on an addition since we were here 10 years ago.) At 11:00 there is a 2nd contemporary service. I felt led to attend the 9:00 contemporary service, I'm wasn't sure why since I prefer the old hymns to most contemporary Christian music. The Pastor preached "live" in the Classic service while those of us in the contemporary service watched him on the big screens. After the service I walked around a bit and saw the area where the Classic service was held. There was seating for about 200, with room to add at least another 50 chairs. There were probably close to 200 in the contemporary service, with room for at least another 200.
I wasn't in the best of moods this morning and almost didn't go to church. I've let myself get stressed over the problems with the coach and am not sleeping enough (my fault, I've always been a night owl, and just to dumb to get enough sleep). Yesterday evening the refrigerator quit working again. Am I glad I went! On the way into the building I was greeted by several folks, always a nice touch. As I walked into the auditorium and sat down I could feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. In general the lyrics of the contemporary music did little for me, but a line or two in most of the songs touched my spirit. I knew the Holy Spirit was working on my spirit.
Then came the Pastor's message. The core of his message was from Isaiah 41:1-10, with emphasis on verse 10 (NLT)
God's Help for Israel
[41:1] “Listen in silence before me, you lands beyond the sea. Bring your strongest arguments. Come now and speak. The court is ready for your case.
[2] “Who has stirred up this king from the east, who meets victory at every step? Who, indeed, but the LORD? He gives him victory over many nations and permits him to trample their kings underfoot. He puts entire armies to the sword. He scatters them in the wind with his bow. [3] He chases them away and goes on safely, though he is walking over unfamiliar ground. [4] Who has done such mighty deeds, directing the affairs of the human race as each new generation marches by? It is I, the LORD, the First and the Last. I alone am he.”
[5] The lands beyond the sea watch in fear. Remote lands tremble and mobilize for war. [6] They encourage one another with the words, “Be strong!” [7] The craftsmen rush to make new idols. The carver hurries the goldsmith, and the molder helps at the anvil. “Good,” they say. “It's coming along fine.” Carefully they join the parts together, then fasten the thing in place so it won't fall over.
[8] “But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from my friend Abraham, [9] I have called you back from the ends of the earth so you can serve me. For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. [10] Don't be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.
I can't do a good job of conveying his message but he noted that we can't help being fearful (or getting stressed) at times. When those times do occur we need to focus on the God who has chosen us, the God who is with us, the God who will strengthen us. There was a lot of additional Scripture mentioned during the message. I haven't looked but I'm reasonably sure that the sermons are available online. I will look for it in a couple of days and listen to it again.
In the hour between services there are 14 different Classes you can attend.
The First Baptist campus, thank you Google.
As I scanned my 10 year old blog post I saw the mention of Shrimp Boat Manny's. Lord willing I leave in the morning and have missed the opportunity to eat there again. Bummer! I checked, it is still operating.
After church I stopped at Walmart, Tractor Supply and a Dollar General looking for more magnets. The good ones were out of stock at Walmart and Tractor Supply and Dollar General didn't stock them. I took the exterior vent cover off the back of the refrigerator and again it looked dry. Even though it looked dry I ran a hair dryer over it for 10 minutes or so. I worked with the magnets I have and eventually I was able to reset the relay and get the refrigerator running again. After that I set up a 4" fan so that it was blowing on the back of the refrigerator, to be sure the area was dry and to get more air flow across the coils.
After that I made a hamburger for my lunch and took a 2 hour nap. About 3 hours had elapsed since I left the fan running. When I checked on it I could see droplets of moisture hanging on a couple of the wires. I have no idea where the moisture came from. It's 7:45, I just shut the fan off. No moisture is visible. The refrigerator is 47 degrees and the freezer is 27 degrees. It should be colder but that is sure better than not running at all.
I'm not the only one here with a motorcycle.
This 5th wheel toy hauler is across the street from me.
God is good. I pray that He blesses you and yours. He has blessed me.
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