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Portraits of Faith

5/16/2016

For four weeks, we are looking at the Portraits of Faith that we find in Scripture. Each Sunday, we are seeing The Conversation fleshed out through on-stage interviews with members of First Baptist Church. Through these interviews, we are seeing how God has used First Baptist Church to shape the lives of these living Portraits of Faith, as well as, how God uses us to change the lives of others.
Two weeks ago, we heard from RoseAnn Elston, Laura Bedgood and Mollie Brock on Mother's Day. Yesterday, Melody Squires and Jenny Doggett shared their stories after the children led us in Worship. The next two weeks are going to be just as exciting as we hear from other members and they share their Portraits of Faith.

FBC Advent Devotional: December 6

12/3/2015

Making Preparation
December 6: Luke 3:1-6

            This is one season that doesn’t happen without preparation. There are plans to make, decorations to go up and gifts to purchase. In order to experience the fullness of the season you have to be prepared.
            John the Baptizer would make sure that he did his part to prepare the people for the coming of the Messiah. His preaching of repentance attracted a crowd and prepared the way for the salvation of God. He was a popular figure and some wondered if he was the Messiah. John was clear, he was not the Messiah but the one who would prepare the way for the Messiah to come.
            Don’t get lost in the details this season and miss the most important gift—Jesus. Prepare yourself to receive him this Advent season.

Lord prepare my heart to be with you. Help me to experience the fullness of Christ this season.

--Jerry Hendrix--

FBC Advent Devotional: December 5

12/3/2015

More Than Hoped For
December 5: Acts 3:1-11

            When I was a child, our family was a lot like other families with traditions that were built around the holidays. Every Christmas morning, my brother and I followed our own tradition by waking up between 5 and 6am and sneaking into the Living Room and, under cover of dim flashlights, we scouted out the gifts left by Santa under the Christmas Tree. After seeing the gifts, we agonized over waiting another couple hours to wake up my parents and hope they were as excited about Christmas as we were. Looking back, the gifts were great, but Christmas was always more than I could have hoped for: presents, breakfast, my grandparents coming to the house, and making memories with our new found treasures. Christmas was always more than what I hoped for and that tradition continues even now in my experience of Advent.
            The beggar in Acts hoped for money, and he looked to the religious community to supply his financial needs. He sat at the gate to the Temple when he knew people would be coming in to pray. What a great setup: religious people heading to prayer time could hardly resist giving a few coins to a beggar sitting at the Temple's doorstep. When he met Peter and John, he was hoping for money, but Peter and John had another idea: giving the beggar more than he hoped for. After getting the man's full attention, they dashed his hopes of money, but quickly followed up with complete physical healing.
            I think that is the way it is with God. We may hope for one thing, but we consistently get more than we could ever hope for. Sometimes we just have to recognize the gift of God by looking around at the life we have been blessed with. What are you hoping for this Advent Season? How has God given you more than you hoped for?

Lord God, thank you for all you have given me. Help me to see beyond my hopes to the blessings you give me. Amen.

--Tique Hamilton--

FBC Advent Devotional: December 4

12/3/2015

The Promise of a Coming Kingdom
December 4: Isaiah 11:1-10

            I have a confession: I do not watch the news anymore…EVER (okay, sometimes I watch the local news, but only the sports when the Mustangs are featured)! I stopped watching the news when my brother was in Iraq during Operation Iraqi Freedom and the “news” seemed to care more about ratings or a political stance than they did the facts. I hate being in a restaurant and hearing anchors yell back and forth trying to prove their points. I cannot stand the negativity that is on the news.
            I wonder if the people of Israel hated the news? From king to king, the news was either “We have a king that is leading us to follow false idols,” or every once in a while, “We have a king calling us to repentance and worship of God.” The bad seemed to outweigh the good, but then Isaiah writes the words we find here and the promise of a new kingdom: a kingdom that is characterized by images of peace. For the People of God, the hope of such a kingdom must have brought back images of the promise of God to Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing to all nations. The people of Isaiah’s time would not see the kingdom that Isaiah spoke of here; however, with the coming of Christ, the Kingdom that Isaiah spoke of was created and continues to grow today.
            We are part of the Kingdom that Isaiah’s listeners hoped and waited for. We are responsible for being the Good News to those around us. We have not seen the final results as Isaiah spoke of, but we are to bring peace through the way we live out the Good News of Jesus. We are the news that so many people need, standing in stark contrast to the news they receive through our culture. How will you live out the Good News during Advent? You carry the fulfillment of somebody’s hope for a promised kingdom.

God, help me to be a faithful witness to the Good News

FBC Advent Devotional: December 3

12/3/2015

Hope in a Promise
December 3: Isaiah 9:1-7

            Like any teenager, I was hoping for a car when I turned 16. I was older than most students in my class, so I would be one of the first students in my class that was able to drive themselves to school. For what felt like eternity, I waited and hinted at my desire (or what I thought was a need) for a car. Then came the day that Pop showed up with a 1979 Ford Mustang. He told me it was a 5.0 (I quickly found out that meant it was fast) and I could choose the new paint color because it would be mine.
            Israel was promised a new light, a light that would push back the darkness of the world. They were promised through Isaiah a child that would be born; “Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.” Most importantly, the Promised One would reign on David’s throne. My desire for a car could not have compared to the excitement and longing to see the fulfillment of the promise God was making through Isaiah. I found fulfilment in my hope for a car in a span of a few years, but the promised Messiah would not come to earth for about 700 years after Isaiah spoke. 700 years is a long time to hope and wait for God to fulfill the promise, but at Advent, we celebrate the fulfilment of the promise in the form of a Baby in a Manger.
            What are you hoping for from God? Sometimes we become disappointed because we feel like God has abandoned us, but if Advent teaches us anything, we learn that God is faithful and keeps promises. Seek God and find your hope in the Messiah this Advent Season.

Lord God, help me to find my hope in you this Advent Season and share that hope with those living in darkness. Amen

FBC Advent Devotional: December 2

12/3/2015

The Greatest Reunion
December 2: 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13

            Long distance relationships can be tough. Whether it’s family, a close friend, or a romantic relationship, we like to be close to the ones we love. Even in these days of texting, face time, and other forms of instant communication, it’s hard to be separated from friends and family.
            In 1 Thessalonians, Paul mentions several times that he is grateful for the church there and how he longs to visit them. He tells them he prays earnestly night and day that he may get to see them again. He loves them and wants to spend time with them. Paul’s hope is more of a wish. We all have hopes and wishes like that.
            The hope we have in God is different. It is not a wish, but a promise! God promises us that the day will come when we will no longer be physically separated from Him or our loved ones who are in Christ. Those Heavenly reunions will be amazing!
            The Christmas season is special because we can focus on this HOPE brought to us by a baby boy. Because of His birth, we have the hope of heaven and a heavenly reunion with Him and our loved ones. We have God’s promise that we will never be separated from Him again.

Thank you Lord for making our hopes and wishes into Your promise of the greatest reunion ever.

--Karen Harrison--

FBC Advent Devotional: December 1

12/3/2015

In What Do We Trust?
December 1: Psalm 25:1-10

            Sitting out on my patio, in an old yellow chair well-worn from the weather, I pause to look at the stars and enjoy the crisp West Texas evening. I trusted that old chair would hold me. Mistake. The rotted fabric rips beneath me. I should have known better. People and things are fallible. We may trust in their reliability, truth, ability or strength at times, but the things of the world will always let us down sooner or later. The only one thing that can offer us consistent and true comfort, peace, and security is our Savior.
            Psalm 25 shows us David’s desire towards God and dependence on him. He often begins his psalms with such professions, not to move God, but to move himself, and to engage himself to answer those professions. David encouraged himself to lift up his soul – not to vanity – but to God. All that we are, all that we do, say and achieve and hope to be and do, is not of our good works but those of the Father’s. David shows us how to earnestly ask the Lord to teach us His ways. Teach us not to put our hope in material possessions, or people or things of folly, but to look to Him to teach us to walk upright in His path.
            We can all remember a time when we put our hope in things or people … wearing the right things, doing the cool things, owning the right things even. But this scripture reminds us to forget our selfish, rebellious ways of our youth, and to learn to be humble, loving, and faithful to keep a covenant with God – an unbreakable agreement to earnestly seek Him and follow Him who bought us by paying the ultimate price.

Father, lead us, teach us, we ask you – show us how to live in a way that honors you and is pleasing and in accordance with your divine will. Forgive us for the times when we stray and follow the temptations of trusting in the things the world has to offer, and teach us to long for furthering your kingdom’s good work. Amen.

--Eliska Smith--

FBC Advent Devotional: November 30

12/3/2015

Hope Springs Eternal
November 30: Jeremiah 33:14-16

            To many people, the days we live in seem to be the darkest. Terrorism, looming wars, the seeming lack of empathy and the perception of a disconnected society looms before us every day in the news and right before our eyes. But shining through that dark and gloomy fog is light, and we can see it every day if we will just place all our hopes on God.
            The prophet Jeremiah also lived through some very dark times. He lived in doubt of his ability to convey the messages that God wanted him to share with the world. He was beaten by his own brothers, thrown into prison, opposed by a false prophet and tossed into a cistern by the very people to whom he was trying to give hope. Yet through these doubts and trials, Jeremiah saw the hope of what was to come. He knew that God’s promise of a Savior would come and rid this world of doubt and fear.
            God gives us that hope every day. Whether it be through a warm touch of a friend or the heart-warming story that shines through the darkness, He is there, always reminding us to trust in Him and have hope. Remember this Christmas season that no matter how dark this world seems, God’s promise to the world has been revealed through the miracle of His son, Jesus Christ.

            Hope springs eternal in the human breast;
            Man never is, but always to be blessed:
            The soul, uneasy and confined from home,
            Rests and expatiates in a life to come.
                                                            – Alexander Pope

Dear God, please help your people and all people of the world always remember the hope you have given us through your son Jesus Christ, through this Christmas season and throughout the year.

--James Craig--

FBC Advent Devotional: November 29

12/3/2015

There Will Be Signs
November 29: Luke 21:25-36

            When I travel I know that I have a choice. I can follow my instincts or follow the signs. My experience has taught me that if I follow the signs I am more likely to reach my destination.
            Advent is the celebration and observation of the signs of the arrival of the Messiah. At this time of the year we follow the signs of knowing Jesus has come and that he will come again. The anticipation we feel for Christmas Day can serve as a reminder that we ought to also anticipate the return of Christ.
            As you go through your day observe the signs. What is God’s direction for you this Advent Season?

Lord help me to be alert to the signs of your presence. Give me strength until you return.

--Jerry Hendrix--

Christmas Carols in April?!

4/23/2014

     The last couple years, Stacy and I have gone to San Antonio over Christmas to see Trans-Siberian Orchestra (TSO) live. For those of you that know me, you know I am not much of a music person, but TSO is the exception to the rule. The story they tell mixed with the passion and intensity of the music is one of my favorite memories each year we have gone.

     All this to say, I had "O Come, All Ye Faithful" in my head as I got ready this morning. In the TSO concert, a young lady sang "O Come, All Ye Faithful" in a way that was so powerful and moving that here in April, I still have her voice and the words of a Christmas Carol echoing in my head.

     During the song she sang the words, "joyful and triumphant," as we always do at Christmas; however, she did not sing the words in quiet reverence that we sometimes sing the words. No, she sang the words with such intensity, passion, and joy, that the sold out AT&T Center was left in a moment of silence, then the applause and shouts of joy exploded across the home of the San Antonio Spurs. Stacy and I were caught in the moment of stunned silence, and then the flood of joy that filled the venue.

     Now, four months later, I look back on that moment and still get chills from the experience. The words are still resonating in my mind and heart. I am also left with the question, why have I not ever seen those three words before?

     Birth...Life...Death...Resurrection...JOYFUL AND TRIUMPHANT! We are Resurrection People. We should live out "Joyful and Triumphant." How are we doing that today?