News of the First Baptist Family

From Our Pastor

TABLE OF CONTENTS

t In this issue:

Board of Christian Education

Activities

Education, Training and

Inspiration

Associate for Children

Calendar

Today is the Only

Day We Have.

Some people live in the past. Ask them about today, they will tell you a story about yesterday as if no day like it will ever come again. Ask them what they are doing today, they will tell you about yesterday’s dilemma, or tomorrow’s expected misfortune. Present tense living is both a gift and a discipline. It is not as though it is unnatural, for watch a child and this is precisely how they live. Make the most of the moment. Forget the mistakes of yesterday. Most children never embrace the anticipated problems of tomorrow. Instead, they live fully within the moment in which they find themselves. This is the life of a child. We have much to learn from a child.

When Jesus tells us to not worry about tomorrow, he is teaching us something we desperately need to hear. When Jesus calls us to let go of the past, he is calling us to a place we need to visit. When Jesus places his life and his faith in the present tense reality of His Father’s world, he is not modeling something we cannot achieve. Rather he is displaying for us the way life is meant to be lived – one moment at a time.

Did you mess up yesterday? Leave it there. Are you afraid tomorrow may be worse? Let the fear lay off in a distance, where it belongs. There is no way to undo yesterday, and no way to control tomorrow, there is only today. This moment. The one you have right now. Every tomorrow you will ever encounter will in some way be determined by the moment you choose to live right now. How are you investing your life today? This is really the only question that matters. Applause and Regret for yesterday is irrelevant. Fear and Anxiety over tomorrow is pointless. The only moment you have is the one God gives you right now.

If you want a future that reflects love, and beauty, and ushers in the Kingdom of God into our midst, then live for it today. Love today. Spread beauty today. Invite the Kingdom into this moment. It is the only way tomorrow can possibly bring what you so desperately desire. It will not come if tomorrow is the story you tell. It cannot come if you cannot let go of your past, your failures as well as those of others. Tomorrow will be the glorious day you desire if you choose to live for God today. Today is the day. God’s gift to you. Can you choose to live fully in today? If not, you will miss the greatest gift God has to give - this moment with Him.

In His service,

Pastor Rick

Mission and Ministry

In both August and September we again anticipate our community need of school supplies for students in need. Please bring items or donate money in offering envelopes with a notation that it is for “School Supplies”. Be on the look out for sales! A table will be placed in the rear of the church. The collected supplies and money will be delivered to the Union Mission for distribution.

All items or funds collected for all FBC mission programs are passed on to the designated program and we ask that you make your contributions through your church so our community contribution can be assessed.

We are doing good for our community.

A box has been set up in the back of the Sanctuary to collect little bottles of shampoo, soap, lotion, etc… for women and children staying at the HOPE Domestic Violence Center.

Tom Smith,

Chair

News and Notes