Join us this Sunday night, April 30th, at 5:00 PM for community outreach. This is an excellent opportunity for us to share the love of Christ with our community and to invite them to join our church family.

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Next, DIY Kids is coming up. Help us get the word out. Please sign up by May 10, 2023

DIY Kids is a time when young children can get together and create projects with their hands while also learning about our creator. Join us as we explore the unique abilities and creative imaginations God has given us.

First Baptist Church
Family Ministry Building

Next Workshop
Saturday, May 13, 2023
10:00 AM – 12 Noon

Click Here To Sign Up

Baccalaureate Service

We will be having our Baccalaureate Service on Sunday, May 21. Any graduates that would like to participate, please contact Jonathan. We will publish the names in the newsletter of those who have signed up in a few weeks.

Graduates, click here for more information.

Giving as of April 25, 2023

Budget for 2023 . . . . . . . .  $348,707.00
Tithes Needed to Date . . . . $114,000.47
Received to Date . . . . . . . . . $79,385.20
Needed for weekly budget . . .  $6,705.91
Tithes Received this week . . . . $6,325.20

MID-WEEK DEVOTION

Don’t forget to check out Brother David’s Mid-Week Devotion in the book of Psalms. They are uploaded each Wednesday on the sermon page.

From Our Family and Music Minister

Growing up, my dad did most of the cooking because he was always home earlier than my mom.  The same circumstance presented itself when my sister and I were off at college; I was home first, so I did most of the cooking.  There is no better way to learn to cook than to do it out of necessity.  However, I got a little bit of my mother in me, so I would love to try new things.  To make a long story short, I made a big pot of spaghetti when we had friends coming to stay for the weekend.  It tasted so bad that I refused to eat it or let anyone else eat it.  We cleaned up the dishes and did take-out.  Yes, it tasted that bad.  Fortunately, the next time I cooked, my friends were willing to taste my food and even continued to give me a second chance even when I had a flop now and then.  Aren’t we glad that we serve a God who continues to provide us with a second chance when we continually mess up and make mistakes?

At the Last Supper, Jesus revealed to His disciples that He knew He would be betrayed, arrested, and crucified.  He also knew Peter would deny Him when questioned after His arrest.  But Jesus told Peter He was praying for him and knew Peter would turn back and lead others again.  Before Peter even had a chance to deny Jesus, Jesus was giving Peter a second chance.

I am sure we are all familiar with the story.  Soon after Jesus was arrested, Peter was approached three different times by people who associated him with Jesus.  But, as Jesus had said, every time Peter was questioned, Peter responded, “I do not know the man.” Peter denied Jesus even though he had stepped out of a boat and walked on water, he had seen many miracles performed, and he had told Jesus the very night before Jesus was betrayed, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.”  Even though Peter was a faithful servant of Christ, he sometimes made mistakes and stumbled.

After the crucifixion, Peter doesn’t immediately return to his place of leadership.  Instead, he returns to what he knows best, fishing.  How often does this happen to us as believers?  We are following Jesus, then something happens, and we seem to lose ourselves and return to the lifestyle we were living before we knew Jesus.  The great thing we see here is that Jesus knew this would happen, and now He seeks Peter out, finding him doing the same exact thing he was doing when Jesus called him.  Jesus doesn’t criticize Peter or tell him how disappointed He is.  Instead, He blesses Peter with a miracle of abundant fish.  Jesus let Peter know that He was not done with him yet.  Jesus commands him to feed His sheep.

One thing stood out to me as I read through the different gospel records of this account.  Three of the four Gospels recorded Peter’s reaction to what he had done.  Scripture says that Peter “went out and wept bitterly.” This is because Peter made a mistake, and he knew he made a mistake and was completely broken because of it.

Aren’t we blessed that we serve a God of second chances?  Without a doubt, we are going to mess up.  God knew this and sent Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins so that we may be forgiven.  May we never take God’s grace for granted! May we always be thankful for His forgiveness! May we always recognize our denial of Him and be remorseful!