First Baptist Church, Aztec

New Commandment Men’s Ministry trains, organizes and deploys teams of men that adopt widows, single parents and others with needs among church family.

Four man teams donate three hours of time, one Saturday morning a month, from seven to ten. Typically, the teams meet at the church for prayer and bible study from seven to eight. Then, they work in the home of their care receiver from eight to ten doing basic chores around the home such as fix leaky faucets, clean windows, haul trash, etc. At the end of their time, the men gather around their care receiver and pray with him or her.

Teams return to the same care receiver every month, spreading their ministry over time and building strong relationships. They also pray for their care receiver’s street and offer their services to other widowed or single parents, extending their ministry into the community.

Want to be a part? Check out the training scheduled below. Attend and become involved.

New Commandment Men’s Ministry
Training Session
Saturday, August 6th @ 7AM
Fellowship Hall

Includes: breakfast, video-based training, participant guide.
All men and boys are invited.

Please RSVP to the church.

This is a deacon-led ministry.

Exodus 35 & 36 describes a remarkable offering for building the Tabernacle. The giving exceeded $1,722,000. In fact, the offering so exceeded the need, Moses asked the people to stop giving! How did refugees give so much? Where did their giving come from? In Exodus 12, they plundered Egypt as they left. The Tabernacle was built with Egyptian gold!

In our Crossing the Lines campaign, the same question arises. Some people have “vault thinking” regarding giving. They unconsciously believe that God can only use their possessions. He is limited to what they own. Prudence is part of wisdom, but there’s more.

Some have “vessel thinking.” They expect God to pour a gift, through them, greater than their possessions. They ask how He wants to use them; then, they surrender to be His vessel, His channel.

We need both “vault” and “vessel” thinking as we pray about our own giving in the campaign. Pray well.

Woe to you Pharisees, because you give God a tenth of your mint, rue and all other kinds of garden herbs, but you neglect justice and the love of God. You should have practiced the latter without leaving the former undone. (Luke 11:42)

Sometimes seeing something old and familiar just one more time really makes a difference. This is true of the Scriptures that make up the Bible. We may read a passage at one time with little passion for its truth. Then, in another life context, we read it, it connects, and we experience the touch of God in our lives. Did God change? Did God become more relevant? No, of course not. The message was waiting for us all along. I experienced this with today’s Crossing the Lines prayer email.

Premature Disassociation

We can so easily fall into the same traps as the Pharisees. Yet, we gingerly distance ourselves from them. Most Christians do. But, at times our dismissal is premature. Sometimes we actually resemble the Pharisees. That’s why they are mentioned in Scripture. That’s why they receive so much attention.

Me, a Pharisee?

When do I resemble a Pharisee? There could be many times. Luke 11:42 describes only one of the possibilities. They had locked onto the practice of a single religious detail, given that minute pursuit their whole passion and neglected other really important pursuits, one that was especially important. In this verse, the Pharisees were careful to tithe from their herbs. But, they were neglecting two important pursuits: justice and loving God.

Do I Neglect Justice?

Justice actively pursues what is right in the lives of others and ourselves. It’s activism for truth and righteousness. Justice stands up to defend others and condemn evil and treachery. Many of us avoid the boldness, exposure, and trouble which are associated with justice. We say that it’s the job of government, lawyers, police, and other people. God calls us to take up the mantle of activism for the cause of justice. We’re not only a body, we’re also a light in this world.  Have we settled for herbal giving and let our light go out or become dangerously dim?

Do I Neglect God?

The love of God describes our actions and behavior that express our love for God. Passive or positional love for God isn’t enough. We have a living relationship with God. Our expression of faith at our salvation or last year don’t count as expressions of our love for Him today. Spiritual disciplines are practices that carve time out of our busy lives to spend time with God. He’s waiting. He always has time for us, each of us. Do we have time for Him? How loved by me does God feel today? That’s a potent question. Once again, have we settled for herbal giving and let our love life with God become dangerously distant?

Am I Caught?

I’m sitting here thinking about how petty it would be for me to become satisfied with tithing the oregano that’s in a small bottle in our kitchen. How would that figurative picture of shriveled spirituality appear in my own life? Today’s Scripture shines a bright light upon our lives, the shine of God’s glory. What is it revealing? The temptation to say, “I’m not the one; I’m not a Pharisee,” is formidable. Has it captured you? I get caught sometimes. That’s why God is still working on me. Don’t get caught in the error of thinking God is finished changing and growing you. There’s still a great distance between God’s holiness and our living in each of our lives. Let’s thrive on the journey there. Embrace revival. Move beyond spiritual neglect. Herbs alone won’t do.

Lines are boundaries that can help us or hamper us. For example, wise management of our time creates helpful boundaries and allows us to accomplish tasks and avoid distracting commitments. On the other hand, fear creates boundaries that hinder us. Often, we’ll avoid situations toward which we feel fear, even though our fears may be unfounded or simply need to be overcome.

Our Crossing the Lines campaign calls on each of us to examine the boundaries that hamper us: preferences, fears, overcommitment, poor spending habits, self-deception, anger, etc. Through prayer and obedience to God’s word, we become able to see these boundaries blocking us from God’s glory and blessing. We also become able to conquer them with the strength of God’s Spirit within our lives.

As we consider the financial goals of the Crossing the Lines campaign, we’re sure to encounter our negative boundaries. Our faith in God will fuel us to move beyond them. It’s common to avoid, resist, and hesitate when God is calling us toward a great vision that demands much from us. We prefer a smooth, easy road; that’s our earthly culture. Yet, faith is based upon a hope that is unseen, awaiting us in heaven. From its perspective, victory over our, boundaries is worth the cost!

One of our Sunday School Groups has challenged us all to begin praying for revival among our church. Some have asked, “Do we have a revival planned?” They are thinking about special meetings we periodically host called a “revival.” Those are significant times, but they’re not what we’ve been challenged to pray for. Actually, the challenge to pray and “revival meetings” pursue the same end in different ways.

Revival is the fresh stirring of a group of God’s people. Sometimes revival spreads far beyond a single congregation and becomes an “awakening.” Revival is characterized by honest repentances, new life changes, and a renewed culture of surrender to God among a group of believers. It can only be initiated by God. That’s why we pray to Him for revival of our souls.

Everyone needs revival. When God visits us with this kind of work, we must be receptive to experience personal revival. When we do, it tends to spread to others. In fact, when the spread becomes so big that it’s an “awakening,” we usually also see large numbers of lost people turning to Christ. Revival is exciting.

We encourage you to pray consistently for the revival of the saints among our church family. Renewal is good for everyone!

In a few weeks, we’ll be presenting our Crossing the Lines Stewardship Campaign to our church family. As we do, you’ll hear a lot about biblical generosity. Rather than focus only on finances, biblical generosity weaves God’s heart into other areas of our lives as well.

Biblical generosity describes the desire and willingness to surrender one’s self and resources to God’s purposes. A lot is packed into that definition.

The generosity found in Scripture is an attitude, first found in Christ, that identifies those who practice it as God’s children. It’s conspicuous. It includes a joyful willingness that searches opportunities to give time, energy, possessions, and wealth to God’s work and purposes. Generosity sees what God is doing and gets excited about it. It’s discerning and celebrative.

Generosity is all about surrendering to God’s will. Sometimes it involves helping others, sometimes it means quiet prayer. Generosity manifests itself uniquely in every Christian. None-the-less it’s characterized by an intentional and desired release of what one has and is to God Himself. Generosity lets go of life and worldly goods. It’s content with much or little. It’s delighted to turn life over to God’s control.

Generosity may be great or small. It’s unrelated to the quantity or quality of one’s resources. It’s a matter of the heart that should become a lifestyle personally and a culture among our church.

For years I’ve pondered why people reject or embrace church leaders, especially pastoral leaders. Two leader styles emerged: tyrannical and shepherding leaders. They share many functions, yet, their end goal, their means, and their motivation differ. Understanding them is essential.

Tyranny requires a leader who forces people to go where and do what he wants. These leaders grasp opportunities of power. They arrange and seek their position. Selfish passions drive them, passions they protect at any cost. Their style is harsh, oppressive, and treacherous. Followers, naturally, become suspicious, hesitant, and resistant.

Shepherding requires a leader who guides people into God’s will. God raises and calls such leaders. Their assignments often surprise them. His heart drives them, instead of their own; they intentionally align their pursuits with His. These leaders enable, encourage, and guide, making followship easy and natural.

Why do we struggle with leadership, with someone telling us what we should do? Why do we resist correction and guidance? Consider this. We fear tyranny and oppression and naturally self-protect. Then, we unknowingly exaggerate our healthy caution and reject all leadership. Ultimately, through our fear, we strangle our ability to follow even shepherding leaders. Without intending, we become our own tyrant.

Conclusion: both leaders and followers desperately need to surrender to God’s will. It benefits us both and glorifies God.

Sport Sunday arrives soon!  So, we need to start thinking about reaching people.  On Sport Sunday, we’ll work to fill our “stadium.”  Getting everyone together encourages them and encourages us.  But, what kind of people do we reach?  Where do they come from?

Reach Inside. Our rolls list people struggling with life.  Some faced their challenges low on strength and find themselves battered and tired.  The Bible describes them as wear and heavy laden.  Often, without special contact, they stop attending and fade out of sight.  Sport Sunday is a great time to look over our Group rolls for people needing our contact or touch.  Invite them.

Reach Outside. “Hey, Julie, I’ve been wondering if you’d come to church with me sometime, and I’ve got the perfect opportunity.”  That’s not too difficult.  No training needed, just care and courage.  Co-workers, offices we do business with, neighbors, and friends all around us need Jesus.  Everyone deserves a vibrant Sunday School group and the full fellowship of our church family.  Think about your friends and who you can steer our way.  Invite them, too.

All through out the Christmas season, we focus on missions, especially our missions efforts through the International Mission Board (IMB) of the Southern Baptist Convention. Southern Baptists support over 5000 missionaries outside of North America. Unlike many mission entities, the International Mission Board fully funds the missionaries it appoints to service. These missionaries don’t have to worry about coming home each year to visit all of the churches that support them to give reports and raise another year’s salary.

So, how do they get funded? You and I help. Pastors and church members tell their stories and encourage one another to give so they can stay out on the front lines. Our regular tithes partially support the International Mission Board. The rest of our missionary support is raised through the annual Lottie Moon Christmas offering. Because our regular tithes support all of the administrative costs of the IMB, every single penny of the Lottie Moon Christmas offering goes straight to missionary and missions programs support. It’s a great investment.

To make giving simple, our church began the Global Impact Missions Offering this year. Giving one simple monthly gift to the GIMO supports nine different mission causes. One of them is the Lottie Moon Offering. If you give to the GIMO, you’ve already given to Lottie Moon. If you don’t give to the GIMO, why not start today?

Kids know the magnetism of Christmas. They know its coming. They can hardly stand it. Do you remember the feeling? The presents stacked up under the tree. The bright wrapping pulsed like a beacon shouting, “Hey, look at me.” Stories abound of clever schemes of looking inside, shaking, unwrapping and rewrapping presents before the day came.

Sometimes anticipation makes us giddy. Sometimes it is an agonizing experience. Unless we’re completely disinterested, its difficult to escape the touch of anticipation. Try not thinking about anticipation as the day that job raises or cuts will be announced approaches closer and closer. Anticipation captures our attention and commands our respect.

Prophets began telling of the Messiah’s coming in the third chapter of Genesis. Bits and pieces slowly coalesce into a clear picture that a person, a child, is coming. He will change everything – a righteous ruler like we’ve never known. His rule will be endless. He is the Wonderful Counselor. He is Emmanuel.

Long waits can dim the sparkle of anticipation. Sometimes time wears our endurance down. Don’t forget, Jesus is coming again, too! We have a lot in common with those who awaited Jesus.