Albion First Baptist Church

I was a horrible student as a teenager. I remember taking Algebra…and failing it when I was in High School. I saw no use for it. It wasn’t relevant to my life.   It didn’t matter if I could solve an equation and tell you what “x” was. Why?   Because it didn’t matter to me. As a high school senior I had determined that I wanted to be a police officer. I was going to graduate high school….and I was going to major in Criminal Justice. I just KNEW as a police officer that I would NEVER have to solve an algebraic equation. I just wasn’t worth doing, in my mind. Weird how things change…and careers change       I wonder how many people have the same mindset when it comes to studying the Bible. I wonder how many people feel the same way about the Christian life in general.   Oh..sure……it’s good to sing songs to God on Sunday morning…it’s good to pray on Sunday morning…it’s good to go to church….but is that REALLY supposed to change the way we live every other day of the week?   We are told that if we trust in Jesus we will go to heaven. And we will. Jesus’ death on the cross is the payment that secures our home in Heaven. If we trust in HIM our eternal destiny is secure. It’s not even up for debate. The man that tells you that Jesus is not enough needs to be rebuked.   But what AFTER that? Do we simply trust Jesus and then go back to our life? We trust Jesus…then…..what?

From time to time I’ve considered writing a book about the people I’ve met in ministry. I remember talking with an older gentleman I used to know. Great guy — very likable guy. His name is LaVon.   LaVon would tell me about how they used to do things in the “old days”.   I remember him telling me that when he was a young man....they didn’t have telephones. Seems crazy! He told me of how he applied for a job when he got out of the army and he had to wait for a LETTER from them to tell him when to start work!   But then when the phone line was put in…they had to SHARE a phone line with several OTHER houses — and people could LISTEN IN on each other!   I remember the PRIDE that he had — in them living on the farm — far from the city.....and they were self-sufficient. They raised enough vegetables in the summer to preserve them and had them for the winter. They would raise their own animals to slaughter, and he told me the would store meat without refrigeration!   He even told me about how they had a windmill that would charge batteries to provide electricity because they were not on the electrical grid.   I remember hearing it and MARVELING about how independent previous generations were. Nowadays if the internet goes down for an hour we act like it’s the end of the world.   As he was telling me this, I could tell he was proud of how hard they worked — of how they had accomplished all that they did through hard work and innovation.

In recent years I’ve discovered I enjoy reading biographies. I like reading the stories of great men and women that accomplished great things.   One such man was someone I saw interviewed on television about 10 years ago. He’s kind of a hero of mine — his story was so interesting, and so inspiring. In this interview, he told some of his amazing story, and said he had written a book. I went out and bought the book and was inspired by his life.   ...

Remember what we looked at last week?   Last week we read from Philippians 2   The apostle Paul was writing that we should practice humility — we should not think too HIGHLY of ourselves, but we should be willing to bite our tongues, at times…in the interest of getting along with others.   He challenged us to be in agreement with other Christians on the IMPORTANT things.....   but that it’s ok to disagree on the secondary issues — or issues the Bible doesn’t speak clearly on.   And he pointed at the example that Jesus gave us.   Jesus, who is God himself, was willing to condescend to step out of Heaven, and become a man so that he could die on the cross to redeem us.         So what should OUR response be?   Today, we see that.   When the world looks at Christians…they form an opinion of Christ.   We may think that’s fair, we may NOT…but we must remember that we are ambassadors of Christ.   We represent him to the world.   So......

In the past few months I’ve seen a lot of tv commercials, and I’ve gotten a lot of emails from different companies saying something to the effect of “We’re all in this together”.   And, the past few months have been a trying time.   And it’s interesting to see the secular world — meaning the non-church world — promoting the idea of unity, and working together as one.   We, as the church, are called to have the unity that the world would only HOPE to have.   We have a common bond that unites us — and it goes deeper than skin color, or what our social status is, or any interests or hobbies....   If you are a Christian, then you are a child of God. And we share the bond of being children of God. We are united in that aspect.   But what happens when God’s children feud? What happens when we disagree on issues?   EVEN in church, people sometimes disagree…and today we see instructions regarding unity among Christians.   We are the family of God — we are his people. We come to church to be around God’s family. And a family should love each other, and enjoy spending time with each other.         Before we jump into chapter 2....I’ll give my first point.

Today’s question:   What’s the purpose of life?         When we trust in Christ, and we are saved....then what? If we are ready to go to Heaven — if we are ready to meet God face to face…why doesn’t he take us there immediately? Why would he leave us here?   The apostle Paul, in today’s text, tackles that question.   IF we are saved — if we are guaranteed to be with God in Heaven someday....WHY would we continue here? Why ARE we still left on earth?   What is the purpose of the Christian life?         If you have your Bible, please turn to Philippians 1

Hardship is never fun. Suffering is never fun. It’s never enjoyable when life throws a curveball at us, or things don’t go as they seem they OUGHT to, or as the way that we plan them.

There is Joy in the Gospel In the midst of trial…in heartache……there is joy.   That’s the overall message of Philippians. Joy.   Today…we see what Paul has to say about it. Today…..in the first chapter we read what he has to say about his own sufferings – and how God has worked through it.      Let's look at Philippians 1.   

Have you ever read a book, then seen that a movie was made based on it? Think of the Fellowship of the Rings movies…or the Chronicles of Narnia.   Sometimes we LIKE the direction they go with it, sometimes not.   I wonder about a movie made about Jonah. What would that LOOK like?   If a movie were made about the book of Jonah, we’d see adventure he took on the ship heading west toward Tarshish....and him being cast overboard....   Maybe we’d see him flailing about in the water before being swallowed by a fish.....   THEN…he’d wash up on the shore, before continuing on to Nineveh, where he proclaimed a message of repentance—and they did!   But any good movie has a twist at the end. Something unforseen, unexpected. It makes the viewer walk away, thinking.   Imagine this movie about Jonah…and imagine the final scene....

Jonah preached repentance to the Ninevites. And they repented. But what kind of repentance was it? Was it the kind of repentance that God wants from his people? What's the difference? Let's look at Jonah 3.

It’s amazing how things look different when we see things from a different perspective, isn’t it?   I recall an incident once where I was sitting in traffic behind someone turning left across traffic – they had to wait for an opening in oncoming traffic to make the turn. I happened to glance in my rearview mirror JUST in time to see a car slam into the back of my pickup truck. It hit me so hard my truck moved hit the car that was turning.   I recall the person in the car in front of me got out, slammed his door, and gave me a look like he wanted to kill me. He must have thought I was the worst driver he had ever seen!   THEN….he saw the car that had rear-ended me. It was totaled. Her bumper had slid under the rear bumper of my truck, and had barely damaged my truck, but it destroyed her car. If my truck had not been sitting there, it’s likely the damage would have been EXTENSIVE to the man’s car. As it was, all he had was small dent.   Perspective.   Once that man saw things differently…his attitude changed. He went from anger…to concern for the woman who rear-ended me. Thankfully, everyone was ok. The only damage was property damage, and everyone walked away unharmed.

I’m so glad we can meet again on Sunday morning. I’ve so missed seeing everyone.   Happy Mother’s Day (if not already said)         Throughout the last several weeks we’ve looked at the Biblical idea that we are better together — that when we submit to being a part of a local body of believers....it builds our faith.   I’ve wanted to wait to share this message for the first Sunday when we could PHYSICALLY meet in the same room.   There’s a word that we use to describe the relationship that believers in Christ have with other believers.

On Sunday mornings, we are looking at what we DO on Sunday mornings.   WHY do we do what we do?   Have you ever stopped to think about it?   WHY do we do what we do? Why do we start with announcements, then singing, then an offering and end with a sermon?   In this time away, it’s not a bad idea to consider for a moment…WHY we do what we do…and maybe consider if we are simply going through the motions?   Or if it really MEANS something to us?

Now that we’re HOPEFULLY winding down on our isolation time…and we will hopefully begin meeting again soon on Sunday morning, I wanted to do a series on WHY we meet, as Christians.   Why do we come together on Sunday mornings?   Why do we come together and sing sons, pray, etc?

  This is week five of not physically meeting on Sunday morning.   Can you believe that? The past 4 Sundays — including Palm Sunday and Easter, we recorded a sermon and broadcast it via Facebook Live, and our website.   This is starting to get to be a habit.   Every week it’s becoming MORE and MORE apparent that I’m REALLY looking foreward to that day we can begin meeting again.   There’s just something about meeting in PERSON that we can’t get in any other format.   If you’re watching today, I HOPE you’re looking forward to that day that we will be able to begin meeting in person again.   I know that it’s GOING to come eventually—and I think that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. We’re beginning to approach the time, I think.   But for now....we’re online only.   Nationwide, other churches are “doing church” in the same way.   Some may have thought it was cute, or funny at first....

Today, as we celebrate Easter it’s maybe a bit different than it has been in the past.   In years past, we may have celebrated it surrounded by family and friends...   Maybe there was an Easter egg hunt.   Maybe a big dinner, followed by a nap on the couch afterward.   But chances are, it’s different fro you this year.   But historically, Easter is the holiest time of the year for the Christian church. This is the “big deal” to our religion. It’s what defines us as Christians. Yes---Christmas is exciting, but our faith hinges on what happened at Easter.

I want to take you back to a time about 2000 years ago….Imagine the city of Jerusalem, in about 36 AD or so….there are all sorts of people in town for a special time.       Who is coming? Is it a great king on a white stallion? No….it’s a man…nothing special about him…..riding a young donkey. It’s Jesus.   Jesus is the King---coming to rescue sinners.   The king is coming:

In the 1500’s as the Bubonic plague was ravaging Europe, eventually killing almost 60 million people, wiping out about 2/3 of their population....it hit Germany in 1527.   People began to panic. They fled. Mass hysteria took over.   If one caught the black plague....it was a death sentence…death within about a week.   It is said that instead of fleeing in panic, the Reformer, Martin Luther opened his home to be used as a hospital.   He cared for and helped those that were affected by it.   He wrote a well-known hymn in light of it.   Perhaps you’re familiar with the song A Mighty Fortress is our God.   In our times of trouble, in our times of difficulty....what do we do?   When the world is falling down all around us, where do we turn?   Who do we turn TO?   Scripture exhorts us to turn to God. HE is in charge and HE is our safe refuge.     Let's turn to Psalm 91:   

There is a lot of uncertainty right now. Our church is currently not meeting physically right now. MOST churches are also suspending services. The anomaly is the church that IS meeting for Sunday services. In addition to that, people are being told to stay at home, not going out more than they have to. Restaurants are shutting down their dining rooms. Fast food restaurants are offering drive-through service only. When we go to the store, it’s almost impossible to find some necessities. If they are in stock, they’re of limited availability. So, what do we think in all of this?   What should our response be in times of trouble?  

The 10 Commandments. Many people think of them as God’s Big 10 list—the ones that really sum up the really important stuff that God wants us to do, right?   The 4th Commandment tells us to Keep the Sabbath Holy.   For thousands of years, there have arguments over what it means to “keep the Sabbath Holy”.   I read a news article a few days ago, dated from 2016. The article told of the conflict of people choosing to compete in sports on the Sabbath, or to obey the command to “Keep Holy the Sabbath”.   The article talked about how a major university in the United States took that to mean that they should not compete in sports on Sunday.   It’s not only this particular university. A city or town might pass laws restricting business, or other things on Sundays for the same reason.   While well-meaning, that REALLY what that Commandment means.   A few things to think about:   The Sabbath, as defined in the Mosaic Law, is actually Saturday. So a Jew would not work, or conduct business from Sundown Friday night until Sundown Saturday night.   Sunday is actually the FIRST day of the week — and has historically been known as “The Lord’s Day”, as this is the day Jesus rose from the dead.   While it was an Old Testament Mosaic Law command for them to not work on the Sabbath....but we are not bound to that today.   Let's look at today's text.  

Fasting is one of those things that may be on a lot of people’s minds right now. There are some traditions that recognize “fasting” as a Lenten practice   To “fast” means to abstain from all food.to eat only sparingly or of certain kinds of food, often as a religious observance.  One MIGHT fast fora time prior to surgery — to not eat after midnight for a morning surgery.   So…why do we “fast” for religious reasons?   It has been observed that when we deprive our bodies…it may be beneficial to allow us to focus on God. So the thought is that by skipping a meal, or by not eating for a day, we may devote ourselves to prayer.   In today’s text, we see there are some questions about fasting.   Let's open to Mark 2:18-22. 

In today's passage, we see worlds collide.  Jesus and his disciples have dinner, and present at the dinner were the religious folks, as well as the "Sinners and Tax Collectors", whom had little use for religion.      Let's see what happens when they interact.    Mark 2:13-17

Jesus heals us.   He makes us clean.    He makes us right before the Father.    It's ONLY through Jesus that our sins can be forgiven.   He's able to heal us physically, but more important, spiritually.   Today's message is the story of him healing and forgiving a paralyzed young man.   And the story of 4 friends that went above and beyond to help him get to Jesus.     Let's open to Mark 2 and see.    

Did you know that we have God that loves us and cares for us completely and wholly?   In our text today we see that.   Jesus cares about our WHOLE being.   In today’s text, we read that a leper approaches Jesus.

Prayer is important to God. Did you know that?   Jesus demonstrates it in today’s text.   Remember what happened in the last week’s passage?   Last week we read verses 29-34.   We read that after worship at the synagogue, they went back to Simon Peter’s house to eat.   While there, Jesus healed Simon’s mother-in-law, and we read that then a few hours later, about sundown, when the Sabbath was over....   people began showing up at the door.   So many people came out that Mark describes it as the “whole city” coming out to see Jesus.   There were likely a lot of people there....   Jesus healed more people, and he cast out more demons.   And by the time he got done…it was likely pretty late on into the evening.   But look what happened the next morning....

A few weeks ago, while talking with someone that was not a part of our church, I was asked a question. This person was going through some tough times, and they asked me “What did I DO to deserve what is happening?”   This person had indeed suffered some hardship. The thought was that surely they had DONE SOMETHING that made God want to punish them.   The question that we often think when it comes to suffering is “WHY?”   Why do bad things happen to us?   My response to this particular person was simple: Nothing. The result of this person’s suffering was not necessarily the result of God being angry, or God punishing them, in all likelihood.   The reason that bad things happen in this world is not necessarily God cursing us, as much as it is a general effect of sin in the world.   When Adam and Eve at the fruit, sin entered the world. Sin has corrupted the world, and because of sin, we see death, and sickness. People sin and do horrible things to each other.   And today…we see one MORE example of this. Sin in the world caused sickness, and we see demons inflicting others that are set free by Jesus.   We see that in today’s text. And we see Jesus deal with that.

Years ago, I began working in a telephone call center. As part of my orientation, I had a couple of weeks of instruction in the classroom, followed by what was referred to as OJT.     It stood for “On the Job Training”.   On the Job Training consisted of a new hire sitting down next to a seasoned veteran. Both parties would wear a headset, and be able to speak to a customer when they called in. At first, only the trainer did the speaking, with the trainee sitting back and watching. He or she would listen. By listening only, one could gain an understanding of the type of phone calls that they would receive, and how to help the customer. Gradually, the trainee would begin to talk to the customer. Eventually, the idea was that if all worked as planned, only the trainee would do the actual talking.   Today, we’re going to read about Jesus doing some On the Job Training with his disciples. Last week we read about him calling his first 4 disciples — Andrew and Simon Peter, along with James and John. He plans to use these men as 1/3 of his inner 12, and we see today about him starting to train them to do ministry.        

What is a disciple?   Today, we will see in our text, the story of Jesus calling his first four disciples. Last week we read of him coming into the area of Galilee and he began to announce that the Kingdom of God is near. The Old Covenant is over, and now a New Covenant was set to begin. Jesus challenged the people that heard him to repent and to believe in the Good News.   So…we have to ask the basic question: “What is a Disciple?”     Our English word for disciple means “follower or student of a teacher, leader, or philosopher”.   The Greek word that Mark used to describe the followers of Jesus is “mathetes”. It’s translated to English as “disciple”.   ... 

“Gospel Truth”   Someone might use the phrase “It’s the Gospel truth” when they want to emphasize their point. Or....the word “Gospel” is used to describe a book in the Bible. Or…the word “Gospel” is often used to describe a type of music.... We might talk about how we “shared the Gospel” with someone. We read in Scripture about how someone “proclaimed the Gospel” — that phrase appears in today’s Scripture text. Or some might call a church “Gospel-preaching”.   But…what does that MEAN?   What do we MEAN by “the Gospel”?   The word gets used to mean a lot of things…it can be sometimes a bit confusing.

A few years ago, we gave a Christmas gift to one of our daughters. It was a little box. The box contained a little vial that she was to fill with saliva. It was kind of disgusting to watch, really…but she had to fill this vial, and then she dropped it in the mail.   Some time later she found out that her ethnic background.   It’s interesting, my parents had always told me that we were about 90% German…but we found out that we are actually probably Bohemian....   I have no idea if there is a difference, when it comes down to it.   But it’s fascinating, nonetheless.   I think that’s something we all want to know....who we ARE.   Today’s text addresses the question of “Who is Jesus?”   It’s something that we each need to figure out for ourselves.   Let's open our Bibles to Mark, Chapter 1.  

The past month we’ve been talking about preparing for Christmas. This time is known as Advent. It’s the announcement of the King — it’s the announcement of the Messiah that was to come.   The Messiah came, and we called it the Incarnation. That’s that moment when God became man.   Today, we start a continuation of the story. We’re going to pick up in the Gospel of Mark.   The word “Gospel” simply means “Good News”.   So today, we begin to look at one account of the “Good News” of Jesus.   The Gospel of Mark is the shortest of the Gospels — it’s an action-packed book. Mark uses the word “Immediately” over 40 times. He didn’t want his readers to get bored.   Did you know that each of the 4 Gospels were written with a target audience, or a goal in mind? Matthew wrote his to the Jews — he wanted to show that Jesus is the Jewish Messiah. Luke wrote his to the Jews, but also to the REST of the world — to show that Jesus is the savior of the WORLD.   Mark had an objective when he wrote it — and that was to show that Jesus is the Son of God. It’s to further explain, or to demonstrate that which we’ve been celebrating the past several weeks — that God became man. That Jesus is Immanuel — God with us.   So let’s dive in to Mark.

As a kid, Saturday night was family tv night. My dad would pop some popcorn, and we would gather as a family around the television. Back then….you didn’t have 120 different channels to watch. You didn’t have a 60” flatscreen tv with a booming sound system. No….we had I think a 27” console television. It might have been smaller than that….but it SEEMED so much bigger! Anyway……we’d gather round and watch one of our favorite shows. You might have heard of it. It was about a guy that was captain of a big ship. He and his crew were usually getting into all sorts of adventures. They’d usually go to the same place each week….but there would always be new people to meet. Oftentimes, some of them would come back for repeat trips…but there would always be new passengers as well. To a 10 year old kid, this show seemed wonderfully entertaining.    The Love Boat was a cruise liner that promised its passengers an adventure in love. If you were a single person, chances are very good you could meet someone special on this boat, for some reason.   I’ll say right off…this was probably not the most morally redeeming show, and I am not recommending it…but it is a good illustration of what we often refer to as “Love”.    

Are you ready? Are you ready for Christmas?     Now that Thanksgiving has passed, it’s said that it’s “OFFICIALLY” permissible to play Christmas music.   The Christmas, or “Advent” season has “officially” started. We call it “Advent” season.   Advent is a word we use that simply means the arrival of an important person. Our looking forward to Christmas REALLY started months ago….for many stores it began before Halloween. But TRADITIONALLY, Thanksgiving has marked the time when the Christmas season starts.   So….for the next month we’ll have our kids’ Christmas programs at school. We’ll have Christmas parties at work, school and other organizations we’re a part of. Some of us will be traveling out of town to see relatives….some of us will be hosting relatives in our homes.   Most of us are going to be faced with buying gifts for family and friends. We will see Santa make an appearance at many of the stores we may go to—that man sure gets around! Many of us will spend entirely TOO MUCH on those gifts.   In the busyness of the season….we can forget that it’s not just about a holiday where we give gifts, or receive gifts. It’s not just about a fat man in a red suit coming down our chimney. It’s not just about a bunch of pretty lights, a tree, or cookies.   The first week of Advent, we celebrate “Hope”.   This is a time when we hope for and we look forward to something entirely different. We celebrate the birth of our Messiah. It is with hope that we look forward to this season.