First Baptist Church, New Castle, Indiana

Harvest workers must “go” in God’s grace through prayer and by the power of the Holy Spirit.

We build relationships, truly and sincerely caring for the maturing people around us, just as others care for us.

What is required of you, the faithful farmer? Just that, it requires faith! The kind of faith that reminds you to sow seed everywhere you go because it’s good seed.

Until all worship, let us continue to be faithful to the Lord of the Harvest and respond to His call upon our lives to be hard-working farmers!

In the easy yoke of Jesus Christ, there is great joy to be found in laboring with Christ, rather than working for Christ alone and by your own strength.

God wants to first produce a harvest of spiritual fruit within us so that as we go to make disciples of all nations.

A farmer’s life demonstrates to us diligence.

Spilling the beans on what the Bible says about your relationships.

We are called to manage the household of God well, and that begins in our own lives, in our own relationships and marriages, and with our own parents and children.

We must learn to trust our training so that we obey God's Word according God’s intent when it matters the most.

We have been enlisted to communicate the mission of God!

We need to learn to put God first in all we do. Pursuing godliness in your finances is an inside-out process of bringing all things into submission to Christ so that all that you think, say, and do points to Him, including how you utilize the resources God has provided for you

God enlisted you to be all you can be – an image bearer of God, the reflection of His Son Jesus Christ for all the world to see!

Joy is not a response to circumstances; joy is the rock of our well-being – a firm foundation from which we can experience all other emotions and respond in covenant faithfulness to God, according to His promises for our lives.

This Christmas, I am inviting you to surrender your heart to be Christ’s home so that your home may become a home of hope, love, joy, and peace – a place where the weary of mind and body, a place where the heavy-burdened of heart and soul, can come and find rest

Hope is a right expectation in God – I wait upon Him knowing that He will show up in my situation.

We share some of the times that God brought us through, both hard and wonderful.

Learn discernment to make wise decisions by deciding to apply what you have learned from Jesus, doing what He would do in each of your circumstances and difficult situations.

May you start seeing every circumstance and every challenging situation as an opportunity to become more like Jesus until your very life proclaims the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Resilience comes out of the building up of your heart and mind.

God has given every believer the same power that gave Jesus the resiliency to live His life on mission for God, without distraction, and to face His own death for the glory of God, without compromise.

We are to walk in the freedom of the Spirit, not in slavery to sin.

Today we will look at the third of the three Pilgrimage Feasts which God commanded Israel to celebrate: The Feast of Tabernacles. It has a past, now and "not yet" aspect which we will explore.

While appearances, positions, and education can make a positive impression up front, it is your character and conduct in the everyday situations of real life that builds your reputation.

Submission brings Freedom. 

You have a choice to make – to trust God and His ways or to take matters in your own hands.

You are to declare it (the Gospel) in word and deed; therefore, you are to prioritize peace as your way of life – vertically with God, internally within your own mind and heart, and in your relationships as you extend the gospel peace of Jesus Christ to all people, regardless of their ideologies and perspectives.

The church has a mission that depends on every member of the body of Christ to do his or her job, regardless of the circumstances.

You should always listen before you answer. The key is humility.

Let me be clear from the beginning that the joy of the Lord is not a response to your circumstances, it is the posture of your heart in your circumstances, it is the firm foundation upon which you can biblically respond to your circumstances as a good soldier of Jesus!

How we handle our deep levels of disappointment is a critical decision point on the person we are to become. Being faithful is a trained behavior! It doesn’t happen by accident, and you must learn to train it daily.

We need to examine our lives to make sure that we are serving properly and not sitting back waiting to be served!

Rejoicing is a choice that we each must make moment by moment because of our faith, not in consideration of our circumstances!

As a Christian, you are not who you once were (Point A) and you are not yet who God desires you to be (Point B), you are sailing to the destination, on the journey of life. Along the way there are calm waters and there are stormy seas, and in every circumstance, we must train ourselves to keep control of the rudder of our lives.

Walk in the Spirit, not in the flesh. Be slow to anger and you will reflect God in how you conduct yourself, even when you are experiencing the very real emotion of anger, just like Jesus Christ did in very real situations.

One person can make a difference by being a hope-bearer! It’s contagious.

In time of war a false report easily leads to confusion, friendly fire, and even death. The same is true within the Church of Jesus Christ in our mission to seek and to save the lost.

Jesus can be found in every verse of Jonah 1.

I believe there are mission priorities that every good soldier of Jesus Christ must know and train themselves to identify and engage successfully, first, regardless of the stressful conditions. You are defined by that which you prioritize so be wise and discerning in what you put first in your heart.

It was not for lack of wisdom that Solomon fell, it was from his disobedience to God’s ways in the most intimate places of his life – he didn’t watch over his heart with all diligence!

There are three of Jewish Pilgrimage Festivals: Passover, Pentecost, and Sukkot. I believe these ancient times of celebration foreshadowed the three greatest days in the life of the church AND that they are the greatest evidence the Bible is the Word of God, and Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of the Living God.

How should we respond to correction?

Remember the original vision or it will fade over time!

I want to do 3 things in this sermon time today. I want to look back at the early church and see how the first Christians did friendship and community. I want to address how different friendship and community are in our own current culture. and I want to see how we can actually obey God's design for us and have the kind of friendships He intended for his people to have.

We cannot dictate to Jesus the terms of our salvation.

Regardless of your level of training, if you don’t trust your training at the moment that it matters then you will allow the circumstances, your feelings, or your nervous system to determine your response.

“Put your hope in the Living Hope – the Hope above all hopes; the Hope over all other hopes.”

The Passover happened in such a way that they would act as a pattern, a type, a template for the death of Christ.

When your plans have not gone well, how do you return to the way of God with honor?

Be on the alert and to make wise choices.

Guarding your heart requires a lifestyle change.