First Baptist Church of Endicott, NY

We All Need Time Away

admin — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 21:15:26 +0000

Greetings from the Pastor’s Study.

Summertime is traditionally a time for family vacations . . . a time away from the routine business of our normal schedules. Sometimes we are able to go away to a lake or the mountains. Or perhaps we just stay at home, but without the pressure of everyday life.

Too often the cares and business of life so consume our focus that our
relationship with our Lord suffers. Every waking moment is directed to the tasks at hand and the list of things that cry out for our attention never seems to get any shorter. Before long our thoughts of God are simply an afterthought at the end of a long, busy day, or simply another obligation on our already full “things-to-do” list.

I heard a fellow say one time that if the Devil could not cause us to fall to a moral temptation, he would try to make our lives so busy that we would have no time left for God. This is exactly why we all need time away . . . from
the cares and concerns and pressures of daily living. We need to be intentional about making time to pray and worship and read God’s wonderful “Love Letter” to us.

Jesus certainly understood about the need to get away. The Bible makes a number of statements about Jesus going off to a lonely place to pray to be refreshed. Sometimes it is at night after a busy day of ministry. Other times it speaks of His habit of rising early in the morning, going to a quiet place where He can be alone and pray. In any case, we see this discipline that He Himself practiced for His own benefit, and that He modeled for his disciples . . . and us.

So, my friends, as you enjoy the wonderful New York summer and are refreshed during your time away, please make time to see that your spirit is refreshed as well by spending some alone time with the One who loves you
best. If you are out of the area, make sure you visit a local church and be a blessing to them as they minister to you. But if you stay in the area, don’t stay away from church. Look for the Lord to use this special time as a period of rest and renewal for your spirit as you draw close to Him worship.our

God bless you . . .
Pastor Jim

FBC Block Party

admin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:19:19 +0000

we are hosting a Block Party between the Emerson House and the

front of the church. We have requested of the Village of Endicott to have the

area blocked off from traffic and will be filling it with a number of music groups

who will be performing. There will be face-painting, assorted games, bounce

house, ice cream and other refreshments. We will have a table for information

about the ministries of the church as well as a number of free drawings for

gifts for kids and adults. The date is Saturday, September 11th from 1 to 4

in the afternoon. We will need a number of people to help with all the various

activities. A great way to put your faith in action is to offer to help with the

First Baptist Church of Endicott will be hosting a Block Party on Saturday, September 11th in front of the church.

We will have the street closed off and will be hosting a number of music groups as well as face-painting, assorted games, bounce house, ice cream and other refreshments.

The date is Saturday, September 11th from 1 to 4 in the afternoon. We hope you can join us!

Financial Peace University

admin — Sun, 01 Aug 2010 02:13:00 +0000

First Baptist Church of Endicott is proud to begin offering the very popular Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University beginning Tuesday, September 7th at 7:00PM. This is a 13 week video –based curriculum study.

Financial Peace University (FPU) is Dave’s life-changing program that teaches you to achieve your financial goals by eliminating debt, saving for the future, and giving like never before. More than 1 million families have attended FPU with amazing results. You will be challenged and motivated to make a plan for your money and change your family tree forever!

A free preview class is planned for Tuesday, August 17th at 7:00PM. Contact the church for more information and registration. Phone: 607.785.6052. Email: office@firstbaptistendicott.com.

Summer Worship Hours Ending

admin — Sat, 31 Jul 2010 17:24:57 +0000

Starting September 12th, the worship service will go back to starting at 10:45am. Sunday School classes will also résumé, starting at 9:30am each week.

Prayer . . . How We Talk to God

admin — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 00:57:53 +0000

Join us each Sunday morning as we explore the nature of prayer. A wonderful expression of God’s love for us is the privilege He has given to us to communicate with Him wherever and whenever we want. Each Sunday morning we look at different types of prayer that we see in the Bible of which we can use to help communicate with the God of the universe.

Sometime our prayers go unanswered. The last Sunday we will see what the Bible says about why God may not be answering our prayers.

August 01 Adoration

August 08 Confession

August 15 Thanksgiving

August 22 Supplication

August 29 Why God Does Not Answer Our Prayers

“Grow as Followers of Him”

admin — Tue, 23 Mar 2010 16:20:27 +0000

Greetings from the Pastor’s Study. If you have been a steady reader of Tower Topics you know that we have been taking a hard look at how we “do church” and how we can do it better to be more effective in reaching our community with the message of the Gospel. In conjunction with this effort, we have adopted a new mission statement to help us focus our energies in meeting our goal. It reads as follows:

The First Baptist Church of Endicott exists that all people . . .
KNOW the love of God in Jesus Christ;
GROW as followers of Him;
GO share the love of God in our community and world.

The concept that we “Grow as Followers of Him” will be the topic this article. Below are the stages of a disciple and the characteristics of each.

STAGE	CHARACTERISTICS
New Believer	With the aid of more mature believers through the process of small group ministry or 1-to-1 discipleship, you need to learn the fundamentals of the Christian faith and to discover your unique giftedness through a spiritual gifts discovery. As many of your friends are probably not Christian, you also need to learn how to share your new faith with others.
Growing Believer	Periodically you will need to refresh your understanding of the fundamentals of the Christian faith, in addition to expanding your biblical understanding with specific life application through personal devotions and small group gatherings. You need to be intentional about identifying and helping the younger believers grow in their understanding and application of biblical principles through 1-to-1discipleship. You should be actively using your spiritual gifts in service. Increasingly more of your friends are probably believers, you need to be more conscious of unbelievers/unchurched in your sphere of influence and be prepared to answer their questions that pertain to spiritual matters.
Mature Believer	Much of the what applies to the Growing Believer applies to the Mature Believer. In addition you need to be training the Growing Believers in what you have learned and applied concerning 1-to-1 discipleship, leading small groups and helping others in their quest to become Mature Believers. Increasingly God is using your experience and godly wisdom [due to your many years of faithful study and application of God’s word to your life] to be a source of comfort and guidance for the New Believer and the Growing Believer. Also, by this time most of your close friends are probably believers, so you too need to be more conscious of unbelievers/unchurched in your sphere of influence and be prepared to answer their questions that pertain to spiritual matters.

Hopefully after reading through this brief article you can identify where you are currently and what you need to be doing as you grow as a follower of Him.

God bless you in your efforts.
Pastor Jim

The Power of One

admin — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 16:05:10 +0000

You have more power to influence your world than you may know. Your decision to be optimistic…generous…forgiving…. to act with purpose affects not only you, but everyone with whom you come in contact. This month we will explore how you can use your power to influence your friends and family for Christ.

Mar. 7 – The Power of Optimism

Mar. 14 – The Power of Generosity (I Timothy 6:17-19)

Mar. 21 – The Power of Forgiveness (Luke 23:33-38)

Mar. 28 – The Power of Purpose (Luke 9: 51-62)

Young Adults Group

admin — Mon, 18 Jan 2010 20:24:20 +0000

We are a group of individuals ages 18-35 that meet every Thursday, 7:00PM, at the Emerson House (across the street from the church), for devotionals and fellowship. We are in the process of planning future recreational activities and hope to slowly become more involved in the surrounding community through service.

All are welcome to join. For more information, connect with us on Facebook.

Upcoming Events

July 1 – Devo Night at Emerson House
July 6 – Volleyball @ Otsiningo Park
July 8 – Devo Night at Emerson House
July 11 – Putt Putt golf @ 1:00 Chucksters, Vestal NY
July 15 – Dinner and a movie at Emerson House
July 22 – Volleyball @ Otsiningo Park
July 23 – Grass Roots Acoustic Night
July 27 – Kickball/Ultimate Frisbee @ Highland Park, Endwell NY
July 29 – Devo Night at Emerson House

Thank God for New Beginnings

admin — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 02:57:25 +0000

Greetings from the Pastor’s Study. One of the characteristics of our Christian faith that I appreciate so much is the promise of new beginnings. Time and time again throughout the Old Testament we read about God renewing His covenant with the children of Israel. The story seems to be a familiar one in which the Israelites wander away from their relationship with God and begin to chase after the various pagan deities that
are worshiped by people in the surrounding regions. God resents this adulterous relationship that His people are engaged in and begins to bring hardship and difficulties to the Israelites to make them wake up and realize what they have abandoned and at what cost. Eventually they get the message, repent of their sin and begin to start all over again in their relationship with God. As you read through the Old Testament this seems to be one of the consistent themes throughout.

Now perhaps you think that you and I are more sophisticated and more spiritual than the people that lived in Old Testament times and that we would never do anything like that. Our love for God and our commitment to Him never wavers. We have the Holy Spirit. We have the benefit of 2000 years of Christian heritage. But alas, some argue today that America has become a post-Christian nation. And what are we as a nation but the sum total of the individual in this nation. Our national witness, or lack thereof, is simply a reflection of the spiritual condition of the people in the nation.

Robert Robinson, a Methodist preacher, captured this thought in the hymn he wrote in 1757 entitled, “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.

Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace. Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Teach me some melodious sonnet, Sung by flaming tongues above. Praise the mount! I¹m fixed upon it, Mount of Thy redeeming love. Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, Prone to leave the God I love.
Take my heart, O take and seal it, Seal it for thy courts above.

Note especially the next to last line of the hymn, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love.” Rev. Robinson sensed this same tendency in the human heart to “wander from the Lord.”

Perhaps you have felt the same way some time last year and you are wondering, “How many times can I go back to God? How many times will He take me back?” Well the good news is that our God is a God of new
beginnings. This does not give us a license to sin. But be assured that it is more to Him that you get back in
right relationship with Him if you are not already. And what better time to get back where you know you belong than right now at the start of the year?

God bless you this wonderful time of the year — a time of new beginnings. And I pray that you and your family will have a happy and blessed New Year.

See you in church.
Pastor Jim

A New Outlook

admin — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 22:12:42 +0000

Throughout the Bible we read of instances in which God brings about renewal and revitalization to both people and nations after they have been in a period of decline. Throughout the month of January we will explore some of the many instances in which God begins a new work among His people.

Jan. 3 – A New King - The Wise Men
Jan. 10 – A New Life in Christ
Jan. 17 – A New Day – God’s Tender Mercies
Jan. 24 – A New Outlook – Wait for the Vision
Jan. 31 – A New Heaven and A New Earth