Also at this time of year we make resolutions to improve in other areas of our lives as well. A plethora of self-help books flood the market promising to help us improve our relationships and making each of us . . A Better You!!

An area of self improvement that too often is overlooked is our spiritual fitness level. So, throughout the month of January we will be looking at the steps we can take to improve our spiritual fitness levels.

January 1 Having a Spiritual Health Check-Up
January 8 Special Guest – Dr. Dino Pedrone (Davis College)
January 15 How is Your Heart?
January 22 Taking an Eye Test
January 29 Exercising Our Fait

Join us each Sunday as we celebrate the true meaning of Christmas.

Advent 1 Nov 28 He Gives Us Hope Isaiah 11:1-10
Advent 2 Dec 04 He Gives Us Peace Isaiah 2:1-5
Advent 3 Dec 11 He Gives Us Joy Isaiah 52:7-10
Advent 4 Dec 18 He Gives Us Love Isaiah 9:6-7
Christmas Eve Dec 24 The Christmas Story Luke 2:1-20
Christmas Day Dec 25 God With Us John 1:1-1

There will be some games and time for discussion and learning about our faith. Of course no youth event would be complete with out food, so we will have something along those lines as well. We want it to be light and fun, but at the same time provide an opportunity to grow in our faith.

So, as the Pastor and Shawn reach out to the kids they have been talking to, please be in prayer and let any teenagers you know about our latest ministry endeavor.

A number of years ago a book came out that became very popular that sought to remind us of our Christian heritage. It told the story of our early forefathers [and mothers] who had a deep abiding faith in Christ. The book is entitled, “The Light and the Glory,” by Peter Marshall [son of the former chaplain of the Senate, Peter Marshall] and David Manuel (Fleming H. Revell, Grand Rapids, MI:1977).

Of Christopher Columbus it is written that he felt that God had called him to be a Christ-bearer to all with whom he would have contact. Here is a short quote from the book:

He [Christopher Columbus] had long been convinced that God had given him a special, almost mystical mission: to carry the Light of Christ into the darkness of undiscovered heathen lands, and to bring the inhabitants of those lands to the holy faith of Christianity. His own name, Christopher, which literally meant Christ-bearer, was to him a clear indication that God had called him to do this. (Pg. 31)

Since this book came out, other similar books followed finding varying degrees of popularity. One book I particularly enjoyed was edited by William Bennett, former Secretary of Education. It is entitled, “Our Sacred Honor: the Spirit of America” (Simon & Schuster, New York, NY:1997). The book consists of essays and correspondence by many of our nation’s founding fathers that speak eloquently concerning various Christian virtues and the importance of moral excellence.

Of course, Christopher Columbus was not the only prominent figure from America’s past with deep Christian beliefs that has helped to shape us as a nation. There was William Bradford, John Robinson, George Washington, John and Abigail Adams, Abraham Lincoln, Benjamin Rush, John Jay and numerous other men and women, some famous and some obscure, whose profound faith in Christ and sincere desire to live a godly life have contributed greatly to the country we call “The United States of America.” There have been lawyers, doctors, farmers, judges, adventurers, factory workers, nurses, pastors, scientists, teachers, engineers, businessmen and women and many, many others who have taught their children and influenced their neighbors by their words and their actions for the cause of Christ. The result of this faithful witness by our forefathers is that this nation became a nation predominantly molded by Christian teaching and world-view and enthusiastically adopted the motto “One nation under God.”

And then, there is you and I, blessed beneficiaries of those faithful men and women of God who having gone before us put forth the challenge to take up our calling to be Christ-bearers to our neighbors and fellow citizens. Are we willing to expend our energies and God-given talents to leave our children and grandchildren with a legacy in which the Name of Christ is honored and celebrated in our land? Or, shall we be content to say it is up to the next generation to find their own way? My hope and prayer is that as we look back to the men and women who shaped our land and left for us a Christian legacy we, too, will dedicate whatever influence the Lord may grant us to help the next generation find Christ and continue this magnificent tradition of being “Christ-bearers.”

God bless you.
See you in church.

Pastor Jim

Pastor Jim Rice

Recently I have been reading a book that our good friend, Andy McAdams, suggested to me. It is entitled, “Essential Church?” by Thom and Sam Rainer. (Tom Rainer was one of my seminary professors at Southern Seminary whom I gained a great deal of respect for because he dealt with the genuine issues of church life and ministry and offered practical suggestions that really worked.)

Dr. Rainer’s research into the question “Why are the 18-35 year olds dropping out of churches across the country” was revealing. The bottom line was they did not feel that church was essential to them . . . thus the title of the book. It was not that they did not believe in God. It was not that they were angry at other church members. It was not that they did not want to be involved in spiritual things. They simply did not think their attendance/participation was essential.

I don’t know about you but this struck a chord for me. First, it broke my heart to think that young people in this age group felt so disenfranchised from the life of the church, and that we as church leaders were missing the mark so badly, that this would happen. After I apologized to the Lord for any part I have played in this, I asked the Lord to help us become an essential church for all ages.

I want to be a part of a church that is alive . . . where people of all ages feel vitally connected and important in the life and ministry of the church . . . of this church!! Don’t you?? My vision of First Baptist is that we would become a place where people of all ages are coming to faith in Christ and then are helped and encouraged to become a mature follower of Jesus Christ, discovering and using their God-given talents in all sorts of ways to the benefit of the Kingdom. Because it is through giving of ourselves to God’s plan for our lives that we find true meaning and fulfillment.

But I know having a vision is not enough; we must combine a good faith effort together with strategic planning to accomplish our God-given vision. I also know that one person or two people . . . or even three people can’t do it all. It takes everyone giving their best effort to become a church where people of all ages feel vitally connected and important.

So as we begin our Fall ministry emphasis, would you join me by either taking the initiative and finding a place to serve or by asking where you can best serve the cause of Christ at First Baptist, so that we may become an “essential church” for individuals at every age. Thanks. I know you will.

God bless you. See you in church.

Pastor Jim

“Compassion for a Need Brings Commitment to a Vision” – John Maxwell

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

Come experience worship in a whole new way every Sunday evening at 6:30PM in the sanctuary beginning September 12th.

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.

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

In addition to our small group meetings, we regularly plan recreational  activities  and  work to support the surrounding  community through  service activities.

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

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