Newsletter Mar 8th

GREETINGS FROM BARBEE’S GROVE BAPTIST CHURCH

Thank you, Baptist Men, for a good day at Barbee’s Grove.  Breakfast was awesome, as it usually is. The concert by the Towers Quartet was inspiring. We were blessed as Mr. Bobby   Williams gave his testimony and shared from his heart. Your ministry to the church and to the Lord is deeply appreciated.
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Recent extremely cold days reminded me of how glad I am to have central heating. Being able to go to one thermostat and regulate the temperature in every room is a blessing. It was not that way in my childhood. Our house was heated by a wood stove in the Living Room. That room was warm. The bedrooms usually felt colder than the inside of a refrigerator. Sometimes, at bedtime, Mom would give us a piece of flannel. We would warm it at the stove. Then came a quick dash to the bedroom. We would wrap that warm flannel around our feet in order to knock off some of the  chill from the cold sheets. Then, pile on so many quilts we had trouble turning over.

Mornings were a reverse of the process. Jump out of bed. Feet felt like they were freezing on the cold floor. Dash into the Living Room. Get as near to the stove as possible without getting burned. We craved the warmth. We were blessed to have a Dad that rose early and got the fire roaring.

Let’s use my childhood memory to make a spiritual application. In the Bible, “Fire”, is often used to indicate the power and presence of the Lord.
   …The destruction of Sodom  [Genesis 19:24]
   …The Burning Bush Moses saw [Exodus 3:2 ff]
   …The fire from Heaven that consumed Elijah’s sacrifice, wood, altar, and water [1 Kings 18: 10-38]
   …John the Baptist made this prophecy about Jesus, “…He that cometh after me is mightier than I…He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and Fire”. [Matthew 3:11]
   ,,,On the Day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit descended upon the followers of Jesus who were assembled in an upper room. “And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire and set upon each of them”. [Acts 2:3]
   …”Who maketh …His ministers a flame of fire”. [Hebrews 1:7]

Filled with the Fire of God, those early Christians radically changed their world. It was not their natural abilities, or their training that empowered them. It was the Fire of God that made them so effective. Where the Fire of God is, there is power. Now, let’s consider this sad prophecy from John Wesley: “My great fear is not that our great movement known as Methodist, will eventually cease to exist or one day die from the earth. My fear is that our people will become content to live without the fire, the power, the excitement, the supernatural element that makes us great”.

Today, so many churches in multiple Protestant Denominations are exactly what John Wesley feared. They are content to have church without the Fire, The Fire is dying in some churches and has completely died in others. NO FIRE EQUALS NO POWER OF GOD. Friends, the Bible teaches us “Quench not the Spirit”. [1 Thessalonians 5:19] The Greek words in that verse can be translated as “Don’t throw water and extinguish the Fire of God.

In my childhood, I wanted to spend as much time as possible near the fire my earthly father provided. As a child of God I want to live in the presence of the Fire of God that my Heavenly Father provides. What about you, and the church you attend? Is your heart, and your  church an ice box, or is the Fire of God alive and well. Are you stoking the fire, or throwing cold water?  Care to join me in singing”
“Set my soul afire Lord, set my soul afire
Millions grope in darkness, waiting for Thy Word
Set my soul afire, Lord, set my soul afire”.

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS

1. Sunday School is at 9:00 am
2. Morning Worship and Children’s Church are at 10:00 am. Also available in the parking lot at 10     on 99.1 FM and on the website after 12:30 pm
3. Prayer and Bible Study are Wednesday at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall
4. John Wesley quote is found on page 25 in A LIFE ABLAZE by Rick Renner

     
Don’t settle for freezing when God offers His Fire
Pastor Ed and Deacons of Barbee’s Grove Baptist Church