It has broken our hearts. Disobedience hurts, rebellion stings but rejecting Christ is absolutely agonizing, and churches--not merely FBC, but other healthy churches are also facing this pain in an ever increasing way. What is happening with our students…why are they not merely battling with obedience to the Word of God, but actually defiantly rejecting the Gospel and the faith of their parents who love them? This week and next, we will examine what the Bible has to teach on wayward children--the hopeful prevention and the helpful pursuit. No matter who you are, you will find this two-week series helpful if you have friends or family who continue to reject the Gospel.

I am excited to take a hard look from God’s Word at what FBC is truly committed to. Being a loving church sometimes makes you think we are a church that is NOT truth driven. As we care for people, it may cause you to think we’re flexible as it relates to God’S Word. But along with a loving heart for people, FBC holds some unbending commitments--some convictions we will never compromise. In fact, many of the truths we hold dear make it difficult for people to actually continue attending FBC, and these truths actually keep a few from becoming members of FBC, but in spite of that, we hold some commitments we will not change. We hope you will get fired up as you affirm, embrace, are molded by and become passionate about a few of FBC’s unbending commitments.

This summer, John had the opportunity to take a sabbatical, a chance to rest, spend extended time with his family, and study. While he was gone, he visited nine other churches, both in our area and in the northwest. He will encourage you, both personally and as a member of our church family, as he shares what he did on summer vacation.

It is good to understand the doctrine of justification - God views us as if we had never sinned and gives us Christ's righteousness instead. However, there is an even greater blessing that results from our salvation - we are adopted as God's sons, made a part of His family, and given a personal relationship with God as our Father. Learn about all the benefits of this amazing blessing.

As we continue in our study of the attributes of God, this week we look at His immutability. The author of Hebrews is writing to people who were in very difficult circumstances, and he encourages them (and us) to have hope in the unchanging nature of God's promises and God's nature.

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There is nothing that defines us more clearly than what we think about God, and the attribute of God's eternality is one that is foundational to all His other attributes. God is infinite with respect to time, and the more that we understand this difficult topic, the better we can understand ourselves and the eternal relationship we will have with Him someday.

In this final message from Mark 12, Jesus warns the people to watch out for false teachers, religious leaders who were only motivated by their own pride and greed. They even defrauded the widows of Israel, the very people who needed the most protection. This warning is just as relevant today as there are still many false teachers who lead people astray. Learn what the Bible says about how to identify false teachers and avoid them.