First Baptist Church, Key Largo, Florida

Jesus resurrection from the dead was the core message of the earliest Christians and remians the basis of our hope and faith.

Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to the delight of his followers and the rebuke of his enemies. When given the chance to speak up about our faith in Christ, whose example so we most often follow?

A woman caught in adultery faced a harsh judgement, yet Jesus offered her grace and forgiveness. He also offered a reminder to the crowd, and to us, that we find it easier to judge others than ourselves.

Jesus is the "stone the builders rejected that has become the cornerstone." And his forgiveness and grace fashions us into the living stones that make us His church.

Moses broke the tablets with the commandments inscribed by the hand of God when he saw the people turn to old habits so quickly. And we, too, see our own tendency to break the commands of God. But more than broken rules, we are shown to be broken people in need of a Savior.

The activity of our lives can not only cause us to miss the voice of God, but we can thwart the activity of God in our lives and on our behalf.

Too often, we want the powerful and obvious move from God in our lives. But He most often speaks to us, as Elijah learned, in a still, small voice that we have to be still and listen for.

With so much to do, we can feel overwhelmed. But the example of Jesus shows that time alone with God in prayer remains both a priority and key to productivity.

Our world keeps us busy and distracted, almost forcing us to multitask to keep up. But God calls us to the opposite, to find a place of stillness to be reminded that we are not defined by how much we can get done. (apologies for audio issues near end)

We are looking at the things we do in church and try to answer the 'why.' This week we talk about baptism and the Lord's Supper (or communion), whcih are the two ordinances of our church.