"Then the family heads of Judah and Benjamin, and the priests and Levites—everyone whose heart God had moved—prepared to go up and build the house of the Lord in Jerusalem." - From Ezra 1:1-8

"It's over now." Those were my thoughts in the fourth quarter as the score slipped further and further out of the Pacers' favor in Game 7 of this year's NBA finals. This is one of the things that I dislike about basketball compared to baseball. There is a timer in basketball. If the leading team is too far ahead, you can see people get up and start to celebrate before it's over. There is an air of inevitability.

In baseball, by contrast, something may seem unlikely, but there is always a turnaround possible. The number of outs, not the clock, determines the end of the game. In 1901, the Detroit Tigers came back to beat the Milwaukee Brewers by one run, 14-13. At the beginning of the bottom of the 19th inning, they had been down 13-4. In 2001, the Cleveland Indians took a game to extra innings, overcoming a 12-run deficit. That tied the league record for the most substantial comeback in American professional baseball history.

To paraphrase the prophet's words in Isaiah 43, there was a way out made out of no way. God making a way out of no way is exactly what we see in the book of Ezra. The Lord has the power to rebuild.

Read more at fbcmuncie.org/blog

For more information about messages in this series, or to find out more about First Baptist Church Muncie (FBCM), please see our website: fbcmuncie.org

Our video live streams are available on our YouTube channel.

Find a video library of past sermons on our church center channel.

If you’re looking for a church home, or seeking information about the church, please submit a virtual visitor’s card.

To financially support our ministry, please see our Church Center giving page.

First Baptist Church, Muncie, Indiana is a Spirit-led Community gathered to join Christ’s presence in our community.

Our current scriptural watchword for this season is “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

These message recordings are meant to be shared.

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Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us. Romans 5:1-5

This week, the title of Pastor Jonathan's sermon is, "Justified by Faith, Empowered by the Spirit."

There are times when my own words are not good enough, and it is wiser to simply cede the metaphorical online microphone to someone who draws us into the happy mystery of the Gospel with a fitting word.

This week, we learn about the Holy Spirit's role in giving us up— Hope which does not put us to shame. Hope which looks like Christ dying for the ungodly. Come on Sunday to see what the Spirit might say to us through this message. Come to the church blog to see a fitting quotation from Lutheran Pastor Sarah Hinlicky Wilson about the implications of this very good Gospel:

"Christ came not for the good. Not even for the ones who wanted to be good or tried to be good. Not for his well-meaning allies, not for the ones who remembered to say thanks. He came for the unrighteous, the sinners, the ungrateful, the evil, the lost, the condemned, the ungodly. In short: his enemies. The ones who don’t want to be saved at all, whether because they don’t think they need it or because they frankly prefer their sins to God’s company. Christ wanted so much to rescue and redeem his enemies that he became sin for their sake, a curse for their sake, and then simply offered his redemption as a gift, knowing full well that some wouldn’t want the full pardon and the steadfast love and the everlasting life, if it meant conceding their enemy status.

Two thousand years later we are still stunned by the news and still haven’t figured out how to be a church that corresponds to its message. Because what could such a church be? Only a perpetual embarrassment. People selected chiefly on account of their disqualification to accomplish great things. A fellowship of such sinners that backbiting and betrayal are an inevitability. Ambassadors who constantly consider defecting to the other side. How can God expect to win more to His church with that kind of public relations campaign? Unless, of course, that is exactly the point."

--->>You can read more at https://www.fbcmuncie.org/blog.

For more information about messages in this series, or to find out more about First Baptist Church Muncie (FBCM), please see our website: fbcmuncie.org

Our video live streams are available on our YouTube channel.

Find a video library of past sermons on our church center channel.

If you’re looking for a church home, or seeking information about the church, please submit a virtual visitor’s card.

To financially support our ministry, please see our Church Center giving page.

First Baptist Church, Muncie, Indiana is a Spirit-led Community gathered to join Christ’s presence in our community.

Our current scriptural watchword for this season is “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

These message recordings are meant to be shared.

Please rate us 5 stars on Spotify, Apple Music, or your podcasting app of choice and share with family and friends.

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth." - from John 14:8-17; 25-27

"If only I had been there, and seen Jesus in the flesh myself, then it would be easy to trust him."

Maybe you've had a thought like this before. If so, the Gospels may surprise you on reading how those who knew Jesus received him. Those who saw him, lived with him, and followed him in the flesh often seemed bewildered. They struggled with trust and faith as much as any of us living two thousand years later.

At the end of the Gospel of John, Jesus gives his famous "farewell discourse." His disciples do not understand what is happening, where Jesus is going, or why. But make no mistake, Jesus is not abandoning him.

Just as they see the Father by seeing Jesus, so they are being given another Advocate: the Spirit of Truth. Or, as Paul refers to Spirit, "the Spirit of the Son" (Gal. 4:6). That means that Jesus is still with his disciples, and not just the disciples Jesus is speaking to in this passage of the Gospel. The Spirit of truth is given to followers today, as well as to the disciples then.

Continuing reading at https://www.fbcmuncie.org/blog

"Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always strive to do what is good for each other and for everyone else." - from 1 Thessalonians 5:12-28

Those who get payback or those who are peacemakers. We have a choice on which we will be.

In a lecture on forgiveness and its limits, Elizabeth Bruenig described her two children fighting. They knew hitting each other was against the rules, punishable by the docking of allowance. But they also knew there was an exception: if you did not instigate or start the fight, that is, if you were acting in self-defense, you were not considered the aggressor. Your allowance would remain. After all, you had the right to defend yourself.

But this led to a situation where, after every fight, both children claimed the other started it. Being unfairly attacked became a sought-after status. Elizabeth Bruenig began to wonder if adults behaved the same way:

Consider the state of social media, where people frequently go in order to find something to be angry about, so that they can express their anger in ways that would typically be forbidden but are permissible in cases only of having been wronged. Had the social media user not sought out an example of someone doing something offensive or outrageous, they wouldn’t have anger to discharge, but it seems to me that acquiring anger and the right to discharge it is precisely the point. [emphasis mine]

Sometimes, we want to be wronged, so we can do what we otherwise couldn't: pay back. It is this that the Apostle Paul tells us explicitly not to do.

Continuing reading at https://www.fbcmuncie.org/blog

For more information about messages in this series, or to find out more about First Baptist Church Muncie (FBCM), please see our website: fbcmuncie.org

Our video live streams are available on our YouTube channel.

Find a video library of past sermons on our church center channel.

If you’re looking for a church home, or seeking information about the church, please submit a virtual visitor’s card.

To financially support our ministry, please see our Church Center giving page.

First Baptist Church, Muncie, Indiana is a Spirit-led Community gathered to join Christ’s presence in our community.

Our current scriptural watchword for this season is “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

These message recordings are meant to be shared.

Please rate us 5 stars on Spotify, Apple Music, or your podcasting app of choice and share with family and friends.

“For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him. Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.” -excerpt from 1 Thessalonians 4:13 - 5:11

I’ve never watched It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, but my favorite meme comes from an episode where Charlie thinks he’s discovered a “major conspiracy.” It’s an older meme now, so you probably know what I’m talking about. There’s a picture of a typical office worker man. But upon further inspection, he has crazy eyes, a cigarette in one hand, and the other hand pointing behind him to a board covered in pictures, clues, and a red web of string that supposedly connects everything together in the conspiracy. It makes me laugh. Every. Time.

Unfortunately, sometimes when people talk about scripture passages like 1 Thessalonians 4 or Revelation, they start to feel a little like this meme. They know Jesus is coming back. This is a GREAT thing! But they’ve gotten too caught up in trying to read the signs or figure out the details of when or how. And that’s when they’ve missed the point!

2,000 years after this letter, what are we supposed to learn from the Thessalonians about the end times or Jesus’ return?

[Continuing reading at https://www.fbcmuncie.org/blog ]

For more information about messages in this series, or to find out more about First Baptist Church Muncie (FBCM), please see our website: fbcmuncie.org

Our video live streams are available on our YouTube channel.

Find a video library of past sermons on our church center channel.

If you’re looking for a church home, or seeking information about the church, please submit a virtual visitor’s card.

To financially support our ministry, please see our Church Center giving page.

First Baptist Church, Muncie, Indiana is a Spirit-led Community gathered to join Christ’s presence in our community.

Our current scriptural watchword for this season is “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

These message recordings are meant to be shared.

Please rate us 5 stars on Spotify, Apple Music, or your podcasting app of choice and share with family and friends.

“It is God’s will that you should be sanctified…For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.” -excerpt from 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12

I had the “bright idea” to pop into a spin exercise class last week. The good news is that it was the most thorough workout I’ve done in years. The bad news is that it was the most thorough exercise I’ve done in years.

Being the first time I had ever done a cycling-based class, I was shocked to find out how much cardio, core, and strength this childhood hobby took. At one point in the class, we were already 3 speeds above our starting point and cycling while standing, as if going up a huge hill. I was sweating something awful, huffing and puffing. That’s when I heard the instructor say to turn up the gear two more settings.

Um…excuse me. I’m already working as hard as I can! I’m already at my limit! What more do you want from me, crazy fit Instructor lady?!

Sometimes when churches talk about holiness, this is how we feel. Sometimes the idea of God revealing our imperfections and calling us to repentance initially feels stressful. Aren’t we already doing enough for you, Lord?

But just like my spin instructor wasn’t being mean by pushing us to bike up the hill, Paul is not being hyper-critical of the Thessalonians by reminding them to live a holy life.

Read more at fbcmuncie.org/blog

For more information about messages in this series, or to find out more about First Baptist Church Muncie (FBCM), please see our website: fbcmuncie.org

Our video live streams are available on our YouTube channel.

Find a video library of past sermons on our church center channel.

If you’re looking for a church home, or seeking information about the church, please submit a virtual visitor’s card.

To financially support our ministry, please see our Church Center giving page.

First Baptist Church, Muncie, Indiana is a Spirit-led Community gathered to join Christ’s presence in our community.

Our current scriptural watchword for this season is “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

These message recordings are meant to be shared.

Please rate us 5 stars on Spotify, Apple Music, or your podcasting app of choice and share with family and friends.

“Therefore, brothers and sisters, in all our distress and persecution, we were encouraged about you because of your faith. For now, we live, since you are standing firm in the Lord. How can we thank God enough for you in return for all the joy we have in the presence of our God because of you?

One of the games Jim described was new to me, though perhaps some older church members might remember playing it as kids. We don’t even know what the game is called. The whole point of the game is to knock your opponent off-balance using just the force of your interlocked arms. If you walked into the office that Tuesday, you would’ve found me and Jim me face-to-face, flailing our arms trying to get the other off-step with a few others laughing and cheering around us. (Jim won, in case you wanted to know!)

Isn’t that just how life feels sometimes? You are trying your best to stand firm, but it just feels like something is trying its best to knock you off your feet.

How can Easter’s good news help us be stayers when the odds are stacked against us?

Read more at https://www.fbcmuncie.org/blog.

For more information about messages in this series, or to find out more about First Baptist Church Muncie (FBCM), please see our website: fbcmuncie.org

Our video live streams are available on our YouTube channel.

Find a video library of past sermons on our church center channel.

If you’re looking for a church home, or seeking information about the church, please submit a virtual visitor’s card.

To financially support our ministry, please see our Church Center giving page.

First Baptist Church, Muncie, Indiana is a Spirit-led Community gathered to join Christ’s presence in our community.

Our current scriptural watchword for this season is “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

These message recordings are meant to be shared.

Please rate us 5 stars on Spotify, Apple Music, or your podcasting app of choice and share with family and friends.

Proclaimers: Easter People Have Been Entrusted With the Gospel

This week's sermon scriptures are 1 Thessalonians 2:1-16.

For more information about messages in this series, or to find out more about First Baptist Church Muncie (FBCM), please see our website: fbcmuncie.org

Our video live streams are available on our YouTube channel.

Find a video library of past sermons on our church center channel.

If you’re looking for a church home, or seeking information about the church, please submit a virtual visitor’s card.

To financially support our ministry, please see our Church Center giving page.

First Baptist Church, Muncie, Indiana is a Spirit-led Community gathered to join Christ’s presence in our community.

Our current scriptural watchword for this season is “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

These message recordings are meant to be shared.

Please rate us 5 stars on Spotify, Apple Music, or your podcasting app of choice and share with family and friends.

"You know how we lived among you for your sake. You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit."-From 1 Thessalonians 1

My daughter is one and a half years old. It's hard to believe. So much, she learns from imitation. Her new favorite phrase is "Oooooh Noooo!" Often when she says something, Kendall and I think: "Where did she learn that!" Often (and sometimes to our horror) the answer is simple: us! Of course, we are reasonably, and I hope not vainly, proud when she tries and tries and imitates something we have been trying to teach her successfully.

Imitation is a way of learning. And it shows up prominently in Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians (perhaps his first letter, if some scholars are accurate).

Read more at: https://www.fbcmuncie.org/blog

For more information about messages in this series, or to find out more about First Baptist Church Muncie (FBCM), please see our website: fbcmuncie.org

Our video live streams are available on our YouTube channel.

Find a video library of past sermons on our church center channel.

If you’re looking for a church home, or seeking information about the church, please submit a virtual visitor’s card.

To financially support our ministry, please see our Church Center giving page.

First Baptist Church, Muncie, Indiana is a Spirit-led Community gathered to join Christ’s presence in our community.

Our current scriptural watchword for this season is “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

These message recordings are meant to be shared.

Please rate us 5 stars on Spotify, Apple Music, or your podcasting app of choice and share with family and friends.

“In their fright, the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, ‘Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you…’”-excerpt fromLuke 24:1-12; 36-49

The women & Peter discover the resurrection, but no Jesus is in sight. Later, when Jesus appears to the disciples, they wrongly assume he is a ghost…Sometimes when we encounter Christ, we treat him like a ghost-a stranger, something too mystical for us. Perhaps when faith feels impossible, we don’t need a miracle. The miracle has already happened through Jesus Christ. We need only to “remember” who Jesus is and what he has done.

FBCM looks forward to remembering resurrection with you this Holy Week and Easter! Click the blog and/or read this week’s news to see all the opportunities to gather together in worship this week.

Read more at: https://www.fbcmuncie.org/blog

For more information about messages in this series, or to find out more about First Baptist Church Muncie (FBCM), please see our website: fbcmuncie.org

Our video live streams are available on our YouTube channel.

Find a video library of past sermons on our church center channel.

If you’re looking for a church home, or seeking information about the church, please submit a virtual visitor’s card.

To financially support our ministry, please see our Church Center giving page.

First Baptist Church, Muncie, Indiana is a Spirit-led Community gathered to join Christ’s presence in our community.

Our current scriptural watchword for this season is “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45).

These message recordings are meant to be shared.

Please rate us 5 stars on Spotify, Apple Music, or your podcasting app of choice and share with family and friends.