Pastor's Blog

I arrived at church about 5:15 p.m. before the Wednesday night activities.  Pulling in right behind me was Britt Evans as he was getting ready for another big night in AWANA.  Last night was Parent's Night so I went to Council Time with Josh.  Mr. Peter talked about the Great Commission and we heard about the missionaries and mission work at Zoe Church in Brazil.  Throughout the night I saw other parents with their children as well in Council Time, Handbook time, and Game time.  Britt and Jennifer had "Chocolate Night" last night with a chocolate fountain and the boys and girls and their parents could dip strawberries, cookies, marshmallows, pretzels, Oreo's, and bananas in the chocolate.  I caught a lot of other adults heading down to the chocolate fountain as well!  What a joy to have about 100 clubbers, many of their parents, and a large group of adult volunteers in AWANA!

Yesterday, Juli and I enjoyed a nice lunch at Olive Garden together.  We were able to talk and plan and laugh together!  She is my best friend, and I feel so blessed to be her husband.  Then, last night Juli decorated the table beautifully, cooked a wonderful meal, lit the candles and all of us ate in the dining room together.  After dinner Juli gave the boys a little present, and then I shared personal letters of encouragement and blessing with all the boys.  We talked, laughed, enjoyed each other's company and had a great time together. 

I am a rich man--I have a wonderful wife and 4 awesome boys.  I have a gracious Savior who has blessed me beyond measure spiritually, physically, and in my family.  You will never find my name on Forbes' list of wealthiest people in the world, but I am a rich man.  I was reminded last night as our family sat together in loving harmony laughing together.

Josh plays Upward Basketball at FBC Locust Grove (shout out to Pastor Craig, Adam Merrick, and Upward Staff)!  Max Greenwood is his coach, and I am his assistant--so we have the Hampton First Baptist connection!  Last night Coach Max brought a small tube of toothpaste and had Josh squeeze all the toothpaste out.  He did it in 23 seconds.  Then, Coach Max told another boy he had 23 seconds to put all the toothpaste back in.  You can imagine the sticky and unsuccessful mess trying to put the toothpaste back in the tube.  Coach Max drove home the fact that when we say ugly or disrespectful things you might be sorry, but you can't get those words back.

A great lesson for 3rd-4th grade boys and for EVERYONE!

Ephesians 4:29 "Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification..." 

I hope you were able to enjoy our staff gift of Hee Haw Hampton Style last night.  We had a tremendous crowd and a night filled with a lot of corny jokes, laughter and some good music.  It brought back some great memories of my own childhood and watching Buck Owens and Roy Clark on Hee Haw.  What a great staff that we have!  All of them worked very diligently to make last night such a blessing for all.  But, I must say when Pastor Jorge was doing his version of Grandpa Jones with a Spanish accent it was an absolute hoot!  And, when Paxton was singing "Oh My Darlin' Clementine" it was as cute as can be!  Thanks to all the media team who helped. You did a great job. Finally, a special recognition to my wonderful wife, Juli, for doing so much behind the scenes.  We could not have pulled it off without her.  We love the Hampton First Baptist family!

After seeing the blessings of God in chapters 1-3, and following the command to "remember" in 2:11, we move to the application of Ephesians 4-6.  There are a multitude of applications (I am using the ESV Bible)!

1. Walk worthy of the calling Christ 4:1-- in context this means I walk with humility, gentleness, patience, bearing with one another in love, maintaining unity in the Spirit

2. Speak the truth in love 4:15

3. Grow up! 4:15

4. Do not walk like the Gentiles 4:17

5. Put off the old self 4:22

6. Be renewed 4:23

7. Put on the new self 4:24

8. Put away falsehood 4:25

9. Speak the truth (repeated) 4:25

10. Be angry 4:26

11. Do not sin 4:26

12. Do not let the sun go down on your anger 4:26

13. Give no opportunity to the devil 4:27

14. Do not steal 4:28

15. Labor 4:28

16. Let no corrupt talk come from your mouth 4:29

17. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit 4:30

18. Put away all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice 4:31

19. Be kind 4:32

20. Be tenderhearted 4:32

21. Be forgiving 4:32

22. Be imitators of God 5:1

23. Walk in love 5:2

24. Do not even name immorality 5:3

25. Do not say anthing filthy, foolish, or crude 5:4

26. Be thankful 5:4

27. Le no one decive you 5:6

28. Do not become partners with the disobedient 5:7

29. Walk as children of light 5:8

30. Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord 5:10

31. Take not part in unfruitful works 5:11

32. Expose the works of darkness 5:11

33. Awake! 5:14

34. Arise from the dead 5:14

35. Look carefully how you walk 5:15

36. Walk as the wise 5:15

37. Make the most of your time 5:16

38. Do not be foolish 5:17

39. Understanad what the will of the Lord is 5:18

40. Do not get drunk 5:18

41. Be filled with the Spirit 5:18

42. Address one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs 5:19

43. Sing! 5:19

44. Make melody to the Lord! 5:19

45. Give thanks 5:20

46. Submit to one another 5:21

47. Wives submit to your own husbands 5:22, 24

48. Husbands love your wives 5:25, 28, 33

49. Leave your father and mother 5:31

50. Hold fast 5:31

51. Become one 5:31

52. Wives respect 5:33

53. Children obey 6:1

54. Honor your father and mother 6:2

55. Fathers do not provoke 6:4

56. Slaves obey 6:5

57. Do the will of God from the heart 6:6

58. Renders service with a good will 6:7

59. Know--whatever good one does, you will receive from the Lord 6:8

60. Masters do the same 6:9

61. Stop threatening 6:9

62. Know--there is no partiality with God 6:9

63. Be strong 6:10

64. Put on the whole armor of God 6:11

65. Take up the whole armor of God 6:13

66. Stand having fastened on the belt of truth! 6:14

67. Put on the breastplate of righteousness 6:14

68. Put on (as shoes for your feet) the readiness given by the gospel of peace 6:15

69. Take up the shield of faith 6:16

70. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit 6:17

71. Pray at all times in the Spirit 6:18

72. Keep alert with all perseveerance 6:18

73. Make supplication 6:18

Last week many in our church read through Ephesians.  I blogged last week on the blessings of God in Ephesians 1-3.  As we observe chapters 1-3 I found only 1 command. "Remember"! We are called to "remember" where we were before coming to know Jesus Christ (2:11).  The ESV repeats the command again in 2:12.  The picture of where we were before Christ (2:12 ESV) is not pretty:

1. We were separated from Christ.

2. We were alienated from the commonwealth of Israel. 

3. We were strangers to the covenants of promise. 

4. We were without hope and without God in the world.

This morning kicked-off bright and early for our first All Pro Dad breakfast at Luella Elementary School.  Over 100 dads and students were there to enjoy a donut, to get challenged to be encouragers, and to meet some other dads and granddads!  One of the greatest privileges of my life is being a dad.  Next to knowing Jesus and being married to Juli my boys are my greatest joy.  It was great to be with Josh this morning and to tell the other dads what a great son he is, and how I am so proud of him.  All of my boys are a joy and treasure!  I am a blessed man.

After speaking and sharing at All Pro Dad I met Eric Trawick for breakfast.  This Sunday, February 12, will be Eric, Cindy, Noah and Isaac's last Sunday with us at Hampton.  Eric is going to serve as the Pastor at FBC Bunnell, FL.  The Lord has His hand on Eric, and I know God will use him mightily.  We will miss the Trawick family, but I am thankful that God allowed our paths to cross again.  It is such a joy when you see the hand of the Lord moving His servants to make an eternal difference.  Eric and Cindy we love you and your precious boys!  We are proud of your heart for the Lord and your perseverance in ministry.

I arrived back to the church in time to grab my Bible and head off to the JOY Club Bible study.  This morning we were reminded that amid the challenging world we live the Lord Jesus gives us His joy, His Word and He intercedes for us.  Our study in God's Word was so sweet, and His Word is always so fresh.  After some great spiritual food, we headed off to Tim's Country Cookin' and enjoyed some Southern food!  Wow!  That place is great!  It's been a great day in the Lord!

I challenged our church family to read Ephesians 1-3 and write out all the blessings of God, so I wanted to share my list:

1.  I am a saint 1:1

2. I am in Christ Jesus 1:1

3.  I have His grace and peace 1:2

4. I am chosen 1:4

5. I am adopted 1:5

6. I am blessed in the Beloved 1:6

7. I have been redeemed 1:7

8. I am forgiven 1:7

9. I know the mystery of His will 1:9

10. I have an inheritance 1:11

11. I am sealed with the Holy Spirit 1:13

12. I have a guarantee of an inheritance 1:14

13. I have a mercifull God 2:4

14. I am loved 2:4

15. I am alive 2:5

16. I am saved 2:5, 8

17.  I am raised with Him 2:6

18. I am made to sit with Him 2:6 

19. I will experience His riches and grace in ages to come 2:7

20. I have received His gift 2:8

21. I have become His workmanship created in Christ 2:10

22. God has a purpose for me--good works prepared beforehand 2:10

23. I was far off, but have been brought near 2:13

24. Jesus is my/our peace 2:14

25. He has made Jews and Gentiles One 2:14

26. I am reconciled to God 2:16

27. I am in the "body" of the saved through the cross 2:16 

28. I have access to God 2:18

29. I am a citizen with the saints and members of God's household 2:19

30. Jesus is my Cornerstone 2:20

31. I am part of God's holy temple 2:21

32. I am a dwelling place for God 2:22

33. I am an heir 3:6

34. I am a partaker of the promise in Christ Jesus 3:6

35. I have heard the unsearchable riches preached 3:8

36. I have experienced His light 3:9

37. I can go to the Lord boldly 3:12

38. I can approach Him with confidence 3:12

39. God is able!  3:20

40. God's power works in me 3:20

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." 

Ephesians 1:3

As we observed the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 we found a church that was busy and active, holding to solid doctrine, and determined to persevere.  However, Jesus told this church that they lost their first love.  The challenge for all of us is to keep our love-relationship with Jesus passionate and strong!  Then, out of the overflow of our love for Him we serve Him! 

I offer four challenges to keep our walk with Jesus fresh this week:  First, read the Book of Ephesians every day this week.  In chapters 1-3 notice the spiritual blessing the Lord provides.  Then, in chapters 4-6 notice the responsibilities we have to live for Him.  Second, pray!  Spend time with the Lord each day in prayer.  Third, sing!  Make a joyful noise to the Lord each day in your quiet time with Him.  Finally, share with someone the blessings of how the Lord is working in your life.

It was great to be back over 500 in Bible study on Sunday.  We had 515!  Our teachers and workers are doing such a great job of encouraging and equipping!

 We will be looking at Jesus' words to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:1-7 on Sunday during worship.  This church had a lot going on, but it had one major flaw!  Jesus knows everything about the church!  He is in the midst of the lampstands (the churches) and He is well aware of all that takes place.  Be praying and come prepared to be challenged on Sunday!

Today, Luke turns 16 years old.  I am so proud of him.  His love for the Lord, scholastic achievement, and musical gifts amaze me.  He is a blessing to our family and to my life.  Luke, we feel so blessed to call you our son.  We know that God has a great plan for your life, and I am confident that He will use you in great ways to continue impacting people for Christ.  May your heart stay focused and may Jesus Christ always be your first love.  We love you, son.

What a great night last night as we kicked off Discipleship Classes!  Over 160 adults were digging deeper in the Word!  Plus, we had students who were in God's Word together, and our boys and girls were in Preschool and Children's Choir.  It was truly a great time.

In the busyness of our life we must remember what the Lord has said:  Do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God.

This is a test...

Jeremiah 29:11

For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to proser you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

Zeph. 3:17

The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save.  He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.

Received a great e-mail from Gordon Brown from Brown's Christmas Tree Farm...they loaded up trees to take to the troops at Ft. Gordon.  Military families could come and pick up their free live Christmas tree.

Buddy,

Thanks for helping me with the Trees for Troops announcement on Sunday.  We had seven from the church including myself, one from work (an Army retired veteran) and the FedEx driver, who was an Army veteran, helping load trees.  All showed up right on time and I had Craig bless the trees with a prayer before loading. We loaded 120 trees in the rain and took only 20 minutes!  A good article was in Wednesday’s Griffin Daily News on the front page and one half of page 7 with pictures. The trees were to be delivered today to the Army at Ft. Gordon in Augusta, GA.  You can check out the website at www.treesfortroops.org.

A BIG THANKS to all the HFBC members who helped:

1. Garrett Powner
2. Craig McAdams
3. Jason Ferguson
4. Clark McBrayer
5. Allen Robertson
6. Elliott Yancey
7. Gordon Brown

Gordon H. Brown

We have been in transition on our website.  So glad to be back with you through the world of blogs!