Throw it out! - Matt. 18:6-9 & Heb. 12:1

Every Christian can get rid of stumbling blocks (traps) in their lives by asking themselves three simple questions.

1. Is a specific thing in my life (thing, action, person) causing me to sin? (Matt. 18:8-9)
2. Is a specific thing in my life causing me to lose focus on God? (Heb. 12:1)
3. Is a specific thing in my life causing others to sin or lose focus on God? (Matt. 18-6-7)

When you get a yes answer to any of these questions…Throw it out! 

Don’t just place it by the door. Don’t hide it under the bed, or in the back of the closet.  Get rid of it and throw it out.  You will be glad you did!  

30 Hour Famine

2012 30 Hour Famine

FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH OF PERRYSBURG 104726134

Click Here to Donate!

We are so excited to be doing our Famine this year! During the 30 Hour Famine, our youth group will actually NOT EAT for 30 hours. YES! You read that right. Teenagers? not eating... for 30 hours. Why? Because nearly 8,000 children under age 5 die every day because of hunger-related causes, that's one child every 10 seconds. And we are NOT okay with that, we will NOT stand by while children die from lack of food.

In the time leading up to and during our 30 hours of fasting, the students are going to get a crash course in global hunger and come face to face with the realities of poverty and injustice. We will make a global impact by learning about world hunger and raising money for hungry children around the world through World Vision; a local impact through service projects and raising awareness during our 30 hours; and making an individual impact on us when we will all get a small taste of what it is like for starving kids around the world. 

We will officially begin fundraising  for the event on Jan. 25th.  All the money raised will go to feed our starving neighbors in Africa.  (Rewards will be given based on donations raised).

We will also be starting a food drive on Jan. 25th and all of the food will be donated to the Southside Life Station in Toledo, OH to benefit those in need in our local community.

In our culture today we are pushed toward a me centered mentality. What we need to be happy is to consume, consume, consume.  We as Christian's know that this is not the way, yet we often get sucked into acting this way.   30 Hour Famine is a way that we can separate ourselves (for a time) from both food and technology (that's right cell phones must be checked in at the door).  

It is a time when we can draw closer to God, be good Samaritan's and stewards of His riches and love. 

We have set a group goal, each $30 we raise will help feed and care for a child for a month. Check out our thermometer to see our goal. Will you help us reach our goal this year?  Donate today.

Thanks for sponsoring us to go without-so others can eat.And so our Famine begins.

Want to know where the money raised through the Famine goes?Visit www.30hourfamine.org/about to learn more about 30 Hour Famine and World Vision?s hunger programs.

What I learned from washing dishes (right after use)!

Anyone that has known me for long can confirm that I am a serious procrastinator.  It is a part of me that God has been working on for some time, and has made lots of progress on since my lazed college days.  However, there are still bounds of room for improvement.  Planning ahead has never really been my forte’, especially since well, Jesus may come back before it needs to be done anyway.  Don’t get mad at me I know that is a wrong way of thinking (Paul dealt with it back it 2 Thessalonians chapter 3).  Most recently me and my wife have been diligent to do the dishes right after the meal instead of letting them pile up (like we formerly did).  Here are a few things I have learned.

1.        Dishes are easier to wash when you just get finished dirtying them. Once the gunk has set on and hardened it is a lot more difficult to get off and it takes a lot more work and frustration. 

2.       You don’t have an overload of dishes to do when you “get around” to doing them. 

3.       You never have to worry about people popping in on you and seeing your dirty dishes all piled up and gross.

4.       There is no weird smell coming from the kitchen that you have to go looking for to correct.

5.       You always have clean dishes to use.

6.       You can put your focus on more important things, rather than dwelling on how long it will take you to do the dishes and how much you don’t want to.

Ok I admit it; my reason for writing this blog is not really about washing your dishes.  It is about keeping your life clean!  It is about taking care of those bad choices/sins before they grow to bad habits.  It is about clearing out the old bad habits and not letting them creep back in.   How can I do that?  I know you are thinking what I have thought so often, “I have tried so many times and failed, so there is no use trying!”.  Now that is some destructive thinking and you need to get rid of it!  First off if you have a relationship with Jesus Christ you can do all things through His strength (Philippians 4:13)! If you don’t have a relationship with Jesus then we have identified your biggest problem and we should remedy that first.  

Second, God does not want you bound by your sins and bad habits. He wants you to be FREE from them!  Seek His help and strength, believe you can break these bonds, seek out friends who will be helpful and not judgmental, and start today! 

Oh and don’t forget that if you slip and fall, you are only a failure if you don’t get back up! So, go wash some dishes!

 –  Philippians 2:12-16, 1 John 1:9, Hebrews 12:1-

Don’t Judge a Book by Its Winter - Proverbs 3:5-6; Romans 8:28

5 Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight. Prov. 3:5-6 (NIV)

28 And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, tothose who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28 (NASB)

When I am looking at a book that I might purchase I have a tendency to turn somewhere in the book and start reading.  If what I read interest me I classify it as a good book and I might purchase it. However, if I am not impressed by what I read I will put the book down and go to the next.  Surely along the way I have misjudged some books that would have been helpful to me simply because I only saw a small part of what the book was about.  I am willing to admit that this is probably not the best way to search for a book; it’s just my way. 

Many of us tend to take the same kind of philosophy when it comes to a ministry.  We want to come in one week or attend one event and judge the effectiveness of the ministry on that event.  Maybe as teachers or preachers we want to look at our last sermon or lesson and diagnose the health of our ministry based on its estimated effectiveness.  When we take a small sample of the life of a ministry or look at one event we are doing that ministry a serious injustice.  For us to understand the effectiveness of a ministry we must look at it over time.  We must not look at sheer numbers but more so we must look at the impact it has in the lives of those who are being ministered to. 

When looking at a ministry’s effectiveness we must also consider that ups and downs are a given.  There will be times when the numbers are down or the message is dry.  Maybe there will be a time of great struggle for the ministry to simply stay alive.  We must not consider this a reason to abandon the ministry or give way to being distraught and disheartened.  We must embrace God’s word and His wisdom and continue on when and where He leads us.  

Think about this every year we go through four seasons: Spring, summer, fall, and winter.  Spring brings us renewal and hope, summer brings us warmth and sunshine, fall brings us change, and winter brings us cold, darkness and ice.  Sometimes we wake up in a ministry and we find ourselves in the midst of a great winter.  The numbers are small, the desire seems low and we think of giving in or giving up.  Winters can be tough; after all not much grows in winter.  We must remind ourselves then, that even the deepest, darkest winter is followed by a beautiful spring of renewal.

If God has brought you to a ministry and you are obedient to Him, He will use you in a mighty way.  Keep pushing on past despair and cling to Him. Do your very best and rely on Him and He will give the increase.  One more thing… Never forget that He is always working, even when we cannot see it or perceive it!