FBCJacksonville Blog

Dear Church,

In 2 Chronicles 29, good king Hezekiah restores the worship of Israel.  The chapter describes all the work and reforms necessary to bring the nation back to the point of the worship of God.

There was a great deal of cleaning and set-up required. People were stationed at certain locations and assigned various tasks and duties.  The music and instruments were prepared as the people planned the time of worship.

The day finally arrived. Second Chronicles 29:28-29 states the following:

While the whole assembly worshiped, the singers also sang and the trumpets sounded; all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. . . . So they sang praises with joy, and bowed down and worshiped.

What an experience that must have been! It was an incredible day of worship. Second Chronicles 29:36 says that

. . . all the people rejoiced over what God had prepared for the people, because the thing came about suddenly.

Pastors’ Conference 2012 has come and gone. The people rejoiced over what God had prepared and it all came about so suddenly.

What a great conference.  Every year someone says, “This was the best one yet.”  However, this year I have to agree with them.  It was so evident that the Holy Spirit was not only in the process of preparation, but He rested over the conference like the great cloud of fire that rested over the Hebrews in the wilderness.  It seemed as if the Lord stayed right here in our presence until the final note was struck, the final parting was made, and the last light was turned out.

I can’t begin to adequately thank you for all your hard work, labor, and especially your prayers.  Every year the greatest aspect of the conference is what our people do for pastors.  The people’s ministry is the greatest ministry of the conference.  Pastors are amazed, moved, stirred, and encouraged by our people and how they minister.  Every smile means something. Every word connects. Every deed is watched and God uses it all to heal, help, and hurry on His process in a pastor’s life.

Thank you for your willingness to work hard and display a wonderful attitude.  Now we, like Hezekiah and the people, can rejoice over what God has done.

Because of Him,

Pastor

Rebecca Pippert, author and speaker, tells the fascinating story of attending two very different events. One event was a graduate-level psychology class at Harvard University. Pippert stated that in the class the students were extraordinarily open and candid about their problems:

It wasn’t uncommon to hear them say, “I’m angry,” “I’m afraid,” “I’m jealous” . . . Their admission of their problems was the opposite of denial . . . their openness about their problems was matched only by their uncertainty about where to find resources to overcome them. Having confessed, for example, their inability to forgive someone who had hurt them, [they had no idea how to] resolve the problem by forgiving and being kind and generous instead of petty and vindictive.

The other event that Pippert attended was the total opposite of what she had experienced in the graduate-level psychology class. In fact, it happened to be a Bible study group at Cambridge University. Pippert states that the contrast was striking:

No one spoke openly about his or her problems. There was a lot of talk about God’s answers and promises, but very little about the participants and the problems they faced. The closest thing to an admission [of sin or a personal problem] was a reference to someone who was “struggling and needs prayer.”

Listen to what Pippert said about these two groups:

The first group [the psychology class] seemed to have all the problems and no answers; the second group [the Bible study] had all the answers and no problems. 1

We as ministers often come across that way. We have all the answers and no problems. The truth is we have struggles just like everyone else, but we have gotten caught up in the game of pretending that we do not. After all, we are supposed to know God better than anyone.

For the next few days I encourage you to be real and let your defenses down. We are not going to talk about you or your struggles or point you out as a failure. Our deepest desire is to minister to you. If you have come encouraged, then find someone and encourage them. If you have come looking for solutions to specific issues, I think we can help you. If you have come weary, worn, and a little beat up, then avail yourself of a church and staff and speakers whose sole desire is to be Christ to you. While we don’t have all the answers, we know Who the answer is. Allow us to be a brother in a time of need.

Mac Brunson, Pastor
First Baptist Church Jacksonville

Over the Christmas Holidays, you should have received a letter from Dr. Brunson telling you a little about 2012 at First Baptist. With that letter were two enclosures: a giving / pledge envelope…and a commitment card for the “God in Me” emphasis. These were sent so that you and your family can begin now making plans for what you want to do inthe way of spiritual and financial commitments to God in 2012.

Please take some time to look at both the envelope and the “God in Me” card. You will note that the envelope is an expression of what you hope to do in the matter of financial giving to God through our church this coming year. There is also a place for you to update your contact information if you need to and also to indicate whether you would like to receive giving envelopes or whether you give on-line and do not need the envelopes. All of this information will be very helpful to the church.

The God in Me card has four areas of commitment highlighted. They are personal spiritual growth, expressing God in your relationships, and in your community, and in the world. You will note that each area has some space providedfor you to write in specific goals in each area. The card is perforated so that you can complete both sides, tear off one for your own keeping and giving the other to the Lord during the Chest of Joash Commitment Service. You are encouraged to be thinking about the reality of God’s presence in you and how that impacts these four vital areas ofyour life, and how you want to express His presence in your life as a matter of worship to the Lord this year.

Both the envelope and the card will be used in our Chest of Joash Commitment Service on January 22. These will be distributed in Sunday School on January 15. You will want to complete each one, as the Lord leads you, and then bring them with you to the service on Sunday morning, January 22.

By now all of you have heard that Ms. Guinell went home to be with the Lord, Monday morning, December 19th.  It is interesting to me that within the week the famous atheist Christopher Hitchens died, along with Kim Jong II, and Guinell Freeman.  There was an atheist, a man worshipped as a god , and a woman who served the living Lord.

Ms. Guinell was just that to us, she was Guinell.  We all knew her, loved her, and respected her greatly.  However I don’t know if we all realize just how influential she was and how monumental her work has been.  In the days to come she will be listed as one of the greatest Sunday School strategists in Southern Baptist life.

Her name will not appear behind the greats like Harry Piland, Andy Anderson, Ron Lewis, Bill Taylor – her name will head the list.  In the 1980’s she ran the largest Sunday School in the entire SBC, and trained two generations for kingdom work.

She finished Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in 1954, and was interviewed by Dr. Lindsey, Sr. for the education position at FBC JAX.  She has known only this church since coming here where she served for 40 years.

I loved Guinell and miss her already.  However deep down inside I know she is in the presence of the Lord she loved and served so well.

I met Ms. Guinell officially when she served on the pulpit committee.  She became an immediate friend, confidant, and encourager.  She always had something positive to say, something encouraging, and the sweetest smile that said to me “go get ‘um.”  Some of her last words to me were scripture, personal testimony, words of joy, and a final “now God called you here.”  I loved Guinell and miss her already.  However deep down inside I know she is in the presence of the Lord she loved and served so well.

It is not hard to imagine the scene in heaven.  Her beaming face, her infectious laughter, her attention focused solely on the Lord – all the while directing something and somebody!

Funeral Arrangements
Visitation will be from 9:00-11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, December 27, in the Ruth Lindsay Auditorium.  The funeral will follow at 11:00 a.m. Dr. Mac Brunson will officiate.

Mac Brunson
Senior Pastor

We are preparing to put our arms around Jacksonville together praying for opportunities to love and share the gospel.  Check with your Sunday School leadership about the project chosen by your class and see what you can do to help.  We want to share the love of Jesus with Jacksonville and show them how much we care, not only by our words, but by our actions.  We will be serving in areas like Springfield, Washington Heights, Desert Winds and also with organizations like Trinity Rescue Mission, Florida Baptist Children’s Home, and First Coast Women’s Services. If you aren’t in a Sunday School class, this would be a great time to join one, or wait a few more weeks and we will post the projects online so that you can connect and serve with others in one of these areas.

Download the FAQ

Please email aaj@fbcjax.com, for more information.

In 1913, the federal government held a fiftieth anniversary reunion of the Battle of Gettysburg.  It was held at Gettysburg and thousands of men who had survived that horrible battle and war were camped all over the battlefield once again, but now these men were in their seventies, eighties, and nineties.  The climax was a reenactment of the Pickets Charge up Cemetery Ridge.  All the old Union soldiers gathered up on Cemetery Ridge, and the old Confederate soldiers gathered in the woods along Seminary Ridge.  When they commenced the charge, they say that it was not rifles and bayonets that they were carrying but walking canes and crutches.

It was a great reunion, but on the last night as they all gathered at a restaurant to eat, a Yankee on one side of the table got into a Rebel on the other side of the table.  Harsh words were passed and the two old soldiers grabbed their forks and one was nearly fatally wounded in the fight that erupted.  Having survived one of the bloodiest battles in history, having made it through the bloodiest war America has ever fought, they came down to being nearly killed with a fork.[1]

In the Christian walk it amazes me how well we handle the big issues.  The overwhelming majority of Christians handle well faithfulness physically to their mate; it is the lustful thoughts that give us the big problem.  The overwhelming majority of Christians do not rob banks, or snatch purses, or shoplift desirable items.  However, we really struggle over stealing work hours from the employer, justifying expense account purchases, and even giving less than our best to our mates and family.

It is the small sin that does you in.  Things like procrastination, apathy, half-truths.  Years ago, I read a story about some beached whales.  Scientists were puzzled over why these whales were beaching themselves.  It was discovered that these huge creatures were chasing minnows and simply beached themselves in the process and died.  It’s the little things that get you in your walk with Christ.  It’s the little things that eventually lead to the big things that seem to sink you.

In a recent study of the great ship the RMS Titanic, scientists discovered the real reason for the unsinkable ship’s demise.  When they found the Titanic resting about 2.5 miles down on the bottom floor of the North Atlantic Ocean, they discovered that it was not a huge slice in the side of the ship that caused the Titanic to sink.  No, it was that the seams of the ship had popped apart opening the ship to the sea.  In a study made of the small rivets, it was discovered that they had been cast with a high residual of slag still in the iron.  Slag left in iron causes iron to become brittle at extreme temperatures.  When the great ship hit that iceberg, it was not that a hole was cut into the side of the ship, but that thousands of little rivets cracked under pressure.  Christian, it is the small things that get us.  Solomon says, “Catch the foxes, the little foxes that are spoiling the vineyard,” (Song of Solomon 2:15).  It is the small sin that does you in.

In 1857, Charles Hadden Spurgeon was capturing the English-speaking world by storm.  He had to move his congregation from the New Park Street Chapel to the Music Hall in the Royal Surry Gardens where he preached to more than 10,000 people every week.  You would think that this tremendous success would be all a young preacher would need to cheer his heart but on October 4, 1857 Spurgeon, preaching from Isaiah 41:14, said this:

John Henry Jowett  pastored the famous Fifth Avenue Presbyterian Church in New York. After G. Campbell Morgan died, Jowett went to pastor Westminster Chapel in London.  This pastor of great churches once wrote a friend and said:

John Knox the great Scottish Reformer prayed:

Adoniram Judson, America’s first missionary, having lost several children and then his wife while serving on the mission field, withdrew from ministry and people altogether.  He sat for days beside an open grave and just grieved.  He wrote:

David, we are told, “waxed faint.”  Paul stated that he had a thorn in the flesh, that he had been in labor and hardship, that he had seen many sleepless nights.  He also spoke of the daily pressure of the concern for the churches that weighed on him.  Then think about Moses and Elijah, the two men who met with the Lord Jesus Christ on the Mount of Transfiguration.  They were the same two men who had asked for God to let them die.

There was Jeremiah who cursed the day he was born, and there was Jonah who asked for God to take his life.  Then there was Job, who no doubt suffered to a greater degree than anyone else in the word of God except for Jesus Christ.

It is not unusual for the people of God to suffer through periods of suffering, hardship, even depression.  It is unusual if they don’t.  Job said in 3:26:

What Job was saying was, “I have no peace, and no rest.  All I have are problems and heartaches and despair.” Now maybe that is where you find yourself.  Or perhaps someone you know is in that place right now and you hurt for them.  Realize that even the most mature believers can become discouraged.  Take heart Christian, God preserved the record of Job’s grief so that through the encouragement of Scripture we might have hope.  Stay plugged into the book.  Stay plugged into prayer.  Stay plugged into Sunday School, and fellowship.  The tendency will be to disconnect from all three, and in so doing you will become obsessed with the “whys” of life.  As a Christian you and I do not live by the “whys,” of life, but we trust in the “Who.”

Are you looking to find a community of other twenty year olds who want to press into God? Are you looking for worship, Bible study, and accountability?

Join us on the 2nd and 4th Wednesday of the month in the Alive Building on the corner of Hogan & Ashley downtown from 8:00-10:00 PM. We will worship together, examine our lives with God’s Word, and hopefully grow together in Christ. Gather with us, Worship with us, and Grow with us.

In recent weeks God has been moving on the hearts of our moms through the Mom to Mom program.

One of our moms, after viewing a video session on teaching your children about God, went home and began praying and asking God how she could teach her children about Him effectively.  She fell under the conviction of the Holy Spirit that she herself did not have a personal relationship with the Lord and right there prayed to accept Christ as her personal Lord and Savior.  She walked the aisle the next Sunday and made a public profession of her faith and was baptized.  The following week at Mom to Mom she shared her story with the entire group of moms about how though she had grown up in church, she herself was not a Christian.  At the end of that morning session of Mom to Mom one of our Titus 2 Leaders talked with a girl at her table and asked her about her personal relationship with the Lord.   The young lady began to cry and said she did not have one.  They prayed together there and this mom became a believer.  Two weeks following another young mother walked the aisle on a Sunday morning and said that after the testimony of the first girl, she had been under conviction that she was a lost church member.  That morning the pastor had preached on the unregenerate church member and she came forward and made a profession of her faith and was baptized that night.  One more mom since this time has decided that she needed to be baptized because she had not done so since she had professed Christ as her Savior.  We are rejoicing in what God is doing among the hearts of these moms through this program and continue to pray that God will use these lessons and His Word to reach to the hearts of moms and bring about true life change.

This fall we will begin a Wednesday night Mom to Mom group in addition to the Tuesday morning group.  Both groups will meet on the 6^th floor of the Administration Building.

The Tuesday morning group begins September 6 at 9:30.
The Wednesday evening group begins September 7 at 6:00.