One of my all time favorite movies is the 2005 version of King Kong. I have been doing a series with students on Wednesday nights called Uprising at the Movies! I recently sat down to watch this again and about halfway through the movie, I had an AHA! moment. I used to be the heroine in the film, Ann Darrow! I know what you’re thinking, what is Ryan talking about?!?! Just stay with me for a minute....Keep Reading
Let no unwholesome word come out of your mouth, but only words that build others up. If we obeyed this little nugget of God’s Word, what would some of us say at the café or the beauty shop or around the dinner table, of course, followed by a proper “bless their heart!” ...Keep Reading
But if we choose to not forgive, we break fellowship with God in disobedience, thus hurting ourselves....Keep Reading
I hope you had a great Easter Sunday. I want to say thank you to all who organized the activities at FBC Sanger. Many of you gave selflessly of your time and energy to make the day amazing......Keep Reading
Easter is almost here. FBC Sanger has big plans for Easter Sunday. Make sure to invite your family, friends and neighbors to join us for a great time of worship and fun. All of our big plans mean nothing without each of us making the effort to bring in those without a church home. The Worship Team will make sure to have their absolute best ready to lead us to the throne of God as we celebrate the defeat of our biggest enemy: death....Keep Reading
We’re building something eternal in this life and it requires regular adjustments where we sacrifice selfishness to choose obedience. It begins when we repent from our sin and choose to follow Jesus. But it doesn’t end there, everyday we must choose to be obedient. Everyday we will be tempted to be selfish at home, at work, and at church. If we don’t make an adjustment and obey the Lord, we’ll slip back into selfishness and sin....Keep Reading
. When we hear the birds singing and see the sun rising in the east, we are reminded of our Savior that rose from the dead after defeating sin, death and the grave. When we hear children playing outdoors, we’re reminded of the unconditional love our Father has for us....Keep Reading
Has Experiencing God drawn you closer to Him? Has it challenged you? Has it encouraged you in your relationship with Him? Have you been convicted of an area where you need to serve? I pray that your answer is yes to all of these questions. ...Keep Reading
One of my favorite books in the Bible is Ephesians. I love that book, because the first three chapters detail what one might call “pure theology.” Then in the final three chapters, Paul discusses what I call “applied theology.” We need a solid grasp of what we believe without the hindrance of the messiness of life, but that must be followed up with serious thought as to how those beliefs intersect with life....Keep Reading
But He reaches back to the Shema, Deuteronomy 6:5 where He sums of all the Commandments and all the laws. He’s saying, “If you want to obey all the law; if you are concerned about being right with God, just love Him with all your passion and feelings, love Him with your will and love him with all your thoughts....Keep Reading
This past Sunday I tried to not shake any hands at church. Not because I am anti-social but because the stomach bug hit our house the night before. Fortunately, I have managed to somehow avoid the bugs floating around. Take a few minutes and check on those in your circle. It just might be an opportunity to spread God’s love. There is nothing wrong with taking a pot of chicken noodle soup and dropping it at the front door....Keep Reading
The first principle of Experiencing God is: “God is always at work around you.” One of the ways He works is in our hearts to desire and to do His good works. Blackaby says something real interesting about what happens after we see God work: “We immediately become self-centered rather than God-centered.” He describes how this is an invitation for us “to adjust our lives to God.”...Keep Reading
Saturday was a great blessing as I joined about 120 fellow FBC Sanger members serving in Dallas. We accomplished a lot of work. But what impressed me most was watching our adults focus as much on building up our students as on finishing the projects. ...Keep Reading
DNow is this weekend. Be praying for the students, leaders and host homes. Denise and I are excited to be hosting 10th grade girls. I enjoy the opportunity to get to know our students better. If you have never participated in DNow, you should give it a try next year. On second thought, give it a try this year. ...Keep Reading
It seems like too many church-goers today are satisfied with just that, going to church. Church attendance is not the extent of our purpose. Our purpose in this life is to know God and the Lord gives us direction here. “Let him deny himself, take up his cross and follow Jesus.” To deny self does not mean to deny things. It means to give yourself wholly to Christ and share in His shame and death. ...Keep Reading
As a believer, God has a purpose for your life and a place for each of us to serve, therefore we must value all of the members and seek the Lord and follow Him to that place of service ...Keep Reading
There are times when we need to make sure the best we have are front and center. But we must also provide opportunities to develop the talents and gifts of those God raises up. ...Keep Reading
Sometimes we wonder if we’re making a difference, know that He makes the difference and He loves to use His children in making that difference. We all want the new year to be fulfilling, but we never find fulfillment in the search for fulfillment - we find it in serving the One that fulfills....Keep Reading
Christmas season is a special time for families to celebrate together the birth of our Savior Jesus in Bethlehem. As you celebrate this year, take some time to consider how Jesus’ birth changed the entire world....Keep Reading
...Abraham had to leave his good life behind and follow God to the place He would show him. Are you willing to follow Jesus wherever He leads? Are you willing to let go of some things? Are you willing to repent of some things that are holding you down? When He is Lord of your life, when you have a relationship with Jesus, when He is more important than anything else in this world, you are willing to follow....Keep Reading
I think we can consider Streets of Bethlehem a success. As stated Sunday morning, I would have been pleased with an attendance of 200 for the weekend. I underestimated the popularity of this event by about 1,100! If you can do the math, you know we had right at 1,300 for the weekend. Throughout the weekend, we made adjustments based on crowd size and reaction....Keep Reading
Make this Thanksgiving about rejoicing and celebrating the good gifts God gives us....Keep Reading
It’s hard to give thanks when pressure is being applied. It’s difficult to give thanks when our faith is being tested. Oh, it’s easy to give thanks when you’re looking back at what God has done, but giving thanks in and for all situations is a test of our faith. It’s not being thankful for difficult circumstances, but thankful for our Heavenly Father’s faithful presence and help in all of our circumstances....Keep Reading
My heart is heavy for the members of the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs and their community this Monday morning. Since the moment I read about this tragedy, my thoughts and prayers have been focused on this congregation and its pastor. I cannot fathom the depth of this kind of loss. Then, I read my scripture for today, Hebrews 13:8."Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."...Keep Reading
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Sunday, we had over 700 men, women, children, and a couple of alien life forms and other creatures at our Fall Festival. So, let me say “THANK YOU!!!” I remember last year when I was so excited about having 95 volunteers! That was awesome! I don’t know what you call the 133 volunteers we had Sunday night ...Keep Reading
Take some time this week to consider how you live in community....Keep Reading
The Great Commission is not about leading and loving people to stand for our National Anthem, our Great Commission is about leading and loving people to bow before Jesus Christ for salvation and eternal life. Our world is full of disrespectful behavior, but if our mind is on things above, we’ll not get caught up in the issues of this world that divide us and characterize us as unloving and self-righteous. Only we can set our minds on things above, no one else....Keep Reading
When we experience difficult circumstances, as believers, we can trust that God is working in spite of the difficulties we see and feel. He uses whatever this fallen world throws at us to produce in us what He knows we need: perseverance, character, and hope. ...Keep Reading
He has so much more for us, but we convince ourselves that drinking out of a pig’s bowl is fine. His will is good and acceptable and perfect, meaning that it is fulfilling. ...Keep Reading
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Paul lists all these qualities that we are to put on or choose to be a part of our life. Just like we choose what we wear every morning, we choose how we will live and act. We can choose to put on the heart of compassion and kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Love for God and others will shape and define our thoughts and actions....Keep Reading
Last week, we had over 180 children enrolled in our VBS! God blessed us with such a great opportunity and I believe our church really stepped up. We had over 100 adults helping every night: teaching the Bible, guiding the children, serving food, teaching about missions, leading in music, teaching arts and crafts, working in the parking lot to get the kids safely in the building and back to their parents, and welcoming them in registration....Keep Reading
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. It is the Father’s plan that we grow into the image of His Son, Jesus. It doesn’t matter how long we have been believers, but we must never stop growing. When we’re not growing, we are vulnerable to false doctrines and deceptive men who might use us to get what they want. If we’re not growing, we’ll be more self-centered and self-absorbed like a baby. If we’re not growing, we can’t help but talk like babies, but one of the most awkward situations is when big people talk like babies. ...Keep Reading
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I don’t remember eating a piece of our wedding cake, but that sweetness would have been lost years ago. However, the sweetness of having a generous, loving, godly wife is an undeserved gift from God with a lasting sweetness that only He can give. Join me in accepting this challenge to love with a godly love. ...Keep Reading
I get caught up working on so many projects and plans, reaching for goals and marking things off my “To Do List,” because it feels good to get things done. But I need to remember that I can walk with my Reward today. ...Keep Reading
When we get dressed, hopefully we don't ask, "how little can I get away with?" So when we put on compassion, you can't overdress....Keep Reading
