The culmination of the Divine plan for the redemption of humanity begins with an almost unnoticed birth of a child in the small town of Bethlehem. The couple to whom he was born were not even important enough to secure a room to stay in, and his witnesses were not kings but shepherds, but this Messiah would soon prove himself to be an unexpected savior, a servant of all.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
This blog serves as an outreach for Pastor Randy Powell of the First Baptist Church of Franklin, PA. Feel free to ask questions or send me an e-mail at pastorpowell@hotmail.com
Monday, December 24, 2012
Wednesday, December 19, 2012
Mustard Seed Missions - moving forward
I've been spending a lot of time working on Mustard Seed Missions related things of late (henceforth it will be MSM to save time), the committee meets every month and the phone calls, e-mails, and visits take place on a daily basis in the process of helping get this new effort off the ground. I'm happy to report that thus far we've helped several families with situations that range from "easy enough" to "holy cow". God has been gracious to us, the spirit of cooperation among churches and within the Human Services agencies has been heart-warming, as has been the generosity of volunteers and donors. We've yet to find ourselves without funds, materials, or people to complete a project at hand once we get ourselves organized. It has been an incredible journey thus far, one I found myself upon almost by accident (not as if God didn't know exactly what he was doing), but one in which I have been able to use my talents, passions, and position for the service of the kingdom.
The logo for MSM has been created, thanks to my talented wife Nicole, as has our pamphlet and bulletin insert for churches to use in getting the word out and recruiting volunteers. The days and months ahead will certainly help us sort of the growing pains of any new organization, but I'm confident we'll be fine when I look at the quality of the people whom God has recruited for this effort.
MSM bulletin insert (Word)
The logo for MSM has been created, thanks to my talented wife Nicole, as has our pamphlet and bulletin insert for churches to use in getting the word out and recruiting volunteers. The days and months ahead will certainly help us sort of the growing pains of any new organization, but I'm confident we'll be fine when I look at the quality of the people whom God has recruited for this effort.
MSM bulletin insert (Word)
Sunday, December 16, 2012
Sermon Video: The Birth of John the Baptist - Luke 1:39-66
The Christmas story continues with Mary hurrying to visit her relative Elizabeth, a woman to with whom she can share the story of Gabriel's visit as even now Elizabeth is in the 6th month of her miracle pregnancy. The unborn John "leaps" in the womb of Elizabeth, prompting her to remark on the blessing that Mary has been given as the one who will bring the Lord into the world. Following Mary's song of praise, the son of Elizabeth is born to much fanfare as word of the birth spreads far and wide. At this point, the words of Gabriel are fulfilled and the boy is named John, but not until Elizabeth speaks up (and is disregarded) and then Zechariah confirms it in writing. Zechariah's speech returns to him (after 9 months of silence) and he begins to praise God, adding to the general amazement and wonder as to what John will one day become.
As the birth of Jesus approaches, all eyes are on John, the one who will a few short years from now travel into the desert to prepare the way of the Lord.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
As the birth of Jesus approaches, all eyes are on John, the one who will a few short years from now travel into the desert to prepare the way of the Lord.
To watch the video, click on the link below:
Sermon Video
Friday, December 14, 2012
The Light of Christ vs. the Darkness of Man's Heart
Here I was spending my day doing Mustard Seed Missions work, trying to help those in need; polishing up my sermon for Sunday on the birth of John the Baptist; real salt and light kind of things; looking forward to the Hobbit tonight...in other words, a good day...then I see that yet another school shooting has happened; the numbers, horrific even when 1 are much higher than you could imagine...is it any wonder that I spend my life trying to help people find there way out of the darkness that envelops our world and into the light of Christ? Can anybody really say that this world is fine without God, mankind's hopeless situation on his own, sadly on display again today.
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
A Mary vs. Martha kind of day
In Luke 10:38-42, Martha invites Jesus to her home and then becomes swamped with the preparation that had to be made. Martha's sister, Mary, sits at Jesus' feet and listens to what he had to say. When Martha grumbles to Jesus that Mary is helping her with the work, Jesus replies, "Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but only on thing is needed. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her."
This passage is often interpreted as a reminder to focus upon the important things and not get bogged down in the details; it can be applied to the functioning of a business, a family, or a church. We must be aware of what is critical and not let what is important get in its way.
When you're a pastor, these sort of questions can pop up every day. This past Friday I still had a lot of work to do on my sermon for Sunday, because of prior meetings earlier in the week I was a lot less done than usual for a Friday. The meetings earlier in the week were important in their own right, they were about expanding the work of Mustard Seed Missions; worth doing, necessary, but time consuming.
Thus as Friday began, I was hoping for a relatively quite day to get my work done. If there is one thing that most pastors don't like, it's being unprepared for the Sunday sermon as the end of the week approaches. God had other plans in store for me that day. Late on Thursday I heard of a local grandmother who had been kicked out of her apartment by a new owner and found herself, and her two grand kids living with her, living with virtually no furniture. After a couple of phone calls, one bed and a table was located; the woman herself had obtained a fridge and range, it seemed that a couple of hours of delivery were in order.
I was able to find a helper for moving the stuff, Cheryl's husband John, and we set to work on it. Several hours, and a sore back later, the furniture was moved and a person in need was helped (a start on it anyway, this project, like so many MSM projects is ongoing).
At that moment, I was eager to get back to my office, sit and my desk and finish that sermon. Mere moments after I sat down, however, the phone rang, it was a man who hadn't eaten or slept in days; someone in need of emergency help. After looking for the man for an hour (he had given me the wrong street number in his sleep deprived state), I was able to take him to a local group, Heart to Heart, who were able to meet with him and get him some food.
By this time it was nearly 3 PM and I had a Christmas party to go to; yikes. When did I finish the sermon? Saturday morning, my day off. Was there any help for it? Not really, that message is one of my most important responsibilities each week, but if I can't set it aside to help those in real need, who am I being Mary or Martha? By the way, the sermon went fine on Sunday morning; God knows what he's doing.
This passage is often interpreted as a reminder to focus upon the important things and not get bogged down in the details; it can be applied to the functioning of a business, a family, or a church. We must be aware of what is critical and not let what is important get in its way.
When you're a pastor, these sort of questions can pop up every day. This past Friday I still had a lot of work to do on my sermon for Sunday, because of prior meetings earlier in the week I was a lot less done than usual for a Friday. The meetings earlier in the week were important in their own right, they were about expanding the work of Mustard Seed Missions; worth doing, necessary, but time consuming.
Thus as Friday began, I was hoping for a relatively quite day to get my work done. If there is one thing that most pastors don't like, it's being unprepared for the Sunday sermon as the end of the week approaches. God had other plans in store for me that day. Late on Thursday I heard of a local grandmother who had been kicked out of her apartment by a new owner and found herself, and her two grand kids living with her, living with virtually no furniture. After a couple of phone calls, one bed and a table was located; the woman herself had obtained a fridge and range, it seemed that a couple of hours of delivery were in order.
I was able to find a helper for moving the stuff, Cheryl's husband John, and we set to work on it. Several hours, and a sore back later, the furniture was moved and a person in need was helped (a start on it anyway, this project, like so many MSM projects is ongoing).
At that moment, I was eager to get back to my office, sit and my desk and finish that sermon. Mere moments after I sat down, however, the phone rang, it was a man who hadn't eaten or slept in days; someone in need of emergency help. After looking for the man for an hour (he had given me the wrong street number in his sleep deprived state), I was able to take him to a local group, Heart to Heart, who were able to meet with him and get him some food.
By this time it was nearly 3 PM and I had a Christmas party to go to; yikes. When did I finish the sermon? Saturday morning, my day off. Was there any help for it? Not really, that message is one of my most important responsibilities each week, but if I can't set it aside to help those in real need, who am I being Mary or Martha? By the way, the sermon went fine on Sunday morning; God knows what he's doing.
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