On Sunday, March 19th, we will be hosting a luncheon for the Smoky Mountain high school baseball team. The food will be provided, but we are asking church members to provide dessert for the team. If you are willing to contribute a dessert to the luncheon, please contact Ruth McConnell at 506-8827.
The Alternate Ending to Last Sunday’s Sermon
If I could re-preach last Sunday’s sermon, I would. Let me explain.
While shaking hands with church members at the sanctuary’s front door after the service on Sunday, I heard a few of our folk talking about how they wanted to know how the story that I shared in the sermon ended. The story went like this:
When I was a small child, the iron that sat in the laundry room fascinated me. My mother, ever the perceptive parent, recognized my interest in the shiny, angular object and warned me never to go near it. Of course, that only heightened my interest and I waited for an opportunity to get close to it.
One day, an opportunity presented itself. My mother had been in the laundry room one morning but had disappeared into another part of the house. Seizing the moment, I drew close to the iron and marveled at its curious dimensions and the distorted reflection of the room in its mirror-like surface. I did not touch the iron gently with my finger. No, I took my entire hand and pressed it up against the face of the iron as though I was high-fiving the laundry tool.
I remember that my hand momentarily stuck to the fiery hot surface and I pulled it back quickly, stifling a yelp. The pain came in waves and I felt nauseous at what I had done. But cry out for help, I did not. Instead, I tiptoed into the kitchen, retrieved a cereal bowl and filled it with cold water. Then, I retreated to the house’s crawl space where I submerged my blistered hand while I hid from my mother.
Why did I not cry out for help? Why did I hide? I hid because I was ashamed of what I had done. I hid because I knew that I had disobeyed my mother and was certain that she would be upset with me.
“Jeff,” one of our church members implored after worship, “We want to know what happened to you after you hid from your mother.”
In truth, it never occurred to me that the story needed the kind of resolution that was requested by a couple of our church members. To me, the point of that childhood memory was that our first impulse—like Adam and Eve’s—is to hide when we have committed a sin.
But this is where I failed.
You may recall that I mentioned that God’s response to Adam and Eve’s disobedience felt less like punishment—that is, being banished from the Garden—and more like a lifting of the veil of protection from the world’s pain and terrors. The consequences of our sins have real world implications that oftentimes cannot be undone. When we sin, other people can get hurt. When we disobey God, we ourselves can get hurt. When we don’t do what we should do, people can suffer unnecessarily.
Here’s how I should have ended the sermon:
When my mother found me in the crawl space, she was not angry with me. To my surprise, she was deeply saddened that I had been hurt. She found me, and --of course--she cared for my wounds. My mother didn’t want to berate me. She wanted to care for me in my pain.
I believe that one of the reasons that God wants us to live lives that are sanctified (think, set apart) is because sin causes pain. Yes, it separates us from God’s Holy presence. And yes, it is only through the gift and sacrifice of Christ Jesus that our sins are atoned. But more than anything, I think, God does not want us to suffer. And sin causes pain. God’s declarations that we should avoid sin are rooted in the reality that God does not want us to hurt. My mother did not need to punish me for disobeying her. The consequence of my willful disobedience was punishment enough.
Let’s also not forget that my mother comforted me in my pain, just as the Good Father cared for his prodigal son who had decided to return home. God wants to hold us, especially in our woundedness.
If I could re-preach my sermon, this is how I would have ended it.
Mission Moment
Our Church is pleased to support CBF Global Missions in moments like these where unity and love are modeled and shared.
"After experiencing homelessness for 18 years, Roland in his first night in his own home, thought it was ludicrous that he would have an empty couch when he knew there were people who didn't have a place to stay," Cooperative Baptist Fellowship field personnel Joshua Hearne said.
Roland's declaration changed the way that Hearne and his community interacted with the city.
"What hit me right between the eyes was I had never had that thought. Not once had I ever been moved beyond a vague bad feeling that I had an empty couch, an empty bed," Hearne said. "That was the time when as a community, we all kind of stopped and thought, 'Roland is right. How do we live in light of our brother's faith?'"
Daylight Savings Time Begins
Don’t forget to "Spring Forward" on Sunday, March 12th for Daylight Savings Time! Make sure to remember to set your clocks forward an hour!
Service Opportunity
Meals on Wheels needs help in the Cullowhee and Savannah areas to deliver meals once a week from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 noon. Please call 631-8044 if you can help. Thanks a bunch!
Thank You Note from AXD
First Baptist Church,
Thank you so much for allowing us to use your church for one of our ceremonies! The Epsilon Gamma chapter greatly appreciates it!
Sincerely,
Epsilon Gamma of Alpha Xi Delta at WCU
Storm Warning
I’m sore today. My ankle has a strange ache. The wrist that I injured years ago feels bruised. This can only mean one thing.
A storm is brewing.
If the forecast for Wednesday afternoon pans out, March will come in like a lion. We may not have to listen hard for its roar.
When I was a child, this would have been unwelcome news. I was both fascinated and terrified of severe weather. Few things disturbed me more than the all-too-familiar sound that would accompany tornado warnings on the radio or TV. Growing up in an area that received a handful of tornado threats a year, I knew that there was genuine cause for concern. The thickening, swirling black clouds felt inescapable as they moved overhead. The torrential rain deepened my distress as it blocked my ability to see where the threat might come from. And the lightning and the thunder chased me from the window and to the safest part of our house.
Over the years I’ve discovered that storms come in many shapes and sizes. Storms are not confined to any one particular season, and they can hit without the warnings we’ve come to expect from the National Weather Service. The storms we experience in life are just as powerful as the thunderstorms we experienced as a child, with one exception. The storms in our lives tend to be far more dangerous.
Here’s Jesus’s take on storms: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its fall!”
You’ll notice that Jesus never suggests that there’s a chance that the rain might not come. As we might find ourselves saying, “It’s not if it will storm, but when it will storm.” In our lives, rain, wind and floods are inevitable.
I spend a lot of energy trying to prevent storms. I don’t like the feeling of helplessness in a storm. I certainly want to avoid the damage that comes from storms, so I’ll do most everything I can to avoid one. In order to sidestep the disruptions and difficulties a storm presents, I’ll do everything I can do to shield myself. But perhaps my energy is misplaced.
Jesus knows that storms are a part of life. If memory serves correct, Jesus survived his fair share. Jesus’s encouragement to us here is preventative, but not in the way we might think. God does not direct us to try and prevent storms. Instead, God encourages us to prepare in advance so that we can survive the storms.
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and acts on them will be like a wise man who built his house on rock.”
It will not surprise you to learn that we often see an uptick in church attendance when people are trying to weather a storm. Church is a refuge, of course, and God’s presence is a sanctuary when we are in distress. This is most-certainly a good thing.
And yet, I’ve also discovered that once the storm passes these individuals stop attending church or seeking God’s presence like they did during the heart of their distress. While not shocking, this makes me sad. For I absolutely believe that the best way to prepare for a storm is to nurture a strong bond to the One who can best protect us from it when it hits.
By trusting God and obeying his commandments, we situate ourselves well to weather the storms that we will inevitably experience in life. The best thing that we can do for ourselves and for our loved ones is to nurture our relationship with God by taking his words seriously and putting them into action today.
Storms will come. But hear the Good News of the Gospel! Jesus is the One who gives us the strength and the grace to survive them.
Mission Moment from Houston, Texas
Our Church is pleased to support CBF Global Missions in moments like these where unity and love are modeled and shared.
"I recently delivered a food basket to a new Iranian family. I had barely taken off my shoes at the door upon entering, when the husband stated that this is truly a blessing and his wife would like to pray. We held hands around the small basket of food as she began pouring her heart out to God in her native language for the next ten minutes.
The husband shared their story, and told me that God has brought them to their 'Promised Land.' They never thought they would have the freedom to share their faith openly. In just a few weeks, they have already shared with many Internationals as well as some Americans. He asked me, 'Why do Americans take all of these freedoms and their faith for granted?' I can't help but wonder why as well."
- Nell Green, CBF field personnel in Houston, Texas
RAs and GAs
Girls in Action and Royal Ambassadors meet each Wednesday at 4 p.m. These are mission groups for girls and boys from kindergarten through 5th grade. Come join in the fun!
Thank You Letters from Our Partners
Dear Friends,
Thank you so much for another gift to help feed our neighbors in need. In just the past month, you've helped us serve 2,539 meals and provide 886 boxes of groceries. Thank you for feeing our neighbors in need.
Gratefully,
Amy Sims, Executive Director, The Community Table
Dear Friends of First Baptist Church,
Your generous donation to Jackson County Circles of Hope is greatly appreciated. We held graduation for our Circle Leaders on February 14, 2017. We will begin a new class in a month. All our Circle Leaders were matched with community members as allies.
By giving to this community endeavor to address underlying causes of poverty and helping people attain economic stability, your are truly demonstrating your compassion for others.
Thank you for your continuing interest in our community. Not only do you help us financially, but you help us provide a home for Circles of Hope every Tuesday night.
Thank you for your ultimate generosity!
Sincerely,
Laura Wallace
*God bless!
Dear First Baptist Church of Sylva,
Thank you for your recent donation to the Good Samaritan Clinic of Jackson County. It's an exciting time for the clinic as we celebrate our recent growth and look forward to offering expanded services in the months to come. Thank you for strengthening the work of Good Sam. Your support dollars enable the clinic to serve as our community's medical safety net - providing primary care and medication assistance to adults who are at or below 175% of the Federal Poverty Level.
We are grateful for your investment in the health and wellness of our neighbors in Jackson County and beyond. Your generous contribution enables Good Sam to be a transformative presence in the lives of our patients and our community.
With gratitude,
Rebecca Mathis, Executive Director