Please join us in celebrating the ordinance of communion in worship this Sunday, July 30.
Children's Missions Programs Need Your Help!
Volunteers are needed to help with GAs, RAs, and Mission Friends beginning with the start of the new school year. Training will be available. You'll have a part in watching children grow and mature in their faith as they learn more about missions and God's special place for them in the world. Come be a part of this vital ministry of our church. Contact Sandra James or Cheryl Beck to get involved.
Ramp Building Crew
Thank you to our ramp building crew for loving our neighbors by helping them to access their home more easily.
Baby Shower for Julie and Zack Faulkenberry
Please join us for a baby shower honoring Zack and Julie Faulkenberry as we help them prepare for their new baby boy, Kuechly James. The shower will be Sunday, July 30th, 2 - 3:30 PM in the Mission Fellowship Center. The couple is registered at Babies R Us and Target.
Kitchen Stove Moved
We would like to thank Harold Messer and his hearty crew of men who helped to move an old--and very cumbersome!--stove out of the downstairs kitchen.
A Note from Meghan Beddingfield
Dear First Baptist Church,
I want to thank you all for your support, care, guidance, and love throughout the years. I feel so lucky to have grown up in First Baptist Church. It still feels like home to me and you all made a wonderful impact in my life. Through your thoughts, prayers, cards, and visits, First Baptist remains close to my heart always.
Love,
Rev. Meghan Beddingfield
David, Cinderella & The Shawshank Redemption
Quiz Question: What do the following movies have in common?
-Rocky
-Hoosiers
-Rudy
-The Karate Kid
-Seabiscuit
-The Hunger Games
-Braveheart
-The Harry Potter series
-The Shawshank Redemption
-La La Land
-Star Wars
Answer: They all feature the story of an underdog.
If you ever want to see a grown man cry, then show him a movie where a longshot protagonist or a woe begotten football team rises from the ashes and triumphs in the face of daunting challenges and long odds. If you want inspiration, dial up Braveheart as he takes on the British Crown, or Erin Brockovich who fights a corrupt system that is hurting innocent families. If you want to encourage a kid who feels down on their luck, show him the transforming story of the Karate Kid or even the Lion King.
We love these stories. And if you start looking around, you’ll see that Cinderella stories are everywhere. In fact, it’s hard to find a story that doesn’t have a disadvantaged individual seeking to rise-up and succeed. Go ahead. Prove me wrong.
The granddaddy of them all is one of the best-known stories in the Bible. It’s the tale of a small, shepherd boy who agrees to take on the fiercest of all warriors. God’s anointed, David, slays Goliath with what amounts to a child’s weapon. David may be but a lad, but his craftiness helps him to overcome insurmountable odds and his army wins the battle.
What is it about this story that we love so much? Why do underdogs win our hearts so easily?
We are drawn to this theme because it gives us hope to see others overcome adversity. It can be difficult to identify with characters who are superhuman because most of us are keenly aware of our shortcomings and faults. But when we catch a glimpse of someone who is like us succeed amid such disadvantages, we are thrilled by the prospect that we, too, can triumph.
Jesus routinely championed the underdogs of his day. Why do you think the poor, the sick, and the maligned loved him so? Jesus gave these individuals hope. He offered forgiveness, empowered those without pedigree to change the world, and brought redemption to those who couldn’t sink lower in life. Further cementing his legacy for lifting up the cause of the underdog, he cautioned the mighty and privileged to be humble and deferential to others. Heck, Jesus himself becomes an underdog—washing his disciples’ feet and dying at the hands of the powerbrokers of the day--out of love for us. Easter, that is Resurrection Day, is the ultimate rags to riches story. When it comes to good Cinderella stories, it’s hard to beat being dead one minute and raised to life the next.
Our love and affection for the David and Goliath story can give us fuel to be an advocate for the underdogs in our day and age. Beyond my feeble attempt to turn you all into NC State fans, let me invite you to consider who it is in our world who is down on their luck, beat-up and maligned. In each of these Cinderella stories, you’ll find someone who believes in and champions the promise that each of the underdogs has.
Let’s be that person to others, just as Jesus is for us.
Waterrock Knob Picnic
The picnic at Waterrock Knob was a success! Thanks to everyone who came up on Sunday for some good food and fellowship on the Blue Ridge Parkway!
As You Go Leadership Training
MFC Carpet Cleaned
A huge thank you to Harold Messer, Arlin Middleton, John Dills and Guy Hall for their work cleaning the carpet in the Mission and Fellowship Center!