First Baptist Church, Mount Pleasant, Michigan

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Devotional: 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Today’s passage: 2 Corinthians 2:5-11

Helpful thoughts:

  • This passage could refer to the man who was to be disciplined by the church in 1 Corinthians 5, or it could have been someone else (Possibly one who sought to lead people against the teaching/leadership Paul had given).  Either way, the application is the same.
  • The sin of this person had a negative effect on all the church.  We can decide whether or not to sin, we don’t get to decide the consequences or how many people it impacts.
  • When the man had been unrepentant, the church was right to remove him from membership (Matthew 18:17).  Now that the man was humbled and repentant, restoration was appropriate.
    • Repentance and restoration are always the goal of church discipline!

Questions to consider:

  1. Why is it right for us to forgive others (Matthew 18:33)?
  2. When is it right for us to forgive others (Matthew 18:15-17)?
  3. What should we be hoping for throughout the process of rebuking our brothers or sisters in Christ?  And, how should we approach people when we confront their sin (Galatians 6:1)?

March 29, 2023 Category: 2 Corinthians, Devotions

Sermon: Psalm 2

March 27, 2023 Category: Old Testament, Psalms, Sermons

Devotional: 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4

Today’s passage: 2 Corinthians 1:12-2:4

Helpful thoughts:

  • In a world where we are tempted (And taught) to boast in ourselves, we must instead boast in the grace of God.
    • We are saved through the blood of Jesus, according to the promises recorded in the Word of God, all given to us by the grace of God.
    • In this knowledge and faith, even when we boast of each other, we are boasting in God.
  • There was evidently frustration with some in the Corinthian church at what looked like a change in Paul’s plan to come minister to them.  God had other plans, and Paul sent them a letter instead.  The ministry they needed at the time was rebuke, and that’s what Paul gave them (This was how the grace of God pointed them to repentance in Christ at the time).
    • There appears to be two ways these verses refer everything being a “yes” in Christ.
      • Even though the people didn’t get what they initially wanted (Paul’s earlier visit) they did get what they needed (A loving rebuke and time to respond before Paul arrived).  This was God’s working for their good in a way that was better than what they’d hoped for…their “yes.”
      • The promises of God all find their “yes” in Christ.  This refers to the promises of God as found in the Old Testament.  The Old Testament points to and is fulfilled in Jesus (Luke 24:27).

Questions to consider:

  1. How does the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer serve as a “seal” and “guarantee?”  What covenant promise does God see and remain committed to when he sees the seal on us, which is the Holy Spirit? (John 10:29, Philippians 1:6)
  2. How does verse 24 give us a road map for helping our brothers and sisters in Christ to seek repentance?  What can’t we do for (or to) them?  What can we do?  What is our goal for those who are in sin?
  3. Why is Christ the only source of our boasting?  Our only hope of rescue?  Our guarantee of perseverance?

March 27, 2023 Category: 2 Corinthians, Devotions

Devotional: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Today’s passage: 2 Corinthians 1:3-11

Helpful thoughts:

  • One of the major fruits/results of suffering in this life is the benefit of receiving comfort from God.  When we receive God’s comfort, we are then equipped to pass that comfort on to others who suffer in the same way.
    • Going through hardships within a community of people (The church) gives us opportunities to learn from the afflictions of others and to share the fruits of our own afflictions with others.
    • How difficult and unfruitful it would be to suffer without a community of believers.
  • God allows His people to go through things they cannot handle (Verse 8).
  • God can handle anything and everything.  We are to rely on Him.

Questions to consider:

  1. What are some ways you have seen fellow Christians struggle that encouraged your faith and growth?  What are some ways you have suffered that have been or could be useful to others?
  2. Does 2 Corinthians 1:8 disagree with 1 Corinthians 10:13 (The answer is…no)?  What do we do when we fall into temptation?  If God doesn’t allow us to be tempted beyond our ability, then what are we always able to do, even when we are going through somethings we can not handle on our own?  How could we understand these verses together?  What powerful truth do they convey?
  3. How does God ultimately deliver all of His people?  Even if He did allow us to suffer to the point of death, what deliverance will we never lose that makes all other deliverances pale in comparison?

March 26, 2023 Category: 2 Corinthians, Devotions

Devotional: 2 Corinthians 1:1-2

Today’s passage: 2 Corinthians 1:1-2

Helpful thoughts:

  • Saul was a Pharisee, hater of Christ and persecutor of the church of his own will before his conversion.  Paul was an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God.
  • The word Apostle means, “one who is sent.”  The Apostles were men who were appointed directly by Christ for that specific task at that specific time.  There are no more Apostles today.
  • Being wished “grace and peace” was derived both from Greek and Jewish culture.
    • The Greek word for “hello” is similar to the word for grace.  So, Christians began to greet each other with the word for grace.
    • The Jews greeted each other with the word for peace.

Questions to consider:

  1. Knowing the Corinth was a city in Achaia, what could this greeting from all the saints (Christians) in verse 1 of the Christians in the whole region have reminded the church in Corinth of?  Were they the only church?  Was the kingdom being built outside of their “walls?”
  2. Why is it so significant to know that Paul was an apostle by the will of God?  How does this truth bring about humility in the person?  How does it promote praise of the Lord?  How is this true for all of us as we consider our own salvation?
  3. Even when we have disagreements or unsettled issues with others (As Paul will address in this letter) what is our hope for all of our brothers and sisters in Christ (Verse 2)?  How does pursuing biblical communication bring about grace and peace in a way that avoiding hard conversations never could?

March 25, 2023 Category: 2 Corinthians, Devotions

Devotional: Genesis 50:1-26

Today’s passage: Genesis 50:1-26

Helpful thoughts:

  • With the permission and support of Pharaoh, the children of Israel went to Machpelah to bury their father.
    • There were so many Egyptians that accompanied the family, the locals spoke of Abel-Mizraim (The mourning of Egypt).
  • In their fear, the brother once more relied on dishonesty to trick Joseph into preserving their lives.  But their fears were unfounded and their dishonesty unnecessary (As it always was).  Joseph knew who had truly brought him to Egypt and he also understood why.  This had been God’s doing.
  • Jacob had thought Joseph died at 17.  In truth, he lived 110 years.
    • Before Joseph died, he reassured the people of God’s promise to take them home to the Promised Land.  Therefore, he gave the command to take his remains back to the land of his birth, the land of promise.

Questions to consider:

  1. How does Joseph again picture Jesus Christ?  In what way did Jesus leave behind His home, go to foreign place, get mistreated and suffer in order to save many people?
  2. What do we learn about the providence of God in verses 19-20?  Didn’t the brothers sell Joseph into slavery?  Wasn’t it their intention and desire to get rid of their brother?  Weren’t they responsible? And yet, who ultimately brought this about?
  3. How do Joseph’s final instructions prepare the reader for the next book in the Old Testament?  What is God about to do next?

March 24, 2023 Category: Devotions, Genesis

Devotional: Genesis 49:1-33

Today’s passage: Genesis 49:1-33

Helpful thoughts:

  • Prior to Jacob’s death, he brings his sons together to give them their “blessing.”  He seems to understand that this blessing also includes what was to come in the future, and yet each blessing given was “suitable” to each son based on how they had lived.
  • Jacob reserves the greatest and longest blessings for Judah and Joseph.
    • The brothers had bowed down to Joseph in Egypt.  But the children of Israel would one day bow down to a descendant of Judah!
  • Jacob’s last words to his sons ensures he would be buried in the Promised Land.  The sons would take one more journey to the land God had promised them before the entire nation would return centuries later.

Questions to consider:

  1. What is Jacob acknowledging in verse 18?  Would these men or their descendants be able to survive on their own?  Who did they (And we) need to intercede on their behalf?
  2. “The obedience of the peoples” which Jacob refers to at the end of verse 10 speaks not just of Israel, but the nations.  How would this promise point forward to the reign of Jesus Christ? (e.g. Revelation 1:5)
  3. In what ways had Joseph been “set apart” from his brothers (Verse 26)?  Who set him apart and for what purpose?  How has God’s providence been displayed through the narrative of the book of Genesis?  How can this encourage us to trust Him?

March 23, 2023 Category: Devotions, Genesis

Devotional: Genesis 48:1-22

Today’s passage: Genesis 48:1-22

Helpful thoughts:

  • In today’s passage, Jacob (Israel) will bless both Ephraim and Manasseh (Joseph’s sons) as his own.  In this way, Joseph is given a double-portion in the inheritance (Verse 15, “And he blessed Joseph and said…”).
  • This chapter begins with “Manasseh and Ephraim” entering Jacob’s presence.  The chapter ends with “Ephraim and Manasseh” blessed and ready to depart.
    • Once again, the younger is blessed over the older.
  • Jacob assures Joseph their people would return to the Promised Land as God has promised.
    • Though the land of the Amorites was taken by Joseph’s brothers (Genesis 34), Jacob allots the land to him.  Joseph’s bones would later be taken to this land for burial (Joshua 24:32).

Questions to consider:

  1. Why would Joseph have been perplexed by Jacob’s switching of the birth order of Ephraim and Manasseh?  Was Joseph the first born?  Why might he have considered himself the firstborn?  Who was his mother?
  2. More than the land or all their possessions, what did Jacob truly give to the boys?  What did he tell them about before blessing them (Verses 3-4)?  Why is this significant?  To whom did the boys ultimately belong?  Who was truly giving them the land, the possessions and the promise?
  3. Jacob knew God had promised to be with him.  How long did he believe God had been with him (Verse 15)?  Will your Great Shepherd ever leave you or forsake you?

March 22, 2023 Category: Devotions, Genesis

Devotional: Genesis 47:1-31

Today’s passage: Genesis 47:1-31

Helpful thoughts:

  • The Lord blessed Jacob and the family not only with land within which to thrive, but they also got a royal job!
  • The land of Rameses (Verse 11) is most likely a later name for the land of Goshen.  This would have helped the Jewish people to have a better understanding of where their forefathers had dwelt in Egypt.
  • The remaining details of how Joseph led Egypt through the duration of the famine is given.  By the end of the famine, the people of Egypt revere Joseph for saving their lives and the Pharaoh has become exceedingly wealthy.
    • Jacob lived another 12 years after the completion of the famine (17 years after he met Pharaoh).
    • In these years, the people of Israel were fruitful and multiplied “greatly.”

Questions to consider:

  1. At the conclusion of the famine, who all in Egypt were slaves to Pharaoh?  Who wasn’t?  Why were the people thankful to Joseph for this outcome?
  2. How does knowing the Israelites were free people and prospering and multiplying “greatly” foreshadow what would occur in the future?  How would the tables turn against Israel?
  3. What did Jacob’s desire to be buried in the Promised Land convey concerning his faith in God?  What did Jacob believe God would do?  What promises should we remember and cling to as we sojourn through this life?

March 21, 2023 Category: Devotions, Genesis

Sermon: Revelation 3:14-22

March 20, 2023 Category: New Testament, Revelation, Sermons

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