Our new year is fully underway. There is excitement as we think about where we will go and what we will do. God is exalted through the faithfulness of Trinity Baptist Church. I hope you are allowing our simultaneous Scripture reading to be a blessing to your day. I have heard more than just a few share how God is blessing this time as couples and families are reading God’s Word consistently. It is amazing how much the word for the day intersects the circumstances of the day in  positive ways. If you have not begun to read along with us, it is not too late. Pick up a Daily Bible Reading Plan 2024 and begin reading from the present date. God is honored when we put His Word in our lives.

 

The Victor is in full rehearsal swing. The Victor Choir is rehearsing and the Victor Drama groups will begin blocking scenes and memorizing lines. This is truly our gift to our community. What a blessing to see so many of our members taking on responsibilities of   telling the greatest story ever told.

 

This year I am hoping that we will add one more emphasis for the Victor. That emphasis is prayer. Prayer that those who have yet to    believe in Jesus will come to a performance with one of our members. We are praying now, and will continue to pray, that a spiritual    conversation would develop and lead to a   gospel presentation. We will share more of the details as they develop, but we are hoping to have what we used to call “cottage prayer meetings” as we get closer to our presentations. We will also be offering some evangelism training on sharing our faith prior to the Victor. God is so good to allow us to strategically plan for Holy Spirit encounters.

 

May we continue to be a reproducing community of authentic disciples being equipped as missionaries and sent by God to proclaim His Kingdom in our world. Milfred Minatrea’s definition of what it means to be missional has influenced my life for over 15 years. As I write this article today, I am anticipating a call with Milfred Minatrea in hopes of bringing him to Kerrville to fill our pulpit some Sunday. Oh, to move beyond what we have known and attempt that which will transform us. To God be the glory!

 

In Christ,

 

“And when they had come into the house, they saw the young Child with Mary His mother, and fell down to worship Him. And when they had opened their treasures, they presented gifts to Him: gold, frankincense, and myrrh.”  –Matthew 2:11

 

I love the Christmas story, all of it. The obedience of Mary and the obedience of Joseph are examples for us all. The devotion of the shepherds to go and see for themselves what was declared in the fields. The offering of travel from the East by the wise men who brought with them gifts for the newborn king. There are so many things that seem to compete with the real story of Christmas, but none of them offer the greatest gift of all.

Every character of Christmas has something to teach us; from obedience to worship, from worship to sacrifice. Once a year is not enough for us to grasp the great love God has poured out for us at Christmas. Remember, as we put up our nativity and carefully wrap the characters of Christmas, we remain on display all year for the world to see what difference the Christmas story makes in our lives. Because of Christmas, we live different lives. As a result of the resurrection, Christmas matters greatly.

 

We have been blessed in 2023 and are anticipating great things for 2024. We are a year closer to the LORD’s return. There are still people who need to know about Jesus, but we can never share what we do not have.

 

In 2024, Trinity Baptist Church is being asked to journey together as we read through the New Testament, Psalms, and Proverbs. There will be a reading schedule for each day. We will do our best to get into your hands this schedule as often as it is needed. Our prayer is that there will be a plethora of members who have journeyed together at the end of 2024.

 

We rejoice in the assembling for almost a year now of our new space. It is a blessing to see how many times and in how many ways we are sitting together and sharing with one another. New Adult education space and student space is being used and we are seeing the fruit of new people almost weekly.

 

As we begin a new year together, I am reminded of a camp song from years back. “Yes, LORD, yes, to Your will and to Your way. Yes, LORD, yes, I will trust you and obey. What the Spirit speaks to me with my whole heart I’ll agree. And my answer will be yes, LORD, yes.” I am thankful there are so many who follow the LORD and who have said, “yes” even before they know the question. May we sense God’s direction and provision as we walk together.

 

In Christ,

 

 

In times of peril and calamity, God gives light. God gives hope. I am amazed at the early darkness we are experiencing these days. It seems to get dark, really dark very early. There is nothing better in the darkness than light. We could apply these words across many worlds. Both here in the United States, and in our world, there is deep darkness. There is conflict around every corner. However, there is also truth and light standing next to it. 

 

I love Christmas. It really is the most joyful time as I consider all that we celebrate in Christ’s birth. But we also hear that it is the most depressing month of our calendar. For those who know the Light of Jesus, it may seem joyful. But, for those hanging on their last thread of hope, it is often deep and dark. Those around us may need a dose of light that comes from Jesus shining through us. 

 

As we round out the days of December, we will also be rounding out the days of our first year of utilizing our new space. It is amazing to see families together and generations of church friends visiting in the Cafe area. Our adult and student spaces are being used several times a week for groups to gather and plan and study. Thank you, TBC, for your faithful dreaming and stewardship in bringing this about.

 

We have witnessed good things take place in 2023. I am certain that we will witness and  experience the same in 2024. I hope you will take advantage in preparing your heart for the Christmas season through the many and varied opportunities at Trinity. Invite your family, friends, and neighbors to come with you. Let us approach this season with gratitude in our hearts as we make ourselves available to be used by God in the days ahead. 

 

May it be said of us what was said about the village lamplighter. We may not see him anymore, but we can certainly tell where he has been. May people know we have walked with Jesus as He lights the path on our journey.  

 

Merry Christmas! 

 

In Christ,

 

It is easy to consider all the negative that is going on in our world today, the division of  people, the lines being drawn, and miss the goodness of life that God provides. The conflict in Israel, the voices levied for and against personal opinions and agendas, tend to leave us conflicted and worrying about the future. The death that is attributed to mental illness and our lack of understanding on how to curb the aggression and action.

 

A deeper look at Psalm 118:22-23 tells us, “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. This has come from the LORD; it is wondrous in His sight.” In the church we know this is referring to Jesus as the cornerstone of our faith. No matter what comes our way, our cornerstone remains steadfast. Be careful to whom you give your ears and hearts. News agencies are at most times good for information, if we understand the spinning that takes place. But, it is always beneficial to look to the LORD. Keep your eyes on Jesus, the    author and perfecter of our faith. It is in Christ that we find hope and direction.

 

I am so thankful for you as a people of God.  Together, we have taken it upon ourselves to take care of our needs while also reaching into the future. We are so blessed by God to be used by Him in making Him known. Always remember, God uses all circumstances to make Himself known. All things work together for the good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose. We are using our gathering space to bring our church together while also inviting others to come and see. What a blessing to get to lead a church that goes beyond what is seen to what is needed.

 

At our last member meeting, we voted to collect a special Building Offering on Sunday, November 12. It gives us an opportunity to come and think about what God has called us to do together. As a part of this special offering day, we have also been asked to join a communal church effort to finish the last house for Habitat for Humanity. It is a blessing to come alongside three other churches in our area: First United Methodist Church, Kerrville Church of Christ, and Impact Fellowship in completing this neighborhood. The first $25,000 collected on our ingathering day will go to support this endeavor while the additional funds will be applied to our building debt. Blessed to Bless is more than a campaign, it has always been a movement of Trinity Baptist Church for God’s glory. Thank you in advance for your contributions to bless our community.

 

At this season of Thanksgiving, I am thankful for your faithfulness to God’s movement among us. May we see more and more of God’s  activity as we submit to His leadership and direction.

 

In Christ,

We believe in God the Father, we believe in Jesus Christ, we believe in the Holy Spirit and He’s given us new life. We believe in the crucifixion, we believe that He conquered death, we believe in the resurrection, and He’s coming back again, we believe. These are the words to the chorus of the song, We Believe, by Matthew Hopper, Richie Fike, and Travis Ryan. Those words have been a part of our singing vocabulary for many years and hopefully a part of our spoken vocabulary as well.

 

What we believe is important because it not only describes who we are but what we do. It is important that we pass along our truth statements to our families. Our children will be more likely to make them their truth statements when they see our words and actions working together.

 

I am excited about our “We Believe” series. It is both affirming and encouraging to know we are moving in the same directions as a faith family. It has been a blessing to see students and adults coming to follow Jesus in biblical  believers baptism. We are still scheduling others. God has been faithful to bring fruit when we are faithful to tell His story.

 

At Midweek this month, we will be encoring our marriages through a time we have entitled, “Loving on Marriages.” On October 18th, 25th and November 1st and 8th, we will be gathering to celebrate God’s gift of marriage and consider next steps of faithfulness and blessing. I am a firm believer that as goes marriages, so goes the families; as goes the family, so goes the community; as goes the communities, so goes the country.

 

I want to thank Mike Mullens for helping to put together our most recent time of praying during the Jewish festivals for the Jewish people to come to recognize Jesus as Messiah. May we continue to pray for Israel, the Jewish people and the world as often as they come to mind. It has been an added blessing to pray for the Jewish people during the days of their fall festival days. I know for a fact that those who attended Midweek were blessed as we studied and learned together.

 

Great things are happening at Trinity Baptist Church! My prayer is that we continue to think outside the box and minister outside the walls of the church. Our city needs to hear about Jesus and the relationship that He provides. The foundation of everything we do that matters hinges upon declaring Jesus is LORD. Let’s continue to join our voices and our paths as we declare God’s good news to those around us.

 

In Christ,

“Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the LORD for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.”  Jeremiah 29:7

 

These are the words spoken to the children of God as they were taken into exile by King Nebuchadnezzar. This was the command of God to His people soon to be living in a culture that was not in favor of following God’s ways. Of course, to be honest, the children of God had not been following God’s ways prior to their captivity and thus their captivity. Notice that God sends them to a place not necessarily godly, but they were to pray for the welfare of that place. God did not leave them. God was with them. God even shows up in mighty ways through Daniel and his three friends. God showed up because they chose not to bow down to worship an idol or cease from praying.

 

God is at work all around us through His Spirit in His people. The world as we know it seems to be moving in not so positive directions. But, there is still a narrow way that leads to life. If we who are traveling the narrow way in Christ, will pray for the areas we have been sent, God will make Himself known to His glory. As a  noted cultural theologian has stated many times, “It is always too early to give up on what God is doing.

 

”Thank you, Trinity, for your summer faithfulness. As we come together this fall, I pray we will deeply consider our next steps of faithfulness. God is so worthy of our living and only what we do in His name will last. I ask myself and would encourage you to do the same, “God, is there an area in my life to which I need to pay closer attention to obedience?” Our ministerial staff spends time together seeking ways to engage in Kingdom assignments and redemptive significance. We as God’s people do not want to be caught off guard with what is coming our way in these days in which we live. May the church be doubly prepared to shine like stars as we hold firmly to the word of life. Then, we will understand God when he also says, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

Trinity Baptist Church will be a great place to be this fall. There are many next step opportunities available through Bible studies and small group connections. God blessed us with an incredible summer and I anticipate we will see His continued work among us this fall. The month of September will see many guests come on our campus for ministry opportunities. The Arts and Crafts and Car Show will bring several vendors as well as purchasers to our doors. The very next week we will see First Blessing bless children and families as we serve breakfast, share spiritual conversations and distribute new shoes for students.

 

God has blessed us with new space and it is a joy to see people filling it for His glory. Thank you, Trinity, for your faithfulness.

 

In Christ,