First Baptist Church of Iowa Park

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Welcome to First Baptist Church of Iowa Park and our website. The compass in our logo is a visual reminder of what we are about; “Pointing people to Christ – True North”. We are committed to accomplishing this through Witnessing, Education, and Service. Our hope is that you find this site informative while getting to know us and what we have going on; as well as finding it useful in your spiritual journey.
This website is not designed to replace the assembling of ourselves together for the purpose of Worship and Spiritual Growth. So, we encourage you to join with us as we celebrate together in Worship. Whether it is our teaching during Sunday School/Bible Study time or our Discipleship format or the Sermons during Worship, we believe you will find them firmly based on God’s never changing Word and at the same time applicable to your day to day life. There is a place in our Family for everyone in your family. Enjoy your time on this site and we are looking forward to meeting you in person.

Our annualFall FunFestival is Sunday, October 31 at the First Family Center from 6pm-8pm. The games and prizes are geared for pre-k through 5th grade. No scary or bloody costumes allowed. There will be games, candy, face painting, concessions, and a costume contest. Please join us for a night of fun and fellowship!

Fall 2010 fuel calendar
Hope one of these made it to your home this week- we handed them out to students last Wednesday- but in case it didn’t… you can view and print it here.
This calendar shows everything we are doing from now until New Year’s on Sunday nights, Wednesday nights and special events. Hope it helps to keep you informed this Fall. If you have any questions please feel free to give me a call!

Offical Medical_Permission Form
We really don’t have a need for this right now- but I just wanted to get one of these online so that if you ever have a need for one- it can be accessed here!

Wednesday, September 1st is the begining of AWANA clubs. Registration/check-inbegins at 6:00 pm. Our kids are going to be having a great year singing songs, having snacks, playing games, participating in council time, andscripture memory, but most importatly they will behearing the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Please join us in AWANA every Wednesday night. Hope to see you there!!!

Truth 5>>> The Holy Spirit will help you Live a Holy Life
Weve covered a lot over the last few devotions. Weve learned that God alone is holy. Weve learned that God called us to Him and made us holy through the work of Jesus on the cross. But, we also have learned that God desires that we live holy lives, as well. This is where this final devotion comes in. If you were a little bummed out by the last devotion, dont worry This devotion is just the one for you.
Heres the truth you need to know, one that you can carry with you for the rest of your life. Ready? Here it is: God never calls us without equipping us. Think about it. God does not call us to do a job without giving us the tools for that job. God has called you to be holy, to live godly lives that look different from the world around you. And God has given you the power necessary to live this life. What is that power? The Holy Spirit.
In Galatians, the Apostle Paul takes a few verses to describe what it looks like to live unholy lives:
>The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual imorality, impurity, and debauchery; idolatry, and witch craft; hatred, discord, jealously, fits of rage, selfish
ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. Galatians 5:19-21
Yikes! That doesnt look like holy living at all. Thats worldly living at its worst. But Paul takes the next few verses to describe what it looks like to live holy lives. Check this out:
>But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Galatians 5:22-24
Now thats more like it. The key to this description of holy living is in the first verse. Paul says these characteristics are the fruit of having the Spirit in our lives. God calls us to live holy lives and He gives us the Holy Spirit to help us do it. We arent alone. We have the power of God in us to help us stay strong in our commitments. The Spirit helps tell us what is wrong, but also gives us the strength to do something about it.
God never calls us to do something He has not given us the tools to do. You have been given the tools to live a holy llife. What are you waiting for?
Follow Through>>>
How have you felt the Spirit helping you identify things in your life that arent holy?
In what ways has the Holy spirit given you strength to turn away from things you know werent pleasing to God?
Say a prayer to God thanking him for the gift of his spirit and the power you have to live a life that honors God.

You survived the first Week of School! Well done I hope through this series of devotions you have been reminded of who you belong to and challenged to live a life worthy of that calling.
If you found that being in gods word This week has become a habit and you would like more of it grab the 21 day devotional on the gospel of John off the resource table in the youth room and start a new journey.

This is an awesome Devotional sent straight to your email.
However you choose to get it continue to dig into the word and pray daily I promise God will be faithful in giving you time and energy for everything else life throws at you!
Seek first his kingdom and His Righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well Matthew 6:33
I believe it do you?

Truth 4>>> Your life must be different from the world around you
Weve covered a lot over the past three devotions. And if we look back, it may seem like we find ourselves in an unusual situation. We know that God is holy. We know he expects us to live holy lives. But, we learned in the last devotion that Jesus made us holy through His sacrifice on the cross. So If Jesus made us holy, and that had nothing to do with us, where do we come in? Are we off the hook? Does the work Jesus did on our behalf to make us holy mean we dont have to worry about how we live, or act, or think?
Not so fast.
Heres the funny truth about our lives as Christ-followers. Jesus definitely made us holy through His death on the cross for your sins. But, Gods call on our life to be a holy person is aimed specifically at the way you live your life. You see, Christ made you holy in Gods eyes. But you were made holy in order to live a holy life. Your life on this earth is a testimony to Jesus sacrifice on your behalf. Lets see what the Bible says about this:
>But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: be holy, because I am holy. Peter says in 1Peter 1:15-16
>Therefore, as Gods chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness,
humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:12
>Therefore, I urge you brothers, in view of Gods mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God this is your spiritual act of worship. Our worship to God involves living holy lives according to Romans 12:1
>Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord.

>For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 1Thessalonians 4:7
Its pretty straightforward: God expects you to live a holy life. Remember, the idea of holy is the idea of being separated for God, to be sacred instead of worldly. God desires for you to live like his children, like members of his family. Your life should look dramatically different from the world around you. Think about how this affects you.
What does the music you listen to say about your holiness? What about the movies you watch? How do your words testify to the fact that you have been made holy by Christs sacrifice? How do the clothes you wear identify you as godly and not worldly? What about the way you interact online? The sites you visit, how you conduct yourself on Facebook and other social media outlets? Its a lot to consider, isnt it?
Its ok to feel a little overwhelmed. God never promised living for Him would be easy. But, He has given us life and made us holy so we can live holy lives. The coolest thing? If we live holy lives, we will actually draw people to Christ. They will notice the difference in us and they will recognize this difference is from our closeness with God.
Your holy living is a huge part of testifying to the difference Christ has made in your life.

Are there areas of your life that are not holy? Think about this for a moment.
What do you need to do to make a change in your life? What do you need to do to give up areas in your life that are keeping you from living as one who is holy?
Take these concerns to God in prayer. Commit to making a change. And thank God for his loving forgiveness that enables us to live boldly for him.

Truth 3>>> You are Gods. Therefore, you are Holy.
Before we jump in, lets review a bit. We began at the end (remember?) and learned that God expects you to be holy. Then we learned that God Himself is holy. In this devotion, were going to have our minds blown a little bit at the next truth in this study of holiness. Youre about to see how
awesome God really is.
Weve established that God is holy. Check! Youve go that one down. But did you know that you are holy as well? Were not talking about the way you act or talk Actually, this has very little to do with YOU at all. You are holy, because you are Gods. God has made you holy. Lets go a little deeper and flesh this out some.
If youve read your Old Testament, you know that God called the nation of Israel to be His people. Through Abraham, God created a nation to be set apart for Him. The nation grew, and was ultimately enslaved by the Egyptians. But through Moses and Joshua, God delivered His people to the promised land. Look at what God said about them:
I am the Lord who brought you up out of Egypt to be your God; therefore be holy, because I am holy.

Wow… there it is again. The call to be holy. God was basically saying to the Israelites, because I saved you, you are to be holy. God gave the Israelites the Law to live as holy people. But the Israelites could not keep the Law. They could not live holy lives. Their sin made them unholy. But God knew this all along. So he planned to send His Son, Jesus, as a once-for-all sacrifice for the sins of all humankind. God counted Jesus death on the cross as payment for the sins of all humankind.
Heres the cool thing: Jesus death on the cross made us holy. Dont believe me? Look at what the Bible says:
>For he chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight.

>But now he has reconciled you by Christs physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.

Remember when we said that God expects you to be holy? He does. But, he knew you could never do it on your own. He knew your sin would always keep you un-holy, and that this
un-holiness would always be a barrier between you and Him. So, God sent Jesus to make you holy. If you have professed your belief in Jesus as the Son of God, and have submitted your life to His Lordship, that you are holy in Gods sight And not by anything you have done or ever will do. You are holy in Gods sight because He sees you through the lens of Jesus obedient death on the cross.
You are holy because Jesus made you holy. And thats pretty amazing.

How does It make you feel that Jesus went to the cross just for you and that his sacrifice made you holy in Gods sight?
Do you understand what it means to have a saving relationship with Jesus? If you have any questions about what it means to have forgiveness from your sins dont Hesitate to come to a youth leader and ask him or her about how this can happen!

Truth #2>>> God is Holy
God is holy. Its a simple truth with big consequences. If you remember, weve touched on this concept already. But, were going to dig a little deeper in this devotion and take a look at exactly what we mean when we say, God is holy.
First of all, the Bible is full of references to Gods holiness. There are way too many verses to list on this page, but here are a few:
>In that day men will look to their maker and turn their eyes to the holy one of Israel. Isaiah 7:7
>Yet you are enthroned as the holy one; you are the praise of Israel. Psalm 22:3
>Sing to the Lord, you saints of his; praise his holy name. Psalm 30:4
>Let them praise your great and awesome name he is holy. Psalm 99:3
>Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his footstool; he is holy. Psalm 99:5
So, what scripture is trying to tell us is that God is holy Ok, got it. But lets take it a step further and really flesh this out.
When the Bible says God is holy, it means that He is different than anything else in all the creation. Its kind of like comparison. Picture god in a category all by himself. This category could be called, sacred, or better yet, things of God. Now, everything else in the entire world, in all creation, would be in a category called, secular or things of the world. Do you get it? God alone is holy. Well look a little later at what it means for us that God has made us holy. But for now, its enough for us to know that there is no one holy but God.
God is set apart from the world. Gods ways are perfect. The ways of the world are flawed. God if perfectly good. The world is sinful. God is perfectly loving. The world teaches a selfish, unreliable form of love. God is eternally faithful, the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. The world is ever changing; what is valuable today is thrown out tomorrow. See what were getting at?
God is holy. And because of this, He alone is worthy of our love and devotion. We can safely and confidently give our lives to God knowing that he is separated from all things, and perfect in all that he is.

worship the right response to Gods holiness?
What does the fact that you have a relationship with a holy God mean for your everyday life?
>Respond to Gods holiness by listening to your
favorite praise song today. As you do, think of who it is you are praising, and how he alone is holy.

OK, there are not too many weeks in the year worse than the first week of school Ill give you that.
So in order the make the transition a little smoother check out what the word of God has to say about who HE is and who YOU are as a reminder as you start this new year of school. Really, along with the early mornings, long nights, mystery lunches, and 30 lb. text books, God has some plans for you this year. Seriously.
Problem is, you will never know what they are unless you take some time to listen. Truth is, everyone has plans for you this year; teachers, coaches, directors, bosses and unless you tap into what God has in store for you, you will just build your life around those plans. And lets be honest, some of them are really good plans. They just arent Gods plans.
So here are five devotions for the first five days of school that will help you remember that God has plans for you. I guarantee spending some time with God each day during the dreaded first week of school can only make it better I promise.
If you have any questions feel free to call or hit me up on Facebook I would love to chat about what youre learning. Otherwise, just go for it.
Truth #1>>> God Expects You to be Holy
Lets just be honest for a moment: the word holy is thrown around a lot at church, but its meaning and importance kind of slip away from you, dont they? Could you come up with a definition of the word holy right now? Tough, isnt it? And if you cant really define holy, its virtually impossible to act holy. The point of these five short devotions is to help you understand what the word holy really means, and what it has to do with your life.
To do this, were going to sort of start at the end. Which, granted, is a weird way to start. But, hang in there and youll see that its a pretty good way to go about accomplishing our goal. What does it mean that well start at the end? Simple: were going to look at what God expects of you, and then go back and show you exactly what it all means. Got it? Cool
Lets make this really clear. When it comes to holiness, Gods expectations are spelled out in no uncertain terms. God says in the Bible, Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. (Leviticus 19:2) If God is holy, and expects us to be holy, then we really need to figure this out.
If something is holy it means that it is sacred by nature, as opposed to something that is worldly, or common. It means a certain separation from the world. What is holy is of God, not of this world. In the Bible, God is described over and over again as being holy:
>1 Samuel 2:2 says, There is no one holy like the lord. But the Bible also call us to be holy, just like God.
>Leviticus 20:26 says, You are to be holy to me be cause I, the Lord, am holy, and I have set you apart from the nations to be my own.
>1 Peter 1:15-16 says, But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written, Be holy, because I am holy.
The call is clear: God has a very real expectation that we act and live holy lives.
Like we said before, were starting at the end. Now you know that God expects you to live a holy life. Were going to spend the next few days learning exactly what that mean.

>Spend a few moments in prayer to God, praising him for his holiness and asking him to open your eyes to learning more about his being holy.