Our Core Values Series

“OUR CORE VALUES” Matthew 22:37-39

FBCF – 2/23/25

Jon Daniels

INTRO – My phone blew up Thursday. Phone call after phone call, text after text.

- Call from Mark Self

- Call from church member needing some info

- Call from fellow pastor asking me about how we structure our worship services

- Call from Vicki about Bro. Bob

- Call from church member telling me about his new discipleship relationship & that he had also gotten to lead a young lady to Christ

- Call from a former fellow staff member about Bro. Bob

But here’s a call that I haven’t gotten in a long time. I had a good friend call me & ask if he could submit my name to be considered for a ministry position that recently came open. I thanked him for thinking that I would be a good person for that position, but then immediately told him “No” w/ no hesitation or second thought about it.

Why tell him “No”? Might initially think it’s b/c of the vote that we as a church FAMILY are taking today about building a new sanctuary. That definitely entered into my mind. Depending on what we as a Church vote to do today, this could be an historic day in the 138-yr life of FBCF! I certainly don’t want to miss out on that!

But there’s more to it than just that one thing:

- First, it takes about 5 yrs to build trust.

o Normally, pastor has a year or 2 for the “honeymoon” period. Didn’t happen here. I arrived & then 2 wks later Covid hit. Immediately had to weather that storm, which was followed by w/ a couple more intense storms over the 1st 2 yrs of my ministry as your pastor. Even wading through the hardest experiences I had ever had in ministry, I never once doubted God’s call here to be your Pastor. God continued to show His faithfulness, His GRACE, His power, His blessings & favor on us as a Church as we pressed on through those storms & came out on the other side of them. So many of you prayed, encouraged, supported, &, like Aaron & Hur held Moses’ arms up in the battle against the Amalekites, you held my arms up as the enemy relentlessly attacked.

o And next Sunday will be my 5th anniversary as your Pastor. I hope & pray you believe that you can trust me:

? To love you

? To pray for you

? To preach the truth of God’s Word to you in a passionate, unflinching way

? To help equip you to do God’s work in this world

? To protect you from false teachers

? To hear from God & lead this Church the way HE says for me to lead you

? To understand God’s vision for this Church & go hard after it

- Another reason I said, “No”, is b/c there is something special going on in this body of believers, unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in the 42 yrs I’ve been in the ministry.

o Vicki & I headed to Petal Friday night

- God is moving in this church! God is stirring the hearts of His people. Hardly a week goes by that I don’t talk to someone about what God is doing in their lives – people sharing the Gospel, winning people to the Lord, discipling other believers.

o Text from a church member Thu AM asking how she could pray for Vicki & me – something this church member does on a regular basis. Also shared w/ me about a new job she’s gotten – a job she wasn’t seeking – but how she knows this job is a part of God’s plan for her family: “He is fulfilling His promises of giving us what we need financially to help further His K’dom.”

- Another reason I said, “No”, is b/c I believe that we are on the verge of seeing the Lord move in our midst in ways that will leave us awestruck & breathless. And, Lord willing, I want to see it & be a part of it!

EXPLANATION – Matthew 22:37-39 (p. 828)

My journal entry – 3/14/23: “He requires us to be obedient to His Word, the Great Commission, & the Great Commandment.”

Everything that Jesus did or said, He did with intentionality.

- His ministry of healing

- His ministry of teaching

- His ministry of preaching

- His mission was intentional – “To seek & save the lost”

- Going to the cross was intentional – No salvation apart from that

And He made it very clear that this commandment must be intentionally followed & obeyed by every Christ-follower.

If you boil the Christian life down to the basics, you’ll see that in these verses: