First Friday Fellowship

"When Everything Seems Out of Focus"

The world is hard right now for MANY people. Their health struggles, and money struggles, and what appears to be a changing of all the stuff that we used to call “Normal.” So, given that environment, what's a believer to do… Where should we focus? Well, we know we need to pray. We need to be in The Word. We need to teach whoever will listen. Also… Act justly, love mercy, forgive others and walk humbly with our God. We already know how this book ends and we need to JUST KEEP DOING GOOD, knowing t...

"How am I Supposed to Pray?"

How do we pray? Ministers across the world are asked this question quite often. We should humble ourselves, and repent. We have to CLAIM JESUS as our SAVIOR. And then you have to make sure when you're praying, the words coming out of your mouth ARE THE TRUTH! God is perfectly good. We should always make sure that our hearts line up with HIS purpose; When we have surrendered to the saving grace that ONLY His Son provides, and when the words coming out of our mouth are ANCHORED by that truth. Let ...

"What Temptation Looks Like"

I'm not so sure it's easy to wrap our minds around the fact that Jesus was fully God, AND fully human. Clearly, from the Bible, he experienced true human emotion. When Satan attempted to temp Jesus, Jesus chose God's Word, to tell Satan, “NO!”, and rebuffed Satan’s temptations. Do we see ourselves selling-out to meet an immediate, physical, severe, pressing need like, not eating for 40 days? Would we sell out for the promise of riches, and power, and authority? Will we fold when our manhood, or ...

"Statues are NOT Built to Critics"

God can see through our motivations, and He will ultimately judge each and every action. Our job as brothers and sisters in Christ, is to speak the truth in love. We seem to be good at speaking the truth (as long as it is negative or critical), we might need a little help remembering the love part.

"To the Pure, EVERYTHING is Pure!"

We need to take a moment and pray, and ask God if we are on the right side of Him. Because as we draw closer to Him, we begin to experience a purity and how we see things, our interpretation of events and how we see other people. Not that we see other people as perfect, but we start seeing them MORE as God sees them, and LESS as how Satan wants us to see them. But, we should make no mistake, God is FIRST interested in fixing us, BEFORE we can really be a blessing to the world around us. See thin...

"Don't Get Eaten!"

The Bible tells us that we don't battle against flesh and blood, but the principalities of the spirit world. But how should we handle the world we live in day to day, when the battlefield isn't isn't so obvious? And for those that follow Jesus and claim him as their personal Savior, your future is completely secured. But it's still our job to work as scouts on this earthly battlefield. It is our job to provide forward position intel to those trusting in us, and those they're looking to us, to he...

"Easter Message"

700 years before the birth of Christ, the Book of Isaiah was written. The Book of Isaiah is very popular among religious scholars, because it contains many of what we call “Messianic Prophecies” - Many, many promises of what the Messiah will look like, what He'll be like, and what to look for. Jewish scholars call these particular scriptures, “The Scriptures of the Suffering Servant.” The words have not changed in almost 3000 years. They're well known, they're well traveled, and religious schola...

"Would God Blind Me For Seeing The Truth?"

We don't have the right to define God. We don't have the right to build a god in an image that we're comfortable with. And His ways are higher than our ways, and we can't possibly understand them all. But, would it be possible for God to blind me in such a way, that I could no longer see the truth of Him, or come to His salvation?

"But, You Don't Know How Bad I Am"

So many of us on the journey to coming to Christ, have resisted or stalled for many reasons, but, mostly because Satan has an amazing way of reminding us of just how unworthy we truly are. Every sin we have ever committed, we allow to come flooding back into our minds. We become acutely aware of how undeserving we are of a Savior. The truth is, there’s not one of us that deserves salvation. There's not one of us that deserves to be forgiven. BUT… because of the price that Jesus paid, WE CAN HAVE...

Sarcasm... Gotta LOVE It!

The Bible tells us that that all have fallen short of the glory of God, and ALL need a Savior. We're sick. We're broken. We need someone to mend those wounds. And those wounds… Those deep wounds… can only be mended by one… And that is JESUS himself. If we have not yet come to Christ, we need to recognize that we are sick. We will die in our sins, and we will be condemned forever. Unless, we get to the ONLY doctor that can truly heal. Come to the doctor who heals and saves, and be truly released ...

"Work out My Salvation with Fear and Trembling?" What does that mean?!

What does it mean to, “Work out our salvation with fear and trembling”? Jesus was/is patient and loving and kind, but also, and maybe even more importantly, ZEALOUS, and STRONG, and FIRM. Jesus IS NOT our homeboy. He probably had a pretty big dose of what the world today might call, “Toxic Masculinity.” As the modern Christian Church, at least in our rush to embrace a Doctrine of Grace, we have become really comfortable attempting to making Christ like us, and a lot less comfortable making US LI...

What Happens when the Answer is "No!"?

When you've been in a relationship with God for a long time, you've most likely experienced some amazing examples of His presence. He's answered prayers for you. You've watched Him move into people's lives, and people literally have become different people, and you've been amazed to witness it. But, what happens when the answer is “NO!”? What happens when we pray and fast and beg… When we know our motives are right, and our heart is right, and the answer is still “NO!”? God knows everything that...

"I Talk WAY Too Much!"

I talk way too much. I’ve said things that hurt people. I have been sarcastic, when I should have been sensitive, and many times you would think my foot was permanently implanted in my face. Conversely, my mouth has been used to praise my God, to speak the truth of who Jesus is, and to lift people up. BUT… Why can't I live my life in the latter, and completely avoid the former? Why can't I live a life where my speech brags only about God, and lifts others up in his name? What we say, should lead...

"The Paradox of Freedom"

Freedom isn't free. There's a price… and the price to real freedom… True freedom, is actually in SERVANTHOOD. While the world tells you it's time to “Get yours,” and “You have a right to be happy,” the paradox of freedom, is that this freedom is not found where no demands are being placed on our lives, or where worldly pleasures with no accountability are filling our time. The wisdom of God speaks completely differently.It is only through complete SUBMISSION to the will of God, a willingness to ...

"Live Like Royalty Today" - Isaiah 41:10

"Live Like Royalty Today" - Galatians 1:10

"We Just Have To Control Everything... How's That Working?"

We all seem to have an incessant, narcissistic belief, that somehow, we humans are the arbiters of spiritual truth We often feel as though it is up to us to teach the unwashed masses. Well… The Bible has some things to say about we teachers. What makes Jesus different, is that it’s NOT what we do that determines whether or not you can be saved. It is, instead, WHAT JESUS DID, that allows us to be saved. And this unwarranted, unmerited GRACE, is very difficult for us as humans to get our minds ar...

"Live Like Royalty Today" - Thessalonians 4:13

"Will I Ever Get This Christian Living-thing Right?"

Being a believer definitely doesn't mean that life is about to take a major turn toward the easy and comfortable, because we've chosen to follow Christ. In fact, becoming a believer in most cases, is the beginning of some pain… the pain of change; and God definitely loves us enough not to leave us who we were. We're going to fall. When we do, just stay down there for a minute. Stay down there when you fall… when we fall, and get on your knees, ask for His mercy, ask for His forgiveness, and mean...

"Live Like Royalty Today" - Acts 4:12

"Healing Our Nation"

It's not enough to point at the world around us and blame them for everything that is happening, when we, His people, have corrupted ourselves with the world in hundreds of ways. It's time for His people to start dealing with OUR OWN corruption. We're saved by the grace of Christ, and with that salvation, we are called to face this world with courage. When it comes to healing this land, we need to repent. We, His people, His believers… we need to repent. We need to seek His face, and ask Him to ...

"Live Like Royalty Today" - John 3:19

"Words are Cheap!"

Declaring “Jesus is Lord,” is important. However, it is not enough to speak the truth of God's Word. We must also DO His will. Our actions support the fact that we believe it. We start living a life that glorifies Him, because we BELIEVE He is who He says He is. Words are cheap. Any of us can say, “Jesus is Lord.” Any of us can write, “#Jesus loves you!” But, that's not the same as living a life that shows the world, that I know Jesus loves me, that I know Jesus died for me, that I know Jesus is...

"Live Like Royalty Today" - 1 Timothy 4:8

"The REAL Pandemic"

The scales of justice on this earth are simply not balanced. Great people have lived and died, and paid the ultimate price for us. And we will never know their names or anything about them. Life isn't fair. For that matter, the greatest Man to ever walk on this earth, was brutally killed without ever committing a crime, or a sin of any kind, JUST so that we could have eternal life, and be reconciled to a perfect and Holy Father. Life. ISN’T. Fair! And when we live our lives without gratitude, wi...

"Not Everything That Sound Good, is Good"

Satan's entire goal is to turn our eyes from Jesus. Why? Because our Redeemer lives, and our salvation is near, and there is no name under heaven in which man can be saved. Simplify the battle. See this world for what it is. This is just a spiritual battleground. Simplify the battle and you will see far more clearly that this all comes down to Jesus. The media we consume will either, subtly and carefully, turn our eyes away from Jesus, or directly and boldly turn our eyes TO Him. Choose carefull...

"Coal Matters!"

What happens to us when God puts us under intense pressure over time… when He puts us to the refiners fire? God is not interested in making us rich, or for us to be respected by the world. He's interested in real, authentic growth. And that growth does not happen without pressure, without pain. The refiners fire of God's hand, the pressure that God allows us to be placed under, is what takes the normal and leads it to the extraordinary. God himself, being directly interested in our growth, our d...

“Obedience is the Key That Opens Every Door”

“The Upside-down Kingdom,” is what Christ showed us, through servanthood, through sacrifice, through patience, and unwavering love. While caesar and kings all over the world during the time Jesus walked on the earth were being served... Jesus was serving. There is no freer man or woman, than one that has completely surrendered to being a slave to Christ. THAT is what it means to experience God's “Upside-down Kingdom.” THAT is what it means to experience freedom through obedience. OBEDIENCE is TH...

I’m Tired! Do I Need Relief or Restoration?

Simple truths in this world seem more and more rare, and obvious lies are being spoken and accepted as truth, every day. Many of us Christians, especially, are finding ourselves rushing to relief... We binge-watch Netflix. We spend half a day on YouTube. We drink or eat a little too much. And what kind of used to be our entertainment, for some of us, has become more of a focus, and a little bit too important in the grand scheme of our lives. We're tired, and we're just we're just a bit maxed out...

"Take God's Word Seriously!"

The Bible says, if you can master the tongue, you can master your whole body. However, words can be weapons, and when someone becomes an expert at using them, they can get us to believe almost anything… PARTICULARLY, if we are not SOLIDLY grounded in THE TRUTH. The Bible says that in the end times, good will be called evil, and evil, good. And this is going to be accomplished, largely, by words being crafted in a way that makes us comfortable with dark ideas, and allows us to grow at peace with ...