As worshippers of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, one of the highlights of our week is to gather together with our church family to worship our great God. The corporate gatherings of believers for prayer and worship are glorious privileges for each one of us. One of the things the Lord has been teaching us through 1 Thessalonians is that we are to put on the breastplate of faith and love (1 Thessalonians 5:8). One of the prayers is that the Lord would make our love increase and abound toward one another and toward all (1 Thessalonians 3:12).

Our President has issued guidelines for all of us to avoid gatherings of 10 or more people for at least the next 15 days. This guideline and others were given to slow the spread of the Coronavirus. One of the ways that we can express love to all is to honor this guideline as a church family during this difficult and strenuous time as a nation. Therefore, we will not hold our regularly scheduled Sunday and Wednesday worship services until further notice. We will continue evaluate this very fluid situation and determine the next steps.

We also still want to increase and abound in love toward one another during this time. Thankfully, because of modern technology, we have some unique opportunities that will help us through this time. Pastor will continue the series of messages through both 1 Thessalonians and Revelation the next two weeks and the sermons, along with a song service, will be uploaded on our website by the respective Saturday evening.

Here are some practical ideas that will help us to keep growing as a church family during this time:

1.  Pray! Every time you hear news or update concerning the virus, take time to pray for God’s mercy and that His Word will continue to go forth.
2.  Worship! Although we will not be meeting together as a church, take time by yourself, with a few other individuals, or as a family to worship the Lord through the sermons and song services that can be found on our church website.
3.  Evangelize! Since most things are closed down, many people have extra time on their hands. Consider reaching out to those who need Christ with a link to an online sermon from our church or another applicable resource.
4.  Reach out! Make a phone call to at least one person from the church just to see how they are doing and to see if they need anything during this time. Maybe make a phone call to another church member on Wednesday night just to pray with them.
5. Give! This can involve giving of our food supply or personal items to someone in need or giving of our offerings to the Lord so that His work in Hamburg and around the world can continue to go forth. Without our regularly meetings, giving to First Baptist Church of Hamburg can either be done online at fbchamburg.com/give or through a check in the mail.
6.  Guard! Guard your mind by putting on for a helmet the hope of salvation! Keep waiting for Jesus Christ to come from heaven to deliver us from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10, 5:8-9). This will help us to run with patience (1 Thessalonians 1:3) during this time of missing our corporate gatherings for worship.
7.  Anticipate! With great joy and anticipation, we long for the next time that the body of Christ in Hamburg will meet together. It might be here or it might be in the air (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18), but either way, we know we will meet again!

Keep looking up,

Pastor Leary & the Deacons

Last month we asked the question, “did Jesus sing?” The answer was a resounding “Yes.” This month we want to ask, “Did Jesus memorize Scripture?” And again the answer is a resounding, “yes.” And like last month, we want to allow the example of Christ to encourage us in our spiritual walk.

Now we might say that Jesus had an unfair advantage, because being fully God, He already knew every jot and tittle of Scripture! Although it is hard to comprehend how Jesus was both fully God and fully man at the same time, we do know Jesus “grew and be-came strong in spirit, filled with wisdom” (Luke 2:38). As a young child in Joseph and Mary’s home, one of the first things Jesus’ parents would have taught him is the Great Shema or Deuteronomy 6:4-5, “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul and with all your strength.” All Jewish children would begin their theological education by learning that there is only one true God and He is the LORD. And therefore they were to love the LORD their God with all of their heart. An interesting truth about this passage is that the next verse provides a very practical means for how to love the Lord your God with all your heart. Verse 6 proclaims, “and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart.” A heart that loves God will be a heart that loves God’s Word so that he treasures it in his heart. The Psalmist who loved the LORD proclaimed, “Your Word have I hidden in my heart, that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11). In Luke 4, Jesus is tempt-ed by Satan three times and every time He responded with the Scriptures. Whether or not Jesus had an unfair advantage, we know that God’s Word was hidden in His heart.
As one goes back to the context of Luke 2:39-40, we find some interesting details about the context for how Jesus grew in wisdom. First, the context describes the period in Jesus’ life between the ages of approximately one and a half months and twelve years of age. The days of Mary’s purification (Luke 2:22; Leviticus 12:2-8) would have been forty one days into Jesus’ life and then verse 41 continues with Jesus being twelve years of age or when he would have been considered an adult. So this period of time is specifically talking about Jesus’ childhood.

A second observation is that this pas-sage focuses on the parents bringing up Jesus in a godly manner. “They had performed all things according to the law of the Lord” and then verse 41 says, “His parents went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of Passover.” Although Joseph and Mary were not without sin, they were God fearing and seeking to train Jesus in a God-honoring way. It was this parental influence at home in Nazareth (vs. 39) during his childhood that was instrumental in Jesus growing in wisdom. You see, the Word of God that is in the heart of the father (Deuteronomy 6:6) is to be deposited into the hearts of the children. Deuteronomy 6:7 proclaims, “You shall teach them (God’s Words) diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” The goal was actually not for the children to know and memorize God’s Word. The goal was to have the children know there is only one true God and that He is to be loved with all of their hearts.

Yes, Jesus memorized God’s Word. May that truth encourage you to memorize God’s Word. If you are a parent, may it encourage you to be diligently depositing God’s Word into the hearts of your children. Why? So that we can love the one true God as we ought and not sin against Him.