Bro Mike

Mar 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord, I believe; help thou mine unbelief.

As we walk in our day to day existence on this globe we are challenged to have faith in an Almighty God as we observe the ugliness of this world.  Fighting’s and wars, struggles and mans in-humanity to man and the latest edition of the world is going to end on you pick a date.  In the midst of this kayos we are told by our faith that while we should have due concern we should not worry nor fret for our God who cares for even the smallest of creatures cares for us His only very good creation.

We as pre-tribulation evangelicals in regards to the end times could and are often charged with easy believism.  Because if one had to choose to be raptured out of the world to view the suffering of the world during the seven years of tribulation  from a heavenly vantage point; Or to actually be on earth and living through the tribulation most would prefer the former over the later.

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen” this passage from Hebrews at first took a lot of thought to even begin to comprehend it’s meaning.  But then when you come to the reality that this Epistle regardless of who wrote it (most believe it was Paul) the intended audience was the newly converted Judea-Christians for whom everything was expressed clearly in the law with no spiritual context and no need for faith because the law was clearly written with no gray areas.  To these people to whom everything in their religious lives which was in fact their entire lives had been explained and proved by the law faith needed to be explained.   And then came One to fulfill the law, One who was the law, One who was the only Son of God.  To the Hebrews this would truly take some believing, some faith, some substance and some evidence.

Looking at the present day conservative evangelical church in my case of the Southern Baptist variety are we not faced with some of the same challenges to our faith?  Is it not our belief but our unbelief that comes between us and our creator?  Is it our unbelief that appears to limit what God can achieve in our lives and thus what we can accomplish for God in His Kingdom work?  Some would rightly say that for God to truly be the omnipotent God that He is he would not need our help to accomplish anything.  Would he not have the rocks to cry out if no one else would?  But as we look at the very first relationships that God had with man being Adam in the Garden of Eden it would appear that this God to man relationship was much more personal.   Who could imagine what it would be like to converse with God during the “cool of the day”?  How could this relationship that was truly built upon Agape love and complete trust be broken by the confusion and disbelief of one woman and her husband?

As I prepare for revival meetings at our church I reflect and ask myself; will my unbelief or my lack of faith cause me to miss the revival all together?  At the risk of perhaps appearing to be too charismatic we have all heard the stories of the physical and undeniable manifestation of the Holy Spirit’s power raining down on His people who have truly humbled themselves before Him in complete submission to Holiness, Righteousness and Purity.  This year will we truly let our faith take us where our sight will not allow us to go?  Will this revival be the one where we stop going through the motions shouting out amen with that false bravado?   Or will we cry out to our God for mercy, forgiveness and wisdom?  I do not know about you but these are some of the things that go through my mind as I prepare for revival in the coming weeks.  Pray for a greater faith, Pray with expectancy that our prayers are not in vain.  Pray for the evangelist Bro Coram that he will be a holy vessel for God’s word to reach our hearts.  And our hearts open contrite and honestly seeking God’s truth for what it is and not for what we would like it to be.  Pray for souls to be saved and our brothers and sisters in Christ to garner more spiritual maturity as we continue our walk with the King of Kings both individually and corporately as the body of Christ that is First Black Creek Baptist Church.

Yours in Christ,

Michael C Ebersole

Children’s Pastor

I’ve titled this message “Seek Ye First”.  In January, 1982, I moved from upstate New York to Tampa, Fl. It wasn’t a rash move, I’d sent letters to several Machining Companies in the area. Some of them told me “come on down”. So I did. The trouble was, these places suddenly didn’t know me. I won’t go into great detail, but, was spending about $20 a day just on gas to look for work. I’d withdrawn my little retirement from the shop up North, (about $3500) and figured if I slept in my car, I could last about a year before admitting defeat and heading back north. My Brother lived in Tampa, but didn’t have a lot of room himself, so I moved into a sleeping room in a private residence. Over a month went by, and depression was starting to set in. To get to the main road from my room, I passed by a road with a sign that said “Rocky Creek Baptist Church”. I’d not been in church for years, but, a bible verse kept running through my mind.  Matthew 6:33 “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Of course, I didn’t know the chapter and verse, all I knew was that the words wouldn’t go away. So, one Sunday morning after putting on my “cleanest” dirty shirt, I headed off to church.     Rocky Creek wasn’t where I went. There was an other large Baptist Church in the area. The preacher stood up and spent the whole time telling the church what all he had done for them. With a grieved spirit I went home. “Well, I said, “God is not there”. Something told me not to give up, so after another fruitless week of job hunting, I went to Rocky Creek Baptist Church.  It was a very small church, with only about 30 or so in Sunday school.   The pastor was Brother Bruce Freeman. Brother Bruce spent his sermon time telling us, “the Bible says………..Jesus taught us……….in scripture we read………!
It’s been almost 30 years ago, but still brings tears of joy when I remember. “Thank you Lord. I’ve come home.”  Is that the end of the story?  Not by a long shot!  I had taken the first step, now it was God’s turn.

The next day, there was an ad in the paper from a shop over 20 miles away. Do I want to drive all that way, just to be rejected again? Reluctantly, almost automatically, the car hit the road for Largo, Fl. They gave me a short written machining test. The manager came back in, and asked me when I could start!   Amazing!    But, God wasn’t through with me yet.
When I showed up for church the next Sunday, my future wife Deborah was singing in the choir. I wasn’t looking for a wife, I was looking for a job!  Don’t argue with God.  There is no way you will ever win.
Is the bible true? You better believe it is. Every word of it. When it says “Seek Ye First……” That’s exactly what it means. If you draw close to God, He will draw close to you. If you seek his face, He will supply all your needs, up to and including a mate. There are some things God requires of us.
We must have a forgiving spirit. We must give our tithe. We must ask Jesus to forgive us.
But, if we will only “Seek Ye First” then he has promised all these things will be added unto us.
May God’s grace be with you all.
Bro. Jim

Bro Mike

Well it appears that old man winter has finally relented and went back up north where he belongs so it’s time for us to get into our “hey this is Florida” mode.  Families will be getting geared up for baseball leagues and other outdoor activities as Spring races towards summer.  We are looking forward to our Spring Fling Sing next month May 2 to be precise.  Our “Cactus Canyon” Vacation Bible School saddles up for the kick off Rodeo on June 19 with VBS running from June 20-25 @ 6-9pm.  The Youth will be going to Summer Camp at Camp Shalimar out on the Gulf Coast the week of June 14-18 and the Kids will be making their annual trek to Lake Yale in July 19-23 and last but not least we are going to have an Old Fashioned Family Reunion Style Picnic at the beach at Camp Blanding August 17^th.  So before you know it we will be going back to school and hunkering down for the winter.  It truly is enough to literally make one Laugh Out Loud.

As we head into this busy and sometimes hectic season we sometimes find ourselves getting overwhelmed by everything and finding that we do not have time to do everything that is set before us.  So naturally we look at trimming our activities and that is where some of us make the choice that not only does not help relieve our stress but actually often leads to utter frustration.  The choice is to choose one or more secular activities over or normal worship and bible study routines.  That is right if it were not true one might think it humorous that that very activity that can provide peace and stability in our lives is the first activity we often sacrifice to “fit” everything else in.  

We would do well to make a pre-emptive strike at summer stress by redeeming the time.  That’s right look at the road before us and block out our time by prioritizing our activities.  Keep God first as always and then participating in activities that will bring Him glory.  For the bible tells us that the days truly are evil.  If we maintain our spiritual health in stressful times we can be a shining testimony for the faithfulness of God toward those that love Him.  So this summer be all you can be and do all you can do but set reasonable goals plan the plan out and keep Him first.  And oh yeah have a wonderful, fun and SAFE summer!

Bro Mike Ebersole

Children’s Pastor

Season’s Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, The REAL REASON for the season.

Once again the calendar has made its’ full circuit and with Thanksgiving a vivid memory it is once again Christmas time.  In the past year we all have been through difficult times.  The uncertainty of the global economy and the effect that it has had here at home, have given us all cause to be concerned.  With some families it has been more than a concern it has been a life altering reality that a job lost or hours cut back means that which was taken for granted this time last year is not even considered at the present time.

With that being said for us of the faith we can even in the worst of times rejoice at the celebration of Christmas.  As we separate the tradition from the reality of Christmas we know that God has helped us to help each other to make it through.  I have been witness to so many anonymous acts of kindness and giving as those that have means have helped those less fortunate.  It is the spirit of love instilled in our hearts by Jesus Christ.

So as we see the Wal-Marts and the malls jammed to capacity with people that are drawn as by some deep rooted instinct to buy something for someone because it’s Christmas.  We can pause and know that Christmas is not about such temporal things.  We know that at the birth of Jesus Christ thus began our possibility for eternity in heaven.  The love of the Father who fully realized our desperate situation as sinners provided the gift of gifts the one and only perfect solution to our sin curse His name is Jesus Christ the Son of God. 

So many will find themselves alone and depressed this Christmas and not realizing what a miraculous gift is available to them no matter where they are, where they have been or what they have done salvation and eternal life awaits all that will receive it.  Perhaps the greatest gift that we could offer some one is our testimony and the invitation to salvation.  Do you know someone who is lost, undone without Christ?  Some one who is unhappy and does not know why?  Some one who knows the tradition of Christmas but not the Reality?  Please pray for those who need the message and those that may have opportunity to share the message that they will be willing and equipped to tell the world about the Christ of Christmas and that the Holy Spirit would soften the heart of the lost soul to receive the gospel.

Wishing all a Very Merry Christmas

Bro Mike

P.S.  Did you miss the Christmas Cantata Sunday?  You can hear it right now.  Just click the arrow at the end of the title on the right side of this page.

We are continuing to work on the FBCBC Today resource to make it better for you.  We are excited about Pastor Bobby starting his new Sunday Morning Sermon Series on the book of the Revelation.  You will not want to miss a moment of Pastor Bobby’s exposition of this book.  And you can get each message right here.  We will do our best to make Sunday Morning’s sermon available on line by the next day.

You may have already noticed but for those that have not you can listen to the most current sermons instantly.  That’s right if you see a sermon in the right hand side bar all you have to do is click the little gray arrow head after the date of the message and that’s it you are listening.  You can still download and listen to older sermons by going to the Sermons page or you can subscribe to a podcast of a series.   Use the filters to find the message you are looking for by date, speaker, service, bible book, series or other parameters.  Find the one you are looking for and enjoy.  As always if you have question please contact me Bro Mike webminister@blackcreekbaptistchurch.com or 904-529-9084 or mebersole@bellsouth.net

For FBCBC Today I am Bro Mike

My name is Mike Ebersole Children’s Pastor at First Black Creek Baptist Church in Penney Farms, Florida.  I would like to welcome you to our weblog FBCBC Today.  Here you can find messages from our Senior pastor Robert Register as well as other department directors and staff.  You will also be able to keep up to date with news and Church happenings.  We will also be making our messages from our scheduled services available for listening, download or subscription for podcast in mp3 format.  So subscribe to our blog and you will receive messages that let you know that updated messages have been posted.  Please contact me if you have any questions , suggestions or ideas.

It is my sincere hope the God the Father will receive Glory, Honor and Praise through the ministry of this resource.

Bro Mike