Sunday, July 23, 2017

First Baptist Church of Ambridge

Today we worshiped at First Baptist Church of Ambridge, 1112 Maplewood, Ambridge, PA 15003, 724.683.1998, Rev. Matthew R. Klenk, Pastor.


Scripture – NASB

1 Corinthians 15:51-52 –

Behold, I tell you a mystery; we will not all sleep, but we will all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet; for the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.

2 Corinthians 7:8-9 –

For though I caused you sorrow by my letter, I do not regret it; though I did regret it- for I see that that letter caused you sorrow, though only for a while- I now rejoice, not that you were made sorrowful, but that you were made sorrowful to the point of repentance; for you were made sorrowful according to the will of God, so that you might not suffer loss in anything through us.

Isaiah 41:1-10 –

"Coastlands, listen to Me in silence, And let the peoples gain new strength; Let them come forward, then let them speak; Let us come together for judgment. "Who has aroused one from the east Whom He calls in righteousness to His feet? He delivers up nations before him And subdues kings. He makes them like dust with his sword, As the wind-driven chaff with his bow.

"He pursues them, passing on in safety, By a way he had not been traversing with his feet.

"Who has performed and accomplished it, Calling forth the generations from the beginning? 'I, the LORD, am the first, and with the last. I am He.'"

The coastlands have seen and are afraid; The ends of the earth tremble; They have drawn near and have come. Each one helps his neighbor And says to his brother, "Be strong!" So the craftsman encourages the smelter, And he who smooths metal with the hammer encourages him who beats the anvil, Saying of the soldering, "It is good"; And he fastens it with nails, So that it will not totter.

"But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, Descendant of Abraham My friend, You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, And called from its remotest parts And said to you, 'You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you. 'Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.'

Proverbs 3:5-6 –

Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.

1 John 4:17-19 –

By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us.

1 Peter 5:1-11 –

Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed, shepherd the flock of God among you, exercising oversight not under compulsion, but voluntarily, according to the will of God; and not for sordid gain, but with eagerness; nor yet as lording it over those allotted to your charge, but proving to be examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory. You younger men, likewise, be subject to your elders; and all of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for GOD IS OPPOSED TO THE PROUD, BUT GIVES GRACE TO THE HUMBLE.

Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you. Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world. After you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself perfect, confirm, strengthen and establish you. To Him be dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Matthew 6:25-34 –

"For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they? And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life? And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith! Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?' For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

"So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.


Bob’s thoughts:

From a chance meeting with the pastor at a local Walmart to our visit today to the church he pastors.

There were many crosses, as the pastor stated he holds them in the same importance as I do.

A dropped ceiling isolates the balcony, which is not currently used and which helps keep their utility bills low.

I appreciated the pastor in the early prayer referring to the church as God’s church.

The organ player plays every Sunday from the hymnal by ear and another member, who is blind, plays the accordion. Another member is a State Police officer who operates a safety program for children. Out of 30-some worshipers, an interesting involvement.

The pastor’s message was on overcoming your fears and anxiety and he quoted a lot of supportive Scripture.

When he quoted Matthew 6:27 where Jesus asked, “And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?” I couldn’t help but recall a message from one of my granddaughters that I would live to be 1,000 if I drank more water. I don’t know that I want to be around that long, but good advice nonetheless.

I liked a lot of what is going on at this little church and hope to talk to the pastor to refine a few things he said. It’s always interesting to see a growing church.


Jan’s thoughts:

This church has been on our list for a couple of months, ever since Bob encountered the pastor at WalMart and enjoyed an extended conversation.

The building is small with a nicely paved parking area adjacent. A planter beneath the marquee displayed some lovely flowers. We surely appreciated the air conditioning today.

We entered just as adult Sunday school was ending and took seats in the back. The pastor stopped to greet us and several other folks did the same. The pastor shared a little of the history of this church: it was started in the 1800s at another location, and the current building was built in 1916. With air conditioning, upgrades have obviously been made and right now, it’s just the right size for this congregation which is focusing on taking the Gospel to the community. Despite carrying the Baptist designation in their name, they are independent of any denominational affiliation.

The music was led by the excellent organist (who does not read music, we were told) and individuals at different points in the service, all of whom had fine voices.

The pastor confessed early on that he loved preaching, and he obviously felt appreciated by the congregation when he expressed his gratitude for a zucchini bread left for him as a gift. He also thanked the congregation for praying for him recently over a painful physical ailment which disappeared quickly.

In beginning the sermon, the pastor stated he wanted to address anxiety and fear. He reminded the congregation that anxiety comes from brokenness in the world and even when we do not feel God’s Presence, we can trust He is right beside us. Since most of what we worry about never happens, we should make it a practice to focus on the Kingdom of God and get past our fears by doing something good for others.

We left with the sense this is a close-knit church family that is doing all they can to bring the Light of Christ to their neighbors.


Our prayer for this church:
Lord, we pray Your continued blessings in growing Your church and ask that You open their eyes to Your purposes for them. Amen.

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